Mona Karff -- Update

Source: Davar, 27/5/1938, p. 4

We have previously posted that Mona May Karff had been the first Palestinian World Chess Champion. Originally we noted that there was no notice of her achievements in the Jewish press, perhaps because she saw Palestine as a "stepping stone" to the USA and never was a "real" zionist.

It turns out this is not quite true: as noted above, when she won the USA women's championship (9.5/10!) this was noted in the Jewish press, which notes her play was praised, and her photo given, 'in all the American papers' (presumably, this last claim was not intended literally).

What is interesting is that the Palestinian part of her career and life is emphasized and all else is not. Her success in the 'Stockholm Olympiad' (actually the women's world championship held concurrently with the Olympiad) is mentioned, presumably because she represented Palestine (that time the Palestinian team did not participate), and spends considerable space on the Palestinian part of her biography.

For example, her birthplace (Bessarabia) isn't mentioned, but only that 'She emigrated to Palestine with her parents when very young'. It is also mention that 'after learning Hebrew [she] joined the Kfar Giladi kibbutz.' She is also describe in the first sentence of the article as being 'from Tel Aviv', and only in the very last as now being 'a resident of Boston'.

It is not wise to hang too much on the wording of a newspaper paragraph, but it is typical, in our view, of the explicitly zionist bent of the newspaper reporting in Palestine at the time, in particular Marmorosh's column.

Books and Magazines

Above we see two ways in which Marmorosh's chess column in Davar became a de facto clearing house for all matters concerning chess in Palestine. In the mid to late 30s, apparently a drip of foreign chess publications began to reach Palestine, and Marmorosh was the go-between. In both the above, typical, extracts from his column from the late 30s, we see this.

The first -- brought to our attention by our correspondent Moshe Roytman -- is from April 15th, 1938. It advertises two books (Championship Chess by P. J. Sergeant and Max Euwe by Hans Kmoch), and adds (the last paragraph) that 'large publishers now often send their books to the chess department's management [i.e., Marmorosh himself -- A. P.] for it to advertise. Some publishers noted their willingness to give a discount to those who order from Palestine'. This surely make economic sense -- publishers giving discounts to enter a new market, once they discovered it exists.

We note that the same occurred with magazines. The bottom selection, from Nov. 26th, 1937, notes that one can buy copies of the British magazine Chess at the 'newspaper kiosk next to Davar, and that those who wish to buy a subscription to 'immediatelly contact the chess department's management'.

Book Covers Redux

Photo by A. P. Book available here. 

Chess book covers are very common in books dealing with strategy, diplomacy, and the like. Here is one example.

Sicilian Defense, Bus Driver Variation

A Sicilian Bus. Image credit here.

This sort of thing can happen only in Israel. I was on a bus and -- all of a sudden -- the bus takes an unexpected turn, goes to a distant roundabout, and comes back to the main road. The following conversation ensued:

Me: Why did you do that for?
Driver: Do you play chess?
Me (puzzled): Er, yes...
Driver: Do you know the Sicilian?
Me (?!?!): Why, yes...
Driver: I did the same thing!
Me: What do you mean?
Driver: Remember the long line in front of the red light in the intersection? I attacked it from the side and outflanked it!
Me: Er... OK...

Quick Note About Akiba Rubinstein's D.O.B.

Akiba Rubinstein. Credit: www.chessgames.com web site. 

It is often reported, for example by the well-known (and highly reliable) Jeremy Gaige, that Rubinstein's date of birth was 1882 (Oct. 12th, 1882, to be exact, according to Gaige's Chess Personalia). Yet his tombstone says Dec. 1st, 1880, as noted for example in this blog. Which date is correct?

Turns out that the 1/12/1880 date it correct, as proven conclusively by the Ken Whyld Foundation and Association only last month. The entire story, with (of course) the appropriate credit to all involved in the research, is found at the link.

I am not certain where the origin of Rubinstein's alleged "1882" date came from. Michael Negele -- as the wonders if this was due to Rubinstein making himself younger than he was on official documents to escape, or defer, military service. Such "tricks" were quite common among Eastern European Jews at the time, but so far I am not aware of specific proof.

Avraham Shlonsky and Chess

Wall mural at the Rabin Center. Original photograph by Boris Carmi. Source for original photograph data: 'Drinking Coffee In Hebrew: the Place of Cultural Coffee Houses in Tel Aviv's Cultural Scene.' Zohar Shavit, Ariel no. 189 (2011): 178-191.  

Shlonsky and Binyamin Galai (the author), in Kasit, 1950. Source: Yad Ben Zvi

In the "small Tel Aviv" from the 1920s to the 1960s, one of the most famous avid chess players was the poet Avraham Shlonsky. He is seen above playing with other notable artists in Kasit -- a famous Tel Aviv coffee house which was a second home to most artists in Israel / Mandatory Palestine up until the 1960s (or at least those who set the cultural tone). 

In the top picture, we see him playing in Kasit in 1947. l. to r.: Shlonsky, Shmuel Rodensky (actor, link in Hebrew), Avraham Naton (painter), Bezalel London (actor, link in Hebrew). In the bottom picture, as stated, we see him playing in the same coffee house with Binyamin Galai, the author. 

It is hard to tell from the position how strong, or weak, a player Shlonsky was; at any rate he was never a member of the Israeli Chess Federation (nor were any of the other artists pictured). This, of course, says little one way or another about his playing strength. 

But whether he was a strong or weak player, one of chess' attractions is that there is little correspondence between love of chess and playing strength, and a weak player can enjoy playing just as much as a strong one.   

Richard Selig Reti

Richard Reti. Credit: Wikipedia.

In a serendipitous find, an acquaintance, Alon Schab, researching his own ancestry, had stumbled upon Reti's birth record. The exact details are found in Edward Winter's Chess Notes no. 8629, with a complete photograph of the birth certificate and credits.

As noted there, it turns out that while his "gentile" name was Richard, his "Jewish" name was Selig (זעליק), as the birth certificate clearly shows. Incidentally, Schab, a musicologist, reminds us that Richard Reti's older brother, Rudolf Reti, was as talented in his field, music, as Richard was in chess.

P.S.

Yes, Richard Reti's name (though not his brother's, according to Wikipedia at least) is spelled with an accent on the "e", but I have no idea how to make "Blogger" type such a character... or rather it requires, apparently, all kinds of html code tinkering which, from experience, I never manage to get quite right.

Who? (Solution)

Edward Lasker. Source: Shachmat 16(1) (Jan. 1977), back cover.

The man in this photograph is no less than Edward Lasker (1885-1981), who was photographed when he visited the Chess Olympiad in Haifa, 1976. It surely is one of the last photographs of this old master. 

Kniazer's Dates

Yisrael Yosef Kniazer. Source: E. A. Mandelbaum & R. Persitz,  Yi'srael Be'Olympiadot: Helsinki - Amsterdam - Moskva - Skirat Ptichot U'Mivchar Siyumim [Israel at the Chess Olympiades [sic], Helsinki - Amsterdam - Moscow - A Review of the Openings and Selected Endings. Tel Aviv: Yeduha Marcus Press, 1958, p. 95.

Several correspondents, including Moshe Roytman, notified me that Tel Aviv's Chevra Kadisha web site (link in Hebrew) notes that Kniazer had been born on April 1st, 1894, and died on May 4th, 1958. Thanks to all the correspondents!