History / Marshall Centenary

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History / Marshall Centenary

2 September 2015 | Chess Life

The Marshall Chess Club Turns 100

A Century of American Chess History

By DR. FRANK BRADY

he genesis of the Marshall Chess Clubcan be traced back to the summer of1915, when Grandmaster Frank J.

Marshall, who had been the U.S. ChessChampion since 1907 (a record-holdingtitle he would keep until he relinquishedit in 1936) opened a small store in thearcade at Captain Young’s Old Pier, juttingout from the boardwalk at Atlantic City,New Jersey. He called it Marshall's ChessDivan, set up boards and sets, charged anominal fee for players, gave individualchess instruction, performed simultaneousexhibitions, and also played games formoney. He rarely lost.Atlantic City was at its height, with

throngs of tourists and beachgoers at thatpoint, and from early June to late August,Marshall, who had just turned chessprofessional, could earn enough moneyevery summer to support himself, his wifeCaroline, and his little son, Frankie, whilegiving them a sea-breezed vacation at theshore. But for the rest of the year, in orderto provide for his family, Marshall wasalmost always on tour giving lectures andsimuls, and for the most part being sepa -rat ed from his wife. It was she who urged him to establish

a club in New York City, one that coulddevelop into paying him an adequate salarythrough membership dues, private lessonsand other sources of income, and keephim more grounded at home. As early as

1900, upon his return from the ParisInternational where he placed 3-4th behindEmanuel Lasker and Pillsbury, Marshallimplied that he was becoming tired oftraveling: “There is no place like homeand I have been away long enough.”(Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 9, 1900).Thus, that September, one hundred

years ago, Marshall opened a club at Keen’sChop House, one of the most famousrestaurants in Manhattan, made infamouswhen sued by actress Lily Langtry, themistress to the Prince of Wales—later KingEdward VII—who insisted that she hadthe right to dine there despite Keen’s policyof barring women. She won in the courtsand there fore many restaurants in NewYork, in clud ing Keen's, opened their doorsto women. Keen’s catered to the rich and famous:

Theodore Roosevelt and his successor inthe White House, William Howard Taft, dinedthere, as well as Babe Ruth, Will Rogers,George M. Cohan, and other Thes pi ans ofthe Broadway stage. Decidedly British incuisine and appearance, the restaurantwould occasionally have a “Beefeater” garbedin the traditional bright red uniform andtunic, on duty for special events. The chess club was set up in a back

room, next to the Green Room reserved foractors. Although the room was small, thequality of players and celebrities among itsearly members was high, such as: Albert

B. Hodges, a former U.S. Champion andone of the strongest masters in the country,who was not only a member of the Marshallbut one of its financial backers. He wasalso one of the players (as was Pillsbury)hidden inside “Ajeeb,” the chess automa -ton, that would be destroyed by fire in 1929at Coney Island. Marcel Duchamp, thepainter who just two years before Marshallopened the club had astounded andconfused the art world with the showing ofhis cubist painting, “Nude Descending aStaircase,” became a member and remainedso for the rest of his life. Others joined,including Mischa Elman, the famed Russianviolinist; David Janowski, the champion ofFrance; H. Snowden Marshall, the U.S.attorney for New York; William E. Napier,a great player, who won more brilliancyprizes than he did first place trophies ininternational tourna ments; philanthropistGeorge Emlen Roosevelt, a cousin of theformer president; and Christy Mathewsonof the New York Giants, the first collegegraduate in base ball, who became one ofthe greatest pitchers in the history of thegame as well as a strong chessplayer. Soon after the Club opened, “Dean of

American Chess” Herman Helms, formerNew York State champion and chesscolumnist for the Brooklyn Eagle (andeventually the New York World-Telegram andThe New York Times), joined the Club andplayed in its tournaments and on its team.

A classic portraitphotograph of Frank J.Marshall, which he usedas the frontispiece of hisChristmas card, signingthe cards personally forall of the Club’smembers.

T

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History / Marshall Centenary

Kasparov, great and aspiring players of allstrengths from all over the globe havetraveled to the iconic destination that theMarshall has become, as painters jour -neyed to Paris in the 1920s to meet otherartists and to hone their art. Together withthe Manhattan Chess Club and otherextremely strong clubs—now long-forgotten—such as the Isaac L. Rice ProgressiveChess Club and the Brooklyn Chess Club—New York and the Marshall became thecenter of chess in the United States. Thegreat players David Janowski and CarlosTorre (Mexico’s first grandmaster) becamefixtures at the Club in the 1920s, the latterwinning almost all of the Marshall’s weeklyspeed tournaments.By the early 1930s, the Marshall was

the strongest chess club in New York,winning the prestigious MetropolitanChess League tournament for three yearsin a row. Eventually, the now-defunctManhattan Chess Club would eclipse theMarshall in team play and ultimately winmore titles in most years with powerfulplayers such as Samuel Reshevsky, ArnoldDenker, I.A. Horowitz, Abraham Kupchikand Isaac Kashdan on their roster, againstsuch Marshall masters as Edward Lasker,Arthur Dake, Herman Steiner, ReubenFine, Fred Reinfeld, Anthony Santasiereand, of course, Frank J. Marshall himself.The rivalry between the Clubs was bitter,and each attempted to recruit the bestplayers they could by offering free member -

ships just so that they could play thatyear in the Met League. All the New Yorknewspapers carried the results of theMarshall-Manhattan annual team match.The Marshall had the look and ambience

of a private men's club and still does.Three fireplaces warmed the wood-paneledplaying rooms, paintings and photographsof famous players adorned the walls, awaiter was available to serve tea or coffee,an étagère of rare chess sets, togetherwith busts of Philidor and of Marshall,

gave one the feeling of entering not justan extremely active chess club but a chessmuseum as well, steeped in the echoes oflegendary games, epic battles, brilliantwins and aching losses. Windows weredraped with plush velvet curtains, the oaktables were fitted with brass lamps, thegarden out back was available for playinggames or just relaxing; Members weregiven keys to the front door and had theright to enter the Club at any time givingthem the feeling of proprietorship. Often

in the afternoon or early evening, memberswould gather informally to play casualchess, solve a problem, analyze a game,or just to talk chess and discuss the issuesof the day. Mondays were set aside princi -pal ly for social occasions; Tuesdays weredevoted to a rapid transit tournament tobe played at a sudden death time limit of10 seconds a move. Because of its some -what Victorian, or Edwardian look, theClub has often been used as a backgroundset for documentaries and feature films.

The presidents of the Marshall comprisea roster of dedicated players and loversof the game who have given hours anddays of their lives, unpaid, and oftenunherald ed. Too numerous to name allof them—the list stretches out for 100years—a few stand out for greatly helpingthe Club to grow: Alrick H. Man, anattorney and real estate magnate, was thefirst president. He organized how thestructure of the Club was to operate, andhe held the post until 1934, the year of

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History / Marshall Centenary

4 September 2015 | Chess Life

During the evenings at the Club, therewas always a white-coated waiter inattendance ready to bring food (muttonchops were the specialty of the house)and drinks to the players. Diners in therestaurant would often stray into the Clubafter dinner to watch the games. Somebecame members. Tournaments were held,as were team matches, Marshall gavesimuls and lectures, often about theintricacies of the Petrov Defense, or theScotch Gambit, or an analysis of a gameby his idol Paul Morphy. In time his Clubbecame a fixture in New York’s chessscene, comparable to—although muchsmaller in size and not as strong as itsuptown rival—the Manhattan Chess Club(which was founded in 1877, ironicallythe year of Marshall’s birth). However,over the years the Marshall Chess Club,as it has become known, developed intoone of the most active, vibrant and reveredchess clubs in the world.Aside from the chess cognoscenti who

were members, Marshall was the starattraction of the Club. Beginning his inter -national chess career in London in 1899,he beat Levitsky in a game in Breslau in1912 that was so spectacular his board wasshowered, perhaps apocryphally, with goldpieces. Marshall was proclaimed a grand -master by Czar Nicholas II in 1914, andcompeted against many of the greatestplayers of his time, such as Emanuel Lasker,Capablanca, Alekhine, and Pillsbury. Playingin more than 80 major tournaments anddozens of individual and team matches, hewas one of the most respected and fearedmasters during the first quarter of thetwentieth century. His chess was not alwaysconsistent, however: he played one matchfor the World Championship againstEmanuel Lasker, but was defeated, and thenessayed another non-Championship matchagainst Capablanca in which he also lost.

It wasn’t just Marshall’s chess reputa -tion that attracted players to the Club,however; it was his personality. He lovedthe game, was willing to analyze withanyone—patzer or champion—at just aboutany time, and was deservedly popular ashe held court at the Club day in and dayout, always with a smile, always self-effacing. Tall, slightly stooped—per hapsfrom bending over the board for so manythousands of games—he had red, wispyhair, blue eyes, a fair—sometimes rosy—complexion, and spoke in a high-pitchedand friendly tone. His trademark dresswas a black lavaliere frock tie, the kindworn by actors and sometimes by artistsof that day, giving testimony to MarcelDuchamp’s often-quoted observa tion that“All chessplayers are artists.” The tie, hisaquiline nose, similar to John Barrymore’s,and his bearing made Marshall look

something like a Shakespearean actor.The yarn that he was never seen withoutholding or puffing away at a long cigarwas probably true.As the Club grew in numbers, the room

at Keen’s was just too small to accommo -date the players and their activities, andover the next number of years, theMarshall moved to various parts of thecity always seeking perfect or at leastsuitable quarters. For a time it met at TheChelsea, a hotel that favored artists andwriters: Mark Twain and O. Henry (whowas a chessplayer), among hundreds ofothers, stayed there. Despite the popularity of the Club,

however, Marshall was experiencing adifficult time making a living, and in 1931—the worst year of the Depression—agroup of wealthy patrons, including GeorgeEmlen Roosevelt, Alrick H. Man andGustavus A. Pfeiffer got together andpurchased a townhouse for Marshall onone of the prettiest streets in GreenwichVillage. The Marshalls were given a spa -cious apartment on the second floor,rent-free for life, and the two lower floorsof the building were set aside for the Club,which also had a private study for Marshallthat contained a fireplace, a bay windowand a spiral staircase to a secret exitleading to his apartment. Built in 1832, during the presidency of

Andrew Jackson, the building was locatedin what was then farm country, and stillremains as the home of the Marshall ChessClub, the “Wimbledon of chess” as it hassometimes been called for its elegant ap -pear ance and reputation as being whollydedicated to the art of chess. From WorldChampions Emanuel Lasker to MagnusCarlsen and many in between, such asAlexander Alekhine, José Raúl Capablanca,Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, RobertFischer, Anatoly Karpov, and Garry

During the evenings at the Club, there wasalways a white-coated waiter in attendanceready to bring food (mutton chops were thespecialty of the house) and drinks to the players.

Here on December 27, 1933,Alexander Alekhine is giving asimultaneous exhibition in the GreatHall of the Marshall Chess Club.Peering out from his right shoulder isMarshall, who served as Arbiter for theevent. The player with glasses on theright foreground is Anthony E.Santasiere, the Club’s first juniormember.

For many years the Marshall held an annual dinner for its membersand their guests. This one in 1933 was at the elegant Hotel Brevoort,conveniently located one block away from the Club. After dinner, manyof the members repaired back to the Club and played far into the night.

Here in 1915 was the burgeoning Marshall ChessClub, then located at the back of Keen's Chop House.At right foreground, Marshall can be seen facing anunidentified player. At left foreground, Dr. EdwardLasker has started his game against JoseCapablanca, the future World Champion.

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History / Marshall Centenary

de Majorca Interzonal; FIDE Master AsaHoffmann, one of the top speed players inthe country, who was also known to havebeaten Fischer on occasion; InternationalMaster Jay Bonin, “the iron man of chess”who has played more tournament gamesthan just about anyone in the nation, andhas wins against such lights as SamuelReshevsky, Robert Byrne, and Gata Kamsky;and International Master Justin Sarkar, ayoung master who just earned his thirdgrandmaster norm in 2015, a player capableof beating anyone.Of the millions of moves made and

thousands of tournaments played duringthe Marshall’s one-hundred year span, thedefining historical moment might arguablyhave been on October 17, 1956, when 13-year-old Bobby Fischer, compet ing in hisfirst adult all-Master tourna -ment, The Lessing J. Rosenwald

Invitational, faced International MasterDonald Byrne, the former U.S. OpenChampion who had just defeatedGrandmaster Reshevsky in the previousround. The game took place in the GreatHall of the Marshall, and spectators simplycould not believe that a child could playas Fischer did that evening. The tensionand excite ment of the spectators wasalmost pal pa- ble. Playing black, Fischer’seffort was so brilliant in the depth of hissacrifice that it became—and remains—one of the most memorable games in thehistory of chess during the game’s morethan 15 centuries. Hans Kmoch, thearbiter of the event, dubbed it “The Gameof the Century” and that appellation hasremained until this day.It would be difficult to name any other

chess club in the world that has had andcontinues to have such a varied menu of

tournaments and events during its 100-year span: Game in 30 moves virtuallyevery week, memorial tournaments forrenowned players, class tournaments, blitzor speed tournaments constantly, and theso-called “Grandmaster Challenge,” con -ducted in the mid-2000s, a beloved seriessponsored by Master Yvgeny Margulis,who catered a Russian lunch (completewith blinis and caviar, sweets and softdrinks, and occasional Russian songs inbetween rounds); simultaneous exhibi -tions, blindfold displays (recently, Grand -master Robert Hungaski played six playerssimultaneously blindfolded and won all ofhis games); debates, classical music con -certs, book signings, lectures, seminars,chess films, the weekly Marshall Masters

tournament (which has now become amonthly event) first conducted by GregShahade and John Fernandez; and teamand individual player matches. Social activ -ities often abound: couples have chosenthe Marshall as the site for their chess-themed wedding receptions; birthdayparties have been held; Member JeremyGraham had his Bar Mitzvah ceremonyand reception at the Marshall; barbecueparties for members and their guests areheld in the garden several times a year.

Periodically, the Club undergoes physi -cal improvements to modernize the interiorwhile retaining the feeling of the 183-year-old townhouse, but memories of formerplayers and games and tournaments ofthe past, either personally experienced orfound in chess literature, still permeatethe very fabric of the Club: the intoxicationof victories, the inevitability of defeats, acen tury of chess at its finest.Over the years, the Club has kept up the

spirit and activities that have formed it intoa premier chess club, even after FrankMarshall’s death in 1944. With the help ofan active board of governors and atournament committee, Carrie Marshalltook over running the Club until her deathin 1971; thereafter until the present day

the Club has been run by the board, theclub president, various committees and theexecutive director, currently Bryan Quick.In the last number of years, children—

some not much older than toddlers—engagein summer and after-school chess camps,enter tournaments, and take indi vidualinstruction from top players. It is amazingto witness their progress, not only fromyear to year but sometimes from week toweek. Budding champions, the juniors ofthe Marshall are the fastest growingcategory of members. In 2008, the Clubformed the Marshall Chess Founda tionprimarily to promote through funding andother means a series of educationalprograms for children in enhancing theirintellectual acumen, developing their socialskills, and increasing their proficiency overthe board.The Club is open approximately 360

days a year, and only shuts down foroccasional holidays. Some members cometo play at the Marshall virtually every day.It is a place where visitors drop in fromforeign countries and from out of state toengage in a tournament, see where someof the major chess events in Americanhistory have occurred and continue tooccur, and perhaps to have a first-handglimpse of some of the finest players andgames of the day.

The writer would like to thank Eduardo BauzáMercére, Bill Wall, Jeffrey Tannenbaum, and MaxineBrady for their help with the compilation of thisarticle.See the TLA section for a listing of current events atthe Marshall Chess Club.

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History / Marshall Centenary

his death. George Emlen Roosevelt, arailroad executive, then filled the post andgave support and financial assistance tonot only the Club but to the Marshallfamily as well. Walter Goldwater, abibliophile, chess book seller and chessbenefactor, served for several years andsponsored an annual tournament. MiltonHanauer, a chess master, author and highschool principal was extremely active as

a player and president of the Club, as wasSaul Rubin, an attorney and outspokenproponent of both the Marshall and USChess, who often did pro bono legal workfor Club members. Dr. Edward Laskerwas perhaps one of the most distinguishedpresidents in the Club's history: alwayswith a wry smile he cordially agreed toplay all challengers no matter what theirstrengths. More recently, Douglas Bellizzi,a strong master, was president for sixyears and was responsible for many

improvements in the building. The currentpresident, Stuart Chagrin, a retired busi -ness executive, is a philanthropist andactive tournament player who has helpedmaintain the financial condition of theClub while organizing and promoting manyactivities such as the New York Interna-tional, and the Marshall Championship,the Club’s stellar annual tournaments.Atypical of many chess clubs at the

time, women players were encouraged tojoin as members and were charged areduced membership fee. In 1934, MarjorieLuce won the Marshall Chess Club Wom -en’s Championship with a score of 11-0. The first junior member, in 1919, was

16-year old Anthony E. Santasiere, anirrepressible young man, who was a loverand adept of the King’s Gambit. He becamea poet, painter, and school teacher andwent on to win the prestigious MarshallChess Club Championship six times, the

New York State Championship three timesand the U.S. Open Championship once.An opening often played by him, Santasiere’sFolly (1. Nf3, b4) supposedly came aboutwhen he accidentally touched the b pawnrather than the c. The Club formed a JuniorChess Association at that time, open to anyplayer who was a high school studentbetween the ages of 14 and 17. Santasierebecame the president of the fledgling groupand for years after that the Club conducteda Junior Championship Tournament. In1947, Larry Evans at 15, became theyoungest player to win the Marshall ClubChampionship. His record stood for morethan 50 years until he was eclipsed in 1999by Dmitry Shneider who won thetournament at 14. Shneider, now aninternational master, is currently a memberof the Marshall’s Board of Gov ernors.Carrie Marshall, the Club’s Secretary

and Frank’s tiny wife, attempted to keepjunior members on their best behavior.She believed that the youngsters shoulddress and behave like little gentlemen.All through the years, the teenagers BobbyFischer, Bernard Zuckerman and manyothers incurred—and ignored—the wrathof Mrs. Marshall who demanded that theircomportment and their attire be appropri -ate to the formality of the Club. No suchdress code at the Club exists today.In the 1950s, Archie Waters was the

first black player who became a memberof the Marshall. He was a journalist,checkers champion, class A chessplayer,and a life-long friend and ping-pongcompanion of Bobby Fischer’s. The firstblack master in the United States, WalterHarris, who achieved the title in 1964,was a member, as was the player whobecame the nation’s first black grand -master, Maurice Ashley, who went on towin the Marshall Club Championship.Many of America’s grandmasters sharp -

ened their skills in their youth as Marshalljuniors and gained experience spendingcountless hours playing and analyzing atthe Club. Some became grandmasters,among the strongest in the country, if notthe world: Reuben Fine, Larry Evans,William Lombardy, Andrew Soltis (winnerof the Marshall Championship nine times,a record that will probably never be broken),Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana.Currently, in any given week the Marshall

will see a dozen or more grandmasters,international masters and strong untitledplayers, teaching, analyzing and lecturing.The Club, the first in the nation to becomean affiliate of US Chess, conducts morethan 300 tournaments and events a year.Some of the other strongest players in theClub are often present to play, analyze,teach or just talk several nights during theweek, such as International Master RenatoNaranja, who drew with Fischer, LajosPortisch and Smyslov in the famed Palma

6 September 2015 | Chess Life

Atypical of many chess clubs at the time,women players were encouraged to join asmembers.

The Club, the first in the nation to become anaffiliate of US Chess, conducts more than 300tournaments and events a year.

In June 2015, WorldChampion MagnusCarlsen, a frequentvisitor to the MarshallChess Club, gave asimultaneous exhibitionfor 12 players. Here heis analyzing his gameagainst one of hisopponents. (Photo byGary Forman).

In 1977, in between rounds of atournament, FIDE Master AsaHoffmann talks with Dr. EdwardLasker, the former president of theMarshall.

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