George Henry Mackenzie

George Henry Mackenzie
Association	Scotland United States
Born	March 24, 1837 North Kessock , Scotland , United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Died	April 14, 1891 New York City , USA
Best Elo rating	2712 (October 1882) ( historical rating )

George Henry Mackenzie (born March 24, 1837 in North Kessock , Scotland , † April 14, 1891 in New York City ) was an important chess master of the 19th century . He was an American of Scottish descent.

Mackenzie came from an "old Scottish upper class family who had their headquarters in Aberdeen." As a 19-year-old Mackenzie joined the King's Royal Rifle Corps of the British Army and was initially a professional soldier . It was first stationed in Ireland but was used in India between 1857 and 1859 . During his subsequent stay in England he drew attention to his skills in chess: in 1862 he won the handicap tournament in London , where he beat Adolf Anderssen 2-0, who had to give him a handicap (pawn f7). In the same year he defeated George Alcock MacDonnell in a competition in Dublin with 7: 4 (+6 = 2-3).

1863 emigrated it into the United States to be on the part of Union troops at the American Civil War to participate. Awarded several times and promoted to captain , he was demoted for desertion and discharged from the army in May 1865. Since then he has been active exclusively as a professional chess player and has been based in New York City . Since Paul Morphy had retired from chess, Mackenzie very quickly became the best chess master in his new home. He won the US Congresses of 1871 ( Cleveland ), 1874 ( Chicago ) and 1880 (New York City). Already after his superior competition victories over Gustavus Charles Reichhelm (1866: +5 = 1 −0, 1867: +7 = 2 −0) he was considered a US champion, although this title has not yet been officially awarded.

He was also a very successful player in international tournaments . In 1878 he was fourth in Paris . In 1887 he won the Congress of the German Chess Federation in Frankfurt am Main , and in 1888 he came second in the heavily occupied Bradford tournament . Mackenzie defended his US Championship in various other competitions, all of which he won. In 1883 he lost a match against Wilhelm Steinitz in New York City with 2: 4 (+1 = 2 −3), but this was not considered a competition for the championship. In 1886 Mackenzie defeated Samuel Lipschütz , his last challenger, in New York City , with 7.5: 5.5 (+5 = 5 −3). In 1890 he had to cancel a tournament in New York because heart problems arose. This illness was also the cause of his death in 1891. He died of a heart attack in a New York hotel, completely penniless .

According to Wilhelm Steinitz, Mackenzie had “for the longest part of his career” a playing style that “was essentially old school, (...) new ideas made no impression on him until he took part in a few European tournaments. But the kingside attack always remained his favorite, and he got such a routine in doing it through regular use of it and studying the brightest games of the old masters that he rarely missed an opportunity to make a brilliant sacrifice . ”In 1992, George became Mackenzie inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame .

swell

1. ^ Wilhelm Steinitz: Death of Captain Mackenzie in: The International Chess Magazine No. 3, 1891, p. 68 [Translated from the English].
2. ^ Wilhelm Steinitz: Death of Captain Mackenzie in: The International Chess Magazine No. 3, 1891, p. 70 [translated from English].