My salute to IM E. Tate
My salute to IM Emory Tate.
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Post: #300812 by LifeMasterAJ on Tue Oct 20, 2015 10:57 am
A sorrowful goodbye, (to) IM Emory A. Tate. 1958-2015.
(We were both born in the same year.)
I think I had a plus record vs. Emory, with three wins, two losses and at least one draw. (I know I worked harder in that one draw then I did in at least a dozen "normal" chess games!)
He once remarked that he gave me the impetus to become a master ... he said to me, after winning a brilliant game against him (in R2) of the 1980 Queen Of Hearts, "Stop messing around! If you can beat me, you should win the tournament!!!" I did!
I was only a "Class A" player at the time. (Low 1900's.) I started the tournament rather slowly by drawing a Class B player. Then I beat Emory Tate in Round Two. In round three, I defeated one of Montgomery's best players. In R4, I defeated J. Scott Pfeiffer, (in a game where {as Black} I was once a whole Rook down - but Scott made a terrible mistake in time pressure). Scott Pfeiffer was (in those days) known as "The terror of the Panhandle." In the last round, I smoothly defeated Kerry Leahy ... who seemed to be getting better every tournament and went on to also become a 2300+ player himself. The 1980 QoH was my "break-out" tournament, everyone said I was a different player after that.
After the tournament was over, Emory was the first to shake my hand. (With a very young Stuart Rachels looking on.) He also sent me a postcard when I became a master ... congratulating me. He once confided that we shared names, (his middle name, but my first name); and that it meant "strength and powerful." He also said, "With a name like that, you cannot be a loser!"
He duly thumped me in our last encounter in Montgomery. (He would often visit Montgomery, AL ... I think a family member owned a house and/or some land in that area.)
RIP, friend. You will be sorely missed. You were one of the most dynamic players that I ever played, bar none! (I will miss you.) I pray that your soul flies on the wings of an eagle.
- LM A.J. Goldsby I
{Originally written for http://www.chess.com, I am user FLchessplayer on this site.}
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Other Articles about IM E. Tate:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emory_Tate (Wiki)
- http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=15630
(The CG player page, many of Tate's games are there.) - http://en.chessbase.com/post/rest-in-power-emory-tate-1958-2015
(The ChessBase article.) - http://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2015/10/21/emory-tate-chess-savant-warrior-1958-2015/ (Chess Drum - easily the best biography.)
- http://www.uschess.org/content/view/13231/141/ (U.S. Chess Federation.)
- https://new.uschess.org/news/armed-forces-champ-brilliant-tactician-emory-tate-1958-2015/ (U.S. Chess Federation.)
- http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-man-that-walked-by-himself
(chess-dot-com article) - http://www.chess.com/news/emory-tate-1958-2015-7615/ (chess-dot-com article)
Source for photo: Click HERE.
