At the occasion of the World's Fair held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States of America, a number of exhibitions and events were organized to take place during the fair in order to attract foreign interests and representatives to American soil. In addition to many wonderous inventions debuted at the fair, including such curiosities as the telegraph, the telephone, and the typewriter, the 4th US Chess Congress was held. It was the perfect opportunity, not only to attract foreign chess masters but also to celebrate the US centennial. Nine American chess players, some of whom had only taken up residence in the United States only recently, participated in the tournament through registering the $20 entrance fee. The complete list of participants included L.D. Barbour, Henry Edward Bird (originally from England), Harry Davidson, Jacob Elson, Max Judd, Dion Martinez (originally from Cuba), James Mason (originally from Ireland and Great Britain), Albert Roberts, and Preston Ware. Martinez played two of his opponents in both double rounds, but was called back to Cuba when an illness in his family became known to him. His early exit caused his participation from the tournament to be cancelled and his results and games were expunged from the final record. His four games are included in the collection for historical accuracy and completeness. The organization of games and format for timing and pairing were still unstandardized at this time, so players often ended up completing and playing additional games in their pairings on the same day. While the format below does not follow any clear separation of rounds, the dates for each games completion is correct. Play had been scheduled to begin on August 15th, but was delayed to August 16th. All games were played through to August 31st, 1876, with Sundays reserved as rest days. James Mason won the $300 grand prize, as well as the Governor Garland Silver Cup for placing first with ten and a half points out of fourteen in the final. The other prizes went to Judd, who received $200 for second place, Bird, who received $150 for third place, Elson, who received $100 for fourth place, Davidson, who received $50 for fifth place, and Roberts, who received $8 for sixth place. Each place to receive money aside from first also received a gold medal to commemorate their participation.

The final standings and crosstable:

1st Mason 10½/14 xx 1½ 10 1½ ½1 1½ 11 ½1 --

2nd Judd 9/14 0½ xx 00 10 1½ 11 11 11 --

=3rd Davidson 8½/14 01 11 xx ½0 0½ ½1 01 11 --

=3rd Bird 8½/14 0½ 01 ½1 xx 0½ 11 ½1 ½1 --

5th Elson 8/14 ½0 0½ 1½ 1½ xx ½½ 10 11 --

6th Roberts 5½/14 0½ 00 ½0 00 ½½ xx 1½ 11 --

7th Ware 4/14 00 00 10 ½0 01 0½ xx ½½ --

8th Barbour 2/14 ½0 00 00 ½0 00 00 ½½ xx --

--- Martinez 1/4 00 -- ½½ -- -- -- -- -- xx