Physically, Te Kolste would have to be one of the most imposing players in chess history - nearly 7 foot tall, weighing near 250 pounds and with hands the size of a chessboard.

Source: Page 312 of the October 1925 'Neue Wiener Schachzeitung'

From page 172 of the June 1924 'Neue Wiener Schachzeitung'

I didn't find anything on the games with Reti also, but as they were speaking of matches in the other two examples, I doubt that they were merely referring to a lifetime score up until 1924 (but possible, for sure). Match probably defined very loosely as merely two connected games minimum. The match against Janowski could have been informal, and also the one against Reti. He may have faced Reti after WWI, when Richard went to the Netherlands.

"What Réti of life in Vienna tells defies all description, and he says, that it is strangely weary for him, to eat bread without ground wood, and butter... of which one couldn't even get no more ersatz, because eventually there was a lack of everything."

thomastonk: <Stonehenge> I've 4 games they played in 1919: one game in the Rotterdam tourney (te Kolste lost), one game in D.D. (te Kolste lost after a adjournment), one game from a simul in The Hague (te Kolste lost), and one game with incomplete game score which has been adjourned in this position:

click for larger view

Réti is playing Black and has the move and a clear advantage. Do you have the missing moves for this one?

That you could not find the match with Janowski so far, doesn't make things better. Today I've also tried to find it, but I only found a single game that te Kolsté won(!) against Janowski on October 15, 1901. It was one game of a serious of games that Janowski played against Dutch players like Olland, Speijer, and Leussen. The reports differ (as usual), but with respect to te Kolsté's game they are consistent (which means on the other hand, that there are no signs for more than one game).

For sure, just because it has been written down does not mean that it is the gospel truth and people make mistakes, even in excellent publications - that's also why I try to always cite the sources.

<Another possibility:..> No, I don't think so. I know only one prominent example where the German "Schachpartie" (chess game) has been used for "Match" or "Wettkampf" (match), but that's a sad story about translation.

<These resources proved to be quite reliable but others on the Internet less so. One account described the Dutch master Jan Willem te Kolste as "one of the most imposing players in chess history - nearly 7 foot tall, weighing near 250 pounds and with hands the size of a chessboard." This would be quite fascinating if it was true but we found no evidence to support these claims.>

If so, care to share? I'd be most appreciative - it's a good source of portraits otherwise hard, or impossible, to find.

just a question on the side. when I hear and read of all the playing through games just in their head ... why does Fischer need a pocket chess set besides the chess magazine?

[Event "Kolste-Albin match"] [Site "Hague"]
[Date "1898.04.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Te Kolste, Jan Willem"]
[Black "Albin, Adolf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B00"]
[Source "Tijdschrift van den Nederlandse schaakbond, 1898 Vol. 06"] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 b6 3.d5 e5 4.Nf3 Qf6 5.c4 Bc5 6. Nc3 h6 7.a3 a5 8.Nb5 Na6 9.Be2 c6 10.Nc3 Bd4 11.0-0 Bxc3 12.bxc3 c5 13.Rab1 Qd6 14.Nh4 Bb7 15.f4 Ne7 16.Qb3 exf4 17.Bxf4 Qf6 18.Bg3 Qg5 19.Rbe1 Nc8 20.Rf5 Qe3+ 21.Bf2 Qd2 22.Nf3 a4 23.Qxa4 Qxc3 24.Ne5 Nb8 25.Qd1 Nd6 26.Nxf7 Nxf7 27.Rxf7 Kxf7 28.Rf1 Kg8 29.Bh5 Rh7 30.Qg4 g5 31.Bg3 Na6 32.Qf5 Qd4+ 33.Kh1 Qg7 34.Bg6 Qe7 35.Be5 Rg7 36.Bf6 Rf8 37.e5 d6 38.Bxe7 Rxf5 39.Bxf5 Rxe7 40.exd6 Re8 41.Be6+ Kh8 42.Rf7 Bxd5 43.d7 Rd8 44.Bxd5 Nb8 45.Be6 Nc6 46.Kg1 Nd4 47.Bd5 Kg8 48.Re7+ Kf8 49.Rf7+ Kg8 50.Re7+ Kf8 51.Rf7+ Kg8 52.Kf2 b5 53.cxb5 Nxb5 54.a4 Nc3 55.Rf5+ Nxd5 56.Rxd5 Kf7 57.Ke2 Ke6 58.Rd2 h5 59.a5 Rxd7 60.Rxd7 Kxd7 61.Kd3 1-0

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