In mate

In the history of suppression of press freedom in the UK, now once again a fierce topic of debate, an honourable role was played by the chessplayer, writer, editor and irrepressible optimist James Mortimer. An officer in the US diplomatic corps, Mortimer was posted to Paris from 1855 to 1860, during which time he was one of the privileged few to witness the celebrated 1858 match between Adolf Anderssen and Paul Morphy. This was a de facto contest for the world championship. The cachet attached to being a friend of Morphy, as well as a first-hand observer of this stellar match, resulted in many subsequent invitations for Mortimer to important chess competitions. His placings were invariably unimpressive, but he did score individual victories against such giants as Zukertort, Tchigorin and Emanuel Lasker. As a writer, Mortimer was awarded the Cross of the Legion d’Honneur by the Emperor Napoleon III. When the Deuxième Empire was dissolved after the Franco-Prussian war, both Napoleon III and Mortimer moved to England, where Mortimer founded the London Figaro, the officially sanctioned paper of Napoleon’s government in exile.

Some years later, embroiled in a London libel case, Mortimer refused to divulge his sources and was sentenced to three months in prison, where he improved the shining hour by teaching chess to his fellow inmates. His imprisonment, regarded as draconian by the British public, caused Mortimer to sell his publication, thus terminating the outstanding chess column, penned until 1882 by Wilhelm Steinitz. After Mortimer was released he wrote more than 30 pieces for the London stage, and continued to play in chess tournaments, including three events at Simpson’s-in-the-Strand. Invited to report on the international chess tournament at San Sebastián 1911, where Capablanca made his dramatic European debut, Mortimer caught pneumonia and died suddenly.