Biography
Mason was born in Kilkenny in Ireland. His original name is unknown: he was adopted as a child and only took the name James Mason when he and his family moved to the United States in 1861. There he learned chess and eventually secured a job at the New York Herald.
Mason made his first mark on the chess scene in 1876, when he won the Fourth American Congress in Philadelphia, the New York Clipper tournament, and defeated Henry Bird in a match by the comfortable margin of 13–6. In 1878 he settled in England. His best tournament results were third at the strong Vienna 1882 tournament, third at Nuremberg 1883 and equal second at Hamburg 1885. At Hastings 1895, often considered the strongest tournament of the nineteenth century, he finished tied for 12th–14th with 9½ points of 21 possible.
Mason wrote several books on chess, the most popular being The Principles of Chess in Theory and Practice (1894), The Art of Chess (1895), Chess Openings (1897), and Social Chess (1900).
He died in Rochford, Essex, England.
Read more about this topic: James Mason (chess Player)
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