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Harold Dondis, Chess Columnist
Oct. 1, 1922 - Dec. 10, 2015
January 6, 2016
From:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...pFO/story.html
Harold Dondis, 93; Globe chess columnist beat Bobby Fischer
By Marvin Pave Boston Globe Correspondent
"Fischer erred against me, and a move later graciously resigned, " Mr. Dondis told Chess Horizons in 2004.
In March 1964, Harold Dondis was carried out of the Wachusett Chess Club in Fitchburg on the shoulders of his peers after he defeated future world champion Bobby Fischer.
At the time, Mr. Dondis was president of the Massachusetts State Chess Association, and he set off the celebration by taking just 19 moves to defeat Fischer - then a 20-year-old grandmaster and US professional champion.
Fischer might have been a bit weary as he maneuvered through the overflow crowd at the Wachusett Chess Club while playing a so-called simul exhibition match against 56 separate opponents at the same time.
"I've never seen that in chess, " Mr. Dondis said of his triumphant exit in a 2004 interview with Chess Horizons, the magazine of what is now the Massachusetts Chess Association. He added that "Fischer erred against me, and a move later graciously resigned. . .. I could never do that again."
Mr. Dondis, a writer of the Globe's Chess Notes column from 1964 until last month, died of a heart attack Dec. 10 while playing the game he loved at the Boylston Chess Club in Cambridge. He was 93 and lived in Belmont.
Chess Notes: Chris Chase remembers Harold Dondis
Harold Dondis, the longtime co-writer of this column, has died at the age of 93.
In 1972, Mr. Dondis met Fischer again while observing the World Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, where Fischer defeated Boris Spassky. A year earlier, Mr. Dondis described Fischer in a front-page Globe profile: "He is a handsome, athletic, nattily dressed 6-foot bachelor. He very frankly plays chess for money. In a game where complex theory and PhD players abound, Fischer is an uneducated, gruff, and badly-mannered person who says what he thinks, with little or no delicacy. His attitude toward the Russian players is one of complete disdain. "
A lawyer, Mr. Dondis was affiliated for 70 years with the Boston firm Rich May, where the library is named in his honor. He also had received the US Chess Federation's Distinguished Service Award, and in a tribute, the Boylston club set up his chess board with the pieces arranged in their final position when he defeated Fischer.
"As a chess journalist, a community benefactor, and an avid player until his very last day, he was absolutely integral to the vitality of the game in the Commonwealth, " said Nathan Smolensky, president of the Massachusetts Chess Association.
Mr. Dondis's last Globe column appeared Dec. 14. Several days later, Chris Chase, his co-writer the past two years and a chess senior master, wrote in the Globe that "the chess community has lost a great benefactor, and I have lost a wonderful friend. "
Mr. Dondis had achieved the expert player level and competed in tournaments including the Bermuda International and US Open. He also was a founder and former chairman of the US Chess Trust, the former charitable arm of the US Chess Federation. His own generosity helped the Boylston Chess Club move recently into new quarters. A club member since the 1960s, he set up a fund with the Trust that will continue to benefit the club.
In a blog dedicated to Mr. Dondis after his death, the Boylston club recognized his selfless nature, noting that when its board wanted to dedicate a room in his name, Mr. Dondis requested that the honor be given instead to his late friend Harry Lyman.
Fischer Simul Tour, Fitchburg, Mass.
March 2, 1964
Fischer, Bobby - Dondis, Harold
C27 Vienna, Adams Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.d4 Nxd4 7.Nd5 Ne6 8.Qxe5 c6 9.Nc3 Qf6 10.Qxf6 gxf6 11.Nge2 Nf5 12.g4 Nfd4 13.Nxd4 Nxd4 14.Be3 Nxb3 15.axb3 d5 16.Rxa7 Rxa7 17.Bxa7 Bxg4 18.Bd4 Be7 19.Kd2 c5 0-1
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1499227
Oct. 1, 1922 - Dec. 10, 2015
January 6, 2016
From:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...pFO/story.html
Harold Dondis, 93; Globe chess columnist beat Bobby Fischer
By Marvin Pave Boston Globe Correspondent
"Fischer erred against me, and a move later graciously resigned, " Mr. Dondis told Chess Horizons in 2004.
In March 1964, Harold Dondis was carried out of the Wachusett Chess Club in Fitchburg on the shoulders of his peers after he defeated future world champion Bobby Fischer.
At the time, Mr. Dondis was president of the Massachusetts State Chess Association, and he set off the celebration by taking just 19 moves to defeat Fischer - then a 20-year-old grandmaster and US professional champion.
Fischer might have been a bit weary as he maneuvered through the overflow crowd at the Wachusett Chess Club while playing a so-called simul exhibition match against 56 separate opponents at the same time.
"I've never seen that in chess, " Mr. Dondis said of his triumphant exit in a 2004 interview with Chess Horizons, the magazine of what is now the Massachusetts Chess Association. He added that "Fischer erred against me, and a move later graciously resigned. . .. I could never do that again."
Mr. Dondis, a writer of the Globe's Chess Notes column from 1964 until last month, died of a heart attack Dec. 10 while playing the game he loved at the Boylston Chess Club in Cambridge. He was 93 and lived in Belmont.
Chess Notes: Chris Chase remembers Harold Dondis
Harold Dondis, the longtime co-writer of this column, has died at the age of 93.
In 1972, Mr. Dondis met Fischer again while observing the World Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, where Fischer defeated Boris Spassky. A year earlier, Mr. Dondis described Fischer in a front-page Globe profile: "He is a handsome, athletic, nattily dressed 6-foot bachelor. He very frankly plays chess for money. In a game where complex theory and PhD players abound, Fischer is an uneducated, gruff, and badly-mannered person who says what he thinks, with little or no delicacy. His attitude toward the Russian players is one of complete disdain. "
A lawyer, Mr. Dondis was affiliated for 70 years with the Boston firm Rich May, where the library is named in his honor. He also had received the US Chess Federation's Distinguished Service Award, and in a tribute, the Boylston club set up his chess board with the pieces arranged in their final position when he defeated Fischer.
"As a chess journalist, a community benefactor, and an avid player until his very last day, he was absolutely integral to the vitality of the game in the Commonwealth, " said Nathan Smolensky, president of the Massachusetts Chess Association.
Mr. Dondis's last Globe column appeared Dec. 14. Several days later, Chris Chase, his co-writer the past two years and a chess senior master, wrote in the Globe that "the chess community has lost a great benefactor, and I have lost a wonderful friend. "
Mr. Dondis had achieved the expert player level and competed in tournaments including the Bermuda International and US Open. He also was a founder and former chairman of the US Chess Trust, the former charitable arm of the US Chess Federation. His own generosity helped the Boylston Chess Club move recently into new quarters. A club member since the 1960s, he set up a fund with the Trust that will continue to benefit the club.
In a blog dedicated to Mr. Dondis after his death, the Boylston club recognized his selfless nature, noting that when its board wanted to dedicate a room in his name, Mr. Dondis requested that the honor be given instead to his late friend Harry Lyman.
Fischer Simul Tour, Fitchburg, Mass.
March 2, 1964
Fischer, Bobby - Dondis, Harold
C27 Vienna, Adams Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.d4 Nxd4 7.Nd5 Ne6 8.Qxe5 c6 9.Nc3 Qf6 10.Qxf6 gxf6 11.Nge2 Nf5 12.g4 Nfd4 13.Nxd4 Nxd4 14.Be3 Nxb3 15.axb3 d5 16.Rxa7 Rxa7 17.Bxa7 Bxg4 18.Bd4 Be7 19.Kd2 c5 0-1
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1499227