| Apr-10-12 | | jackpawn: Who was this Hoff guy? He won against some strong players. |
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Jul-25-12
 | | GrahamClayton: I did some google searches and could find no other references to any other games apart from the 1916 Western Championship in Chicago. I presume he was a Chicago player? |
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Jul-25-12
 | | Phony Benoni: I got his games from a report on the Western Championshp in the <American Chess Bulletin>, Sept./Oct. 1916. He was indeed from Chicago, but there was no other information. His one loss to Showalter is a strange game. Hard to tell if JWS was crazy or a genius. |
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Sep-04-15
 | | Tabanus: Very difficult, needs first name. Best candidate: Rolf Suckow Hoff (1892-1917), http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f... |
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Sep-04-15
 | | perfidious: Possibly the late poker legend Bobby Hoff, lol. |
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Apr-13-16
| | Tabanus: Chicago city directory 1915 has four R. Hoff (Roy, Raymond, and two Robert), but no Rolf or Ralph. The 1916 directory appears to list only businesses. The 1917 directory has three Robert, Rose, and Roy. AFAICS, in a hurry. |
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Apr-13-16
| | Tabanus: Chicago census 1910 has the family though: Johan H. Hoff 43, Lena M Hoff 41, <Rolf S> 17, Louis M 16. Overlooked by me before because it's been interpreted as "Johan H Koff" and "Roef S Koff". The parents are also in 1920 census. Now, did Rolf play chess? |
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Oct-23-16
| | Phony Benoni: <Tabanus? Just finished going through Harry Fowler Lee's reports o the1961 western tournament again. No clues as to Hoff's identity, except to describe his as <"...the Chicago youth">. At that time, this could have described somebody in their early 20s. |
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Oct-23-16
 | | MissScarlett: <PB>, did you see this? Biographer Bistro |
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Oct-23-16
| | Tabanus: Times-Picayune, 27 Aug 1916, p. 46: <R. S. Hoff, one of the younger members of the Chicago chess fraternity>. Philadelphia Inquirer, 29 Oct 1916, p. 4 has a game between Lasker and <R. S. Hoff>, and six other newspapers from autumn 1916: R. S. Hoff. None with Rolf, but it seems to me Rolf Suckow Hoff is only candidate. |
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Oct-23-16
| | Tabanus: WW1 record, dated 2 June 1917:
Rolf Suckow Hoff, 25, 301 Wesley Ave. Oak Park Ill., born May 7th 1892, natural-born [in] Milwaukee Wis., not employed, single, Caucasian, tall, medium built, dark blue eyes, light hair. And this, signed by ... Armbrister [?] (the registrar) and Johan H. Hoff (his father): "I know this party is disabled. Heart truble & is a bed now. Don't think will recover" Illinois Deaths has d. 31 Aug. 1917 in Oak Park, Ill., as a mechanical engineer with father J. Haakon Hoff from Norway and mother Lena M. Suekow from Wisconsin. |
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Oct-23-16
| | Tabanus: I find no Roy S Hoff, but there's a Roy Hoff in Chicago born 1897. Raymond Hoff seems to be Raymond Charles Hoff. Then a Robert Hoff b. 1877, and a Robert Hoff b. in Butke, Poland ca. 1891 who immigrated in 1905. He has no middle name in the papers. Then a Robert S. Hoff (Haff?) living in Frankfort, Franklin, Illinois, in 1920, 1930 and 1940, but not in 1910. |
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Oct-23-16
| | Tabanus: University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Yearbook of 1912, lists a US born <R. S. Hoff '14> as a member of the "Corda Fratres" Cosmopolitan Club. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corda... |
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Oct-23-16
| | Tabanus: And I find in U.S., School Catalogs, 1765-1935, Illinois, University of Illinois, 1916: <+Hoff Rolf S (ag '11) Mech 301 Wesley Av> (the + meaning he died) |
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Oct-23-16
| | Tabanus: And on page 308 of U.S., School Catalogs, 1765-1935, Illinois, University of Illinois, 1916: <Hoff Rolf Suckow (ag 1910-11) Mech 301 Wesley Av Oak Park Ill> |
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Oct-25-16
| | Phony Benoni: <Tabanus> thank you. This is above and beyond. The first mention I find of him, in connection with chess, is playing board 2 for the Y.M.C.A. team in March 1912. That would seem to make Roy Hoff, b. 1897, very unlikely. |
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Oct-25-16
| | Tabanus: I find the WW2 card of Robert Hoff:
"Robert - Hoff" (no middle name), 10538 Parkside, Chicago Ridge, mailing address Oak Lawn, born 6 Jan 1890 in "Butkey Russia Poland", employed at Gouse Lithograph Company. Signed Robert Hoff. Illinois, Federal Naturalization Records (1942) has the same Robert Hoff. He immigrated 1905, married 1912 in Chicago to Margaret, four children, incl. Robert b. 18 Sept 1916. Signed Robert Hoff. But then... I find the WW1 card of a Robert Schuyler Hoff Robert Schuyler Hoff, 30, Est Louis West Frankfort Ill, b. Nov. 8, 1887 in Frankfort Kentucky, employed at West Frankfort Lumber Co., married, one child. |
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Oct-25-16
| | Tabanus: I was sure of Rolf Suckow Hoff, but now it seems Robert Schuyler Hoff is a candidate too? |
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Oct-25-16
| | Tabanus: Forget about Robert Schuyler Hoff. His name is/was Robert Schuyler <Haff>, as seen from his signature (misinterpreted as Hoff by website), and HAFF on WW2 record, etc. So it's back to Rolf Suckow Hoff. I knew it had to be the son of a Norwegian. Unless the 1916 newspapers got it wrong (R. S. Haff?). |
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Oct-25-16
| | Tabanus: At http://flps.newberry.org/article/54... is a bio of his father, Johan Haakon Hoff (1867-1929). He apparently participated in building the first skyscraper. |
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Kibitzing
