Canada's Nineteenth Century Chess Visitors I: Bird and Mackenzie

(All the games in this article are available in a PGN file.)

Canada is a relatively young nation: unsurprisingly, organized chess in this country is also a comparatively recent development. The first meeting of the Canadian Chess Association took place in 1872, and the first Canadian champion was crowned in 1873. Chess clubs had existed before confederation; for our purposes the most significant was the Montreal Chess Club, founded in 1844, although there is evidence to suggest a forerunner in the city some ten years before that date. Then as now (with a few notable exceptions), it was the largest urban centres which tended to attract the strongest and greatest numbers of chess players. In the nineteenth century, indeed until the early 1970s, the largest city in Canada was Montreal; thus, the Montreal Chess Club was a destination for the chess masters who visited Canada in the last quarter of the century. Given the club's importance, we should meet some of its leading members:

Thomas Workman (1813–1889), a founding member of the Montreal Chess Club, businessman, MP, president of Molson's Bank and Sun Mutual Life Insurance;

Henry Aspinwall Howe (1815–1900), LLD, Canadian champion in 1877 and 1883, principal of the McGill High School;

William Henry Hicks (1816–1899), Canadian champion in 1874, principal of the McGill Normal School (now part of the Faculty of Education, McGill University);

Joseph William Shaw (1834–1897), Canadian champion in 1881, organizer of the first round-robin correspondence tournament in North America;

John Henderson (1836–1896), placed second in the Canadian championships of 1881-1882 and 1884, winner of Shaw's correspondence tournament and a subsequent event run by Dr. Isaac Ryall of the Hamilton Chess Club, prize-winning problem composer, mayor of St. Liboire for eight years;

Jacob Gottschalk Ascher (1841–1912), Canadian champion in 1878, tied for first in 1883, businessman.

McCord Museum photographs of Workman and a group shot of the Canadian Chess Association in 1889 which includes all the others mentioned above.

As can be seen, competitive chess in those years was largely the domain of those belonging to the upper echelons of society. It says much for the erudition of these gentlemen that four of them wrote chess columns at one time or another: Hicks (Canadian Illustrated News), Shaw (Canadian Spectator), Henderson (Canadian Spectator, [Montreal] Gazette), and Ascher ([Montreal] Daily Witness, New Dominion Monthly, Sport).

Henry Edward Bird (1830-1908)

Canada's first chess visitor of note was the English master Henry Bird. Bird was a railway accountant by profession, and as a junior partner in the firm of Coleman, Turquand, Youngs & Co. (a distant predecessor to the present-day Ernest and Young) he travelled to Canada in 1860 to work on the books of the Great Western Railway, whose main corridor of operation was Windsor to Niagara Falls. Bird's professional duties took him to North America several more times in the 1860s; in 1866 he was forced to cut short a match in London with Steinitz, trailing by the score of 7-5 with 5 draws, to attend to business matters on this continent. Presumably Bird would not have missed an opportunity to play some chess on these trips, but no record of his chess activities in Canada during this time has come down to us.

By the mid-1870s Bird was living in New York, having largely retired to indulge in his favourite pastime. In 1876 he participated in the 4th American Congress (Philadelphia), and the Cafe International and Clipper tournaments (both in New York). Taking advantage of the master's relative proximity, Thomas Workman invited Bird to visit Montreal, and he duly arrived in January, 1877. Bird sojourned in the area for over three weeks, mainly in Montreal but also including several days in Sherbrooke. No indication of the cost involved is given, but writing fifteen years later John Henderson noted of Bird's visit that "then, as now, we had several liberal patrons of the game who vied with each other in making the period of his stay both profitable and agreeable." [Gazette, 19 November 1892]

"The chess players of Montreal show a great inclination to make the most of the visit of Mr. Bird to Montreal, and he is just as willing to make any arrangements which his friendly opponents may suggest before he leaves the city." [Canadian Illustrated News, 10 February 1877] The 'arrangements' consisted of simultaneous displays, consultation games, and handicapped and offhand games. The various media reports occasionally differ on the numbers involved, or who won from the master on a given day, but Bird gave three simultaneous displays in Montreal, as follows:

22 January – 19 boards, +11 =2 -6 (or 15 boards, +9 =2 -4)
27/30 January – 17 boards, +12 =2 -3
10 February – 25 boards, +21 =2 -2

Game A - Howe, Saunders, Barry
Game B - Hicks, Henderson, Watkins
Game C - Ascher, Workman, Shaw
Game D - Atkinson, Hall

Presumably the master also played many offhand games during his stay, but these are generally not mentioned in the newspaper reports of the time. We do know of at least two games at knight odds that were published - see below. Detailed accounts of Bird's time in Sherbrooke are not contained in any of the newpapers I have access to, but two figures are given - a total of fifty games played with only one loss during the visit, including a seventeen-board simultaneous in which Bird won every game. One incident from the display was described in the July 1877 New Dominion Monthly:

In the preliminaries it was understood that no player should move the pieces during Mr. Bird's absence at the other boards; but one gentleman broke through this rule, leading to a laughable episode. Mr. Bird had passed him twice, and coming round the third time rather quicker than Major M. had expected, found the board in a state of utter confusion, nearly every piece having been moved. Mr. Bird had left his king on e2 in a perfectly safe condition, guarded by Q, both Rs and two minor pieces! What was his astonishment to find his king at e7 away over in the enemy's territory, and in imminent danger of mate! Major M., in Mr. Bird's absence, had been following out some complicated analysis involving some sixteen moves, as it appeared, making of course very bad moves for Mr. Bird, and hunting the latter's poor king all over the board! Major M., caught in the act, very red and guilty, stammered out an apology. "Mr Bird," says he, "I beg your pardon, I am really very sorry, but will you be kind enough to pass me again? I really don't recollect quite where your king was! The next time you come round I will try to get him back into his place!" This, said with perfect politeness and with earnest gravity of countenance, was too much for the equanimity of every spectator – a shout of laughter was heard on every side! Mr. Bird said it was the most comical chess incident he had ever known in his life. [Emphasis in the original.]

And what of the games? According to the contemporary Dictionary of National Biography, Bird was "well known for his rapidity (R. J. Buckley says he once played three games in ten minutes at Simpson's, scoring one and a half), dash, and eccentric openings....Unfortunately his patience and judgment were very inferior to his power of combination." From this description one would expect some sparkling combinations, with the occasional 'accident' caused by rushed or superficial thinking. It is dangerous to project a generalized comment such as this onto a master's play, but some of the games exhibit the mentioned traits:

Contrary to modern practice, it is apparent that Bird and other masters of this era were willing to play black as well as white in simultaneous games.

Before he left Montreal Bird was fêted at a banquet held in his honour (see below for details of a similar dinner held for Mackenzie). For the occasion the club's poet laureate, John Henderson, wrote the text for a song which he performed at the gathering. His original had specific references to Bird, but it was the later generic version (i.e., with the references removed) that became famous and was published as far afield as Australia and England. The tune was written by Allan Masterton to accompany Willie brew'd a peck o' maut by Robert Burns.

The Royal Game

Brave knights of old, with spurs of gold,
On battle horse in panoply,
In tourney round or battleground,
Oft “bit the dust” most gallantly;
So do we yield on checkered field,
Or proudly our success relate -
The foe was brave, but could not save
His King from final check and mate.

Our Royal game, some call it tame,
They do not know its beauties rare;
For in the fight move king and knight,
With queens that are both dark and fair.
And where's the man who e'er would ban
The rapture - tongue can n'er relate -
The joy who'd miss, tis' almost bliss,
When we announce the smothered mate.

Yet some do hate this pretty mate,
And choose instead a stupid stale;
But none you'll find who hate the kind
That Adam chose in Eden's vale.
Then while we toast and while we boast
Our mastery in our sport most rare,
Hold with your checks, here's to the sex -
The best of mates – the lovely fair.

Overall, the term most frequently applied to Bird by the Montreal press was 'genial.' He was not a full-time professional player but a highly-skilled amateur enjoying his favourite indulgence: "In chivalry and enthusiasm for chess as a pastime, in pluck, and in readiness to play at a moment's notice for stakes or no stakes, Bird had no equal." [Dictionary of National Biography] Bird's enthusiasm and enjoyment were contagious, and led to a shared genuine warmth and admiration between himself and the Montreal club members. To quote H.G. Wells out of context (his essay is actually strongly anti-chess), "Compulsory quick moving is the thing for gaiety, and that is why, though we revere Steinitz and Lasker, it is Bird we love." [Certain Personal Matters] These feelings are evident in two letters of thanks, published shortly after Bird's departure from Montreal [Canadian Illustrated News, 10 March 1877]:

I am directed by the members of the Montreal Chess Club to convey to you the high gratification you have afforded them during your late visit to this city as their honoured guest. Never since the establishment of our club, extending over a period of twenty-five years, has there been awakened such a genuine enthusiasm for the noble game as your presence inspired; and which circumstance the Club trusts will be an impetus to the Chess spirit of the Dominion, tending to the development of a better knowledge and higher appreciation of the royal pastime which in the person of yourself has so brilliant an exponent. That you may long be spared to enjoy the celebrity which you have so justly earned is our earnest wish.

I remain, my dear sir, with the highest esteem, very faithfully yours, Jacob G. Ascher.

I duly received your very kind and gratifying letter which I shall ever preserve, as one more remembrance of the delightfully charming associations connected with my visit to Montreal. I know not how to adequately express my thanks for all your unbounded liberality. I must tax your kindness once more by asking you to convey to your brother members of the Chess Club and circle the expressions of my sincere obligations. I may, I am sure, without being invidious, be allowed to present my warm respects to Dr. Howe, Prof. Hicks and Mr. Saunders, the pleasure I have derived and the honour I feel at my happy encounters with those gentlemen will ever be fondly remembered by me. To yourself personally what can I say for the many, many acts of kindness and courtesy received at your hands. Mr. Shaw also, as well as Mr. Henderson, and Mr. Atkinson, you will kindly assure of my warmest friendship and admiration. I must look forward to the pleasure of writing to each of them. Mr. Henderson's lines are highly appreciated. Hoping to write to you again soon, and again sincerely thanking you,

I remain, my dear Mr. Ascher, yours very truly, H.E. Bird.

Postscript: Bird visited Montreal again in late May and June 1889, but this second visit received far less newspaper coverage. Attention instead was concentrated on Joseph Blackburne, who was in the city at the same time giving simultaneous and blindfold displays, as we will see in the second article in this series.

George Henry Mackenzie (1837-1891)

Almost exactly two years after Henry Bird's sojourn, Montreal received its second prominent chess visitor in the person of Captain George Mackenzie. He is largely forgotten today (unlike Bird, he does not have an opening named after him), but in his day Mackenzie was regarded as U.S. champion for almost two decades and at his peak was one of the top five players in the world. Scottish by birth, Mackenzie served in the British army in Ireland and India. After resigning his commission he studied chess before coming to America in 1863 and joining the Union Army in the Civil War. Mackenzie was captain of a Black infantry regiment; his adventures and misadventures as a soldier are quoted in this article by John Hilbert. After the war Mackenzie settled in New York and supported himself through chess. Between 1865 and 1880, with the exception of one drawn match, he won every American event he entered; by winning the 2nd American Congress in 1871 he became U.S. champion (the retired Morphy had won the 1st Congress in 1857).

In the 1880s Mackenzie played frequently in Europe, integrating the recent positional innovations into his previous attacking style. According to Steinitz, "new ideas made no impression on him until he had competed several times in European tournaments." He placed well at Vienna 1882, London 1883, and Hamburg 1885, culminating with a first prize at Frankfurt am Main in 1887, ahead of Blackburne, Weiss, Tarrasch, Burn, and Zukertort. Mackenzie won the Scottish championship in 1888 and tied for third with Bird behind Tarrasch and Blackburne at Manchester 1890, but by this point he was suffering from the tuberculosis which resulted in his death the following year.

Captain Mackenzie arrived in Montreal on the morning of Friday, 3 January 1879, and departed just under two weeks later on 16 January. His stay was organized by Joseph W. Shaw - "we must not forget to speak of the excellent arrangements of Mr. J.W. Shaw, upon whom devolved the consideration of all matters relating to club preparation for the different contests and the general management of affairs during the Captain's visit." [Canadian Illustrated News, 25 January 1879] All the public games were played in the room of the Montreal Chess Club, at the Gymnasium, corner of Mansfield and Burnside Streets. Mackenzie gave five simultaneous exhibitions during his stay, as follows:

3 January – 14 boards, +12 =1 -1
4 January – 12 boards, +11 =1 -0
7 January – 13 boards, +11 =0 -2
9 January - 11 players, +13(?) =4 -1
14 January – 15 players +14 =1 -4

The local experts felt that Mackenzie was a stronger player than Bird: "As compared with the play of Mr. Bird the impression among our chess players is that Captain Mackenzie's play is steadier and shows more depth. It is marked by brilliancy and originality, although he does not move as quickly as Mr. Bird. He gets beyond our powers entirely; they felt that it would require a contest between him and such a player as Winawer or Blackburne or Zukertort to make them fully realize his skill at the game." [Montreal Daily Witness, 4 January 1879] Of the games Mackenzie lost there were no crass blunders, the Montreal players had to work hard for their victories:

As with Bird, the Montreal players held a banquet to celebrate the Captain's visit:

Last evening twenty gentlemen sat around a table at Compain's restaurant. In the centre stood a curious arrangement, which at once attracted attention, and gave a fair idea of the object of the meeting. It was a huge chess board made of different coloured blocks of candy, in the centre of which stood an enormous sugared knight as guardian of the scene, which, overweighted by its responsibility, fell before the evening was over... Nearly all bowed under the weight of some classical name given in jest, but inspired by which they fought their battles over the chess board.

The substantials, of no mean order, were disposed of, sauced with jest, repartee and good humour, jokes enough being made to make the fortune of any paragrapher. Then Dr. Howe, rising, addressed those present on the glories of chess... It was not until late years that an opportunity was given to Canadians to play with masters of the art; but three [sic] years ago Mr. Bird came here, and there was present Captain Mackenzie who, distinguished particularly by fertility of resource and rapidity in changing his attack to one side of the board if foiled at another, ranked with the very best players in the world. For this reason, as other members of the club had been named after the classic heroes, he would christen him the Ulysses of chess. The Club had its Nestor, its swift Ajax, its strong Ajax, and its Achilles – they, and all the other heroes, would rejoice to do honour to the only Ulysses.

The health was drunk, and Capt. Mackenzie, rising to his feet, replied. Then toast after toast followed, and each reply was wittier than the former, every one around the board performing his duty most efficiently, and at one o'clock all departed to their homes, thankful to their hosts, and well pleased at the evening's pleasure. [Montreal Daily Witness, 9 January 1879]

John Henderson wrote and performed another song, this time in honour of his fellow Scot (to the tune "Canadians be Steady"):

Bold Champions of Caissa

Bold champions of Caissa hang up your bright shields,
To the festal board hasten away;
For awhile we'll abandon the strife and those fields
Where our forces met oft in the fray.
As of old 'tis our custom with laurel to crown
The hero who wins in the fight,
'Mongst those who now wear it for deeds of renown,
Is that champion - the guest of tonight.

When foemen assail and our hosts take the plain,
There the sons of Auld Scotia you'll find,
With their face to the foe or laid low with the slain,
For no craven belongs to their kind.
With a chieftain to lead through the thick of the fight,
To the strains that the highlanders played
When Jessie exclaimed in wild tones of delight,
"Hark! the Campbells are comin', we're saved!"

Now high among heroes 'neath Caissa's command,
In brave Captain Mackenzie we see
A son of the mountainous heather-clad land,
The chieftain this side of the sea.
Then here's to our guest and our right royal game,
'Tis the best and the oldest I ween,
For Adam found all were insipid and tame
Till he learned how to "mate" with a "Queen."

John Henderson, 1879

Mate in three - key move

Postscript: in January 1880 Mackenzie tied for first in the 5th American Congress with one James Glover Grundy (he won the playoff 2-0). Soon after, Grundy was invited to and visited the Toronto Chess Club, where he gave a simultaneous display and played several individual games; he did the same in Hamilton immediately thereafter. However, charges of bribery involving Grundy emerged from the Congress, and he was subsequently banned from playing in American events (see Jeremy Spinrad's two-part investigation at the ChessCafe website: part 1, part 2). The Toronto club was criticized for inviting a disgraced player; in response the club cited timing in its defence, noting that the invitation was issued following the opinion of an initial tribunal which had exonerated Grundy. The debate over the scandal was pursued in the press for several months, with the Globe backing away from the disreputable visitor. The chess column had promised to publish a number of Mr. Grundy's Toronto games to demonstrate his strength, but amid the controversy they never made it into print. The 1880 American Congress is the only significant event we have a record of Grundy playing in, and he tied for first. After the scandal broke he disappeared from the chess scene, although there are reports he played elsewhere under an assumed name.