But yes great idea let's do it.>

Jess:

Send me a list of games that yoy are looking at. I can send you a list of the "must-have" Pillsbury games.

I would not mind at all generating a new page from scratch ... it would take a lot of work, but would also be fun.

I am also good at generating chess databases. (I have ChessBase 10.0, I have been using CB programs for over 20 years now.) I could come up with a zip file of all of Pillsbury's games and place it on my site as a free download. (You could mention it if you want.)

Years ago, when I was in the military, I used to travel all the time. I went to D.C. and New York a lot. I used to spend a lot of times in the archives. Most of my research was on Morphy - he was my favorite. However, I did do quite a bit on Pillsbury as well. I also used to have dozens of the old "American Chess Bulletins." (They were lost when a relative's house burned to the ground. I stored a bunch of my stuff in his attic while I was in the service.)

Anyway, I MIGHT be of some service when you are putting together a bio of Pillsbury.

I also have a few pages with Pillsbury games already extant on the Internet, feel free to link to any of these if you like. (I can send you a list if need be.)

Hurricaine Ivan actually came ashore at Gulf Shores, AL. But as you could see from the pictures on my web page, it very nearly wiped Pensacola Beach off the map. It also devastated Pensacola, and many other cities and towns around here. The bad thing about Ivan was that sucker was a HUGE storm, at one point it was bigger than the State of Texas! (Check out the links on my web page.)

I could go on and on, I am tired and think I am rambling on pointlessly now. Thanks for the posts in my forum. Please keep me in the loop. I hope you will allow me to contribute in any way that I can. Again - darn good job on the Charousek video's, to me... it looks like it could have been done by a top notch professional in that field.

<jessicafischerqueen: <Travis> help I have the worst jet lag in my life and my head is exploding and I ate 90 mg. of codeine phosphate over the last 8 hours and I may as well have eaten rocks.>

I'll email you the game list and see if you think we should add any.

That's a good anecdote on the weblink between you and <Ray Keene>- He's a good chess historian and I'm not surprised he understands the extent of <Pillsbury's> achievement.

The stunning thing of course is that he did all of this in the middle of an illness that struck him savagely, without warning, and he never knew when symptoms would arise.

Such as at <Nuremberg>, when he was so sick that most expected he would withdraw. But instead he dug in his heels and not only got a decent score, but also produced an "immortal game" in the process.

And again at <Monte Carlo 1903> and of course even <Cambridge Springs> when he was essentially at death's door.

No argument from me, I have always been a HUGE Pillsbury fan!!!!!

I will tell you a true story. I was always something of a geek/nerd, carrying chess books under my arm. One year, I was at a U.S. Open. Someone asked me what my latest thought on chess would be, probably knowing that i would postulate something a little outside the accepted thoughts on chess lore.

<I stated that, <"I think Pillsbury was one of the greatest players, who ever lived, maybe in the <TOP TEN> of all time."> Many masters and chess history buffs laughed themselves silly, one was literally hocking up phlegm into a trash can. (After they got done laughing, they gave me a list of about 20-30 players who should all come in ahead of Pillsbury ... or so they said.)>

Despite the severe ridicule that I have received over the years, I stand by that statement.

One of the world's MOST RESPECTED statisticians ... as concerns the question of ELO ratings ... is Jeff Sonas. (He has sat in an advisory capacity to both the USCF and FIDE.)

And if you check Jeff Sonas's website, (http://db.chessmetrics.com); you will find the following list, which is based on THREE YEAR PEAKS:

#1.) Garry Kasparov - 2874

#2.) Bobby Fischer - 2867

#3.) Jose R. Capablanca - 2857

#4.) Emanuel Lasker - 2855

#5.) Mikhail Botvinnik - 2852

---

#6.) Alexander Alekhine - 2841

#7.) Anatoly Karpov - 2833

#8.) Viswanathan Anand - 2822

#9.) Vladimir Kramnik - 2815

#10.) Harry Pillsbury - 2806
(Jan. 1900; through Dec. 1902.)

Pillsbury was already ill when he accomplished this feat, it boggles the mind to think what he might have achieved had he not contracted the disease which eventually caused his death.

He was awarded the "beauty prize" by <Prince Albert> for this deeply conceived, and sublime attack.>

Jess: I know of this game, I did an analysis for a scholastic Magazine when I was 13 or 14 years old.

As a kid, I thought it was one of the most brilliant things I had ever seen. Now, I am not so sure. Its a VERY deep concept, but many have pointed out improvemnts ... ... ... for both sides.

http://www.lifemasteraj.com/old_af-...

No, I only play on FICS and YAHOO, but I haven't played internet chess for ages it seems.

Little wing (sorry not complete song but still great) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAG-...

Tin Pan Alley Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uZ3...

1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. d3 Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nd4 9. Qg3! Nxc2+ 10. Kd1 Nxa1 11. Qxg7 Kd7! 12. fxe5 dxe5 13. Rf1 Be7 14. Qxf7! Kc8 15. Bg5 Rf8 16. Qe6+ Kb8 17. Bh6! Re8 18. Qxe5 Nd7 19. Qh5 Nb6 20. Bd5 a6 21. Kd2 Nxd5 22. Nxd5 Rg8 23. g4 Bb4+! 24. Nxb4 Qd4! 25. Nc2! Nxc2 26. Kxc2 Rg6 27. Bd2 Rd6 28. Rf3 Qa4+ 29. Kc1 Qxa2 30. Bc3 Rc6 31. Qxh7 b5 32. Qe7 Qb3 33. Kd2 a5 34. Rf5! Kb7 35. Rc5 Raa6 36. g5 Rxc5 37. Qxc5 Rc6 38. Qd5! Qa4 39. g6! b4 40. g7 bxc3+ 41. bxc3 Qa1 1-0