The Book of the Sixth American Chess Congress, containing the games of the International Chess Tournament held at New York in 1889

New York: Sixth American Chess Congress, 1891 xxxviii+490 pages with table and diagrams. Royal octavo (9 3/4" x 7") bound in full leather with gilt lettering to spine. Limited to 500 copies. This is copy 111 issued to R W Ferguson of Flushing New York. (Betts: 25-26) .1st edition. Contains the report of the Congress Committee and all 432 games with notes by Steinitz. This was a 20-man Double Round Robin Tournament. One of the longest tournaments in history. In the first half of the tournament, draws were counted as a half point. In the second half, they were replayed once. Between the 38 regular rounds, 8 replay rounds, and 4 game playoff for first at the end, there were 50 rounds all told (!). Like the 4th Congress, this tournament consisted largely of foreign masters. The retirement of Captain Mackenzie seems to date from this time (though some sources credit him as US Champion until his death in 1891), giving the top American finisher some claim on being de facto US Champion. The top American finisher was Solomon Lipschutz, who finished in 6th Place with a score of +22-9=7 Condition: Some internal pencil markings and notations. Attractively rebund in full leather with gilt lettering to spine. A very good copy of a very scarce chess item. . First Edition. (Inventory #: C0039)