Table Of ContentCopyright (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
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Dedicated to
Bobbie Wall Fowler
(1931-2001)
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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-
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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.
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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.
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