9th Western Championship
Excelsior, Minnesota
August 17-25, 1908
Only twelve players entered the tournament, several of whom where expecting to play only in a minor tournament. It was decided to divide the players into two sections of approximate equal strength. These sections played a preliminary qualifying tournament from August 17-19, the top three finishers advancing to the Championship Finals while the others were relegated to a minor tournament.
The follow scheduled is based on a series of report in the "Minneapolis Star Tribune. Auugst 18, 1908, which also notes that The two daily sessions were held from 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM and 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM.
Also helpful was a note by Louis Uedemann (Chicago Tribune, August 23, 1908), which stated that the schedule of play was created by arranging the players in alphabetical order and apply a Berger Table of pairings. Checking this against the reports in the Star Tribune shows that this was correct.
Preliminary Section A
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Harry Fowler Lee X = 1 1 1 1 4.5
2 Edward P Elliott = X 0 1 1 1 3.5
3 Edward Friederich Schrader 0 1 X 1 = 1 3.5
4 William Widmeyer 0 0 0 X 1 1 2.0
5 John W Clark 0 0 = 0 X 1 1.5
6 H S Kirk 0 0 0 0 0 X 0.0
Round 1 (Mondays, August 17): Elliott 0 Schrader. Kirk 0 Lee, Clark 0 WidmeyerRound 2 (Monday, August 17): Clark 0 Elliott, Widmeyer 0 Lee, Schrader 1 Kirk
Round 3 (Tuesday, August 18): Kirk 0 Clark, Lee 1 Schrader, Elliott 1 Widmeyer
Round 4 (Tuesday, August 18): Clark 0 Lee, Elliott 1 Kirk, Widmeyer 0 Schrader
Roun5 5 (Wednesday, August 19): Kirk 0 Widmeyer, Lee 1/2 eLLIOTT, Schrader 1/2 Clark
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Preliminary Section B
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Louis Uedemann X 1 1 1 1 1 5.0
2 Einar Michelsen 0 X 1 1 1 1 4.0
3 Francis Newton Stacy 0 0 X 1 1 1 3.0
4 Alexander Thompson Bigelow 0 0 0 X = 1 1.5
5 R D Kavanaugh 0 0 0 = X = 1.0
6 Bertram Claude Jenkines 0 0 0 0 = X 0.5
Round 1 (Monday, August 17): Bigelow 0 Uedemann, Jenkines 0 Stacy, Kavanaugh 0 MichelsenRound 2 (Monday, August 17): Uedemann 1 Michelsen, Stacy 1 Kavanaugh, Bigelow 1 Jenkines
Round 3 (Tuesday, August 18): Jenkines 0 Uedemann, Kavanaugh 1/2 Bigelow, Michelsen 1 Stacy
Round 4 (Tuesday, August 18): Uedemann 1 Stacy, Bigelow 0 Michelsen, Jenkines 1/2 Kavanaugh
Round 5 (Wednesday, August 19): Kavanaugh 0 Uedemann, Michelsen 1 Jenkines, Stacy 1 Bigelow
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FINAL
Elliott started quickly by winning his first four games and taking 1 1½-point lead. He then hit a bad patch, scoring only 1/4 and dropping a half-point behind defending champion Michelsen, but the latter lost both games the final day and Elliott coasted home.
Round 1 (Thursday, August 20) : Elliott 1 Uedemann, Lee 1 Stacy, Michelsen 1 Schrader
1.0: Elliott, Lee, Michelsen
0.0: Schrader, Stacy, Uedemann
Round 2 (Thursday< August 20): Uedemann 0 Schrader, Stacy 1/2 Michelsen, Elliott 1 Lee
2.0: Elliott
1.5: Michelsen
1.0: Lee, Schrader
0.5: Stacy
0.0: Uedemann
Round 3 (Friday, August 21): Lee 1 Uedemann, Michelsen 0 Elliott, Schrader 1 Stacy
3.0: Elliott
2.0: Lee, Schrader
1.5: Michelsen
0.5: Stacy
0.0: Uedemann
Round 4 (Friday, August 21) : Uedemann 1 Stacy, Elliott 1 Schrader, Lee 0 Michelsen
4.0: Elliott
2.5: Michelsen
2.0: Lee, Schrader
1.0: Uedemann
0.5: Stacy
Round 5 (Saturday, August 22: Michelsen 1 Uedemann, Schrader 0 Lee, Stacy 1 Elliott
4.0: Elliott
3.5: Michelsen
3.0: Lee
2.0: Schrader
1.5: Stacy
1.0: Uedemann
Round 6 (Saturday, August 22): Uedemann 1 Elliott, Stacy 0 Lee, Schrader 1 Michelsen
4.0: Elliott, Lee
3.5: Michelsen
3.0: Scharader
2.0: Uedemann
1.5: Stacy
Round 7 (Monday, August 24): Schrader 1 Uedemann, Michelsen 1 Stacy, Lee 0 Elliott
5.0: Elliott
4,5: Michelsen
4.0: Lee, Schrader
2.0: Uedemann
1.5: Stacy
Round 8 (Monday, August 24): Uedemann 1 Lee, Elliott 0 Michelsen, Stacy 1 Schrader
5.5: Michelsen
5.0: Elliott
4.0: Lee, Schrader
3.0: Uedemann
2.5: Stacy
Round 9 (Tuesday, August 25): Stacy 0 Uedemann, Schrader 0 Elliott, Michelsen 0 Lee
6.0: Elliott
5.5: Michelsen
5.0: Lee
4.0: Schrader, Uedemann
2.5: Stacy
Round 10 (Tuesday, August 25): Uedemann 1 Michelse, Lee 1/2 Schrader, Elliott 1/2 Stacy
6.5: Elliott
5.5: Lee, Michelsen
5.0: Uedemann
4.5: Schrader
3.0: Stacy
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Edward P Elliott XX 11 10 10 11 0= 6.5
2 Harry Fowler Lee 00 XX 01 10 1= 11 5.5
3 Einar Michelsen 01 10 XX 10 10 =1 5.5
4 Louis Uedemann 01 01 01 XX 00 11 5.0
5 Edward Friederich Schrader 00 0= 01 11 XX 10 4.5
6 Francis Newton Stacy 1= 00 =0 00 01 XX 3.0
<"Edward P. Elliott, of St. Paul, long a prominent figure in chess out West, won the annual championship tournament of the Western Chess Association held at Excelsior, Minn., on Lake Minnetonka, from August 17 to 25, succeeding E. Michelsen of Chicago, as the title holder for the ensuing year. The ex-champion participated but tied with H. F. Lee, of Chicago, for the second and third prizes. The contest was decided in two divisions, Lee and L. Uedemann, the latter with a clean score, being the respective winners. In the finals, to which only the players with the best six scores were admitted, former champion Uedemann failed quite unexpectedly. Nevertheless, he followed the leaders quite closely. In fact, the final contest was exceedingly close and exciting."The results in the minor tournament were as follows: W. Widmeyer 3 1/2 to 0 1/2; J. W. Clark and B. C. Jenkines, both 2 to 2; Dr. A. T. Bigelow, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2; R. D. Kavanaugh, 1 to 3.
"Of the winner the St. Paul Dispatch has the following to say:
'It has again been determined that youth has much to do with winning tournament prizes. E. P Elliott, the Minneapolis expert chess player, who won the title of Western chess champion, at the ninth chess congress, is younger than any of the stalwarts that competed for chief honors. His defeat of Uedemann, Lee, Michelsen, and Schrader, all acknowledged to be the best that the West can bring forth, stamps him as a player of national prominence and importance, and it is only a step now to a position on the cable tem which will be forthcoming at the proper time.'">
For the record, Elliott was not the youngest player in the Finals; both Michelsen and Schrader being younger.
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Minor Tournament
The six players who did not qualify for the Championship section played a sing round minor tournament from August 20-22. The "Minneapolis Star Tribune" give results for the first four rounds, but no information is available for the last round. We know from the "Grand Fork Herald Tribune" of August 31, 1908 that the tournament and its $50 first prize was won by William Widmeyer.
Round 1 (Thursday, August 20): Bigelow 1/2 Widmeyer, Clark 1 Kirk, Jenkines 1 Kavanaugh
Round 2 (Thursday, August 20): Widmeyer 1 Kavanaugh, Kirk 0 Jenkines, Bigelow 1 Clark
(MST: Jenkines 1 Kirk, Kavanaugh 0 Widmeyer)
Round 3 (Friday, August 21): Clark 0 Widmeyer, Jenkines 1 Bigelow, Kavanugh 1 Kirk
Round 4 (Friday, August 21): Widmeyer 1 Kirk, Bigelow 0 Kavanugh, Clark 1 Jenkines (mst: played 8/20)
Round 5 (Saturday, August 22): Jenkines - Widmeyer, Kavanaugh - Clark, Kirk - Bigelow
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Alexander Thompson Bigelow x 1 0 0 ? = 1.5
2 John W Clark 0 x 1 ? 1 0 2.0
3 Bertram Claude Jenkines 1 0 x 1 1 ? 3.0
4 R D Kavanaugh 1 ? 0 X 1 0.2.0
5 H S Kirk ? 0 0 0 X 0 0.0
6 William Widmeyer = 1 ? 1 1 X 3.5
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Sources:
American Chess Bulletin, October 1908, p. 212-214
Chess Results, 1901-1920 / Gino di Felice, p 106.
Chicago Tribune, August 23, 1908. Column by Louis Uedemann.
Grand Forks Herald, August 19, 20, 31, 1908.
Minneapolis Start Tribune, August 18, 1908.
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SEE ALSO: Game Collection: US Open Tournament Index
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