<Northwestern Championship Excelsior, Minnesota
September 3, 1900>

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

At the turn of the 20th century, there was no effective national chess organization in the United States. Not that it hadn't been tried. There had been six American Chess Congresses to that point and several has tried to set something up. However, none had survived for long. You can't always get what you want.

There was plenty of local activity. New York was the hub, and major cities like Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago had established organizations as well. In addition, every Middlesex village and farm had their own group. Minnesota was no exception, but from its beginnings in the early 1890s, the Minnesota Chess Association had ambitions of being more than just a state organization. The chess column in the <Minneapolis Journal> for January 22, 1898, contained this statement:

<"One of the new and pleasing features of this year's tournament is, according to Secretary Herman A Hagemann, ‘That we make all outside players our guests while here, and extend the request to have them here the day before. This will give us ample time, and make it more pleasant all round. By getting here on the day of the tournament, some a little later than others, we have barely time to shake hands, and then get at play in all boards. This new arrangement will do away with all that.">

This was in reference to the State Championship, held on Washington's Birthday, February 22. The Association also held a summer tournament Minneapolis Journal, April 30, 1898, which also served as an annual business meeting. In 1899 it was held in the resort town of Excelsior on Lake Minnetonka, and a good time was had by all. The chess column in the <Minneapolis Journal> of May 19, 1900, just before shutting down for a summer recess, stated:

"It is the opinion of a majority of the local players that the summer tournament should be held in Minnetonka. The meeting last year was such a great success that they do not hope to equal it at any other locality."

But a funny thing happened to the summer meeting of the Minnesota Chess Association turned into the US Open.

Not all at once, of course. George B. Spencer, President of the Minnesota Chess Association, became the first President of the Northwestern Chess Association. The tournament was truly regional, featuring twenty players from several states, and a regional organization was set up. A report in the <New York Clipper> of September 8, 1900 summarized what happened:

"A meeting of representative Northwestern players was held at St. Paul, 4th ult., at which a preliminary organisation of the N. W. Ch. Association was effected. Geo. B. Spencer, president, of the Minnesota State C. A., presided, and many prominent players of that section were present. The main object of the Ass'n will be to bring all the players of the Northwest into one organisation, especially those from Minnesota, N. and S. Dakota. Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and Montana. The first annual tournament, major and minor, was called at Lake Minnetonka, Minn., 3d inst., under tbe special auspices of the M. S. C. A."

As might be expected, there are some differences between this and the account in the <Minneapolis Journal> for September 4, 1900, which states that the organizational work was done the previous day in Excelsior, and that the contest being held for the "...Championship of the Mississippi Valley." in fact the claimed jurisdiction of the new Association and its successors never seems to have been definitively defined. Players from Boston and Philadelphia came as early as 1904, though New York's participation was put off until the mid-1920s. Eventually the association would grow, split, and remerge into a national body, but we'll get to that.

Thus was born the Northwestern Chess Association, and their first championship tournament on September 3, 1900 in the little resort town of Excelsior, Minnesota. Things did get out of hand after that, but you gotta start somewhere.

Twenty players entered the Major Tournament, playing five games in a single day. The tournament seems to have been run on the "Pyramid System" Minnesota Journal, January 30, 1897, which would seem to us today a modified Swiss System, players with like scores being paired together. One major difference was that there was no restriction on players meeting more than once. Indeed, if a game was drawn at the 1900 tournament, the two players would play again in the next round. This can be seen clearly in the following crosstable.

The <Minnesota Journal> (Septebmer 4) and Louis Uedemann's colum in the <Chicago Daily Tribune> (September 9) both published a complete list of pairings, but these contain differences. In general I have followed the more local account. Differences between them, and with the crosstable published by Di Felice in <Chess Results, 1747-1900>, are summarized.

                         1   2   3   4   5  
1  Louis Uedemann       W16 W 7 W17 W 3 W 2 5.0
2  Nicholas MacLeod     W18 W19 W15 W 5 L 1 4.0
3  Guy M Thompson       W19 W 9 W 5 L 1 W 6 4.0
4  Edward P Elliott     D17 L17 W 9 W17 W10 3.5
5  James I Jellett      W13 W 6 L 3 L 2 W13 3.0
6  William J Tierney    W14 L 5 W 7 W10 L 3 3.0
7  William Oren Hillman W11 L 1 L 6 W 8 W17 3.0
8  George B Spencer     L 9 W13 W14 L 7 D 9 2.5
9  F Arthur Hill        W 8 L 3 L 4 W19 D 8 2.5
10 Herman A Hageman     W12 L15 W19 L 6 L 4 2.0
11 Reuben W Hitchcock   L 7 L12 W18 L13 W19 2.0
12 John W Clark         L10 W11 L16 D14 D14 2.0
13 Ferdinand A Huxman   L 5 L 8 W20 W11 L 5 2.0
14 Charles G Rosen      L 6 W18 L 8 D12 D12 2.0
15 John Tunstall        W20 W10 L 2 --- --- 2.0
16 H G Stevens          L 1 W20 W12 --- --- 2.0
17 Francis Newton Stacy D 4 W 4 L 1 L 4 L 7 1.5
18 Nels H Nelson        L 2 L14 L11 --- --- 0.0
19 T J Buford           L 3 L 2 L10 L 9 L11 0.0
20 F E Hart             L15 L16 L13 --- --- 0.0

2) Round 3: Hitchcock 1 Nelson is not given in MJ.

3) Round 4: MJ has Uedemann 1 Thompson, CDT Thompson 0 Uedemann. CDT more probable, since column is by Uedemanmn. Also, though colors were tossed for in every game, it's still unlike Uedemann would get four Whites in row.

4) Round 4: MJ does not list Macleod 1 Jellett.

5) Round 4: CDT does not mention Rosen 1/2 clark.

6) Round 4: Neither newspaper mentions a game won by Huxmann over Hitchcock, as given in Di Felice. However, both players appear in round five paired against opponents with an appropriate scores, so it seems probable the game took place.

7) Round 5 MJ has Hagemann 0 Elliott, CDT Stacy 0 Elliott and no game from Hageman. CDT seems to have repeated round 4 result. Followed MJ.

8) Round 5: MJ has Hillman 1/2 Stacy, giving them totals of 2.5 and 2.0 respectively. CDT gives Hillman 1 Spencer, again repeating a round four result. However, CDT also says explicitly that Hillman ended with 3.0, implying he won in round 5. Di Felice has Hillman defeating Stacy. Di Felice has a win for Hillman. Using MJ's pairing, but assuming result to be a typo and a win for Hillman. This is quite uncertain, though.

9) Round 5. MJ has Buford 0 Hitchcock, Rosen 1/2 Clark; Hill 1/2 Spencer; not mentioned in CDT

Eight players entered a three-game Minor Section, which was apparently run on the same basis as the major.

                 1  2  3 
1 W D R MacLeod W3 W4 W2 3.0
2 A P Roper     W6 W5 L1 2.0
3 W C Fitchett  L1 W6 W7 2.0
4 T E Fitchett  W8 L1 W5 2.0
5 N Cohen       W7 L2 L4 1.0
6 G E Thompson  L2 L3 W8 1.0
7 P H Tierney   L5 W8 L3 1.0
8 D C McCallum  L4 L7 L6 0.0

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Louis Uedemann, the first US Open champion, was a strong player from Chicago who was a leading figure in this era of Western chess history. Nicholas MacLeod and Edward Elliott will show up as future champions, so stay tuned.

From the New York Clipper of September 22, 1900:

Northwestern C. A. Tourney

"The first meeting of this, the newest, but by no means the least of Am. Ch. Associations, was held at Excelsior, Minn., on the shores of Lake Minnetooka, Sept. 3, 1900. Thls Ass'n owes its existence to the enterprise of the Minnesota and St. Paul players. As the name implies, it was at first designed to limit its area to those Northwestern states mentioned last week, but so pronounced and wide spread was the interest, and so enjoyable this first meeting that it w«s decided to enlarge its scope to embrace the whole country, so that the organization will require a new name.

"It was decided that future tournaments shall not be one day contests, but extend over a period of one week, commencing on the third Monday in August, to be held in different parts of the country and, if possible, at some Summer resort. That will give players everywhere the opportunity to arrange their vacations accordingly in advance...."

Prophetic words, for what would later become the US Open remains today a event which allows for summertime relaxation as much as for spirited competition against a variety of new faces. Unfortunately, very few games are available from the early years, since preserving the scores doesn't seem to have been a priority. They probably didn't realize what they were starting.

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Sources

Chess Results 1747-1900 / Gino di Felice, p.205.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 13, 1900

Chicago Daily Tribune, September 9, 1900, column by Louis Uedemann: http://www.chessarch.com/excavation...

Minneapolis Journal, September 4, 1900: http://www.chessarch.com/excavation...

New York Daily Clipper, September 8, 1900; September 22, 1900

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NEXT: Game Collection: US Open 1901, Excelsior = 2nd Western Champ.

SEE ALSO: Game Collection: US Open Tournament Index