Emil Kemény (13 January 1860,

Pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

– 1 May 1925, Budapest) was a Hungarian–American

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

master, editor and publisher. Born in Pest (today: Budapest), Hungary, he lived for many years in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. During the mid-1890s, Kemeny was one of the strongest players in America. He took 2nd at Skaneateles 1891, lost a match to

James Moore Hanham Major James Moore Hanham (January 4, 1840 Woodville, Mississippi – December 30, 1923 New York, New York) was an American chess master, who played in many American and international chess tournaments between 1884 and 1889. He fought on the ...

(4–5) at New York 1891, and won at Skaneateles 1892. He also won the 1892–93 Franklin Chess Club championship tournament, and incidentally the Championship of Philadelphia, the nation's second strongest chess metropolis, with a score of 14–4, a full point over Walter Penn Shipley. The next Franklin and city championship, that of 1893-94, however, showed Kemény crushing his opposition with a score of 23–1, a full three points ahead of Mordecai Morgan, and four and a half points ahead of Hermann G. Voigt. In 1896, he had challenged

Jackson Whipps Showalter Jackson Whipps Showalter (February 5, 1859 in Minerva, Kentucky – February 5, 1935 in Lexington, Kentucky) was a five-time U.S. Chess Champion: 1890, 1892, 1892–1894, 1895–96 and 1906–1909. Chess career U.S. Championship matches Showa ...

, the U.S. Champion, to a match, which Kemeny lost, with the final score of +4 –7 =4. Between January and July 1897, he published correspondence chess games in the ''Philadelphia Public Ledger''. In 1903 Kemeny went to Monte Carlo to report the

Monte Carlo chess tournament The Monte Carlo chess tournament was established in 1901. There were a series of very strong tournaments held in Monte Carlo, from 1901 to 1904, and again after a long break from 1967 to 1969. 1901 : The notation and point count was as follows (d ...

for the ''North American''. He published at Philadelphia for one year a weekly entitled the ''American Chess Weekly''. He tied for 4-5th at Philadelphia 1898, shared 1st at Philadelphia 1899-1900, took 3rd at Philadelphia 1900-1901, and took 4th at St. Louis 1904 (the 7th American Chess Congress 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 ...

). Kemény participated in several matches (New York City CC vs. Brooklyn CC, New York State vs. Pennsylvania, Chicago CC vs. Manhattan CC, Chicago CC vs. Brooklyn CC, Chicago CC vs. Franklin CC). He returned to his native homeland in the first decade of the 20th century, where he would die in 1925 in the city of his birth. His friend, Walter Penn Shipley, described him as "...tall, standing over six feet in height. Kemény was a genial companion with a keen sense of humor, well read, spoke several languages fluently and besides being an able chess player was passionately fond of good music."Sarah's Chess Journal :: Cast of Characters
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemeny, Emil 1860 births 1925 deaths Hungarian chess players Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States 19th-century chess players Chess players from Austria-Hungary