The chess games of Abraham Kupchik

Abraham Kupchik
Number of games in database: 144
Years covered: 1913 to 1946
Overall record: +56 -43 =42 (54.6%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      3 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS

With the White pieces:

Ruy Lopez (9)
    C88 C87 C90 C97 C70
Queen's Gambit Declined (7)
    D37 D39 D38
Ruy Lopez, Closed (6)
    C88 C87 C90 C97 C84
Queen's Gambit Accepted (5)
    D27 D26 D28 D25
English (4)
    A15

With the Black pieces:

Ruy Lopez (12)
    C77 C84 C88 C68 C87
Queen's Pawn Game (8)
    A46 D02 A50
Ruy Lopez, Closed (7)
    C84 C88 C87 C86
Four Knights (6)
    C49 C48 C47
Orthodox Defense (5)
    D51 D53 D61 D52 D67
Sicilian (5)
    B40 B92 B22

Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Kupchik vs Bogoljubov, 1924 1-0
   Kupchik vs Kashdan, 1928 1-0

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Lake Hopatcong, 1923 (9th American Chess Congres by Phony Benoni

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ABRAHAM KUPCHIK
(born Mar-25-1892, died Nov-26-1970) Russia (citizen of United States of America)

[what is this?]

Abraham Kupchik was born in 1892 in Brest-Litovsk, Russia (now Belarus). His family emigrated to the USA in 1903. He won the Manhattan Championship ten times outright and once shared. He was 1st= with Frank James Marshall at Lake Hopatcong in 1923 and scored (+6, =8, -0) on third board for the US Olympiad team at Warsaw 1935. In 1925 he drew a match with Carlos Torre-Repetto (+1, =4, -1). He also finished 2nd behind Jose Raul Capablanca at Lake Hopatcong in 1926.

page 1 of 6; games 1-25 of 144

Game	Result	Moves	Year	Event/Locale	Opening
1. Kupchik vs Capablanca	0-1	60	1913	New York Rice	D25 Queen's Gambit Accepted
2. Janowski vs Kupchik	1-0	36	1913	Havana	D53 Queen's Gambit Declined
3. E Tennenwurzel vs Kupchik	½-½	46	1913	American National Chess Masters Tournament	C68 Ruy Lopez, Exchange
4. R Blanco Estera vs Kupchik	1-0	30	1913	Havana	C45 Scotch Game
5. Kupchik vs J Corzo	1-0	31	1913	Havana	D44 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
6. J Grommer vs Kupchik	0-1	56	1913	Rice Memorial	C26 Vienna
7. C Jaffe vs Kupchik	1-0	30	1913	American National Chess Masters Tournament	C49 Four Knights
8. C Jaffe vs Kupchik	0-1	61	1913	Havana	C77 Ruy Lopez
9. Marshall vs Kupchik	1-0	31	1913	Havana	C21 Center Game
10. Marshall vs Kupchik	1-0	26	1913	Masters Tournament	D43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
11. Kupchik vs N Whitaker	1-0	35	1913	American National Chess Masters Tournament	C22 Center Game
12. R T Black vs Kupchik	½-½	75	1913	New York Rice	C41 Philidor Defense
13. Kupchik vs O Chajes	1-0	48	1913	Havana	C88 Ruy Lopez
14. H Liebenstein vs Kupchik	0-1	48	1913	American National Chess Masters Tournament	B40 Sicilian
15. H Kline vs Kupchik	1-0	43	1913	American National Chess Masters Tournament	B40 Sicilian
16. J Corzo vs Kupchik	0-1	18	1913	Havana	C44 King's Pawn Game
17. Kupchik vs Marshall	½-½	62	1913	Havana	C49 Four Knights
18. F Beynon vs Kupchik	0-1	22	1913	New York Rice	C77 Ruy Lopez
19. Kupchik vs Capablanca	½-½	52	1913	Havana	C46 Three Knights
20. Capablanca vs Kupchik	1-0	37	1913	American National Chess Masters Tournament	C49 Four Knights
21. O Chajes vs Kupchik	1-0	44	1913	Havana	C47 Four Knights
22. Kupchik vs Janowski	½-½	62	1913	Havana	D26 Queen's Gambit Accepted
23. Kupchik vs A Marder	1-0	27	1913	New York Rice	D33 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
24. Kupchik vs R Blanco Estera	1-0	59	1913	Havana	A80 Dutch
25. Kupchik vs Duras	0-1	35	1913	?	D37 Queen's Gambit Declined


page 1 of 6; games 1-25 of 144

REFINE SEARCH: White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Kupchik wins | Kupchik loses

Dec-27-03		Resignation Trap: Abraham Kupchik was one of the best American chess players between the two world wars. He has been largely forgotten or ignored even by authors who have written books about the American chess scene during this era. To my way of thinking, this has been an injustice to the man, as well as to those who want to learn more about the big picture of chess in the USA. Abraham Kupchik was born on March 25, 1892 in what is now Brest, Belarus, but then was called Brest-Litovsk, Russia. His family emigrated to New York in 1903. When asked how many times he won the Manhattan Chess Club Championship, at the USSR-USA Radiomatch, he replied "fifteen or sixteen times." The first one being in 1914. He played in three international tournaments in 1913, two in New York, one in Havana. In Havana, his last-round draw with Capablanca kept the Cuban from tying with Marshall for first prize. At the Ninth American Chess Congress in 1923, Kupchik tied for first with Marshall, ahead of Janowski and Ed Lasker. In 1925, Kupchik played a Match with Carlos Torre to determine who was to join Marshall at Baden-Baden and Marienbad. The match was tied after six games when news came from the organizers of these tournaments: reservations were made only for Marshall and Torre. While Marshall and Torre playing in Europe, Kupchik had to content himself with winning the Western Open Championship (a precursor to the US Open) in Cedar Point, Ohio. In 1926, The Pan-American Tournament was held in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. Kupchik finished second to World Champion Capablanca, but ahead of Marshall, Ed Lasker and Maroczy. Kupchik was a substitute for Carlos Torre in this event, after the latter's mental faculties started to fail. At Bradley Beach, 1929, Kupchik tied for third-fourth with IS Turover, behind Alekhine and Lajos Steiner, again ahead of Marshall. At New York, 1931, Kupchik put in a respectable showing in this tournament won by Capablanca. In 1935, Kupchik was a member of the victorious US team at the Warsaw Olympiad, with 6 wins and 8 draws. Kupchik also scored respectable results in each of the three US Championship Tournaments (1936, 1938 and 1940).

Dec-27-03		Bitzovich: Thanx a lot Resignation Trap! I heard of this guy and was wondering who he really was.. Do u have the record of the strongest player Kupchik had defeated?

Dec-28-03		Bears092: let's see here... Kupchik vs Bogoljubov, 1924 Kupchik vs Carlos Torre, 1925 Kupchik vs Marshall, 1926 Marshall vs Kupchik, 1931 Kupchik vs Denker, 1936 Kupchik vs Fine, 1940

Jul-11-04		Joshka: <Resination Trap> Still going thru past posts, but thanks for all this Kupchik info!! Didn't realize all the times I frequented Cedar Point amusement park, that they had basically the USOpen there!!

Feb-21-05		whithergoes: Kupchik excelled in positions where he simply waited around and provoked his opponent into doing something rash--anything to disrupt the balance, but Kupchik was usually up to the task in turning the tables for himself.

Mar-20-05		Caissanist: He appears to have played no chess at all from 1916 to 1923. I wonder what happened--perhaps he got married or something.

Mar-20-05		Resignation Trap: Kupchik didn't always wait around during his games, here he finishes up a future Grandmaster by sacrificing both Rooks: Kupchik vs Kashdan, 1928 .

Mar-25-07		vonKrolock: Thanks for all data on Kupchik, <Resignation Trap>: I'm also recalling that some Chess author called him "The American Capablanca"...

Mar-25-07		Strongest Force: R.I.P. Abe, I remember those free lessons you gave me after school at the "flea house". Perhaps there will be an even better game we can play against each other in Heaven!

Oct-09-07		Peligroso Patzer: Some observations regarding Kupchik by Gabriel Velasco [at page 99 of "The Life and Games of Carlos Torre", translated by Taylor Kingston, Russell Enterprises, Inc. �2000]: "Kupchik stood barely five feet tall and weighed less than 115 pounds, and the assertiveness of his personality was in proportion to his size. Arnold Denker called him a 'timid, tiny whisper of a man' and a 'frightened little rabbit.' Nonetheless this diminutive introvert was one of the best players in America at the time (estimated Elo rating 2480), especially at speed chess; he once won a 10-seconds-per-move tournament over Capablanca. In keeping with his personality, his style was thoroughly defensive and non-aggressive; he would erect a staunch bulwark and invite his opponent to dash himself to bits against it (which many did)."

Mar-25-08		brankat: Quite unjustly forgotten, like so many other extraordinary players of his (and earlier) time. A very talented master. Similar in style to Capablanca and Petrosian!

Mar-25-09		brankat: R.I.P. master Kupchik.

Mar-25-09		WhiteRook48: why did he quit for 24 years?

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