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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 11 OF 65 ·  Later Kibitzing> Nov-26-05    neveramaster: Happy Birthday, Mr. Reshevsky. Though you never reached the pinnacle like Morphy or Fischer, your longevity and accomplishments are unmatched by any other American player. Dec-10-05    WTHarvey: Here are some puzzles from Sammy's early games: http://www.wtharvey.com/resh.html Jan-23-06    RookFile: Today's quote of the day: "For a period of ten years--between 1946 and 1956--Reshevsky was probably the best chessplayer in the world. I feel sure that had he played a match with Botvinnik during that time he would have won and been World Champion. " --- Fischer Feb-03-06    WannaBe: If this already has been discussed, just let me know where/page to find it. Why did Fischer and Reshevsky not get along? Did they ever got along? Thanks in adv. Feb-03-06    Caissanist: Well, there seem to have been very few people who *either* Fischer or Reshevsky got along with for any extended period of time, so it would have been a miracle if those two had been buddies. If you wanted to name one particular cause, though, probably it would be the way their 1961 match ended, with Fischer walking out because of what he perceived to be special favors given to Reshevsky. Fischer did not let his personal feelings toward the man bias his judgment of Reshevsky as a chess player, however. One of his great strengths in his prime was an extraordinary objectivity about everything that happened on the chessboard. Feb-03-06    WannaBe: <Caissanist> Thank you for the answer. :-) Currently I am at the Sousse tournament segment of the book "Russians vs Fischer". And as an interesting trivia/tidbit, the tournament organizers had to modify schedule to suit Fischer and Reshevsky. Fischer is (still?) 7th day adv. and Reshevsky is Judaism. For a while I thought Fischer didn't like Reshevsky because of religion reason! Feb-25-06    Caissanist: Shortly after the Reshevsky match Fischer became a member of an offshoot of an offshoot of the Adventists called The Worldwide Church of God. He hasn't had any public association with them for over twenty years, however, and the denomination more or less disintegrated in the nineties. Mar-19-06    macce: I think Reshevsky was one of the greatest. Mar-19-06    ughaibu: Wasn't he one of the smallest? Mar-19-06    macce: I mean, one of the most talented players of known time?! Mar-27-06    Whitehat1963: <Over the course of a long international career that continued until he was well over sixty years old, he qualified for the Candidates five times, won the U.S. Championship on six occasions (first time in 1936; last time in 1971)and played a record eleven World Champions ranging from Emanuel Lasker to Anatoli Karpov.> Does anyone know who Reshevsky considered the best player he ever played? Mar-27-06    Father Karras: This Reshevsky is over-rated. All this talk about him being the better than Botvinnik... if he was better he would have performed better in 1948 (or even in 1938), not chickened out of the world championship cycle in 1950, done better in 1953 Candidates, or at least have better track records against Botvinnik, Smyslov or Keres. His wins in the US championships were against weak players - if he'd played in a Soviet Championship he'd have been crushed by the talent he faced. Apr-23-06    Silman: Reshevsky is most definitely under-rated by most chess minnows like ourselves. Fischer rated him in his top ten. Keres deliberately lost to Botvinnik in 1948 to prevent Reshevsky being World Champion. The leading Soviets then rigged Zurich 1953 and Curacao 1962. Reshevsky would've whooped any Soviet in a match up until his 1961 match with Fischer. Likewise Fischer would've whooped any Soviet in a match from anytime after his 1961 match with Reshevsky. In Candidates tournaments the Soviets feared Reshevsky and Fischer so much that the Soviets couldn't risk/wouldn't allow Reshevsky or Fischer to compete on a level playing field. Please don't quote players plus & minus scores in response...if you do you miss the point about it not being a level playing field. There is an interesting discussion about this, currently on the Tigran Petrosian page. Hopefully fans of Reshevsky & Fischer will back me there against the fans of the corrupt Soviet School of Chess! Apr-24-06    whatthefat: <Silman: Hopefully fans of Reshevsky & Fischer will back me there against the fans of the corrupt Soviet School of Chess!> I'd prefer 'fans of objectivity', please. Apr-24-06    keypusher: <Silman> Silly troll. With "fans" like you, Reshevsky and Fischer hardly need detractors. Apr-24-06    TylerD: I put more faith in Father Karras words, that this guy was (is) over-rated, rather than Silman´s claiming the opposite. A fighter, and all that, sure, but never truly great... Far behind such players as Petrosjan, Tal, Spasskij, Botvinnik, Bronstein, Boleslavskyl, Fischer, Keres, etc. Apr-24-06    paladin at large: <Whitehat1963> <Does anyone know who Reshevsky considered the best player he ever played?> I recall that on another thread ca. six-eight months ago, someone said they attended a group interview with Reshevsky in NYC shortly before he died. Reshevsky was asked this question and he responded: Capablanca. Apr-24-06    whatthefat: <TylerD> There were certainly a number of periods in Reshevsky's career where he could be considered among the top few players in the world. I think that should be acknowledged. But to claim he could easily have "whooped" any player in the world up to 1961, well... <Silman> is a case in point. Apr-24-06    Gypsy: Chessmetrics Player Profile: <Samuel Reshevsky> (*1911) Best World Rank: #1 (14 different months between the December 1942 rating list and the October 1953 rating list) Highest Rating: 2785 on the October 1953 rating list, #1 in world, age 41y11m Best Individual Performance: 2807 in Najdorf-Reshevsky I (Mex/NY/Salvador), 1952, scoring 11/18 (61%) vs 2750-rated opposition Apr-25-06    TylerD: "Highest Rating: 2785" ...Just shows the insignificance of such historical "ratings"... Apr-25-06    Sneaky: Why do you say that? His peak "Sonas rating" is lower than Najdorf and Karpov, but higher than Spassky and Svidler. It's about equal to Paul Keres. To me that sounds about right. Apr-26-06    Silman: <Tyler D> I put more faith in the words of Fischer in relation to Reshevsky than Father Karras lol ...please see the post by Rookfile dated Jan 23rd. For Fischer to say Reshevsky would've beaten Botvinnik...well that guys better qualified than us minnows to speak on the matter. Apr-27-06    whatthefat: Good to see 'proof by quote' is still rampant here.... Apr-27-06    keypusher: Fischer also said that Lasker was a "coffee-house player" and that all the moves in the Karpov-Kasparov matches -- not just the results or the games, but the individual moves -- were "prearranged." You could fill a book with the stupid things Fischer has said about chess, to say nothing of other subjects. <Silman> do yourself a favor and play through the games in the 1948 match-tournament or the Zurich 1953 Candidates tournament. You'll quickly realize that Reshevsky was not the best player at either event. Apr-27-06    plang: "Keres deliberately lost to Botvinnik in 1948 to prevent Reshevsky being World Champion." You could at least have the decency to add "Many people think". The "eveidence is not that clear cut and I, for one, am unconvinced. Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 65) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 11 OF 65 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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