“William Norwood Potter”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

William Norwood Potter (27 August 1840 – 13 March 1895) was an English chess master and writer. He is primarily remembered for the quality of his chess journalism, and for his association with Wilhelm Steinitz, the first undisputed world chess champion.

Life and career

Potter was born in London on 27 August 1840^[1] to William and Mary Anne (Martin) Potter. He had three brothers and a sister, Mary Potter.^[2]^[3]

A barristers' clerk by trade, Potter first appeared in London chess circles in 1867 and rose quickly from obscurity, winning the 1870 City of London Chess Club handicap tournament, in which he defeated Joseph Henry Blackburne and Cecil Valentine De Vere on even terms.^[4] From 1872 to 1874 the City of London Chess Club contested a two-game correspondence chess match with Vienna: the other London team members eventually dropped out, leaving Potter and Steinitz to continue the match by themselves, which they ultimately won by a score of 1.5–0.5. Steinitz would later point to this match as the beginning of the "systematic analytical development of modern ideas" in chess.^[4] In 1875 Potter lost a hard-fought match against Johannes Zukertort, scoring two wins and four losses with eight draws.^[5] In 1879 he drew a match against James Mason, both sides scoring five wins apiece with eleven draws.^[4]

Potter was a chess columnist for the Westminster Papers from 1868 to 1879. ^[8] From 1874 to 1876 he produced his own periodical, the City of London Chess Magazine, which featured contributions from Zukertort and Steinitz.^[6]^[7] Subsequently he became the last chess editor at Land and Water from 1877 to 1885.^[4] He also contributed the well-reviewed article on chess in the ninth edition of Encyclopædia Britannica.^[4]^[8]^[9]

After 1885 Potter retired from the London chess scene.^[10]^[5]^[11] He died in his home in Sutton on 13 March 1895.^[12]

Assessment and legacy

In Potter's obituary, the British Chess Magazine noted that though "his record of first-class play is not a long one", "the quality of his best play entitles him, we think, to rank as the equal of any British-born master of his time, with the single exception of Blackburne."^[12] Regarding Potter, Steinitz once said: "Put all the pieces into a hat and shake them out on to the board, and you have Potter’s style exactly"; but nevertheless acknowledged him as "a very fine player of the modern school, as well as unquestionably the ablest analyst in England next to Zukertort."^[13] Emanuel Lasker claimed in his Manual of Chess that Potter "had influenced Steinitz greatly" but subsequent commentators have cast doubt on this assessment.^[13] For his part, Steinitz claimed that Potter "was my pupil direct for some time."^[14] Potter's chess writings are praised for their mastery, liveliness and wit.^[12]^[5]^[4]

The Saavedra position, one of the best-known endgame studies in chess, originates from a game of Potter's against Richard Fenton in 1875:^[5] see Saavedra position#History.

Notable games

Potter vs. Matthews, London 1868

This frequently published miniature, which features a knight delivering checkmate from a corner of the board, was played between Potter (White) and Matthews (Black) during a "meeting of the British Chess Association" in 1868.^[5]

Zukertort vs. Potter, London 1876

In a difficult position, Potter (Black) finds a remarkable queen manoeuvre to save this game against Zukertort (White) in an 1876 tournament at Simpson’s Divan.^[13]

Potter vs. Mason, London 1879

This fine sacrificial attack by Potter (White) against Mason (Black) from their 1879 match was annotated by Steinitz in The Modern Chess Instructor,^[17] from which the following quotes are taken.

References

1. ^{{cite journal |last = Cunningham |first = J. G. |title = The Late Mr. W. N. Potter |journal = British Chess Magazine |volume = 15 |issue = 5 |year = 1895 |page = 228 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IIhJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA228}}
2. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.lcm.org.au/our-story/dsp-default.cfm?loadref=25 |title=Mary Potter: Her Story |publisher=Sisters of the Little Company of Mary Australia |accessdate=7 January 2017}}
3. ^{{cite web |last=Winter |first=Edward |authorlink=Edward Winter (chess historian) |url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter54.html#5936_William_Norwood_Potter |title=5936. William Norwood Potter |website=Chess Notes |accessdate=7 January 2017}}
4. ^¹²³⁴⁵{{cite book |last=Harding |first=Tim |date=2012 |title=Eminent Victorian Chess Players: Ten Biographies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CygTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA371 |location=USA |publisher=McFarland |pages=170–173 |isbn=0786465689 |author-link=Tim Harding (chess player)}}
5. ^¹²³⁴⁵{{cite web |last=Forster |first=Richard |url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/forster25.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010107203500/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/forster25.txt |archive-date=7 January 2001 |title=Five Reasons for Remembering William Norwood Potter |work=Late Knight |publisher=ChessCafe.com |date=May 2000}}
6. ^{{cite web |last=Harding |first=Tim |url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kibitzer48.txt |title=A History of The City of London Chess Magazine (Part 1) |work=The Kibitzer |publisher=ChessCafe.com |date=May 2000}}
7. ^{{cite web |last=Harding |first=Tim |url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/kibitzer49.txt |title=A History of The City of London Chess Magazine (Part 2) |work=The Kibitzer |publisher=ChessCafe.com |date=June 2000}}
8. ^{{cite encyclopedia |title=Chess |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |edition=9th |volume=5 |year=1876 |pages=592–603}}
9. ^{{cite web |title=Chess |url=http://www.1902encyclopedia.com/C/CHE/chess.html |website=1902 Encyclopedia |accessdate=7 January 2017}}
10. ^{{cite book |last=Harding |first=Tim |date=2012 |title=Eminent Victorian Chess Players: Ten Biographies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CygTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA371 |location=USA |publisher=McFarland |page=371 |isbn=0786465689 |author-link=Tim Harding (chess player)}}
11. ^{{cite web |last=Edwards |first=Rod |url=http://www.edochess.ca/players/p315.html |title=Potter, William |website=Edo Historical Chess Ratings |accessdate=7 January 2017}}
12. ^¹²³{{cite journal |title = Obituary |journal = British Chess Magazine |volume = 15 |issue = 4 |year = 1895 |page = 180 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IIhJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA180}}
13. ^¹²{{cite web |last=Forster |first=Richard |url=http://www.chesscafe.com/text/forster26.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000822101253/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/forster26.txt |archive-date=22 August 2000 |title=More About Potter |work=Late Knight |publisher=ChessCafe.com |date=June 2000}}
14. ^{{cite web |last=Winter |first=Edward |authorlink=Edward Winter (chess historian) |url=http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/steinitzlaskerpotter.html |title=Steinitz, Lasker, Potter and ‘Modern Chess’ |website=Chess Notes |accessdate=7 January 2017}}
15. ^{{cite book |last=Dembo | first=Yelena | authorlink=Yelena Dembo |last2=Palliser | first2=Richard | authorlink2=Richard Palliser |title=The Scotch Game |year=2011 |pages=320, 329 |publisher=Everyman Chess |isbn=1857446321}}
16. ^{{cite book |last=Hooper | first=David | authorlink=David Vincent Hooper |last2=Whyld | first2=Kenneth | authorlink2=Ken Whyld |title=The Oxford Companion to Chess |year=1992 |edition=2nd |contribution=Potter Variation |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-280049-3}}
17. ^{{cite book |last=Steinitz |first=Wilhelm |date=1889 |title=The Modern Chess Instructor, Part I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FVAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA132 |location=London |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |pages=132–133 |author-link=Wilhelm Steinitz}}