Charles Henry Stanley vs. John Spencer 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.
See (some of) the Games of the Match!
Download (some of) the Games of the Match!
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