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LJ Idol Free Topic: Radial
Feb. 17th, 2010 08:07 pmMy old friend Daren is one of those people who, from time to time, emails collected tidbits to a list of acquaintances. I find his mails tolerable, because unlike most such folk - who will forward the next cute photo, racy joke, inspirational prayer, or chain letter to your inbox on the occasion of any day ending in the letter "y" - Daren chooses his material carefully and sends his messages at judicious intervals. As a result, I always look forward to reading his latest "find" on the history of chess in Florida, and in particular, our old stomping ground of Jacksonville.
Daren's latest note to his scattered minions arrived today. It contains a link to an old newspaper article about the Great Jacksonville-Murmansk Telex Chess Match of 1987, which I had helped set up. The event took place at my then-employer's cafeteria, and the moves were relayed using the company's telex account. The local boys were grossly outmatched and lost to the Murmansk team 7-1, and that one point was the result of two draws.
Daren's next item provided a link to an account I wrote about the visit to Jacksonville, in 1984, of former World Champion Boris Spassky. Few people today remember the 1972 World Championship match between Spassky and Bobby Fischer, but it was such a big deal, it made the nightly news. I was a big chess fan at the time and in particular remember watching the 6th game on the tube, where, after being brilliantly defeated by Fisher's play, Spassky exhibited admirable sportsmanship by joining the audience in applauding his opponent. Fischer went on to win the match, the first American to ever do so.
Jacksonville was Spassky's second stop in his 1984 tour of the US, and he was in town to play what's known as a "simultaneous exhibition."
A "simul" (as such events are called, for short) is where a very strong chessplayer – typically a master or stronger – plays 20 or more games at once against opponents ranged around the outside of a ring of tables (though owing to the geometry of most rooms, this "ring" is usually rectangular).
According to tradition, the exhibitor plays White on all boards, providing the same slight edge that any player of the White pieces enjoys. In addition, when the exhibitor comes to a board, the opponent must either make a move then and there or use up one of a limited number of "pass" opportunities to buy some thinking time. This is why some simuls start with the exhibitor racing around the arrayed chessboards like a ball around the circumference of a roulette wheel. The effect, for opponents, is akin to sitting down to play blitz, or lightning chess, against the exhibitor,. This is a losing proposition, as strong players are almost always even stronger blitz players.
Spassky was above that kind of gamesmanship. He circulated at a relatively slow pace around the 30 boards arrayed against him. I sat at one of the boards, and by the end of the evening, I was one of two players who managed to play to a draw. That game remains the high point of my chess career.
The account of mine that Daren linked to includes my game with Spassky, along with a scan of a grainy newspaper photo that had been published to accompany the Florida Times-Union article about the event. As luck would have it, the angle of the shot placed me about as far away from the camera as you could get. Daren's note mentioned that a better photo of Spassky at the simul was available at the Jacksonville Chess Club's web site, and provided a link.
The photo is better, there's no doubt about that. It shows Spassky as I remember him, looking more like he belongs on a tennis court or on board a yacht than at a chessboard. After a few moments, I got to thinking of where in the room Spassky was when the photo was taken, and after peering more closely at the positions on the boards visible in the image (and setting up the pieces to replay the moves of our game), I realized Spassky was standing very nearly in front of my board (mine is the one to the right of the one he's studying in the photo).
While it is pleasant to have discovered the photo – and actually, to have done that little bit of photo-analysis to prove my board was in the picture – nothing can replace the very pleasant memory I have of Spassky away from the board. We chatted for a bit, and I even received a holiday card from him that year. Still, the photo seems to have completed a circle of remembrance in my mind.
I can't wait for Daren's next email.
Daren's latest note to his scattered minions arrived today. It contains a link to an old newspaper article about the Great Jacksonville-Murmansk Telex Chess Match of 1987, which I had helped set up. The event took place at my then-employer's cafeteria, and the moves were relayed using the company's telex account. The local boys were grossly outmatched and lost to the Murmansk team 7-1, and that one point was the result of two draws.
Daren's next item provided a link to an account I wrote about the visit to Jacksonville, in 1984, of former World Champion Boris Spassky. Few people today remember the 1972 World Championship match between Spassky and Bobby Fischer, but it was such a big deal, it made the nightly news. I was a big chess fan at the time and in particular remember watching the 6th game on the tube, where, after being brilliantly defeated by Fisher's play, Spassky exhibited admirable sportsmanship by joining the audience in applauding his opponent. Fischer went on to win the match, the first American to ever do so.
Jacksonville was Spassky's second stop in his 1984 tour of the US, and he was in town to play what's known as a "simultaneous exhibition."
A "simul" (as such events are called, for short) is where a very strong chessplayer – typically a master or stronger – plays 20 or more games at once against opponents ranged around the outside of a ring of tables (though owing to the geometry of most rooms, this "ring" is usually rectangular).
According to tradition, the exhibitor plays White on all boards, providing the same slight edge that any player of the White pieces enjoys. In addition, when the exhibitor comes to a board, the opponent must either make a move then and there or use up one of a limited number of "pass" opportunities to buy some thinking time. This is why some simuls start with the exhibitor racing around the arrayed chessboards like a ball around the circumference of a roulette wheel. The effect, for opponents, is akin to sitting down to play blitz, or lightning chess, against the exhibitor,. This is a losing proposition, as strong players are almost always even stronger blitz players.
Spassky was above that kind of gamesmanship. He circulated at a relatively slow pace around the 30 boards arrayed against him. I sat at one of the boards, and by the end of the evening, I was one of two players who managed to play to a draw. That game remains the high point of my chess career.
The account of mine that Daren linked to includes my game with Spassky, along with a scan of a grainy newspaper photo that had been published to accompany the Florida Times-Union article about the event. As luck would have it, the angle of the shot placed me about as far away from the camera as you could get. Daren's note mentioned that a better photo of Spassky at the simul was available at the Jacksonville Chess Club's web site, and provided a link.
The photo is better, there's no doubt about that. It shows Spassky as I remember him, looking more like he belongs on a tennis court or on board a yacht than at a chessboard. After a few moments, I got to thinking of where in the room Spassky was when the photo was taken, and after peering more closely at the positions on the boards visible in the image (and setting up the pieces to replay the moves of our game), I realized Spassky was standing very nearly in front of my board (mine is the one to the right of the one he's studying in the photo).
While it is pleasant to have discovered the photo – and actually, to have done that little bit of photo-analysis to prove my board was in the picture – nothing can replace the very pleasant memory I have of Spassky away from the board. We chatted for a bit, and I even received a holiday card from him that year. Still, the photo seems to have completed a circle of remembrance in my mind.
I can't wait for Daren's next email.
