"Napier: The Forgotten Chessmaster" by John S. Hilbert, 1997
Caissa Editions, Hardcover, English Algebraic Notation, 354pp.,
$42.00

How would you regard a player who defeated Frank Marshall in a
match, beat Steinitz in a level tournament game, won the
prestigious Brooklyn Chess Club championship, was the first
British Chess Federation Champion and had been showered with
brilliancy prizes before he turned twenty-five years old? Probably
with a good deal of respect and admiration. Yet, that player,
British-born William Ewart Napier, is virtually unknown and
ignored by the chess world today.

A self-admitted artist at the game, he was much more interested in
possible swirling complexities on the board than results on a wall
chart. In his latest book, author John S. Hilbert has pulled together
all the known games of Napier (320 of them) along with another
150 games that have more than just passing historical significance
to Napier's career.

In his active chessplaying years (essentially the decade from 1895
to 1905) he faced all the major players of that era. His play was
forceful, direct and entertaining in the extreme. So why has he not
received more recognition? There are probably several reasons.
First, and most obvious, is that his career was so short. And
although he lived until 1952, he rarely played after 1905 at all, so
he was simply forgotten. (The book really is very appropriately
titled.)

Second, and perhaps almost as important, is the diminished
significance usually (and unfairly) placed by modern players on the
quality of play of the nineteenth century masters. Think about it.
After Morphy, Steinitz, Anderssen and Chigorin, name a
nineteenth century player with whom you are familiar and whose
games you admire. There you have it. A sure-fire formula for
obscurity. A short career in the last century.

Well, Mr. Hilbert has just taken one enormous step to correct that.
With meticulous research from contemporary sources, he has
compiled both a first-rate biography and an fine collection of
games of this British-American master. The book contains sixteen
chapters and four indices that chronicle in a comprehensive and
thorough way Napier's rise in the late nineteenth century chess
world on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. A brief excerpt...

Of his twentieth round encounter with Chigorin at Monte Carlo,
Napier wrote in "Amenities" that "at Monte Carlo in 1902 my
opponent on the last day was Chigorin. [Not technically true;
Napier apparently forgot he agreed to a brace of draws without
play against Marco in the next, and final, round. JSH] I decided to
celebrate with a gambit, and so gave him to understand the night
before. In the morning I steered into the Evans, confident that he
would not expect an opening that had scarcely been out of the
stable since its crippling in the St. Petersburg event of 1896. He
used the old defense. After the game he asked what new play I had
in mind for Lasker's Defense, and when I replied 'None,' he said
good-naturedly that I had a talent--for poker! After that agreeable
little memento it was a bit comforting to receive the brilliancy
prize for the game."

Napier won the Rothschild Brilliancy Prize for his victory over the
Russian giant. The notes to the game are by Pillsbury. Interestingly
enough, although the game was published in Napier's own column
for April 22, 1902, he never annotated the game; the notes
provided in the "Dispatch" were taken from "The Field."

155. Napier. Chigorin Monte Carlo 1902 Round Twenty Evans
Gambit [C51]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 Mostly
preferred is 5. ...Bc5, followed by the Lasker variation, for, while
White may regain his pawn, he obtains no great attack. It will be
seen that, after the ninth move of White, a well-known position is
arrived at, and most authorities consider it all in favor of the White
side. 6. d4 exd4 7. 0-0 d6 7...dxc3 brings the well-known
Compromised Defense. 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Bb2 Na5 10. Nc3 Ne7
Probably preferable was 10...Nxc4 11. Qa4+ c6 12. Qxc4 Ne7. As
played, it will be seen that the Knight is left completely out of it
later on. 11. Bd3 0-0 12. d5 Ng6 13. Ne2 c5 14. Qd2 Bg4 15. Ng3 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Nh4. Probably best was
16....Bc7, with a to immediate advance of the queenside pawns,
and to get the Queen's knight into play. If in reply 17. Nf5, Nh4
:ms a sufficient answer. 17. Qf4 Ng6 It is possible that Black at an
earlier spot may have meditated 17...Qg5 at this juncture; but after
17...Qg5 18. Qxg5 Nxf3+ 19. Kg2 Nxg5 20. h4, winning the piece.
18. Qf5 Rc8 19. Bc3 Of course to prevent the shutout of the bishop
by the c-pawn advance. 19...Rc7 20.Khl f6 21. Rgl A far-sighted
move, seeing that Black cannot afford to take the offered exchange
at move twenty-four. 21 .... Rcf7 22. Bf1 c4 23. Bh3 Bxf2 24. Ne2
(See Diagram) 24...Ne5 24...Bxg1 25. Rxg1 Ne5 (25...b5 26. Rxg6
hxg6 27. Qxg6 Re8 28. f4 with a winning attack.) 26. Nd4 and
White will regain at least the Exchange. It will be noticed that the
Black knight at a5 is the cause of his difficulty. 25. Rg2 Be3 26.
Nf4 Bxf4 27. Qxf4 g5 27...Kh8 is probably better, but White's
attack is tremendous. 28. Be6 Kh8 29.Qd2 b6 30. Bxf7 Rxf7 31. f4
gxf4 32.Qxf4 Nb7 33. Ragl Nc5 34. Bxe5 dxe5 35. Qg4 h6 36.
Qh5 Qf8 37. Rg6 Kh7 The position is hopeless. If 37...Rh7, then
38. Rxf6. 38. Rxh6+ 1-0.

So ended Napier's play in his first international tournament.
Although a final, twenty-first round was scheduled, and although
his opponent was the thirty-eight year old Georg Marco (2520 Elo
historical rating), who ordinarily could be counted on to play
fighting chess, the tournament had been a long, grueling struggle
for all the competitors, and the games between them were agreed
drawn.

Regular visitors to The Chess Cafe's book reviews may recall the
very favorable comments we have had about other Caissa Editions
publications, e.g., Baden Baden 1925, St. Petersburg 1914 and
Mikhail Chigorin. This book maintains the same high standards,
with a hardcover high-quality library style binding and antique
photographs nicely complementing Hilbert's thorough, but
readable style. Napier's obscurity should be no more. It will form,
however, both the strength and weakness of this book's appeal: It
will provide those who are already familiar with Napier with the
definitive work about him; those who are not familiar with him
probably will be reluctant to buy it. Pity. They will be missing out
on a great book.