Frank Marshall (1877-1944)
On this day, November 9, Frank Marshall had a heart attack and died while walking near his home.
Frank James Marshall (1877-1944) was born of British-Scottish parentage on the west side of Manhattan (8th Avenue and 50th Street) in New York City on August 10, 1877 (a dozen other sources say he was born on August 21, 1877). His father, Alfred, was engaged in the flour business. Frank had three younger brothers.
He lived in Montreal, Canada from age 8 to 19. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 5, 1898, page 4 says he moved to Canada at age 9)
He began playing chess at the age of 10 in Montreal, being taught by his father. In six months, Frank was on equal terms with his father in chess. By age 11, Frank was able to beat his father in chess consistently. His father then introduced Frank to the Hope Coffee House in Montreal to play stronger competition.
At age 12, Marshall beat the best player of the Hope Coffee house, in whose back room chess and checkers was being played. (source: Chicago Daily Tribune, January 31, 1915, p. 3)
In 1890 (age 13), he joined the Montreal Chess Club, and was soon one of the leading chess players in Montreal.
In 1892 (age 14), Marshall made his real debut in the chess world on the occasion of a visit to a French café with his father by defeating the best player there on even terms, a feat that electrified the spectators. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 5, 1898, page 4)
In 1892, Marshall won the championship of the Montreal Chess Club.
In 1893, Marshall won the championship of the Montreal Chess Club for a second time.
On November 13, 1893 Marshall played world chess champion William Steinitz when Steinitz was giving a 16-board simultaneous exhibition in Montreal. Marshall lost, but the game was published in a Montreal magazine (Le Monde Illustre). Steinitz complimented Marshall on his game and predicted a great future for him.
In December 1893, when Harry Nelson Pillsbury, the American chess champion, visited Montreal, he was defeated by Marshall in both the simultaneous and blindfold exhibitions given by Pillsbury at the Montreal Chess Club. Marshall also won in simultaneous exhibitions against Showalter, Gossip, Barry, and Pollock. He lost to Emanuel Lasker in one of the simultaneous exhibitions.
In January 1894, Frank Marshall placed 5th in the 20th Canadian chess championship, held in Montreal, won by A.T. Davison. He won 7 games, lost 7 games, and drew no games.
In 1894, Marshall won the championship of the Montreal Chess Club for the third time in a row.
Marshall was also active in baseball, hockey, lacrosse, and was an excellent speed skater.
In 1895, Marshall moved to Brooklyn and assisted his father in business. Marshall later joined the Brooklyn Chess Club (146 Montague Street) and the Manhattan Chess Club. He later decided to make chess his profession.
In 1896, Marshall won the junior chess championship of the New York Chess Association at Ontario Beach.
Marshall defeated Chang, the Eden Musee chess automaton the first time he played it.
In October-November 1896, William Napier (1881-1952) defeated Frank Marshall in a match, held at the Brooklyn Chess Club. Marshall won 1 game, drew 3 games, and lost 6 games.
In 1897, Marshall played Hermann Helms in a simultaneous exhibition and lost.
In 1897, Marshall took 3rd place in the Brooklyn championship tournament, won by William Napier. Napier won his first Brooklyn Chess Club Championship when he was 15.
Marshall gave a simultaneous exhibition against 13 opponents at the Café Chess Club, winning 8, losing 3 and drawing 2.
Marshall gave a blindfold exhibition at Woodhaven, Long Island, playing 4 players at once blindfolded. Marshall won three and drew one.
Marshall took 2nd place at the Café Chess Club, behind W.H.K. Pollock. Marshall won the brilliancy prize.
In March 1898, Marshall, age 20, won the Brooklyn Chess Club championship, defeating William Napier. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Mar 5, 1898, p. 4 – sketch of Marshall and Napier-Marshall game)
In August 1898, Marshall only scored 1.5 points out of 7 in the New York vs. Pennsylvania match, held in Grove Spring.
In the summer of 1898, Marshall lost a match in Grove Spring (Keuka Lake) against Samuel Lipschuetz, scoring 3 losses, with no wins or draws. (Staats-Zeitung Cup tournament)
In 1898, Marshall played a match in Montreal with Nicolai Jasnogrodsky, ex-champion of New York State. Marshall scored 3 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw to draw the match. After the match, Marshall returned to Brooklyn. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 6, 1898, p. 4)
In November 1898 through January 1899, Marshall played in the Manhattan Chess Club Championship. The event was won by Albert B. Hodges.
In November 1898, Marshall went to New Haven, Connecticut and spent 3 weeks coaching chess at Yale College and preparing them for the upcoming inter-collegiate tournament in New York. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 27, 1898, p. 10)
In January 1899, Marshall played Dawid Janowski in a match, held at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York. Marshall won 1 and lost 3.
In March 1899, Marshall played board 8 in a USA vs. Great Britain cable match. He drew his game against George E. Wainwright. The USA team won 6 to 4.
In April 1899, Marshall played William Steinitz as part of a 16-game simultaneous exhibition that Steinitz gave at the Brooklyn Chess Club. Marshall lost his individual game. Steinitz won 14 and lost 2. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 28, 1899, p. 16)
In May-June 1899, Marshall, representing the Brooklyn Chess Club, won the minor masters tournament at the St. Stephen’s Hall, Westminster, London, his first international event. There were 12 players in his section. He won 7, drew 3, and lost 1. He lost to Dr. Physick, drew with Georg Marco, Jacques Mieses, and Muller, and defeated the rest. The Brooklyn Chess Club guaranteed his entrance money and part of his expenses. Marshall won 70 British pounds or $350 (almost $3,000 in today’s currency) for his 1st place finish and attained the title of master. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 15, 1899, p. 13)
In August-September 1899, Marshall played Samuel Lipschuetz of the Manhattan Chess Club in the 9th annual Staats-Zeitung Cup at Saratoga Springs, New York. Marshall lost all 3 games and the cup went permanently to the Manhattan Chess Club after they won it 5 times. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 2, 1899, p.4)
In August-September 1899, Marshall played for New York in the New York vs. Pennsylvania match, held in Saratoga Springs. He scored 4.5 out of 7.
In October-November 1899, Marshall played in the annual Manhattan Chess Club championship and finished in 6th place.
In December 1899, Marshall played a match against Sidney P. Johnston at the Chicago Chess and Checker Club. Marshall won with 7 wins, 6 losses, and 2 draws. Marshall won the $150 purse.
In February 1900, Frank Marshall teamed with Sidney Johnston to oppose Pillsbury in a simultaneous blindfold exhibition on 16 boards at Chicago. The game was drawn.
In February 1900, Frank Marshall (age 23) won the New York State Championship, held in Manhattan, after defeating David G. Baird in a playoff match. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 27, 1900, p. 14)
In April 1900, Marshall played 14 games simultaneously at the Queens County Chess Club at Jamaica, Long Island. He won 13 and drew 1 in one hour and 59 minutes. The referee was Henry Chadwick, the “father of baseball.” (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 4, 1900, p. 16)
In 1900, Marshall defeated Otto Roething, winning 4, losing 1, and drawing 2 in a match held in New York.
In 1900, Marshall took 6th (last) place in a Manhattan Chess Club tourney, won by Lipschuetz.
In March 1900, Marshall played board 7 in the 5th USA vs. Great Britain cable match. He lost to Edward Jackson. The USA team won, 6-4.
In May-June 1900, Marshall, age 22, tied for 3rd-4th place (with Geza Maroczy) at the international masters’ tournament in Paris, won by Lasker, followed by Pillsbury. Marshall defeated world champion Emanuel Lasker (Lasker’s only loss) and U.S. champion Harry Pillsbury in their individual games. Marshall’s prize was the equivalent of $2,000 in today’s currency.
In 1900, he defeated Eugene Delmar in a match. with 4 wins, 1 loss, and no draws.
In April, 1901, he played in the 6th cable match between the USA and the UK. He played board 7 against William Ward and lost.
In August, 1901, he took 4th in the 14th New York Chess Association championship in Buffalo.
In February-March, 1901, he took 10th place at Monte Carlo.
In February-March, 1902, he took 9th at Monte Carlo.
In 1902, he played in the 7th cable match between the USA and the UK. He played board 3 and lost to Henry Atkins.
In April, 1902, he defeated William Ward in a match in London.
In July-August, 1902, he took 9th-10th in the 13th German Chess Federation championship in Hanover.
In September, 1902, he defeated Richard Teichmann in a match in London, scoring 3.5-1.5.
In February-March, 1903, he took 9th at Monte Carlo
In May 1903, Marshall finished 2nd, behind Chigorin, in a King’s Gambit Accepted tournament at Vienna.
In 1903, he played in the 8th cable match between the USA and the UK. He played board 4 and won against Henry Atkins.
In 1903, he defeated James Mortimer in a match in London.
In February, 1904, he took 3rd in Monte Carlo.
In February-March, 1904, he tied for 1st with Rudolf Swiderski in the Rice Gambit tournament held in Monte Carlo.
In April-May 1904, he won the Cambridge Springs (Pennsylvania) International Chess Congress, scoring 13 out of 15 (11 wins and 4 draws), two points ahead of Emanuel Lasker and Dawid Janowski, without the loss of a game. Marshall won the $1,000 first prize money. He was also presented with a gold watch by the Manhattan Chess Club in honor of his victory.
In August, 1904, he won the Rice Trophy Competition held at the 17th New York State Chess Association tournament in Sylvan Beach.
In October 1904, Marshall won the 7th American Chess Congress in St. Louis with 8 wins and 2 draws. Marshall was given the title of US Champion, but Marshall did not accept this title because US Champion Pillsbury did not play (he was suffering from syphilis). The committee of the tournament gave Marshall a gold medal inscribed "Champion."
On January 6, 1905, Frank Marshall married Miss Caroline Krause of New York. The next day they were both on a ship to Paris for a chess tournament.
In January-March, 1905, he defeated David Janowski in a match in Paris, scoring 10-8. The games were played at the Philidor Club.
In April-May, 1905, he lost to William Napier in a Rice Gambit theme match held at the Metropolitan Chess Club in London.
In June-July, 1905, he tied for 8th-10th at Ostend, Belgium.
In August, 1905, he took 1st at Scheveningen.
In August, 1905, he took 3rd at Barmen, Germany.
In September-October, 1905, he lost to Tarrasch in a match at Nuremberg. Tarrasch won games, lost 1 game, and drew 8 games.
In 1905, he defeated James Mortimer in a match in London, with 4 wins.
At the end of 1905 Frank Rice Marshall was born.
In 1905-1906, he took 3rd in the Manhattan Chess Club championship.
In 1906, he tied for 2nd with Albert Fox in the 20th Brooklyn Chess Club championship, won by Eugene Delmar.
In June-July, 1906, he took 7th at Ostend, Belgium.
In July-August, 1906, he took 1st place at Nuremberg.
In 1906, he defeated Albert Fox in a match in New York.
In 1906 Harry Nelson Pillsbury died and Marshall was acknowledged as the US champion. Marshall refused the title until 1909 when he played a match for the title with Showalter.
From January 26, 1907 to April 8, 1907, Marshall played a match against Emanuel Lasker for the world championship title. Marshall lost 8, drew 7, and won no games. The match took place in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, and Memphis.
In 1908, he took 1st at Dusseldorf.
In February, 1909, he defeated Charles Jaffe in a match held at the Rice Chess Club.
In April-June, 1909, Marshall played Jose Capablanca in a match and won 1 game, lost 8, and drew 14. The games were played in New York, Scranton, and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
In 1909, Marshall defeated Jackson Whipps Showalter for the U.S. chess championship with 7 wins, 2 losses, and 3 draws. The match was played in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky. Marshall’s purse for the match was $500.
Frank Marshall was considered the U.S. chess champion from 1909 to 1936, 27 years.
In 1910, he played board 1 in the 12th Anglo-American cable match and defeated Blackburne.
In 1911, he took 1st at New York.
In 1911, Marshall insisted that Capablanca be permitted to enter the San Sebastian tournament, an exclusive tournament for only the best players in the world. Despite much protest at his inclusion, Capablanca won the tournament.
In 1913, he won at Havana, edging out Capablanca by half a point.
In 1913, Marshall played 57 boards simultaneously in Pissburgh, at the time, a world record. He won 46 and drew 11, with no losses.
In 1914, Marshall finished 5th at St. Petersburg. Tsar Nicholas II conferred the title of “Grandmaster” on Marshall and the four other finalists, Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, and Tarrasch.
In July-August 1914, Marshall participated in the 19th German Chess Federation in Mannheim, when World War I broke out on August 1. At the time, he was in a tie for 4th-6th place and was playing Dawid Janowski, the French champion. According to Marshall, at the first shot, all the participants were made prisoners by the German military authorities. Marshall was soon released, being a citizen of the United States, a neutral power. (source: Washington Post, January 10, 1915, p. 2) Marshall departed so hurriedly that his baggage was left behind.
In January 1915, Marshall gave two simuls at the Washington Chess and Whist Club. In the afternoon he played 11 players (winning 10 and losing 1) and in the evening he played 16 players (winning all 16 games). (source: Washington Post, January 7, 1915, p. 8)
On February 23, 1915, Frank Marshall played 92 boards simultaneously at the Portland Chess and Checker Club in Portland, Oregon, a new world record. He won 78, drew 10, and lost 4. The simul lasted 6 hours and 34 minutes. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 24, 1915, p. 18).
In March 1915, Marshall played 41 boards simultaneously at the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club, winning 29, drawing 4, and losing 8. (source: San Francisco Chronicle, March 2, 1915, p. 3)
In April-May 1915, Marshall took 2nd place behind Capablanca in a double round-robin masters tournament held at various chess clubs in New York. Marshall drew Capablanca twice.
In July 1915, Frank Marshall founded Marshall’s Chess Divan. It was first established at Young’s Old Pier, Tennessee Avenue and Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ. Here, he provided playing quarters for the accommodation of traveling chess players. Marshall also plays chess and checkers against all comers. (sources: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 1, 1915, p. 35, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Aug 5, 1915, p. 21, and American Chess Bulletin, vol 12, 1915, p. 181)
In late September 1915, Marshall established a chess divan for himself in the back room of Keen’s Chop House, 70 West Thirty-sixth street in Manhattan (now Keens Steakhouse on 72 West 36 Street, established in 1885). The use of tables for chess or checkers was available for a nominal charge. Marshall was available for instruction or practice play on a professional basis. This later became known as the Marshall Chess Club, which later purchased a townhouse at 135 West Twelfth Street. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 30, 1915, p. 21). Friday evenings were set aside for exhibitions and lectures. Charles Jaffe (1879-1941), former New York State chess champion, was associated with Marshall in the venture. (source: Washington Post, October 3, 1915, p. 2)
In December 1915, Frank Marshall asked the management of the Rice Memorial masters’ tournament to withdraw his name from the event, to be held at the Brooklyn Chess Club. His reason was that the managers refused to play Marshall $150 for training expenses from money contributed toward the prize fund and held by them in trust for all the players. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 16, 1915, p. 21)
On March 21, 1916, Marshall played 105 boards in a simul exhibition held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. It was a world record at the time. The former world’s record was made in 1911 at Munich by H. Fahrni, who played 100 simultaneous games, winning 55, drawing 39, and losing 6. One member of Congress (Congressman James Glynn of Connecticut), as well as members of the press club, newspaper correspondents and local experts participated. Marshall won 82 games, lost 8 and drew 15 in 7 hours. The Vice President of the United States, Thomas R. Marshall, was there to watch and followed Frank Marshall’s performance with great interest. (sources: New York Times, March 22, 1916, p. 8 , Washington Post, March 22, 1916, p. 2, and Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 22, 1916, p. 20)
In June 1916, Marshall played David Janowski, the French chess champion, in a match at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York, winning 4, drawing 3, and losing 1.
On December 26, 1916, Marshall played 129 boards simultaneously in Philadelphia, a new world record. It was played at the Curtis auditorium. Marshall played for 8 hours, walking 18 miles. Marshall won 97, lost 9, and drew 23.
In January 1917, after a residence of over 20 years in Brooklyn, Frank Marshall moved to Manhattan to be near his Chess Divan. The Divan moved to 118 West Forty-ninth Street, New York, in the Café Francais. A few friends of Frank Marshall formed themselves into a working committee and paid the rent for four months. Annual dues for the Chess Divan were $10. A large front room on the second floor was set aside for the Divan. The Divan’s treasurer was A.J. Gordon. (sources: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 4, 1917, p. 15 and American Chess Bulletin, vol 14, 1917, p. 89)
On March 8, 1917, Frank Marshall played 144 boards in a simultaneous exhibition in Buffalo, New York, in two sessions, half the games in the afternoon and the other half in the evening. He won 131, lost 1, and drew 12. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 9, 1917, p. 20)
On April 14, 1917, Marshall played 101 boards in a simultaneous exhibition at the New York City Chess Club in New York City. He won 69 games, drew 25, and lost 7.
On April 28, 1917, festivities took place at the Café Francais celebrating the second anniversary of Marshall’s Chess Divan. A tournament was arranged at 20 seconds a move with 8 leading chess players. The event was won by Marshall, followed by David Janowski and Oscar Chajes. Nearly 100 guests participated in the annual dinner held in the banquet room of the Café Francais. Hermann Helms of the Brooklyn Chess Club was made honorary member in Marshall’s Chess Divan. (sources: American Chess Bulletin, May-June 1917, Vol 14, p. 110 and Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 30, 1917, p. 24)
In the summer of 1917, Frank Marshall moved his divan for chess and checkers to the Million Dollar Pier at Atlantic City, New Jersey. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 8, 1917, p. 30)
In November 1917, there was a large attendance at the Marshall Chess Divan as Frank Marshall played two blindfold games against consulting teams. He lost one game and drew the other. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 9, 1917, p. 9)
In December 1917, Frank Marshall played 10 boards in his first simul performance of the season at Marshall’s Chess Divan. He won all 10 games. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 14, 1917, p. 16)
In May 1918, Oscar Chajes, New York State Chess Champion, challenged Frank Marshall for a match for the United States championship. The conditions that Marshall wanted were the winner being the first to win 8 games, draws not counting, and the purse should not be less than $2,000. The time limit would be 30 moves in the first 2 hours, then 15 moves per hour after that. (source: American Chess Bulletin, 1918, vol 15, p. 138)
In September 1918, Sgt. Benjamin H. Marshall, a younger brother of Frank Marshall, served with the Quarter-Master’s Corps in Bordeaux. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 26, 1918, p. 18)
In October-November 1918, Marshall took 3rd in an international masters’ chess tournament at the Manhattan Chess Club, behind Jose Capablanca and Boris Kostic.
Frank Marshall is often quoted as saying, “almost any plan will be better than none.” Marshall never said this nor wrote it. It is a quote on advice for beginners by a writer in the Melbourne Times of Australia in 1918. (source: Washington Post, December 29, 1918, p. 2)
In 1919, the Marshall Chess Club played a four game match with the Brooklyn Chess Club - each game played without site of board. Marshall won his game, and the Marshall CC won the match.
In 1920 he won the American Chess Congress.
In 1922 the Marshall Chess Club was incorporated. That year he played 155 games simultaneously at the National Club in Montreal, Canada, a world record. He scored 126 wins, 21 draws, and 8 losses in just over 7 hours. When Marshall returned to New York, he was able to remember 154 of the 156 games.
In1923, Marshall defeated Edward Lasker for the U.S. chess championship with 5 wins, 4 losses, and 9 draws.
In 1924 he took 4th at the great New York 1924 International, behind Lasker, Capablanca, and Alekhine.
In 1925, Marshall appeared in the short Soviet film Chess Fever in a cameo appearance.
In the 1930s, Marshall captained the U.S. team to four gold medals at four Chess Olympiads.
In 1936, after holding the U.S. chess championship for 27 years, he relinquished it to the winner of a U.S. championship tournament. The first such tournament was sponsored by the National Chess Federation and held in New York. The Marshall Chess Club donated the trophy, and the first winner was Samuel Reshevsky.
In 1942 he published My Fifty Years of Chess, ghosted by Fred Reinfeld.
In 1944 Marshall was still playing chess, including correspondence chess during World War II.
On November 9, 1944 he was walking to some friend's house around 7:30 pm when he collapsed and died in the street of a heart attack. He was 67. For 57 years he played chess almost every day. He took a pocket chess set to bed with him at night so that he might record a game or position from his dreams.
His wife, Caroline, ran the Marshall Chess Club until her death in 1971.
Marshall’s nickname was “The Great Swindler.”
Frank Marshall quotes
“There is no place like home and I have been away long enough.” Quoted in July 1909 after Marshall’s return from Paris where he took 3rd-4th, behind Lasker and Pillsbury. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 9, 1900, p. 14)
“The United States championship is in the path of my ambition and the match [Pillsbury v. Marshall] is merely a matter of time.” (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 9, 1900, p. 14)
“I look upon chess as a contest of intellect and character over the open board. It is a game of life, in which he should be ready to give and take. He must be ready for any condition that may arise, as in every other battle of life. [Chess] is a contest of mind with mind and of will with will.” (source: Marshall’s Chess Swindles, Introduction, 1914)
“Among the rank and file of chess players and people in general, I think the serious turn that this conflict (World War I) as given to the thoughts of men will lead them to find their amusements more in the thoughtful recreation of chess than in the lighter forms of amusement. “ (source: Washington Post, January 10, 1915, p. 2)
“Chess players are not a little bit interested in petty squabbles over chess titles, but only in the production of great master chess games wrought out under the stress of play.” (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 20, 1916, p. 37)
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