Marshall Chess Club

In July 1915, Frank Marshall (1877-1944) founded the Marshall Chess Club, then known as Marshall’s Chess Divan.  It was first first established at Young’s Old Pier, Tennessee Avenue and Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ.  Here, he provided playing quarters for the accommodation of traveling chess players.  He also played chess and checkers against all comers.  (sources: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 1, 1915, p. 35, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Aug 5, 1915, p. 21, and American Chess Bulletin, vol 12, 1915, p. 181)

 

The second month of Marshall’s Chess Divan showed a greatly increased interest in the novel enterprise.  Among the present and prospective members included Hudson Maxim (inventor of smokeless gunpowder and author of Defenseless America), H. Snowden Marshall (U.S. District Attorney), Mischa Elman (famous violinist), Christopher Mathewson (major league pitcher for the NY Giants) and others from the artistic and intellectual world.    Annual membership was $10 and life membership was $25.  Marshall believed that the divan would be the most important and best known chess rendezvous in the United States.  (source: American Chess Bulletin, 1915, vol 12, p. 248)

 

In September 1915, Marshall established a chess divan for himself in the back room of  Keen’s Chop House, 70 West Thirty-sixth street in Manhattan (now Keens Steakhouse on 72 West 36 Street, established in 1885).  The use of tables for chess or checkers was available for a nominal charge.  Marshall was available for instruction or practice play on a professional basis.   This later became known as the Marshall Chess Club, which later purchased a townhouse at 135 West Twelfth Street.   ( source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 30, 1915, p. 21).  Friday evenings were set aside for exhibitions and lectures.  Charles Jaffe (1879-1941), former New York State chess champion, was associated with Marshall in the venture.  (source: Washington Post, October 3, 1915, p. 2)

 

In February-March 1916, David (Dawid) Janowski, the French chess champion, defeated Charles Jaffe in a match held at Marshall’s Chess Divan.  Janowski won 5 games, drew 4 games, and lost 4 games.  Janowski then challenged Capablanca and Marshall for a match. (source: New York Times, March 22, 1916, p. 8)

 

In July 1916, Marshall’s Chess Divan moved for the fourth time.  It was now located at the Hotel Chelsea, Seventh avenue and Twenty-third street, New York.  (source: American Chess Bulletin, July-August 1916, vol 13, p. 142)

 

In January 1917, Marshall’s Chess Divan moved to 118 West Forty-ninth Street, Manhattan, in the Café Francais.  A few friends of Frank Marshall formed themselves into a working committee and paid the rent for four months.  Annual dues for the Chess Divan were $10.  A large front room on the second floor was set aside for the Divan.  Marshall gave simul exhibitions and lectured there.  The Divan’s treasurer was A.J. Gordon.  (sources: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 4, 1917, p. 15 and American Chess Bulletin, vol 14, 1917, p. 89)

 

The attractiveness of Marshall’s Chess Divan was further enhanced by the hanging of a large painting, about seven feet square, portraying a chess scene in a Parisian café.  The artist was Howard Morton Hartshorne, who was a prominent member of Marshall’s Divan.  He had received an honorable mention for this painting at the Paris Salon.  (source: American Chess Bulletin, 1917, Vol 14, p. 112)

 

On April 28, 1917, festivities took place at the Café Francais,  118 West Forty-ninth Street, celebrating the second anniversary of Marshall’s Chess Divan.  A tournament was arranged at 20 seconds a move with 8 leading chess players.  The event was won by Marshall, followed by David Janowski and Oscar Chajes.  Nearly 100 guests participated in the annual dinner held in the banquet room of the Café Francais.  Hermann Helms of the Brooklyn Chess Club was made honorary member in Marshall’s Chess Divan.  (sources: American Chess Bulletin, May-June 1917, Vol 14, p. 110 and Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 30, 1917, p. 24)

 

In the summer of 1917, Frank Marshall established another divan for chess and checkers to the Million Dollar Pier at Atlantic City, New Jersey (there were two other chess divans in Atlantic City at the time).  Meanwhile, Marshall’s Chess Divan in Manhattan remained open for the benefit of members and visitors.  (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 8, 1917, p. 30 and American Chess Bulletin, 1917, Vol 14, p. 171)

 

On November 5, 1917, there was a large attendance at the Marshall Chess Divan as Frank Marshall played two blindfold games against consulting teams.  He lost one game and drew the other.  (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 9, 1917, p. 9)

 

In December 1917, Marshall played 10 boards in his first simul performance of the season at Marshall’s Chess Divan.  He won all 10 games.  Former U.S. chess champion Albert B. Hodges was also at the Divan, consenting to play against all comers.  (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 14, 1917, p. 16 and American Chess Bulletin, 1918, vol 15, p. 3)

 

On January 14, 1918, David Janowski played 19 boards at Marshall’s Chess Divan, scoring 14 wins, 3 losses and 2 drawn games.  (source: American Chess Bulletin, 1918, vol 15, p. 47)

 

In February 1918, Marshall’s Chess Divan celebrated with a 3rd annual dinner.  Marshall then won a rapid-transit tournament, winning an expensive chess set donated by Druecke & Co., of Grand Rapids.  Roy T. Black, the Brooklyn Chess Club champion, was elected to honorary membership to the Divan.  A purse was presented to Mrs. Marshall in recognition of her services in the capacity of secretary of the Divan.  (source: New York Times, February 17, 1918, p. 30 and American Chess Bulletin, March 1918, vol 15, p. 53)

 

On March 9, 1918, Marshall and Janowski tied for 1st-2nd at a masters’ rapid transit tournament of 20 seconds per move, played at Marshall’s Chess Divan.  (source:  American Chess Bulletin, April 1918, vol 15, p. 77)

 

In April 1918, Marshall played 24 boards simultaneously at Marshall’s Chess Divan.  He won 18, lost 2, and drew 4.  Marshall also lectured upon the openings, giving particular attention to the Petroff defense.  (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 28, 1918, p. 54)

 

On  September 2, 1918, Frank Percy Beynon, age 29, a member of Marshall’s Chess Divan was killed in action.  He was a former chess champion of Toronto, Canada.  (sources: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 27, 1918, p. 8 and American Chess Bulletin, 1918, vol 15, p. 232)

 

On October 15, 1918, Marshall’s Chess Divan celebrated another anniversary.  Hermann Helms was honored for his 25 years of writing a chess column for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.  Helms then gave a 12-board simul, winning 11 and losing 1 game.  (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 16, 1918, p. 18)

 

In January 1919, the Marshall’s Chess Divan moved to 57 West Fifty-First Street in Manhattan, New York, a private residence.  A fund of about $2,000 was raised by a committee of Frank Marshall’s friends to establish a permanent home for Marshall and his family.  The chess club would now be called Marshall’s Chess Club.  A suite of three rooms on the first floor was devoted for the chess club, including a library and studio for lectures and private lessons.  On special occasions, the entire first floor was used for chess exhibitions.  The running expenses came through membership dues and the rental of the upper floors of the house as bachelor quarters.  (source:  Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 2, 1919, p. 18)

 

Marcel Duchamp joined the Marshall Chess Club.

In 1921, the Club moved to 146 W. 4th Street, sharing a building with a restaurant called the Pepper Pot.  In 1921, the Marshall Chess Club, Inc,, purchased a building on W. 12 Street.  The Depression forced them to sell that building in 1931.

In 1921, the Marshall Chess Club held a Greco Counter Gambit tournament.  Frank Marshall and Bruno Forsberg tied for 1st, followed by Charles Jaffe and Albert Beauregard Hodges.

In 1922, the Marshall Chess Club was incorporated.  Alrick H. Man (1858-1934) was its first president.

In 1924, the Marshall Chess Club was the site of the Dimock Theme Tournament (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4).  Frank Marshall won the event, followed by Carlos Torre, Tony Santasiere, Erling Tholfsen, Rudolph Smika, Horace Bigelow, and Bruno Forsberg.

On December 20, 1931, it moved to 23 West 10th Street in Greenwich Village.  The building was built in 1832.  It was purchased for Marshall by a group of wealthy patrons, including one of the Roosevelts (George Emlen Roosevelt).  It also served as Marshall’s home.  The Marshall Chess Club occupies the first two floors of a town house.

In 1932, Larry Evans became the youngest Marshall Chess Club champion at the age of 15.  In 1999, Dmitry Schnieder beat his record by becoming Marshall CC champion at the age of 14.

In 1933, Marjorie Luce (Mrs. William Seaman) won the Marshall Chess Club women’s championship with a 11-0 score.

In 1938, Jack Battell scored 0 out of 8 in the Marshall Chess Club championship.  He then gave up other-the-board chess, took up correspondence chess, and was one of America’s top correspondence players.

In 1938, George Roosevelt was the president of the Marshall Chess Club.

Frank Marshall died in 1944.  His wife Caroline (Carrie) then took over the club.

In February 1951 the Marshall Chess Club (Fine, Ed Lasker, Kmoch, Mengarini, McCormick, Bowman, and Bisno) played the Capablanca Chess Club in Havana.  The match was split 3.5 to 3.5. (CR 1951, p. 68)

In the early 1950s, Stanley Kubrick was a member of the Marshall Chess Club.

In 1958, the Marshall Chess Club honored the new U.S. champion, Bobby Fischer, with a gold watch.

In 1969, the Manhattan Chess Club, led by Bobby Fischer, defeated the Marshall Chess Club 8 to 4.  In 1969, Ed Lasker was still playing in the Marshall Chess Club championship at the age of 83.  He took 5th.

In 1999, Dmitry Schneider won the Marshall Chess Club championship at the age of 14, the youngest ever.

In 2006-2007, Douglas Bellizzi was the president of the Marshall Chess Club.

In 2007, the annual Marshall Chess Club championship was also given the title of Edward Lasker Memorial.

From 2008 to 2012, Frank Brady was the president of the Marshall Chess Club.

In 2013, Stuart Chagrin was the president of the Marshall Chess Club.

The Marshall Chess Club currently has about 500 members.

Marshal Chess Club Champions

01 1917  Stanley Stanton

02 1918  Edward B. Edwards

03 1919  Howard Morton Hartshome

04 1920  Frank E. Parker

05 1921  Bruno Forsberg (1892-1961)

06 1921-1922  Anthony Santasiere (1904-1977), scoring 6 out of 6

07  1923  Erling Tholfsen (1904-1966)

08  1924  Erling Tholfsen

09  1925-1926  Anthony Santasiere, scoring 9 out of 11.

10 1926

11 1927  Alburt Pinkus (1903-1984)

12 1928  Horace R. Bigelow (1898-1980)

13 1929-1930  Rudolph Smirka (1887-1947) after a play-off with Sidney Bernstein (1911-1992)

14 1930-1931  Arthur Dake (1910-2000)

15 1931-1932  Reuben Fine (1914-1993)

16 1932-1933  Reuben Fine

17 1933-1934  Reuben Fine

18 1934-1935  Fred Reinfeld (1910-1964) (CR 3/35, p. 5)

19 1936 Anthony Santasiere (CR 5/36, p. 115)  Women’s champion was Adele Rivero

20 1937 Frank Marshall (CR 6/37, p. 125)

21 1938 Frank Marshall and David Polland (1908- ) (CR 3/39, p. 58)

22 1939 Sidney Bernstein and Milton Hanauer (1908-1988) (CR 3/39, p. 58)

23 1940 Reuben Fine (CR 4/40, p. 5)

24 1941 Reuben Fine

25 1942 Herbert Seidman (1920-1995) (CR 3/42)

26 1943 Anthony Santasiere

27 1944 Herbert Seidman

28 1945 Herbert Seidman

29 1946 Herbert Seidmand and Milton Hanauer

30 1946-1947 Rodrigo Flores (1913-2007) (CR 3/47, p. 6)

31 1947-1948 Larry Evans (1932-2010) (CR 3/48, p. 4)

32 1949 Larry Evans

33 1950 Larry Evans

34 1950-1951 Milton Hanauer (CR 3/51, p. 69)

35 1951-1952 Eliot Hearst (1932- ) (CR 1952, p. 68)

36 1952-1953 Carl Pilnick (1923-2013) and Anthony Santasiere (CL 1953)

37 1953-1954 John Collins (1912-2001) (CL 1954)

38 1954-1955 William Lombardy (1937- ) and Frank S. Howard (CL 1955)

39 1955-1956 Herbert Seidman (CL 4/56, p. 5)

40 1956-1957 Sidney Bernstein (CL 4/57, p. 20)

41 1957-1958 Sidney Bernstein (CL 4/58, p. 20)

42 1958-1959 Nicholas Bakos (CL 7/59, p. 5)

43 1959-1960 James Sherwin (1933- ) and Raymond Weinstein (1941- ) (CL 5/60, p. 20)

44 1960-1961 Raymond Weinstein (CL 5/61, p. 136)

45 1961-1962 Raymond Weinstein

46 1963 Karl Burger (1933-2000) (CL 3/63, p. 56)

47 1963-1964 Shelby Lyman (1936- ) (CL 5/64, p. 122)

48 1965 Herbert Seidman (CL 4/65.p.  71)

49 1966 Paul Robey after play-off with Walter Browne (CL 1966, p. 83)

50 1967 Andrew Soltis (1947- ) (CL 6/67, p. 163)

51 1968 Marc Yoffie (1947- )

52 1969 Andrew Soltis

53 1970 Andrew Soltis

54 1971 Andrew Soltis

55 1972 George Kane

56 1973 Sal Matera (1951- )

57 1974 Andrew Soltis

58 1975 Sal Matera

59 1976 Joseph Tamargo (1938-2013)

60 1977 Andrew Soltis

61 1978 Brian Hulse (1951- )

62 1979 Andrew Soltis

63 1980 Leslie Braun (1936-1998)

64 1981 Mitchell Saltzberg (1907- )

65 1982 Leslie Braun

66 1983 Jerry Simon (1942-2006)

67 1984 Jay Bonin (1955- )

68 1985 Leslie Braun and Charles Weldon (1939-1993)

69 1986 Andrew Soltis

70 1987 Jay Bonin

72 1988 Andrew Soltis

73 1989 Robert Sulman (1961- )

74 1990 Michael Rohde (1959- )

75 1991 Roman Dzindzichashvili (1944- )

76 1992 John Federowicz and Gennadi Sagalchik

77 1993 Maurice Ashley

78 1994 Michael Rohde

79 1995 Josh Waitzkin

80 1996 Josh Waitzkin

81 1997 Dean Ippolito

82 1998 Igor Slipperman

83 1999 Dmitry Schneider

84 2000 Yuri Lapshun

85 2001 Yuri Lapshun

86 2002 Igor Novikov

87 2003 Jaan Ehlvist

88 2004 Jaan Ehlvist

89 2005 Leonid Yudasin (won $2,000)

90 2006 Jaan Ehlvist

91 2007 Jaan Ehlvist

92 2008 Zviad Izoria and Giorgi Kacheishvili (each won $1,500)

93 2009 Alex Lenderman

94 2010 Mark Paragua

95 2011 Mikhail Kekelidze

96 2012 Michael Rohde and Justin Barkar

97 2013 Alex Lenderman

98 2014

 

 

References:

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 1, 1915, p. 35

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 5, 1915, p. 21

American Chess Bulletin, vol 12, 1915, p. 181

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 16, 1915, p. 19

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 23, 1915, p. 21

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 30, 1915, p. 21

Chess Life, vol 56, October 2001, p. 606

Washington Post, October 3, 1915, p. 2

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 7, 1915, p. 23

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 16, 1915, p. 21

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 30, 1915, p. 21

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 25, 1916, p. 24

New York Times, March 7, 1916, p. 8

New York Times, March 15, 1916, p. 12

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 20, 1916, p. 21

New York Times, March 22, 1916, p. 8

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 4, 1917, p. 15

American Chess Bulletin, vol 14, 1917, p. 89

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April  30, 1917, p. 24

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 17, 1917, p. 23

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 14, 1917, p. 25

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 21, 1917, p. 23

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 8, 1917, p. 30

Kingston Daily Freeman, July 14, 1917, p. 10

New York Times, July 22, 1917, p.27

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 2, 1917, p. 31

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 7, 1917, p. 40

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 9, 1917, p. 9

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 6, 1917, p. 24

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 9, 1917, p. 39

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 14, 1917, p. 16

Washington Post, January 20, 1918, p. 25

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 24, 1918, p. 20

New York Times, February 17, 1918, p. 30

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 7, 1918, p. 24

New York Times, March 11, 1918, p. 8

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 18, 1918, p. 23

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 28, 1918, p. 54

New York Times, May 22, 1918, p. 10

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 6, 1918, p. 21

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 23, 1918, p. 34

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 12, 1918, p. 8

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 19, 1918, p. 18

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 22, 1918, p. 28

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 26, 1918, p. 18

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 3, 1918, p. 18

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 10, 1918, p. 19

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 16, 1918, p. 18

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 16, 1918, p. 8

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 27, 1918, p. 8

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 5, 1918, p. 16

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 2, 1919, p. 18

 

 

American Chess Bulletin, 1915, vol 12, p. 181

American Chess Bulletin, 1915, vol 12, p. 248

American Chess Bulletin, July-August 1916, vol 13, p. 142

American Chess Bulletin, 1917, Vol 14, p. 89

American Chess Bulletin, May-June 1917, Vol 14, p. 110

American Chess Bulletin, 1917, Vol 14, p. 112

American Chess Bulletin, 1917, Vol 14, p. 171

American Chess Bulletin, 1917, Vol 14, p. 251

American Chess Bulletin, 1918, vol 15, p. 3

American Chess Bulletin, 1918, vol 15, p. 47

American Chess Bulletin, March 1918, vol 15, p. 53

American Chess Bulletin, April 1918, vol 15, p. 77

American Chess Bulletin, 1918, vol 15, p. 139

American Chess Bulletin, 1918, vol 15, p. 232

American Chess Bulletin, 1918, vol 15, p. 233

American Chess Bulletin, 1919, vol 16, p. 23

American Chess Bulletin, 1919, vol 16, p. 184

 

 

 

 

 

Chess Review, march 1933, p. 27

Chess Review, March 1935, p. 54

Chess Review, May 1936, p. 115

Chess Review, June 1937, p. 125

Chess Review, March 1938, p. 59

Chess Review, November 1938, p. 261

Chess Review, March 1939, p. 58

Chess Review, April 1940, p. 53

Chess Review, February 1942, p. 45

Chess Review, March 1942

Chess Review, March 1948, p. 4

Chess Review, March 1951, p. 69

Chess Life, February 5, 1955, p. 2

Chess Review, August 1966, p. 252