New York, NY, United States; 18 November 1898—12 January 1899
1 1 1 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 Wins
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Janowski 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 7
Showalter 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 2
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Format: The winner of the first seven games, draws not counting, is the victor.
Time Control: 15 moves first hour, 25 moves next two hours, then 15 moves per hour.
Stakes: $1500 ($750 a side).
Introduction
David Janowski and Jackson Whipps Showalter faced off in four different matches, three during a visit by Janowski to New York in 1898-1899 and a fourth in 1916 when Janowski was in the States during the war. Janowski dominated the first and last of these, while Showalter prevailed in the two shorter and less formal matches in the middle.
Janowski's third-place finish at Vienna (1898) had cemented his reputation as one of the world's elite, and the Manhattan Chess Club was glad to bring him in for an engagement in the winter of 1898-99. The December 1898 issue of American Chess Magazine tells of Janowski's arrival in New York on October 30th, aboard the liner SS La Touraine. He was greeted there at the harbor by H. Cassell, chess editor of The Sun, and L. D Broughton Jr., editor of the American Chess Magazine.
One highlight of the engagement was a match with former U.S. Champion Showalter, played in the Manhattan Chess Club in New York from November 18, 1898 through January 12, 1899. The stakes were $750 a side. Seven games were to be played each fortnight, with a time limit of one hour for the first 15 moves, two hours for the next 25 moves, then 15 moves per hour afterwards. The match was to be played to seven wins for either player, draws not counting. However, if there was a tie at six games each, they were to play till one achieved 10 wins. If the match was tied at nine wins each, it would be declared a draw.
The match was postponed after the ninth game on December 10th, with Janowski leading by 4-2, when Showalter temporarily returned home to Kentucky after receiving news of the death of his brother, Judge John W. Showalter of Chicago. After resumption on January 6, 1899 only four more games were required, Janowski winning the final three in a row.
Janowski kept busy before, during, and after the match. His first simultaneous exhibition appears to have been at the Manhattan Chess Club on November 11, 1898, finishing with a score of +10 -7 =11.
Another interesting event from Janowski's visit was a simultaneous exhibition at the Brooklyn Chess Club on December 17th. Janowski scored +17 -5. One of the winners was Mrs. H. Worrall, who played in consultation with Walter Frere. Walter Frere / Harriet Worrall used the board and pieces with which she had played two games at rook odds, drawing one, against Paul Morphy.
From January 23rd to February 7th, 1899, Janowski played a series of individual exhibition games against several strong players at the Manhattan Chess Club. Some of the players involved were: Philip Richardson, James Moore Hanham, Eugene Delmar, David Graham Baird, Samuel Lipschutz, Albert Hodges, Edward Hymes and William M De Visser. Janowski's score was 14 1/2 - 1/2!, with de Visser scoring the lone draw.
Notes
The two players met again for the Janowski - Showalter Second Match (1899) once spring had set in.
Sources
(1) Pawtucket Evening Times, November and December, 1898
(2) New York Literary Digest, November and December, 1898
(3) Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 13, 1899
(4) American Chess Magazine, December 1898 - February 1899\
Credit
Thanks to User: Pawn and Two for tracking down some of the information.
Original collection: Game Collection: Janowski vs. Showalter Matches, by User: Phony Benoni.
Kibitzing
