Fred Reinfeld
Fred Reinfeld was born in New York City on January 27, 1910. His father, Barnett Reinfeld, came from Poland. His mother, Rose (Pogrozelsky) was from Romania. Fred had a sister, Lily (Lena Blake), born in 1912.
Reinfeld wrote over 100 chess books in his lifetime, and perhaps over 260 books total. He also wrote about geology, history, numismatics, checkers, and astronomy. He sold more chess books than any other author in history.
When did Fred Reinfeld first learn how to play chess? In the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sep 3, 1931, it stated that the newly crowned New York State chess champion, Fred Reinfeld, learned the game of chess at age 9. This was also repeated in American Chess Bulletin, Sep-Oct 1931, where it further states that Reinfeld then became interested in checkers. In theHuman Side of Chess, he stated that he learned at the age of 11. In chapter one of How to Be a Winner at Chess, he stated that he “first learned to play chess as a youngster of 12.” In Dr. Lasker’s Chess Career he stated that he “learned the moves as a high school youngster, about three months before the great New York Tournament of 1924.” He would be 14 at that time.
Around Christmas of 1923, Reinfeld visited many libraries in search of chess literature. He soon had a collection of over 2,000 games that he copied. In 1924, Reinfeld earned a place on his high school chess team.
In early January, 1926, after meeting Carlos Torre-Repetto (1905-1978) at the offices of the American Chess Bulletin, Reinfeld joined the Marshall Chess Club.
In 1929, Reinfeld won the U.S. Intercollegiate Chess Championship. He attended New York University, then the College of the City of New York (CCNY). I believe he got a degree in accounting.
In November 1930, Reinfeld took 4th-5th in Preliminary A of the 14th Marshall Chess Club championship, but did not qualify for the finals.
In August 1931, he won the 53rd New York State Chess Association Championship at Rome, New York at the age of 21. He won 6 games, drew 5 games, and lost none. Reuben Fine took 2nd place. At the time, Reinfeld was still a student at CCNY, along with Reuben Fine. He later became a competent accountant via coursework at Columbia and NYU. Further part-time employment was found in all kinds of editing jobs. So which college did Reinfeld graduate from?
In 1932, he married his fiancée, Beatrice (1912-1979). She was a secretary at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He had two children. His son, Don, was born in 1942, and his daughter, Judith, was born in 1947. His son later became a veteran cellist with the Rochester, New York, Philharmonic Orchestra. Don was a guest speaker during the induction ceremony of Fred Reinfeld at the U.S. Hall of Fame in 1996.
In July-August 1932, Reinfeld took 3rd place in the 33rd Western Chess Association (US Open) championship, behind Fine and Reshevsky. The event was held in Minneapolis. Reinfeld defeated Reshevsky and drew with Fine in their individual games.
More info in this link: http://blog.chess.com/billwall/fred-reinfeld
