Chess history trivia

[John Townsend]

Yes, well done, Jon.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Lovely report here:

HN Pillsbury vs. MR. Rhoda Bowles

That is from BCM in 1903 (the game was on 29 November 1902).

[The actual game is not on that blog, or my browser is not displaying it. Can anyone post it or link to it? Maybe the problem as well, though that might be more difficult to find.]

[John Townsend]

Edward Winter discusses the problem in his feature article on Pillsbury and refers to a problem which was published shortly afterwards and may be the same one:

https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/ext ... ury1.html

[Jon D'Souza-Eva]

On that Chess History page, Edward Winter mentions that he doesn't know what happened to Pillsbury's wife after his death in 1906. It seems she married again (for the third time) in 1910 and died in 1955, when she was 83. What is interesting is that although she and Pillsbury married in 1901 (after a three year engagement according to some sources), her first, much older, husband, Henry Dubois Southard, didn't die until 1908. I couldn't find any record of a divorce.

[John Saunders]

[The actual game is not on that blog, or my browser is not displaying it. Can anyone post it or link to it? Maybe the problem as well, though that might be more difficult to find.]

The game doesn't appear in my browser either (it's quite an old web page - at a guess, it probably used some (Java?) software which modern browsers won't show).

But the game can be found on the (much-derided but sometimes useful) StarBase 4.56 and, more handily, at chessgames.com

[Event "Living Chess"] [Site "London, Borough Road Polytechnic"] [Date "1902.11.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Pillsbury, Harry Nelson"] [Black "Bowles, Henry Lewis"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D60"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "1902.11.29"] [EventType "game"] [EventCountry "ENG"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Bd3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 h6 9. Bh4 Nd5 10. Bxe7 Nxe7 11. O-O Nb6 12. Bb3 c6 13. Qe2 Ned5 14. e4 Nf4 15. Qe3 g5 16. h4 f6 17. Rad1 Kg7 18. hxg5 hxg5 19. e5 f5 20. g3 Nh3+ 21. Kg2 g4 22. Nh4 Nd5 23. Bxd5 cxd5 24. Ne2 Qg5 25. f4 Qh5 26. Rc1 Rf7 27. Ng1 Nxg1 28. Rxg1 Bd7 29. Rh1 Bc6 30. Rh2 Rh8 31. Rch1 Rff8 32. Kg1 Qf7 33. Qa3 a6 34. Kf2 Qc7 35. Ke3 Bb5 36. Qb4 Rc8 37. Rc2 Bc6 38. Qc5 Rh7 39. Rhc1 Qd8 40. b4 Rc7 41. a4 Rxh4 42. gxh4 Qxh4 43. b5 axb5 44. axb5 Qg3+ 45. Kd2 Qxf4+ 46. Kc3 b6 47. Qxb6 Rb7 48. Qxc6 Qe3+ 49. Kb2 Qxd4+ 50. Rc3 Qb4+ 51. Rb3 Qd2+ 52. Rc2 Qd4+ 53. Qc3 Qd1 54. b6 d4 55. Qc7+ Rxc7 56. bxc7 d3 57. c8=Q Qxc2+ 58. Qxc2 dxc2 59. Kxc2 Kg6 60. Kd2 f4 61. Rb8 Kf5 62. Rg8 g3 63. Ke2 Ke4 64. Rg4 g2 65. Kf2 { Source: BCM, January 1903, p26 (time limit "about 60 moves per hour for each player")} 1-0

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Thank you for finding the game, John.

I wonder if it is possible to calculate whether the Black or White queen covered more squares of the chess board during the game? I am sure a computer program can be written to calculate that (or someone could manually count)? Anyway, I found it interesting that the wives took the role of queens of the opposing armies to the ones 'commanded' by their husbands! Maybe the other way round would have cause marital disharmony? And in passing, the photograph of the two queens gives the 'black' queen as the Red Queen (as the clothes included "crimson velvet"). Lovely bit of history.

[John Townsend]

Which player represented Cambridge University against Oxford early in the twentieth century, being Senior Wrangler and later a professor at Pasadena University, California?

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Which player represented Cambridge University against Oxford early in the twentieth century, being Senior Wrangler and later a professor at Pasadena University, California?

I had not heard of him before. Thank you.

Having read the Wikipedia article on him, that is a really distinguished career in mathematics. Love the description of him that John Saunders at Britbase has quoted (from Bertram Goulding Brown):

He was the most amiable and unworldly of men; and as he walked slowly along, revolving some mathematical problem, he had the look of a slightly surprised angel.

I believe "Pasadena University, California" should be more properly referred to as Caltech (California Institute of Technology)! Though I think the formulation you used was because he joined when it was still known as "Throop College of Technology"?

Even better is the description of him by von Kármán:

[...] a shy, meticulous Englishman [...] He seemed to know everything but did nothing important. I liked him.

[Paul Cooksey]

[Event "Oxford - Cambridge Varsity"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Source "The Field, 1904.04.02, p.550"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. e3 d6 6. Nge2 Nf6 7. d4 cxd4 8. exd4 Bf5 9. O-O O-O 10. a3 Qd7 11. b4 Rfc8 12. f3 h5 13. Be3 d5 14. c5 Re8 15. b5 Na5 16. Bf4 Nc4 17. a4 Rad8 18. Nc1 Nh7 19. Re1 g5 20. Be5 Bxe5 21. dxe5 e6 22. Qd4 Qc7 23. Bf1 Rc8 24. Bxc4 dxc4 25. Qxc4 Qxc5+ 26. Qxc5 Rxc5 27. N1a2 Nf8 28. Ne4 Bxe4 29. Rxe4 Ng6 30. Rae1 Rd8 31. Nc1 Rc3 32. Kf2 Rc2+ 33. Ne2 Rd5 34. f4 gxf4 35. gxf4 Rd3 36. Rc1 Ra2 37. Rc7 Nh4 38. Re3 Rd5 39. Rg3+ Kh8 40. Rxf7 Nf5 41. Rf8+ Kh7 1/2-1/2Black definitely a better mathematician than chess player, but not a terrible game.

[John Townsend]

Well done, Christopher. As you - and now Paul! - have carefully avoided naming him, I think we'll let the problem run on for a while ...

[Gerard Killoran]

Another game from our hero, where 13. or 14. Bg5 would have kept him in the game.

[Event "Manchester vs Liverpool"] [Site "Liverpool"] [Date "1907.12.07"] [Round "?"] [White "N. N."] [Black "Askwith, E. A."] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bg4 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 f5 9. c4 O-O 10. cxd5 Bb4 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxc3 13. Qb3 Bxe1 14. d6+ Kh8 15. Ng5 cxd6 16. Qxb7 Nd7 17. Bb5 Rb8 18. Qxd7 Qxd7 19. Bxd7 Bc3 0-1

[John Townsend]

Of course, the answer is Harry Bateman, as some of you have already indicated.

Try this one:

Which important international tournament consisted of an all-play-all preliminary stage, after which the first five played each other twice?

[Paul Cooksey]

The ones with notable chess are a bit easier!

[Result "1-0"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 Bd6 8.Nc3 Ne7 9.O-O O-O 10.f4 Re8 11.Nb3 f6 12.f5 b6 13.Bf4 Bb7 14.Bxd6 cxd6 15.Nd4 Rad8 16.Ne6 Rd7 17.Rad1 Nc8 18.Rf2 b5 19.Rfd2 Rde7 20.b4 Kf7 21.a3 Ba8 22.Kf2 Ra7 23.g4 h6 24.Rd3 a5 25.h4 axb4 26.axb4 Rae7 27.Kf3 Rg8 28.Kf4 g6 29.Rg3 g5+ 30.Kf3 Nb6 31.hxg5 hxg5 32.Rh3 Rd7 33.Kg3 Ke8 34.Rdh1 Bb7 35.e5 dxe5 36.Ne4 Nd5 37.N6c5 Bc8 38.Nxd7 Bxd7 39.Rh7 Rf8 40.Ra1 Kd8 41.Ra8+ Bc8 42.Nc5 1-0

[Gerard Killoran]

Of course, the answer is Harry Bateman, as some of you have already indicated.

Try this one:

Which important international tournament consisted of an all-play-all preliminary stage, after which the first five played each other twice?

St Petersburg 1914

For the record:

[Event "Manchester vs Liverpool"] [Site "Liverpool"] [Date "1907.12.07"] [Round "?"] [White "Bateman, Harry"] [Black "Askwith, Edward Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [Opening "Petrov: classical attack"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bg4 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 f5 9. c4 O-O 10. cxd5 Bb4 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxc3 13. Qb3 Bxe1 14. d6+ Kh8 15. Ng5 cxd6 16. Qxb7 Nd7 17. Bb5 Rb8 18. Qxd7 Qxd7 19. Bxd7 Bc3 {Falkirk Herald - Wednesday 22 January 1908 p.8} 0-1

[John Townsend]

Thanks to Paul and Gerard. Well done. Take your time! That looks like the famous Lasker - Capablanca encounter.

Have you any games which Bateman won?