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Vera Francevna Menchik (Mencikova) was born in Moscow, Russia on February 16, 1906. Her father was Czech and her mother was British. When Vera was 15, the family and she moved to England in 1921. She became affiliated with Geza Maroczy... | Read More
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Sam Loyd (January 31, 1841-April 10, 1911) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). He spent most of his childhood in New York, where he played chess and developed a fascination for solving complicated chess problems. He had one of his ... | Read More
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Jackson Whipps Showalter was the reigning United States chess champion in 1897 when he extended a challenge to up and coming phenom Harry Nelson Pillsbury. The match stipulations were that the first player to win seven games (draws not count... | Read More
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I came across this hilarious article from an old Harper’s Weekly magazine. It portrays Paul Morphy as “Jack the Giant-Killer” and gives a spoof on his adventures in Europe in 1858. Fair warning, fans of Staunton may n... | Read More
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The Herceg Novi Blitz Tournament of 1970 was the greatest speed tournament of the 20th century. Four world champions competed in the tournament and Bobby Fischer finished 4 ½ points ahead of the second place finisher, Mikhail... | Read More
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Can you name the two players sitting at the table? The year and location of this photograph? For More Chess History, www.rookhouse.com www.rookhouse.com/blog | Read More
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John Finan Barry was a great American chess player from Boston, who once challenged Jackson W. Showalter for the U.S. Championship (losing -7 +2 =4) in 1896. Mr. Barry was also an excellent chess columnist and a true ambassador to... | Read More
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Samuel Lipschutz was born in 1863 in Hungary but emigrated to the USA in 1880 at the age of seventeen. His chess career started to blossom in 1883, as he was chosen to participate in high level chess club matches, representing New Yor... | Read More