Najdorf's Pocket Chess Set

Photo Credit: A. P. ; courtesy of Beit Ha'Sachmat, Tel Aviv.

As the Hebrew text in the picture says, the above leather mobile chess set had been given by Miguel Najdorf to Eliezer Pe'er in 1961, presumably during Najdorf's visit to Israel. It now hangs in Beit Ha'Sachmat (the "Chess House") the Israeli Chess Federation's headquarters in 26 Tagor St., Tel Aviv. (Link in Hebrew).

Naturally, the position on the board is the opening position of the Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation (5. ... a6).

...but APART from THAT, Mr. Jungreisz, how was the chess tournament?

The above is a short article by Zvi Bar-Shira about Nathan Jungreisz's 75th birthday, praising him as the man 'justly identified for over a generation with the Kibbutzim's chess -- as player, organizer, and arbiter'. The article adds:

A few years ago -- in the middle of the traditional Natanya tournament -- his wife passed away. She was the mother of his four children, and, like him, a founding member of kibbutz Ha'Ogen. Despite his deep sorrow -- Nathan didn't relinquish the direction of the tournament, and continued to make the 'Swiss pairings', considered the subject the international arbiter had specialized in, by remote control.

'Remote control' here means, presumably, by phone from home. And they say chess players have odd priorities.

Dubai and Israel -- in Chess

This is by no means a political blog, but it is worth noting that Dubai being up against Israel in the international arena is nothing new. FIDE, despite FIDE's official claim that Gens Una Sumus, had allowed Dubai in 1986 to host the Olympiad, despite the exclusion of Israel.

The history of this event -- how it happened, what Israel tried to do to stop it, what repercussions it had both to FIDE and to the Israeli Chess Federation, how the debacle was used for internal political fights, etc. -- is interesting, and the ICF's archives tell the tale. For starters, see above (from Eliyahu Fasher's archives) the official letter of protest from the ICF to FIDE. It speaks for itself.

(Click on the picture for a higher-resolution version).

Chess and Stamps, part VI

In the same letters noted in the previous post, Mandelbaum writes to Persitz that he made sure the envelope (see picture in the previous post) of one of the letters has the stamp from the Olympiad:

My friend, I take the opportunity (as you will see on the cover) to send you the only chess Olympiad stamp (more weren't issued), with a day-of-issue cancellation stamp, on the Olympiad's envelope.

As can be seen in the picture of the envelope in the previous post, the Olympiad stamp is the black-and-white one in the top right, the Olympiad's symbol is printed on the bottom left, and it features two day-of-issue special 'chess Olympiad' cancellation stamps (gray, with a rook-and-knight logo).

Chess players love their stamps!

A Letter to Persitz, 1952

Cover of a letter from E. A. Mandelbaum to Rafi Persitz from the 1952 Olympiad

In the 1952 Olympiad, Mandelbaum had written interesting letters to Persitz in Tel Aviv, describing his experiences. He writes after the second letter noting that 'the Russians were very surprised from the quality of our game' despite the fact the final result 'might not look good on the cross-table'.

The most interesting part of the letters is Mandelbaum's description of the local scene -- the other teams and, especially, the other Jews, whether in the teams or in the local Jewish community:

And now a few chizbatim [gossip, tall tales -- A.P.]: the Finns arranged everything in an exemplary manner, including special food tickets for the players. The teams are extremely varied -- Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks. Our team made a good impression with the goyim [gentiles, non-Jews - A.P.]. The people here are very different: the Argentineans with their elegant uniform, the Russians in their composed, elegant clothes... we learned that six of the seven Americans (including the captain) are Jews. Reshevsky remained observant and proud... We made many new friends among the players.

Our local brethren [Finnish Jews - A.P.] are very excited and follow us with great interest. They welcomed us with their cars and try to make our time pleasurable. We feel great in their homes. This is one of the greatest events of their lives... they will tell it from father to son to grandson.

Mandelbaum notes the following about Ossip Bernstein, who visited the Olypiad:

You will be glad to hear that Dr. Bernstein was here and was received with great honors. His mere presence is a very pleasant surprise for us. A nice man, full of wisdom, who loves Jews... even knows some Talmud and Hebrew... We have many interesting conversations with him. Despite his age, he is young and light in his spirit. He has many acquaintances in Israel... everybody respects him. He is, after all, the last Mohican... He seems an important reason for the special treatment we are getting.

Thanks to Hadi Or and Yoram Lublianiker for the letter.

P.S.

Rafael and Refael are variants transliterations of Persitz's first name. Rafi, Raffi, Raffie, etc., are variants of the contraction of his first name, that is used in day-to-day conversation (like 'Will' for 'William').

P.S.S.

Once more I can't seem to get the font sizes right in blogger. My apologies.

Smyslov Simul, 1964

Source: see below.

The following picture hangs in the Rishon Le'Tziyon chess club. It is Vassily Smyslov giving a simultaneous display in the club during the 1964 Tel Aviv Olympiad (above). The caption says, 'An unforgettable evening of a simul with ex-world champion Smyslov, 1964'.

The web site notes there were 44 players (+37 -2 =5), and gives the names of those who won or drew. The web site adds that 'the building was full to capacity, and the curious climb on the window sills to observe' the display from outside.

Hard to imagine something like this happening nowadays -- in Israel or elsewhere.

Mooooooooooooooo!

FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, a leading light in the field of agricultural research. (Photo from wikipedia).

This has nothing to do with Jews, but, looking at chess history, one sees that FIDE used to be a serious body. To show the depths to which FIDE had fallen, I reproduce the following item from its official web site, verbatim.

On December 25, FIDE President, Head of Republic of Kalmykia Kirsan Ilyumzhinov took part in a solemn ceremony of prizegiving in the field of science and technology of the Government of Russian Federation. Among the prizewinners - Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Head of Republic of Kalmykia awarded to the prize as the head of the creative team which developed and implemented sustainable production system of obtaining beef through Russian breeds of beef cattle.

Together with the Head of Kalmykia the Prize of the Government of Russian Federation awarded to other members of the creative team: Candidate of Veterinary Sciences, General Director of the open corporation "Plant Breeding of A. Chapchaeva" Ivan Erendzhenov, doctor of agricultural sciences, professor, pro-rector of the state educational institution of higher vocational education "Kalmyk State University" Anatoly Arilov, academician of Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Deputy Director of the state scientific institution "All-Russia Research Institute of Animal Russia Academy of Agricultural Sciences" Nikolai Strekozov etc.

As Edward Winter said, 'How anybody, or any body, can write in such a way is beyond comprehension'.

Rubinstein in Palestine and Israel

Akiba Rubinstein, ca. 1908. Source: Wikipedia commons.

Akiba Rubinstein's involvement with chess in Palestine has been quite intensive. The very first game printed in the very first chess column ever to come out in Palestine -- in, of all places, the Palestine News, which, as its masthead declares, was 'The weekly newspaper of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force of the British army in occupied enemy territory', published 'at G.H.Q. [General Headquarters - A.P.], First Echelon, Palestine' -- was (on May 7th, 1918) Rubinstein’s “polish immortal” game against Rotlewi in Łódź, 1907, annotated by Edward Lasker. There is no need to repeat it here.

Five years later, in September 1923, the Lasker chess club in Jersualem scored another first: the publication of Ha’shachmat, Yarchon Lehovevey Ha’shach Be’eretz-israel U’be’hutz-La’aretz [Chess: A Monthly for Chess Enthusiasts in Palestine and Abroad], 'published by the Jerusalem chess club "Emanuel Lasker"'. It adds on the first issue’s first page that 'great Jewish masters abroad promised their regular contribution'. The magazine's hopes were dashed -- only four (or three, the first being a double issue) issues appeared, in Sept. 1923 (Vol. 1 No. 1-2), June 1924 (Vol. 1 No. 3) and Sept. 1924 (Vol. 1 No. 4). However, Rubinstein -- one of the masters who promised to contribute -- had published 'Al Dvar Ha’tchalat Ha’partia' [About the Opening] in Ha’shachmat, Vol. 1 No. 3 (June 1924), p. 34.

The article itself is very basic: Rubinstein advises to control the center, to emphasize development over material, and so on. It is so basic, in fact, that the editors add the note that 'this material is probably well known to many of our readers, but beginners will find it very useful'—a rather dubious claim for a one-page article containing not a single opening or variation but only general principles, including some ('we must not hesitate to sacrifice if only we can interfere with the opponent’s regular development') that are bound to be misapplied by beginners.

In addition, the Rubinstein chess club, founded in the 1920s, was of course named in his honor. (The two other most famous clubs in Israel or Palestine were also named after Jewish chess masters -- the Reti club and the Emanuel Lasker club.)

Nevertheless, it is both the very first article written especially for a Palestinian chess magazine (or chess column) by any leading master, and also the very first article written by a leading master for such a magazine in Hebrew. The editors emphasize that the article is not a translation, but that it is presented 'as originally written' by Rubinstein in his (excellent, if ‘old-fashioned’) Hebrew, a legacy of his early religious education.

Adds Moshe Czerniak in his book, Toldot Ha'sachmat Me'Reshito ve'ad Yameyni [The History of Chess from its Beginning to Our Day] (Mizrachi Books, Printed by Mofet Press:Tel Aviv, 1963), p. 57:

When Rubinstein was asked to contribute a few words to the publication, he was told that, to make things easier for him, he can write in any language he wants. Rubinstein replied, innocently: 'And what makes you think I can't write in Hebrew?'.

In the last issue of Ha'shachmat (Vol. 1 no. 4, p.65) the editor, Aryeh Leob Mohilever, notes further successes in corralling foreign masters to contribute: five more original problems were received from Speiser, (making a total of 13); Rubinstein is sending a follow-up article, 'On the Middlegame'; and Mieses will send an unspecified 'chess contribution'. Unfortunately, due to the magazine folding, none of these appeared.

The next step was Rubinstein appearing 'in the flesh'. In April-May 1931, Rubinstein visited Palestine and 'gave simultaneous displays' (Czerniak, Ibid.). Both Czerniak and Eliyahu Fasher, in Shachmet le'Hana'atcha [Chess for your Enjoyment] (2nd ed., Cabri 1980, p. 178) claim the visit was in 1929 or in 'the late 20s', respectively, probably by mistake. Fasher adds (Ibid) that it was the excitement over Rubinstein's arrival that got him interested in chess in the first place!

A photograph of Rubinstein playing with Haim Nachman Biyalik, the famous poet, in the 24/5/1931 simultaneous display in Tel Aviv here, and two games are here and here. Note that I have found the original publication the second game (a loss by Rubinstein), added the original punctuations and annotations, and corrected some mistakes in the game score.

In an additional report, Davar, on Friday,24/4/31, said (Bolding of first line is sic, my comments in brackets. Spelling of names -- except Rubinstein's, of course -- is phonetic):

Haifa [Mandatory Palestine]. Akiba Rubinstein's Simultaneous Display. On Wednesday night [22/4/31] the simultaneous display of chess master Akiba Rubinstein was conducted in the Technion's hall against 61 51 [corrected 30/6/2012] opponents. Mr. G. Levin addressed the guest in the name of the community's governing committee. The game lasted from 9 P.M. to 5:30 A.M. Results: five won, eight drew. The winners: the brothers Ne'eman from Bat-Galim (14 and 18 years old), Seprizer, Weil, and Aharoni (from Zichron Ya'akov).

I am not aware of any other simultaneous display that took place in such odd hours, nor of a two-brother 'team' both winning in a simultaneous display against a leading master. It is indicative of the popularity of chess at the time that this report was printed, not in the chess column, but in the regular 'current events' section..

More games -- or a complete list of Rubinstein's simultaneous displays -- would be very welcome.

A Nice Two-Mover

2X Yechezkel Hillel Alumot
Palestine Post & Al Hamishmar Two-mover Tourney, 1.9.45-1.4.46
First Prize

To illustrate the advancement in the field of chess problems in Israel and Palestine since its beginnings in the late 1920s, the following problem will do well. As the judges said:

In a light and accurate construction the composer manages to combine two self-blocks, three interferences, and a nice key move that allows a cross-check.

To add to this, this was done by a composer who lived in a small kibbutz, Alumot, near the sea of the Galilee -- far from any chess club -- in the lean years of WWII, which had just ended. For the solution, highlight the text below.

Source: Eliyahu Fasher's Ha'Problemai ha'Israeli: Yesodot ha'kompozitzia ha'sachmeta'it [The Israeli Problemist: The Basics of Chess Composition]. Tel Aviv: Mofet Press, 1964, pp. 44-45.

P.S. The font size is driving me insane again... sorry.

Solution: 1. Qe7!