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George H. D. Gossip

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George H. D. Gossip
George H. D. Gossip
Full nameGeorge Hatfeild Dingley Gossip
Country United States  England
This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

George Hatfeild Dingley Gossip (December 6, 1841 – May 11, 1907) was a minor American-English chess master and writer. He competed in British and international chess tournaments between 1870 and 1895, playing against most of the world's leading players, but with only modest success. The writer G. H. Diggle calls him "the King of Wooden Spoonists" because he usually finished last in the strongest tournaments.

Gossip was also a chess writer of some note. His treatise The Chess-Player's Manual—A Complete Guide to Chess, a 900-page tome published in 1874 after several years of work, was harshly received by the critics, largely because he had included a number of skittles games that he had (atypically) won against stronger players. As a result, Gossip developed a lifelong enmity toward chess critics, whom he often attacked ferociously in his books. However, his 1879 book Theory of the Chess Openings was well received. Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Chess Champion, wrote that the 1888 edition of The Chess-Player's Manual was one of the best available books on the game. Thanks in part to a 122-page appendix by S. Lipschütz, it became one of the standard opening works of the time.

Gossip made his living primarily as a journalist, author, and translator. He wrote for publications in England, France, Australia, and the United States. At various times he resided in all of those countries, as well as Germany and Canada.

Chess writers have often mocked Gossip's play, calling him a "grandpatzer" and the like. However, a modern assessment system, Chessmetrics, concludes that Gossip at his peak was close to grandmaster strength. Kenneth Whyld, one of his previous critics, suggests that history may have given him an unfair verdict.

Early life and education

Gossip was born in New York City on December 6, 1841 to George Hatfeild Gossip, an Englishman, and his wife Mary Ellen Dingley Gossip, of New York.[1][2][3] When he was only sixteen months old, his mother died; about two years later his father brought him to England.[4] His aunt, Mrs. Reaston Rodes, raised him, apparently with little involvement by his father.[2] Gossip grew up at Barlborough Hall, Derbyshire (the Rodes family seat) and at Hatfield, in Yorkshire.[4] Both the Gossip and Rodes families are listed in Burke's Landed Gentry.[2] He was educated at Windermere College, Westmorland, and won a scholarship to Oxford University, but was unable to attend as his father, uncle, and aunts lost a lawsuit, which ruined them financially. As a result, Gossip had to support himself through his own labors.[4]

Non-chess life

Gossip made his living primarily as a writer and translator, writing for newspapers and magazines on three continents. His profession is described in the 1871, 1881, and 1891 United Kingdom censuses, respectively, as a "translator of languages", an "author of work on chess", and a member of the "literary profession".[5] He lived for over five years in Paris, contributing to French publications. From 1879 to 1880 he was "employed occasionally as translator and otherwise" in The Times of London's office in Paris.[4] He also lived in Germany.[6]

Gossip married Alicia (the name is sometimes given as "Alice"), a music teacher from Dublin, in Jersey in 1868.[5][7] As of 1871, they were living in London with their 11-month-old son George and two servants.[5] By 1881, Gossip and his wife had moved to Ipswich, and had three more children: Helen (born c. 1872), Harold (c. 1874), and Mabel (c. 1879).[5][8] After Gossip's father died in 1882, the Gossips and their four children emigrated to Australia, arriving in January 1883.[7] While in that country, Gossip wrote articles for the Sydney Star, Sydney Globe, Sydney Evening News, Town and Country Journal, The Advertiser (Adelaide), and other publications. He contributed literary articles to Once a Month magazine (Melbourne) and the Sydney Quarterly Magazine.[4]

Gossip moved to the United States in 1888, departing in April from Sydney on the steamship Alameda.[7][9][10] In May, the ship arrived in San Francisco, where, Gossip wrote, "I first set foot on my native soil after an absence of over forty years."[10] He wrote articles for the San Francisco Examiner on the "Chinese Question in Australia" and the San Francisco Chronicle on "Protection and Free Trade in New South Wales".[4]

His family apparently remained in Australia, where Alicia died of cancer in October 1888.[7] In 1894, Gossip's children Helen and Harold both married, in Victoria and Melbourne, respectively.[7] Gossip's grandson, George Hatfield Dingley Gossip, born in Sydney in 1897, was a World War I flying ace for Australia, "shooting down six enemy aircraft while flying his Sopwith Camel along the Belgian coast".[7][11]

In 1889, Gossip returned to Europe.[9] By 1891, he was living as a tenant in a London boarding house.[5] In 1894, he moved to Montreal, Canada.[12] While living there, he contributed articles to a newspaper in Manchester, England.[6] The June 1895 British Chess Magazine (BCM) and June 1897 American Chess Magazine reported that Gossip was living in Buffalo, New York.[12][13] Under the pseudonym "Ivan Trepoff", he wrote a book, "The Jew of Chamant", which was published by Hausauer (Buffalo) in 1898, and by F.T. Neely (London and New York) in 1899. The two versions are subtitled, respectively, "or, the modern Monte Cristo" and "a romance of crime".[14] The chess literature is silent about the last decade of Gossip's life.[5][15] He died of heart disease on May 11, 1907, at the Railway Hotel in Liphook, England.[1][16][17]

Chess career

By 1864, Gossip was appearing in London chess circles, drawing a game against Joseph Henry Blackburne at a simultaneous exhibition in April.[18] He played in a number of British and international chess tournaments between 1870 and 1895, usually with unimpressive results.[19] At London 1870, the Third British Chess Association Congress (won by John Wisker after a playoff against Amos Burn), Gossip scored 2 of 6 possible points, finishing in a tie for 5th–6th out of 7 players.[20] At London 1872 (won by Steinitz ahead of Johannes Zukertort and Blackburne), he scored just 1 out of 7, finishing 7th out of 8 players.[21]

He won the 1873–74 correspondence chess tournament of the Chess-Players Chronicle,[22] after which he "was thought by some to be the strongest correspondence player known".[23] However, playing first board for England in an 1879 correspondence chess match against the United States, he lost all 4 of his games to Ellen Gilbert of Hartford, Connecticut. She "caused a sensation in the chess world" by announcing mate in 21 moves in one game, and mate in 35 moves in another.[24][23][25] Gossip responded gallantly, dedicating his book Theory of the Chess Openings to her.[23]

Gossip's first significant success at over-the-board chess came at the 1883 London Vizayanagaram minor tournament.[26][27] He scored 17½ out of 25, tying for 5th–6th place out of 26 players with Charles Ranken, who later gained fame as co-author of the opening treatise Chess Openings Ancient and Modern (1889).[28][26][29] Curt von Bardeleben won with 21½ points; Isidor Gunsberg, who would narrowly lose an 1890–91 World Championship match to Steinitz, finished 4th with 19 points.[28][29]

In 1885 Gossip, a year after emigrating to Australia, issued a challenge to any player in the Australian colonies to play a match with him for 20 pounds a side and the title of Australian champion. Frederick Karl Esling, a leading Melbourne player, accepted the challenge.[9] Esling won the first game, and the second was adjourned in a position favorable to him. Gossip then pled illness and forfeited the match, making Esling the first champion of Australia.[30][31] Kenneth Whyld writes that the Australians probably considered Gossip a "whingeing Pom".[2] The Second Australian Chess Championship, a tournament, was held at Adelaide in 1887. Gossip finished 3rd with 6½ out of 9, behind Henry Charlick (7½ points) and Esling (7 points).[9][32]

After returning to America in 1888, Gossip obtained an appointment at the Columbia Chess Club.[9] The following year, he had what G. H. Diggle calls "perhaps the best performance of his career" at the Sixth American Chess Congress at New York 1889.[9] The Congress, a double round robin that was one of the longest tournaments in history, was intended to select a challenger for the world championship title.[33][34][35] Gossip scored 13½ out of 38 (11 wins, 5 draws, 22 losses), finishing 17th–18th out of 20 players. He scored wins over S. Lipschütz, Max Judd, Eugene Delmar, Jackson Showalter, William Pollock (twice), Henry Bird (twice), David Graham Baird, James Moore Hanham, and John Washington Baird.[5][36] Mikhail Chigorin and Max Weiss tied for first with 29 points, edging out Gunsberg (28½ points).[36]

Gossip was unable to repeat even this modest level of success in his last tournaments. He finished last in five consecutive strong events: the Master Section at London 1889 (scoring 1½ out of 10; Bird won on tiebreak over Gunsberg); the Meisterturnier (Master Tournament) at Breslau 1889 (scoring 3 out of 10; Siegbert Tarrasch won); the Master Section of Manchester 1890 (scoring 4 out of 19; Tarrasch won); the Master Tournament at London 1892 (scoring 2½ out of 11; future World Champion Emanuel Lasker won); and New York 1893 (scoring 2½ out of 13; Lasker won with a perfect score).[37] Gossip's run of last-place finishes moved Diggle to dub him "the King of Wooden Spoonists".[6] Gossip's last event was a minor tournament in Skaneateles, New York in July-August 1895, where he scored 3 out of 6, finishing in a tie for 3rd–5th of 7 players.[38]

A report in the BCM in 1889 observed that Gossip suffered from great nervousness that prevented him from fully displaying his abilities at chess tournaments, where he had to stop his ears "to keep out the low hum inseparable from a large concourse of people".[39] Bird likewise wrote that minor distractions that he would not even notice would "drive ... Gossip to despair."[40] The BCM commentator accordingly believed that Gossip "would make a good stand in a single encounter with men who are much higher in the tournament than he is".[39]

Following his move to Montreal, Gossip in a letter to a friend dated October 20, 1894 complained, "The French Canadian Chessplayers here are the poorest, meanest humbugs I ever met – all Jesuits."[6] He and Pollock played a match at the Montreal Chess Club in December 1894 and January 1895; each won 6 games, with 5 draws.[41][12][6] This was an impressive result for Gossip "in view of Pollock's undoubted strength".[12] Later in 1895, Pollock finished 19th out of 22 players, scoring 8 out of 21 (including wins over Tarrasch and Steinitz), at Hastings 1895,[42][43] arguably at that time the strongest tournament in history.[44][45] In Diggle's opinion, Gossip's drawn match with Pollock vindicates the BCM's 1889 observation that Gossip would be more at home in a match than a tournament.[12]

During his career, Gossip played tournament games against most of the world's leading players, including World Champions Lasker[46][47] and Steinitz;[48][49] World Championship challengers Zukertort,[50][51] Tarrasch,[52][53] Chigorin,[54][55] and Gunsberg;[56][57] Louis Paulsen,[58] Harry Nelson Pillsbury,[59] and James Mason,[60] all at some point ranked number 1 in the world by Chessmetrics;[61] Burn,[62] Blackburne,[63] Bird,[64] and Cecil de Vere[65] (all ranked number 2);[66] and Weiss[67] and Wisker[68] (both ranked number 3).[69]

Chess books and articles

The Chess-Player's Manual by George H. D. Gossip and S. Lipschütz (1902 edition)

In 1874, after several years' work, Gossip published his magnum opus, The Chess-Player's Manual—A Complete Guide to Chess.[18] It was "a handsomely produced work with more than 800 of its 900 pages devoted to openings and illustrative games".[26] The book became the subject of biting criticism, largely because Gossip had included 27 illustrative games that he had won against leading players of the day, and only 12 games that he had lost.[18] Steinitz later wrote:[70]

Mr Gossip had practiced the unfair ruse of carefully preserving stray skittles games which he had happened to win or draw, generally after many defeats, against masters whose public records stood far above his own, ... thus leading the public to believe that the author stood on a par with them, or was even their superior.

According to Diggle, this edition of the book "failed utterly".[6] The harsh reception accorded it embittered Gossip against all chess critics for the rest of his life.[18]

In 1879, Gossip published Theory of the Chess Openings, a shorter work more in the style of Modern Chess Openings, which sold out within six months.[26] The preface and the concluding chapter of the book bitterly attacked the critics who had savaged his earlier treatise.[9] This time the critics, "while deploring 'the outside slices of Mr. Gossip's sandwich' ", praised the main body of the work. William Wayte in the Chess Players Chronicle called the book "fairly in possession of the field among English elementary treatises".[9] Unfortunately for Gossip, he "was the victim of an act of gross piracy, as many copies forming no part of the edition printed by his orders were circulated in America and the 'pirates' never brought to justice."[6]

Gossip's Vest-Pocket Chess Manual

A new edition of The Chess-Player's Manual was published in 1888, this one with a 122-page appendix by Lipschütz.[71] Steinitz wrote that "Mr Gossip has produced a useful work, which in some respects must be regarded even superior to that of Staunton or any other previous writers on the chess openings. ... But the most meritorious distinguishing feature of the Manual is the large collection of illustrative games by various first-class masters, and in that respect Mr Gossip’s work stands second only to Signor Salvioli's Teoria e Pratica among the analytical works in any language."[70] An anonymous reviewer in The New York Times called it "probably the most convenient, trustworthy, and satisfactory chess book accessible in the English language". The reviewer concluded that the games and problems in the volume would "afford great entertainment" to the casual enthusiast, "while for real students of chess ... it is very nearly indispensable." He also praised "Mr. Lipschütz's appendix, which brings the development of the openings almost down to date".[72] David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld write in The Oxford Companion to Chess that Lipschütz's appendix "helped to make this one of the standard opening books of the time".[73] World Champion Bobby Fischer had a copy of The Chess-Player's Manual in his personal library.[74]

The June 1888 issue of Steinitz's International Chess Magazine contained an article by Gossip that Robert John McCrary calls "a very illuminating, important, and detailed account of the state of San Francisco chess."[75][76][77] For the last few months of 1888 Gossip was listed as being on the "Editorial Staff" of the Columbia Chess Chronicle. Its December 29, 1888 issue contained a lengthy article by him entitled "Chess in the Present Day", which offered a broad sweep of chess history and the advances made by chess in the United States. Gossip called Paul Morphy and Steinitz "the two greatest chessplayers that have ever lived" and remarked that "no Englishman has yet attained, or probably ever will attain, to the eminence of chess champion of the world. ... The deep-thinking German, the brilliant Frenchman and the versatile American have always been too much for sober, stolid John Bull."[5]

Gossip in 1891 published a second revised edition of his Theory of the Chess Openings, which Diggle calls "a handsome volume with an appendix of sixty-one pages". Characteristically, he devoted much of the appendix to criticizing his detractors and anticipating their further attacks.[12]

Gossip also wrote the lesser-known chess books The Chess Players' Text Book (1889), The Chess-player's Vade Mecum and Pocket Guide to the Openings (1891), Modern Chess Brilliancies (1892), The Chess Player's Pocket Guide to Games at Odds (1893), The Chess Pocket Manual (1894), The Chess Player's Mentor (with Francis Joseph Lee, 1895), The Complete Chess-Guide (with Lee, 1903), Gossip's Vest-Pocket Chess Manual (date unknown; pictured at above left), and a collection of his own games, Games: G. H. D. Gossip versus Bezkrowny, Clerc, Donisthorpe, Gocher, Gunsberg, Hoffer, Owen, Sanders, Vines Played During the Last 10 Years in England & France (1882, with Gunsberg and Steinitz).[78] The Complete Chess-Guide consisted of four parts: the "Chess Player's Mentor" (Part I), "Modern Chess Brilliancies" (Part II), "Guide to the Openings" (Part III), and "Games at Odds" (Part IV).[79]

Manner and reputation

Gossip at New York 1893

Philip Sergeant in his book A Century of British Chess remarks that Gossip's "play was never quite up to his own estimate of it".[80] The New York Times portrays him at the Sixth American Chess Congress (1889) as follows:[5][81]

Gossip, with his long, flowing beard, looks like one of the old-time monks. He has a good-shaped cranium, bald at the top, and is a little above the medium height. ... He believes himself to be one of the greatest chessplayers in the world, and thinks that if everything had gone on to his liking he could have beaten all the champions at the tournament. He is a deliberate player, but every now and then he takes a nip from a flask of brandy that generally stands on his table. He complained that his chair was too low, and he once attributed a defeat to that. Finally, he got a large ledger and sat upon it. He did, in fact, seem to derive some inspiration from its contents, for he played two or three excellent games afterward.

Diggle observes that Gossip "developed 'a happy knack of treading on other people's corns' by rushing into print" his occasional wins in offhand games against such leading players as Bird and Zukertort.[18] He also vehemently denounced his critics and those with whom he disagreed. For example, in 1888, the Columbia Chess Chronicle quoted a lecture he had given two days before on the Steinitz Gambit. After condemning as "utterly worthless" the analysis of that opening published in two English periodicals, Gossip declaimed:[82]

In order, therefore, to establish an important point of theory, and at the same time to prevent American chessplayers from being misled and deceived by the superficial analysis of incompetent British chess editors, whose object in condemning the Steinitz Gambit has obviously been mainly to depreciate the originality of its illustrious inventor, whom they invariably try to drag down to their own miserable level of shallow incompetency and self-conceit, I submit the following variations which at any rate possess the undeniable merit of exposing the hollow analytical twaddle continually published in the two London journals above named.

Hooper and Whyld note Gossip's "unusual talent for making enemies" and attribute the critical reception of his books to this, since in their opinion "his books were not significantly worse than the general run of the time, and they were better than, for example, those by Bird, who was popular".[26] They remark on his travels that, "Disliked in England, he travelled to Australia, the United States, and Canada, where he also became unpopular."[26] Some measure of his talent for stirring up controversy is provided by a letter Pollock wrote during their 1894–95 match:[83]

I and Gossip are six each and may draw the match. He has proved a terrible crank and has had several games by forfeit, and one "cancelled". He now has a libel suit against the chess column of the Herald. ... We have just agreed, per the committee, to call the match a draw. Whereby all parties are relieved.

Chess historian Edward Winter observes that "Gossip has always been a soft target for mockery".[5] He notes that Hooper and Whyld in the first edition (1984) of The Oxford Companion to Chess "treated him essentially as light relief"; the second edition (1992) treated him more equitably, but like the first omitted any mention of his performance at New York 1889.[5][84] Yakov Damsky in The Batsford Book of Chess Records (2005), addressing the question of which player "achieved the greatest negative distinction" on the international level, opines that Gossip "can probably feel safe from competition".[85] Mike Fox and Richard James in their book The Even More Complete Chess Addict (1993) write that, "Of players who’ve entered chess history, perhaps the strongest claimant for the all-time grandpatzer title is George Hatfeild Dingley Gossip (1841–1907). George had a worse record in major tournaments than anyone in history (last at Breslau 1889, London 1889, Manchester 1890, London 1892, and New York 1893: a total of just 4 wins, 52 losses and 21 draws)."[86] Like Hooper and Whyld, they overlook his result at New York 1889, a major tournament where he won 11 games and finished above the bottom.[87] In a 2001 article, Whyld himself takes notice of Gossip's result at New York 1889 and suggests that "history has perhaps given him an unfair verdict".[88]

Today FIDE, the World Chess Federation, often awards the Grandmaster title to players with Elo ratings of 2500 and above, and the lesser International Master and FIDE Master titles to players rated at least 2400 and 2300, respectively.[89] By Arpad Elo's calculation, Gossip's strength during his five-year peak was equivalent to an Elo rating of 2310.[90] Another assessment system, Chessmetrics, calculates that Gossip's highest rating was 2470 (number 50 in the world) in April 1889.[91] By comparison, the world's three highest-rated players at that time had Chessmetrics ratings over 2700.[92] Chessmetrics also ranks Gossip number 17 in the world during four one-month periods between February and July, 1873,[91] when opportunities for high-level competition were much rarer.[93] Like Diggle, Chessmetrics considers New York 1889 Gossip's best individual performance, concluding that he scored 39% against opponents with an average rating of 2595, giving him a performance rating of 2539 for that tournament.[91]

Diggle writes that despite his faults, Gossip was "a man of dauntless courage and infinite capacity for hard work", which enabled him to become a recognized author despite the disastrous reception that the first edition of his Chess-Player's Manual received. His literary style was vigorous, and shows him to be an educated and well-read man.[12]

Notable games

Showalter–Gossip, New York 1889

abcdefgh
8
b8 black king
d8 black rook
g8 black rook
a7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
g7 black queen
c6 black pawn
f6 black pawn
d5 black pawn
e5 black knight
b4 white pawn
d4 black bishop
g4 black bishop
h4 white bishop
b3 white queen
c3 white knight
a2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
b1 white rook
e1 white rook
f1 white bishop
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
"Showalter–Gossip". after 24.Bxh4
abcdefgh
8
b8 black king
d8 black rook
a7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
c6 black pawn
f6 black pawn
d5 black pawn
b4 white pawn
b3 white queen
c3 white knight
f3 black bishop
h3 black rook
a2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
f2 black bishop
h2 white king
b1 white rook
e1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Showalter–Gossip, final position

The following game was played between future five-time U.S. Champion Jackson Showalter (White) and Gossip (Black) at the Sixth American Chess Congress, New York 1889.[94]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Bd3 d5 7.e5? 7.exd5 is correct.[95][96][97] 7...Ng4 8.O-O Bc5 9.Bf4 9.h3 Nxe5 10.Re1 fails to 10...Qf6 11.Qe2 0-0! 12.Qxe5 Qxf2+ 13.Kh1 Bxh3![96] 9...g5! 10.Bd2 White is already in serious trouble. 10.Bg3 is met by 10...h5! 11.h3 h4! 12.Bh2 Nxh2 13.Kxh2 g4! 14.hxg4 Qg5 15.Be2 Qf4+ 16.Kh1 (or 16.Kg1 h3!) 16...Bxf2 and wins.[96] 10...Nxe5 11.Re1 Qe7 12.Nc3 Bd7 13.Qh5 O-O-O! Since 13...h6 would still be answered by 14.Bxg5, Gossip sacrifices the pawn, anticipating a killing attack along the g-file.[97] 14.Bxg5 f6 15.Bh4 Qg7 16.Ba6+ Kb8 17.Bg3 Rhg8 18.Qd1 Ng4 More accurate was 18...Bg4 followed by ...h5, initiating the same attack that Black begins on his 20th move.[94][95] 19.Bf1 Ne5 20.b4 Bg4 21.Qb1? 21.Be2 was better than this attempt at counterattack.[94][95][97] 21...Bd4 22.Qb3 h5! 23.Rab1 h4! Steinitz writes, "The initiation of a masterly combination eight moves deep."[94][95] 24.Bxh4? 24.Bxe5 holds out longer.[97] Now, writes Andrew Soltis, "Black crowned his play with one of the most beautiful combinations ever played".[35] 24...Nf3+! 25.gxf3 25.Kh1 Nxh4 leaves Black a piece ahead with a won game.[98] 25...Bxf3+ 26.Bg3 Qxg3+! 27.hxg3 Rxg3+ 28.Kh2 If 28.Bg2, Rxg2+ 29.Kf1 Rh2 and mates.[99] 28...Bxf2 29.Bh3 Rxh3+! 0–1 30.Kxh3 is met by ...Rh8 mate.[99]

Fred Reinfeld calls the game "a glorious masterpiece".[100] Steinitz proclaims, "One of the finest specimens of sacrificing play on record. Mr. Gossip deserves the highest praise for the ingenuity and depth of combination which he displayed in this game."[101][102] Soltis writes that "there were many raised eyebrows"[103] when the tournament committee awarded the prize for the best-played game not to Gossip for this game, but to Gunsberg for his win over Mason.[104] [105] After comparing the two games, Whyld writes, "The verdict seems clear. Gossip was robbed!"[2] Diggle states, "Gossip was, of course, the last man to keep quiet about this decision, and for once he had considerable public sympathy on his side."[106]

Chigorin–Gossip, New York 1889

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
f8 black bishop
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black bishop
e7 black king
f7 white bishop
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c6 black knight
g6 black knight
a5 black queen
f5 black pawn
d4 white pawn
e4 black pawn
b3 white queen
c3 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
d2 white knight
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
f1 white rook
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
"Chigorin–Gossip". position after 12...Ke7?
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
f8 black bishop
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black bishop
f7 black king
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a6 black queen
c6 black knight
d6 white knight
g6 black knight
f5 black pawn
g5 white bishop
d4 white pawn
e4 black pawn
b3 white queen
c3 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
f1 white rook
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Chigorin–Gossip, final position

When facing world-class opponents, Gossip more often fell victim to their combinations. A famous example is his loss, also at New York 1889, to Mikhail Chigorin (White), who lost world championship matches to Steinitz in 1889 and 1892.[107][108]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 3...Nf6 is the safest response if Black is not well versed in the ensuing complications—as Gossip proves not to be.[109] 4.Qa4 f6 5.Bb5 Ne7 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.O-O 7.d4! is the main line today.[110] 7...Bd7? 7...e4! 8.Ne1 Bf5 9.f3 leads to equality.[111] 8.d4 e4 9.Nfd2 Ng6? 9...f5! was correct.[111][112] 10.Bc4 Qa5 11.Qb3 f5? 11...0-0-0! was the best chance.[111][112] 12.Bf7+ Ke7? Yet another mistake; 12...Kd8 is forced. Yakov Damsky asks, "Just how many wrong moves is it possible to play?"[111][112] 13.Nc4! Setting up a problem-like finish with a fatal double check two moves later.[113] 13...Qa6 14.Bg5+! Kxf7 15.Nd6# 1–0

Notes

  1. ^ a b Gaige 1987, p. 146.
  2. ^ a b c d e Whyld May 2001, p. 265.
  3. ^ Winter August 6, 2007 discusses the unusual "Hatfeild" spelling.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Winter 2004 (quoting Columbia Chess Chronicle, August 18, 1888, pp. 55–56).
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Winter 2004.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Winter 2004, quoting article by G. H. Diggle in Newsflash, April 1983, later republished in G. H. Diggle, Chess Characters: Reminiscences of a Badmaster, Chess Notes, Geneva, 1984, pp. 93–94.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Whyld July 2001.
  8. ^ Whyld May 2001, p. 263.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Diggle 1969, p. 2.
  10. ^ a b Mechanics' Institute Chess Club 2007 (quoting G. H. D. Gossip, International Chess Magazine, June 1888, pp. 170–71).
  11. ^ Winter 2004 (citing George Hatfield Dingley Gossip - The Aerodrome - Aces and Aircraft of World War I; retrieved on 2009-01-04).
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle 1969, p. 3.
  13. ^ Winter 2004 (quoting American Chess Magazine, June 1897, p. 59).
  14. ^ Winter November 15, 2008.
  15. ^ Diggle 1969, pp. 3–4.
  16. ^ Diggle 1969, p. 4.
  17. ^ Winter 2004 (citing David Hooper, British Chess Magazine, October 1964, p. 306).
  18. ^ a b c d e Diggle 1969, p. 1.
  19. ^ Di Felice 2004, pp. 51, 54, 55, 57, 59, 89, 103, 114, 117, 118, 121, 128, 129, 133, 142, 157.
  20. ^ Di Felice 2004, p. 51.
  21. ^ Di Felice 2004, p. 54.
  22. ^ Gossip and Lipschütz 1902, title page.
  23. ^ a b c Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 152.
  24. ^ Brennen 2005.
  25. ^ Chernev 1974, pp. 132–33.
  26. ^ a b c d e f Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 155.
  27. ^ The tournament was held in London at the same time as the 1883 London master tournament (won by Zukertort ahead of Steinitz). Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 155. The minor tournament was called the Vizayanagaram tournament in recognition of a donation of 200 pounds by the Maharajah of Vizayanagaram, which was used to pay the prizes in that tournament. Minchin 1883, p. xiv.
  28. ^ a b Minchin 1883, p. xxxi.
  29. ^ a b Di Felice 2004, p. 89.
  30. ^ In 1950, the Australian Chess Federation formally declared that the Gossip-Esling match had been the first Australian national championship. Whyld May 2001, p. 265.
  31. ^ Kooyman 1957 (quoting letter from C.J.S. Purdy).
  32. ^ Di Felice 2004, p. 103.
  33. ^ Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 446 ("Miksa or Max Weiss" entry).
  34. ^ Steinitz 1891, pp. xii, xx.
  35. ^ a b Soltis 1978, p. 196.
  36. ^ a b Di Felice 2004, p. 117.
  37. ^ Di Felice 2004, pp. 114, 118, 121, 133, 142.
  38. ^ Di Felice 2004, p. 157.
  39. ^ a b Diggle 1969, pp. 2–3.
  40. ^ Bird 1893, pp. 240-41.
  41. ^ Rowland 1899, pp. 4, 10, 136–39.
  42. ^ Di Felice 2004, p. 158.
  43. ^ Soltis 1975, pp. 76–77.
  44. ^ Garry Kasparov calls Hastings 1895 "the most important tournament of the nineteenth century". Kasparov 2003, p. 126.
  45. ^ Arthur Bisguier and Andrew Soltis call Hastings 1895 the "greatest tournament of the nineteenth century". Bisguier & Soltis 1974, p. 53.
  46. ^ Gossip lost to Lasker at London 1892 and New York 1893. Di Felice 2004, pp. 133, 142.
  47. ^ Lasker was World Champion from 1894 to 1921. Kažić 1974, p. 206.
  48. ^ Gossip lost to Steinitz at London 1872. Di Felice 2004, p. 54.
  49. ^ Steinitz was World Champion from 1886 to 1894. Kažić 1974, p. 206.
  50. ^ Gossip lost to Zukertort at London 1872. Di Felice 2004, p. 54.
  51. ^ Zukertort lost a World Championship match to Steinitz in 1886. Kažić 1974, pp. 207–08.
  52. ^ Gossip lost to Tarrasch at Breslau 1889 and Manchester 1890. Di Felice 2004, pp. 118, 121.
  53. ^ Tarrasch lost a World Championship match to Lasker in 1908. Kažić 1974, p. 215.
  54. ^ Gossip lost twice to Chigorin at New York 1889. Di Felice 2004, p. 117.
  55. ^ Chigorin lost World Championship matches to Steinitz in 1889 and 1892. Kažić 1974, pp. 209, 211.
  56. ^ Gossip lost to Gunsberg at the 1883 Vizayanagaram tournament, New York 1889 (twice), London 1889, Breslau 1889, and Manchester 1890. Di Felice 2004, pp. 89, 114, 117–18, 121.
  57. ^ Gunsberg lost a World Championship match to Steinitz in 1890–91. Kažić 1974, p. 210.
  58. ^ Gossip lost to Paulsen at Breslau 1889. Di Felice 2004, p. 118.
  59. ^ Gossip lost to Pillsbury at New York 1893. Di Felice 2004, p. 142.
  60. ^ Gossip lost to Mason at London 1889, Breslau 1889, Manchester 1890, and London 1892; he drew and lost to Mason at New York 1889. Di Felice 2004, pp. 114, 117–18, 121, 133.
  61. ^ Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: Louis Paulsen; Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: Harry Pillsbury; Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: James Mason.
  62. ^ Gossip beat Burn at the Third British Chess Association Congress in 1870, drew him at Breslau 1889, and lost to him at Birmingham 1874 and New York 1889 (twice). Di Felice 2004, pp. 51, 59, 117–18.
  63. ^ Gossip lost to Blackburne at the Third British Chess Association Congress in 1870, London 1872, New York 1889 (twice), Breslau 1889, and Manchester 1890. Di Felice 2004, pp. 51, 54, 117–18, 121.
  64. ^ Gossip beat Bird twice at New York 1889; drew him at London 1889, Manchester 1890, and London 1892; and lost to him at two minor tournaments held at Simpson's Divan in London in 1891. DiFelice 2004, pp. 114, 117, 121, 128–29, 133.
  65. ^ Gossip lost to de Vere at London 1872. Di Felice 2004, p. 54.
  66. ^ Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: Amos Burn; Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: Joseph Blackburne; Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: Henry Bird; Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: Cecil de Vere.
  67. ^ Gossip drew and lost to Weiss at New York 1889. Di Felice 2004, p. 117.
  68. ^ Gossip lost to Wisker at the Third British Chess Association Congress in 1870, and at London 1872. Di Felice 2004, pp. 51, 54.
  69. ^ Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: Miksa Weiss; Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: John Wisker.
  70. ^ a b Winter 2004 (quoting Steinitz, International Chess Magazine, May 1888, pp. 137–38).
  71. ^ Winter 2004. Lipschütz's first name is unknown, with various sources giving it as "Samuel", "Solomon", and "Simon". Winter April 30, 2007; Gaige 1987, p. 251.
  72. ^ The New York Times 1888.
  73. ^ Hooper & Whyld 1992, p. 228.
  74. ^ Brady 1973, p. 11. Brady does not specify which edition Fischer owned.
  75. ^ McCrary (book), p. 51.
  76. ^ McCrary (Internet).
  77. ^ An excerpt from the article appears in Mechanics' Institute Chess Club 2007.
  78. ^ WorldCat.
  79. ^ F. J. Lee and G. H. D. Gossip, The Complete Chess-Guide, John Grant, Edinburgh, 1903, title page.
  80. ^ Sergeant 1934, p. 163.
  81. ^ Winter August 10, 2008 (quoting "The Chessboard Kings: Ways and Looks of 20 Great Players", The New York Times, June 16, 1889, p. 8).
  82. ^ Winter 2004 (quoting Columbia Chess Chronicle, September 15, 1888, pp. 91–92).
  83. ^ Whyld July 2001 (quoting The Four-leaved Shamrock, 1911).
  84. ^ See Hooper & Whyld 1984, p. 131; Hooper & Whyld 1992, pp. 155–56.
  85. ^ Damsky 2005, p. 108.
  86. ^ Fox & James 1993, p. 168.
  87. ^ Winter 2004. Gossip's 13.5 points equalled the combined scores of the last two finishers (John Washington Baird, 7 points and Nicholas MacLeod, 6.5 points). Gossip's draw against Weiss (ChessGames.com; retrieved on 2009-01-04) could be said to have determined the outcome of the tournament, since without it Weiss would have won the tournament outright rather than tying with Chigorin for first place.
  88. ^ Whyld May 2001, p. 264.
  89. ^ Under FIDE Regulation 1.50 (FIDE; retrieved on 2009-01-04), a player can achieve the Grandmaster title by earning two or more grandmaster norms in events covering at least 27 games, and attaining a rating of 2500 at some point. Likewise, a player can achieve the International Master title by achieving the requisite International Master norms and attaining a rating of 2400 at some point. Under FIDE Regulation 1.3 (FIDE; retrieved on 2009-01-04), a player who achieves a published rating of 2300 is entitled to the FIDE Master title.
  90. ^ Elo 1978, p. 192.
  91. ^ a b c Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: George Gossip.
  92. ^ "April 1889 rating list". Chessmetrics.com. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  93. ^ Fine 1983, pp. 16, 31, 49.
  94. ^ a b c d ChessGames.com (Showalter–Gossip).
  95. ^ a b c d Steinitz 1891, p. 387.
  96. ^ a b c Steinitz 1889, p. 66.
  97. ^ a b c d Reinfeld 1950, p. 30.
  98. ^ Sukhin 2007, pp. 139, 147.
  99. ^ a b Chernev & Reinfeld 1949, p. 135.
  100. ^ Reinfeld 1950, p. 29. However, echoing the general contempt for Gossip, Reinfeld begins his discussion of the game by observing, "Every dog has his day." Id.
  101. ^ Steinitz 1891, p. 388.
  102. ^ Reinfeld 1950, p. 31.
  103. ^ Soltis 1978, p. 197.
  104. ^ ChessGames.com (Mason–Gunsberg).
  105. ^ Steinitz 1891, pp. 1–2.
  106. ^ Diggle 1969, p. 2. Pollock won the brilliancy prize for his scintillating victory over Weiss. Steinitz 1891, pp. 2–3; Soltis 1978, p. 197; Wellmuth 1943, pp. 89–90. That game can be played over at ChessGames.com (Weiss–Pollock).
  107. ^ ChessGames.com (Chigorin–Gossip).
  108. ^ Sukhin 2007, pp. 140, 147.
  109. ^ Kaufman 2004, p. 343.
  110. ^ de Firmian 2008, p. 136.
  111. ^ a b c d Bogoljubov 1987, p. 39.
  112. ^ a b c Damsky 2005, p. 109.
  113. ^ Chernev 1955, p. 139.

References

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