[blind-chess] US Chess History Article 12*
- From: Roderick Macdonald <rmacd@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Blind Chess Mailing List <blind-chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 22:08:44 -1000 (HST)
US Chess History Article 12
Present Day New Orleans - A Chess Visit
by Kay McCrary, Ed. D
The following article appeared in the April 1989 issue of Palmetto Chess,
published by the South Carolina Chess Association. It is re-printed with permission of the state officers.
Instead of ending up as a "chess widow," I have opted for the role of
"chess auxiliary member" for so long that I have come naturally to share
the enjoyment of my husband's avocation. Therefore, when I spent a week of
this October in New Orleans making two presentations at the 40th
Institution of Hospital and Community Psychiatry, I was prepared to savor
the rich chess history of a premier site in the stimulation and evolution
of chess in America. John warned me that, despite its heritage, today's
New Orleans is a chess back-water, having produced only one well-known
player and few publicized chess activities.
I decided on a three-prong plan to discover the city's chess pleasures:
(1) standard tours for tourists, (2) treks to well-known chess sites, and
(3) careful perusal of antiquarian booksellers' chess selections.
Tours, while certainly enjoyable, had little payoff regarding chess. I
took three tours: (1) a boat tour of the harbor up to the site of the
Battle of New Orleans--no mention of chess; (2) a bus tour of New Orleans,
during which nothing was said of chess or Morphy, causing me to finally
question the tour guide; and (3) a horse-drawn carriage tour of the French
Quarter, where chess was twice a routine tour feature. Regarding the bus
tour of the city, when asked, the guide remembered who Morphy was and that
he "used to remember" where he was buried but that it wasn't safe to go
there. Buses aren't allowed in the French Quarter, an area reminiscent of
the restored Ansonborough section of Charleston, SC. Thus the carriage
tour was the best of the three, pointing out Jude Acers' sidewalk chess at
the Gazebo restaurant and also Paul Morphy's grandfather's house, 1114
Chartres Street, behind the Urseline Convent just one block farther into
the French Quarter than the Gazebo. Ironically, the guide failed to point
out Morphy's own family home at 417 Royal Street, now a famous restaurant,
Brennan's. It is across from a large public building planned, when law
allows, to be turned into a casino.
Logically, the treks followed the tours. I viewed the outside of 1114
Chartes Street because the tours stopped at 3 p.m., so I was a little too
late to see the inside. With a "raised basement" first floor and an
"embracing arms" staircase leading to the main entrance on the second
floor, it looked very much like a house near the battery in Charleston,
SC. The metal marker on the front of the house stated,
"Le-Carpientier-Beauregard House. Erected 1826 by Joseph Le Carpientier,
auctioneer (Grandfather of Paul Morphy, World's Chess Champion). 1833 to
John A Merle. 1866 to General P.T.G. Beauregard. 1942-1970 to author
Frances Parkinson Keyes." Keyes, incidentally, wrote a historical romance
about Paul Morphy, called The Chess Players.
What a treat to go to Brennan's! If I ever go to New Orleans again, I will
eat at Brennan's famous Sunday Brunch, seated in Paul's bedroom. I walked
the upstairs porch overlooking the beautifully enclosed courtyard garden
and was later told that Paul himself particularly like doing that. The
house was quite interesting. Brennan's staff was very nice about letting
me roam. From the front door, you enter an entrance hall. About fifteen
feet inside on the right is a stairwell leading to the upstairs bedrooms.
The house is L-shaped with an enclosing wing on the right. The rear of the
house has rooms and balcony walkways over the lovely courtyard. It was a
spacious residence. Presently, the upstairs is an area of dining rooms,
painted a light gray with wine color accents, lots of green plants, and a
fireplace in every room. Downstairs rear is a bar and lounge area. In the
wall of the entrance hall is a historic marker that states, "Banque de la
Louisiane, built in 1795 by Vincent Rillieux (great Grandfather of the
artist Edgar Degas) who purchased the site a month after the great fire of
Dec. 8, 1794 had destroyed earlier buildings here and more than 200 houses
and stores. It was bought in 1805 to house the Banque de la Louisiane, the
first bank established after the Louisiana Purchase. Residence of the
Alonzo Morphy family from 1841 to 1891. A son, Paul Morphy, (born 1837)
who became the world's chess champion died here on July 10 1884. Building
given to Tulane University in 1920 by William Ratcliff Irby. Brennan's
restaurant since 1955."
The last chess trek was to see Jude Acers. He was absorbed in a game, so I
did not get to speak to him. He looked the part to a French Quarter
inhabitant. He wore a beret, leather knee boots, red turtleneck pullover
shirt with a layered khaki outer shirt. Tourists gathered to watch him
play and then peeled off from the small group to walk on. He played not in
the Gazebo so much, as beside it up on the sidewalk near passing traffic.
The sign beside his board stated fees ($5 per game; I believe it was $100
for lessons) and sponsorship (himself and the Gazebo).
Being a lone woman from out of town, I was too prudent to visit Paul
Morphy's mausoleum, In St. Louis Cemetery #1. His grave is not far from
the entrance there, and is, I understand, a standout with chess figures
and ornamentation. The cemetery is next to public housing that replaced
the infamous Storyville red-light districts... not a safe area.
Nor did I get to visit the Paul Morphy Chess Club, which has lots of
memorabilia. It used to meet at a French Quarter, St. Anne's Street
address, but has recently moved. Two Morphy's are still members- Paul
Morphy, a lawyer, and his brother, an engineer, who is the stronger
player.
It looked doubtful that any Morphy treasures were left with antiquarian
booksellers. I got a roll of quarters and called every one of the 13 rare
book dealers listed in the yellow pages, hoping to zero in on which would
be the most likely to visit. Twelve told me they did not have any chess
items, and the other one merely had his answering machine taking messages.
I gave up. Then Raymond Samuel returned my call.
Mr. Samuel owns Paul Morphy's gold-headed walking cane that Paul broke
over his brother's head. An elderly chess player, Mr. Samuel told me this
was his treasure, not for sale. I urged him to donate it to the US Chess
Hall of Fame. Though Mr. Samuel no longer has any rare chess editions to
sell, he has a friend, who is elderly and in very poor health, who is
trying to sell his lifetime collection: 42 rare Morphy chess books for
$2500, 12 large framed photographs of Morphy for $2,000, and Morphy's own
chess cabinet for $10,000.
A $14 taxi ride later, I was spending one of the handful of memorable
evenings anyone could count on in a lifetime. Mr. Cletus Flemming is
uncannily similar to John McCrary in his devotion to chess, chess history,
rare chess books, and Paul Morphy - I felt right at home.
A glass-front book cabinet, full of rare chess volumes, dominates the
Flemmings' modest living room. One bedroom has been converted to a museum
with Morphy pictures surrounding whoever enters, the last picture of
Morphy having been enlarged into a 5 foot-four-inch life-size. The rare
books have many duplicates and a few triplicates, and fully half are in
German or French. He was willing to sell duplicates. John was telephoned
and found the prices to be in line with dealers' prices. The grand exit to
the Flemming household and to this account is Morphy's chess cabinet,
beside the front door. It is an elegant piece of furniture similar to a
chest of drawers or narrow dresser. My recollection is that it is a dark,
red-brown wood, mirror on top, and two levels for cufflink trays or
brushes. The wide top drawer area lifts open to display a lovely ivory
Staunton chess set with red and white pieces. The pieces are set on
graduated levels for display. The chest stands about four feet tall and
has probably three drawers in addition to the space for the set. So, as my
enjoyable experience shows, New Orleans still holds fascinating glimpses
of past chess greatness.
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