CHESS CITY TRIVIA PAGE

2001

The film "2001: A Space Odyssey" has a computer which played quite well. Not surprising, since the director, Stanley Kubrik, is a big fan of the game.

Akins, Claude

The late Claude Akins was a fanatical chessplayer who played some fine games against his colleagues.

Alda, Alan

Alan Alda is a competitor at the chessboard, very much fitting the personality of his character on the television show "MASH".

Aleichem, Shalom

The master Yiddish writer treated chess in "The Chess Player's Story".

Allen, Woody

Woody Allen wanted to on his chess team, but, according to him, he was "too small". Chess was prominently featured in his "The Gossage-Vardebian Papers".

Amis, Martin

The novelist included chess in his "Money: A Suicide Note".

Anderson, Poul

Noted science fiction author wrote about chess in "The Immortal Game"

Andersson, Terry

One of the most famous imprisonments was suffered by Andersson, who was held hostage by terrorists. He has credited playing chess with helping him to survive. Not related to Adolf Anderssen or Ulf Andersson.

Arafat, Yasser

The Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization enjoys chess, which, interestingly, is a major pastime in Israel.

Ardiles, Ossie

The Argentinian soccer superstar spends as much as 10 hours per week studying chess.He admires the absolute honesty of the game. 'You and the game, and nothing else. It's like being with God. Just you and — I know it's a bad word — no bullshit, nobody else.'

Atahulpa

This King of the Incas was taught the game of chess while the Spaniards were looting his empire. Perhaps he got too good, as the Spanish executed him in 1533.

Ballesteros, Sevvy

Rarely does a week go by that the famous golfer does not play a game or two of chess.

Baryshnikov, Mikhail

The famed ballet dancer loved chess and was a visitor to the 1984 USSR vs. World match in London.

Beckett, Samuel

While he was Waiting for Godot, the Nobel Prizewinner loved a fine game of chess, and he played frequently with Duchamp (it's a good thing Beckett didn't mind losing!). As a result of some of those meetings, Beckett was inspuire to write "Endgame", one of his most famous plays.

Beecham, Thomas

The famous conductor was a big fan of the game and played whenever he had the opportunity.

Begin, Menachem

Former Israeli president Menachem Begin had at least one thing in common with his arch-enemy Yasser Arafat. Both love chess.

Bergman, Ingmar

The famed Swedish director had a deep appreciation of the game, and chess plays the central role in his film "The Seventh Seal".

Bernard of Clarivaux

St. Bernard described chess as "a carnal pleasure".

Blade Runner

The classic sci-fi film by Ridley Scott contains a prominent chess scene.

Blazing Saddles

This Mel Brooks film contains a hilarious scene involving a chess game played by Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little.

Bloodgood, Claude

Bloodgood is famous for two things. He wrote an booklet on the bizarre opening strategy 1.g4 and he was a convicted murderer, His victim was his mother. So much for chess and the Oedipal complex!

Bogart, Humphrey

A genuine chess fanatic who played chess on and off the set. The chess game at the opening of "Casablanca" was his idea. He was a very good player who couldn't resist hustling. During the filming of "African Queen", Katherine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall watched as he took on a Belgian master (and lost).

Bono

The talented singer Bono of U2 is a keen chessplayer. The former actor and now politician (small move there!) is not, as far as we know. 'Nuff said.

Boop, Betty

Although Betty does not play chess in her risque cartoons, she did once find herself in a compromising position when she was taken prisoner by a Black king, only to be rescued by White pawns.

Borges, Jorge Luis

Among the works of the great Argentinian author is a poem about chess.

Brando, Marlon

The Godfather of chess actors, Brando loves to play while on the set.

Brief remarks

After a long hard tournament, professionals like to eat, drink and make merry. They don't like to listen to long speeches. One problem is that at these ceremonies, the players don't get to speak until after all the organizers and honored guests. So they have some beer or wine, and then, when it is time for one of them to speak on behalf of all the players, they may not be at their best. Grandmaster Raymond Keene found a solution. He drafted outsiders not involved in the event (often his friend and co-author Eric Schiller) to make the remarks, which never exceeded two minutes.

Briefest reign as World Champion

Mikahil Tal was one of the greatest players in the history of the game, but he only held the title for a little over the year during 1960/61.

Bring your passport

Chessplayers are not always the most organized of travellers. At the professional level, such details are often handled by seconds or team captains. But who keeps them in line? Joel Benjamin once headed off to Europe with International Master Michael Wilder as his second. Benjamin had no problems. Wilder had forgotten his passport.

Bruno, Frank

The personable heavyweight boxer loves chess. He doesn't compete in tournaments, but who would dare to beat him at the board?

Burroughs, William

Burroughs didn't just play chess after a "Naked Lunch". He also wrote about chess history, and, in "Queer", pointed out that "Some players used dental floss, others cracked their joints or blew saliva bubbles" when he discussed chess during the baroque period.

Burton, Richard

Sir Richard Burton was a Victorian adventurer who translated the 1001 Arabian Knights tales, which were considered pornographic at the time. He played chess a lot, even while on the job as a spy.

Cage, John

The controversial American composer was a frequent guest at the Marshall Chess Club, where he played with his friends Merce Cunningham and Marcel Duchamp.

Cardano, Girolamo

Not only did Cardano invent probability, but an achievement in chess was grand as well. He was the one who figured out how to print chess diagrams with shaded dark squares!

Carroll, Lewis

It is no accident that the chess scenes in Carroll's writings are well-written since Carroll was a fine chessplayer, much better than either Alice or any of his other creations.

Carter, Jimmy

The American president who was also a peanut farmer must be a pretty good player, because his son has had some fine achievements at the board. It is noteworthy, perhaps, that presidents belonging to the Democratic Party seem to play more chess than Republicans.

Casablanca

The Michael Curtiz classic, starring Humphrey Bogart, opens with a chess scene, suggested by the star. Do not confuse "Casablanca" with "Capablanca"!

Casillas, Graciella

A "Woman of Steel" in Playboy magazine, Casillas is another celebrity chessplayer.

Castro, Fidel

The Cuban dictator plays chess, but not nearly as well as fellow revolutionary Che Guevara.

Chaplin, Charlie

Charlie Chaplin was a pretty good chessplayer. he was a student of the great Sammy Reshevsky.

Charlemagne

The Emperor may or may not have played chess, but the French like to claim that he did, and that he once received a beautiful chess set from Haroun al-Rashid.

Charles the Twelfth

The Swedish king had a sense of self-importance that was much too large. According to Voltaire, he kept moving his king and got into trouble because of it.

Cheating (1)

The inventive minds that make up the chess community are also quite capable of creating novel methods of cheating. At the 1993 World Open, a player, using a pseudonym that should have drawn suspicion (a Rastafarian named John von Neumann?) and would have immediately been picked up in a better educated European environment, allegedly received his moves by a radio transmitter which was attached to his leg. The only problem was that sometimes the transmission was not understood, and so the wrong piece would be moved.

Chess (The Musical)

{To be added}

Chess Fever

An early film by Vsevold Pudovkin, starring no less than Capablanca!

Chicago Bears Hoax

In 1986, a Chicago DJ decided to have some fun by setting up a hoax. The Chicago Bears football team was in London, preparing for an exhibition game against the Cowboys at Wembley Stadium. He arranged information to be leaked that the team would be visiting the World Championship match between Kasparov and Karpov, then underway at the Park Lane Hotel. A flood of press inquiries reached the press office at the chess event, but the hoax failed to work—the press officer was Eric Schiller, then a student at the University of Chicago, who smelled not a bear, but a rat. As a result, Schiller and other staff members were treated to tickets to the game.

Conrad, Joseph

The author of a great deal of profound literature liked to spend time at the chessboard as well.

Cooke, Alistair

The longtime host of "Masterpiece Theater" is a chessplayer.

Crowley, Aleister

The King of Depravity got his kicks from torturing animals as a kid and got more malicious as life went on. Between orgies he played chess, and did so very well, playing for Oxford and Cambridge.

Dali, Salvador

Dali created chess sets in his usual surrealistic style. In a book about Duchamp, he wrote: Les echecs, c'est moi".

Darin, Bobby

The singer is a chess fan, and his son runs a chess publishing house.

Davis, Steve

The pattern recognition ability which is so necessary to chess is also essential at the pool table, and world champion snooker player Steve Davis knows this well. He loves to play chess, and has traded chess and snooker stories with former World Champion Anatoly Karpov, who loves snooker.

De Moivre, Abraham

A brilliant mathematician who was not making enough at it to survive, de Moivre became a professional chessplayer. As did Lasker a century later, and John Nunn a century after that!

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor

The great Russian novelest was a chessplayer who was even a member of the St. Petersburg Chess Club.

Drawmeister

There is no shortage of examples of players drawing all their games in a tournament, but at Slupsk 1979 Bilek managed the feat averaging just 12.5 moves per game, and less than 10 minutes per game!

Duchamp, Marcel

One of the greatest artists of the early 20th century was also a seriously strong chessplayer who played for the French Olympic team no less than four times. In 1968 he teamed up with John Cage, a frequent opponent at the Marshall Chess Club, to produce a musical version of the game, a piece of performance art which unfortunately does not seem to be in anyone's repertoire these days.

Edward the Third

Ever get annoyed because your chess set is missing pieces? King Eduard had a solution: he employed someone just to count them every Christmas. In an economy move, he sometimes used a single Sergeant to do this task and also hold his head when he was seasick.

Ehlman, Mischa

One of several famous violinists who were also good players.

Eisenstein, Sergei

The famed Soviet director included chess prominently in his film "Ivan the Terrible"

Estrada, Erik

Erik Estrada is a serious player who participated in an all-Star event in Mexico in 1989.

Fairchild, Morgan

The sexy superstar loves to play chess and hosted a charity event in Mexico in 1989.

Ferdinand

Archduke Ferdinand, the fellow whose death set off World War I, was an avid chessplayer who carried a fine pocket set with him when he was performing official functions.

Ferrer, Jose

The distinguished Spanish actor played well enough to be a sparring partner of Bobby Fischer.

Fistfights

Chess is usually a peaceful game, but sometimes things get out of hand. An incident erupted between Hungarian Grandmaster Andras Adorjan and future US Grandmaster John Fedorowicz at the 1981 Lasker Memorial in New York. Most of the blows landed not one each other, but on arbiter Eric Schiller who was trying to break up the fight. Most of the other players were unable to concentrate and quickly drew their games. Raymond Keene accidently touched the wrong knight at his fourth move and had to offer a draw rather than risk playing a line he knew nothing about. The players were not even amused the following day, when Adorjan and Fedorowicz entered the Marshall Chess Club, where the event was held,. arm in arm, best of friends.

Fonda, Henry

The veteran actor of many Westerns, Fonda loved a shootout at the chessboard too.

Forman, Milos

Milos Forman has perhaps the deepest understanding of the game among all film directors. He has not used it prominently in his films, however.

Four games in one

At the 1972 Student Olympiad, German star Robert Huebner was very, very tired. He had just finished a long adjournent (99 moves!) and his captain insisted that he play in the afternoon game anyway. A draw would be an acceptable result against American Ken Rogoff. Huebner didn't want to waste time. He played 1.c4 and offered a draw. Rogoff consulted with his acting captain (Eric Schiller) and the rest of the team, and accepted. As Black against a superior opponent, Rogoff was obviously inclined to take the draw, and the Americans had been confident of winning the match on the lower boards.
But the organizers refused to accept the result, claiming the action was somehow against the rules (it wasn't, as the Czech arbiter Sajtar agreed 8 years later). So they were ordered to play another game. The players obliged: 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.Ng1 Ng8 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Ng1 Ng8 with a draw by repition. This did not humor the arbiters, who ordered yet another game. This time the players simply traded off all pieces until there were only bare kings left.
Finally, a committee was convened, primarily of teams leaders whose teams wanted to see both the German and American team lose. They ordered a fourth game. Before that could take place, Huebner insisted on resigning, so that his American counterpart would not be punished.

Franklin, Ben

The intellectual hero of the American Revolution numbered chess among his many accomplishments. He particularly enjoyed checkmating women. Sometimes his female opponents were taking a bath at the time. Franklin usually won. Franklin once obtained an autograph from Philidor.

From Russia with Love

The Terence Young film, the second in the James Bond series, has a stunning chess scene at the opening, which featured a combination taken from the great Boris Spassky. This was not invented for the film. The chess scene was in the original Ian Fleming novel.

Fry, Steven

Best known as "Jeeves", Fry is a chess enthusuast who uses chess in his writings, comic routines and life. He owns several valuable pieces of chess art. He claims to have as much skill as a "dead rat".

Gatting, Mike

The cricketeer captained England to great success, perhaps due to mental sharpness developed by his chessplaying.

George the Third

King George lost some games (and of course the American Colonies) but was considered a pretty good chessplayer in his time.

Gillespie, Dizzy

The jazz great spent a lot of touring time playing chess.

Goethe,

The German poet wrote: "Chess is the touchstone of the intellect."

Golding, William

The author of the Lord of the Flies was as highly competitive player, who lost a postal game when, just after receiving news of his Nobel Prize, he mailed off a blunder.

Grateful Dead

It is not known whether any of the band members play chess, but their concerts drew a crowd of chess enthusiasts, both amateur and professional. The attendees at the 1994 Chinese New Year concert and 1995 Mardi Gras concert would have made a decent olympic team! Among the attendees: Grandmaster Joel Benjamin, International Masters Maurice Ashley, Marc Leski, Sophia Polgar, Josh Waitzkin and National Masters Hal Bogner and Eric Schiller.

Guevara, Che

The revolutionary commando was a pretty good player, almost master strength. He played a lot of his chess in the jungle, sometimes against his sparring partner Fidel Castro, but also had an opportunity to play against many well-known international players.

Guidry, Ron

The New York Yankees star had a fine mind to go with his superb arm, and the pitcher is a fine and ethusiastic chessplayer.

Haldeman, H.R.

The Nixon crook was an avid chessplayer.

Hardy, Thomas

Chess figured in Hardy';s "Cass Timberlane".

Haroun al-Rashid

The Caliph of Baghdad was a famous chessplayer who lived in the 8th century. His tale is told in the Arabian tales of 1001 nights (not knights!) and trained the girls of his harem to play chess, among other things.

Havel, Vaclav

The playwrite and former Czech president likes to play chess when he gets the time.

Henry the Eighth

King Henry was a big fan of the royal game. While Thomas More was being executed, he sat playing with Anne Boleyn. And we all know what happened to her!

Henry the Fourth

The King of France was an eager chessplayer, and does not seem to have been greatly offended by minor breaches of etiquette. When one of his opponents, Bassompierre, rather rudely broke wind during a move, the king let him off the hook after hearing the explanation "Your majesty, my knight will not move if he does not hear the trumpet call."

Henry, O

Another writer with a fondness for the Roayl Game.

Hope, Bob

The comedian once beat Bobby Fischer in a simul, but of course he took a few liberties with the rules.

Ibsen, Henrik

When he wasn't writing, he spent many dark Scandinavian evenings at a chessboard.

Innocent III

Pope Innocent III made a ruling which, for better or worse, does not apply in modern time. He stated that if any clerk got into a fight as a result of a chess game, then killing the opponent was not homicide. The rationalization was that playing chess was part of the clerk's job.

International Politics (1)

Chess is played at the international level, and sometimes politics rears its ugly head. For many years, players from some Arab countries were not permitted to play against Israeli opponents. At the Chess Olympiad, the teams were not paired. But in the very informal blitz tournament at the 1988 Olympiad in Thessaloniki no one bothered to keep track. So at one point a player from the United Arab Emirates played an Israeli player. When this was discovered, his head of delegation ordered him to forfeit the game.

International Politics (2)

Albania used to be a pretty secretive country, and their players were not allowed to play against Americans nor get too friendly. At the 1980 Olympiad in Malta, NBC wanted to take some film of the event, and the rules allowed this provided that the teams involved did not object. Communication with the teams was the job of the arbiter assigned to the match involved. It happened that NBC wanted some picture of the Albanians, since Americans didn't usually get to see Albanian sportsment. The only problem was that the arbiter, American Eric Schiller, had to get the permission of the Albanian captain. Schiller, a linguist with command of English, Russian, German and a few other languages, did not speak Albanian. He tried English. The Albanian captain came back with French, Schiller tried German, the Albanian came back with Italian. Finally Schiller, frustrated, swore in Russian. The Albanian grinned and the conversation took place in Russian. The crew got their film.

Ivan the Terrible

Most Russian leaders have been avid chessplayers, but Ivan actually had the game banned in 1551. According to contemporary reports he died at the chessboard while playing against Boris Godunov. Served him right.

Jackson, Kate

The actress claims she would rather play chess against a computer than watch television. Damning with faint praise?

Jefferson, Thomas

The great American President and philosopher was a very serious student of the Royal Game. He knew the ending of rook and bishop particularly well, having carefully studied Philidor's work.

John Paul II

Pope John Paul may or may not be a fan of the Royal Game. There have been several hoaxes perpetrated indicating that he does play, but someone in the Vatican did order a chess computer a while back.

Khayam, Omar

The author of the Rubayat included references to chess in his writings, including some of the most quoted lines.

King Canute

England's first king was a strongwilled chessplayer who got into a dispute with the Danish Earl Ulf. Bad move for Ulf—the king had him killed.

King Conchubair

An Irish king who, according to legend, felt that the day was to be split into three period: drinking, fighting and chess.

Kozinsky, Jerzy

The popular author loved chess, and even helped to organize one World Championship match.

Kreisler, Fritz

One of several famous violinists who were also good players.

Krylenko, Nikolai

The Bolshevik Commissar was hated and feared almost as much as Stalin himself, but he was responsible for the high position of chess in Soviet society.

Kubrik, Stanley

Kubrick "taught" a computer to play chess well when he directed "2001". On the set of "Dr. Strangelove" he defeated George C, Scott in a matchup of Hollywood heavyweights.

Lancelot

What do you tell your boss when you are out wooing the beloved Guinevere? That you are playing chess, of course! At least that's what Lancelot said.

Lee, Robert E.

Many generals play chess, but the Confederate military leader was a true fan, never without his pocket set. Pershing was later to follow his example

Leiber, Fritz

Noted science fiction author wrote about chess in "Midnight by the Morphy watch".

Lendl, Ivan

Perhaps Lendl took up tennis because he didn't want to compete at chess with his father, who was Czech Junior champion.

Lenin, Vladimir Ulyanovich

The father of the Soviet Union was also a fierce competitor at the chessboard, expecially when he was in exile in Paris.

Lennon, John

John played chess with Yoko Ono, and probably with Ringo Starr.

Lewis, Lennox

Like several other British boxers, Lewis enjoys the game.

Lincoln, Abraham

Like Jefferson, Abe Lincoln was a serious student of the game.

Longest game

Stepak-Mashian, Istael Championship 1981 lasted 193 games. There was a pre-arranged game that went 300 moves, but that was a composition rather than a competition.

Longest possible game

In theory, you could play 5,949 moves in a single game before the rules would require a draw.

Longest World Championship Game

Karpov-Korchnoi, Baguio City 1978, went 124 moves!

Lorre, Peter

It is not known whether Lorre played against Bogart while filming "Casablanca", but he was also an enthusiast.

Losing on time

Fritz Saemisch once lost all of his games on time. It was at Linköping 1969, when he was quite old and even slower than his customary tortise pace.

Machiavelli

The author of "The Prince" turned to chess after his political career was checkmated.

Mad Dog Renman

Some players will overcome any obstacles to play in a good tournament. Take the case of the 1984 Berlin Summer Open. The Swedish International Master Renman finished up playing in Gausdal and departed for Berlin by train. But he got on the wrong train at one point, and was off in the wrong direction before he realized his error. Not to be defeated, he asked the conductor to stop the train so he could get off. The conductor was understandably reluctant. So Renman just leaped off, breaking his arm in the fall. But he did get to Berlin, even if he was a day late and had his arm in a cast.

Magritte, Rene

The French surrealist painter played chess, but his play seemed to be surrealistic as well and he did not achieve great success.

Marks, John

This Marshall Chess Club regular is best known as the composer of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

Marsh, Terry

Many commentators refer to boxing as a chess game, and Terry Marsh made it a reality. The former child chess star became the world light welterweight champion.

Martin, George R.R.

Noted science fiction author wrote about chess in "Unsound Variations"

Martin, Steve

Steve Martin is enough of a fan that he turned up (with Rick Moranis) at the 1990 World Championship in New York.

Marx, Karl

When he wasn't trying to revolutionize the world order, Marx loved a good game of chess. He like winning even more. Losing he enjoyed about as much as capitalism.

McGoohan, Patrick

The star of the classic television series "The Prisoner", which included many scenes with chess, is an enthusiastic and highly competitive player.

Mendelssohn, Felix

This composer was a pretty good chessplayer.

Menuhin, Yehudi

One of several famous violinists who were also good players.

Merlin

Well, the facts are a bit shaky, but in some chronicles Merlin is described as a brilliant player who invented a powerful chessplaying machine. Lancelot put the game to good use too.

Miller, Henry

The American writer loved to play chess when he wasn't engaged in other "research" for his books.

Missing the boat

Chess tournaments often open with a lot of pomp and circumstance. In San Francisco, however, the organizers genuinely make an effort to make the ceremonies interesting. At the 1995 Pan Pacific tournament, the opening was held on a boat, which made a sunset cruise around the Bay, to the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. The event went splendidly except for one problem—the organizer missed the boat! The players therefore got a good meal, a fine cruise, and didn't even have to listen to the speeches.

Montezuma

King Montezuma of Mexico was a chessplayer, but he didn't have much time to develop before he was killed.

Moore, Patrick

The famed astronmer is not just a fan, he actually founded a chess club (the East Grinstead Chess Club in England).

Most titles held at one time

In 1982, Michael Adams held the titles of overall Cornish Champion, and also Cornish Champion in the following age groups: under 18, under 15, under 13 and under 11. He was also the blitz champion!

Multiple Checks

Westerinen-Keres, Tallinn 1969 saw 38 queen checks by Keres.

Mussorgsky, Modest

This composer was a pretty good chessplayer.

Nabokov, Vladimir

The Russian novelist didn't just play chess, he even wrote about it in "The Defence". He also composed chess studies.

Newton, Isaac

The history of science might well have been different had Sir Isaac spent just a bit more time at the chessboard. He did truly enjoy the game.

Obsessed with the lady

Mackenzie-Mason played a match in London 1882. In the second game, Mason moved his queen 73 times in a row!

Oldest World Champion

Wilhelm Steinitz did not become World Champion until he was over 58 years old, on May 26, 1894.

On Castling

Steinitz was holding forth one day, putting down Morphy's abilities with the remark "I play my king all over the board; I make himn fight. What did Morphy do? He catled! He put his King safely in the corner!" Mackenzie reportedly replied: "Not a bad idea, either."

One Last Chance

One of Steinitz's opponents refused to resign a hopeless adjourned pisition, causing Steinitz to turn up for an additional session. The opponent had hoped that Steinitz might pass away during the night!

Orwell, George

Did the darkness of Orwell's visions have something ato do with getting bad positions at the chessboard. We don't know that, but we do know that he loved to play the game.

Oswald, Lee Harvey

Oswald loved chess, and had he lived, probably would have become a jailhouse master while serving time for the death of JFK.

Over his head

As a last-minute replacement for Chigorin at Monte Carlo 1903, poor Colonel Moreau last all 26 of his games.

Ovett, Steve

Playing chess for five hours or running the mile, which is tougher? Steve Ovett is an athlete who could answer the question.

Palace of Westminster

Britain has some strange regulations, but the one at the Palace of Westminster (up until 1987) was unique: the only game permitted there was chess! They abandoned this policy in the Thatcher era, when fewer members of parliment were capable of playing the game. Talk about the Decline of the British Empire!

Pershing, ?

During the First World War Pershing carried a pocket set with him and played when he could.

Phish

Phish is the greatest chess-playing band in the history of music, with all four members of the band (at least two of the Beatles were chessplayers) playing enthusiastically while on tour. In 1995 they took the game to the audience, playing one move at each show. The author of this encyclopedia had the honor of making the third move of the game at the first show where the band got the game off to a start with 1.e4 e5 2.Bb5?! Nc6?! 3.Nf3 a6 and the band decided enroute to the next show that they should capture the knight. At the time, 3…a6 was the chess move played before the largest live onsite audience (about 20,000 people).

Piatigorski, Gregor

Not only was Gregor Piatigosky one of the greatest cellists, but he had a love of the game which led to his acting as patron for two of the finest tournaments ever held in America.

Pound, Ezra

Among the writings of the prolific author is the poem "The Gmae of Chess".

Prokofiyev, Sergei

The Russian composer Sergei Prokofiyev was a very strong chessplayer who defeated even World Champions in simultaneous exhibitions. He was generally considered to be a Master, and was respected by many famous players. He played a match in 1937 against famed violinist David Oistrakh.

Pushkin, Alexander

The Russian poet was such a fan of the game that he felt it was required that his wife learn the game. He spent his last evening playing chess, before being killed in a non-intellectual duel.

Quinn, Anthony

The famous Zorba the Greek has been a longtime fan of the game.

Rabelais

Rabelais was a Gargantuan fan of the game, and wrote with technical accuracy when he included chess in his work.

Ray, Man

The noted artist created wonderful chess sets and produced some fine photographs of leading figures.

Ray, Satyatjit

The Indian director's best film, according to many critics, is "The Chess Players"

Rembrandt

Rembrandt played chess, as did most of the persons in the artistic circles of the time.

Rice, Tim

The author of the musical "Chess" is, unsurprisingly, a big fan of the game.

Richard the Lionheart

Richard learned to play chess from one of his prisoners.

Rimbaud

The colorful Belgian poet divided his time by raising hell and playing chess with Verlaine in cafes.

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai

This composer was a pretty good chessplayer.

Roget, Peter Mark

Perhaps it is unsurprising that Roget, famous for his Thesaurus would be a chessplayer, given that both activities involve pattern recognition to a great degree. He also is credited with the invention of two-dimensional pocket chess sets.

Roosevelt, Teddy

Another chessplaying American president, who even took on the leading "computer" of the day.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques

The French philosopher was a dedicated chessplayer who worked hard at the game. He liked to play in a fur hat and a cape, but that didn't help is results.

Rubinstein, Artur

The romantic pianist loved chess, but did not play as well as Akiba Rubinstein, to whom he was not related.

Rushdie, Salman

At one time Chess was banned in Iran, so the Ayatollah had two reasons to be angry with the author of Satanic Verses.

Russ, Joanna

Noted science fiction author wrote about chess in "A Game of Vlet".

Russell, Bertrand

The philosopher was a keen chessplayer until his mind wandered onto more abstract pursuits.

Rustic Tournaments

At the 1982 supertournament in Bugojno, many of the players enjoyed relaxing over a game of tennis. The pace was not exactly fast, because local sheep kept wandering on to the court!

Saberhagen, Fred

Noted science fiction author wrote about chess in "To move and win".

Schumann, Robert

The famous composer was a fanatical chessplayer, but only after he went insane and entered an asylum.

Scott, Geoge C.

The famous actor is known to enjoy chess tremendously.

Sevastianov, Vitaly

Sevastianov played the first game in space, aboard Soyuz 9. He later became president of the Soviet Chess Federattion.

Shakespeare, William

Did the Bard play chess? There is pictorial evidence in an early 17th century painting which shows him on the attack agasinst Ben Jonson. "King Lear" contains a few references to the game.

Shandling, Gary

The comedian was part of the team that organized the 1990 World Championship in New York.

Shaw, George Bernard

Shaw's view of chess was not a pretty one: "Chess…is a foolish expedient for making idle people belive they are doing something clever, when they are only wasting their time." Of course he may have held these views because he was a truly lousy player.

Shields, Brooke

How well this actor plays is unknown, but she was on the organizing committee of the 1990 World Championship in New York.

Shortest Game in an International Tournament

At Luton 1975 Miles and Reuben drew without playing any moves at all. There was no objection from the arbiter, but then Reuben was himself one of the world's leading arbiters!

Shortest game lost unintentionally by time forfeit

At the 1972 National High School Championship, one player lost on time at move 4. It was the last round, and the player had been celebrating the end of the event with a mind-altering substance.

Shortest Games

It is interesting that two of the best known single move games both began 1.c4, but ended quite differently. In Huebner-Rogoff, Graz (Student Olympaid) 1972, the move was accompanied by a draw offer. In Fischer-Panno, Palma de Mallorca Interzonal 1967, Panno resigned because he didn't like the hours of play.

Shortest World Championship Game

In the 1963 match, Botvinnik and Petrosian agreed a draw in the 21st game in just 10 moves.

Shostakovich, Dmitry

This composer was a pretty good chessplayer, and particularly valued the combination of science and art.

Sinatra, Frank

The "Chairman of the Board" was also a force at the chessboar.

Singer, Isasac Bashevis

Singer is another Nobel Laureate who has a deep respect for the Royal Game.

Slowerst move in a tournament game

Francisco Trois spent 2 hours and 20 minutes on a single move against Luiis Santos in Vigo 1980. Strangely, there were only two logical moves, and they were still in the opening.

Starr, Ringo

Ringo enjoys chess so much that he crafted a chess-set where the pieces were based on the shape of human hands. He probably played with John Lennon back in the Beatle era.

Steinbeck, John

Author John Steinbeck was a big fan of the game.

Stevenson, Robert Louis

When Stevenson set out for the pacific, he brought along a chess set. Of course, chess sets are useful things to have on desert islands and even Treasure Islands.

Sting

The musician Sting is a chessplayer. The professional wrestler Sting is not, as far as we know. 'Nuff said.

Strauss, Richard

This composer was a pretty good chessplayer.

Tamerlane

This Mongol Emperor liked to play on a big board: 112 sqauares. Even named one of his sons Shah-Rukh, because when the birth was announced in 1377, Tamerlane was forking his opponent's king and rook. But he wasn't as good as his lawyer, a fellow named Alladin, who could play four blindfold games at once.

The Amazing Kreskin

The psychic abilities claimed by this person are not attested at the chess board. He boasted that he could beat any Grandmaster, but after failing to rise to the challenge on several occasions he gave up. Among his lack of psychic instincts were the rules of the game.

The Chess Players

A critically acclaimed film by Indian director Satyajit Ray.

The Gong Show

The late Harry Golombek tells the story of the1960 Leipzig Olympiad. Each day, the East German hosts honored their patron saint Bach by playing a bit of his suite in d-minor. Unfortunately, after a few weeks of this, it got a bit grating. Worse, the start of play was indicated by a large gong being struck, with a noise that reverberated about the hall which was not conducive to clear thought.
One day, Harry went out to eat,