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| Al Horowitz |
Stenosing tenosynovitis is more popularly known as trigger finger. At first it was just annoying, but eventually got to the point that something had to be done. You can watch the surgery on Youtube HERE.
Israel Albert Horowitz (November 15, 1907 – January 18, 1973) is most remembered today for his chess books, but Horowitz was a leading player in the U.S. during the 1930s and 1940s. He was U.S. Open Champion in 1936, 1938 (with Kashdan) and 1943. In 1941, he lost a match (+0−3=13) against Samuel Reshevsky for the U.S. Championship.
Horowitz played on the U.S. Team in four Chess Olympiads, in 1931, 1935, 1937, and 1950; the first three of which were won by the U.S. which fielded a team made up of such players as Marshall, Reshevsky, Fine, Kashdan and Horowitz In those Olympiads he scored an amazing + 29 -3 =19.
In the USA vs. USSR radio match 1945, Horowitz scored one of the only two wins for the U.S. by defeating Salo Flohr and so splitting his match of two games. Then in the 1946 edition of the same event, he split his match against Isaac Boleslavsky.
Unofficially, starting in 1935 until 1954, Chessmetrics ratings have him hovering just outside the top 10 in the world.
When Horowitz passed away at the relatively early age of 65 it was probably due in large part to his lifestyle. After he put in a full day at Chess Review, he would show up at the Marshall Chess Club around 7 p.m. and then around 11 p.m. he would be playing skittles at the Manhattan Chess Club against all comers. After the Manhattan closed he have a late-night snack of hot dogs and beans or his favorite, a hot pastrami sandwich and he would usually end up getting to bed around 4 a.m. His three packs of cigarettes a day probably didn’t help either.
Although Horowitz authored a number of books, there’s no collection oif his best games. One of my favorite old books is his Golden Treasury of Chess; you can read about how the book came into my possession HERE.
Horowitz presented six of his own games in the book, so they must have had some special meaning for him. The games he presented were: Alex Kevitz (1931), Isaac Kashdan (1936), an amateur (1940), Herbert Seidman (1942) and Samuel Reshevsky (1955).
Here is his game against Herbert Seidman from the 1942 U.S. Championship which he described as an “old fashioned slugging match.” This tournament was originally cancelled by USCF president George Sturgis owing to the U.S. entrance into World War Two, a decision that met with immediate criticism from everybody, including Horowitz at Chess Review, calling it “a most unfortunate decision.”
Horowitz’ reasoning was that the U.S. government was actively encouraging sports and recreational activities and other countries at war are continuing to hold tournaments. Additionally, chess would be a relaxation from the war, it used no defense materials and money contributed to a tournament remained in the country and was not diverted from defense.
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| To those that celebrate it... |
The U.S. government prohibited large public gatherings on the West Coast for the duration of the war and the first significant cancelled event was the Rose Bowl Game scheduled for New Year's Day, 1942.
Originally scheduled to be played in the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, it was moved to Durham, North Carolina, due to fears about an attack by the Japanese on the West Coast following their attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In that game Oregon State Beavers defeated the host Duke Blue Devils 20-16 in Wallace Wade Stadium (known as Duke Stadium, at the time) on the Duke University campus.
Then on January 15, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave baseball the go-ahead to play despite the War. He also encouraged more night baseball so that war workers may attend.
The Chicago Cubs had signed contracts to install lights at Wrigley Field, but cancelled the plans because the military needed the material. That’s not to say that absolutely no night games were ever played at Wrigley Field. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League's first All-Star Game and the first ever night game was played in the ballpark on July 1, 1943 when it was played under temporary lights installed for the occasion.
Finally, lights were installed and lit on August 8, 1988, for a game between the Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies, but the game didn’t count because it was rained out after 3-1/2 innings, so the first official night game took place the following evening against the New York Mets, a game which the Cubs won 6–4.
The 1942 Championship was the tournament where director L. Walter Stephens incorrectly forfeited Denker in his game against Reshevsky who had overstepped the time limit and then Stephens refused to reverse his decision. Amazingly, the decision was upheld by the tournament committee. Further reading...
1-2) Kashdan and Reshevsky 12.5-2.5
3-4) Denker and Pinkus 10.5-4.5
5) Steiner 10.0-5.0
6) Horowitz 9.0-6.0
7) Seidman 7.0-8.0
8-9) Levin and Levy 6.5-8.5
10-11) Chernev and Pilnick 6.0-9.0
12-13) Baker and Lessing 5.5-9.5
14-16) Altman, Green and Hahlbohm 4.0-11.0
Reshevsky won the playoff
Matthew Green had to withdraw after six rounds due to dental problems that required medical attention.
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