Anyone willing to do that is an American. Simple as that.

The difference is comparable to whether one is talking about bow (the weapon), or bow (the act of bending at the waist). Homonyms, in other words; same word, different meaning.

Kamsky and Reshevsky were both naturalized US citizens. Not born in the US, but had their title bids been successful, no one would have disputed that they were "American world champions". How representative they were of American culture is another question. Reshevsky was probably more so, simply because he had lived in the US a lot longer than Kamsky had, and his entire career (well, his entire GM career, not counting his child prodigy exploits) had been played under the American flag. Steinitz, on the other hand, lived in the US for his entire reign, and was a US Citizen for most of it, but is thought of as "less American" than, say Reshevsky or Fischer, because his name and reputation were built elsewhere. It's all a perception thing, though. Steinitz was an American world champion as much as Fischer was. He simply wasn't "a product of the US Chess culture".

I posted on another page, that not only was he successful giving simultaneous exhibitions, but he also played blindfold games, winning most, if not all of them. Usually only played one blindfold game at a time.

He certainly was long a threat to win the USA title. 33 years between his first and last win. Could that be a record, for a chessplayer 's gap in winning a national championship?

Also 1972, although he finished 2nd in a 3-way playoff 9 months later.

Thats what I missed. When I saw photos of him wandering around a square of simul boards, in a sailor suit in the USA I thought he was about 5 years old. I guess he was about 10 years old when playing a few of these simuls against adults.

Dr Lasker also requires the challenger to deposit 500 pounds, a condition to which Mr Marshall may not agree unless the champion does the same. We are of opinion that Lasker has gone quite beyond his rights in raising the amount of the stake from 400 pounds, the sum asked by him on the last occasion, to the very high figure it has now reached."

:Dr. Emanuel Lasker defeated Frank J. Marshall, after fifty moves, in the first game of their match for she worlds chess championship in the assembly hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building, in Brooklyn, yesterday. A good sized crowd was in attendance afternoon and evening. Before the game began Professor Isaac L Rice, one of the referees, made a brief address. The umpires, E. Dark and K. W. Ivibaire, then tossed for the move, and on Ivibaire, Marshall's umpire, winning, Marshall opened the game with the famous Spanish attack, the Ruy Lopez, much to the surprise of everybody, as it was expected that the challenger would surely play his favorite queen's gambit.
The hall was well adapted for the match. The players, umpires. Judges and tellers were seated on the platform, and as soon as a move was made it was repeated on two exhibition boards to the right and left of the platform, so that all onlookers could follow the progress of the game.
Moreover, right at the entrance there were placed six chess tables, where those desiring to analyze the various positions could do so with ease, and it was at these tables that most of the interest was centred. After his short address Professor Rice read a number of congratulatory telegrams from C.H. Turner, president of the Baltimore Chess Association; James Abbott, president of the Western Chess Association; C. C. Schneider, president of the Chicago Chess and Checker Club, E.C.B Jenkins, secretary of the Kansas City Chess Club, among others. Among the prominent persons present at the opening were Judge Josiah T. Marean, of Brooklyn; Vice-Chancellor Mahlon Pitney, of New Jersey; Controller Herman A. Metz, Commander B. T. Walling and Lieutenant Charles Webster, of the Navy Yard; Professor Isaac L Rice, Sam Loyd, J. Herbert Watson, SB Chittenden, Dr. J.B. Kopf, Henry Chadwick, J. D. Bedgwyn and H. M. Phillips. When looking closely at the principals it was found that neither seemed to be excited or nervous. They shook hands at the start, made the opening moves rather quickly, and several times during the game left the board when the adversary had to move and mixed with the crowd in the body of the hall. As soon as they would see thai the tellers, J. H. Tafft. jr., and F. D. Rosebault had repeated a move on the exhibition boards they would quietly walk back to the platform and begin the fight anew.

The same question could be asked about Lasker in the Capablanca match!

Game Collection: St. Louis 1904

At this point, Marshall scooted off to Kentucky, challenged Showalter to a title match, and won it, which caused Capablanca to give up his plans to become a US Citizen. It's not entirely clear, but I'm guessing that Marshall accepted the 1904 Congress as being a US Championship until Shipley's ruling.

Without an official organizing body managing the title it really depends upon which version of history someone wants to believe... much like the history of the World Championship prior to 1886.

I read recently that one current top-GM thinks that Marshall was probably the best opening theoretician of his day, better than the WCs on down when it came to ideas and plans from the beginning position.