2020 FIDE Steinitz Memorial

[Chris Rice]

This 16 player event starts May 15 and features Carlsen, Grischuk, Svidler and a host of really strong players. Lagno, Kosteniuk feature in the women's section. More details here. Presumably Magnus is happy to play this time as Chess24 are behind it rather than Chess.com.

[JustinHorton]

Just out of curiosity, is there any record of Steinitz ever playing blitz?

(If not, who is the first world champion for whom we have any such record?)

[NickFaulks]

(If not, who is the first world champion for whom we have any such record?)

I always hesitate to comment here on chess history, given that we have some serious experts, but this is funny.

[Roger de Coverly]

(If not, who is the first world champion for whom we have any such record?)

Chess clocks appear to date from the 1880s, even if flags came along a little later.
http://www.chessmaniac.com/the-chess-clock-a-history/

Are there dates for the first recorded Blitz games?

[Paul Cooksey]

I am two lazy to do anything other than put blitz into a Chess Notes search:

C.N. 1050 (see pages 9-10 of Chess Explorations) gave two endings to quick games: Alekhine v Tartakower, Carlsbad, 8 May 1923 and Krejcik v N.N. (occasion unknown).

[John McKenna]

Just out of curiosity, is there any record of Steinitz ever playing blitz?

(If not, who is the first world champion for whom we have any such record?)

I don't know about Steinitz. The development of chess clocks may not have progressed fast enough for him to have played blitz, but he may have engaged in some 'skittles' (quick games without clocks).

His two successors certainly played both blitz and lightning -

"This kind of chess first became popular in the early years of the 20th c. Capablanca, then a student, played many fast games against Lasker [the then World Champion] at the Manhatten CC. Capa won most of the lightning games (10 or 20 seconds a move) but Lasker won the majority of the 5-minute games, perhaps because there is time for deeper plans to be laid... " Oxford Companion p.117-8

E.g. a rapid transit tourney on 27th Dec. 1906 at the Manhatten CC, an event which attracted 32 competitors -

"In the semifinals Lasker and Capa won from their respective opponents, H. Davidson and E. Delmar. In the last game, watched by a large crowd of members and visitors, Capa, who is noted for his quick insight into a position, succeeded in worsting the champion in brilliant style. The time limit was 20 seconds to a move." American Chess Bulletin, Feb. 1907, p. 35

[Chris Rice]

You would also think that there would have been a few tournaments in memory of Steinitz but it appears there is only one obscure 2018 correspondence tournament according to TWIC

[John McKenna]

There have been a few in memory of Steinitz (b. Prague, May 1836, d. New York, Aug. 1900) -

2000 Feb. Steinitz Memorial, Rio de Janeiro, Swiss Open

2000 Dec. 1st Steinitz Mem. A (& B), Prague, Cat.VIII

2002 Jul. 1st Steinitz Memorial, Rome (It.), Swiss Open

2011 May, Steinitz Memorial, Natal (Brazil), Swiss

2014 May, Steinitz Memorial, Cape Town (S.A.), Cat. VI?

[Chris Rice]

There have been a few in memory of Steinitz (b. Prague, May 1836, d. New York, Aug. 1900) -

2000 Feb. Steinitz Memorial, Rio de Janeiro, Swiss Open

2000 Dec. 1st Steinitz Mem. A (& B), Prague, Cat.VIII

2002 Jul. 1st Steinitz Memorial, Rome (It.), Swiss Open

2011 May, Steinitz Memorial, Natal (Brazil), Swiss

2014 May, Steinitz Memorial, Cape Town (S.A.), Cat. VI?

Nice bit of research John. Interestingly, the 100 year memorial tournaments for him were covered by TWIC!

The one in Rio was in TWIC 276 "Antonio Bento reports: 18 year old Luis Coelho (rated 2091) won the Steinitz Memorial with a score of 5/6 (+4=2) for a performance of 2570! The event was organised by the Clube de Xadrez Guanabara-RJ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Feb 9th to 18th 2000. 16 players competed in this 6 round swiss event."

Prague was in TWIC 322

"Martin Pribyl reports: One of the leading chess clubs in the Czech Republic Holdia DP Prague organized at the end of the 20th century three tournaments in Prague. Two of them were played in Memory of the First World Chess Champion Wilhelm Steinitz, who was born in Prague in 1836 and died in 1900 in the USA. Steinitz lived in Prague for his first 22 years and due to the fact that in the 19th century Prague was a part of Austria he is supposed to be an Austrian. This fact is not so correct in today's geographical situation, Prague was for thousand of years the capital of the Bohemian kingdom, later since 1918 the capital of Czechoslovakia and nowadays the capital of the Czech Republic since 1993. So this is why the Wilhelm Steinitz Memorial was organized in Prague."

[John McKenna]

Thanks to Chris for doing the spadework, as usual. (I've only a rusty trowel.)

[JustinHorton]

Also Mariánské Lázně 1956 and Vienna 1995

[Paul Cooksey]

I rarely look at chess before the 20th century, so was not familiar with an apparently well known quote:

I would rather die in America than live in England

In view of this outrage, hopefully the tournament will be full of blunders and controversy!

[Matt Mackenzie]

Well he got his wish, then.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Didn't know he hated life in England, but presumably that settles it - he probably did play blitz and got hustled by Blackburne at bullet.

[John McKenna]

Leopold Hoffer helped -

https://thechesspedia.net/hoffer-leopold/