The Book of the Sixth American Chess Congress, containing the games of the International Chess Tournament held at New York in 1889

William Steinitz (1836-1900)

Edité par Sixth American Chess Congress, New York, 1891

A propos de cet article

xxxviii+490 pages with table and diagrams. Royal octavo (9 3/4" x 7") bound in original publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering to spine and black chess pictorial to both covers. Limited to 500 copies. This is copy 88 issued to F M Teed of Brooklyn New York. (Betts: 25-26). First edition. Contains the report of the Congress Committee and all 432 games with notes by Steinitz. This was a 20-man Double Round Robin Tournament. One of the longest tournaments in history. In the first half of the tournament, draws were counted as a half point. In the second half, they were replayed once. Between the 38 regular rounds, 8 replay rounds, and 4 game playoff for first at the end, there were 50 rounds all told (!). Like the 4th Congress, this tournament consisted largely of foreign masters. The retirement of Captain Mackenzie seems to date from this time (though some sources credit him as US Champion until his death in 1891), giving the top American finisher some claim on being de facto US Champion. The top American finisher was Solomon Lipschutz, who finished in 6th Place with a score of +22-9=7 Chess was on the rise in the United States during the 1880s, and the imagination of the world was captured in the form of a new individual: the World Chess Champion. Wilhelm Steinitz had claimed the title for himself after defeating Johannes Zukertort in a match in 1886, and in the following years in his new adopted home of the USA Steinitz would be a positive promotional force. W. W. Ellsworth and Constantine Schubert, with the urging and support of Steinitz, prepared a proposal for the Sixth American Chess Congress. The main event would be a double round robin tournament of twenty players. A world championship match would then follow on the results. When the required sum of $5000 became available in 1888, the tournament was scheduled for the following year. It was during this period that Steinitz and Mikhail Chigorin played their first world championship match in Havana from January 20th until February 24th 1889. Steinitz won 10½-6½. New York 1889 started a month later. Steinitz withdrew as a participant, much to the horror of the organizing committee, but he remained available for administrative tasks and as journalist to report on the games each day. He would also later author the tournament book. Participants included ten Europeans: Henry Bird, Joseph Blackburne, Amos Burn, Mikhail Chigorin, George Gossip, Isidor Gunsberg, James Mason, William Pollock, Jean Taubenhaus, and Max Weiss; and ten players from the Americas: D. G. Baird, J. W. Baird, Constant Burille, Eugene Delmar, James Hanham, Max Judd, Samuel Lipschütz, Nicholas MacLeod, Dionisio Martinez, and Jackson Showalter. The schedule called for six games played per week at 8 Union Square. Play began at 1pm and continued until 5pm with a break for dinner and then resumed as necessary at 7pm with games adjourned at 11pm. Adjourned games were completed on rest days. A time limit of 15 moves per hour was regulated by stop-clocks. Draws counted as half a point in the first cycle of nineteen rounds, but had to be replayed once during the second cycle, with the second result standing. The tournament lasted from March 25th until May 27th 1889. The 6th Chess Congress consisted of 38 normal rounds, 8 replay rounds, and 4 playoff rounds, for a grand total of 50 rounds. A $50 cash prize donated by Frank Rudd and Fred Wehle was awarded to Gunsberg for the best game of the tournament for his win against Mason in the first cycle of rounds. A second $50 cash prize donated by Isaac Rice was awarded to Pollock for his brilliant win over Weiss in their game from the second cycle of rounds. The star of the event was Max Weiss. He won sixteen and drew seven games before the first replay round during the second cycle. That day started with a win in 68 moves. Thereafter the game against DG Baird was replayed. Weiss achieved a won endgame but lost in 113 moves eventually. His accuracy was gone and he lost aga.

N° de réf. du vendeur C0149

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: The Book of the Sixth American Chess Congress, containing the games of the International Chess Tournament held at New York in 1889
• Éditeur: Sixth American Chess Congress, New York
• Date de parution: 1891
• Reliure: Hardcover
• Édition: 1st Edition
• État de l'article: Good
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Chess