Problem Tourney, 1880 (Fifth American Chess Congress, 1880)

R:
single set #2+2x#3+#4 (3 pr. + 1 sp. pr.)
 
Open to all. Usual motto requirements.

A special prize for the best single problem was donated by Turf, Field and Farm.
A fourth prize was donated after the programme had been published.
 
J:
E. B. Cook, C. H. Waterbury, G. E. Carpenter
 
C:
1880-02-01 (America), 1880-03-01 (trans-oceanic countries)
 
A:
1 pr. H. von Gottschall (Motto: Sub hoc signo vinces)
2 pr. H. Boardman (Varieties)
3 pr. S. Loyd (Honor to whom honour is due)
4 pr. D. Melissinos (Sperare licet)
 
sp. pr. S. Loyd (problem 4 of 3 pr. set)
S:
St. Louis Globe-Democrat:
6/59 (1880-07-18), p. 11: prel. report, dated 1880-06-28
 
C. A. Gilberg: The Fifth American Chess Congress (New York, 1881):
Problem Tourney Announcement, p. 127
The Problem Tourney, p. 406 (includes a list of all mottos and competitors.)
Report of the Committee of Award, p. 413
Problems, p. 427
 
The Chess-Monthly:
v. 2, p. 199-204 (Mar., 1881): The American Problem Tournament, part 1 of 3
v. 2, p. 268-269 (May, 1881): part 2 of 3
v. 2, p. 295-297 (June, 1881): part 3 of 3
 
N:

55 sets were received. Two sets were excluded for non-compliance with tourney requirements, and 37 sets were found to contain unsound problems. 16 sets remained for judgement.

Two of the unsound sets were not discovered until after preliminary awards had been made, and published (dated 1880-06-28). This required a change in the award list, renewed examination of problems (to guard against further undiscovered faults) and an additional 30 days of public scrutiny. The final report was dated 1880-10-28.

A postscript to the final report, dated 1880-11-04, states that one of the problems in the set Recreation had proved to be published as competing in an earlier tourney, and the set should at least be counted among the unsound sets. (The set is included in the congress book, so it does not appear to have been classified as non-compliant with requirements.)

The judges report also notes that, in order to better preserve the incognito of its author, the dedication of the set Honor to whom honor is due (by S. Loyd, and dedicated to F. Perrin) should not have been passed on to the judges, but placed in the sealed envelope together with the author's name.


The Chess Monthly series of articles on The American Problem Tournament was expected to continue after part 3, but no further parts have been found.



Prizes

Source references are to earliest definitely known sources. There are indications that there are earlier sources for some of the problems, such as the Sam Loyd #4, which one early source says is reprinted from Holyoke Transcript.

1st Prize: H. v. Gottschall

1

#2

2

#3

3

#3

4

#4

2nd Prize: H. Boardman

1

#2

2

#3

3

#3

4

#4

3rd Prize: S. Loyd

1

#2

2

#3

3

#3

4

#4

4th Prize: D. Melissinos

1

#2

2

#3

3

#3

4

#4

Special Prize: S. Loyd

4

#4