Closer to home, on January 31, 1986, at 11:46am, there was an earthquake about 26 miles east of Cleveland, Ohio that was felt over a broad area, including 11 states, the District of Columbia, and parts of Ontario, Canada. Thirteen aftershocks were detected as late as April 15th, with six occurring within the first 8 days. Two of the aftershocks were felt, but the others were not.
I was at work on the west side of Cleveland and was in my boss' office on the second floor when things began rumbling and shaking and when I looked out of the window the telephone poles were shaking violently. I exclaimed, "What's that?!" Being an ex-Californian he knew and said, "It's an earthquake!" It didn't do any damage and when I went to lunch a little later everybody was talking about it at the restaurant.
Returning to 1971, there were a lot of Vietnam war protests that year. Going back a bit, as early as 1967 Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) were denouncing the war and there was also more moderate opposition from clergy, politicians and "personalities" such as "baby doctor" Dr. Benjamin Spock.
The election of Richard Nixon in 1968 and his reduction in US ground forces did little to dampen antiwar opposition and his decision to invade Cambodia in 1970 fired massive demonstrations on college campuses. Much if it due to the fact that college students were of draft age and going into the Army and getting sent to Vietnam was a real possibility.
It was during that era that a young, healthy looking (in 1968, 22-years old, 6 feet 2 inches tall and an athlete) Donald Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, and had already avoided the military draft four times in order to complete his college education.
Fortunately for the future President, that spring, as he was set to graduate, he received a diagnosis that landed him a fifth draft deferment that would once again keep him out of Vietnam: bone spurs. Trump never got treatment for them and said that over a period of time they disappeared.
Trump took a lot of heat in some circles for avoiding the military, but he wasn't the only draft dodging President. Bill Clinton received deferments from 1963 to 1968 so he could attend Georgetown, and after graduating, accept a Rhodes scholarship to attend Oxford. In 1968, when the law that allowed men to receive deferments for graduate or law school was changed, Clinton received his draft notice. But, to avoid being drafted in 1968, he used his connections to get permission to join the ROTC at the University of Arkansas law school. This permitted him to avoid the draft.
After graduating from Yale in 1968, George W. Bush used his family connections so he could enter the Texas Air National Guard for six years as a pilot. That was at a time when it was almost impossible to get into the Guard, especially for someone like Bush who had a very low score (in the 25th percentile) on the pilot test and also had an arrest record. During his last two years his attendance at Guard meetings tapered off and he lost his pilot certification. No matter, for some reason he was never recalled to active duty.
President Biden not only received deferments during his days at the University of Delaware, but for three years of law school at Syracuse University. When his education deferments expired in 1968, Biden requested a deferment based on the fact he had asthma as a teenager. According to his own book, he was a star athlete in high school and in college played intramural sports and was a lifeguard in the summer.
On Monday, May 3, 1971, anti-war militants began a protest in Washington DC that lasted several days, but May 3rd was the focal point. Demonstrators planned to shut down federal offices by blocking the capital’s roads, bridges and traffic circles. To prevent this, the entire 5,100 Washington police force was put on duty, supported by 1,400 members of the National Guard. They were augmented by 4,000 federal troops with another 4,000 soldiers held in reserve nearby.
I have divagated from the topic of the post, so moving along to some chess history, in August, 1971, in Ventura, California, the US Open, which drew 400 players, took place. Ventura is located northwest of Los Angeles and is known for its beaches. Today it is rated as one of the state's most livable cities. The median home cost in Ventura is $727,900; where I live it's $113,540.
In following game the variation of the King's Indian Defense that Reshevsky used was an old, well-known line which gives white a slight opening advantage. Commons went astray in the middlegame complications which netted Reshevsky a piece and the rest was simple.
In a note to the game on chessgames.com, a reader who was there and watched the post-mortem said that at one point Commons pointed out a tactical line, and asked Reshevsky, "Did you see this?" Reshevsky replied, "Do you think I'm stupid?" The crowd of spectators broke out laughing and Commons looked embarrassed. Sounds like Reshevsky
[Event "US Open, Ventura"]
[Site "Ventura, CA USA"]
[Date "1971.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kim Commons"]
[Black "Samuel Reshevsky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E60"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 15"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "1971.??.??"]
{King's Indian: Fianchetto Variation} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. g3 c5 5.
d5 d6 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Na6 8. Nc3 Nc7 {Because of white's control of the
center black must attempt to play ...e6, but doing so involves some
difficulties.} 9. Bf4 {This move doesn't appear in the books (9.Re1, 9.e4 and
9/a4 are book), but it's purpose is to prevent ...e6.} a6 (9... e6 10. dxe6
Nxe6 11. Bxd6) 10. a4 Rb8 11. a5 b5 12. axb6 Rxb6 13. Ra2 Re8 (13... Bf5 {
was better as demonstrated in Arkell,K (2462)-Dunnington,A (2366) Wakefield
1999} 14. Nh4 Bd7 15. e4 Ng4 16. Nf3 e5 17. dxe6 Bxe6 {and white is only
slightly better.}) (13... e6 {is still unplayable.} 14. Na4 Rb7 15. dxe6 {
picking up the d-Pawn.}) 14. Na4 {This is hardly bad. In 1960 Benko played 14.
b3 against Reshevsky.} (14. b3 Bd7 (14... e5 {was also worth considering.} 15.
dxe6 Nxe6 16. Na4 Nxf4 17. Nxb6 Qxb6 18. gxf4 Ne4 {with equality. Korchnoi,
V-Gligoric,S Buenos Aires 1960}) 15. h3 Qb8 16. Ra3 e6 17. dxe6 Nxe6 18. Bc1 {
Benko,P-Reshevsky,S New York 1960 with about equal chances.}) 14... Rb8 15. b3
Bf5 16. Ne1 (16. Nh4 {was a good alternative.} Bc8 17. e4 a5 18. Re1 Na6 19.
Rae2 {white has the better chances.}) 16... Qc8 {Reshevsky is over preparing
for ...e6 which he could have played immediately.} (16... e6 17. dxe6 Nxe6 18.
Bxd6 {And now} Nd4 {One wonders if this nifty little tactical sequence is the
on Commons pointed out. Reshevsky didn't mention it in his notes to the game
in Chess Life and Review.} 19. Bxb8 Nxe2+ 20. Qxe2 Rxe2 21. Rxe2 Qxb8 22. Nxc5
Bf8 23. Ncd3 Qxb3 24. c5 {This unbalanced position actually favors black, but
owing to its complicated nature one can see why Reshevsky might have avoided
it over the board.}) 17. f3 Bh3 18. e4 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Qb7 20. Ra3 (20. e5 {
White has a slight advantage, but this logical looking move would actually
allow black full equality after} Nh5 21. Bd2 Bxe5 22. Nd3 Bg7 23. b4 cxb4 24.
Nxb4 e6 {Finally.} 25. Nc6) 20... Nh5 21. Be3 e6 {[%cal Be7e6,Be6d5,Bd5e4]
[%mdl 32] Mission accomplished, but the nature of the position is that danger
is lurking for both players.} 22. g4 {Not the safest continuation!} (22. dxe6
Nxe6 23. Qd3 Nd4 24. Nc3 {with equal chances in the complications.}) 22... Nf6
{[%cal Re6d5]} 23. Bf4 (23. e5 {Reshevsky suggested this as worth considering
simply because it introduces complications. The game might continue} exd5 {
Best.} 24. exf6 Rxe3 25. fxg7 dxc4 {but black is much better.}) (23. Nc2 {
is his best try. Then after} exd5 24. exd5 h5 25. Bf4 hxg4 26. Bxd6 {Black is
only slightly better.}) 23... exd5 24. Bxd6 {This meets with disaster.} (24.
exd5 {was recommended by Reshevsky without further analysis because it
maintains pressure on the d-Pawn and black's position remains cramped and
defensive. Stockfish disagrees.} Ncxd5 25. cxd5 Nxd5 {and black is better.} 26.
Bc1 (26. Bxd6 Ne3+) 26... Re3 {The R is immune because of the same N fork.} 27.
Nd3 Rbe8 28. Ra2 Bd4 {and black has a promising position against white's
scattered forces. In Shootouts white scored +0 - 2 =3}) 24... dxe4 25. Nxc5 Qc6
26. Bxc7 Qxc7 27. Nxa6 Qe7 28. Nxb8 Qxa3 {Can the N be saved? It can and while
white would have a lost ending he could have made Reshevsky work for the point.
} 29. fxe4 (29. Nc6 Qc5 30. Nd4 exf3+ 31. Nexf3 Nxg4 32. Nc2 Bc3 {Material is
equal, but after letting Stockfish run for about 30 minutes its evaluation
favoring black by 4 Ps did not change. In the long run white's exposed K lead
to the downfall of the Q-side Ps.}) (29. Nd7 {This is probably white's best
try. After} e3 30. Nxf6+ Bxf6 31. Qe2 Qxb3 32. Nd3 Qxc4 {Black has a decisive
advantage, but he still faces considerable technical difficulties in securing
the win. Black won 5 Shootouts, but they were rather labor intensive.}) 29...
Rxb8 {The game is now over.} 30. e5 Qb2+ 31. Rf2 Qxe5 {Hoping for ...Qe4+.} 32.
Nf3 Qf4 {Commons resigned.} (32... Qf4 33. Ng1 (33. Nd2 Qd4 34. Qf3 Nxg4) 33...
Qxg4+ 34. Qxg4 Nxg4 {Black's extra piece renders further play by white
hopeless.}) 0-1
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