Introduction
This tournament was originally scheduled as a gambit tournament, with a women's tournament and a correspondence tournament appended to the main body.
"International Gambit Tournament in San Remo. February 5th—March 5th, 1911.
The felicitous idea that the honorary president of the Vienna Chess Club, Baron Albert von Rothschild, bestowed to all friends of lively combination play in 1903 by organizing the International Vienna Gambit Tournament will now, after many years, bear further fruit. The Casino Municipale in San Remo is organizing two international tournaments to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Kingdom of Italy. The tournament's organization has been entrusted to the German chess master Theodor von Scheve; his deputy is Colonel Count Fossati. The following is the text of the official program:
Program of the international chess tournaments in the Casino Municipale in San Remo in honour of the 50th anniversary of the Kingdom of Italy.
International Masters Tournament. The tournament begins on February 5th of this year at 2 p.m. with a meeting of the masters in the tournament hall of the Casino Municipale.
Agenda: Reception of the masters, drawing of lots for the tournament rounds, and the election of an arbitration panel.
The strongest players from all civilized countries are invited to take part in the international tournament.
No distinction is made between professional players and lovers of the game, especially since, with a few exceptions, the most generous enthusiasm for the noble game prevails among professional players as well as among first-class amateurs. To make the games of the tournament as interesting as possible and for the benefit of theory, only gambit games are permitted, namely the openings described below:
1. King's Gambit of any kind,
2. Scotch Gambit with c2—c3.
3. Evans Gambit. Black is obliged to capture the gambit pawn, but in the Scottish Gambit only the pawn on c3.
The Master Tournament is expected to have 24 players, but the tournament management reserves the right to admit more players if there are a large number of registrations to avoid any inconvenience. One game will be played every day, except Sunday. Playing time is from 9:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. or from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. The tournament management reserves the right to make changes, particularly the release of some afternoons. The time limit is two hours for the first 40 moves, one hour for the next 20, and possibly one and a half hours for 30 moves.
Everyone has to play a game with everyone else. The number of wins achieved is decisive for the prize decision. A draw counts as half a point.
The tournament rules are those that were customary in recent international tournaments. In doubtful cases, as well as in the event of any disputes, the arbitration court will make the final decision with the consent of the tournament director. Legal recourse to assert alleged claims is not permitted.
There is no stake, but 100 lire = 4 pounds = 80 marks must be attached to the final registration as a deposit, which will be refunded after the obligations have been fulfilled.
The prizes are:
1st prize 2,500 lire and an honorary prize. (£15,000/$18,500 in 2025 value - ed)
2nd prize 1,500
3rd prize 1,000
4th prize 800
5th prize 600
6th prize 500
Independently of this, if a minimum of four Italian masters participate, the first will receive a special prize of 500, the second a special prize of 300 lire,
and if at least two native French players participate, the first will receive a special prize of 500 lire.
For particularly excellent play in individual games, some brilliancy prizes will be awarded. The tournament management retains ownership of the games played, but the right to publish them will be granted in appropriate cases.
A women's tournament begins on March 5th. The first prize in this is 1000 lire (£6,000/$7,400 in 2025 value - ed)
2nd prize 1,500, the second 600, the third 400.
Every lady who takes part receives a gift. There is no stake, but a deposit of 30 lire is required, which will be paid back after the obligations have been fulfilled.
Registrations for both tournaments are requested as early as possible.
The closing date for the master tournament is January 27th, for Americans February 3rd." (1)
Last minute changes
The gambit tournament plan was dropped at the players' insistence and this generated some unfavourable comments in the chess press.
"The Chess Congress at San Remo proved little better than a fiasco. None of the present-day masters put in an appearance, and, for the strange reason that none of those who did enter had been able to practise the gambits, the restriction on that point was withdrawn, which destroyed the last remaining interest in the meeting." (2)
The British Chess Magazine opined that, "The San Remo Tournament has lost some of its interest. By the wish of the players, who urged that they had no time to prepare themselves, the Gambit condition has been abandoned; consequently, the Chess world is looking forward rather to the San Sebastian Tournament, which begins on Monday, where most of the best players of the world will be playing." (3)
"The international tournament in San Remo, 6th February to 22nd February, 1911. The great prospect of a gambit tournament in San Remo, which had been opened up to us by v. Scheve's energy and enterprising spirit, could not be realized due to unfavourable conditions. The formal clash with the tournament in San Sebastian was detrimental. The fear that 24 to 30 participants might be admitted had a depressing effect on many, and some were prevented from doing so by their jobs or were unable to make it within the all-too-short deadline.
So it came about that on 6th February only 11 participants started: De Biase (Fiume), Hans Fahrni (Munich), Leo Forgacs (Budapest), Isidor Gunsberg (London), Borislav Kostic (Budapest), M. Moishe Lowcki a.k.a. Lowtzky (Leipzig), Henry Pinkerton (Bristol), Dawid Przepiorka (Munich), Richard Reti (Vienna), Stefano Rosselli del Turco (Milan), Theodor von Scheve (Berlin, resp. San Remo).
In such a short tournament, neither the participants nor the tournament management seemed comfortable with exposing themselves to the randomness of gambit play. Gambit playing was therefore left to the participants' free will and was only encouraged by the fact that the brilliancy prizes (500 L.) were to go primarily to gambit games." (4)
Before the tournament began, "Friedrich G Jakob (Muhlhausen) had entered for the tournament, but withdrew his name at the last moment, thus reducing the number of competitors to twelve." (5)
The unknowns - Signor E. De Biase and Mr Henry Pinkerton.
These two players were complete unknowns on the international scene.
What little we know of De Biase, even his first name remains a mystery, comes from the investigations of the Italian chess historian Claudio Sericano (6).
<"De Biase was a mysterious chess character if we consider that his first name has not survived. He was invited to the great tournament by virtue of two "coffee-house" games won against the great masters Duras De Biase vs Duras, 1909 and Schlechter
Schlechter vs De Biase, 1910.The contemporary records tell us of a "De Biase with a bright, communicative and friendly southern cheerfulness, accompanied by the fame of his victories over Duras and Schlechter", and then justify his unfortunate result (he shared last place with Pinkerton, only half a point in ten games for both of them) because, "De Biase then evidently found himself in poor physical condition, he could and should have achieved more in a demanding fight such as this one. He is a player who has an established reputation in the chess world and cannot attribute his failure to an excessive presumption of his own strength ".
After this tournament, nothing more was heard of De Biase, but it is interesting to discover how this curious character managed to get an invitation to the first Italian international tournament.
Let's go back a couple of years, to November 1909, when the Bohemian grandmaster Oldrich Duras made a three-day chess visit to Fiume, in Istria.
Here the unthinkable happened, as the records tell: "As can be seen, the success of the worthy master (Duras) could not have been more complete, and would have been even a complete triumph, if it had not been somewhat attenuated by his defeat in a game played at the Caffè Grande against Mr. De Biase of Naples, our worthy fencing professor.
This beautiful game, which lasted about three hours, was conducted by Professor de Biase in a truly masterly style with such clarity and accuracy that led to a stupendous culmination, truly worthy of admiration. A game that Duras himself declared one of the most beautiful he had ever played.">
Henry Pinkerton was the Gloucestershire county champion (7) and his best tournament result to date was eighth place in the Second Class, Section A of the Fourth British Chess Federation Congress in 1907. In August 1911, he would come fourth in the British Chess Federation Major Open Tournament at Glasgow.
He was described thus, "As a chess enthusiast he was well known amongst the Bristol Chess Circle before coming to settle in Hastings, where he soon became a stalwart of the Club well as one of its most regular attendants—possessing a fine natural talent for the game revelled in complicated open positions." (8)
Their game, a draw, is lost, but we do know that, "De Biase playing against Pinkerton, had the advantage of the move. This was a Vienna opening, with <f4> and was adjourned after 45 moves in favour of De Biase." (9)
Crosstable:
Fahrni * = = = 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 - 7.5
Lowtzky = * = 1 0 = 1 1 = 1 1 - 7.0
Forgacs = = * = = = = 1 = 1 1 - 6.5
Kostic = 0 = * = 1 = 0 1 1 1 - 6.0
Przepiorka 0 1 = = * = 0 1 = 1 1 - 6.0
Gunsberg = = = 0 = * 0 1 = 1 1 - 5.5
Reti 0 0 = = 1 1 * 0 = 1 1 - 5.5
Rosselli del Turco = 0 0 1 0 0 1 * = 1 1 - 5.0
Von Scheve 0 = = 0 = = = = * 1 1 - 5.0
De Biase 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 * = - 0.5
Pinkerton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = * - 0.5
Final standings with prize money (in Francs) in brackets:1. Fahrni 7.5 (2500)
2. Lowtzky 7.0 (1500)
3. Forgacs (1000)
4-5. Boris Kostics (shared 800+600)
4-5. Przepiorka (shared 800+600)
6-9. Gunsberg (shared 500+450+400)
6-9. Reti (shared 500+450+400)
6-9. Rosselli (shared 500+450+400)
6-9. Von Scheve (shared 500+450+400)
then followed de Biase of Fiume and Pinkerton of Bristol.
Brilliancy prizes:
Fahrni 100 for his game against von Scheve,
Reti 50 for Gunsberg vs Reti,
Przepiorka and Gunsberg 50 each for their draw.
At the closing ceremony, von Scheve was also awarded a needle in a precious metal embossed with brilliant-cut diamonds.
Women's tournament
"Following the masters' contest at San Remo, Herr von Scheve arranged an international ladies' tournament. The competitors were Countess Fossate (Turin), Countess Darlais (Paris), Madame Tiedge (Copenhagen), Mrs and Miss Sparlinger (Zurich), Miss Finn, Mrs Stevenson, Mrs Rentoul and Miss Cotton (London), and Miss Smith-Cunninghame (Edinburgh).
Miss Finn won the first prize without losing a game, Miss Cotton took second prize, and Mrs. Rentoul third." (10)
Correspondence gambit tournament:
A two-round Gambit Correspondence Tournament announced by Th. von Scheve as a pendant to the San Remo contest has attracted 21 entries, of which, owing to paucity of means, only six are likely to be accepted. Each competitor will be permitted to consult with an outside player, whose name must be submitted.
The permissible openings are confined to the King's Knight and the Scotch Gambits. 120 days are allowed for the first 20 moves, thereafter 30 days for every 5 moves. A postcard record of the moves made is to be sent after every fifth move to Herr H. Ranneforth, Bambergerstr 50, Berlin, W.
In order to prevent any game from being drawn out to too great length, the management reserves the right to declare won or drawn after the 30th move any game that clearly appears to bear such characteristics. In addition to three prizes of 150, 100 and 75 francs, the two best games will be awarded brilliancy prizes. Entrance fee, 25 francs. A returnable deposit of 25 francs is also required. Herr von Scheve's address is Chemin Mont Allan 5, Nice." (11)
One game has been found - Count Resseguier vs A Fritz, 1911.
Conclusion
The San Remo organizers' attempt to create a unique and exciting tournament backfired. The restrictive rules and the lack of top players and competition from a more prestigious event led to its failure.
None of the leading chess masters of the day participated. Due to the extremely short notice the tournament's organizers allowed, it seems that players felt they did not have time to adequately prepare for such a specialized tournament. Eventually, this led to the rule being abandoned at the players' insistence at the last moment, further diminishing the tournament's appeal and credibility.
Competition from the San Sebastian (1911), which was held around the same time, and which attracted most of the world's best players. This made San Remo a less attractive proposition for both players and spectators.
Despite Von Scheve's energy and a reasonable prize fund, very few games have been preserved and the tournament left little impression.
Notes:
(1). (Neue) Wiener Schachzeitung, January 1911.
(2). Illustrated London News - Saturday 4th March 1911.
(3). British Chess Magazine 1911, p.199.
(4). (Neue) Wiener Schachzeitung, April 1911.
(5). Belfast News Letter - Wednesday 8th February 1911.
(6). https://unoscacchista.com/2024/02/0... - sourced 10th January 2025.
(7). Cheltenham Examiner, Thursday 2nd March 1911.
(8). Hastings and St Leonards Observer, Saturday 5th August 1922.
(9). Manchester Courier, Wednesday 8th February 1911.
(10). British Chess Magazine 1911, p.147.
(11). British Chess Magazine 1911, p.199.
The calculation of the prize totals was done by User: Karpova.
Text by User: Chessical.
Kibitzing
