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Géza Maróczy 1902
Harry Nelson Pillsbury
David Janowski
Richard Teichmann
Carl Schlechter
Siegbert Tarrasch
Heinrich Wolf
Mikhail Tschigorin
Frank Marshall, circa 1900
Isidor Gunsberg
William Ewert Napier, circa 1900
Jacques Mieses
James Mason
Adolf Albin
Georg Marco
Ignatz von Popiel
(from this
groupshot)
Theodor von Scheve
(from this
groupshot)
Louis R. Eisenberg
(from this
groupshot)
Arturo Reggio
James Mortimer
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Géza Maróczy
(1870-1951)Hungary has had more that its share of great chess
players and Maróczy was certainly among the most notable. His career
as a chess master began at Hastings in 1895 when he won the minor
tournament, then in 1896 at Nuremberg, Maróczy came in second (behind
Lasker) ahead of many of the participants from the main tournament at
Hastings the previous year. From then on, he was at or near the top of
every tournament in which he took part.. He scored second (behind
Lasker) in London 1899 and first in Vienna 1899. When he won Monte
Carlo 1902, it was no shock.
After Monte Carlo 1902, Maróczy seemed to grow stronger. He came in
second in Monte Carlo 1903; first in Monte Carlo 1904; second in
Vienna 1904; shared first with Janowski at Barmen 1905;
first at Ostend 1905; second at Karlsbad 1907; and shared first with Schlechter
and Duras at Vienna 1908. Around this time, Maróczy more or less
retired from playing and in a bit of irony, this most consummate
defensive player wrote a book about Paul Morphy, that most consummate
attacking player.
He returned to playing chess around 1920 by winning a small
tournament at Utrecht. He placed seventh at London 1922; fifth at
Vienna 1922; second at Weston-super-Mare 1922; second
at Liverpool 1923; third at Karlsbad 1923; second at Hastings 1923-4;
sixth at New York 1924; first at Hastings 1924-5; shared second at
Chicago 1926; third (out of five) at Lake Hopatcong 1926; thirteenth
at Karlsbad 1929; third at Rogaska Slatina 1929; shared first at
Scarborough 1930; eleventh at Bled 1931; shared fourth at Bad Sliac
1932; shared second at Scheveningen 1933.
Maróczy also coached two future world champions: Vera Menchik and
Max Euwe.
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Harry Nelson Pillsbury
(1872-1906)
Pillsbury won his first major tournament, Hastings 1895. It was
also his only clear win in a major tournament. He had won the
New York 1893, a rather minor tournament, and he shared first at
Vienna 1898. He was third at St. Petersburg 1895; third at Nuremberg
1896; shared second at London 1899; first in another minor tournament
in Buffalo 1901; second at Hannover 1902; second at Monte Carlo 1902;
third at Monte Carlo 1903; fourth at the 1903 King's Gambit tournament
in Vienna; and ninth at Cambridge Springs 1904.
Pillsbury learned chess at age 15. His incredible memory and sharp
mind put him near the top of the chess world within seven short years.
He won the U.S. Championship in 1897 and 1898.
In match play, he beat Blackburne, Janowski, Schlechter and Maróczy
and drew against Tarrasch and Steinitz.
Pillsbury was most famous for his blindfold and his simultaneous
play and was one of the top checkers players in the U.S. In some of
his simuls, he played both chess and checkers.
Pillsbury suffered from syphilis, thought to have been contracted
in Russia in 1895-6. The disease eventually killed him at age 33 and
most certainly affected the quality of his chess, particularly during
his last years. When he returned from his victory in England in 1895,
he was touted, The Hero of Hastings. He was really the Hero of
American Chess.
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
David Markyelovich Janowski
(1868-1927)
Often referred to as the Champion of France, Janowski was
originally from Poland (in an area now of Belarus) and began playing
chess at age 28 only after moving to Paris in the 1890's.
His tournament results include:
1896 Nuremberg, 5th place; 1896
Vienna, first; 1899 London, shared 2nd place;
1901 Monte Carlo, first;
1902 Hannover, first; 1902 Monte Carlo, 3rd place;
1902 Vienna, shared first; 1905 Barmen, shared first; 1905 Ostend, 2nd place;
1906 Ostend,
8th place; 1911 San Sebastiano, 11th place; 1913 New York, 4th place;
1913 Scheveningen, 2nd place; 1914 Mannheim 7th place; 1918 New York,
5th place.
Janowski was well known for being an addicted gambler. After he won
Monte Carlo 1901, he returned the prize money via the roulette tables
after which the Casino payed for his train ticket home. Impulsive
behavior seemed to have affected other areas of his life. The wealthy
Dutch chess patron and artist, Léonardus Nardus was enamoured with
Janowski and funded his matches with Lasker and Marshall. During and
analysis session, when Nardus suggested an alternate line that
Janowski might have employed, Janowki called Nardus a chess idiot in
front of the spectators and abruptly ended all future support from
Nardus.
Janaowski died impoverished.
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Richard Teichmann
(1868-1925)
Teichmann was readily noticeable with his eye patch and imposing
figure. Born in Germany, he moved to England in 1892 where he became a
language teacher for 10 years. He chess career began in 1894 at
Leipzig and lasted into the 1920's. He died in Berlin.
His tournament results include:
1894 Leipzig, 3rd; 1895 Hastings, 9th; 1896 Nuremberg, 19th; 1900
London, 1st;
1902 Monte Carlo, 4th; 1903 Monte Carlo, 5th; 1903 Vienna King's
Gambit, 7th;
1904 Cambridge Springs, 11th; 1905 Ostend, shared 5th; 1907 Karlsbad,
7th;
1907 Ostenda, shared 5th; 1908 Vienna, 5th;
1911 Karlsbad, first (in a field of 26 of the best players of that
time)
1912 Budapest (QG), 5th (out of 6); 1912 S.Sebastian, 9th; 1923
Karlsbad, 9th.
Teichmann had a plus score against Schlechter and Alekhine, an even
score against Marshall and Nimzowitsch, and a very slight negative
score against Tarrasch, Rubinstein, Janowski and Maróczy. He had a
dismal scores against Lasker and Capablanca.
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Carl Schlechter
(1874-1918)
Carl Schlechter was one of the most successful and prolific
tournament players. Ironically, he was more of a chess artist than a
competitor and seemed to lack what many people feel is an essential
element of competition- a killer instinct. It was with good
reason he earned the sobriquet, Remiskoenig.
or King of Draws. A quite, polite and seemingly unassuming man, he often
accepted draws from a winning position. Not only would he sometimes
accept unwarranted draws, he was capable of forcing draws from an
inferior position. Surprisingly, he was also a great attacker who
could almost magically transform a quiet position into a ferocious
attack.
His match play history shows he drew matched with Marco (twice), Zinkl,
Janowski (1896), Alapin, Lasker and Tarrasch; he beat Janowski (1902);
he lost to Mieses and Rubinstein.
This
Viennese player was a world championship challenger who was ranked
consistently in the top 5.
His tournament results include:
1895 Hastings 9th; 1895 Vienna, 3rd; 1896 Budapest, shared 4th; 1897
Berlin, shared 6th; 1897 Vienna, first; 1898 Vienna, 4th; 1899 London,
5th; 1899 Vienna, shared 2nd;
1901 Monte Carlo, 2nd; 1901 Vienna, first; 1902 Monte Carlo, shared
5th;
1903 Monte Carlo, 4th; 1903 Vienna King's Gambit, 9th; 1904 Cambridge
Springs, 6th;
1904 Coburg, shared first; 1904 Monte Carlo, 2nd; 1904 Vienna.
first;
1905 Barmen. shared 4th; 1905 Ostend, 4th; 1906 Nuremberg, shared 3rd;
1906 Ostend, first; 1907 Karlsbad, shared 4th; 1906 Ostend, 2nd; 1907
Vienna, 6th;
1908 Prague, shared first; 1908 Vienna, shared first; 1909 St.
Petersburg, shared 8th;
1910 Hamburg, first; 1910/11 Vienna, shared first; 1911 Karlsbad,
shared 2nd;
1911 San Sebastian, shared 5th; 1912 Budapest (QG), shared first;
1912 San Sebastian, shared 8th; 1912 Vienna, first; 1913 Vienna,
first;
1915 Wien, first; 1916 Vienna, first; 1917 Wien, first; 1918 Berlin,
2nd; 1918 Berlin, 3rd.
Karl
Schlechter
Carl Schlecter at Wiki
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Siegbert Tarrasch
(1862-1934)
Like Anderssen and Zukertort, Tarrasch was born in Breslau,
Germany. He learned chess at age 15, alternating his time between cafe
chess and his medical studies. He earned his title of "chess master"
in 1883 and his title of "doctor of medicine" in 1885. He also played in
his first international tournament in 1885, coming in second. He was a
remarkably strong tournament player and awarded himself the title of
"chess tournament champion of the world." He played Lasker for the real
title of "world champion" in 1908 and was beaten conclusively. Along
with Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, and Marshall, Tarrasch has the
distinction of being one of first five "grandmasters" as named by Czar
Nicholas II after the 1914 St. Petersburg tournament.
Tarrasch was considered a teacher of chess as well as a player. But
his dogmatism made him inflexible and as chess changed, his
inflexibility became evident in his later tournament record.
He died in Munich at the age of 71.
His tournament results include:
1885 Hamburg, shared 2nd; 1887 Francoforte, shared 5th; 1888 Leipzig,
7th;
1888 Nuernberg, first; 1889 Breslau, first; 1890 Manchester,
first;
1892 Dresden, first;
1895 Hastings, 4th; 1896 Budapest, 8th; 1896 Nuremberg, shared 3rd;
1902 Monte Carlo, shared 5th; 1903 Monte Carlo, first; 1907 Ostend,
first;
1911 San Sebastiano, shared 5th; 1912 Breslau, shared 3rd; 1912 San
Sebastiano, 4th;
1914 St. Petersburg, 4th; 1920 Göteborg, shared 4th; 1922 Hastings,
5th; 1922 Vienna, 4th; 1922 Mannheim, first (of three); 1922 Pistyan,
shared 9th; 1922 Teplitz-Schonau, shared 11th; 1922 Vienna, shared
4th; 1923 Karlsbad, 11th; 1924 Merano, 10th; 1928 Kissingen, 11th.
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Heinrich Wolf
(1875-1943)
Born in Austria, Wolf had a solid, if unremarkable chess career. A
Jew, he was murdered by the Nazis in 1943. His tournament
participation is heavy between 1899 and 1907, then again in 1922-3:
1899 Vienna, shared 5th; 1902 Hannover, shared 5th; 1902 Monte Carlo,
shared 5th;
1902 Vienna, shared first; 1903 Monte Carlo, 7th; 1904 Vienna, shared
4th;
1905 Barmen, shared 6th; 1906 Nuremburg, 6th; 1907 Vienna, shared 9th;
1922 Pistyan, shared 6th; 1922 Teplitz-Schonau, shared 8th; 1922
Vienna, 3rd;
1923 Mahrisch Ostrau, shared 12th; 1923 Karlsbad, 14th;
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Mikhail Chigorin
(1850-1908)
Tschigorin was the first great Russian chess player. Like many players
of his time, he learned chess in his middle teens. Often touted as the
father of the Russian school of chess, his Romantic style was, in
fact, the antithesis of the scientific approach that would later be
the hallmark of the so-called Russian school. He was a player, organizer, and journalist.
Not only the best player in Russia, Tschigorin's stature in the global
arena allowed him to challenge Steinitz for the world championship in
1889, but his result was dismal (+6-10=1). He played a second
world champion match with Steinitz in
1892 where he fared a bit better (+8-10=5).
His tournament results include:
1876 St. Petersburg, 2nd; 1879 St. Petersburg, shared first; 1881 Berlino, shared 3rd;
1882 Wien, 12th; 1883 London, 4th; 1889 New York, shared first; 1895
Hastings, 2nd; 1895-6 St.Petersburg, 4th (out of 4); 1896 Budapest,
shared first; 1897 Berlin, 10th;
1898 Vienna, shared 6th; 1899 London, 7th; 1899 Moscow (all Russian),
first;
1900 Paris, 6th; 1901 Monte Carlo, shared 3rd; 1901 Moscow (all
Russian), first;
1902 Hannover, 7th; 1902 Monte Carlo, 8th; 1902 St. Petersburg, shared
first;
1903 Kiev, first; 1903 Vienna King's Gambit, first; 1904 Cambridge
Springs, 7th;
1905 Barmen, shared 7th; 1905 Ostend 13th; 1906 Lodz, 2nd; 1906 Ostend,
elim. in rd. 2; 1906 St. Petersburg, 16th; 1907 Karlsbad, shared 16th;
1907 Ostend, 6th (out of 6)
Mikhail_Tschigorin at Wiki
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Frank Marshall
(1877-1944)
Marshall's chess career took off as Pillbury's was fading (due mainly
to illness). Three years after Pillsbury's death, Marshall played the
previous US champion, Jackson Showalter in a match for the US
championship and beat him decisively (+7-2=3), after which Marshall
owned the title until retiring it in 1936. He founded the Marshall
Club, an important venue for and sponsor of American chess. His match
play was spotty and especially poor against the great players of the
day. Against Lasker in his world champion bid, Marshall failed to win
a single game (-8=7). Against the new-comer, Capablanca, in 1909,
Marshall only won 1 game (played in Scranton, PA) (+1-8=14). His
incredible tournament résumé depicts a player who is capable of
beating anyone and everyone on any given day but equally capable of
losing miserably. His chess play was more of the Romantic school and
totally uncompromising.
His tournament results include:
1899 London, first; 1900 Paris, shared 3rd; 1901 Monte Carlo, 10th;
1901 Buffalo, 5th;
1902 Monte Carlo, 9th; 1902 Hannover, shared 9th; 1903 Monte Carlo,
9th;
1903 Vienna King's Gambit, 2nd; 1904 Monte Carlo, 3rd;
1904 Monte Carlo Rice Gambit, shared first; 1904 Cambridge Springs,
first;
1904 Sylvan Beach, first; 1904 St. Louis, first; 1905 Ostend, shared
7th;
1905 Ostend Quad, 2nd; 1905 Scheveningen, first; 1905 Barmen, 3rd;
1906 Barmen, 7th; 1906 Nuremberg, first; 1907 Ostend, shared 3rd; 1907
Karlsbad, shared 11th;
1907 Paris, first (out of 3); 1908 Vienna, shared 9th; 1908 Prague,
shared 7th;
1908 Duesseldorf, first; 1908 Lodz, 2nd (out of 3); 1909 Bath (NY),
2nd;
1910 Hamburg, shared 5th; 1911 New York, first; 1911 San Sebastian,
4th;
1911 Amsterdam, first (out of 3); 1911 Karlsbad, shared 5th; 1912
Pistyan, 3rd;
1912 Budapest, shared first; 1912 Breslau, 6th; 1913 New York, 2nd;
1913 Havana, first; 1913 NY Quad, first; 1913 NY Hex, 2nd; 1914 St.
Petersburg, 5th;
1914 Paris Quad, shared first; 1914, shared 4th; 1915 New York, 2nd;
1918 New York, 3rd; 1920 Atlantic City Hex, first; 1921 NY Dimock
Theme, first;
1921 Atlantic City, shared 5th; 1923 Lake Hopatcong,
shared first; 1924 New York, 4th;
1924 NY Dimock Theme, first; 1925
Baden-Baden, shared 5th; 1925 Marienbad, shared 3rd; 1925 Moscow, 4th;
1926 NY Dimock Theme, shared first;
1926 Lake Hopatcong, 4th (out of
5);
1926 Chicago, first; 1927 New York, 6th (out of 6); 1927 London, 3rd;
1928 Bad Kissingen, shared 7th; 1928 Brunn, 4th; 1928 Budapest, 2nd;
1928 Berlin, 7th (out of 8); 1929 Hastings, shared first; 1929 Bradley
Beach, 6th;
1929 Karlsbad, shared 18th; 1930 Liege, 10th (out of 12); 1931 New
York, shared 9th;
1936 San Juan de Puerto Rico, 3rd (out of 3);
Marshall Archives
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Isidor Arthur Gunsberg
(1854-1930)
Based on his fine tournament results, Steinitz deigned to allow
Gunsberg to challenge him in a match for the world championship in
1890-1. Although Gunsberg lost (+4-6=9) in a closely contested battle,
Tarrasch claimed that Gunsberg would have won with just a little
"more sharpness with the
attack, more obstinacy with the defense..." For a man who started
playing chess in 1866 in the Café de la Régence,
by 1902 he had passed his prime.
In match play, he beat Bird, Blackburne and
Mortimer and drew against Tschigorin.
His tournament results include:
1883 London, 4th; 1883 Nuremburg, shared 17th; 1885 Hamburg, first;
1885 Hereford, shared 5th; 1885 London, first; 1886 London, shared
3rd;
1886 Nottingham, shared 3rd; 1887 Frankfurt, shared 14th; 1887 London,
shared first;
1888 Bradford, first; 1888 London, first; 1889 London, shared
first;
1889 New York, 3rd; 1889 Breslau, shared 4th; 1889 Amsterdam, 5th;
1890 Manchester, shared 5th;
1892 London, 4th; 1895 Hastings, shared 15th; 1900 London, shared 2nd;
1901 Monte Carlo, shared 7th, 1902 Monte Carlo, 10th; 1902 Hannover,
16th;
1903 Wien. 10th; 1904 Monte Carlo, 4th; 1904 London, shared 3rd;
1908 Tunbridge, shared 3rd; 1911 san Remo, shared 6th;
1914 St.
Petersburg,
11th; 1914 Chester, 3rd.
Isidor Gunsberg
Isidor
Gunsberg-Wiki
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
William Ewart Napier
(1881-1952)
Napier moved to the U.S. from the city of Woolwich, England when was
five and to city of Brooklyn about five years later. After
another five years, he won the Brooklyn Chess Club
Championship. Eight years later, this transplanted Englishman won the first British Chess Federation chess
championship (by beating Henry Atkins) after which, in four more
years, he would became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He worked as
publisher for American Chess
Bulletin for a time. He authored the book, Paul Morphy
and the Golden Age of Chess (for excerpts see Napier's writing on
Mason,
Bird and
Chess Caviar). Married
to Harry N. Pillsbury’s niece, he gave up chess, except for an occasional
game, to become an insurance executive and was vice-president of
the Scranton Life Insurance Company.
Napier's chess career:
1896 match vs. Marshall (+7-1=3)
1897 Brooklyn Club championship (ahead of Helms and Marshall), first;
1898 Brooklyn Club championship, shared first with Marshall;
1901 Buffalo, shared 2nd;
1902 Hannover, shared 5th;
1902 Monte Carlo; 11th; (won the
Rothschild Brilliancy Prize for his win vs. Tschigorin)
1904 Cambridge Springs, shared 12th;
1904 London, first;
1896 match vs. Marshall (+7-1=3)
1905 Drew a match with Mieses (+5-5) at Hastings.
1905 Rice Gambit match with Marshall (+3-1=1);
1905 Lost a match with Teichmann in Glasgow .
Jacques Mieses
(1865-1954)
Jacques (née Jakob) Mieses was born in 1865. In 1953, a year before he
died at age 89, he took part in a lightning tournament in London. Most
of this long span of time was devoted to chess. Born in Leipzig, he
studied natural science both in his hometown and in Berlin. Although
he won the Berlin championship in 1882, his chess career didn't really
begin until 1888. During this expanded career, Mieses was a player,
tournament director, organizer, journalist and author. He gave simuls
and blindfold simuls, once playing 99 blindfold games in a five day
period winning 71 and drawing 28. He was the first British citizen to
have the title Grandmaster (Tony Miles was the first native-born
British citizen to earn the title).
Because he was a Jew, in 1938 at age 73, he emigrated to England from
Germany in the wake of the Nazi persecutions. Shortly after the war's
end, he became an English citizen. In 1945-6 he played in the Hastings
tournament with poor results (+1-6=4), but his
one win, against Martin Christoffel, won the Brilliancy prize
(Mieses had also played at Hastings exactly 50 years earlier in 1895,
also with poor results).
At one point in time, Mieses was chess editor of
the Berliner Tageblatt, the Leipziger Neueste
Nachrichten, and the Zur Guten Stunde. Some of his many
books include:
Kleines Lehrbuch des Schachspiels,
Schachmeister-Partieen and, Lehrbuch des Schachspiels (with
Curt von Bardeleben).
Some of his tournament results include:
1888 Nuremberg, 2nd; 1892 Dresden, 14th; 1895 Hasting, 20th; 1900
Paris, shared 7th;
1901 Monte Carlo, 6th; Hannover 1902, shared 3rd;
1902 Monte Carlo, 12th;
1903 Monte Carlo, 8yh; 1904 Cambridge Springs, shared 7th; 1905
Barmen, shared 15th; 1906 Ostend, elim. 2nd rd.; 1907 Wien, first;
1908 Duesseldorf, 5th;
1908 Prague,
shared 13th; 1908 Vienna, shared 9th; 1913 Scheveningen, 8th;
1918 Berlin, 3rd (out of 4); 1920 Berlin, shared 5th; 1920 Goteborg,
shared 4th;
1922 Mannheim, 3rd (out of 3);
1923 Liverpool, first; 1923 Scheveningen, 6th;
1925 Baden Baden, 19th;
1930 Francoforte, 9th; 1935 Margate, shared 9th (last);
1945-6
Hastings; 10th
Mieses.by Bill Wall
http://www.mieses.info/
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
James Mason
(1849-1905)
James Mason was born in Ireland and moved to New York, via New
Orleans, when he was 11. Learning to play chess while hanging
around the local chess cafés, he became
champion of the New York Chess Club at age 21. Mason was
actually one of the strongest on the 19th century players. His results
didn't reflect his abilities. As Lasker diplomatically put it:
"Mr. Mason's play as a player was very
high, but he could have achieved the highest place of all, had he not
possessed characteristics that unfit anyone for the attainment of
success."
and
"...the Celtic part of his brain heated
up and he would leave the board at a critical stage and not return."
referring to Mason's fondness for alcohol which
prevented him from completing any tournament of length sober.
Mason, at least for a year, was the (unofficial)
U.S. champion after winning conclusively
(+8-1=5) the
4th American Chess Congress
played during the centennial exposition in Philadelphia in 1876.
Mason, as his drinking made him more and more a
persona-non-gratis at tournaments, supported himself by writing. His
books include: The Principles of Chess (1894), The
Art of Chess (1895), Chess Openings (1897) and Social
Chess (1900). At on point he edited the American Chess Journal.
He also collaborated with the twice
Irish champion, W. H. K. Pollock, on the the St Petersburg Tournament
of 1895-1896 tournament book. Toward the
end of his life he both freelanced for the British Chess Magazine
and hired on as annotator editor. While working at the British
Chess Magazine, Mason became seriously ill with "epileptoid
seizure: pretty bad-convulsions, coma, etc --narrow squeak".
His employment was his only source of
income and, though a fund was established by the magazine of his
behalf, Mason felt coerced to try to make some money at chess and
entered the City of London Chess Club Tournament in 1904 against a
field of Masters including Blackburne, Gunsberg, Mortimer, Lee,
Teichmann, Van Vliet and Napier. He didn't fare too well and it proved
to be his last hurrah. He died 0n January 15, 1905 and was buried in a
little churchyard in Thundersley.
In match play, in 1874, Mason lost to Reichhelm
but beat Delmar (twice) and Martinez; lost to Martinez in 1875; in
1876, beat Bird and Alberoni; in 1879, drew Potter but beat
Blackburne; and in 1882, beat Mackenzie. He also beat Showalter and
drew Barry in the 1902 US-England cable match.
His tournament results include:
1882 Wien, 3rd; 1883 London, shared 5th; 1883 Nuremberg, 3rd; 1885
Hereford, shared 5th; 1886 London, 5th; 1887 London, shared 7th; 1888
Bradford, shared 3rd;
1888 London Divan, 2nd; 1889 Breslau; shared 8th, 1889 New York, 7h;
1889 Dublin, 3rd; 1890 Manchester, 5th 1892 London, third; 1892
Belfast, shared first;
1895 Hastings, shared 12th; 1900 Paris, 12th; 1900 London, shared 2nd;
1901 Monte Carlo; 12th; 1902 Hannover, 17th; 1902 Monte Carlo, 13th;
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Adolf Albin
(1848 - 1920)
Adolf Albin was born in born in Bucharest, Romania in 1848. It would
be 43 years before he would play in his first international tournament
but he was active in chess long before then. He learned chess at age
23 and the next year his book, Amiculu
Jovului de Schach, the first chess book written in Romanian, was
published. He developed a variation in the QGD named after
himself, the
Albin
Counter Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5)
Some of his tournament results include:
1890-1 Vienna, 8th; 1892 Dresden, shared11th; 1893 NY-Manhattan, 4th;
1893-4 New York, 2nd; 1895 Hastings, shared 17th; 1896 Budapest,
shared 9th;
1896 Nuremburg; 14th; 1896 Vienna, 6th (out of 6); 1901 Paris, shared
first;
1902 Monte Carlo, 14th; 1903 Monte Carlo, 12th; 1904 Vienna, 6th;
1905 Vienna, shared 7th; 1907 Wien, shared 12th
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Georg Marco
(1863 - 1923)
Georg Marco was born in what is present-day Cernauti, Ukraine in 1863.
He later moved to Vienna where he served as secretary of the Vienna
Chess Association and edited the Wiener Schachzeitung
(1898-1916). He annotated the tournament books for the 1903 Vienna
Gambit, 1905 Barmen, 1907 Karlsbad and the 1914 Baden auf Wiener
Gambit tournaments as well as the 1908 Lasker-Tarrasch match for
the World Chess Champion and the 1924 Meister des
Problems books.
He
latter settled in Vienna and was secretary of the Viennese Chess
Association. In tournaments he was 4th= at Dresden 1892, 1st at Vienna
1895, 3rd at the Vienna Gambit tournament 1903, 4th at Cambridge
Springs 1904 and 5th= at Ostend 1905. In match play he drew with Carl
Schlechter twice; (+0, =10, -0) in 1893 and (+4, =3, -4) in 1894. He
also drew with Dr. Arthur Kaufmann (+5, =0, -5) in 1893, lost to Max
Weiss (+1, =1, -5) in 1895 and beat Adolf Albin (+4, =4, -2) in 1901.
However, he's probably best known for his work as editor of the
'Wiener Schachzeitung' from 1898 to 1916 and his annotations in the
books Vienna Gambit Tournament (1903), Barman 1905, Ostend 1906,
Karlsbad 1907 (with Carl Schlechter), Lasker-Tarrasch match and
Baden auf Wien (Vienna) Gambit Tournament 1914.
His tournament results include:
1890 Graz, 6th; 1890 Vienna, shared 6th; 1891 Vienna, first;1892
Dresden, shared 4th;
1892 Vienna, first; 1893 Vienna, 2nd; 1894 Leipzig, shared 6th;
1894 Pressburg, shared 2nd; 1895 Vienna, first; 1895 Hastings,
shared 17th; 1896 Nuremberg, 13th; 1896 Budapest, 11th; 1897
Berlin,shared 6th; 1897 Vienna, 3rd; 1899-1900 London, shared 2nd;
1900 Paris, shared 7th; 1900 Munich, shared5th; 1901 Monte Carlo, 9th;
1902 Monte Carlo, 15th; 1903 Monte Carlo, 6th; 1903 Vienna Gambit,
3rd; 1904 Cambridge Springs, 4th;
1904 Coburg, shared 4th; 1905 Ostend, shared 5th; 1906 Ostend, 6th;
1907 Ostend, 9th; 1907 Moscow, shared 2nd; 1912 Stockholm, 3rd; 1913
Budapest, shared 4th;
1915 Vienna, 4th; 1920 Göteborg, shared 9th; 1921 The Hague, 7th; 1922
Pistyan, 18th.
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Ignatz Von Popiel
(1863 – 1941)
Ignatz Von Popiel was born in what is now Drohobycz, Ukraine. He was a strong local player but less successful on the
international scene .In 1893 in the publication,
Deutsches Wochenschach, he
publish his analysis of his improvement on the maligned Blackmar
Gambit. Later Diemer would use this analysis as the starting point of
his own analyses on the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Contrary of popular
belief, he was not the uncle of GM
Stephen Popel.
His tournament results include:
1889 Breslau, shared 3rd; 1895 Lviv, first; 1895 Lemberg,
first; 1896 Eisnach,
shared 2nd;
1896 Budapest, 13th; 1896 Lviv, first; 1897 Berlin, first; 1898 Cologne,
shared 10th;
1899 Vienna, 9th;
1900 Munich, shared 11th; 1902 Monte Carlo, 16th; 1902 Hannover, 18th;
1915 Trebic, shared 5th (last); 1925 Lviv, 2nd.
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Theodor Von Scheve
(1851 - 1922)
Not much is available about Theodor Von Scheve. He was a German chess
player born in the village of Cosel in the Silesia, Prussia (now
Poland). He died in what is now Paczków, Poland. Von
Scheve was a professional soldier and officer, stationed in Breslau
for a period of time during which he co-founded the Schachverein
Breslau Anderssen and met Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch. He was
later stationed in Berlin.
Von Scheve authored one book - Der Geist des Schachspiels,
Eine
Studie (Berlin 1919).
his matches include:
beating Pozzi Crespi in 1888 (+4-1);
drawing Walbrodt in Berlin 1891 (+4 -4 =2)
drawing Von Bardeleben 1891 (+4 -4 =4)
His tournament results include:
1883 Berlin, shared 6th; Frankfurt 1887, 19th; 1887 Berlin
August, 2nd;
1887 Berlin Nov.; 7th;
1888 Leipzig, 4th; 1889 Berlin -1, 2nd; 1889 Berlin -2; first;
1890 Berlin, shared 3rd; 1890 Manchester, shared 7th; 1891
Berlin, 3rd;
1892 Dresden,
shared 11th; 1893 Berlin, shared first; 1894 Berlin, first;
1898 Berlin, first; 1899 Berlin, 3rd;
1901 Monte Carlo, shared 3rd; 1902 Monte Carlo, 17th;
1904 Monte Carlo, 5th (out of 6); 1902 Vienna,
shared 4th (last place);
1907 Ostend (B), shared 23rd
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Louis R. Eisenberg
(1876 - ? )
From information found in Napier - The Forgotten Chessmaster by
John Hilbert.
"Mr. Eisenberg was born in Odessa in 1876 and after graduating from
Nicholas College pursued journalism until, in 1902, he journeyed to
Monte Carlo to participate in the international masters’ tournament
played there under the auspices of the Cercle des Etrangers. His
victory on this occasion over Pillsbury, the American Champion, was
his best effort. Coming from within a few hours ride of Kishinev, Mr.
Eisenberg is naturally well informed on the subject of the recent
disturbances there and in this connection was interviewed in Chicago
and his opinions given wide publicity. Like most of his countrymen of
the educated class he is a splendid linguist, speaking seven
languages. As Mr. Eisenberg is a full citizen of the United States he
will be eligible to all national events, and we are much mistaken if
affairs chessical do not enjoy a notable enlivenment so long as he
remains in our midst.”
(Napier’s column in the Pittsburgh Dispatch August 4, 1904)
"The August 16, 1903 New York Tribune wrote that 'Louis R. Eisenberg,
the Russian chess expert, who defeated Pillsbury, the American
champion, at the Monte Carlo congress of 1901 (sic), and who recently
played for Chicago in the telegraphic match against the Brooklyn Chess
Club has made Pittsburg his home'."
and
"According to the August 16, 1903 New York Tribune, Louis R.
Eisenberg, the player who had surprisingly beaten Pillsbury at Monte
Carlo 1902, and who recently played for Chicago against the Brooklyn
Chess Club, has made Pittsburg his home. W. E. Napier, the young
international player, also lives in Pittsburg. Last week they met in
two games. In the first, a Petroff Defense, set up by Napier, the
latter gave up a pawn in the opening for a quick development, but won
it back in short order. The game was drawn. The same result was
reached in the second game."
Other information:
He played in the New York State Chess Association championship
in 1909, finishing in a three way tie for first with C. S. Howell and H. Zirn.
The three had a playoff and Howell won. This and the Capablanca game
which was played in NYC indicate that Eisenberg was probably living
there in 1909.
Shakhmatnye Obozreniya issue #44 (pgs. 85-5) from February,1902
lists the Russian representatives at Monaco 1902 as: L. R. Eisenberg,
M. I. Tschigorin, & D. M. Janowski. It is further noted that Russians
amateurs received full and quick coverage of this tournament through
Tschigorin (in Novoe Vremya) & Eisenberg (in Odesskiya Novosti)
as well as the reports in Moskovski Viedemostie. This item also
includes a long excerpt from one of the Odesskiya Novosti
reports from Monaco (presumably written by Eisenberg).
He results include:
1902 Monte Carlo, 18th
1904 Chicago CC - Twin Cities CC Cable Match, (+0-1)
1904 USA-07.Congress St Louis, shared 5th
1909 Brooklyn CC-Rice CC New York, (+1-0)
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
Arturo Reggio
(1863 -1917)
Born in Gorizia, Italy Jan. 9, 1863 and died in Milan in 1917,
Arturo Reggio started playing chess as an engineering student at the
Graz University of Technology and at the Imperial-Royal Polytechnic
Institute of Vienna, both in Austria. After he settled in Milan in the
1890's he joined the Societŕ Scacchistica Milanese and
eventually edited a chess column for the magazine, La Bicicletta.
He won the Italian championships in 1900, 1901, 1905, 1913 and 1916.
His tournament results include:
1900 Rome*, first; 1901 Venice*, first; 1901 Monte
Carlo, 11th; 1902 Monte Carlo, 19th;
1903 Monte Carlo, 13th; 1905 Florence*, first; 1905
Scheveningen, 8th;
1905 Barmen B; shared 7th; 1906 Ostend, elim. 1st round; 1913 Bologna,
first;
1916 Milan (1st nat'l. tourn) first.
*first three national tournaments of the U.S. I.
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
James Mortimer
(1833 - 1911)
Although he was born in Richmond,
Virginia and worked for the U.S. diplomatic service out of both Paris
and St. Petersburg (from age 22), he moved to England when he was 37.
There he became a journalist and a playwright, eventually publishing
his own periodicals, including the Figaro, and authored over
30 plays of dubious quality for the London stage. Acquainted
with Paul Morphy, he witnessed the hotel-room match between Morphy and
Anderssen. Mortimer's chess play seemed to have been flashes of
brilliances on a sea of mediocrity - while his overall results were
terrible, he managed to win individual games from some of the most
renowned masters of the era. Mortimer died from pneumonia in
1911 while reporting on the great chess tournament at San Sebastian.
[courtesy of
Jeremy Spinrad]
His tournament results include:
1883 London, 14th; 1885 London, shared 10th; 1886 London, 11th; 1887
London,
10th (last); 1888 Bradford, 13th; 1889 London, 10th; 1890 Manchester ,
14th;
1891 London (Simpson’s Divan summer tourney), 4th;
1891 London (Simpson’s Divan winter tourney), shared 6th;
1892 London (7th BCA tourney), 10th (of 12); 1896 London; shared 8th;
1900 London (Simpson’s Divan); 5th (out of 5); 1900 Paris,15th; 1901
Folkstone, shared 3rd; 1902 Monte Carlo, 20th (out of 20); 1902
Norwich, shared 10th; 1902 Tunbridge Wells,7th; 1903 Canterbury,
5th; 1903 Plymouth (section II), 4th; 1904 Brighton, 4th;
1904 London, 17th (last); 1904 London Rice Gambit; 9th (last);
1907 Ostend (master tourney); 29th (last); 1907 London (City of London
Ch), 10th;
1909-10 London (City of London Ch), 15th; 1910 Paris 1910, 16th (out
of 17);
1910-11 London (City of London Ch), 16th (out of 17)
His games at Chessgames
His page at Chessmetrics
His page at Edo
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