Dec-12-15
 | | Phony Benoni: This game was published in the 1906 "American Chess Bulletin", p.148, and attributed to the 1905 Western Chess Association tournament. However, the two players drew their game in that event. The only possible Western tournament that matches this result is 1901, but confirmation is lacking. I will leave the date at 1905, though I do not yet know the actual circumstances of the game. |
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Dec-13-15
 | | MissScarlett: That offending page 148 has three wins by Elliott (this one, E P Elliott vs N MacLeod, 1905 and one over James I Jellett) that couldn't have been played in the 1905 Western Championship. But the Bigelow and Jellett games, at least, could be from the Minnesota State championship, played in February 1906. See page 53 of the 1906 <ACB>, where we learn that Elliott won the event, J. Jillett was a prize winner, but the promised list of 22 competitors fails to materialise. Bigelow was very likely one of them but whether MacLeod took part is moot. |
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Dec-13-15
 | | Phony Benoni: <MissScarlett> That's a real possibility, and I had looked into it. Unfortunately, the report in the "Minneapolis Journal" (February 23, 1906) list only the players and final scores, with no information on pairings. I also took a look at the previous year's tournament. The St. Paul Globe (February 23, 1905) lists all the pairings. Elliott and Bigelow did no play each other, and Jellett did not participate. The 1906 Minnesota State Championship seems like a good possibility for the Jellett and Bigelow games, but the MacLeod game remains a mystery. It had to have been older, since MacLeod left the state several years previously. |
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Dec-13-15
 | | MissScarlett: I hadn't realised before that the state championships of the time were single-day affairs (marking Washington's birthday). How many rounds were there in Minnesota in 1906? < It had to have been older, since MacLeod left the state several years previously.> Also I assume because he didn't figure in the pairings you mention. |
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Dec-13-15
 | | Phony Benoni: A note in MacLeod's bio page refers to a Canadian site which mentions he moved to Spokane around 1903. http://www.canadianchess.info/canad... The Minnesota State Championship was generally held on Washington's Birthday (February 22), perhaps because it was a holiday. The 1905 and 1906 events were both four-rounders. They were run on what the organizers call the "Pyramid" system, which basically was the Swiss System with a few differences. New York was another state which used the system. The State Championship was begun February 22, when several rounds were played to select players for a final phase. |
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Dec-13-15
 | | MissScarlett: <The Minnesota State Championship was generally held on Washington's Birthday (February 22), perhaps because it was a holiday.> As you may know, the holiday is actually held on the third Monday of each February. Page 48 of the 1906 <ACB> has more on the states involved: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?... |
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Dec-13-15
 | | Phony Benoni: Yes, nowadays Washington's Birthday is just another Three-day Weekend and Holiday Sale. A century ago it was obviously more important, since players must have gotten a work holiday to be able to play, even in the middle of the week. Many state associations (such as New York and Minnesota) also held a summer tournament at a resort where official business was transacted. (Over this, the two meetings were often combined and held over the Labor Day weekend.) The US Open grew out of this practice; its first event was originally planned as as the summer meeting of the Minnesota Association 1900. |
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Feb-10-18
 | | Phony Benoni: Here is the list of players and scores from the 1innesota state Championship, February 22, 1906.Elliott, Jellett, W.D. MacLeod, and Bigelow all played: <E. P. Elliott, 4-0> F. N. Stacy, 3½-½
<J. I. Jellett, 3-1> G. B. Spencer, 3-1
N. Coan,, 3-1
W. G. Hillman, 3-1
h. O Hageman, 3-1
J. Harris, 2½-1½
J. W. Lewis, 2-2
L. W. Clark, 2-2
F. A. Huxman, 2-1
H. K. Davis, 1-2
<W. D. H. MacLeon, 1-2> W. L. Chapin, 1-2
T. J. Buford, 1-2
O. L. Planton, 1-2
<A. T. Bigelow, 1½-2½> C. D. Gould, 1½-2½
A. H. Dowdahl, 0-3
C. S. Cooper 0-3
J. H. Parsons, 0-3
C. H. Lande,0-3
(Minneapolish Journal, February 23,1906) |
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Feb-10-18
 | | MissScarlett: Yes, I saw that. Grounds enough I think to go with our initial hunch. I'll submit the Jellett game, as well. |
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Feb-10-18
 | | Phony Benoni: Thanks.
Edward Winter had a question about this nearly a decade ago: X. N. 5779. Excelsior, 1905
I don't see that he ever got a reply, though I'm not very practiced at using his site. |
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Feb-10-18
 | | MissScarlett: Go on, write him. Never let it be said I declined to offer an olive branch. |
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