Chess Still Life, Palestine, 1930s

 

Source: here.

Our frequent correspondent, Herbert Halsegger, notifies us of the Jewish photographer, Herbert Sonnenfeld (1906-1972), who photographed many Jewish subjects in his career, ranging from Germany to Palestine to New York. Here is a still life of chess pieces, taken according to source in "Palestine, between 1933 to 1938," presumably the dates in which Sonnenfeld was in Palestine, after leaving Germany and before coming to New York. It is a rare case of chess as a subject of an artistic photograph during this time in Palestine. 

Smart but Ugly Jews

 

Richard Réti. Credit: wikipedia.

Edward Winter just noted, in CN #12212, that Réti’s obituary in the Evening Standard (all exact details in the link to Chess Notes) included describing him as "a very ugly man, but with very luminous eyes." Winter rightly describes decrying a player's looks as "bad form." 

I add that Winter's own article about Olga Capablanca Clark has her noting her husband's relationship with a Jewish friend in the following words: "Mr Fliegelman, we called him Fligu, was perhaps Capa’s most intimate friend, and probably Capa’s favorite one, for he was indeed completely devoted to Capa. Fligu was a typical Russian Jew, rather ungoodlooking but possessing tremendous charm, and it was impossible not to like him."

I suggest that in the case of both Réti and of Fliegelman, the authors were influenced, perhaps unconsciously, by the old stereotype about Jews being ugly and cunning, a stereotype that goes back to the Middle Ages. In both these cases, the stereotype appears in a mild form: the intelligence or charm of the Jewish person is seen, not as a sign of dishonestly, but rather as a compensation for their outward looks! 

This goes to show how deeply stereotypes can be embedded in society. Even when the intention is simply to describe or even compliment the Jewish person, and, if anything, to caution against judging a person by their outward looks, the stereotype of the "smart but ugly" Jews is to be found. 

Apparently, not that Important

Source: Davar, 14 October 1949, p. 8

When the Palestine Chess Federation officially became the Israel Chess Federation, this was noted in several papers - usually without much publicity, as noted here. A frequent correspondent also noted that another paper, Davar, published a similar notice - literally a one-sentence note, at the end of report about a chess tournament: "on Saturday the founding meeting of the Israel Chess Federation." It is surrounded by similar notices about, for example, a "friendly soccer match," the opening hours of medical clinics, etc. 

New Book:

Source: here.

Mr. Herbert Halsegger had notified us of a new book - about Jewish Chess Players from Germany by Ulrich Geilmann. Of special interest is that these players, as seen from the table of context, also include Porat! 

Jews in Sweden, 1945

Source: here.

Mr. Philip Jurgens had sent us the link to two photographs of Jewish refugees playing chess after the war. The second photo - obviously photographed in the same room with some of the same people - is here. Both are found in the digital collection of the Kalmar läns museum. 

Mr. Jurgens' translation of the text in the links tells us about the harrowing situation of the refugees who arrived in Kalmar:

The ship Prins Carl came to Kalmar three times in the summer of 1945 with prisoners from a British interim camp in Lübeck. The former prisoners, most of them Polish Jews and resistance fighters, were housed at Söderportskolan. Those who were deemed to have typhus or TB were accommodated at the Epidemic Hospital on Lindö. Since it was the most seriously ill who came to Kalmar - one woman weighed only 28 kg on arrival, two months after the end of the war - about fifty died. Two were dead on arrival in Kalmar, the rest died during their stay here. These are buried in two common graves. The Jews were laid to rest in the Jewish cemetery in Kalmar, while the Christians, mostly Polish resistance fighters, are buried in the Northern Cemetery. Most of those who survived the hospitalization left Sweden in 1946. Some went to the USA, some returned home. A few remained in Sweden. The dead are commemorated by memorial monuments; one in the Northern Cemetery, one in the Mosaic Cemetery. Some of the survivors have become involved in the fight against Nazism, spreading testimony about the atrocity.

Cosmonauts, Prisoners, and Chess

Source: Chess Life, vol. 19 no. 11, p. 281.

Another item from Mr. Herbert Halsegger, this time - cosmonauts and prisoners both play chess - not against each other, unfortunately - and the prisoners even win their match. 

Henry Wittenberg, from Chess to Swimming to Wrestling

Source: Southern Jewish Weekly, 25 August 1950, p. 6.

The above cutting - from here - was provided to us by Herbert Halsegger. It notes an interesting example of a Jewish sportsman, Henry Wittenberg, who started as a chess player... moved to swimming... and from there to wrestling. While Wittenberg's chess achievements don't seem to go beyond being an amateur player in high school (the text implies that he was not strong enough to make the team at city college, still less in a stronger field), it is interesting that he moved on to, of all sports, wrestling. In particular, he participated in the Maccabiah. 

Fischer not Playing in Tel Aviv, 1964

 

Source Chess Life, vol. 19 no. 9, p. 214

Our frequent correspondent, Herbert Halsegger, had recently sent us a significant number of interesting information relating to chess in Israel. One is above: a detailed discussion of Fischer's famous refusal to play in the Olympiad in 1964.  

Who Says there are no New Chess Clubs?

 

Above are two quick snapshots I made of a chess club which just opened as part of a new youth education center in Herzliya. It is on the second floor of the building, as the Hebrew sign notes, and the entrance also has a large, open-air chess board near the entrance. 

Does anybody ever have pieces of the correct size, or ever plays, on these "boards," or are they just there for decoration?