Monday, October 21, 2019

Official Announcement of the Opening of the "Lasker" Club, Jerusalem

Source: Ha'Aretz, Aug. 7th, 1923, p. 4
The announcement of the opening of the "Lasker" chess club in Jerusalem, 1923, is quite interesting. The secretary of the club, E. Gottlieb (ph. spelling) notes the opening will be in the 'Beit Ha'am' building 'next week', with the following program: an opening speech by 'the pharmacist Y. Michlin (ph. spelling), the head of the club's committee' - followed by a simultaneous game by  [Shaul] Gordon -- one of the club's stronger players -- against 20 people. 

The financial arrangements are of some interest: the free is three Egyptian pennies (1/100th of the Egyptian pound, commonly used in Palestine at the time). If the player wins, Gordon will pay him 'of his own money' three times as much, in the form of 'Shachmat journal for three months'. If he loses the three pennies go to 'the club's kitty'. This leads one to believe this simul was a fund-raiser for the club, not a way for Gordon to gain any money.

We note that a simul with the same prize -- three journals of the Lasker club's Ha'Sachmat -- and the same player -- Gordon -- was also advertised in Ha'Aretz a year later, on Aug. 22nd, 1924, p. 5.


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