Excerpt: <Dempster saw a man, who under later interrogation declared his name was Louis van Vliet, trying to pickpocket a group of ladies that were apparently unaware of the imminent danger to their assets. A swift arrest followed and the prisoner was taken into custody. He was later brought to court in front of Mr. Vaughan and he was defended by a Mr. Crawshaw, whose hands held van Vliet’s fate at the moment.>

<Van Vliet was the son of Annaatje Philip van Cleef of Amsterdam and Moses van Vliet, a tailor and merchant originally from Rotterdam.[3] His father died in November 1865 and his mother in June 1868, and as a 13-year-old orphan he moved to England to live with his uncle Edward van Vliet. Another uncle, Eliazer Lion "Leon" van Vliet, was a pawnbroker in San Francisco and Louis moved there in 1884 at the age of 29. He apparently only learned chess from Leon and started playing tournaments. In 1887, when he was considered the "best player of the Pacific Coast", he moved back to London. In 1889 he came to Amsterdam to play his first international tournament, but he remained living in London for the rest of his life.[1]>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis...

Having two uncles, one in San Francisco, the other in London, explains a lot.

Blackburne vs L Van Vliet, 1893

as a consultation game,

<Blackburne -- Van Vliet / Manlov, London (1883)>

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.3210...

<DSZ v43 (1888) p310> #381

although it was misattributed to a "Von van Fliet" in London.

See also

http://www.svm-jugendschach.de/65th...

http://www.yacpdb.org/#353673

(White to move)

click for larger view

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cg...

<

[Event "casual"]
[Site "Simpson's Divan, London ENG"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rev. H. Chapman / Bird"]
[Black "Rolland / Van Vliet"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C52"]
[Source "Otago Witness , Issue 2057, 27 July 1893, Page 38"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.Qb3 dxc3 8.Bxf7+ Kf8 9.O-O Qf6 10.Bxg8 Rxg8 11.Ng5 Qg6 12.f4 Bb6+ 13.Kh1 Nd4 14.Qd5 Rh8 15.f5 Qe8 16.f6 g6 17.e5 Ne6 18.f7 Qe7 19.Nxe6+ Qxe6 20. Ba3+ Kg7 21.f8=Q+ Rxf8 22.Bxf8+ 1-0

<BOW-STREET. Louis Van Vliet was charged as a suspected person. Police-constable Dempster, said he was on duty in plain clothes on Saturday evening, at Charing-cross Terminus, where a number of people had gathered in consequence of the departure of the Empress Frederick and the arrival of Mr. Gladstone. He saw the Prisoner on the platform, and noticed him go behind some ladies near the barrier, and place his hand in the folds of the dress of one of them. She turned round and looked at him, and he walked away. Witness afterwards noticed him in the yard at the top of the carriage entrance, where he placed himself behind four ladies and passed along the back of them. Witness saw him put his right hand into one of their pockets, covering it by putting his left hand in his overcoat pocket and holding it out. A gentleman who was with the ladies turned round and looked at him and he walked away. Witness asked the lady if she had lost anything, and she said she had not, but that she had felt the man put his hand into her pocket. Witness took the Prisoner into custody, when he said,"You have made a mistake. I know I have been acting in a suspicious manner." — Prisoner: I said nothing of the kind.— Witness (continuing): "But I was trying to see Mr. Gladstone." He added he was a respectable man, and gave an address at 15, Baker-street. A purse with 2l. 10s. in gold and some silver was found on him. — By Mr. Crawshaw, who appeared for the Prisoner: Witness had since ascertained that the Prisoner was a celebrated chess player, and was engaged at Simpson's daily, and wrote for newspapers. — Mr. Edwin Thomas, of Newport, Monmouthshire, said he accompanied four ladies, one of whom was his wife, to Charing-cross Station to see tbe procession. He noticed the Prisoner at the back of the ladies, and noticed his hand behind the ladies fumbling at their dresses. He looked at the Prisoner, who then stepped back. — Mr. Crawshaw said the Prisoner went to the station to see Mr. Gladstone arrive. There was a large crowd, and he was pushed up against the ladies. — Mr. J. R. Hoskin, newspaper manager, said the Prisoner, whom he had known for seven years, had written for his paper for several months, and had also contributed to the New York Herald when Witness was engaged on it. He occupied a prominent position in the chess world, and had always been respected. — Mr. Henley, manager of the cigar shop at Simpson's Divan, said the Prisoner was one of the quietest and most inoffensive men who came there, but he was an enthusiastic Gladstonian. — Mr. Vaughan said the case must go for trial. He would take two sureties in 25l., or one in 50l. for his appearance.>

Daily Telegraph, April 5th 1895, p.5:

<A genuine mistake was evidently made by a policeman when he took M. Louis Van Vliet, well-known chess-player and journalist, into custody on a charge of picking pockets at Charing-cross. The case had been sent for trial before the Common Serjeant, but there the jury intervened and declared that they did not want to hear any more evidence, returning a verdict of acquittal. No doubt the decision was greatly due to the fact that Mr. Lasker, the champion chess-player, and other gentlemen, spoke most highly of the prisoner’s character, while he was shown to be in comfortable circumstances, with no need whatever for adding to his resources by theft. But the policeman, as the Judge remarked, gave his evidence most fairly, and no imputation whatever rested on him. The charge was a pure mistake. It was fortunate for M. Van Vliet that he had evidence at hand which enabled him to checkmate his accuser.>