Marvin C. Palmer, et al

Marvin Palmer

     Cedar Point is a 364-acre amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, which is located about 60 miles west of Cleveland. 

     In the 1860s during the Civil War, a housing for a battery of four field artillery pieces was constructed at the tip of the peninsula. Its purpose was to defend a prison for Confederate soldiers on nearby Johnson's Island. Louis Zistel, a German immigrant, built two boats to transport the prisoners. 

     After the war, in 1870, he charged 25 cents per person to ferry locals to the Cedar Point peninsula, which had opened as a public bathing beach. Zistel opened a bathhouse on the north shore of the peninsula and the same year built a beer garden with a small dance floor. That was the beginning. 

     Cedar Point is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. and it is home to 70 rides. The park is known as "America's Roller Coast" because it features 16 roller coasters, fourth-most in the world. A single day admission ticket costs $45. 

     When the Western Open was played in Cedar Point in 1925, the park had an assortment of rides including three roller coasters, but the owner's priority was not on the amusement park. Instead it was marketed primarily as a bathing resort complete with shows, exhibits, motion pictures and other forms of entertainment. 

     The tournament was held at the Hotel Breakers, a large historic Lake Erie resort that opened in 1905. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 but was altered significantly in 1999 with the demolition of several historic wings. As a result it's landmark status was revoked. Today you can book a room in one of its 669 guest rooms and suites with prices starting at $174 per night.

     Carlos Torre was planning to defend his title, but instead chose to return to Mexico for a series of exhibitions. The 1925 tournament had some historic significance because it was the first time New York players were welcomed. That was because the Western Chess Association was beginning to evolve into a national organization. 

     In 1939, the United States of America Chess Federation was created in Illinois through the merger of the American Chess Federation (formerly known as the Western Chess Federation) and the National Chess Federation. The American Chess Federation had held an annual open championship since 1900 which became the U.S. Open after the merger. 

     The battle for the title turned out to be between two New York players, Abraham Kupchik and Charles Jaffe and the long time Western Chess Federation champion Samuel Factor of Chicago. Kupchik took the title by virtue of defeating both Jaffe and Factor and finishing up with seven straight wins. 

     The early surprise leader of the tournament though was Marvin C. Palmer of Detroit who had played in the event several times since 1913 with lackluster results. This time he scored 7.5 points in the first 8 rounds which included a win over Kupchik. Then his luck ran out, mostly because in the later rounds he met the other top players including Factor and Jaffe both of whom defeated him. As a result Palmer dropped to fourth place. 

     Marvin C. Palmer (1897 - 1985, 87 years old) was born near Cedar Rapids, Iowa and at the age of about 11 he learned chess from his father. Palmer won the Iowa State Championship in Des Moines in 1917. 

     After serving in World War I and in the occupation of the Rhineland, he returned home in 1919. He won the Missouri State Championship 1922. After moving to Detroit, Palmer won the Michigan State Championship six times (1933, 1934, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943). 

     He was also Chess Review's 1944 Golden Knights correspondence champion. In that event he tallied 18 straight victories in three regular rounds of play, then won a four game sweep in a play-off for first place. His prize was check for $150 which is the equivalent of $2,464 today. 

     Palmer worked as printer for the Detroit News. Other than chess he enjoyed landscape gardening and music. His wife was a pianist and his daughter a violinist. 

     His opponent in the following game was Marshall J. Maxfield (1897 - 1935, 37 years old), Brooklyn Chess Club champion in 1925. Maxfield was an electrical engineer who was born in California and educated at the University of Southern California and Penn State College. 

     For a while he was employed in the statistical department of the New York Light and Power Company. At the time of his death he was a teacher in the Haaren Co-operative High School In Manhattan and formerly had been a member of the faculty of Pratt Institute, a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn. 

     Besides being a member of the Brooklyn Chess Club he was also a member of the Long Island Bridge League, Kings Highway Democratic Club, Andrew Jackson Club and the New York High School Teachers Association. Maxfield died February 10, 1935 of pneumonia at his home after a short illness. He was survived by his wife Macedonia and the funeral was held from his home. 

     Maxfield was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Famous people buried there include baseball player Gil Hodges, gangster Frankie Yale, organized crime figure and supervisor of Murder, Inc, Louis Capone (no relation to Al Capone) and Frank Hayes. 

     Jockey Frank Hayes' story is especially tragic. The 22-year-old Hayes had never won a horse race before because by profession he was a horse trainer and stableman. But, on June 4, 1923, at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, New York, Hayes was the jockey on a horse named Sweet Kiss, a 20 to 1 outsider, that was owned by Miss A. M. Frayling. 

     Sweet Kiss crossed the finish line, winning by a head, and when Miss Frayling and race officials came to congratulate him shortly after the race they discovered Hayes dead in the saddle! The result of the race was declared official without the post-race formality of Hayes having to weigh in. It was suggested that the fatal heart attack may have been brought on by his extreme efforts to meet the weight requirements; he had slimmed down from 142 pounds to 130 pounds in a very short time. Hayes was buried three days later, dressed in his racing silks at Holy Cross Cemetery. 

     The horse never raced again, and it's claimed that Sweet Kiss was nicknamed "Sweet Kiss of Death" for the rest of her life.

[Event "Western Championship"] [Site "Cedar Point, OH"] [Date "1925.08.30"] [Round "7"] [White "Marshall Maxfield"] [Black "Marvin Palmer"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C30"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "1925.??.??"] {King's Gambit Declined} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 {If one wants to avoid the complications of accepting the gambit or wants to avoid prepared lines then declining the gambit is probably the safest. Many players of white are often unprepared for it. The B prevents white from castling and he will often play Na4 to eliminate it. It also contains an opening trap that beginners (or the careless!) may fall into.} 3. Nf3 (3. fxe5 Qh4+ 4. g3 Qxe4+) 3... d6 4. Nc3 { Often played these days is 4.c3} Nf6 5. Bc4 Nc6 {[%mdl 32]} 6. d3 Bg4 (6... Ng4 {is not so good. There would follow...} 7. Ng5 Bf2+ (7... Nf2 8. Qh5 Qf6 9. Rf1 g6 10. Nd5 Qg7 11. Qh4 {White is winning.}) 8. Kf1 Nd4 9. Bxf7+ {Whit is better.}) 7. h3 {Not bad, but white neglects to play Na4 at some point and will come to regret it.} Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nd4 9. Qg3 Qe7 {Better was 0...O-O. White could now get slightly the better of it with 10.exf4} 10. Rf1 {[%mdl 8192] White has played both 10.Kd1 and 10.Bb3 here, but the best move is 10. fxe5 which keeps the pressure on black.} (10. fxe5 Nxc2+ 11. Kd1 Nh5 (11... Nxa1 12. exf6 {and white is winning.}) 12. Qg4 Nxa1 13. Rf1 O-O 14. Qxh5 { White has a decisive advantage.}) 10... exf4 {Well played.} (10... Nxc2+ { is inferior.} 11. Kd1 Nxa1 12. fxe5 dxe5 13. Qxg7 Rg8 14. Qxf6 Qxf6 15. Rxf6 Rxg2 16. Bxf7+ Kd8 {Black has the advantage.}) 11. Bxf4 Nxc2+ 12. Kd1 (12. Kd2 Nxa1 13. Bg5 c6 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Rxa1 {Black is winning, but in Khamroev,R (2181)-Sowray,P (2327) Coulsdon 2008 he managed to go astray and ended up losing.}) 12... Nxa1 13. e5 Nh5 14. Qg4 Nxf4 15. Rxf4 O-O 16. Nd5 Qxe5 17. Nf6+ Kh8 18. d4 {White is quite lost, but Palmer finishes him off in great style.} Bxd4 19. Rf5 {Strongly threatening Nxh7.} (19. Rxd4 Qxf6 20. Kc1 Rfe8 21. Rd1 Qf2 22. Bd3 Re1 {wraps it up.}) 19... Qxf6 20. Rxf6 Bxf6 21. Kc1 Rae8 22. Be2 Re5 23. Bd1 Rb5 {White resigned. His Q and B are hopelessly lost against black's pieces and 3 extra Ps.} 0-1