AAugust 15 1885
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, Missouri, Saturday, August 15, 1885
Hamburg Chess Tourney.
The fourth meeting of the German Chess Association, representing 150 clubs, which began July 12, has closed with a grand tournament, in which eighteen-strong players participated. They are as follows: From Germany—Herr Bier, of Hamburg; S. Von Gottschall and J. Minckwitz, of Leipzig. W. Paulsen, of Blomberg. and Dr. Tarrasch, of Halle. From Austria—Prof. J. Berger, of Gratz; B. Englisch and M. Weiss, of Vienna. From Prussia—Riemann and A. Schottlantier, of Breslau, and E. Schallop, of Berlin. From Hungary—Dr. Noa, of Beckskerek. From England—H. E. Bird, J. H. Blackburne, I. Gunsberg and Jas. Mason, all of London. From France—M. Taubenhaus of Paris. From America—Capt. Geo. H. Mackenzie, of New York. One game around was played. Gunsberg, “Mephisto,” gained the first prize; Mason, Blackburne, Englisch, Dr. Tarrasch and Weiss tied for second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth prizes, which they divided, each being behind the first prize winner by only a half game; Mackenzie took seventh prize, with only two games behind, and Rieman and Schallop divided the eighth and ninth prizes. Had Mason won his game from Minckwitz, he would have tied with Gunsberg, but he could only draw. The tourney produced some excellent games and brought forth a player of the first rank, never heard of before, Dr. Tarrasch, of Halle, Germany, and proved, furthermore, that the German school is fully the equal of the English; for Englisch, Weiss and Dr. Tarrasch coming out as prize winners are only amateurs, one being a physician, another a newspaper man, and the third a clerk. All work for their living, whereas Gunsberg, Mason, Blackburne and Mackenzie are professionals.
We append the full scores:
Players. Won. Lost. 1. Gunsberg … 12 5 2. Blackburne … 11½ 5½ 3. Englisch … 11½ 5½ 4. Mason … 11½ 5½ 5. Dr. Tarrasch … 11½ 5½ 6. Weiss … 11½ 5½ 7. Mackenzie … 10 7 8. Rieman … 9½ 7½ 9. Schallop … 9½ 7½ 10. Minckwitz … 9 8 11. Berger … 8 9 12. Bird … 8 9 13. Gottschall … 6½ 10½ 14. Taubenhaus … 6½ 10½ 15. Dr. Noa … 5 12 16. W. Paulsen … 4 13 17. Schottlander … 4 13 18. Bier … 3½ 13½
October 03 1885
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, Missouri, Saturday, October 03, 1885
Hamburg Tourney.
A good example of the tournament between Capt. Mackenzie and the new German star.
George Henry Mackenzie vs Siegbert Tarrasch
4th DSB Congress, Hamburg (1885), Hamburg GER, rd 15, Jul-24
Colle System (D05) 1-0
FEN 2bn1rk1/4Nq2/2p5/2PpB1p1/1P4p1/4P3/2Q3K1/R7 w - - 0 1
And the Captain gave a neat mate in three moves.
37. Bxe5 Qf7;
38. Ne7+ Qxe7
39. Qg6+ Qg7
40. Qxg7#
Notes By Reichhelm.
13. BxR PxP(a)Under the impression that the Captain would retake with NP.
(b) Premature. Black should have kept more on the defensive.
18. R-Ksq R-K4(b) Premature. Black should have kept more on the defensive.
34. B-Q4 P-R4(c) Tarrasch is bound to die with his boots on.
October 08 1885
The Evening Star, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, Thursday, October 08, 1885
A Notable Chess Match.
The contest for the world's championship was decided at Hamburg on July 25. The events of the week which led up to the final result were as follows:—The adjourned game between Mason and Riemann was decided in favor of the latter player on Tuesday afternoon. This was the first defeat which Mason suffered, he having played ten games, out of which number he only drew one, and won all the others. The game Englisch v. Mason was likewise given as a draw. On the same day Blackburne defeated Minkwitz; while Mackenzie defeated Englisch. Weiss won against Bird, Gunsberg against Paulsen, and Tarrasch against Gottschall. Wednesday Gunsberg added two more victories to his score against Taubenhaus and Minkwitz; the latter player at the time being half a point ahead of Gunsberg, was thereby overtaken. The day, however, proved disastrous for both Blackburne and Mason. Blackburne in the morning played a game against Bier, which, on being played out on Thursday, was won by Bier. Mason played Schallopp. This game was likewise adjourned in a drawn position, but unaccountably lost by Mason through moving his K to the wrong square. He also drew with Berger. Thursday was a real lucky field-day for Gunsberg. He was opposed to Blackburne. As events prove, this contest was of vital importance. If Blackburne had won, he would have won the first prize with 12½ Even a draw would have made Blackburne absolute winner, as his final score would have been 12 against 11½ of Gunsburg. The game was won by Gunsberg. Mason likewise further weakened his score by losing to Dr. Tarrasch, a young player of great promise, and who combines considerable powers of combination with a sound judgment and theoretical knowledge of the game. The position of the leading men after Thursday's play was as follows:—Dr. Tarrasch, 10½; Gunsberg, 10; Weiss, 9½; Blackburne, 9; Englisch, 9; Mason 9½; Games played, 14.
There were three games still to play. On Friday Captain Mackenzie did very good service to the English combatants by defeating Tarrasch in masterly style. Blackburne and Weiss drew together, but won their afternoon games. Gunsberg won against Bird in the morning, but remained with an inferior game against Riemann in the afternoon. Mason also adjourned with a worse position against Minkwitz, but with a winning game against Gotschall. Englisch won both his games.
Saturday morning nothing definite could be told as regards the order of the winners, which goes far to show that the struggle was an exceedingly close one, and hotly contested. The position of the leaders on the last day was—Tarrasch, 11½; Gunsberg, 11; Weiss, 11; Englisch, 11; Blackburne, 10½ Mason, 9½.
Any of these six had more or less chances for the first prizes. Gunsberg had, perhaps, the lightest task to perform; he won his last game against Gottschall, which was his seventh consecutive victory. His score was raised to 12. It is only natural that German sympathies should have been with Tarrasch in his set-to with Blackburne. For Tarrasch this was a struggle for the first prize. Blackburne saw his opportunity of winning a piece on the eighteenth move; whereupon Tarrasch resigned. Score, 11½ each. Two more aspirants for first honors were finally disposed of by only being able to draw, namely, Englisch against Berger. Score, Englisch, 11½; and, more important still, Mason against Weiss; Weiss's final score, 11½.
Although there were no more games to play, nevertheless the first prize winner was not definitely known, as Gunsberg, and Mason had adjourned games to finish. Gunsberg lost against Riemann, his final score being left at 12. Mason, whose score was 10, could, if he won both his games, still have tied for the first prize. It was understood that he could win against Gottschall, which he did later on, but that he would lose to Minkwitz. The assumption, however, proved rash, and did not take into account the great talent which Mason displays when fighting an uphill battle. Indeed, although starting at a disadvantage at the time of adjournment, Mason won important time moves which enabled him to advance two pawns dangerously near the eighth row. At that moment even Blackburne and Mackenzie thought that Mason would win; but Minkwitz, perceiving his great danger, brought about a certain draw.
Additional reading
- 4th DSB Congress, Hamburg (1885), Hamburg, Germany (13 July 1885-25 July 1885)
- H.E. Bird: A Chess Biography with 1,198 Games
