Copyright (c) 2001 by Bill Wall All rights reserved A Pickard & Son, Publishers eClassic Pickard & Son, Publishers P.O. Box 2320 Wylie, TX 75098 ISBN: 1-886846-33-2 Cover Art by Pickard & Son, Publishers First Printing: June 2001 www.ChessCentral.com Dedicated to Bobbie Wall Fowler (1931-2001) www.ChessCentral.com Off the Wall Chess Trivia Off the Wall Chess Trivia is jammed with tons of lit- tle-known facts, historical gems, and amazing stories - all you could possibly think of that defines chess. Whether you are a chess enthusiast or just a dabbler, you will be de- lighted, amazed and amused by this resource. Here are a couple of tidbits to ponder. Did you know that Bobby Fischer, Barbra Streissand, and Grandmas- ter/murderer Raymond Weinstein all went to Eramus High School together? Or that Humphrey Bogart hustled strangers at 5-minute chess for 50 cents a game at chess parlors in New York Times Square? These fascinating nuggets, along with everything else you’ve ever wanted to know about chess, are to be found within this easy- to-browse e-book. www.ChessCentral.com Many thanks to Bill Wall for his countless hours of re- search, and for allowing us to publish this e-book as a free download at ChessCentral. Sid Pickard Pickard & Son, Publishers Wylie, TX www.ChessCentral.com www.ChessCentral.com Table of Contents A ...................7 M...............162 B ................ 30 N ...............180 C ................ 56 O ...............187 D .................79 P ...............191 E .................89 Q ...............209 F .................96 R ...............211 G ...............106 S ...............227 H ...............118 T ...............250 I ...............127 U ...............262 J ...............133 V ...............265 K ...............137 W...............268 L ...............148 Y ...............280 Z ...............282 www.ChessCentral.com Chess Trivia 7 A Aaron, Manual (1935- ) First International Master (1961) from India. He was born in Toungoo, Burma and became an International Arbiter in 1966. Academy, Chess The first chess academy was conducted at Fountainbleau, France in 1680. Active Chess The first official Active Chess (30 minutes per game) tournament was held in Gijon, Spain in 1988 and won by Karpov and Tukmakov. Karpov won the World Active Championship in Mazatlan, Mexico and received $50,000. The organizers of the event donated $100,000 for AIDS research. Adams, Michael (1971- ) British Grandmaster who, in 1989, won the British Cham- pionship at the age of 17 and became a Grandmaster. www.ChessCentral.com Chess Trivia 8 Adams, Weaver (1901-1963) US master who won the US Open in 1948. In 1939 he wrote a book entitled, White to Play and Win. After pub- lication he played a tournament in Dallas. He lost all his games as White and won all his games as Black! Addison, William (1933- ) US International Master and considered the best Go player among chess masters. He competed in the 1970 Interzonal in Palma de Mallorca then gave up chess for a career in banking. Adianto, Utut (1965- ) First Indonesian Grandmaster (1986). He was born in Ja- karta, Indonesia. He is a former World Junior Champion. Adjournment Closure of a playing session where a player seals his next move. First introduced at Paris in 1878, adjournments are now rare. Agdestein, Simen (1967- ) Norwegian Grandmaster (1985) who tied for the World Junior Championship with Arencibia in 1986. He has repre- www.ChessCentral.com Chess Trivia 9 sented Norway on their soccer team. He has won the Nor- wegian championship 4 times, the first when he was 15. Ager chessmen Chess pieces found in Ager, Spain carved in rock crystal. They are an example of the earliest type of chessmen used in Europe. It was a popular, although untrue, tradi- tion that this set belonged to Charlemagne. Agzamov, Georgy (1954-1986) Russian Grandmaster (1984) who was accidently killed when he tried to take a short cut to go swimming and fell down between two rocks. AIPE Association Internationale de la Presse Echiqueenne. It is an organization of chess journalists founded in 1968 by Jordi Puig. AIPE awards the chess Oscars to the out- standing male and female players of the year. The 1997 chess Oscar went to Anand. Aitken, James (1908-1983) Won the Scottish chess championship 10 times. www.ChessCentral.com Chess Trivia 10 Ajeeb The name of the chess automaton built by Charles Hop- per, a Bristol cabinet-maker, in 1865. The life-size Indian figure was operated by several chess and checker mas- ters. One opponent shot at Ajeeb after losing a game, wounding the operator. One of the operators of Ajeeb was chess and checker master Constant Ferdinand Burille. During his years as operator, he played over 900 games of chess and only lost 3 games. He never lost a sin- gle checker game. Pillsbury was its hidden operator from 1898 to 1904. When Ajeeb was on display in New York at the Eden Musee, it played checkers for a dime and chess for a quarter. Opponents included Theodore Roo- sevelt, Houdini, Admiral Dewey, O. Henry and Sarah Bernhardt. Ajeeb was 10 feet high. Ajeeb was first exhib- ited at the Royal Polytechnical Institute in London in 1868. It was lodged at the Crystal Palace between 1868 and 1876 and then went to the Royal Aquarium at West- minster until 1877. It was then taken to Berlin where over 100,000 saw it in three months. It came to New York in 1885. It was destroyed by fire at Coney Island in 1929. www.ChessCentral.com