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Samuel Reshevsky

SAMUEL RESHEVSKY (born Nov-26-1911, died Apr-04-1992, 80 years old) Poland (federation/nationality United States of America) [what is this?] Samuel Herman Reshevsky (Szmul Rzeszewski) was born in Ozorkow, Poland. He learned to play chess at the age of four. At eight years old he was giving simultaneous exhibitions and defeating some of the country's most prominent players. Following the events of World War 1, Reshevsky immigrated to the United States (1920). As a 9-year-old, his first American simultaneous exhibition was with 20 officers and cadets at the Military Academy at West Point. He won 19 games and drew one. He toured the country and played over 1,500 games as a 9-year old in simultaneous exhibitions and only lost 8 games. In his early years he did not go to school and his parents ended up in Manhattan Children's Court on charges of improper guardianship. His benefactor was Julius Rosenwald, founder of Sears & Roebuck, who agreed to provide for Reshevsky's future if he devoted himself to completing his education. Reshevsky then largely abandoned chess for 10 years to pursue a vocation as an accountant, receiving an accounting degree from the University of Chicago in 1933 which he put to use in New York City. After obtaining his college degree, he devoted himself to tournament chess. Several subsequent successes in international events led to his invitations to both AVRO 1938 and the World Championship Tournament ten years later. Between 1936 and 1942, he had a streak of 75 games without a loss in U.S. Championship competition. He won the US Open in 1931, 1934 (tied with Reuben Fine), 1944, and 1955 (on tiebreak over Nicolas Rossolimo). Pan-American Champion at Hollywood 1945. He played in 21 U.S. Championships, from 1936 to 1981. Over the course of a long international career that continued until he was almost 80, he qualified for the Candidates five times. He won the U.S. Championship eight times (1936, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, and 1969), a record he shares with Bobby Fischer. He tied for first in 1972 but lost the playoff in 1973 to Robert Byrne. He played 11 World Champions, from Emanuel Lasker to Anatoly Karpov. He won matches against several notable Western players, including Svetozar Gligoric, Miguel Najdorf and Robert James Fischer (after Fischer was forfeited while the match was tied). However, he was never able to secure the right to a World Championship match. In 1981, at the age of 70, he tied for 3rd place in the U.S. Championship. In 1984, at the age of 72, he took first place in the powerful Reykjavik Open, which featured many grandmasters. (1) Wikipedia article: Samuel Reshevsky; (1) http://www.365chess.com/tournaments... Last updated: 2023-12-31 22:30:50

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page 1 of 65; games 1-25 of 1,625  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Reshevsky vs Rubinstein 0-1 24 1917 Blindfold game C50 Giuoco Piano 2. Reshevsky vs S Factor 0-1 26 1917 Lodz C22 Center Game 3. Reshevsky vs Traube 1-0 17 1920 Hanover A02 Bird's Opening 4. C Jaffe vs Reshevsky 0-1 17 1920 New York blindfold C30 King's Gambit Declined 5. Reshevsky vs R Griffith 1-0 30 1920 Blindfold game C67 Ruy Lopez 6. Reshevsky vs K Romeikat   ½-½ 38 1920 Berlin (simul) B01 Scandinavian 7. Reshevsky vs J Zabludowski 1-0 29 1920 Simul, 20b C62 Ruy Lopez, Old Steinitz Defense 8. Reshevsky vs L von Dory 1-0 16 1920 Simul C35 King's Gambit Accepted, Cunningham 9. Reshevsky vs Saemisch 0-1 38 1920 Berlin E50 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O 5.Nf3, without ...d5 10. P Krueger vs Reshevsky ½-½ 39 1920 Blindfold game C48 Four Knights 11. Reshevsky vs Euwe 0-1 15 1920 Simul, 20b C83 Ruy Lopez, Open 12. Reshevsky vs M Herzfeld 1-0 52 1920 Simul, 20b C66 Ruy Lopez 13. Reshevsky vs M Gency 1-0 37 1920 Simul, 20b C30 King's Gambit Declined 14. Reshevsky vs L Schwarz 1-0 65 1920 Simul, 20b C00 French Defense 15. Reshevsky vs G W Beaumont 1-0 30 1920 Simul, 15b C34 King's Gambit Accepted 16. Reshevsky vs F Knoller 1-0 40 1920 Simul, 20b C79 Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defense Deferred 17. Reshevsky vs S Katz ½-½ 29 1920 Simul, 20b B21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4 18. Reshevsky vs A Simchow   0-1 34 1920 Simul, 20b D05 Queen's Pawn Game 19. Reshevsky vs M J Clurman ½-½ 23 1920 Simul, 20b B15 Caro-Kann 20. Reshevsky vs L S Stillman 1-0 20 1920 Simul, 20b B21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4 21. M A Schapiro vs Reshevsky 0-1 40 1920 Exhibition game C14 French, Classical 22. Reshevsky vs E B Hilliard 1-0 27 1920 Blindfold game C30 King's Gambit Declined 23. Reshevsky vs J H Longacre ½-½ 25 1921 Simul, 20b C68 Ruy Lopez, Exchange 24. Reshevsky vs C More   ½-½ 21 1921 Simul, 20b D37 Queen's Gambit Declined 25. Reshevsky vs S Sharp ½-½ 27 1921 Simul, 20b C31 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit  page 1 of 65; games 1-25 of 1,625

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 55 OF 65 ·  Later Kibitzing> Nov-26-12    RookFile: Reshevsky was as elegant as bulldog who would bite your head off. Nov-26-12    ughaibu: So, his record against world champions, disregarding losses, was: win, win, win, win, win, win, no win, no win, win. . . What's the story with Karpov, Kasparov? Nov-26-12    RookFile: He played Karpov once. There are other guys with long careers, but the number of guys who played both Lasker and Karpov is small. Reshevsky vs Karpov, 1976 Nov-26-12    waustad: This is a crowded b'day with Jobava, Chepa and Reshevsky among the famous players. Happy b'day to all. RIP Samuel Reshevsky. Nov-26-12    RookFile: Are those Star Wars characters? I've only heard of Reshevsky. Dec-20-12    jerseybob: Reshevsky's list of Notable Games should certainly include the 1970 win vs. Smyslov in USSR vs World, as white in a Lopez, no less. Jan-11-13    leka: Bobby Fischer wrote in 1964 that Reshevsky was the best chess player from 1946 to 1956.Altough Botvinnik beat Reshevsky from 1936 to 1955 their games 5 wins 7 draws 2 losess. Jan-11-13    Jim Bartle: A single head-to-head record can't determine who's the better player over an era. Otherwise Gulko would be considered greater than Kasparov. Jan-11-13    jussu: <the number of guys who played both Lasker and Karpov is small.> Is there any other? It seems that Botvinnik only played Karpov in a simul, which sort of counts, too (he certainly played Lasker in Nottingham and Moscow 1935). Keres never played Lasker (although they met face to face). Can't think of any other candidates. Jan-11-13    jussu: One exceedingly stupid person just wrote <Nottingham and Moscow 1935>. Now that I'm thinking about it, Nottingham took place in 1936, while there were tournaments in Moscow both 1935 and 1936, and I think all three featured both Lasker and Botvinnik. Jan-11-13    keypusher: <jussu: One exceedingly stupid person just wrote <Nottingham and Moscow 1935>. Now that I'm thinking about it, Nottingham took place in 1936, while there were tournaments in Moscow both 1935 and 1936, and I think all three featured both Lasker and Botvinnik.> Yes, you're right, except for the exceedingly stupid part of course. Moscow (1935) Moscow (1936) Nottingham (1936) Feb-23-13    technical draw: Reshevsky played in the 1970 Buenos Aires tournament which Fischer won. Fischer had 4 draws Reshevsky had 13 draws. Now drawing can mean that you are too hard to beat (like Petrossian) or to meek to win. In any case even Reshevsky's wins are draw like. I once had a book of Reshevsky's games and I was very happy. But when I started playing the games I said, What the heck is this? Incomprehensible maneuvering and long drawn out strategies. Even in his notable games above there are 4 draws. That said Reshevsky is still one of the great ones. Feb-23-13    Phony Benoni: Well, two of those notable draws shouldn't really be considered draws. Larry Evans vs Reshevsky, 1963 is the famous "Swindle of the Century", and Szabo vs Reshevsky, 1953 is the game where Szabo didn't realize that you should look for mate in two against Reshevsky. Feb-24-13    RookFile: Reshevsky's mentality when winning was to try to deny his opponent counterplay. Not at all like Tal who just went for the throat. There is a place for the way Reshevsky played. Capa thought his style was a little too restricted - at least that's what he said in "Last Lectures". Apr-22-13    Gottschalk: "If Reshevsky sees a way to make he does not feel uncomfortable to think 2h and 25 min to seize the opportunity and turn it into a win." David Bronstein Zurich Chess tournament Game 137 Reshevsky versus Euwe. May-20-13    Tabanus: http://heritageechecsfra.free.fr/im... Picture is from the site http://heritageechecsfra.free.fr/19..., sorry if posted before! May-20-13    Phony Benoni: Wow! He's playing Albert M Swank! May-20-13    TheFocus: Yep, that's Swank. I could tell from the beard. Post-mortem: <Sammy> See... I move my horsey here and I win your Queen. <Albert>: Nice game, Sammy. <Sammy> Swank you! Aug-29-13    Dionysius1: From the bio <In 1984, at the age of 72, he took first place in a grandmaster tournament in Reykjavik, Iceland>. As this is the last line in his bio, could it be made more specific (the Rejkjavik Open)? It sounds sad to have a slightly vague fact ending a note of his illustrious career, IMO. Aug-29-13    chancho: <As this is the last line in his bio, could it be made more specific (the Rejkjavik Open)> It was an 11 round swiss, 60 players played the event, and Reshevsky scored 8-3 and tied for 1st-3rd. (5 wins 0 losses 6 draws.) Sep-21-13    offramp: So his last event was in Reykjavik. If he had died there he might have been buried in the cemetery of Laugardalur Church. Sep-22-13    TheFocus: No, he played for another 5 years after Reykjavic. Last event was a 4 game/30 drawn match against Smyslov in 1991. Oct-30-13    Karpova: C.N. 8374 links to the article <Sammy Reshevky - America's New Champion> by Philip Slomovitz in the 'Jewish Criterion' of June 5, 1936, forwarded by Harrie Grondijs (Rijswijk, the Netherlands): http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... Mar-01-14    Yopo: Reshevsky at Paris in the year 1920 http://heritageechecsfra.free.fr/19... (in french) May-05-14    offramp: I wonder when his best period was? I'd say 1950 to 1955. Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 65) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 55 OF 65 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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