Before World War I, he had lived in London for a number of years.
Jacques had played with his father for a stake, he had won, and though he was not paid, the idea had occurred to him that it could be profitable to play chess against wealthy Englishmen.
He learned how to proceed from another Dutchman, Rudolf Loman.
In the 1920s, Davidson would finish second in the Dutch championship twice, behind Max Euwe.
[4] He played several matches; drew with Richard Teichmann at Berlin 1922, and lost to Euwe (1924, 1927) and Spielmann (1932, 1933), all in Amsterdam.