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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