James Mason in America

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 Café Europa and Café International tournaments, his win in 1876’s Fourth American Chess Congress, and his matches against chess greats like George H. Mackenzie, Eugene Delmar, Dión M. Martínez, 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.

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.

Joost van Winsen
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 384
Bibliographic Info: 43 photos, 232 diagrams, appendix, notes, bibliography, indexes
Copyright Date: 2020 [2011]
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7943-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3957-4
Imprint: McFarland

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

• “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
• “Invaluable…excellent”—Manchester Chess Federation
• “Invaluable”—The Compulsive Reader
• “Exceptionally good”—ChessCafe
• “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