Chess Memories

I was Chess Instructor for two summers.

Later, my dad made me sell my motor scooter.  I had bought it from money earned mowing lawns.

In 1956 there was a law that a 15 year old could use a motor scooter but not drive a car!  That law in Illinois is long gone...

I remember in some areas of the city--kids would throw rocks and stones at me when I was on my motor scooter--traveling to chess sites...

By the way [and i know a lot of people will not believe this] as Chess Instructor for the City of Decatur Illinois for the  years 1956 and 1957 i played more then 6000 games in a row--against maybe 500 players and ended with more than 4000 games in a row--all wins--not one loss or draw in the 4000 games.

Another chess memory--my very first chess tournament--the US Open in Omaha 1959. I am an unrated player--playing an expert. I had the black side of the Ruy Lopez and won!  Someone told me "You just beat the Champion of Puerto Rico!"

Sorry, i did not know enough to keep the game...

Red-haired girl in Phoenix! She was my very first opponent as we tried to learn the game on the apartment steps in the glorious sunshine. I had just got a small plastic set from the grocery store---I was 11 years young. We hadn't even figured out castling or en passant but we played. Now it seems like a dream--the sun, the chess, the color of her hair. Almost like Heaven since this got me away from my older sisters killing me at Rummy and Crazy Eights!

I used to live in Decatur Illinois which is about in the center of a large state. I had a friend Tom who lived in Peoria. Very often he and i would compete in the same tournament.

Several times in a tournament Tom and i would win our first 4 games and then be paired against each other in the fifth game. And every time the game ended in a draw and we would share first prize.

We had no agreement to do this. It is just that neither one of us tried very hard to win and we both "played it safe".

 One tournament the senario did not happen. This was because i had lost a game. But in the final round my score was 3 wins and a loss and Tom's score was 4 straight wins. Tom was elated as he was playing me and  had White and only needed a draw to win the tournament outright!

He was mentioning how happy he was but i told him" "Tom, i will be playing for a win!"  This took Tom back quite a bit. He had more or less assumed i would give him a draw.

But we never had such a agreement. In the actual game, i won. And then there was a 3 way tie for first place with a score of 4 out of 5!?

Tom was upset. However he was a good player and later became a USCF master.  

Ponz plays the Ponziani

Ponz is White in a fast play game...

Being in my High School chess club. every single memory is important. Maybe one of the more emotional ones involves an assistant coach. He was my very patient Geometry teacher freshman year, and coached the chess team. When we came back after the summer, we learned that he had some heart issues and took off. by November he needed a new heart. We all got a bit teary eyed especially me (being the only girl). Then at the end of the year, at our chess banquet, I walked in excited to see everyone. I heard someone say "She doesn't even see me" I turned and saw the coach, happy and healthy with a new heart. Needless to say I bawled.

i think i might cry too...

Some years back i was extremely  depressed but had an idea for a chess book which had never been tried before.

So i was working on the chess book and was about 1/3 of the way done. But was so depressed that i could not continue with my book. But my idea was unique and i really hoped that some day the book would be published.

So i contacted a well know chess book author. [i will not say who] Told  him the idea for the book and asked him if he wanted to take my ideas and work i had already done and then to finish the book?

Told him the book would be in his name. And also he would receive all the profit from publishing the book.  i just wanted the book done and it would be 1 more thing off my depressions.

 He agreed and then i did not hear from him! Did he finish  the book? Was the book published?  Just did not know?..

 Then one day i notice the book was published! and not only that--it was selling out!  Now when you publish a book through a chess book publisher--you get several free copies [as he did].  Maybe he would send me one of the copies?  No he never did--and i did not ask.  I had to pay full price and buy the book through Amazon.

When i read the book, he had changed it. He actually made himself the hero of the book [even though he was not a good enough chess player to even be in that particular book].

However by the time the book was published--my depressions were somewhat better--but still severe.  I was glad the book was published and did well!  He gave me no recognition at all for the book or my idea. To be fair--i had been so severly depressed, i did not specifically ask for a recognition of my parts in the book.

This is not a  chess memory but i will post it anyway!?

i was 8 years old and was on a radio quiz show-- contestants all age 8.

Four questions for each contestant.  I got the first 3 correct. My nearest competitor had 2 1/2 out of 3 correct.

Different questions for each of the contestants.

Here was my last question:  What is the symbol for a dot and then a dash and then a dot?

If i could answer correctly--i would win a watch!

Who knows the answer?  Remember you have only a few seconds to come up with the answer! 

S-O-S?

First i said it was a symbol of the Morse Code.  Silence. And then i said "SOS" [i knew SOS in Morse was dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot]

So, i knew SOS could not be correct--maybe dot dash dot was a letter in the Morse Code? but that would be a very hard question to give an 8 year old! So i was thinking about all this and heard the buzzer that i supplied the wrong answer...

The "correct answer" was the divide sign!!

Divide sign! Duh.  Slaps forehead.  

Well  he might have said  dot then underneath a dash and underneath that another dot. Then i would have given the "correct" answer.

By the way, i have given this senario many times and not one person came up with the divide sign.

very nice story!

Way back when i lived in Decatur Illinois there was a chess player named Hugh Myers. He was a former Illinois State Champion and once won a game from Lombardy. He was also the champion of a small country he used to live in.

He was a chess lover and his whole life was about chess. He never could earn a living playing chess as he just was not strong enough. Just master level and no higher.  He did have a couple of publications he kept going. But when i met him--he was living with his parents even though he had 4 year college education!?

He also loved unusual opening [such as 1. b4] and wrote books about these openings and his publications were about such openings.

The very first day i played him i had a plus score. This was a surprise to him but in ensuing games we played about even. He played more normal openings against me. Last time i saw him was at the US Open in Chicago in 1973.

He moved to Iowa and i kept track of him. He wrote an autobiography which i have.

Unforunately while in Iowa he had little money to live on and he also became ill and died. He did have some very good friends in Iowa. RIP Hugh Myers.

Interesting stories, Ponz.

William Harris, Mike McClain, my son Keith Taylor  

All 3 above were on the Bradly Bourbonnais High School Chess Team which came in 2nd in the State of Illinois one year.

 The State of Illinois also had an individual High School championship each year.

William Harris came in 2nd place two years.

my son, Keith Taylor came in 2nd place another year. Also, the same year his friend and team member Mike McClain came in 5th place in the  high school individual championship.

Mike McClain is a professional poker player. In 2003 he made the Final Table of the World Series of Poker. That was the year Chris Moneymaker won and poker became kinda famous.  So Mike early on at the final table had AA [ace ace] as his hole cards in the Texas Holdem game! Mike made the usual raise and Chris Moneymaker looked at his hand and he had TT [ten ten]. He thought to himself that this is the 5th best possible hand he could have and he raised Mike all in!  [of course he never would have done this if he had known Mike had the best possible holding].

Unfortunately a ten came up on the flop and shortly thereafter the hand was over and Mike was out in 9th place [he still won about $240,000]. Chris Moneymaker went on the win that [famous] World Series of Poker.

here is an aside. I once won a seat to play against Money Maker and several others on a one table poker event. Moneymaker was the first one out--to lose all his table stakes.

William Harris was about the nicest individual i ever met. He was a master chess player and once won the Chicago Open with a score of 5 wins with no losses and no draws. [he tied for first place with a GM]

He came to my home to visit and play chess and a little poker. We had a match of 6 chess games--not rated but played under tournament conditions. The final score was 1 win and 1 loss and 4 draws for each of us. I could not crack his French Defense.

So we also played a little poker at low stakes but i was finally $200 ahead. And then i did not hear from William for several years. He had moved and also was in poor health.

 Then one day he knocked at my door. And i was so glad to see him and he even had $200 in cash that he gave me! We played some fast chess...  

That was the last i saw of him. He had some kind of illness and died about 3 years after i saw him that last time.

RIP William Harris

Those are some sad stories Ponz. RIP to your friends.