19th Century Chess Trivia
In 1834, Jacques Francois Mouret (1780-1837), former operator of the Turk automaton and a French chess master, sold the secret to a magazine (Le Magasin Pittoresque). It was the first authentic revelation of the Turk. The article was called “An attempt to analyze the automaton chess-player of M. Kempelen.” Mouret became chess tutor of Louis Philippe I, king of France from 1830 to 1848.
On January 4, 1835, the first column to establish itself was that of George Walker (1803-1879) in Bell’s Life in London It continued for 38 years, until 1873. Bell’s Life in London was a weekly sporting paper published from 1822 to 1866.
In 1836, the world’s first periodical devoted to chess, Le Palamede, was founded and published in Paris by Louis-Charles Mahle de la Bourdonnais (1795-1840) and Joseph Mery. It ceased publication in 1839 but was revived in December 1841 by Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant (1800-1872). It then continued until the end of 1847. The magazine was named after Palamedes, the inventor of dice in Greek mythology. A total of 11 volumes were published.
In 1837, the first comprehensive survey of openings was published by Aaron Alexandre (1773-1850) in Paris. He tried to make a complete survey of the chess openings, publishing his findings as the Encyclopedie des echecs (Encyclopedia of Chess). Alexandre introduced the standard notation and the castling symbols O-O and O-O-O. Alexandre was one of the operators of the Turk automaton. For some time he was a rabbi, and afterward teacher of German at Paris, where he established a boarding school.
In February 1838, two correspondence games were played between the New York City Chess Clubs and Washington DC Chess Clubs. In New York, the games were played at Basford's club room. New York won the first game and the second game was a draw. (sources: New York Evening Post, Feb 21, 1838 and Bell’s Life in London, July 12, 1840)
In 1839, James Thompson (1804-1870) formed the New York Chess Club, along with Colonel Charles Dillingham Mead (1812-1876). The club held their meetings at the Carlton House. Thompson became a wealthy merchant and one of the strongest chess players in New York.
In 1841, English inventor William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) photographed two chess players playing chess. This may be the first instance of chess being in a photograph. He took 12 or more pictures of chess players. One photograph, titled Chess Players, was published in Nicolaas Henneman’s 1847 collection called Talbotypes. One of the chess players at the chess table is Antoine Claudet, a known friend of Talbot. His opponent is unknown.
In 1843, the first documented American chess tournament was held, a local event in New York.
In 1844, a Ladies’ Chess Club was formed in Liverpool, perhaps the earliest women’s chess club.
In April 1844, Samuel Morse (1791-1872), a chess player, wrote a letter to lawyer and politician Louis McLane (1786-1857) that one game of chess had been played via telegraph. This was before a line had even been strung between Washington, DC and Baltimore, a distance of 39 miles.
On November 23-25, 1844, the first known public telegraph match was played between the selected chess players of Baltimore and Washington, DC. The two cities were the first to be linked by an American telegraph set up by Samuel Morse. Seven games were played by telegraph. The games were played to test the accuracy of the telegraph as well as for the players own amusement. A numerical notation was used (the White pieces were on numbers 57 through 64). The 686 moves which made up the match were transmitted without a single mistake or interruption. The first chess game was played by Mr. Greene in Baltimore against Dr. Jones in Washington. Mr. Greene won. Washington won the match. Later, Morse thought playing chess was too frivolous a use of the telegraph, and no longer allowed the exchange over the wires on his telegraph.
In November 1845, the first 2-dimensional pocket chess set was devised by Dr. Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869), the creator of Roget’s Thesaurus. He called it the Economic Chess-Board and it was marketed by De La Rue in April 1846.
On July 1, 1846, the first German magazine, Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgesellschaft, was published by Dr. Ludwig Bledow (1795-1846). It was renamed Deutsche Schachzeitung in 1872. When it ceased publication in December 1988, it was the oldest existing chess magazine in the world. It was published regularly since its founding in 1846 except for a 5-year break (1945-1949) after World War II. In January 1989 the magazine merged in the Deutsche-Schachblatter. In 1997 it merged again in the Berlin magazine Schach.
In 1848, the first open chess tournament was held at Simpson's Grand Divan Tavern, located at 100 Strand in London. (source: Bird, Chess History and Reminiscences, 1893)
In 1854, the first problem-solving chess contest, held in London, was won by Walter Grimshaw (1832-1890). Grimshaw was a pawnbroker, and later became partial ownership of steamboats, making him a wealthy man. At age 58, he became despondent and committed suicide on Dec 22, 1890.
On July 5, 1854, the Turk automaton was destroyed by fire at the Chinese Museum in Philadelphia.
In 1855, the New-York Chess Club was formed by Frederick Perrin (1815-1889) at No. 158 East Tenth-street. It held its first tournament from March 1855 to May 1855, won by James Thompson. (source: New York Times, Jan 12, 1855)
In October 1855, the Brooklyn Chess Club was established at Montague Hall in Brooklyn. Its first president was Thomas Nichols. In 1856, D. S. Daniels was the president of the Brooklyn Chess Club. In 1858, the Brooklyn Chess Club at 280 Fulton Street in Brooklyn, New York as founded. In 1859, the Brooklyn Chess Club was the largest chess club in the United States, with 350 members. It was later headquartered in Bassford’s Billiard Rooms at the corner of Court and Ramsen streets. (source: New York Times, March 12, 1859)
On March 28, 1856, the first chess game by telegraph between Liverpool and Manchester (30 miles apart) was played. After 8 hours of play and 28 moves played, the clubs agreed to a draw. (sources: Manchester Guardian, Mar 29, 1856 and London Times, March 31, 1856)
In January 1857, lawyer Hardman Phillips Montgomery (1834-1870) of Philadelphia and librarian Daniel Willard Fiske (1831-1904) proposed a National Chess Congress. It was advertised in the March issue of The Chess Monthly. The first proposal was to have the tournament in Philadelphia (with just Philadelphia and New York chess players participating), but they were unable to fund it, so New York was chosen for the event. On March 26, 1857, a committee of 5 men was formed to organize the event. Both Montgomery and Fiske played in the National Chess Congress (later named the 1st American Chess Congress), which was held from Oct 6, 1857 to Nov 10, 1857 (won by Paul Morphy). (sources: The New York Times, Oct 9, 1857 and Fiske, The Book of the First American Chess Congress, 1859, pp. 51-53)
On February 18, 1858, Louis Paulsen (1833-1891) played 7 opponents blindfolded in Dubuque, Iowa, winning all 7 games. At the close of the games, Paulsen told the position of every piece on all 7 boards. At the time, Paulsen was a potato farmer in Dubuque and operated a tobacco store, beginning in 1854. In Dubuque, he began his blindfold exhibitions. He was later able to play 12 games blindfolded simultaneously. (sources: Davenport Daily Gazette, Feb 25, 1858 and Renette, Louis Paulsen: A Chess Biography with 719 games, 2019)
In January 1859, the first Russian magazine, Shakhmatny Listok (Chess Sheet), was published in St. Petersburg. It was published every month for 5 years. It was edited by Victor Mikhailov (1828-1883). The first 37 numbers were issued as a supplement to the scientific journal Russkoe Slovo (Russian Word). From 1862 to 1863, it appeared as an independent publication, after Russkoe Slovo had closed down. Alexander Petrov (1794-1867) and Carl Jaenisch (1813-1872) contributed chess articles, and Sergey Urusov’s (1827-1897) Guide to the Study of Chess was serialized in the magazine from 1859 to 1861. The magazine was funded by the wealthy G. Kushelev-Bezborodko, but was discontinued at the end of 1863 due to a lack of subscribers.
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) played chess while living in Springfield, Illinois. It was noted that he played a fair game of chess and checkers. He did play an occasional chess game at the White House. One of his chess sets is displayed in the Smithsonian. He also bought a chess set for his son, Tad, which is on display at the National Museum of American History. (sources: The New York Times, Nov 15, 1860; Janesville Daily Gazette, Nov 20, 1860; American Chess Magazine, Vol 2, 1898; Browne, The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1913; Burlingame, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, 2013; Kaplan, Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer, 2009; Miller, Lincoln and His World, 2013; Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln, the War Years, 1939; Whipple, The Story-life of Lincoln, 1908)
In 1861, the American Watch Company in Waltham, Massachusetts began to advertise their gold and silver watches, using a letter from Paul Morphy (1837-1884) as an endorsement. The price of the watch was $200. The first watch was given to Paul Morphy in May, 1859, at a Testimonial Dinner in New York. (sources: Steuben Republican (Angola, Indiana), March 30, 1861; Steuben Republican, Oct 26, 1861; and Chess Monthly, April 1859)
On July 5, 1862, the first international telegraph chess game was played between Hugh Alexander Kennedy (1809-1878) in England and Serafino Dubois (1817-1899) in Italy. Dubois won in 18 moves. In June 1862, a telegraph match was announced to take place between London and Paris as part of the British Chess Association meeting in London. (source: Illustrated London News, Jun 21, 1862, p. 644)
In November 1866, the first British Chess Championship (BCA Challenge Cup) was held in London and won by Cecil Valentine de Vere (1846-1875), age 20. He won 28 guineas. It was sponsored by the British Chess Association as part of an event at the 1866 London Congress. De Vere was the youngest British chess champion until 1984, when Nigel Short won it at the age of 19.
On June 3, 1867, Captain George Henry Mackenzie (1837-1891) won the 2nd US championship match against Gustavus Reichhelm (1839-1905) in Philadelphia (+7-0=2). The match was played at the Philadelphia Atheneum. Mackenzie won 7-0. There were two draws, but draws did not count. There was no purse of prize fund. Mackenzie remained U.S. champion and the strongest chess player in America for the next 20 years. (sources: New York Tribune, June 5, 1867 and Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, June 7, 1867)
On August 4, 1870, Adolf Anderssen (1818-1879) won at Baden-Baden (near the French border), ahead of Wilhelm Steinitz (1836-1900) and Joseph Henry Blackburne (1841-1924). This was the first strong international tournament, the first international tournament in Germany, and the first to be interrupted by a war. Anderssen won 3,000 francs, Steinitz won 600 francs, and Blackburne and Neumann on 200 francs each. Chess clocks were used for the first time. 20 moves had to be made in one hour. The players had a choice of using a chess clock or a sandglass. It was also the first time that draws counted for ½ point (Anderssen had 2 draws). On July 19, 1870, the day after the tournament began the Franco-Prussian War broke out. The southern German states took the side of Prussia. The war came within 12 miles of Baden-Baden, close enough for artillery to be heard. Adolf Stern, age 20, was a Bavarian reservist and left the tournament after 4 rounds to fight in the war. (sources: New York Times, Sep 2, 1870 and Tartajubow on Chess, May 19, 2017).
On Dec 4, 1871, the 2nd American Chess Congress was started at the Kennard House in Cleveland. One of the rules was that all games were property of the Chess Congress. On Dec 15, 1871, the 2nd American Chess Congress was won by George Mackenzie. He won $100 1st prize (over $1,500 today). There were only 9 players. William Houghton took last place, losing his first 10 games and forfeiting the rest for 16 lost games. Drawn games were replayed. During the 2nd American Chess Congress, the American Chess Association was formed. Preston Ware of Boston was elected President; John G. White of Cleveland was elected Secretary; J.S. Turner of New York was elected Treasurer. (sources: New York Times, Dec 16, 1871. the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dec 16, 1871, p. 3 and Book of the Second Chess Congress)
On July 7, 1874, the 3rd American Chess Congress began in Chicago. There were only 8 players. The players had to pay a $20 entry fee (over $250 today). For the first time in an organized U.S. chess tournament, draws were not required to be replayed. On July 16, 1874, George Mackenzie took 1st at the 3rd American Chess Congress and won $225. (source: Hannibal, The Third American Chess Congress, 1876)
In February-March, 1876 Wilhelm Steinitz played Joseph Blackburne at the West End Chess Club in London and made a clean score of 7 wins, no losses or draws. This was the first time spectators were charged and entrance fee (half a guinea) to see a chess match. Steinitz won 120 British pounds. After this chess match, Steinitz did not play any serious chess for 6 years. (source: London Daily News, Mar 3, 1876)
In August 1876, the 4th American Chess Congress was held in Philadelphia and won by James Mason (1949-1905). There were 9 players. Mason won $300. The event was of the American Centennial celebration.
On Jan 6, 1880, the 5th American Chess Congress started at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York. It had 10 players. During the 5th American Chess Congress, the Chess Association of the United States was formed. The temporary chairman of the association was William T. Minor (1815-1889) the former governor of Connecticut. The elected officers included Col John R. Fellows as President, Henry C Allen as Secretary, and Commander J. D. Beuglass as Treasurer. On Jan 26, 1880, George Mackenzie took 1st place on tiebreaks (2 wins) over James Grundy and won $500. The 5th American Chess Congress was the first to have a tie and playoff for an American title. The reputation of the Congress was shattered by an allegation of cheating between Grundy and Preston Ware. (source: New York Times, Jan 29, 1880)
In November 1883, George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862-1924) was given the chess table and chessmen that formerly belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte. The gift came from American financier and railroad tycoon James McHenry (1817-1891), who previously owned it in London. When Napoleon died, the physicians, when making their post-mortem examination, removed his heart and put it in one of the drawers of the chess table. The table still had the deep stains of blood on the inside of the drawer. Vanderbilt offered $10,000 for the table, but it was refused and McHenry gave it as a birthday gift to George since he had no use for the table. Napoleon’s chess set is on display in the library of the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC, built in 1895. (source: The Wilmington Daily Review, May 23, 1884)
On July 24, 1884, the British Chess Association was inaugurated, with one president and three vice presidents. The President was Earl Dartrey (Richard Dawson) from 1884 to 1885. The Vice Presidents were Lord Randolph Churchill (1849-1895), Sir Robert Peel (1822-1895), the eldest son of the prime minister, Robert Peel, and English writer John Ruskin (1819-1900). In 1885, Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) became President of the BCA. (sources: Illustrated London News, Aug 2, 1884, p. 114,; Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, Jan 17, 1885, p. 446,; The London Times, June 23, 1885; and British Chess Magazine, 1974, p. 174)
In September 1885, President Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) visited the Edem Musee where the automaton Ajeeb was on display in New York. Vice President Thomas Hendricks (1819-1885) played Ajeeb and lost (a smothered mate). One could play chess with Ajeeb for 25 cents or checkers for 10 cents. Over the years, Harry Houdini, Theodore Roosevelt, and O. Henry played Ajeeb. (source: The International Chess Magazine, Sep 1885)
On January 11, 1886 the first game for the official world chess championship began in the Dancing Academy Hall (Cartier’s Hall) on No. 50 5th Avenue in New York. The match was between William Steinitz (1836-1900) and Johannes Zukertort (1842-1888). Steinitz wanted the U.S. flag to be placed next to him during the match, even though he still was an Austrian citizen (he became an American citizen almost three years later). Less than 40 people were present (including two women) at the start of this historical match, despite Steinitz's daughter, Flora Steinitz (1867-1888), selling programs and photographs for 50 cents to earn a few extra dollars for the family. Steinitz couldn't even afford a winter coat for her daughter. The time control was 30 moves in 2 hours, with a 2 hour dinner break, then 15 moves an hour. A demonstration chess board was first used in this world championship match, run by George Mackenzie. Steinitz won the match with 10 wins and 5 draws. Zukertort scored 5 wins. (sources: New York Sun, Jan 12, 1886, p. 3 and New-York Daily Tribune, Jan 12, 1886, p. 5))
In August 1887, a chess match in Boston was being played by Major James Moore Hanham (1840-1923) of New York and Franklin Knowles Young (1857-1931) of Boston. Young was supposed to seal the adjourned move, but made his move instead. Hanham then claimed a draw on the ground that the rules had been violated. The arbiters (including William Steinitz) decided that Young had forfeited his game because of this neglect but would modify the penalty to a draw. Young then withdrew from the match and resigned his membership in the Boston Chess Club. (source: New York Times, Aug 15, 1887)
In September 1888, Jackson Showalter (1859-1935) won the first United States Chess Association (USCA) championship, held in Cincinnati. It was a 6-player double round-robin. He won 8, drew 2, and no losses in the first U. S. Chess Congress, which formed the USCA. Although Showalter became the USCA Champion, it was not accepted as the overall U.S. Chess Championship, which remained without a generally-accepted, systematized procedure.
On Jan 20, 1889, the second world championship match, Steinitz-Chigorin, began in Havana. On February 24, 1889, Steinitz defeated Chigorin, 10.5 - 6.5. 17 games had been played, but 20 games were scheduled. For games 18-20, Steinitz and Chigorin each took one of the organizers as his partner. The result was one win, one loss, and one draw. The prize was $1,150, the lowest ever for a world championship chess match.
On Dec 9, 1890, the 3rd world championship match, William Steinitz vs. Isidor Gunsberg (1854-1930), started in New York. Steinitz defended his title against Isidor Gunsberg of England (born in Hungary). Their match was held at the Manhattan Chess Club, 31 West 27th Street in New York. Steinitz won with 6 wins, 9 draws, and 4 losses. Steinitz received 2/3 of the total prize money ($3,000), and Gunsberg received 1/3. Gunsberg also received $150 traveling expenses from the Manhattan Chess Club. This was the first time a loser of a match took a share of the purse. In game 6, Gunsberg exceeded the time limit and should have lost, but Steinitz refused to claim a win. In game 18, Steinitz did not show up. The lelegram he had sent to excuse himself had been delayed. Gunsberg could have claimed the game, but he did not. When the game was played, Gunsberg lost. (source: New York Sun, Jan 20, 1891)
In May 1891, the old Spanish house on Royal Street, New Orleans, in which Paul Morphy (1837-1884) lived and died was, sold at auction for $6,000. It was the oldest house on the street, over 120 years old. Morphy’s father, Alonzo, purchased it for $90,000, but the house was now uninhabited and was a crumbling ruin. The house was sold at public auction to J. B. Esnard. Morphy’s brothers and sisters sold the mansion and today it is Brennan’s Restaurant located at 417 Royal Street.. (sources: New York Times, May 3, 1891 and Tartajubow on Chess, June 13, 2013)
On Oct 14, 1893, 24-year old Emanuel Lasker (1866-1941) won the 1893 Impromptu International Chess Tournament, held jointly at the Manhattan Chess Club and the Brooklyn Chess Club, with 13 straight wins and no losses and no draws. He won 4.5 points ahead of 2nd place Adolf Albin (1848-1920). (source: New York Times, Oct 18, 1893)
In December 1894, it was reported that Nellie Love Showalter (1870-1946) of New York City and Harriet Worrall (1836-1928) of Brooklyn, were playing a match for the women’s championship of the world (at least the United States). The match was played in New York City and Brooklyn. During the match, no one was admitted to the playing room, except the referee. Nellie Showalter won 3, lost 1, and drew one to beat Harriet Worrall. The match ended when Showalter got sick. (source: Wichita Daily Eagle, Dec 16, 1894 and Mansfield Daily Shield, Dec 21, 1894)
On March 9, 1895, the Manhattan Chess Club played the British Chess Club of London by cable. Only about 22 moves were played in each of the 10 games after 9 hours. One game was agreed drawn. All the other games were adjudicated as drawn by the new world chess champion, Emanuel Lasker. (source: New York Times, March 10, 1895)
On March 13, 1896, the first Anglo-American Cable Chess Match between Great Britain and the United States began. It was organized by the Brooklyn Chess Club, and would be the first Anglo-American chess match. The referee was Baron Albert von Rothschild (1844-1911). The players were required to be “native born.” The first team match had 8 players per side. The moves were transmitted by telegraph over a distance of 3,483 miles. Subsequent matches had 10 players per side. Sir George Newnes (1851-1910) was president of the British Chess Club and he provided a $800 silver cup that would go to the winning team. Newnes was an editor and publisher of magazines in Britain. He was the first to publish the Sherlock Holmes mystery series, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The US team won, scoring 4.5 to 3.5. USA won the first match, 4.5 to 3.5. (source: New York Times, Mar 15, 1896)
On May
31st to June 1st, 1897, a cable match was
arranged between five members of the U.S. House of Representatives (3
Democrats, 1 Republican, and 1 Populist) in Washington, DC, and five members of
the British House of Commons in London. The match was called The Parliamentary
Cable match. Prior to the match House
Members competed against each other to select the best chess players. The top congressional players trained at the
Metropolitan Club of Washington. The
match ended in a draw, 2.5 to 2.5. This match was arranged by Richmond Pearson
(1852-1923), U.S. Representative of North Carolina and Sir John Heaton
(1848-1914), a British Conservative Member of Parliament. In this match, a
record of time in cable matches was established. Twenty moves were cabled in
21.5 minutes, one move going to and from Washington in 14 seconds. The signals were carried by the Anglo American
Telegraph Company and the Western Union Telegraph Company. (sources: Chess
Maniac, Dec 10, 2013 and Tartajubow
on Chess, Dec 21, 2017)
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