The Human Comedy of Chess by Hans Ree

Author:Hans Ree
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Russell Enterprises, Inc.
Published: 2011-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

Norman van Lennep

At long last, in January of 1893,the first issue of the Tijdschrift van den Nederlandschen Schaakbond (Magazine of the Dutch Chess Federation) appeared, the magazine that, under various names, has now lasted for over a hundred years. One of its very first sentences goes as follows: “Thus the federation has taken on the task of leading chess life in the Netherlands.” A good intention, which came closer to realization when in August of 1893 a new and ambitious board was elected. Jhr. (Jonkheer, a minimal rank of Dutch nobility) Dirk van Foreest became president, J.F. Heemskerk, who had already served with distinction on the previous board, became treasurer and, perhaps the most important selection, the twenty-year-old Norman Willem van Lennep (1872-1897) became federation secretary and editor-in-chief of the Tijdschift.

Van Lennep served the federation for only two years, but during that brief period he dashed around the chess world like a whirlwind. He traveled all over the country to give simultaneous displays and to give out tournament prizes in the name of the federation. He also – with Heemskerk’s help – put order into the federation’s deficient administration, persistently pleaded for greater financial solvency and provided anonymous relief for the organization’s constantly recurring debt problems, acting as a “friend of the federation who is aware of our needs.” He also filled practically the entire magazine with tournament reports, book reviews and commentary that to this day are worth reading. He was equally active as a tournament player. There was less happening than today, but Van Lennep participated in virtually all the more or less important tournaments, with increasing success. He played many games against the best Dutch players and obtained the best chess result of his short life at the Leipzig tournament of 1894. He won the Hauptturnier (we would call it the reserve group) and with that result became the first Dutchman to be internationally recognized as a master.

Van Lennep was anxious to develop the Tijdschrift into an internationally authoritative journal, a publication that could compete with the most important English and German chess magazines. After his death, in 1897, his fellow editor H.J. den Hertog wrote that really only the first issue of the 1894 volume corresponded to the image Van Lennep had had in mind. After that, a lack of money and technical difficulties always prevented the magazine from becoming what he wanted it to be. Be that as it may, he still produced quite a good magazine. He knew, much better than his predecessors, the international world of chess and the foreign chess literature.

The first big event about which Van Lennep wrote long articles was the match for the world championship between Steinitz and Lasker, which was held in New York, Philadelphia and Montreal in 1894. Van Lennep clearly sided with Steinitz. He actually considered Lasker an upstart, who had not yet achieved enough to be challenging the world champion and who really did not deserve the world title he took from the elderly and physically broken Steinitz.

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