19th Century Chess Players

The 19th Century was a yeasty time for chess and chess players!

During this period, the first International Chess Tournament was held in London (1851). Chess Clubs and Chess magazines emerged. Players included those whose names (and games!) we continue to remember today. These include Emanuel Lasker, Mikhail Chigorin, Harry Pillsbury, Siegbert Tarrasch, Wilhelm Steinitz, Paul Morphy, Joseph Blackburne, Louis Paulsen, Adolf Anderssen, and Howard Staunton.

A timeline of the period has been provided by Bill Wall (https://www.chess.com/article/view/19th-century-chess). This reminds of the many chess events that happened then.

Be sure to search '19th Century Chess' in the Articles and Blogs sections of www.chess.com.

A most splendid resource for studying 19th century chess is Tony Cullen's, Chess Rivals of the 19th Century with 300 Annotated Games (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co, 2021). This excellent book features 50 chapters devoted to Chess Players. Each chapter provides a brief biography of the player, match and tournament data and several annotated games--many of which are annotated by past masters--and checked by contemporary chess engines. Comments from the author are added along with a selection of endgames for many players. An opening piece on 'The Chess Scene Before 1834' begins the volume. Indices include those of Opponents, Annotators, and Opening indices--for Traditional Names and ECO Classifications. An index of Endgames and a General Index are here too. This excellent book is a treasure! [see my review in Choice (November 2021)]

The Crossword here features 19th Century Chess Players.

I hope you enjoyed thinking about these chess players. Here's to 19th Century Chess!

For the Solution to the Crossword, click the Solution button below.

Please feel free to leave a comment.