Anthony Tony Gillam Editor (9 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 83 pages with diagrams. Octavo (8 1/4" x 6:) bound in original publisher's stapled wrappers. (Rare and Unpublished Tournaments and Matches 32) First edition. This book contains four tournaments of 1926. The sixth Hastings Christmas Chess Festival (1) was held from December 25, 1925 to January 5, 1926. Once again ten chess masters from England and the continent were invited to participate in the round robin event. The notable participants of this edition included Alexander Alekhine and Milan Vidmar. Suitably, they tied for first in the final, drawing only with each other and defeating every other player. The third biennial West of England Chess Congress was played in the Town Hall of Weston-super-Mare. Max Euwe the tournament winner was followed by E Colle. The Scarborough 1926 tournament was held shortly after the General Strike of May 1926 and affected the entry. The two sections showed a marked disparity in playing strength. In the A section Alekhine and George Thomas were the strongest and achieved one and two being separated by a half point. The tournament arranged by the Birmingham Chess Club was played in the Midland Institute and the clear winner was Alekhine followed by a distant Eugene Znosko Borovsky and Hubert Ernest Price 2.5 points behind. Condition: Corners gently bumped else a near fine copy.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 55 pages with table and diagrams. Octavo (8 1/4" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's yellow stapled wrappers. Rare and Unpublished Tournaments and Matches number 57. First edition. The London 1868/9 tournament was not a straightforward chess tournament. It was more of a festival of chess which lasted four months and consisted of five separate competitions. The competitions were a blindfold match between Steinitz and Blackburne; the Mongredien Tournament in which the pieces of each player's bank rank were slightly rearranged before play began; a knock out handicap tournament; the Glowworm Tournament (named after its sponsor, The Glowworm newspaper) and the main tournament for the Challenge Cup, first competed for in 1866. 20 moves in two hours was the time limit, measured by sand-glasses. Most of the games of the Challenge Cup event were published by the major chess columns of the period. Draws were replayed. Blackburne won the 2nd British championship after defeating the former title holder, de Vere, in the last round who held second. Tied for third was G A MacDonnell, J Owen and R B Wormald with H E Bird and J Wisker joint sixth. Condition: Light edge wear else a better than very good copy.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 64 pages with tables and 26 diagrams. Octavo (8 1/4" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's yellow stapled wrappers. Rare and Unpublished Tournament and Matches number 16. First edition. articles; all 59 games from Hastings (Maroczy, Tartakower, E.Steiner, Colle etc.); 37 games of the many from Bromley; all 32 games from Scarborough (Romih, Kahn, etc.); 3 of the 6 games from London (Rubinstein, Yates, Thomas). Notes where available. Condition: Some light edge wear else a better than very good copy.

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 126+[1 Ad] pages with table, diagrams and index. Octavo (8 1/4" x 3/4") bound in original publisher's pictorial wrappers. First published in two volumes in 1936-1936 in German. First edition into English. The German Chess Federation wanted to organize an Olympiad as a counterpart to the Olympic Games at Berlin in 1936. Munich was chosen to be the venue - for the local chess club was celebrating its centenary - and teams of eight plus two reserves were invited to take part. But since the German Chess Federation was not a member of FIDE, the event was not recognized as belonging to the official series of Olympiads. Twenty-two countries entered for this mammoth tournament and of these only Spain later withdrew. However, the dates coincided with the international tournament at Nottingham, with the result that not only was the English team unable to enter but also a number of grandmasters were absent from the top boards of their respective countries. The favorites seemed about equally handicapped by this. In all the history of chess there had been very few international matches in which the number of players on each side exceeded that in normal Olympiads. Accordingly, it was difficult to compare the teams and to size up their chances beforehand. The following were considered to have good prospects of gaining a high place: Hungary, a soled, powerful side led by grandmaster Maroczy; the German team, which had prepared itself thoroughly for this event; and countries such as Poland, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Austria whose chess traditions were strong. The Olympiad opened on August 17th with 208 participants (the Dutch and Brazilian teams had only nine players). A chess tournament on such a scale had never been witnessed before (1680 games were played!) and only the most recent Olympiads have surpassed it in size. From the very beginning the struggle was fierce. Moreover, owing to the numerous adjourned games and the bye caused by the odd number of teams, even those 'on the inside' found it hard to assess the situation clearly. For two-thirds of the distance the lead altered between German and Poland, with the Czechs and Yugoslavs in hot pursuit. Hungary had the free day early on (in the fourth round) and for that reason did not figure among the chief pace-makers at first. Nevertheless, the leaders had the disquieting feeling that their dangerous rival was not far behind. The Hungarians, gaining one sound victory after another, gradually overcame every obstacle. As the teams in front had the bye so their advantage disappeared, until at last, in the sixteenth round, when Germany were free, Hungary assumed the lead. From then onwards they held it securely, entering the last round four points ahead of the field; a modest win over Norway was sufficient to give them first place. Hungary's achievement in defeating, in an all-play-all tournament, all the opposition without conceding a single drawn match remained unequaled in the Olympiads until 1960. Poland finished second and Germany third. (Foldeak Chess Olympiads) Condition: Near fine.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 50 pages with diagrams and tables. Octavo (8 1/4" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's yellow stapled wrappers. Edited and annotated by A J Gillam (Rare and Unpublished Tournaments and Matches number 17) First edition. The ninth annual Hastings Chess Congress met at the end of the year of 1928 to conduct a round robin tournament. Ten players were invited to compete, including Frank James Marshall, Sandor Takacs, Edgar Colle, George Alan Thomas, Frederick D Yates, George Marshall Norman, Edward G Sergeant, Reginald Pryce Michell, Victor Berger, and Georges Koltanowski. The new year's tournament saw a three way tie for first among Colle, Marshall, and Takacs. This work also includes some of the games from the Reserves won by Steiner. The tradition of an annual chess festival founded in 1925 was continued in 1929 (May 18 until May 25) in the Pavilion Hotel. The Premier Tournament had Tartakower and Thomas as internationally known participants. The others except surprise co-winner Saunders were chosen only at the very beginning of the tournament. Saunders beat Tartakower early in the rounds, and so an exciting race between them was induced. The organizer of the festival was Graham Reid. Saunders finished third a half point behind. Condition: Some light edge wear with a touch of sunning to spine else a very good to fine copy.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 71+[1 ad] pages with illustrations, tables and diagrams. Octavo (8 1/4" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's yellow wrappers. Rare and unpublished Tournament and Matches number 24. First edition. The Anglo-American cable chess matches were a series of yearly chess matches between teams from the United States and Great Britain conducted over transatlantic cable from 1896 to 1911, except for the three-year gap of 1904 to 1906 when no matches were held. This series was closely contested, with each team winning six matches and one match being drawn. The individual game total over the series was also even (+39 −39 =50). The series ended when Great Britain won their third consecutive match, thereby earning permanent custody of the silver cup provided by Sir George Newnes. There were other cable matches held in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but this series is the most well-known. The first attempt at a same-session cable match and the direct predecessor of the Anglo-American series was a match between the British Chess Club and the Manhattan Chess Club on 9 March 1895. Only one of the ten games concluded by the time the London hall was required to close, a draw being agreed. Emanuel Lasker, charged with adjudicating unfinished games, suggested draws on the nine remaining boards and this was acceptable to both clubs. Drawing on experience with the 1895 cable match played by the Manhattan club, the Brooklyn Chess Club organized the first Anglo-American chess match. Participation was restricted to native citizens, and play was held for two four-hour sessions per day over two days. The time limit was 20 moves per hour. The Brooklyn club suggested eight players per team and the British club preferred ten players per team. The first match in 1896 used eight players per team, but all subsequent matches used ten players per team. As before, Emanuel Lasker would adjudicate any unfinished games, although over the course of the series adjudication would not be required until the tenth match of the series. Sir George Newnes was president of the British Chess Club and he provided the silver cup that would go to the winning team until the next match. The first match of the series was held 13 14 March 1896. The United States team had white on the odd-numbered boards and the British team had white on the even-numbered boards. The United States team won by a single game. The 1897 match was held 12 13 February 1897. The British team had white on the odd-numbered boards and the United States team had white on the even-numbered boards. The British team won by a single game, tying the series at one match each. The third match was held 18 19 March 1898. The United States team had white on the odd-numbered boards and the British team had white on the even-numbered boards. The British team won the match by a single game, taking the lead in the series two matches to one, and positioning themselves to end the series and take permanent possession of the Newnes cup should they win the 1899 match for three consecutive match wins. The 1899 match was held 11 12 March 1899. The British team had white on odd-numbered boards and the United States team had white on even-numbered boards. The United States team won by a margin of two games, tying the series at two matches each. The 1901 match was held 19 20 April 1901. The British team had white on the odd-numbered boards and the United States team had white on the even-numbered boards. The match was tied at five games each. As the United States team did not win three consecutive matches, the series was not ended. Prominent players from both sides of the Atlantic would participate over the years. Some who played for Great Britain included Joseph Blackburne, Amos Burn, Henry Bird, Henry Atkins, Horatio Caro, James Mason, Frederick Yates, Sir George Thomas, and Thomas Lawrence. Some who played for the United States included Harry Pillsbury, Jackson Showalter, Frank Marshall, Albert Hodges, etal. Conditi.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 79 pages with tables, diagrams and index. Octavo (8 1/4" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's yellow wrappers. Translated by x Wadman. Rare and Unpublished Tournaments and Matches number 30. First edition. The Hague event was held concurrently with the Games of the 9th Summer Olympiad. As FIDE congress in 1927 bowed under the tension of British delegates and decided to allow only amateurs to take part most world top players ignored the competition, weakening its strength and prestige. Same as in 1924 there was an individual competition, called the Amateur World Championship, and team tourney, this time held as a separate event. Unlike in 1924 both events were split and no results from individual tournament counted for overall team score. Each team was allowed to put one representative in the A.W.Ch. and anyone but Belgium and Denmark did that. Most teams lent their top players in the event but it was not a rule. Steiner, Euwe and Matisons were considered the favourites and Carls, Treybal and Przepiórka had decent chances as well. The tournament brought many sensational results. Euwe was in clear lead in halfway stage scoring incredible 7½/8. Treybal was in runner-up place a full point behind the leader. Matisons, Carls and surprisingly Golmayo had 5½ points each. Steiner lost his first 6 games and played awkward role of the red lantern with a pathetic 1/8. But it was no one else than the Polish master Przepiórka who turned the highest gear on and beat Euwe in round 10. The latter, suffering small crisis failed to win a single game until round 12. After 11 rounds the young Dutchman was still in the lead, but the margin diminished: Euwe 8½, Przepiórka and Carls 8, Matisons 7½, Golmayo 7. Treybal lost two games in a row and dropped out the the leading group forever. In round 12 Euwe beat Matisons in a good style and found himself on a clear way to a win. Przepiórka continued his impressive rally and easily took second place a full point ahead of Matisons who finished third thus failing to defend his title of the "World Amateur Champion" won in Paris, 1924. Famous Norman Whitaker, US player, a master-class chess player and a grandmaster-class embezzler who spent most of his life in prison won four last games and the final spurt let him climb up to the 4th place shared with Golmayo, the Spaniard and Treybal from Czechoslovakia. Carls' poor finish threw him down to 7th place. Steiner recovered a bit but his 12th place was still a joke. W. Henneberger for Switzerland started with decent 2½/4 but then lost virtually all the games and came last way back the rest. Unfortunately the team event was not that much interesting because of bizarre regulations on amateur status. Few well-know players took part. Kasdan, Ståhlberg or Petrovs were long before their prime at that time. Maróczy was absent but still the Hungarians were the favourites. Olympic newbies, USA and Poland seemed strong enough too. The Czechs started well and were in the lead for a couple of days. Denmark, who lacked a reserve player again kept the pace despite a 1-3 loss vs Czechoslovakia. Poland were down the middle of the pack as they lost three matches on a row to Austria, Hungary and surprisingly Switzerland. USA were not very aggressive at the start though they managed to beat Hungary in round 2. The titleholders faced the leaders in round 7 being 3 points behind the Czechs. The Hungarians won the match but with nearest of margins. Poland made up for lost ground and easily beat USA winning on top three boards. Denmark lost many points in favour of Romania and Holland. Round 10 was decisive as the Hungarians demolished the Dutchmen giving away a single draw and the Czechoslovaks sensationally lost 1-3 to the pallid Germans, who deprived of their top players like Tarrasch and Mieses were struggling in penultimate place. The Hungarians had very easy finish and won convincingly. A few firm wins pulled them way ahead the rest. Same might be told about USA and Poland,

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 63+[1 ad] pages with diagrams and tables. Octavo (8 1/4" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's yellow wrappers. Rare and Unpublished Tournaments and Matches 14. First edition. This edition of the Hastings tournament was won by Max Euwe a half point ahead of Geza Maroczy with 7.5. Edgar Colle and Frederick Yates tied for third with scores of 6. In shared sixth and seventh R P Michell and A Seitz a full point behind. In the The tournament continued the success of Weston (1922) with a mixture of British players and a few foreign masters, this time the young Euwe from Holland and the French-Russian master Znosko-Borovsky. Located in idyllic surroundings it attracted the best English players, except Fred Dewhurst Yates who was playing in New York (1924). It was planned that Weston and Hastings should take turns to hold a chess festival during the Easter week each year. Max Euwe was first with no losses at 7.5 followed closely by G A Thomas at 7. Clear third E Znosko-Borovsky at 6.5. In fourth was Edmund Spencer a full point behind followed by John Drewitt. Condition: Light edge wear else a near fine copy.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 445+[3 ad] pages with diagrams, plates, tables and indexes. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6 1/4") issued in red cloth with gilt lettering to spine and front cover. First edition. In the Master's tournament 36 participants were divided into four group of nine each, labelled A, B, C and D. First-round pairings saw Group A play against Group B, and Group C against D. After the first stage the players with the three lowest scores in each group retired from the tourney, with the consolation prizes according to their scores. The remaining six masters in each of the four of the four groups proceeded to play a second stage - A playing C and B meeting D. The two lowest scores from each group then withdrew with further consolation prizes. Of the sixteen remaining competitors (four in each group), A then played D and B faced C - thus completing the round-robin among the four groups. A fourth stage pitted group members against each other - A playing A, etc. The seven lowest players were then eliminated. Of the remainder Schlechter didn't appear destined for the winner's circle. Four successive victories in the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th rounds (Johner, Marco Fahrni and Bur) had propelled him into a half-point lead over Maroczy. A loss to Bernstein in the 17th round dropped him into a tie for first with Maroczy and Janowski. The blow by blow continuation is here in contained in this wonderful production. Condition: Corners bumped. Front head corner bumped else a near fine copy without jacket as issued.