Isidor Gunsberg

Isidor Arthur Gunsberg (November 2 1854, in Budapest, Hungary – May 2 1930, in London) began his career as the player inside the chess automaton Mephisto, but later became a chess professional.

He moved to Great Britain in 1876, later becoming a naturalized British citizen on May 12 1908.

In the late 1880s and early 1890s Gunsberg was one of the top players in the world. In match play, he defeated Joseph Henry Blackburne in 1887 and Henry Bird in 1889. In 1890 he drew a match with Mikhail Chigorin, a former and future challenger for the world chess championship. Later that year, Gunsberg himself challenged Wilhelm Steinitz for the world title. The match took place in New York City and Gunsberg lost with 4 wins, 6 losses, and 9 draws.

In 1916 he sued the "Evening News" for libel when they said that his chess column contained "blunders". He won the suit after the British High Court accepted a submission that in chess matters, eight oversights did not make a "blunder."

References

*cite web
last=Harding | first=Tim | authorlink=Tim Harding
url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kibitz136.pdf
title=The Family Life of Grandmaster Gunsberg
year=2007 | publisher=ChessCafe.com
*citation
editor-last=Singer | editor-first=Isidore | editor-link=Isidore Singer
last1=Jacobs | first1=Joseph | author1-link=Joseph Jacobs
last2=Porter | first2=A.
year=1901–1906 | title=Jewish Encyclopedia
contribution= [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=499&letter=G Gunsberg, Isidor]
volume=6 | page=109

External links

*chessgames player|id=12808
*cite web
last=Winter | first=Edward | authorlink=Edward G. Winter
title=Chess Notes
url=http://www.chesshistory.com
** [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/courts.html "Chess in the Courts"]
**CN 3824, July 2005, [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter12.html#3824._Libel_suit "Libel Suit"]
**CN 5113, August 2007, [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter37.html#5129._Isidor_Gunsberg_C.N._5113_ "Isidor Gunsberg"]
**CN 5136, September 2007, [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter38.html#5136._An_interview_with_Gunsberg "An Interview with Gunsberg"]