Albert Simonson
Albert Charles Simonson (December 26, 1914 in New York City – November 16, 1965 in
Biography
Simonson was born into a wealthy family. His father Leo was a successful wigmaker to the Manhattan rich and the theatre and movie businesses. His mother Irene was from the family that owned the Illinois Watch Case Co. in Elgin, Illinois. [clarification needed]. Simonson showed precocious skill with chess, soon after learning the game. At New York 1933, he scored 7/10 to tie for 2nd-3rd places, behind only winner Reuben Fine. This earned him selection to the United States chess Olympiad team at age 18. In the Olympiad, at Folkestone 1933, he played on the first reserve board and scored 3/6, as the Americans won the team gold medals. Simonson's teammates were Fine, Isaac Kashdan, Arthur Dake, and Frank Marshall, who all eventually became Grandmasters.
In the 17th Championship of the Marshall Chess Club, 1933–34, Simonson scored 7/11 to finish 6th. In the 1935 U.S. Open at Milwaukee, he scored 5.5/10 to tie for 4th-6th places.
In the first modern
Simonson defeated Reshevsky in a Metropolitan League team match in 1950, at a time when Reshevsky was among the world's top five players. Simonson was ranked sixth in the country on the very first official rating list, issued in 1950, from the United States Chess Federation.
Simonson was a pioneer in the direct mail business field. He served with the
Notable chess games
- Leonhard Abramavicius vs Albert Simonson, Folkestone Olympiad 1933, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E62), 0-1 In this gorgeous game, Simonson unleashes a nasty Kingside attack using strategy which would start to become popular a few years later.
- Reuben Fine vs Albert Simonson, U.S. Championship, New York 1936, Queen's Gambit Declined, Delayed Exchange (Three Knights') Variation (D37), 0-1 Fine and Samuel Reshevsky were the top American players of the 1930s, but here Fine gets overambitious, and is taken apart by Simonson's counterattack.
- Albert Simonson vs Herman Steiner, U.S. Championship, New York 1936, King's Indian Attack / Zukertort Opening (A05), 1-0 White gradually builds up his position against the formidable tactician Steiner.
- Albert Simonson vs Arnold Denker, U.S. Championship, New York 1936, Queen's Indian Defence (E19), 1-0 Denker forces the pace with queenside activity, but gets outplayed once the minor pieces are exchanged, as White's passed a-pawn is a distraction which forces open lines.
- Weaver Adams vs Albert Simonson, U.S. Championship, New York 1940, Bishop's Opening (C24), 0-1 This is a real tactical slugfest with castling on opposite sides, but Simonson sees further.
- Albert Simonson vs Albert Pinkus, U.S. Championship, New York 1951, Queen's Gambit Declined (D46), 1-0 In this battle between two razor-sharp tacticians, Simonson takes a huge risk by leaving his King in the centre, and launches a nasty h-file attack which hits paydirt.
External links
- Albert Simonson player profile and games at Chessgames.com Retrieved on 2008-01-23