Annual County Meetings commenced with that held at Leeds in
1841. The earliest perfectly open Tournaments were two on a
small scale at Simpson's in 1848 and 1849, and the first World's
International in the Exhibition year 1851, at the St. George's
Chess Club, Polytechnic Building, Cavendish Square. In each of
these Tournaments the writer participated.

Three chess columns existed when I first visited Simpson's in
1846, viz., Bells Life managed by Mr. George Walker from 1834
to 1873. The Illustrated London News from 15th February 1845 to
1878, in charge of Howard Staunton, and the Pictorial Times which
lasted from February 1845 to June 1848. The first column started
had appeared in the Lancet 1823, but it continued not quite one
year.

The Chess Player's Chronicle issued in 1841 (Staunton), was then
the only regular magazine devoted to chess, but a fly leaf had
been published weekly about the year 1840, in rather a curious
form of which the following is found noted:

About the year 1840 the Garrick Chess Divan was opened by Mr.
Huttman at No. 4 Little Russell St., Covent Garden. One of the
attractions of this little saloon was the publication every week
of a leaf containing a good chess problem, below it all the
gossip of the chess world in small type. The leaf was at first
sold for sixpence, including two of the finest Havannah Cigars,
or a fine Havannah and a delicious cup of coffee, but was
afterwards reduced to a penny without the cigars. The problem
leaf succeeding well, a leaf containing games was next produced,
and finally the two were merged in a publication of four pages