Henry Hosmer

Henry Hosmer
Full name Henry Hosmer
Country  United States
Born April 7, 1837(1837-04-07)
Concord, Massachusetts
Died January 1, 1892(1892-01-01) (aged 54)
Chicago, Illinois
Title Master
This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

Henry Hosmer (April 7, 1837–January 1, 1892)[1] was a nineteenth-century American chess master. He is known to have played in only two significant chess tournaments: the Second and Third American Chess Congresses in 1871 and 1874.

Chess career

The first modern chess tournament was not held until London 1851, and few tournaments were held in the 1870s, Hosmer's heyday.[2] He is known to have played in only two, the Second and Third American Chess Congresses. In the Second American Chess Congress, held in New York City in November 1871, Hosmer finished second, scoring 12 out of 16 possible points in a double round robin format, behind George Henry Mackenzie, who scored 14 points.[3] In the Third American Chess Congress, held in Chicago in July 1874, Hosmer again finished second to Mackenzie, this time by only half a point: Mackenzie scored 8.5 of 10 possible points, while Hosmer scored 8 points.[4] In both of the two tournaments, Mackenzie and Hosmer split their games, with each winning one of the two games; they also played a draw, which under the tournament rules did not count in the results, at the first tournament.[5]

Edo Historical Chess Ratings estimates that Hosmer's Elo rating following the Third American Chess Congress would have been 2504.[6] Today FIDE, the World Chess Federation, often awards the Grandmaster title to players with Elo ratings of 2500 and above.[7]

References

  1. ^ Jeremy Gaige, Chess Personalia: A Biobibliography, McFarland & Company, 1987, p. 180. ISBN 0-7864-2353-6.
  2. ^ Reuben Fine, The World's Great Chess Games, Dover, 1983, pp. 14, 16, 31. ISBN 0-486-24512-8.
  3. ^ Gino Di Felice, Chess Results, 1747-1900, McFarland & Company, 2004, p. 53. ISBN 0-7864-2041-3.
  4. ^ Di Felice, p. 58.
  5. ^ Di Felice, pp. 53, 58.
  6. ^ Edo ratings: Hosmer, H.. Retrieved on 2008-12-19.
  7. ^ Under FIDE Regulation 1.50 (retrieved on 2008-12-19), a player can achieve the Grandmaster title by earning two or more grandmaster norms in events covering at least 27 games, and attaining a rating of 2500 at some point.

External links