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Date: 07 Jan 2008 20:01:23
From: John Townsend
Subject: Staunton v. Harrwitz, 1846
The London Chess Club had proposed such a match, and I assume that the first
four games were played in their rooms. See Chess Player's Chronicle, Vol.
7, p.348. Staunton struggled at this stage:

" ... in the heated and unwholesome atmosphere of a crowded club-room, the
English player lost three out of four ..."

Then the venue changed:

" ... by mutual consent, a retirement into the country was agreed on. Here,
with the benefit of pure air, and exemption from the unavoidable
inconveniences of a full room, a ked improvement was soon manifest in the
play of both parties ... "

Where was this country venue - so conducive to the players' cogitative
processes - where Staunton wiped out the earlier deficit and took the lead?

The last few games were back in London. Final score: Staunton won 12,
Harrwitz won 9, 1 drawn.

Thanks and regards,

John Townsend,
Howard Staunton Research Project:
http://www.johntownsend.demon.co.uk/index_files/Page324.htm







 
Date: 07 Jan 2008 13:09:31
From: SAT W-7
Subject: Re: Staunton v. Harrwitz, 1846
sounds like a good match and notice only one draw....They seemed to be
playing to win..



  
Date: 07 Jan 2008 13:48:29
From: Taylor Kingston
Subject: Re: Staunton v. Harrwitz, 1846
On Jan 7, 4:09=A0pm, [email protected] (SAT W-7) wrote:
> sounds like a good match and notice only one draw....They seemed to be
> playing to win..

A couple of factors probably contributed to the lack of draws. One,
of the 22 games, 15 were at odds. Staunton gave pawn-and-move in 8
games, pawn-and-two in 7 games. Interestingly, he did better at the
greater odds, scoring +1 -6 =3D1 at pawn-and-move, but +4 -3 at pawn-and-
two. The other factor was that Staunton in 1846 was just much stronger
than Harrwitz, as evinced by his 7-0 score at even strength.
I'm sure Mr. Townsend can supply many more details than I, but I
noticed an amusing thing about this match mentioned in Levy's bio of
Staunton. Apparently Harrwitz was a short man, and somewhat sensitive
about his lack of height. Staunton would aggravate this by pretending
not to see him, looking for him under tables and such even when
Harrwitz was in plain sight. This may have added to Harrwitz's bad
form when they played at even strength.