New York Clipper, 1876 (Clipper Centennial Problem Tourney)
This tourney should not be confused with the Centennial Chess Problem Tourney of 1877.
The unusual requirement for the fourth problem of the set is the same as in
other Clipper tournaments: New York Clipper, 1860
(Miron's Problem Tourney), and New York Clipper, 1874-1875. The name Miron's Speciality
is used
in the solution to 3rd prize, prb. 4 (1877-04-21). The umpire used the term
Miron's Idea
in his report.
Five sets were received. The umpire states in his summary that
as three sets were incomplete (i.e. problems were faulty or disqualified
by other reasons, leading to fewer than four correct problems per set),
he could only award two of the three prizes. (His summary
lists 18 correct problems in order of value; this list includes a
correct problem by R. Braune that had been disqualified because it
was too similar to an earlier problem by S. Gold and Braune.)
While the tournament manager, M. Hazeltine, did not object to the judge's award,
he did award the third prize on other grounds than that of set quality:
the only reason he gives publicly is that the announcement promised that
three prizes would be awarded.
In addition, Hazeltine also awarded an unannounced prize to
(presumably) the best problem showing Miron's Speciality (see above).
This prize also went to J. Berger.
J. Berger criticizes the tourney as well as the judgement
in an article in Deutsche Schachzeitung, in which the prb 2–4 of
his set were also reprinted. The article appears to be somewhat biased; the author
seems to have believed that the praise he had received from the judge and
the manager somehow entitled him to a prize, despite his set being rejected
as incomplete due to a faulty problem, and that arrangers had decided to give
prizes only for U.S. competitors. He writes that he returned both prizes that he received.
Very few published solutions have been located in New York Clipper.
In the case where no authoritative solution has been located,
the computer-testing key move (if any) is given in brackets. In the case of 3 pr. prb. 4,
the key move has been taken from the Deutsche Schachzeitung solution
to prb. 4275, publ. in 1878, p. 189 on the assumption that it reprints the author's
solution.
Prizes
All black-to-move diagrams were originally printed with black moving from lower edge. Here they have been rotated so as to place square A1 in lower left corner.All dates are taken from handwritten notes in scans of a cutting-book, and so should be regarded as less definite than actual printed informstion.
