Paris International Tournament 1878
Incomplete record. This archive holds 121 of the 138 games played; 17 are missing.
Johannes Zukertort and Szymon Winawer finished level on 16½ points from twenty-two games in Paris. Their first two playoff games were drawn. Zukertort then won twice to take first prize, while a separate playoff gave George Henry Mackenzie fourth place ahead of Henry Bird.
Twenty-two games apiece
Twelve players met twice each, producing 132 main-event games. The tournament book groups these into eleven paired rounds, with each pair playing both colors. Its account states that the main event was complete on 24 July, when the delayed second Winawer–Blackburne game was played.
Zukertort and Winawer shared the lead on 16½. Joseph Henry Blackburne scored 14½, Mackenzie and Bird 13 each, and Adolf Anderssen 12½. Berthold Englisch and Samuel Rosenthal each made 11½; Albert Clerc and James Mason 8½; Henry Gifford 3½; and Karl Pitschel 2½.
Two prizes decided by playoffs
Mackenzie won both games against Bird to secure fourth prize. The first two Zukertort–Winawer games were drawn, requiring another two-game match. Zukertort won its first game with 40.Qxh8# and also won the second, finishing the four-game first-prize playoff with three points to one.
The six prize winners were Zukertort, Winawer, Blackburne, Mackenzie, Bird and Anderssen, in that order. The earlier playoff dates differ between accounts. The surviving scores and Schallopp date both Mackenzie–Bird games to 27 July and the first two Zukertort–Winawer games to 27 and 28 July. Westminster Papers gives 27 and 29 July for each pair. Both accounts date Zukertort’s wins to 30 and 31 July. The source dates are retained here; Schallopp’s accompanying weekday names also disagree with the 1878 calendar.
What survives
This collection has 121 scores: 115 from the main event, both Mackenzie–Bird games, and all four Zukertort–Winawer games. Seventeen main-event scores were not found in the available collection. Schallopp’s 1879 book printed 119 games and reported nineteen missing; two additional scores, Zukertort–Gifford and Englisch–Mackenzie, survive here. Their results agree with the original table.
Some recorded endings are incomplete. Pitschel–Blackburne stops at 50.Rde1, where the original book describes Black’s mate in two. Englisch–Winawer stops at 62.Rf6; Schallopp says that Black resigned after a few further moves which are not printed.
The Blackburne–Mackenzie opening also differs between score editions. This score follows the original book’s 10...f6, 12...f5 and 14...Qf7. Schallopp himself discusses a possible error in the recorded opening. The published line is retained without choosing a replacement variation.
Result
Archive holds 121 of 138 played games: 115 of the 132 main games and all six prize-playoff games. Seventeen main scores are unavailable. The original final totals and playoff results are given here.