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Charles Jaffe

Jaffe's portrait from Jaffe's Chess Primer (1937)

CHARLES JAFFE (born Apr-25-1879, died Jul-12-1941, 62 years old) Russia (federation/nationality United States of America) [what is this?] Charles Jaffe was born in Dubrouna. He moved to America in 1896 and worked as a silk-mill merchant. In 1904, he took 7th out of 10 players at the St. Louis (7th American Congress) with 5/11, as Frank James Marshall won.Jaffe defeated Jacques Mieses, a leading player, by 2–0 in a mini-match at New York 1907. In 1909, Jaffe took 3rd out of 6 players with 3/5 in a small tournament at Bath Beach, Brooklyn NY (Herbert Rosenfeld won). Also in 1909, Jaffe lost a match to Frank Marshall by a score 3.5-5.5 (+2 =3 -4). Jaffe was nicknamed "the Crown Prince of East Side Chess" by the poet and chess master Alfred Kreymborg. He often played at the Stuyvesant Chess Club, hangout of chess hustlers and interesting characters, which had many strong players, and was located on Manhattan's Lower East Side. "Jaffe was famous for his poverty", and "his style was "inimitably coffeehouse". Jaffe made much of his income through challenge games and odds games played there. The colorful atmosphere of the club in that era was outlined by in the book The Bobby Fischer I Knew And Other Stories. He was 3rd at New York 1913 and his career included a victory over Jose Raul Capablanca and match wins over Oscar Chajes and Jacques Mieses. In 1909-10, Jaffe began a concerted attempt to build a professional chess career. In February 1909, he challenged Marshall to a match, losing by 3.5 to 5.5 - Marshall - Jaffe (1909). He came third in the 22nd New York State Chess Association Championship (1909), July 26-30, 1909, defeating Marshall in Marshall vs C Jaffe, 1909. He was third equal behind Capablanca and Marshall Game Collection: 1911 New York Masters (January 1911), but then his deficiencies were painfully laid bare in his first taste of elite chess, at Karlsbad (1911). Having raised his fare by a public subscription, he found himself outclassed, sharing last place with (+8 -16 =1). In October 1912, he lost a three game match against Capablanca by 0.5 to 2.5. Capablanca later made a public allegation that at the Havana (1913) tournament Jaffe had thrown a game against Marshall enabling the latter to win the tournament. Capablanca and his powerful supporters in the East Coast American chess establishment, Hartwig Cassel and Hermann Helms, concerted this damaging embargo on Jaffe. Jaffe became involved in a 1916 court battle against 'American Chess Bulletin' co-editor Hartwig Cassel, involving the non-inclusion for publication of some of his chess analysis of the King's Gambit, Rice Gambit, but he lost the case, despite being supported by witnesses who included U.S. champion Frank Marshall. This was apparently the first American case where chess matters made it to the courts. While seemingly frivolous, this case should be viewed from the perspective of Jaffe making much of his living from writing articles on chess for Jewish periodicals, so his professional reputation was at stake. Jaffe played Janowski in a match twice. Game Collection: Jaffe - Janowski where he lost narrowly by 6-7, then in a return match November 1917 to January 1918 he lost by 8-10. At the Rye Beach Tournament (July 1918) he was equal third behind perennial rivals Chajes and Kupchik. Although he won the 1920 Rice Progressive Chess Club Championship ahead of Chajes and Kupchik, then took second place to Marshall at the Atlantic City Tournament (July 1920), he was never a rival to Marshall. In the late 1920s Jaffe stopped playing regularly in tournaments. *Wikipedia article: Dubroŭna Wikipedia article: Charles Jaffe Last updated: 2022-03-11 14:55:38

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page 1 of 9; games 1-25 of 217  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Pillsbury vs C Jaffe ½-½ 15 1904 Brooklyn Chess Club C38 King's Gambit Accepted 2. L Eisenberg vs C Jaffe 1-0 37 1904 7th American Chess Congress, St. Louis B30 Sicilian 3. E Kemeny vs C Jaffe 1-0 31 1904 7th American Chess Congress, St. Louis B45 Sicilian, Taimanov 4. C Jaffe vs Marshall 0-1 35 1904 7th American Chess Congress, St. Louis D08 Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter Gambit 5. E Shrader vs C Jaffe   0-1 32 1904 7th American Chess Congress, St. Louis B45 Sicilian, Taimanov 6. S Mlotkowski vs C Jaffe   0-1 52 1904 7th American Chess Congress, St. Louis C25 Vienna 7. C Jaffe vs E F Schrader   0-1 40 1904 7th American Chess Congress, St. Louis D52 Queen's Gambit Declined 8. G Schwietzer vs C Jaffe   ½-½ 47 1904 7th American Chess Congress, St. Louis D02 Queen's Pawn Game 9. C Jaffe vs G Schwietzer   1-0 47 1904 7th American Chess Congress, St. Louis C14 French, Classical 10. C Jaffe vs M Judd   ½-½ 53 1904 7th American Chess Congress, St. Louis A84 Dutch 11. M Judd vs C Jaffe   1-0 40 1904 7th American Chess Congress, St. Louis A07 King's Indian Attack 12. J Mieses vs C Jaffe   ½-½ 62 1907 New York exg C27 Vienna Game 13. C Jaffe vs J Mieses 1-0 36 1907 New York m D02 Queen's Pawn Game 14. J Mieses vs C Jaffe 0-1 50 1907 New York m C28 Vienna Game 15. C Jaffe vs Marshall   ½-½ 36 1909 Marshall - Jaffe D02 Queen's Pawn Game 16. Marshall vs C Jaffe 1-0 45 1909 Marshall - Jaffe A83 Dutch, Staunton Gambit 17. C Jaffe vs Marshall ½-½ 28 1909 Marshall - Jaffe D02 Queen's Pawn Game 18. Marshall vs C Jaffe   0-1 45 1909 Marshall - Jaffe D51 Queen's Gambit Declined 19. C Jaffe vs Marshall 0-1 55 1909 Marshall - Jaffe D02 Queen's Pawn Game 20. Marshall vs C Jaffe 1-0 52 1909 Marshall - Jaffe A83 Dutch, Staunton Gambit 21. C Jaffe vs Marshall 1-0 45 1909 Marshall - Jaffe D02 Queen's Pawn Game 22. Marshall vs C Jaffe   ½-½ 47 1909 Marshall - Jaffe A83 Dutch, Staunton Gambit 23. C Jaffe vs Marshall 0-1 53 1909 Marshall - Jaffe D02 Queen's Pawn Game 24. Capablanca vs C Jaffe 1-0 40 1909 Exhibition game C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed 25. W Moorman vs C Jaffe 1-0 50 1909 22nd New York State Chess Association Championship B40 Sicilian  page 1 of 9; games 1-25 of 217

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 1 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing> May-06-05    Benzol: Was there any truth in Capablanca's charges that Jaffe threw his game against Marshall at Havana 1913 so that the American would win the tournament? May-08-05    Resignation Trap: Use your own judgement and come to your own conclusions! From round one, here is Marshall vs C Jaffe, 1913 . And from round eight, here is C Jaffe vs Marshall, 1913. Marshall and Capablanca were leading this 8-player double round robin after eight rounds with 6/8 each, and Janowski a close third with 5.5. Capablanca lost to Marshall in round ten Capablanca vs Marshall, 1913 , which left the American champion a full point ahead of the field, a margin he maintained until the start of the 14th and final round. Marshall then blew the endgame and lost to Janowski in the last round Janowski vs Marshall, 1913 . This gave Capablanca the opportunity to tie for first: all he had to do was to defeat Kupchik. But the Cuban was held to a draw by his young opponent Kupchik vs Capablanca, 1913 , and had to be content with second place. He seemed disappointed by not winning first prize in his hometown. The organizers of this tournament were also the ones who organized most of the tournaments in New York during this period. Afterwards, Capablanca used his clout to dissuade furture invitations to Jaffe at events in which the Cuban was invited. May-09-05    Benzol: <Resignation Trap> Thanks for that. Very interesting stuff. Anybody can have an off-day but maybe Capablanca did have grounds for complaint. However, he shouldn't have tried to influence who got invitations and who didn't in subsequent events. May-09-05    Caissanist: According to Edward Lasker, when he was playing in the New York City championship in 1915, he went into the last round half a point behind Roy Black. Jaffe, who was Black's opponent in the last round, then suggested to Lasker that he offer Jaffe a special prize for defeating Black. Lasker, who thought this was pretty funny, in fact did so after getting the approval of the tournament director. He then became New York City champion when both he and Jaffe won their last round games. I wouldn't be surprised if Jaffe made a similar "suggestion" to Capablanca prior to his second game with Marshall. May-20-05    Caissanist: Jaffe seems to have been basically a hustler rather than a "serious" tournament player. Albert Kreymbourg paints a memorable picture of him in his wonderful memoir "Chess Reclaims a Devotee", which was reprinted in The Fireside Book of Chess. May-21-05    keypusher: Did anyone ever track down the game against Chajes, in which Kreymbourg claimed to have messed up an 18-move combination? May-21-05    Caissanist: Yes, I remember that Andy Soltis published it in Chess Life some years ago. I think it was about 1990, but can't be more specific than that. May-21-05    Calli: <Caissanist> Capablanca was angry about something that Jaffe did. I doubt it was just the games with Marshall. He had knowledge of a deal being offered. Whether it was to Capa himself or to another player, we will probably never know. Also, the bio claims 2 wins over Capablanca. I only know of one. Dec-17-05    Benzol: <Calli> I believe you're right so I've corrected the bio accordingly. Apr-19-06    keypusher: I always thought of Jaffe as a hustler as described in Kreymbourg's article (mentioned by Cassianist above). Does anyone know how he came to participate in the Karlsbad 1911 tournament? Apr-19-06    Gypsy: <Does anyone know how he came to participate in the Karlsbad 1911 tournament?> Jaffe was of Polish origin in the era when Pan-Slavism was a popular concept in the land that felt to be under German (Habsburk) opression for close to 300 years. That may have gotten him the nod. Just a guess, but the same pedigree (American master of Polish origin) holds also for Chajes who also trailed together with Jaffe, Alapin, and Fahrni the tournament table at Karlsbad, 1911 . May-18-06    Caissanist: Edward Winter on Jaffe: http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... May-18-06    Benzol: I've never seen that picture of the players at Havana 1913 before. Is S Capablanca a relation of J R? May-18-06    Calli: A reasonable guess for S. Capablanca would be his brother Salvador (1885-1940). Capablanca was one of eight children. May-20-06    Benzol: Thanks <Calli>. Aug-18-07    Karpova: <1916: Charles Jaffe v Hartwig Cassel (C.N. 1105) From the BCM, June 1916, page 200: ‘When chessplayers go to law on some matter connected with the game, there is usually a touch of the ridiculous. In the Bronx Municipal Court, on 4 April, a case came up in which Charles Jaffe sued Hartwig Cassel, one of the editors of the American Chess Bulletin, for $700 – over £140 – for work alleged to have been done in analysing the Rice Gambit. Last year Professor Isaac J. [sic – L. would be correct] Rice invited a number of strong American players to Utica to test his gambit once more, and it was agreed that their investigations should be continued. Jaffe, however, broke away from the rest and decided to analyse by himself. The others concluded their joint work, which is to appear in a book entitled Twenty Years of the Rice Gambit, while Mr Julius Finn, who was appointed referee in the matter, declared Jaffe’s work not acceptable. Hence the lawsuit, Mr Cassel being brought in as having acted in an advisory capacity for the late professor in chess matters. The witnesses at the trial included Marshall (who considered Jaffe’s claim not unreasonable), Julius Finn, Albert B. Hodges, and J. Rosenthal. The verdict was in favour of Mr Cassel. The chief amusement seems to have been when Jaffe was in the witness-box on his own behalf, and expressed his opinion of the chess strength of a number of noted players in the court – not unqualified by their attitude towards him in the case.’ A detailed account of the case appeared on pages 124-125 of the May-June 1916 American Chess Bulletin.> http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... Nov-06-07    Karpova: A three-cornered tournament almost nothing is known about: <Dan Scoones (Coquitlam, BC, Canada) sends the following extract from a report on page 19 of the New York Times, 20 July 1919: ‘By invitation of the I.L. Rice Progressive Chess Club, Metropolitan League champions, Oscar Chajes, Charles Jaffe and Boris Kostić started a short three-cornered tournament at that club yesterday. The pairings brought together Jaffe and Kostić in the first round, Kostić winning the toss for move and selecting the Ruy López. The Serbian brought about an early exchange of queens, Jaffe being left in possession of two bishops. The latter won a pawn at his 24th turn, and playing in excellent style thereafter, brought about Kostić’s resignation after 48 moves had been recorded. Jaffe will play against Chajes in the next round.’> There is another game Jaffe-Kostic, New York 1919 but it doesn't fit the description and it's unclear so I won't submit it until further information appear. But that's the game: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Bd6 9.c3 h6 10.Ne4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 O-O 12.d4 f5 13.dxe5 fxe4 14.Qxd6 Qh4 15.Be3 Ba6 16.Nd2 Rad8 17.Qb4 Rxd2 18.Kxd2 Rxf2+ 19.Kc1 Rxg2 20.Qxa5 Bc8 21.Rd1 Qh3 22.Qd8+ Kh7 23.Qd4 Qf3 24.Re1 c5 25.Qd5 Rxh2 26.Bd2 Bf5 27.e6 e3 28.Qxf3 exd2+ 29.Kd1 Bc2+ 30.Kxc2 dxe1(Q)+ 31.Kb3 Qxe6+ 32.c4 Qb6+ 33.Kc3 Qxb2+ 34.Kd3 Qd4# 0-1 http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... Mar-13-08    offramp: Jaffe and Chajes were like ... have you ever read The Castle by Franz Kafka? They were like Arthur and Jeremiah. K said that it was impossible to tell them apart and he could not be bothered to remember which one was which - so he called them both by one name. Jan-08-09    myschkin: . . . "The Crown Prince of East Side Chess" "Jaffe was famous for his poverty", and "his style was "inimitably coffeehouse".* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charle... *The World of Chess, by Anthony Saidy and Norman Lessing, 1974, New York, Random House, pp. 190-191 May-17-11    Imposter: He was once mugged by thieves who demanded money. Apparently he shrugged and invited them to search him and to let him know if they found anything, cause he sure couldn't. Apparently the would be thieves were charmed by the guy and took him to a tavern and treated him to a beer. Not sure if it's true, but this story has been around for a while and it adds to the legend of the man. May-17-11    MaxxLange: I had only known of him as the person who lost this miniature: Capablanca vs C Jaffe, 1910 He sounds like quite a colorful character. Apr-25-13    brankat: R.I.P. Master Jaffe. Mar-09-14    Karpova: Dr. Emanuel Lasker, Berlin, January 24: <Sein Gegner zwar ist nicht von erstem Range. Es ist derselbe Jaffe, der vor einigen Jahren sich erfolglos in einem europäischen Meisterturniere, ich glaube Karlsbad versucht hat. Aber die schachliche Persönlichkeit des Kubaners ist von solchem Interesse, daß, in Ermangelung von etwas Besserem, auch diese Partien Aufmerksamkeit erregen. Enthüllen sie doch, wenigstens von seiner Seite, einen Stil.> (His opponent indeed is not of first rank. It is the same Jaffe who unsuccessfully dabbled in a European master tournament, I believe it was Karlsbad, a few years ago. But the chess personality of the Cuban is of such interest, that also games like these create interest. They reveal, at least from his side, a style.) Source: 'Pester Lloyd', 1913.01.26, p. 11 The context: Dr. Lasker annotates C Jaffe vs Capablanca, 1912 as there had been few games of Capablanca, thereby providing this short assessment of Jaffe. Mar-09-14    sakredkow: <It is the same Jaffe who unsuccessfully dabbled in a European master tournament> Early version of "chess tourist." Apr-25-15    SteinitzLives: Jaffe was the American equivalent of Janowski, only with less talent, and more personality. Thanks for the stories Charlie! search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 1 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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