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Chess Memories of My Grandfather
November 24, 2016
This is a charming pen portrait of Howard Langer's grandfather and chess to be found at:
http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/2184...my-grandfather
Some excerpts:
The return of the World Chess Championship to New York City after over a two-decade absence has led me to recall the chess in the life of my grandfather, who was a dentist on West Side of Manhattan. In 1941, two of his patients, Samuel Reshevsky and Al Horowitz, vied for the U.S. Championship. Ten years later, on April 16, 1951, Reshevsky and Horowitz played a simul, alternating moves against 25 experienced chess players. They won twenty-three games and drew two. The New York Times reported that one of the draws was against Dr. Samuel Greenberg, my grandfather.
Reshevsky had been brought to New York from Poland as an 8-year-old prodigy in 1921. He had already won medals in Europe and his parents took him on tours in which he would play simuls games against large numbers of skilled players. My grandfather, who would have been 27 in 1921, apparently first played Reshevsky at one of these exhibitions. Later, they became almost lifelong friends.
Reshevsky was an Orthodox Jew and ultimately made a living as an accountant. When he took the CPA exams he slept on the sofa in my grandparents’ apartment. Once, William Lombardy, an American grandmaster who is perhaps best known as Bobby Fischer’s former coach, called my grandfather from a tournament in Caracas. He feared his roommate, Reshevsky, had lost his mind. He was sitting in his hotel room on an overturned chair swaying back and forth. My grandfather explained to Lombardy that it was the fast day, Tisha B’Av; Reshevsky was reciting Eichah, Lamentations.
My grandfather’s friendship with Reshevsky extended from Reshevsky’s childhood until the 1970s, when it ended abruptly. One day, Reshevsky was in his office and my grandfather showed him a game he was playing. (Between patients, my grandfather would play postal chess and when you would come into his office, you were likely to find him studying his chess games. He had spiral bound books with tabbed cardboard chess boards in which he recorded the moves, which were exchanged on post cards. Games took months, often years.) Reshevsky suggested a move, but it didn’t sit well with my grandfather and he lost sleep over it. The next time Reshevsky was in the office, my grandfather questioned him about the consequences of the move they had discussed. Reshevsky, apparently offended at my grandfather’s presumption in questioning the move again, and I was told that he exploded at him, stormed out of the office and never spoke to my grandfather again.
_________
(Al) Horowitz and his wife frequently dined with my grandparents. My grandfather owned several of Horowitz’s books, all of which were inscribed warmly to him. My grandfather was shaken when Horowitz, in his mid-60s, died suddenly in 1973. He placed an obituary in the Times. It read, “We are deeply shocked and sorrowful at the loss of Al, a life-long friend, patient, and help mate.”
_______
At age 80 my grandfather retired to Florida. He told me that he played with the former American Champion, Edward Lasker, at the Miami Chess Club and frequently beat him. What he didn’t tell me that Lasker had been champion between 1916 and 1921 and was in his 90s when they played. In 1981, Miami’s Sun Reporter newspaper featured my grandfather’s picture in a piece on the Miami Beach Chess Club. In his old age, my grandfather threw his modesty to the wind, saying, “I’m an expert. I’m one of the best players around.”
________
Howard Langer lives in Philadelphia. He the founding partner of Langer, Grogan & Diver, which specializes in consumer protection law, and is adjunct professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Competition Law of the United States, published by Wolters Kluwer.
November 24, 2016
This is a charming pen portrait of Howard Langer's grandfather and chess to be found at:
http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/2184...my-grandfather
Some excerpts:
The return of the World Chess Championship to New York City after over a two-decade absence has led me to recall the chess in the life of my grandfather, who was a dentist on West Side of Manhattan. In 1941, two of his patients, Samuel Reshevsky and Al Horowitz, vied for the U.S. Championship. Ten years later, on April 16, 1951, Reshevsky and Horowitz played a simul, alternating moves against 25 experienced chess players. They won twenty-three games and drew two. The New York Times reported that one of the draws was against Dr. Samuel Greenberg, my grandfather.
Reshevsky had been brought to New York from Poland as an 8-year-old prodigy in 1921. He had already won medals in Europe and his parents took him on tours in which he would play simuls games against large numbers of skilled players. My grandfather, who would have been 27 in 1921, apparently first played Reshevsky at one of these exhibitions. Later, they became almost lifelong friends.
Reshevsky was an Orthodox Jew and ultimately made a living as an accountant. When he took the CPA exams he slept on the sofa in my grandparents’ apartment. Once, William Lombardy, an American grandmaster who is perhaps best known as Bobby Fischer’s former coach, called my grandfather from a tournament in Caracas. He feared his roommate, Reshevsky, had lost his mind. He was sitting in his hotel room on an overturned chair swaying back and forth. My grandfather explained to Lombardy that it was the fast day, Tisha B’Av; Reshevsky was reciting Eichah, Lamentations.
My grandfather’s friendship with Reshevsky extended from Reshevsky’s childhood until the 1970s, when it ended abruptly. One day, Reshevsky was in his office and my grandfather showed him a game he was playing. (Between patients, my grandfather would play postal chess and when you would come into his office, you were likely to find him studying his chess games. He had spiral bound books with tabbed cardboard chess boards in which he recorded the moves, which were exchanged on post cards. Games took months, often years.) Reshevsky suggested a move, but it didn’t sit well with my grandfather and he lost sleep over it. The next time Reshevsky was in the office, my grandfather questioned him about the consequences of the move they had discussed. Reshevsky, apparently offended at my grandfather’s presumption in questioning the move again, and I was told that he exploded at him, stormed out of the office and never spoke to my grandfather again.
_________
(Al) Horowitz and his wife frequently dined with my grandparents. My grandfather owned several of Horowitz’s books, all of which were inscribed warmly to him. My grandfather was shaken when Horowitz, in his mid-60s, died suddenly in 1973. He placed an obituary in the Times. It read, “We are deeply shocked and sorrowful at the loss of Al, a life-long friend, patient, and help mate.”
_______
At age 80 my grandfather retired to Florida. He told me that he played with the former American Champion, Edward Lasker, at the Miami Chess Club and frequently beat him. What he didn’t tell me that Lasker had been champion between 1916 and 1921 and was in his 90s when they played. In 1981, Miami’s Sun Reporter newspaper featured my grandfather’s picture in a piece on the Miami Beach Chess Club. In his old age, my grandfather threw his modesty to the wind, saying, “I’m an expert. I’m one of the best players around.”
________
Howard Langer lives in Philadelphia. He the founding partner of Langer, Grogan & Diver, which specializes in consumer protection law, and is adjunct professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Competition Law of the United States, published by Wolters Kluwer.