Small, but very enjoyable first class Tournaments have been
held at Simpson's, which have always evoked a considerable degree
of enthusiasm, and at times stimulated energy in the constituted
authorities, and been productive of Tournaments on a larger scale
elsewhere.
Notwithstanding that the Mammoth laws of Limited Liability
in 1867, absorbed the gorgeous and spacious Divan Saloon, for the
present ladies dining room, and somewhat lessened the chess
accommodation, the distinguishing characteristics of the place
have remained unchanged, while the glorious chess events and
reminiscences continue nearly as vividly fixed in the recollection
as ever.
The interest felt in the associations of Simpson's, have in fact
continued unabated from the days of the supremacy of La
Bourdonnais, Staunton, and Morphy, to the time of Steinitz's
appearance in 1862, and, to the triumphs of Blackburne, Cap.
Mackenzie and Gunsberg in our own days, and Bird the winner of the
Tournament just held there, who has frequented the room for
forty-five years, still plays the game, with a vigour equal to that
displayed against the greatest foreign players in 1852, and with
scarcely less success.
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