The Queen of Chess, Part IV
Most people even remotely interested in 19th century chess know about Mrs. John W. Gilbert and her extremely long announced mates. What seems to be less appreciated today is the sheer strength of this lady chess player. Part of the problem lies in the fact that so few of her games are available. So, I scoured old newpapers and magazines for her games and transposed them from descriptive to digital. I've managed to assemble 24 of Mrs. Ellen Gilbert's games which, mixed in with a little history, I want to offer in a series of presentations. __________________________________________________________
The highpoint of Mrs. Gilbert's chess career arrived between 1877 and 1881 during what was termed the International Postal Card Chess Tourney. This was a correspondence match between England and the US. The American team included several of the people we've already met, such as I.E. Orchard, John C. Romeyn, William. J. Berry and even C. G. Lincoln who was on the losing side of the telephone game. It also included better-known names such as Eugene Delmar and Max Judd. Mrs. Gilbert, who was relatively unknown internationally, was selected to enter and was matched against George Hatfeild Dingley Gossip who was about four years her junior but who had tournament experience in England and had won a strong correspondence tourney arranged by Chess Player's Chronicle in 1873 (his prize was £1, 10s, 0d.). Pairing Mrs. Gilbert with Mr. Gossip gained Mr. Belden some criticism, but Mrs. Gilbert vindicated his choice by not only winning all four of her games, but by announcing in one of the games mate in a record-setting and attention-getting 35 moves and mate-in-21 in another. It's said (in the OCC) that Mr. Gossip dedicated his 1891 book, Theory of Chess Openings, to Mrs. Gilbert, but in looking at a 2nd edition, also published in 1891, Mrs. Gilbert's name appears in the subsciption list and nowhere else.
Concerning the British-American Postal Match, the Brooklyn Eagle wrote on May 22, 1877 - Here are the four games between Ellen Gilbert and George Gossip: .
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. After the International Postal Card Chess Tourney, references to Mrs. Gilbert dry up. Her failing eyesight might have convinced her to give up the game. Ellen Strong Gilbert, a true turn-of-the-century lady, died on February 12, 1900.
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