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Greatest Chess Stories

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ContemplativeCat

I was looking at the "Greatest Chess Photos" thread- terrific!

I thought it might be interesting to do a Greatest Chess Stories thread too.

To prime the pump, here's one of my favorites-

While playing in a tournament in Berlin, Aaron Nimzowitch realized that he was going to lose his game to Saemisch, along with the First Place prize. He stopped playing, stood up on the table and shouted "that I should lose to this idiot!"

Hilarious!

I know that a lot of you have probably already heard this story but for those who haven't.....

Crazychessplaya

Here's one I like:

"On the first day of an Atlantic crossing, while walking through the smoking saloon, Lasker saw a man seated alone at a chess table, pondering a position ... the stranger asked him whether he played chess.

'Oh, once in a long while,' Lasker replied truthfully.

'Well, sit down and play a few games ... we can make up for your lack of experience by a handicap. I'll give you Queen odds in the first game. If you win, we'll make it rook odds, and so on ...'

'That's all right with me,' Lasker replied, planning to give the man a little lesson.

He let him win the first game quickly ... then managed to lose a second game ... When it came to the third game, Lasker said:

'There must be some advantage in playing without the Queen. Perhaps because the King has more freedom of movement when the space next to him is not occupied. Let me give you the Queen this time.' ...

The other laughed ...

'That really would be too ridiculous!'

But Lasker was stubborn, and the man had to give in. Naturally, Lasker beat him. Somewhat flustered, his opponent explained:

'Well, I did not really pay very careful attention ... Let's play an even game now.'

No, Lasker insisted on giving him Queen odds again, and again he won. This time his opponent no longer knew what to say.

ContemplativeCat

LOL! That's a great story!

JMB2010

A man quoting a time he brought a friend to watch Lasker play for some time.

He sat down in front of the demonstration board bearing Lasker's game-and there I left him. Several times I returned always to find him gazing with steadfast eyes at the game of the idol of his youth. At 4 P.M. I asked him if we should return home. No reply. At 4:30 I repeated the question. "Wait a minute," he barked. At 5 it became serious. "If you must go, then go," replied my friend. "I am staying here until Lasker makes his next move."

How could I explain that Lasker had resigned over an hour ago?

u0092678

iwon agame byguess

howian1

Bryne Fischer.  A grandmaster is commenting on the game explaining why white is winning but did not realize that white had just resigned, and Bobby saw the combination 6 moves before.  

kevin203

Once, this player at a small tournament (i forgot the name) was playing for first place, and lost due to an accidental finger slip to the queen and lost it and the game. That night, he snuck into the tournament center and cut off the heads of all the queens. XD

mikechessjones

nimzowitsch.  Although I heard it was the pawns not the queens.

LoekBergman

Korchnoi was once playing a simultaneous exhibition in Cuba. One of his opponents was Che Guevara, who was not a particularly strong player. Before the exhibition started was Korchnoi told that Che Guevara loved chess passionately, but he is a rather weak player and that he would be extremely happy to draw his game against Korchnoi. Korchnoi nodded seriously.

After the exhibition Korchnoi returned to the hotel. There Michael Tal asked him about the result of the exhibition. 'I beat them all', was his reply. 'Also Che Guevara?', asked Michael Tal. 'He had not the faintest idea what to do against the Catalan.' 

When it comes to chess, was Korchnoi completely serious.

urk
Worthy of a bump

👏🏽
urk
After Alekhine had taken the championship title from Capablanca, Capa spent quite a bit of his spare time hanging out in a specific cafe in Paris. Friends, acquaintances, and others would often drop by, participating in games and libations with the former, charismatic, champion. One day, while Capa was having coffee and reading a newspaper, a stranger stopped at his table, motioned at the chess set and indicated he would like to play if Capa was interested. Capa's face lit up, he folded the newspaper away, reached for the board and proceeded to pocket his own queen. The opponent (who apparently had no idea who Capablanca was) reacted with slight anger. "Hey! You don't know me! I might beat you!", he said.
Capablanca, smiling gently, said quietly, "Sir, if you could beat me I would know you."
Crazychessplaya

It happened at the Cafe Au Lait.

chessspy1

I have a chess story from my home town of Hull (Kingston upon Hull, to give it it's full title) in East yorkshire (England).

Many years ago I had taken my two boys to play in an inter-schools congress.

Because some of the kids were expected to finish quickly, Roelof Westra, Yorkshire champion and a county strength player agreed to play an ongoing come all simul. About a dozen boards and as one game finished another young lad would take his place. Roelof must have played several hundred games that day if not over a thousand.

As the new rounds started (30 mins per game) the boards would clear and Roelof was kind enough to play against the 'dads' and a few of the other Hull chess club members who had come to give support. I played a Benko and after about 13 moves felt sure I had a won position. I lost of course in the end.

Later in the afternoon I found myself standing next to Roelof at the book shop (He was taking a short break) I said," You will not remember I am sure but I tried a Benko against you earlier and at one point I felt I had a better position". Ah yes, came the reply. if you had played your rook to b5 on move 15 it would have been all over, I would have had to resign.  

Verithanam

. K

Underpants_Gnome89
No chess story better or more important chess story than Bob vs Boris. USA vs USSR.
LoekBergman

humbling story. :-)

tinnderbox

Once Max Euwe was traveling by train to a tournament, and doing some preparation on a pocket set. Another traveler got interested and (without recognizing him) asked whether they could play a game of chess. Euwe didn't really want to play, but was far too polite to refuse. However he made sure to beat his opponent twice in crushing fashion in order to return to his own chess studies as soon as possible. After the second game his baffled opponent offered "I've never been beaten so soundly in my life. Back home they call me the 'Euwe' of the chess club and I'm sure you know that that really means something!"

mpaetz

     The eminent Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich was an avid chess player. Whenever he and Serge Prokofiev were at the same musical event they would go to one of their hotel rooms for a serious game. He frequently collaborated with violinist David Oistrakh, and they spent every free minute at their chessboard in the green room. His love of chess was well known in the Soviet Union, a nation where chess was big news. A reporter once asked Shostakovich "Who is the strongest player you have faced?' Shostakovich told them this story:

     When a student at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in the early 1920s he made a little money playing the piano accompaniment in (silent) movie theaters. One day, walking through the lobby after the film finished, he noticed a man looking over a position on a chessboard. Shostakovich asked if he'd like to play a game, the stranger accepted.

     Shostakovich tried a new opening idea he and his friends had seen in the latest German chess magazine. The stranger seemed puzzled, studied the position for 4 or 5 minutes, then crushed Shostakovich with an idea the German magazine hadn't mentioned. "I have never been so quickly and decisively defeated" Shostakovich admitted.

     He thanked the stranger and introduced himself--"Shostakovich, Dmitri Dmitriyevich". The stranger introduced himself--"Alekhine, Alexander Alexandrovich".

     "That was my toughest opponent", he told the reporter.

     

     

tallybloodyho

Does anybody know the story of the wise man on the road who meets a man who's sitting by the road side and crying because his wife has died, and he gives some good and uplifting advise, and the man thanks him and feels better. And then he meets somebody else in dire straits, and gives him some sage advice, and the man feels better.

Then he meets a man by the road side, sitting there and weeping, and he asks him: What is the matter with you? The man answers him: I'm a chess master, and I lost my game. Then the wise man sat next to him and wept with him.

OldPatzerMike

A 25 year old man named Albin Planinc was the chess champion of Slovenia in 1969, but had no FIDE title or experience. He was an amateur players and an employee at a bicycle factory when he entered the Vidmar Memorial tournament in Ljubljana. With 10 GMs, 3 IMs, and 3 untitled players, it was the highest category of FIDE tournaments. Planinc worked at his job during the day and played in the tournament in the evenings.

Entering the last round, Planinc was in first place by half a point over GM Gligorich. Gligo was paired against an untitled player, while Planinc faced GM Gheorghiu, quite a strong player. By drawing his game, Planinc would have assured himself a tie for first. Instead, he played aggressively, sacrificing a pawn and then a rook. Turning down 2 draw offers from Gheorghiu, he won the game and the tournament.

Planinc became a GM 3 years later and continued his very imaginative style of play. Unfortunately, mental illness cut his career short and he died in a mental hospital at the age of 64.