July 05 1972
The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida, Wednesday, July 05, 1972
THE FIRST major international tournament was staged in London in 1851. A 30-year-old German professor, Adolf Anderssen, won the tournament and was given the title “World Champion.”
In the meantime the game had also caught on in the Western Hemisphere.
The leading American player was Paul Morphy, who won major tournaments at the age of 12. In 1858 he became the world champion America's first and only so far.