Steinitz in London

Tim Harding played for Ireland at the 1984 FIDE chess olympiad in Thessaloniki. He is a FIDE Candidate Master and a Senior International Master of correspondence chess. A well-known writer on many aspects of chess, Tim is a former editor of Chess Mail magazine and for almost 20 years he contributed monthly articles in “The Kibitzer” series at www.chesscafe.com. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

“Exhaustively researched and meticulously documented… Harding’s fine work presents a full account of what is known of Steinitz at the time, along with a game collection from the same period. Recent research and rediscovered games make this book especially valuable as a chronological account of the development of Steinitz’s chess career and the significant life events he experienced in the midst of the active London chess scene…. This is a valuable account of Steinitz’s life and times. …recommended”—Choice

• Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsAnnotation SymbolsA Note on Play at OddsBritish Money and Notation1. The Making of a Master, 1836–1862• Chess in Prague: A Big Silence • Viennese Chess Before Steinitz • Enter a Poor Student• Club Tournaments and a Visit by Harrwitz • The 1861–1862 Tournament • The Games in Vienna2. The London Congress, May–August 1862• Preparations for the Tournament • The First Two Weeks • The “Grand Week” • Conclusion of the Tournament • Steinitz’s Tournament Games • Aside from the Tournament • Match with Dubois3. “The Greco of the present time,” 1862–1863• London in 1862 • London Chess Club and Purssell’s • Chess and the Divans • The Grand Divan and Simpson’s • Odds Games and Playing for Money • After the Tournament • Blackburne Match • Match with Deacon • Casual Games Later in 1863 • Match with Green (1863/1864)4. Quiet Years, 1864–1865• Games in 1864 • Early 1865 • Dublin Chess Congress 1865 • Steinitz as Blindfold Player • Back in England • Failure Against de Vere5. Dethroning Anderssen, 1866• The Divan Transformed • From Early 1866 to the B.C.A. Congress • British Chess Association 1866 Congress • Early Days of the Westminster Chess Club • Anderssen Match: Arrangements and Schedule • Anderssen Match: The Games • Becoming a Father • Bird–Steinitz Match • Other Games in 18666. Paris and Dundee, 1867• Exit from the Westminster Club • First Visit to Scotland • Paris International 1867 • Dundee Congress 18677. Difficult Years, 1868–1871• British Chess Association 1868/9 Congress • More Games in 1869 • City of London Chess Club Origins • First Visit to Oxford • Baden-Baden, July–August 1870 • Back to Oxford • Quiet Year in 18718. Big Successes, 1872–1873• The City of London Chess Club Handicap • Steinitz in Oxford Again • British Chess Association Congress 1872 • Steinitz–Zukertort Match • Later in 1872 • Vienna Correspondence Match • Events in Early 1873 • Visit to The Hague • Emperor’s Cup, Vienna 1873 • After the Tournament9. Development and Crises, 1874–1876• Visiting the Provinces, 1874 • Back in London • Last Visit to Oxford, 1875 • Games in London and Glasgow, 1875 • Time of Crisis • Two Bad Mistakes • Games, Early 1876 • Second Blackburne Match • Aftermath • A Second Chess Column10. Absent from the Board, 1877–1881• The Fraser Letter • Back in Circulation • The Divan Crisis • Events in 1878 • Summer in Paris • Casual Games, 1878–1879 • Events in London, 1878/1879 • Crisis at the London Figaro • 1880: German Visit and Breach with Bird • Casual Games, 1880 • Dublin Visit, January 1881 • In London and Germany11. A Champion Returns—and Departs, 1882• The Early Months • Vienna International 1882 • Leaving The Field12. Farewell to London, 1883• London 1883 Tournament • The Last Column • Aftermath, 1884 Onwards13. Last Visits to England, 1895–1899• First Match with Liverpool • Hastings Congress 1895 • 1896 and 1897 in Brief • Back in Europe, 1898 • London International Tournament 1899AppendicesI. Match and Tournament RecordII. Dubious and Spurious GamesIII. Extracts from Steinitz’s Review of Wormald’s Chess Openings (1875)IV. First “Ink War” of 1876–1877V. Leaving The Field, 1882VI. Steinitz’s Grievances (1883)VII. Steinitz Hits Back—Extracts from His International Chess Magazine ColumnVIII. Bird on Steinitz (1890)IX. MacDonnell on Steinitz (1894)Chapter NotesBibliographyIndex of Opponents (to game numbers)Index of Openings—Traditional Names (to game numbers)Index of Openings—ECO Codes (to game numbers)General Index (to page numbers)