Directing for Goichberg

WCGM Fischer; IA Goichberg (Right)

I had been helping Goichberg for awhile, in a sort of minimal way, posting results in exchange for free entries.  So when Goichberg decided to run tournaments at the Marshall, he decided to hire me as one of his directors.  The other director was Martin Jacowitz.  More on that later.

We would always get a full house at these tournaments.  There were quads, Swisses, and Bill even ran a Swiss International!  People don't like to admit it, but tournaments mean something to many of them.  They take them for granted when they are plentiful and are unhappy when they are unavailable.

Sidney Bernstein

The tournaments went smoothly.  Only one incident sticks in my mind.  During one of the tournaments, Sidney Bernstein's wife had a seizure.  Karl Burger refused to examine her, but fortunately another doctor who was in the tournament helped her.  Dr. Burger was eventually convicted on drug charges and sentence to prison.  How could a doctor be so stupid?  Another chessplayer from that era who went to prison was lawyer Ron Salzer, who was convicted of stealing from his client's estates.

Goichberg also hired me to direct a section at the World Open.  Another director that year was Hal Bogner.  Recently, Harold Stenzel said that I made a ruling on one of his games.  Actually I made an incorrect ruling at first, but then corrected it.   In those days pairings were done with cards instead of computers.  During the tournam

Hal Bogner

ent someone stole my cards and I had to reconstruct them from the wallchart.

At the Marshall, Marty and myself played a few times in each others tournaments.  One day Marty took me down to the Gills, and after the usual procedure demanded that next time, I give him White the first round.  I was kind of put off by that.  Marty wanted my job at the Marshall and he wanted to direct all the tournaments.  I just wanted to get away from him.

Roosevelt Hotel

Because of that I backed out of a large scholastic tournament where I had agreed to work for Goichberg.  Goichberg never hired me again, but I met with him and Marty at the Roosevelt Hotel.  Goichberg told Marty to shake hands and make up with me.  Marty refused and told Goichberg it was none of his business.  Goichberg said it was his business, because he was the one who decided who to hire to direct tournaments, so Marty had to shake hands with me.

He made a lot of enemies by allegedly absconding with people's USCF dues and stealing the NYS Championship Cup.   He came back to the Marshall years later and said he was a different man.  When people asked him to pay them the money he owed them, he said he didn't have to, because he was a different man.

Jerry Bibuld (Right)

The Delegate's Meeting of 1979 which was the only one I attended as a Delegate was uneventful, so I think I can tag it on here.  The first day was mostly taken up by a filibuster.  The second day was a little better, but the only real  event was when Jerry Bibuld stormed out of the meeting saying that there was only one person there (FM
Sunil Weeramantry) whose skin was darker than his.