The Marshall - Jaffe 1909 Series: Part Two By John S. Hilbert The fifth game was a fierce struggle with Marshall again sacrificing a piece, this time successfully: "Jaffe had the White pieces in a Queen's Pawn game, but Marshall instituted a violent attack at his earliest opportunity. Rather than retreat, Marshall sacrificed a bishop for two pawns, thereby jeopardizing his game, although he established a strong knight in hostile territory. With this the Brooklynite won the exchange, but was losing his grip somewhat when Jaffe resorted to an unsound counter combination, and was beaten after 55 moves." (BDE, February 8, 1909) As with Game 4, which concluded Part I of this extended … [Read more...]

The Marshall - Jaffe Series, February 1909: Win a Match, Drop a Tournament Part One by John S. Hilbert By January 1909, Frank Marshall, considered by most the rightful though unofficial United States chess champion, had been out of the country for nearly twenty months. He returned to New York on the steamer Batavia, arriving Friday, January 8, 1909, after a voyage of 17 days. Marshall's young son, Frank Rice Marshall, turned three during the voyage, on December 28. Eager to see Marshall perform, members of the Manhattan Chess Club, then housed in in the Carnegie Hall Building, were disappointed when the night after his arrival, Marshall's "indisposition" prevented him from starting a … [Read more...]