Ljubomir Ljubojevic

    

The year 1972 was big, really big. President Nixon made an unprecedented eight-day visit to Communist China and met with Mousy Tongue. Eleven Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich were killed after eight members of an Arab terrorist group invaded Olympic Village; five guerrillas and one policeman were also killed.
     Racist Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama was shot by Arthur H. Bremer at a political rally in Laurel, Maryland. Wallace was left in a wheelchair the rest of his life. 
     Five men were caught by police in attempt to bug Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C.’s Watergate complex beginning the start of the Watergate scandal which ultimately resulted in President Nixon’s resigning. 
     In other news Time Inc. transmitted HBO, the first pay cable network. The National Institute of Mental Health and the surgeon general issued a report that claimed exposure to violence on television fosters aggression in children. The hit television show M*A*S*H premiered and Atari introduced the arcade version of Pong, the first video game. The home version came out in 1974. In the Netherlands the video disk was introduced by Philips Company and e-mail was introduced. 
     The year 1972 was also a big one in chess. The Olympiad at Skopje ended in victory for the USSR, ahead of Hungary and Yugoslavia. The United States team of Lubosh Kavalek, Pobert Byrne, Pal Benko, Arthur Bisguier, William Martz and George Kane finished 9th out of 16 teams in the finals. 
     Bill Church sponsored the Church's Fried Chicken tournament in San Antonio, Texas. Newly crowned world champion Fischer and deposed champion Spassky were invited, but declined. Fischer approved of the playing conditions, but, as usual, wanted more money. The final result was a three-way tie between Tigran Petrosian, Lajos Portisch and Anatoly Karpov. 
     Svetozar Gligoric won the 2nd Statham Masters in Lone Pine. Communist authorities in Czechoslovakia finally allowed Ludek Pachman to leave the country, but he was forced to pay $1,880 for passports for his family. Mikhail Tal recovered sufficiently from his poor health to dominate the Soviet Chess Championship ahead of Vladimir Tukmakov. Tal also had several successes in international tournaments. 
     Robert Byrne, Samuel Reshevsky and Lubomir Kavalek tied for first in the US Championship. They each won $1,316.67. In one incident William Lombardy, who tied for 6th place with Greg DeFotis, got in a snit when he threw away a perpetual check against Larry Evans in round 11 due to time pressure, which he later blamed on not being told his clock was running while he was away from the board. Did I mention 1972 was the year Fischer won the World Championship? 
     Yugoslav GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic (born November 2, 1950) began making a name for himself in the 1970s. Taught to play chess by his father, who served as an officer in the merchant navy, his hero was Mikhail Tal who had an effect on Ljubojevic’s play. Style-wise he wa a strong tactician with a penchant for opening experiments. 
     In 1970 Ljubojevic paid for his own trip to the Olympics in Siegen where he spent entire days playing blitz in the foyer, impressing everybody with his results. 
     Ljubojevic was born in Titovo Uzice, Yugoslavia (now Uzice, Serbia) and was awarded the IM title in 1970 and the GM title in 1971. He was Yugoslav co-champion in 1977 and won it outright in 1982. He won the 1974 Canadian Open Championship. He played for Yugoslavia in twelve Olympiads, nine times on top board. 
     Although he has defeated almost every top GM active during his career and in 1983 was ranked third in the Elo rating list, he never succeeded in reaching the Candidates Tournament stage of the World Championship. 
     A battle developed between him and the old guard Svetozar Gligoric as to who was the best player in Yugoslavia. In 1979, it was settled when Ljubojevic edged Gligoric in a match. In the Match of the Century of 1984 he played for the World Team on the 4th board and broke even against Vasily Smyslov and Vladimir Tukmakov.
     Even though he managed to defeat the world’s best players, in the Inter-zonals he suffered from bad luck.  At Petropolis in 1973, he refused to accept a draw in a dangerous position against David Bronstein who was in severe time trouble and at Manila in 1976, he made a gross blunder in his game against Florian Gheorghiu which prevented him from becoming a candidate. 
     Ljubojevic was philosophical about it, saying, “...the life of a chess-player does not end if he doesn’t become the world champion. World champions are special people who are born that way. I, on the other hand, lived happily and I’m very pleased with my career, I loved my life and it did not matter to me if I became the world champion or not.” 
     By the end of the 1980s he regularly had impressive results, but no longer competed for the world championship. Asked why he never wrote a book, he replied, “... you should commentate on matches right after they finish, not after a certain while. No one will be able to remain absolutely truthful and correct in these commentaries. He will surely try to mask the truth! He will say “I did not fear that.” But he did! He will say “I saw that.” But he never saw it during the match.” “It is easy to analyze after the match. But commentary on the match should take place during a game, so that everyone could see. Like warm bread out of the oven. Only then should you write it down, that is the most genuine! You can’t disguise anything there." You can read an interview with Ljubojevic at Chess News HERE.

Jimmy Magee

     Known a Jimmy to his friends, the name James F. Magee, Jr. (January 7, 1867 – April 13, 1955) is virtually unknown today, but back in the day he was a prominent problemist. 
     According to the Edo historical rating list he was a non-master with a high rating of 2182 in 1902. Chessmetrics assigns him a high rating of 2383 in 1900.
     Magee was also a patron of the Good Companion, a problem club, founded in Philadelphia by Magee and Alain C. White. The club brought together up to 600 problem solving members that were spread all over the world; they were known as "Good Companions.” 
     From 1913 to 1924 the club published bulletins entitled "The Good Companion Chess Problem Club (Our Folder)" that contained the best problems of club competitions in Europe and America. The Good Companion dealt mainly with two movers sent in by the members. 
     Thanks to the patronage of Magee and White and the organizational skills of John Gardner of Toronto , the club survived the First World War, but following the birth of new magazines and national problem sections and White's retirement for reasons of health it was dissolved in 1924. For a 1910 manuscript of the Good Companion, a 174 page book containing problem and miscellaneous material, click HERE. 
     The book was edited by Magee and the dedication reads: "To those Good Companions of the Franklin and Junior Che Clubs of Philidelphia, also that other good companion the unknown composer and collector of these problems.” 
     The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has a collection of medieval chess pieces, but most of them are missing. In 1913, the Metropolitan acquired copies of famous medieval chess pieces through the gift of Magee that were based on originals found in museum collections in Paris and Florence. While traveling in Europe, Magee personally petitioned museum directors to make copies for him. In Philadelphia, Magee also exhibited seventy-eight copies of the Lewis Chessmen that were in the collection of Cleveland collector John G. White. By 1920 Magee was able to make another gift to the Metropolitan, this time of copies of some of the Lewis Chessmen. 
     Not much is known of Magee, but he is mentioned in the The University of Pennsylvania’s Records of the Class of 1887 when he formed a bicycle club. “The Club was formed in the middle of Sophomore Year, through the untiring efforts of Jas. F. Magee, Jr., alias Jimmy, alias One Lung. He is well known to all the Class, but for the benefit of Freshmen he may be described as the handsome brunette, with the light dark mustache, who might be seen any lime during recitation hours reclining on one of the benches in the Assembly Room, his face wreathed in smiles and cigarette smoke.”  The records list the chess club members, but, oddly, Magee was not listed as a member. 
     The 1922 edition of The Further History of the Class of Eighty-seven of the University of Pennsylvania has addition information on Magee. “Magee was for a number of years a broker in merchandise and food stuffs, but has since retired and settled down into the regular occupation of a chess crank, sharp, bug, enthusiast and expert. We have reason to suspect that most of the treatises on chess since the time of Confucius were in reality written by Magee; that while climbing a barbed wire fence, he can also conduct seventeen and a half contests in parallel; that he has a floating chess board upon which to play in his tub; that he has memorized chess equivalents for each of the personages of the Bible, so that when apparently following the church service, he can yet be constructing a chess problem, and that he will not eat mashed potatoes unless moulded into the forms of Kings, Queens, Bishops, etc. Anyway, he is some chess player.” 
     “Color is lent to these beliefs from his editorship of the publication of the Good Companion Chess Club, that wisely gave him that job in 1913 and his being an international secretary of the Problem Club. He also carries as an auxiliary and side line, membership in the Franklin Chess Club, and such office as he has may be best located by any one seeking him going to the Musical Arts Club of Philadelphia and to the chess tables therein.”
     “To keep tuned up to this indoor sport as above, he mentally toys a little at bridge, or whacks a golf ball about, at the Merion Cricket Club, until the call of chess again hits him. Then, when some men carry pocket flasks, or paper of many sheets to the inch, in their pockets, Magee pulls out a pocket chess board, squats on the green and essays to crack another problem; while the caddy, speechless in unfathomed amazement, curls up on the grass and goes into a long undisturbed sleep.” 
     “Magee has been a consistent and active and loyal worker for '87. It is again to his efforts, that the numerous pictures of ourselves as we now are—as is, as the department stores would rate us—in this present issue are due. And those of the Class who have not contributed, best know what a task is the collection such pictures of our cherubic phizzes.” 
      “In 1913, Magee's son died; James Francis Magee III. It was a hard thing for Magee to meet—and to no one does the silent handclasp of sympathy go out more than to fine Jimmy Magee of '87.” 

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 6, 1913

      Magee’s name pops up again in Hermans Helm’s chess column in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 26, 1921 edition under the headline Chess Entry List Growing For Atlantic City Congress.

     Very few of Magee’s games survive, but here is a crazy draw against Steinitz in a simultaneous display.

Play Online Chess

[Event "Simul"]
[Site "Germantown, PA USA"]
[Date "1887.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wilhelm Steinitz"]
[Black "James Magee"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{Vienna Game:} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 {The Vienna was at the height of its popularity
before World War One, but faded with the advent of the Hypermodern. Weaver W.
Adam tried to revive it in the 1940s and 1950s claiming in won by force, but
wa unable to prove it. In more recent time GMs Alex Shabalov Vishy Anand have
played in occasionally. The idea behind the Vienna is to develop yet leaving
open the possibilities of f2-f4 and Qh5.} 2... Nf6 {Black's major second move
is 2... Nc6 when white can play f2-f4 that can lead to several interesting
white gambits.} 3. f4 {The old thematic move that leads to fairly balanced
play.} 3... d5 4. d3 {Instead of the more usual 4.fxe5.} 4... Bb4 5. fxe5
Nxe4 6. dxe4 Qh4+ 7. Ke2 {The first step in what turns out to be a long
journey.} 7... Bg4+ 8. Nf3 Bxc3 { Steinitz' next move begins a downhill slide.
Best was 9.bxc3 dxe4 10.Qd4! Bh5 (A mistake would be 10...exf3+ 11.gxf3 and
the B is pinned against the Q) 11. Kd2 with about equal chances.} 9. Qxd5
Qe1+ 10. Kd3 Bxf3 {White faces a surprisingly difficult choice of which B to
take. If 11.gxf3 11.Nc6 12.Bg5 Qxa1 13.Kxc3 white, with a B and P for the
exchange, is at a slight disadvantage. And, as we will see, 11.bxc3 loses the
Q and leaves white with only a R and B for the Q. In fact, white should delay
taking either of the Bs in favor of 11.Bg5! Bxe4+ (not 11...Qxa1?? 12.Qd8
mate) 12.Qxe4 Qxa1 13.Kxc3 when white down the exchange and black has the
better chances.} 11. bxc3 Nc6 12. gxf3 Rd8 13. Qxd8+ Nxd8 14. Kc4 Qf2 15. Ba3
Qxc2 16. Bb4 Nc6 17. a3 Nxe5+ { Black has an easy win no matter what white
plays, but Steinitz' next move should have allowed a mate in 6 moves.} 18.
Kd4 {Black forces mate with 18... Qd2+ 19.Bs3 f6 20.Rhd1 Qf2+ 21.Kd5 Kd7!
22.Bb5+ c6+ 23.Bxc6+ bxc6 mate.} 18... Nxf3+ 19. Ke3 Ng5 20. Bd3 Qa4 21. Rhg1
Ne6 22. Rab1 a6 23. Bc4 c5 {Better was 23... a5.} 24. Bxe6 cxb4 {Taking trhe
other B was also satisfactory.} 25. Rxb4 Qc6 26. Bd5 Qxc3+ 27. Kf2 O-O 28.
Rxb7 Qxa3 29. Rgb1 {Steinitz is putting up quite a fight despite being in a
lost position.} 29... g6 30. Kg2 h5 31. Rf1 Kg7 32. Rfxf7+ Rxf7 33. Rxf7+ Kh6
34. Rf2 Qc1 35. Ra2 a5 36. Rf2 Qd1 {Magee offered a draw here which was
accepted. Did he believe it was a draw or did he not now how to continue or
were other factors involved? We will never know, but in Shootouts Stockfish
won 5 games at 15 to 23 plies. Here is the continuation at 23 plies which
demonstrates the technique. a) Advance the a-Pawn to tie up white's R and B.
b) Bring up the K c) Mate with the Q and K vs the R and K.} 37. Ra2 Kg5 38.
Kf2 Kf4 39. Kg2 Qf3+ 40. Kg1 Qe3+ 41. Rf2+ Ke5 42. h4 a4 43. Kg2 a3 44. Ra2
Kf4 45. Kf1 Kg3 46. Rg2+ Kf3 47. e5+ Kf4 48. Bg8 Qc1+ 49. Ke2 Qc2+ 50. Kf1
Qd1+ 51. Kf2 Qd8 52. Bf7 Qb6+ 53. Ke2 Qb5+ 54. Kf2 Qc5+ 55. Ke2 Qc2+ 56. Kf1
Qb1+ 57. Ke2 a2 58. Bxa2 Qxa2+ 59. Kf1 Qb1+ 60. Ke2 Qb2+ 61. Kf1 Qb5+ 62. Kg1
Qxe5 63. Rg5 Qe4 64. Kf1 Kf3 65. Kg1 Qd4+ 66. Kh2 Qxh4+ 67. Kg1 Qxg5+ 68. Kh1
Qg2# 1/2-1/2

Chess and the Talmud

     The 1912 book by Daniel Fiske, Chess Tales and Chess Miscellaneous, had a letter to the editor of Nation Magazine in which the writer stated that in his studies of the Talmud he had come across some curious references to chess. (Note: there are two Talmuds, the Jerusalem and Babylonian.)
     According to the writer, the Babylonian Talmud was compiled about 485 A.D. and consisted of discussions which took place near Babylonia from about 227 A.D. on the Mishna, a collection of Pharisaic Oral Law made in Palestine about 200 or 220 A.D. 
     The writer goes on to explain there is a question raised in the Mishna under Marriage Contract on the right of a wife whose dowry comprises four slave women to be free from all household work and “to sit in a chair.” The patriarch Simon, son of Gamaliel (I assume he means Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel I) objected that to do so would “drive her into morbid listlessness” and as the writer observed, ladies in those days lacked the resources of reading novels, lawn tennis, etc. 
     He explained that when this subject comes up in the Talmud, it is said she might play with little pups or “nadrshir.” Nadrshir is evidently a corrupt reading for “Ardeshir”, the first King or Shah in the new Persian dynasty, under whose rule the Babylonian Jews lived. 
     The word indicates a game in which a king plays the foremost part. Rashi, the great commentator on the Talmud, a rabbi living in France who died in 1102, leaves no doubt about the question. He said “Nadrshir is what we call “escaques” the Old French form od “eches”, the German Schach Shah. 
     So, the writer and others believe that according Rashi, chess is mentioned in the Talmud and Jewish legal (Halachic) works, including responsa, and address an array of legal and ethical questions pertaining to the game of chess. 

Refer also to: 
Chess in Rabbinic Literature by Machon Shmuel
Chess in the Jewish Encyclopedia 
Chess: The Game and its players. The Story of Samuel Reshevsky 

Article by Reshevsky's daughter Shaindel. Esther Shaindel Reshevsky Ph.D. was a nutritional consultant in Spring Valley, New York.  

     I found this amusing article in The American Jewish Outlook magazine of December 6, 1946 in the Jews in Sports column.  It's doubtful that Rabbi Twersky was that good!

Ben-Gurion at play

     David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, envisioned the dominance in the sport by Israelis which included chess as Ben-Gurion himself was an avid chess player. His vision was to establish chess in Israel came after the country’s national soccer team was beaten by the Poles. He said, “Let’s invest in something we are good at.” 
     Ben Gurion used to secretly play chess behind the Knesset plenum when he was bored with the superfluous debates in the Israeli government. At the 1964 chess Olympiad of 1964, Ben-Gurion gave out the prizes, in the closing ceremony. Ben-Gurion was a member of the Sde Boker Kibbutz, where he was living at the time, and played fourth board for the chess team. 

Handing out prizes to the Soviets at the 1964 Olympiad

     By the way, did you know that there were stories appearing last year that originated on the satirical web site The Daily Chronicle that President Trump’s son, Barron, was awarded the prestigious title of Chess Grandmaster from the International Board of Chessmasters? The article also stated, “Donald Trump is one of the highest ranked and most celebrated American chess players of all time. In the 1970s and 80s, Donald Trump studied under the tutelage of players like Bobby Fischer. Eventually, he won hundreds of chess tournaments abroad before retiring at the ripe old age of 40.”  It should come as no surprise that a lot of Facebookers and Twitterites thought it was a true story.

Why do some people believe these ridiculous stories?  Confirmation bias. Related posts:

Confirmation Bias

Facebook Addiction

Old Time Postal Chess – a game by Vladimir Zagorovsky

     Back in the old days, which to me was before chess engines, postal chess was the way to go for someone who grew up in the middle of nowhere. In the small town in which I lived when people found out I played chess I got questions like, “Chess? Ain’t that a game something like checkers?” 
     After joining the military out of high school, chess came to an end. Even after the military, working at a job that required putting in what felt like a thousand hours a week left no time. Finally, after a 12-year hiatus and having gotten a less demanding job I took it up again. In spite of their being illegal it was apparent that a lot of people were using engines. It was no problem at first, but eventually engines got too strong and it was time to throw in the towel. 
    In order to guide engines you need to have patience...lots of it to do research and experimenting and I just don’t care to do all that. As they say, those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. I might add, those who can do neither blog! Read the article on modern correspondence chess at ChessBase.
     Following the foundation of the International Correspondence Chess Union in Berlin in 1928 the idea of a Correspondence Championship was discussed for the first time. Alekhine, who played a lot of correspondence chess in his early days, was a driving force to see the realization of a Correspondence Championship. 
     It wasn’t until 1936 that an IFSB conference decided to set up a committee to bring the idea of a CC champion into fruition. Plans struck a snag with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, but for some reason it took until 1947 for the preliminaries to get started. 
     There were 78 participants from 22 countries in 11 preliminary groups. The finals with 15 players started in 1950 and finished in 1953. It was won by Cecil Purdy of Australia. 
     The second championship (1956-1959) was won by Vyacheslav Ragozin of the Soviet Union. The third (1959-1962) by Albrec O'Kelly of Belgium and the fourth (1962-1965) by Vladimir Zagorovsky of the Soviet Union. 
     Zagorovsky (June 29, 1925 – November 6, 1994) was a leading Russian correspondence GM who was also a fairly strong OTB player as he proved by winning the 1952 Moscow City Championship. The Moscow City Championship in that era had been won by such players as Yuri Averbakh, Tigran Petrosian, David Bronstein, Evgeni Vasiukov and Vladimir Simagin, so it was a tough tournament...tougher even than some international tournaments. 
    In the July 1972 FIDE rating list he had an over the board rating of 2370. Zagororovsky also authored Romantic Chess Openings. He was a master when he took up postal play in the 1950s and continued to play at the highest level up until his death, competing in five consecutive world championships finals with good results in each. He also led the USSR team to Olympad success and played in numerous invitational GM tournaments. 

Zagorovsky has  played 30...Rc7-h7.

    There is an interesting page showing picture of some of the post cards from the actual event HERE.
     The Fifth World Correspondence Chess Championship began on April 1, 1965 and ended three years later and was famously won by the only American in the field, Hans Berliner. His victory over the Soviet Union’s Yakov Estrin, a well known theorist of the Two Knights' Defense, is one of the most memorable correspondence game ever played when Berliner beat Estrin’s Two Knights Defense. 
     The tournament wasn’t even close; Berliner scored +12 -0 =4 and his score of 14-2 put him a whopping three points ahead of Jaroslav Hybl and Karel Husak who scored 11-5. Zagorovsky and Heinz De Carbonnel tied for 4th and 5th places with 10-6. 

5th CC World Ch Final 1965 
1) Berliner 14.0 
2-3) Hybl and Husak 11.0 
4-5) Zagorovsky and De Carbonnel 10.0 
6) Abramson 9.5 
7-8) Endzelins and Nielsen 9.0 
9-11) J. Richter, Rokhlin and Altshuler 7.5 
12) Stern 7.0 
13) Estrin 6.0 
14) Messere 5.5 
15) Ericson 5.0 
16) Nyman 4.0 
17) Borisenko 2.5 
Borisenko withdrew midway through the tournament and his unfinished games were adjudicated. 

Play Online Chess

[Event "5th CC World Champ Final"]
[Site "corr ICCF"]
[Date "1965.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vladimir Zagorovsky"]
[Black "Jaroslav Hybl"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{B65: Sicilian: Richter-Rauzer: 7...Be7 8 0-0-0 0-0 9 f4 Nxd4} 1. e4 c5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 {The Richter-Rauzer Attack.
White prepares the aggressive plan Qd3 and O-O-O. lack has a couple of
different plans. The straightforward 6...e6 7.Qd2 Be7 followed by ...O-O or
the less usual 7...a6 and ...Bd7. Also worth mentioning is Larsen's old move
6...Bd7. After 7.Qd2 Rc8 8.O-O-O Nxd5 9.Qxd4 Qa5 and white has to retreat his
B to d2.} 6... e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O Nxd4 9. Qxd4 O-O {By playing 8...Nxd4
instead of castling black has left himself open to Tal's 10.e5 as he played
against Timman at Brussels in 1988. After 10...dxe5 11.Qxe5 Qe8 12.h4
careful defense is required on black's part.} 10. f4 h6 11. Bh4 Qa5 12. Qd3
{Instead of the far more popular 12.Bc4 which allows 12...e5 when after
13.fxe5 dxe5 the Q has to retreat to d3. After the text it black plays
12...e5 white can play 13.f5 with the makings of a K-side attack.} 12... Rd8
{In the 1957 Soviet Championship Spassky now tried the more aggressive 13.Be2
against Boleslavsky, but after 13...Bd7 14.Qg3 Bc6 followed by ...e5 and ...b5
white didn't achieve anything.} 13. Kb1 Bd7 14. g4 Bc6 {Now it may appear that
white can continue aggressively with 15.g5 but it fails tactically after
15...Nh5 16.Qf3 Nxf4! and the N can't be taken because if 17.Qxf4 hxg5
18.Bxg5 Bxg5 leaves black with a winning position.} 15. Bg2 {If black plays
15...Nxe4 16.Bxe7 Nxc3+ wrecking white's Ps in front of the Q, after 17.bxc3
Bxg2 he loses the exchange after 18.Bxd8.} 15... b5 {An interesting line was
15...d5 16.e5 d4.} 16. Ne2 {With his next move the voluntary withdrawal of the
Q is the beginning of his trouble. Black should now play 16...b4 and then if
17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.h4 after 18...Bb5 and 19...Rac8 black's counterattack is
beginning to make itself felt.} 16... Qc7 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. h4 d5 {Apparently
black believed this punch in the center would equalize, but by keeping the
position closed white is in a position to lauch a very strong K-side attack
while black is not in a position to counterattack on the Q-side. After this
move the engine evaluation immediately jumps to almost 3 Ps in white's favor
indicating he is strategically lost.} 19. e5 Be7 20. g5 h5 {Evidently Hybl
thought the K-side was sufficiently closed so that there was no danger. But
Zagorovsky's next move buts open the Ks position.} 21. g6 {Now 21...fxg6
22.Qxg6 attacks the e- and h-Ps, plus the g-file is open and black is dead
lost.} 21... Be8 22. gxf7+ Bxf7 23. Nd4 Bc5 24. Nf3 Be7 25. Bh3 {It won't do
black any good to exchange Qs with 25...Qc4. After 26.Nd4 Qxd3 27.Rxd3 his
e-Pawn is lost.} 25... Rab8 26. Ng5 Bxg5 27. hxg5 {Now if 27...g6 28.Bxe6!
black can't play 28...Bx6 29.Qxg6+} 27... Rb6 28. g6 Be8 29. Rdg1 Rc8 30. Qd1
Ra6 31. Bf1 Qa5 32. a3 Kf8 33. Bd3 Rc7 34. Qxh5 Ke7 35. Qg5+ {White's next
move will be 36.Rh7 winning the g-Pawn and leaving black without a shred of
hope.} 1-0

Janos Flesch

     Janos Flesch (September 30, 1933 – December 9, 1983) was a Hungarian IM with an imaginative, risky attacking style. Flesch and his wife, Ildiko Tenyei died in an automobile accident in Whitstable, England. 
     Flesch was awarded the IM title in 1963 and the Honorary GM title in 1980. He represented Hungary on the Tel-Aviv Chess Olympiad in 1964 and the 1965 European Team Chess Championship in Hamburg. In 1967 he began working as chess trainer. 
     He is best known for claiming a world record simultaneous blindfold games and many books and articles cite him as the record holder. Blindfold specialist George Kotanowski and Miguel Najdorf scoffed at Flesch’s claim because he used scoresheets as an aid in recalling the games while they never used any aids. Flesch played 52 games, winning 31, drawing 18, and losing 3. The exhibition lasted thirteen and a half hours, with three five-minute breaks. 
     You can read Flesch’s autobiography beginning on page 99 of Hearst’s book, Blindfold Chess History, on Google books HERE. The authors point out that some of what he writes is self-serving, exaggerated and false. 
     Here is a typical Flesch game that illustrates his style. It was played in the Asztalos Memorial in Hungary in 1966. 

1-2) Wolfgang Uhlmann and David Bronstein 10.5 
3) Janos Flesch 8.5 
4-6) Peter Del, Victor Ciocaltea and Istvan Bilek 8.0 
7-9) Ervin Haag, Laszlo Barczay and Lubomir Kavalek 7.5 
10) Andor Lilienthal 6.5 
11) Laszlo Navarovszky 6.0 
12-13) Enver Bukic and Levente Lengyel 5.5 
14-15) Istvan Csom and Dimitar Pelitov 3.5 
16) Enrico Paoli 2.0 

     In the game, the position after 15.Nc5 is especially instructive and is a good position to practice your visualization skills.

 

     If black plays: 15...b6 16.Bxc6! Bh3 17.Na6 Bxf1 18.Ba3+ Kg8 19.Kxf1 reaching the following position:

 

     Black’s R on a8 is trapped so if: 19...Rac8 20.Bb7 Bf8 21.Bxf8 Kxf8 22.Bxc8 Rxc8 23.Rd1 white has a won ending.  
     The position after 27.Bd6 also merits special attention if you want to try and visualize all the complications.

Edit: 8/14/19 Corrected picture. See Chess Every Day blog (in Hungarian) 

Play Online Chess

[Event "Asztalos Memorial 9th"]
[Site "Szombathely HUN"]
[Date "1966.7.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Janos Flesch"]
[Black "Ervin Haag"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{King's Indian Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 {This is one of the most
solid lines that white has. The standard plans of attack that black employs
in other variations don't work. White's idea is to have extra security for his
K and keep the central tension which makes it difficult for black to play as
aggressively as he does in other classical lines.} 3... Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3
d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 {This and 6...Nd7 are the most frequently seen moves. However,
black has a very interesting continuation in 6...c6. With 6...c6 lack
prevents e4 and at the same time has the idea of occupying the e4 square with
his N. Black will play actively on the Q-side. On any of white's reactions
such as 8.Ne1 or 8.Nh4 black will try to provoke the advance d4-d5. This will
lead to positions that resemble the Sicilian Dragon, where the dark square B
becomes an important piece.} 7. O-O e5 8. dxe5 {Rather than close the center
with 8.d5 Flesch chooses to go into a middlegame without Qs. Looks boring,
doesn't it?} 8... Nxe5 9. Nxe5 dxe5 10. Qxd8 Rxd8 11. Bg5 Rd4 12. b3 c6 13.
Na4 {Smyslov tried 13.Be3 against Szabo in the 1959 Candidates tournament in
Amsterdam, but didn't get anything.} 13... Kf8 {A long range positional move
designed to bring the K closer to the center for the ending. Judit Polgar
tried 13...Bg4 against Zoltan Zibli at Vienna in 1991 which also resulted in
equality although she eventually won thanks to later mistakes by white.} 14.
Bc1 {White actually has the advantage here and can challenge black on the
d-file immediately with 14. Rad1. Instead, Flesch chooses another plan in
which he first redeploys his B to a more active diagonal.} 14... Rd8 15. Nc5
{Tying black down to the defense of his b-Pawn.} 15... Rb8 16. Bb2 Ng4 17.
Rad1 Ke8 18. h3 Rxd1 19. Rxd1 Nh6 {White could now have played 20.Ne4 which
leads to attacking ideas similar to the actual game only it would have been
even more virulent.} 20. f4 Nf5 21. fxe5 Nxg3 {A cursory glance at the
position hardly suggests white is about to unleash an attack where black's K
is caught in the crosshairs of white's Bs.} 22. Na6 {A brilliant idea, but
unfortunately it gives black counterchances. 22.Kf2 Nh5 23.Ne4 and 26.Nd6+
was best.} 22... bxa6 23. Bxc6+ {Now not 23...Kf8 24. Rd8+ Ke7 25.Re8 mate.}
23... Ke7 24. Ba3+ Ke6 25. Bd5+ Kf5 26. e4+ Kg5 27. Bd6 {This position is
incredibly complicated, but the engine found an ingenious line: 27...Rb6
28.Kf2 Kh4 29.Rd3 Nh5 30.Rf3 f5 31.c5 Rxd6!! 32.exd6 Bd4+ with head whirling
complications where both sides have their chances.} 27... Ne2+ {Probably a
panic check that loses at once.} 28. Kf2 Nc3 29. Rg1+ Kf4 {Walking into a
mate, but he was lost anyway.} 30. e6+ Be5 31. Rg4# 1-0

The Chinese School of Chess

     The city I live in has a nice, big main library with several branches and occasionally I visit them. Naturally the first thing I do is look to see what chess books they have. I still can’t figure it out...sometimes they have a Reinfeld book or two, but other times they have several decent books. Say, for example, The Art of Chess Analysis by Jan Timman. Why they have different books every visit is a mystery. 
     The other day I discovered The Chinese School of Chess by Liu Wenzhe lurking in the games sections. It was published in 2002 and you can buy it for $30 if you’re into spending a lot of money on chess books. I used to, but fortunately kicked the habit a long time ago. But, it’s free to check books out at the library, so I brought it home and must say I enjoyed it. 
     Googling the author revealed that the late Liu Wenzhe (October 7, 1940 – September 20, 2011) was an International Master and one of China's top chess trainers. Originally a XiangQi (Chinese chess) player, Wenzhe was one of the first to take a serious interest in "Western" chess which he began playing and studying in the late 1950s. According to Chessmetrics his rating was in the 2300s until 1989 when he was inactive. He apparently resumed play in 2000, but by then he was 59 years old and his rating slipped to the 2100s. 

     He was the first Chinese player to defeat a GM (Nikolai Krogius in 1965) and the first to be awarded the title of International Master. He is considered a pioneer of chess in China and a founding father of the Chinese School of Chess.
     He won the Chinese Chess Championship in 1980 and 1982. Two years after the end of the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong's death and the fall of the Gang of Four in 1976, China competed in their first Olympiad in Buenos Aires. It was there that Liu Wenzhe played his best known game when he crushed Dutch GM Jan Hein Donner in twenty moves. The game, with notes based on Liu Wenzhe’s annotations, is given below and it’s a lot of fun to play over. 
     Like The Soviet School of Chess by Kotov and Yudovich, the book has its share of propaganda telling readers what a swell system of government Communism is as proven by the large number of good chess players it produced. I suppose saying that was required if you wanted to avoid disappearing into the abyss. 
     Actually I think it was a function of numbers. When I played in my first junior tournament at the age of 15 or 16, I was one of the youngest players out of 20 or 25 participants. Nowadays you can’t visit a tournament without stepping on a five year old. There was one Hispanic and one girl playing. Then came the Fischer Boom and all of a sudden minority players started showing up. At first they weren’t very good, but as more and more started playing that changed.
     Here in the US we had very few registered players and a thimble full of Masters. In the Soviet Union they had millions of players and a boat load of Masters. I suspect the same thing happened in China. With more than one billion Chinese it should be no surprise that with the help of government supported programs a lot of strong players will be discovered and encouraged. 
     The book supposedly reveals the unique approach, training methods and secrets of his Chinese School of Chess based on "The Art of Thinking." According to the introduction, when Botvinnik published his Soviet School of Chess nobody dared challenged the theories postulated by the Soviet School until Liu Wenzhe came along. 
     The book is a summary of his training methods and the emphasis is on positional play. Much of his analysis is long...very long...which means it’s most likely filled with mistakes. Think long, think wrong! 
     If you’re like me, you’re dying to know what the Chinese method for success is. There isn’t any. Well, not exactly. He does a lot of yammering about the Chinese players’ approach to the middlegame, their flexible thinking, strategic skills, etc. But so did Kotov and Yudovich in their Soviet School of Chess. 
     In the Road To Chess Mastery, GM Alex Yermolinsky let the cat out of the bag about the Soviet School. He saw plenty of bad teaching in the Soviet Union. He also wrote, “There were no secret methods of teaching...In my 30 years of tournament experience I have seen a lot of bad players and most of them lived in the Soviet Union.” He also added that his teacher, the celebrated Vladimir Zak, while he had a good eye for talent, couldn’t help players by the time they reached 1800! 
     So why was Liu Wenzhe so successful in his training of Xie Jun for her 1991 World Championship match against Maia Chiburdanidze? Simple. For 6 months she was totally immersed in chess. Every day she followed a strict regimen that included eight hours of chess training and even breaks, meal times and bedtimes (10:15pm) were regulated. No diversions, no time with friends, entertainment or movies. Nothing but studying chess! 
     All in all, even though he doesn’t reveal any secret plans that will enable those of us who are rating challenged to climb the ladder of success, the book, especially the annotations, was an interesting read. 

Play Online Chess

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Buenos Aires "]
[Date "1978.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Liu Wenzhe"]
[Black "J.H. Donner"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{Modern Defence} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 {When auto-annotating this with the Fritz
12 GUI, it called this opening the Pirc Defense, but according to the
Wikipedia article that is not correct. I says the Modern Defense (aka the
Robatsch Defense) is closely related to the Pirc, the primary difference being
that in the Modern, black delays developing his N to f6.} 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be2
Bg7 {White has a gaggle of moves to chose from, 11 according to the Fritz 12
opening book, the most popular being 5.Nf3.} 5. g4 {This is the 4th most
popular and its results are actually pretty good. Wenzhe says it is a
provocative move, but points out such moves can be dangerous if met
incorrectly.} 5... h6 {Wenzhe wrote, What awes me is the antidote to this
provocation 5..d5! moving a pawn twice in the opening, goes against opening
principles -is hard to find if your mind is locked on playing properly.
Donner spent half an hour on this move which pleased his Wenzhe because it
meant his unexpected move had already put Donner at a psychological
disadvantage. On the other hand, Wenzhe hadn't anticipated such a
straightforward defense. The move was questioned by some, but Wenzhe thought
it was still an effective choice.} 6. h3 {Wenzhe originally intended 6.h4 but
couldn't see how to continue after that. He felt his Q and B would then be
tied to the defense of his g-Pawn and that would spell trouble when black
strikes in the center. Thus, he felt his last move was wasted. He decided
his best plan was to stabilize the center in oreder to be able to launch a
K-side attack.} 6... c5 7. d5 O-O {Donner had played his last two moves
quickly and Wenzhe guessed that when Donner castled it meant he was very
pleased with his 5th move. Donner apparently believed if that white did not
dare play h2-h4 then white had been forced to give up plans of a K-side
attack. Wenzhe called it a psychological error. Better plans were either
7...a6 with play on the Q-side or attacking white's center with 7...e6.} 8.
h4 {A dogmatic theorist might call this move a loss of a tempo. However,
chess is not simply mathematical. The point is that black has made
concessions on the K-side in terms of both space and time. When combined with
premature castling, h7-h6 turns out to be a bad move which wasted time and
allow white to open the h-file. (Wenzhe) He also added that when the K is
the target of a mating attack, theory is meaningless. Purdy made the same
point decades ago when he wrote that when a SOUND tactic is available
positional considerations can be ignored.} 8... e6 9. g5 {Now blac's best move
is 9...Nh7 but even then white has the upper hand.} 9... hxg5 10. hxg5 Ne8
11. Qd3 {After this move Wenzhe was sure he was going to win. That opinion
was based on his attacking skills. He is quite correct. Stockfish alread
gives white a score of almost 2.5 Ps which is a winning advantage for a
skilled player.} 11... exd5 {All this move does is allow white to add fuel to
the fire by placing a N on d5. There isn't much to do except try to defend
with 11...Nc7.} 12. Nxd5 Nc6 13. Qg3 {Black can try 13... f5, but after
14.gxf6 Nxf6 15.Qxg6 his position is hopeless.} 13... Be6 {After this white
has a mate in 11 moves with either 14.Qh4 or 14.Qh2.} 14. Qh4 {Wenzhe wrote
that after this he thought about continuing the attack with Bc4, but then the
idea of a Q-sac dawned on him. At the same time he was very nervous about
botching it!} 14... f5 {Black can only delay, but not prevent mate. If white
hadn't realized the idea of a Q-sac and played the originally intended 15.Bc4
then 15...b5 16.Nf6 Kf7 17.Bxe6+ Kxe6 18.exf5+ he would have a very dangerous,
even winning, attack but at least black can play on.} 15. Qh7+ Kf7 {According
to Wenzhe, Donner looked optimistic in view of his threat of 16...Rh8.
Actually I'm not sure I believe that. Donner was a strong GM and I am
positive he realized that even after the prosaic 16.Nf4 (attacking the g-Pawn)
Ne7 (Defending it) 17.Bh5 white has a winning attack. Wenzhe added that
Donner didn't seem too perturbed by the Q-sac and played quickly, probably
hoping Wenzhe would misplay the attack. Even when you're dead lost it's not a
good idea to act like you socks are on fire.} 16. Qxg6+ Kxg6 17. Bh5+ Kh7 18.
Bf7+ Bh6 {White still has a chance to booger up his attack and lose! His next
move is the only one that wins. Tempting is 19.Rxh6+ but after 19...Kg7 20.
Bxe6 fxe4 white's attack is over and he is left with a material deficit of two
Bs against the Q} 19. g6+ Kg7 20. Bxh6+ {It' mate in two: 20...Kh8 21.Bxf8+
and mate next move.} 1-0

Nikolay Minev – He Should Have Been A GM

     I doubt many readers will be familiar with the name Nikolay Minev who was born in Rousse, Bulgaia on November 8, 1931 and died in Seattle, Washington on March 10, 2017, but, he deserves to be better known.
     Minev was an IM, Bulgarian Champion in 1953, 1965 and 1966, played for Bulgaria in six Olympiads (1954, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1962, and 1966) and had some decent tournament results: third at Varna 1960, second at Warsaw 1961, first at Sombor 1966 and second at Albena 1975. 
     In 1958, he received invitation to play in Hastings, but was not allowed an exit visa by the Bulgarian government. In 1966 the Bulgarian Federation refused to allow him to participate in the Havana International where GM norms were possible. 
     Minev was also a noted chess author and contributed to early editions of the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings and the Encyclopedia of Chess Endings and the Informants. After he and his wife emigrated to the United States in the mid-1980s and settled in Seattle, Washington he was associated with Yasser Seirawan’s magazine Inside Chess up until the 1990s. Inside Chess ran from 1988 to 2000 during which time it was one of the world's top chess magazines.  If you $80 to spend you can still purchase DVDs containing over 10,000 pages of the magazine.
     Minev learned to play at the age of 8, but didn’t take chess seriously until he was 15 when he was suffering from a long illness. His progress was quick. He played in a regional qualifier for the Bulgarian national championship in 1947 and his score of 10-2 qualified him for the 1948 Bulgaria Championship which was only his second tournament. 
     The year 1951 saw him tying for first in the Bulgarian Championship, but he lot the playoff. All together he played in the Championship 22 times. His career high rating was 2576 in 1966. 
     During the course of his international career, he played most of world's leading players, including every recent world champion through Bobby Fischer. He beat Korchnoi, drew Spassky, Petrosian, and Bronstein (twice). 
     While many of the strong Bulgarian players were chess professionals sponsored by the government, Minev remained an amateur.  He was offered a position as a chess professional, but in 1949, he chose to pursue a medical career and completed his studies in 1956. He founded the Bulgarian national toxicology lab in Sofia in 1965. 
     Chessmetrics puts his rating well into the 2500s in the mid 1960s. While that may not sound too high by today’s standards, it puts him in a group that included names like Levente Lengyel, Petar Trifunovic, Lothar Schmid, Gideon Stahlberg, Dragoljub Janosevic, Hector Rossetto, Gedeon Barcza, Dragoljub Velimirovic and Wolfgang Pietzsch...all prominent GMs and names frequently seen in tournaments of the day. Minev probably should have had the GM title. 
     In 1972, he elected to leave medicine and became editor of the Bulgarian monthly chess magazine, Shakmatna Misl. His reason for leaving medicine was there was no political danger plus the salary was better. On average doctors, after years of study, received about half of what a skilled industrial worker received and had to put in longer hours, etc.  For anybody that’s interested, there is a lot of detail on Bulgarian politics during that time frame HERE. 
     At the same time he became a coach and chess educator. He continued as editor through 1978 and was the trainer and friend Ivan Radulov who went on to become a GM. 
     After becoming fed up with communist rule in Bulgaria, Minev and his wife went to Greece, then Vienna and later to Seattle. Once settled in the U.S. he edited Northwest Chess and began his long association with Seirawan. Derrick’s Blog has an in depth interview with Minev that is quite interesting. The Chess Library has complete details of Minev's career, contributions to chess and games.
     In the following game Minev’s opponent is Gerhard Lorson (1919 – 1992) who was German and played for Saar in the 1952, 1954 and 1956 Olympiads. Minev’s conduct of the attack is brilliant. 

Play Online Chess

[Event "Moscow ol (Men) qual-A"]
[Site "Moscow URS"]
[Date "1956.9.2"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nikolay N Minev"]
[Black "Gerhard Lorson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{C90: Closed Ruy Lopez with 7...d6: Early deviations} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bb5 {Chess Trainer Efstratios Grivas notes this requires a lot of theoretical
knowledge. In the main lines, it can lead to strategically challenging
positions for both sides, requiring good strategical knowledge, mixed with a
tactical eye. Botvinnik claimed the great Polugaevsky was held back from being
a World Championship contender because he didn't play the Ruy Lopez and so
never mastered positional play.} 3... a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7.
d3 {If one wants to play the Ruy Lopez and does not want to study a lot of
long variations then d3 comes to rescue.} 7... d6 {Other alternatives are
7...Bb7 and 7.. .O-O} 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. Re1 Bg4 11. Nbd2 Nc6 12. h3
Bxf3 {Black would have done better keeping the B by playing 12...Bh5.} 13.
Qxf3 O-O 14. Nf1 { Heading for f5.} 14... d5 15. Ne3 d4 16. Nf5 Ne8 17. Bb3
Kh8 18. a4 {You will see this move a lot in ther Ruy Lopez. As Alekhine once
noted, the opening of the a-file in the Ruy Lopez i always favorable for
white. Let's pretend for a moment and say black allows the a-file to be
opened in this position and plays 18...Nd6 19.axb5 axb5 (the a-file is open)
20.Rxa8 Qxa8 21.Bd5 (pinning the N) Nxf5 (eliminating the well placed white N)
22.exf5 (Threatening the pinned N on c6) Rc8 (defending the N) 23.Qh5 and
white has a winning attack...he threatens Re4-h4.} 18... b4 19. Bd5 Rc8 20.
cxd4 cxd4 {Black has no real chance of using the open c-file, but a better way
to bring about its opening is to plat 20...Nd4 21.Nxd4 cxd4 and at least the
white N has disappeared from its dangerous perch.} 21. Bd2 Na5 {The N takes up
a rather pointless position. Better was 21...Bg5 eliminating one of white's
pieces which, as it turns out, plays an important role in the attack.} 22.
Rec1 Nc7 23. Qg3 {White can now win in a number of ways. Note than black
can't defend g7 with 23...Bf6 because white attacks the N on a5 with 24.Rc5
and if 24...Nxd5 25.Rxd5 Qc7 26. Bxb4 and the N and R on f8 are forked.}
23... g6 24. Nxe7 Qxe7 25. Bxb4 {As mentioned in the note to black's 21st
move, this B plays a part in the decisive attack.} 25... Qxb4 {Now if 26.Qe5+
f6 and black is still fighting.} 26. Rxc7 Qd6 27. Rxf7 Rxf7 28. Bxf7
{Appearances can be deceiving. It looks like black has survived, but in
reality he is dead lost! If he tries 28...Rc2 then after 29.b4 white gains a
decisive advantage on the Q-side. As played white gets a decisive attack on
the K-side.} 28... Kg7 29. Bd5 Rb8 30. Rc1 {Brilliant! The loss of the b-Pawn
is irrelevant.} 30... Rxb2 31. Rc8 Qf6 32. Rc7+ Kh6 33. Rf7 { White has a mate
in 24 moves.} 1-0

An Interview With Sammy Rzeszewski

     According to an article in the Sunday December 12, 1920 issue of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle the 8-1//2 year old Samuel Rzeszewski, Boy Chess Prodigy and Boxer who may become great, like other boys his age, enjoyed riding his bike, roller skating and other sports and was a woman-hater.
     Note: Was Reshevsky (he changed the spelling of his name about 1925) really eight years old at the time of the interview? Andy Soltis has claimed in Chess Life that Reshevsky told a number of people that he was actually born in 1909. In an interview with Hanon Russell the year before his death, however, Reshevsky stated that the 1911 date was accurate. For pronunciation of Rzeszewski click HERE. 
    Sammy had given his first American simultaneous exhibition witnessed by over 500 spectators on November 9, 1920, against 20 officers and cadets at the Military Academy at West Point. Dressed in a sailor suit, he won 19 games and drew one. As a result, he became an overnight sensation. A few weeks before the interview with the Eagle he was shown three difficult chess problems by Frank Marshall and he solved them all in 3 minutes and 25 seconds. Marshall gave him a gold medal.

The boarding house today

     Eagle columnist Ed Hughes wrote that he hadn’t been in the boy’s home for more than 15 minutes before he realized that while Sammy was a chess prodigy, in other areas he was just a regular kid. Hughes had an appointment with Sammy and his manager at ten in the morning, but added that evidently appointments meant nothing. When he arrived at 22 West 120th Street in Manhattan he was met by the proprietor of the strictly kosher boarding house and informed that Sammy was not out of bed yet. 

     While awaiting the arrival of Sammy, Hughes was informed that Sammy was not just a chess prodigy, but that he had a “sharp brain for most anything.” What had convinced the landlord was that when Sammy’s parents were inspecting the premises prior to renting the rooms, Sammy had told them, “Go no further. You won’t find a better bargain than these.” 
     The article explained that his parents were Orthodox Jews and quite strict and then gave readers some examples of their observance of and eating habits on the Sabbath. Sammy was even more strict than his parents which explains why they would not stay at the fashionable downtown hotels. Sammy positively refused to eat non-Kosher food. He studied the Talmud every day and was amazingly familiar with it. For example, the previous night a Jewish professor had given him a difficult problem that most of the adults could not answer, but to everyone’s amazement, Sammy gave the correct answer in about 30 seconds. 
     As is well known Reshevsky never played on the Sabbath. There was a brief article in the August 14, 1959 issue of the Jewish Press about an “incident” concerning a tournament at the Log Cabin Chess Club which was at the home of E. Forry Laucks. 
     According to Batgirl at Chess.com, the 1959 event was played in both Laucks’ home and the NY Chess Club and was to include the country’s top 10 players. The schedule included games on Friday night and Saturday, which meant Reshevsky couldn’t play. Laucks wouldn’t change the schedule, but at a player’s meeting it was decided to take a vote with the stipulation that any arrangements that allowed Reshevsky to play had to be unanimous. One player vetoed Sammy on “personal grounds.” 
     The players, in order of finish, were: Lombardy, Benko, Evans, Bisguier and R. Byrne, Kalme, Shipman, Cross, Mednis and Sherwin. It would be interesting to know who the dissenter was! 
     Frank Brady, Business Manager for the USCF, denied that there was any discrimination and said that “many of the players are Jewish.” While that was true, none were Orthodox. 

American Hebrew magazine 1920

     Back to the Jewish Press article: For his part Reshevsky was bitter and felt the schedule was a personal insult and pointed out that in all the years he had been playing, he was never faced with breaking the Sabbath, “not even in Russia.” Oddly, the Jewish Press concluded with the claim that Reshevsky became World Champion in 1935! 
     Now we return to the Eagle’s article. Like most boys his age, Sammy hated women and would not allow a woman to touch him if he could avoid it. As an example, while traveling in Europe a titled woman once offered him a diamond bracelet for a handshake and kiss. Sammy pointed to a friend and told the lady she could get the handshake and kiss for nothing from his friend. And, pointing to another friend, he told the lady he would pay her for them. 
     In another instance, one time he was riding his bike in front of his apartment when a woman jokingly tried to take it from him. Sammy let her have it and ran into the house very angry. When it was explained to him the woman was only joking, he replied, “I know that, but I don’t even want to joke with them (meaning women)!” The writer was also informed that Sammy was a “good little fighter” who could more than hold his own against the other boys in the neighborhood; in fact, they were afraid of him. 
     He wasn’t much on obedience to strangers, but always asked his parents about whether he could do even the smallest things because according to the Talmud, he was to honor his father and mother. He obeyed their commands instantly. 
     Sammy realized he was different from the other boys and insisted that he play with them without letting them know he was famous for his chess. He once asked the landlord’s son why he played with the other kids, “You can learn from me. They will teach you nothing.” 
     Finally at about 11am Sammy arrived to meet his interviewer; he was half dressed and wearing a large brown cap and first went into another room to get his daily lemon. At the time he didn’t understand English, but could speak Yiddish, French and German. The express purpose of the American tour was to obtain funds for his education as he had no schooling except private tutoring. 
     Sammy’s manager explained that he had recently beaten Morris Shapiro (1903-1996), youthful champion of the Manhattan Chess Club, and it was a very important game because the folks at the club were skeptical of Sammy’s abilities. Even Sammy realized it was important and had told his manager that for the first time he had achieved a notable victory. 
     It was mentioned that Sammy had two older brothers, one of which was in the Polish army, but they were not as gifted mentally. One genealogy website I checked listed the names of his parents and for siblings it showed “Brother of, private, private, private, private and private.” I take that to mean he had five siblings. Another site incorrectly states he had one brother. 
    The article also mentioned that while in Vienna a representative of the Emperor had informed Sammy's manager that His Majesty wanted to play a game and as a matter of tact, Sammy would have to let the Emperor win; he flatly refused. 
     Sammy’s goal was to become a professor in mathematics or some science, but first wanted to become World Champion. Even at that early date he thought he was ready to meet Lasker or Capablanca! 
     As interviewers often do, Sammy was asked what he thought of America and American women. His answer was, “I like America better than any country I’ve ever been in. It’s so big and open and the people are so lively. As chess players they are passably good. I won’t answer you about women. Don’t you know yourself?” Sammy’s manager told the interviewer that while he appeared indifferent to women he had recently heard him remark, “They are very beautiful here.” 
     At the time of the interview with Hughes, Sammy had shunned publicity and it had been nearly impossible for anyone to even get his autograph so Hughes was surprised when Sammy autographed his photo for the paper. 
     Here is Reshevsky’ game against Shapiro that convinced the Manhattan Chess Club members that the stories about Reshevsky’s prowess were true. 
     The 4th USCF rating list was published in March of 1952 and a list of Masters Emeritus was included. The title was conferred on players who performed at the master level prior to 1921. The players included Jacob Bernstein, Roy Black, Adolph Fink, Albert Fox, Herman Hahlbohm, Hermann Helms, Lewis Isaacs, Charles Jacobs, Abraham Kupchik, Edward Lasker, W.R. Lovegrove, William Napier, Frank E. Perkins, Harold Phillips, William Ruth, Morris Shapiro, Sydney Sharp, and I.S. Turover. 

Play Online Chess

[Event "Exhibition game"]
[Site "New York, NY USA"]
[Date "1920.12.7"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morris A Schapiro"]
[Black "Sammy Rzeszewski"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{French: Classical System} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7
6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. Qd2 a6 8. Nd1 c5 9. c3 Nc6 10. f4 Nb6 {This move has ittle to
recommend for it. Either 10...O-O, 10...cxd4 or even 10...were better
choices.} 11. Nf3 Bd7 12. Be2 O-O {Black must not castle Q-side here. If he
does, after 13.dxc5 Qxc5 14.b4! white has excellent attacking possibilities.}
13. O-O f5 { This leads to a loosening of black's position, ot rather should
have. Solid was 13...cxd4 and 14...Nxd4.} 14. dxc5 Qxc5+ 15. Qe3 Qxe3+ 16.
Nxe3 Na4 {A good plan was trying to eliminate his B with ...Be8-h5.} 17. c4
d4 {Well played by Rzeszewski.} 18. Nc2 d3 19. Bxd3 Nxb2 {White has weak Ps
and black's N have become very active. Even at an early age Reshevsky was a
wizard in handling Ns.} 20. Be2 Na5 21. Ne3 b5 {This allows white to eliminate
a weak P, so better was 21...Rfd8.} 22. cxb5 axb5 23. Rab1 {As usual, wrong R
(Isn't it always?). After this his own a-Pawn is undefended.} 23... Nbc4 24.
Nxc4 Nxc4 25. Rfd1 {Crafty. Shapiro is hoping the kid will bite and take tha
a-Pawn. After 25...Rxa2?? 26.Bxc4 bxc4 black's B is hanging.} 25... Bc6 {Of
course Rzeszewski saw it.} 26. Nd4 {Attacking the isolated pawn on b5} 26...
Bd5 27. Nxb5 {Now black could probably draw with 27...Rxa2 as after 28.Nc3 Rc2
neither side has much to play for.} 27... Ne3 28. Rd2 Bxa2 29. Rc1 Bd5 {A wee
bit of a slip because his N is exposed. Better was 29...h6 planning on ...g5.
With his next move Shapiro selects the wrong way to attack the N. After
30.Rd3 Ng4 31.h3 drives the back to h6 and then white has Nc7 with the
advantage.} 30. Kf2 Ng4+ 31. Bxg4 fxg4 32. Kg3 Ra4 {Suddenly black has managed
to equalize and even has threats of his own.} 33. Nd4 h5 {With his next move
Shapiro adapts a defensive policy which results in his undoing. Active play
with 34.Rc7 is called for.} 34. Rf1 {Rzeszewski now misses a golden
opportunity with 34...g5 and after 35.f5 Bc4 attacking the R and white must be
careful where he puts it. If 36.Rff2 defending the f-Pawn then 36...Ra3+ and
white's K is in serious danger. By playing 36.Re1 he can retreat the K, but
that line costs him a P.} 34... Kh7 35. f5 Ra3+ 36. Kf4 {Marching to his
slaughter. After the better 36.Kf2 exf5 black is still better, but would have
to to score the point.} 36... Kh6 {Excellent! This is the only move. It
denies white's K an escape via g5. Now white can make things more difficult
with 37.Nxe6 and 38.f6. He would end up with two R's, g- and h-P's vs two
R's, g- and h-P's plus a B and so black wins, but it would still require a lot of
work.} 37. h4 gxh3 {Now 38.Nxe6 costs white a R after 38... Bxe6 39.Ke4 Bxf5+
40.Rxf5 Ra4+ and white's R on f5 is hanging.} 38. Nf3 hxg2 39. Rxg2 Rxf5+ 40.
Kg3 Raxf3+ {White mates in 15. A good showing by Rzeszewski against a solid
master.} 0-1