James Grundy (chess player)

James Glover Grundy
Full name James Glover Grundy
Country  England  United States
Born February 14, 1855(1855-02-14)
Manchester?, England
Died January 26, 1919(1919-01-26) (aged 63)
Manchester?, England
Title Master
This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

James Glover Grundy (February 14, 1855-January 26, 1919)[1] was an English-American chess master who is virtually unknown today. He played in just one significant chess tournament, the Fifth American Chess Congress in 1880. He had a stellar result, tying for first with George Henry Mackenzie, a world-class player. Although Grundy lost the playoff to Mackenzie, Chessmetrics calculates that this single remarkable performance was enough to make Grundy number 11 in the world.

Contents

Chess career

Grundy is known to have played in only one chess tournament of any note. However, his result in that tournament was outstanding. In the Fifth American Chess Congress, held in New York City in January 1880, Grundy tied for first with George Henry Mackenzie, with each scoring 13.5 of 18 possible points in the double round robin.[2] At that time Grundy was unknown, while Mackenzie was ranked number 5 in the world according to Chessmetrics.[3] A two-game playoff was held to break the tie; Grundy lost both games to Mackenzie, and was accordingly awarded second prize.[2]

Chessmetrics concludes that Grundy achieved a ranking of number 11 in the world in four different months between February and May 1880, and that his strength was equivalent to an Elo rating of 2590 in May 1880.[4][5] Chessmetrics bases these results solely on Grundy's score of 1.5 out of a possible 4 points against Mackenzie (1.5 out of 2 in the main tournament, and 0 out of 2 in the playoff), evidently because none of the other players in the tournament had Chessmetrics ratings at that time.[6] Today FIDE, the World Chess Federation, often awards the Grandmaster title to players with ratings of 2500 and above.[7]

Notable game

Here is the unknown Grundy's upset win over the number 5 player in the world: Grundy-Mackenzie, Fifth American Chess Congress, New York 1880[8] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.O-O d6 8.c3 Bg4 9.Be3 O-O 10.Nbd2 Qd7 11.Re1 Rad8 12.Bc2 Bxe3 13.fxe3 Ne7 14.a4 c6 15.Qe2 Ra8 16.Qf2 Ng6 17.h3 Bxf3 18.Nxf3 h6 19.Red1 Qe7 20.Nd2 Nh7 21.Nf1 Nh4 22.Ng3 g6 23.d4 Rad8 24.axb5 axb5 25.Ra6 c5 26.Rda1 b4 27.Ra7 Rd7 28.Rxd7 Qxd7 29.Nf5 Nxf5 30.exf5 bxc3 31.bxc3 cxd4 32.exd4 exd4 33.fxg6 fxg6 34.Qxd4 Qe6 35.Ra6 Rf6 36.Be4 Kg7 37.Ra7+ Kh8 38.Ra8+ Kg7 39.Bd5 Qe1+ 40.Kh2 h5 41.Ra7+ Kh6 42.Rxh7+ Kxh7 43.Qxf6 h4 44.Qf7+ Kh6 45.Qf4+ Kh7 46.c4 1-0

References

  1. ^ Jeremy Gaige, Chess Personalia: A Biobibliography, McFarland & Company, 1987, p. 152. ISBN 0-7864-2353-6.
  2. ^ a b Gino Di Felice, Chess Results, 1747-1900, McFarland & Company, 2004, p. 77. ISBN 0-7864-2041-3.
  3. ^ Jeff Sonas, January 1880 rating list. Retrieved on 2008-12-17.
  4. ^ Jeff Sonas,Chessmetrics Player Profile: James Grundy. Retrieved on 2008-12-17.
  5. ^ Jeff Sonas, May 1880 rating list. Retrieved on 2008-12-17.
  6. ^ See Jeff Sonas, James Grundy, Career Details and James Grundy, Event Details. Both retrieved on 2008-12-17.
  7. ^ Under FIDE Regulation 1.50 (retrieved on 2008-12-17), 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.
  8. ^ Grundy-Mackenzie, Fifth American Chess Congress 1880 Retrieved on 2008-12-17.

External links