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Samuel Reshevsky

SAMUEL RESHEVSKY (born Nov-26-1911, died Apr-04-1992, 80 years old) Poland (federation/nationality United States of America) [what is this?] Samuel Herman Reshevsky (Szmul Rzeszewski) was born in Ozorkow, Poland. He learned to play chess at the age of four. At eight years old he was giving simultaneous exhibitions and defeating some of the country's most prominent players. Following the events of World War 1, Reshevsky immigrated to the United States (1920). As a 9-year-old, his first American simultaneous exhibition was with 20 officers and cadets at the Military Academy at West Point. He won 19 games and drew one. He toured the country and played over 1,500 games as a 9-year old in simultaneous exhibitions and only lost 8 games. In his early years he did not go to school and his parents ended up in Manhattan Children's Court on charges of improper guardianship. His benefactor was Julius Rosenwald, founder of Sears & Roebuck, who agreed to provide for Reshevsky's future if he devoted himself to completing his education. Reshevsky then largely abandoned chess for 10 years to pursue a vocation as an accountant, receiving an accounting degree from the University of Chicago in 1933 which he put to use in New York City. After obtaining his college degree, he devoted himself to tournament chess. Several subsequent successes in international events led to his invitations to both AVRO 1938 and the World Championship Tournament ten years later. Between 1936 and 1942, he had a streak of 75 games without a loss in U.S. Championship competition. He won the US Open in 1931, 1934 (tied with Reuben Fine), 1944, and 1955 (on tiebreak over Nicolas Rossolimo). Pan-American Champion at Hollywood 1945. He played in 21 U.S. Championships, from 1936 to 1981. Over the course of a long international career that continued until he was almost 80, he qualified for the Candidates five times. He won the U.S. Championship eight times (1936, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, and 1969), a record he shares with Bobby Fischer. He tied for first in 1972 but lost the playoff in 1973 to Robert Byrne. He played 11 World Champions, from Emanuel Lasker to Anatoly Karpov. He won matches against several notable Western players, including Svetozar Gligoric, Miguel Najdorf and Robert James Fischer (after Fischer was forfeited while the match was tied). However, he was never able to secure the right to a World Championship match. In 1981, at the age of 70, he tied for 3rd place in the U.S. Championship. In 1984, at the age of 72, he took first place in the powerful Reykjavik Open, which featured many grandmasters. (1) Wikipedia article: Samuel Reshevsky; (1) http://www.365chess.com/tournaments... Last updated: 2023-12-31 22:30:50

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page 1 of 65; games 1-25 of 1,625  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Reshevsky vs Rubinstein 0-1 24 1917 Blindfold game C50 Giuoco Piano 2. Reshevsky vs S Factor 0-1 26 1917 Lodz C22 Center Game 3. Reshevsky vs Traube 1-0 17 1920 Hanover A02 Bird's Opening 4. C Jaffe vs Reshevsky 0-1 17 1920 New York blindfold C30 King's Gambit Declined 5. Reshevsky vs R Griffith 1-0 30 1920 Blindfold game C67 Ruy Lopez 6. Reshevsky vs K Romeikat   ½-½ 38 1920 Berlin (simul) B01 Scandinavian 7. Reshevsky vs J Zabludowski 1-0 29 1920 Simul, 20b C62 Ruy Lopez, Old Steinitz Defense 8. Reshevsky vs L von Dory 1-0 16 1920 Simul C35 King's Gambit Accepted, Cunningham 9. Reshevsky vs Saemisch 0-1 38 1920 Berlin E50 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O 5.Nf3, without ...d5 10. P Krueger vs Reshevsky ½-½ 39 1920 Blindfold game C48 Four Knights 11. Reshevsky vs Euwe 0-1 15 1920 Simul, 20b C83 Ruy Lopez, Open 12. Reshevsky vs M Herzfeld 1-0 52 1920 Simul, 20b C66 Ruy Lopez 13. Reshevsky vs M Gency 1-0 37 1920 Simul, 20b C30 King's Gambit Declined 14. Reshevsky vs L Schwarz 1-0 65 1920 Simul, 20b C00 French Defense 15. Reshevsky vs G W Beaumont 1-0 30 1920 Simul, 15b C34 King's Gambit Accepted 16. Reshevsky vs F Knoller 1-0 40 1920 Simul, 20b C79 Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defense Deferred 17. Reshevsky vs S Katz ½-½ 29 1920 Simul, 20b B21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4 18. Reshevsky vs A Simchow   0-1 34 1920 Simul, 20b D05 Queen's Pawn Game 19. Reshevsky vs M J Clurman ½-½ 23 1920 Simul, 20b B15 Caro-Kann 20. Reshevsky vs L S Stillman 1-0 20 1920 Simul, 20b B21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4 21. M A Schapiro vs Reshevsky 0-1 40 1920 Exhibition game C14 French, Classical 22. Reshevsky vs E B Hilliard 1-0 27 1920 Blindfold game C30 King's Gambit Declined 23. Reshevsky vs J H Longacre ½-½ 25 1921 Simul, 20b C68 Ruy Lopez, Exchange 24. Reshevsky vs C More   ½-½ 21 1921 Simul, 20b D37 Queen's Gambit Declined 25. Reshevsky vs S Sharp ½-½ 27 1921 Simul, 20b C31 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit  page 1 of 65; games 1-25 of 1,625

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 5 OF 65 ·  Later Kibitzing> Apr-02-05    BishopBerkeley: I note that Wikipedia.org attributes the following quote to Reshevsky: "My style is somewhere between that of Tal and Petrosian" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel... I assume Reshevsky intended this remark for a laugh, since one might say that any Grandmaster's style falls somewhere between Tal and Petrosian :) (: ♗B :) Apr-02-05    vonKrolock: thanks, <♗B> - for me is always a pleasure to take part in the researches here: as those inventions ( writing, chess, typewriter, applied electricity, telephone, computer) are already achieved and combinated in what would be a dream age for every human being of the past ages, the least we can do is - kibitzing in cg.com!! <offramp> raises an interesting question: Was Reshevsky born in his - so to say - official birthday, or in some other date before? (It could happened, somewhere in his early days as a Chess prodigy, to his parents, to make him appear as a bit younger than he really was, to increase the sensation raised by his demonstrations... Apr-02-05    offramp: Also perhaps to keep him out of school! Apr-02-05    WMD: These opinions of Reshevsky come from the book Pal Benko: My Life, Games and Compositions. Larry Evans: 'Reshevsky was usually aloof from the younger players and closer to Horowitz and other members of his own generation. Essentially, he was a loner who felt that God had ordained him to be the Messiah of chess. 'One problem with dealing with Sammy was his wife, who was a pest that interefered in his games. At the U.S. Open in 1955 I was analyzing some game with Donald Byrne at the far end of the tournament hall while one of Sammy's games was in progress. His wife came over and swept the pieces from our board, "Stop analyzing my husband's game!" she shrieked.' Ron Gross: 'He was not a pleasant guy to be around. I remember that he once went to a chess club to give a lecture and simultaneous exhibition. Many people came just to hear him speak. When it began, he said, "I don't want anyone to move until I get to your board, and no passes!" That was it; that was the lecture! He had a personality like a dishpan.' Apr-02-05    RookFile: Well, it does sound like he lectured you.... :) Apr-02-05    WMD: It's not suprising that he and Fischer didn't see eye to eye. Apr-02-05    keypusher: I don't think Reshevsky saw eye to eye with many people. Scroll down to Hague 1948 picture for an illustration. http://www.rogerpaige.me.uk/histori... Apr-02-05    RookFile: Well, when Reshevsky was a serious threat to Fischer, it was world war 3 between them, of course. But in 1970 they hung out for a week or two at a tournament and had fun. Pretty weird too because Reshevsky was Jewish, and we all know Fischer's views. Apr-02-05    iron maiden: Fischer was Jewish as well, and according to those who knew him he showed no signs of being anti-Semetic or anti-American in the early part of his life. Apr-02-05    Chris00nj: < keypusher > That's a cool website with all those photos. Apr-02-05    WMD: <But in 1970 they hung out for a week or two at a tournament and had fun.> What's your source? Apr-02-05    RookFile: Well, this is common knowledge, WMD, but you can read over Reshevsky's interview from chesscafe for his perspective. http://www.chesscafe.com/text/reshb... Apr-02-05    Eric Schiller: <rookfile et al.> Reshevsky was not a nice guy, but he was an excellent chess player. However, he was a bad loser. After he lost this game Reshevsky vs E Schiller, 1972 he asked his friend Al Horowitz not to publish it in the NY Times. To Al's credit, he did put it in, because it is an interesting game. I was just 17, and the game meant a lot to me. Sammy was an Orthodox Jew (Many of Fischer's friends were jewish, my feeling is he had a disconnect between real people, who were ok, and phantom conspirators), and refused to play on the sabbath. Tournaments often accommodated him, to his advantage. But late in his carreer, for example Reykjavik 1986, it became almost humorous. The organizers asked for a volunteer to start a game Friday morning, to meet Reshevsky's needs. Lev Alburt almost lept out of his seat to rush forward to volunteer for what would be a much easier pairing that he would have had under normal circumstances (Reshevsky was well past his prime). We should admire his excellent play and wonderful strategic skills, but there is no covering-up his well deserved unpopularity. Apr-02-05    Eric Schiller: <all> Here is the game between Reshevsky and Alburt, you can see why Alburt was so eager for the pairing! Reshevsky vs Alburt, 1986 Apr-02-05    keypusher: <Chris00nj> It is a great site, isn't it? I found it courtesty of <Resignation Trap>. Apr-02-05    WMD: <Well, this is common knowledge, WMD> Well then you won't mind giving me half a dozen other sources. Apr-02-05    RookFile: Sure I would, wmd, because I don't like the tone of your voice. I remember reading about this 20 years ago in Chess Life and various books. However, I will mention that if you turn to page 103 of Kasparov's latest book on Fischer, you'll see the same account. Apr-02-05    WMD: Such sensitivity suggests you were bottle-fed as a baby. The mention in the Kasparov book obviously derives from the same Reshevsky interview as above. Your recollections of 20 years past are, as could be expected, vague and singularly unconvincing. Apr-02-05    RookFile: Is there a point to this, WMD? Are you denying that Reshevsky and Fischer hung out at Palma in 1970? I have another memory now - my recollection is that Frank Brady's "Profile Of a Prodigy" also says that Fischer and Reshevsky hung out at Palma. Profile of a Prodigy, an interview with Reshevsky, Chess Life.... Hey, if you think these are obscure sources, good luck to you. Apr-02-05    iron maiden: <RookFile> I scanned through my copy, and I can't find anything about Reshevsky at Palma 1970 aside from his game with Fischer. Apr-02-05    WMD: <Are you denying that Reshevsky and Fischer hung out at Palma in 1970? > I'm just denying that it's common knowledge. I have my copy of Brady's book and can't see reference to it. Could you be imagining about Chess Life as well? Apr-02-05    RookFile: Well, if I'm wrong about Profile of a Prodigy, I'll admit it. Let me check into it. Apr-02-05    MUG: <iron maiden> It is there. Page 103: <...Reshevsky recalled that he and Fischer arrived in Mallorca earlier then the other players and spent a few days together, seeing the local sights ... ... and during the tournament they could sometimes be seen, leisurely walking along, peacefully chatting...> Apr-02-05    iron maiden: <MUG> I've checked page 103 of Profile of a Prodigy, and I cannot find that quote. Maybe you thought I was referring to the Kasparov book? Apr-02-05    MUG: <iron maiden> Yes i was. Sorry. I'll shut up now. Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 65) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 5 OF 65 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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