Anglo-American cable chess matches

Did You Know?

• Eleven Anglo-American university cable matches were held between 1899 and 1924, with four wins each and three draws.
• A special cable match between the House of Commons and the House of Representatives in 1897 was drawn.

Background

The first half of the 19th century has been called the golden age of correspondence chess, as clubs played matches by mail when travel was difficult. The telegraph offered a new medium, with the first known telegraph match between Washington and Baltimore in 1844. Later telegraph matches included Liverpool versus Calcutta and London versus Petersburg, but these were played over extended periods. The direct predecessor of the Anglo-American series was a same-session cable match on 9 March 1895 between the British Chess Club and the Manhattan Chess Club. Only one of ten games finished before the London hall closed; Emanuel Lasker adjudicated the unfinished games and suggested draws on the remaining nine boards, which both clubs accepted.

The matches

The Brooklyn Chess Club organized the first match, restricting participation to native citizens and scheduling play over two days with two four-hour sessions per day and a time limit of 20 moves per hour. The first match in 1896 used eight players per team, but all later matches used ten. Emanuel Lasker adjudicated unfinished games, though adjudication was not needed until the tenth match. Sir George Newnes provided a silver cup for the winning team.

The first match, held 13–14 March 1896, was won by the United States by a single game. The 1897 match, on 12–13 February, saw Great Britain win by one game, tying the series. The third match, 18–19 March 1898, was won by Great Britain by a single game, putting them two matches to one ahead. The British players were at the Grand Hall of the Hotel Cecil in London, with Leopold Hoffer as umpire for the American team; the American players were at the Academy of Music in Brooklyn, with Isaac Rice as umpire for the British team.

World Champion Emanuel Lasker adjudicated, and Baron Albert von Rothschild served as referee. The 1899 match, on 11–12 March, was won by the United States by two games, tying the series at two matches each.