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Fred Reinfeld
F Reinfeld 
Chess Review, February 1952, p. 41 

Number of games in database: 144
Years covered: 1924 to 1942
Overall record: +53 -43 =48 (53.5%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Orthodox Defense (12) 
    D63 D51 D55 D67 D62
 Ruy Lopez (8) 
    C83 C86 C73 C97 C78
 Slav (7) 
    D18 D11 D10 D13 D14
 Queen's Gambit Declined (5) 
    D30 D35 D37
 English, 1 c4 e5 (5) 
    A22 A20 A25 A27
 Queen's Indian (5) 
    E16 E17
With the Black pieces:
 English (6) 
    A13 A12 A10 A17
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (4) 
    C91 C84 C99
 English, 1 c4 e5 (4) 
    A25 A20 A28 A22
 Orthodox Defense (4) 
    D64 D63 D56
 Ruy Lopez (4) 
    C91 C99 C84
 Sicilian (4) 
    B20 B83 B70 B74
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   F Reinfeld vs J Battell, 1940 1-0
   F Reinfeld vs Denker, 1934 1-0
   F Reinfeld vs T Dunst, 1931 1-0
   O Ulvestad vs F Reinfeld, 1939 1/2-1/2
   F Reinfeld vs Reshevsky, 1932 1-0
   Reshevsky vs F Reinfeld, 1932 0-1
   F Reinfeld vs R Smirka, 1937 1-0
   F Reinfeld vs N Grossman, 1929 1-0
   F Reinfeld vs Fine, 1932 1-0
   F Reinfeld vs N Grossman, 1936 1-0

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Ventnor City (1941)
   Ventnor City (1939)
   Pasadena (1932)
   United States Championship (1938)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Ventnor City 1939 by Phony Benoni
   Ventnor City 1941 by Phony Benoni
   US Open 1932, Minneapolis = 33rd Western Champ. by Phony Benoni

GAMES ANNOTATED BY REINFELD: [what is this?]
   Tarrasch vs Marotti / Napoli / de Simone / del, 1914
   A Brinckmann vs G Kieninger, 1932
   Steinitz vs Lasker, 1895


Search Sacrifice Explorer for Fred Reinfeld
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FRED REINFELD
(born Jan-27-1910, died May-29-1964, 54 years old) United States of America

[what is this?]

Fred Reinfeld, born in New York, was an American master best known as a chess writer. He won the New York State Championship twice (Rome 1931 and Syracuse 1933) and played in several national-level tournaments, but gradually abandoned play for writing. He finished second at Ventnor City (1939) and Ventnor City (1941). He tied for 1st with Sidney Norman Bernstein in the 1942 Manhattan Chess Club championship.

He was ranked sixth in the country, with a rating of 2593, on the first rating list issued by the United States Chess Federation in 1950, after Reuben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky, Alexander Kevitz, Arthur Dake, and Albert Simonson. Chessmetrics ranks him as the 64th best player in the world in March and April 1943. During his playing career, he won tournament games against such eminent players as Reshevsky (twice), Fine, Frank Marshall, and Denker, and drew against world champion Alexander Alekhine.

Reinfeld was an editor for Chess Review. His first books from the 1930s were geared toward experienced players, but he soon discovered a knack for writing instructional books and compiling quiz collections that appealed to the novice and sold well enough for him to make a living.

Eventually Reinfeld wrote over 100 books on chess and other subjects, though many were repackaged versions of earlier works. However, they helped teach several generations of new players and remain popular today.

On May 29, 1964, Reinfeld died at the age of 54 in East Meadow, New York, reportedly from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. In 1996, he became the 26th person inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame, and the first inducted primarily for his writing.

Wikipedia article: Fred Reinfeld

Last updated: 2022-04-29 21:12:36

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 6; games 1-25 of 144  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. M Pimsler vs F Reinfeld 1-0401924Morris v. DeWitt Clinton MatchD30 Queen's Gambit Declined
2. F Reinfeld vs NN 1-0201925Casual gameC37 King's Gambit Accepted
3. W Frere vs F Reinfeld 0-1621926New YorkC51 Evans Gambit
4. L Shedlovsky vs F Reinfeld 1-0311926Dimock Tournament, 2nd sectionC51 Evans Gambit
5. F Reinfeld vs S L Thompson 1-0431927North American Championship - corrC29 Vienna Gambit
6. C Jaffe vs F Reinfeld 0-1501928New York, NY USAB83 Sicilian
7. O Tenner vs F Reinfeld  1-0331928Metropolitan LeagueC36 King's Gambit Accepted, Abbazia Defense
8. M L Hanauer vs F Reinfeld 1-0231928Marshall CC ChampionshipE18 Queen's Indian, Old Main line, 7.Nc3
9. F Reinfeld vs Marshall 1-0421929Dimock TournamentA20 English
10. F Reinfeld vs F K Perkins  0-1451929Dimock Thematic TournamentA27 English, Three Knights System
11. F Reinfeld vs J Narraway 1-0241929CorrespondenceC83 Ruy Lopez, Open
12. A S Kussman vs F Reinfeld  0-1271929NCF IntercollegiateC45 Scotch Game
13. F Reinfeld vs N Grossman 1-0231929NCF IntercollegiateB58 Sicilian
14. F Reinfeld vs R L Bornholz  1-0291929Marshall CC vs. Manhattan CCC78 Ruy Lopez
15. E Tholfsen vs F Reinfeld  1-0291929Dimock TournamentA20 English
16. E Tholfsen vs F Reinfeld 1-0741930Marshall Chess Club ChampionshipE10 Queen's Pawn Game
17. F Reinfeld vs Santasiere 1-0301930Marshall Chess Club ChampionshipD45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
18. R Smirka vs F Reinfeld  1-0411930Marshall Chess Club ChampionshipA04 Reti Opening
19. J McClure vs F Reinfeld 0-1551930CorrespondenceB20 Sicilian
20. F Reinfeld vs A Cass  0-1521930Marshall Chess Club ChampionshipB58 Sicilian
21. F Reinfeld vs Fine 1-0551930Rice Club Junior MastersC14 French, Classical
22. F Reinfeld vs Fine  0-1341930Marshall Chess Club-ch, PrelimC73 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense
23. F Reinfeld vs Fine  1-0361931Impromptu matchE23 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann
24. F Reinfeld vs T Dunst 1-0231931Marshall CC ChampionshipB00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening
25. N Grossman vs F Reinfeld 0-1261931New York State ChampionshipA08 King's Indian Attack
 page 1 of 6; games 1-25 of 144  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Reinfeld wins | Reinfeld loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 8 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Nov-07-07  pawnofdoom: "The Beginner's guide to Chess" written by him taught me how to play!
Dec-26-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  cu8sfan: Fred Reinfeld, 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate, Pos. 624, Black to move and checkmate:


click for larger view

Solution given by Reinfeld:
1... Qh5 2.Nd1 Qh3 3.Ne3 Ng4 4.Rfe1 Qxh2+5.Kf1 Qh1#

My question: Where's the mate after 2.h4?


click for larger view

Dec-26-07  RookFile: That seems strange, cu8sfan. Black could have played 1....Qf5 (or 1...Qe6) instead, and white can resign on the spot.

So, after 1....Qh5 2. h4, black can still play 2...Qf5 and now white plays 3. Kh2. Black plays..... 3...Ng4+ 4. Kg1 Ne5, and has white in a tremendous bind, that should win, but certainly the win will be much longer!

It's possible that ...Qh5 was a typo in the book - the intention was ...Qf5, and from there, everything would transpose to what Reinfeld gave.

Dec-26-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  cu8sfan: Yes, thank you, 1...Qf5 does look better as 2.h4 is no counter anymore. The book is in descriptive and the move is "Q-R4". Might be confused with "Q-B4"?

Still, after 1...Qf5 White can play 2.Qe3 and give the Queen for the Bishop. Yes, the white position will be hopeless but there is no mate and as the title of the book implies, <1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate>, all positions end in mate. At least that's been the case for 623 diagrams.

Dec-26-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  Phony Benoni: <cu8sfan> This appears to be the game: Zeissl vs Walthoffen, 1898. It indeed had the finish Reinfeld gave in his book.

I agree that 1...Qh5 2.h4 does allow White to play on, but 1...Qf5 or 1...Qe6 appear to be forced mates. After 2.Qe3 Qh3 3.Qxf3 exf3, the pawn is just as effective on f3 as the bishop was and White just has a few computer moves to delay things.

Dec-27-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  cu8sfan: <Phony Benoni> Thank you. How did you find the game? Do you have some sort of position search?
Dec-27-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  Phony Benoni: <cu8sfan> In this case it wasn't hard. That structure with Black having pawns on c6-d5-e4 and no f-pawn while White's bishop is locked out of play on b3 is seen often in the Schliemann and Latvian Gambits: Black plays ...f5, captures ...fxe4, and White misplays things afterward. I know this. I've been on the wrong side enough times.

It looked like a short game, so I searched Schliemanns under 20 moves and it was the second game.

Dec-30-07  BIDMONFA: Fred Reinfeld

REINFELD, Fred
http://www.bidmonfa.com/reinfeld_fr...
_

Dec-30-07  Infohunter: Over the years I acquired more of Reinfeld's books than I would care to try to enumerate here. That doesn't take into account his translations of, revisions of, and introductory notes to other works on chess.
Dec-30-07  timhortons: i got his book "great brilliancy prize games of the chess masters" for a dollar and fifty in a 2nd hand book store at downtown montreal..the book is in good order but its on old chess notation
Dec-30-07  patzer2: See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_R.... Reinfeld's books enjoyed a large readership among novice and club players. However, he was so prolific in producing chess books, he often didn't check sufficiently for mistakes. As a result, some of his books contain significant errors.

For example, in Reinfeld's "1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations," he begins with a selection of 108 problems on "pinning" tactics, where I found three errors within the first 27 problems. Problem 3 claims a win for White, when Black actually wins. Problem 26 has Black losing to a Knight Fork that can easily be avoided without an immediate win in sight for White. Problem 27 has Black immediately snatching a pawn and losing, when he can easily decline its capture with equality.

That being said, this book is still one of my favorites, especially since I've learned a bit by correcting or finding improvements on Reinfeld's solutions.

Dec-30-07  CapablancaFan: One of my favorite books from Reinfeld is "The Immortal Games Of Capablanca". http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Game... I have read this book at least 3 times and his annotations are wonderful. He picks about 104 of, in his opinion, Capa's greatest games, and walks you through the most critical points of every game and explains the idea behind pivitol moves. Although his book is not as hailed as Golembek's book on Capablanca, it's about 2 times cheaper than Golembek's. Only about $9 brand new, but I bought mine used for $3, a great value!
Dec-30-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  playground player: My first chess book was Reinfeld's "Chess in a Nutshell," copyright 1958. I have it right in front of my as I write this, the 1962 paperback edition, Pocket Books (a Permabook)--35 cents! This little book taught my whole family how to play, and I still refer to it now and again, 46 years later. Not a bad investment, eh?
Dec-31-07  zooter: <pawnofdoom: "The Beginner's guide to Chess" written by him taught me how to play!>

Absolutely fantastic book which i got from my parent's hoe on a visit this time to add to my collection of chess books...

Mar-26-08  Knight13: I've gone over Reinfeld's "The Complete Chess Player" book and he puts in a lot of unnecessary exclamation marks on moves that don't require it!
Mar-31-08  Knight13: This guy also said one of my favorite quotes ever. Instead of "Practice Makes Perfect" he said "Practice may not make you perfect, but it does help!"
Mar-31-08  norami: In addition to all his chess books, Reinfeld wrote numerous books about coin collecting, some about checkers and some about stamp collecting. What a nerd!
Aug-30-08  whiteshark: Quote of the Day

" After we have paid our dutiful respects to such frigid virtues as calculation, foresight, self-control and the like, we always come back to the thought that speculative attack is the lifeblood of chess. "

-- Fred Reinfeld

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? ...the amateurs mind :D

Aug-30-08  DoctorD: Pazzed Paun said:

"I think Reinfeld was at that time the only published chess writer who could read German and he got a lot of his notes from that."

You must be kidding. Do an inventory of American chess writers at the time... some of whom *came* from German-speaking countries....

Dec-23-08  YoungEd: Reinfeld not only had a knack for explaining games in a way that C and B players could understand, but he also was a deft writer. I enjoy, for example, his short intro pieces to each game in his Nimzovich the Hypermodern book. His books remain some of my favorites.
Jan-24-09  WhiteRook48: I once read a book written by Reinfeld. It gives the brilliant game (converted to notation) 1. d4 (some move) 2. Bg5 h6 3. Bh4 g5 4. Bg3 f5 5. (some move) f4 "In the determination to trap the ♗ Black forgets he's endangering the ♔ 6. e3! h5 7. Bd3! Rh6? 8. Qxh5+! Rxh5 9. Bg6#
Jan-29-09  jerseybob: The Reinfeld book I loved as a newbie was "How to play Chess like a Master". Might've been my first chess book and I've still got it.
Feb-09-09  Banoboy: I learned the rules of chess from Reinfeld's book, "Chess in a Nutshell."
Feb-09-09  pazzed paun: <DOCTOR D> not kidding.... name one published chess author living in U.S. that read German---Steinitz? Tartover? KMOCH? all either dead or not living in U.S. at the time Reinfeld was writingin the 1930's.
Mar-21-09  Mate Hunter: Great annotations by Fred Reinfeld. Especially in this game:

Steinitz vs Lasker, 1895

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