More on Walter Tevis and Chess

Credit: see below

Before The Queen's Gambit (1983) Walter Tevis had published a collection of short stories, Far from Home (Doubleday, 1981). It is - presumably due to The Queen's Gambit - now sold second hand in amazon at absurd prices. One copy in "new" condition is priced at over $1000!

It is noteworthy that Tevis was interested in chess in other stories he wrote. In this collection, the short story "Echo" has an interesting chess connection. The hero used to play chess in school; the fact that another character also recognizes the "Morphy attack in the King's Gambit" is a key point for discovering the other character's identity. 

It is not clear which variation Tevis has in mind. There is a Morphy variation in the King's Gambit (C33) but Morphy often played the King's Gambit in many other variations, too, with excellent results. Like in The Queen's Gambit, then, the chess description in "Echo" is, therefore, somewhat vague and not fully accurate. Edward Winter points out the same is true about The Queen's Gambit, as previously noted on this blog. But in both cases, the description of chess play makes sense in a general way. 

Tevis was a mediocre player and never claimed any special chess, or chess history, expertise. But at least was not an ignoramus about chess or its history. His use of chess in fiction, while not fully accurate, is at least much better than the low standards so often seen. He never described chess as, on the one hand, an incredibly difficult mind challenge only geniuses can play well, and, at the same time, as a trivial game that always ends in a few moves, with one side threatening check and the other replying with a cross-checkmate.  

A New Translation of a Classic Rubinstein Book

 

Credit: see below

The above book, Akiba Rubinstein, by Yuri Razuvaev and Valery Murakhveri, originally published in 1980, has just (2023) been translated into English and published by Verendel Publishing. Philip Jurgens, who was involved in the translation project, had generously sent me a complimentary copy. The book is a classic of chess history and it is good to finally have an English version. 

Alekhine and Opportunism - II

 

Credit: see above

By chance, reading an old copy of the Salisbury Review, I found the above article (pp. 34-38, September 1988) with the quote above on p. 36-37. It is a review of Victor Farias (au.), Myriam Benarroch and J. B. Granet (trans). Heidegger et le nazisme (Paris: Verdier, 1987). 

I suggest that what is said in the review of Heidegger is equally true for Alekhine. He wasn't a hard-core Nazi, but he ingratiated himself with the powers that be and refused to own up to his behavior after the war. Then again, that was true for most Germans during the time. This doesn't make either of them blameless, but being guilty of opportunism is not the same thing as being a believer in Nazism. 

Alekhine and Opportunism

 

Credit: see below

A frequent correspondent notes that Alekhine's attempt to ingratiate himself with the new Soviet government after leaving the USSR had not been successful. In the above, Nikolai Krylenko writes to  Stalin and Molotov in that Alekhine sending a congratulatory telegram to the USSR was not sufficient to clear him of his support of the "Whites" (the anti-Bolshevik republicans) during the Russian civil war. On the other hand, adds our correspondent, sending the telegram caused a rift between him and the exiled "Whites" in Europe, which previously supported him as one of them. 

The letter was published in the June 1997 bulletin, p. 141, of Russian chess researcher Sergey Voronkov and is also included in his book based on his Alekhine research project, in Russian, The Russian Sphynx. More details can be found here (in Russian). 

P. S.

For some reasoning the blogger web site misformats the first paragraph in this post. Sorry! 

Chess and Science Fiction - in Romania

 

Credit: Fantasia 2000 no. 23 (1981) p. 24

The above cutting is from an article, "On Science Fiction Literature in Romania," by Menachem Falk. From an Israeli science fiction magazine, it notes (also higlighted) "also appearing is a biweekly which is dedicated to original and translated science fiction, and also to chess." This, presumably, is a unique combination in the history of journalism. Does anybody know the name of the magazine in question - or better yet, has a copy? 

Meetings in Buenos Aires, 1939

 

Albert Becker (left) vs. Paul Keres, 1936. Credit: Wikipedia.

We have noted in this blog before how the Palestinian (Jewish) team in 1939 naturally refused to play with the German team, and that this cause a serious problem until Grau "saved the day." Porat's eyewitness account was reported here.

Porat said that the Palestine team was "not invited to the negotiations" and that "the organizers notified us that the German team objected with the claim that Palestine, as a Mandate, is not in a state of war with Germany, so they see no reason to cancel the match!" 

The master's thesis noted in the previous post (see there for credits) sheds more light on the matter. It refers to a letter from the captain of the German team, Becker, to Max Bluemich, originally posted online by Chessbase in 2008. In it, Becker does indeed inform Blumlich that the German team claimed Palestine "is not a British colony, but a League of Nations mandate" and therefore formally not in war with Germany. 

It is clear from Becker's letter that the real reason for his objection is that a 2:2 draw without play with Palestine would benefit other teams (esp. Argentina) which could expect a better result by playing the relatively weak Palestinian team. What is also clear, and more surprising, is that Becker notes "The Jews [i.e., Palestinian team] came with the Argentinians to our apartment to appeal to our sense of sportsmanship" to convince Becker to agree to the 2:2 draw! 

Porat does not mention any such meeting in his recollections. It may be that he was not part of it, or that he wished to hide any such informal connection with the German team. It is clear, from Becker's letter, that the Palestinian team would not have played the German team under any circumstances. 

Another interesting point, also mentioned in the letter and pointed out in the master's thesis, is that Becker complained that Alekhine, the French team's captain (and of course world champion) was very much against the German team, and forbade "his people" from any contact with them - with the absurd result that the Palestinian Jews came to talk with Becker while Alekhine and the French did not. 

Does this prove Alekhine was not an antisemite? It depends on his motives. He could have been opportunistically trying to harm Germany for the benefit of France's chess team. He could have been angry at Germany's aggression and boycotted the Germans out of principle. Or he could have done so out of protest at the German treatment of the Jews. 

The latter two motives, given Alekhine's later behavior, seem unlikely. But this behavior does support the claim that Alekhine, while an opportunist, was not actually devoted to Nazism - or for any other ideology for that matter - but rather would do whatever he thought would benefit him at the time. 

But how could the Jewish team come to meet a man who ended his letter with "Heil Hitler"? It seems that Becker was no fanatical Nazi. Like all of the rest of the German team, he remained in Argentina during the war. Nothing in his biography suggests particular Nazi sympathies. But he was writing in 1939 to a man who was an ideological Nazi, and the "Heil Hitler" signature was more or less compulsory in such situations. 

More on Antisemitism in Chess

Alexander Alekhine. Credit: Wikipedia.

Mr. Herbert Halsegger had brought to our attention a master's work about Antisemitism in chess by Gregor Gottfried Wolfsberger. The work in full is found here (in German). It especially deals with the antisemitism of Franz Gutmayer and Alexander Alekhine, but also with that of Emil Josef Diemer (of Blackmar-Diemer gambit fame). Theodor Gerbec, and others. As we noted elsewhere in this blog, Gutmayer was not especially popular: when a charity attempt to collect money for him by means of a simul was arranged, only two people showed up.

Another "Training Tournament"

 

Credits: see below

A frequent correspondent points out that a 1949 master's tournament in Tel Aviv was named (by Jozsef Hajtun, the column editor) as a "training tournament" before the first championship of Israel. The note about it, above, appeared in Kol Ha'am, 4 March 1949, p. 3. 

This relates to Keniazer's claim, or excuse, that the 1952 "master's tournament" (Taharut Amanim) was really a "training tournament" (Taharut Immunim), which are similar in Hebrew. We related this claim before in this blog with significant skepticism, but the naming of the 1949 tournament as a "training tournament" is interesting, and lends some weight to Keniazer's claim. 

From the 8th IDF Championship, February 1959

A frequent commentator notes the following game, played in the 8th IDF championship in 1959. The annotator's slightly dismissive remarks are below.

Richter  - Warshevsky (ph. spelling for both players)

Semi-Slav [D46]

8th IDF championship, February 1959

Source: Kol Ha'am, 6 March 1959, p. 6

Annotations: Amos Sa'ar

"This game was played by two of the players whose final ranking were in the middle of the ladder, which gives an idea of the level of this championship." 

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e3 0–0 6.Bd3 c6 7.0–0 Nbd7 8.Ne2 Re8 9.Qc2 e5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Rxe5 12.c5 Ne4 13.a3 Ba5 14.b4 Bc7 15.Bb2 Rh5

 16.Ng3 Qh4 17.h3 Bxh3 18.Nxh5 Bxg2 19.Kxg2 Qh2+ White resigns (0-1).