Bradford Jefferson
the many out-of-town visitors who stopped by the Memphis Chess Club in hopes of a friendly game . And his reputation was such that he was named Referee for the three games of the 1907 World Chess Championship match that were hosted by the Memphis Chess Club , which operated at the time under the aegis of the Business Menʼs Club .
In addition , as strong as the Memphis club was – by 1913 it had won telegraph matches against clubs in New Orleans , Nashville , and Mississippi – Jefferson faced no real competition from his fellow club members . In fact , he was apparently the city champion in the years 1900 – 1904 , 1906 , 1908 - 1933 , and 1935 – 1954 . We know he didnʼt play in the 1905 championship and can only guess what happened in 1907 and 1934 .
Whatever the reason , in August 1913 , B . B . and two fellow members of the Memphis Chess Club , Robert S . Scrivener and Dave Cummings , showed up at the Kenwood Chess Club in Chicago to test themselves against the best of the West . They couldnʼt have known it at the time , but they were about to make history .
Into the Lionsʼ Den
B . B . ʼs reputation preceded him , and he was expected to make a strong showing . As to his opponents , he knew he was walking into the lionsʼ den . To keep abreast of the world of chess all he had to do was read his sisterʼs column in the Memphis Commercial Appeal . Every week Rosa B . Jefferson presented problems , discussed openings , and recounted goings-on in regional , national , and international matches and tournaments . She was herself a player of no mean repute : In simuls , she had beaten Pillsbury and Frank Marshall , reportedly whipped Maroczy – though weʼve yet to find proof of that – and drew with Lasker . There are also strong indications that ( after adjudication ) she actually beat Lasker heads-up in a stakes match .
The Western Championship was one of the premier tournaments of the time . Harry F . Lee , chess editor of the Chicago Tribune , called it the “ leading chess event of the year , in this country , aside from the Mastersʼ Tournament in New York .” ( Ultimately , in 1934 , the Western Chess Association faded into the American Chess Federation , which renamed the tournament the “ U . S . Open .”) From its name , you might think the
Robert Scrivener
Western Championship was merely a regional tournament , but the “ region ” included pretty much everything south and west of New York , including part of Canada . That made a lot of players eligible , and they were willing to come a long way to win such a prestigious title .
And come they did , in 1913 : from Kentucky ( John Taliaferro Beckner ), Ohio ( S . K . Shapiro ), Nebraska ( Cooper Ellis ), North Dakota ( William Widmeyer ), Iowa ( A . E . Crew and Marvin C . Palmer ), Missouri ( Joseph Daniels and W . G . Hine ), Minnesota ( Edward P . Elliott , Western Champion in 1908 and 1912 ), Toronto ( Canadian Champion John Stuart Morrison ), and from Illinois ( i . e ., Chicago ) a crew hardened by tough big-club competition on a regular basis : Josef Friedlander ; George Gessner , ex-Champion of the Kenwood Chess Club ; Herman H . Hahlbohm , Champion of the Northwest Chess Club and future ( 1929 ) Western Champion ; Einar Michelsen , 1907 Western Champion ; Charles W . Phillips , Chicago Chess & Checker Club Champion ; and the Chicago Chess & Checker Club ex- Champion , John Winter .
Bright Lights , Big City It would be understandable if ,
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