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Georges Koltanowski

Photograph circa 1975; courtesy of Cleveland Public Library

GEORGES KOLTANOWSKI (born Sep-17-1903, died Feb-05-2000, 96 years old) Belgium (federation/nationality United States of America) [what is this?] Georges Gustave Koltanowski was born on the 17th of September 1903 in Antwerp, Belgium. He was awarded the IM title in 1950, an honorary GM title in 1988 and became an International Arbiter in 1960. The USCF also gave him the title of "The Dean of American Chess". More than a player, "Kolty" was also an exhibitor, writer, promoter and showman. Occasionally, he edited a column for newspapers such as the San Francisco Chronicle, Kitchener Record & others in those syndication chains. His best tournament wins were Antwerp 1932, Barcelona 1934 and Barcelona 1935. He was Belgian Champion in 1923, 1927, 1930 and 1936. In spite of his over-the-board prowess, "Kolty" was best known for his exploits in simultaneous blindfold play. When his exhibitions were over, as a finale, he would often recite the complete moves of the games without looking at the board. Among his many notable blindfold demonstrations, one that is particularly noteworthy is his performance in 1937 at Edinburgh Scotland. There, he played 34 games simultaneously without sight of the boards, scoring +24 =10 in thirteen and a half hours, a world record. Another record-setting exhibition took place on December 4 1960, in San Francisco, California, where Koltanowski played 56 consecutive games blindfolded, with only ten seconds per move. He won fifty and drew six games. Koltanowski was one of many masters who chose not to return to Europe after the 1939 Olympiad in Argentina, which coincided with the outbreak of World War II. When the Nazis overran Belgium, several of his family members perished in the Holocaust. Koltanowski was in Guatemala at the time and was allowed to immigrate to the United States, due partly because a chess-playing consul in Cuba had been amazed by one of his exhibitions. He directed the 1947 US Open, the first time the Swiss System was used for that event, and was greatly responsible for popularizing the Swiss System for tournaments in the US. His last International appearances were playing for the US Olympiad team of 1952 and a match against Henri Grob in 1953. He was President of the USCF from 1975 to 1978. (1) Wikipedia article: George Koltanowski

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page 1 of 22; games 1-25 of 539  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. B Carevic vs Koltanowski ½-½ 33 1921 Blindfold simul, 2b C25 Vienna 2. E Sapira vs Koltanowski 0-1 39 1921 Antwerp CC-ch C48 Four Knights 3. Koltanowski vs Colle   ½-½ 28 1921 Belgian Championship A03 Bird's Opening 4. Koltanowski vs Colle 1-0 30 1922 BEL-ch A03 Bird's Opening 5. Koltanowski vs E G Sergeant   1-0 28 1922 BCF Major Open C50 Giuoco Piano 6. Koltanowski vs J Balogh   0-1 32 1922 BCF Major Open C50 Giuoco Piano 7. Koltanowski vs R Michell   1-0 30 1922 BCF Major Open C50 Giuoco Piano 8. Koltanowski vs E Steiner   0-1 35 1922 BCF Major Open A07 King's Indian Attack 9. A Dunkelblum vs Koltanowski   0-1 38 1922 Belgian Championship C64 Ruy Lopez, Classical 10. Koltanowski vs N Borukhovich   ½-½ 21 1922 Belgian Championship C01 French, Exchange 11. Koltanowski vs A Dunkelblum 1-0 15 1923 Antwerp B18 Caro-Kann, Classical 12. Koltanowski vs Colle 1-0 41 1923 Rapid game A01 Nimzovich-Larsen Attack 13. Colle vs Koltanowski 0-1 71 1923 BEL-ch E60 King's Indian Defense 14. Koltanowski vs E Lancel   1-0 35 1923 Belgian Championship C50 Giuoco Piano 15. Koltanowski vs V Soultanbeieff 1-0 26 1923 Belgian Championship C49 Four Knights 16. F Lazard vs Koltanowski   ½-½ 26 1923 Koltanowski-Lazard Match B22 Sicilian, Alapin 17. Koltanowski vs F Lazard 1-0 22 1923 Koltanowski-Lazard Match D33 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch 18. Koltanowski vs Colle ½-½ 29 1923 National Interclub Championship A01 Nimzovich-Larsen Attack 19. Duchamp vs Koltanowski 0-1 30 1923 1st La Nation Belge Cup D85 Grunfeld 20. Koltanowski vs M Barzin   1-0 37 1923 1st La Nation Belge Cup C01 French, Exchange 21. Koltanowski vs Colle   1-0 50 1923 1st La Nation Belge Cup A10 English 22. M Lenglez vs Koltanowski   ½-½ 44 1923 1st La Nation Belge Cup C41 Philidor Defense 23. Koltanowski vs A Dunkelblum 1-0 27 1924 Blindfold simul, 10b C55 Two Knights Defense 24. Koltanowski vs Schmidt   1-0 30 1924 Simul A43 Old Benoni 25. Koltanowski vs A Selezniev   ½-½ 41 1924 Merano C25 Vienna  page 1 of 22; games 1-25 of 539

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 5 ·  Later Kibitzing> Jul-29-13    Phony Benoni: George Koltanowski, NSA Agent and Tournament Director of the 1964 US Open in Boston, giving fair warning to those nearing the time control: <"I have spies--policemen, if you will--walking among you. You may not think we can watch everyone at once, but I will be watching."> "Thinking Men" by Gloria Negri, <Boston Globe>, August 18, 1964. Jul-30-13    DoctorD: Perhaps PB, in regards to the Ivanov situation, organizers should ask,"WWKD?" Sep-17-13    brankat: R.I.P. master Kotlanowski. Sep-17-13    Abdel Irada: When "Kolty" edited the San Francisco Chronicle chess column, he was called George. When did he pluralize himself? ∞ Sep-17-13    Abdel Irada: <Dredge Rivers: Blindfold is for wimps! He should have tried blindfolded, gagged, and handcuffed! Now, that's HARDCORE! :)> Mais non! That is not hardcore. Hardcore would be: bound, gagged, blindfolded, chained, manacled and locked in a chest chained shut from the outside and submerged in ten feet of water. (Just ask Harry Houdini.) ∞ Sep-17-13    Abdel Irada: <HeMateMe: George is no longer with us, though I'm sure he'd be willing to play the whole site at blindfold chess, were it technically possible.> What, you've never heard of a seance? (To save time, we can summon Kolty and Zaphod Beeblebrox IV simultaneously.) ∞ Sep-17-13    Nosnibor: The casual game played against Love in 1949 deserves a mention. Good old Koltanowski did a favour for Dr.Ezra Love who within 12 months of this game died from tuberculosis.This game was played by correspondence and Dr Ezra who was not a strong player wanted to beat his father,Ezra Love Senior and therefore came to an arrangement with Kolty for him to make the moves on his behalf while masquerading as the player competing against his father.He had never beaten his father before.In July 1949 just before the end of the game he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and transferred to Sunny Acres TB Sanitorium in Providence R.I.At that point he broke the news to his father and told him that in reality he was playing a master and not his son.On the 11th February 1852 Ezra Love Senior wrote to Koltanowski as follows:-" Dear Koltanowski On your move 21 RxB! you are,after such a long wait receving two resignations...My son passed away... and I too am lost...Thanks for a splendid gameand for giving my son his first victory over his dad.It made him happy.Sincerely yours.Ezra Love Sr."(Source BCM PAGES122/123,1951) Sep-17-13    Penguincw: R.I.P. Koltanowski. Dec-13-13    GrahamClayton: Back in 1952, Kolty hosted a chess program on radio station KPFA of Berkeley, California, commencing each Friday night at 9.00 pm. He played a game against the station's listeners, and then analysed the game in future broadcasts. Would anyone know for how long this program ran on KPFA? Jul-24-14    diagonal: http://www.chessdryad.com/articles/... <George Koltanowski: Father of Northern California Chess> Sep-17-14    Penguincw: R.I.P. blindfold chess legend, Georges Koltanowski. Sep-17-14    docbenway: Koltanowski was an official at a Paul Masson Winery Chess Tournament in the early 1970s and was drawn to a table where 2 guys were playing Las Vegas Chess and slamming the plastic container so hard into the table it seems they would soon drive it right through. He watched for a few moments and bent forward to quietly say, "Gentlemen, maybe somebody would like to play after you." They corrected in mid stream but he was already gone. Sep-17-14    parisattack: <GrahamClayton: Back in 1952, Kolty hosted a chess program on radio station KPFA of Berkeley, California, commencing each Friday night at 9.00 pm. He played a game against the station's listeners, and then analysed the game in future broadcasts. Would anyone know for how long this program ran on KPFA?> The medium is the message, and Kolty appears to have used them all successfully. I have an old LP record "Koltanowski Teaches Chess - Part 1 - My Approach to the Game." It is quite a hoot, as they say in the midwest. Sep-17-14    Lighthorse: In the late 1960s, they had a TV program on PBS here in NY with him that I watched faithfully called "Koltanowski on Chess." I still remember he had one lesson on how to do blindfold chess. I tried his method, but never could master it. I also remember his comment that they banned blindfold chess in the USSR, but didn't they realize that imagining moves over a chessboard is almost the same thing? Sep-17-14    Lighthorse: Although I lost my notes long ago from the Koltanowski TV show, I did memorize this one great problem he showed. Here it is for posterity: Initial position: click for larger view White to play and mate with the c2 pawn without capturing any of the black pawns or allowing them to move. Here is the solution: 1.Qd1 Kh8 2.Qa1 Kg8 3.Ng3 Kh8 4.Ng2 Kg8 5.Ne2 Kh8 6.Ne1 Kg8 7.Nc1 Kh8 8.Rf8+ Kg7 9.R6f7+ Kh6 10.Rh8+ Kg5 11.Bh4+ Kg4 12.Bf5+ Kf4 13.Ncd3+ Ke3 14.Qb2 Kd2 15.Kf2 Kd1 16.Kf3 Kd2 17.Ra7 Kd1 18.Ra6 Kd2 19.Bg4 Kd1 20.Kg2+ Kd2 click for larger view 21.c4+ Ke3 22.Qc1+ Ke4 23.Bf3+ Kf5 24.Qg5+ Ke6 25.Bg4+ Kf7 26.Bh5+ Ke6 27.Rh6+ Kd7 28.Qd8+ Kc6 29.c5 click for larger view 29...Kb7 30.Qa8+ Kc7 31.Bd8+ Kd7 32.c6# click for larger view Sep-25-14    parisattack: Very nice puzzle <Lighthorse>! Thanks for sharing. Aug-30-15    Phony Benoni: A comment from Koltanowski's report on the 1969 US Open ("Chess Life & Review", November 1969, p.438): <"A number of players, including a former U.S. Champion, do not resign but just get up and leave the room, allowing their time to run out. And they call themselves "masters!"> Inquiring minds want to know who the U.S. Champion was. If Koltanowski meant somebody at the tournament, it would have been either Arthur Bisguier or Arnold Denker. Had he been speaking in general, he could also have meant Sanuel Reshevsky, Larry Evans, or Robert Fischer. I have a suspect or two, but facts would be better. Aug-30-15    TheFocus: Blindfold chess, huh? I never could see it. Aug-30-15    TheFocus: <Had he been speaking in general, he could also have meant Sanuel Reshevsky, Larry Evans, or Robert Fischer.> Not Fischer. He only lost two games by running out of time. And Fischer wasn't playing in U.S. Opens by 1969. Aug-30-15    Phony Benoni: No, we can be sure it wasn't Fischer. In the first place, it would have been widely commented upon and become general knowledge. And in the second place, it would have become the fashion. Aug-30-15    NeverAgain: And in the third place, you can hardly expect to be taken seriously if you start citing Koltanowski as a reliable source. http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... Aug-30-15    Phony Benoni: Yes, Koltanowski was never one to let facts stand in the way of a good story. But this sounds more like the complaint of an aggrieved tournament official, or perhaps an older man disgusted with the morals of the young generation. And, in any event, it must be better to look into the statement rather than rejecting it outright simply because Koltanowski said it. Feb-21-16    bengalcat47: <docbenway> I'm curious about "Las Vegas Chess." Is this a drinking man's variation of chess, or is there gambling on the game's outcome? Just wondering is all. Apr-13-16    GrahamClayton: <parisattack> I have an old LP record "Koltanowski Teaches Chess - Part 1 - My Approach to the Game." It is quite a hoot, as they say in the midwest. <parisattack>, Here is the album cover - was there ever a Volume 2 released? http://lpcoverlover.com/2016/03/22/... Jun-04-17    ChessHigherCat: <Lighthorse: White to play and mate with the c2 pawn without capturing any of the black pawns or allowing them to move.> That's a cool puzzle but you should say "White to mate with the c pawn" (not c2 pawn), because I thought it was necessary to play c2 to c3 or c4 with a discovered check and mate. Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 5) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 5 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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