Marshall-Showalter Match, 1909


Marshall-Showalter Match, 1909
Lexington, KY

            1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2
Marshall    1 ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 1  7 (w/3 draws)
Showalter   0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 0  2 (w/3 draws)

Showalter was White in the odd numbered games. The match was to go to the first to win 7 games.

When Walter Penn Shipley was asked to mediate the dispute surrounding the disposition of the US title after the death of Harry Nelson Pillsbury (see the notes to the Capablanca-Marshall match), he awarded the title to the last living person to have held it: Jackson Whipps Showalter, a man whom the title had reverted to on more than one previous occasion.

Since Shipley had ruled that Capablanca (the winner of the Capablanca-Marshall match) could not challenge for the title until he became a US Citizen, Marshall beat him to the punch by going to Kentucky, dragging Showalter out of retirement, and issuing his own challenge.

After winning the title in this match, Marshall held it for 26 years, defending it only once during that time, before voluntarily relinquishing it in 1935, to allow the present series of US Championship tournaments to begin.

[Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.09"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "1"] [Result "0-1"] [White "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [Black "Frank James Marshall"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "102"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 Bg4 6.Be2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.d5 Nd7 9.Nd4 Bxe2 10.Qxe2 Nef6 11.Nc3 Re8 12.f4 Bf8 13.Qf3 Rc8 14.Be3 c6 15.Bf2 cxd5 16.Nxd5 Qa5 17.Nc3 d5 18.a3 Ne4 19.Nb3 Qa6 20.Bd4 Ndc5 21.Rad1 Nxb3 22.cxb3 Nxc3 23.Bxc3 Qb6+ 24.Kh1 Qxb3 25.Qxd5 Qxd5 26.Rxd5 Bxa3 27.Bxg7 Kxg7 28.bxa3 Rc3 29.Ra5 a6 30.h3 Re6 31.a4 Ra3 32.Rg5+ Rg6 33.Rb1 Rxa4 34.Rxb7 Rxf4 35.Rxg6+ hxg6 36.Ra7 Ra4 37.Kh2 Ra3 38.h4 a5 39.g4 a4 40.g5 Ra1 41.Kg2 a3 42.Kf2 Kf8 43.Kg2 a2 44.Kh2 Ke8 45.Kg2 Kd8 46.Kh2 Kc8 47.Rxf7 Re1 48.Ra7 a1=Q 49.Rxa1 Rxa1 50.Kg3 Kd7 51.Kf4 Ke6 0-1 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.10"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "2"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [White "Frank James Marshall"] [Black "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "62"] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.e3 exd4 4.exd4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 O-O 7.Be2 dxc4 8.O-O Bg4 9.Bxc4 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Qxd4 11.Qxb7 Qxc4 12.Qxa8 Nc6 13.Qb7 Bd6 14.Qb5 Qe6 15.Qe2 Qf5 16.Qf3 Qe5 17.g3 Nd4 18.Qe3 Qc5 19.Rd1 Be5 20.Ne4 Qd5 21.Nxf6+ Bxf6 22.Rd3 Rd8 23.Bd2 Nf3+ 24.Qxf3 Qxd3 25.Qxd3 Rxd3 26.Bf4 c5 27.Rc1 Rd5 28.Be3 Bxb2 29.Rb1 Be5 30.Rb5 f6 31.Rxc5 Rxc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.11"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "3"] [Result "0-1"] [White "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [Black "Frank James Marshall"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "110"] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.Nexd4 Bc5 9.c3 Bxd4 10.cxd4 Qb6 11.b3 f6 12.Bb2 fxe5 13.fxe5 O-O 14.Bd3 Qb4+ 15.Ke2 Nb6 16.a3 Qe7 17.Qc2 h6 18.Raf1 Bd7 19.h4 Rac8 20.Qd2 Qe8 21.h5 Ne7 22.a4 Nf5 23.Rh3 Bxa4 24.bxa4 Nc4 25.Bxc4 Rxc4 26.g4 Qxa4 27.Rc1 Rxc1 28.Qxc1 Ne7 29.Kf2 Rc8 30.Bc3 b5 31.Qb2 a5 32.Ne1 Rc4 33.Rd3 Nc6 34.Qd2 b4 35.Bb2 Qa2 36.g5 hxg5 37.Nf3 Qb1 38.Kg3 g4 39.Ne1 a4 40.h6 gxh6 41.Qe2 Kh7 42.Qf2 Nd8 43.Kxg4 a3 44.Qf6 Rc7 45.Kh5 Rg7 46.Qxh6+ Kg8 47.Qc1 Qxb2 48.Qxb2 axb2 49.Rb3 Rg1 50.Rxb2 Rxe1 51.Rxb4 Nc6 52.Ra4 Kf7 53.Kg5 Re4 54.Ra6 Nxd4 55.Ra7+ Ke8 0-1 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.12"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "4"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Frank James Marshall"] [Black "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [ECO "C21"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "67"] 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 d3 4.Bxd3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Bf4 Be7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.O-O Bg4 10.Re1 Nh5 11.Bg3 Nxg3 12.hxg3 Ne5 13.Bf1 Bg5 14.Qb3 Bxd2 15.Nxd2 Be6 16.Qxb7 a6 17.Nf3 Nxf3+ 18.gxf3 Qd7 19.Qb4 Rfb8 20.Qa3 a5 21.Rad1 Qc6 22.Re3 f6 23.Rd4 Qb6 24.b3 c5 25.Rd2 a4 26.c4 axb3 27.Qxb3 Qc7 28.Qd1 Rb6 29.f4 Qb8 30.Rb3 Rxb3 31.axb3 Ra6 32.e5 Qa7 33.Rxd6 g6 34.Rxa6 1-0 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.16"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "5"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [Black "Frank James Marshall"] [ECO "C63"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "47"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Ng3 Bd6 7.d4 Bg4 8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.Qe2 Bxf3 11.Qxe5+ Ne7 12.gxf3 O-O 13.Bg5 Qd7 14.Bxe7 Rae8 15.O-O-O Rxf3 16.Qh5 Rxf2 17.Bc5 g6 18.Qg5 Rg2 19.Qf6 Qh3 20.Bd4 Qh6+ 21.Kb1 c5 22.Rhf1 cxd4 23.Qf7+ Kh8 24.Qxe8+ 1-0 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.17"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "6"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [White "Frank James Marshall"] [Black "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [ECO "C30"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "78"] 1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.c3 Qe7 5.Bb5+ c6 6.Ba4 Nf6 7.Bc2 Bb6 8.d3 Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Nbd7 11.Be3 exf4 12.Bxb6 axb6 13.Qxf4 Qe5 14.Qxe5+ dxe5 15.O-O O-O 16.Nd2 g6 17.Nc4 Kg7 18.a4 Ne8 19.d4 f6 20.Rad1 exd4 21.Rxd4 Rf7 22.Rfd1 Nc5 23.b4 Nxa4 24.Rd8 Rxd8 25.Rxd8 Re7 26.Bxa4 b5 27.Bxb5 Nc7 28.Na3 cxb5 29.Kf2 Kh6 30.Rb8 Rxe4 31.Rxb7 Nd5 32.Nxb5 Rc4 33.Ke2 Nxc3+ 34.Nxc3 Rxc3 35.Rf7 f5 36.b5 Rb3 37.Rb7 Kg5 38.Rxh7 Rxb5 39.Rc7 f4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.18"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "7"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [White "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [Black "Frank James Marshall"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "119"] 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nce2 Nc6 7.c3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 O-O 10.Nf3 f6 11.Bxb4 Nxb4 12.Qb3 Nc6 13.O-O-O Na5 14.Qc3 b5 15.Ng3 Bb7 16.Kb1 Rc8 17.Qb4 Nc4 18.Bd3 fxe5 19.Ng5 Rc6 20.Bxh7+ Kh8 21.dxe5 Rxf4 22.h4 Qf8 23.Qxf8+ Nxf8 24.Bd3 Nxe5 25.Bxb5 Rb6 26.Rdf1 Rf6 27.Be2 Kg8 28.Nh5 Rxf1+ 29.Rxf1 Ba6 30.Bxa6 Rxa6 31.Nf4 Neg6 32.Nh5 Ne5 33.Nf4 Neg6 34.Nh5 Ne5 35.Rc1 d4 36.Rc8 Ned7 37.Nf4 e5 38.Nd3 Rf6 39.Re8 Rf1+ 40.Kc2 Rg1 41.Nxe5 Rxg2+ 42.Kd3 Nxe5+ 43.Rxe5 Rxb2 44.Ra5 Rb7 45.Kxd4 Rb4+ 46.Ke3 Rb7 47.h5 Re7+ 48.Kf4 Nh7 49.Ne4 Rf7+ 50.Rf5 Rb7 51.Rc5 Rf7+ 52.Ke5 Re7+ 53.Kf5 Rf7+ 54.Ke6 Nf8+ 55.Kd6 Rd7+ 56.Kc6 Rd4 57.Ng5 Ra4 58.Rc2 Ra5 59.Rg2 Nh7 60.Nxh7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.19"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "8"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Frank James Marshall"] [Black "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [ECO "D08"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "123"] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 Bb4 6.a3 Bxd2+ 7.Bxd2 Bg4 8.Qb3 Rb8 9.Bg5 Nge7 10.O-O-O O-O 11.e3 Re8 12.Be2 Na5 13.Qc2 Bxf3 14.Rxd4 Qc8 15.Bxf3 c5 16.Rd6 b5 17.cxb5 c4 18.Rhd1 Ng6 19.Bc6 Nxc6 20.bxc6 Nxe5 21.Rd8 Qxc6 22.Rxb8 Rxb8 23.Bf4 Qb5 24.Bxe5 Qxe5 25.g3 Rc8 26.Kb1 g6 27.Rd4 Qa5 28.Qc3 Qf5+ 29.Qc2 Qh3 30.f4 Qf1+ 31.Rd1 Qf3 32.e4 Qe3 33.e5 a5 34.Ka2 Qc5 35.Qc3 a4 36.Rd7 Qb5 37.e6 Qb3+ 38.Ka1 Qxc3 39.exf7+ Kf8 40.bxc3 Rb8 41.Ra7 Rb3 42.Rxa4 Rxc3 43.Kb2 Rb3+ 44.Ka2 Rc3 45.Rb4 Rc2+ 46.Rb2 Rc1 47.Re2 Kxf7 48.Kb2 Rd1 49.Rc2 Rd4 50.Kc3 Rd3+ 51.Kb4 Rb3+ 52.Ka4 Rf3 53.Rxc4 h5 54.Kb4 h4 55.gxh4 Rf2 56.a4 Rxh2 57.a5 Rxh4 58.a6 Rh8 59.Ka5 Ke6 60.a7 Kd5 61.Rb4 Kc5 62.Rb8 1-0 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.20"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "9"] [Result "0-1"] [White "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [Black "Frank James Marshall"] [ECO "C62"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "82"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 Bg4 5.d5 a6 6.dxc6 axb5 7.cxb7 Rb8 8.c4 bxc4 9.Qa4+ Bd7 10.Qxc4 Rxb7 11.Nc3 Be7 12.O-O Nf6 13.a4 O-O 14.a5 c5 15.a6 Rb4 16.Qe2 Qb6 17.Nd2 Ra8 18.Nc4 Qc6 19.Bg5 Be6 20.Ne3 Rb6 21.Ncd5 Bxd5 22.Bxf6 Bxf6 23.Nxd5 Rbxa6 24.Rac1 Ra4 25.b4 Bd8 26.Rfd1 Ra2 27.Qc4 h5 28.b5 Qd7 29.Nc3 Rb2 30.Qxc5 Bg5 31.Qd5 Rc8 32.Rb1 Rc2 33.Na4 Qa7 34.b6 Qxa4 35.b7 Rb8 36.Ra1 Qe8 37.Ra8 Be7 38.Rda1 Bf8 39.g3 Rb2 40.R1a7 R2xb7 41.Rxb8 Rxb8 0-1 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.22"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "10"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Frank James Marshall"] [Black "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "55"] 1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Bd3 Bg4 4.f3 Bd7 5.f4 e6 6.Nf3 c5 7.c3 Qc7 8.O-O Nc6 9.Ne5 Bd6 10.Nd2 O-O-O 11.Qe2 Rdg8 12.e4 dxe4 13.Nxe4 cxd4 14.Nxd6+ Qxd6 15.Nxf7 Qc5 16.Nxh8 Rxh8 17.Kh1 h5 18.cxd4 Qxd4 19.Be3 Qd6 20.Rac1 Kb8 21.Rfd1 Qe7 22.Bc5 Qf7 23.b4 Ng4 24.Be4 e5 25.fxe5 Ka8 26.b5 Ncxe5 27.Bxb7+ Kxb7 28.Qe4+ 1-0 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.23"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "11"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [Black "Frank James Marshall"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "87"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.Nbd2 O-O 8.Nf1 b5 9.Bb3 d5 10.Qe2 dxe4 11.dxe4 h6 12.Ng3 Bd6 13.O-O Na5 14.Bc2 Be6 15.b3 Re8 16.Rd1 Qc8 17.Nh4 Nc6 18.Nhf5 Ne7 19.Qf3 Bxf5 20.exf5 Rb8 21.Nh5 Nxh5 22.Qxh5 f6 23.Bxh6 gxh6 24.Rd3 e4 25.Rh3 Qxf5 26.Qxh6 Qg6 27.Qe3 Nd5 28.Qd2 Qg5 29.Qe1 f5 30.Rd1 Nf6 31.Rxd6 cxd6 32.Rg3 Ng4 33.h3 d5 34.Qd1 Rbd8 35.hxg4 f4 36.Rh3 Qg7 37.Kf1 d4 38.b4 dxc3 39.Qc1 e3 40.fxe3 fxe3 41.Bb3+ Kf8 42.Rf3+ Ke7 43.Qxe3+ Kd6 44.Qc5+ 1-0 [Event "Marshall - Showalter US Championship"] [Site "Lexington, KY USA"] [Date "1909.11.26"] [EventDate "1909.11.09"] [Round "12"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Frank James Marshall"] [Black "Jackson Whipps Showalter"] [ECO "D08"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "57"] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Nxf3 Qe7 8.a3 O-O-O 9.Bg5 f6 10.exf6 gxf6 11.Bf4 Qe4 12.Qd2 d3 13.Qe3 Qxc4 14.exd3 Qf7 15.Be2 Nge7 16.O-O Nd5 17.Qd2 Rg8 18.Rac1 Nxf4 19.Qxf4 Qe6 20.Qc4 Rd5 21.Nd4 Qf7 22.Nxc6 bxc6 23.Bf3 Bd6 24.Rfe1 Qd7 25.Bxd5 cxd5 26.Qa6+ Kd8 27.Qxa7 Qg7 28.Qa8+ Kd7 29.Qxd5 1-0

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