Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

[Dan Scoones]

The December issue of Chess Life has a nice article by Anthony Saidy about Nathan Divinsky entitled Chess Godfather of the North. Dr Divinsky's family nickname is now out there!

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

Nathan is one of the great all-rounders in Canadian chess history. :) :)

1) In his prime in the mid-1940s to early 1950s, Divinsky played at near-IM strength;
2) He was strong enough to represent Canada twice in Olympiads -- Amsterdam 1954 and Havana 1966;
3) He was co-author, along with GM Raymond Keene, of a breakthrough book on the strength of top players thoughout chess history;
4) He served as Canada's representative to FIDE, and Zonal president, for several years across two terms.
5) Member of the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame.

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

Not to mention 6) married for many years to Kim Campbell, the shortest lived prime minister in modern Canadian history.:)

[Kerry Liles]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

Not to mention 6) married for many years to Kim Campbell, the shortest lived prime minister in modern Canadian history.:)

She is still alive I think. She is the shortest serving Prime Minister...
:)

[John Coleman]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

She might also be the most height-challenged...

I wonder if in the future her main claim to fame will be that she was married to Nathan Divinsky.

[Dan Scoones]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

I have just uploaded a photograph of Nathan Divinsky and Lawrence Day to flickr.com. Here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24464897@N00/5268562795/

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

Not to mention 6) married for many years to Kim Campbell, the shortest lived prime minister in modern Canadian history.:)

I thought that would have been John Turner in 1984 as having the shortest term in office.

Both had the cards stacked against them. The Conservatives weren't going to win many seats, in my opinion, because of the GST. Campbell didn't have much of a chance and the Progressive Conservative party never recovered. They were rolled into the Reform/whatever, as a junior partner.

Turner didn't have much of a chance either. After the years of Trudeau it was time for a new broom.

I thought the timing was bad for both of them.

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

Please do not get me started on the hostile takeover of the Progressive Conservatives that was orchestrated by a disgraceful liar named Peter MacKay. When campaigning for the leadership of the party MacKay promised over and over again that he would not seek to unite his party with the Alliance, and he even signed a written agreement to that effect with fellow candidate David Orchard in return for Orchard's support at the convention when he fell off the ballot. This is one of the most disgusting episodes in the history of Canadian politics.

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

I should add that with respect to Nathan Divinsky, I got to know him when I worked for the CFC and found him to be a charming and intelligent man. He has a great love for chess and served our country well when he was our FIDE representative. During my tenure he also served as President of the CFC. The few friendly conversations we had touched on many topics, politics, religion, chess and others.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

Please do not get me started on the hostile takeover

I should not have added my opinion on the Conservative party or possible reasons for the loses of either. The only point I had in mind was the Prime Minister who served the shortest amount of time in the office in modern Canadian history.

I thought the bumper sticker was tasteless.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

In Kim Campbell's autobiography, "Time and Chance", she wrote that Nathan Divinsky had many positive influences upon her. Divinsky apparently was partially responsible for her entry into political life; she successfully ran for minor political office in Vancouver on his suggestion, then ran for and won a seat on Vancouver City Council, then ran and won provincially in BC, became a provincial cabinet minister, lost a SoCred leadership bid, then switched to federal politics and had a meteoric rise there. While Campbell and Divinsky wound up divorcing, she wrote that they remain good friends.

While it's true that as Prime Minister, Kim Campbell served one of the shortest terms in Canadian history, she is nonetheless a very talented person, who was simply caught in the wrong place and time (PM Mulroney's government was so unpopular and scandal-ridden in 1993 that no one could have been capable of winning an election for the Tories, which had to be called because the 5-year mandate was running out). I found her book very interesting and impressive. She is certainly nobody's fool, and essentially gave up completing her PhD at the London School of Economics in order to marry Divinsky and return to Canada with him in 1972.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

I didn't read Kim Campbell's autobiography, although, I generally did, or used to, read those books. I still have multple Trudeau, Mulroney and Chretien hard cover books around.

As I recall she never sat in Parliament as the PM. There was the summer break and then the election. Can't recall if this was also the case with Turner, although, the dates would indicate that could be the case.

[Frank Dixon]

Re: Nathan Divinsky in Chess Life

It's true that Kim Campbell never sat in Parliament while she was Prime Minister. John Turner and John Abbott (pre-1900) also have this somewhat dubious distinction among Canadian PMs. Campbell became PM on June 25, 1993, just as Parliament started its summer break, then called an election for October 25, 1993, as summer ended. She had little choice. The Tories' 5-year mandate was about to expire. Conceivably, she could have summoned Parliament back a bit earlier than usual. The Tories were destroyed, winning only two seats.

Her book "Time and Chance" is now in its third edition; I may try to find an updated edition to replace the one I have. I recommend it highly. Ultimately, and unfortunately, in my view, Campbell will probably be remembered in history for her meteoric rise and precipitous fall, rather for any concrete achievements of her life.