Edward Lasker wins City of London Chess Club Championship

We continue our coverage of items of interest heretofore left unreported in these pages owing to want of time and space with the news that Herr Edward Lasker has captured one of the most prestigious club titles in the world, the Championship of the City of London Chess Club. This event, contested over several months, was comprised of two round-robin preliminary sections of 12 and 13 men respectively, from which the top four finishers advanced to compete in an eight-man final. In the final tourney Herr Lasker tallied 5 1/2 points from seven games to take the laurels, narrowly edging out Mr. R.P. Michell, who scored 5 points. Third and fourth places were shared by Mr. E.G. Sergeant and defending Champion Mr. George A. Thomas with 4 1/2 points each. Messrs. Herbert Jacobs with 3 points, G.E. Wainwright with 2 1/2, H. Saunders with 2, and R.H.V. Scott with 1 rounded out the field.

We present one of Herr Lasker's victories from the final; other games from the tourney will follow soon in future installments. Here the new Champion of the City of London Club sacrifices first one pawn, later another, and then even the exchange in furtherance of a King-side assault that at last achieves success, albeit with some assistance from his opponent.  

  

Championship of Catalonia: Final selection of games

We conclude our coverage of the Championship of Catalonia with three noteworthy games. Sr. González and Sr. Durán engaged in a long and hard-fought battle whose concluding phase featured multiple reversals of fortune. We join the contest after Black's 52nd move, and invite the reader to follow its many vicissitudes in the notes:

Sr. Valle, as second player in a French Defense, withstood the efforts by Sr. Martino to mount a King-side attack and then turned the tables on his adversary, forcing checkmate via a Queen sacrifice:

In our final offering, Sr. Bertrán displays excellent technique against 2nd-place finisher Sr. Lafuente to win a delicate endgame.

Championship of Catalonia: Games by Dr. Puig

We continue our presentation of games from the Championship of Catalonia with three winning efforts by Barcelona Champion Dr. E. Puig, who took fifth place in the Catalonian tourney, a rather more modest result than might have been expected. Here Dr. Puig shows his strength by defeating Sr. González when the latter falters in a heavy-piece endgame.

In the following encounter Dr. Puig displays excellent fighting qualities by creating counter-chances in an inferior endgame and at last gaining the victory against Sr. Estades after a long and complex struggle.

And here Dr. Puig as White establishes a powerful Knight on f5 before dispatching Sr. Godoy with a mating attack.

In a final report on the Championship of Catalonia we shall offer a few samples of the play of those competitors who finished further down the score table.

More games from the Championship of Catalonia

We present another selection of games from the recent Championship of Catalonia. Today we turn our attention to Señores Francisco Martino and Emilio Ardévol, who shared 3rd and 4th places in the tourney. We begin with Sr. Martino, who here takes the full point from Sr. González in a Bishop endgame.

In our next offering Sr. Martino outplays 5th-place finisher Dr. Puig.

And here Sr. Martino displays his attacking prowess, concluding a King-side assault with a brace of powerful pawn moves.

Sr. Ardévol was the only player to inflict two defeats on Sr. Puntas, the tournament winner. Here he does so in drastic fashion, delivering checkmate in only 18 moves.

In the following encounter Sr. Ardévol recovers from an inferior position a pawn in arrears to defeat the new Catalonian Champion in a hard-fought endgame.

We close with another example of the great fighting spirit of Sr. Ardévol, who once again overcomes an inferiority in position and material to claim victory, the victim in this case being Sr. Durán.

Two fine games from Hamburg

We present two fine games played recently at the Hamburg Chess Club. In the first, Herren Schönmann and Studt engage in a fascinating battle "to the last pawn," with the result being an honorable draw after 58 moves. The contest features enterprising play by both men, and includes piece sacrifices, mating threats, and an underpromotion among its varied contents. We urge the reader not to overlook the variations adduced in the annotations, as they too have their delights to offer.

The second game is rather more one-sided, as Herr Schütte, proceeding with admirable directness, overcomes Herr Studt after only 18 moves of a sprightly Queen's Gambit Declined, capping his efforts with a pretty Knight move that leaves Black powerless to resist.

Belfast Championship 1914: A.S. Roper claims Williamson Shield

Mr. A.S. Roper has captured the Championship of Belfast for 1914 to become the latest holder of the award emblematic of that title, the Williamson Shield. Mr. Roper, who took third place in last year's Championship tournament, defeated defending titleholder Harold Thomas in a lengthy final-round encounter that extended over three playing sessions to claim victory in this year's event by a half-point margin. The final scores of the four-man double round-robin tourney were as follows: A.S. Roper 5; Harold Morton 4 1/2; W.J. Allen 1; T. Patterson 1/2. Keen-eyed readers will note that the sum of all points scored equals only 11 and not the 12 to be expected, a discrepancy arising from the fact that the second game between Messrs. Allen and Patterson was to the best of our knowledge left unplayed.

We present a game by the new Belfast Champion:

Championship of Catalonia, continued: Lafuente

We continue our coverage of the Championship of Catalonia with four games by second-place finisher Leopoldo de Lafuente. Here Sr. Lafuente wins material as the result of a powerful King-side offensive and later decides matters in his favor in the endgame.

In the following encounter Sr. Lafuente, on the Black side of a French Deferse, gains the exchange through a combination involving a Queen sacrifice.

Sr. Lafuente here outplays third-place finisher Francisco Martino from an equal endgame.

We close with a light diversion. In our coverage of last year's Barcelona Championship we remarked on the large number of classic Bishop sacrifices to be found in the games played at the Café de la Sala Imperio during that event. Perhaps the atmosphere at the Café is particularly conducive to such a style, for Sr. Lafuente, playing in the Catalonian Championship at same venue, here provides us with yet another Bishop sacrifice on h7.

Puntas wins Championship of Catalonia

Señor Josep Puntas has won the Championship of Catalonia by taking first place in a giant 16-man double round-robin tournament held at Barcelona's Café de la Sala Imperio, the hub of chess activity in that city. Sr. Puntas, with a total of 21 points, claimed the title by virtue of his one half-point advantage over Sr. Leopoldo de Lafuente, who scored 20 1/2. Sharing third and fourth places were Srs. Francisco Martino and Emilio Ardévol on 18 points each, followed closely by Barcelona Champion Dr. E. Puig with 17 1/2. The complete final standings were as follows:

Puntas 21; Lafuente 20 1/2, Martino, Ardévol 18, Puig 17 1/2; Lopéz, Reverter, Bertrán 16 1/2; Villegas 15 1/2; Valle 14; Durán 13, Blasco 11 1/2; González 7 1/2; Godoy 7; Estades 6 1/2*; Permanyer 5 1/2.

*Señor Estades withdrew from the tournament at the half-way mark.

We were recently favored with a generous selection of games from the Championship, and having now examined the lot we can report with confidence that much interesting chess was played during the course of the tournament. We intend to share with our readers the best efforts of our Catalonian chess friends, and plan to do so in several installments, beginning today with three victories by the tournament winner.

Here Señor Puntas carries out a successful attack in a heavy-piece endgame, at last delivering checkmate.

In our next offering the new Catalonian Champion crowns a King-side attack  with a pretty Rook sacrifice.

 

In our final game of the day Sr. Puntas demonstrates his endgame skill in defeating Barcelona Champion Dr. Puig.