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No, not LCCC. A different great chess club! The Manhattan Chess Club in New York, New York.
But first, let's talk about the LCCC Club Championship, which begins on Monday, November 14 at 6:30 pm. IT IS FREE to enter. The club starts at 4pm for warm up games and conversation. We are playing at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Brighton, MI at the Green Oak Shopping Center.
Our target start time for the first round it 6:30 pm. If you arrive a little late and want to enter, that will be no problem. You will either receive a 1st round bye (1/2 point draw) or get paired with another late arrival.
Our tournaments are player friendly, as much as possible. We play one round a week, and the time limit for the games are 45 minutes per player, with a 5 second delay. Clocks and "touch-move" are in effect.
This tournament will last 3 or four rounds (3 or 4 weeks), depending on the number of entries we have.
It is a great opportunity to experience 'real' tournament chess, without the cost or pressure. We hope to see many of our new players enter for the first time!
Now for a quick history of happenings at one of the biggest, best and most important chess clubs ever formed anywhere in the world;
The
Manhattan Chess Club was formed in 1877.
1886 - The club hosted the World Chess Championship
(Steinitz-Zukertort)
1890-91
- Steinitz played Gunsberg in a world championship match at the Manhattan Chess
Club
1894 -
The club
hosted the first 8 games of the Lasker-Steinitz world championship match.
1895 - Emanuel Lasker joined the Manhattan Chess Club. In
1895, the first cable match was played between the Manhattan Chess Club and the
British Chess Club.
1901 - members of the Manhattan Chess Club defeated the
Franklin Chess Club of Philadelphia.
1905 -
Jose Capablanca joined the Manhattan Chess Club at the age of 17 and beat its champion.
1905 - the Manhattan CC defeated the Berlin CC in a cable
match, with the score of 4-2. The trophy was an autograph portrait of President
Theodore Roosevelt.
1909 - the Manhattan CC organized a chess match between Frank
Marshall and Jose Capablanca. Capablanca won with 8 wins, 1 loss, and 14 draws.
October-November 1918 - the Manhattan CC sponsored an
international chess tournament. It was held at the club’s parlor in the Sherman
Square Hotel. Five countries were represented including the United States,
Cuba, Canada, France, and Serbia. The event was won by Capablanca.
1924 - The club organized the New York international
tournaments (won by Emanuel Lasker) and 1927 (won by Jose Capablanca).
March
7, 1942 - Capablanca suffered a stroke at the Manhattan Chess Club while analyzing
a chess game. He died the next day at the age of 53.
1945 - the Manhattan CC was the site of the American team in
the USA vs USSR radio match. The USSR won 11 out of 20.
1947 - the Manhattan CC lost to the Club of La Plata in
Argentina in a radio chess match by the score of 3.5 to 6.5. The Manhattan CC
team included Reshevsky, Kashdan, Denker, Horowitz, Kevitz, Pinkus, Pavey,
Kramer, Shainswit, and Donald Byrne. Only Reshevsky was able to win
1951 - the Manhattan CC hosted the Wertheim Memorial, won by
Reshevsky.
1952,
William Lombardy joined the Manhattan CC.
1953 - Gisela
Kahn Gresser (1906-2000) was a regular at the Manhattan CC, always taking
lessons from Hans Kmoch. She won the U.S. women’s championship 9 times and was
the first woman to become a U.S. master. She died in 2000 at the age of 94.
June
1955, Bobby Fischer joined the Manahttan Chess Club. He soon won the 'C'
section, then the 'B' section.
April
1956, Bobby Fischer won the Manhattan Chess Club 'A' Reserve championship. Fischer won the
Manhattan Chess Club Rapid Transit with the score of 10 out of 10.
1973 - the club boasted over 400 dues paying members.
1976 -
the Club sponsored the first New York International since 1951. The winners
were Norman Weinstein, Anatoly Lein, and Leonid Shamkovich.
No one could have predicted, but this was the last major event ever held at the Manhattan Chess Club. Why is the subject of the next article.
