Hartwig Cassel
Encyclopedia
Hartwig Cassel was a chess journalist
, editor
and promoter
in Great Britain and the United States of America.
Cassel was born at Konitz, where his father, Dr. Aaron Cassel, was rabbi, and was educated at the Real-Gymnasium in Landsberg an der Warthe (now Gorzów Wielkopolski
, Poland). In 1879 he went to Britain. He lived in Scotland, where he was a member of the Glasgow Chess Club, and later moved to Bradford
, Yorkshire
, where he began his journalistic career as the chess editor of the Observer-Budget. He wrote chess articles for the metropolitan and provincial English papers, organized the Yorkshire County Chess Club, arranged the Joseph Henry Blackburne
-Isidor Gunsberg
match at Bradford (1887) and the International Chess Masters' Tournament in 1888 at the same city.
Cassel left England in 1889 and went to Havana for an English and New York newspaper syndicate to report the Mikhail Tchigorin
-Gunsberg match. In 1890 he went to the United States and was offered a job at the New Yorker Staatszeitung. He wrote about chess not only in that paper, but also in the New York Tribune
and wrote a special chess column nearly every Sunday for The New York Sun. He was instrumental in establishing the Staats-Zeitung and Rice trophies, and arranged, among other important contests, the first cable match between the Manhattan Chess Club
and the British Chess Club in 1895, the forerunner of the Anglo-American series. He was the inventor of a chess cable code.
In 1904 he and Hermann Helms
published the first issue of the American Chess Bulletin
. That issue included all 120 games from the 1904 Cambridge Springs tournament.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and promoter
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
in Great Britain and the United States of America.
Cassel was born at Konitz, where his father, Dr. Aaron Cassel, was rabbi, and was educated at the Real-Gymnasium in Landsberg an der Warthe (now Gorzów Wielkopolski
Gorzów Wielkopolski
Gorzów Wielkopolski is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the biggest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 125,149 inhabitants...
, Poland). In 1879 he went to Britain. He lived in Scotland, where he was a member of the Glasgow Chess Club, and later moved to Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, where he began his journalistic career as the chess editor of the Observer-Budget. He wrote chess articles for the metropolitan and provincial English papers, organized the Yorkshire County Chess Club, arranged the Joseph Henry Blackburne
Joseph Henry Blackburne
Joseph Henry Blackburne , nicknamed "The Black Death", dominated British chess during the latter part of the 19th century. He learned the game at the relatively late age of 18 but quickly became a strong player and went on to develop a professional chess career that spanned over 50 years...
-Isidor Gunsberg
Isidor Gunsberg
Isidor Arthur Gunsberg began his career as the player operating the remote-controlled chess automaton Mephisto, but later became a chess professional....
match at Bradford (1887) and the International Chess Masters' Tournament in 1888 at the same city.
Cassel left England in 1889 and went to Havana for an English and New York newspaper syndicate to report the Mikhail Tchigorin
Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin also was a leading Russian chess player...
-Gunsberg match. In 1890 he went to the United States and was offered a job at the New Yorker Staatszeitung. He wrote about chess not only in that paper, but also in the New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
and wrote a special chess column nearly every Sunday for The New York Sun. He was instrumental in establishing the Staats-Zeitung and Rice trophies, and arranged, among other important contests, the first cable match between the Manhattan Chess Club
Manhattan Chess Club
The Manhattan Chess Club in Manhattan was the second-oldest chess club in the United States . The club was founded in 1877 and started with three dozen players; membership later reached into the hundreds before the club ended its existence in 2002...
and the British Chess Club in 1895, the forerunner of the Anglo-American series. He was the inventor of a chess cable code.
In 1904 he and Hermann Helms
Hermann Helms
Helms, Hermann was an American chess player, writer, and promoter.- Biography :Helms was born in Brooklyn, but spent much of his childhood in Hamburg, Germany and in Halifax, Canada, where a schoolmate taught him chess. He returned to live in Brooklyn at age 17, and settled in Brooklyn...
published the first issue of the American Chess Bulletin
American Chess Bulletin
The American Chess Bulletin was a chess periodical that was published monthly and bi-monthly from 1904 to 1963. The editor was Hermann Helms , who founded the magazine and edited it until his death, at which point publication ceased...
. That issue included all 120 games from the 1904 Cambridge Springs tournament.