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MATCH STANDINGS
Bird - Mason 1875/76 Match

James Mason13/19(+11 -4 =4)[games]
Henry Bird6/19(+4 -11 =4)[games]

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
Bird - Mason 1875/76

New York, NY, United States (28 December 1875-5 January 1876)

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Wins —————————————————————————————————————————————————— Mason ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 11 Bird ½ 1 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 4 —————————————————————————————————————————————————— Format: First to eleven wins, draws not counting, to be the victor. Time Control: 20 moves per hour. Purse: $100 (offered by the New York Down Town Chess Club). Venue: Down Town Chess Club.


Articles of Agreement(1)
The undersigned H. E. Bird and James Mason severally agree with ourselves and with the committee appointed by the N. Y. D. T. Chess Club, to play a match at Chess for a purse of one hundred dollars, offered by the aforesaid Club; subject to the following rules and conditions, viz:—

1. The match shall be played at the Rooms of the N. Y. D. T. Chess Club.
2. Play shall be commenced on Tuesday, Dec. 28th, 1875.
3. The time of sitting shall be from 3 o'clock until 7 P.M., and from 8 o'clock until 12 P.M. each day, and shall be continued from day to day without fail. The time of sitting may, however, be modified by mutual consent, when the state of a game may seem to make it necessary.
4. If a player absent himself from a sitting his opponent shall score one game.
5. The winner of the first eleven games shall be declared the winner of the match.
6. Players shall play at the rate of twenty moves an hour, under the penalty of the loss of the game; but no sand glasses shall be used unless called for by one of the players. Sand glasses being once called for, their use shall be continued until the end of the match.
7. The Laws of Chess as laid down in Staunton's Praxis, shall be the Rules governing the match.
8. Draw games shall not count, and the first move shall alternate from first to last without exception.
9. Should both players make the same move, or series of moves three times in succession, either may demand a draw.
10. All the games played shall be the property of the N. Y. D. T. Chess Club.

Source
(1) Dubuque Chess Journal, n72, April 1876, pp143-144

 page 1 of 1; 19 games  PGN Download 
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Mason vs Bird 0-1321875Bird - Mason 1875/76C33 King's Gambit Accepted
2. Bird vs Mason ½-½1181875Bird - Mason 1875/76C53 Giuoco Piano
3. Bird vs Mason  0-1511875Bird - Mason 1875/76C77 Ruy Lopez
4. Mason vs Bird 1-0631875Bird - Mason 1875/76C25 Vienna
5. Bird vs Mason 0-1481875Bird - Mason 1875/76C43 Petrov, Modern Attack
6. Mason vs Bird  ½-½391875Bird - Mason 1875/76C61 Ruy Lopez, Bird's Defense
7. Bird vs Mason ½-½711875Bird - Mason 1875/76C42 Petrov Defense
8. Mason vs Bird 0-1621875Bird - Mason 1875/76C31 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit
9. Bird vs Mason 0-1221875Bird - Mason 1875/76A02 Bird's Opening
10. Bird vs Mason 1-0981875Bird - Mason 1875/76C48 Four Knights
11. Mason vs Bird  1-0231875Bird - Mason 1875/76C33 King's Gambit Accepted
12. Mason vs Bird  1-0411876Bird - Mason 1875/76C42 Petrov Defense
13. Mason vs Bird 1-0251876Bird - Mason 1875/76C33 King's Gambit Accepted
14. Bird vs Mason 1-0801876Bird - Mason 1875/76C48 Four Knights
15. Mason vs Bird  1-0271876Bird - Mason 1875/76C33 King's Gambit Accepted
16. Bird vs Mason 0-1481876Bird - Mason 1875/76C77 Ruy Lopez
17. Bird vs Mason  ½-½811876Bird - Mason 1875/76C01 French, Exchange
18. Mason vs Bird  1-0481876Bird - Mason 1875/76B40 Sicilian
19. Bird vs Mason 0-1411876Bird - Mason 1875/76A02 Bird's Opening
 page 1 of 1; 19 games  PGN Download 
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Aug-13-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: Henry Edward Bird would have been a neighbour of mine. I have been to see his old, perfectly standard house near Tooting Bec station. Worth seeing but not worth going to see. I have never been a fan of his, though. I always thought he was a big sack of @#$%.

I was surprised to see that he and Mason had played a match as long ago as 1875. Mason was 26, and Bird was 46. Was Bird ever young?

Not surprisingly, Bird took another pummeling in this match. He is the Francis Bacon of chess, skipping from relationship to relationship just so he can be beaten to a pulp by some young parvenu.

I am going to have a look at these games, and if Bird makes any mistakes I am going to rain down upon his bald pate the seven monsters of hell.

Aug-13-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: <Was Bird ever young?>

If this is your hottest pic, you're in trouble:

https://chesscafe.com/wp-content/up...

Mar-15-23  Baxer: I find it quite remarkable that they completed this match, and it's 19 games, in merely 9 days?! They must have played multiple games a day.

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