<2nd Western Championship Excelsior, Minnesota
August 12-17, 1901>

Excitement preceded the second tournament of the Northwestern Association: a rumor that Pillsbury was coming!

"New York, June 28.--Harry N Pillsbury, chess champion of America ... reported that the game in the central and western states to be flourishing., and most of the Associations are preparing for their annual midsummer meetings. It is his intention, he said, to visit the gatherings of the Northwestern league, of the Iowa State Association, and of the Ohio-Indian-Mica-Michigan tristate association, if the dates do not conflict with his other appointments It is also possible that he will be in Buffalo early in August, about the time the New York State association will hold its annual congress there at the rooms of Buffalo Whist and Chess club. " [Minneapolis Journal, July 28, 1901.

In the event, Pillsbury shuffled off to Buffalo and won the tournament there (Buffalo (1901)), and since the event was held over the same days as the Northwestern he didn't make it to Minnesota. Too bad. His presence would have brought in the dough.

The Northwestern Chess Association changed their name to the <Western Chess Association>, and enlarged their scope to include "...all states west of New York State." The tournament became a 16-player round-robin, held over six days, with players from Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Featured was a series of games played while cruising Lake Minnetonka on a steam launch.

Louis Uedemann did not defend his title, and Nicholas MacLeod was able to move up from his second place finish in 1900.

                              1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
1  Nicholas MacLeod           X 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 13.0
2  Edward P Elliott           1 X 0 1 = 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12.5
3  Jacob Friedlander          1 1 X 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 11.0
4  Francis Newton Stacy       0 0 1 X 1 0 1 0 = = 1 1 1 1 1 1 10.0
5  Harsen Darwin Smith        0 = 1 0 X 1 1 0 = 1 1 1 1 = 0 1  9.5
6  Charles S Jacobs           0 0 0 1 0 X = 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  8.5
7  George B Spencer           0 0 0 0 0 = X 1 1 1 = 1 1 0 1 1  8.0
8  Willis Greely Hine         0 1 1 1 1 1 0 X 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1  8.0
9  Alexander Thompson Bigelow 0 0 0 = = 1 0 1 X 0 = 0 1 1 1 1  7.5
10 John W Clark               0 0 0 = 0 0 0 1 1 X 1 0 1 1 1 1  7.5
11 Ferdinand A Huxmann        0 0 1 0 0 0 = 1 = 0 X 0 1 1 1 1  7.0
12 Guy M Thompson             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 X = 1 1 1  6.5
13 D C Rogers                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 = X 1 1 1  4.5
14 C E Thayer                 0 0 0 0 = 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 1  3.5
15 Paul Herwig                0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 0  2.0
16 Charles Sumner Couper      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X  1.0

http://www.canadianchess.info/canad... <Photograph and biography of N. M. MacLeod>

A minor tournament, limited to second-class players, was also held.

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NOTE: The game E Elliott vs A T Bigelow, 1906 was published in the "American Chess Bulletin" (1906, p.148), and attributed to the 1905 Western Chess Association tournament. However, it could not have been played there. If it was played in a Western tournament it would have had to be 1901, but confirmation of this is lacking.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to <MissScarlett> for help in finding games.

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Sources:

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 29, 1901

Checkmate, October 1901, p.169

Chess Results 1901-1920 / Gino di Felice, p.4

Minneapolis Journal, August 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 1901. Available from the Jack O'Keefe Project at J.N. Pope's Chess Archaelogy site, http://www.chessarch.com/excavation...

Minneaspolis Star tribune August 13, 18 1901.

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SEE ALSO: Game Collection: US Open Tournament Index