When I was High

"Riding a Stutz Bearcat

Stutz Bearcat

Jim, and those were different times, when poets studied rules of verse and ladies they rolled their eyes!"
-- Lou Reed

I was high from about 1973 to 1979.  In or around 1979, something happened that made me realize that I had made my life unmanageable.  I stop short of telling other people what to do.  Even though I experiment with pot several times after that, I never got any enjoyment.  I had come to hate it.  I mean the particular process, not the whole period of life.

Iggy Pop

But to tell you the truth, pot was very popular at the Marshall Chess Club in those days.  Not to endorse it or anything, but the Marshall was founded by artists rather than businessmen, and we are the club that survived.

The basement was not locked.  That's where we would go to smoke.  I would say that there were two groups who smoked at the club regularly, the group my age and one a little bit older.  There was some intermingling.  The basement was affectionately called the Marshall Gills.

Its funny, but during the period that I was high much of the time, I gained a good deal of my experience in the chess world.

Marcel Duchamp

One funny story.  I was trying to get back into chess promoting.  I found out that Chess City was co-sponsoring the Pan-Am Intercollegiate at the Pennsylvania Hotel.  I contacted them to see if I could help direct.  The first day I helped them register players.  Then I went to up to the balcony to see how it looked. It wasn't as big a room as used for the US Open, but it was quite big.  You might be familiar with it from the New York Open.

Anyhow I came down to help post with on the wall charts.  One of the Chess City owners, Stu Morden talked with me and said, "Drink some water.  Your mouth is dry from the pot you smoked!"  He didn't fire me, but I was actually too embarrassed to continue and I quit the tournament on the spot.  Also during that tournament I saw one of the other Chess City owners, Vin Caveseno literally tackle someone who had stolen from the chess book concession.

 

US Open New York 1974

Hotel Pennsylvania

The US Open in New York in 1974 was a magnificent tournament.  While many tournaments have been held at the Pennsylvania Hotel (in its many incarnations) this was the only one that used the huge ground floor ballroom.  I don't think that space is part of the hotel anymore.

GM Ron Henley with President Clinton

I played Leslie Braun the first round.  My boyhood friend, NM Danny Larouche was there.  I played bughouse with GM Ron Henley.

IA Bill Goichberg

It was also the biggest loss ever for Bill Goichberg, and possibly the USCF as well.  It was at this tournament Bill announced that the CCA would become a non-profit organization.  He said, if I may paraphrase, "While there should be a large profitable chess organization, there isn't one."  Years later the CCA would again become profitable, but unfortunately the USCF decided to never hold the US Open in NYC again.

It was one of the two USCF Delegates meetings I attended, though at the time, the Delegates were called Directors, and this would be the last

Judge Lackland Bloom

meeting where the they would be called Directors.

At the time, proxies were allowed.  It would be the last meeting where proxies were allowed.

The USCF was first incorporated in the state of Illinois.  Well into the meeting a man named Judge Lackland Bloom stood up and said that proxies were not allowed in such an organization incorporated in Illinois. 

President Frank Skoff and long-time USCF Counsel David Hoffmann (Asa's father) seemed surprised.  I'm not sure, but I think Col. Edmondson was surprised too.

They had to ratify all the decisions made by previous Directors Meetings.  It would mean a shift in power, because no longer could certain individuals accumulate huge numbers of proxies.

NTD Joe Lux

Another shift occurred about a year later.   There was a debate at the Marshall Chess Club by two candidates for USCF Treasurer Fred Cramer and Norman Peacor.  It was organized by Joe Lux and moderated by Gary Sperling and was attended by various USCF Delegates.

When Fred Cramer started speaking, he started attacking not Norman Peacor, but Ed Edmondson.  Fred Cramer was one of the elder statesman of the USCF.  Ed Edmondson had been president of the USCF before he became executive director, and Cramer was president before him. But it was not clear whether his exact utterances were credible.  What was clear is that many people had come to dislike Ed Edmondson for the their own reasons, and he was nearing the end of the line.  Edmondson who had been executive director since 1966 resigned in 1975, and died in 1982.

White Plains

Roger Smith Hotel

White Plains has long had good memories for me.  I played in two Goichberg tournaments there before I ran one there myself.  All of these tournaments were at the Roger Smith Hotel.  This was during the time that IBM was building its headquarters there.

At one of the tournaments I met and played bughouse with NM Dan Van Riper who was a close friend for a long time.  I would visit him in Oswego, and through him I would meet Robert Nassiff and Bill Adam.

I should say before I forget that we have lost way too many talented young players:  Bill Adam, Bruce Bowyer, Erez Klein, and Peter Winston.

At the same White Plains tournament I played monopoly with tournament director Bob Moran and a couple of other people on Saturday Night.

As the song goes, when I'm down and blue, I'd rather be me than you.

I played in another tournament, on Labor Day, directed by Frank Hodges.  For some reason I connect that tournament with the Mott the Hoople song, "All the Young Dudes".  It couldn't have been playing in the tournament room, but it must have come out around then.

IA Bill Goichberg

As you remember from the earlier post, I had lost my USCF affiliation, so I got a post office box and used my friend Rafael's first name and his mother's last name.  Goichberg guessed it was me and told me I would lose money, but actually I came out slightly ahead.

I must have been as strong as an ox then, because in addition to the tournament directing equipment, I brought about a dozen trophies.  They were actually the same trophies I had won over the last couple of years.  I was putting them to good use.

The tournament went reasonably smoothly all things considered.  I remember Russ Garber played.  My friend Dan Van Riper played in the quad on Sunday.  There was one complaint to the USCF but they couldn't cancel my affiliation again because I didn't really have one.

Chris Chabris, PhD

The second tournament at White Plains came a few years later.  The tournament itself went well, but my plan had been to buy trophies and mail them to the winners.  I took a little too long to do that and a few people got pissed off at me.  I remember John Riddell and Chris Chabris played.  That was actually the last tournament I directed without the aid of a larger organization.

Another Two for the Road

Ferris Booth Hall

I actually ran two more rated tournaments before giving up on New York City.  I ran one more tournament at Columbia University, at the Student Center.  Robert Gruchacz who later became an IM helped.

The tournament was small, maybe 20 people played.  Steve Tarin was one of the players.  Max Zavanelli, who was directing tournaments at Chess City came by to see how it was doing.

Marshall Chess Club

The second tournament was at my father's clinic, and it had 6 people.  It wasn't as bad as you might think.  We all got to play chess, and that's the main thing.  Dr. Vitanza played and Thomas Fell.  I don't remember who else.  Bill Slater ran into me on the street and told me that the Marshall was mad that I ran a tournament so nearby.

Chess City

I ran two more informal events before giving up on NYC altogether.  I had a bughouse gathering at Columbia University.  Robert Gruchacz again helped me get the room.  I also had a Diplomacy game at Chess City.  No big deal, but I did make up with them.

Roger Smith Hotel

The next post will find me in the wilds of White Plains, future home of the Robert Peretz Chess Club.  Of course Robert Peretz was alive them.  I played him several times.  I must have been about 16 years old.

Columbia University Area Chess Association

Earl Hall

My first USCF affiliate was the Columbia University Area Chess Association.  I had originally called it Columbia University Chess Association, but I was told that Columbia University might not like that.

The first tournament was December 16th.  I forgot what year.  A friend of my mother got me a room at Columbia University, the smaller room on the lower level of Earl Hall. I expected it to be a small tournament and I was afraid Columbia wouldn't provide tables, so in addition to my tournament directing things, I lugged a big folding table to the site.  I must have been strong then.

It was well attended (maybe 30 people) and Columbia did provide tables.  I forgot all the people who showed up.  I think Thomas Fell and Richard Knight were there.  The top player's last name was Garcia Robles, about 1600.  Alex Sheldon was also there.  He was the first member of the Marshall to be elected to the Board of Governors after being nominated by petition, and prior to me, the youngest member of the Board of Governors.

Chess City

I scheduled two more tournaments Columbia University, but unfortunately, my mother's friend was unable to get any rooms.  Fortunately, Chess City had opened up, and I ran a number of tournaments there with my friend Rafael Ovalle.

Chess City had just opened up at a huge place at 96
th Street, owned by Jerry Bernstein, Vince Caveseno, and Stu Mordon;  two former teachers and an engineer.  I didn't think it would be successful, as the owners had so little chess background (I was one of the most active players in the USCF at the time).   But they did well chesswise, and they made a great deal of money because their last location was the basement of the Beacon Theater building.  It had been an old decrepit movie theater, but when the new owners wanted to make it into a concert venue, they had to buy back Chess City's long-term lease.

We had some strong players, such as Milorad Boskovic, Robert Gruchacz, and Lloyd Kawamura.  Robert Gruchacz unfortunately passed on in 2006.  Lloyd Kawamura used to have incredibly long hair.  Years later I bought a chess history book from Fred Wilson at the New York State Championship, and it had a picture of him with the hair.  His son, Ben Dean was there.  I showed it to him, and he couldn't believe it was a picture of him father.

Dr. Newborn next to WCGM Botvinnik

My Chess City tournaments were possibly the first time that a computer played in a USCF rated tournament.  It was the program of then Columbia professor, Monty Newborn, called Ostrich.  I was afraid that the USCF wouldn't accept a membership from a computer, and I suggested putting the name of a person on the USCF membership application.

Stuart Morden

One of my tournaments was the first for Stu Morden, who was one of the owners of Chess City, who years later would be a real estate broker who tried to persuade the Marshall to sell its building.

My tournaments scheduled for Columbia University were moved to Chess City.  I stood outside of Columbia University in the February cold directing players to Chess City.   After a number of tournaments Chess City threw me out in favor of Max Zavanelli, who had agreed to guarantee prizes.

NTD Steve Immitt

I suppose it was somewhat like the Marshall throwing Steve out, except for two things:  Steve's tournaments were always professionally run to the highest standards.   Steve had been running tournaments at the Marshall for about 20 years and I had been running tournaments at Chess City for 3 or 4 months.  I don't buy the argument that we don't owe Steve.  Of course we owe Steve.  We should have fought harder for him, and we should still be fighting.

Col. Ed Edmondson

I then received a letter from the USCF's Executive Director, Col. Edmondson, cancelling my USCF affiliation.  I had always thought that the cancellation of my affiliation was politically motivated.  The tournaments hadn't gone so badly.  And because Louis and Henry Brockman told me it was.  Before long, Col Edmondson would get what was coming to him.  Not from me. I'll get to that.

I managed somehow to run 2 more tournaments in NYC before I moved to greener pastures.  Eventually I managed to briefly  become part of the chess establishment such as it is.

The Fischer Boom

FWCGM Robert Fischer

I didn't really think much of the Fischer Boom.  I guess it brought some good people into chess.  But in those days strong players (anyone over 1900 was considered strong) imitated Fischer's arrogance and contempt, but did not have his strength.

I remember reading interviews with Larsen and Tal before he played his candidates match with Fischer.  I played Larsen at two simuls, at the McAlpin and in Westfield.

I was a wall board boy at Chess House for the first game in the Fischer Spaasky match.  I had to stand on a high ladder while Shelby Lyman gave the moves on tv.  That was the game where Fischer took the poisoned pawn and lost.

I remember huge turnouts at the Flushing tournaments.  Surprisingly, the Fischer Boom was not kind to Bill Goichberg.   He planned bigger tournaments with more prizes, but competition rose as fast as the number of players increased.

Flushing YMCA

It was at the Flushing YMCA that I beat my first class A Player, Doug Breckenridge.  I played Eddie Vildoso a number of times.  Don't remember whether I ever beat him.  He loved the double-fianchetto opening.  I first say Larry D. Evan's, Cory Evan's father.  I have to admit when I first say him, I thought he was Larry M. Evans, who had written my MCO.  Larry D. is a nice man, one of the few strong players in his age group who was nicer to weaker players.


As I will soon account, there was a shift in power in the USCF away from Executive Director Col. Ed Edmondson, who first moved the USCF to Newburgh.

The New Jersey tournament organizers decided to chase Goichberg out of New Jersey.  They would all run quads at different locations on the same Sunday every month.  Players would go to the location nearest them.  As many of players only play once a month, they had their fix with the local tournaments and didn't play in Goichberg's tournaments.  So Goichberg's attendance dropped and he left New Jersey.

Many of the leaders of New Jersey chess went on to become USCF Policy Board members, such as Denis Barry, Tony Cottell, Steve Doyle, and Leroy Dubeck. 

The New Jersey people also popularized the US Amateur Team Championship.

Lewis Eisen, MD

The New Jersey people could be nasty too.  One time NM Lew Eisen won a major tournament.  I think it was the NJ High School Championship.   One of them wrote a multi-page article about the event without mentioning Lew once!

When I was in High School

Rhodes School

The time that I was in high school could be divided into three periods:  1.  When I lived with my mother;  2. When I lived in my father's building and went to Hillcrest High School; 3.  When I lived in my father's building and went to Rhodes School.  I also want to talk about the Fischer Boom, the US Open in New York City, and the tournaments I ran.

Hotel Mc Alpin

You know how something innocuous can be remembered for a lifetime?  I still can arriving late at the Hotel McAlpin, soaked from the rain,  to play Brad Meese.  For some reason Paul McCartney's Uncle Albert song was on my mind.  It couldn't have been playing in the tournament room.  Brad's friends from the Suffern/Spring Valley were milling around.  They were impressed by how fast I was playing.  My pawns were a wall and they were advancing.  I lost the game, but I still remember it.

Anyhow around the end of junior high school and the beginning of high school, I got really enthusiastic about chess.  I was going to Chess House and playing at Goichberg's tournaments at the McAlpin Hotel.  It was at this site that I first saw players like Brants, Mengarini, Middleton, Weeramantry, Browne, Bisguier, Regan and Lombardy.  I drew Lewis Cohen.  I met NTD Larry King.

When I went to summer camp, I played alot of chess, this time with the other kids.  But I wanted to come home so I could play chess in the city.  My mother complained to my therapist that all I wanted to do is play chess.  My therapist replied that it was much better than nothing, and I think he was right.

I did most of my traveling after I went to live in my father's building.  But I remember that I was playing in a one-game a week tournament in Jamaica at the time I left my mother's house.  The tournament was at a church.  Does anyone remember the name of the church?  Its still there, and can be seen from the LIRR.  Do I have the correct church in the

First Reformed Church

picture?  It was at this site that I first saw Weldon, Pader, and Shipman.

   I had played Noe Dinnerstein the first round.  The second round my opponent cheated me.  He lost on time and he waited until I put the pieces away, and claimed that I had resigned.  I took a break from chess.  Even though the break was only a few months, I came back with a different state of mind.

Jerry Bibuld

GM Alekhine and Chess

My big comeback was a Pre-High School Novice tournament at the Hotel McAlpin.  I was in high school at the time, but I didn't develop any ethics until much later.  The tournament was directed by Jerry Bibuld, who was a civil rights activist.  The last two rounds I played Jonathan Lenchner who I beat, and Ivan Kline, who I lost to.  I would see Ivan again and his brother Ray at many of the tournaments in Flushing.

I was playing better.  It encouraged me that many of the Goichberg tournaments had trophies I could win.  In those days the ratings were done by hand, and there was a huge lag in the ratings due to the Fischer Boom.  So my published rating remained under 1200 was my strength went up to 1500 or 1600.

I also had my first idea for openings.  I would try to play Alekine's Defense in every game possible.  When I was White I would play 1.a3 hoping they would play 1..e5 and I

Eric Moskow, MD

could play a reversed Alekhines.  Judy Shipman foiled me by playing 1.d4.  Eric Moskow burst out laughing when I played 1.a3, but to his credit he won the game.

During my high school and early college years I traveled to many tournaments.  When the venues might not seem impressive from an adults point of view, it was very exciting to me as a youngster who had never had the opportunity to travel on his own before.

Some of the places I played:  Clifton NJ, Boston, Irvington, New Haven, Orange NJ, Oswego, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Suffern, Tarrytown, West Orange NJ, Westfield NJ, White Plains.

I first saw Michael Rohde at a tournament at the Orange, NJ YMCA.  He was playing in the top section.   Of course I didn't know who he was.  I was amazed that a teenager a little younger than myself was in the top section.  It wouldn't be unusual now, but then it was.