AMarch 25 1909
Picking Cable Team 25 Mar 1909, Thu The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York) Newspapers.com
PICKING CABLE TEAM.
Nine American Players Chosen to Play Against British on Friday.
With the Anglo-American cable match for the Sir George Newnes Trophy only one day away, the liveliest interest is being shown in the personnel of the American team, which will be called upon to defend the emblem. S. B. Chittenden and S. H. Cragg, members of the cable match committee of the Brooklyn Chess Club, returned from Philadelphia yesterday, where they had been looking over the field, with the announcement that they had chosen S. Mlotkowski of the Franklin Chess Club of that city for a place on the team, to fill the vacancy caused by the recent death of Eugene Delmar. Mlotkowski will be recalled as the winner of the minor tournament of the Seventh American Chess Congress held in St. Louis in 1904, the year Frank J. Marshall of Brooklyn won the masters tournament there and at Cambridge Springs.
George H. Wolbrecht of St. Louis, it was announced last night, cannot come East this year, being engaged in government engineering in Arkansas. Neither will A. K. Robinson of Philadelphia nor E. W. Libaire of the Brooklyn Chess Club take part. On the other hand, F. J. Marshall is due to return from Canada tomorrow for the match, and J. F. Barry of Boston is counted on to rejoin the team, thereby strengthening it materially. Nine places are thus provided for leaving one to be filled. On the list of substitutes are A. Marder and A. F. Kreymborg, jr., of the Rice Chess Club, and W. A. Ruth of Philadelphia. The list of those actually chosen includes the following:
F. J. Marshall, C. S. Howell, G. J. Schwietzer and H. Helms of Brooklyn; A. B. Hodges, Staten Island; J. F. Barry, Boston; H. G. Voigt, S. L. Stadelman and S. Mlotkowski of Philadelphia.
At the Brooklyn Chess Club last night A. F. Kreymborg, jr., was given a test in a sitting with H. Helms and, though defeated in a queen's gambit declined after 70 moves, gave evidence of a fine capacity for combination play. Kreymborg played the white pieces, missed a draw by perpetual check and was outwitted in an ending with bishops of opposite colors.
March 26 1909
American Team Picked To Play With Britons 26 Mar 1909, Fri Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com
Teams Chosen for Big Annual Chess Tourney.
NEW YORK, March 25.—The American team which will play against Great Britain in the eleventh annual cable chess match tomorrow and Saturday was completed today by the addition of W. A. Ruth of Philadelphia. Ruth tied with Walter Penn Shipley, British umpire in this match for first place in the Pennsylvania state championship tournament. The make-up of the teams, with the addition of Ruth, follows:
Americans—F. J. Marshall, J. F. Berry, A. S. Hodges. H. G. Voigt. C. S. Howell, H. Helms, G. J. Schwietzer, S. L. Stadelman, S. Mlotkowski and W. A. Ruth.
Substitutes—A. Merder, A. F. Kreymborg and H. Rosenfeld.
Great Britain—H. E. Atkins, J. H. Blackburne, A. Burr, F. J. Lee, T. F. Lawrence, W. Ward, G. E. Wainwright, H. W. Richmond, R. H. Mitchell and J. H. Blake.
Substitutes—H. W. Holms, H. Jacobs. C. E. Sergeant, V. Wahltuch and E. Spencer.
Play will be begun at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, the Americans playing from the rooms of the Brooklyn Chess Club. America has won six in the series of these international matches, lost three and tied one.
March 27 1909
Camden Young Man In Big Chess Game 27 Mar 1909, Sat The Morning Post (Camden, New Jersey) Newspapers.com
CAMDEN YOUNG MAN IN BIG CHESS GAME
Stash Mlotkowski, a young man not yet of age, who resided for years in the Seventh ward, where his brother for years was a Justice of the Peace, is one of the contestants in the Anglo-American chess match, begun at the rooms of the Brooklyn Chess Club and Hotel Savoy, London. Yesterday the Americans succeeded in placing two victories to their credit, and the outlook was that the Sir George Newnes Trophy might be saved by a narrow margin, unless some bad upsets follow.
Mlotkowski, twenty years of age, has made a great record, and in this International game he has surprised many by his brilliant playing. There are those who say that in short time he will be one of the foremost chess experts of the world.
Chess By Cable 27 Mar 1909, Sat Manchester Evening News (Manchester, Greater Manchester, England) Newspapers.com
CHESS BY CABLE.
England v. America.
The eleventh annual match between teams representing English and American chess players for the Newnes international challenge trophy began at three o' clock yesterday afternoon. The sponsors for the English and American players are the City of London Chess Club and the Brooklyn Chess Club respectively. The play in London takes place at the Savoy Hotel in a suite of rooms placed in direct cable communication with the rooms in Brooklyn occupied by the American team. When, at three o'clock, Mr. Russell, the hon. secretary of the City Club, received a cable giving the names of the American players, which he read out aloud together with the names of the English teams opposing them, it was noticed with general regret that H. E. Atkins and A. Burn were absent from the English team. The Americans having won the toss, elected to play white on the odd-numbered boards. The pairing and openings adopted by the players were as follows:—
| England. 1. J. H. Blackburne 2. T. F. Lawrence 3. W. Ward 4. G. E. Wainwright 5. J. H. Blake 6. R. P. Michell 7. V. L. Wahltuch 8. Dr. H. Holmes 9. E. G. Sergeant 10. Herbert Jacobs |
America. F. J. Marshall J. F. Barry A. B. Hodges H. Voight C. Howell H. Helms A. Schweitzer E. Stadelmann S. Mlotkowski W. A. Ruth |
Opening. QP;P-QB4 defence French defence Sicilian defence QP;P-KN3 defence Ruy Lopez Ruy Lopez Queen's pawn Queen's pawn Pongiani Bird's opening |
Play was adjourned for an hour at 7 p.m. After the resumption of play, at 8 p.m., an average of about 18 moves having been recorded on all the boards, the positions were as follows:
Board No. 1: Blackburne had established a good defence against Marshall, and had castled on the queen's side.
No. 2: Lawrence had given up a pawn in the opening, but had a somewhat better development.
No. 3: Ward established a steady defence with his Sicilian.
No. 4: Quite even.
No. 5: Queens were exchanged, Blake having two rooks and two bishops against two rooks, bishop, and knight.
No. 6: An even position.
No. 7: This game looked very promising for the English side. Wahltuch, who is new to these contests, had a considerable attack by which he forced his opponent's king on to K 2. It was a kind of position in which White, if he did not unduly hurry matters or over-reach himself, ought to win.
No. 8: Even.
No. 9. Sergeant had overcome the disadvantage of being second player.
No. 10: Jacobs had one of those peculiar positions which ought to suit his attacking style. His two bishops were posted on Q-N1 and Q-N2 respectively, pointing direct towards his opponent's K-N2 and K-R2, behind which the castled king was posted.
Up to this period England had no disadvantage of position on a single board.
TWO WINS FOR AMERICA
Towards nine o'clock, however, two games took a decided turn, the one on board No. 3 for the worse and the one on board No. 10 for the better. Hodges suddenly developed a king's side advance for which Ward was not prepared, and at 9:15 the Englishman had to confess himself defeated. On board No. 10 Jacobs gradually improved his position by very clever attacking play, and at about the same time he seemed to have a winning advantage.
At ten o'clock a regrettable change took place in Wainwright's position. He had lost the exchange and a number of pawns.
Wahltuch had continued to press his opponent, who was obliged to give up a pawn, whilst Dr. Holmes seemed also to be actively pressing an advance.
None of the promising positions, however, materialised into a win for England, whereas at 10:30 Wainwright resigned, thus giving America the second victory, and with this score play was adjourned at 11:15 p.m.
Cable Chess Match Commenced 27 Mar 1909, Sat The Western Times (Exeter, Devon, England) Newspapers.com
Cable Chess Match Commenced
The Cable Chess match between representatives of Great Britain and America opened yesterday in the Victoria Hall of the Savoy Hotel. The trophy is a cup given thirteen years ago by Sir George Newnes. The Americans won last year by 6½ to 3½.
The constitution of the teams is as follows:—
Blackburne v. Marshall, Lawrence v. Barry, Ward v. Hodges, Wainwright v. Voight, Blake v. Howell, Mitchell v. Helms, Waters v. Schweiker, Holmes v. Stadleman, Sergeant v. Mlotkowski, Lacon v. Ruth.
Messrs. Blackburne and Marshall play at the first board, and Messrs. Lacon and Ruth at the tenth board. America is playing with white on odd numbered boards.
March 28 1909
March 28, 1909. GAME SCORES: Cable Chess Match Won By The British. Reversal in Americans' Form Results in Defeat by 5 Points to 4.
March 28, 1909. British Chess Players Win. S. Mlotkowski, at the ninth board, lost ground in his game today when he was thought to have a draw well in hand, and it was his game that was held over for adjudication. Practically the result of the match stands at six to four for the British team, inasmuch as the expert opinion is that the young Philadelphian had a lost position.
April 04 1909
The Anglo-American Cable Chess Match 04 Apr 1909, Sun The Times-Democrat (New Orleans, Louisiana) Newspapers.com
The Anglo-American Cable Chess Match.
The eleventh Anglo-American cable chess match was contested March 26 and 27 and ended after an exciting struggle in favor of the British players. The result came in the nature of a surprise as the American team appeared “on paper” much stronger than the “make-shift,” but astonishingly successful, team of last year. The British on the other hand showed few changes, but the recruits proved a worthy few and acclaimed their presence by well earned victories.
The United States was represented by the following well-known players: F. J. Marshall, C. S. Howell, G. J. Schwietzer and H. Helms of Brooklyn; A. B. Hodges, Staten Island; J. F. Barry, Boston; H. O. Voight, S. L. Stadelman, S. Mlotkowski and W. A. Ruth, Philadelphia.
The Americans started auspiciously and two games, wins by Hodges and Voight, respectively, were recorded in their favor when play was adjourned on Friday evening. The general outlook at this stage pointed to the probable retention in this country of the celebrated Newnes trophy, but it was generally conceded that the final score would be very close. On Saturday, however, after Marshall had added a third victory to the American score, the tide of battle took a sudden turn. Howell began the unexpected reverses by attempting to take liberties with a drawing position and thereby suffering an inglorious defeat. Herman Helms added to the discomfiture by entering upon an unsound combination that turned his winning advantage into a losing game. Then came a succession of disasters for America, relieved somewhat by the sturdy play of Messrs. Barry and Stadelman, both of whom drew, so that at the close of play the advantage of the morning had faded away and the British were leading with 5 points to 4. But one game, that between Sergeant and Mlotkowski, remained unfinished at the closing hour and must therefore be submitted for final adjudication to the referee, Baron Rothschild of Vienna. Expert opinion, however, almost unanimously predicts a decision for Sergeant, so that the final score will probably be 6 points to 4 in favor of Great Britain.
April 11 1909
Chess Champions' Club 11 Apr 1909, Sun St. Louis Globe-Democrat (St. Louis, Missouri) Newspapers.com
Chess Champions' Club.
A new chess club has just been formed in Philadelphia, known as the Philadelphia Chess Champions' Association. This is to be an exclusive club, and to be eligible for membership, the applicant must be under 30 years of age and have won at least one championship tournament. The following players comprise the charter members: S. L. Stadelman, present and last year's champion of the Mercantile Library Chess Association; W. H. Hughes, ex-champion State of Pennsylvania and University of Pennsylvania; W. A. Ruth, present champion Columbia Chess Club; S. Mlotkowski, ex-champion Mercantile Chess Association and winner of minor tournament at St. Louis, 1904; S. T. Sharp, present champion State of Pennsylvania. The following officers have been chosen to serve for the first year. President, S. T. Sharp; vice president, N. T. Whitaker; secretary, W. H. Hughes; treasurer, W. A. Ruth.
The association is now in a position and waiting to play matches with a six-board team of any club or association in the East, the only conditions it imposes being that where it leaves its home city to play matches with other clubs, that the losing club pay the expenses of the match.
April 17 1909
The Cable Match 17 Apr 1909, Sat The Sutton Coldfield News (Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England) Newspapers.com
The Cable Match. The Americans have done the right thing, if rather tardily, by resigning the game between Sergeant and Mlotkowski, making the final score of the cable match: Great Britain 6, United States 4—a result eminently satisfactory from a British point of view.
October 17 1909
Mlotkowski vs. Sergeant 17 Oct 1909, Sun The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com
While we published some months ago an interesting game played by S. Mlotkowski against Sergeant in the American cable match, we did not have at that time Mlotkowski's analysis of his seventh move, P-Q4, which has not been hitherto satisfactorily worked out so far as we know in any published analysis. We now give the opening moves of the game and add to it the notes received at our request some little time back from Mr. Mlotkowski. (Full game score).
Stasch Mlotkowski (white) vs. Edward Guthlac Sergeant (black)
Ponziani Opening: Steinitz Variation
NOTES BY MLOTKOWSKI
(a) In regards to 7. P-Q4 would say that I have seen this in several games, if I remember correctly, Popiel vs. Burn, Popiel vs. Napier and Roething vs. Marshall. The latter is in Lasker's Chess Magazine, played about two years ago.
If 7. P-K5 is played white any play either 8. P-QB4 (which I intended to play) or 8. B-QB4, but not 8. KN-Q2 on account of 8. P-K6. After 7. P-K5, 8. P-QB4 Q-Q1, 9. KN-Q2 QxP, KN-N3, white has a good game for the pawn.
The game Popiel vs. Napier continued 7. P-Q4 B-Q2; 8. B-K3 PxP; 9. PxP N-B1. Somehow I supposed that in this position black could not play N-K4, as I knew he could in the usual variation after 7. O-O. If I had known that he could I would not have adopted the Ponziana. However, after 9. N-K4, the only move I could see to avoid exchanging was 10. N-B3, and there did not seem to be much in it, after 10. NxNch and 11. Q-B4.
