Bradley Beach 1929 International Chess Tournament, Part 3 of 3

Four stars out of five

	R1 +	R2 +	R3 +	R4 +	R5 +	R6 +	R7 =	R8 +	R9 +
Brilliant	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Great	5	9	3	3	1	2	2	1	1
Best	32	45	20	21	7	35	20	7	10
Excellent	7	9	9	6	1	2	6	4	8
Good	7	6	3	3	2	8	7	2	5
Book	7	5	4	6	5	4	6	7	6
Inaccuracy	11	10	3	4	2	7	3	2	2
Mistake	10	5	3	4	1	1	0	1	0
Blunder	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	0
Missed Win	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Accuracy	81.4%	91.5%	88.8%	88.6%	94.0%	95.2%	96.6%	86.1%	90.5%

An analysis of Alekhine's round-by-round play using the recently released Game Review feature on Chess.com. The numbers don't lie!

Alekhine's score (8.5/9) would lead one to believe that he was on top form and won the tournament with ease. Indeed, chess journalists of the time came to this conclusion. American Chess Bulletin reported "It is no surprise, of course, when Dr. Alexander Alekhine came through as winner of the first prize. Nor was it astonishing that he should do so without the loss of a single game. This was to be expected from the man who faced Capablanca in 34 consecutive games and lost only three of them. His score of 8.5/9 was dented only by A. Kupchik of New York, winner of the national tournament at Bradley Beach last year." Similarly, The New York Times reported "Fulfilling general expectations, Dr. Alexander Alekhine of Paris, chess champion of the world, today won the international masters' tournament which has been in progress in the solarium of the Hotel La Reine since Monday of last week. This he accomplished without the loss of a game, thanks to his victory over Lajos Steiner of Budapest, the runner-up, in the ninth and final round."

In reality, Alekhine was incredibly fortunate to win Bradley Beach 1929 given Lajos Steiner's strong performance. Alekhine found his footing in the latter half of the tournament, but his first four games were an unmitigated disaster for world champion standards - he blundered in each game and made many mistakes. Alekhine also blundered in Round 8 against Herman Steiner, the game for which he was awarded the brilliancy prize. In a tournament against the best players of the day, Alekhine surely would have finished in the middle of the pack with this standard of play. It was no secret Alekhine drank heavily during his chess career. After a months-long tour of the United States during the Prohibition Era, Alekhine probably welcomed a visit to the Jersey Shore - the national hub for bootlegging activities. This may well explain his slow start to the tournament!

Special event and closing ceremony

On Wednesday, June 12, there was a farewell rapid transit play tournament. Rapid transit play was a precursor to modern day blitz chess. Instead of three or five minutes per game, rapid transit play allotted players a certain amount of time per move. In the 1920s, it appears the most popular time control was ten seconds per move. Therefore, a player had to make each move within ten seconds, or else they lost on time. There were nine participants in the tournament, including Alekhine and Frank J. Marshall. Once again Alekhine emerged victorious; he won seven games and drew the other with Marshall.

That evening, Bradley Beach 1929 was concluded with a dinner at Hotel La Reine. The New York Times reported: "Covers were laid for fifty and Mayor Frank C. Borden Jr. of Bradley Beach made an address in which he thanked the visiting experts for coming here to play, congratulated the winners and extolled the virtues of the royal game." The other speakers that evening included: Dr. Lederer, tournament director, who presented the awards; S.S. Van Dine, murder mystery novelist, who funded the brilliancy prize; Alekhine, Marshall, Victor D. Spark, and Edward Lasker.

Van Dine: "Did you solve my murder mystery?" Alekhine: "It was Bigelow...in the solarium...with the black bishop."  Van Dine: "Excellent!"  Alekhine: "Elementary, my dear Willard."

On Thursday, Alekhine bid farewell to Bradley Beach and returned to New York City. At Hotel Astor, he won exhibition matches against Charles Jaffe and Marshall on Friday and Saturday evenings, respectively. And finally on Sunday, he held a blindfold chess exhibition against eight opponents. All told since he arrived in New York on March 19, Alekhine played 616 games, of which he won 515, lost 47 and drew 54. Later in the week on Wednesday, June 19, Alekhine set sail for his home in Paris via Cherbourg aboard RMS Aquitania. Shortly before boarding, Alekhine provided a quote to a reporter from The New York Times:

I shall never forget the many courtesies shown me everywhere, and shall carry with me the pleasantest memories of my journeyings over here.

—Alexander Alekhine; New York Times; June 20, 1929

Alekhine rounded out 1929 by serving as special correspondent for The New York Times at Carlsbad 1929 (he did not play), and easily defeating Efim Bogoljubov in the 1929 World Chess Championship.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Bradley Beach 1929 was the town's swan song of the "Roaring Twenties." On October 29, 1929 - just a few months after Alekhine set sail for his home Paris - the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. "Black Tuesday" was the start of the Great Depression, which lasted until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Real estate prices plummeted, exacerbated by debt incurred during the optimistic 1920s. These economic conditions were catastrophic for the Spark family, Hotel La Reine, and the Bradley Hotel. The ill-timed Bradley Hotel addition cost the Spark family $500,000 in 1928, which is approximately $8 million today! Bradley Beach's meteoric rise in the chess world came to a grinding halt; Hotel La Reine never hosted another chess tournament.

After the end of World War II, on June 15, 1949, a fire caused considerable damage to Hotel La Reine. It took fire companies from twelve nearby communities to extinguish the flames. Luckily, only a few rooms were occupied and no one was hurt. New owners repaired and renovated the hotels, which experienced a brief renaissance in the 1950s and 1960s. Yet by the early 1970s, the hotels were abandoned and slated for demolition. On the weekend of April 27-28, 1974, both hotels were destroyed by a suspicious fire. The fire started at Hotel La Reine and quickly spread next door to the Bradley Hotel. Bradley Beach's Fire Chief said the fire "appeared suspicious because the utilities in the building had been turned off." It took fire fighters from seven companies more than three hours to get the fire under control. Arson was suspected, but never proved. A very tragic end to our beloved tournament venue!

Today, La Reine Avenue - a mere half mile long - is all that is left to remind visitors of the majestic hotel that hosted two world chess champions. The story’s tragic ending reminds me of many of my own chess games, where a very promising position went down in flames. And I’m left staring at my scoresheet asking myself, “what could have been?”

A second chess tournament stands to the credit of Bradley Beach, N.J., which bids fair to become a Mecca for followers of our game and in time may rival in this respect the famous resorts abroad.

—Cassell and Helms; American Chess Bulletin; Volume 26; 1929

Epilogue

Frank J. Marshall (1877-1944) - After Bradley Beach 1929, Marshall participated in the famous tournament Carlsbad 1929. His best playing days were behind him; he finished in 19th place with a meager score of 9.0/22.0. During the 1930s, Marshall served as the captain of the U.S. Olympiad Team, leading them to four gold medals. Marshall held the title of U.S. Chess Champion for 27 years. In 1936, he relinquished the title to the winner of a championship tournament held in New York: a young Samuel Reshevsky. To this day, Marshall's former residence in Greenwich Village serves as the home of the Marshall Chess Club.

Alexander Alekhine (1892-1946) - The fourth world champion successfully defended his title against Bogoljubov in 1929 and 1934, although other players (such as Capablanca) were more deserving of a title match. In 1935, Max Euwe upset Alekhine in his home country of the Netherlands to become the fifth world champion. In 1937, Alekhine regained the title from Euwe with a commanding performance. This was Alekhine's last title match due to the outbreak of World War II. Alekhine remained world champion until his death in 1946. In 1948, Mikhail Botvinnik won a championship tournament to become the sixth world champion and the first under FIDE jurisdiction.

Victor D. Spark (1898-1991) - After his father's hotel business went sour in 1929 (including Hotel La Reine and Bradley Hotel), Spark began working in an art gallery. Through his extensive travels in Europe, Spark developed a keen eye for art despite having no formal art education. Spark continued selling paintings to museums, collectors, and other art dealers until the 1970s. A native of Brooklyn, Spark was a veteran of World War I. He served in the 6th Marine Regiment, which fought valiantly in France as part of the U.S. 2nd Division, American Expeditionary Force.

Manhattan Chess Club (1877-2002) - Manhattan Chess Club never had a permanent home like its rival Marshall Chess Club, so it bounced around many locations in Manhattan over its history. Despite this fact, many notable events in chess history occurred at the club. In 1942, Capablanca suffered a stroke while analyzing a game at the club and died the following day. During the 1950s, a young Bobby Fischer played in many events at the club en route to becoming the youngest U.S. Chess Champion at 14-years old and eventual world champion. After the Fischer-Spassky match, there were over 400 members of the club; however, membership waned in the 1980s and 1990s. The second-oldest chess club in the U.S. closed its doors permanently on February 1, 2002.

A photo of me from June 2022 taken on the Bradley Beach boardwalk, just a short distance away from the former site of Hotel La Reine. Thank you so much for reading my Bradley Beach 1929 blog series! Please leave your comments and questions below.