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| Apr-04-04 | | refutor: somebody was asking for the person who had the most losses in the database without a win, mr. moreau is probably close, he was 0 for in the 1903 monte carlo tournament |
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Apr-05-04
 | | Sneaky: <Colonel Moreau is perhaps stronger than his score would indicate.> --
The Monte Carlo 1903 tournament book, about Moreau's 0 out of 26. |
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| Apr-05-04 | | iron maiden: Is Colonel his first name or the army rank? |
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| Apr-05-04 | | Lawrence: Bill Wall, writing about Reinfeld and Chernev's "The Fireside Book of Chess":
"On page 72, the authors mention that Colonel Moreau lost all 26 games at Monte Carlo in 1903. Colonel Moreau was a chess patron and an amateur chess player who arranged the Monte Carlo event. He lost two games each against Tarrasch, Maroczy, Pillsbury, Schlecter, Teicmann, Marco, Wolf, Mieses, Marshall, Tabuenhaus, Mason, Albin, and Reggio." |
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| Apr-05-04 | | Lawrence: At least his games lasted longer than a lot of the ones at Linares this year. |
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| Apr-05-04 | | iron maiden: I'd hate to serve under Morel if he really was an army officer. I mean, the man lost every single battle he ever waged! |
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| Apr-23-04 | | J.A. Topfke: The Island of Colonel Moreau:
http://yetmanbrothers.com/Moreau.htm |
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| Apr-24-04 | | ruylopez900: At least his losses were against good players, not many could beat Tarrasch, Maroczy, Pillsbury etc. |
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| Apr-24-04 | | karnak64: I rather wish we had a picture of this chap. I imagine him in one of those high-collar tunics that the British Army once wore, and sporting a precisely-waxed handlebar mustache. I also imagine him with a glass of port in one hand and a cigar in the other. Why else be Colonel in 1903? |
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| Apr-25-04 | | ruylopez900: hehe, good one =) [but he probably was American, having been an amateur who played and arranged Monte Carlo 1903. If he was a Brit it probably would have taken place on the other side of the pond =D] |
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| Jul-21-04 | | Jesuitic Calvinist: Iron Maiden accidentally called him Morel above, which reminded me of one of Sherlock Holmes' arch-enemies, Colonel Moran (second in command of Professor Moriarty). One can imagine Moran, escaped from prison, hanging out in Monty (oh yes, I am sure he would have called it that) - and certainly with port and the uniform - masquerading as a chess patron and very unsuccessful amateur player. All the time, though, he was planning a heist. When Moran/Moreau resigned this game to Marshall (not to mention the other 25 of them), he certainly muttered as he tipped his king "You cunning fiend." (see the "Adventure of the Empty House", the first story in 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes.') So now we know what became of Colonel Sebastian Moran - I am sure Sherlock wasn't fooled by his disguise, but let him be as Moran/Moreau was providing money and tournament points to needy (or not so needy) chess professionals. But who was really Professor Moriarty? Someone cunning and evil, suspiciously absent from the Monte Carlo tournament. Blackburne. Think about it - you know I'm right. |
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| Jul-21-04 | | Jesuitic Calvinist: Another thing - I remember reading somewhere that Moreau/Moran (I think it was him) after losing all 26 games in a tournament was given by the other players 26 apples, 26 oranges, etc. Can anyone confirm this story? Do we really want to? |
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| Jul-21-04 | | Lawrence: Looks like 27 to me. |
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| Jul-21-04 | | Jesuitic Calvinist: 27, Lawrence? Your post above says M. lost 26 games in that tournament. |
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| Jul-21-04 | | sneaky pete: <Lawrence> <Jesuitic Calvinist> It's 26, his black game against Marshall is included twice here. The right one is Marshall vs C Moreau, 1903 according to the Olms reprint of the American Chess Weekly report. The 31 move version Marshall vs C Moreau, 1903 is given by Marshall in his <Best Games of Chess> to illustrate why he announced mate in 11 after 20... f3. |
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| Jul-21-04 | | Lawrence: <Jesuitic Calvinist>, that's what I get for not reading my own posts. You're quite right. <sneaky pete>, thanks. |
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Aug-24-05
 | | offramp: No one ever suggests the *he* was ganged-up on. |
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| Nov-15-06 | | technical draw: Colonel Moreau was an amateur and he organized this tournament so they let him play. |
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| Nov-15-06 | | poptart: <Jesuitic Calvinist> Interesting, have you ever read the Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Raymond Smullyan? Very interesting, its mostly about retrograde analysis. |
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| Nov-15-06 | | norami: <poptart> That's my favorite book of "brain-teaser" puzzles. Skill at chess is unnecessary, you need to know the rules of chess and use Holmes's science of deduction. Remarkable how intricate some of the logical reasoning gets. |
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| Nov-15-06 | | MaxxLange: <Jesuitic Calvinist> Good times! Have you read the <i>League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</i> comics? Colonel Moran plays a small part in the story. (Don't bother with the terrible movie they made from it)/ |
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| Jun-20-07 | | Whitehat1963: The Island Tournament of Colonel Moreau! What a tremendous performance, 26 and 0!! I mean .... |
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| Oct-03-07 | | Nasruddin Hodja: <technical draw> is probably correct, but I have a second theory that may overlap: Moreau wasn't really interested in chess, but after organizing the tournament the local Monte Carlo casino may have allowed him to stay at a discounted rate provided he participated. So he dutifully played and got his ass kicked in each game, and then went off to the cards/roulette table which is what he was really interested in. |
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| Oct-03-07 | | whiteshark: Chessnote 4574 says, that he was recompensed for his 26 defeats with 75 francs. http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...
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| Aug-14-08 | | myschkin: . . .
All in all, while Moreau at his best probably played chess at a respectable club level, it must be conceded that he was well below master strength, and should certainly not have been playing in a tournament of this kind, which otherwise consisted of very strong masters. Half the field – Tarrasch, Maróczy, Pillsbury, Schlechter, Teichmann, Marshall, and Mason – were, would be, or had been among the world’s top ten, and even the least eminent, Reggio, was around Elo 2400 strength. Compared to them, Moreau was the proverbial one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. It is not entirely clear how Moreau came to be playing in this tournament. Many people have made the natural assumption that he was a last-minute substitute, supposedly for Chigorin, who came but was barred after a famous dispute with tournament committee member Prince Dadian. A sentence in the British Chess Magazine of 1903 is consistent with this theory. However, there is evidence that Moreau was more than a last-minute sub, as shown by this story, which appeared in The New York Sun and Salt Lake Herald of December 21, 1902: “Arnous de Rivière, the manager of the forthcoming international chess tournament at Monte Carlo, said today that he would accept the fourteen competitors – Lasker, Maróczy, Pillsbury, Delmar, Burn, Teichmann, Moreau, Taubenhaus, Mieses, Tarrasch, Tschigorin, Schiffers, Marco and Schlechter. Marshall and Napier will not be allowed to compete this time, while Janowski has also been excluded. Independent special prizes of over $2800 will be distributed among the competitors, who will have to play two games against each other. Drawn games will be counted as half points.” This shows that at the very least, Moreau was considered as a possible entry long before the final list of players was settled. Furthermore, other sources have named Wolf, not Moreau, as the substitute for Chigorin. (Jeremy P. Spinrad)
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