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Meet Herr Löwenthal
One of the "Old Masters" from the pre-modern era of chess is Johann Jacob Löwenthal, a name largely forgotten today - or remembered if at all for losing a chess match against Paul Morphy. Recall that after young Morphy introduced himself by winning the First American Chess Congress (November, 1857) he followed up with a European tour, arriving June of 1858 in London. There Morphy was unable to arrange a match with Howard Staunton, and after some off-hand and exhibition games versus the local experts, a match with Löwenthal was begun in July. The end result of the contest was a convincing win for Morphy, who scored 9 wins with 3 losses and 2 draws.
After this Morphy-Löwenthal match the American's fame was established, partly because Löwenthal's own reputation was so great. Although he was Hungarian by birth, political circumstances forced Löwenthal to immigrate, and he arrived in America in 1849 before settling in London a couple years later. It is interesting that Löwenthal visited New Orleans in May of 1850 and played at least 2 games with the thirteen year old Paul Morphy, gaining one draw and losing the other game. Philip Sergeant, in his book "Morphy's Games of Chess", describes Löwenthal as "...the Hungarian master, who, if he still had to make his name as a tournament player and an analyst, was already known in chess circles as an expert."
Sergeant seems to be saying that in 1850 Löwenthal was not yet Löwenthal, and indeed his greatest successes lay ahead. But the Hungarian was already 40 years old, an experienced chess professional who had won a match against Carl Hamppe in Vienna (1846), scoring 5 wins to 4 loses. And by the time Löwenthal lost his London 1858 match with Morphy the older man was a respected chess journalist and current editor of the Era's chess column; indeed, it was only in August of the previous year that Löwenthal had defeated Adolf Anderssen in Manchester during the first meeting of the British Chess Association. Immediately following his loss at the hands of Morphy, the BCA Chess Congress met in Birmingham (August, 1858) resulting in victory for Löwenthal, who knocked out Howard Staunton and Ernst Falkbeer to win the tournament.
Löwenthal continued his literary efforts, and in 1860 he published "Morphy's Games of Chess, with Analytical and Critical Notes". This important work was followed by Löwenthal's most lasting legacy, for in 1862 London gathered all the top chess masters for a Grand International Chess Tournament, and the production of the official tournament book was entrusted to Löwenthal. A little-studied masterpiece, this tournament record amounts to a time capsule of chess life in the mid-nineteenth century, complete with problems and games from chess associations all over the continent. Below are three almost random games from this book, "The Chess Congress of 1862" (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1864), which illustrate Löwenthal's skill at chess analysis and commentary.
Any chess player today can benefit from exploring the life and times of "second tier" masters. The complete Löwenthal-Morphy match is annotated by Philip Sergent in "Morphy's Games of Chess", available from ChessCentral as a modern digital download.