In August of last year he won
the first prize in the "Irish Chess Association one game Master
Tournament," winning from Blackburne, Burn, and six leading
Irish players. He is most modest and very chivalrous, always
ready to play on convenient occasions for pure love of the game
and credit of victory alone. This is truly a strange omission.
The author's assertion with regard to Morphy is that "He
was head and shoulders above the players of his time." What
precise degree of superiority that may imply in chess is not easy
to define, and must be left to the imagination of the reader. As
a matter of fact Mr. Hoffer never saw Morphy; and his statement
is based upon his published games and public chess opinion;
which, it is true, mostly awards Morphy the highest place in
modern chess history; his title, however, is principally based
upon his victories over Anderssen and Lowenthal, the former
in bad health, and not in his best form at the time! Staunton
and Buckle, the best English players of their day, never
encountered Morphy. Against Harrwitz he won five to three, and
fourteen to six against Barnes. Morphy's record, though great,
is not superior to Staunton's before, and Steinitz's after him.
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