Marshall Challenges Lasker

American champion Frank Marshall was in his chessplaying prime
around the turn of the 20th century. At the end of 1904 he began an
exchange of correspondence with the world champion, Emanuel
Lasker, concerning a potential challenge by Marshall for the title.
This correspondence was presented in the December 1904 and
January 1905 issues of Lasker's Chess Magazine along with some
comments (although written in the third person) apparently by Dr.
Lasker.

Those were the days when the world champion defended his title
against whomever he wanted and whenever he wanted. The
specific terms and conditions of each match were negotiated by the
two sides directly.

About twenty years after the exchange of these letters between
Emanuel Lasker and Frank Marshall, the International Chess
Federation (FIDE) was created, and it took over the organization
and running of the world championship matches. Since the end of
World War II, FIDE has held regular qualification tournaments and
matches to determine the world champion. Which is not to say that
that is always the strongest player in the world. The more things
change...

From Lasker's Chess Magazine December 1904 & January 1905

The editor received the following letter on November 18th:

St. Louis, November 16, 1904
Herr E. Lasker,
Chess Champion of the World.

Dear Sir,
Some time ago I issued a challenge to you for the championship of
the world, and in reply you cited $2,000 as the stake. I am now
prepared to put up this amount, leaving it to you to state time, etc.,
which I hope will be in the near future. Should you favor a forfeit
kindly advise.

My address till the 26th of November will be New Orleans, or
communicate direct with Messrs. Cassel & Helms, who will
forward it on.

I am, yours sincerely,
Frank J. Marshall

The editor in reply has stated his willingness to accept Mr.
Marshall's challenge on the terms which served as basis for his
negotiations with Janowski and Dr. Tarrasch and which appeared
in print in La Strategie, 1899.

Mr. Lasker's conditions not having been given publicity in one of
the magazines of the English tongue, they are here appended:

(1) The stakes be not less than $2,000 a side.

(2) The match be eight games up, draws not counting.

(3) The arrangements as to time and place of play to be in the
hands of the holder of the title, who shall notify the challenger or
his second of their perfection at least six weeks before the time
fixed for the commencement of the match.

(4) All moneys accruing to the matchplayers from contributions
from clubs or other institutions and from the publication of the
games to be equally divided between the two opponents.

(5) A journal or bulletin of the match to be issued daily, the same
to contain an account of the moves made and of all matters of
importance in regard to the match.

(6) The journal to be issued at the common risk and profit of the
players. The property right for subsequent editions of the journal to
accrue to the winner of the match.

Mr. Lasker has asked Mr. Marshall to post a forfeit of $500 with
the treasurer, to guarantee the proper execution of all terms to be
agreed upon, and has proposed Mr. Levino, who is treasurer of the
Manhattan Chess Club, as treasurer of the match. He has further
asked Mr. Marshall to name his second, barring only men on the
staff of newspapers. In conclusion, he stated that the date for the
commencement of the match would in all likelihood be on or about
April 1, 1905.

After the receipt of Mr. Marshall's letter, printed in our last issue,
the following correspondence passed between Messrs. Lasker and
Marshall:

New York, Dec. 5, 1904
116 Nassau St., Morton Bldg., Room 1120.
Mr. F. J. Marshall,

Dear Sir:
In reply to your letter, dated November 16th, I beg to say that I
accede to your request, and that I shall be pleased to play a match
for the chess championship of the world with you.

As conditions I name those which formed the basis of my
negotiations for the proposed matches between myself and Messrs.
Janowski and Dr. Tarrasch. You find the principal terms
enunciated in the December issue of Lasker's Chess Magazine.

To insure my ability to carry on negotiations with chess clubs and
other institutions in the interest of the match, I beg to ask you to
put up a forfeit of $500 with the treasurer and at the same time
propose Mr. Levino, who is treasurer of the Manhattan Chess Club,
as treasurer of the match. This amount will be forfeited in the event
of your inability or unwillingness to carry out obligations after you
or your second will have attached his signature to an agreement
between us.

You are at liberty to name any one of your friends as your second
and I expect you to give your representative full powers to
negotiate wih me. I make only the condition that you should not
select a man on the staff of a newspaper as your second, because it
is undesirable that any newspaper should have preferential
treatment in respect to the spreading of the news connected with
the match and of interest to the public.

Should you agree to my terms I expect that I can arrange all details
so as to enable us to commence the match on or about April 1st,
1905.

Yours very truly,
Emanuel Lasker


New York, Dec. 8, 1904.
Dr. Emanuel Lasker, New York,

Dear Sir:
Acknowledging your letter of the 5th inst., in reply to my challenge
of November 16th, I beg to take up the terms and conditions you
suggest for our championship match as follows:

1. I agree that the stakes be $2,000 a side.

2. I agree that the match be one of eight games up, draws not
counting.

3. I accept the date for beginning play, viz, 'on or about April 1,
1905.'
4. Mr. Alexander Levino, of the Manhattan Chess Club is entirely
satisfactory as treasurer.

5. I am prepared to post a forfeit of $500 at a time to be agreed
upon, with the understanding that you place a like amount in the
hands of the treasurer. This, I may explain, is in accordance with
usage common to all sporting events of similar character, and
moreover, I must be equally safeguarded against loss in preparing
for the match, after signing of the contract. Should it happen that
you are unable or unwilling to carry out your obligations then I
will, to be sure, be in possession of the title, but you must admit
that in this case it will be a mere empty honor and practically
valueless.

6. The arrangements as to place of play I leave in your hands, but
must be ratified by mutual consent, before the locality is finally
decided upon. The selection of the country, I concede, rests with
you. You are liberty to proceed with all negotiations looking to the
placing of the match to our mutual benefit.

7. With regard to my second, I must respectfully dissent from your
dictation in the matter, as I had already selected a newspaper man
for that purpose, in whom I have the greatest confidence. I feel
convinced he will not be objectionable to you and I guarantee his
disinterestedness, except in so far as my rights in the negotiations
are concerned, and that there will be no preferential treatment in
respect to the spreading of news in connection with the match.

8. I agree to the equal division of all moneys accruing to the match
from the contributions from organizations and individuals or other
sources of income.

9. As to the publication of a journal or bulletin during the course of
a match, I must make it plain that I cannot, in the interests of my
backers, engage in any business that may distract my attention from
the main point of issue - the determination of the world's
championship at chess. I place no restrictions on the use you may
choose to make of the scores of the games, but, at the same time, I
reserve my rights in said games.

In case of our inability to come to an understanding, I propose the
appointment of a court of arbitration to consist of the two seconds,
and Messrs. Aristides Martinez, President of the Manhattan Chess
Club; Simeon B. Chittenden, President of the Brooklyn Chess
Club; and Walter Penn Shipley, President of the Franklin Chess
Club, to whom all points at issue shall be submitted and whose
decision shall be final. Should the necessity arise for such a court, I
hereby authorize you to invite the gentlemen named to act for us.

In conclusion, I request that you hasten these negotiations as much
as possible, to permit me to leave within a fortnight for Paris,
where I am engaged to meet Mr. Janowski early in January.
Yours very truly,
(Signed) Frank Marshall

New York, Dec. 15, 1904.
Mr. F. J. Marshall,

Dear Sir:
In your letter of Dec. 7th several questions are raised to which find
answer in what follows:

As to the forfeit of $500, I demand it from you as proof of the
earnestness of your intentions. Otherwise I could not entertain your
challenge in face of your impending match with an opponent, by
whom you may be beaten.

I notice with regret that you do not wish to aid me in issuing an
official bulletin on the ground that you do not wish to have your
attention diverted from the essential purpose of the match.

From your letter it appears that you have not carefully read my
letter of Dec. 5th, as to time of meeting, and I must therefore
request you to read that letter again.

The selection of place of meeting rests and has always rested with
the holder of the championship title. If you wish my power of
selection restricted you must state now which places would not be
acceptable to you. Arrangements already completed cannot
underlie your sanction or consent.

As a general rule a man whose business it is to sell news to the
newspapers should, in my opinion, not be one vitally interested in
this news. The public has the right to expect a reporter of events to
be an impartial critic and chronicler, serving not a friend's or his
own interests, but the public. However, in view of your strong
predilection for appointing a particular friend journalist as your
second I waive my  objection.

If you deposit the forfeit of $500 and appoint a second with full
power to act for you, all questions pertaining to the match might be
settled by our respective seconds, and in case of disagreement,
might be decided by a Committee of Umpires, and I shall be
greatly pleased if the gentlemen proposed in your letter would act
in this capacity.

It rests, therefore, entirely with you whether the match is to take
place or not.

Yours truly,
(Signed) Emanuel Lasker


Jan. 6, 1905
Dr. Emanuel Lasker
116 Nassau Street
New York

Dear Sir:
Having awaited the instructions of my backers in the matter of the
proposed championship match between us, I am now able to
acknowledge receipt of your favor of December 15 and to reply to
the same.

My friends are of the opinion that your conditions are arbitrary and
unnecessarily obstructive, and I am, therefore, forced to the
conclusion that, for the time being, our negotiations must cease.

While perfectly willing to risk the full amount of the stakes you
suggest, viz: $2,000 a side, and believing a deposit not
unreasonable, my backers, nevertheless, take exception to your
dictation in the premises. Furthermore, they are not willing to place
the sum of $500 in the treasurer's hands without a similar guarantee
being deposited by you, assurance of which I have been unable to
give them.

Your plans, also, concerning the locality of the match are much too
indefinite to warrant our proceeding on any serious business basis
and I have decided to go abroad for my match with Mr. Janowski
without closing with you.

I do not think you will question my desire to play you for the
world's championship. At the same time, if we cannot come to an
agreement, I am confident of being able to establish a reputation by
meeting the other masters of the first rank that will answer my
purposes fully as well as though I had actually won from you.

In the meantime, I beg to suggest to you th desirability of your
inviting the endorsement of leading authorities (such as the British
Chess Federation, the City of London Chess Club, the Pillsbury
National Correspondence Chess Association, the German Chess
Association, the Cercle Philidor, the Vienna Chess Club and the St.
Petersburg Chess Club) of the stand you have taken in relation to
the championship or of altering your conditions to conform to the
consensus of opinion thus obtained.

This I consider a fair proposition.

If you think differently I will be in no haste to return, but will
endeavor to arrange matches with the European experts I have
alluded to and who, probably, hold ideas on the subject less exalted
than those entertained by yourself.

In view of my determination, as above set forth, I have appointed
no second, thereby saving, possibly, a luckless newspaper man
from the ban of your displeasure.

Hoping to, at least, have the opportunity of meeting you at Ostend
next summer I remain,

Yours truly,
Frank J. Marshall

The concluding letter does not disarm the suspicion which Mr.
Lasker has entertained that Mr. Marshall was not prepared to play
the match. His challenge at the end of the letter "to meet at Ostend"
is a little better than a joke. For it is rightly and generally held that
tournaments are unfit to decide the relative strength of two players.
Mr. Lasker has stated his willingness to acknowledge the
Presidents of the Brooklyn, Franklin and Manhattan Clubs as a
committee of umpires, with full power to decide any and all
questions Mr. Marshall might raise. Why substitute for these
gentlemen the various associations and clubs named in his letter,
and which are difficult to reach?

Has Mr. Marshall changed his mind as to the capacity of these
three gentlemen to decide all questions properly and justly? Or is
his new proposal not rather a subterfuge to avoid an obligation
which, once acknowledged, he could not disown?

Again as to Mr. Marshall's backers, if they are willing to risk the
full amount of the stakes and if they believe in Mr. Marshall's
intention to play, why are they not willing to go through the
formality of depositing 1/4 of their backing a little ahead of the
time at which to deposit the remainder? All this is hard to
understand, as well as the anxiety of Mr. Marshall as to the locality
where to play the match. It is manifestly impossible for Mr. Lasker
to select clubs or organizations under whose auspices to play
before having received proposals from them. It should verily not
matter where the games of the match are played, especially to a
man of such supreme self-confidence as Mr. Marshall makes
himself out to be in the paragraphs of his letter alluding to his
coming contests. But we are afraid that this show of
self-confidence, as much else, in Mr. Marshall's conduct of the
championship challenge, is nothing but pretense.