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These Portraits and Biographies of the the competitors at Hastings 1895 come directly from the book, The Hastings Chess Tournament 1895 by Horace Fabian Cheshire, published in 1896.
Hastings 1895
(photo from Wikipedia)
Back row (left to right): Albin, Schlecter, Janowski, Marco, Blackburne,
Maroczy, Schiffers, Gunsberg, Burn, Tinsley
Front row (left to right): Vergani, Steinitz, Tchigorin, Lasker, Pillsbury
Tarrasch, Mieses, Teichmann
PILLSBURY, HARRY N., twenty-two at the time of the Tournament, was born on December 5, 1872, at Somerville, Mass., U.S.A. He was educated for a commercial career, and did not make a study of the game till five years ago.
Mr. Pillsbury is decidedly pleasant and unassuming in manner, and a perfect type of an American and a tremendous smoker. He is remarkably self composed, and sits at the chess-table in a comfortable style and with a self-confident look on his face. His style of play is energetic, free from fads, and correct ; v hilst looking carefully after his defences, he is always pressing forward for chances of a win, which he is very quick to detect. The openings are thoroughly known, and his fearless middle game manœuvring is superb.
His chief successes are : —
In 1890 he beat Steinitz, receiving Pawn and move.
In 1890 " " H. N. Stone by 5 to 2.
In 1893 " " Walbrodt.
In 1893 " " Schottländer.
1893. First prize, New York City C.C.
1895. First prize, Hastings.
TCHIGORIN, MICHAEL I., forty-four at the time of the Tournament, was born on October 31, 1850. He was educated at Gatchino, near St. Petersburg, and entered the Government Administration.
In his younger days chess was to him an amusement only, and it was not till he was nearly thirty years of age that we find him coming to the front, when, in 1880, he beat Schiffers his teacher, who was then the acknowledged champion of Russia, as also others of Russian chess fame. He founded the St. Petersburg Chess Club, and has worthily shone as its president.
His style of play is quite of ' the old school,' brilliantly attacking and ever towards the King, perhaps best described by the simple word beautiful. He is probably the greatest master of the King's side attack and rarely plays dull games. His chief energy is thrown into the middle game rather than the opening, which he sometimes conducts with too much indifference. His analytical ability is of the very highest order, and blindfold play does not come amiss.
In difficult positions Tchigorin gets very excited, and at times seems quite fierce, sitting at the board with his black hair brushed back, splendid bright eyes, and flushed face looking as if he could see right through the table. When calm, however, he is decidedly handsome, and calculated to beget confidence. We have spelt this expert's name as he spells it himself when
using English characters.
His chief successes are : —
1881. Divided third prize at Berlin with Winawer, following Blackburne and Zukertort.
1883. Fourth prize at London (Grand Tournament).
1889. Divided first and second prizes at New York.
1895. Second prize at Hastings.
In 1893 he played a drawn match with Tarrasch, and in 1890 with Gunsberg.
LASKER, EMANUEL, twenty-six at the time of the Tournament, was born on December 24, 1868, at Berlinchen, Prussia, but has now definitely adopted England as his ' second fatherland.' His chess dates from his boyhood, and was first learnt from Dr. Lasker, his brother. It is noticeable that he entered straight into the Haupt Tournament at Breslau in 1889.
The impression one gets of him is that of a modest and intelligent entleman, with evident culture, but frail and delicate in health.
At simultaneous chess he is very rapid and successful, beating down his opponents with relentless accuracy, often winning, as in his match games, in the opening, to which he gives a great amount of attention.
Lasker, unlike many experts, has first-class business qualities.
His chief successes are : — Mis cruet successes are : —
1889. First prize at a smaller Tournament, Berlin, without losing game, at the age of twenty.
1889. First prize at Breslau (G.C.A.) and mastership.
1889. Second prize at Amsterdam.
1891. First prize at London (B.C.A.).
1893. First prize at New York, with an absolutely clean score of thirteen.
1895 Third priize at Hastings
In matches he has beaten Bardeleben, Mieses, Bird, Miniati, Englisch, Blackburne, and Showalter, only losing four games in the series, two of them being to Bird.
In 1892 he won the Quintangular match arranged by that generous patron Sir George Newnes. The results were : Lasker 6½, Blackburne 6, Mason 4, Gunsherg 2½, and Bird 1.
On May 26, 1894, he won the championship of the world by scoring his tenth win against Steinitz's five (four drawn).
On October 19, in the same year, he was taken suddenly ill with typhoid fever, when he was carefully attended by Dr. B. Lasker, his brother, who came over from Berlin for the purpose. This illness, after some delays, prevented him playing his promised return match with Steinitz. Doubtless he will, however, now soon give Steinitz an opportunity for revenge.
Like his great rival, he takes chess and life generally in a very serious way, and there seems to be but little fun in either of their natures. If this means that humour is inimical to chess, so much the worse for the latter. On the other hand, however, there is Dr. Tarrasch, who has plenty of true humour in his nature, and Pillsbury and others are not wanting in that element.
TARRASCH, SIEGBERT, M.D., thirty-three at the time of the Tournament, was born on March 5, 1862, at Breslau, where he commenced his education.
He is a man of the highest educational attainments, and not being able to devote so much time and attention to the game as devotees would like to see him do, his performances have been a little irregular, and at times he has completely disappeared from the chess world.
He enjoyed a considerable reputation in the game whilst at college and university, in spite of the pressure of his other studies, taking first place indoors and frequenting chess resorts, where he played successfully with the habitués. It is said also that he was fond of correspondence and blindfold play.
Visitors to the Congress will remember him as a neat, well-dressed, sprightly gentleman of very engaging manners, and always with a fresh flower in his button- hole. Certainly a favourite with the onlookers, his board was generally well patronised whoever was his opponent.
Journalistic work has occupied a considerable amount of his time, and his annotations are very far above the average ; those in this book were supplied in German, so that some may have lost a little of their pristine beauty in the process of translation.
his final position probably suffered considerably from his bad health.
His chief successes are : —
1882. First prize in Berlin Minor Tournament.
1883. First prize in London Minor Tournament, not losing a game till he had secured the first place.
1883. Fifth prize at Nuremberg, twenty entries.
1887. Fourth prize at Frankfort ; all the early part of the tournament he looked like capturing the coveted first position, but health giving way brought disappointment.
1888. Tie for third prize at Bradford ; here again he looked like doing better.
1888. Divided first and second prizes at Leipsic [sic], coming ahead of Mieses and Tarrasch [sic].
1889. Tie for fourth at Breslau.
1895. Tie for seventh prize at Hastings, having led the score in the early rounds.
In 1890 he played a drawn match with Scheve ; in 1891 he beat Hollander; in 1894 he beat Dr. Gottschall by 4 to 1 ; in 1895 he played a drawn game with Blackburne and beat Teichmann by 3 to 1.
STEINITZ, WILHELM, fifty-nine at the time of the Tournament, was born on May 17, 1836, at Prague, Bohemia.
Educated in Vienna, he soon made a chess name for himself, and was sent to the London Tournament in 1862 as the representative of Austria. At that time he adopted this country, but deserted us in 1883, becoming an American citizen.
His style of play is firm and tenacious, aiming at accurate positioning and steady crushing rather than at brilliant attacks or rapid finishes. Opponents are always treated with due respect, in that he invariably does his best ; should his vis-à-vis be weak the crush quickly produces a smash, but skittle play is unknown to him.
On the other hand he has a way of treating the openings with all sorts of eccentricities, perhaps owing to an over-desire to experiment, or arising from self-reliance ; but some of his ventures must be very trying to an opponent who may scarcely feel flattered by being met with an apparently weak manœuvre at the commencement of the game.
Mr. Steinilz stands high also as a theoretician and as a writer ; he has a powerful pen, and when he chooses can use expressive English. He evidently strives to be fair to friends and foes alike, but appears sometimes to fail to see that after all he is much like many others in this respect. Possessed of a fine intellect, and extremely fond of the game, he is apt to lose sight of all other considerations, people and business alike. Chess is his very life
and soul, the one thing for which he lives. In appearance he is peculiar and striking : fine and large head with prominent forehead, grey hair and ruddy beard, rather portly, suffering from a slight lameness which naturally increases with years ; he now walks with a stick. He is said to be a good
swimmer, he has at any rate plenty of buoyancy of nature, and can
be entertaining and affable.
Before entering the Tournament some important conditions were made in the various chess columns of the press, and the Committee feared the entry might be lost, but were pleased to find that he eventually joined in the ordinary way, accepting the same conditions as the other competitors.
There is one curious fact, that, whilst he is shortsighted, his writing is remarkably thin and small, being peculiarly difficult to read.
With such a grand list of successes the veteran should be able to rest on his laurels, at peace with all, using his ready pen and his great experience in advancing chess in all its branches, and enjoying the just fruits of his gigantic achievements.
His chief successes are : —
1862. Sixth prize at London, following Anderssen, Paulsen, Owen, M'Donnell, and Dubois.
1867. Third prize at Paris with thirteen entries, following Kolisch and Winawer.
1867. Second prize at Dundee with ten entries, following Neumann.
1870. Second prize at Baden with ten entries, following Anderssen.
1872. First prize at London with eight entries.
1873. First prize at Vienna with twelve entries.
1882. Divided first and second prizes with Winawer at Vienna.
1883. Second prize at London with fourteen entries, following Zukertort. This is the tournament in which the late Dr. Zukertort played so magnificently.
1894. First prize at New York, followed by Albin and Hymes.
1895. Fifth prize at Hastings.
Besides numerous prizes (mostly first) in handicap tournaments.
It is however in match play that he chiefly shines. His victims are : —
1862. Dubois by 5 to 3.
1863. Deacon by 5 to 1.
1863. Mongredien by 7 to 0.
1863. Blackburne by 7 to 1.
1866. Anderssen by 8 to 6.
1866. Bird by 7 to 5.
1867. Fraser by 3 to 1.
1870. Blackburne by 5 to 0.
1872. Zukertort by 7 to 1.
1876. Blackburne by 7 to 0.
1882. Martinez by 7 to 0.
1882. Martinez by 3 to 1.
1882. Sellman by 3 to 0
1883 Mackenzie by 3 to 1
1883 Golmayo by 8 to 1
1883 Martinez by 9 to 0
1885. Sellman by 3 to 0.
1892. Tchigorin by 10 to 8.
1886. Zukertort by 10 to 5.
1889. Tchigorin by 10 to 6.
1891. Gunsberg by 6 to 4.
Beating everyone until he met Lasker in 1894.
SCHIFFERS, EMANUEL G. A., forty-five at the time of the Tournament, was born of German parents on May 4, 1850, at St. Petersburg, where he was educated, attending there the Classical Gymnasium till 1867, and, continuing his studies in the Physical and Mathematical faculty till 1871, became private tutor. In appearance he is rather formidable, tall and somewhat massive
framed, with a fine crop of curly iron-grey hair surmounting a massive well-set head, an intelligent but kindly countenance, and a general appearance of stability and robust manhood. And with all this he is in manner both gentle and refined, with plenty of true wit.
Chess seems to have been taken up at about fifteen, and at twenty he played with decided success against Tschournoff and others, whilst about 1875 ne made good practice with Winawer.
He came to know Tchigorin in 1873 and used to play him at the odds of a Knight, but two years later the latter attained first-class strength, and in 1880 he beat Schiffers, depriving him of his proud position as the leading player of Russia, though he may justly still claim the second place.
He has won matches against Tchigorin, Mitropolsky, Wainstein, Jankowitsch, Chardin, and Alapin, two against each of the last three. Since 1880 however he has lost two or three matches against Tchigorin, but has otherwise held his own against all comers and has won many prizes in handicaps.
BARDELEBEN, CURT VON, thirty-four at the time of the Tournament, was born at Berlin, where he was educated in the legal profession, in which he now practises.
He has always been fond of chess,- though he quitted public life in 1883, coming forth again in 1887 with renewed energy. He writes English freely, as may be seen by his annotations, but does not show much disposition to speak it. Visitors to the Tournament will remember him as a carefully dressed, delicate-looking man, with a straw hat generally poised on his head, and
with a modest and gentlemanly demeanour, though of a somewhat
retiring disposition.
His style of play is analytical and exact rather than intuitive, a good example of what is known as the German school of thought. In our Tournament he was the last to lose a game, and his final position probably suffered considerably from his bad health.
His chief successes are : —
1882. First prize in Berlin Minor Tournament.
1883. First prize in London Minor Tournament, not losing a game till he had secured the first place.
1883. Fifth prize at Nuremberg, twenty entries.
1887. Fourth prize at Frankfort ; all the early part of the tournament he looked like capturing the coveted first position, but health giving way brought disappointment.
1888. Tie for third prize at Bradford ; here again he looked like doing better.
1888. Divided first and second prizes at Leipsic, coming ahead of Mieses and Tarrasch.
1889. Tie for fourth at Breslau.
1895. Tie for seventh prize at Hastings, having led the score in the early rounds.
In 1890 he played a drawn match with Scheve ; in 1891 he beat Hollander; in 1894 he beat Dr. Gottschall by 4 to 1 ; in 1895 he played a drawn game with Blackburne and beat Teichmann by 3 to 1.
TEICHMANN, RICHARD, twenty-six at the time of the Tournament, was born on December 24, 1868, near Altenburg, Germany, where he was educated, passing on to Berlin and Jena after distinguishing himself considerably. He came to England in 1892, and has adopted this country permanently, playing as an English representative.
He has now been a student -of the game for about ten years, and appears to be still improving, so that he bids fair to be even more distinguished at chess than he is as a linguist.
He speaks English with great fluency, as he does most of the European languages, he is pleasant and gentlemanly in manners, less self-assertive than some, and bids fair to become a great favourite.
He plays the modern style, is very persistent, and, although avoiding rash dashes, can put in some brilliant variations when occasion arises.
His chief successes are : —
1891. First prize at Berlin.
1892. Fourth prize in Simpson's Handicap.
1893. First prize in Simpson's Handicap.
1894. Third prize at Leipsic with eighteen entries, and Tarrasch and Lipke first and second. He was at first only placed in the reserves by the Leipsic Committee.
1894. First prize in Simpson's Handicap.
1895. Divided seventh prize with Bardeleben in the Hastings Tournament
He has not gone in much for personal matches ; he however defeated Loman by 7 games to 2 draws, and in 1893, by 5 wins and 2 draws to nothing, showing that he was no mean opponent.
SCHLECHTER, CARL, twenty-one at the time of the Tournament, was born on March 2, 1874, at Vienna, where he was educated for a commercial career. He learnt chess at sixteen, and has been a serious student of the game for about three years. He is rather small in stature, with bright eyes, and a modest and almost shy manner.
His style of play is not strictly Viennese, as on occasions he can play games of the most dashing description. His memorable game with Fleissig influenced the Committee greatly in selecting him ; and his game with Bardeleben in this Tournament is a very fine specimen also. When taking his flights of fancy he generally proves to be correct, showing a very fine judgment of position and of the possibilities of attacking combinations. He rarely loses a game, but is inclined to miss the just reward of his labours by lapsing into a draw. He is the chess editor of 'Allgemeine Sport Zeitung' and often contributes to other papers, having rapidly advanced into fame. Though he drew too many games he has amply justified the Committee's selection, and we shall before long be hearing of his doing great things.
His chief successes were : —
1892. First prize at Vienna (Quadrangular Tournament). A drawn match with Marco shortly after, in which ten drawn games were played in succession without a win being scored at all !
1894. Third prize at Vienna (Club Masters' Tournament), following Marco and Weiss.
1895. Special prize at Hastings for the best score against the prize winners, also second prize for problem solving. Herr Schlechter is equally good as a problem composer.
BLACKBURNE, JOSEPH H., fifty-two at the time of the Tournament, was born on December 10, 1842, at Manchester, where he was educated for a commercial career, and he writes a fine bold hand. He has always played for England, and when in his prime brought much glory to his native land. His chess seems to have been an outgrowth of the too much despised draughts, at which, as a youth, he preferred to shine, though he was far from a mean performer at the more noble game, as at most games of skill. When eighteen he drew a game on even terms with Paulsen, and was further stimulated by taking part in one of Morphy's blindfold performances. Within a month ' J. H. B.' was successfully playing ten games simultaneously blindfold, an accomplishment at which he is still without an equal and now practically without a rival, at least in this country.
The blindfold séances are conducted with spirit and dash, and with wonderful accuracy, often winding up with the greatest brilliancies.
Blackburne is also an adept at peripatetic simultaneous play, at which he is deservedly popular, and he occasionally gives us some fine specimens of problem composition. His style is intuitive and imaginative, with a high degree of skill in the end games —perhaps rather too impatient to get off the books and detesting a dull, plodding position. He has a remarkable memory for all branches of the game, and is one of our greatest authorities on the historical side of the subject. He is one of those also who are ever ready to give assistance without looking for a return, a characteristic which was found of the greatest value at Hastings, where he has for the last few years resided, when the Committee were arranging the Tournament.
His chief successes are : —
1868. Third prize and British Championship at London (B.C.A.).
1870. Tie for third prize with Neumann at Baden-Baden, with Anderssen and Steinitz first and second.
1873. Tie for first prize with Steinitz at Vienna.
1874. First prize at Simpson's.
1878. Third prize at Paris (with twelve entries).
1880. Divided first three prizes with Schwarz and Englisch at Wiesbaden (with sixteen entries).
1881. First prize at Berlin (with seventeen entries), followed by Zukertort, Tchigorin, and Winawer, but not closely, for Blackburne had two games to spare, though he had started with his only loss.
1882. Sixth prize at Vienna, Steinitz, Winawer, and Mason in the first three places.
1883. Third prize at London (Grand Tournament), following Zukertort and Steinitz.
1884. Second prize at Nuremberg (with eighteen entries), following Winawer.
1885. Divided second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth prizes at Hamburg, following Gunsberg.
1885. First prize at Hereford.
1886. First prize at London (B.C.A.), followed by Burn, Gunsberg, and Taubenhaus.
1886. First prize at London (B.C.A. Handicap), followed by Bird and Gunsberg.
1887. Tie for second prize at Frankfort with Weiss, headed by Mackenzie.
1887. Third prize at London (B.C.A.).
1888. Sixth prize at Bradford.
1888. Divided first and second prizes at London (B.C.A.) with Gunsberg.
1889. Fourth prize at New York ; he was second at the end of the first round.
1890. Second prize at Manchester, following Tarrasch.
1894. Tie for fourth prize at Leipsic.
In 1887 Blackburne won his return match with Zukertort by 5 to 1, and in 1890 he beat Lee by 7 to 2. In 1891 he beat Señor Golmayo by 5 to 3, and Señor Vasquez by 5 to i. In 1895 he drew with Bardeleben. Nobody but Steinitz can show such a record.
WALBRODT, CARL A., twenty-three at the time of the Tournament, was born on November 28, 1871, at Amsterdam, but, though Holland claims the honour of his birth, he is of pure German descent and resides at Berlin, where he was educated.
The Walbrodt brothers are the flourishing proprietors of a stencil and pattern factory at Berlin. As a boy at home he became famous at his favourite pastime, but did not try conclusions with the first-rates till he was eighteen or nineteen years of age, when, joining the chess club, he won the first prize in the tournament without a loss, and then tried a match with Schallop, when he lost the first three games, drew the next, and then won five and the match ! Thus jumping into fame literally with one bound and only one preliminary hop. His heading Blackburne and others in a tournament at nineteen years of age is a feat to be proud of and ever remembered. His hand writing is peculiar, and the scores that he handed in at Hastings were rarely complete and never legible.
His chief successes are : —
1892. Divided fourth and fifth prizes at Dresden (not losing a game).
1894. Tie for fourth prize at Leipsig.
In 1891 he beat Schallop by 5 to 3.
In 1891 he drew a match with Scheve.
In 1892 he beat Bardeleben by 4 to 0 (four drawn).
In 1893 he beat Delmar by 5 to 3.
BURN AMOS forty-six at the time of the Tournament, was born on December 31, 1848, at Hull, England, where he commenced his education. Later on he was apprenticed at Liverpool to a firm of merchants. He is now well-to-do and follows chess as a pastime pure and simple, and has several times been president of the Liverpool Chess Club. A good deal of his time is spent in America. He commenced the game about 1865, and, making rapid progress, shortly afterwards won the first prize at the Liverpool Chess Club Handicap at Pawn and move.
He is exceedingly retiring in manner and almost gives the impression of moroseness ; but a more intimate acquaintance with him shows him to be of a most kindly disposition and with a fund of dry humour.
His play is of the safe school ; it is almost peculiar to himself, and scarcely of an attacking style, though it is a curious fact that he rarely draws a game. The start he made in this Tournament was certainly not up to his proper form ; in fact, it was not till the very end of the first week that he seemed to be at his ease.
His chief successes are : —
1871. Tie for first prize at London (B.C. A.).
1886. Second prize at London (B.C. A.), after tying with Blackburne for first place ; Gunsberg and Taubenhaus tying for third and fourth places.
1886. First prize at Nottingham, Schallop and Gunsberg following on.
1887. Divided first and second prizes at London with Gunsberg.
1888. Fifth prize at Bradford.
1889. First prize at Amsterdam with six wins, no losses, and two draws against Lasker and Mason.
He has little favoured personal matches, but he played a drawn match with Bird and also with Captain Mackenzie in 1886.
Janowski, D., is of Polish extraction, but has been for some time a resident of Paris, and frequents the Cafe Regence there, a favourite resort for chess-players. He looks every whit French and was always attired in the usual faultless style of the nation of his adoption. His manners, too, were of the highest polish and not quite suggesting the Polish. His play also is of a vivacious and dashing character, always dangerous to the very best, and fighting everything to the bitter end. 'While there are any Pieces left there is always a chance,' seemed to be his motto. His defeat of Tchigorin at the end of the Tournament was a very good one and most unfortunate for his opponent. Steinitz again succumbed to one of his violent onslaughts in another grand game. The veteran made one weak move, and not so very weak, after all, but it made the opportunity, which was promptly seized and successfully utilised.
He gained sixth prize at Leipsic in 1894, and played a drawn match with Mieses.
MASON, JAMES, who hails from New York, was forty-five at the time of the Tournament, and was born on November 19, 1849. He commenced the study of the game about twenty-five years ago and quickly showed his real talent ; but Mason's chess career has contained so many disappointments, always showing what he could do but rarely doing much. He has not the strength to take the game seriously, playing as for recreation only, and is an extreme illustration of what the English players generally have been accused of— playing while the clocks are ticking and taking no heed between whiles. Frequently, by pulling himself together, he has bowled over his opponents like nine-pins, but often when a brilliant success seemed inevitable he has apparently had enough of it and takes a lower position than expected. Training in any form seems altogether foreign to his nature, and in this respect he is the exact opposite of Steinitz, who lives for chess, but in style of play he resembles him very closely, though less eccentric.
He has splendid conversational powers, makes a first-rate companion with a lively vivacious manner, and is generous to a fault. 'Begone, dull care ! you and I will never agree.'
Most of his games are of the very highest class, displaying the finest judgment and a keen insight into the intricacies of a position, subtle to a degree, and spotting the slightest weakness, however obscure in nature.
He is a good writer, using particularly fine English, and a first-class annotator also. Several didactic books are the outcome of his pen, and nothing could be clearer or more instructive, showing him to be as good a teacher as he is a chessist
His chief successes are : —
1876. First prize at Philadelphia.
1881. Divided fifth and sixth prizes at Berlin, after a brilliant commencement.
1882. Third prize at Vienna; he was first at the end of the first round.
1883. Tie for fifth, sixth, and seventh prizes at London ; second at the end of the first round, and played a magnificent game with Zukertort (up to the time of adjournment), who was then in splendid form and came out an easy first.
1884. Third prize at Nuremberg.
1884. First prize in Simpson's Handicap.
1885. Tie for second prize at Hamburg.
1886. Fifth prize at London (B.C.A.).
1888. Second in Simpson's Handicap.
1888. Tie for third prize at Bradford (eighteen entries), not losing till the fifteenth (!) round.
1889. Divided third, fourth, and fifth prizes at Amsterdam with Van Vliet and Gunsberg.
1889. Seventh prize at New York.
1890. Tie for fifth prize at Manchester.
1890. Tie for third prize in Simpson's Handicap.
1891. Second prize at London (B.C.A.).
1892. Divided second prize in 'Black and White' Tournament with Tinsley.
BIRD, H. E., sixty-five at the time of the Tournament, was born on July 14, 1830 ; sometimes called the 'G.O.M.' of chess, a title in which he rather rejoices. We find him in the tournament of 1851, and he is still amongst us as fresh as ever. Our friend is a great talker, very entertaining, and ever ready for a game ; will play matches with anybody, at any time, for any stake or no stake, all comers alike. His play is essentially lively, eccentric and tricky. His draw in this Tournament against Tchigorin was obtained by a device that few would have thought it worth while to try against such an opponent ; he tried to catch Pillsbury also, but it did not come off. The win, however, against Steinitz is a good specimen of his general play, and a fine game to boot. His profession is, or was, that of accountant, and in his early days, when he followed it closely, he bore a considerable reputation.
Now he writes a good deal, and is the author of several well-known books on chess. He is a very ready and fluent speaker, and sometimes assumes an amusingly confident air. But the scoring of his games is — ! and most had no scores at all at Hastings, the moves having to be obtained from other sources.
His chief successes were with the old players whose names have now become items of history, and seem to belong to the far away past, but in
1867, he scored 6 to Steinitz's 7, with several drawn games, just after the latter had beaten Anderssen for the World's Championship.
1873. He beat Wisker.
1889. First prize in Simpson's Handicap, followed by Lee and Muller.
1889. First prize at London (B.C.A.).
1890. Second prize in Simpson's Handicap.
1891. First prize in Simpson's Handicap.
1891. Tie for fourth prize at London (B.C. A) with C. D. Locock.
1893. Drawn match with Jasnogrodsky.
1894. Third prize in Simpson's Handicap.
GUNSBERG, ISIDOR, forty at the time of the Tournament, was born on November 2, 1854, at Buda-Pest, Hungary. He came to England in 1863 and has adopted this country, playing as an English representative. In his young days his play was quite of the recklessly brilliant type, but as time wore on we find a sufficiency of soundness and accuracy intermingling with his style till, in 1885, he astonishes the world by winning the Hamburg Masters' Tournament by some beautiful play ahead of Blackburne, Tarrasch, &c., carrying everything before him just about that time.
His manner is particularly pleasant, he is a very expert speaker and ready writer. He is a tremendous worker, and of late years has allowed overwork to mar his position somewhat in the chess-playing world. He is a man of indomitable energy, but is reported to lack that buoyancy of nature which is necessary to stand against adverse circumstances, though he can be wonderfully calm in exciting and difficult positions.
Though chess-writing is now his chief occupation, representing the 'Daily News' and many other papers, he still makes simultaneous play a speciality, at which he practises great quickness with decided success. A friend to provincial chess, he is ever ready to lend a helping hand, and is the London expert mentioned in our Introduction.
His chief successes are : —
1885. First prize at Hamburg (with eighteen entries), and Blackburne, Englisch, Mason, Tarrasch, and Weiss ties for second place.
1885. First prize in B.C.A. Tournament.
1886. Tie with Taubenhaus for third and fourth prizes at London (with thirteen entries).
1887. Tie with Burn for first prize in Ð� С.Ð�. Tournament.
1888. First prize at Bradford (with eighteen entries); his score was 14½, Mackenzie following with 13, and Bardeleben and Mason tying for third place with 12.
1888. First prize in Simpson's Handicap.
1889. Third prize at New York (with twenty entries), following Tchigorin and Weiss.
1889. Divided third, fourth, and fifth prizes at Amsterdam.
1889. Second prize at London (B.C. A.).
1889. Tie for fourth prize at Breslau (with eighteen entries).
1890. Tie for filth prize at Manchester (with twenty entries).
His principal matches are : — v. Bird in 1886, won by 5 to 1 ; v. Blackburne in 1887, won by 5 to 2 ; and later played a drawn match with Tchigorin, 9 all ; scored 4 to 6 v. Steinitz ; 3 to 0 v. Lee ; and 3 to 2 v. Bird.
ALBIN, ADOLF, forty-seven at the time of the Tournament, was born at Bucharest, Roumania. He was educated at Vienna lor a mercantile career, and filled an engagement with the German railway king, Dr. Stroussberg, till his downfall. Herr Albin, however, kept up his end of the see-saw for a few years by returning to Vienna. He now represents New York.
The goddess of chess did not make his acquaintance till he was a well-grown man, but so great was his aptitude that, never too old to learn, he quickly came to the front and, after winning several first prizes in Vienna tournaments, he entered the Masters' Tournament at Dresden in 1892, and surprised the world by giving Dr. Tarrasch his only defeat in a very fine game.
His style of play is ingenious and picturesque, with a pleasing dash of rashness, perhaps deficient in book knowledge but showing a keen appreciation of the leading principles of the game.
His other chief successes are : —
1893. Second prize at New York, following Lasker; a drawn match with Hodges of New York ; and a win v. Delmar.
MARCO, GEORG, from Vienna, a man of considerable stature and fine muscular appearance, so much so that he has been jokingly termed 'the strongest chess-player of the world.' He won the first prize finely in the last Amsterdam National Tournament without losing a game, and coming out ahead of Weiss, Schelchter, Englischm &c. His general appearance is very German, with but little of the bandbox about him.
One of the chief favourites with the visitors, and apparently on good terms with the masters also, he was largely the life of the Tourney, always bubbling over with fun, and cracking jokes with any and all who could understand his language. He certainly should have done better considering his record and his quite recent performance, but he did not look in earnest, and perhaps was not.
His style of game also might be called playful, dwlighting in comical and puzzling positions of a problematic type.
POLLOCK, W. H. K., thirty six at the time of the Tournament, was born on February 21, 1859, at Cheltenham. Educated at Somersetshire College, Bath, and Clifton College, he took his medical qualification in Ireland, 1882, where he acquired much of his chess, being a favourite at the Dublin Chess Club, especially on account of his great ability in the direction of simultaneous play. Later, he and his brother (Rev. J. Pollock) were well known at Bath, but we hear of him in a great variety of places in the British Isles and America. He has played in numerous tournaments with varying success. Crossing the herring pond five years ago, on the occasion of the American Congress, he settled in Canada, and became the chief representative of that country, but up to the time of going to press he had not returned from
England. He beat Moehl in 1891, and could probably take a better position by treating the game more seriously.
Pleasant in manners, brilliant in style, and an agreeable companion or opponent, he still lacks staying power. Many of his games are of the highest order, and the one against Weiss at the 1886 Congress has become historic. He is a good writer, and is, or was, the chess editor of several columns, and has contributed to many others. Many brilliancy prizes at various times have fallen to his lot.
TINSLEY, SAMUEL, forty-eight at the time of the Tournament, was born in 1847, at Barnet, Herts, where he was educated. Unlike most of the masters he did not take up chess till he was well on in years, and even then seems not to have taken it up seriously before reaching the forties. His style is brilliant and attacking, and dealing somewhat in traps rather than safety, leading of necessity to but few draws. He is reported also to shine at the lightning style of play favoured by so many amateurs.
Of late years, like Gunsberg, he has given more attention to the journalistic side of the game. He has the honour of having written the first daily reports the London 'Times' has printed of any tournament, viz. that of Hastings, 1895, and, like some others, handicapped himself by dividing his attention between the game and journalism.
He is full of fun, and always ready with a joke even against himself
His chief successes are : —
1889. Beat Muller by 7 to 0.
1890. Divided seventh prize at Manchester with Alapin and Von Scheve.
1890. Beat Muller, 5 to 1.
1892. Divided second and third prizes with Mason in 'Black and White' Masters' Tournament.
MIESES, JACQUES, thirty at the time of the Tournament, was born on February 27, 1865, at Leipsic, where he was educated, passing to the university there, and at Berlin, natural history being his chief love.
He studied chess at an early age, and at seventeen joined one of the Berlin chess clubs, winning the first prize in the annual tournament.
The early days, however, were more given to theoretical chess and to problems, of which he is now considered one of the finest, if not the finest, solver, as well as being a good composer. He is also a good writer, and has contributed much to the literature of chess ; at our own Tournament he was one of those who weakened his position by attending to press matters as well as his play. He was a friend of Dr. Tarrasch's, and, like him, sometimes seemed to be allowing the distracting beauties of the town and district to be engaging some of the attention due to the more serious work of the Congress-room.
He was a man of polished manners and evident culture, speaking English with an easy style.
His chief successes are : —
1888. Tie for second prize at Nuremberg.
1888. Third prize at Leipsic, following Bardeleben.
1889. Third prize at Breslau, following Tarrasch and Burn.
In 1894 he played a drawn match with Walbrodt and Janowski.
VERGANI, BENJAMIN, the only Italian representative who has played in these tournaments for about thirty years. His score, it is true, was not brilliant, but his play was better than the result showed ; he was slightly overmatched, and with the first-rates a very little difference in strength makes all the difference in the end. He came with first-class recommendations and had won second prize in the last Italian National Tournament, besides having some reputation as a blindfold player. He was slight of figure and lame, but always with a smile, though amongst strangers whose language he could not speak. His play was of the imaginative order, but became perhaps somewhat over-cautious ; there was, however, a tendency to over-elaboration ending in a breakdown, but a little more practice with the European masters would soon correct that fault. Our young friend must remember that 'Faint heart never won fair lady,' and woo the fair Cäissa again with less dangerous rivals.
MAROCZY, GÉZA, first prize winner of the Minor Tournament and now a master, was twenty-five at the time of the Tournament, and was born on March 3, 1870, at Szegedin, in Hungary. He was educated at the Zurich University, where he learnt his chess, though he did not seriously study the game till two years ago ; and last year he won the first prize in the club tournaments at Buda-Pest, where he is now following his profession as engineer.
His style is extremely attacking, producing some most interesting and brilliant games.
Lady THOMAS, EDITH M., of the Manor of Marston, Beds, who won the first prize of the Ladies' Major Tournament, besides being a good chessist, is an expert musician and good singer, late pupil of Sir John Goss. She lived for some years with her husband, Sir Geo. Thomas, Bart., at Constantinople, but now resides in this country, and is sometimes to be seen at the Ladies' Chess Club, London.
Mrs. RIDPATH, of Paris, winner of the Minor Tournament, and her husband, Mr. J. Ridpath, were at one time active members of our local club, and, though addicted to travel, we understand that they may shortly be coming to reside near us again.
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