Torre was probably the favorite, but he had left Mexico ten days before the start of the tournament, arrived in New Orleans and from there traveled to Chicago. In Mexico he had been on a lengthy exhibition tour and from the very first round it was evident that he was in poor form, but he recovered and defeated both Marshall and Maroczy.
After Pillsbury left the scene and before the arrival of Marshall, Jackson W. Showalter was probably the best player in the country. He lost two matches to Pillsbury (1897 and 1898), but scored a very respectable +11 -17 =5.
He also played four matches against David Janowski. Three during a visit by Janowski to New York in 1898-1899 and a fourth in 1916 when Janowski was in the States during the war. Janowski dominated the first and last while Showalter prevailed in the two shorter and less formal matches.
In 1889-1900 he played some international chess, but after that he seldom played serious chess. This Chicago tournament was his last important event.
As for Torre, after the tournament he went to New York. He had never given much attention to his health or diet, sometimes going for weeks without a hot meal or good food. Instead, he had a fondness for sweets and it was reported that he sometimes ate a dozen pineapple sundaes a day. But, in New York acquaintances reported he was eating almost nothing but candy and fudge.
Today sugar addiction is recognized as a very real thing and a serious cause for concern. Sugar fuels every cell in the brain and it also sees sugar as a reward which makes a person keep wanting more of it.
Though it is not as strong, the site AddictionCenter.com links the addictive properties of sugar to those of cocaine; sugar creates a burst of energy and a short-term high. One study showed that the effects of sugar addiction withdrawal and relapse are similar to those of drugs of abuse. In addition to his sugar addiction, there were also likely other factors in his life that resulted in a breakdown in which he briefly suffered from psychosis.
Psychosis is characterized by a disconnection from reality and while it may occur as a result of an illness like schizophrenia it can be caused by other health conditions, medications or drug use.
Symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, talking incoherently and agitation and person usually isn't aware of their behavior.
In Torre's case he began undressing on a bus. As a result he was hospitalized for several weeks in New York. During this time he determined to abandon chess and return to Mexico which he did on October 23, 1926. During the remaining 51 years of his life in Mexico he followed chess, bur never again played a serious game.
The tournament was held August 21 through September 2, 1926, and while it was going on there was also a turf war taking place between rival gangs in Chicago; they were hijacking each others booze trucks that were bringing alcohol in to the city.
After the tournament ended, on September 20th, the North Side Gang used drive by cars full of gangsters with Thompson sub-machine guns to shoot into Al Capone's entourage as he was eating lunch in the Hawthorne Hotel restaurant. DETAILS
[Event "Chicago International Tournament"]
[Site "Chicago, IL USA"]
[Date "1926.08.30"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Jackson W. Showalter"]
[Black "Carlos Torre"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B03"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 15"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "1926.??.??"]
{Alekhine's Defense} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} Nf6 {This defense is one of the most
provocative opening systems black has at his disposal. Black invites his
opponent to occupy the center with Ps in order to challenge it. White can
chose between various setups.} 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Bc4 {[%mdl 32] Seldom
seen, but in 1926 theory on the Alekhine was sparse sinc Alekhine had
introduced it only in 1921.} (4. c4 {The Four Pawns Attack s a critical test,
but it has pretty much been replaced by the Modern Variation.} Nb6 5. f4 {
These days white usually prefers 5.exd6} dxe5 6. fxe5 Nc6 7. Be3 Bf5 8. Nc3 e6
9. Nf3) ({The Modern Variation} 4. Nf3 dxe5 5. Nxe5 c6 6. Be2 Bf5 7. O-O) 4...
Nb6 5. Bb3 dxe5 6. Qf3 {Practically forcing 6...e6 and avoiding an exchange of
Queens.} e6 7. dxe5 Nc6 {Also good is 7...a5 right away.} 8. Qg3 a5 (8... Qd4 {
allows the exchange of Qs, but that was not Torre's style.} 9. Nf3 Qe4+ 10. Be3
Qg6 11. Nc3 Qxg3 12. hxg3) (8... Nd4 {leads to interesting complications after}
9. Bg5 Qd7 10. Nf3 Nxf3+ 11. Qxf3 {Provocative. Safer was 11.gxf3} Qd4 12. Qg3
Qxb2 13. O-O h6 (13... Qxa1 14. Nc3 Qb2 15. Bc1 Qa1 16. Bg5 {draws.}) 14. Bd2
Qd4 (14... Qxa1 15. Bc3 Qxc3 16. Nxc3 {This extremely unbalanced material
situation should favor white.}) 15. Rd1 Nc4 16. c3 Qe4 17. Ba4+ {with equal
chances.}) 9. c3 {Although this ultimately entails sacrifice of the e-Pawn
it's not bad. Safer though was 9.a4} a4 10. Bc2 Nc4 {This tempts white to
defend his e-Pawn with 11.f4, after which his K would be vulnerable.
Consequently Showalter prefers to sacrifice the Pawn.} 11. Nf3 (11. f4 Qd5 12.
Nf3 Bd7 13. O-O Bc5+ {and black can be satisfied with his position.} 14. Kh1)
11... Qd5 {[%cal Rc4e5]} 12. O-O N4xe5 {Wrong N! He should have taken with the
other N. The difference is that in doing so he maintained a N on c4. Now white
gets a slight advantage.} (12... N6xe5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14. Bf4 Qc5 15. Nd2 (15.
Bxc7 e5 {cuts off the B.}) 15... e5 {with equal chances.}) 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14.
Bf4 Qh5 {Going after white’s b-Pawn would not have been in keeping with
Torre’s style; he preferred sacrificing Ps for the sake of attacking
possibilities.} (14... Qf6 {was tried without success in Petzold,H-Barnstedt,D
(2149) Dresden 2004} 15. Bxc7 Be7 16. Nd2 Qg5 17. Qd3 Qd5 18. Qe2 Qc5 19. Ne4 (
19. Rac1 {preventing ...Nd4? keeps the advantage.} Nd4 20. cxd4 Qxc7 21. Bxa4+)
19... Nd4 20. cxd4 Qxc7 21. Rac1 {The position is even but white went on to
win.}) (14... Qb5 15. Bd3 Qxb2 16. Nd2 Qxc3 17. Rac1 Qd4 18. Nc4 Bc5 19. Rcd1 {
leaves black in a precarious situation. Five Shootout games were won by white.}
) 15. Na3 (15. Bxc7 {This is not bad, but it leads to complications.} Qe2 16.
Rc1 h5 17. Na3 h4 18. Qf4 g5 {This is black's best chance.} 19. Qxg5 Rh5 20.
Qf6 Be7 21. Qf4 Bg5 22. Qc4 Qxc4 23. Nxc4 Bxc1 24. Rxc1 {and the chances are
equal in this unbalanced material situation.}) (15. Re1 {With this move white
has a modest advantage after} f6 16. Bxc7 Qf7 17. Bb6 e5 18. f4 Be7 19. Nd2 O-O
20. fxe5 Nxe5 21. Nf3) 15... f6 {[%mdl 8192] This is a serious mistake because
now white can safely take the c-Pawn. Black could have prevented that and kept
the chances equal by playing 15...e5} (15... e5 16. Rfe1 f6 17. Nb5 Qf7) 16.
Bxc7 e5 17. Nc4 {Also good was 17.Nb5} (17. Nb5 Bf5 18. Bd1 Qg5 19. Qxg5 fxg5
20. Bb6 Kd7 21. Be2 {and black is in serious trouble.}) 17... Bf5 {This is the
best black has and it's trappy!} (17... Be6 {is no better, a little worse in
fact.} 18. Nb6 Ra7 19. Rfd1 Kf7 20. Qe3 g6 21. Bxa4 Bh6 22. Qe4 {and black is
in dire straits.}) 18. Bxf5 {Back in the old days before engines Showalter was
criticized for taking the bait with this move and the inferior 18.Nd6+ was
recommended. It's not so. Showalter's move is the correct one...Stockfish says
so!} (18. Nd6+ {This only leads to equality after} Bxd6 19. Bd1 {Equally good
was 19.Bxf5} Qg6 20. Bxd6 Qxg3 21. hxg3) 18... Qxf5 19. Nd6+ {Tempting, but as
on the previous move it leads to no more than equality.} (19. Nb6 {is quite
advantageous to white.} Ra6 20. Rad1 {and black has no entirely satisfactory
move. All he can do is keep trying to defend his position as he has no
prospects of launching any kind of counterattack.}) 19... Bxd6 20. Qxg7 {
[%mdl 8192] After this move Showalter gets swindled!} (20. Bxd6 {is correct.
Black is equal after} Kf7 21. Rad1 Rhd8) 20... Bf8 {And wins!! It's a well
known fact that backward moves are hard to see. With this move Torre wins a
piece or traps the Queen. An amazing turn of events.} 21. Qxh8 {White has a
R+P against a N, but his Q is a goner and his position is lost.} (21. Qg3 {
also loses after} Ne7 22. Rad1 Rg8) 21... Kf7 22. h3 Re8 23. g4 Qg6 24. Rad1
Be7 25. Qxe8+ Kxe8 {White resigned.} 0-1
One wonders is history misjudged Torre as being mentally ill. Available evidence shows that sugar can induce cravings that are comparable in magnitude to those induced by addictive drugs.
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