The London 1899 chess tournament was without a doubt one of the very strongest tournaments ever held on British soil. Almost every great master of the day was present including the past and reigning world champions. It proved to be the swan song of the old champion Wilhelm Steinitz

Wilhelm Steinitz

Wilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...

 but for Emanuel Lasker

Emanuel Lasker

Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...

 it was a glittering success which propelled him way beyond the other grandmasters of the time.

All the top players of the age were invited, with many being the champion of their country. Refusals came from Siegbert Tarrasch

Siegbert Tarrasch

Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century....

 and Rudolf Charousek (illness), and Amos Burn

Amos Burn

Amos Burn was an English chess player, one of the world's leading players at the end of the 19th century, and a chess writer....

 had to withdraw on the opening day. Fifteen participants played double rounds from 30 May to 10 July 1899, except for Richard Teichmann

Richard Teichmann

Richard Teichmann was a German chess master.He was known as "Richard the Fifth" because he often finished in fifth place in tournaments. But in Karlsbad 1911, he scored a convincing win, crushing Akiba Rubinstein and Carl Schlechter with the same line of the Ruy Lopez...

. He withdrew after round 4 due to an eye infection. His remaining games in the first cycle were declared as lost. Rounds were played in St. Stephen’s Hall with a time limit of fifteen moves in one hour. Participants were entertained by the City of London chess club at Crystal Palace and the Star and Garter Hotel

Star and Garter Hotel, Richmond

The Star and Garter Hotel in Richmond was a hotel located in the London countryside on Richmond Hill overlooking the Thames Valley, on the site now occupied by the Star and Garter Home. The first establishment on the site, an inn built in 1738, was relatively small...

 in Richmond. A banquet took place in the International Hall of the Café Monico on 29 June.

Lasker finished 4.5 points ahead of the group finished tied for second (Janowski, Maroczy, Pillsbury), and this remains one of the most dominant performances in a chess tournament, and London 1899 goes down in history as one of the great Lasker victories along with St. Petersburg 1896, Paris 1900, St. Petersburg 1914

St. Petersburg 1914 chess tournament

The tournament celebrated the tenth anniversary of the St. Petersburg Chess Society. The president of the organizing committee was Peter Petrovich Saburov. Members of the committee were: Boris Maliutin, Peter Alexandrovich Saburov, and O. Sossnitzky...

 and New York 1924

New York 1924 chess tournament

New York 1924 was an elite chess tournament held in the Alamac Hotel in New York City from March 6 to April 18, 1924. It was organized by the Manhattan Chess Club. The competitors included world champion José Raúl Capablanca and his predecessor Emanuel Lasker. Nine other top players from Europe...

.

The Premier Tournament

The results and standings:

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#	Player	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Total
1	/   East Brandenburg	xx	½ 1	½ 1	1 ½	½ 1	0 1	1 1	1 1	1 ½	½ 1	1 ½	1 1	1 1	1 1
23.5
2-4	/  Hungary	½ 0	xx	½ ½	1 0	½ ½	½ 1	0 1	½ 1	1 0	½ 1	1 1	½ 1	1 ½	1 1
19
2-4	/  Massachusetts	½ 0	½ ½	xx	0 1	½ 1	0 0	1 0	½ ½	1 1	1 1	1 1	1 1	1 ½	1 1	½ +	19
2-4	/  Poland	0 ½	0 1	1 0	xx	1 1	1 ½	1 1	½ 1	0 0	1 0	1 1	1 1	0 1	1 ½
19
5	/  Austria	½ 0	½ ½	½ 0	0 0	xx	1 ½	1 0	½ 1	½ 1	1 1	0 ½	1 1	1 1	1 1
18
6	/  Kingdom of England	1 0	½ 0	1 1	0 ½	0 ½	xx	½ 0	0 1	1 ½	1 0	0 1	1 ½	1 1	1 1	½ +	16.5
7	/  Russia	0 0	1 0	0 1	0 0	0 1	½ 1	xx	1 ½	1 ½	½ 1	0 1	1 0	1 1	1 0	1 +	16
8	/  Ohio	0 0	½ 0	½ ½	½ 0	½ 0	1 0	0 ½	xx	0 ½	1 ½	0 ½	1 1	1 1	0 1
13.5
9	/  Republic of Ireland	0 ½	0 1	0 0	1 1	½ 0	0 ½	0 ½	1 ½	xx	0 1	0 0	0 0	1 1	½ 1
13
10-11	/  Bohemia	½ 0	½ 0	0 0	0 1	0 0	0 1	½ 0	0 ½	1 0	xx	1 ½	½ 0	½ 1	1 1
12.5
10-11	/  Brandenburg	0 ½	0 0	0 0	0 0	1 ½	1 0	1 0	1 ½	1 1	0 ½	xx	1 ½	1 0	0 0
12.5
12	/  Kingdom of England	0 0	½ 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 ½	0 1	0 0	1 1	½ 1	0 ½	xx	½ 1	½ ½
10.5
13	/  Kingdom of England	0 0	0 ½	0 ½	1 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	½ 0	0 1	½ 0	xx	1 1
8
14	/  Kingdom of England	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 ½	0 0	0 0	0 1	1 0	½ 0	0 0	1 1	½ ½	0 0	xx	0 +	7
15	/  Thuringia
½ -
½ -	0 -
1 -	xx	2

An amount of £1020 for prizes and consolation money was distributed on 11 July 1899. Lasker got £250 and a gold medal. Steinitz won no prize for the first time in his career and died in poverty the following year.

The Minor Tournament

There was a second section in the tournament, which was won by Frank James Marshall with 8.5 out of 11. Georg Marco

Georg Marco

Georg Marco was a Romanian chess player.He was born in Chernivtsi , Bukovina...

 and Jacques Mieses

Jacques Mieses

----Jacques Mieses was a German-born Jewish chess Grandmaster and writer. He became a naturalized British citizen after World War II.p258-Chess career:...

were the most experienced opponents.
The results and standings:

#	Player	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
1	/  New York	x	½	0	1	½	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	8.5
2-3	/  Kingdom of Romania	½	x	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	½	½	1	8.0
2-3	/  Kingdom of England	1	½	x	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	8.0
4-5	/  Kingdom of England	0	½	½	x	1	0	1	1	1	1	½	1	7.5
4-5	/  Kingdom of Saxony	½	½	½	0	x	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	7.5
6-7	/  Kingdom of England	0	0	½	1	1	x	0	0	1	1	0	1	5.5
6-7	/  Ontario	0	0	½	0	0	1	x	0	1	1	1	1	5.5
8	/  Germany ?	½	0	½	0	0	1	1	x	0	1	0	1	5.0
9-10	/  Russia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	x	½	1	1	3.5
9-10	/  South Holland	0	½	0	½	0	1	0	1	½	x	0	0	3.5
11	/  New Zealand	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	1	x	1	3.0
12	? /  Germany ?	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	x	0.0