Games Played in the International Chess Tournament, 1883

lvi+371 pages with two tables and diagrams. Royal octavo (9 3/4" x 6 1/2") bound in original publisher's red cloth with gilt decoration and lettering to spine and embossed chess board, pieces and lettering on cover. Edited with the assistance of the English Masters, Zukertort, Steinitz, Mason and Bird. Annotated by Zukertort, Steinitz, Mason and Bird. (Betts 25-16) (Van der Linde-Niemeijeriana 5216) First edition.

The London 1883 chess tournament was a strong chess tournament among most of the leading players of the day. It was won convincingly by Johannes Zukertort (22 points out of 26) ahead of Wilhelm Steinitz (with 19 points). Remarkably, Zukertort was already assured of victory with three rounds to go, having scored an astonishing 22/23. He then lost his last three games against relatively weak players, probably due to exhaustion. The tournament established Zukertort as rivaling Steinitz to claim to be the best player in the world, and led to the World Chess Championship 1886 match between the two (the first official World Chess Championship match). The event was a double round-robin tournament. Marmaduke Wyvill contributed to organizing the tournament. The tournament was also notable for the first use of the double-sided chess clock, manufactured by T.B. Wilson of Manchester. A common story relates to an incident that occurred at the tournament banquet, when the St. George Chess Club President proposed a toast to the best chess player in the world and both Steinitz and Zukertort stood up at the same time to thank him. Research by Edward Winter suggests that this story has been embellished. The tournament book was dedicated to Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, for his patronage of the tournament. Time limit: 15 moves per hour.

Condition:

Spine ends restored, corners bumped else a very good copy.