Lasker - Pillsbury. New York 1893. A Forgotten Gem.
Afternoon Everyone.
The subject of the games between Lasker and Pillsbury has come up a couple of times recently, not least in a post by my friend @kamalakanta here:-
Indeed, as a friend of ours noted, the quality of the games between the two was exceptional.
So, with nothing better to do today, I decided to take a quick look at the first game between the two, which is both a fascinating game, and a rather overlooked one.
In 1893, There was a projected tournament ' The Columbian Chess Tournament'. It was cancelled at the last minute. With a number of players in New York en route to the event, the Manhattan and Brooklyn clubs organised what came to be known as 'The Impromptu Tournament'. Lasker won it, after a few scares, with a clean score of 13/13!!
There are a few photos taken at the time in circulation, including a group picture.
Lets throw in a couple of bonus games and pictures before we get to the main game.
In round one Lasker was paired with this man.
One contemporary newspaper reported the game as being rather dull for the spectators!!
Another interesting game saw the accepted debut of the Albin Counter Gambit at the highest level - as usual there is a bit of a debate on the subject!!
O.K. On to the main fare. We have one of the posed pictures from the event of the two.
The game made quite an impression at the time!
Hope you enjoyed the game and pictures! Take care everyone.
