Stanley vs. Turner Match, 1850


Charles Henry Stanley vs. James Henry Turner Match, "The Great Match"
February 11-14, 1850
Washington, DC

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Stanley   1 ½ 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  11 (w/1 draw)
Turner    0 ½ 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 ? ? ? ? ? ? ?   5 (w/1 draw)

Match went to the first player to win 11 games, draws not counting. Stanley was White in the odd-numbered games.

Turner, a gentleman farmer from Mount Sterling, Kentucky, challenged Stanley to a match for $1000, believing that he had discovered a sure win for White in the King's Gambit (nothing too special, just 3. Nf3, 4. Bc4, 5. c3, and 6. d4), and would therefore win at least half the games. It didn't work out that way, naturally, and after a draw and two losses with the line, he switched over to the Giouco Piano, losing twice with that, too.

Yes, the dates above are correct. This 17 game match really did only last 4 days.

I can only find the first ten games of the match. Stanley went +4-3=0 in the remaining 7 games.

I'm not sure where this got the moniker of "The Great Match", but it appears that truth in advertising laws were no stricter in 1850 than they are today.

[Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.??"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "?"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Charles Henry Stanley"] [Black "James Henry Turner"] [ECO "C26"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "49"] [Source "Illustrated London News, 1850.04.06, p234"] 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.d3 d6 5.Nf3 h6 6.Be3 Bb6 7.Ne2 Be6 8.Bb3 Nc6 9.Ng3 Qd7 10.c3 Ne7 11.d4 Ng6 12.h3 Qe7 13.Ba4+ Kf8 14.O-O c6 15.Bc2 Rd8 16.Qd2 Qd7 17.Nf5 Bxf5 18.exf5 e4 19.Nh2 Ne7 20.Ng4 Nxg4 21.hxg4 d5 22.f3 exf3 23.f6 Ng6 24.Bxg6 fxg6 25.Rxf3 1-0 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.??"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "?"] [Result "0-1"] [White "James Henry Turner"] [Black "Charles Henry Stanley"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "122"] [Source "Chess Player's Chronicle, vol.xi (1850), p.161"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. O-O d6 6. d4 Bb6 7. a4 a6 8. b4 Nf6 9. b5 axb5 10. Bxb5 O-O 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. h3 Be6 16. Nbd2 Rfd8 17. Qe2 Ra5 18. Qd1 Qg6 19. Kh2 Bc4 20. Qc2 Bd3 21. Qb3 Bxf1 22. Rxf1 Qe6 23. Qxe6 fxe6 24. Nc4 Rxa4 25. Nfxe5 Rda8 26. f4 Ra1 27. Rf3 Re1 28. f5 exf5 29. exf5 Ra2 30. f6 Bg1+ 31. Kg3 gxf6 32. Rxf6 Ree2 33. Rg6+ Kh7 34. Rxc6 Rxg2+ 35. Kf3 Raf2+ 36. Ke4 Re2+ 37. Kd5 Rg7 38. Na3 Re7 39. Ng4 Rd7+ 40. Kc4 Kg7 41. Nxh6 Rf2 42. Ng4 Rf3 43. Nb5 Rf4+ 44. Kb3 Bb6 45. Na3 Rd6 46. Rc4 Rxc4 47. Nxc4 Re6 48. Nce5 Bc5 49. Nf3 Kg6 50. Kc4 Bd6 51. Kd5 Re2 52. c4 Rc2 53. Nfe5+ Kh5 54. Kc6 Kh4 55. Ne3 Rf2 56. N3g4 Rf5 57. Kd5 Kg5 58. c5 Bxe5 59. Nxe5 Kf6 60. Kc6 Rxe5 61. Kb5 Ke7 0-1 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.??"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "?"] [Result "0-1"] [White "Charles Henry Stanley"] [Black "James Henry Turner"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "52"] [Source "Chess Player's Chronicle, vol.xi (1850), p.163"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d3 Nf6 5. Be3 Bb6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Ne2 Be6 8. Bb3 h6 9. Ng3 Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Bxe3 12. fxe3 Ne7 13. O-O Qd7 14. Nh5 Neg8 15. Nxg7+ Kd8 16. Nh5 Nxh5 17. Qxh5 f6 18. Qg6 Qe8 19. Bf7 Qf8 20. Rf2 Ke7 21. Bb3 h5 22. Raf1 Rh6 23. Qf5 Re8 24. Qe6+ Kd8 25. Qxg8 Qxg8 26. Rxf6 Qg5 0-1 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.??"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "?"] [Result "0-1"] [White "James Henry Turner"] [Black "Charles Henry Stanley"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "90"] [Source "Chess Player's Chronicle, vol.xi (1850), p.164"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. O-O d6 6. d4 Bb6 7. a4 a6 8. Na3 Nf6 9. Re1 O-O 10. h3 exd4 11. cxd4 Nxe4 12. Bd5 Bf5 13. Ng5 Nxf2 14. Kxf2 Qf6 15. Nf3 Nxd4 16. Be3 Ne6 17. Bxb6 Qxb2+ 18. Qd2 Qxb6+ 19. Qe3 Qb2+ 20. Qe2 Qf6 21. Be4 Nd4 22. Qd3 Nxf3 23. Qxf3 Qb2+ 24. Kf1 Bxe4 25. Qxe4 h6 26. Nc4 Qf6+ 27. Kg1 Rae8 28. Qd3 b5 29. Ne3 Re6 30. Nd5 Qh4 31. Rxe6 fxe6 32. Nxc7 Qf2+ 33. Kh1 Qf6 34. Rd1 Qe5 35. axb5 axb5 36. Qxb5 d5 37. Qa5 Rc8 38. Na6 Qe2 39. Qe1 Qxa6 40. Qe5 Rf8 41. Re1 Rf1+ 42. Kh2 Rxe1 43. Qxe1 Qd6+ 44. Kh1 d4 45. Qe4 Qd7 {(...)} 0-1 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.11"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "2"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [White "James Henry Turner"] [Black "Charles Henry Stanley"] [ECO "C38"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "110"] [Source "(New York) Albion, 1850.03.02, p106"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. O-O d6 6. c3 h6 7. d4 Ne7 8. g3 g4 9. Nh4 f3 10. h3 h5 11. Bg5 f6 12. Bd2 Nd7 13. Qb3 Rf8 14. Nf5 Nxf5 15. exf5 Rh8 16. Bf7+ Kf8 17. Bg6 Qe7 18. Re1 Ne5 19. dxe5 fxe5 20. h4 Bf6 21. Na3 c6 22. Nc2 d5 23. Be3 Bxh4 24. Bf2 Bf6 25. Qb4 Qxb4 26. Nxb4 e4 27. Bd4 Bxd4+ 28. cxd4 Kg7 29. Kf2 Kf6 30. Rh1 Kg5 31. Rh4 Bxf5 32. Bxf5 Kxf5 33. Rah1 Kg5 34. Nc2 Rad8 35. Ne3 c5 36. Rd1 Rh6 37. Rd2 Rb6 38. b3 a5 39. Rh1 a4 40. dxc5 Rb5 41. Rhd1 Rxc5 42. Rxd5+ Rcxd5 43. Rxd5+ Rxd5 44. Nxd5 axb3 45. axb3 h4 46. Ne3 h3 47. Nf1 Kf5 48. Nh2 b5 49. Ke3 b4 50. Kd4 f2 51. Ke3 Ke5 52. Nxg4+ Kf5 53. Nxf2 h2 54. Nh1 Kg4 55.Kxe4 Kh3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.11"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "3"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Charles Henry Stanley"] [Black "James Henry Turner"] [ECO "C26"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "71"] [Source "Illustrated London News, 1850.03.16, p183"] 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Nf3 d6 5.d3 h6 6.Ne2 Nc6 7.Ng3 Ne7 8.c3 Be6 9.Bb3 Bb6 10.O-O Qd7 11.Qe2 g5 12.Be3 Ng6 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.d4 Nf4 15.Qd2 Ng6 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Nxe5 dxe5 18.Qxd7+ Nxd7 19.Bxb6 Nxb6 20.Rad1 Ke7 21.f3 Rad8 22.b3 Rd6 23.Nh1 Rhd8 24.Nf2 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 26.Nxd1 Nd7 27.Ne3 b5 28.b4 h5 29.Kf2 c5 30.Kg3 cxb4 31.cxb4 Kf6 32.h4 Nb6 33.hxg5+ Kxg5 34.Kf2 Nc4 35.Nxc4 bxc4 36.g3 1-0 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.11"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "1"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Charles Henry Stanley"] [Black "James Henry Turner"] [ECO "C26"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "49"] [Source "(New York) Albion, 1850.02.23, p94"] 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Nf3 d6 5.d3 h6 6.Be3 Bb6 7.Ne2 Be6 8.Bb3 c6 9.Ng3 Nbd7 10.O-O O-O 11.Qe2 Re8 12.Rad1 Qc7 13.Nh4 Nf8 14.Nhf5 Ng6 15.Qd2 Bxe3 16.fxe3 Kh7 17.Qf2 Rh8 18.Nxg7 Ng4 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Qf7+ Qxf7 21.Rxf7+ Kg8 22.Bxe6 Re8 23.Re7+ Kf8 24.Rxe8+ Kxe8 25.Bxg4 1-0 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.11"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "4"] [Result "0-1"] [White "James Henry Turner"] [Black "Charles Henry Stanley"] [ECO "C38"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "124"] [Source "The Chess Player's Chronicle 1850, p. 103"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. c3 d6 6. d4 h6 7. O-O Ne7 8. g3 g4 9. Nh4 f3 10. h3 h5 11. Qb3 Rf8 12. Qb5+ Nbc6 13. Qxh5 Ng8 14. Bg5 Bf6 15. Be3 Bd7 16. Nd2 Qe7 17. hxg4 Bxh4 18. Qxh4 Qxh4 19. gxh4 Bxg4 20. Nxf3 Na5 21. Bd3 O-O-O 22. Nh2 Bd7 23. Rf2 Rde8 24. Bd2 Ne7 25. Bg5 Ng6 26. h5 Ne7 27. Bxe7 Rxe7 28. Rg2 f5 29. exf5 Re3 30. Bc2 Bc6 31. Rg5 Nc4 32. Rf1 Nd2 33. Rd1 Re2 34. Bd3 Rxh2 35. Kxh2 Nf3+ 36. Kg3 Nxg5 37. Kf4 Ne6+ 38. Ke3 Ng7 39. Kf4 Nxh5+ 40. Kg5 Rg8+ 41. Kh6 Nf4 42. f6 Be8 43. Bf5+ Kd8 44. Rf1 Nh5 45. Bh7 Rf8 46. Kg5 Bf7 47. Rf3 Rh8 48. Kh6 Ke8 49. b3 Kf8 50. c4 Bg8 51. Kxh5 Rxh7+ 52. Kg6 Rh4 53. d5 Bh7+ 54. Kg5 Re4 55. Kh6 Kf7 56. a4 a5 57. Rg3 Rh4+ 58. Kg5 Rh1 59. Re3 Rg1+ 60. Kh6 Bf5 61. b4 Kxf6 62. Kh5 Rh1+ 0-1 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.12"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "6"] [Result "0-1"] [White "James Henry Turner"] [Black "Charles Henry Stanley"] [ECO "C38"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "50"] [Source "(New York) Albion, 1850.03.09, p119"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. O-O h6 6. c3 d6 7. d4 Ne7 8. g3 g4 9. Nh4 f3 10. h3 h5 11. Qb3 O-O 12. Bg5 Qe8 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Ng6 Qxe4 15. Nxf8 d5 16. Nd2 Qe3+ 17. Rf2 dxc4 18. Nxc4 Qe4 19. Nd2 Qc6 20. d5 Qb6 21. Qc2 Bxf8 22. Re1 Bc5 23. Re8+ Kg7 24. Ne4 Bf5 25. Qd2 Be3 0-1 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.12"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "8"] [Result "1-0"] [White "James Henry Turner"] [Black "Charles Henry Stanley"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "65"] [Source "Illustrated London News, 1850.03.23, p195"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Qe7 5.O-O d6 6.d4 Bb6 7.h3 Nf6 8.Re1 O-O 9.Bg5 Nd8 10.Bh4 h6 11.Nbd2 Kh8 12.Bg3 exd4 13.cxd4 Nh7 14.e5 dxe5 15.Nxe5 Qg5 16.Ndf3 Qf6 17.d5 Bc5 18.Nd2 Bf5 19.Ne4 Qb6 20.Qf3 Bxe4 21.Qxe4 Nf6 22.Qf5 Kg8 23.Bh4 g5 24.Bg3 Kg7 25.h4 g4 26.Nxg4 Nxg4 27.Qxg4+ Qg6 28.Qf3 c6 29.Bd3 f5 30.Be5+ Kg8 31.dxc6 Nxc6 32.Qd5+ Kh7 33.Qxc5 {(...)} 1-0 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.12"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "5"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Charles Henry Stanley"] [Black "James Henry Turner"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "81"] [Source "The Chess Player's Chronicle 1850, p. 105"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nxe4 4. Nxe5 d5 5. Qe2 Be6 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. O-O Qd6 8. Nf3 h6 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. d4 Bb6 12. a4 Re8 13. a5 Nd7 14. axb6 Bg4 15. Qd3 Nxb6 16. Ne5 Bh5 17. Qf5 Bg6 18. Nxg6 fxg6 19. Qg4 Re6 20. Ba3 Qd7 21. Bc5 Kh7 22. Bxb6 cxb6 23. Qf3 Re4 24. Rae1 Rae8 25. Rxe4 Rxe4 26. h3 a5 27. c4 Rxd4 28. Rd1 Rxd1+ 29. Qxd1 d4 30. Qd3 Qe7 31. Qxd4 Qc7 32. Qd5 Qf4 33. g3 Qb8 34. c3 Qc8 35. Kg2 Qc6 36. Qxc6 bxc6 37. Ba4 c5 38. Kf3 g5 39. Ke4 h5 40. Kd5 h4 41. g4 1-0 [Event "Stanley - Turner US Championship Match"] [Site "Washington, DC USA"] [Date "1850.02.12"] [EventDate "1850.02.11"] [Round "7"] [Result "0-1"] [White "Charles Henry Stanley"] [Black "James Henry Turner"] [ECO "C26"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "128"] [Source "The Chess Player's Chronicle 1850, p. 108"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bc5 4. d3 d6 5. Be3 Bb6 6. Nf3 h6 7. Qd2 Be6 8. Bb3 Nc6 9. Ne2 Ne7 10. Ng3 Qd7 11. c3 c6 12. d4 Ng6 13. Rd1 Rd8 14. Qc2 Qe7 15. O-O O-O 16. Nf5 Bxf5 17. exf5 Nf4 18. Bxf4 exf4 19. Rde1 Qd7 20. Nh4 d5 21. Qd2 Bc7 22. Bc2 Rfe8 23. Nf3 Ne4 24. Bxe4 dxe4 25. Nh4 Qe7 26. g3 Qg5 27. Qc2 e3 28. Nf3 Qg4 29. fxe3 fxg3 30. hxg3 Bxg3 31. Re2 Bf4+ 32. Rg2 Bxe3+ 33. Kh1 Qh3+ 34. Nh2 Rd7 35. Qe2 Rde7 36. Rxg7+ Kxg7 37. f6+ Kf8 38. fxe7+ Rxe7 39. Rf3 Qe6 40. Ng4 Bg5 41. Ne5 Kg7 42. Qe4 f6 43. Qg6+ Kf8 44. Qh5 Rg7 45. c4 Kg8 46. Qg4 Qe8 47. Nd3 Be3 48. Qh4 Rg1+ 49. Kh2 Qb8+ 50. Nf4 Bxd4 51. Rg3+ Rxg3 52. Qxg3+ Kf7 53. Qg6+ Ke7 54. Qg7+ Kd6 55. b4 c5 56. Kh1 Qe8 57. bxc5+ Kc6 58. Qg2+ Kc7 59. Nd5+ Kb8 60. Qh2+ Qe5 61. a4 Qxh2+ 62. Kxh2 Kc8 63. Kh3 Kd7 64. Kg4 Kc6 0-1

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