The American Chess Congress was a series of

chess tournaments A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard form of chess competition amo ...

held in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, a predecessor to the current U.S. Chess Championship. It had nine editions, the first played in October 1857 and the last in August 1923.

First American Chess Congress (1857)

The first American Chess Congress, organized by

Daniel Willard Fiske Daniel Willard Fiske (November 11, 1831 – September 17, 1904) was an American librarian and scholar, born on November 11, 1831, at Ellisburg, New York. He was awarded American Library Association Honorary Membership in 1895. Biography Fiske ...

and held in New York, October 6 to November 10, 1857, was won by

Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. During his brief career in the late 1850s, Morphy was acknowledged as the world's greatest chess master. A prodigy, Morphy emerged onto the chess scene in 1857 ...

. It was a knockout tournament in which draws did not count. The top sixteen American players were invited (William Allison, Samuel Robert Calthrop, Daniel Willard Fiske, William James Fuller, Hiram Kennicott, Hubert Knott,

Theodor Lichtenhein Theodor (Theodore) Lichtenhein (January 1829 – 19 May 1874) was an American chess master. Born at Königsberg, in East Prussia, he learned chess at the age of 12, and six years afterwards, he was president of the Königsberg Chess Club. He stud ...

, Napoleon Marache, Hardman Philips Montgomery,

Alexander Beaufort Meek Alexander Beaufort Meek (July 17, 1814 (Columbia, South Carolina) – November 1, 1865 (Columbus, Mississippi) was an American politician, lawyer, judge, and chess player. He also was a writer of historical and literary essays, and poetry. He se ...

, Paul Morphy,

Louis Paulsen Louis Paulsen (15 January 1833 in Gut Nassengrund near Blomberg, Principality of Lippe – 18 August 1891) was a German chess player. In the 1860s and 1870s, he was among the top players in the world. He was a younger brother of Wilfried Pa ...

, Frederick Perrin, Benjamin Raphael,

Charles Henry Stanley Charles Henry Stanley (September 2, 1819 – October 6, 1901) was the first chess champion of the United States. When the first U.S. championship match took place in 1845, Stanley defeated Eugène Rousseau (chess), Eugène Rousseau of New Orlean ...

, and James Thompson). First prize was $300. Morphy refused any money, but accepted a silver service consisting of a pitcher, four goblets, and a tray. Morphy's prize was given to him by

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most ...

Shown on the right is lithograph of the First American Chess Congress 1857. All members of the Congress are shown, including those who did not play in the main tournament. Top row: Colonel Charles Mead (chairman), George Hammond, Frederic Perrin, Daniel Willard Fiske, Hiram Kennicott, and Hardman Philips Montgomery. Left column: Hubert Knott, Louis Paulsen, and William Allison. Bottom row: Theodore Lichtenhein, James Thompson, Charles Henry Stanley, Alexander Beaufort Meek, Samuel Robert Calthrop, and Napoleon Marache. Right column: William James Fuller, Paul Morphy, and Benjamin Raphael.

Second American Chess Congress (1871)

The second American Chess Congress was held in Cleveland on December 4–15, 1871 and won by

George Henry Mackenzie George Henry Mackenzie (24 March 1837, in North Kessock, Scotland – 14 April 1891, in New York City) was a Scottish-born American chess master. Biography Mackenzie was educated mainly in Aberdeen, at the Aberdeen Grammar School and the Mar ...

. The first prize was $100 (~$1,500 today) and the total prize fund was $290 (~$5,000 today). The entry fee was $10 ($150 today). It was a double

round robin tournament A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a competition format in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & ...

with a time limit of 12 moves an hour. Draw games were replayed. There were nine players (George Henry Mackenzie, Henry Hosmer, Frederick Elder,

Max Judd Max Judd (born Maksymilian Judkiewicz; 27 December 1851 – 7 May 1906) was an American chess player. Born in Tenczynek, Austrian Empire, he emigrated to America in 1862. He was an American cloak manufacturer. He was founder and president of th ...

Preston Ware Preston Ware Jr. (August 12, 1821 – January 29, 1890) was an American chess player. He is best known today for playing unorthodox chess openings. Ware was born in Wrentham, Massachusetts, and died in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston Mandarins Wa ...

, Harsen Darwin Smith, Henry Harding, A. Johnston, and William Houghton). With the retirement of Morphy, this tournament was generally intended to recognize the best player in the United States. :

Third American Chess Congress (1874)

The third American Chess Congress was held in Chicago on July 7–16, 1874 and won by Mackenzie. There were eight players (Mackenzie, Hosmer, Judd, Bock, Elder, Perrin, Congdon, and Kennicott) and they had to pay a $20 entry fee. first place prize was $225. The tournament was again round robin, but for the first time draws were not replayed. The time control was 15 moves per hour. Elder and Kennicott withdrew before completing half their games, but their scores still counted. :

Fourth American Chess Congress (1876)

The fourth American Chess Congress (called the American Centennial Championship) was held in Philadelphia on August 17–31, 1876 and won by

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

. There were nine players (Mason, Judd, Davidson, Henry Bird, Elson, Roberts, Ware, Barbour, and Martinez). The entry fee was $20. First place was $300. Never intended to recognize the best player in America, this tournament was geared towards attracting foreign masters, and to awarding the Governor Garland Silver Cup, as well as celebrating the American Centennial. :

Fifth American Chess Congress (1880)

The fifth American Chess Congress was held in New York on January 6–26, 1880 and won by Mackenzie (he beat James Grundy on tiebreak, 2–0). There were 10 players: Cohnfeld, Congdon,

Eugene Delmar Eugene Delmar (September 12, 1841, New York – February 22, 1909, New York), was one of the leading United States chess masters of the 19th century and the four-time New York State champion in 1890, 1891, 1895 and 1897. He won a match against R ...

, Grundy, Judd, Mackenzie, Mohle, Ryan, Sellman, and Ware. :

Sixth American Chess Congress (1889)

The sixth American Chess Congress was held in New York in 1889 (a 20-man double

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a competition format in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & ...

; one of the longest tournaments in history). The event was won by

Mikhail Chigorin Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (also ''Tchigorin''; ; – ) was a Russian chess player. He played two World Championship matches against Wilhelm Steinitz, losing both times. The last great player of the Romantic chess style, he also served as a ma ...

and

Max Weiss Miksa (Max) Weisz (21 July 1857 – 14 March 1927) was an Austrian chess player born in the Kingdom of Hungary. Weiss was born in Sereď. Moving to Vienna, he studied mathematics and physics at the university, and later taught those subjects. Wei ...

. Both finished with a score of 29 but Chigorin defeated Weiss in their individual game. The top American finisher was S. Lipschütz, who took sixth place (his supporters in the Eastern US tried to push his claim to being US Champion as a result of this tournament; however, Lipschütz's claim was not accepted by all). Under rules that reigning World Champion

Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was a Bohemian-Austrian, and later American, chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and c ...

helped to develop, the winner was to be regarded as World Champion for the time being, but must be prepared to face a challenge from the second- or third-placed competitor within a month. Based on Mikhail Chigorin and Max Weiss tied for first, and remained tied after

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

all four games of a playoff. Weiss was not interested in playing a championship match, but

Isidor Gunsberg Isidor Arthur Gunsberg (also spelled ''Günzberg'', ; 1 November 1854 – 2 May 1930) was a Hungarian chess player, best known for narrowly losing the 1891 World Chess Championship match to Wilhelm Steinitz. Biography Gunsberg began his caree ...

, the third-place finisher, exercised his right and challenged Chigorin to a World Championship match. In 1890, he drew a first-to-10-wins match against Chigorin (9-9 with five draws). These were the same terms (9-9 draw clause) as the first World Championship match between Steinitz and Zukertort in 1886. They were also the same match terms that Bobby Fischer would insist on for his title defense in 1975. :

Seventh American Chess Congress (1904)

The seventh American Chess Congress was held in St. Louis in 1904. With US Champion

Harry Nelson Pillsbury Harry Nelson Pillsbury (December 5, 1872 – June 17, 1906) was a leading American chess player. At the age of 22, he won the Hastings 1895 chess tournament, one of the strongest tournaments of the time, but his illness and early death prevente ...

ill and dying, Max Judd tried to arrange the seventh ACC, with the stipulation that the US title be awarded to the winner. Judd disputed Pillsbury's ownership of the title by challenging the legitimacy of the whole succession since the time of Mackenzie, disputing Lipschutz's claim to have acquired the title at New York 1889, and everything that had happened since then. Pillsbury, from bed objected to Judd's plans, and prevailed on his friend, the lawyer Walter Penn Shipley, to intercede. Judd's tournament was held anyway, and said to be for "The United States Tourney Championship", a title explicitly said to have no relation to the United States Championship title held by Pillsbury. The tournament was won by

Frank James Marshall Frank James Marshall (August 10, 1877 – November 9, 1944) was the U.S. Chess Champion from 1909 to 1936, and one of the world's strongest chess players in the early part of the 20th century. Chess career Marshall was born in New York Cit ...

, ahead of Judd. There were 10 players:

Louis Eisenberg Louis R. Eisenberg (born 1876 – died ?) was a Ukrainian-American chess master. He was born in Odesa in 1876. After graduating from Nicholas College, he pursued journalism until, in 1901-1902, he won a chess tournament at Odesa 1901, and journ ...

Charles Jaffe Charles Jaffé (Jaffe) (, Dubroŭna, Russian Empire – 12 July 1941, Brooklyn, USA) was a chess master and chess author born in the Russian Empire. Early life Jaffé was born in the small town of Dubroŭna (now in Vitebsk Region, Belarus), ...

, Judd, Kemeny, Marshall, Stasch Mlotkowski, Edward F. Schrader, Eugene Wesley Schrader, Schwietzer, and

Louis Uedemann Louis Uedemann (10 January 1854 – 22 November 1912) was an American chess master. He twice won the U.S. Open Chess Championship at Excelsior 1900 (the first Western Chess Association Championship) and Excelsior 1902 (the 3rd WCA-ch). He devel ...

. The winner was actually named U.S. Champion at the conclusion of this tournament. :

Eighth American Chess Congress (1921)

The eighth American Chess Congress was held in Atlantic City in 1921. The event was won by

Dawid Janowski Dawid Markelowicz Janowski (25 May 1868 – 15 January 1927; often spelled ''David'') was a Polish chess player. Several opening variations are named after Janowski. Biography Born into a Jewish-Polish family in Wołkowysk, Russian Empire ...

, followed by Norman Whitaker, Jaffe, etc. There were 12 players: Samuel Factor, Hago, Harvey, Jackson, Jaffe, Janowski, Marshall, Mlotkowski, Sharp, Vladimir Sournin, Isador Turover, and Whitaker. :

Ninth American Chess Congress (1923)

The ninth and last American Chess Congress was held in Hotel Alamac in

Lake Hopatcong Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in New Jersey, United States, about in area. Located from the Delaware River and from Manhattan, New York City, the lake forms part of the border between Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex and Morris ...

, New Jersey on August 6–21, 1923. The tournament was played between 14 players: Horace Bigelow, Roy Turnbull Black, Oscar Chajes, Albert Hodges, Dawid Janowski,

Abraham Kupchik Abraham Kupchik (25 March 1892 – 26 November 1970) was an American chess master. Abraham Kupchik was born into a Jewish family in Brest, Belarus, Brest (then Russian Empire, now Belarus) to parents Pinchas Kupchik and Bessie Kupchik née Perlm ...

Edward Lasker Edward Lasker (born Eduard Lasker) (December 3, 1885 – March 25, 1981) was a German-American chess and Go player. He was awarded the title of International Master of chess by FIDE. Lasker was an engineer by profession, and an author ...

, Frank James Marshall, John Stuart Morrison, Marvin Palmer, Anthony Santasiere, Morris Schapiro, Vladimir Sournin, and

Oscar Tenner Oscar Tenner (sometimes ''Oskar'') (; 5 April 1880, in Lemberg – 24 December 1948) was a Galicia (Poland)-born German–American chess master. At the beginning of his career, he played in several tournaments in Germany. He won (elim.) and took 4t ...

. It ended with a tie between Marshall and Kupchik scoring 10½ out of 13.Lake Hopatcong, 1923
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