Chess History And Reminiscences
two first and greatest were held at Perrott's, Milk St., in 1873
and 1874.
Continuing with the chess giants of more modern date, Mason's
great powers became developed in 1876, and Tchigorin of St.
Petersburg, a splendid player came to the front in 1881. Equal to
him in force, perhaps, if not in style, and yet more remarkable in
their records of success are the present champions Dr. Tarrasch of
Nuremberg and E. Lasker of Berlin. The Havanna people, who,
for five or six years past have spent more money on great personal
chess encounters than all the rest of the world combined, have put
forth Walbrodt of Leipzig. In the above mentioned four players,
chess interest for a time will mostly centre, with Steinitz, yet
unvanquished, and, as many consider, able to beat them all, the
future must be of unique interest, and the year 1893 may decide
which of five favourite foreign players will be entitled to
rank as the world's champion of chess, so far as can be decided
by matches played on existing conditions.
Chess with clocks and the tedious slow time limit of fifteen
moves an hour (say a working day for a single game) must not be
confounded with genuine, useful and enjoyable chess without
distracting time encumbrances as formerly played. Played at the
pace and on the conditions which the exigencies of daily, yea
hourly, life and labour admit of experience shews that there are
yet English exponents that can render a good account of any of
the foreign players.
First class chess enthusiasm and support for the past year has
been limited to Newcastle-on-Tyne and Belfast. The unbounded
and impartial liberality of these very important cities has met
with gratifying reward in the increased appreciation of their
efforts and the enhanced number of club members and interest in
the general circle. These highly successful meetings, however,
have caused no impetus in metropolitan management, and has seemed
to divert the attention of chess editors and the responsible
powers entirely from the fact that the London 1892 First Class
International Chess Tournament promised has been altogether
neglected, if not forgotten. We are thus in grave default with
the German and Dutch Chess Associations, who have so faithfully
and punctually fulfilled every engagement.
The forthcoming monster chess competition at Birmingham,
from which first class players are excluded can scarcely be deemed
a fitting substitute for our owing International engagement with
any true lover of chess and its friendly reciprocity, and least
of all in the eyes of our foreign chess brethren and entertainers.
NOTE. This monster Chess Contest between the North and the South of
England, represented by 106 competitors on each side, which
terminated in a victory for the South by 53 1/2 to 52 1/2, took
place at Birmingham on Saturday, the 28th January last, and has
occasioned considerable interest among the votaries of the game
and reports pronounce it a great success.
As affording indications of general chess progress, since the
game became a recognized item of public recreationary
intelligence, and the time of the pioneer International Chess
Tournament of all nations, London 1851, the event may be deemed
of some import and significance, as evidence of the vastly
increased popularity of the game, but the play seems not to have
been productive of many very high specimens of the art of chess,
and has not been conspicuous for enterprise or originality, and
if these exhibitions are to take the place of the kind of
International Tournaments hitherto held, much improvement must
be manifested, before they can be deemed worthy substitutes,
even from a national point of view only.
Books on the openings in chess have continued fairly popular,
but it is singular how very little novelty or originality has
been imparted into them. Since Staunton and Wormald's works, and
the German hand-books, the Modern Chess Instructor of Mr.
Steinitz, 1889, was looked forward to with the greatest
interest, and the second of the several volumes of which it was to
consist, promised for September, 1890, is still awaited with
anxious expectation. In regard to the practice of the game, the
lack of national chess spirit, or organization, and the
extraordinary denominating influence of the foreign element, is
the remarkable and conspicuous characteristic, and the modest
seat assigned to British Masters in the Retrospects of 1889
and 1890 (Times), will it is feared have to be placed yet
further back.
The Chess Openings:
Considered Critically And Practically
By H. E. BIRD.
"This is the work of one of the most distinguished of
English players. Since the death of Mr. Staunton
nobody can more fairly claim to represent the national
school of players than Mr. H. E. BIRD, who took part in the first
International Tournament of 1851, and also played at Vienna in
1873, at Philadelphia, and recently at Paris. Perhaps his most
brilliant performances have been in single matches, in two of
which he made an equal score with Falkbeer, while, in 1867,
when contending against Steinitz (fresh from his victory over
Anderssen), he won six games against his opponent's seven, while
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