Last time, we discussed the important role Selim Franklin played during the California Gold Rush era in establishing a culture of chess in Northern California and later becoming the best chess player in the region. Today, we will look at who he figuratively passed the torch to.
Joseph Redding was born on September 13, 1859 in Sacramento to a family of considerable means. As a child, Joseph excelled in music and trained with renowned California pianist Hugo L. Mansfeldt. After finishing elementary school in Sacramento, Joseph Redding left home to attend the California Military Academy in Oakland. While there, Joseph discovered chess and became enamored with the game. In 1874, Joseph Redding left for Harvard Law School where he went on to earn his Juris Doctor in 1879.
Immediately upon graduating, Joseph Redding joined the prominent San Francisco law firm Hall McAllister at the age of 21. In his free time, Joseph started frequenting the local chess gatherings, of which, his favorite was the San Francisco Mercantile Library Association’s chess club.In 1884, Redding was instrumental in bringing the great European chess master Johannes Zukertort to San Francisco. At the time, Zukertort had just won the prestigious London Chess Tournament of 1883 and bringing such a prominent chess player to San Francisco was big news for California as the Golden State suffered from being too far removed from the chess hubs in New York, Philadelphia and Boston.
Zukertort’s visit to San Francisco set the stage for the figurative passing of the torch from Selim Franklin to Joseph Redding. An old Franklin was no match for even a blindfolded Zukertort while Redding was capable of holding his own against the visiting master. After proving himself against Zukertort, Redding went on to win the formidable San Francisco 1888 Chess Tournament after which newspapers of the day proclaimed him to be the Pacific Coast Chess Champion.
Joseph Redding’s accomplishments weren’t limited to sixty-four squares. Legal Scholars recognize Redding for his argument in the landmark Supreme Court case United States vs Kagama. Music historians know Joseph Redding for his work as a librettist (that is, the writer of a libretto) and for composing the first grand opera written by an American. Of course, Redding did the most for his local community where he played an important role in the formation of the San Francisco Symphony, was President of the San Francisco Arts Administration and San Francisco’s famed Bohemian Club. Joseph Redding also served as the Commissioner for the California Department of Fish and Game where he used his position to try and convince Americans to eat more carp. His efforts of having carp recognized as “a first-class food fish” was one of his rare failures.
Because his performance against Zukertort acted as a turning point for his rise to become the best chess player in California, I thought it would be fitting to closely examine one of their games together. So without further ado, I present the Joseph D Redding vs. Johannes Zukertort chess game that was played at the Mechanics’ Institute in San Francisco on July 3, 1884. Enjoy…
I hoped you enjoyed today’s episode and have a new appreciation for Joseph Redding’s role in California chess history. However, it’s worth noting that Redding’s non chess related accomplishments also garnered attention.