You also have to be honest with yourself. Be ready to accept that much of what you are doing is wrong; that is the only way to get it right. The best thing that ever happened to my chess was when I went to the Soviet Union in 1986. I was crushed game after game. It was terrible for my ego but it did illustrate all the weaknesses in my play.
— David Norwood
We continue with our plundering of Wisconsin chess history by reaching back into the longest-published of all the local chess periodicals, Badger Chess, for this interview with Arpad Elo, conducted by Dave Brimble
Continue Reading…Some people seem to think I’m lost in nostalgia. There’s a genuine resurgence of chess going on in the schools around here. Hundreds of kids are playing, so obviously I’m just looking at the past through rose-colored glasses and refusing to acknowledge that the chess scene has been rebuilt. I’m sure there’s even some who think the only reason I haven’t come around to this conclusion is that I’m not in control of the current chess scene. It’s not my achievement, therefore I don’t want to acknowledge it.
So, for those cynics I’d like to present some numbers from a Milwaukee Recreation Department document. It’s undated, but from external evidence I’d place it in the late 1950’s. It summarizes participation in the first 23 years of the Milwaukee chess program.
Continue Reading…We had the pleasure of running across these games while researching Wisconsin chess history. It’s an odd coincidence that both games should be examples of the Fried Liver but that’s sometimes the way it goes.
Continue Reading…The North Central Open was at one time the tournament championship for Region VI of the USCF. It has since become linked with the name of IM William Martz, and known by the name of the William Martz Memorial North Central Open, and now simply the Martz Memorial. When it was the Region VI championship, it travelled around Region VI from state to state, after that it settled down to a long run in Milwaukee. Now it is moved around the state by the Wisconsin Chess Association as one of the largest travelling tournaments in the WCA.
Master Greg DeFotis won the 1970 North Central Open with an unbeaten score of 6.5 points (out of 7). DeFotis won on tiebreaks over Dr. Orest Popovych, who also finished with 6.5. DeFotis led all the way, only getting nicked for a draw in the final round by Andrew Karklins.
Continue Reading…Minnesota Master Curt Brasket took the 1959 edition of the North Central Open with an unbeaten score of 6.5 points. Hans Berliner was right behind Brasket for most of the way, but the draw in their last round encounter sealed the tournament for Brasket.
Berliner had also gone undefeated, giving up the last round draw to Brasket and another draw in the fourth round to Kirby. Young Martin Harrow from Indiana put together another stellar performance to go with his finish in the Western Open earlier in 1959, scoring 6 points and going undefeated, yielding only a couple of draws, to O'Keefe in the fourth round and Kirby in the sixth.
Continue Reading…Once again in the Venetian Room of the Hotel Astor; it was the fifth time the tournament had been held here. This time it was won outright by Benko, who was having a very good year this year.
Continue Reading…This tournament was held over the Thanksgiving weekend, Nov 29 to Dec 1. Former French champion Stephen Popel, living in Detroit, tied with former US Junior champion Charles Kalme of Philadelphia for the lead (Popel winning on tiebreak) with Donald Byrne, Lajos Szedlacsek, and Curt Brasket finishing up just a half point back. Bobby Fischer played, and failed to win, finishing in 6th place. In a couple months time Fischer was to win the US Championship; in fact, this was the last US tournament Fischer played in that he failed to win.
Continue Reading…In 1931, a match was played for the State Championship between the defending champion, Harold Knutson, and challenger Robert Reel. The match was ten games long, best score wins, with a 5-5 draw going to the defending champion. Knutson won the match, 5½-3½.
LAPHAM PARK, MILWAUKEE WI, FEB 10-11, 1934: Two firsts happened in the state championship this year.
For the first time there was an entry from LaCrosse, joining eight other players (including four recognized masters) to battle for the title of State Champion. And for the first time the Ernest Reel Trophy left Milwaukee at the end of the event.
Continue Reading…The tournament that almost didn't happen. Long-time Milwaukee chess organizer and president of the Milwaukee Chess Foundation George Carian almost gave up on this one. The intention was to give local masters a chance at a FIDE rating.
The funding for it came together fairly quickly, and the roster of required FIDE-rated players was solidified as well. But then problems arose. First, the date had to be changed (to Aug 8-10) because it conflicted with a Madison tournament. Then came a frantic search for a playing site. And the sixth local master slot remained empty. George just about called the whole thing off.
Continue Reading…There is little doubt that IM William Martz, Wisconsin's first titled player, was also Wisconsin's strongest player from 1963 until his death in 1983. In November 1981 he sponsored the Martz Masters Invitational at the Normandy Village Chalet in Wauwautosa.
Craig Chellstorp and Leonid Bass both finished undefeated, a half-point ahead of third place finisher Sergey Kudrin. Chellstorp defeated Kudrin and Loren Schmidt, while Bass defeated Eugene Martinovsky and Loren Schmidt. Both of the winners drew with tournament sponsor William Martz, who finished tied for fourth with Martinovsky.
Continue Reading…