Elliot Stearns, Ohio Champion

    The 1916 United States presidential election was won by the incumbent Woodrow Wilson and Charlie Chaplin signed on with Mutual Studios and earns an unprecedented $10,000 a week. In buying power in today’s dollars that’s over $280,000 per week, or $14 million a year. That’s not a lot; in 2022 an actor/filmmaker/producer names Tyler Perry raked in $175 million. 

    Chess players didn’t fare as well financially as Chaplin. In 1916, Siegbert Tarrasch defeated Jacques Mieses by a score of 9-4 in a match played in in Berlin. With Germany in the middle of World War I things were tough and for his victory Tarrach won a half pound of butter. 

     In Ohio, in 1916, the biggest news of the year was probably what turned out to be the last of the water works tunnel disasters that took place in Cleveland; the first one occurred in 1898 and all told, in these disasters 58 men were killed.

    These tunnels were water intakes under Lake Erie that extended beyond the polluted shoreline. The disasters included gas explosions, a fire and on July 24, 1916, when workmen digging in a 10 foot wide tunnel, they hit a pocket of natural gas. A spark triggered an explosion, killing 11 men and later 10 would-be rescuers who were overcome by gas died when they entered the pressurized tunnel. Twelve man were rescued. 

    Almost nothing is known of the Ohio Chess Championship prior to 1948. What is known is that prior to 1945 the state championship was determined by match play,

    Elliott Edmund Stearns, Sr. (October 7, 1891 – June 23, 1969, 77 years old) was the Ohio Champion in 1916 and 1917. Stearns was the Ohio Champion once again in 1948, scoring 5.5 in a 6-round Swiss event in Columbus that had 32 players. He claimed the longest span of years between titles, a record that he held until it was broken by the acerbic James R. Schroeder (1927-2017) who won the title in 1950 and 35 years later in 1985. 

    Stearns, a corporate attorney from the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, played Capablanca three times in exhibitions in the early 1920s; he lost two of the games, but in 1922, he managed to score a win. 

    Today's game is one that Stearns played in a 1916 match for the State Championship. He was successful in his defense of his title in the match which was concluded on November 22, 1916 when he won the eighth and last game (this one) against Arthur D. Harmon, also of Cleveland. 

    The match ended up in a 4-4 tie, so Stearns retained the title, but only by the skin of his teeth because after 6 games Harmon was leading 4-2.

[Event "Ohio State Champ Match, Cleveland"] [Site ""] [Date "1916.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Elliott E Stearns"] [Black "Arthur D Harmon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A83"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1916.??.??"] [Source "American Chess B"] {A83: Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit} 1. d4 f5 {The Dutch has never bee popular, but Alekhine and Botvinnik frequently play it...a good recommendation! } 2. e4 {The rare Staunton Gambit. Once upon a time it was a feared weapon, but it's rarely played even in 1916, because theory has shown how to neutralize it.} fxe4 {There is really no good reason to not take the P.} 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 c6 {A note in the January 1917 American Chess Bulletin says this is was played "to prevent Nd5 at all costs". The main (and probably better) alternative is 4...g6} 5. f3 exf3 {There is no good way to avoid this capture and white has enough compensation for his P.} 6. Nxf3 d6 7. Bd3 {[%mdl 1024]} ( 7. Bc4 Bg4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qd2 Qb6 {Black is doing well. Garcia Guerrero,I (2300)-Shimanov,A (2625) Katowice POL 2014}) 7... Bg4 8. O-O {Probably best.} ( 8. h3 {This, too, is playable.} Bh5 9. g4 Bf7 10. Qe2 Nbd7 11. Bf4 {White is a little better. Gilea,L (2272)-Cirjan,D (2000) Baile Olanesti ROU 2010}) (8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. O-O-O Qa5 10. Rde1 O-O-O 11. Qf4 {Black stands well. Huang Qian (2416) -Mendoza,B (2132) Manila 2007}) 8... Qb6 9. Kh1 Nbd7 {Om this occasion the b-Pawn is immune.} (9... Qxb2 {loses to} 10. Qe1 Na6 (10... Qb6 11. Ne4 Bxf3 12. Nxd6+ Kd8 13. Nf7+) 11. Rb1 Qa3 12. h3 Bxf3 13. Rxf3 O-O-O 14. Nb5 Qa4 ( 14... cxb5 15. Bf5+) 15. Bf5+ Kb8 16. Ra3 Qc4 17. Qa5 Rc8 18. Nxa7 {and wins.}) 10. Qd2 O-O-O 11. Be3 Qc7 {While this move gets the Q off the Bs line of fire, it's too slow and now white is able to whip up a strong attack.} (11... Bxf3 12. gxf3 (12. d5 {is not as dangerous as it looks. After} Qa5 13. Rxf3 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Qxd2 15. Bxd2 cxd5 {it's black who can claim the advantage.}) 12... d5 { Eliminating all danger from the push d5} 13. Rab1 Qc7 {offers a solid defense.} ) 12. Ng5 {The attack begins.} Re8 13. h3 Bh5 14. Ne6 Qa5 15. a3 {The threat is to win black's Q.} b5 (15... Bf7 {wasn't much better.} 16. Rf5 d5 17. b4 Qb6 {And noww...drum roll...} 18. Nxd5 {and the black Q is trapped.}) (15... Rg8 { A pass to demonstrate the threat to black's Q.} 16. b4 Qb6 17. d5) 16. b4 Qb6 17. d5 c5 18. bxc5 Nxc5 19. Bxb5 Nfe4 20. Nxe4 Nxe4 21. Qd3 (21. Qb4 {Not that it matters, but this is a forced mate...in 8 moves.} Nc5 22. Bxc5 dxc5 23. Qa4 Rd8 24. Rab1 Rd6 25. Bd7+ Kb8 26. Bc6 Rxc6 27. Qxc6 c4 28. Qc7+ Ka8 29. Qc8+ Qb8 30. Qxb8#) 21... Ng3+ {There is no way blakl can avoid getting mated.} 22. Kg1 Bg6 23. Qc4+ Kb7 24. Bxb6 Rc8 25. Ba6+ Kxb6 26. Qb5# {A very nice concluding attack by Stearns. Time used: Stearns: 1 hour, 14 minutesd. Harmon: 1hour, 3 minutes.} 1-0