History of Chess Problems

History of chess problems

A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by somebody using chess pieces on a chess board, that presents the solver with a particular task to be achieved.

Caliph al-Mutasim Billah, caliph of Baghdad from 833 to 842, perhaps composed the earliest chess problem on record. He was the third son of Harum (Haroun) al-Rashid who is supposed to have played an early form of chess. His problem can be found from folio 29B of the Asiatic Society’s manuscript of chess problems. The problem is for White to move and give checkmate in 9 moves. The pieces do not move the same way as today. In the problem, the queen could only move one square and the bishop could give check, even if something was in front of it. The queen was called the firzan and the bishop was called the fils.

Around 840 A.D., al-Adli ar-Rumi (800-870) wrote Kitab ash-shatranj (Book of the chess) in Arabic. This is a lost manuscript, but referenced in later works. It was considered the first comprehensive book dealing with chess. We know of it through referring manuscripts that preserved some of its texts and chess problems. The text included chess history, openings, endings and mansubat (chess problems). The collection had hundreds of chess problems. He also classified chess players into five distinct classes. He also found a system for sorting out the openings into positions, which he called Tabiya. He was the first compiler of a collection of chess (shatranj) problems. He divided his collection into won endings, drawn endings, and undecided games.

Around 845, an Arabic manuscript of mansubat was written by ar-Razi, called Latif fi-sh shatranj (Elegance in Chess). He also wrote Kitab ash-shatranj, which has since been lost. All that has survived in ar-Razi’s book is a few opinions on the endgame and a couple of chess problems.

Around 890 Abu-Bakr Muhammad ben Yahya as-Suli (854-946) co-authored a book of problems (mansubat) and a book of openings (ta-biyat) for Shatranj, called Kitab-ash-shatranj (Book of Chess), volume one and two. He was assisted by Abu l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad as-Sarakhsi, a physician. One of as-Suli’s book was a critique on al-Adli’s book. He was the author of the first book describing a systematic way of playing shatranj. He wrote two textbooks on chess, now lost. His book on chess are only known to us through extracts in later works. His principle contribution to the strategy of shatranj was his advocacy of flank openings. As-Suli first came into notice by defeating Almawardi, the caliph Almuktafi’s best player. After Almuktafi’s death in 908, he remained in the service of his successor Almuktadir (908-932), and was tutor to his successor Arradi Billah (934-940).

Around 930 Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-Muzaffar ibn Sa’id al-Lajlaj (900-970) wrote Kitab mansubat ash-shatranj (book of chess problems). It is another lost chess book. Manuscripts containing some of its contents have survived. He may have been the first person to analyze and publish chess openings. The oldest chess game comes from a match between as-Suli and al-Lajlaj.

The library of Caliph Hakam II of Cordova (961-976) contained an Arabic manuscript on chess problems.

In 1140, an incomplete manuscript called the Abdul Hamid (Abd-al-Hamid I or Abdalhamid I) Arabic collection (known as AH) was written (copied) by Abu Ishaq Ibrahim b. al-Mubarek b. Ali al-Madhahhab al Baghdadi. It is also called Risala fi’sh-shatranj by Abu’l-Abbas Ahmad al-Adli. It has nearly 200 problems. It contains problems composed by Muslim composers such as al-Aldi in 840 and as-Suli in 940. The manuscript contains a short treatise on chess principles by al-Lajlaj.

In the 12th century Abu ‘l-fath Ahmad as-Sinjari was a player and author. Three copies of his manuscript was discovered in 1951, the earliest dating from 1665. The original was written 500 years earlier. The contents contain 10 opening system and 287 mansubat (problems). Three of his problems were based on the work of as-Suli. A mansuba is an Arabic term for a composed middle game or endgame position that is set for instruction or for solving.

The first European reference to chess problems was during the reign of Richard 1 (1189-1199), when Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales) wrote Gemma Ecclesiastica (Jewel of the Church) and mentioned chess problems.

In 1221, a manuscript of mansubat, claimed to have used the original collections of ar-Razi, al-Adli, and as-Suli.

There is an Arabic manuscript (No. 7515) in the British Museum written (copied) in 1257 attributed to Hasan of Basra (who died in 728). It gives the relative value of the various pieces. There are 200 diagrams in this manuscript, containing openings of the writer’s time and problems that lead to mate or draw. All the problems are accompanied with a solution. It is a copy of a work written between 1150 and 1250. It made liberal use of al-Adli’s work and quotes from al-Lajlaj.

In 1273, the earliest known English source of chess problems, the Cotton Manuscript, was written. It was followed by the King’s Library manuscript and a manuscript in Trinity College Library, Cambridge. They were written by Benedictine monks from Dorset.

In 1283, the Alfonso manuscript was completed. It is an important historical source of information about chess and other indoor diversions. It was completed by order of Alfonso the Wise (1221-1284). It contained 98 pages and 103 problems in both Arabic (mansubat) and European. The principal European innovation was the requirement to give mate in a set number of moves (mate in 2, mate in 3, etc). The manuscript was written by the monks of the St. Lorenzo del Escorial monastery, near Madrid, Spain.

Around 1295, Nicholas de Saint-Nicholai from Lombardy, Italy, wrote the Bonus Socius (Good Companion), the first great compilation of chess problems from medieval Europe. It contained 194 chess positions or problems of the old game, some Arabic, some European.

Of the 30 or more surviving medieval European problem collections, the earliest date from the second half of the 13th century, when problems of European origin seem to have become more established.

In 1370, an incomplete manuscript, found in the Khedivial Library in Cairo (Mustafa Pasha, 8201) was written. It belonged to Qaitbai (1468-1496) a sultan of Egypt. It seems to be a copy of earlier manuscripts on chess problems.

Chess problems were constructed by Khwaja ‘Ali Shatranji (Master Ali the chessplayer) who resided in the court of Timur (died in 1405) at the end of the 14th century. There have been 18 chess problems associated with Khwaja.

Around 1440, an anonymous writer, Civis Bononiae (Citizen of Bologna), wrote a manuscript collection of 288 problems. He included 191 problems from the Bonus Socius. The introduction lists several ways to trick your opponent with a chess problem. It stated, “Again, you ought to appear cautious in wagering and to not carefully whether he takes the problem with a tremulous voice, or after a moderate amount of consideration, or whether he is ready to wager large sums, or whether he wished to take other problems which have been set up, for all these things show whether he knows the problem or not.”

Chess problems became popular in the 15th century because there was a demand for a quick, decisive ending adaptable to gambling purposes.

Around 1475, the fers was displaced by the queen, the aufin by the bishop, and the pace of the game was quickened. All of the older problems became obsolete after the introduction of the modern game of chess and the new moves of the bishop and queen, and the promotion of a pawn to a queen.

In 1495 Libre dels jochs partits dels schacs en nombre de 100 from Francesch Vicent was published in Valencia. It is a lost book. The last known copy was seen in 1811. It mentioned the first modern move of the Queen and Bishop and was a book of chess openings. It was the first treatise on modern chess.

In 1503, Firdewsi at-Tahihal (b. 1453) wrote the world’s longest poem after working on it for almost 50 years. He decided to use in a story a famous 10th century problem attributed to as-Suli. Unfortunately, he copied the position incorrectly. A prince wagered and lost his fortune to another prince during a chess match. In desperation, he offered as stake his favorite wife, Dilaram. When he seemed lost, she gave him a hint on how to win.

In 1737, Stamma published his 100 positions (modern mansubat, not problems), called Essai sur le Jeu des Echecs. In some cases he added extra pieces to original mansubat to make the solution seem more difficult to discover.

Das Erste Jartausend der Schachlitteratur (850-1880) by Antonius van der Linde and published in 1881, listed 3,362 articles comprising all known ancient and modern manuscripts that mention chess or its derivatives.

Murray examined over 1,600 mansubat from Persian and Arabic sources and identified 553 distinctly different positions. He believed that about 200 were composed before 1000 A.D.

One of the first chess problems to be published in a newspaper was called the “Indian problem.” It was printed in The Chess Player’s Chronicle in 1845.

–Bill Wall

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Chess Trivia

Chess Trivia Manuel Aaron (born in 1935) is India’s first International Master, in 1961. He won the championship of India 9 times. Viswanathan Anand is India’s first Grandmaster, in 1987. There are now 26 Indian Grandmasters, 12 Women Grandmasters and 68 Indian International Masters and 17 Women International Masters. In 1995, Robert Smeltzer (born in 1930) of Dallas played the most USCF games in one year – 2,266 games. Michael Adams (born in 1971) is the youngest player to win the British Chess Championship at 17. His wife is a British actress. Bobby Fischer was the youngest player to win the US Chess Championship at 14 in 1957-58. Hikaru Nakamura was the 2nd youngest player to win the US Chess Championship at 16 in 2004. Utat Adianto (born in 1965) was the first Indonesian Grandmaster, in 1986. He became a GM at age 21. The youngest Indonesian GM is Susanto Megaranto, who became a GM at age 17. Simen Agdestein (born in 1967) was Norway’s first Grandmaster, in 1985. He won the championship of Norway 7 times. He was Norwegian champion at 15, International Master at 16, and GM at 18. He was once a professional soccer player. He was an early coach of Magnus Carlsen, the world’s highest rated player. In 1967, Bent Larsen (1935-2010) won the first chess Oscar informally. In 1968, it was formally won by Spassky. Kasparov has won the chess Oscar the most, 11 times. In 1920, Alexander Alekhine won the first Soviet Chess Championship. There have been 58 Soviet championships from 1920 to 1991. Botvinnik and Tal have each won it 6 times. The first Russian Chess Federation formed in 1914. It had 865 members. It was first called the All-Russia Chess Union, then renamed the All-Russia Chess Society. Chess was first mentioned in America in 1641 in a book called “Dutch New York” by Esther Singleton. It described that “cards, chess, backgammon, dice-throwing, were among the pleasures of the age” of the Dutch in New York. In 1786, Benjamin Franklin published the first chess writing in America with his “The Morals of Chess,” first drafted in 1732 for his Philadelphia Junto discussions and his own newspaper. In his essay, he attributed chess being introduced into America by the Spaniards. In 1839, the New York Chess Club was formed by James Thompson. The first American chess tournament may have been held in 1843 in New York. In 1857, Paul Morphy won the first American Chess Congress. It was the only tournament he ever won. Adolf Anderssen (1818-1879) won the first international chess tournament in London in 1851. He didn’t have the money for the travel costs, so Howard Staunton offered to pay for Anderssen’s travel expenses out of his own pocket. Anderssen accepted, won the tournament, and paid Staunton back for his travel expenses. Maurice Ashley (born 1966) of New York (born in Jamaica) was the first Black grandmaster, in 1999. He once appeared on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Jonathan Penrose (born in 1933) has won the British chess championship the most. He won it 10 times between 1958 and 1969. He was given the GM title, although he was strong enough, but he became a GM in Correspondence chess in 1983. Wolfgang von Kempelen’s (1734-1804) “The Turk” was the first chess automaton, in 1769. It was destroyed by fire in 1854. It defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin. Baden-Baden 1870 was the first strong international tournament. It was the first tournament to introduce chess clocks. It was the first tournament that draws counted as ½ points. Adolf Anderssen won the event. BELLE was the first computer built for the sole purpose of playing chess. In 1980, it won the world computer chess championship. In 1983, BELLE became the first computer to be awarded the title of US Chess Master. Caissa is the goddess or muse (dryad or tree nymph) of chess, from a poem by Hieronymus Vida in 1527. In 1763, Sir William Jones re-used Vida’s character Caissa in his own poem, written in Latin, and later published in English. St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) is the patron saint of chess. In the 16th century, she was proclaimed patroness of chess players by the church authorities in Spain. She used chess as a metaphor in her classic work “the Way of Perfection.” The longest running annual match in chess is the annual Cambridge vs. Oxford match, starting in 1873. As of 2012, there have been 130 matches between the two. Cambridge has won 57, Oxford has won 53, with 20 draws. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) estimates that there are over 600 million chess players in the world, with a potential global audience of 1 billion chess players. In 1977 Larry Christiansen became a Grandmaster without ever being an International Master. The first chess club was organized in Italy in 1550. The first newspaper column was published in 1813 in the Liverpool Mercury. The first computer program to play a proper game of chess was in 1959, at MIT. KAISSA of the USSR won the first world computer championship, held in Stockholm in 1974. Nathaniel Cook and John Jacques designed the first Staunton pattern chess set in 1835. In 1981 Cray Blitz won the first state championship, when it won the championship of Mississippi. Arthur Dake (1910-2000) was the oldest competitive grandmaster, still playing in his late 80s. Cecil de Vere was the first official British chess champion, in 1866. Charles Stanley was the first US chess champion, in 1845. He defeated Eugene Rousseau. FIDE, the World Chess Federation, was founded in 1924 by Pierre Vincent of France. Alexandre Rueb was the first FIDE president. He was president from 1924 to 1949. The record for the most games played simultaneously blindfolded in 52 games, by Janos Flesch in 1960. The Fredkin Prize was a $100,000 prize for the first computer to beat a reigning world champion. The inventors (Hsu, Campbell, and Hoane) of Deep Blue won the Fredkin Prize in 1997. In 1978, Nona Gaprindashvili was the first woman to achieve the men’s grandmaster title. In 1977, Nona Gaprindashvili tied for 1st place at Lone Pine. In 1914 the Russian Czar gave the title of grandmaster to Lasker, Alekhine, Capablanca, Tarrasch, and Marshall. Gisela Gresser (1906-2000) was the first U.S. woman to achieve a master’s rating. The first major tournament after WW II was Groningen, in 1946. It was won by Botvinnik. Boris Gulko won the USSR championship in 1977 and the US championship in 1994 and 1999. In 1963, Walter Harris became the first African-American master. Hasting is the oldest and longest running tournament in the world. It was first held in 1895. In 1981, Rea Hayes won the first US Senior Open, held in Sun City, Arizona. Hermann Helms (1870-1963) was the first Dean of American Chess. Iceland has the highest per capita chess population in the world. Borislav Ivkov of Yugoslavia won the first World Junior Chess Championship, held in England in 1951. Anatoly Karpov has won more chess tournaments (over 160 tournaments) than any other person. Raymond Keene was the first British player to achieve a FIDE Grandmaster norm in over-the-board chess. In 1947, George Koltanowski introduced the Swiss System at the 1947 US Open in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1982, Vasily Smyslov qualified for the Candidates match by taking 2nd at the Palma Interzonal at age 61. In 1976 Tony Miles became the first British Grandmaster in OTB play. The USCF formed in 1939 from the merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation. Geller, Tal, and Janosevic have all defeated Fischer more times than they have lost to him. Edward Lasker won Paris in 1912, London in 1914, New York in 1915, and Chicago in 1916. Le Palamede was the first magazine devoted entirely to chess. It ran from 1836 to 1839, then 1842 to 1847. Vladimir Liberzon was the first grandmaster to immigrate to Israel, in 1973. The Liverpool Mercury was the first English newspaper to publish a chess column, in 1813. Bill Lombardy was the first American to win an official world chess championship, the World Junior Ch in 1957. Johann Lowenthall invented the demonstration chess board in 1857. The Manchester Chess Club was the oldest chess club in Britain, formed in 1817. Sergio Mariotti was the first Italian Grandmaster, who gained his title in 1974. Frank Marshall was the first American to defeat a Soviet player in international competition, New York 1924. Edgar McCormick played in more US Opens than any other player, playing in 37 US Opens. The New York State Championship is America’s longest running tournament, which began in 1878. Alberic O’Kelly de Galway became the first GM of OTB and correspondence chess. Oxford was the first university to have a chess club. Bulgaria issued the first chess stamp, in 1947, on the occasion of the Balkan games. In 1845, Dr. Peter Mark Roget (Roget’s Thesaurus) devised the first pocket chess set. Judith Price was the oldest person to win a national championship when she won the British Ladies Ch at age 76. Cecil Purdy won the first world correspondence chess championship (1950-1953). The 1945 USA-USSR Radio Chess Match was the first international sports event after World War II. The first international rating list appeared in 1969. Fischer topped the list at 2720. Keith Richardson was the 1st British player to be awarded the Grandmaster title, for Correspondence Chess, in 1975. Alexander Rueb was the first president of FIDE. He was president from 1924 to 1949. The first Interzonal tournament was held in Saltsjobaden, Sweden in 1958 and won by David Bronstein. Lothar Schmid has the largest private chess library in the world with over 30,000 chess books and magazines. Yassar Seirawan was the first American to beat a reigning world champion when he beat Karpov in 1982. Nigel Short was the youngest to qualify for the British Championship, at age 11. Jackson Showalter was the first official US Chess Champion, in 1890. George Sturgis was the first President of the US Chess Federation, in 1939. The first telegraph match was played in 1844, between Washington DC and Baltimore. The first telephone chess game was played in 1878, between two players is Derbyshire, England. –Bill Wall Be Sociable, Share!

Chess Trivia

Chess Trivia Manuel Aaron (born in 1935) is India’s first International Master, in 1961. He won the championship of India 9 times. Viswanathan Anand is India’s first Grandmaster, in 1987. There are now 26 Indian Grandmasters, 12 Women Grandmasters and 68 Indian International Masters and 17 Women International Masters. In 1995, Robert Smeltzer (born in 1930) of Dallas played the most USCF games in one year – 2,266 games. Michael Adams (born in 1971) is the youngest player to win the British Chess Championship at 17. His wife is a British actress. Bobby Fischer was the youngest player to win the US Chess Championship at 14 in 1957-58. Hikaru Nakamura was the 2nd youngest player to win the US Chess Championship at 16 in 2004. Utat Adianto (born in 1965) was the first Indonesian Grandmaster, in 1986. He became a GM at age 21. The youngest Indonesian GM is Susanto Megaranto, who became a GM at age 17. Simen Agdestein (born in 1967) was Norway’s first Grandmaster, in 1985. He won the championship of Norway 7 times. He was Norwegian champion at 15, International Master at 16, and GM at 18. He was once a professional soccer player. He was an early coach of Magnus Carlsen, the world’s highest rated player. In 1967, Bent Larsen (1935-2010) won the first chess Oscar informally. In 1968, it was formally won by Spassky. Kasparov has won the chess Oscar the most, 11 times. In 1920, Alexander Alekhine won the first Soviet Chess Championship. There have been 58 Soviet championships from 1920 to 1991. Botvinnik and Tal have each won it 6 times. The first Russian Chess Federation formed in 1914. It had 865 members. It was first called the All-Russia Chess Union, then renamed the All-Russia Chess Society. Chess was first mentioned in America in 1641 in a book called “Dutch New York” by Esther Singleton. It described that “cards, chess, backgammon, dice-throwing, were among the pleasures of the age” of the Dutch in New York. In 1786, Benjamin Franklin published the first chess writing in America with his “The Morals of Chess,” first drafted in 1732 for his Philadelphia Junto discussions and his own newspaper. In his essay, he attributed chess being introduced into America by the Spaniards. In 1839, the New York Chess Club was formed by James Thompson. The first American chess tournament may have been held in 1843 in New York. In 1857, Paul Morphy won the first American Chess Congress. It was the only tournament he ever won. Adolf Anderssen (1818-1879) won the first international chess tournament in London in 1851. He didn’t have the money for the travel costs, so Howard Staunton offered to pay for Anderssen’s travel expenses out of his own pocket. Anderssen accepted, won the tournament, and paid Staunton back for his travel expenses. Maurice Ashley (born 1966) of New York (born in Jamaica) was the first Black grandmaster, in 1999. He once appeared on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Jonathan Penrose (born in 1933) has won the British chess championship the most. He won it 10 times between 1958 and 1969. He was given the GM title, although he was strong enough, but he became a GM in Correspondence chess in 1983. Wolfgang von Kempelen’s (1734-1804) “The Turk” was the first chess automaton, in 1769. It was destroyed by fire in 1854. It defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin. Baden-Baden 1870 was the first strong international tournament. It was the first tournament to introduce chess clocks. It was the first tournament that draws counted as ½ points. Adolf Anderssen won the event. BELLE was the first computer built for the sole purpose of playing chess. In 1980, it won the world computer chess championship. In 1983, BELLE became the first computer to be awarded the title of US Chess Master. Caissa is the goddess or muse (dryad or tree nymph) of chess, from a poem by Hieronymus Vida in 1527. In 1763, Sir William Jones re-used Vida’s character Caissa in his own poem, written in Latin, and later published in English. St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) is the patron saint of chess. In the 16th century, she was proclaimed patroness of chess players by the church authorities in Spain. She used chess as a metaphor in her classic work “the Way of Perfection.” The longest running annual match in chess is the annual Cambridge vs. Oxford match, starting in 1873. As of 2012, there have been 130 matches between the two. Cambridge has won 57, Oxford has won 53, with 20 draws. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) estimates that there are over 600 million chess players in the world, with a potential global audience of 1 billion chess players. In 1977 Larry Christiansen became a Grandmaster without ever being an International Master. The first chess club was organized in Italy in 1550. The first newspaper column was published in 1813 in the Liverpool Mercury. The first computer program to play a proper game of chess was in 1959, at MIT. KAISSA of the USSR won the first world computer championship, held in Stockholm in 1974. Nathaniel Cook and John Jacques designed the first Staunton pattern chess set in 1835. In 1981 Cray Blitz won the first state championship, when it won the championship of Mississippi. Arthur Dake (1910-2000) was the oldest competitive grandmaster, still playing in his late 80s. Cecil de Vere was the first official British chess champion, in 1866. Charles Stanley was the first US chess champion, in 1845. He defeated Eugene Rousseau. FIDE, the World Chess Federation, was founded in 1924 by Pierre Vincent of France. Alexandre Rueb was the first FIDE president. He was president from 1924 to 1949. The record for the most games played simultaneously blindfolded in 52 games, by Janos Flesch in 1960. The Fredkin Prize was a $100,000 prize for the first computer to beat a reigning world champion. The inventors (Hsu, Campbell, and Hoane) of Deep Blue won the Fredkin Prize in 1997. In 1978, Nona Gaprindashvili was the first woman to achieve the men’s grandmaster title. In 1977, Nona Gaprindashvili tied for 1st place at Lone Pine. In 1914 the Russian Czar gave the title of grandmaster to Lasker, Alekhine, Capablanca, Tarrasch, and Marshall. Gisela Gresser (1906-2000) was the first U.S. woman to achieve a master’s rating. The first major tournament after WW II was Groningen, in 1946. It was won by Botvinnik. Boris Gulko won the USSR championship in 1977 and the US championship in 1994 and 1999. In 1963, Walter Harris became the first African-American master. Hasting is the oldest and longest running tournament in the world. It was first held in 1895. In 1981, Rea Hayes won the first US Senior Open, held in Sun City, Arizona. Hermann Helms (1870-1963) was the first Dean of American Chess. Iceland has the highest per capita chess population in the world. Borislav Ivkov of Yugoslavia won the first World Junior Chess Championship, held in England in 1951. Anatoly Karpov has won more chess tournaments (over 160 tournaments) than any other person. Raymond Keene was the first British player to achieve a FIDE Grandmaster norm in over-the-board chess. In 1947, George Koltanowski introduced the Swiss System at the 1947 US Open in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1982, Vasily Smyslov qualified for the Candidates match by taking 2nd at the Palma Interzonal at age 61. In 1976 Tony Miles became the first British Grandmaster in OTB play. The USCF formed in 1939 from the merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation. Geller, Tal, and Janosevic have all defeated Fischer more times than they have lost to him. Edward Lasker won Paris in 1912, London in 1914, New York in 1915, and Chicago in 1916. Le Palamede was the first magazine devoted entirely to chess. It ran from 1836 to 1839, then 1842 to 1847. Vladimir Liberzon was the first grandmaster to immigrate to Israel, in 1973. The Liverpool Mercury was the first English newspaper to publish a chess column, in 1813. Bill Lombardy was the first American to win an official world chess championship, the World Junior Ch in 1957. Johann Lowenthall invented the demonstration chess board in 1857. The Manchester Chess Club was the oldest chess club in Britain, formed in 1817. Sergio Mariotti was the first Italian Grandmaster, who gained his title in 1974. Frank Marshall was the first American to defeat a Soviet player in international competition, New York 1924. Edgar McCormick played in more US Opens than any other player, playing in 37 US Opens. The New York State Championship is America’s longest running tournament, which began in 1878. Alberic O’Kelly de Galway became the first GM of OTB and correspondence chess. Oxford was the first university to have a chess club. Bulgaria issued the first chess stamp, in 1947, on the occasion of the Balkan games. In 1845, Dr. Peter Mark Roget (Roget’s Thesaurus) devised the first pocket chess set. Judith Price was the oldest person to win a national championship when she won the British Ladies Ch at age 76. Cecil Purdy won the first world correspondence chess championship (1950-1953). The 1945 USA-USSR Radio Chess Match was the first international sports event after World War II. The first international rating list appeared in 1969. Fischer topped the list at 2720. Keith Richardson was the 1st British player to be awarded the Grandmaster title, for Correspondence Chess, in 1975. Alexander Rueb was the first president of FIDE. He was president from 1924 to 1949. The first Interzonal tournament was held in Saltsjobaden, Sweden in 1958 and won by David Bronstein. Lothar Schmid has the largest private chess library in the world with over 30,000 chess books and magazines. Yassar Seirawan was the first American to beat a reigning world champion when he beat Karpov in 1982. Nigel Short was the youngest to qualify for the British Championship, at age 11. Jackson Showalter was the first official US Chess Champion, in 1890. George Sturgis was the first President of the US Chess Federation, in 1939. The first telegraph match was played in 1844, between Washington DC and Baltimore. The first telephone chess game was played in 1878, between two players is Derbyshire, England. –Bill Wall Be Sociable, Share!

Chess Trivia

Chess Trivia Manuel Aaron (born in 1935) is India’s first International Master, in 1961. He won the championship of India 9 times. Viswanathan Anand is India’s first Grandmaster, in 1987. There are now 26 Indian Grandmasters, 12 Women Grandmasters and 68 Indian International Masters and 17 Women International Masters. In 1995, Robert Smeltzer (born in 1930) of Dallas played the most USCF games in one year – 2,266 games. Michael Adams (born in 1971) is the youngest player to win the British Chess Championship at 17. His wife is a British actress. Bobby Fischer was the youngest player to win the US Chess Championship at 14 in 1957-58. Hikaru Nakamura was the 2nd youngest player to win the US Chess Championship at 16 in 2004. Utat Adianto (born in 1965) was the first Indonesian Grandmaster, in 1986. He became a GM at age 21. The youngest Indonesian GM is Susanto Megaranto, who became a GM at age 17. Simen Agdestein (born in 1967) was Norway’s first Grandmaster, in 1985. He won the championship of Norway 7 times. He was Norwegian champion at 15, International Master at 16, and GM at 18. He was once a professional soccer player. He was an early coach of Magnus Carlsen, the world’s highest rated player. In 1967, Bent Larsen (1935-2010) won the first chess Oscar informally. In 1968, it was formally won by Spassky. Kasparov has won the chess Oscar the most, 11 times. In 1920, Alexander Alekhine won the first Soviet Chess Championship. There have been 58 Soviet championships from 1920 to 1991. Botvinnik and Tal have each won it 6 times. The first Russian Chess Federation formed in 1914. It had 865 members. It was first called the All-Russia Chess Union, then renamed the All-Russia Chess Society. Chess was first mentioned in America in 1641 in a book called “Dutch New York” by Esther Singleton. It described that “cards, chess, backgammon, dice-throwing, were among the pleasures of the age” of the Dutch in New York. In 1786, Benjamin Franklin published the first chess writing in America with his “The Morals of Chess,” first drafted in 1732 for his Philadelphia Junto discussions and his own newspaper. In his essay, he attributed chess being introduced into America by the Spaniards. In 1839, the New York Chess Club was formed by James Thompson. The first American chess tournament may have been held in 1843 in New York. In 1857, Paul Morphy won the first American Chess Congress. It was the only tournament he ever won. Adolf Anderssen (1818-1879) won the first international chess tournament in London in 1851. He didn’t have the money for the travel costs, so Howard Staunton offered to pay for Anderssen’s travel expenses out of his own pocket. Anderssen accepted, won the tournament, and paid Staunton back for his travel expenses. Maurice Ashley (born 1966) of New York (born in Jamaica) was the first Black grandmaster, in 1999. He once appeared on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Jonathan Penrose (born in 1933) has won the British chess championship the most. He won it 10 times between 1958 and 1969. He was given the GM title, although he was strong enough, but he became a GM in Correspondence chess in 1983. Wolfgang von Kempelen’s (1734-1804) “The Turk” was the first chess automaton, in 1769. It was destroyed by fire in 1854. It defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin. Baden-Baden 1870 was the first strong international tournament. It was the first tournament to introduce chess clocks. It was the first tournament that draws counted as ½ points. Adolf Anderssen won the event. BELLE was the first computer built for the sole purpose of playing chess. In 1980, it won the world computer chess championship. In 1983, BELLE became the first computer to be awarded the title of US Chess Master. Caissa is the goddess or muse (dryad or tree nymph) of chess, from a poem by Hieronymus Vida in 1527. In 1763, Sir William Jones re-used Vida’s character Caissa in his own poem, written in Latin, and later published in English. St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) is the patron saint of chess. In the 16th century, she was proclaimed patroness of chess players by the church authorities in Spain. She used chess as a metaphor in her classic work “the Way of Perfection.” The longest running annual match in chess is the annual Cambridge vs. Oxford match, starting in 1873. As of 2012, there have been 130 matches between the two. Cambridge has won 57, Oxford has won 53, with 20 draws. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) estimates that there are over 600 million chess players in the world, with a potential global audience of 1 billion chess players. In 1977 Larry Christiansen became a Grandmaster without ever being an International Master. The first chess club was organized in Italy in 1550. The first newspaper column was published in 1813 in the Liverpool Mercury. The first computer program to play a proper game of chess was in 1959, at MIT. KAISSA of the USSR won the first world computer championship, held in Stockholm in 1974. Nathaniel Cook and John Jacques designed the first Staunton pattern chess set in 1835. In 1981 Cray Blitz won the first state championship, when it won the championship of Mississippi. Arthur Dake (1910-2000) was the oldest competitive grandmaster, still playing in his late 80s. Cecil de Vere was the first official British chess champion, in 1866. Charles Stanley was the first US chess champion, in 1845. He defeated Eugene Rousseau. FIDE, the World Chess Federation, was founded in 1924 by Pierre Vincent of France. Alexandre Rueb was the first FIDE president. He was president from 1924 to 1949. The record for the most games played simultaneously blindfolded in 52 games, by Janos Flesch in 1960. The Fredkin Prize was a $100,000 prize for the first computer to beat a reigning world champion. The inventors (Hsu, Campbell, and Hoane) of Deep Blue won the Fredkin Prize in 1997. In 1978, Nona Gaprindashvili was the first woman to achieve the men’s grandmaster title. In 1977, Nona Gaprindashvili tied for 1st place at Lone Pine. In 1914 the Russian Czar gave the title of grandmaster to Lasker, Alekhine, Capablanca, Tarrasch, and Marshall. Gisela Gresser (1906-2000) was the first U.S. woman to achieve a master’s rating. The first major tournament after WW II was Groningen, in 1946. It was won by Botvinnik. Boris Gulko won the USSR championship in 1977 and the US championship in 1994 and 1999. In 1963, Walter Harris became the first African-American master. Hasting is the oldest and longest running tournament in the world. It was first held in 1895. In 1981, Rea Hayes won the first US Senior Open, held in Sun City, Arizona. Hermann Helms (1870-1963) was the first Dean of American Chess. Iceland has the highest per capita chess population in the world. Borislav Ivkov of Yugoslavia won the first World Junior Chess Championship, held in England in 1951. Anatoly Karpov has won more chess tournaments (over 160 tournaments) than any other person. Raymond Keene was the first British player to achieve a FIDE Grandmaster norm in over-the-board chess. In 1947, George Koltanowski introduced the Swiss System at the 1947 US Open in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1982, Vasily Smyslov qualified for the Candidates match by taking 2nd at the Palma Interzonal at age 61. In 1976 Tony Miles became the first British Grandmaster in OTB play. The USCF formed in 1939 from the merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation. Geller, Tal, and Janosevic have all defeated Fischer more times than they have lost to him. Edward Lasker won Paris in 1912, London in 1914, New York in 1915, and Chicago in 1916. Le Palamede was the first magazine devoted entirely to chess. It ran from 1836 to 1839, then 1842 to 1847. Vladimir Liberzon was the first grandmaster to immigrate to Israel, in 1973. The Liverpool Mercury was the first English newspaper to publish a chess column, in 1813. Bill Lombardy was the first American to win an official world chess championship, the World Junior Ch in 1957. Johann Lowenthall invented the demonstration chess board in 1857. The Manchester Chess Club was the oldest chess club in Britain, formed in 1817. Sergio Mariotti was the first Italian Grandmaster, who gained his title in 1974. Frank Marshall was the first American to defeat a Soviet player in international competition, New York 1924. Edgar McCormick played in more US Opens than any other player, playing in 37 US Opens. The New York State Championship is America’s longest running tournament, which began in 1878. Alberic O’Kelly de Galway became the first GM of OTB and correspondence chess. Oxford was the first university to have a chess club. Bulgaria issued the first chess stamp, in 1947, on the occasion of the Balkan games. In 1845, Dr. Peter Mark Roget (Roget’s Thesaurus) devised the first pocket chess set. Judith Price was the oldest person to win a national championship when she won the British Ladies Ch at age 76. Cecil Purdy won the first world correspondence chess championship (1950-1953). The 1945 USA-USSR Radio Chess Match was the first international sports event after World War II. The first international rating list appeared in 1969. Fischer topped the list at 2720. Keith Richardson was the 1st British player to be awarded the Grandmaster title, for Correspondence Chess, in 1975. Alexander Rueb was the first president of FIDE. He was president from 1924 to 1949. The first Interzonal tournament was held in Saltsjobaden, Sweden in 1958 and won by David Bronstein. Lothar Schmid has the largest private chess library in the world with over 30,000 chess books and magazines. Yassar Seirawan was the first American to beat a reigning world champion when he beat Karpov in 1982. Nigel Short was the youngest to qualify for the British Championship, at age 11. Jackson Showalter was the first official US Chess Champion, in 1890. George Sturgis was the first President of the US Chess Federation, in 1939. The first telegraph match was played in 1844, between Washington DC and Baltimore. The first telephone chess game was played in 1878, between two players is Derbyshire, England. –Bill Wall Be Sociable, Share!

Chess Trivia

Chess Trivia Manuel Aaron (born in 1935) is India’s first International Master, in 1961. He won the championship of India 9 times. Viswanathan Anand is India’s first Grandmaster, in 1987. There are now 26 Indian Grandmasters, 12 Women Grandmasters and 68 Indian International Masters and 17 Women International Masters. In 1995, Robert Smeltzer (born in 1930) of Dallas played the most USCF games in one year – 2,266 games. Michael Adams (born in 1971) is the youngest player to win the British Chess Championship at 17. His wife is a British actress. Bobby Fischer was the youngest player to win the US Chess Championship at 14 in 1957-58. Hikaru Nakamura was the 2nd youngest player to win the US Chess Championship at 16 in 2004. Utat Adianto (born in 1965) was the first Indonesian Grandmaster, in 1986. He became a GM at age 21. The youngest Indonesian GM is Susanto Megaranto, who became a GM at age 17. Simen Agdestein (born in 1967) was Norway’s first Grandmaster, in 1985. He won the championship of Norway 7 times. He was Norwegian champion at 15, International Master at 16, and GM at 18. He was once a professional soccer player. He was an early coach of Magnus Carlsen, the world’s highest rated player. In 1967, Bent Larsen (1935-2010) won the first chess Oscar informally. In 1968, it was formally won by Spassky. Kasparov has won the chess Oscar the most, 11 times. In 1920, Alexander Alekhine won the first Soviet Chess Championship. There have been 58 Soviet championships from 1920 to 1991. Botvinnik and Tal have each won it 6 times. The first Russian Chess Federation formed in 1914. It had 865 members. It was first called the All-Russia Chess Union, then renamed the All-Russia Chess Society. Chess was first mentioned in America in 1641 in a book called “Dutch New York” by Esther Singleton. It described that “cards, chess, backgammon, dice-throwing, were among the pleasures of the age” of the Dutch in New York. In 1786, Benjamin Franklin published the first chess writing in America with his “The Morals of Chess,” first drafted in 1732 for his Philadelphia Junto discussions and his own newspaper. In his essay, he attributed chess being introduced into America by the Spaniards. In 1839, the New York Chess Club was formed by James Thompson. The first American chess tournament may have been held in 1843 in New York. In 1857, Paul Morphy won the first American Chess Congress. It was the only tournament he ever won. Adolf Anderssen (1818-1879) won the first international chess tournament in London in 1851. He didn’t have the money for the travel costs, so Howard Staunton offered to pay for Anderssen’s travel expenses out of his own pocket. Anderssen accepted, won the tournament, and paid Staunton back for his travel expenses. Maurice Ashley (born 1966) of New York (born in Jamaica) was the first Black grandmaster, in 1999. He once appeared on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Jonathan Penrose (born in 1933) has won the British chess championship the most. He won it 10 times between 1958 and 1969. He was given the GM title, although he was strong enough, but he became a GM in Correspondence chess in 1983. Wolfgang von Kempelen’s (1734-1804) “The Turk” was the first chess automaton, in 1769. It was destroyed by fire in 1854. It defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin. Baden-Baden 1870 was the first strong international tournament. It was the first tournament to introduce chess clocks. It was the first tournament that draws counted as ½ points. Adolf Anderssen won the event. BELLE was the first computer built for the sole purpose of playing chess. In 1980, it won the world computer chess championship. In 1983, BELLE became the first computer to be awarded the title of US Chess Master. Caissa is the goddess or muse (dryad or tree nymph) of chess, from a poem by Hieronymus Vida in 1527. In 1763, Sir William Jones re-used Vida’s character Caissa in his own poem, written in Latin, and later published in English. St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) is the patron saint of chess. In the 16th century, she was proclaimed patroness of chess players by the church authorities in Spain. She used chess as a metaphor in her classic work “the Way of Perfection.” The longest running annual match in chess is the annual Cambridge vs. Oxford match, starting in 1873. As of 2012, there have been 130 matches between the two. Cambridge has won 57, Oxford has won 53, with 20 draws. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) estimates that there are over 600 million chess players in the world, with a potential global audience of 1 billion chess players. In 1977 Larry Christiansen became a Grandmaster without ever being an International Master. The first chess club was organized in Italy in 1550. The first newspaper column was published in 1813 in the Liverpool Mercury. The first computer program to play a proper game of chess was in 1959, at MIT. KAISSA of the USSR won the first world computer championship, held in Stockholm in 1974. Nathaniel Cook and John Jacques designed the first Staunton pattern chess set in 1835. In 1981 Cray Blitz won the first state championship, when it won the championship of Mississippi. Arthur Dake (1910-2000) was the oldest competitive grandmaster, still playing in his late 80s. Cecil de Vere was the first official British chess champion, in 1866. Charles Stanley was the first US chess champion, in 1845. He defeated Eugene Rousseau. FIDE, the World Chess Federation, was founded in 1924 by Pierre Vincent of France. Alexandre Rueb was the first FIDE president. He was president from 1924 to 1949. The record for the most games played simultaneously blindfolded in 52 games, by Janos Flesch in 1960. The Fredkin Prize was a $100,000 prize for the first computer to beat a reigning world champion. The inventors (Hsu, Campbell, and Hoane) of Deep Blue won the Fredkin Prize in 1997. In 1978, Nona Gaprindashvili was the first woman to achieve the men’s grandmaster title. In 1977, Nona Gaprindashvili tied for 1st place at Lone Pine. In 1914 the Russian Czar gave the title of grandmaster to Lasker, Alekhine, Capablanca, Tarrasch, and Marshall. Gisela Gresser (1906-2000) was the first U.S. woman to achieve a master’s rating. The first major tournament after WW II was Groningen, in 1946. It was won by Botvinnik. Boris Gulko won the USSR championship in 1977 and the US championship in 1994 and 1999. In 1963, Walter Harris became the first African-American master. Hasting is the oldest and longest running tournament in the world. It was first held in 1895. In 1981, Rea Hayes won the first US Senior Open, held in Sun City, Arizona. Hermann Helms (1870-1963) was the first Dean of American Chess. Iceland has the highest per capita chess population in the world. Borislav Ivkov of Yugoslavia won the first World Junior Chess Championship, held in England in 1951. Anatoly Karpov has won more chess tournaments (over 160 tournaments) than any other person. Raymond Keene was the first British player to achieve a FIDE Grandmaster norm in over-the-board chess. In 1947, George Koltanowski introduced the Swiss System at the 1947 US Open in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1982, Vasily Smyslov qualified for the Candidates match by taking 2nd at the Palma Interzonal at age 61. In 1976 Tony Miles became the first British Grandmaster in OTB play. The USCF formed in 1939 from the merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation. Geller, Tal, and Janosevic have all defeated Fischer more times than they have lost to him. Edward Lasker won Paris in 1912, London in 1914, New York in 1915, and Chicago in 1916. Le Palamede was the first magazine devoted entirely to chess. It ran from 1836 to 1839, then 1842 to 1847. Vladimir Liberzon was the first grandmaster to immigrate to Israel, in 1973. The Liverpool Mercury was the first English newspaper to publish a chess column, in 1813. Bill Lombardy was the first American to win an official world chess championship, the World Junior Ch in 1957. Johann Lowenthall invented the demonstration chess board in 1857. The Manchester Chess Club was the oldest chess club in Britain, formed in 1817. Sergio Mariotti was the first Italian Grandmaster, who gained his title in 1974. Frank Marshall was the first American to defeat a Soviet player in international competition, New York 1924. Edgar McCormick played in more US Opens than any other player, playing in 37 US Opens. The New York State Championship is America’s longest running tournament, which began in 1878. Alberic O’Kelly de Galway became the first GM of OTB and correspondence chess. Oxford was the first university to have a chess club. Bulgaria issued the first chess stamp, in 1947, on the occasion of the Balkan games. In 1845, Dr. Peter Mark Roget (Roget’s Thesaurus) devised the first pocket chess set. Judith Price was the oldest person to win a national championship when she won the British Ladies Ch at age 76. Cecil Purdy won the first world correspondence chess championship (1950-1953). The 1945 USA-USSR Radio Chess Match was the first international sports event after World War II. The first international rating list appeared in 1969. Fischer topped the list at 2720. Keith Richardson was the 1st British player to be awarded the Grandmaster title, for Correspondence Chess, in 1975. Alexander Rueb was the first president of FIDE. He was president from 1924 to 1949. The first Interzonal tournament was held in Saltsjobaden, Sweden in 1958 and won by David Bronstein. Lothar Schmid has the largest private chess library in the world with over 30,000 chess books and magazines. Yassar Seirawan was the first American to beat a reigning world champion when he beat Karpov in 1982. Nigel Short was the youngest to qualify for the British Championship, at age 11. Jackson Showalter was the first official US Chess Champion, in 1890. George Sturgis was the first President of the US Chess Federation, in 1939. The first telegraph match was played in 1844, between Washington DC and Baltimore. The first telephone chess game was played in 1878, between two players is Derbyshire, England. –Bill Wall Be Sociable, Share!

Chess Trivia

Chess Trivia Manuel Aaron (born in 1935) is India’s first International Master, in 1961. He won the championship of India 9 times. Viswanathan Anand is India’s first Grandmaster, in 1987. There are now 26 Indian Grandmasters, 12 Women Grandmasters and 68 Indian International Masters and 17 Women International Masters. In 1995, Robert Smeltzer (born in 1930) of Dallas played the most USCF games in one year – 2,266 games. Michael Adams (born in 1971) is the youngest player to win the British Chess Championship at 17. His wife is a British actress. Bobby Fischer was the youngest player to win the US Chess Championship at 14 in 1957-58. Hikaru Nakamura was the 2nd youngest player to win the US Chess Championship at 16 in 2004. Utat Adianto (born in 1965) was the first Indonesian Grandmaster, in 1986. He became a GM at age 21. The youngest Indonesian GM is Susanto Megaranto, who became a GM at age 17. Simen Agdestein (born in 1967) was Norway’s first Grandmaster, in 1985. He won the championship of Norway 7 times. He was Norwegian champion at 15, International Master at 16, and GM at 18. He was once a professional soccer player. He was an early coach of Magnus Carlsen, the world’s highest rated player. In 1967, Bent Larsen (1935-2010) won the first chess Oscar informally. In 1968, it was formally won by Spassky. Kasparov has won the chess Oscar the most, 11 times. In 1920, Alexander Alekhine won the first Soviet Chess Championship. There have been 58 Soviet championships from 1920 to 1991. Botvinnik and Tal have each won it 6 times. The first Russian Chess Federation formed in 1914. It had 865 members. It was first called the All-Russia Chess Union, then renamed the All-Russia Chess Society. Chess was first mentioned in America in 1641 in a book called “Dutch New York” by Esther Singleton. It described that “cards, chess, backgammon, dice-throwing, were among the pleasures of the age” of the Dutch in New York. In 1786, Benjamin Franklin published the first chess writing in America with his “The Morals of Chess,” first drafted in 1732 for his Philadelphia Junto discussions and his own newspaper. In his essay, he attributed chess being introduced into America by the Spaniards. In 1839, the New York Chess Club was formed by James Thompson. The first American chess tournament may have been held in 1843 in New York. In 1857, Paul Morphy won the first American Chess Congress. It was the only tournament he ever won. Adolf Anderssen (1818-1879) won the first international chess tournament in London in 1851. He didn’t have the money for the travel costs, so Howard Staunton offered to pay for Anderssen’s travel expenses out of his own pocket. Anderssen accepted, won the tournament, and paid Staunton back for his travel expenses. Maurice Ashley (born 1966) of New York (born in Jamaica) was the first Black grandmaster, in 1999. He once appeared on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Jonathan Penrose (born in 1933) has won the British chess championship the most. He won it 10 times between 1958 and 1969. He was given the GM title, although he was strong enough, but he became a GM in Correspondence chess in 1983. Wolfgang von Kempelen’s (1734-1804) “The Turk” was the first chess automaton, in 1769. It was destroyed by fire in 1854. It defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin. Baden-Baden 1870 was the first strong international tournament. It was the first tournament to introduce chess clocks. It was the first tournament that draws counted as ½ points. Adolf Anderssen won the event. BELLE was the first computer built for the sole purpose of playing chess. In 1980, it won the world computer chess championship. In 1983, BELLE became the first computer to be awarded the title of US Chess Master. Caissa is the goddess or muse (dryad or tree nymph) of chess, from a poem by Hieronymus Vida in 1527. In 1763, Sir William Jones re-used Vida’s character Caissa in his own poem, written in Latin, and later published in English. St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) is the patron saint of chess. In the 16th century, she was proclaimed patroness of chess players by the church authorities in Spain. She used chess as a metaphor in her classic work “the Way of Perfection.” The longest running annual match in chess is the annual Cambridge vs. Oxford match, starting in 1873. As of 2012, there have been 130 matches between the two. Cambridge has won 57, Oxford has won 53, with 20 draws. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) estimates that there are over 600 million chess players in the world, with a potential global audience of 1 billion chess players. In 1977 Larry Christiansen became a Grandmaster without ever being an International Master. The first chess club was organized in Italy in 1550. The first newspaper column was published in 1813 in the Liverpool Mercury. The first computer program to play a proper game of chess was in 1959, at MIT. KAISSA of the USSR won the first world computer championship, held in Stockholm in 1974. Nathaniel Cook and John Jacques designed the first Staunton pattern chess set in 1835. In 1981 Cray Blitz won the first state championship, when it won the championship of Mississippi. Arthur Dake (1910-2000) was the oldest competitive grandmaster, still playing in his late 80s. Cecil de Vere was the first official British chess champion, in 1866. Charles Stanley was the first US chess champion, in 1845. He defeated Eugene Rousseau. FIDE, the World Chess Federation, was founded in 1924 by Pierre Vincent of France. Alexandre Rueb was the first FIDE president. He was president from 1924 to 1949. The record for the most games played simultaneously blindfolded in 52 games, by Janos Flesch in 1960. The Fredkin Prize was a $100,000 prize for the first computer to beat a reigning world champion. The inventors (Hsu, Campbell, and Hoane) of Deep Blue won the Fredkin Prize in 1997. In 1978, Nona Gaprindashvili was the first woman to achieve the men’s grandmaster title. In 1977, Nona Gaprindashvili tied for 1st place at Lone Pine. In 1914 the Russian Czar gave the title of grandmaster to Lasker, Alekhine, Capablanca, Tarrasch, and Marshall. Gisela Gresser (1906-2000) was the first U.S. woman to achieve a master’s rating. The first major tournament after WW II was Groningen, in 1946. It was won by Botvinnik. Boris Gulko won the USSR championship in 1977 and the US championship in 1994 and 1999. In 1963, Walter Harris became the first African-American master. Hasting is the oldest and longest running tournament in the world. It was first held in 1895. In 1981, Rea Hayes won the first US Senior Open, held in Sun City, Arizona. Hermann Helms (1870-1963) was the first Dean of American Chess. Iceland has the highest per capita chess population in the world. Borislav Ivkov of Yugoslavia won the first World Junior Chess Championship, held in England in 1951. Anatoly Karpov has won more chess tournaments (over 160 tournaments) than any other person. Raymond Keene was the first British player to achieve a FIDE Grandmaster norm in over-the-board chess. In 1947, George Koltanowski introduced the Swiss System at the 1947 US Open in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1982, Vasily Smyslov qualified for the Candidates match by taking 2nd at the Palma Interzonal at age 61. In 1976 Tony Miles became the first British Grandmaster in OTB play. The USCF formed in 1939 from the merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation. Geller, Tal, and Janosevic have all defeated Fischer more times than they have lost to him. Edward Lasker won Paris in 1912, London in 1914, New York in 1915, and Chicago in 1916. Le Palamede was the first magazine devoted entirely to chess. It ran from 1836 to 1839, then 1842 to 1847. Vladimir Liberzon was the first grandmaster to immigrate to Israel, in 1973. The Liverpool Mercury was the first English newspaper to publish a chess column, in 1813. Bill Lombardy was the first American to win an official world chess championship, the World Junior Ch in 1957. Johann Lowenthall invented the demonstration chess board in 1857. The Manchester Chess Club was the oldest chess club in Britain, formed in 1817. Sergio Mariotti was the first Italian Grandmaster, who gained his title in 1974. Frank Marshall was the first American to defeat a Soviet player in international competition, New York 1924. Edgar McCormick played in more US Opens than any other player, playing in 37 US Opens. The New York State Championship is America’s longest running tournament, which began in 1878. Alberic O’Kelly de Galway became the first GM of OTB and correspondence chess. Oxford was the first university to have a chess club. Bulgaria issued the first chess stamp, in 1947, on the occasion of the Balkan games. In 1845, Dr. Peter Mark Roget (Roget’s Thesaurus) devised the first pocket chess set. Judith Price was the oldest person to win a national championship when she won the British Ladies Ch at age 76. Cecil Purdy won the first world correspondence chess championship (1950-1953). The 1945 USA-USSR Radio Chess Match was the first international sports event after World War II. The first international rating list appeared in 1969. Fischer topped the list at 2720. Keith Richardson was the 1st British player to be awarded the Grandmaster title, for Correspondence Chess, in 1975. Alexander Rueb was the first president of FIDE. He was president from 1924 to 1949. The first Interzonal tournament was held in Saltsjobaden, Sweden in 1958 and won by David Bronstein. Lothar Schmid has the largest private chess library in the world with over 30,000 chess books and magazines. Yassar Seirawan was the first American to beat a reigning world champion when he beat Karpov in 1982. Nigel Short was the youngest to qualify for the British Championship, at age 11. Jackson Showalter was the first official US Chess Champion, in 1890. George Sturgis was the first President of the US Chess Federation, in 1939. The first telegraph match was played in 1844, between Washington DC and Baltimore. The first telephone chess game was played in 1878, between two players is Derbyshire, England. –Bill Wall Be Sociable, Share!

Chess Addict

Addicted to Chess You are addicted to chess if: • you bump into someone or something and say “J’adoube.” And you don’t even know French. • you set up a chess set with salt and pepper shakers and food items when you sit at a checkered tablecloth. • you calculate 8×8 faster than 7×7. • navigate like a knight on the sidewalk – one block up and two blocks over. • you have more chess clocks than watches or normal clocks. • you use the chess clock as a kitchen timer. • you buy the biggest, fastest, most expensive computer and monitor just to play blitz chess. • mate, mating positions, exposed bishops, and forking the queen have nothing to do with sex. • you take a chess set and chess book to the bathroom, and forget to go to the bathroom. And if you do go, you count all 32 pieces on your magnetic chessboard before flushing and panic if you flushed, then discover a piece missing. • you meet someone, your first question is, “What’s your rating?” • every week you downloaded every game from The Week in Chess • you buy a newspaper only if it has a chess column in it. • you still think Bobby Fischer alive and well • you have more chess books than any other book or magazine combined. • the Olympics has always been every two years. • you spot the chessboard set up wrong in every movie with a chess scene. • you name any of your pets Fischer, Tal, Karpov, Kasparov, Fritz, Chess (not Checkers) or Alekhine. • your favorite movie is “Searching for Bobby Fischer” or “Knight Moves.” • you have checkered underwear with “It’s your move” on the front. • your spouse has a t-shirt that says “Fool’s Mate.” • have a crush on Irina Krush. • your favorite snack is Pepperidge Farm’s Chessmen cookies and chess pie. • you have the “Chessplayers make better mates” bumper sticker on your car. • you know what BCO, ECO, MCO, NCO, PCO, UCO all mean and have all these books. • you ask an attractive (or any) girl if she plays chess and what her rating is before you ask her out for a date. And if it didn’t work out, you explain the two of you were “like bishops of opposite color.” • you end your letters and email with “P.S. 1.e4″ hoping to start a game. • you take a test, and 5 minutes before you run out of time, you mentally tell yourself that your flag is about to fall on your analog clock, • you vacation in St Louis just to see the chess hall of fame. • you go to any Barnes & Noble in the world and know exactly where all the chess books are located. • when the cashier says, “Check?” you wink and say “mate.” • you have a chess logo on your letterhead or shirt. • you play cards blindfolded. • you use chessboard cufflinks and tie clips or have a chess-theme tie that you wear. • you only vote in USCF elections. • you have a coffee mug that has chess pieces on it. • you go to a chess tournament and can’t wait in saying “Look at those chess nuts boasting by an open foyer.” • you look for three other friends to play bug-house. • you have used any of these aliases while on the Internet: Buttvinik, Caissa, Gata, Bobby Fischer, Fritz 2000, IvanCheck, Polgar, Jadoube, Kapablanca, KnightStalker, KibitzandBlitz, KnightRider, Pawnographer, Philidork, Queenforker, Rookie Player, Roy Lopez, Topalove, TarraschCan, Zukertort, KillerMate, the Turk • you have played the ghost of Geza Maroczy or challenged God with pawn odds. • you own a Harry Potter or Civil War chess set. • you have played in over 100 chess tournaments all your life and have almost made $100 in return. But you still enter the next chess tournament. • you have played over 1,000 blitz games of chess online. • you stayed up all night playing blitz chess online, and was too tired to go to school or work the next day. • all of your browser bookmarks are chess servers and chess sites • when someone looks at your car and asks you what engine you got, you reply “Rybka or Fritz or Stockfish.” • when asked what other languages you can read, you say you are fluent in descriptive, algebraic, and figurine algebraic notation, with some knowledge in Forsythe. • you think chess is a sport. (Come on – if Stephen Hawking can do it, it’s not a sport). • you play blitz chess or blindfold chess with yourself. • when asked who your favorite composer is, you respond “Pal Benko or Alexei Trotsky, although Cheron and Cook were not bad.” • you have read all of this. And didn’t laugh! -Bill Wall (chess addict) Be Sociable, Share!