Isaac Kashdan
Isaac Kashdan | |
---|---|
Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Title | Grandmaster (1954) |
Isaac Kashdan (November 19, 1905, in New York City – February 20, 1985, in Los Angeles) was an American chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was twice U.S. Open champion (1938, 1947). He played five times for the United States in chess Olympiads, winning a total of nine medals, and his Olympiad record is the all-time best among American players.
Kashdan was often called 'der Kleine Capablanca' (German for "The little Capablanca") in Europe because of his ability to extract victories from seemingly even positions. Alexander Alekhine named him one of the most likely players to succeed him as World Champion. Kashdan could not, however, engage seriously in a chess career for financial reasons; his peak chess years coincided with the Great Depression. He resorted to earning a living as an insurance agent and administrator in order to support his family.
Biography
Early years
Kashdan, who was
Olympiad star
He played five times for U.S. team in the
- In 1928, he played at first board in 2nd Chess Olympiad in The Hague (+12 –1 =2).
- In 1930, he played at first board in 3rd Chess Olympiad in Hamburg (+12 –1 =4).
- In 1931, he played at first board in 4th Chess Olympiad in Prague (+8 –1 =8).
- In 1933, he played at first board in 5th Chess Olympiad in Folkestone (+7 –1 =6).
- In 1937, he played at third board in 7th Chess Olympiad in Stockholm (+13 –1 =2).
[2] In Stockholm 1937, he scored 14/16, the best individual record of all the players. His all-time Olympic record stands at 79.7% (+52 -5 =22), the best all-time among American players. Kashdan won four team medals: three gold (1931, 1933, 1937), one silver (1928), and five individual medals: two gold (1928, 1937), one silver (1933), and two bronze (1930, 1931).
Among players who have played in the open section of four or more Olympiads, Kashdan's
Excels in Europe and Americas
In Frankfurt in 1930, Kashdan took second place (behind Aron Nimzowitsch)[3] and won in Stockholm. He won at Győr 1930 with 8.5/9.[3] In 1930, he defeated Lajos Steiner in a match (+4 -3 =2) in Győr, and lost a match against Gösta Stoltz, (+2 -3 =1), in Stockholm. Kashdan defeated Charles Jaffe by 3–0 in a match at New York 1930.[4]
At New York City 1931, Kashdan took second place with 8.5/11, behind José Raúl Capablanca.[5] At Bled 1931, Kashdan scored 13.5/26 to tie for 4-7th places, as Alekhine scored an undefeated 20.5 points. In 1931/32, at Hastings, Kashdan took second place, behind Salo Flohr, with 7.5/9. In 1932 in Mexico City, he tied for first place with Alekhine with 8.5/9, and took second place behind Alekhine at Pasadena with 7.5/11.[6] At London 1932, Kashdan tied 3rd-4th places with 7.5/11, with Alekhine winning.[6] At Syracuse 1934, Kashdan finished 2nd with 10.5/14, as Samuel Reshevsky won.[7] In the U.S. Open Chess Championship / Western Open, Chicago 1934, Kashdan scored 4.5/9 in the finals, to tie for 5th-6th places, with Reshevsky and Reuben Fine sharing the title.[7] In the U.S. Open Chess Championship (then known as Western Open), Milwaukee 1935, Kashdan placed 3rd with 6.5/10, as Fine won.[8]
Wins U.S. Open, frustrated in U.S. Championships
Kashdan was
But Kashdan never won the
In U.S. Championships, Kashdan 1) placed 5th in 1936 at New York with 10/15, with Reshevsky winning[11] 2) placed 3rd in 1938 at New York with Reshevsky repeating;[12] 3) placed 3rd at New York 1940 with 10.5/16, with Reshevsky winning his third straight title;[13] 4) tied for 1st-2nd with Reshevsky at New York 1942 with 12.5/15,[14] but lost the subsequent play-off match (+2 −6 =3) 5) placed 2nd in 1946 at New York City with a strong 14.5/19, 1.5 points behind Reshevsky;[15] 6) tied 1st-2nd in 1948 at
Kashdan would have been U.S. champion in 1942, but lost out to Reshevsky when the Tournament Director, L. Walter Stephens, scored Reshevsky's time-forfeit loss to Denker as a win instead.
Wartime years
Kashdan drew 5–5 in a match against Horowitz at
After the war
The American team traveled to Moscow in 1946 for a rematch against the Soviet team, and Kashdan partially avenged his result against Kotov from the previous year, winning 1.5-0.5.
He appeared on February 9, 1956, TV edition of Groucho Marx's show You Bet Your Life, where the host referred to him throughout as "Mr. Ashcan", and challenged him to a match for $500 (but only if allowed to cheat). Kashdan and his partner, Helen Schwartz (mother of actor Tony Curtis) won $175.[21]
Organizer, arbiter, writer
Kashdan was awarded the
In 1933, Kashdan, in partnership with Horowitz, founded Chess Review, a magazine that was purchased by the United States Chess Federation in 1969. He edited the tournament book for the 1966 Piatigorsky Cup tournament.
Kashdan was the longtime editor of the Los Angeles Times chess column, from 1955 until 1982, when he suffered a disabling stroke.
In his role as an arbiter, he directed many chess tournaments, including the two
Style and assessment
Denker and Parr write that Kashdan was a powerful tactician, but that his real strength was in the
Family
One of Kashdan's children had serious health problems, and the family moved to California in the 1940s, because of its better climate.[24]
His only surviving son, Richard Kashdan, is an attorney living in San Francisco (as of 2010).
Quotes
It has never been a disgrace to lose to Kashdan.
— IGM Arnold Denker, If You Must Play Chess, 1947
See also
References
- ^ Chess and Jews by Edward Winter
- ^ "Home". olimpbase.org.
- ^ a b c d e f "Kashdan player file". Chessmetrics.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2006.
- ^ Arnold Denker and Larry Parr (1995). The Bobby Fischer I Knew And Other Stories. Hypermodern Press. p. 197.
- ^ "1931". rogerpaige.me.uk. Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
- ^ a b "1932". rogerpaige.me.uk. Archived from the original on January 2, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
- ^ a b "1934". rogerpaige.me.uk. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
- ^ "1935". rogerpaige.me.uk. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
- ^ "1938". rogerpaige.me.uk. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010.
- ^ "1948". rogerpaige.me.uk. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009.
- ^ http://www.rogerpaige.me.uk/tables7/htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ http://www.rogerpaige.me.uk/tables9/htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "1940". rogerpaige.me.uk. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
- ^ "1942". rogerpaige.me.uk. Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
- ^ "1946". rogerpaige.me.uk. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
- ^ http://www.rogerpaige.me.uk/tables19.htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ "1941". rogerpaige.me.uk. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
- ^ a b "Kashdan games file". Chessgames.com.
- ^ http://www.rogerpaige.me.uk/tables16.htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b http://www.rogerpaige.me.uk/Tables2019.htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx5trYwXNuw, reviewed January 23, 2020
- ^ Frank Brady (1965). Profile of a Prodigy. Dover. p. 40.
- ^ a b Arnold Denker and Larry Parr (1995). The Bobby Fischer I Knew And Other Stories. Hypermodern Press.
- Larry Parr, San Francisco 1995, Hypermodern Press
- ^ "Richard L Kashdan".
- ^ "Twilight of the Phreaks: The Fates of the 10 Best Early Hackers". March 9, 2012.
- ^ "Exploding the Phone -- Extra Goodies -- Mark Bernay".
- ^ "Phone Trips".
External links
- Isaac Kashdan Chess Olympiad record at OlimpBase.org
- Isaac Kashdan player profile and games at Chessgames.com