Overview

Few men are prominent chess players as well as esteemed chess writers. James Mason, in his lifetime, had the reputation of being both. This book chronicles Mason's early career in the United States, providing many details on his writings and annotations for The Spirit of the Times and The American Chess Journal, his participation in the Cafe Europa and Cafe International tournaments, his win in 1876's Fourth American Chess Congress, and his matches against chess greats like George H. Mackenzie, Eugene Delmar, Dion M. Martinez, Edward Alberoni, and Henry E. Bird. Mason's efforts to establish an American Chess Association and to arrange an international centennial congress in 1876 are also explored. In addition to the general index, the work also includes indexes of games, annotators, and openings.

Full Product Details

Author:   Joost van Winsen
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   0.689kg
ISBN:  

9781476679433

ISBN 10:   1476679436
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   28 February 2020
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

"Preface and Acknowledgments 1 A Note to the Reader 3 Part I. Mason's Chess Career in America One ""Establishing Himself in Business"" 7 Intermezzo: American Chess in 1867 26 Two After the Break 27 Intermezzo: Chess Players' Baseball Game 45 Intermezzo: Chess in Philadelphia 46 Three New World versus Old World 47 Intermezzo: Nineteenth Century American Congresses 89 Four Disputed Victories 90 Intermezzo: The Café International 105 Five The Pencil and the Game 106 Intermezzo: The Spirit of the Times 129 Six ""Get Up Some Attack"" 130 Intermezzo: The Lieders' Cup 144 Part II. Matches and Tournaments Mackenzie–Mason (New York, 1869) 147 Königs–Mason (New York, 1873?) 148 Delmar–Mason (Brooklyn–New York, 1873) 148 Delmar–Mason (Brooklyn–New York, 1873) 148 Martínez–Mason (Philadelphia, 1874) 149 Delmar–Mason (New York, 1874) 149 Alberoni–Mason (New York, 1875) 149 Bird–Mason (New York, 1875–1876) 150 Consultation Match (New York, 1877–1878) 151 First Café Europa Tournament (New York, 1868–1869) 152 Second Café Europa Tournament (New York, 1869) 153 Third Café Europa Tournament (New York, 1869) 153 Fourth Café Europa Tournament (New York, 1869) 154 Fifth Café Europa Tournament (New York, 1869–1870) 156 Brooklyn Chess Club Tournament (Brooklyn, 1870) 157 Café International Tournament (New York, 1870) 158 Café International Tournament (New York, 1874–1875) 159 Café International Tournament (New York, 1875) 160 Café International Tournament (New York, 1876) 161 Fourth American Chess Congress (Philadelphia, 1876) 163 Clipper Free Centennial Tournament (New York, 1876) 165 Part III. Games and Positions Miscellaneous 1868 169 First Café Europa Tournament (New York, 1868–1869) 170 Second Café Europa Tournament (New York, 1869) 170 Third Café Europa Tournament (New York, 1869) 171 Fourth Café Europa Tournament (New York, 1869) 172 Match Mackenzie–Mason (New York, 1869) 176 Miscellaneous 1869 179 Fifth Café Europa Tournament (New York, 1869–1870) 181 Brooklyn Chess Club Tournament (Brooklyn, 1870) 181 Miscellaneous 1870 182 Miscellaneous 1872 184 Match Königs–Mason (New York, 1873?) 185 Match Delmar–Mason (Brooklyn– New York, 1873) 186 Match Delmar–Mason (Brooklyn–New York, 1873) 187 Miscellaneous 1873 190 Match Martínez–Mason (Philadelphia, 1874) 200 Match Delmar–Mason (New York, 1874) 201 Miscellaneous 1874 203 Café International Tournament (New York, 1874–1875) 209 Café International Tournament (New York, 1875) 211 Match Alberoni–Mason (New York, 1875) 212 Miscellaneous 1875 214 Match Bird–Mason (New York, 1875–1876) 225 Café International Tournament (New York, 1876) 235 Fourth American Chess Congress (Philadelphia, 1876) 242 Clipper Free Centennial Tournament (New York, 1876) 250 Miscellaneous 1876 253 Miscellaneous 1877 259 Consultation Match (New York, 1877–1878) 264 Miscellaneous 1878 269 Part IV. Appendices, Sources and Indexes Appendix 1. Problems and an Endgame 275 Appendix 2. A Summary of Mason's Results 280 Match Record 280 Tournament Record 280 Record Against Prominent Players 281 Simultaneous Exhibition 284 Appendix 3. Chess Activity in New York and Brooklyn 285 Appendix 4. Chess Personalities, Clubs and Resorts 295 Appendix 5. Published Works by Mason 307 Appendix 6. Articles by Others 322 Appendix 7. Letters to Editors of Newspapers and Journals 326 Appendix 8. Notes in Original Languages 342 Sources 347 Index of Opponents 351 Consultation Games Index 354 Handicap Games Index 355 Index of Annotators 356 Index of Openings (ECO Codes) 359 General Index 363"

Reviews

the 1860s and 1870s were a golden time for chess journalism in the United States...a particularly nice touch is the reproduction of drawings of several chess clubs of the day...a first rate effort that will be fascinating reading for anyone interested in chess in 19th century America...a first-class productions effort with high quality paper and library binding...recommended -IM John Donaldson (JeremySilman.com) invaluable...excellent -Manchester Chess Federation; invaluable -The Compulsive Reader; exceptionally good -ChessCafe.com beautifully bound and printed. Flows like a novel, very much a 21st century book on a 19th century topic! -British Chess Magazine a rich look at the early career of a fine player and writer and the development of the American chess scene -Chessville

the 1860s and 1870s were a golden time for chess journalism in the United States...a particularly nice touch is the reproduction of drawings of several chess clubs of the day...a first rate effort that will be fascinating reading for anyone interested in chess in 19th century America...a first-class productions effort with high quality paper and library binding...recommended -IM John Donaldson (JeremySilman.com) invaluable...excellent -Manchester Chess Federation invaluable -The Compulsive Reader exceptionally good -ChessCafe.com beautifully bound and printed. Flows like a novel, very much a 21st century book on a 19th century topic! -British Chess Magazine a rich look at the early career of a fine player and writer and the development of the American chess scene -Chessville

Author Information

Journalist Joost van Winsen lives in the Netherlands. He has previously written about American chess history of the Nineteenth century, and has contributed articles to ChessCafe.com and ChessArcheology.com.

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