The Chess Congress of 1862. A Collection of the Games Played, and a Selection of the Problems Sent in for Competition, to which is prefixed An Account of the Proceedings and a Memoir of the British Chess Association

[5 adverts including pastedown]+frontispiece+xcvi+536+[3 advert] pages with diagrams and indexes. Small octavo (7 1/2" x 5") bound in original publisher's red cloth binding with blind embossing to cover and spine and hilt lettering to spine. From the library of Lothar Schmid. (Linde 5188; van der Linde 1622; Betts 25 - 4) First edition. The 'memoir' contains reports of the past meetings of the British Chess Association . a general account of the tournament, etc by George Webb Medley. There follow the 177 games with brief notes, and 23 other games and a selection from the 1861 Bristol Congress. Also includes 296 problems submitted for the problem tourney. The Chess Congress of 1862, also known as the 5th BCA Congress, London (1862), was a major international chess tournament held in London, England. It is notable for being the first major international chess tournament where modern chess clocks were not used. The tournament was organized by the British Chess Association and featured a high-level competition, with Adolf Anderssen taking first place. The tournament was a round-robin format. The Key Participants: Adolf Anderssen, Louis Paulsen, Joseph Blackburne, Wilhelm Steinitz, Thomas Barnes, Serafino Dubois, and others. Lothar Maximilian Lorenz Schmid (10 May 1928 - 18 May 2013) was a German chess grandmaster. He was born in Radebeul near Dresden into a family who were the co-owners of the Karl May Press, which published the German Karl May adventure novels. He was best known as the chief arbiter at several World Chess Championship matches, in particular the 1972 encounter between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky at Reykjavic. He was also an avid collector of chess books and paraphernalia. It was reputed that he owned the largest known private chess library in the world, as well as a renowned collection of chess art, chess boards and chess pieces from around the globe. Condition: Name and bookplate of Lothar Schmid on the verso of the frontispiece. Book block slightly loose. Interior toned and occasionally stained. A few pages with defects. Four diagrams with problems from the problem tournament are also mounted on the back advertising pages. Cover dusty, corners and edges bumped. Spine top and bottom bumped and rubbed else about very good.…