Collective Nouns - Fischer v Spassky

[Hans Jung]

One evening I was at the club playing a tournament game and Bill Szabo came in. He would usually go to Jack Ronean or Bob Kazmarek to bum a cigarette. I guess I must have said something jokingly about Bill because the next thing you know Bill was squeezing my shoulder and leaning over in an intimidating fashion. Who knows what would have happened (and it would have been bad for me) but Bob Kazmarek leapt over and grabbed Bills arm, pushed him away and told him to leave now or you can have a piece of me. Richard May immediately came over and said Now, now gentlemen - no fighting here - we are here to play chess. Bobs reply - dont worry Richard he is leaving now and Bill Szabo did back off very quickly and left quietly. Im telling you three bigger men I never did see in a chess club and the tension for a while was high. It was after that that Bob became very friendly with me and shared many stories from the past - leaving Poland at the beginning of WW 2 and joining the French Foreign Legion. His years in the stock market and making money off options. I particularly remember visiting him years later (early 90's) at his country estate in Komoka and when I came in this luxurious home there was a very old woman lying on a mattress in the dining room close to the kitchen entrance. It was Bob's 90+ yr old mother. Bob quietly made tea and served it and we looked at some games from my latest tournaments. In the background his mother was groaning but occasionally she would look over and smile and Bob told me she had Alzheimers and all she wanted was to be close to Bob and have the human touch.

[Hans Jung]

This memory is for you Peter. I have mentioned the other clubs in London but the one I started with and was very fond of was the downtown Y. In fact going to the Y involved two or more chess sessions in a day. The youth chess club run by Ted Durrant met at the main library downstairs on Queens Ave in the late afternoons (after school) and we helped Ted when he missed a session (usually Ray Ebisuzaki, but also Arthur Wong, or Jay Zendrowski or even Dave Kashikjian. Of course it was always more interesting and entertaining when Ted was there. He always got us going with entertaining analysis or bughouse chess or discussing some current event of interest. Then they would adjourn to play pingpong at the Y until the evening club started. I wasnt one for ping pong although I enjoyed their spectacular leaps and spin shots. Imagine Ted four feet in the air doing a twist behind the back spin shot or Ray with his insane laugh as he would determinedly do a barrage of return shots and often won the set. I usually (during the time that they played ping pong) would play a match game with Dave Kashijkian or Jay Zendrowski (most often) or Kelly Riley or Arthur Wong. The bonus was that we would get to analyse the game with Ted and Ray the next week (usually with a crowd of kibitzers).

[Hans Jung]

Thanks John. Im glad you mentioned the incident of being smuggled out. Herman had so many great stories he should have written a book. Ive forgotten so much (sigh).

[John Brown]

I used to play matches at Herman's apartment when it became too long for him to come out to my place in Brampton. We played $5 a game to the winner.
I sold him my first French lardy set. He would go to tournaments in Holland every winter. He sadly died of prostate cancer (I believe) he was in his 93rd year when that happened. He had lost one lung during the time he was in a Japanese prisoner of war war camp and was smuggled out with dead prisoners by a Priest or he would have been executed shortly within the week. We would have missed many great chess battles had that happened. He played to the bitter end as he said in our matches " If you don't play until the game is over. How can you say you really won or lost"

[Peter McKillop]

I met Herman Posma at the German - Canadian club in London (Cove Road) in 1975. Herman would tell me stories of his days in The Dutch East Indies where his family had a plantation (Sumatra I think) and the invasion and occupation of the Japanese and later the revolution and losing his home and coming to Canada. He was a landlord for many Western students in the 50's, 60's, and 70"s and was Sreve Bartletts landlord in the late 60's. Herman was bitten by the chess bug at age 70! After about 10 more years he separated from his wife (who told him he should settle down, enjoy home life, and give up that silly game - the last was enough for him) and moved to Toronto (and got an apartment) to play tournament chess! The last talk I had with him was at the Estonian Club with their famous Paul Keres Actives in 97 or 98. Herman told me he was still improving, had gained at least 300 rating points since he had started and planned to gain a 100 more. This was at age 92!! Anyone else remember Herman Posma?

Yes, I remember Herman from the mid to late 70s in London; a soft-spoken kindly gentleman. I remember in particular a tournament game against him in the summer of 1979. I had really worked hard trying to build on a small advantage in space. He moved a rook to a centre file attacking my queen. I had a square in mind for my queen. His reply would be forced, I thought, so I started anaylzing what I would do after his forced reply. I found a rook move I liked and without any further thought, made it. Looked back at the board and froze in horror as it dawned on me that I'd hung my queen. Herman was solicitous and very apologetic about taking the gift.

[Hans Jung]

Thanks for that Sam. Herman had a lot of passion and enthusiasm and I expect that is what kept him going so late in life.

[Sam Sharpe]

Herman and I used to hang out a good deal, Hans, after he moved to The Esplanade close to the St. Lawrence Market. We'd play chess, go for lunch and generally have chili, while all along the walks to and from, he'd put his hand on the side of his head while happily sighing something to the effect of" My, oh, my. Such pretty legs! I wish I was younger!" as we passed the young ladies walking or sitting on benches.

Such a great man. He even brought me a pocket set that he picked up while at the abandoned 1st K-K match. I still have it.

[Hans Jung]

I met Herman Posma at the German - Canadian club in London (Cove Road) in 1975. Herman would tell me stories of his days in The Dutch East Indies where his family had a plantation (Sumatra I think) and the invasion and occupation of the Japanese and later the revolution and losing his home and coming to Canada. He was a landlord for many Western students in the 50's, 60's, and 70"s and was Sreve Bartletts landlord in the late 60's. Herman was bitten by the chess bug at age 70! After about 10 more years he separated from his wife (who told him he should settle down, enjoy home life, and give up that silly game - the last was enough for him) and moved to Toronto (and got an apartment) to play tournament chess! The last talk I had with him was at the Estonian Club with their famous Paul Keres Actives in 97 or 98. Herman told me he was still improving, had gained at least 300 rating points since he had started and planned to gain a 100 more. This was at age 92!! Anyone else remember Herman Posma?

[Hans Jung]

Erik you missed your calling. You could have been a chess crime writer.

[Neil Frarey]

You were playing a game blindfolded when your opponent didn't reply to your move Rc8. Was he planning a deep mate threat? But there wasn't anything there. So you told him that it was his move but he didn't respond. You turned around and were startled to see him slouched over with blood on his shirt. He was murdered right behind you but you saw nothing.

Whose blood was it?

[Erik Malmsten]

In my previous thread I mentioned Jay Zendrowski. Jay writes crime fiction now, an ongoing series of novels featuring the London, Ontario scene.He puts the occasional chess scene in and one of his characters is Dave Mctavish. Its good writing and Ive enjoyed them. Jay plays online regularly and still maintains a masters rating. In return for putting in a plug for him I hope he will add me as a character. It would be nice to be immortalized.

You were playing a game blindfolded when your opponent didn't reply to your move Rc8. Was he planning a deep mate threat? But there wasn't anything there. So you told him that it was his move but he didn't respond. You turned around and were startled to see him slouched over with blood on his shirt. He was murdered right behind you but you saw nothing.

[Hans Jung]

In my previous thread I mentioned Jay Zendrowski. Jay writes crime fiction now, an ongoing series of novels featuring the London, Ontario scene.He puts the occasional chess scene in and one of his characters is Dave Mctavish. Its good writing and Ive enjoyed them. Jay plays online regularly and still maintains a masters rating. In return for putting in a plug for him I hope he will add me as a character. It would be nice to be immortalized.

[Hans Jung]

The club (Edwards club on Richmond) was a great place for us younger members (mostly teenagers) such as myself, Jay Zendrowski, Kelly Riley, Dave Kashijkian, Arthur Wong, Ray and Wesley Ebisuzaki, Dave Jackson, Ikuya Nagai, and a large group of university students (amongst others). We would have long speed sessions and mini tournaments with lots of kibitzing. With the tension of speed and winning and losing we engaged in witticisms and verbal provocation and trashtalk. All of us contributed in our own way and I earned the moniker Junglemouth both referring to my name and my heightened abilities to trashtalk. One day we were hard at it and I was slapped across the head by a pair of womens gloves. A club member had brought his date to show her the club. They were all dressed up to go out on the town and he was incensed at me for my foul language in front of his lady friend. She was also thoroughly disgusted with me. This was my introduction to Steve Bartlett and his later wife Donna. After apologising and applying my charm we became within weeks fast friends. The next time I saw Steve at the club he brought along Hyssam Elsakka. I had never met anyone like him before. Hyssam was a picture in contrasts. He usually wore a stained (could say dirty) T - shirt, off colour shorts, and European sandals, was gregarious, provocative, witty (never at a lack of words) was always up to something, and loved speed chess. After our lengthy club speed chess session he invited us back to his apartment where we happily played speed chess all night long fuelled by endless beer and a pot of Middle Eastern stew which was continuously simmering on the stove (all supplied by Hyssam). This for a 16 year old with no money was irresistible.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: John Fortin: I had a tremendous game with him at the 1990 Ontario Team Championship, a real battle in the French, which I eventually managed to win. I think I have the game somewhere. John was a real gem to analyze with in the post-mortem. I won Best Alternate prize there, but always cursed the game I lost when a piece up. My choke caused the Kingston team's top board, GMC / FM Martin Kreuzer, to risk winning an equal position against IM Deen Hergott, to try to make up for my 'salted away win which got away', and he lost that. He was quite upset. Martin and I stayed friends, though! I'd long wondered what happened to John; so Papua New Guinea it was! Thanks!

And the book by Bob Edwards in the Scandinavian is pretty good; there wasn't much published on that opening at the time he did it. So it was useful for me, with the obscure references and games; one could tell he had really dug deep to produce it.

[Aris Marghetis]

One day in 1975 Bob Edwards mentioned that he was going to the Cleveland library (specifically to see the John White collection) and did I want to come along? Did I? I had already heard about it and it was known as the best chess collection in the world! Bob said three things: We will head out real early, you need ID and you better prepare. Prepare? I was a rambunctious teenager - prepare? - its all chess - I will love everything. 6 in the morning we left and Bob did the 300 miles in 3 and a half hours and that included the border crossing. Bob had an old police cruiser (thanks to Ernie Rentz and Bob going with to auctions) and that car could move. You think that would have given me time to ask Bob 1001 questions but I was only half awake or napping the whole way. At one point on the 401 I glanced over and Bob was doing 90 and behind us a police cruiser was approaching rapidly but no lights. Bob didnt flinch - steady speed. The cruiser pulls up alongside and the cop looks over. Bob salutes. The cop nodded and then immediately slowed down, jumped the grass median and headed the other way. I asked Bob what that was all about - I thought you were going to get a ticket. Bob grinned and said You just give them what they want to see. The border was easy. I showed my birth certifcate - customs asked where are you going - Cleveland library to look at chess books. The guy wouldnt look at us - just shook his head, rolled his eyes and waved us through. We got to the library, Bob disappeared and I went browsing. After several aisles and pulling out various boxes I got tired. I had looked through old copies of a Steinitz magazine, looked at several old German magazines, and dittos of Morphys chess columns. I realized what Bob had meant about coming prepared. I finally found a book of Marshalls games and spent happy hours entertained by Marshalls swindles on my pocket set. Bob had a productive day. He came back loaded down with photocopies. He was happy on the drive back as he had successfully found some real chess gems. (rare games)

If someone is into chess history in any way, they should bucket list the John White at Cleveland. And as much as you can see while you're there, what's even more mind-blowing is the sheer volume of stuff that's out of view. Really, the legacy of this collection can be beyond comprehension at times, it's hard to get my head around just how many items he researched and bought.