Samuel Rosenthal

Who was Samuel Rosenthal?

Samuel Rosenthal was a Jewish chess master. Chess historian Edward Winter wrote, "He dedicated his life to chess-playing, touring, writing, teaching and analysing. Despite only occasional participation in first-class events, he scored victories over all the leading masters of the time. He also acquired world renown as an unassuming showman who gave large simultaneous displays and blindfold séances, invariably producing a cluster of glittering moves."

Rosenthal became a law student and moved from Warsaw to Paris, during the Polish revolution in 1864, after the failure of the January Uprising. He settled in Paris as a chess professional and writer. In 1864, he lost a match to Ignatz von Kolisch in Paris. Rosenthal won the Café de la Régence championship in 1865, 1866, and 1867 in Paris, and became the strongest French chess player. In 1867, he took 9th in the Paris tournament, and lost a match to Gustav Neumann in Paris. In 1869, he lost two matches to Neumann and. In July 1870, he tied for 8–9th in Baden-Baden. The event was won by Adolf Anderssen.