Harry Nelson Pillsbury
The last encounter between American chess legends Harry Nelson Pillsbury and Frank James Marshall took place on May 30, 1904 (Decoration Day). The two were paired on the second board of the Manhattan vs. Franklin chess match at the Manhattan Chess Club.
The event occurred shortly after the Cambridge Springs International Tournament (where Marshall mated Pillsbury in 23 moves) and marked the first time Pillsbury had set foot in the Manhattan club since resigning his membership on July 1, 1896, following the theft of his umbrella by a fellow member.
Representing the Philadelphians, Pillsbury gained a measure of revenge with his thirty-nine-move victory. However, the Franklin club could only manage an 8–8 tie with their New York counterparts.
The Manhattan club featured many familiar faces from the 1890s New York chess scene, including Major James Moore Hanham, Eugene Delmar, David Graham Baird, Louis Schmidt, Jacob Halpern, and William de Visser, to name a few. World champion Emanuel Lasker acted as referee, while de Visser served as captain of the New York team and J.W. Young as captain of the Philadelphia squad.
A summary of the Pillsbury-Marshall game was published in the Brooklyn Daily Times on May 31, 1904, and the game moves are shared below.
“Having the move, Pillsbury essayed the Queen’s Pawn Opening, Marshall easily countering by the advance of his c-pawn. The former, on the seventeenth move, captured a pawn and allowed his rook to be hemmed in and when that piece was later attacked he gave up the exchange.
“Meanwhile his knights had been deployed on the kingside and by giving up a bishop for two pawns Pillsbury gained access to the black king. The latter was then a rook behind, but had attained his object. Unfortunately for Marshall, who misplaced his rook on the twenty-fourth move, Pillsbury won the black queen for a knight and after that it was all plain sailing, the local expert resigning after thirty-nine moves.”
GAME & ANNOTATIONS: Brooklyn Daily Eagle (May 31, 1904); American Chess Bulletin 1904 | ILLUSTRATION: American Chess Bulletin 1905
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