| JAMES THOMPSON, ESQ. - This player is well and
favorably
known to all New-Yorkers, especially to the disciples of Epicurus
[sic;
Epicures], as the famous Restaurant-keeper, on Broadway. As a
general
thing we do not intend to make any allusion to the occupation of the
individuals
whose chess-portraitures will find a place in our gallery, but the
question
is so often asked in chess-circles by young players, who hear of the
prowess
of Mr. Thompson at the game, whether it is the Mr. Thompson - i.e. the
caterer - that we make an exception to our rule in this instance.
The subject under notice ranks deservedly high at the club, having won
more matches there, we believe, than any other member. He is
perhaps
the most attacking player we have - often giving away a clear piece -
and
without positive advantage to himself sometimes - rather than be foiled
in an attack, or act on the defensive. With players a shade weaker
than himself he is very successful in this species of tactics,
frequently
winning by intimidation, - his adversary fearing that “if it be
madness”
thus to throw away his game, “yet is there method in it,” and
believing
half the time that is only some latent mine or battery, masking a
mate.
The Evans Gambit is his favorite opening and he manages it with
remarkable
skill and variety. In the hands of a finished player this gambit
affords great facilities for carrying on the kind of warfare we have
indicated.
He prosecutes the attack at any and every hazard. The celebrated
phrase of Danton applies well to him - better indeed than to any other
player of our acquaintance ;- de l’audace, el encore de
l’audace, el toujours
de l’audace! His defence is always the strongest -
counter-attack. |
| Mr. Thompson is a very interesting player, and
his
board usually has as many lookers-on as any other in the room, because
original, complicated and beautiful positions and combinations are
likely
to be found there if anywhere. He frightens his opponents out of
their victory, not unfrequently, [sic] not only by his bold play,
but also by talking confidently of his own game and disparagingly of
theirs
- a sort of bullying one’s adversary, as it were. This last
peculiarity,
however, is not idiosyncratic with Mr. Thompson. We know several
others that indulge in the vile habit (for we cannot otherwise
characterize
it) whose force as players and instincts as gentlemen should teach them
to forbear its use. We make this remark abstractly and
impersonally,
and not with reference to any particular individual, certainly not to
Mr.
Thompson, who is now in Europe, where he has been for a long time, and
where he designs remaining for a year or two to come. He has
recently
written from Paris that the average play of our best twenty club players
is much above that of the same number picked from the Cercle des Echecs
of that city. Our Minister to Portugal, Mr. J. L. O’Sullivan,
played
a match at Paris, last summer, with St. Amant, winning three and drawing
three out of twenty-seven. Rather a great disparity, to be sure,
but Mr. T. can beat the plenipotentiary easily. We expect to hear
some match, creditable to Americans, before Mr. Thompson returns.
We are quite willing to exhibit him to our neighbors over the Atlantic
Ferry as a fair specimen of our players, and are fully confident that
they
will find him a pretty tough American (chess) nut to crack. We
trust
that he will favor is with some chess correspondence during his sojourn
in Europe. We regret that we have not any game of Mr.
Thompson’s
to publish with this notice. It is our intention to give with each
portraiture, a game played by the party sketched, to verify our
statements
in regard to their skill as players or problem makers. |
| We must not forget to state that, although Mr.
Thompson’s
general play is such as we have described, yet no man is more careful
than
he in a set match; then he plays for victory, not brilliancy, and is an
ugly customer to deal with, as our old Boston opponent, of ten years
agone,
Mr. Hammond can testify. By the way, can any of our Boston readers
tell us whether Mr. H. is in the land of the living? We intend to
sketch him, and would like some fresh material. He was a most
promising
and indefatigable player. But of him more anon. |
|
Frank Leslie’s Illustrated
Newspaper,
New York, 1856.01.19
|
|
