Offramp: Perhaps Marshall intended winning this tournament. EdL somewhat grudgingly notes Frank's speech saying something to the effect 'Most resent those they have wronged but Marshall proved himself better than that'.Īlso, one assumes most masters would be annoyed by an opponent who played on in a lost position in hopes of a swindle, yet from what I've read Marshall was popular amongst the Euro chess professionals.įrom those two bits of data I find it believable that Marshall was capable of sportsmanship (and charm), whether or not that was the key element for standing up for Capa at this time,

But later in the same book Ed Lasker describes a scene in which FJM publicly praises EdL. JimNorCal: Edward Lasker, at least, thought he was not a good sport at all after their US championship match. Capa was allowed in the tournament based on the result of the Marshall Match, but I've never heard that it was Marshall himself who insisted on including him. That would be like saying Reshevsky took the US Title from Fischer at Buenos Aires 1960.Ĭlear or not, Marshall DID play a US Championship Match against Capablanca, and only challenged Capa's legitimacy after he lost the match, which is less than sporting. The US Championship would not change hands in a tournament played in Spain in any event. Edward Lasker, at least, thought he was not a good sport at all after their US championship match. REFINE SEARCH: White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Burn wins | Burn losesĬaissanist: Who thought highly of Marshall's sportsmanship? I've never heard of anyone saying that he was a particularly good sport. ĭ08 Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter GambitĮ58 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 8.Bxc3 Together they unravel a mystery that exposes long-standing family secrets and threatens to involve James more than either of them would like.In the early spring of 1911, fifteen chess masters were invited to the seaside town of San Sebastian, Spain to compete in a round robin tournament. So he does what any sensible spy would do and infiltrates the house party. He's just returned from one of his less pleasant missions and maybe he's slightly paranoid about James's safety, but he's of the opinion that rich people aren't to be trusted where wills are concerned.

He finds the family home filled with half-remembered guests and unwanted memories, but more troubling is that his uncle has tasked his heirs with uncovering the truth behind a woman's disappearance twenty years earlier. When James learns that an uncle he hasn't heard from in ages has left him something in his will, he figures that the least he can do is head down to Cornwall for a weekend to honor the old man's parting wishes. England, 1948: Semi-retired spy Leo Page and country doctor James Sommers team up to solve a decades-old mystery.

The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian