BOOK
REVIEW by CARL PORTMAN
Walter Penn Shipley
by John S. Hilbert
JOHN S. HILBERT
Walter Penn Shipley – Philadelphia’s Friend of Chess
1st edition (softcover, 442 Pages)
2003
McFarland Publishing
What is the book about?
It tells the story of Walter Penn Shipley,
a man who was deeply passionate about chess throughout his life, who played a significant
role in the activities and development of chess in the Philadelphia area,
serving (among many roles) as President of the Franklin Chess Club. He could
count among his friends the likes of Steinitz, Lasker, Pillsbury and
Capablanca, at one point even facilitating business matters between Lasker and
Capablanca as they tried to agree terms for a World Championship match. The
book profiles the life of an extraordinary individual who spread the gospel of
chess to players in America and beyond at all levels across two Centuries. He
was a fine chess player, writer, columnist and an outstanding organiser, Walter Penn
Shipley stood alone as a trusted and indefatigable man of his time. His
services to chess were known throughout the world.
Contents
There
are nine chapters in the book. They chronologically map the life of Shipley,
explaining his background, chess club activities, the good and golden years
going through the decades right up to and including his death.
What does the official Blurb say?
Walter Penn Shipley was crucial to the development of
chess in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He
organized correspondence chess in the United States in the 1890s, was a
talented player and was a friend of world champions and contenders. He served
as the president of the Franklin Chess Club in Philadelphia at the height of
its power and prestige.
This work is a complete biography and games collection of
Walter Penn Shipley. It draws from original documents—correspondence with
Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca, Pillsbury and others, detailed Shipley family
records—and extensive research conducted in contemporary newspapers, journals
and magazines. The book contains approximately 250 games (most of them
annotated), with 246 positional diagrams.
Does the book achieve its aim?
And
then some! The purpose of the book is to bring this individual and his role in chess to the attention
of the reader. It is evident to observe the care and dedication that has gone into doing this. I came to ‘know’ WPS throughout the book through his deeds and his chess games. It was particularly pleasing to learn that he was
an exponent of the French Defence, for many years my own favourite opening with
the Black pieces. I even learned some new lines. Talk about being taught by ghosts of the
past.
From
his birth (June 1860) to his death (February 1942) and despite many other distractions, WPS was destined to
play the leading role on chess matters in the Philadelphia area and of course
at the Franklin Chess Club. What lucky members they all were to have him at
the helm. There are some funny anecdotes including those around his friend Emil
Kemeny and lots of historical information not only about Shipley but other
players of the day. There is even a consultation game from a train ride to New
York involving Pillsbury, Shipley and others which I have seen nowhere else.
Towards
the end, Shipley and Lasker ‘fell out’ but in a very touching story, as Lasker
was dying, we learn that Shipley was actually the one that he kept close.
I believe that if Shipley were alive today and he read
this book, he would congratulate the author and the Publishers for this fine
work. I think he would be delighted. There can be no better compliment than
that.
Concluding notes
I consider myself
lucky to have read this and learned about such an incredible man. He deserves
to be remembered for being a man of his time in a chess history. Shipley was a
mover, a shaker - and a Quaker which seemed to give him the character to look at matters with supportive eyes and he was respected
and trusted by just about everybody. As a lawyer, family man and committee
member he had much on his plate but always found time for his beloved chess.
This
book for me was about two aspects to enjoy. First and foremost, Shipley the
man. Secondly the chess games. There are lots of correspondence games and one
can imagine how long it took these games to conclude. America and the UK played
cable games too and these are included here. The annotations are often light and
easy to follow – just enough text to diagrams, all set out in the usual top-quality
format by McFarland publishing. It’s a joy to read.
I
felt as I was reading the book that I was actually there, accompanying Shipley
as his chess life developed. I felt that I could have taken a seat in one of
the Simultaneous exhibitions he gave or organised. I had no idea that he was
friends with the luminaries of the day and entrusted with information from them
all when it came to organising visits and games. What a great and true friend
he must have been. He played the top players of the day and beat Lasker and
Steinitz in a simul as well as Pillsbury in just seven (!) moves. True, Pillsbury
erred, dropping a piece in a well-known but tricky line in the QGD, but that’s
chess. He also drew with Capablanca in a simul, twice.
Some
of the games may not be perfect (who plays perfect chess?) but they are great
fun. I enjoyed an attacking game against a club mate, Joseph Palmer in November
1891, where Shipley was White and eagerly stormed the fortress.
1.
e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 exd4 5. Ng5 Ne5 6. Qxd4 Nxc4 7. Qxc4 d5 8.
exd5 Qxd5 9. Qe2+ Be7 10. O-O h6 11. Re1 Qd6 12. Bf4 Qd8 13. Nc3?! (optimistic.
It may have been more prudent just to bring the knight back to f3. However, it
is just possible that Shipley knew this full well but left a little worm
dangling to see if the fish would take the bait – Carl) hxg5?? The bait was
taken. 14. Rad1 Bd7 15. Bxc7 1-0 Sweet. Shipley’s style was actually more
conservative but he had his moments, for sure. Final position
After 15.Bxc7
I
could sense the sheer enjoyment that the man had for chess, so wonderfully has
it been described by Hilbert. When Shipley’s colours began to fade as he aged, I became saddened, even morose and I wanted it all to begin again. He was the yeast to the chess loaf of
the day and when he passed away so did many possibilities and dreams for chess
in that area.
I
have read elsewhere that this book might be of limited interest to those
outside the United States. I beg to differ. The motto for chess is gens una
sumus – we are one family. Anyone interested in chess history and those who
made it will find this book a fascinating read and I believe an inspiration.
There are those that talk the talk – but Shipley walked the walk – so let’s pay
him his dues and at least read about the man.
Who is the author?
John
S. Hilbert is (or was at the time of writing - Carl) the senior attorney for
the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Social Security Administration. He is
the author of over a dozen books and more than 100 articles on chess history.
