<6th Western Championship Excelsior, Minnesota
August 21-27, 1905>

                              1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1  Edward Friederich Schrader X 0 1 1 1 = = 0 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 13.5
2  Charles W Blake            1 X 1 0 0 = 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 = 1 1 1 = 13.0
3  Edward P Elliott           0 0 X 1 1 1 0 1 0 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12.5
4  Harry Fowler Lee           0 1 0 X 0 1 1 1 1 = 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 12.5
5  Louis Uedemann             0 1 0 1 X 1 = 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 12.5
6  Nathan Cohen               = = 0 0 0 X 1 = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 1 = 1 11.0
7  Magnus Smith               = 0 1 0 = 0 X 1 1 = 0 1 = 0 1 1 1 1 10.0
8  Francis Newton Stacy       1 = 0 0 0 = 0 X 1 = 0 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.0
9  Roy G Fitzgerald           0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 X 1 1 = = 1 1 1 1 1  9.0
10 Alexander Thompson Bigelow = 0 = = 1 = = = 0 X 1 = 1 0 0 0 1 1  8.5 
11 John W Clark               0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 X 1 1 = 0 1 1 1  7.5
12 Harsen Darwin Smith        0 0 0 1 0 = 0 = = = 0 X = = 1 0 1 1  7.0
13 William Widmeyer           0 0 0 0 1 0 = 0 = 0 0 = X 1 1 1 1 =  7.0
14 George B Spencer           0 = 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 = = 0 X 0 0 1 1  5.5
15 James Abbott               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 X 0 1 1  5.0
16 Jacob Friedlander          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 x 1 0  5.0
17 Emmet Pitt Updegraff       0 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 1  1.5
18 Charles G Rosen            0 = 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 x  1.0

The finish was not without controversy. Rosen defaulted a number of games, and at one point it was decided to cancel his score completely:

."..The committee decided yesterday to drop the Rosen games from the score, as he has played less than half his games. This will make the total number 16 instead of 17." ("Minneapolis Journal, August 26, 1905, p. 23.)

This would have benefitted Blake, who had drawn with Rosen, and penalized Schrader who had received a point on forfeit. However, at the last moment, they changed their minds:

<"The executive committee decided in the evening business session that his Blake's draw with Rosen would have to stand, notwithstanding the withdrawal of Rosen for a time from the tournament. This cost Blake another half-point."> ("Minneapolis Journal", August 28, 1905.)

This occurred just before the last round, and left Blake and Schrader tied for first. In the final round Schrader defeated Fitzgerald while Blake could only draw against Stacy.

From <Lasker's Chess Magazine>

"The tournament of the Western Chess Association was played at Excelsior, lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, during the week of August 21, and proved a most interesting contest, eighteen strong players battled for the honors, and among them some of the leading experts of the Western States. It was largely a matter of endurance, as the players were scheduled for three games a day, too difficult a task for any but the physically strongest, and such a grind must have played havoc occasionally with the depth of combinations."

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Edward F. Schrader, apparently conscious of Divine Intervention: http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers...

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SEE ALSO: Game Collection: US Open Tournament Index