Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1894-02-02

0VCAAAVA W ACCU I'LL III q ltu ~ Uu0
championship and 5000 a side. Steinitz
willing, and Lasker began to look for
the money his hackers had promised him. |
After weeks of hard work he has been
compelled to request the champions assent |
to a proposition reducing the minimum
stake to $2,250. The efforts of these chess
giants to induce a club to offer a purse for !
their proposed contest have been almost as
unsuccessful as the usual attempts of ath.
letic clubs to hold prize fights, but for an
entirely different reason. The law inter-
feres with the pugilists, but lack of money is
the stumbling block in the way of the chess
players. There seems to be good reason to
believe, however, that chess enthusiasts in
New York or Montreal will raise a purse,
and as Steinitz has agreed to contest for a
minimum stake of s2,250 the chess masters
will undoubtedly meet before long.
William Steinitz, who now lives in Mont
clair, N. j., is without doubt one of the
greatest chess players the world has ever
known. He has been meeting the best
players for IS years and has held the cham
pionship of the world longer than any
other man. twenty-five years is a long
time to defend such a title, but Steinitz has
done it, and from first to last he has shown
himself to be a true sportsman.
He prizes his hard won laurels dearly,
but is never reluctant to defend them. A
challenge when it is properly backed with
money never goes begging, and Lasker's
proposition for a match met with a bust
nesslike reception from Steinitz, although
the champion had practically concluded to
retire after his great victory over Michael
Ivanovitch Tschigorin, the czar of the Rus
sian players, in 1892. Steinitz was born in
Prague about SO years ago and learned to
play chess in Prague and Vienna. In 1859,
1860 and 1861 he won local tournaments in
Vienna and in 1862 won sixth place in the
London international chess tournament.
The next year he attracted considerable at
tention by defeating Blackburne. Practice
inspired him with such confidence that in
1866 he challenged Adolph Andersen, the
champion of the world, and was victorious.
In 1872 SteiniJz and Zukertort met for the
first time, Steinitz winningthe match. Stein
itz crossed the Atlantic in 1882, and as there
seemed to be more money on this side for a
chess master than anywhere else he made
the United States his home and became
naturalized. Although not a remarkable
blindfold player, like Morphy, Steinitz at
tracted considerable attention by playing
as many as IS simultaneous games against
strong players. One Of his first matches in
America was against Captain Mackenzie,
whom he defeated with ease in 1888. In
| June of the same year he was second to Zu.
kertort in an international match in Lon.
don, but he succeeded in defeating Tschi-
gorin and Blackburne. In 1886 Steinitz and
Zukertort met again for the champion
, ship. The score was: Steinitz, 10; Zuker
tort, s.; drawn, 5. Having thus disposed o.
Zukertort, Tschigorin was his next oppo
nent of note. They played for the cham
pionship in 1889 and 1892, Steinitz success
fully defending his title on each occasion.
Steinitz began playing chess when but L
years of age. His first chessboard wa
drawn with a lead pencil, and his first Sc
of chess men was cut out Of paper. Thes
primitive pieces proving unsatisfactory
Steinitz and his brother laboriously carve.
a set from blocks of wood. Among the fa
3 nous people who have played with Steir
| itz are Won Moltke, Bismarck, Napoleo
3 III and the Prince of Wales.
q Emanuel Lasker, the ambitious youn
g German who believes he can defeat Steiniti
9 is q mere infant in experience compare
with the champion, but for all that he is a
: opponent worthy Of any living chess ma
t ter's attention. As Lasker is only Is yeal
q of age, Steinitz was champion of the worl
/. when he was born. Berlinchen. German,
' was Lasker's birthplace. and like Steinit
he began playing chess when only 10 yea
e old. When only 81, Lasker won fame /
q defeating Baron Won Bardeleben, and IL
e same year he took second prize in the An
/, sterdam chess congress. In London he d
o feated the veteran Bird in seven out Of nil
o games, and repeated victories over SUI
o strong players as Blackburne, Lee, Biz
l. Minati. Mason and Gunsberg proved co
n clusively that he was a phenomenon. VIII,
l. he worsted the veteran Blackburne 6 to
IS in a set match, he was looked upon as o.
n Of the few great living players.
IL In 1892 he came to America and at on
n increased his great reputation by wondt
J. full simultaneous play and by defeatil
L. such experts as Delmar, Lipschutz, St
d walter and others. In October, 1893,
le performed the wonderful feat of winnil
is out of 13 games in the information
tournament in New York against such {
perts as Showalter, Pillsbury. Gossip, 1
sc bin. Taubenhaus, Oily, Delmar, Lee, J,
Of n%ogrodsky, Hanham, Pollock, Schmidt
Ryan. EARLE H.fEAToN