Match Tournament at St Petersburg 1895/6

Black & white photographs of the 4 combatants at the front and b/w Chessboard/Moves throughout. " At the closing banquet of the Hastings (1895) tournament, Chigorin announced that the top prizewinners had been invited to St. Petersburg for a match-tournament to begin in December that year. The top finishers Pillsbury, Chigorin and Lasker, plus fifth-place finisher Steinitz agreed to play; fourth-place finisher Siegbert Tarrasch declined.

It is worth noting that St. Petersburg posed unusual problems for a 19th century master. "Super-Tournaments" where every player was a leading master, were rare back then. Major international tournaments included a number of local masters, who were easy prey for the likes of Pillsbury, Chigorin, Steinitz and Lasker. But at St. Petersburg 1895-1896, there were no weak opponents. A master in bad form, like Chigorin in the first half of the tournament or Pillsbury in the second half, could expect no mercy. " .