Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Alapin vs Tarrasch circa 1892 - Pittsburg Dispatch

Pittsburg Dispatch
September 16, 1892

Pittsburg Dispatch runs chess column 1888 to 1892. Chessarch.com missed the earlier issue in 1889. You can see one of its sample HERE.

Game:
Semion Alapin vs Siegbert Tarrasch 1-0, 1892 ?
Alapin Opening

A rare game that found in this chess column. Semion Alapin crush Tarrasch with his signature Alapin Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Ne2). The notation and Alapin's original annotation being converter to PGN in its entirely.



Problems:
White mates in two moves - composed by Eugene Woodard, SOuth Granville N.Y

White mates in three moves - composed by A.P. Mackenzie Jamaica

Endgames:
Albin vs Mieses
White to play and win composed by Ponziani

Reports:
Bird versus Lasker

Graphics:
I preserved a very nice advertisement about Aliquippa (Penn.) area, as it begins to look in 1892!

the Pittsburg Dispatch September16 1892


tag: chess column 1892, pittsburg history, alapin defence, chess rare games

Monday, May 11, 2015

Emanuel Lasker vs Frank Marshall 1907 - New York Daily Tribune

New York Daily Tribune
January 27, 1907

Game:
Frank Marshall vs Emanuel Lasker 0-1 , New York WCC 1907
Ruy Lopez Nyholm Attack



Reports:
Historical report of Lasker vs Marshall world championship match right after the first game. The encounter between Lasker and Marshall is unique. Lasker facing one of world most dangerous attacking player. As history written, Marshall lost the match 3,5 to 11,5.

Here the New York Daily Tribune chess column wrote:

VICTORY FOR LASKER
WINS FIRST CHESS GAME

Marshall Resigns After Fifty Move in Championship Match.

Dr. Emanuel Lasker defeated Frank J. Marshall, after fifty moves, in the first game of their match for the worlds chess championship in the assembly hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building in Brooklyn, yesterday. A good sized crowd was in attendance afternoon and evening.

Before the game began Professor Isaac L. Rice, one of the referees, made a brief address. The umpires. E. Clark and E. W. Libaire. then tossed for the move, and on Libaire, Marshall's umpire, winning, Marshall opened the game with the famous Spanish attack, the Ruy Lopez,  much to the surprise of everybody, as it was expected that the challenger would surely play his favorite queen's gambit.

The hall was well adapted for the match. The players, umpires. Judges and tellers were seated on the platform, and as soon as a. move was made it was repeated on two exhibition boards to the right and left of the platform, so that all on lookers could follow the progress of the game. Moreover, right at the entrance there were placed six chefs tables, where those desiring to analyze the various positions could do so with rase, and it was at these tables that most of the interest was centered.

After his short address Professor Rice read a number of congratulatory telegrams from C. H. Turner, president of the Baltimore Chess Association; James Abbott, president of the Western Chess Association; C. C. Schneider, president of the Chicago Chess and Checker Club, and E.C.B. Jenkins , secretary of the Kansas City Chess Club, among others.

Among the prominent persons present at the opening were Judge Joslah T. Marean, of Brooklyn; Vice-Chancellor Mahlon Pitney, of New Jersey; Controller Herman A. Mets, Commander B. T. Walling and Lieutenant Charles Webster, of the navy yard; Professor Isaac L. Rice. Sam Loyd. J. Herbert Watson. S. It. Chittenden, Dr. J B. Kopf, Henry Chadwlck, J. D. Sedgwyn and H. M. Phillips.

When looking closely at the principals it was found that neither seemed to be excited or nervous. They shook hands at the start, made the opening moves rather quickly, and several times during the came left the board when the adversary had to move and mixed with the crowd in the body of the hall. As soon as they would see that the tellers, J. H. Tafft. jr., and F. D. Rosebault. had repeated a move on the exhibition boards they would quietly walk back to the platform and begin the fight a new.

The game had scarcely advanced eight moves before the wiseacres gave their verdict. Most of them were of the opinion that Lanker had the superior position. Suddenly, however, there came a change of opinion, and it was thought that Marshall, by playing the right move, would surely get the better position. Marshall did not make the right move, the wiseacres thought, and so they gave up the case as hopeless. When the game was adjourned at 6 o'clock the end game stage had been reached. Marshall said that at the worst he could easily draw the game.

Twenty-three moves had been registered. The particular opening adopted has little history.
Morphy was the first who suggested the variation, and of late years the Bostonians, John F. Barry and Franklin E. Young, have made this particular variation a special study. Four or five years ago Barry played a match game with Lasker, selecting this variation as his attack. Barry lost the game. No doubt Marshall wanted to try his hand at it in order to get a thorough analysis of the game over the board. His main object. he said, was to get Lasker to unknown regions, believing that he could then hold his own.

The champion, on the other hand, rather liked the programme, for at no stage of the game did he spend much time on his rejoinders, while Marshall put in a lot of time in studying his moves.

When play was resumed at 8 o'clock it soon became evident that Marshall was fighting a
hopeless frame. The champion won one pawn, then another, and after fifty moves Marshall resigned.

The second game will be played at the Everett House. Fourth avenue and 17th street. in this city, on Tuesday. The score of the game follows:


Dr. Emanuel Lasker vs Frank J. Marshall 1907 World Chess Championship

tags: historical brooklyn chess, new york newspaper chess column, romantic chess, age of chess, ruy lopez chess history, baltimore unrest, baltimore clash, baltimore fight

Frank Marshall 105 Boards Chess Simuls 1916

The Day Book - Chicago 
March 29, 1916

Reports

The Chicago weekly "The Day Book" reported on March 29, 1916 about Frank Marshall's 105 men chess simuls, happening in Washington. This chess simuls break world record on that moment.

Read full report here:

Frank J. Marshall of  New York, chess champion of the United States, broke four records recently in competing with 105 of  Washington's best chess players.

The match was staged in the rooms of the National Press club, where the tables were arrange'd in two long lines stretching the length of three of the communications rooms. Marshall passed rapidly from one table to another, keeping track of the 105 games with apparent ease. He won 82, lost 8 and drew in 15 of the games. Lieut. Gen. Nelson A. Miles was one of a number of prominent players. 

The former world's record in th number of simultaneously games playing was made by H. Fahrni, a German, in Munich, in 1911, when he played 100 games simultaneously, winning 55 drawing 39 and losing 6.

It is not reported the result of Franks Marshall simuls himself.

Here the newspaper clips and photo of Frank Marshall.

The Day Book - Chicago based chess column

tags: historical chicago chess, newspaper chess column, romantic chess, age of chess, ruy lopez chess history, frank marshall, world record chess simultans