was his arranging to play Blackburne on Saturday, the 23rd, and
Bird on Monday, the 25th. The extreme painfulness of Zukertort's
death to his friends cannot be estimated by the general public.
Famous cricketers and famous actors are applauded by those they
entertain or amuse. The chess master receives no applause; over
the board, however, he enters into conversation with amateurs,
and is rewarded by friendships that far outweigh the wildest
ephemeral outbursts of approval. The friendships so formed by
Zukertort have now been snapped, and his removal has caused, in
the words of the old player Bird, "a severe blank." Bird himself
is an interesting character. He is by far the oldest chess master,
does the chess correspondence for the Times, and is as well known
by his chess books as by his play. The game between him and
Zukertort in the tournament now in progress was looked forward to
with intense interest, for he and Zukertort were the leading
scorers, and the fight for the first prize would have centred in
this contest. A good feature in Bird's character is his disposition
to make acquaintances with working men. He has taught many of them
his "charming game," and has frequently been told afterwards
that it has been the means of saving them a few shillings every
week. This is easily understood, for a man that plays chess is
not likely to play "penny nap" nor to drink much four-ale. Such at
any rate, is Mr. Bird's theory; and he is just now endeavouring to
promote a scheme for the popularising of chess amongst the
industrial classes.




CHESS NOTES AND REFERENCES