Jackson Showalter
Jackson Whipps Showalter (February 5, 1859 in Minerva, Kentucky – February 5, 1935 in Lexington, Kentucky) was a five-time U.S. Chess Champion: 1890, 1892, 1892–1894, 1895–96 and 1906–1909. Chess career. U.S. Championship matches. Showalter won U.S. Championship matches against Max Judd (1891/92, +7−4=3), Albert Hodges (1894, +7−6=4), S. Lipschütz (1895, +7−4=3), Emil Kemény (1896, +7−4=4), and John Finan Barry (1896, +7−2=4). He lost championship matches to Max Judd (1890, +3−7=0), S. Lipschütz (1892, +1−7=7), Albert Hodges (1894, +3−5=1), Harry Nelson Pillsbury (twice, 1897 (+8−10=3) and 1898 (+3−7=2), and Frank Marshall (1909, +2−7=3). Other matches. Other match results: William  H.K. Pollock (1891, +3−2=3), Emanuel Lasker (1892/93, +2−6=2), Jacob Halpern (1893, +5−3=1), Adolf Albin (1894, +10−7=8), Dawid Janowski (four times: 1898, +2−7=4; 1899, +4−2=0 and +4−2=1; 1916, +2−7=2), Borislav Kostic (1915, +2−7=5), and Norman T. Whitaker (twice: 1916, +6−1=0 and 1918, +1−4=3). Tournament record. He also competed in the U.S. versus Great Britain international cable matches from 1896–1901, compiling a +4−1=1 record. Assessment. Showalter was known as "the Kentucky Lion" after his birthplace and his hairstyle, which consisted of a thick mane down the back of his neck, and perhaps also his playing strength. His wife Nellie was one of  America's leading female players, who won a match against Emanuel Lasker at knight odds 5–2. A variation of the Queen's Gambit Accepted is named after him (1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3). The famous "Capablanca Simplifying Manoeuvre" in the Orthodox Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Nf3 0-0 7.Rc1 c6 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nd5) had in fact been used by Showalter in the 1890s, many years before José Raúl Capablanca played it. Showalter was inducted in the World Chess Hall of Fame on August 7 , 2010. His great granddaughter, Amy Showalter, attended the ceremony and accepted the plaque on behalf of the Showalter family. The content of the induction speech was supplied by Kevin Marchese of Columbus, Ohio, who is currently writing a biography on Showalter that was slated to be delivered in late 2016. As of April 2021, the manuscript is nearly completed with aspirations to publish in early 2022.