Volume 2 Number 1, September 2013
1913 Western Open
Here is a look back at an
important event that
certainly earned
Bradford B. Jefferson a
permanent place in
Memphis Chess Club’s
history and a future
nomination for the
Tennessee Chess
Association’s Hall of
Fame.
Pages 1-5
Tri-State Area
Crosstables
A review of selected
tournament results
from the Mid-South.
Page 6
Ye Ole Chess Nut
Attempt to solve one
more chess problem
constructed by the late
Jack Sprague.
Page 9
1913 Western Open
Games (Known today
as the U.S. Open)
All available games
from the tournament
that took place a
century ago.
Pages 10-13
THE FOUNTAINHEAD OF
MEMPHIS CHESS
by Frank Wranovix
Upcoming
Tournaments
Check out some of the
Tri-State Area’s chess
tournament offerings.
As always, check for
any changes to the
tournament’s schedule
with the sponsors’ web
sites and the U.S.C.F.
Page 17
amateur who had not only taken
down Harry Nelson Pillsbury and
Geza Maroczy, but also drawn with
Emanuel Lasker – true, it was in
simuls, but nevertheless! – could
possibly spend his time day after
day striving to outwit his peers in
commerce without wondering
however fleetingly just how good
he might be in a different sort of
intellectual struggle?
Bradford B. Jefferson
Weʼll probably never know for sure
what it was that finally made
Bradford B. “B.B.” Jefferson decide
— in August 1913, 100 hundred
years ago last month — to
measure himself against some of
the best players in the nation. He
had certainly passed up numerous
opportunities over the years. After
all, the Western Chess Association
had been holding its annual
tournament ever since 1900 – the
same year that B.B. first won the
Memphis Chess Club
Championship.
Game Pages
Select games are
printed here from
various players
participating in
Memphis Chess Club
events
Pages 15-16
Biding His Time
Cornell Trophy
Surely, he must have been
frequently tempted. As a
businessman – he spent his life in
real estate, operating his own firm
in Memphis – B.B. looked upon
chess as an avocation. But what
His prowess over the board was
well known throughout the region.
His admirers referred to him as the
Champion of the South, but that
was a mere claim and not an
earned title, since there was no
southern championship. He had
certainly made believers of
1