Preparations
The time was therefore right to speculate on who might de-throne Steinitz and the Havana Chess Club charged themselves with the task. They invited Steinitz to play in Cuba against a challenger of his own choosing. This was the way such matters were conducted prior to 1914; the incumbent champion having final say over the challenger, venue, playing conditions - just about everything.
His poor record against Mikhail Chigorin in previous tournament meetings meant that the Russian had good credentials and Steinitz was ready to show that he feared no one. Chigorin was generally toppling everyone in his path and so the announcement of a match between the two met with universal approval. Of added interest was the pitting of Chigorin's old-fashioned, 'bludgeoning' style against Steinitz' new teachings. Commentators saw it as a match between the 'Romantic' and 'Modern' Schools of chess.
Read more about this topic: World Chess Championship 1889
Famous quotes containing the word preparations:
“The most evident difference between man and animals is this: the beast, in as much as it is largely motivated by the senses and with little perception of the past or future, lives only for the present. But man, because he is endowed with reason by which he is able to perceive relationships, sees the causes of things, understands the reciprocal nature of cause and effect, makes analogies, easily surveys the whole course of his life, and makes the necessary preparations for its conduct.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)
“At the ramparts on the cliff near the old Parliament House I counted twenty-four thirty-two-pounders in a row, pointed over the harbor, with their balls piled pyramid-wise between them,—there are said to be in all about one hundred and eighty guns mounted at Quebec,—all which were faithfully kept dusted by officials, in accordance with the motto, “In time of peace prepare for war”; but I saw no preparations for peace: she was plainly an uninvited guest.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Whatever may be the reason, whether it was that Hitler thought he might get away with what he had got without fighting for it, or whether it was that after all the preparations were not sufficiently complete—however, one thing is certain: he missed the bus.”
—Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940)