Background
He was born in Posen, Province of Posen, Poland (then German Empire), and died of a heart attack in Königsberg (East Prussia) during a game of chess.
He was born in Posen, Province of Posen, Poland (then German Empire), and died of a heart attack in Königsberg (East Prussia) during a game of chess.
A player with a low profile and not many tournament wins, Leonhardt has been largely forgotten by the history books However, at his best, he was able to defeat most of the elite players of the period. Tarrasch, Tartakower, Nimzowitsch, Maróczy and Réti all succumbed to his fierce attacking style between 1903 and 1920.
As an expert analyst of the openings, he wrote a monograph on the Ruy Lopez (Zur Spanische Partie - 1913).
Opening variations have been attributed to him in the Lopez, Sicilian Defence, Ponziani Opening, Evans Gambit, and the Scandinavian Defense.