1933 in chess
Encyclopedia
Events in chess
in 1933:
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
in 1933:
- The 5th Chess Olympiad5th Chess OlympiadThe 5th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 12 and July 23, 1933, in Folkestone, United Kingdom...
(known at the time as the Folkestone Team Tournament or the Hamilton-Russell Cup) is held in FolkestoneFolkestoneFolkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
. The United States wins the gold medal, Czechoslovakia silver, and Sweden bronze. - The Women's World ChampionshipWomen's World Chess ChampionshipThe Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE....
is held in conjunction with the Olympiad. Vera MenchikVera MenchikVera Menchik was a British-Czech chess player who gained renown as the world's first women's chess champion. She also competed in chess tournaments with some of the world's leading male chess masters, defeating many of them, including future World Champion Max Euwe.The daughter of a Czech father...
(Czechoslovakia) easily retains her title. - The Bulgarian ChampionshipBulgarian Chess ChampionshipThe Bulgarian Chess Championship is an event inaugurated in 1933 to crown the best chess player in Bulgaria. The championship has been held on a nearly annual basis since, with only a few years missed...
is inaugurated in VarnaVarnaVarna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
. - Chess ReviewChess ReviewChess Review is a U.S. chess magazine that was published from January 1933 until October 1969 . Until April 1941 it was called The Chess Review. Published in New York, it began on a schedule of at least ten issues a year but later became a monthly...
is established by Isaac KashdanIsaac KashdanIsaac Kashdan was an American chess grandmaster and chess writer. Kashdan was one of the world's best players in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was twice U.S. Open champion...
. The leading American chess magazine for most of its run, the Chess Review would be published from January 1933 until November 1969 when it merged with Chess LifeChess LifeChess Life is a monthly chess magazine published in the United States. The official publication of the United States Chess Federation , it reaches more than a quarter of a million readers every month. A subscription to Chess Life is one of the benefits of Full Adult, Youth, or Life membership in...
to form Chess Life & Review.
Tournaments
- Hastings Christmas CongressHastings International Chess CongressThe Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
, held 28 December 1932 to 6 January 1933, is won by Salo FlohrSalo FlohrSalomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
(Czechoslovakia) for the second consecutive year, scoring 7/9 with no losses. Vasja PircVasja PircVasja Pirc was a leading Slovenian chess player. His name is most familiar to contemporary players as the originator of the hypermodern Pirc Defense...
(Yugoslavia) is second with 6½ followed by Mir Sultan KhanMir Sultan KhanMalik Mir Sultan Khan was the strongest chess master of his time from Asia. This manservant from British India traveled with Colonel Nawab Sir Umar Hayat Khan , his master, to Britain, where he took the chess world by storm...
with 6. - Masters tournament in BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
is won by Esteban CanalEsteban CanalEsteban Canal was a leading Peruvian chess player who had his best tournament results in the 1920s and 1930s.-Birth and life:Born in Chiclayo, Peru, he moved to Italy in the 1920s and remained there.-As a chess player:...
with 10/14, followed by Pál RéthyPál RéthyPál Réthy was a Hungarian chess master.Born in Deva, Transylvania , he lived in Hungary after World War I...
with 9½, Andor LilienthalAndor LilienthalAndor Arnoldovich Lilienthal was a Hungarian and Soviet chess Grandmaster. In his long career, he played against ten male and female world champions, beating Emanuel Lasker, José Raúl Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, and Vera Menchik...
with 9, Lajos SteinerLajos SteinerLajos Steiner was a Hungarian–born Australian chess master.Steiner was one of four children of Bernat Steiner, a mathematics teacher, and his wife Cecilia,, and a younger brother of Endre Steiner...
with 8½, and Erich EliskasesErich EliskasesErich Gottlieb Eliskases was a chess Grandmaster of the 1930s and 1940s, who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition....
with 8. - United States Team Tournament held to select players to join Frank Marshall and Isaac KashdanIsaac KashdanIsaac Kashdan was an American chess grandmaster and chess writer. Kashdan was one of the world's best players in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was twice U.S. Open champion...
on the US OlympiadChess OlympiadThe Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
team is won by Reuben FineReuben FineReuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
with 8/11, followed by Arthur DakeArthur DakeArthur Dake was an American chess master. He was born in Portland, Oregon and died in Reno, Nevada....
and A.C. SimonsonAlbert SimonsonAlbert Simonson was an American chess master. He was one of the strongest American players of the 1930s, and was part of the American team which won the gold medals at the 1933 Chess Olympiad...
tied at 7½. - AachenAachenAachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
is the site of a National Masters tournament in June, won by Efim BogoljubowEfim BogoljubowEfim Dmitriyevich Bogolyubov was a Russo-German chess grandmaster who won numerous events and played two matches with Alexander Alekhine for the world championship.-Early career:...
. The tournament is organized by the Grossdeutsche Schachbund, a new state-supported chess federation with Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph GoebbelsJoseph GoebbelsPaul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
serving as honorary chair. The editors of Chess ReviewChess ReviewChess Review is a U.S. chess magazine that was published from January 1933 until October 1969 . Until April 1941 it was called The Chess Review. Published in New York, it began on a schedule of at least ten issues a year but later became a monthly...
decry the virtual exclusion of Jews from German chess, not only from tournaments but also from chess cafés and playing rooms. - Western OpenU.S. Open Chess ChampionshipThe U.S. Open Championship is an open national chess championship that has been held in the United States annually since 1900.-History:Through 1938, the tournaments were organized by the Western Chess Association and its successor, the American Chess Federation .The United States Chess Federation ...
held September 23 to October 1 in Detroit is won by Reuben FineReuben FineReuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
with 12/13 over Samuel ReshevskySamuel ReshevskySamuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
with 11 and Arthur DakeArthur DakeArthur Dake was an American chess master. He was born in Portland, Oregon and died in Reno, Nevada....
with 9½. Fine scored +10−1=0, the only loss being to Reshevsky.
Matches
- 57th Varsity Match in April is won by OxfordOxford University Chess ClubThe Oxford University Chess Club was founded at the University of Oxford in 1869 and is the oldest university chess club in the United Kingdom. The Club meets each Tuesday evening during University term time, from 7.30pm at St John's College...
over Cambridge, 5–2. Cambridge leads the overall series by 26 matches to 25, with 6 ties. - Salo FlohrSalo FlohrSalomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
(Czechoslovakia) beats Henry Grob (Switzerland), 4½–1½. - Reuben FineReuben FineReuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
defeats Arthur DakeArthur DakeArthur Dake was an American chess master. He was born in Portland, Oregon and died in Reno, Nevada....
+4−2=3 in a match held in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the Marshall Chess ClubMarshall Chess ClubThe Marshall Chess Club in New York City is one of the oldest chess clubs in the United States, located in Greenwich Village. The club was formed in 1915 by a group of players led by Frank Marshall. It is a non-profit organization.-History:...
and the Manhattan Chess ClubManhattan Chess ClubThe Manhattan Chess Club in Manhattan was the second-oldest chess club in the United States . The club was founded in 1877 and started with three dozen players; membership later reached into the hundreds before the club ended its existence in 2002...
. - Flohr and Mikhail BotvinnikMikhail BotvinnikMikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
draw a match held in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and LeningradLeningradLeningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, 2 wins, 2 losses and eight draws each.
Exhibitions
- The National Chess Federation (United States) organized a chess program for the 1933 Chicago World's FairCentury of ProgressA Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation...
. World Champion Alexander AlekhineAlexander AlekhineAlexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
played a blindfoldBlindfold chessBlindfold chess is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces or touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces...
simultaneous exhibitionSimultaneous exhibitionA simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition in which one player plays multiple games at a time with a number of other players. Such an exhibition is often referred to simply as a "simul".In a regular simul, no chess clocks are used...
on a record-setting 32 boards, winning 19, drawing 9, and losing 4. This broke the previous record of 30 simultaneous blindfold games set by George KoltanowskiGeorge KoltanowskiGeorge Koltanowski was a Belgian-born American chess player, promoter, and writer. He was informally known as "Kolty". Koltanowski set the world's blindfold record on 20 September 1937, in Edinburgh, by playing 34 chess games simultaneously while blindfolded, making headline news around the world...
in Antwerp. Alekhine also played three games of living chessHuman chessHuman chess is a variant of chess, often played at a Renaissance fair, where people each take on the role of a chess piece. Human chess is typically played on an outdoor field, with the squares of the board marked out on the grass. Many Human Combat Chess Matches are choreographed stage shows that...
, in which the chess pieces were people in medieval costumes arrayed on a large outdoor board. The last of these games, held on June 19, was against Edward LaskerEdward LaskerEdward Lasker was a leading German-American chess and Go player. He was awarded the title of International Master of chess by FIDE. Lasker was an engineer by profession, and an author.-Background:...
. A masters tournament was planned for the Fair but was canceled due to lack of funds. The scheduled Intercollegiate Tournament was held and was won by Lieutenant John O. Matheson of West PointUnited States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
.
Births
- Burt HochbergBurt HochbergBurt Hochberg was an expert on chess and other games and puzzles. He authored and edited many books on chess, and served as editor of both Chess Life , and GAMES magazine...
, American chess writer and editor - February 3 — Raúl SanguinettiRaúl SanguinettiRaúl Carlos Sanguineti , sometimes spelled Sanguinetti was an Argentine chess Grandmaster. He won the Argentine Chess Championship seven times, in 1956, 1957, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1973 and 1974. Raúl Sanguinetti played for Argentina in seven Chess Olympiads...
in Paraná, Entre RíosParaná, Entre RíosParaná is the capital city of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite the city of Santa Fe, capital of the neighbouring Santa Fe Province...
, Argentinan GM - March 5 – Evgeni VasiukovEvgeni VasiukovEvgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov is a Russian chess Grandmaster. During his career, he won the Championship of Moscow on six occasions and scored many victories in international tournaments, such as Belgrade Open 1961, Moscow International 1961, East Berlin 1962, and Manila 1974...
in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russian/Soviet GM - May 29 – Nikola PadevskyNikola PadevskyNikola Bochev Padevsky is a Bulgarian chess Grandmaster.Padevsky was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city. He became Bulgarian National Champion in 1954, going on to win it in 1955, 1962 and 1964 in a play off after which he gained the status of a grandmaster, after initially being...
in PlovdivPlovdivPlovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
, Bulgarian GM - September 30 – János FleschJános FleschJános Flesch was a chess Grandmaster, chess writer and coach, born in Budapest, Hungary. He is best known for claiming a world record simultaneous blindfold exhibition when he played 52 opponents in Budapest in 1960...
in BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungarian GM - October 7 – Jonathan PenroseJonathan PenroseJonathan Penrose, OBE is an English chess player, emeritus Grandmaster, and International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster who won the British Chess Championship ten times between 1958 and 1969. He is the son of Lionel Penrose, a world famous professor of genetics, and brother of Roger Penrose...
in ColchesterColchesterColchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, English GM and Correspondence GM - October 15 – Zadok DomnitzZadok DomnitzZadok Domnitz is an Israeli chess master, born in Tel Aviv.He played three times for Israel in Chess Olympiads.* In 1962, at first reserve board in 15th Olympiad in Varna ;...
in Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with... - October 15 – James SherwinJames SherwinJames Terry Sherwin is an American corporate executive and International Master in chess.Born in New York City in 1933, Sherwin attended Stuyvesant High School, Columbia College and Columbia Law School. He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Officer Candidate School in 1956 and later...
in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, American IM - November 12 – Borislav IvkovBorislav IvkovBorislav Ivkov is a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was the first ever World Junior Champion in 1951. He won the Yugoslav Championship in 1958 , 1963 and 1972. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979...
in BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbian/Yugoslavian GM - November 13 – Bukhuti GurgenidzeBukhuti GurgenidzeBukhuti Ivanovich Gurgenidze was a Georgian chess Grandmaster, born in Surami.He was a multiple Georgian Champion, and played in eight USSR Chess Championships. He shared first place with Mikhail Tal at Tbilisi in 1969–70 and placed first at Olomouc in 1976. Gurgenidze was a trainer to several...
in Surami, GeorgiaSuramiSurami is a townlet in Georgia’s Shida Kartli region with the population of 9,800 . It is a popular mountain climatic resort and a home to a medieval fortress.- Location :...
, Georgian/Soviet GM - November 15 – Egon VarnuszEgon VarnuszEgon Varnusz was a Hungarian chess Master and writer.- Biography :Varnusz competed in five Hungarian Chess Championships: in 1958, 1961, 1963, 1965, and 1966. In 1966, he made his best career result with 10.5/18, for 6th place, as Gideon Barcza won...
in BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungarian FM and chess writer
Deaths
- March 7 – Hermann von GottschallHermann von GottschallHermann von Gottschall was a German chess master, son of the poet Rudolf Gottschall who was also a noted chess player....
, 70, German player - March 27 – William Samuel VinerWilliam Samuel VinerWilliam Samuel Viner was an Australian chess master.He was the West Australian champion in 1900, 1901, 1903 and 1905, and won the Perth Chess Club's handicap tournament three times...
, 52, Australian player - April 23 – Henry William Barry, 54, American problemist and problem editor of the American Chess BulletinAmerican Chess BulletinThe American Chess Bulletin was a chess periodical that was published monthly and bi-monthly from 1904 to 1963. The editor was Hermann Helms , who founded the magazine and edited it until his death, at which point publication ceased...
- July 22 – Adolf Georg OllandAdolf Georg OllandAdolf Georg Olland was the leading Dutch chess master in the time before Max Euwe. Born in Utrecht, he was a medical doctor....
, 66, leading Dutch player - October 17 – Johann BergerJohann BergerJohann Nepomuk Berger was an Austrian chess master, theorist, endgame study composer, author and editor.In September 1870, he won the first tournament in the Austro-Hungarian Empire at Graz...
, 88, Austrian player, theorist, and endgame composer