Chess Notes

Edward Winter

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10506. Daniels

John Townsend (Wokingham, England) writes:

‘On page 20 of Waifs and Strays (London, 1862) H.A. Kennedy recalled a strong player named Daniels at the Divan in the early 1840s:

“Daniels was then lord of the ascendant in the place, a subtle and elegant player, with a judgment of position that was rarely at fault. He was a light in Caïssa’s firmament too early quenched.”

Staunton described Daniels in The Chess-Player’s Companion (page 272) as ...

“... a metropolitan player of high excellence and still higher promise, but who, unfortunately, was lost to us some years since by death, at the early age of 32.”

Page 30 of the Chess Player’s Chronicle, 1843 referred to a match “now on the tapis to be played” between Staunton and Daniels, with the former to give the odds of pawn and move.

Charles Tomlinson recalled him in an article of reminiscences of the Divan (BCM, February 1891, page 52):

“Daniels was also a most pleasant antagonist, he was chatty and intelligent, and his game had a flavour of originality about it which was rare among the professionals.”

Despite his high reputation, there are few good games by Daniels on record. On page 281 of the Chess Player’s Chronicle, 1852 Staunton criticized Elijah Williams’ Horæ Divanianæ for including no games by Daniels:

“Again, could no-one have furnished the Editor with any of the games of the really celebrated Divan player, Mr Daniels?”

In 1844 the Chess Player’s Chronicle gave, on pages 156 and 192, progress reports on a match between Daniels and W. Hampton, which, Staunton wrote, “has terminated so abruptly that no opportunity of recording even a single game has been afforded us. The result of the struggle, as far as it went, was somewhat in favour of Mr Daniels”.

A few months later, the same volume (page 396) had a notice of Daniels’ death:

“British chessplayers have just sustained a heavy loss in the death of Mr Daniels, at an early age. Mr Daniels has been long out of health, and finally sunk [sic] under a pulmonary affection. Mr Daniels’ place among us will not be easily filled: as a man, his constantly quiet and urbane demeanor made him the most agreeable of chess opponents; as a chessplayer he was quite first-rate – possessing the quickest sight of the board of anyone of his time.”

The timing of this notice indicates that Daniels died towards the end of 1844. It is unlikely that it was written by Staunton, who was then ill in Paris. The writer may have been George Walker, since the comments echo what he had previously written on page xi of Chess Studies (London, 1844):

“ ... and a few, too few, of Mr Daniels, whose game so much resembles Mr Cochrane’s. Mr Daniels is indeed a player of quite the highest class; possessing a quicker sight of the board, when there is work to be done, than perhaps any of his contemporaries.”

As regards biographical information about Daniels, it is a challenging task to establish even the most basic facts, including his forename and, even, initial(s). I have not so far found his name in the list of subscribers to any contemporary chess book. A possible clue lies in his age at death, which was reported as 32. The only death of a 32-year-old male Daniels in the environs of London to be found via the website of the General Register Office in the final quarter of 1844 is that of Edward Daniels in the registration district of Whitechapel (volume 2, page 447). However, this is perhaps interpreting the age at death too literally. The Edward Daniels suggested may be the same one who was living in Leman Street, Whitechapel in the 1841 census, age given in the range 25 to 29, of independent means, born in Middlesex (National Archives, HO 107/716/9, folio 35). In the same household was Mary Daniels, age given in the range 60 to 64, also of independent means, and born overseas.’

10507. Games played by Daniels

Further to the previous item, we give some specimens of Daniels’ play, beginning with the game whose heading was quoted by John Townsend. From pages 272-273 of The Chess-Player’s Companion by Howard Staunton:

1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Bc4 b5 4 Bb3 Qh4+ 5 Kf1 g5 6 Nc3 c6 7 Nf3 Qh5 8 h4 h6 9 Kg1 g4 10 Nh2 d6 11 d4 a5 12 a3 f3 13 gxf3 gxf3 14 Qxf3 Qxf3 15 Nxf3 Nf6 16 e5 Nh5 17 exd6 Bxd6 18 Ne4 Bc7 19 Kf2 f5 20 Nc5 Bg3+ 21 Kg2 Ra7 22 Ne5

22...Re7 23 Ncd3 f4 24 Kf3 Bf5 25 Nxf4 Bxf4 26 Bxf4 a4 27 Ba2 Bxc2 28 Rhe1 Rf8 29 Bf7+ Rexf7 30 Nxf7+ Kxf7 31 Bxb8 Rxb8 32 Re5 Nf6 33 Rc1 Bb3 34 Rxc6 Bd5+ 35 Rxd5 Nxd5 36 Rxh6 Nf6 37 h5 Rd8 38 Ke2 Rxd4 39 Rh8 Kg7 40 Rb8 Rd5 41 Rb7+ Kh6 42 Rb6 Rf5 43 Kd3 Kxh5 and wins.

The game had been published on pages 197-199 of the Chess Player’s Chronicle, 1842 with the heading ‘Played at Goode’s Chess Rooms, between Mr St–––n [Staunton] and one of the strongest Metropolitan Players’, and with these additional moves: 44 Kd4 Kg4 45 Rb7 Kf4 46 Kc3 Nd5+ 47 Kd4 Ne3 48 Kc3 Ke4 49 Kb4 Nc2+ 50 Ka5 Nd4 51 Kb4 Nc6+ 52 Kc3 Rf3+ 53 Kc2 Nd4+ 54 Kd2 Rf2+ 55 Kc3 Rc2+ 56 Kb4 Rxb2+ 57 White resigns.

Below is a list of games by Daniels given (without information on dates or venues) in George Walker’s 1844 book Chess Studies:

604: loss to Walker
605: win against Walker
611: win against Mongrédien
614: win against Perigal
615: loss to Perigal
663: loss to Walker
676: loss to Perigal
694: draw against Perigal
698: draw against Perigal
770: loss to Walker
800: loss to Walker
831: win against N.N.
882: win against Walker
974: loss to Walker.

Games 676 and 770 were published on, respectively, page 220 of The Chess-Player’s Handbook by Howard Staunton (London, 1847) and pages 269-270 of Chess for Winter Evenings by H.R. Agnel (New York, 1848).

The five victories by Daniels in Chess Studies:

• 605 (Black: Walker): 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 d3 Nf6 5 Nc3 O-O 6 Bg5 h6 7 Bh4 Bb4 8 O-O Bxc3 9 bxc3 g5 10 Nxg5 hxg5 11 Bxg5 Kg7

12 f4 and wins.

The score had been published on page 4 of Bell’s Life, 13 March 1842, described as a ‘brilliant little game won by Mr Daniels in the St George’s Chess Club of a strong player’. The concluding note:

‘This specimen is short, but to our minds very sweet. Mr Daniels has great genius of conception and rarely misses his blow if an opportunity is afforded of making a strong dash.’

• 611 (White: Mongrédien): 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 Nc3 Nf6 5 d3 d6 6 h3 Ne7 7 O-O Ng6 8 Na4 Bb6 9 Bg5 h6 10 Bxf6 Qxf6 11 Nxb6 axb6 12 c3 Nf4 13 d4 g5 14 dxe5 dxe5 15 Nh2 h5 16 f3 Ke7 17 Qb3 g4 18 fxg4 hxg4 19 Rxf4 exf4 20 Rf1 gxh3 21 Rf2 hxg2 22 Rxg2 Bh3 23 Rf2 Qg6+ 24 Kh1 Rag8 and wins.

• 614 (Black: Perigal): 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 Nc3 d6 5 h3 Nf6 6 d3 h6 7 Ne2 Ne7 8 Ng3 Ng6 9 O-O O-O

10 Be3 Bxe3 11 fxe3 Be6 12 Bb3 Qd7 13 Kh2 a6 14 c3 Rae8 15 Rf2 c6 16 Qe2 d5 17 Raf1 dxe4 18 dxe4 Bxb3 19 axb3 Qe6 20 Nd2 Rd8

21 Rxf6 gxf6 22 Nf5 and wins.

• 831 (White unidentified): 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Bc4 Qh4+ 4 Kf1 g5 5 Nf3 Qh5 6 d4 Bg7 7 Nc3 d6 8 Nd5 Kd8 9 h4 h6 10 Nc3 Ne7 11 Kg1 g4 12 Ne1 f3 13 g3 Nbc6 14 Be3 Be6 15 d5 Ne5 16 Bb3 Bd7 17 Qd4 N7g6 18 Nd3 Rg8 19 Qb4 Nxd3 20 Qxb7 Qe5 21 Kh2

21...Qxg3+ 22 Kxg3 Be5+ 23 Bf4 Bxf4 mate.

• 882 (White: Walker): 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 g5 4 h4 g4 5 Ne5 Be7 6 Nxg4 Bxh4+ 7 Nf2 Qg5 8 d4 Nf6 9 Qf3 Bxf2+ 10 Kxf2 Qg3+ 11 Kg1 d5 12 e5 Ne4 13 Bxf4 Qg6 14 Bd3 Nc6 15 c3 Bg4 16 Qe3 Bf5 17 Rh6 Qg7 18 Nd2 Rg8 19 Bxe4 Bxe4 20 g3 Bf5 21 Kf2 O-O-O 22 Rah1 Bg6 23 Bg5 Rd7 24 Nb3 Ne7 25 Nc5 Nf5 26 Qf4 Nxh6 27 Bxh6 Qh8 28 Bg5 Rdd8 29 Bf6 Rg7 30 e6 b6 31 e7 Re8 32 Qg4+ Kb8 33 Nd7+ Kb7 34 Nf8

34...Qg8 35 Qd7 Be4 36 Be5 Rxe7 37 Qxe7 f6 and wins.

A heading on page 22 of the Chess Player’s Chronicle, 1859:

‘Game played some years ago, between the late Mr Daniels and Mr Staudigl; Mr D. giving the move, and engaging to play the Muzio.’

1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 g5 4 Bc4 g4 5 d4 d5 6 Bxd5 gxf3 7 O-O c6 8 Bb3 Bh6 9 Qxf3 Qg5 10 g3 Qg4 11 Qd3

11...fxg3 12 Bxf7+ Kd8 13 Bxg8 gxh2+ 14 Kh1 Rxg8, and Daniels gave mate in two moves.

A loss by Daniels to Kennedy in Brighton appeared on pages 115-116 of the Chess Player’s Chronicle in 1847 and has been labelled 1847 in databases even though, as indicated in C.N. 10506, Daniels died in 1844.

10508. New York, 1915

Regarding the board positions in the New York, 1915 group photograph, Stephen Wright (Vancouver, Canada) comments:

‘Lasker-Capablanca reflects their actual game, and Kupchik-Chajes is obscured, but the other two positions seem rather subversive in a presentation of chess to the media, and especially the piles of pieces on a2 and a6 in the Hodges-Michelsen game.’

10509. Walbrodt’s height (C.N.s 5832, 5913, 7570 & 7674)

Eduardo Bauzá Mercére (New York, NY, USA) draws attention to a report on page 5 of the Akron Daily Democrat, 22 April 1893:

‘In appearance Walbrodt is small, pale and slender. He is almost frail looking, and his head is the only large thing about him.’

10510. Chessy words

Jean Fontaine (Montreal, Canada) reports that the following chessy words all come from Japanese Chess (Shō-ngi): the Science and Art of War or Struggle Philosophically Treated; Chinese Chess (Chong-kie) and I-go by Chō-Yō (New York, 1905), many of them appearing several times:

• Chessologic: ‘The habit of patience and conformity with orders and observance of the rules of refined etiquette is absolutely cultivated by chessologic practice.’ Page 27.

• Chessological: ‘The Chinese nomenclature, from a chessological view point, clearly and wisely depicts both concretely and esoterically the general aspect of the most abstract and majestic of all departments of knowledge, which is power.’ Page 30.

• Chessologically: ‘The question, whether or not chess, however the greatest of intellectual games, might be too much of a strain on the mind, could be chessologically answered in regard to whether or how far it may become a recreation or an excessive and hurtful exertion […].’ Page 23.

• Chessologician: ‘The Japanese are born chessologicians!’ Page 185.

• Chessologics: ‘These are perfectly and beautifully displayed in chess, especially in Japanese chess, decidedly hundred times or ad infinitum more than in any other chess or branches of Chessologics […].’ Page 74.

• Chessologist: ‘They have been the profoundest chessologists and not mere chess players who have adopted these highest conceptions of Mathematics, Physics, Philosophy and Poetry for chessworks.’ Page 66.

• Chessology: ‘Chessology, in its largest sense, treats of the principles of the science of human struggles conceivable and symbolized in the shortest, smallest and least possible time, space and force and played as the highest and most intellectual game to develop and train the Mind, by virtue of amusement accompanied with competition […].’ Page 15.

• Chessonym: ‘Chessonym or Chessological Figure is a symbolic name or an algebraic sign put on a Koma, chess-piece, or the board itself, as an index of the function of an element or groups of elements in struggles; hence Chessonymy, the method of using the Figure for brevity’s sake, hence chessonymous.’ Page 48.

• Chessonymic: ‘Thus any physical and intellectual and speculative elements and some new resources […] are figuratively expressed in Chessonymic Symbols by the Mochingoma.’ Page 93.

• Chessonymous: ‘Every Koma piece in its secondary meaning has much wider scope than an ordinary player would give it the power or value, and in fact, all of the names of the pieces, Koma, should include secondary meaning expressed in Chessonymous Symbolic Figures.’ Page 88. See also the Chessonym quote above.

• Chessonymously: ‘“Queening a pawn” would be a ridiculous performance if we do not understand it chessonymously by esoteric connotation of the meaning of trans-modifications of force or vitality […].’ Page 189.

• Chessonymy: ‘Chessonymy shows that Koma is also written as […], literally, Ko, game [on cross-lined board] and ma, horse, a Figure of Speech for hopping and galloping on the part of horses in significance of movements of pieces across the lines or sections over the chessboard (war or struggle game field), and it means “chessmen”[…].’ Page 54. See also the Chessonym quote above.

• Unchessologically: ‘[…] a persistence in taking odds […] takes the game out of its proper grooves, and tends to produce positions not naturally or unchessologically arising in the ordinary course of the game, as developed from the recognized openings.’ Page 26.

10511. Edinburgh, 1926

Geoff Chandler (Edinburgh) sends this photograph, which is the property of the Edinburgh Chess Club (where it was recently rediscovered):

Our correspondent adds that the site was the Albyn Rooms, Albyn Place.

The congress crosstables on pages 401-406 of the September 1926 BCM record that the participants included J.H. Blake, J.A.J. Drewitt, M.E. Goldstein, J. Keeble, R.P. Michell, JH. Morrison, A.R.B. Thomas, G.S.A. Wheatcroft, F.D. Yates and E.A. Znosko-Borovsky.

10512. Pillsbury and Lasker

White has played 13 Bf1-e2

In this position from Pillsbury’s win over Lasker at Cambridge Springs, 1904 the world champion played 13...Qxb2. From page 123 of Impact of Genius by R.E. Fauber (Seattle, 1992):

Sentences beginning with ‘Maybe’ seldom impress, and this is a particularly odd specimen.

It is nonetheless true that Lasker described Pillsbury as ‘lovable’ in an obituary published on pages 25-27 of Lasker’s Chess Magazine, May 1906. The first paragraph:

‘American chessplayers, and with them the whole chess world, mourn over the sad loss and fate of a youthful, great and lovable man. The heart that bore undying love to all that is beautiful in chess beats no more. Harry Nelson Pillsbury was released from his sufferings on 2 [sic] June.’

The obituary concluded:

‘... the reproach cannot be spared to the chess world that it made the meagre prices it gave him dependent on too much effort and exertion. The victor of Hastings, the pathfinder in the thickest of chess theory, gifted with pleasant and lovable traits, a source of pleasure and joy and a teacher for thousands, he should not have been suffered to be without the comforts that make work easy and keep health intact. Instead he was made to work hard, he had to spend the valuable matter of his brain in many “entertainments” lasting six to ten hours in order to earn a barely sufficient livelihood.

Emanual [sic] Lasker.’

The obituary was reproduced on pages 81-83 of the final issue (June-July 1907) of the world champion’s other periodical of the time, the Chess Player’s Scrap Book. That number was wholly devoted to Pillsbury and had, on page 112, the score of Pillsbury v Lasker, Nuremberg, 1896 with this introduction by Lasker:

‘The 1896 Nuremberg tournament included the most noted players of the time, and the following game was undoubtedly the most brilliant played. After Black’s ninth move the game is lost, though, of course, not obviously.

Pillsbury’s genius for attack has never been demonstrated so admirably as in this game.

The crescendo sacrifice of a pawn, followed by the exchange and then a piece, is evidence of fearlessness in carrying out a plan on the chessboard such as has never been excelled.

At no point of this magnificent combination does he waver or deviate from the most correct course, nor could he, at any point, have accomplished his object in less time. It is a rare thing to find a game with successive sacrifices so long drawn out that some resource cannot be found to save the situation. But here his play is as sound as a rock, and the structure must remain a perpetual monument to his genius, and a classical example of chess at the end of the nineteenth century.’

The first part of the game was annotated on pages 247-248 of Lasker’s Manual of Chess (London, 1932).

10513. Alekhine in Tarragona

From Josep Alió (Tarragona, Spain):

‘As mentioned on page 11 of my 1999 book Els Escacs a Tarragona, in 1944 Alekhine gave simultaneous displays in two towns near Tarragona: Reus (29 February) and Valls (5 March).

A photograph taken during the latter display (+27 =3 –0) is held by the Valls City Archives.’

10514. A letter from A.J. Seitz to Hermann Helms

A letter in our collection:

The text was transcribed in C.N. 1367, which mentioned that we own a number of letters from Seitz to Helms.

10515. Words

C.N. 7702 (see too Memory Feats of Chess Masters) showed an extract from pages 106-107 of The Fireside Book of Chess by I. Chernev and F. Reinfeld (New York, 1949):

The same C.N. item quoted another ‘once’ version, by Frank Rhoden on page 66 of the February 1971 Chess Life & Review:

Pillsbury ‘... was once tested by a psychologist ...’

Now, we add the following from page 354 of Chess Words of Wisdom by Mike Henebry (Victorville, 2010):

‘He once memorized 30 difficult, unusual and large words that were read to him only once. He read them backwards and forwards without error and even remembered them the next day.’

However, in that passage the ‘he’ was not Pillsbury, but Blackburne.

Earlier in the same paragraph, Mr Henebry had a sentence about Blackburne which began:

‘He was once showed ...’

On the next page, still in the Blackburne section:

‘Once, playing blindfold, he announced ...’

The following paragraph was a quote from a Santasiere/Smith book. It began:

‘Once when Blackburne was giving a simultaneous exhibition ...’

After Blackburne there was a section on Steinitz, with more of the same. From page 359:

‘A story goes that once, he was arrested as a spy!’

10516. An analytical oversight

David Abrams (Syracuse, NY, USA) points out page 180 of Pandolfini’s Endgame Course by Bruce Pandolfini (New York, 1988):

10517. Paul Schmidt (1916-84)

The succession of finely produced and skilfully researched books on lesser-known chess figures continues with Paul Felix Schmidt. A Winning Formula by Eva Regina Magacs (Schmidt’s daughter) and Michael Negele (Berlin, 2017). It is a 320-page hardback in German and English, with a remarkable number of photographs which will be new to all readers.

10518. A letter from Shipley to Capablanca

From our archives (and also shown in C.N. 2862):

The position will be discussed, with background historical information, in the next C.N. item.

10519. A letter from Shipley to Capablanca (C.N. 10518)

The position in Walter Penn Shipley’s letter shown in the preceding C.N. item:

White to move

The game was between H. Blumberg (Columbia University) and R. (not H.) Lob (Oxford University) in the Eighth Intercollegiate Cable Match, 21 March 1908. The following day the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (section 5, page 7) reported on the outcome of the match:

‘Philadelphia, 21 March. ... When play ceased at 6:30 o’clock this evening, the Americans had the advantage, with a score of 2½ points to 1½, two games remaining unfinished. Thereupon draws were offered to the Britons on the two boards, but the latter declined, preferring that they be adjudicated upon by Referee Walter Penn Shipley of this city. Mr Shipley would not give his decision on the spot, and stated it might be a week before his opinion was given. The opinion is freely expressed by experts in attendance here tonight that the Americans will retain their lead after the adjudication, and in that way win the match and the trophy.’

The game was mentioned briefly on page 170 of the April 1908 BCM:

‘On Board 4, Lob played the P-KB4 defence to the Ruy López, which is very popular at Oxford just now. The game was very even, although at the close of time Lob claimed a win. The general opinion was that it would be given in England’s favour.’

On the basis of a Reuter telegram a number of English newspapers reported that Shipley had indeed accorded a win to Lob. For example, from page 10 of the Morning Post, 3 April 1908:

A correction was published on page 6 of the Morning Post, 20 April 1908:

Below is Shipley’s column on page 7 of the magazine section of the Philadelphia Inquirer, 5 April 1908 (with Cambridge, instead of Oxford, mistakenly indicated in connection with Lob, and with Shipley referring to himself in the third person):

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 f5 4 Nc3 fxe4 5 Nxe4 d5 6 Ng3 Bg4 7 h3 Bxf3 8 Qxf3 Nf6 9 Nh5 Qd6 10 Nxf6+ gxf6 11 Qf5 Ke7 12 c3 h5 13 h4 Bh6 14 b3 Rag8 15 a4 Qe6 16 Ba3+ Kd7 17 Qxe6+ Kxe6 18 g3 a6 19 Be2 f5 20 O-O-O Bf8 21 Bb2 Bd6 22 Rde1 Rd8 23 Kc2 Rdf8 24 d4 e4 25 Rhg1 f4 26 c4 Nb4+ 27 Kb1 c6 28 gxf4 Rxf4 29 Bc3 a5 30 Rg7 Be7.

When Blumberg annotated the game on page 95 of the May 1908 American Chess Bulletin he quoted Shipley’s observations on the final position:

Our 1908 volume of the American Chess Bulletin is too tightly bound to be reproduced, and we are grateful to the Cleveland Public Library for the above scan.

Shipley’s view of the complexity of the final position was referred to in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 7 June 1908, page 9, section 5:

The outcome of the adjudication was reported on page 4 of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 16 July 1908 (picture and sports section):

Page 162 of the August 1908 American Chess Bulletin published Shipley’s statement (Philadelphia, 15 July 1908):

‘I regret the delay in arriving at the decision, but the game on board No. 4 was the most difficult one to adjudicate that I have ever had to pass upon. Mr Lob unquestionably has an advantage, and a hasty analysis would apparently give him the game. The position, however, is deceptive, and while it would appear that a win could be demonstrated for the black forces, the more study I have given to the subject the more firmly the conclusion is forced upon me that the demonstration of a win is impossible.’

Page 346 of the August 1908 BCM briefly reverted to the Blumberg v Lob game, and the following was published on pages 397-398 of the September 1908 issue:

Many years ago we showed John Hilbert the letter from Shipley to Capablanca, and he quoted from it in his detailed treatment of the Blumberg v Lob game on pages 309-312 of his monograph Walter Penn Shipley (Jefferson, 2003). The final paragraph (page 312):

‘Shipley clearly had devoted the degree of attention he had to this game for many reasons, not the least of which must have been the fact that he, an American, would be deciding against first impressions that the British team could not draw the match. That he involved the likes of Bampton, Napier, Capablanca, and no doubt others, well illustrates why Shipley was considered by so many to be scrupulously fair.’

10520. Low cunning

C.N. 2761 (see pages 60-61 of A Chess Omnibus and Chess Cunning, Gamesmanship and Skulduggery) related a case in which L. Pachman deliberately incurred time-trouble to bluff his opponent.

Now, Jonathan Hinton (East Horsley, England) draws attention to a similar, earlier case, reported on page 65 of Chess World, April 1953:

10521. W.H.K. Pollock (C.N.s 10459 & 10484)

From David McAlister (Hillsborough, Northern Ireland):

‘The Preface to the new book on Pollock by Olimpiu G. Urcan and John S. Hilbert does not claim to include every game by him that they found in their researches, although that is perhaps implied. Whatever their precise intentions, the co-authors appear to have missed an opportunity to present a greater number of match and tournament games played by Pollock in Ireland.

To give one example, the Dublin Evening Mail published six of Pollock’s eight games in the 1889 Irish Chess Association Congress. Pages 311-312 of the Pollock book present only four of these, none of them sourced from the Mail (although one was obtained from its sister newspaper).

The publication dates of the Pollock games in the Dublin Evening Mail were:

14 March 1889: Woollett-Pollock (not Wollett as given in the book);

14 March 1889: Pollock-Mason;

21 March 1889: Pollock-Fitzpatrick;

21 March 1889: Peake-Pollock (Peake appears to have played under the pseudonym “Blake”);

28 March 1889: Pollock-Burn;

11 July 1889: Pollock-Morphy.’

Mr McAlister has sent us the two additional games:

‘Blake’ – William Henry Krause Pollock
Dublin, 5 March 1889 (Round 3)
Giuoco Piano

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d3 d5 5 exd5 Nxd5 6 Bxd5 Qxd5 7 Nc3 Bb4 8 Bd2 Bxc3 9 Bxc3 Bg4 10 h3 Bh5 11 g4 Bg6 12 Qe2 O-O-O 13 O-O-O Rhe8 14 Kb1 Nd4 15 Bxd4 exd4 16 White resigns.

Source: Dublin Evening Mail, 21 March 1889.

William Henry Krause Pollock – John Morphy
Dublin, 6 March 1889 (Round 4)
Evans Gambit Declined

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 b4 Bb6 5 b5 Nce7 6 d4 exd4 7 Nxd4 d5 8 exd5 Nxd5 9 O-O Nge7 10 Ba3 O-O 11 Bxd5 Qxd5 12 Bxe7 Re8 13 Nf3 Qxd1 14 Rxd1 Bf5 15 Re1 Bxc2 16 Na3 Bf5 17 Nc4 Be6 18 Nxb6 axb6 19 Bb4 Bc4 20 a4 Rxe1+ 21 Rxe1 f6 22 Rc1 Bb3 23 Rxc7 Rxa4 24 Bc3 Bd5 25 Nd4 Ra3 26 h3 Ra8 27 Nf5 Be4 28 Rxg7+ Resigns.

Source: Dublin Evening Mail, 11 July 1889.

10522. Painting

Readers may be familiar with this painting, but where is the best source for factual information about it?

10523. Chess shop in Prague

C.N. 10481 quoted from page 4 of Wolfgang Heidenfeld’s Chess Springbok (Cape Town, 1955) a reference to a chess shop in Prague run by Erwin Rosenblatt.

A photograph caption on page 341 of A History of Chess by Jerzy Giżycki (London, 1972) refers to Rosenblatt and his shop.

10524. Howard Staunton

Image number six in Pictures of Howard Staunton can be found on page 106 of The Art of Chess by Colleen Schafroth (New York, 2002):

The discrepancy between the date ‘c. 1840’ and the word ‘photograph’ is evident. Information on the origins of the portrait is still being sought, but a possible clue is that the picture credit on page 171 of The Art of Chess states ‘John Jaques & Son, Ltd., London, England’.

10525. The act of criticism

‘The man who criticizes books which tend to be scientific or literary is paid badly. Consequently no-one is induced to make a serious study of the act of criticism, with the result that much passes for great that is merely mediocre, and that the mediocre is praised beyond merit.’

Source: The Community of the Future by Emanuel Lasker (New York, 1940), page 181.

10526. Chess Personalia

Any chess writers tempted to boast – in book publicity material or in a Preface, for instance – that they have found corrections to Jeremy Gaige’s Chess Personalia (Jefferson, 1987) naturally need to check that the matters were not rectified by Gaige himself in his unpublished 1994 edition.

A number of C.N. items have cited this privately printed, 860-page revised, updated and expanded edition. Gaige’s Introduction stated that there were ‘about 15,000 entries’, as opposed to ‘about 14,000 entries’ in the McFarland book (the hardback of 30 years ago and the subsequent, unaltered paperback).

Below are two illustrative pages from the 1994 edition (featuring, for example, the entries on Donner and Fine):

10527. An attacking king

From page 145 of The Russians Play Chess by Irving Chernev (Philadelphia, 1947), in the game Kan-Makogonov, Leningrad, 1939:

Since the white king is attacking only two unprotected pieces, we wonder what better examples of this theme can be found.

10528. Portrait of Staunton

From John Townsend (Wokingham, England):

‘C.N. 10524 asks for information on the origins of the Staunton photograph. My 2011 book Notes on the life of Howard Staunton mentioned on page 170 that the Staunton portrait which accompanied Staunton’s obituary in the Illustrated London News of 4 July 1874 (i.e. Number Seven in Pictures of Howard Staunton) was engraved from a photograph by Messrs Rider and Preston, of Southampton.

If Gene Gnandt was correct in C.N. 5958 that Number Six in Pictures of Howard Staunton was the photograph used as the basis for the engraving in the obituary, it follows that Number Six was taken by Rider and Preston.

For reasons given on pages 138-139 and 170 of my book, it is very likely that the photograph which the Illustrated London News attributed to Rider and Preston was taken early in the 1860s in Southampton, where Staunton had photographic business with the Ordnance Survey, which employed Rider in its Photographic Department. It is uncertain whether the photograph was taken before or after Rider and Preston set up business in 1862 as “Photographers, Photozincographic and Photolithographic Printers”.’

10529. Neglected

A neglected book, richly illustrated and with much little-known information, is Chess: Man vs Machine by Bradley Ewart (London, 1980). From the back of the dust-jacket:

Nominations concerning neglected books are always welcome.

10530. Pistyan, 1912

Artur Urbaniak (Lubsko, Poland) notes on page 13 of Sport & Salon, 6 July 1912 a photograph taken at Pistyan, 1912 which features, among others, Breyer, Spielmann and Rubinstein.

10531. Capablanca in Dublin

Gerard Killoran (lkley, England) points out that a photograph of Capablanca in Dublin can be found in the archives of Raidió Teilifís Éireann by searching for ‘Capablanca’ in the Stills Library box.

10532. Letters from Seitz to Helms (C.N. 10514)

Two more letters in our collection:

Seitz was a chess journalist.

10533. Chess in the Dutch East Indies

Just published: a 329 paperback Adoe toean blanda, u staat schaakmat! Een geschiedenis van het schaken in Nederlands-Indië by Rob van Vuurde (Rotterdam, 2017):

The author has forwarded us two photographs published on, respectively, pages 171 and 173:

A simultaneous display by Euwe in Medan (Sumatra) against 36 opponents, 20 August 1930

We shall be pleased to pass on to Mr van Vuurde any messages from readers who wish to acquire the book.

10534. Capablanca in Dublin

David McAlister (Hillsborough, Northern Ireland) has found this game in the Dublin Evening Herald, 2 March 1935, page 8 (moves 1-19) and 9 March 1935, page 8 (moves 20-33):

José Raúl Capablanca (simultaneous) – James J. Doyle
Dublin, 5 December 1919
Queen’s Gambit Declined

1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Be7 4 Nc3 Nf6 5 Bf4 a6 6 c5 O-O 7 e3 Re8 8 Bd3 Nbd7 9 h3 Nf8 10 g4 g6 11 Bg3 N8d7 12 b4 c6 13 a4 Bf8 14 O-O Bg7 15 b5 a5 16 b6 h5 17 Bc7 Qe7 18 g5 Nh7 19 h4

19...e5 20 Ne1 exd4 21 Bd6 Qe6 22 exd4 Bxd4 23 Bxg6 Bxf2+ 24 Rxf2 fxg6 25 Ne2 Ndf8 26 Qd3 Bd7 27 Ng2 Kg7

28 Raf1 Qe4 29 Qc3+ Kg8 30 Rf7 Ne6 31 Ng3 Qg4 32 Rxd7 d4 33 Qc4 Resigns.

Mr McAlister also notes that J.J. Doyle wrote an account of Capablanca’s two 40-board displays in Dublin (4 and 5 December 1919) on page 4 of the Irish Independent, 10 December 1919. The penultimate paragraph:

‘In my own case I can only say that, while I have been lucky enough to score an occasional game in simultaneous exhibitions with other masters who have visited Dublin from time to time, Blackburne, Lee and Teichmann, I have never experienced stronger attacking play than Capablanca’s, and I simply crumpled up before his powerful onslaughts on both evenings.’

Finally, our correspondent provides a photograph of Doyle with Lilienthal in the Dublin Evening Herald of 8 January 1935, page 10:

10535. Beautiful but unfortunate

The present item begins by drawing together a set of contradictory claims discussed in C.N.s 1160, 1322, 1667, 2592 (see page 258 of Chess Explorations and page 111 of A Chess Omnibus) and, more recently, in C.N. 10002.

C.N. 1160 commented with regard to Das Spiel der Könige by Alfred Diel (Bamberg, 1983):

Another example of how information undergoes transformations, as hacks add a bit here, take out a bit there, and turn stories inside out and upside down on no more than a whim, concerns the description of Janowsky’s play (source never given) as ‘like Marie Antoinette – beautiful but unfortunate’. Diel decides the story would be more interesting if the words were put in Janowsky’s mouth. That, and an exchange of queens, gives the following (page 118):

‘After losing a game, Dawid Janowsky complained: “Chess is like Mary Stuart – beautiful but unfortunate”.’ [‘Nach einer verlorenen Partie klagte der Meister David Janowski, “Schach ist wie Maria Stuart – schön, aber unglückselig”’.]

C.N. 1322 pointed out the following passage about Janowsky on page 21 of The World Chess Championship: Steinitz to Alekhine by Pablo Morán (London, 1986):

‘He had a very high opinion of himself as a player and once compared his play to Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scotland, as both were “splendid but unlucky”.’

Morán’s original text, from page 27 of Los campeonatos del mundo de Steinitz a Alekhine (Barcelona, 1974):

‘Se creía superior a todos y comparaba su estilo con la reina de Escocia, María Estuardo, “hermosa, pero sin suerte”.’

In C.N. 1667 Jack O’Keefe (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) noted that page 90 of the 1987 Russian book on Janowsky by S.B. Voronkov and D.G. Plisetsky quoted from Pester Lloyd, 21 June 1898:

‘According to Janowsky, his play is like Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots: “beautiful but unlucky”.’

Subsequently, we found an English version of the Pester Lloyd article in the American Chess Magazine, with the following on pages 63-64 of the August 1898 issue:

‘His play is, according to a remark of his own, like Mary Stuart, “beautiful but unfortunate”.’

C.N. 2592 cited a note by Hermann Helms on page 11 of the New York Evening Post, 22 June 1918 (in a discussion of Capablanca v Fonaroff, New York, 1918):

‘A real inspiration and, against an adversary of the Cuban’s stamp, would have made of Black’s game a genuine masterpiece, except for a slight flaw. “Beautiful, but unfortunate” about expresses it, in the language of the late W.H.K. Pollock when he was wont to draw a parallel between an unsound, brilliant combination and Mary, Queen of Scots.’

We commented that this was the only time that we recalled seeing the ‘beautiful, but unfortunate’ remark attributed to Pollock (or, indeed, to anybody other than Janowsky). Now, a comment can be added from a report about New York, 1915 on page 92 of the May-June 1915 American Chess Bulletin:

‘Neither A.B. Hodges nor E. Michelsen, who brought up the rear, came up to expectations, but ... the latter probably played the liveliest chess of any in the competition. With him it was a case of “beautiful but unfortunate”, as the late W.H.K. Pollock was wont to say.’

Moreover, there is an earlier instance of Hermann Helms ascribing such a remark to Pollock, is his column on page 9 of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 13 May 1906, which gave a game played in Brooklyn by George Schwietzer and Edward Libaire:

1 d4 f5 2 e4 fxe4 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 c6 5 f3 e3 6 Bxe3 d5 7 Bd3 Nbd7 8 f4 Qb6 9 Rb1 e5 10 fxe5 Nxe5 11 Nf3 Nxf3+ 12 Qxf3 Bd6 13 Bf4

13...O-O 14 Bxd6 Bg4 15 Bxf8 Re8+ 16 Be2 Bxf3 17 Bc5 Qd8 18 gxf3 b6 19 Ba3 Nh5 20 O-O Nf4 21 Rf2 Nh3+ 22 Kf1 Nxf2 23 Kxf2 Qh4+ 24 Kg2 Qxd4 25 Bd3 Qf4 26 Rf1 Re5 27 Ne2 Rg5+ 28 Kh1 Qf6 29 b3 c5 30 Bc1 Re5 31 Ng3 g6 32 Bb2 d4 33 Ne4 Qc6 34 c3 Kf8 35 cxd4 cxd4 36 Rc1 Qd7 37 Ba3+ Kf7 38 Kg2 Ra5 39 Bd6 Rxa2+ 40 Kg3 Qf5 41 f4 Kg7 42 Rc7+ Kh6

43 Nf2 Resigns.

The notes were reproduced on page 164 of the August 1906 American Chess Bulletin.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 7 March 1912, page 14

C.N. 10002 mentioned our wish to add some references to Marie Antoinette’s name in connection with Janowsky (see C.N. 1160 above), but they are still proving surprisingly elusive. Any citations mentioning a third queen, Mary Tudor, would also be welcome.

Attributions to Janowsky are fertile ‘once’ territory, and an old specimen comes from page 593 of the Literary Digest, 12 November 1898:

Another example of ‘once’ is on pages 44-45 of Jewish Chess Masters on Stamps by F. Berkovich (Jefferson, 2000):

‘Janowsky himself once described his game as “like Mary Queen of Scots – beautiful but unfortunate”.’

Finally, an inevitable contribution by Andrew Soltis, from page 204 of his book Why Lasker Matters (London, 2005):

‘Janowsky himself once compared his play to Mary Queen of Scots – “beautiful but unlucky”.’

10536. Short on Fischer

Not once but twice a chess book by ‘an academic professor of psychology, philosophy, sociology and economic business administration’ quotes Nigel Short on Bobby Fischer:

‘Why it finds the Bush administration for necessary a 61 years old man too rushed, nobody except itself selbste a danger represents is a mystery.’

That is from a book discussed in C.N.s 4716 and 9025, Check Mate and Word Games by Carlos Tortoza (Denver, 2006).

From page 157:

And from page 168:

Information about the ‘academic professor’ on the back cover:

It takes a few seconds to find online Nigel Short’s actual words, in his Sunday Telegraph chess column of 22 August 2004:

‘Why the Bush administration finds it necessary to hound a 61-year-old man who poses no danger to anyone but himself is a mystery.’

10537. Little effort

From page vii of Chess Mastery by Question and Answer by Fred Reinfeld (Philadelphia, 1939):

‘It seems to me that little effort is exerted as a rule to make the study of a chess book an interesting and pleasant occupation.’