
Match Tournament at St Petersburg 1895/6
- Brand
- Caissa Editions
- SKU:
- B0031CA
- Publication Date:
- Jan 01, 1989
- Publisher:
- Caissa Editions
- Notation Type:
- AN - Algebraic
- Book Binding:
- Hardcover
- Author/s:
- John Owen
- No. Pages:
- 118 Pages
- ISBN:
- 9780939433100
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. " .