Bernard Zuckerman
Encyclopedia
Bernard Zuckerman is an International Master of chess
.
Zuckerman competed in seven U.S. Chess Championship
s (1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1977 and 1978), his best result being a tie for fourth and fifth (with William Addison) in 1965. He served as a member of the U.S. team in the World Student Team Championships of 1964, 1967 and 1969.
For more than forty years Zuckerman has been a well known authority on chess opening
s. At the 1959 U.S. Open Chess Championship
in Omaha
, Nebraska
Grandmaster
Arthur Bisguier
, who won the tournament, often asked Zuckerman, then a Class B Chess Player, what opening to play and then followed his advice. Zuckerman became known as "Zook the Book" or "Zuckerbook" because he knew more about opening theory than could be found in any book.
Zuckerman is 22 days younger than Bobby Fischer
, and sometimes jested that when he got as old as Fischer he would be just as strong. Zuckerman was one of Fischer's few close friends, and taught him much about the Sicilian Defence
and other openings. Fischer used Zuckerman's advice successfully; see the 1962 game Bilek-Fischer for one example.
By 1964, Zuckerman was strong enough to play in the U.S. Chess Championship
. He would play about twelve to fifteen moves, get a clear advantage, and offer
a draw
which was usually accepted. When it was not accepted he would often go on to win, as in his game with grandmaster Robert Byrne.
Tournament organizers knew Zuckerman's games frequently resulted in short draws, and despite his obvious strength stopped inviting him to tournaments. Hence he never got a grandmaster title, because, among other reasons, in order to get a grandmaster title it is necessary to defeat other grandmasters.
Although his rating was never high in tournament chess, Zuckerman was a fantastically strong blitz chess
player, displaying the same mastery of openings, and winning, rather than drawing as draws are much less common in blitz chess.
Zuckerman has not played in a serious open chess tournament since 1990. He still plays occasionally in Zsuzsa Polgar's blitz tournaments in Queens
, and Zuckerman still wins almost every game, except that he loses to Zsuzsa. He currently lives in Brooklyn Heights
, New York.
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...
.
Zuckerman competed in seven U.S. Chess Championship
U.S. Chess Championship
The U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational tournament held to determine the national chess champion of the United States. Since 1936, it has been held under the auspices of the U.S. Chess Federation. Until 1999, the event consisted of a round-robin tournament of varying size...
s (1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1977 and 1978), his best result being a tie for fourth and fifth (with William Addison) in 1965. He served as a member of the U.S. team in the World Student Team Championships of 1964, 1967 and 1969.
For more than forty years Zuckerman has been a well known authority on chess opening
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
s. At the 1959 U.S. Open Chess Championship
U.S. Open Chess Championship
The 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 ...
in Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
Arthur Bisguier
Arthur Bisguier
Arthur Bernard Bisguier is an American chess Grandmaster, chess promoter, and writer. Bisguier won two U.S. Junior Championships , three U.S. Open Chess Championship titles , and the 1954 United States Chess Championship title. He played for the United States in five chess Olympiads...
, who won the tournament, often asked Zuckerman, then a Class B Chess Player, what opening to play and then followed his advice. Zuckerman became known as "Zook the Book" or "Zuckerbook" because he knew more about opening theory than could be found in any book.
Zuckerman is 22 days younger than Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
, and sometimes jested that when he got as old as Fischer he would be just as strong. Zuckerman was one of Fischer's few close friends, and taught him much about the Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
and other openings. Fischer used Zuckerman's advice successfully; see the 1962 game Bilek-Fischer for one example.
By 1964, Zuckerman was strong enough to play in the U.S. Chess Championship
U.S. Chess Championship
The U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational tournament held to determine the national chess champion of the United States. Since 1936, it has been held under the auspices of the U.S. Chess Federation. Until 1999, the event consisted of a round-robin tournament of varying size...
. He would play about twelve to fifteen moves, get a clear advantage, and offer
Draw by agreement
In chess, a draw by agreement is the outcome of a game due to the agreement of both players to a draw. A player may offer a draw to his opponent at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw. The relevant portion of the FIDE laws of chess is article 9.1...
a draw
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
which was usually accepted. When it was not accepted he would often go on to win, as in his game with grandmaster Robert Byrne.
Tournament organizers knew Zuckerman's games frequently resulted in short draws, and despite his obvious strength stopped inviting him to tournaments. Hence he never got a grandmaster title, because, among other reasons, in order to get a grandmaster title it is necessary to defeat other grandmasters.
Although his rating was never high in tournament chess, Zuckerman was a fantastically strong blitz chess
Blitz chess
Fast chess, also known as blitz chess, lightning chess, sudden death, speed chess, bullet chess and rapid chess, is a type of chess game in which each side is given less time to make their moves than under the normal tournament time controls of 60 to 180 minutes per player.-Overview:The different...
player, displaying the same mastery of openings, and winning, rather than drawing as draws are much less common in blitz chess.
Zuckerman has not played in a serious open chess tournament since 1990. He still plays occasionally in Zsuzsa Polgar's blitz tournaments in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, and Zuckerman still wins almost every game, except that he loses to Zsuzsa. He currently lives in Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Heights is a culturally diverse neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Originally referred to as 'Brooklyn Village', it has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834. As of 2000, Brooklyn Heights sustained a population of 22,594 people. The neighborhood is part of...
, New York.