London 1899 chess tournament

The London 1899 chess tournament was without a doubt one of the very strongest tournaments ever held on British soil. Almost every great master of the day was present including the past and reigning world champions. It proved to be the swan song of the old champion Wilhelm Steinitz but for Emanuel Lasker it was a glittering success which propelled him way beyond the other grandmasters of the time.^[1]

All the top players of the age were invited,^[2] with many being the champion of their country. Refusals came from Siegbert Tarrasch and Rudolf Charousek (illness), and Amos Burn had to withdraw on the opening day. Fifteen participants played double rounds from 30 May to 10 July 1899, except for Richard Teichmann. He withdrew after round 4 due to an eye infection. His remaining games in the first cycle were declared as lost. Rounds were played in St. Stephen’s Hall with a time limit of fifteen moves in one hour. Participants were entertained by the City of London chess club at Crystal Palace and the Star and Garter Hotel in Richmond. A banquet took place in the International Hall of the Café Monico on 29 June.^[3]

Lasker finished 4.5 points ahead of the group finished tied for second (Janowski, Maroczy, Pillsbury), and this remains one of the most dominant performances in a chess tournament, and London 1899 goes down in history as one of the great Lasker victories along with St. Petersburg 1896, Paris 1900, St. Petersburg 1914 and New York 1924.^[4]

The Premier Tournament

The results and standings:^[5]

#	Player	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Total
1	Emanuel Lasker (German Empire) / East Brandenburg	xx	½ 1	½ 1	1 ½	½ 1	0 1	1 1	1 1	1 ½	½ 1	1 ½	1 1	1 1	1 1	+ +	23.5
2-4	Géza Maróczy (Austria-Hungary) /  Hungary	½ 0	xx	½ ½	1 0	½ ½	½ 1	0 1	½ 1	1 0	½ 1	1 1	½ 1	1 ½	1 1	+ +	19
2-4	Harry Nelson Pillsbury (United States) /  Massachusetts	½ 0	½ ½	xx	0 1	½ 1	0 0	1 0	½ ½	1 1	1 1	1 1	1 1	1 ½	1 1	½ +	19
2-4	Dawid Janowski (France) /  Poland	0 ½	0 1	1 0	xx	1 1	1 ½	1 1	½ 1	0 0	1 0	1 1	1 1	0 1	1 ½	+ +	19
5	Carl Schlechter (Austria-Hungary) /  Austria	½ 0	½ ½	½ 0	0 0	xx	1 ½	1 0	½ 1	½ 1	1 1	0 ½	1 1	1 1	1 1	+ +	18
6	Joseph Henry Blackburne (United Kingdom) /  England	1 0	½ 0	1 1	0 ½	0 ½	xx	½ 0	0 1	1 ½	1 0	0 1	1 ½	1 1	1 1	½ +	16.5
7	Mikhail Chigorin (Russian Empire) /  Russia	0 0	1 0	0 1	0 0	0 1	½ 1	xx	1 ½	1 ½	½ 1	0 1	1 0	1 1	1 0	1 +	16
8	Jackson Whipps Showalter (United States) /  Ohio	0 0	½ 0	½ ½	½ 0	½ 0	1 0	0 ½	xx	0 ½	1 ½	0 ½	1 1	1 1	0 1	+ +	13.5
9	James Mason (United States) /  Ireland	0 ½	0 1	0 0	1 1	½ 0	0 ½	0 ½	1 ½	xx	0 1	0 0	0 0	1 1	½ 1	+ +	13
10-11	Wilhelm Steinitz (United States) /  Bohemia	½ 0	½ 0	0 0	0 1	0 0	0 1	½ 0	0 ½	1 0	xx	1 ½	½ 0	½ 1	1 1	+ +	12.5
10-11	Wilhelm Cohn (German Empire) /  Brandenburg	0 ½	0 0	0 0	0 0	1 ½	1 0	1 0	1 ½	1 1	0 ½	xx	1 ½	1 0	0 0	+ +	12.5
12	Francis Joseph Lee (United Kingdom) /  England	0 0	½ 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 ½	0 1	0 0	1 1	½ 1	0 ½	xx	½ 1	½ ½	+ +	10.5
13	Henry Edward Bird (United Kingdom) /  England	0 0	0 ½	0 ½	1 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	½ 0	0 1	½ 0	xx	1 1	+ +	8
14	Samuel Tinsley (United Kingdom) /  England	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 ½	0 0	0 0	0 1	1 0	½ 0	0 0	1 1	½ ½	0 0	xx	0 +	7
15	Richard Teichmann (German Empire) /  Thuringia	- -	- -	½ -	- -	- -	½ -	0 -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1 -	xx	2

An amount of £1020 for prizes and consolation money was distributed on 11 July 1899. Lasker got £250 and a gold medal. Steinitz won no prize for the first time in his career and died in poverty the following year.

The Minor Tournament

There was a second section in the tournament, which was won by Frank James Marshall with 8.5 out of 11. Georg Marco and Jacques Mieses were the most experienced opponents.^[6] The results and standings:^[7][8]

#	Player	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	Frank Marshall (United States) /  New York	x	½	0	1	½	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	8.5
2-3	Georg Marco (Austria-Hungary) /  Romania	½	x	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	½	½	1	8.0
2-3	Thomas Physick (United Kingdom) /  England	1	½	x	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	8.0
4-5	Edward Owen Jones (United Kingdom) /  England	0	½	½	x	1	0	1	1	1	1	½	1	7.5
4-5	Jacques Mieses (German Empire) /  Saxony	½	½	½	0	x	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	7.5
6-7	Edward Mackenzie Jackson (United Kingdom) /  England	0	0	½	1	1	x	0	0	1	1	0	1	5.5
6-7	Stephen Francis Smith (Canada) /  Ontario	0	0	½	0	0	1	x	0	1	1	1	1	5.5
8	Oscar Conrad Müller (United Kingdom) /  Germany ?	½	0	½	0	0	1	1	x	0	1	0	1	5.0
9-10	Vasily Tabunshchikov (Russian Empire) /  Russia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	x	½	1	1	3.5
9-10	Johannes Esser (Netherlands) /  South Holland	0	½	0	½	0	1	0	1	½	x	0	0	3.5
11	John Angus Erskine (Australia) /  New Zealand	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	1	x	1	3.0
12	J. Klimsch (German Empire) ? /  Germany ?	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	x	0.0

References