Hastings, England - 1908

One of the most famous chess tournaments of all time took place at the site where William the Conqueror invaded England and fought the history-altering Battle of Hastings in 1066.  The tournament held in Hastings in 1895 was equally hard fought and history-altering, relative to the chess world. 

In 1882, the residents of this port town formed the Hastings & St. Leonards Chess Club. The club grew and by the mid 1890s was able to, by virtue of substantial guaranteed prizes contributed by wealthy residents - which was doubled by contributions throughout England, attract the greatest names in chess to participate in their annual chess festival. This tournament was held at the Brassey Institute (now the Hastings Public Library, pictured above) and all the participants (except Pillsbury) stayed at the Queen's Hotel, where the Chess Club itself always met.

               The tournament was played from August 5th until September 4th.

The seaside Queen's Hotel in Hastings (1909)

There were several things that made this tournament special, but the quality of the participants heads the list. Attracted by the prize fund [ £150 ($750), £115 ($575), £85 ($425), £60 ($300), £40 ($200), £30 ($150) and £20 ($100)  and £1 ($5) per win for non prize winners (and double for any win against one of the top three prize winners); a special prize of a ring and a copy of Carlo Salvioli's Theory and Practice of Chess (Teoria e pratica del giuoco degli scacchi, 1877) went to whoever won the most Evans Gambits as either black or white; the first player to secure seven wins received a "richly produced, enlarged photograph of himself"; the non-prize-winner who had the best score against the top seven winners earned himself $25; separate unspecified cash prizes were given a Brilliancy Awards ]  the entry list included the current World Champion, a former World Champion, two former World Champion contenders and three future World Champion contenders. The winner, Harry Nelson Pillsbury, was none of these.  

Pillsbury, sponsored by the Brooklyn Chess Club, preferred not to stay with the other players feeling that the distractions would interfere with his preparations. The 22 year old American chess darling wasn't yet well known in the international chess scene and his ultimate success took everyone by surprise.

Although Pillsbury became famous, not just for his chess, but for his incredible photographic memory, it noteworthy that the 23 year old Dutch player Norman Willem van Lennep  whose entry was rejected by the organizers but stayed in Hastings as a reserve player and a journalist, also had a photographic memory. He would die just two years later at age 25.

The result of the tournament:

1. Harry Nelson Pillsbury, 16.5 
2. Mikhail Chigorin, 16.0
3. Emmanuel Lasker, 15.5
4. Siegbert Tarrasch, 14.0
5. Wilhelm Steinitz, 13.0
6. Emanuel Schiffers, 12.0
7. Curt von Bardeleben, 11.5
8. Richard Teichmann, 11.5
9. Carl Schlechter, 11.0
10. Joseph Henry Blackburne, 10.5
11. Carl Walbrodt, 10.0
12. Amos Burn, 9.5
13. David Janowski, 9.5
14. James Mason, 9.5
15. Henry Bird, 9.0
16. Isidor Gunsberg, 9.0
17. Adolf Albin, 8.5
18. Georg Marco, 8.5
19. William Pollock, 8.0
20. Jacques Mieses, 7.5
21. Samuel Tinsley, 7.5
22. Beniamino Vergani, 3.0

Young Geza Maróczy won the Minor Tournament, while Lady Edith Thomas (the mother of Sir George Thomas), won the Ladies' Tournament. 

           Front: Vergani, Steinitz, Tchigorin, Lasker, Pillsbury, Tarrasch, Mieses, Teichmann
           Back: Albin, Schlecter, Janowski, Marco, Blackburne, Maroczy, Schiffers, Gunsberg, Burn, Tinsley

The Hastings Tournament has endured ever since that time, making it the longest serial chess event. While several tournaments were held in the Summer months, the tradition has been mainly the Hastings Christmas Tournament. Tradition also has it that the participants annotate some of their own games for the accompanying tournament books.

Picture from Pollock Memories, edited and published by Mrs. Frideswide F. Rowland of Kingstown, Ireland, Nov. 1889

William Henry Krause Pollock was one of the lesser known participants in Hastings 1895 - or maybe his shining light was just hard to see among such gleaming stars.  Unlike many of the players, Pollock was a complete amateur whose real profession was medicine.  He was born in Cheltenham, England  in 1859 and earned his licentiate from the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland in 1882. He moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 1889, but returned to England in 1895. He developed consumption, probably tuberculosis, and, after a brief residence in  Montreal, Canada in 1896, returned again to England where he died on October 5 of that year at age 37. His main chess accomplishments were to win the Irish Championship two years in succession (1885 and 1886), the second time with a perfect score of 8/8, even against such players as Amos Burn and Joesph Blackburne.

In Hastings 1895, Pollock came in towards the bottom - 19th out of 22, winning 6, losing 10 and drawing 4 for a score of 8/21. But his wins included games against 4^th place Tarrasch and 5^th place Steinitz, no mean trick.
 

Pollock's win against Steinitz is particularly interesting. Pillsbury, who lightly annotated the game for the tournament book, called the ending, "rather an amusing finish to a very interesting game."  It's doubtful that Steinitz, who was more accustomed to being the Amuser rather than the Amusée, was very much amused.

Pollock also annotated the game (for BCM).

                                                                                                                       Notes by Pollock
              (click each board once to activate)

                                        The game with Notes by Pillsbury:

Beniamino Vergani had come in second in the Italian championship to earn his place in the Hastings tournament.

Samuel Tinsley (1847-1903) scored even with Jacques Mieses. Tinsley was a chess correspondent of master's strength. He was born in Barnet, a small town outside of London..

            
Harry Nelson Pillsbury, who won the tournament, was a neophyte to international chess and a dark horse candidate for winning. But he did win and in impressive style. Dubbed the "Hero of Hastings," Pillsbury reached the apex of his chess career at Hastings.

Steinitz and Chigorin battle while Lasker and Pillsbury look on.