Author: Schellenberg, Paul W (1843-1920), Johannes Metger, Paul Lipke and Jacques Mieses Bibliothek des Schachereins Andersen in Breslau
Year: 1894
Publisher: Verlag von Veit & Company
Place: Leipzig
Description:
272 pages with diagrams and tables. Small octavo (7 3/4" x 5 1/2") bound in half leather with marbled boards and raised spine bands, gilt lettering to spine. Provenance from the library of Bibliothek des Schachereins Andersen in Breslau (Linde-Niemeijeriana: 5235) First edition.
The Deutschen Schachbund had been founded in Leipzig in 1877. When the next meeting took place in the Schützenhaus in 1879, sixty-two clubs had become member of the chess federation. Hofrat von Gottschall became Chairman and Zwanzig the General Secretary. Twelve players participated in the master tournament of Leipzig 1879. Thereafter the field increased and improved.When foreign players were invited for Berlin 1881, an important and successful formula was completed: 1. A master tournament was organized every second year, in a time when few international events took place. 2. Germans could partake in many groups and their talents qualified for master tournaments by a master title in the Hauptturnier. Many important chess players took part, but Lasker found the prizes too low, when he was world champion. Tarrasch and Schlechter won three master events. Organizers kept a balance between the interests of amateurs and professionals. The Great War ended a fine tradition.
Coinciding with the 7th Congress of the German Chess Association, a series of chess events were held in Dresden in 1892, including the Dresden 1892 Chess Tournament that brought together renowned chess players of the time: the German champion of the era Siegbert Tarrasch, the English master Joseph H. Blackburne, the strong Austrian player Georg Marco, the outstanding Romanian chess player Adolf Albin, the Polish player Szymon Winawer or the great German promise Carl August Walbrodt, among others. Tarrasch started a priori as favorite given that he had been awarded the two previous major tournaments: Breslau 1889 and Manchester 1890 but started the tournament very imprecisely, with two draws and one defeat in the first four rounds. Despite his 51 years old, Blackburne shared that stigma of favorite for his victory in Berlin 1881 and his second place in Manchester 1890 and so it seemed at first to prove it with 3 wins and a draw in his first 4 games, but as the tournament progressed his game became inaccurate and somewhat disappointing, losing defeats to players theoretically inferior to his level of play. The game chosen by the jury as a prize for brilliance and awarded to the English master Joseph Henry Blackburne. The Dresden 1892 Chess Tournament was won by S. Tarrasch who won a first prize of 1000 marks. The second place was shared by the Hungarian player Gyula Makovetz, editor of the chess magazine Budapesti Sakkszemle, and the Czech player Moritz Porges, resident in Prague, who shared equally 700 marks and 500 marks of the 2nd and 3rd prize. The third place with prizes of 350 marks (4th prize) and 150 marks (5th prize) was shared by the Austrian player Georg Marco who would subsequently win the Vienna 1895 chess tournament and become the editor of the well-known magazine Wiener Schachzeitung‘from 1898 to 1916 and the young German player Carl August Walbrodt of Berlin who would win along with Curt von Bardeleben the Kiel 1893 Chess Tournament belonging to the 8th Congress of the German Chess Association.
Condition:
Edge wear, corners bumped and rubbed, provenance Bibliothek des Schachereins Andersen in Breslau with stamp on title verso and label to front paste down, some light foxing, title slightly soiled, else a very good copy of a scarce chess title.