In the 1830s, Carl Jaenisch (1813-1872) was a military officer in the Finnish army, but soon moved to Russia and became an assistant professor of mechanics and a Russian army major. In 1840, he decided to give up his commission and army life “because he loved chess so much.” He wrote a book on chess openings, a paper on the mathematical analysis to the game of chess, and a rule book on chess. He never became a master.
In 1865, the first Irish chess championship was held in Dublin and won by James Alexander Porterfield Rynd (1846-1917), who also won in 1892. Rynd was the top Irish chess player for over 40 years. The championship was run under the auspices of the Hibernia Chess Association. The Irish Chess Association was founded in 1885.
In August 1947, the U.S. Open was held in Corpus Christi, Texas. It was the first national tournament to use the Swiss System pairings. 87 players entered for a 13-round Swiss system tournament. One of the players was Norman Whitaker, who had just been released from Alcatraz. The president of the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF), Elbert Wagner, told the tournament organizers not to let him play. But the organizers, in a unanimous decision, said that Whitaker paid his debt to society and allowed him to play (he took 8th place). The chief tournament director was George Koltanowski. The tournament was won by Isaac Kashdan.
In 1976, Father William Lombardy (born in 1937), a Catholic priest (ordained in 1967 by Cardinal Cushing) and chess grandmaster, left the church because he got fed up with a bureaucracy that kept him from competing in chess tournaments. He got married and became a full-time chess instructor. I had a lesson from him during the U.S. Open in Columbus, Ohio in 1977 as he went over my games. In 1957, he won the World Junior Chess Championship with a perfect 11-0 score, the only time that has ever been done in this event.
In 1980, Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov (1947-2005) was a member of the Soviet delegation playing in the Capablanca Memorial in Havana, Cuba. On the way back to the USSR, the airplane, which was supposed to be a direct flight back to the USSR, made an emergency refueling stop in Gander, Newfoundland. Igor made a run for it while be chased by KGB agents. He left with only the clothes on his back and a pocket chess set. He defected to Canada where he was granted political asylum. He won the 1981 Canadian Championship. He also won it in 1985, 1986, and 1987. He later became a Canadian citizen, but later moved to Arizona and Utah. He used to stay at my house when he visited the San Francisco bay area and told me his best TV show was “The Untouchables.” He was also a concert pianist.
In November 1994, Vinay Bhat (born on June 4, 1984), age 10 years and 176 days, became the youngest chess master in the United States up to that time. The previous holder was Jordy Mont-Reynaud at age 10 years and 294 days. Both kids were members of the Palo Alto, California Chess Club when I was its president and I was their early coach. That year, he won the National K-5 chess championship with a 7-0 score. In 1995, he won the Laura E. Aspis prize and $1,500 for the highest rated player under the age of 13. Jordy had won it in 1994. Bhat became a GM in 2008. In 2008, he was awarded the Samford Fellowship to support his chess activities. He is currently a Senior Data Scientist in Silicon Valley.
In 2001, Humpy Koneru (born in 1987) was the girls’ World Under-14 champion. At age 14, she became Asia’s youngest Woman Grandmaster. In 2002, she became the first woman chess player from India to receive the men’s Grandmaster title at the age of 15 years, 1 month, and 27 days. She has won four world chess championships: World Girls Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, and World Girls Junior championships.
In 2004, Carmen Kass (born in 1978), a top model in Estonia, was elected President of the Estonian Chess Federation. She was president from 2004 to 2011. Her father is a chess teacher in Estonia. In 2000, she was Vogue’s “Model of the Year.” She has been dating grandmaster Eric Lobron of Germany. She credited her successful modeling career to her skills in chess.
Boris Gulko (born in 1947) won the championship of the USSR (1977) and the USA (1994 and 1999). Lubomir Kavalek (born in 1943) won the championship of Czechoslovakia (1962 at the age of 19) and the USA (1972 and 1973. Victor Korchnoi (born in 1931) won the championship of the USSR (1960, 1962, 1964, 1970) and Switzerland (2009). Miguel Najdorf won the championship of Poland, Hungary, and Argentina.
GM Leonid Shamkovich’s (1923-2005) nickname was “the Prince.” His nickname was given to him by his fellow Soviet grandmasters for his aristocratic bearing and manner of speech. He played in 6 USSR championships.
There have been four grandmasters under the age of 14. Sergei Karjakin became a GM at the age of 12 years and 7 months. Parimarjan Negi became a GM at the age of 13 years, 4 months, and 22 days. Magnus Carlsen became a GM at the age of 13 years, 4 months, and 27 days. Bu Xiangzhi became a GM at the age of 13 years, 10 months, and 13 days.
– Bill Wall
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