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How They Died

2005-04-16T23:07:00.000-06:00

Deaths of Chess Players
by Bill Wall

Georgy Agzamov (1954-1986) - Russian GM fell between some rocks at a beach and died
Alexander Alekhine (1892-1946) - choked to death on a piece of meat in 1946
Johann Allgaier (1763-1823) - dropsy
Adolf Anderssen (1818-1879) - heart attack
Vladimir Bagirov (1936-2000) - heart attack while playing chess in Finland
Rosendo Balinas (1941-1998) - liver cancer
Curt von Bardeleben (1861-1924) - threw himself out the window of his boarding home at age 63
Thomas Barnes (1825-1874) - too much weight loss at one time
Joseph Blackburne (1841-1924) - heart attack
Claude Bloodgood (1924-2001) - lung cancer while in prison for life
Samuel Boden (1826-1882) - died of typhoid fever
Efim Bogoljubov (1889-1952) - suffered a heart attack after a simultaneous display
Paolo Boi (1528-1598) - poisoned (murdered) in Naples
Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995) - cancer
Louis Bourdonnais (1795-1840) - stroke
Gyula Breyer (1893-1921) - heart disease
Henry Buckle (1821-1862) - typhoid fever
Ricardo Calvo (1943-2002) - esophagus cancer
Jose Capablanca (1888-1942) - died after watching a skittles game at the Manhattan Chess Club in 1942.
Rudolf Charousek (1873-1900) - tuberculosis
Mikhail Chigorin (1850-1908) - diabetes
Edgar Colle (1897-1932) - died after an operation for a gastric ulcer
Arthur Dake (1910-2000) - died in his sleep at age 90
Cecil de Vere (1845-1875) - tuberculosis
A. Deschapelles (1780-1847) - hydropsy
Ed Edmundson (1920-1982) - died of a heart attack while playing chess on a beach in Hawaii
Max Euwe (1901-1981) - heart attack
Janos Flesch (1933-1983) - died in a car wreck in England
Guillermo Garcia (1953-1990) - car wreck
Efim Geller (1925-1998) - cancer
Aivars Gipslis (1937-2000) - stroke while playing chess in Berlin
Karen Grigorian (1947-1989) - suicide by jumping
Nikolai Grigoriev (1895-1938) - appendicitis
Eduard Gufeld (1936-2002) - stroke
Alexander Ilyin-Genevsky (1894-1941) - died in the siege of Leningrad while on a barge
Dawid Janowsky (1868-1927) - tuberculosis
Klaus Junge - German army officer killed in action in 1945.
Paul Keres (1916-1975) - died of a heart attack returning home from a tournament in 1975.
George Koltanowski (1903-2000) - heart failure at the age of 93
Boris Kostic (1887-1963) - blood poisoning from a scratch
Nikolai Krylenko - executed in Stalin's purges in 1938.
Leonid Kubbel (1891-1942) - executed by firing squad in Leningrad
Salo Landau (1903-1944) - gassed by Nazis at a German concentration camp
Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941) - heart attack
Paul Leonhardt (1877-1934) - died of a heart attack while playing chess at a chess club in 1934.
George Mackenzie (1837-1891) - suicide: took an overdose of morphine
Frank Marshall (1877-1944) - died of a heart attack after leaving a chess tournament
Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835) - died of Bright's disease
Edmar Mednis (1937-2002) - pneumonia and cardiac arrest
Vera Menchik (1906-1944) - died in the German bombing of London
Tony Miles (1955-2001) - died in his sleep at age 46; he was diabetic
Johannes Minckwitz (1843-1901) - suicide: threw himself under a train
Paul Morphy (1837-1884) - died of a stroke while taking a cold bath
Miguel Najdorf (1910-1997) - heart attack
Aron Nimzovich (1886-1935) - died of pneumonia
Lembit Oll - suicide by jumping out of the window of his 4th story apartment
Louis Paulsen (1833-1891) - died of diabetes
Julius Perlis (1880-1913) - died in a mountain climb in the Alps in 1913.
Tigran Petrosian (1929-1984) - cancer
Vladimir Petrov (1908-1943) - died in a prison camp in Russia
Harry Pillsbury (1872-1906) - died of syphillis
David Przepiorka (1880-1940) - died in a mass execution outside Warsaw in 1940.
Cecil Purdy (1906-1979) - died of a heart attack while playing chess
Abram Rabinovich (1878-1943) - starvation
Samuel Reshevsky (1911-1992) - heart attack
Richard Reti (1889-1929) - died of scarlet fever
Karl Robatsch (1928-2000) - stomach and throat cancer
Nicholas Rossolimo (1910-1975) - fell from flight of stairs; died of head injuries
Pierre Saint-Amant (1800-1872) - died after a fall from his carriage
Carl Schlechter (1874-1918) - died from pneumonia and starvation
Vladimir Simagin (1919-1968) - died of a heart attack while playing in a tournament
Gideon Stahlberg (1908-1967) - heart attack during the 1967 Leningrad International tournament.
Howard Staunton (1810-1874) - died of a heart attack will writing a chess book
Leonid Stein (1934-1973) - heart attack
Herman Steiner (1905-1955) - heart attack after a California State Championship game
Alexei Suetin (1926-2001) - heart attack after a chess tournament
Mikhail Tal (1936-1992) - kidney failure
Mikhail Tchigorin (1850-1908) - died of diabetes
Karel Treybal - died a victim of the Nazis in 1941.
Alexi Troitzky (1866-1942) - died of starvation during the siege of Leningrad
Abe Turner (1924-1962) - stabbed 9 times in the back by a fellow employee at the Chess Review office
Alvis Vitolins (1938-1997) - suicide by jumping
Daniel Yanovsky (1925-2000) - cancer
Frederick Yates (1884-1932) - died in his sleep from a leak in a faulty gas pipe connection
Alexander Zaitsev - died of thrombosis as a consequence of a leg operation in 1971.
Johann Zukertort (1842-1888) - died of a stroke while playing chess at a London coffee-house
Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) - committed suicide.

Opening Theory

2005-04-05T17:13:00.000-06:00

From Man de la Maza:

My theory is that if one learns one opening really well one will be introduced to all the major themes in chess strategy. Sort of like great literature. It is said that you if you read the whole body of work of any one great author -- Shakespeare, Dante, Proust, Faulkner, or Spider Robinson -- you will introduced to all the major themes of literature.

What Businesspeople Can Learn from Chess

2005-04-03T21:49:00.000-06:00

From an interview with Gary Kasparov:

“The first rule is: Never, ever, underestimate your opponent. Whenever I am playing at grand master levels, I always, always assume that my competitor is going to see everything I do—even when I plan to make an unexpected move in order to confuse him.”

“It’s also critical to keep a psychological edge. I am not a big fan of pop psychology, but I do believe that getting the other guy off balance is a real skill. You have to go on fighting even if you are in a winning position—in fact, especially if you are in a winning position.”

“You also have to make yourself comfortable in the enemy’s territory. If you can convince your enemy that you’re comfortable on their ground, then you can often trick them into moving into your own territory.”

What’s Wrong with a Draw?

2005-04-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

THIS column has often wondered why chess needs the rule that players are allowed to agree draws at any stage of the game. Players can call a halt to hostilities after a few moves, shake hands and adjourn to the pub. It doesn’t happen in any other sport and it shouldn’t happen in chess. Draw offers are highly distracting for players who are trying their hardest to win. It is so easy to damage your position since rejecting the draw makes you feel obliged to play something aggressive just to show how uninterested you are in your opponent’s peace proposals.

A category 20 tournament in Bulgaria next month will forbid draws by mutual agreement.

The Openings

2005-03-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

A chess poetry blog (link from Boylston Chess Club)

Upon the horse a deep
abiding affection rode in on
the town monorail. World rocking
would likely commence, like an
erotic and fretful schoolboard.
With an eye towards noodling
wolves at the 5&10, the stategies
were both casablanca and fargo.

What About the Rest of Us?

2005-03-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

Lakdawala, a pro player at the international master level, says having the skills to be a top chess player is something one is born with.

Chess and the Nativity

2005-03-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

No need to pack away your nativity scene at the end of the Christmas holidays. Just remove the stable, straw and manger and add more shepherd pawns and another virgin queen from the box. Hand-carved Masonite figures, such as long-eared ass knights, rest on a checkered, tropical cardboard surface to adorn your home during both religious and competitive interludes.

Though the elephant castles look a little out of place crowding the stable and can only move in straight lines, the pious practicality of the unique chessus set is unbeatable. I still recall the response of its craftsman, a Palestinian carpenter and immigrant from Sydney. When I asked if payment should be made with card or cash, Joe replied, “Check, Mate.”

If Not a Sport, then What?

2005-03-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

Dennis Monokroussos argues against chess as sport:

It might at first seem that chess is a sport. First of all, it's clearly a competitive activity, which seems to be a necessary if not sufficient condition for something's being a sport. Second, the same sorts of general mental and physical disciplines needed by the sportsman (e.g. mental toughness, strong self-confidence, endurance, etc.) are required for chess players to succeed. To take a prominent example, Karpov's (then-) frail physique nearly cost him twice in big matches against Korchnoi (one for the world championship, the other in a final candidates match) and quite possibly did cost him the title to Kasparov when he lacked the endurance to finish him off in 1984.

Yet despite the above, I think that chess is not a sport.

The Key to a Different Life

2005-03-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

Chess, said Thomas-El, forces children to think critically, to be patient and to be problem solvers, and "that is the key to a different life -- learning to make good decisions."

Archaeological Find

2005-03-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

A grubby green cousin of the world's most famous chessmen is puzzling archaeologists.

The little knight on horseback, recently found by an amateur using a metal detector on farmland in north Nottinghamshire, is startlingly similar to chesspieces found hundreds of miles away in 1831, on a beach on the isle of Lewis.

Chess Puzzles from Cappelle la Grande

2005-03-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

W.T. Harvey posted some puzzles taken from the chess games of strong players at the Cappelle la Grande tournament in February. Except where noted, it's "White to Move and Win".

a) http://wtharvey.com/n2005a.png White Mates in 7. Mark Hebden vs Sebastien Feller, Cappelle la Grande, 2005 2k2br1/4pp2/3qP2p/1Q1b4/1PpP2p1/2P5/3B2PP/R5K1 w - - 0 1

b) http://wtharvey.com/n2005b.png Nicolas Gerard vs Gregory Israel, Cappelle la Grande, 2005 r1b2rk1/ppp2ppp/8/q3B3/2BP2n1/2P2Q2/P4PPP/1R2R1K1 w - - 0 1

c) http://wtharvey.com/n2005c.png White Mates in 6. Davit Shengelia vs Tristan Calistri, Cappelle la Grande, 2005 r4r2/3q1k2/pp1p1n2/2pP1pRp/1PP1pP1B/P7/1Q4P1/3B2K1 w - - 0 1

d) http://wtharvey.com/n2005d.png Petra Schuuman vs Abdel Medghoul, Cappelle la Grande, 2005 r4rk1/p2b1pnp/2p4q/1p3Pp1/3PN1P1/3B4/PPQ4P/1K1R3R w - - 0 1

e) http://wtharvey.com/n2005e.png White Mates in 3. Throstur Thorhallsson vs Sylvain Leburgue, Cappelle la Grande, 2005 b4rk1/5Npp/p3B3/1p6/8/3R4/PP4nP/6K1 w - - 0 1

You can find the solutions at the top of http://wtharvey.com/prodex.html.

Chess Vision Trainer

2005-03-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

I found this at An Experiment in Rapid Chess Improvement. Would love to know if it works.

In 2003 I wrote a little Flash application to help do Chess Vision training drills per MDLM. I never really used it much, but if you are in the middle of doing find-the-fork drills I hope it will prove helpful. Been wondering if you found all the possible forking squares? Well wonder no more, just click the handy Next button in the program and see for yourself.

What Makes a Good Player?

2005-03-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

What makes a good chess player? Typically, players with analytical minds make good player. Former world champion Max Euwe was a mathematician, and Mikhail Botvinnik was an electrical engineer. Is that it? No.

Talent – Talent is innate, but can be improved.
Knowledge – Openings, tricks, endgames, tactics. Many of these are learned. How often you seen them depends on your talent.
Time Management – Time pressure can cause blunders and lose games.
Clear Head – You need to be in the right frame of mind to play.

Einstein and Chess

2005-03-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

Although Albert Einstein played chess, his public position on the game was that it was a waste of time:

I do not play any games. There is no time for it. When I get through work I don't want anything which requires the working of the mind.

Chess grips its exponent, shackling the mind and brain so that the inner freedom and independence of even the strongest character cannot remain unaffected.

I always dislike the fierce competitive spirit embodied in [chess].

Einstein was a good friend of Dr. Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941). Lasker thought Einstein's theory of relativity was wrong and that the speed of light was limited due to particles in space. Lasker did not think there was a perfect vacuum.

Einstein knew Edward Lasker (1885-1981). On one occasion, Edward Lasker visited Einstein at Princeton and gave him an autographed copy of his book Go and Gomoku, written in 1934. Einstein, in return, gave Edward Lasker an autographed copy of one of his papers on relativity. The book given to Einstein later showed up in a Baltimore used bookstore. When someone told Edward Lasker about this, Lasker replied, "That's all right. I left his relativity paper on the subway."

Einstein thanked Edward Lasker for his book, but then asked, "You are obviously an intelligent man; clearly a great deal of work went into this book. But why for such a trivial and unimportant topic?" Edward Lasker replied, "A friend of mine recently said the following, and I must say I agree with it: 'We are born and we die, and in between these two events of a lifetime, there is a lot of time that must be wasted. Now, whether it is wasted by doing mathematics, practicing law, or playing games, it is really quite insignificant.'"

World Chess Beauty Contest

2005-03-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

There is nothing wrong with making chess sexier by highlighting the hip, interesting players who participate. But I find the World Chess Beauty contest project misguided and juvenile and would be embarrassed to be a part of it.

Find the rest of Jen Shahade's account of her invitation to this novel chess event.

And ChessBase News offers even more details.

Overstated?

2005-03-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Found this in The Edmonton Journal:

Marketers of live theatre, newspapers, chess, classical music and curling share the same challenge -- their audiences are too old.

Ghetto Chess

2005-03-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

Team Rating Rises

2005-03-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

We're up to 40th place on the GameKnot Team Tables with a team rating of 1338. Excellent work!

What Makes a Master?

2005-03-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

What makes a strong chess player? One hypothesis is that people who become chess masters have exceptional intelligence or memory, but there is little evidence to support this view. Most researchers have found minimal correlations between measures of IQ and official chess ratings. On the other hand, many chess masters appear to have a phenomenal memory. They can recall games played years ago, move by move, and when shown an unfamiliar chess position for only a few seconds, they can reproduce it virtually without error on a new board and set. The catch, however, is that this feat is only possible when they are given positions taken from actual games. When the position is random, the master does only about as well as the amateur. General intelligence and memory by themselves do not appear to distinguish great chess players from ordinary ones.

Read the rest of the article from J. Corey Butler

Opening Don'ts

2005-03-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

ModBlog offers some quick and easy rules for chess game openings:

1) Don't move the same piece twice (without serious justification).

2) Don't waste time on prophylactic moves with the rook pawns (developing the pieces faster is more important).

3) Don't bring the queen out to early (choosing the right place for the queen is a crucial task).

4) Don't be rushed into a premature, unprepared attack.

5) Don't go in for pawn-hunting ( especially in open positions where a lead in development makes an immense difference).

Chess & Dating

2005-03-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

ChessNinja surveys players on how chess has affected their relationships:

If I recall, there were four married couples playing in the 2003 US Championship. Does the couple that analyzes the Queen's Gambit together stay together? Or should chess be avoided in a relationship between two competitive players? You have to have something else to talk about, right? (Please say yes.) Or should your romantic life be an escape from chess?

2005-02-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

We're back up in the top-100 today, ranked 64th on GameKnot's team tables with a decent rating of 1307. Keep up the good work!

Vietnamese Cafes Feature Chess

2005-02-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

The centre of Ha Noi is host to a collection of new cafes. Here, apart from enjoying the tasty coffee or the refreshing fruit juices, patrons spend their time browsing newspapers and magazines that the cafes regularly order. And as always, the ubiquitos chess boards pop up for admirers of the game.

For many, the game of chess can take up an entire evening at cafe. Even couples in love can share a love for the game. One can see young couples sitting together over a game, moving the pieces gently and attentively, and exchanging their thoughts and feelings.

No Longer Nerds

2005-02-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

Some high school kids think the image of chess has changed from a game for geeks to one for the intellectually cool.

Adlai E. Stevenson High School Junior and chess aficionado Asher Meyers said, “I was just talking with a couple of friends and the other day they were playing at Starbucks and they actually started picking up girls by playing chess, so I think that pretty much sums it up.”

Need Cheap Chess Books?

2005-02-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

I've been buying chess books at Borders or Barnes and Noble. Looks like I've been throwing away money.

Wholesale Chess is ramping up for a full launch of hundreds of new book titles, intended to all be priced at or below Amazon.com prices. "We want the chess players of the world to have One place they can come to for all of their chess needs, and to have them know that they will get their items immediately and at the guaranteed lowest prices," stated Erik Allebest, owner of Wholesale Chess.