William Norwood Potter
William Norwood Potter (Aug. 27, 1840–Mar. 13, 1895) was an important and intriguing figure in Victorian chess history. Born and raised in London, Potter studied at Oxford University before entering the legal profession as a barrister. However, he was not known for practicing law, but rather for his contributions as a chess master and one of the finest chess journalists of his generation. Potter emerged in the English chess world during the 1860s, mostly through […]
Zukertort vs Potter (1875)
In the autumn of 1875, Johannes Zukertort and William Norwood Potter met in London for a highly anticipated chess match at the West End Chess Club in Leicester Square. Zukertort had recently arrived from Germany and was steadily gaining a reputation for himself amongst Britain’s leading players. He was also co-editor of the City of London Chess Magazine, along with his well-known opponent, Potter. The match terms were somewhat unusual. The first player to win […]
Marshall vs Capablanca (1909)
The 1909 chess contest between José Raúl Capablanca and Frank Marshall took place from April 19 to June 23 across multiple U.S. cities including New York, Morristown (NJ), Scranton (PA), and Wilkes-Barre (PA). The match format was the first to win 8 games (draws not counting) with a time control of 30 moves in two hours, followed by 15 moves per hour thereafter. Capablanca won the marathon contest convincingly by a final score of 8 […]
Bird Touts Morphy Over Steinitz
Henry Edward Bird gave an interview to the Rochester (NY) Post-Express which was printed in the New York Sun on August 30, 1890. The topic of conversation being his match experiences against American chess legends Paul Morphy and Wilhelm Steinitz, as well as his observations, as such: “Steinitz beat me 8 to 7, with 6 draws. That was in 1867. In 1858 Morphy beat me 8 to 1, with 1 draw. Steinitz claims that he […]
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