Detroit Free Press, 1878

R:
single set 3x#2-4 (2 pr. + 3 sp. pr. for best #2, #3 and #4)
 
Special prizes would not be awarded to winners of set prizes.
 
J:
G. E. Carpenter
 
Judgement would be based on scores for: elegance/beauty and originality of design (20 pt.), difficulty of solutions (20 pt.), and accuracy and elegance of construction (20 pt.)
 
C:
1878-03-30
 
A:
1 pr. set A. Arnell (Motto: Laurentse)
2 pr. set H. F. K. Meyer (Leisure Work)
3 pr. set B. S. Wash (Ivanhoe)
 
pr. best #2 G. B. Valle (Cre Atomi)
pr. best #3 = F. W. Martindale (Lucky Hit)
pr. best #3 = Marc = C. L. Fitch (What's Trumps)
1 pr. best #4 G. B. Valle (Cre Atomi)
2 pr. best #4 F. W. Martindale (Lucky Hit)
 
The pseudonym Marc was used by C. L. Fitch, of Detroit. (See notes to Detroit Free Press, 1875 for additional information.)
 
Prizes for 3 pr. best set, shared pr. best #3, and 2nd pr. best #4, were awarded in addition to the announced awards, based on the judge's report. '=' indicates a shared prize.
 
S:
The Detroit Free Press:
43/55 (1877-10-21), p. [4]: announcement
44/43 (1878-10-06), p. 12: list of mottos and contributors; report part 1.
44/49 (1878-10-13), p. 12: report, part 2.
44/55 (1878-10-20), p. 12: report, part 3.
44/61 (1878-10-27), p. 12: additional prizes for 3 pr. set, and shared pr. best #3.
44/67 (1878-11-03), p. 12: report, part 4; additional prize for best #4
 
N:

The announcement was repeated in German and French in the weeks following the English announcement.

Thirty-five sets of 105 problems entered the competition. One set was withdrawn prior to publication.

Publication of sets began on 1878-02-10, and ended on 1878-10-06. The problems were numbered outside the main problem series as 'tourney problem 1, 2,' etc. A solver's tourney was conducted in parallel.

Twelve sets were found to be faulty, and were excluded from the main competition.

The shared prize for best #3 followed from the scoring method used.


Web links are to a public archive, where details such as page number are not present. All source references have been verified against the scanned material available at www.newspapers.com, which is a commercial service and may require an active subscription for use.

The quality of some of the early printing/scans is comparatively low, but the situation improves somewhat as the column changes to stereotyped diagrams in June 1878. The awarded sets and problems were reprinted at the same time the judges' report was printed: these reprints have been used to ensure the reading of the original diagrams.

Prizes

1 prize set: A. Arnell

1

#2

2

#4

3

#4

2 prize set: H. F. K. Meyer

1

#3

2

#4

3

#4

3 prize set: B. S. Wash

1

#3

2

#3

3

#3

Best #2 prize: G. B. Vallee

#2

Best #3 (shared prize): F. W. Martindale

#3

Best #3 (shared prize): Marc = C. L. Fitch

#3

Best #4: 1 prize: G. B. Vallee

#4

Best #4: 2 prize: F. W. Martindale

#4