Sixth Congress of the German Chess Federation – Breslau 1889

Mieses' first international master tournament – third prize with 10½ out of 17

On Sunday 14 July 1889, at four in the afternoon, the Sixth Congress of the German Chess Federation opened at the Breslau restaurant „Zum Münchener Kindl“ on Zwingerplatz. The master tournament brought together 18 players in a single round robin over 17 rounds; the first round began at nine the following Monday morning. The local organiser was the Breslau chess club „Anderssen“, chaired by B. Schäfer. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 29, 21 July 1889, pp. 243 and 247; no. 30, 28 July 1889, p. 259)

For Jacques Mieses, then 24 and listed among the entrants as „J. Mieses – Leipzig“, the tournament opened with a formality: a commission appointed for the purpose first had to rule on whether he would be admitted at all. When the final round was played on 26 July he stood on third prize with 10½ points from 17 games – ahead of Blackburne, Gunsberg, Mason, Schallopp, Schiffers, von Bardeleben and Louis Paulsen. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 29, 21 July 1889, p. 243; no. 31/32, 4 August 1889, pp. 275–276)

The congress stood under the sign of Adolf Anderssen, who had died in Breslau ten years earlier: the congress cards bore his likeness, and secretary-general Zwanzig laid a wreath on his grave. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 29, 21 July 1889, p. 243; no. 30, 28 July 1889, p. 262)

Sources: Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 29, 21 July 1889, pp. 243, 246 and 247; no. 30, 28 July 1889, p. 259; no. 31/32, 4 August 1889, p. 273 ff.

The Question of Admission

Twenty-one entries had been received for the master tournament. For three of the entrants, admission had to be decided by a commission appointed for that purpose at Frankfurt am Main: secretary-general Zwanzig, Vorort president B. Schäfer, Fritz, Schallopp and Dr Schmid. One of the three was Jacques Mieses.

„Unter den übrigen 20 befanden sich 3, über deren Zulassung die in Frankfurt a. M. eingesetzte Kommission (Generalsekretär Zwanzig, Vorortspräsident B. Schäfer, Fritz, Schallopp und Dr. Schmid) zu entscheiden hatte, nämlich die Herren Gossip, Mieses und Dr. Seger. Alle drei wurden durch Kommissionsbeschluss zugelassen …“

Among the remaining 20 were 3 whose admission had to be decided by the commission appointed at Frankfurt a. M. (secretary-general Zwanzig, Vorort president B. Schäfer, Fritz, Schallopp and Dr Schmid), namely Messrs Gossip, Mieses and Dr Seger. All three were admitted by resolution of the commission …

Mieses was 24 at the time; the list of entrants gives him as „J. Mieses – Leipzig“. In the final table of the master tournament two of the three admitted players stand at opposite ends: Mieses third with 10½ points, Gossip eighteenth and last with 3. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 29, 21 July 1889, p. 243; no. 31/32, 4 August 1889, p. 276)

Final Standings of the Master Tournament

Source: final crosstable, Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 31/32, 4 August 1889, p. 276; distribution of prizes ibid., p. 275.

The complete crosstable is not reproduced here: the individual cells could not be read from the available scan with sufficient certainty. The ranking above, by contrast, is arithmetically secure – the points add up to the 153 to be expected from 18 players over 17 rounds.

Mieses' Games

The "Result" column gives the point from Mieses' point of view. Colours are deliberately omitted: which side Mieses had is recorded for only some of the seventeen games. Source: daily reports in the Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 29 of 21 July, no. 30 of 28 July and no. 31/32 of 4 August 1889, checked against the final crosstable, no. 31/32, p. 276.

The Vienna Game

In seven of the seventeen games the Deutsches Wochenschach gives the opening as the Vienna Game – rounds 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8 and 13, twice expressly with the continuation 3.g2–g3. Mieses' record in those seven games is +5 =2 −0, that is 6 out of 7. Six of his 10½ points thus came from a single opening, and all four of his losses occurred in other openings. (Deutsches Wochenschach, nos. 29 to 31/32, 21 July to 4 August 1889)

The count rests on the opening names given in the daily reports of the Deutsches Wochenschach, not on game scores: none of Mieses' Breslau games is printed in full in the issues examined.

Prize Money

The prize fund of the master tournament was fixed at 1000, 700, 500, 300, 150, 120 and 100 marks. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 29, 21 July 1889, p. 246)

Paid out were 1000 marks to Tarrasch, 700 to Burn and 500 to Mieses. Prizes four to seven – 670 marks in all – were divided equally between von Bardeleben, Bauer, Gunsberg and Louis Paulsen, 167.50 marks to each. Half a point separated Mieses' 500 marks from those 167.50. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 31/32, 4 August 1889, p. 275)

A special prize of 100 marks, endowed by v. Heydebrand u. d. Lasa for the best score against the seven prizewinners, went to Alapin. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 30, 28 July 1889, p. 263; no. 31/32, 4 August 1889, p. 275)

Around the Tournament

The Banquet of 16 July

Play had dragged on until sunset that day, so the dinner did not begin until after eight in the evening. Around 70 people attended; several of the „vorsichtigeren Schachmeister“ – the more cautious of the masters – stayed away. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 30, 28 July 1889, pp. 259 and 262)

„Der Morgen graute bereits, als die Festlichkeit ihr Ende erreichte.“

Day was already breaking when the festivities came to an end.

Remembering Anderssen

One toast of the evening was given to the masters who had died, above all Anderssen, and to Zukertort as well. Secretary-general Zwanzig laid a wreath on Anderssen's grave. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 30, 28 July 1889, p. 262)

The Excursion to Kynsburg on 21 July

On the free Sunday an excursion led to Kynsburg castle: an hour on foot through the Schlesiertal along the river Weistritz. The rain had lasted until the morning; after that the weather was radiant. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 30, 28 July 1889, p. 271)

The Closing Banquet

At the close, B. Schäfer thanked the Russian masters Alapin and Schiffers for their courtesy and ended with a wish that touched on the politics of the day – that Germany might meet their homeland

… „auf keinem andern als den 64 Feldern begegnen zu müssen“.

… on no other field than the 64 squares.

The Hauptturnier

At the same congress the twenty-year-old Emanuel Lasker won the Hauptturnier and with it the title of master – after a play-off game against v. Feyerfeil on the morning of 27 July which ended after four hours of play. First prize in the Hauptturnier was 300 marks; the mastership went with it, and the winner was obliged to enter the master tournament in future. (Deutsches Wochenschach, no. 31/32, 4 August 1889, p. 274)