Jude Acers
Encyclopedia
Jude Frazer Acers is a chess
player best known for playing against all comers in the New Orleans Gazebo
while wearing a red beret
. A longtime resident of Louisiana, he claims to have been the first New Orleans native chess master
of comparable strength since Paul Morphy
.
In addition to being a player, he has written or contributed to several chess books. In 2008 he is working on The Road which will be a book about his chess tours. He is also known for being a great showman, touring the country giving simultaneous chess exhibitions. He was twice the world record holder of having played the most opponents in a simultaneous exhibition
. First against 117 opponents (1973, Lloyd Center
, Portland, Oregon
), then against 179 opponents (1976, Mid Island Plaza, Long Island
, New York
). The records were certified by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Questions have arisen concerning his actual strength at chess. He got his U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) rating up to 2399, just one point below Senior Master, by playing matches against players who had never played rated chess before. This led the USCF Executive Director Ed Edmondson
to freeze his rating at 2399 until he played in an open tournament.
In 1995, a new rating statistician, apparently unfamiliar with the "Jude Acers Rule", added one point to his rating, giving him a rating of exactly 2400.
Ever since, for the last nearly 40 years, Acers has not played in a rated open tournament until the World Senior Championship
held in September 2007 in Gmunden
, Austria. Acers defeated veteran master Bill Hook
of the British Virgin Islands
in the first round. Acers' recent result at the 17th World Senior Chess Championship, with a FIDE performance of 2289, should help to confirm his playing strength.
Acers barely survived Hurricane Katrina
and lived in a displaced persons camp for some time. As the city recovered, he returned to New Orleans and resumed his customary chess table in the French Quarter
.
He annotated many American Master-level games, along with Louis Ciamarra, for the Yugoslav-published series Chess Informant.
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...
player best known for playing against all comers in the New Orleans Gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
while wearing a red beret
Beret
A beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat, designated a "cap", usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, or wool felt, or acrylic fiber....
. A longtime resident of Louisiana, he claims to have been the first New Orleans native chess master
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
of comparable strength since Paul Morphy
Paul Morphy
Paul Charles Morphy was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and an unofficial World Chess Champion. He was a chess prodigy...
.
In addition to being a player, he has written or contributed to several chess books. In 2008 he is working on The Road which will be a book about his chess tours. He is also known for being a great showman, touring the country giving simultaneous chess exhibitions. He was twice the world record holder of having played the most opponents in a simultaneous exhibition
Simultaneous exhibition
A 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...
. First against 117 opponents (1973, Lloyd Center
Lloyd Center
Lloyd Center is a shopping mall in the Lloyd District of Portland, Oregon, United States, just northeast of downtown. It is owned by Glimcher Realty Trust and anchored by Macy's, Nordstrom, Sears, Marshalls and Ross. The mall features three floors of shopping with the third level serving mostly...
, Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
), then against 179 opponents (1976, Mid Island Plaza, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
). The records were certified by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Questions have arisen concerning his actual strength at chess. He got his U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) rating up to 2399, just one point below Senior Master, by playing matches against players who had never played rated chess before. This led the USCF Executive Director Ed Edmondson
Ed Edmondson (chess official)
Edmund Edmondson was President of the United States Chess Federation from 1963 to 1966 and Executive Director of the USCF from 1966 to 1975. He served as an officer, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, with the United States Air Force.Edmondson played a key role in Bobby Fischer's path to the...
to freeze his rating at 2399 until he played in an open tournament.
In 1995, a new rating statistician, apparently unfamiliar with the "Jude Acers Rule", added one point to his rating, giving him a rating of exactly 2400.
Ever since, for the last nearly 40 years, Acers has not played in a rated open tournament until the World Senior Championship
World Senior Chess Championship
The World Senior Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament established in 1991 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.Participants must have reached 60 years old on 1 January of the year of the event...
held in September 2007 in Gmunden
Gmunden
Gmunden is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden. It has 13,202 inhabitants . It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of goat, lake, brine, vegetable and pine-cone baths, a hydropathic establishment, inhalation chambers, whey cure, etc...
, Austria. Acers defeated veteran master Bill Hook
Bill Hook
Bill Hook born in New Rochelle, New York, was a Chess master and the Captain of the British Virgin Islands chess team....
of the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
in the first round. Acers' recent result at the 17th World Senior Chess Championship, with a FIDE performance of 2289, should help to confirm his playing strength.
Acers barely survived Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and lived in a displaced persons camp for some time. As the city recovered, he returned to New Orleans and resumed his customary chess table in the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
.
He annotated many American Master-level games, along with Louis Ciamarra, for the Yugoslav-published series Chess Informant.