William Norwood Potter (27 August 1840 – 13 March 1895) was an English
chess master and writer. He is primarily remembered for the quality of his chess journalism, and for his association with
Wilhelm Steinitz, the first
winner of a world chess championship match.
Life and career
Potter was born in
London on 27 August 1840 to William and Mary Anne (Martin) Potter. He had three brothers and a sister,
Mary Potter.
A
barristers' clerk by trade, Potter first appeared in London chess circles in 1867 and rose quickly from obscurity, winning the 1870 City of London Chess Club
handicap tournament, in which he defeated
Joseph Henry Blackburne and
Cecil Valentine De Vere on even terms.
From 1872 to 1874 the City of London Chess Club contested a two-game
correspondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. Today it is usually played through a correspondence chess server, a public internet chess forum, or email. Less common ...
match with Vienna: the other London team members eventually dropped out, leaving Potter and Steinitz to continue the match by themselves, which they ultimately won by a score of 1.5–0.5. Steinitz would later point to this match as the beginning of the "systematic analytical development of modern ideas" in chess.
[ In 1875 Potter lost a hard-fought match against Johannes Zukertort, scoring two wins and four losses with eight draws.]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 ...
, both sides scoring five wins apiece with eleven draws.[
Potter was a chess columnist for the ''Westminster Papers'' from 1868 to 1879.][ From 1874 to 1876 he produced his own periodical, the ''City of London Chess Magazine'', which featured contributions from Zukertort and Steinitz. Subsequently, he became the last chess editor at '']Land and Water
''Land and Water'' was the title of a British magazine best known for its commentary on the First World War and its aftermath. The title was also used in earlier magazines about country sporting life. Tracing the title is challenging due to limi ...
'' from 1877 to 1885.[ He also contributed the well-reviewed article on chess in the ninth edition of '' Encyclopædia Britannica''.][
After 1885 Potter retired from the London chess scene.][ He died in his home in Sutton on 13 March 1895.]
Assessment and legacy
In Potter's obituary, the '' British Chess Magazine'' noted that though "his record of first-class play is not a long one", "the quality of his best play entitles him, we think, to rank as the equal of any British-born master of his time, with the single exception of Blackburne."[ Regarding Potter, Steinitz once said: "Put all the pieces into a hat and shake them out on to the board, and you have Potter’s style exactly"; but nevertheless acknowledged him as "a very fine player of the modern school, as well as unquestionably the ablest analyst in England next to Zukertort."][ For his part, Steinitz claimed that Potter "was my pupil direct for some time." Potter's chess writings are praised for their mastery, liveliness and wit.][
'' The Oxford Companion to Chess'' records two opening variations bearing Potter's name, one in the Scotch Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3) which he introduced in the 1870s and which was revived in the ]2000s
File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty during the 9/11 attacks in 2001; the euro enters into European currency in 2002; a statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled durin ...
by Vassily Ivanchuk
Vasyl Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk ( uk, Василь Михайлович Іванчук; born March 18, 1969), also transliterated as Vassily Ivanchuk, is a Ukrainian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1988. A leading ...
and Magnus Carlsen, and one in the Compromised Defence to the Evans Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.0-0 dxc3 8.Qb3 Qf6 9.e5 Qg6 10.Nxc3 Nge7 11.Rd1) which he gave in his ''Land and Water'' column.
The Saavedra position, one of the best-known endgame studies in chess, originates from a game of Potter's against Richard Fenton in 1875.[
]
Notable games
Potter vs. Matthews, London 1868
This frequently published miniature, which features a knight delivering checkmate from a corner of the board, was played between Potter ( White) and Matthews ( Black) during a "meeting of the British Chess Association" in 1868.[
:1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 c5 4.Nf3 d6 5.0-0 Nc6 6.c3 d3 7.Re1 Bg4 8.e5! Nxe5? (''see diagram'') 8.Nxe5! Bxd1 10.Bb5+! Ke7 11.Bg5+! f6 White keeps an extra piece after 11...Ke6 12.Nxd3+ Kf5 13.Bxd8.][ 12.Ng6+ Kf7 13.Nxh8#.
]
Zukertort vs. Potter, London 1876
In a difficult position, Potter (Black) finds a remarkable queen manoeuvre to save this game against Zukertort (White) in an 1876 tournament at Simpson's Divan
Simpson's-in-the-Strand is one of London's oldest traditional English restaurants. Situated in Strand, London, the Strand, it is part of the Savoy Buildings, which also contain one of the world's most famous hotels, the Savoy Hotel, Savoy. Th ...
.[
:1.e3 e5 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 Be7 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Be2 0–0 7.0–0 Bd7 8.d5 Nb8 9.Nd2 Ne8 10.f4 exf4 11.exf4 f5 12.Nf3 g6 13.Bd2 Ng7 14.Qc2 Be8 15.Rae1 Bf7 16.Rf2 Nd7 17.Bd3 Re8 18.Rfe2 Nf8 19.Qb3 Rb8 20.Be3 b6 21.Nd4 Qd7 22.Nc6 Ra8 23.Nb5 Bf6 24.Nbxa7 h6 25.Nb5 Kh7 26.Bd4 Rxe2 27.Rxe2 Bxd4+ 28.Nbxd4 Re8 29.Rxe8 Qxe8 30.Kf2 Nh5 31.Nb5 Nd7 32.Qc2 Nc5 33.b4 Nxd3+ 34.Qxd3 Nxf4 35.Qf3 g5 36.Nxc7 (''see diagram'') 36...Qh8! Threatening 37...Qb2+. 37.Qb3 Qa1!! 38.Qc2 Qh1!! Forcing White to give perpetual check. 39.Qxf5+ Bg6 40.Qd7+ Kh8 Draw agreed. Avoiding the draw with 41.Qg4? would lose after 41...Nd3+ 42.Ke3 (or 42.Kg3 Qe1+ and wins the queen) Qg1+ 43.Kd2 Qc1+ 44.Ke2 Qe1+ 45.Kf3 Qf2 mate.
]
Potter vs. Mason, London 1879
This fine sacrificial attack by Potter (White) against Mason (Black) from their 1879 match was annotated by Steinitz in ''The Modern Chess Instructor'',
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, William Norwood
1840 births
1895 deaths
19th-century English writers
British chess writers
English chess players
Sportspeople from London
19th-century chess players