Cambridge Springs, 1904

by Bill Wall

Bill Wall

Two Bishops
against a Bishop
and a Knight
constitute a
tangible
advantage. —
Reuben Fine

Get the Games

Cambridge Springs was a health resort town (population

1,500) in northwestern Pennsylvania, famous for its spas
and mineral waters. It advertised that it was the town that
was halfway between New York and Chicago when you
took the Erie Railroad line. Cambridge Springs is about 30
miles south of Erie, Pennsylvania.
The town was founded in the early 1800s by German and
Irish families. It was first called Cambridge Township,
then Cambridgeboro. In 1897 it was changed to Cambridge
Springs to acknowledge the importance of the mineral
springs in the area. The mineral waters were supposed to
cure almost anything.

In 1895, William Douglas Rider, Jr. (1846-1905) started

construction of what he hoped would be the greatest hotel
between New York City and Chicago. The hotel was
completed in 1897. It had over 500 rooms in a 7-story
building on 5 acres. The hotel had its own theatre, two
gymnasiums, bowling alleys, and an indoor pool. Every
room had a telephone. The hotel grounds included a 9-hole
golf course and a man-made lake. The hotel had over 3,000
incandescent and arc lights from its own electric plant. The
lobby could accommodate 1,000 guests comfortably.

In 1903, Rider wanted an international chess tournament at

his Rider resort hotel. Most of the support and funding was
provided by Rider and the directors of the Erie Railroad
Company. Additional support was received from chess
clubs around the country in the form of subscriptions to the
daily chess bulletins. Another financial backer was
Professor Isaac Leopold Rice (1850-1915), a millionaire
who made his fortune as a corporate lawyer. He was a
chess patron who gave his name to the Rice Gambit in the
King's Gambit Accepted (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4
g4 5.Ne5 Nf6 6.Bc4 d5 7.exd5 Bd6 8.O-O Bxe5 9.Re1).
Another financial backer was Baron Albert de Rothschild
(1844-1911) of Vienna.

In September 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-

1919)announced that he would offer a trophy to the winner
of the Cambridge Springs chess tournament. While
regretting his inability to go to Cambridge Springs during
the tournament he expressed his intention of tendering the
competitors and committee a special reception at the White
House. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sep 19, 1903)

The prize fund was $3,100 (equivalent to $86,000 in

today's money; $100 in 1904 would cost $2,800 in 2018).
The event would be played from April 25 to May 19, 1904
and be called the 1904 Cambridge Springs International
Chess Congress. It was the first international tournament in
America in the 20th century. It was the first major
international chess tournament in America since the Sixth
American Chess Congress in 1889, held in New York.
There would not be another major international chess
tournament in American until the New York 1924
tournament.

Baron Rothschild donated $100 (20 British pounds) for the

brilliancy prize of the tournament.

The invited chess players that participated were John

Barry, Mikhail Chigorin, Eugene Delmar, Albert Fox,
Albert Hodges, David Janowski, Emanuel Lasker, Thomas
Lawrence, Georg Marco, Frank Marshall, Jacque Mieses,
William Napier, Harry Pillsbury, Carl Schlechter, Jackson
Showalter, and Richard Teichmann.

Geza Maroczy was invited, but he telegraphed that the

authorities of the university where he is a Professor of
Mathematics could not give him leave for the necessary
period of absence (source: British Chess Magazine, May
1904, p. 191). Samuel Lipschuetz (1863-1905) was invited,
but he had to withdraw his entry on advice from his doctor
in view of the severe strain on his lungs for such an event.
Siegbert Tarrasch was invited, but he was busy as a
medical doctor and was avoiding chess tournament in
which Emanuel Lasker was participating. They would not
face each other until St. Petersburg 1914. Two other
possible invitees were Amos Burn and Henry Atkins.
Julius Finn (1871-1931), former New York State
Champion, was supposed to be one of the replacements,
but that did not occur. Also, Edward Hymes would have
been chosen as a replacement, but he said he could not
spare the time from his professional duties as an attorney.

On Friday, April 15, 1904, eight of the strongest chess

players from Europe arrived in New York by ship (S.S.
Pretoria). This included current world chess champion
(1894-1921) Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941) coming from
Berlin, Russian champion and number two player in the
world Mikhail Chigorin (1850-1908) coming from St.
Petersburg, number 6 player in the world Carl Schlechter
(1874-1918) coming from Vienna, Berlin champion and
number 7 player in the world Richard Teichmann (1868-
1925), French champion and number 8 player in the world
David Janowski (1868-1927) coming from Paris, Viennese
champion and number 11 player in the world Georg Marco
(1863-1923) coming from Vienna, German master and
number 15 player in the world Jacques Mieses (1865-1954)
coming from Leipzig, and 6-time London champion
Thomas Lawrence (1871-1953) coming from London.

Along with the European masters, the Americans had,

American champion and number 3 player in the world
Harry Nelson Pillsbury (1872-1906) coming from
Philadelphia, New York champion and number 10 player
in the world Frank Marshall (1877-1944) coming from
Brooklyn, former American champion Jackson Showalter
(1860-1935) coming from Kentucky, Brooklyn Chess Club
champion Albert Fox (1881-1964) coming from New
York, former Brooklyn champion William Napier (1881-
1952) coming from Pittsburgh (he won the British
championship after this tournament in 1904), former US
Champion and New York State Champion Albert Hodges
(1861-1944) coming from Staten Island, New England
champion John Barry (1873-1940) coming from Boston,
and 4-time NY State Champion Eugene Delmar (1841-
1909) coming from New York.

Of the top 11 players on the world, only Tarrasch (#4) ,

Maroczy (#5), and Blackburne (#9) were missing.

On April 15, 1904, there was a Mayor's reception of the

chess players at City Hall in Manhattan. That evening,
there was dinner for all the chess players at the residence of
Isaac Rice.

On April 16, 1904, there was a dinner for the chess players
at the Manhattan Chess Club.

On April 17, 1904, there was a reception for the chess

players at the Cosmopolitan Chess Club in New York.

On April 18, 1904, there was a reception for the chess

players at the Brooklyn Chess Club.
On April 19, 1904, the European masters traveled to
Washington, D.C. where they were greeted by President
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) at the White House. They
then traveled to New York, toured the city, and then went
on to Cambridge Springs.

The participants for the tournament arrived in Cambridge

Springs on April 22, 1904.

On April 25, 1904 the first round of one of the strongest

chess tournaments ever held began at the Hotel Rider in
Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. The event was a single-
round-robin tournament. Games were played on Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday was for
adjourned games to be played. Saturdays were for Rice
Gambit consultation games.

The tournament rules, adopted from the 1895 Hastings

Chess Congress, forbade consultation on adjourned games.
You could not even enter a room with any other player
during the intermission period between 3 pm and 5 pm. No
draws were allowed under 30 moves unless it was a forced
draw (there were only 2 draws less than 30 moves). Play
was from 10 am to 3 pm, then from 5 pm to 7 pm. The time
control was 30 moves in 2 hours, then 15 moves each hour
thereafter.

The rules were adopted by the players on April 24, 1904.

World champion Lasker had not played in a chess

tournament in four years. His last tournament was Paris in
May-June 1900, which he won with 14 wins, 1 draw, and 1
loss. He would not play in another chess tournament after
Cambridge Springs for another 5 years (St. Petersburg
1909), which he tied for 1st with Rubinstein.

For the first time in chess tournament history, a daily chess

bulletin was produced showing all the games from the
previous day's round. The daily chess bulletins were sold to
chess clubs around the country.

Cambridge Springs was the first international tournament

for Barry, Fox, Hodges, and Lawrence.
The tournament was held on the stage in the theatre of the
Rider Hotel, which could seat 500 people. Over 200
reporters from around the world were present for the chess
tournament.

During the tournament, a Rice Gambit consultation team

event was held.

Historical ratings of the players were: Marshall — 2658,

Janowski — 2750, Lasker — 2675, Showalter — 2599,
Chigorin — 2759, Mieses — 2653, Marco — 2655,
Schlechter — 2727, Fox — 2590, Lawrence — 2621,
Pillsbury — 2771, Teichmann — 2705, Barry — 2568,
Delmar — 2524, Napier — 2625, and Hodges — 2496.

Round 1: April 25, 1904

Barry — Napier (0-1) Petroff Defense

Lasker — Delmar (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Lawrence — Janowski (0-1) Ruy Lopez
Marshall — Chigorin (draw) Queen's Gambit Declined
Mieses — Marco (1-0) Vienna Opening
Pillsbury — Fox (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Schlechter — Showalter (draw) Queen's Gambit Declined
Teichmann — Hodges (1-0) Petroff Defense

Round 2: April 26

Chigorin — Hodges (0-1) Center Counter Defense

Delmar — Lawrence (draw) Queen Pawn Opening
Fox — Barry (1-0) Ruy Lopez
Janowski — Schlechter (1-0) Four Knights Defense
Marco — Lasker (draw) Ruy Lopez
Marshall — Pillsbury (1-0) Pirc Defense
Napier — Mieses (0-1) Sicilian Defense
Showalter — Teichmann (0-1) Queen Pawn Opening

Round 3: April 28

Barry — Marshall (0-1) Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Variation

Hodges — Showalter (draw) Ruy Lopez
Lasker — Napier (1-0) Sicilian Defense
Lawrence — Marco (0-1) Four Knights
Mieses — Fox (1-0) Sicilian, Closed
Pillsbury — Chigorin (draw) Queen's Gambit Declined
Schlechter — Delmar (draw) Philidor
Teichmann — Janowski (0-1) Ruy Lopez

Round 4: April 29

Chigorin — Showalter (0-1) French Defense, 2. Qe2

Delmar — Teichmann (0-1) Four Knights
Fox — Lasker (0-1) Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation
Janowski — Hodges (1-0) Ruy Lopez
Marco — Schlechter (draw) Sicilian Defense
Marshall — Mieses (1-0) Queen's Gambit Accepted
Napier — Lawrence (0-1) Ruy Lopez
Pillsbury — Barry (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Round 5: May 2

Barry — Chigorin (0-1) Ruy Lopez

Hodges — Delmar (0-1) Ruy Lopez
Lasker — Marshalll (draw) Sicilian Defense
Lawrence — Fox (0-1) Sicilian, Closed Variation
Mieses — Pillsbury (1-0) Petroff Defense
Schlechter — Napier (1-0) Four Knights
Showalter — Janowski (draw) Ruy Lopez
Teichmann — Marco (1-0) Petroff Defense

Round 6: May 3

Barry — Mieses (draw) Sicilian, Closed

Chigorin — Janowski (0-1) Four Knights
Delmar — Showalter (0-1) Four Knights
Fox — Schlechter (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Marco — Hodges (1-0) Ruy Lopez
Marshall — Lawrence (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Napier — Teichmann (0-1) Queen's Gambit Declined
Pillsbury — Lasker (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined

Round 7: May 5

Hodges — Napier (0-1) Queen's Gambit Declined

Janowski — Delmar (1-0) Owen's Defense
Lasker — Barry (draw) Dutch Defense
Lawrence — Pillsbury (1-0) Sicilian, Closed
Mieses — Chigorin (0-1) Danish Gambit
Schlechter — Marshall (0-1) Bishop's Opening
Showalter — Marco (draw) Queen Pawn
Teichmann — Fox (0-1) Queen Pawn

Round 8: May 6

Barry — Lawrence (draw) Ruy Lopez

Chigorin — Delmar (1-0) King's Gambit Declined
Fox — Hodges (0-1) Ruy Lopez
Marco — Janowski (draw) Ruy Lopez
Marshall — Teichmann (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Mieses — Lasker (0-1) Ruy Lopez
Napier — Showalter (draw) Ruy Lopez
Pillsbury — Schlechter (draw) Ruy Lopez

Round 9: May 9

Delmar — Marco (0-1) Four Knights

Hodges — Marshall (0-1) Ruy Lopez, Schliemann
Variation
Janowski — Napier (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Lasker — Chigorin (1-0) Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation
Lawrence — Mieses (1-0) Sicilian Defense
Schlechter — Barry (draw) Petroff Defense
Showalter — Fox (draw) Sicilian, Closed
Teichmann — Pillsbury (draw) Petroff Defense

Round 10: May 10

Barry — Teichmann (1-0) Ruy Lopez

Chigorin — Marco (0-1) French, 2.Qe2
Fox — Janowski (1-0) Ruy Lopez
Lasker — Lawrence (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Marshall — Showalter (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Mieses — Schlechter (draw) Sicilian Defense
Napier — Delmar (draw) Philidor's Defense
Pillsbury — Hodges (draw) Owen's Defense
Round 11: May 11

Delmar — Fox (1-0) Bird's Opening

Hodges — Barry (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Janowski — Marshall (0-1) Queen's Gambit Declined
Lawrence — Chigorin (draw) Ruy Lopez
Marco — Napier (draw) Petroff Defense
Schlechter — Lasker (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Showalter — Pillsbury (1-0) Petroff Defense
Teichmann — Mieses (0-1) Sicilian, Closed

Round 12: May 13

Barry — Showalter (draw) Ruy Lopez

Chigorin — Napier (1-0) Sicilian Defense
Fox — Marco (0-1) Ruy Lopez
Lasker — Teichmann (1-0) Petroff Defense
Lawrence — Schlechter (0-1) Sicilian, Closed
Marshall — Delmar (1-0) Dutch Defense
Mieses — Hodges (1-0) Sicilian Defense
Pillsbury — Janowski (0-1) Queen's Gambit Declined
Round 13: May 16

Delmar — Pillsbury (0-1) Petroff Defense

Hodges — Lasker (0-1) Queen's Gambit Declined
Janowski — Barry (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Marco — Marshall (draw) Ruy Lopez, Schliemann
Variation
Napier — Fox (1-0) Queen's Gambit Declined
Schlechter — Chigorin (0-1) Ruy Lopez
Showalter — Mieses (1-0) Queen's Gambit Accepted
Teichamann — Lawrence (draw) Ruy Lopez

Round 14: May 17

Barry — Delamr (1-0) French Defense, Exchange

Variation
Chigorin — Fox (0-1) French Defense, Classical Variation
Lasker — Showalter (draw) Ruy Lopez, Exchange
Variation
Lawrence — Hodges (0-1) Sicilian Defense
Marshall — Napier (draw) Queen's Gambit Declined
Mieses — Janowski (0-1) Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation
Pillsbury — Marco (draw) Queen's Gambit Declined
Schlechter — Teichmann (draw) Queen's Gambit Declined
Round 15: May 19, 1904

Delmar — Mieses (1-0) Sicilian Defense, Wing Gambit

Fox — Marshall (0-1) Sicilian Defense
Hodges — Schlechter (0-1) Sicilian Defense
Janowski — Lasker (0-1) Four Knights
Marco — Barry (draw) Ruy Lopez
Napier — Pillsbury (draw) Pirc Defense
Showalter — Lawrence (draw) Queen's Gambit Declined
Teichmann — Chigorin (0-1) Queen's Gambit Declined

On May 19, 1904, Frank Marshall, age 26, won the

Cambridge Springs International with 13 points out of 15
(undefeated) and winning $1,000 (equivalent to $24,000 in
today's money!). He won 11 games and drew 4 (drew with
Lasker, Marco, Chigorin, and Napier). This event was
considered Marshall's greatest triumph. The British Chess
Magazine called Marshall's victory one of the most
remarkable events in chess history.

Lasker and Janowski (both 35 years old) tied for 2nd-3rd

with 11 out of 15. Lasker lost to Schlechter and Pillsbury
in round 6. Janowski lost to Marshall, Lasker, and Fox.
The players split $900.

Marco (age 40) took 4th place ($200) with 9 points;

Showalter (age 43) took 5th place ($165) with 8.5 points;
Schlechter (age 29) and Chigorin (age 53) took 6th-th place
(split $135) with 7.5 points; Mieses (age 38) and Pillsbury
(age 31) took 8th-9th place with 7 points; Teichmann (age
35) and Fox (age 23) took 10th-11th place with 6.5 points;
Napier (age 22) and Lawrence (age 33) took 12th-13th
place with 5.5 points; Hodges (age 42) and Barry (age 31)
took 14th-15th place with 5 points; Delmar (age 53) took
16th (last) place with 3 wins, 3 draws, and 9 losses, for 4.5
points. Delmar was the oldest player. Napier and Fox were
the youngest players.

Baron von Rothchild contributed $100 in brilliancy prizes.

First prize ($40) went to Schlechter for his win against
Lasker. Second prize ($25) went to Napier for his win
against Barry. Third and fourth prizes ($35) went to
Janowski for his win against Chigorin, and to Delmar for
his win against Hodges. (source: American Chess Bulletin,
Nov 1904, p. 127)

This tournament was probably the strongest international

tournament held on American soil.

This was Pillsbury's last tournament. He died 2 years later

at the age of 33. Napier started dating Pillsbury's niece and
later married her.

Out of the tournament came the opening known as the

Cambridge Springs Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6
4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.e3 c6 6.Nf3 Qa5). This opening was actually
introduced by Pillsbury at Nuremberg in 1896. Three
games used this opening. Teichmann as Black tried it
against Marshall in round 8 and lost in 58 moves, then tried
it against Schlechter in round 14 and drew in 30 moves.
Barry tried it against Hodges in round 11 and lost in 23
moves, so it was not successful.

The daily chess bulletins produced by Hermann Helms

proved so popular that Helms started the American Chess
Bulletin. In June 1904, the American Chess Bulletin,
Volume 1, No. 1, was published by Hermann Helms and
Hartwig Cassel. It included all 120 games from Cambridge
Springs and was the first "book" written about the
tournament. The American Chess Bulletin would be edited
and published by Helms from 1904 until his death in 1963.

Just after the tournament, Marshall's father and Showalter's

father (age 94) died.

After the tournament, Napier went to England where he

won the London championship in July-August and the first
British Chess Federation championship in August-
September. After this event he retired from chess.

After the tournament, Teichmann went to London and won

the Rice Gambit tournament.

After the tournament, Schlechter went to Coburg, Germany

and tied for 1st at Coburg (14th German Chess
Association).

In October 1904, Marshall won the 7th American Chess

Congress in St. Louis.

In November 1904, Lasker decided to stay in the United

States and started his own chess magazine. The magazine
continued until 1909.

Chigorin returned to Russia and won the St Petersburg

championship.

Rider wanted to continue holding annual international

chess tournaments in Cambridge Springs, but he died on
September 13, 1905.

In 1906, Harry Pillsbury died of syphillis.

The Rider Hotel was later renamed the Vanadium.

In 1912, the Hotel Rider was sold to the Polish National

Alliance College. President William Taft was on hand for
the opening ceremonies of the new technical school in
October 1912. The building burned to the ground in 1931.
Later rebuilt, the college housed the largest collection of
Polish writing in the United States. Alliance College
operated at Cambridge Springs until it closed in 1987. The
buildings now houe a correctional facility for women.

In 1935 Fred Reinfeld published a book on the Cambridge

Springs event.

In 1988 the U.S. Chess Championship was held in

Cambridge Springs. The chess championship was held in
one of the few hotels remaining from the railroad resort
era, the Riverside Inn, built in the late 1880s.

In 2004, the Cambridge Springs chess tournament had its

Centennial celebration. GM Larry Evans gave a lecture and
a simultaneous exhibition.

The Players:

John Finan Barry (1873-1940) was a Boston lawyer and

strong chess amateur. He served as Clerk of the Municipal
Court in Boston for 28 years. He played in 12 of the 13
Anglo-American (1896-1911) cable matches, missing the
1908 match because of a misdelivered invitation. In 1893,
he played a match against Harry Nelson Pillsbury and was
4 games up, but then lost 5 games and drew one game to
lose the match. In 1896, he played a match against Jackson
Whipps Showalter for the U.S. chess championship, but
lost after winning 2, losing 7, and drawing 4. He played at
Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania in 1904. He was New
England champion from 1912 to 1935. He was president of
the Boston Chess Club. In 1915, he began a chess column
in the Boston Transcript that ran for 25 years. He died in
West Roxbury, Massachusetts on April 9, 1940.

Mikhail Ivanovitch Chigorin (Tchigorin) (1850-1908) was

founder of the Russian school of chess. He was the first
public chess worker, organizer, and journalist in Russia. He
learned to play in at the age of 16. His schoolteacher taught
him to play, but he did not take chess seriously until he was
27 and working as a government officer. For seven years,
he did not play chess at all. In 1873 he started playing
chess seriously and hustling chess at the Cafe Dominic in
St. Petersburg. He was 23. By the age of 28, he would be
the strongest chessplayer in Russia. In 1875, he gave up his
government post job to be a full time chessplayer after
being encouraged by Winawer. Chigorin was the first
Russian to devote all his life to chess. His first chess
magazine, Schachmati Westnik (Chess Sheet), only had
250 subscribers in all of Russia. From 1878 to 1907 he was
considered the best Russian chessplayer. In 1881, he
played in his first international chess tournament, held in
Berlin. He tied for 3rd place, behind Blackburne and
Zukertort. In 1889 he unsuccessfully challenged William
Steinitz for the world championship in Havana, which
ended after 17 games and only one draw (the last game).
Steinitz had won 10 and lost 6. A month later Chigorin tied
with Weiss for 1st place in America's first international
tournament, New York 1889. He took second place in the
Hastings 1895 tournament (behind Pillsbury). Chigorin
was only ½ point behind Pillsbury and was leading up to
the last round. However, Chigorin lost his last round game
to Janowski and missed winning 1st prize. At Hastings
1895 he won a ring and a copy of Salvoli's The Theory and
Practice of Chess for winning the most Evans Gambits. He
won the first three All-Russia tournaments (1899, 1900-01,
1903). In 1958 the USSR issued a chess stamp with a
portrait of Chigorin. He learned chess at age 16 (some
sources say he learned chess in his early 20s). At 9:50 pm
on January 25, 1908 (Jan 12, Old Style) Mikhail Chigorin
died of diabetes in Lublin, Poland at the age of 57. Several
years later, his body was moved to the Novodevichy
Cemetery in St. Petersburg.
Eugene Delmar (1841-1909) was born in New York City
on September 12. 1841. In 1874, he won the Brookyn
Chess Club championship. In 1876, he tied for 2nd place in
the New York Clipper tournament, behind James Mason.
In 1879, he defeated Sam Loyd in a match in New York
(+5-1=2). In 1885, he won the 7th and 8th Manhattan
Chess Club championship. In 1888, he defeated Samuel
Lipschuetz in a match in New York (+5-3=0). In 1890,
1891, 1895, and 1897, he won the New York State Chess
Association championship. In 1904, he took last place at
Cambridge Springs (+3-9=3). For over 50 years, he was a
leading chessplayer in America. He died on February 22,
1909 in New York City.

Dr. Albert Whiting Fox (1881-1964) was an American

chess master from Boston. In 1905/06 he won the
Manhattan Chess Club Championship.

Albert Beauregard Hodges (1861-1944) was a former U.S.

chess champion. He learned chess at age 19. His first job
was a hidden operator of Ajeeb, the chess automaton, at the
Eden Musee in New York. He then won the championship
of the Manhattan Chess Club and also became New York
State Champion. He took part in all 13 Anglo-American
cable matches without losing a single game. He founded
the Staten Island Chess Club and served as its President for
12 years. He won the U.S. chess championship in 1894 by
defeating Jackson Whipps Showalter in a championship
match by the score of 5-3 with one draw. After
accomplishing his life's goal of becoming the U.S. chess
champion, he announced he was retiring from chess and
never defended his title. He then became an accountant and
businessman and gave up chess. He played 5 world
champions over a period of 60 years. He died of a heart
attack at his Staten Island home.

David (Dawid) Markyelovich Janowski (1868-1927) was a

Polish-born French chessplayer of Grandmaster strength
and addicted gambler. In 1901, he won an international
tournament at Monte Carlo and lost all his first-place
money in the casino the same evening the tournament
ended. The casino management had to buy his ticket home.
In another event he handed his money to a friend and made
him promise not to return it until after the chess
tournament. However, the lure of gambling proved too
strong and he begged for the return of his money. His
friend refused. Janowski was so infuriated that he sued his
friend. Janowski had a chess patron, the Dutch painter Leo
Nardus who, for many years, supported him in chess. He
lost his support when Janowski called Nardus a chess idiot
when Nardus suggested an alternate move during an
analysis of one of Janowski's games. Janowski was famous
for his complaints which served as alibis when he lost. At
one tournament, every one of his requests was granted and
for the first he had nothing to complain about. When he
lost the tournament he said, "You have deprived me of any
alibi. How did you expect me to play good chess?" He died
of tuberculosis, the night before he was to start play in a
small chess tournament in Hyeres, France. A subscription
was raised to prevent his being buried in a pauper's grave.

Dr. Emanuel Lasker (1867-1941) was a German player of

Jewish birth. He was World Chess Champion from 1894 to
1921. In 1879, at the age of 11, he was sent to Berlin to
attend school. There, he was taught how to play chess by
his older brother, Berthold, who was a medical student and
later became a medical doctor. Emanuel displayed unusual
mathematical abilities and wanted to be a mathematician.
His father wanted him to be a cantor. Emanuel studied the
Talmud with his father and his grandfather, a rabbi. He was
a friend of Albert Einstein. In 1894, world champion
Lasker had gastric fever and a broken blood vessel while in
England and almost died. His medical doctor brother, Dr.
Berthold Lasker (1860-1928), traveled from Berlin to
England and saved his life. After the 1904 Cambridge
Springs tournament, Lasker moved to New York and
started publishing Lasker's Chess Magazine, which ran
from 1904 to 1907.Lasker left Nazi Germany in 1933 and
moved to Moscow. He set up an academy in Moscow to
earn a living by teaching Communists how to play chess.
He had previously decided that chess was a "dead" game
with "no connection with anything human." He said that
chess was inferior to bridge. (source: LIFE magazine, Feb
22, 1937, p. 48) He had a PhD in mathematics. His Ph.D.
dissertation of 1902 on ideal numbers became a
cornerstone of 20th century algebra. On Jan 11, 1941,
Emanuel Lasker died of a kidney infection. He was 72. He
had been a charity patient at Mount Sinai hospital. About
the same time, his sister died in a Nazi gas chamber. A
condolence letter was sent to Martha Lasker by Albert
Einstein

Thomas Francis Lawrence (1871-1953) was an English

chess master from London. He won the championship of
the London Chess Club 6 times. He drew twice against
Pillsbury in the cable matches.

Georg Marco (1863-1923) was a Romanian-born Austrian

of Grandmaster strength. He was a very large and powerful
man. He was referred to as the "strongest" chessplayer in
the world because of his physical strength. He was
primarily known as a chess analyst for Wiener
Schachzeitung in Vienna from 1898 to 1916. He began as a
medical student but gave it up for chess. He was secretary
of the Viennese Chess Association. He was a journalist by
profession.

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. The surprise
upset victory of Marshall at Cambridge Springs in 1904
marked his rise to prominence in American chess. He
would eventually reign as US chess champion for the next
26 years. In 1912, Frank Marshall defeated Stefan Levitsky
in a brilliant game by making an unexpected queen moves
on a square where it could be captured by three of
Levitsky's pieces. Frank Marshall wrote that right after the
game, "the spectators...threw gold pieces on [his] board at
the conclusion of [his] brilliant win over Levitsky." Years
later, Marshall's wife, Carrie, denied this ever happened.
She said there wasn't even a shower of pennies. Another
explanation was that the players and the spectators were
just paying off their bets on the game. In 1915, he opened
up 'Marshall's Chess Divan,' which later became Marshall's
Chess Club. In the early 1930s, an amateur approached
Frank Marshall, who was the US champ at the time, and
asked for help in a postal chess game. Marshall obliged and
played a few opening moves. A few days later, another
amateur dropped in at the Marshall Chess Club to also seek
help in a postal game from Marshall. Marshall realized the
game of the second player was with the opponent who had
come in a few days earlier. Marshall helped the second
player and then ended up playing himself for several
months as the two amateurs marveled at how their
opponent was able to play on for so long against the great
Frank Marshall! 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.

Jacques Mieses (1865-1954) was born to a Jewish family

in Leipzig, Germany. In 1882, at the age of 17, he won the
championship of Berlin. In Vienna 1903, Mieses had been
going strong in The Vienna Gambit tournament. In the
13th round he was to play Isidor Gunsberg (1854-1930).
Not that Gunsberg wasn't a fine player, but the wide-open
games resulting from gambits were not his forte, and in
addition he seemed to be completely out of form. Out of
the previous twelve games, Gunsberg had lost 10 and drew
2, and was in last place. Mieses had already chalked up the
point mentally. But, as so often happens, the tail-ender of
the tournament had one good game in him. He let loose
with everything he had, and Mieses had to resign after 50
moves. Mieses commented bitterly, "It is bad enough to get
run over, but to get run over by a corpse is horrible!" This
was Gunsberg's only win. He lost 15, drew 2, and won 1 in
the tournament (source: Chernev, The Bright Side of
Chess, pp. 13-14). After living in Germany for 73 years,
Mieses moved to England in1938 to escape Nazi
persecution. He became a naturalized British citizen after
World War II. In March 1949, Mieses, age 84, defeated
Dirk van Foreest (1862-1956), age 86 during an exhibition
game at The Hague. After the game, Mieses was quoted as
saying, "Youth has triumphed." He was awarded the
Grandmaster title in 1950, at the age of 85, for his past
efforts, becoming the first British grandmaster.

William Ewart Napier (1881-1952) was an English-born

player. He family moved to Brooklyn, New York when he
was 5. He started out studying music (he was a pianist and
vocalist) in England, but mostly studied chess instead. In
1896, at the age of 15, he won the Brooklyn Chess Club
Championship. In 1901, he took 2nd in the New York State
Chess Championship. In 1904, he won the City of London
Chess Club championship. He won the first British Chess
Federation chess championship in 1904. He became a U.S.
citizen in 1908. He married Harry Pillsbury's niece. He
turned to journalism and wrote for newspapers in seven
different countries. He later became secretary of the
Banker's Life Insurance Company. He then became
secretary, then vice-president of the Scranton Life
Insurance company.

Henry "Harry" Nelson Pillsbury (1872-1906) was the next

great chessplayer after Paul Morphy (1837-1884). He
learned chess at age 15. In April 1893, he beat the visiting
master Walbrodt, and afterwards, began his career as a
professional chessplayer. In 1894-95, he captained the
Brooklyn Chess Club to victory in the Metropolitan Chess
League. In June 1895, the Brooklyn Chess Club selected
him as its representative to the Hastings Chess Congress
after raising $300. Pillsbury sailed to England on July 24,
1895. When Pillsbury arrived in Hastings, he refused to
stay at a hotel that had any of the other players in the
Hastings Chess Congress. He said, "I want to be quiet; I
mean to win this tournament." And he did. In August-
September 1895, he played at the Brassery's Institute in
Hastings and won the event at the age of 22. He won 15
games, drew 3 and lost 3. After losing to Chigorin in round
1, he won 9 games in a row. At the time, no player had
ever won their first major tournament the first time playing
it. He finished ahead of reigning world champion Emanuel
Lasker, former world champion William Steinitz, and
world chess challengers Mikhail Chigorin, Isidor
Gunsberg, Siegbert Tarrasch, Carl Schlechter, and Dawid
Janowski. First place for Pillsbury was $1,000 (about
$26,000 in today's currency). In 1896, U.S. chess
champion Harry Nelson Pillsbury (1872-1906) resigned
from the Manhattan Chess Club (he had earlier won the
Manhattan CC championship) because someone (J. Elson)
took his umbrella and that umbrellas were not safe in the
club house. (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 3, 1896).
Cambridge Springs 1904 marked the end of Pillsbury's
chess career. He would not play another tournament before
his death in 1906 at the age of 33. His death certificate died
of syphilis (general paresis), which he probably caught
from a prostitute in Saint Petersburg about 10 years before
his death. In March 1905, he tried to jump out a 4th story
window at the Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia. He
was stopped by several nurses and doctors. He died at
Friends Asylum in Frankford, Pennsylvania. His obituary
in the New York Times stated that he died from an "illness
contracted through overexertion of his memory cells." He
was only 33. Pillsbury's family denied a report that his
brain was willed to any institution or scientists for any
purpose of scientific investigation (source: Brooklyn Daily
Eagle, Jun 19, 1906). However, Dr. Elmer E. Southard
(1876-1920), Professor of Psychology at Harvard
University, and a strong chessplayer himself, was able to
get Pillsbury's brain and studied it. Dr. Southard studied
the brain of Pillsbury in an attempt to decide whether a
genius for chess tends to deteriorate the mind. He found no
difference between a chessplayer's brain and anyone else's
brain.

Carl Schlechter (1874-1918) was Viennese player who was

ranked in the top 5 in the world. He learned chess at age
16. He was the quietest of all grandmasters. He was known
as the "drawing master" as he drew half of his 800
tournament and match games. In 1883, he played a match
with Marco and all 10 games were drawn. He was one of
the few grandmasters who also composed chess problems.
In 1910, he drew a match with Emanuel Lasker (1 win, 1
loss, 8 draws). All he needed to do was draw his last game,
but he lost it and the match. Some view this match as a
world championship match. He edited the last edition of
Von Bilguer's Handbuch des Schachspiels. He was editor
of the Deutsche Schachzeitung, the leading German chess
periodical. On December 27, 1918, Schlechter died from
pneumonia and starvation in Budapest, Hungary, during
the war-imposed famine in Central Europe. He never
mentioned to any of his acquaintances that he needed food
or money. He was found in a room without any money,
heat or food. He was buried in Budapest on December 31,
1918. He was only 44.

Jackson Whipps Showalter (1860-1935) learned chess at

age 8 from his older brother, John, who served as Judge of
the U.S. Circuit Court, being appointed to that position by
President Grover Cleveland. In 1890, he won the United
States Chess Association's 3rd Annual Congress
Championship tournament in St. Louis. Shortly after this
tournament in 1890, he lost a match to Max Judd by a
score of 7-3. In 1892, he defeated Judd by the score of 7-4.
In 1894, he defeated Albert Hodges by the score of 8-6.
Later in 1894 Showalter lost to Hodges in a return match
with a score of 5-3. In 1895 Showalter defeated Simon
Lipschuetz, Emil Kemeny, John Barry, and Adolf Albin in
matches. In 1897 Showalter lost to Harry Pillsbury by the
score of 9.5-11.5. In 1898, Showalter lost a return match
with Pillsbury by the score of 4-8. In 1909 Showalter lost
to Frank Marshall by a score of 3.5-18.5. His nickname
was the Kentucky Lion. He was a 5-time U.S. chess
champion, an avid baseball fan and amateur player. He was
a noted pitcher in Lexington, Kentucky, and famous for his
curve ball (he did not invent it as some sources say). He
was the first man in Kentucky to pitch a curve ball (source:
Chess Review, March 1935, p. 63). He was known as the
Kentucky Lion after his birthplace and his mane of hair. He
married Nellie Love Marshall when she was 16. She was
one of the strongest women chessplayers in America in the
19th century.

Richard Teichmann (1868-1925) was a student of modern

languages and studied in Berlin. In 1891, he won the chess
championship of Berlin. He was one of the top
chessplayers in the world at the beginning of the 20th
century. He was handicapped by chronic eye trouble and
wore a patch over his right eye. He is often quoted as
saying "Chess is 99% tactics." During World War I, he was
suspected of British sympathies (he lived in England for 10
years), and moved to Switzerland.

References:

1904 Cambridge Springs International Chess Congress -

http://www.cs1904.com/
British Chess Magazine, June 1904, pp. 221-228.
Cambridge Springs (1904) -
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=79311
"Chess Honors for Marshall," The New York Press, May
20, 1904, p. 3C Helms, American Chess Bulletin, October
1904.
 Llczuk & Panczyk, The Cambridge Springs, 2003.
Munro, "The Cambridge Springs International Chess
Congress, 1904," Western Pennsylvania History. 185.
(article also appeared in the Winter 1993/94 issue of
Pittsburgh History magazine)
Reinfeld, The Book of the Cambridge Springs International
Tournament, 1935.
Schroeder, James, Great American Chess Tournaments:
Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, 1904, 1992.
Spraggett, "Tidbits on Cambridge Springs 1904," Spraggett
on Chess web site.
Wall, "Cambridge Springs 1904" -
https://www.chess.com/article/view/cambridge-springs-
1904

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