Name Some Famous Drunk Chess Players?

I spotted Pogo at 1:48

What?

Look in the crowd behind the players, looks like Ms. Pogonina.

Ah; good eye!

The credit is heinzie's, he has the eagle eye.

This comment deserves praise

http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/alcohol.html

If you ever go to a big Open chess tournament, visit the bar during the game. I was at a big tournament and went to buy a cup of coffee. About a dozen GMs and IMs were in the bar drinking and chatting up the women. They knew it was their turn when their opponent came to the bar and they exchanged places!

This topic reminds me of a story. A story from long ago, when this sort of thing could plausibly happen.

A wealthy chess patron decided to amuse himself by inviting two of the era's top grandmasters over for a game of chess, with a very generous prize for the winner. There was a twist to the rules, though: each piece was an alcoholic beverage, ranging from little wine glasses for the pawns (white wine for white, red wine for black) up to bottles of hard liquor for the queens.

The players had to drink every piece they captured, and the game could be decided either by checkmate or by one of the players passing out.

The game started out normally enough, 1. e4 e5. Then white played 2. Qh5! Black reacted as one might expect, with 2... Nc6. White then made the spectacular move 3. Qxf7!! and drank a black pawn.

Black then stared at the board for a while. The only possible move, of course, was Kxf7, which forced him to drink an entire bottle of hard liquor.

Legend has it black passed out after just a few more moves.

I'm pretty sure I read this story in "The Encyclopaedia of Chess" by Anne Sunnucks. I'm wanting to say that one of the players was reportedly Janowski (who apparently was known as a drinker), but it's been decades since I read that book and I no longer have it, so I can't verify this.

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy this story. 

Lasker is the GM who supposedly sacked his Q in the game of alcoholic chess.

Thanks, that helped me look up the details. It was Lasker - Maroczy.

http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/alcohol.html

Too funny! One the strongest IM that should of been a GM, might of been the booze that hinder this great chess player.

Tal and Alekhine

Ivanov did finally earn his GM title. I think he was the only IM to defeat both Karpov and Kasparov. I don't see his win against Kasparov in the chessgames.com database tho, so it may not have been an official game. He also lost to U1600s in USCF tour events. 

I played him two blitz games in Boulder, Colorado, in the early 1980s. He was there as part of the US chess tour. I drew as Black in the Spanish when he chose the Exchange variation and I somehow survived the rook ending, but he crushed me when I had the White pieces. He played a Nimzo-Indian line that I wasn't familiar with. 

me. you didn't ask for a good chess player.

I once mixed a Caro-Kann Defense with some Brass Monkey in Denver 1991, and was out before I even castled!

When I awoke, I resigned immediately.

I once saw a GM, I want to say it was Wotjiewicz, or something like that, throw a queen at a chess tourney in Los Angeles. His opponent was about to promote a pawn to a Queen, and moved the Queen near the board after moving his pawn. The GM stared at the queen for a minute, then snatched it and threw it at a wall.

I figured the GM who threw the piece was probably pretty hammered.

@Smyslovfan:

I also like Smyslov but commenting on Igor Ivanov. He used to play at Chess Palace in Long Beach, CA a lot in the 90's. I used to see him there quite frequently. He NEVER spoke to anyone and was aloof. I always figured he probably couldn't speak English well, but maybe he was a little drunk and wanted some "alone time".

While on the topic I met Eduard Gufeld as well at Chess Palace. Really fun guy. I think he was hammered a good deal of the time, unless he was just naturally jovial. Chain smoker too, as I recall. I asked him how much for lessons and he said "$200 an hour". I laughed and told him hookers were cheaper.

Morning guys. One or two tall tales here!! The Blackburne simul one is from Winter's memoirs and may be true, although at least one of Winter's stories is known to have been made up! Blackburne wrote an article extolling the benefits of whiskey as an aid to playing chess. De Vere was one of many from the victorian era who was a serious drinker. See my articles here https://www.chess.com/blog/simaginfan/more-on-cecil-de-vere 

and here,

https://www.chess.com/blog/simaginfan/the-gastineau-garden-party-1873-a-chess-photograph

There a a number of other soviet players, like Kholmov for example who fit the bill too.

Cheers guys!!