Comments on: Annals of chess history

Annals of chess history

rahulrg — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:38:50 -0800

Alexander Alekhine lies dead. Little Samuel Reshevksy gives a simultaneous exhibition. Mikhail Tal presents his most chilling death stare. Fischer plays Fidel. Che meets Miguel Najdorf. Reuben Fine cavorts with a beauty on a beach, showing her his moves. Anatoly Karpov hangs out with Salvador Dali. The grave of Jose Raoul Capablanca. Klaus Junge plays in his Nazi uniform. Sometimes hit and miss, but it has to be said that this a great epic thread of vintage chess photos.

By: veedubya

veedubya — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:48:08 -0800

Etching of Hitler playing chess with Lenin.

By: etc.

etc. — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:50:04 -0800

That's awesome. Capablanca's grave is badass.

By: spicynuts

spicynuts — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:51:13 -0800

Hans plays with Lotte, Lotte plays with Jane Jane plays with Willi, Willi is happy again Suki plays with Leo, Sacha plays with Britt Adolf builts a bonfire, Enrico plays with it

By: hoyland

hoyland — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:58:00 -0800

I like this picture of Capablanca playing a simul. It's like he's strolling past, kicking people's butts. It's kind of odd seeing pictures of all these people. Certainly I'd not seen pictures of anyone active primarily before, oh, 1970. (Though I think I'd seen a picture of Morphy once.)

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:27:19 -0800

The last link: "This is a classical chess photo, one of if not the most famous: Alekhine's death scene. It is thought that Alekhine collapsed in front of his hotel door and was dragged inside by persons unknown to leave him in a more dignified repose." Well I guess it's nice to think someone was doing him a solid, but I can imagine that it is equally likely that they moved the body to avoid prosecution. Chess is a rough and tumble sport.

By: facetious

facetious — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:42:06 -0800

love that alekhine picture, as depressing as it is - my favorite player of all time -

By: Trurl

Trurl — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:50:47 -0800

Bogart was a strong player, so he's probably mopping the floor with Paul Henreid here on the set of Casablanca. And Kubrick - shown here playing George C. Scott on the set of Strangelove - used to hustle chess in the park. Seizing the moment I told him that I had been hustling him and had deliberately lost the first four games. His response was that I was a patzer. All during the filming of 2001 we played chess whenever I was in London and every fifth game I did something unusual. Finally we reached the 25th game and it was agreed that this would decide the matter. Well into the game he made a move that I was sure was a loser. He even clutched his stomach to show how upset he was. But it was a trap and I was promptly clobbered. "You didn't know I could act too" he remarked.

By: exogenous

exogenous — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:57:54 -0800

That photo of deceased Alekhine looks staged to me. Wikipedia mentions the suspicions that he was slain: some of the links from the wiki article are very interesting.

By: Trurl

Trurl — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:59:39 -0800

Gil Elvgren, "Your Move"

By: Chichibio

Chichibio — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:05:17 -0800

I love the pic of little Susan Polgar (#193), her hand caught in midair as it comes down on the clock. Such an appropriate face of concentration for the world's youngest acknowledged problem composer.

By: Chichibio

Chichibio — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:07:23 -0800

Age four [!!]

By: Trurl

Trurl — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:09:14 -0800

Kasparov faces an unexpected attack.

By: Trurl

Trurl — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:14:11 -0800

Studying the board in the mirror atop his iron lung, 17-year-old Polio patient Bruce Campbell plays a match with two-time U.S. Chess champion Bobby Fischer, 15, of Brooklyn.

By: Trurl

Trurl — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:19:58 -0800

Da Mystery of Chessboxin'

By: Renoroc

Renoroc — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:05:26 -0800

I've always wondered how chess survived and thrived under communism given that the pieces and game are somewhat a tribute to monarchies and feudalism. Great photos! Also, not to divert the thread, but if anyone wants a game on chess.com, I'm Renoroc there too.

By: whatgorilla

whatgorilla — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:06:51 -0800

Speaking of chess, Tatar Steel has two rounds left (they start at like 9am EST), and Magnus Carlsen is hot on the heels of Aronian who, with white, lost today to one of the weakest players in the tourney. http://livechess.chessdom.com/site/ I'm "evi1joe" on chess.com (the L is a #1).

By: whatgorilla

whatgorilla — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:07:20 -0800

Tata Steel (not Tatar)