Robert Brieger and Ronald Simpson Slug It Out in Omaha

Brieger

     Robert Brieger composed direct mate problems, helpmates and endgames. He passed away at the ge of 86 on April 26, 2012 in Houston, Texas. He was born in Houston on October 18, 1925 where he resided his entire life except for brief jobs away from Houston.
     Brieger graduated with B.S. in Mathematics from University of Houston in 1946 and obtained his teaching certificate in 1951. Professionally he taught math for brief periods in Houston and other Texas districts and worked two years for Convair Aeronautics in San Diego, California. 
     He began playing chess at the age of 17 and eventually became a rated Master. He authored several books on chess and composed countless end game studies as well as played correspondence chess. Brieger also held the title of Houston City Chess Champion many times and was a powerhouse in Texas and tournaments in the Southwest for many years,
      Besides chess, he loved classical music and played the clarinet in high school and university orchestras, later he enjoyed attending concerts and opera.  Later in life he also enjoyed all types of ballroom dancing. He loved classical movies and collected favorites, especially winners of awards in Cannes and Venice, as well as Hollywood. 
     Brieger was well known in the area of Houston in which he lived because of his life-long habit of walking miles throughout the neighborhood. 

     Brieger played this game in round 10 at the 1959 US Open in Omaha, Nebraska where Brieger scored 6.5-5.5 and finished tied for places 44-57. Simpson finished with a score of 5-7 and tied for places 92-104. The following game is full of raging complications and the outcome was in the balance until the very end. A good show by BOTH players! 

NOTE: I originally thought Brieger's opponent in this game was the late FM Ron Simpson of New York and North Carolina.  Thankfully, an alert reader caught this faux pas; this game was played before FM Simpson was born!  The player of the black pieces in this game was obviously another Ronald Simpson.  A tribute to FM Simpson can be found at Chess Drum.