The Rosenthal-Zukertort Match,
London 1880
Researched by Nick Pope
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Prologue
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MATCH BETWEEN MESSRS ROSENTHAL AND ZUKERTORT.
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M. ROSENTHAL, the French champion, has addressed
a courteous letter to the winner of the Paris tournament, which is
published
in La Revue des Jeux, des Arts, et du Sport, and which conveys an
open challenge for a chess match, reserving only three conditions,
namely:
That play shall not take place more than three times a week ; the time
limit shall be thirty moves in two hours ; and the contest shall not be
fought during the hot summer months. In every other respect, viz., the
amount of the stakes, the place of meeting, the number of games, and
other
particulars, Herr Zukertort is at liberty to fix his own terms.
Considering
that the French champion came out below the six prize winners of the
Paris
congress, his proposition on such fair conditions can only be regarded
as a chivalrous offer, and we have reason to believe that the challenge
will be accepted, and the match will come off without greater delay than
will be necessary for preparations and the settlement of the
preliminaries. |
The Field, London,
1880.02.28
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CHESS INTELLIGENCE.
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[...] Herr Zukertort has accepted Herr Rosenthals
challenge,
and has fixed the stakes at a minimum of £100 a side. He proposes
the modification of the time limit, to the effect that thirty moves
should
be played in the first two hours, and afterwards fifteen moves per hour.
The victor will be the winner of the first seven games, and each game is
to be played out at a sitting. |
The Field, London,
1880.03.06
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THE MATCH BETWEEN MESSRS ROSENTHAL AND
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ZUKERTORT.
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WE learn, with great
pleasure,
that all the main preliminaries of this contest are at last
satisfactorily
settled, and the match is expected to commence shortly. Herr Rosenthal
has already deposited his stakes of £100 with the treasurer of the
Cercle des Echecs de Paris, M. Le Grande, and we understand that Herr
Zukertorts
stakes will be ready by to-day, to be handed over to the hon. sec. of
the
St. Georges Chess Club, Mr. J. I. Minchin. Herr Rosenthal has
engaged
to arrive in London a fortnight after his receiving official
notification
of Herr Zukertorts stakes having been deposited. The only
important addition
to the terms of the match as already published is that the contest shall
be adjourned till October next whenever the temperature should reach
25°
Centigrade (77° Fahrenheit) on three successive days. |
The Field, London,
1880.04.10
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THE MATCH BETWEEN MESSRS ROSENTHAL AND
ZUKERTORT.
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ALL the formalities in
reference
to the stakes of this match have already been fulfilled, and M.
Rosenthal
is expected to arrive in London next week, whereupon the day for
commencement
of the contest and other minor details will be speedily settled. M.
Rosenthal
is sure to meet with a warm reception ; for whatever may be the opinions
about the relative prospects of the two players, all lovers of the game
can only admire the spirit and pluck which inspired M. Rosenthals
challenge.
The French representative may have little faith in tournaments as tests
of skill, for a priori it seems unlikely that the first winner of a
great
chess congress should have to yield in the personal encounter to the
seventh
man. He may also have been stimulated by the success of Herr Englisch,
who last year won the chief prize in the German Chess Congress, though
the year before he was bracketed with M. Rosenthal for seventh and
eighth
places in the Paris Congress. At any rate, he backs his opinion for a
handsome
sum, such as has not been played for in this country in any public
contest
since the match between Steinitz and Anderssen in 1866 ; and, taking
into
consideration the fairness of his conditions, the straightforward manner
in which the challenge was conveyed, and the dispatch and energy shown
by the French champion in the conduct of the negotiations, M. Rosenthal
will be fairly entitled to the fullest respect of his adversary and Herr
Zukertorts supporters, whatever the result of the following
contest may
be. |
The Field, London,
1880.04.17
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THE MATCH BETWEEN MESSRS ROSENTHAL AND
ZUKERTORT.
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M. ROSENTHAL arrived yesterday (Friday). We
understand
from the French champion that he will be ready to play on Monday week at
the latest ; but at the time of our going to press he has had no
conference
with Herr Zukertort. It is possible, however, that the match may
commence
in the latter part of next week. |
The Field, London,
1880.04.24
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THE MATCH BETWEEN MESSRS ROSENTHAL AND
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ZUKERTORT.
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THE two parties to the
forthcoming
most interesting contest were engaged last week in finally settling
terms
and in other necessary preparations. The main particulars of the
regulations
were agreed upon with difficulty, and are in effect as follows:
The
match is to be played every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, commencing on
Monday next. Play will begin at two oclock p.m., and proceed till
half-past
six, when an adjournment for two hours is to take place, after which the
sitting will continue until the finish of the game, but no more than one
game will be played on any day. The time limit, which will be regulated
by stop watches, is thirty moves for the first two hours, and fifteen
moves
for every following hour. The Rev. W. Wayte will act as umpire for Herr
Zukertort, and Mr Lindsay has accepted the same office for M. Rosenthal.
The two umpires, who according to the conditions had to select a
referee,
have conferred that honour upon Mr Steinitz. All rights in reference to
the proprietorship of the games in England have been reserved in the
original
conditions by Herr Zukertort, who has, however, made over to our journal
the right of first publication. |
M. Rosenthal met with the most cordial reception
in metropolitan chess circles, and there can be no doubt that he will be
treated with the courtesy and consideration due to a stranger who is
fighting
an honourable battle which will unite the interest of chess players all
over the world. M. Camille Morel, who acted as secretary of the Paris
International
Chess Congress of 1878, and other members of the Paris Cercle des
Echecs,
are expected to come over from France for the purpose of witnessing the
contest. |
The Field, London,
1880.05.01
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THE MATCH BETWEEN MESSRS ROSENTHAL AND
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ZUKERTORT.
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IN challenging the winner of
the Paris tournament, M. Rosenthal virtually put tournament skill on its
trial versus match play. That there is a difference between the two
tests
has long been recognised in theory and verified in practice. Anderssen
was more successful in the majority of short encounters of a general
melée
than in longer single-handed contests ; and immediately after the first
Paris tournament of 1867 the fourth winner, Neumann, beat the second
prize-holder,
Winawer, without losing a single game, the latter only succeeding in
drawing
a few. While, however, many objections have been raised against the
rules
of previous tournaments, and more especially against the first Paris
Congress,
which was made a sort of handicap, owing to the ill-considered
regulation
that the drawn games should count fully against both parties, the Paris
Congress of 1878 is generally admitted to have been conducted on fairer
principles than any former general contest. We may therefore say,
without
in the least wishing to prejudice M. Rosenthals prospects, that
his attempt
to dislodge Herr Zukertort from the position the latter attained in the
last Paris tournament can only be described as a bold one. Yet the
denial
of the superiority acquired by Herr Zukertort on that occasion comes
from
a quarter which, apart from technical considerations, appears fully
entitled
to enter the protest. M. Rosenthal and his French supporters were the
chief
promoters of the Paris tournament, which they brought to a successful
issue
at great expenditure of time and money. The case of the French champion,
and the remembrance of his pluck and spirit, will therefore engage a
good
deal of sympathy ; and the terms of the contest, which hold out the
prospect
of fair remuneration, as well as honour to the winner, will create a
wide
interest in the match amongst lovers of the game of all
nationalities. |
The Field, London,
1880.05.08
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