AJanuary 27 1908
Hartford Courant, Hartford, Connecticut, Monday, January 27, 1908
TSCHIGORIN DEAD.
Noted Chess Player Took Part in Many Tournaments.
St. Petersburg, Jan. 26.—M. Tschigorin, the noted chess master, died here today. He was born in 1850. Tschigorin, took part in many national and international tournaments and on a number of occasions was high in the list of winners.
Tschigorin was a Russian, and came into prominence as a chess player at the time he played a match with Steinitz in Havana, when he was beaten. Tschigorin became first known in European tournaments at Berlin in 1881. He then secured fourth place, Blackburne being first, Zukertort second and Winawer third. In 1882, at the Vienna tournament, Tschigorin did not even get a place, but he again obtained fourth place in 1883, those ahead of him being, in their order, Zukertort, Steinitz and Blackburne. Since then he had won several tournaments.
The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, Maryland, Monday, January 27, 1908
Tschigorin, Chessmaster, Dead.
St. Petersburg, Jan. 26.—M. I. Tschigorin, the noted chessmaster, died here today. He was born in 1850. Tchigorin took part in many national and International tournaments and on a number of occasions was high in the list of winners.
Michael Ivanvorch Tschigorin in January, 1896, defeated Steinitz and won the Budapest tournament in October of the same year.
January 28 1908
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, Tuesday, January 28, 1908
CHESS MASTER DEAD.
Michael Ivanowitsch Tschigorin, most famous of Russian chess masters, is dead at the age of 57, his demise having occurred in St. Petersburg on Sunday last. The deceased expert, who enjoyed worldwide popularity because of his espousal of the romantic school of chess play in preference to the modern and duller, if more scientific school, visited America several times and achieved a notable success in the great Sixth American Chess Congress held in New York in 1889. Here he tied for first place with Max Weiss of Vienna and in the play-off contested four drawn games with that master. Two matches played with the late William Steinitz, then champion of the world, resulted in victories for the latter by scores of 10 to 6 and 10 to 8, respectively.
Hard matches with Isidor Gunsberg and Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch were both drawn by scores of 9 points all. Tschigorin took first prize in the international tournament at Budapest and the gambit tournament at Vienna, but his waning powers were in evidence at Cambridge Springs, Pa., in 1904, where he failed to land among the prize winners. Harry N. Pillsbury, another of the competitors at this historic gathering, is now no more. Tschigorin may be considered to have reached the zenith of his power in 1895, when he finished second to Pillsbury, winner of the great tournament at Hastings and above Dr. Lasker, Dr. Tarrasch and Steinitz. The Russian master made a deep impression here in Brooklyn, where he appeared in exhibition play several times.
February 09 1908
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Sunday, February 09, 1908
The death of Michael I. Tschigorin a few days ago in St. Petersburg, at the age of 57 years, deserves more then passing notice. The great Russian master not only was the undoubted champion of his country for a score of years, but one of the world's greatest players as well while in his prime.
His most important performances in match play were two contests with Steinitz, by whom he was defeated by scores of 10 to 6 and 10 to 8, with many draws in addition. Two other matches, one with Gunsberg and another with Tarrasch, each curiously resulted in a tie with 9 to 9 wins and a total of nine draws in the two contests. Twice he defeated his countryman Schiffers by a total of 14 to 6 and nine draws.
In tournament play he nearly always occupied a high position until the beginning of the present century, when his performances began to show a decided falling off. At the New York tournament of 1889 he tied for first place with Max Weiss. In 1895 he was second to Pillsbury at the great Hastings tournament by one-half point, leaving Lasker, Tarrasch, and Steinitz behind.
Scores Victory Over Steinitz.
One of his famous victories was the defeat of World's Champion Steinitz in two games played by cable between St. Petersburg and New York in 1891. This was a theoretical match. Tschigorin disputing the correctness of Steinitz's new defenses in the Evans gambit and two knights defense. One of these games was conducted as follows, the first seven moves on each side having been agreed upon:
Mikhail Chigorin vs Wilhelm Steinitz
Steinitz - Chigorin Telegraph Match (1890), Telegraphic match, rd 2
Italian Game: Evans Gambit. Slow Variation (C52) 1-0
December 27 1908
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Sunday, December 27, 1908
Death removed two masters from the chess arena. M. I. Tschigorin, the Russian champion and one of the prominent figures in international contests for many years, died in St. Petersburg at the age of 57. The veteran English player, H. E. Bird, also a participant in tournaments since 1851, suffered a like fate in London, having been an invalid in late years. Chicago chess circles mourn the death of Roswell A. Peters, one of the few remaining members of the old Chicago Chess club in the early 1870s. By removal Chicago also lost two of its best players—J. C. Eppens and E. Michelsen.
