Before the year 1866, 10 pounds or 20 pounds a side
was a convenient and common stake for a match. Staunton and
Harrwitz, Staunton and Horwitz, Morphy and Anderssen, Steinitz
and Blackburne, Steinitz and Zukertort, and Falkbeer and Bird were
all within these figures. The Championship match in 1843, England and
France, between Staunton and St. Amant was for 100 pounds a side, but
the English player had to go to Paris, and the match was a long
one, and it was hoped even at that time that future matches would
be mainly for the honour of victory, and that the entire money
in the case would be a reasonable sum to liberally cover the
players' time and expenses. Morphy reluctantly played for 100 pounds
a side in 1858, but his matches with Anderssen, Harrwitz and
others were for merely nominal stakes. In 1866 a bad example
was set in the case of Steinitz and Anderssen, when 100 pounds a side
was played for, and although Steinitz and Blackburne, and
Zukertort and Blackburne were matches for 60 pounds a side the stakes
were only thus limited to the amount which could be conveniently
obtained from backers at the time. So stakes progressed until
Steinitz and Zukertort actually played for 400 pounds a side, a sum
neither party could afford to lose, even though they could tax their
chess supporters for it.
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