1907
American Chess Bulletin 1907, p. 193
Einar Michelsen, Western Champion
E. Michelsen, of Chicago, and winner of the championship tournament of the Western Chess Association, held at Excelsior last August, was born in Odense, Denmark, in 1885, and learned to play chess when about fifteen years of age. He devoted considerable time after learning the game to composing and solving problems, and, when sixteen years old, took the first prize for composing a three-mover, offered by the Berlin Illustrated Zeitung. He played in the minor tournaments in Denmark during his school days, always making a good score. After finishing his studies in school, he went from Odense to Copenhagen, where he worked in a book store. Thence he went to Stockholm and staid about a year. During these years he still devoted a good deal of time to composing problems, and played occasionally. He then went to Christiana, Norway, from which place he came to Chicago, arriving there in 1905. Since that time he has been playing more or less at the Chicago Chess Club. He joined this club in 1906, after winning one of the simultaneous games played by Lee, a condition of the seance being that the winner of any game against the single player should be given a free membership. Of late he has not devoted much time to problems. At the annual tournament of the Western Chess Association, one year ago, he did not get a place in the finals, not winning half his games in the qualification rounds; but this year was able to beat them all. He occupies a position with the Mitchen Woolen Co., in Chicago, and will no doubt be heard from again in important tournaments.
