Personalities at Play in 1904 Cambridge Springs Chess Tournament The story of four top players and who prevailed by Jonathan Burdick chessgames.com The 1904 Cambridge Springs International Chess Congress gathered some of the time's greatest talents, and most disparate personalities. Among them were the calculating German mathematician and reigning world champion Dr. Emanuel Lasker, who had recently recovered from a nearly fatal bout with typhoid fever; the modest and agreeable Harry Nelson Pillsbury, who could play blindfolded; the stubborn and determined David Janowski, noted as a sharp tactician; and the young and erratic Frank James Marshall, who won the tournament with his unconventional and unpredictable style.