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Graf-Stevenson 
 
Sonja Graf-Stevenson
Number of games in database: 104
Years covered: 1930 to 1955
Overall record: +27 -63 =14 (32.7%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Queen's Pawn Game (15) 
    D00 D02 A46 E00 A40
 Queen's Gambit Declined (5) 
    D30 D37 D39
 Nimzo Indian (4) 
    E21 E34 E33 E32
With the Black pieces:
 Queen's Gambit Declined (9) 
    D30 D37 D38
 Orthodox Defense (5) 
    D50 D63 D55 D51
 Queen's Pawn Game (4) 
    D02 D04 D00
 Ruy Lopez (4) 
    C83 C78 C84 C79
 Giuoco Piano (4) 
    C53 C50
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   J Dobias vs Graf-Stevenson, 1937 0-1

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SONJA GRAF-STEVENSON
(born Dec-16-1908, died Mar-06-1965) Germany

[what is this?]
Sonja Graf was born on the 16th of December 1908 in Munich, Germany. Awarded the WIM in 1950 she was Women's World Championship Challenger in 1937 and 1939. She lost to Vera Menchik (+1, =0, -3) in 1934 and also to problemist Heuaeker (+0, =0, -6). Vera Menchik was absent from the Semmering 1936 tournament and Graf took 1st place, but in 1937 Vera Menchik beat her (+9, =5, -2) at the same venue. After the Second World War she went to live in the USA and married Vernon Stevenson. In 1956, she won the California Women's Championship. She shared the US Women's title with Gisela Kahn Gresser in 1958-59 and was outright winner in 1964. She passed away in New York in 1965.

 page 1 of 5; games 1-25 of 104  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. Graf-Stevenson vs Menchik  0-140 1930 Ch World womenC77 Ruy Lopez
2. Graf-Stevenson vs Semmler  1-033 1932 MnichovD30 Queen's Gambit Declined
3. Graf-Stevenson vs Menchik  0-149 1934 WWCC MatchD30 Queen's Gambit Declined
4. Menchik vs Graf-Stevenson  0-130 1934 WWCC MatchD32 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
5. Menchik vs Graf-Stevenson  1-037 1935 Yarmouth ITA09 Reti Opening
6. Mieses vs Graf-Stevenson  1-022 1935 HastingsC26 Vienna
7. R Gerlecka vs Graf-Stevenson  ½-½51 1936 Semmering AUTC46 Three Knights
8. C Roodzant vs Graf-Stevenson  0-131 1936 Semmering AUTD30 Queen's Gambit Declined
9. Graf-Stevenson vs C Benini  1-052 1936 Semmering AUTD00 Queen's Pawn Game
10. Graf-Stevenson vs E Klein  1-061 1936 Major OpenD39 Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin, Vienna Variation
11. Menchik vs Graf-Stevenson  1-038 1937 wch mD37 Queen's Gambit Declined
12. Pelikan vs Graf-Stevenson  1-043 1937 PragueA02 Bird's Opening
13. Menchik vs Graf-Stevenson  1-028 1937 wch mA13 English
14. Hromadka vs Graf-Stevenson  1-029 1937 Prague (Czech Republic)C28 Vienna Game
15. Foltys vs Graf-Stevenson  1-043 1937 PragueC83 Ruy Lopez, Open
16. Graf-Stevenson vs Opocensky  0-146 1937 It, Prague (Czech Republic)E33 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
17. Eliskases vs Graf-Stevenson  1-020 1937 PragueA09 Reti Opening
18. Graf-Stevenson vs Menchik  0-143 1937 Stockholm wD02 Queen's Pawn Game
19. Graf-Stevenson vs F J Prokop  1-059 1937 PragueA40 Queen's Pawn Game
20. Graf-Stevenson vs P Trifunovic  0-132 1937 It, Prague (Czech Republic)E34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation
21. Menchik vs Graf-Stevenson  1-027 1937 wch mD00 Queen's Pawn Game
22. J Dobias vs Graf-Stevenson 0-151 1937 PragueA13 English
23. Graf-Stevenson vs E Zinner  0-139 1937 PragueA44 Old Benoni Defense
24. Menchik vs Graf-Stevenson 1-021 1937 SemeringD46 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
25. Graf-Stevenson vs Keres ½-½33 1937 Prague (Czech Republic)E00 Queen's Pawn Game
 page 1 of 5; games 1-25 of 104  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Graf-Stevenson wins | Graf-Stevenson loses  
 

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing >
Jan-01-05
Premium Chessgames Member
  tamar: <SBC> You're welcome! Por supuesto usted puede :-)

Jennifer Shahade, who is the true multi-lingual one, not me, had an article on Graf in the 2004 Anniversary Issue of New in Chess. Here is the Introductory Paragraph:

<She was a radiant woman who knew how to enjoy life. She travelled at a breakneck pace throughout the countries of Europe, partied til dawn, smoked, made friends easily and preferred to play against men. Though this description fits our current Woman's World Champion, Antoaneta Stefanova, the subject of this article is a German player from six decades ago. Sonja Graf (1914-1965). A woman ahead of her time, Sonja's chess career gave her confidence and freedom, allowing her to pursue a wild and original life.>

Shahade got material for the article from Michael Negele, who wrote the German article.

Jan-01-05   SBC: <tamar>
<Por supuesto usted puede :-)>

back to machine translation!
spanish - french:
"Naturellement vous pouvez"

merci!

SuperJen had sent me a note back in July, part of which (since it's applicable here) is as follows:

"Great job on your reports on Lisa Lane. I have written a section on her in my book on women in chess (coming out this winter) and chanced by your story when fact-checking some info on Sonja Graf. I also think that the history of American women's chess is rich and am glad you are exploring it on your web-page, which I will become a regular visitor to! Sincerely,
Jennifer Shahade"

This explains the Sanja Graf connection (I should have guessed it on my own!), and also gives everyone interested something to look forward to and something long overdue, a promised book on the history of Women's chess in the U.S.

I don't belong to the USCF, but a friend of mine scans copies of articles from Chess Life (shh..don't tell anyone) she thinks I might enjoy and emails them to me. I generally find the writing rather mediocre and the content rather bland for a printed medium. (I feel Chess Life could probably get super fine articles for free, or at little cost, from very talented writers, players and researchers who would do it for enjoyment alone, but they seem to be content with less for more). However, the better articles that I read from Chess Life were the contributions by Shahade. She may have even a bigger future in the journalism side of chess.

Mar-06-06   BIDMONFA: Sonja Graf-Stevenson

GRAF, Sonja
http://www.bidmonfa.com/graf_sonja....
_

Jul-20-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: A longer article on Sonja Graf in Spanish, incl some more pictures: http://www.tabladeflandes.com/frank...
Jul-20-07   Petrosianic: >>I generally find the writing rather mediocre and the content rather bland for a printed medium. (I feel Chess Life could probably get super fine articles for free, or at little cost, from very talented writers, players and researchers who would do it for enjoyment alone, but they seem to be content with less for more).>>

That's the way it is now, but it wasn't always that way. Under Burt Hochberg, it was a first class magazine. Any issue from those years that you can get your hands on is well worth reading.

Sep-24-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: Player of the Day

Here is a superb researched biographie about the 'bustling' Sonja Graf-Stevenson, a lot of details, some interesting trivia etc...

http://www.kwabc.org/Texte/SonjaGra... (19 pages, excellent documentation, in German)

Sep-24-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  twinlark: <Whiteshark> It'd be nice to have a a translation of this article...even my five years of high school (back in the 60s!) German can't make sense of this article.
Sep-24-07   FHBradley: Why so few games? There must be many more somewhere, right?
Sep-24-07   xrt999: only 51 when she passed away? sad...
Sep-24-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  Resignation Trap: <FHBradley> Many more games are available. Somebody should upload the ones from Hollywood 1952. She finished last, but was in good company: Svetozar Gligoric , Arturo Pomar-Salamanca , Herman Steiner , Arthur William Dake , Lionel Joyner , Isaac Kashdan , James Cross , Vladimir Pafnutieff and Ray Martin .

I had a chance to buy the tournament book on ebay, but some other *!#$%^! (did I spell that right?) kept outbidding me :( .

Sep-24-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: <Hollywood 1952> was her first tournament since Parana in January 1946 (and her marriage in 1947 and after the birth of her son Alexander Hadley Stevenson on January 04 1951).

She drew only this game:

[Event "Hollywood"]
[Date "1952.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Graf, S."]
[Black "Dake, A."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E12"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Bg5 Bb7 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Rc1 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 9. d5 c5 10. Qd3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Nxg3 12. hxg3 Qf6 13. Rd1 e5 14. Nd2 d6 15. Ne4 Qg6 16. g4 Bc8 17. Qf3 Ke7 18. Ng3 Nd7 19. Nf5+ Kd8 20. e4 Nf6 21. Be2 Bxf5 22. gxf5 g4 23. Qe3 Qg7 24. g3 Ke7 25. Kd2 h5 26. Rb1 Qf8 27. Kd3 Qe8 28. Bd1 Rb8 29. Rb2 Qd7 30. Qc1 Rb7 31. Bc2 Rg8 32. Bd1 Qc8 33. Qe3 Qb8 34. Bc2 Qc7 35. Kd2 Qd7 36. Qe2 Rgb8 37. Rhb1 Qc8 38. Bd3 Qh8 39. Rh1 Qe8 40. Ra1 Qh8 41. Rh1 Qe8 42. Ra1 Qh8 1/2-1/2

Sep-24-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  whiteshark: <twinlark>: Regret, but I had only 6 years English at school - late 70ties, and a bit learning on the job, so most you read here is a word by word writing with the help of my dictionary... :D

But here is a small compensation delivery http://www.physicsdaily.com/physics...

Sep-25-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  twinlark: Thanks <whiteshark>, that's a poignant article.
Jan-12-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Phony Benoni: <Resignation Trap> I'm working on the games from Hollywood 1952 at the moment.
Jan-13-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: A very interesting and colourful person, Mrs.Graff-Stevenson. Ahead of her time for sure.

Does anyone here know whether J.Shahade's book on "..women in Chess.." has been written and published?

Jan-13-08   nescio: <brankat: Does anyone here know whether J.Shahade's book on "..women in Chess.." has been written and published?>

You mean "Chess Bitch"?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/18...

Jan-13-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: <nescio> Yes, that's the one. Thank You.

Btw, I assume You are from The Netherlands. A very good friend of mine, <achieve> at this site, has a beautifully run Forum here. He is also Dutch, from Amsterdam. Perhaps You could visit his forum sometime.

Jan-13-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: <necio> I just had me the J.H.Donner quote translated :-)
Jan-13-08   nescio: <I just had me the J.H.Donner quote translated :-)>

I hope you realise it was all tongue-in-cheek? You may also try to translate Donner's comment about Gaprindasjvili I posted on the Jan Hein Donner page (August 1).

Jan-13-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  achieve: Goedendag heer <nescio>

I said Donner was just being Donner- which implies a big tongue-in-cheek factor.

I never met him though...

Jan-13-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  achieve: <brankat> The Donner quotation from the Donner-page is a very complimentary one, I could translate a few key sentences if you want...
Jan-13-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: <nescio> <achieve> Thanks guys. Of course Mr.Donner is only joking. BUT, in every joke there must be at least a bit of truth, otherwise they would not be funny :-)
Dec-16-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  Karpova: This game and some others will be submitted but since today is her birthday - her win over Menchik from their 1934 match:

[Event "Match"]
[Site "Rotterdam m"]
[White "Menchik, Vera"]
[Black "Graf-Stevenson, Sonja"]
[Date "1934.?.?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Round "1"]
[ECO "D40"]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.a3 Bd6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O b6 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.cxd5 exd5 11.dxc5 bxc5 12.Rd1 Ne5 13.Ba6 Nxf3+ 14.gxf3 Bxh2+ 15.Kxh2 Qd6+ 16.f4 Bxa6 17.Qf3 Bb7 18.Bd2 Qd7 19.Qh3 Qxh3+ 20.Kxh3 d4 21.exd4 cxd4 22.Nb5 d3 23.Be3 Rfd8 24.Nd4 Ba6 25.b4 Nd5 26.b5 Nxf4+ 27.Kg4 Ne2 28.Rxd3 Bxb5 29.Nxb5 Rxd3 30.Kf3 Nc3 0-1

Dec-16-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: <Karpova> Thank You. A nice win by Mrs.Graf-Stevenson.

Here is the link to an article about Sonja in "New Yorker", Sept, 1964.

http://www.physicsdaily.com/physics...

Dec-16-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  brankat: R.I.P. Mrs.Graf.
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