1973

The year I was born...

The US Championship was held in El Paso from Sept. 9-27

John Grefe and Lubomir Kavalek shared first prize and the title.

Here's a group photo of the heavy hitters in the US at that time. [click image for full size]

I can’t find a lot of information about John Gefe. 

Oh, Grefe! My deceiving eyes saw Gefe.

Grefe it is.

I played against John Grefe in a simul when I was in Junior High.  Great guy.  I lost pitifully.

I remember reading an article from Jeremy Silman about Grefe long time ago. Here it is,https://www.chess.com/article/view/john-grefe-talent-isnrsquot-enough, from 31st Dec, 2013.

Interesting article.

The year you were born I played in the US Amateur Open In Philadelphia!

It was held at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel.....

🤗

Interesting to see Larry Gilden in the picture. In 2017, I was just returning to chess after more than 20 years and entered the Virginia Senior Open. In a singular stroke of bad luck, I was paired against Larry in the first round. Not surprisingly, he won easily.

gf3, that was a nice poem!

He likes the Dead.

I don't know much (actually anything) about him other that he was a DC champion.  Washington D.C. has an interesting chess history in itself.

There’s a bit of information about him, mostly in the comments, and 59 of his games, at this link: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=19266

He was apparently a very strong player, and now in his 70s he is still no slouch.

[Click Image for full size]

Thanks. I'll play through some of his games.

Thanks!

I had only been playing in tournaments for a few months, when I saw the add in Chess Life & review for this tournament....I said to my parents, "I want to go and play in this tournament!", and unbelievably, they said yes!~

One of my uncles, a retired Army Major, lived in Maryland. He dropped me off at the hotel, and I was on my own for three days....I was 16 years old, and my parents trusted me to be alone and come back safe and sound!

It was here that I started discovering certain aspects of the mind...I could program myself to wake up at a certain time; no need to have the hotel people call me with a wake-up call! At the chosen hour, my eyes would open up!

I do not remember much else, except playing a really big man, and he had me under pressure, but somehow I managed to escapee, and he said, "You have talent, young man".

I don't think I understood much of what was going on around me, but the essence remains in my soul: My parents' trust in me, and their unconditional support!

I was about to ask where Bobby Fischer was then. You answered me in advance, great video!

@Kamalakanta

So there is a lot more there to be gained than a mere game.

Thanks for your story.