Since finals have ended, I've done a fair bit of reading, as I have a fascination for old chess literature. The book that has recently become my favourite is the aptly named "The Chess Tournament" by Howard Staunton, the tournament book for the London 1851 International Tournament. While this tournament was far from a super-tournament, I feel like it still doesn't get the recognition it deserves, for being the first ever international tournament. Today I endeavor to share with you the juicy details of this tournament, the players, and chess itself.

Background:

Early 19th century chess was dominated by France. François-André Danican Philidor, Alexandre Deschapelles, Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais are all names that come to mind. Their dominance over the game was extraordinary, and in the 1840's, this title was passed to Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant. While the formal title of World Chess Champion wasn't created yet, it was generally accepted that Saint-Amant was the one to beat. So, in 1843, Howard Staunton set out to do just that.

The pair's first formal encounter was in London, in early 1843. The two played a short match, which Saint-Amant won(+3-2=1) before returning to France. Dissatisfied with the result, Staunton issued a formal challenge to Saint-Amant, and in November traveled to Paris for their rematch. Despite experiencing severe heart palpitations in the second half of the match, Staunton won the rematch(+11-6=4). It was in this match that Staunton had great success with 1. c4, and for a time, the move was unofficially known as "The Staunton Opening."

While not being declared World Champion, Staunton was generally recognized as the strongest player in the world. He would "defend his title" twice in 1846. Once to German master Bernhard Horwitz, a match which Staunton easily won(+14-7=3). The second challenge came from another German master, Daniel Harrwitz, arguably the second or third strongest German player. The match was set up strangely; seven games where Harrwitz had odds of a Pawn and two moves, seven games where he had odds of a Pawn and move, and seven games at no odds. Sources disagree on the overall score, but Staunton won the no odds section 7-0, so it's safe to say he won the match. By this point, Staunton could give Pawn and move odds to almost every British player, and as no more international challenges came, he was considered to be the strongest player going into the 1850's.

Tournament Preparations:

In the mid 1840's, another of the leading German masters, Ludwig Bledow, began making preparations for an international tournament much like this one. After his death in 1846, a letter he sent to Germany's leading master Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa was published in an 1848 edition of Deutsche Schachzeitung. This was probably one of the catalysts for Staunton's preparations.

One thing that Britain had over Germany was the Great Exhibition of Industry and Art in London. This magnificent showcase, intended for international visitors, made it much easier for foreign masters to obtain time off work, passports, etc. The only major issue was remaining was money, which thankfully proved to be an easy obstacle to tackle. Chess clubs from all across Britain, as well as many British citizens, chipped in money in order to fund this revolutionary event. Entry fees into the tournament were waived for foreign competitors, and a copy of the book would be provided to them free of charge. British citizens had to pay for both, but the goal of this event was to attract as much foreign talent as possible, to truly showcase the power of as many chess masters as possible.

The only true hiccup came from the London Chess Club, who wanted a larger portion of the governance of the event(Staunton represented the St. George's club, a much smaller group). While their resistance did little to halt the progress of the tourney, their absence did mean a good chunk of strong British players were absent from the tourney. Regardless, the event was prepared and ready to go.

Goals of the Congress:

Staunton's goals for this event went beyond a simple tournament. He had multiple goals in mind:

A general congress of the world's strongest players, to serve as the governing body of chess. Subgoals included standardizing rules(time control, 50 move rule, rules for giving odds, and so forth), and creating a table of known opening theory. As many of the strongest players were unable to attend the event, this goal never fully came to fruition.

A grand tourney, open to everyone - but especially to foreign masters. This would be the main attraction of the congress, and the event of focus for today.

A minor tourney, for all British individuals who don't wish to waste time entering the grand tourney. With a smaller prize fund and a faster format, this was meant to showcase the diversity of Britain's chess talents.

A group match between the leading British masters and the top foreign masters. This also didn't fully pan out, and was instead changed to be individual matches between selected masters, for an additional prize.

Players in the Grand Tourney - by Country:

Adolf Anderssen, the strongest German player at this event. His playing strength had surged over the past couple of years, due to extensive training with Lasa, as well as other strong German players. He was initially dissuaded from entering the tourney; his job as a schoolteacher gave him very few funds to spare. After Staunton agreed to cover Anderssen's expenses should he walk away empty handed, he agreed and came to compete.

Bernhard Horwitz was a member of the Berlin Pleiades, a group of the seven strongest German chess masters, including Lasa and Bledow. He was a strong endgame player, and created many endgame puzzles and studies, many of which ended up in Reubin Fine's "Basic Chess Endings."

Carl Mayet was another one of the Pleiades, often called the "most original" of the group. This is poorly worded, as many interpret it as him being one of the first. What this was supposed to mean was that his play was the most original, often sacrificing his Queen for wild attacking games. His record against masters is, understandably, mediocre, but his games against amateurs must have been something incredible.

Johann Löwenthal was one of the two strongest masters in Hungary. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848(a year that was revolutionary for much of Europe) he fled to America, where he was welcomed by their chess elite. After doing a tour of the country, playing many games and losing some to a 12 year old kid in New Orleans, he finally settled in Cincinnati. Having gathered the funds to travel back to Britain, he's ready to show what his years of travel have taught him.

Jozsef Szén is the other Hungarian competing, and the stronger of the two. He won a match against la Bourdonnais(+13-12=0), though Szén was given odds of a Pawn and two moves. Together with Löwenthal, the pair played two games by correspondence with the city of Paris, winning both, and introducing the Hungarian Defense(1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Ne7). Like Horwitz, Szén is an exceptional endgame player, and a stark contrast to the usual romantic style seen in this tourney.

Lionel Kiesertizky is the sole French representative in London. He's dubbed himself the "Chess Messiah," an attitude that has caused him to have very few friends. He came to London to show that French chess was still a force, and seeing as he's been positively compared to Saint-Amant, he might have the skills to back it up.

Howard Staunton - the man, the myth, the legend. Widely believed to be the strongest player in the world, Staunton also took on multiple key roles in organizing and running this event. That, combined with his ever-weakening heart, created obstacle after obstacle for the champion to overcome. How did he fare? Stick around...

(no image) Elijah WIlliams was another of the top British masters, pinned inside the top three. Dubbed the "Bristol Sloth" by Staunton, Williams has been called out for agonizingly slow play in the past by many people. He's here to show that slow and steady wins the race.

Henry Bird was only 21 at the time of this event, but I couldn't locate a younger image of him. Having only learned chess six years ago, and having only been recognized as a talented player three years ago, this is Bird's first major event. Though he would go on to play top level chess for another 40 years, we now get to see how his youthful energy stacked up against the older gents he called adversaries.

Marmaduke Wyvill was an acting MP, and thus had very little time for chess. Despite this, he was allowed to participate in this tournament, though probably a great deal of it was due to words from his close friend, our next competitor.

Hugh Alexander Kennedy was a retired Captain, who had since dedicated himself to chess and writing. A leading figure in the British chess community, he was responsible for the creation of many chess clubs, and wrote his own articles.

(no image) Edward Löwe was an older gentleman, who was always considered a threat, despite never reaching the highest tier of play. Well-respected and loved by all, he brought a smile to the event that was otherwise quite tense and dramatic(at the chessboards, at least.)

Samuel Newham was alleged to be the strongest British player in the Northern Provinces throughout the 1830's. The only game I could find of his, outside those played in this tourney, was a drawn game against Saint-Amant. A reasonably strong player, though not one I would put in the same class as Staunton or Williams.

(no image) James Mucklow, Edward Shirley Kennedy and Alfred Brodie were all last-minute entrants, due to the tournament not having a nice number of participants. These three were invited up from the British only tournament, to play in place of three who had failed to show up, despite their names being on the lists - Henry Thomas Buckle, Carl Jaenisch, and Ilya Schumoff, respectively. All relatively weak players, used more than anything to fill up the empty slots.

Thus there were 16 people in the tournament, a nice number for a knockout style event. Due to the mini revolt of the London Chess Club, many other strong British players decided not to join, as well as Harrwitz, who had close relations with the Club. Other strong players like Lasa, Saint-Amant and Alexandr Petroff were invited, but they too did not show up.

Tournament Format:

There were eight prizes to be given away, and thus the original plan was to play knockout until there were eight players remaining, and then use further knockouts to determine the order of the prizes. As the initial intended number of participants was 32, it was agreed that the first to two wins should be considered the winner of the match. Staunton argued for it to be increased to three wins, but the vote came up in favour of two.

No time controls were used for this event.

Tournament Games:

Each match will be presented with a brief synopsis, as well as a handful games from the match. These games won't be analyzed in any great detail, as almost none of them really present anything worth learning. There will, however, be comments and analyses written by Staunton himself, taken from the tournament book.

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Round 1: Each round one match is won by the first player to win two games.

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James Mucklow vs Edward Shirley Kennedy

We start off our series of mini-matches with a bit of an unfortunate one. Neither of these players were initially set to take part in the tournament; they were initially meant for the smaller, British-only tournament, but were brought up when there weren't enough players in the major tournament. This pairing could be seen as very unfortunate, as the addition of Carl Jaenish and Ilya Schumoff would have made such a matchup impossible, but here we are. Certainly Mucklow found this pairing to be fortunate, as he had a very easy first round match(spoiler: his next round match will not be so easy!)

Winner: James Mucklow (+2-0=0)

Marmaduke Wyvill vs Edward Löwe

Mr. Wyvill, being an active MP, had very little time for chess. However, he was looking like quite the threat in this match, handily defeating the older master Edward Löwe. Shown here is the first game, where Mr. Wyvill "sacrifices" a Knight, following through with a very imposing Kingside attack. An interesting game, to say the least.

Winner: Marmaduke Wyvill (+2-0=0)

Hugh Alexander Kennedy vs Karl Mayet

This match was closer than the score indicates. Regardless, the game shown is definitely one of my favourites of the tournament. It features the English opening, a very poisoned pawn, and even the Alekhine's Gun. I believe games like this were what the organizers of the tournament were hoping to produce.

Winner: Hugh Alexander Kennedy (+2-0=0)

Samuel Newham vs Jozsef Szén

This match, on the other hand, was about as lopsided as the score indicates. Back in the 1830's, Mr. Newham may have been considered one of the strongest in Britain, but here he was fairly well outplayed by the Hungarian. Szén's endgame proficiency was on full display in this game, winning an endgame with two pawns against a Rook.

Winner: Joszef Szén (+2-0=0)

Howard Staunton vs Alfred Brodie

There's not really much to say about this. Staunton was easily one of the strongest players in the world, and Brodie was a complete unknown. While neither game offers anything substantial, at least we got a nifty Scotch Gambit out of one of the games.

Winner: Howard Staunton (+2-0=0)

Adolf Anderssen vs Lionel Kieseritsky

After Staunton defeated St. Amant in their 1843 match, France was no longer the unchallenged authority on chess. One might say there was substantial pressure on Mr. Kieseritsky, as he was the sole French representative in the tournament, sent to show that French chess was still a formidable force. That pressure must have been very high, as the self-proclaimed "Chess Messiah" had one of the worst matches possible. Staunton(naturally) had a few choice words to say about the match, and harsh as they are, there is truth to them. (Side note: The "Immortal Game" was played at this event, but not as one of the games in this match.)

Winner: Adolf Anderssen (+2-0=1)

Elijah Williams vs Johann Löwenthal

This was the biggest upset of the round, I imagine. Mr. Löwenthal was one of the driving forces behind Staunton's petition to change the number of wins required to three instead of two, and this match is a perfect example of why. Again, Staunton had thoughts to share about this match, but it wasn't all bad. These two played a second, longer match after the tournament, with Löwenthal coming out on top (+7-5=4).

Winner: Elijah Williams (+2-1=0)

Bernhard Horwitz vs Henry Bird

The last presented match of the round, and certainly the most tense. Game one was drawn, and the players traded wins the next two games. Horwitz managed to pull through in the fourth game, with a lovely Queen sacrifice to boot. These two also played a second match after the tournament, and the result was the same; Horwitz won (+7-3=4).

Winner: Bernhard Horwitz (+2-1=1)

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Round 2: Following the unplanned departures of both Kieseritsky and Löwenthal in the first round, Staunton launched a successful petition regarding the number of games per match. For the remainder of the tournament, the winner of the match was the first person to score four wins.

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Elijah Williams vs James Mucklow

Throughout the book, Staunton continuously had negative things to say about Mr. Williams. The main gripe he had was about Williams's infuriatingly slow play, which Staunton claimed was the reason for many of his victories. His tournament thus far did nothing but frustrate Staunton more; after beating one of Staunton's closest acquaintances in the first round, he then gets paired with the weakest player in the round by far(spoiler: his next round match will not be so easy!).

Winner: Elijah Williams (+4-0=0)

Marmaduke Wyvill vs Hugh Alexander Kennedy

These two were supposedly good friends for many years by this point, and therefore had probably played many games against each other(I could only find a single game between them outside of the tournament). This match was very close, however it wasn't the most entertaining, due to the repetitiveness of the opening. Mr. Wyvill always opened 1. c4, and Mr. Kennedy always responded 1... e6. This opening did bring him success:

however it wasn't perfect, and in the end, Mr. Wyvill won by a single game.

Winner: Marmaduke Wyvill (+4-3=1)

Adolf Anderssen vs Jozsef Szén

These two were quite amiable; they shared a hotel room for the duration of the tournament. When they learned that they were to play each other, they made a deal concerning the prize money, which probably took place after the third game:

The pair supposedly made a deal that if one of them were to finish in first place, they would give the other person a third of the prize money. After this deal was made, Anderssen won the next three games in succession, including this game from Anderssen's pet opening, the Sicilian. Were these wins caused by Szén's lack of effort, as Staunton suspects? Possibly, but nobody knows for sure.

Winner: Adolf Anderssen (+4-2=0)

Howard Staunton vs Bernhard Horwitz

These two had played a match previously in 1846; Staunton had comfortably won that (+14-7=3), and was the likely favourite to win this match as well. The match started in amazing style, with an eleven hour gauntlet that was eventually won by Horwitz:

Staunton's other loss in this match was another long game, running just shy of 80 moves. However, the British champion continued fighting, and convincingly won the match.

Winner: Howard Staunton (+4-2=1)

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Round 3: The winners of the previous matches would now fight to determine places 1st - 4th. The losers of the previous matches would now fight to determine places 5th - 8th. Again, the winner of the match will be the person who first wins four games.

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Hugh Alexander Kennedy vs James Mucklow (Loser's Bracket)

Mr. Mucklow was not a good chess player... It almost seems like he forgot what en passant was at move 21. Not much to say, Mucklow bad, Kennedy good, moving on.

Winner: Hugh Alexander Kennedy (+4-0=0)

Jozsef Szén vs Bernhard Horwitz (Loser's Bracket)

I think it's fair to say that Mr. Szén was considered the better player of the two; I don't think it's fair to say that Mr. Szén would win the match +4-0=0. Of course, seeing as that was what happened, perhaps it is fair to say. Right from game 1, Horwitz was badly outplayed starting at about the 15th move:

Things never got better for him. Szén, like Anderssen, was a very strong Sicilian player, and Horwitz was never able to get anything going. Possibly the most shocking match of the tournament.

Winner: Jozsef Szén (+4-0=0)

Marmaduke Wyvill vs Elijah Williams (Winner's Bracket)

Mr. Williams was definitely one of the stronger British players in this tournament - perhaps even second strongest, just behind Staunton. He continued his winning streak by winning the first three games against Wyvill, including this game where Wyvill plays rather passively, and allows Williams to create a very strong attack.

It was only after this third game that Wyvill began to play good chess, immediately striking back in the next game.

Wyvill continued to win the rest of the games in the match, triumphing over his countryman in dramatic fashion.

Winner: Marmaduke Wyvill (+4-3=0)

Adolf Anderssen vs Howard Staunton (Winner's Bracket)

It's kind of unfortunate that these two drew each other; I reckon they're both stronger than either Wyvill or Williams, and this would have made for an excellent first place match. But, due to the flaws of the drawing system, here we are. I'll show every game in this match, since I believe this is the strongest pairing of the tournament, and thus requires closer inspection.

The first game saw Staunton attempt a Sicilian, a defense with which Anderssen was very well acquainted. After Staunton did a miserable job of developing his pieces(he admitted that his opening was horrid), Anderssen had no trouble creating a winning attack. Note the end passage by Staunton, trying to discredit the entirety of the game, when really he just played horribly.

In the second game, a Giuoco Pianissimo, Staunton had the bright idea of doubling the pawns in front of Anderssen's King, and then mounting an all-out Kingside attack. Problem is, Anderssen's central breakthrough did an excellent job of uncoordinating Staunton's pieces, and his attack failed miserably.

Remember that Scotch Gambit that Staunton played in round 1? It's back, but this time Staunton wass on the receiving end(although this game was much more tame). Note that Staunton seems to consider a Knight more valuable than a Bishop. Looks like the theory has changed a little since 1851.

Aderssen was now up 3-0 in the match, which was something completely unprecedented. Staunton did manage to stop the shutout with a win in the fourth game, though it would be more accurate to say that Anderssen lost the game. Anderssen loaded Alekhine's Gun, and Staunton pulled a Looney Toons and stuck his finger in the barrel, the gun exploding in Anderssen's face.

Ultimately, Staunton could do nothing to win another game, and Anderssen won the match in what could also possibly be the biggest upset of the round. Man, round 3 was pretty surprising.

There was a lot of trash talk by Staunton, and he continued to slag Anderssen throughout other parts of the book, but the results speak for themselves.

Winner: Adolf Anderssen (+4-1=0)

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Round 4: These matches will be determining the final placings of each of the competitors. Again, the winner of the match is the first person to win four games.

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Bernhard Horwitz vs James Mucklow (7th place match)

This match never happened, as Mr. Mucklow didn't show up. I don't blame him; after losing eight games in a row, I wouldn't want to face off against another top level player.

Winner: Bernhard Horwitz (default)

Jozsef Szén vs Hugh Alexander Kennedy (5th place match)

Both of these players lost a close battle against an eventual finalist(Szén vs. Anderssen, and Kennedy vs. Wyvill), and both players won their previous match with four consecutive wins. As if their records couldn't speak enough for themselves, the first game of the match was drawn.

Once again, to everyone's surprise, the Hungarian master proceeded to win the next four games in a row. Seen here is the fifth and final game in the match, where the so-called opening expert broke out a pretty interesting opening, the Ponziani opening, and was soundly defeated.

Winner: Jozsef Szén (+4-0=1)

Elijah Williams vs Howard Staunton (3rd place match)

Despite Staunton's probable frustration at not vying for the 1st place title, he at least had a chance here to sock it to one of his least favourite competitors, Elijah Williams. Now he had the chance to show the "Bristol Sloth" that tiresome prolixity is not how one wins games, but by careful and calculated bits of stratagem. Let's see what happened!

The first two games had the two players trading wins, both Englishmen making good use of their first move advantage. Staunton, in a very dominating move, managed to take the next two games afterwards. Although comfortably leading 3-1, he could sense ill omens, as his chest began to hurt with every move near the end.

As we saw with his match against Horwitz, Staunton has trouble playing long games, due to heart problems he developed in the mid-1840's. He unsurprisingly dropped the following game, but it was game number 6 that proved to be the turning point.

Now things got into dire straits. Going into the critical 7th game, Staunton had the Black pieces. He had to defend for his life, so what did he pick? The Benoni of course, a favourite of Saint-Amant(albeit transposed, but I'll take this over an Exchange French any day).

He survived! Now with the first move, Staunton had the ability to put away the Sloth once and for all. Problem is, Williams wasn't going to just roll over and accept defeat, so what did he pick? The French... ugh.

A disappointing end for the British ex-Champion, but this wasn't the end, oh no. He challenged Williams to a second match after the tournament, and after Williams initially declined, Staunton agreed to give him a 3 game lead. Thus, Staunton needed to win 7 games to Williams's 4. And the final score? Staunton lost with 6 wins to 4. The glory days have come and gone, it seems.

Winner: Elijah WIlliams(+4-3=1)

Adolf Anderssen vs Marmaduke Wyvill

The results are almost all decided, and now only the most critical match remains. While I'm sure very few would be surprised to see Mr. Anderssen's name at the top of the lists, I bet there were very few who predicted Mr. Wyvill to be his challenger. Before we get into the games, let's do a quick side-by-side comparison of their rounds:

Anderssen's round 1 opponent was Lionel Kieseritzky, the sole French representative, and a very strong master. Both of Anderssen's wins were sealed in 20 moves or less. Wyvill's first round opponent was Edward Löwe, an older player who, even in his prime, was no stronger than a tier 2 master.

Round 2 saw Anderssen pitted against Jozsef Szén, the strongest Hungarian player and - as we saw in rounds 3 and 4 - overall dominant master. Wyvill got paired with Hugh Kennedy, who was definitely a strong player, but evidently nowhere near the calibur of Szén.

Round 3 was by far the most explosive. Wyvill's match was quite memorable, in the way he made his come-from-behind victory against Elijah Williams. Anderssen's match against Howard Staunton was much more straightforward, the German master easily dispatching the British #1.

The statistics favour Anderssen, but as my old high school statistics teacher George told me, "65% of statistics are made up." On with the games!

The first game was just another day at the office for Anderssen. Nice dynamic play that ended with a back rank exploit.

With Wyvill making the first move in this second game, you know that he would play the English, finally giving Anderssen a chance to show how he deals with it. This game, he chose the safer route, transposing into a QGD that never got too far out of hand, despite Wyvill having some chances at superiority.

Having successfully defended, Anderssen was once again squaring off against Wyvill's Sicilian. This time, Anderssen asked how Wyvill plays the Open Sicilian, and the answer? Very, very well. As it is with most Sicilians, getting in an unpunished d5 is a good way to get an advantage.

Game 4 again gave Anderssen the opportunity to take down Wyvill's English. He chose a Dutch style approach this time, and either Wyvill was grossly unprepared, or he didn't feel like playing good chess that day.

Wyvill refused to deviate from the Sicilian for game 5, and so Anderssen decided to switch it up again, trying out the MacDonnell attack. While the opening itself may not be the greatest, Anderssen's Kingside attacking skills were still top notch, and he swiftly penetrated Wyvill's subpar defense.

Now we enter the critical game for Wyvill. Being down 3-1, with Anderssen carrying the momentum of a 2-game winning streak, meant that this was a must-win for Wyvill. In a tense middlegame, he found a very nice exchange sacrifice that blew the Queenside open, allowing him to infiltrate Anderssen's camp and grab the win.

Even though Anderssen's winning streak was stopped short, he still needed to win this game in order to clinch the tourney. After some questionable exchanges by Wyvill, who was clearly trying to trade down into a drawn endgame, Anderssen found his own exchange sacrifice to expose the Black King. Wyvill was forced to give up his Queen, and Anderssen's last game ended just like his first; in 20 moves.

And thus, Anderssen was crowned as the champion.

Winner: Adolf Anderssen(+4-2=1)

Aftermath:

With this, Anderssen became recognized as the strongest player in the world. However, one clause in the tournament rules was that the champion had to hold himself open to a 21-game match(rather, first to 11 wins, as often the rules had a line stating "drawn games did not count"). Naturally, who else but Staunton would be the challenger? Anderssen accepted, however the tournament had kept him away from his job in Germany for too long, so he was forced to return. Staunton's health also meant that a match of this importance was inadvisable, so he agreed to wait. The match never happened.

Additional matches were set up after the tournament, with extra prizes to be won. Most of these matches were already mentioned; Löwenthal got his revenge against Williams, Horwitz confirmed his superiority over Bird, and Staunton once again failed to topple the Bristol Sloth. However, there were some other matches played: Henry Thomas Buckle made a short appearance, his match being cut short due to obligations outside of the country. He narrowly bested Löwenthal(+4-3=1), confirming that he would have been an excellent addition to the lists. Carl Jaenisch also made his presence known, and took part in a very lopsided match with Staunton, which the British champ won quite easily(+7=2-1).

Let us not forget, while this tournament was going on, something special was happening in America. A 14 year old kid, a decent chess player in his own right, was very quickly building up his strength...

Conclusion:

This tournament doesn't get a lot of spotlight, and so I thought I'd do my part and try to give it some attention. As this article was hastily written in my spare time, I'm sure I left out some details, so any other questions will definitely be answered. Thanks for reading, and remember - in life, as in chess, don't walk into forks. Thanks Finegold.