On the Death of Weaver Adams

"Chess Review," February 1963

                                                   By Jack Straley Battell.
    WEAVER W. ADAMS was a man apart from the rest of the world of chess, perhaps from the rest of the world. His book, White to Play and Win, crossed the theory of most of the chess world which believes that Black can always equalize with correct play. And Adams played 1 P-K4 to win; or, if White played 1 P-Q4, he played the Albin Counter-Gambit to win. Similarly, he devoted his life to chess. not because he expected it to repay him financially, but because he loved the game. And he stuck by his theories. When he tried chicken-raising, expecting thereby to support himself, yet have leisure for chess. he persisted in raising hens which laid while eggs, though he was in New England where only brown eggs are popular! So with his chess. He published in full the lines in which he believed, and played them move for move, despite the advantage that gave his opponents. Add to that factor the fact that his health was poor, it is surprising that he could score any successes at all. But he won a strong tournament at Ventnor City in 1945 at a time when being invited there was itself something of a distinction. And he won the U. S. Open at Baltimore in 1948. His lines of play, published in a constantly revised "Simple Chess," often ran into snags. He advocated the Bishop's Opening for years, then switched to the Vienna in 1943. But, though he did have to revise and improve frequently, his analyses were always ingenious, and some still stand up remarkably. Basically, Adams was a theorist, and he played like one, calm and unperturbed no matter what was happening on the board. He seldom looked at his opponent but gazed at the position with solemn concentration or else sat at right angles to the board and stared abstractedly into space. And, as stated, he played his own system, regardless of who his opponent might be —losing often to the tail-ender of the tournament but beating the top contender.
    Born in 1901, Adams was still in his sixty-first year when he died, January sixth. We feel he has made a real contribution to chess. For the rest, we let an old friend of his speak:

     The death of Weaver W. Adams is a great loss for chess lovers the world over for all time. Sacrificing relentlessly every other consideration and enduring even poverty (all on a lifetime of poor health). he devoted his entire life to the theory and practice of creative chess play. He was full of enthusiasm and the spirit of adventure — but always with the soul of an artist, a poet. He loved chess dearly. Many of his efforts took the form of discovering new ideas and reviving interest in openings long in disfavor, and to all intents and purposes dead — such as the King Bishop's Opening, the Vienna and the Albin Counter Gambit. Especially effective were some of his ideas for the White side of the Sicilian, one of which (P-KR3) has only recently been adopted by many, Including Bobby Fischer. By this labor of love, he brought into the limelight for thousands a new, a refreshing experience of chess whereby romance and poetry could once more re. place the usual, fearful, dull maneuvers of the super-tacticians, with their touch of death. As a teacher, a preacher, he was stubborn, often dogmatic, not always correct. But see all can err. And he had, in compensation, a fierce love and artistry. Many of his games are immortal struggles with touches of startling beauty —always alive, always fascinating. We must go to them again and again. In Weaver W, Adams, America and the whole world has lost a great creative chess artist. —A. E. Santasiere

As a sample game we give one from the Ventnor City Tournament of 1947, four years after Adams had switched from the Bishop's Game to the Vienna.  Its main point is to show his aggressive skill in extreme complications.

This game won the Brilliancy Prize at Ventnor City 1943.

 "And he stuck by his theories."

What could that mean? Stuck from being locked, or stuck from "stick" to smth, then "stuck to" being a typo or grammatical error from the writer?

Sorry, I'm translating. xD

"To stick by" means to remain loyal to something.  In this case, his opening ideas.  He was well known for being very stubborn about his published opening ideas.

 @SilentKnighte5, thank you!

P-KR3

Does that mean h3?

Yes, Newba.  P-KR3 means h3.... for White. 

For Black it refers to h6.

@batgirl, thank you.

If I got it right, he refers to h3 then, since it is a "White's Side of the Sicilian" resource.

Weird, I don't remember playing that move against any sicilian lines.

I never play the Albin, though.

Wasn't he a bit of a nutjob, though?

Weaver Adams gave a lecture and exhibition in my town in 1947.

That was during his heyday.  Is there a newspaper report?

Yeah, there was one from a few days before announcing it and one with the results a couple of days after. Unfortunately no games were published. Or if they were, there were in another part of the paper I didn't see.

Interesting read for sure.  Is it true that he claimed that white has a forced win after 1.e4?  Perhaps I have picked that up wrongly from somewhere.  Fischer used the h3 idea to beat Najdorf in the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian.

yes, the Romantic era of chess where we relished our creativity.    now it seems more reigned in by computers. 

I like this quote in Wikipedia "Ultimately giving up on the Bishop's Opening, he (Weaver Adams) switched to the Vienna Game, claiming a win with White after 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.Nb5, a sharp line that has since been dubbed the Frankenstein–Dracula Variation.

Another dogmatic player in the Openings was a New Jersey fellow who signed his name  Robert  1 N-QR3 Durkin.     He passed away in the late 1980s and had several clashes with Weaver Adams in tournaments.     Who would have the courage / craziness to play that in Master games ?

Robert Durkin, who learned to play chess from the famous Wisconsin champion, Arpad Elo, received an invite to play in the Ventnor City Tournament in 1941.   An invitation to that tournament was considered an honor in itself.  He was 18 at the time and came in 8/9 in a field of 10.  He said since he expected to come in last, he was happy with his result.  Jacob Levin from Philly won the event and beat Durkin in their individual game.  Durkin also found himself on the wrong side of a brilliancy prize in his game vs Albert Pinkus

Durkin (on the right) stands behind the winner, Jacob Levin (seated)

Here is Durkin's loss to Pinkus:

I like that they all wore suits and ties in those days.

wow, thank you batgirl for that history and his younger photos !    I remember Robert Durkin coming to our local chess club in Toms River, New Jersey in the early 70s, impressing us high school kids as he blew out the competition in a 30/30 event using the Center Counter game with an early ...Nc6 and castling Q-side.   

He told me he was most proud of a New York Tournament where he held his own against several masters and lost only to GM Pal Benko.

When I saw him at tournaments in the 1980s, he looked much different than your photos,  and tacked on weight.   He had a very distinctive look -- always brought along his attache case to put on his chair and sat perched ontop with his hands propping up his head on each side.    He was an icon we could all pick out at tournaments !    RIP Robert Durkin

That was in July in Ventnor City (adjacent to Atlantic City, NJ).  They played in a auditorium on a pier with opened windows and the sea breeze blowing through. Still it must have been sweltering in those cotton jackets.

Age definitely favors the young.

Durkin was born and raised in Wisconsin but at the time of this event was already secretary of the Ventnor City Chess Club.  1. N-QR3 in algrbraic in 1. Na3 and for this reason is sometimes called the Sodium Attack (Na is Sodium)