Chess for Oldtimers --- Good Idea !

Thanks for the info Batgirl. FP Keyes did use a lot of artistic license in writing her Historical Novel based on Paul Morphy. There was one rather sad event that was very nearly the same in real life and in the book as well. In the book Keyes has the love of his life reject his proposal of marriage because he is " only " a Chess player. The girl in the book was a fabrication of the author, however in real life Morphy was indeed rejected in this manner ( Keyes chose not to reveal the name of the family involved ). This rejection on those grounds must have been a source of great pain to Morphy. An Illustrated Dictionary Of Chess by ER Brace states that Morphy could not get himself established in the Legal Profession after his great success in Chess. He then entered a period of mental decline and developed a persecution mania, passing away at the age of 47. The Encyclopaedia Of Chess by A Sunnucks has Morphy's practice of the law failing due to the poor Economy in the South after the Civil War. This was to lead to delusions of presecution followed of course by his early death. A sad end to come to for one of the Greats of the Chess World.    

"There was one rather sad event that was very nearly the same in real life and in the book as well. In the book Keyes has the love of his life reject his proposal of marriage because he is " only " a Chess player."

This is one of the likely fabrications.

Lisa,  thanks but I think the definitive Morphy bio has already been done (not that I would be capable of writing one even if weren't). There's been a few discoveries about Paul that I'm aware of since Lawson's 1976 offering, but nothing so earth-shattering they require an updated biography. Still, his life is far more interesting in actuality than all the several fictionalized accounts of his life combined.

Thanks for the recent posts. Another interesting item from the Keyes book is that she had Morphy based in Paris during the American Civil War where he was said to be involved in the purchase of Ships to be used in running the Union Blockade. I think all of these adventures would certainly make a very interesting Movie.

The November 2011 issue of Chess Life has a feature article on a Chess Pro who would fit right in with the theme of this tread. Sammy Reshevsky was a child prodigy in his native Poland and was still playing Chess until he passed away in the USA at age of 80. He lived in the USA from a early age and won the US Championship six times among other achievements. Reshevsky obtained his Grandmaster title in 1949 and was still playing top level Chess in 1991 ( as mentioned, at age 80 ).

The only reason it (the GM title) took that long was because they didn't start handing them out until then; Reshevsky was one of the world's best from the mid-1930's on.

1950 being the date FIDE first awarded the title.

One requirement was being alive, so players like Lasker, Capa, and Alekhine, who all died in the 1940s, never got the GM title.

Unless you count the one from that Tsar guy... 

Which Winter so far finds evidence of the story only going back to 1940 or so.

5-5 suggest a drawn match. Karpov won all his candidates matches with Korchnoi.

Aw, he was probably just sore because he finished dead last at Nottingham 1936...

Btw I think he should've changed his name to William San Francisco (talk about synonymous).

 I think you're talking about the wrong Winter. Can someone explain the  reference to San francisco ---I dont get it. 

In regards to the Championsip Match between Karpov and Korchnoi of 1978, Google has the following info. Korchnoi fell behind 2-5 by the end of Game 27 ( not counting draws ). However Korchnoi had a score of 5-5 after 31 Games thereby achieving a tie at that point. FIDE rules required someone to win 6 games and as Karpov won the 32cnd Game he remained Champion. Also 21 of the 32 Games were draws so things were very close indeed. Furthermore it is a well known fact that after Korchnoi defected to the West his Family was still being held by the Russians and therefore his powers of concentration may not have been quite up to par. 

If you had ever been to San Francisco, you wouldn't have to ask. 

I drove through San Francisco several times and I think I read somewhere that William Winter was gay---so maybe thats the connection. This is  a little off topic but how many gay chessmasters can you name ?

If you don't know the source of your commnet why do you bring it up.

What difference does it make if he was gay or not?

Maybe you drove through San Francisco because you are gay. . .

Nice. This one goes into the ammo pouch.

Watch out Mr. Lewis' 1st period math class!!!!

 Denver, I was just responding to a comment. Do you know the sources of all your comments ?  Who said it makes a difference whether he was gay or not ?

Methinks thou doth protest Too much---you live in Frisco dont you !  Man you have my sympathy !

In a earlier post I mentioned some of the achievements of Sammy Reshevsky. On re-reading the article about him I noticed that he also played in several Candidates tournaments in an elusive attempt to become World Champion. For example in 1967 in Sousse, Tunisia, Reshevsky lost to Korchnoi ( who has also been mentioned in this thread ). Reshevsky first appeared in a Candidates tournament in 1948 after the death of Alekhine. Sammy was also at the Zurich 1953 where it seemed that players from the USSR were involved in illegal activities that held Reshevsky back ( Bronstein confirmed this many years later ). 

Still, an awful lot of good games, even if there were shenanigans...