The American Chess Congress was a series of

chess tournaments A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard form of chess competition amo ...

held in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, a predecessor to the current U.S. Chess Championship. It had nine editions, the first played in October 1857 and the last in August 1923.

First American Chess Congress (1857)

The first American Chess Congress, organized by

Daniel Willard Fiske Daniel Willard Fiske (November 11, 1831 – September 17, 1904) was an American librarian and scholar, born on November 11, 1831, at Ellisburg, New York. Biography Fiske studied at Cazenovia Seminary and started his collegiate studies at Hamil ...

and held in New York, October 6 to November 10, 1857, was won by

Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and is often considered the unofficial World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he was ca ...

. It was a knockout tournament in which draws did not count. The top sixteen American players were invited (William Allison, Samuel Robert Calthrop, Daniel Willard Fiske, William James Fuller, Hiram Kennicott, Hubert Knott,

Theodor Lichtenhein Theodor (Theodore) Lichtenhein (January 1829 – 19 May 1874) was an American chess master. Born at Königsberg, in East Prussia, he learned chess at the age of 12, and six years afterwards, he was president of the Königsberg Chess Club. He stud ...

, Napoleon Marache, Hardman Philips Montgomery,

Alexander Beaufort Meek Alexander Beaufort Meek (July 17, 1814 (Columbia, South Carolina) – November 1, 1865 (Columbus, Mississippi) was an American politician, lawyer, judge, and chess player. He also was a writer of historical and literary essays, and poetry. He serv ...

, Paul Morphy,

Louis Paulsen Louis Paulsen (15 January 1833 in Gut Nassengrund near Blomberg, Principality of Lippe – 18 August 1891) was a German chess player. In the 1860s and 1870s, he was among the top players in the world. He was a younger brother of Wilfried Pa ...

, Frederick Perrin, Benjamin Raphael, Charles Henry Stanley, and James Thompson). First prize was $300. Morphy refused any money, but accepted a silver service consisting of a pitcher, four goblets, and a tray. Morphy's prize was given to him by

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most fa ...

. Shown on the right is lithograph of the First American Chess Congress 1857. All members of the Congress are shown, including those who did not play in the main tournament. Top row: Colonel Charles Mead (chairman), George Hammond, Frederic Perrin, Daniel Willard Fiske, Hiram Kennicott, and Hardman Philips Montgomery. Left column: Hubert Knott, Louis Paulsen, and William Allison. Bottom row: Theodore Lichtenhein, James Thompson, Charles Henry Stanley, Alexander Beaufort Meek, Samuel Robert Calthrop, and Napoleon Marache. Right column: William James Fuller, Paul Morphy, and Benjamin Raphael.

Second American Chess Congress (1871)

The second American Chess Congress was held in Cleveland on December 4–15, 1871 and won by

George Henry Mackenzie George Henry Mackenzie (24 March 1837, North Kessock, Scotland – 14 April 1891, New York City) was a Scottish-born American chess master. Biography Mackenzie was educated mainly in Aberdeen, at the Aberdeen Grammar School and the Marischal ...

. The first prize was $100 (~$1,500 today) and the total prize fund was $290 (~$5,000 today). The entry fee was $10 ($150 today). It was a double

round robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & C. Me ...

with a time limit of 12 moves an hour. Draw games were replayed. There were nine players (George Henry Mackenzie, Henry Hosmer, Frederick Elder,

Max Judd Max Judd (born Maximilian Judkiewicz; 27 December 1851 – 7 May 1906) was an American chess player. Born in Tenczynek, southern Poland (then Galicia, Austro–Hungary), he emigrated to America in 1862. He was an American cloak manufacturer. He ...

Preston Ware Preston Ware Jr. (August 12, 1821 – January 29, 1890) was a US chess player. He is best known today for playing unorthodox chess openings. Ware was born in Wrentham, Massachusetts, and died in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston Mandarins Ware was a ...

, Harsen Darwin Smith, Henry Harding, A. Johnston, and William Houghton). With the retirement of Morphy, this tournament was generally intended to recognize the best player in the United States. :

Third American Chess Congress (1874)

The third American Chess Congress was held in Chicago on July 7–16, 1874 and won by Mackenzie. There were eight players (Mackenzie, Hosmer, Judd, Bock, Elder, Perrin, Congdon, and Kennicott) and they had to pay a $20 entry fee. first place prize was $225. The tournament was again round robin, but for the first time draws were not replayed. The time control was 15 moves per hour. Elder and Kennicott withdraw before completing half their games, but their scores still counted. :

Fourth American Chess Congress (1876)

The fourth American Chess Congress (called the American Centennial Championship) was held in Philadelphia on August 17–31, 1876 and won by

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

. There were nine players (Mason, Judd, Davidson, Henry Bird, Elson, Roberts, Ware, Barbour, and Martinez). The entry fee was $20. First place was $300. Never intended to recognize the best player in America, this tournament was geared towards attracting foreign masters, and to awarding the Governor Garland Silver Cup, as well as celebrating the American Centennial. :

Fifth American Chess Congress (1880)

The fifth American Chess Congress was held in New York on January 6–26, 1880 and won by Mackenzie (he beat James Grundy on tiebreak, 2–0). There were 10 players: Cohnfeld, Congdon,

Eugene Delmar Eugene Delmar (September 12, 1841, New York – February 22, 1909, New York), was one of the leading United States chess masters of the 19th century and the four-time New York State champion in 1890, 1891, 1895 and 1897. He won a match against Ro ...

, Grundy, Judd, Mackenzie, Mohle, Ryan, Sellman, and Ware. :

Sixth American Chess Congress (1889)

The sixth American Chess Congress was held in New York in 1889 (a 20-man double

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...

; one of the longest tournaments in history). The event was won by

Mikhail Chigorin Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (also ''Tchigorin''; russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Чиго́рин; – ) was a Russian chess player. He played two World Championship matches against Wilhelm Steinitz, losing both times. The last great ...

and

Max Weiss Miksa (Max) Weisz (21 July 1857 – 14 March 1927) was an Austrian chess player born in the Kingdom of Hungary. Weiss was born in Sereď. Moving to Vienna, he studied mathematics and physics at the university, and later taught those subjects. We ...

. Both finished with a score of 29 but Chigorin defeated Weiss in their individual game. The top American finisher was S. Lipschütz, who took sixth place (his supporters in the Eastern US tried to push his claim to being US Champion as a result of this tournament; however, Lipschütz's claim was not accepted by all). Under rules that reigning World Champion

Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and che ...

helped to develop, the winner was to be regarded as World Champion for the time being, but must be prepared to face a challenge from the second- or third-placed competitor within a month. Based on Mikhail Chigorin and Max Weiss tied for first, and remained tied after

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

all four games of a playoff. Weiss was not interested in playing a championship match, but

Isidor Gunsberg Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is an English and French masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος) and can literally be translated to "gift of Isis." The name has survived ...

, the third-place finisher, exercised his right and challenged Chigorin to a World Championship match. In 1890, he drew a first-to-10-wins match against Chigorin (9-9 with five draws). These were the same terms (9-9 draw clause) as the first World Championship match between Steinitz and Zukertort in 1886. They were also the same match terms that Bobby Fischer would insist on for his title defense in 1975. :

Seventh American Chess Congress (1904)

The seventh American Chess Congress was held in St. Louis in 1904. With US Champion

Harry Nelson Pillsbury Harry Nelson Pillsbury (December 5, 1872 – June 17, 1906) was an American chess player. At the age of 22, he won one of the strongest tournaments of the time (winning the Hastings 1895 chess tournament), but his illness and early death prevent ...

ill and dying, Max Judd tried to arrange the seventh ACC, with the stipulation that the US title be awarded to the winner. Judd disputed Pillsbury's ownership of the title by challenging the legitimacy of the whole succession since the time of Mackenzie, disputing Lipschutz's claim to have acquired the title at New York 1889, and everything that had happened since then. Pillsbury, from bed objected to Judd's plans, and prevailed on his friend, the lawyer Walter Penn Shipley, to intercede. Judd's tournament was held anyway, and said to be for "The United States Tourney Championship", a title explicitly said to have no relation to the United States Championship title held by Pillsbury. The tournament was won by

Frank James Marshall Frank James Marshall (August 10, 1877 – November 9, 1944) was the U.S. Chess Champion from 1909 to 1936, and one of the world's strongest chess players in the early part of the 20th century. Chess career Marshall was born in New York Cit ...

, ahead of Judd. There were 10 players:

Louis Eisenberg Louis R. Eisenberg (born 1876 – died ?) was a Ukrainian-American chess master. He was born in Odessa in 1876. After graduating from Nicholas College, he pursued journalism until, in 1901-1902, he won a chess tournament at Odessa 1901, and jou ...

Charles Jaffe Charles Jaffé (Jaffe) (circa 1879, Dubroŭna, Russian Empire – 12 July 1941, Brooklyn, USA) was a Russian Empire born master and chess writer. Early years, moves to U.S. Jaffé was born in a small town, Dubroŭna (now in Vitsebsk Voblast) ...

, Judd, Kemeny, Marshall,

Stasch Mlotkowski Stasch Mlotkowski (Staś Młotkowski) (10 March 1881, Clifton Heights, New Jersey – 16 August 1943, Gloucester City, New Jersey) was an American chess master. He was born into a Polish family in America. His first name, Stasch (Polish Staś), i ...

, Edward F. Schrader, Eugene Wesley Schrader, Schwietzer, and

Louis Uedemann Louis Uedemann (10 January 1854 – 22 November 1912) was an American chess master. He twice won the U.S. Open Chess Championship at Excelsior 1900 (the first Western Chess Association Championship) and Excelsior 1902 (the 3rd WCA-ch). He develo ...

. The winner was actually named U.S. Champion at the conclusion of this tournament. :

Eighth American Chess Congress (1921)

The eighth American Chess Congress was held in Atlantic City in 1921. The event was won by

Dawid Janowski Dawid Markelowicz Janowski (25 May 1868 – 15 January 1927; often spelled ''David'') was a Polish-born French chess player. The Janowski variations of the Old Indian Defense and of the Queen's Gambit Declined are named after him. Biography B ...

, followed by

Norman Whitaker Norman Tweed Whitaker (April 9, 1890 – May 20, 1975) was an Americans, American International Master of chess, a lawyer, a civil servant, and a chess author. He was convicted of several crimes, was disbarred from the practice of law, and serve ...

, Jaffe, etc. There were 12 players: Samuel Factor, Hago, Harvey, Jackson, Jaffe, Janowski, Marshall, Mlotkowski, Sharp, Vladimir Sournin,

Isador Turover Isador (Isaac) Samuel Turover (Sochaczew, 8 July 1892 – 16 October 1978) was an American chess master. Biography Born to a Jewish family in Poland, he moved to Belgium and then to the United States. He was a champion of Baltimore from 1918 to ...

, and Whitaker. :

Ninth American Chess Congress (1923)

The ninth and last American Chess Congress was held in Hotel Alamac in

Lake Hopatcong Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in New Jersey, United States, about in area. Located from the Delaware River and from Manhattan, New York City, the lake forms part of the border between Sussex and Morris counties in the state's ...

, New Jersey on August 6–21, 1923. The tournament was played between 14 players: Horace Bigelow, Roy Turnbull Black,

Oscar Chajes Oscar Chajes (pronounced "HA-yes") (December 14, 1873 – February 28, 1928)* was an American chess player. Biography Chajes was Jewish and was born in Brody, Galicia, Austria-Hungary, in what is now Ukraine. In 1909, he won in the U.S. Open Cham ...

Albert Hodges Albert Beauregard Hodges (July 21, 1861 – February 3, 1944) was an American chess master who was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Chess career Hodges was one of the better-known American chess masters of the late 19th century. In 1894 he los ...

, Dawid Janowski,

Abraham Kupchik Abraham Kupchik (25 March 1892 – 26 November 1970) was an American chess master. Abraham Kupchik was born into a Jewish family in Brest (then Russian Empire, now Belarus) to parents Pinchas Kupchik and Bessie Kupchik née Perlmutter. His fam ...

Edward Lasker Edward Lasker (born Eduard Lasker) (December 3, 1885 – March 25, 1981) was a German-American chess and Go player. He was awarded the title of International Master of chess by FIDE. Lasker was an engineer by profession, and an author of ...

, Frank James Marshall, John Stuart Morrison, Marvin Palmer,

Anthony Santasiere Anthony Edward Santasiere (December 9, 1904January 13, 1977) was an American chess master and chess writer, who also wrote extensively on non-chess topics. Santasiere was a middle school mathematics teacher by profession. Santasiere won the 19 ...

Morris Schapiro Morris Abraham Schapiro (1903 – December 26, 1996) was an American investment banker and chess master; in the 1950s, he negotiated the mergers of Chase Bank and the Bank of Manhattan and of Chemical Bank and New York Trust Company. His broth ...

, Vladimir Sournin, and Oscar Tenner. It ended with a tie between Marshall and Kupchik scoring 10½ out of 13.Lake Hopatcong, 1923
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