Samuel Reshevsky

by Tartajubow
(Ohio)

He?s an unusual choice, but he has always been my favorite. His career is too well known to discuss here, but in case anybody doesn?t know, you can read about him on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Reshevsky

Most people who are familiar with Reshevsky think of him as a positional player, but as GM Arnold Denker, among others, pointed out Reshevsky?s greatest asset was his ability to calculate tactics. They rarely occurred in his games but his ability in that area was part of his success in getting through horrendous time pressure without botching the game. He was also well known for his ability to handle N?s which makes my draw in a N and P ending with him even more memorable. But I?m getting ahead of myself.

When I learned to play chess I lived in a small town where people thought chess was a game something like checkers and I played games out of the encyclopedia and against myself.

Somehow or other I discovered the Correspondence Chess League of America and began playing correspondence chess on post cards. At the same time I discovered there were such things as chess books! My first book was a slim volume by Alexander on Alekhine?s last games, none of which I understood. A few worthless books later I got Reshevsky On Chess and something happened. I was captivated by the clear, seemingly simple chess Reshevsky played and his openings became my openings. It has been rumored that Fred Reinfeld ghost wrote the book for $100, but Reshevsky claimed otherwise. Anyway, I liked the simple notes that the book contained. Eventually I wore the cover off the book and it literally fell apart because I played over and over the games while trying to guess the next move.

Back in those days the United States Chess Federation had barely 6000 members and only about 50-60 players rated over 2200. Grandmasters? They were mythical people who lived in faraway lands and you never actually saw one. Maybe you saw a photo in Al Horowitz? Chess Review, The Picture Chess Magazine, but that was all. I did meet Dr. Max Euwe once when he was in a nearby large city. My father took me to watch a simul Euwe gave and I got his autograph. I?d also met GM Nicholas Rossolimo at his chess studio in New York City while I was in the military. In fact I played an offhand game against Rossolimo that day. I lost. I?d also run into Bobby Fischer at Dr. Albert Buschke?s used chess book store in NYC, but those are other anecdotes. Anyway masters were so rare that I can remember playing in one weekend Swiss where the rumor was that a 2202 master had actually pre-registered!

So, in 1975 I was living near the sleepy college town of Oberlin, Ohio when the US Championship was played there. We got to meet some real legends of the game! Unfortunately Bobby Fischer and Larry Evans were not playing but there was the gregarious and fun loving Arthur Bisguier and the sociable William Lombardy, both legends in US chess. Another friendly and outgoing personality was Edmar Mednis who spent time keeping some of us spellbound with tales of chess in his native Latvia during WW2. There was the stately veteran, Robert Byrne and Pal Benko who in 1962 had played in the Candidate?s Tournament. There was the quirky Walter Browne (who won the event) and some promising younger players like Jim Tarjan, Kim Commons, John Grefe and John Peters. And then there was Reshevsky!

Reshevsky was a small man, maybe 5 feet two and he had very delicate features. He was a legend that was treated with respect even by his peers. He seemed taciturn and aloof, but if you had the temerity to approach him, like I did, he was friendly enough. That is he was friendly until he sat down to play; then he became meaner than a snake.

Two incidents stand out. Sometime about the middle of the tournament he was playing the local hero, Dr. Milan Vukcevich. A former Yugoslav player, Vuky, as he was known, was a research scientist for General Electric in Cleveland, Ohio, a GM of chess composition and later became an IM. I was following Reshevsky?s game against Vukcevich and almost from the very beginning Reshevsky was coughing, clearing his throat and noisily unwrapping gum much to the annoyance of all the participants, but nobody would say anything to the great Reshevsky. There was no way of telling how many sticks he must have chewed during the game. About halfway through the session I went out into the hallway and was at the coffee machine when Vukcevich came out for coffee. He was laughing and told me, ?I don?t believe it! I don?t believe it! Reshevsky just coughed and it wasn?t my move!? Vucevich, rather than being distracted or annoyed, found the whole incident amusing.

During the final round Reshevsky was paired against Benko who was in last place. Reshevsky offered a draw which Benko refused. So he offered again and again and Benko kept refusing. Finally Reshevsky went to the TD and asked him to ?tell Pal it?s a draw.? When the TD approached Benko, Benko explained that he was in last place and felt an obligation to play for a win and thereby tie for next to last. So they played on. Eventually Benko got into his customary time pressure. Every time he moved Reshevsky would blitz out a move then hold his finger on the button making it difficult for Benko to punch his clock. Benko never said anything but kept giving Reshevsky dirty looks and hammering the clock with his fist. He got through the time pressure and had to agree to a draw.

So I had not only met my favorite player and seen him in action, but I had actually gotten to chat with him! A few years later in 1979 I saw a small ad in Chess Life magazine where Reshevsky was offering to play ?instructional correspondence games? for a fee and listed his home address. I sent off a post card requesting information and expected to get back a flyer or something but instead, about a week later, received a handwritten post card stating his fee was $35 per game. That was cheap because some time earlier Pal Benko had been advertising in Chess Life to play one game for $100 and two for $150. Thus I began a postal game against my favorite player.

I?m pretty sure Reshevsky didn?t spend nearly as much time on the game as I did! I spent hours and hours analyzing (remember this was before computer) while I suspect he treated is more like a simul game. I met his favorite Modern Benoni with a solid, quiet line where only the e-file was open. I managed to trade off all the heavy pieces on it and the B?s were also traded.

Eventually I found myself in a N and P ending, managed to keep his N?s out of important squares and finally one day got a card from him stating, ?I believe the game is a draw.? Wow! Not only had I met and talked to my favorite player I had played him to a draw; not many people can say that!