The German Chess Federation (Deutscher Schachbund) was founded in 1877, and by 1890 its congress had become the default German chess championship. In the eleventh round of the 1898 tounament Rudolf Charousek and Arved Heinrichsen played the Bishop's Opening.
One of the best half-dozen players of the 1890s, Rudolf Charousek abandoned a potential law practice to study chess; he would, however, remain impoverished and die from tuberculosis in his 20s. Arved Heinrichsen's chronic health problems caused him to drop-out of medical school and take up chess; he placed highly German chess tournaments until he died, also in his 20s.
