The great St Petersburg chess tournament of 1914, saw the world’s best players in attendance. Nicholas 11, Czar of Russia, as host, subscribed 1000 rubles toward the prize fund. At the banquet following the tournament the Czar named five players, Emanuel Lasker, Jose Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Siegbert Tarrasch and Frank J Marshall, “Grandmasters of Chess” They were the original grandmasters of history. Lasker was world champion at the time and Capablanca and Alekhine would become subsequent world champs.
Marshall was generally considered an American romantic throwback in chess. The romantic era of chess marked the style of a player and identified the period from 1850 to 1950. Chess players, during this period, principally relied on tactics, wild sacrifices and extremely dynamic play. Those who played this type of chess have each left a lasting mark on the game. Marshall, for example, was US champion from 1906 to 1936, a feat which is difficult to surpass.