Samuel Herman (Sammy) Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski, November 26, 1911, Ozorków, (then German Empire, today Poland) - died April 4, 1992, New York, USA) was a leading American chess Grandmaster. November 26 is the 330th day (331st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... About Ozorków Ozorków is a town in central Poland with 21,900 inhabitants (1995). ... Motto Gott mit Uns (German: God with us”) Anthem Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I Capital Berlin Language(s) Official: German Unofficial minority languages: Danish, French, Frisian, Polish, Sorbian Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1871–1888 William I  - 1888 Frederick... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... NY redirects here. ... Chess is a recreational and competitive game for two players. ... The title Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ...

Life

Reshevsky learned to play chess at age four, and was soon acclaimed as a child prodigy. At age eight he was beating accomplished players with ease, and giving simultaneous exhibitions. In November 1920 his parents moved to the US to make a living exhibiting their child. He played in the 1922 New York Masters tournament. Chess prodigies are children who play chess so well that they are able to beat Masters and even Grandmasters, often at a very young age. ... A simultaneous exhibition (often abbreviated to simul) is an event where chess masters play multiple chess games at a time with selected players (usually below master strength). ... Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... NY redirects here. ...

As an adult however, Reshevsky was never a professional chess player. He temporarily gave up chess to enter the University of Chicago, and graduated in 1933 with a degree in accounting. He supported himself and his family by working as an accountant. His 1941 marriage to the former Norma Mindick produced three children. The University of Chicago is an elite private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Accountancy (profession) or accounting (methodology) is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information primarily used by managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision makers to make resource allocation decisions within companies, organizations, and public agencies. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ...

Reshevsky was a devout Orthodox Jew who would never play on the Jewish Sabbath. His games were scheduled accordingly. Orthodox Judaism is one of the three major branches of Judaism. ... Shabbat (שבת shabbāt, rest Hebrew, or Shabbos in Ashkenazic pronunciation), is the weekly day of rest in Judaism. ...

Chess career

Reshevsky won the U.S. Chess Championship in 1936, 1938, 1940, 1942, 1946, and 1969. He competed in a record 21 U.S. Championships and achieved a plus score every time. He also holds U.S. Championship records for most finishes in the top three places (15), most games played (269), and most games won (127).^[1] See also: U.S. Womens Chess Championship Winner list: 2005 Hikaru Nakamura 2004 Alexander Shabalov 2003 Alexander Shabalov 2002 Larry Christiansen 2000 Joel Benjamin / Alexander Shabalov / Yasser Seirawan 1999 Boris Gulko 1998 Nick de Firmian 1997 Joel Benjamin 1996 Alex Yermolinsky 1995 Nick de Firmian / Patrick Wolff / Alexander Ivanov...

Reshevsky's international career began in 1935 with first place at the Margate (England) tournament where he beat, among others, former world champion José Raúl Capablanca. The game transcript follows. Reshevsky has the white pieces (moves given in algebraic chess notation): Margate is a town in Thanet, Kent, England (population about 60,000). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (November 19, 1888 – March 8, 1942) was a Cuban world-class chess player in the early to mid-twentieth century. ... Algebraic chess notation is the method used today by all competition chess organizations and most books, magazines, and newspapers to record and describe the play of chess games. ...

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2 c5 9. Nf3 c4 10. Bf5 Re8 11. O-O g6 12. Bh3 Nf8 13. Bxc8 Rxc8 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. b3 Qa5 16. b4 Qd8 17. Qa4 a6 18. b5 Re6 19. Rab1 Rb8 20. Rb2 Be7 21. bxa6 Rxa6 22. Qc2 Ne6 23. Rfb1 Ra7 24. a4 Nc7 25. Ne5 Qe8 26. f4 f6 27. Ng4 Qd7 28. h3 Kg7 29. Nf2 Ba3 30. Ra2 Bd6 31. Nfd1 f5 32. Nb5 Ra5 33. Nxc7 Bxc7 34. Nc3 Qd6 35. Qf2 b6 36. Qf3 Rd8 37. Rab2 Qe7 38. Rb4 Rd7 39. Kh1 Bd8 40. g4 fxg4 41. hxg4 Qd6 42. Kg1 Bc7 43. Kf2 Rf7 44. g5 Bd8 45. Ke2 Bxg5 46. Rxb6 Qa3 47. Kd2 Be7 48. Rb7 Rxa4 49. Qxd5 Ra5 50. Qxc4 Rh5 51. Kd3 Qa8 52. Qe6 Qa3 53. Rd7 Rhf5 54. Rb3 Qa1 55. Rxe7 Qf1+ 56. Kd2 1-0

A year later he shared third place at the Nottingham 1936 chess tournament. In 1937 he shared first at Kemeri, Latvia, and in 1938 shared fourth in the AVRO tournament in the Netherlands, which featured arguably the eight strongest players in the world. Nottingham, 1936 is often considered one of the strongest chess tournaments of all time, reminiscent of the unsurpassed quality of the of the first great Hastings tournament of 1895. ... The AVRO tournament was a chess tournament held in 1938. ...

Reshevsky was a serious contender for the World Championship from roughly the mid-1930's to the mid-1960's. He was one of the five chess grandmasters to compete in the World Championship match tournament in The Hague/Moscow 1948 and finished in joint third place with Paul Keres, behind Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov. Current World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik. ... The 1948 World Chess Championship was a tournament played to determine a new World Chess Champion following the death of the previous champion Alexander Alekhine in 1946. ... Coordinates: Country Netherlands Province South Holland Area (2006)  - Municipality 98. ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   9684. ... Paul Keres Paul Keres (born January 7, 1916, in Narva, Estonia; died June 5, 1975, in Helsinki, Finland) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and one of the strongest chess players of all time, apart from the World chess champions. ... Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (IPA: ; Russian: ) (August 17 [O.S. August 4] 1911 - May 5, 1995) was a Russian International Grandmaster and long-time World Champion of chess. ... Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Васи́лий Смысло́в) (born March 24, 1921) is a Russian chess grandmaster. ...

In 1950, Reshevsky did not play in the Candidates Tournament in Budapest. It has generally been believed that he was barred from attending by the U.S. State Department due to the Cold War,^[2] and this is consistent with the fact that the only other eligible active player from a NATO country, Max Euwe of the Netherlands, also did not play. But in 1991 Reshevsky said the decision not to go was his.^[3] The Candidates Tournament was an annual chess tournament in which various chess players play against each other. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague. ... Machgielis (Max) Euwe (last name is pronounced /ø:wə/) (May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player. ...

The following Candidates in Zurich 1953, was probably his best chance to qualify for a World Championship match, but he finished in joint second place with David Bronstein and Keres, behind Smyslov. Location within Switzerland   Zürich[?] (German pronunciation IPA: ; usually spelled Zurich in English) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zürich. ... David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн) (February 19, 1924, Bila Tserkva, Ukraine – December 5, 2006, Minsk, Belarus) was renowned as a leading chess grandmaster and writer. ...

Reshevsky qualified for one more Candidates', in 1967, but lost the subsequent quarterfinal to Viktor Korchnoi the following year. Viktor Korchnoi (also Korchnoy, Kortchnoy, Kortschnoj, etc) (Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й) (born March 23, 1931) is a professional chess player. ...

He was a regular top board for the USA at the Chess Olympiads. Overall he played in eight events, helping the U.S. team to win the gold in 1937 and bronze in 1974 and winning an individual bronze medal for his performance on board one in 1950. The Chess Olympiad is a chess event which has been officially organised by FIDE since 1927 and takes place in even years. ...

In 1952, New York hosted the first eight games of an informal match for "The Championship of the Free World" between Reshevsky and Polish-Argentine grandmaster Miguel Najdorf. An additional five games were played in Mexico City and five more in San Salvador. Reshevsky won the match, 11-7. The following year a rematch took place in Buenos Aires. Reshevsky again won, 9.5-8.5. New York, NY redirects here. ... Miguel Najdorf (born as Mieczysław Najdorf; 1910 - 1997) was a Polish-Argentine chess player. ... Nickname: Location of Mexico City in central Mexico Coordinates: Country Mexico Federal entity Federal District Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded (as Tenochtitlan) c. ... San Salvador is the capital city of the nation of El Salvador. ... For other uses, see Buenos Aires (disambiguation). ...

Reshevsky played on top board for the USA in the 1955 team match against the USSR, held in Moscow, and defeated world champion Botvinnik over four games, winning one and drawing three.

In 1961 in New York and Los Angeles, Reshevsky began a 16-game match with the then-current U.S. Champion Bobby Fischer. Despite Fischer's recent meteoric rise, consensus opinion favored Reshevsky. After 11 games and a tie score (2 wins apiece with 7 draws) the match ended due to a dispute between Fischer and match organizer Jacqueline Piatigorsky. Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Robert James Bobby Fischer (born March 9, 1943) is a United States-born chess Grandmaster and in 1972 became the only US-born chessplayer to become the official World Chess Champion. ... Jacqueline Rebecca tsouise de Rothschild (born November 6, 1911 in Paris, France) is an American chess and tennis champion, author, sculptor and a member of the Rothschild banking family of France. ...

Reshevsky competed seriously at least semi-regularly, virtually until his death in 1992. He defeated old rival Vasily Smyslov in a tournament game in 1991. Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Васи́лий Смысло́в) (born March 24, 1921) is a Russian chess grandmaster. ...

Reshevsky's books include Reshevsky on Chess (1948), How Chess Games Are Won (1962), and The Art of Positional Play (1978). He also authored columns in chess magazines and The New York Times. The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ...

Reshevsky was a tough and forceful player who was superb at positional play but could also play brilliant tactical chess when warranted. He used huge amounts of time in the opening, a dangerous tactic which sometimes forced him to play the rest of the game in a very short amount of time. That sometimes unsettled Reshevsky's opponents but at other times resulted in blunders on his part. Reshevsky's inadequate study of the opening and his related tendency to fall into time-pressure may have been the reasons that, despite his great talent, he was never able to become world champion. A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game (the opening moves). ... In chess, a blunder is a very bad move which is quickly recognised as a very bad move by the player who made it, typically before or after his opponent has made his reply move. ...

Quotes

• "By playing slowly during the early phases of a game I am able to grasp the basic requirements of each position. Then, despite being in time pressure, I have no difficulty in finding the best continuation. Incidentally, it is an odd fact that more often than not it is my opponent who gets the jitters when I am compelled to make these hurried moves."

• His self-description, "My style is somewhere between that of Tal and Petrosian," is sometimes circulated as an ironic comment but makes more sense in its full context; from his book Great Chess Upsets: "I am essentially a positional player, although I can conduct an assault with precision and vigor, when the opportunity arises. My style lies between that of Tal and Petrosian. It is neither over-aggressive nor too passive. My strength consists of a fighting spirit, a great desire to win, and a stubborn defense whenever in trouble. I rarely become discouraged in an inferior situation, and I fear no one."

Mikhail Tal Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal (IPA: ; Latvian: ; Russian: ) (November 9, 1936 - June 28, 1992) was a Jewish Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion. ... Tigran Petrosian. ...

References

1. ^ Soltis, Andy and Gene H. McCormick (1997). The United States Chess Championship 1845–1996, Second Edition, McFarland, pp. 223–225. ISBN 0-7864-0258-2. 
2. ^ From Morphy to Fischer, Israel Horowitz, Batsford, 1973
3. ^ An Interview with Reshevsky, Part 1, by Hanon W. Russell, 1991, page 9

Andrew Soltis (born May 28, 1947) is a chess author and columnist as well as a Grandmaster. ... Israel Albert (Al) Horowitz (November 15, 1907-January 18, 1973) was a leading American chess master. ...

External links

• Samuel Reshevsky at ChessGames.com
• 1991 Interview: Part 1 • Part 2
• Reshevsky in California
• New York Times obituary