Fond memories in Chess

[Fred Henderson]

edit: deleted due to lack of interest, an embarrasing post from me

[Fred Henderson]

Back in the early 1980s, when home computers became available, our next door neighbor, who was a writer for a major daily Vancouver newspaper, had the job of writing up all the new computers as they became available. One of the first was the Radio Shack TRS-80, with 64 kb of RAM. It had a chess program Sargon II. The neighbor, who knew I could play, invites me over for a game. The game went dead even down to a king and pawn endgame, and I got it into zugzwang, where it would be forced to move away from the protection of one of its pawns. We waited quite a while for a move, eventually I had to leave, the neighbor said he would leave the program running. When I went back a week later, he informs me with a smile that he left the program on for three days, but Sargon II never made a move. Programming error or advanced AI?

Also a fond tip of the hat for Ray Kerr, who was at the helm for my earliest tournaments. I remember showing up at the hall, and standing around, not sure what to do. I thought Ray was pretty gruff and intimidating, but he immediately set me at ease by chatting me up in the same gruff way, as a chess player, not as an adult to a young teen.

[Frank Dixon]

I'll offer a 'Cloud Has A Silver Lining' type of memory.

The time was early February 1976, the site was Ottawa, the format was a regional youth tournament, the organizer was Terry Fleming, and the circumstances had myself and several Mackenzie High School (of Deep River, ~200 km. northwest of Ottawa) teammates billeting over the weekend at the former Ottawa Jail, converted to a YMCA!! It was about -30C for the high temperature each day; we weren't making quick trips outside for snacks between rounds!

It was a six-round Swiss with quite a large field, and I had won my first five games. On top board, playing for the title, and a single qualifying berth in the Ontario Junior Championship, I faced Kevin Pacey, a grade 9 student (or so I was told), while I was in grade 13. He also had a perfect score. I had the White pieces. Our ratings were in the 1400s, both provisional (based on fewer than 25 CFC-rated games).

In a Winawer French, an opening not played often at junior level at that time (usually one would see 1.e4 e5 and 1.e4 c5 virtually every game), I played too quickly (I was used to G/30' from HS league play; this was a much slower time control, and I didn't adjust) in the transition from late opening to early middlegame, forgot an important move in a variation where precision is essential, and lost to Kevin's excellent exploitation. He was the champion, and the qualifier who would advance; I won a book prize, in what wound up being my last rated tournament for four years, as my University studies took priority.

Naturally downcast, I sat down to analyze the game with my HS coach, Jim Hegney, a pretty good player, who had also taught me French language courses at Mackenzie. Kevin was celebrating outside the hall with his friends. Soon, an elderly gentleman approached our table, physically supported by a younger woman. It turned out to be IM / IMC Fedor Bohatyrchuk, then age 83, with his daughter. He knew Jim; they had met in a regional event a few years earlier, when the IM was still playing some over-the-board chess, at a very high standard. As I learned, he was a former Soviet champion from the 1920s, with a plus score against former World Champion, GM Mikhail Botvinnik. The IM had fled the USSR, settled in Ottawa after World War II, and continued his career as a radiologist.

Fedor, slender, of short stature, and somewhat bent over, sat down at our table with his daughter, and asked us to show him the game. Every so often, he would speak slowly in a quiet voice, in pretty good but heavily accented English, with what turned out to be deep insights. I was writing down his ideas.

His closing comments were what stayed with me. He said, "You see, you lost to the French Defense. Do you play it yourself?" I replied that I did not, playing mainly 1...e5 and 1...c5. His advice: "Study it, start playing it yourself, and then you will understand it much better. This is one of the most difficult openings!"

Though not ever playing much tournament chess, I did follow his advice, and gradually did better against the French, while also winning with it on occasion. Thanks, Fedor!!! He lived until 1984, passing away at age 91. I stayed interested in his career, and learned he had had one of the most interesting lives off-the-board of any chess player ever!!

And Kevin!? I felt a lot better about my loss to him a couple of years later, when I saw he had defeated IM Kevin Spraggett, on the way to becoming a Master himself!!

And those are the Silver Linings!!

[Fred Henderson]

I did have the pleasure of facing Duncan Sutlles across the board at a chess tournament in Burnaby, behind the old Simpson's Sears on Hastings St. The game was Risk, being played while a round was going on. I believe one of the players was Bruce Harper. I of course knew all the tricks and was showing Suttles the ropes, I don't think he had ever played before. Anyways, he was a barrel of laughs, I kicked his ass, he would be freaking out when I captured a few of his countries, and everybody would laugh at him. It was a lot of fun.

[Hans Jung]

I noticed a group from London, Ontario including Elias Samano playing in the Gladiators Open at the Excelsior Club in Toronto a couple of weeks ago.
I knew Beto Samano well (Elias father). About 40 years ago I was working in the processing plant of Canada Post in London, Ontario and I was delivering parcels in a monotainer on the north dock when an elderly gentleman approached me and said " You play chess?" He grabbed my arm (in a nice way) and pulled me over to a small card table in the corner which had his lunch pail, a tea pot on a burner and a small wooden chess set on it. Please play please. I cant Im in the middle of work. Please play - fast fast. So I played a move and he responded instantly and it went like that for the whole game which lasted less than a minute. I then went back to work. The gentleman was Beto Samano and he just loved chess and was enthralled with it. He was a cleaner on my shift and he came and begged me to play him at lunch hour. So we did every lunch. We would play usually twenty games at lunch never needing a clock because Beto would reply instantly after every move I made and I would usually keep pace. This went on for months. One day I was at my work station with my apron on sorting oversize letters into the case and a fellow employee approached me, whipped out a pocket set and said "I play knight f3, what do you play?" So I responded. Beto who was cleaning nearby came over after and said - so you play chess, I play too.
Thinking with foresight I said no this is slow chess - one week for game. You only play fast. Beto who continued to observe and saw that other employees were approaching me the same way came back and said " You play everyone in building? No, no just eight. Ok you number one, I number two and forever after when he would see me he would say You number one, I number two.

After I left the processing plant he would invite the other players out to his little set on the north dock, but it wasnt as much fun as he spent most of his time waiting for moves.
After he retired he joined the London Chess club and started playing tournament chess, still playing chess almost as fast except a little slower because he was recording moves. But he was good. Even though he was seventy years old he started with a rating of 2000 and maintained a rating over 1800 for years. He was quite a fixture at the London Chess club well into his 80's.

[Gordon Taylor]

Here's an item from the 1984 Canadian Open that should be recorded. Both the Open and Closed were held in Ottawa in July, 1984. The Closed was a 15 player RR so it took longer, but they were close to each other so players from both events could observe the other. I played in the Closed where Kevin Spraggett dominated the field. But it was the Open that has the story I'd like to tell. The big story at the start of the Open was where was Igor Ivanov? He was registered to play but his first game was not until the 5th round. David Cohen was the TD and gave Ivanov four byes to start, but not four half points. As David was always quick to point out, he gave Igor a full point bye in the first round, then two half point byes, and finally a zero point bye in round four (his patience was probably running thin by then). But once Igor got started he was unstoppable -- he scored six wins in a row to finish with 8/10. But giving the rest of the field a two point head start meant three other players were able to make the same score: Dave Ross, Denis Allan, and Brett Campbell. I was close friends with Dave and Denis so I followed the final rounds with great interest. After nine rounds there was a huge log jam at the top and the vital question for all was who was going to play Ivanov in the final round. In the end Deen Hergott drew the short straw and duly lost. The other three all won, perhaps the only time four decisive games determined the Open Championship. But what I best recall was the moment the 10th round pairings were displayed and how happy Denis Allan was. He knew his opponent to be and was confident he could beat him. And so he did. But for Dave, Denis and Brett I think it was the only time they topped the field in the Open, all thanks to the two point head start Ivanov had gifted them.

[Hugh Brodie]

That 1984 Closed was the second (and last) time a non-Canadian citizen took part (the first one was Bob Wade (UK, NZ) in 1947). Danny Kopec (USA) tied for second. I don't know how he got in, except that he had a short-term teaching job at McGill in Montreal.

[Hans Jung]

Thats a great account Gordon. I'd forgotten it (and didnt know all the details to begin with). There are so many Igor Ivanov stories Ive heard over the years. Interestingly a lot of chess players are also fabulous piano players. They would entertain you over the board and then entertain you on the piano after the games. Igor Ivanov was an amazing piano player. I've been entertained by him and Calvin Blocker, Angie Day, Bob Kiviaho, Mike Ivanov - to name but a few. I would have dearly loved to see Daniel Yuffa playing the piano and doing a four board board blindfold exhibition on the side.