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James Mason

 
Artist: James Mason
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Donald Byrd

Formal Connection With:

Roy Ayers, Tarika Blue
  • Active: '70s
  • Genres: Jazz
  • Instrument: Guitar, Keyboards Representative Album: "Rhythm of Life"

Biography

Guitarist/keyboardist James Mason was a member of Roy Ayers' legendary late-'70s jazz-funk band, making his most prominent appearance on the 1977 LP Lifeline and its Mason showcase cut "Running Away." That same year, Mason recorded his debut solo album, Rhythm of Life, for the tiny New York independent label Chiaroscuro. It went out of print in an extremely short time, and Mason never recorded another one, pretty much disappearing from sight. However by the '90s, Rhythm of Life had attained near-Holy Grail status among acid jazz enthusiasts, partly because of its rarity and partly because its music -- even more rooted in funk than Ayers' -- seemed to perfectly epitomize what the rare-groove revival was all about. Finally, in 1999, England's Soul Brother Records acquired the rights to the master tapes and reissued Rhythm of Life on CD, allowing the album to claim its rightful status as a lost classic. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: James Mason (chess player)
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James Mason around 1870
For other persons named James Mason, see James Mason (disambiguation).

James Mason (November 19, 1849 – January 12, 1905) was a famous chess player and writer. He was born in Kilkenny in Ireland. His original name is unknown: he was adopted as a child and only took the name James Mason when he and his family moved to the United States in 1861. There he learnt chess and eventually secured a job at the New York Herald.

Mason made his first mark on the chess scene in 1876, when he won the Fourth American Congress in Philadelphia, the New York Clipper tournament, and defeated Henry Bird in a match by the comfortable margin of 13–6. In 1878 he settled in England. His best tournament results were third at the very strong Vienna 1882 tournament, third at Nuremberg 1883 and equal second at Hamburg 1885. At Hastings 1895, often considered the strongest tournament of the nineteenth century,[1][2] he finished tied for 12th-14th with 9.5 points of 21 possible.[3]

Mason wrote several books on chess, the most popular being The Principles of Chess in Theory and Practice (1894), The Art of Chess (1895), Chess Openings (1897), and Social Chess (1900).

The opening 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 (in algebraic chess notation) is sometimes called the Mason Variation in his honour; he played it several times from the 1880s. The variation of the King's Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nc3 (allowing 3...Qh4+) is sometimes called the Mason Gambit, though Mason lost the only game he played with it (against Samuel Rosenthal at Paris 1878); it is also known as the Keres Gambit. The 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 variation of the Petroff Defence is also named after him.

He died in Rochford, Essex, England.

Contents

Chess strength

According to Chessmetrics, at his peak in October 1876 Mason's play was equivalent to an Elo rating of 2715, and he was ranked number 2 in the world, behind only Wilhelm Steinitz.[4] However, Mason was ranked the number 1 player in the world, albeit with a slightly lower rating, during 11 separate months between August 1877 and June 1878.[5] His best single performance was at Vienna 1882, where he scored 15 of 23 possible points (65%) against 2622-rated opposition, for a performance rating of 2732.[6]

References

  1. ^ Garry Kasparov calls Hastings 1895 "the most important tournament of the nineteenth century". Garry Kasparov, My Great Predecessors, Part I, Everyman Publishers, 2003, p. 126. ISBN 1-85744-330-6.
  2. ^ Arthur Bisguier and Andrew Soltis call Hastings 1895 the "greatest tournament of the nineteenth century". Arthur Bisguier and Andrew Soltis, American Chess Masters from Morphy to Fischer, Macmillan, 1974, p. 53. ISBN 0-02-511050-0.
  3. ^ Andy Soltis, The Great Chess Tournaments and Their Stories, Chilton Book Company, 1975, p. 76. ISBN 0-8019-6138-6.
  4. ^ Jeff Sonas, October, 1876 Rating List. Retrieved on 2008-12-08.
  5. ^ Jeff Sonas, Chessmetrics Player Profile: James Mason. Retrieved on 2008-12-08.
  6. ^ Jeff Sonas, Vienna, 1882. Retrieved on 2008-12-08.

Books

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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