Chess in 1850
by Bill Wall
In 1850, George Walker wrote Chess & Chess-Players.
In 1850, Pope Pius IX (1792-1878) amused himself by playing chess with his Cardinals. (source: Athens Post, Tennessee, Feb 8, 1850)
In 1850, a chess club called the West-End Chess Club was formed in Baltimore.
In 1850, William Cook was born in Bristol, England. He was a chess author. He died in 1917.
In 1850, Loewenthal and Stanley drew a match in New York.
In 1850, Loewenthal visited New Orleans and played Paul Morphy three games. Morphy won two games and drew the third game.
In 1850, Carl Hamppe defeated Ernest Karl Falkbeer in a match in Vienna.
In 1850, von der Lasa defeated John Schulten in a match in Frankfurt.
In 1850, Lionel Kieseritzky defeated John Schulten in a match in Paris. They played 151 games. Kieseritzky won 107, lost 34, and drew 10.
In 1850, Ilya Shumov defeated Carl Jaenisch in a match in St. Petersburg.
In 1850, Eugene Chatard was born in France. He was a French master. He died in 1924.
In 1850, Staunton sold his Chess Player’s Chronicle.
In 1850, the Berlin chess club folded. It started in 1803
In 1850, Nathaniel Bland gave a paper on Persian chess to the Asiatic Society in London.
In 1850, George Medley defeated Augustus Mongredien in a match in London.
On February 11, 1850, the "Great Match" between Charles Stanley of New York and J. Turner of Kentucky began in Washington, D.C.
On February 14, 1850, Charles Stanley defeated John Spencer Turner (1829-1905) in Washington, D.C. with 11 wins, 5 losses, and 1 draw. It was considered the 2nd U.S. chess championship match. They played for a stake of $1000 and played 17 games in four days.
On February 22, 1850, Isaac Rice was born in Wachenheim, Bavaria, Germany. He was an American industrialist and chess patron.
In April 1850, Loewenthal defeated Colonel F.H. Dudley in a match in Lexington, Kentucky with 11 wins, 5 losses, and 4 draws. Dudley was considered the strongest player in the West.
On May 4, 1850, Emmanuel Schiffers was born. He was known as Russia's Chess Teacher. He died 1904.
In May 1850, Johann Loewenthal visited New Orleans and beat Eugene Rousseau (1810-1876) five games straight.
In June 1850, Jacob Loewenthal established a cigar divan for chess players in Cincinnati.
On October 7, 1850, Karl Schorn died in Munich. He was a member of the Berlin Pleiades.
On October 14, 1850, Wilhelm Hanstein died in Magdeburg. He was a German chess player and writer and one of the Berlin Pleiades. He was president of the Berlin Chess Club.
On November 12, 1850, Mikhail Chigorin was born in St Petersburg. He was Russian champion in 1899, 1901, and 1903. He died in 1908.
On November 16, 1850, Aaron Alexandre died in London, England. He was a chess author (Encyclopedie des Echecs) and teacher.
On December 14, 1850, Jean Taubenhaus was born in Warsaw. He was a Polish-born French chess master. He operated Mephisto.