The Dark Side Of Chess

Some pastimes, soccer (1) for example, have long and dishonourable histories of violence both
on and off the field. Fortunately youre not likely to be stabbed at a chess match or
headbutted at a congress. ven distance players seldom receive abusive letters or !mails
from irate opponents, but chess does have a dark side. "ere #e take a look at cheating,
gamesmanship, and occasionally #orse.
A Personal Reminiscence
$s a %unior & #as, & admit, often uncharitable to#ards my van'uished opponents and
sometimes less than magnanimous in defeat, but one incident stands out #hen & #as totally
innocent. & #as playing in an a#ay match for "ayes and #as getting chomped by a far
stronger player #hen suddenly after he pulled off a bi(arre combination & found myself t#o
pieces to the good. & remarked to another "ayes player that this bloke #as )masticating me*,
and that & couldnt 'uite believe #hat had happened. $lthough it #as thirty years ago &
remember this phrase clearly. $nd & remember my opponents #ords too, #hen & turned back
to him he said angrily )&f you call me mad again brother, &ll put one on you.*
+he game #as of course over in all but name, and & had no desire to explain and even less to
apologise. &ndeed at times like these discretion is the better part of valour. ,nly on one other
occasion as a %unior did violence loom at a chess game #ithin my ambit, and unfortunately, &
missed the other#ise humorous incident. &t #as at a congress #hen a very strong young
player named -ick $lexander managed to upset his opponent, #ho s#ept the board and
pieces to the floor #ith the #ords )$nd that, .r $lexander, is #hat & f/////g think of you.*
+hey didnt actually come to blo#s, fortunately, unlike the most notorious chess player in
history, an $merican crook #ho committed the ultimate crime.
Claude Bloodgood: The Killer Grob (0)
1laude Fri((ell 2loodgood &&& #as a strong chess player3 he #as also an habitual criminal. ,n
-ovember 1, 1454 he #as released from prison after serving a sentence for forgery. ,n
-ovember 14 he beat and strangled his o#n mother to death as his accomplice, 16 year old
.ichael 7uarick, looked on in horror. 7uarick helped 2loodgood dispose of the body, #hich
#as found four days later. 2loodgood #as not arrested until the end of 8anuary3 he confessed
to the crime, but later tried to blame the younger man. "e #as sentenced to death on 8une 14,
149:, and 8udge ;in#ood 2. +abb fixed the date of his execution as -ovember <, although he
#as later reprieved. (<)
"e died on $ugust =, 0::1 in the .edical >nit at ?o#hatan 1orrectional Facility #here he
#as inmate number 44=<0. &n the three decades of his internment he made prodigious use of
his time, playing chess against other inmates, and against regular players by post. ,ne of his
earlier postal opponents #as a .ethodist lay preacher from Staffordshire. 8ohn @alker, a
paraplegic, eventually met 2loodgood in 1444 #hen he spent his holiday playing #ith him in
the prison.
$s #ell as a murderer, 2loodgood #as a prolific story teller. "e claimed he #as born Alaus
2luttgutt in ;a ?a( and that his father #as an $b#ehr agent. "e #as, he said, sent to -a(i
Bermany, and claimed to have played many celebrities including Cichard @idmark and
8ames 1agney. (=)
@hile these claims must be taken #ith a large grain of salt, there is no doubt that 2loodgood
authored three books on gambits, or that in 1445 at the age of 91 he had become the >S$s
4th highest ranked player by playing 19:: rated games )against other inmates over the past
year*. +his #as said to have highlighted fla#s in the >S1F grading system. 2loodgoods
position #as referred to as an aberration. (D) "o# good #as 2loodgoodE ,bviously not as
good as his aberrational rating suggests, but he #as clearly a very strong player. (5) Sadly
though, 2loodgood has been #ritten out of chess history to a large extent. @hen the book
Corresondence Chess in America #as published in 0:::, it made no mention of him, although
it appears to cover every other important player from the founding of the 1orrespondence
1hess ;eague of $merica in 14:4.
+he follo#ing 2loodgood miniature appeared in the 2ritish maga(ine Chess as far back as
-ovember 1451 in a column entitled That didn!t take long" A age of Brilliant Bre#ities from
our $iles. Said to have been played a fe# years previously, the opening is described as %ighl&
'rregular"
2loodgood v Cobinson
1. -!A2< ?!7=
0. ?!7-< ?!72=
<. ?!A= ?F?
=. -!AD 7!7D
D. 2!-0G 7F2E
5. -!72< 7!C5E
(+he maga(ine suggests 7FC)
9. 2!-Dch 2!70
6. -!2= 7!-D
4. 2F2ch -F2
1:. ?!7C<
and black resigned
A Sickening Tale
2loodgoods opponent 8ohn @alker, is not the only nglish chess player to bear that name.
>nfortunately, chess author 8ohn @alker did more than #rite primers for youngsters. &n
$pril 0::0, the D6 year old tutor #as sentenced to seven years imprisonment at Ceading
1ro#n 1ourt for indecently assaulting t#elve boys and seven girls over a thirteen year period
at a 1hurch of ngland primary school in ,xfordshire. (9) &n the Ackno(ledgements of the
1464 edition of his book C%)SS OP)*'*GS $OR +,*'ORS -inning from the $irst .o#e, the
author #rites )+hanks also to the boys of St $ndre#s School and 7uarry 1hess 1lub #ho
allo#ed themselves to be used as guinea pigsG* &n retrospect, this #as obviously a sick %oke.
$nother 2ritish player #ent one better, #riting in his autobiographical Secrets Of
Grandmaster Chess, 8ohn -unn reports that )...2rian ley achieved notoriety by absconding
#hile on police bail relating to an investigation into paedophile activities. +he upshot #as that
he became the only 2ritish 1hess 1hampion to date to appear on the television programme
Crime(atch. $t the time of #riting his #hereabouts are still a complete mystery.*
The Dark Sides Of T(o Great Chamions
For my money, $lexander $lekhine #as the greatest player #ho ever lived. $#ay from the
chess board, $lekhines most dangerous opponent #as the bottle, and he sho#ed great
strength of character to overcome his addiction (6) to regain the #orld title from .ax u#e,
but during the Second @orld @ar, he put his name to a disgraceful series of articles in #hich
he espoused the superiority of Ar&an chess over +e(ish chess. -ot#ithstanding his later
protestations of innocence, $lekhines collaboration #ith the -a(is appears to have been not
entirely pragmatic.
$s part of their #orld mission, the -a(is airbrushed 8e#ish chess achievements out of the
picture. +he fact that so many of the chess greats have been, and continue to be, 8e#ish, is
neither here nor there. &n 8anuary 14=0, the British Chess .aga/ine reported thatH
+he )-e# ,rder* in Bermany is busy on chess literature. +he outstanding text!book in the
Berman language is Iufresnes 0ehrbuch des Schachsiels, #hich has held the field for some
sixty years. From 14:1 to 14<9 it #as periodically revised, and brought up to date by 8.
.ieses, and so remained a thoroughly modern #ork.
$s its popularity could not be gainsaid, it had to be )aryani(ed,* and a ne# revision #as
entrusted to a 1:: per cent $ryan master.
&t #ill hardly be credited that the names of )non!$ryan* players have been omitted from the
historical section, including Aolisch, Jukertort, Steinit(, ;asker, Cubinstein, etc. -ot only
that, all their most brilliant games #hich adorned earlier editions have been eradicated,
although a fe# of their games #ere allo#ed to remain ! those they lostG +his is on a par #ith
the maintenance of )$ryan* superiority in chess by the simple expedient of excluding non!
$ryan competition.
+here is only one #ord for it ! lunacy. )@hom the gods #ish to destroy....*
//////////
@hile $lekhine didnt edit the 0ehrbuch for the -a(is, there is no doubt that he did author
the series of anti!Semitic articles #hich bear his name. (4) &n .ay 14=0, the British Chess
.aga/ine reported that $lekhine had played against 9D Berman officers in a simultaneous
exhibitionH )+he result is not given. @ho caresE*
&f one can excuse $lekhines anti!Semitism as pragmatism, the only excuse Fischer has is
insanity. +he fact that Fischer is himself a 8e# has not prevented him from espousing a fully
blo#n anti!Semitic ideology. "is madness has gone one step further #ith his condoning of the
September 11 atrocities against his homeland. (1:) ;eaving that aside, Fischer has never been
the most likeable of men. "ailed by many in his prime and still as the greatest player of all
time, Fischer #ill be remembered not simply for #resting the cro#n from the Soviets but for
the manner in #hich he did it.
$t the height of the 1old @ar, Fischers boorish behaviour #as in such stark contrast to that
of the gentlemanly 2oris Spaasky that many people actually rooted for the Cussian. Spaasky,
himself one of the all!time greats ! in the romantic tradition ! endured Fischers demands
about the conditions of the &celand match #ith infinite patience and near saintly e'uanimity.
$fter #inning the match, Fischer #ent on +K #ith 2ob "ope, and, #e all thought, hoped, that
#e #ould see a ne# Fischer. (11) $las, after #inning the title and briefly sho#ing the #orld a
ne# public face, Fischer disappeared from the chess and indeed the #orld scene, esche#ing
fame and fortune for a hermit!like existence, and re!emerging only to be branded a #ar
criminal ! for playing chessG (10) $lthough he #on the rematch #ith Spaasky, the Fischer
story #as to all intents and purposes over. (1<)
And So To %umble Cheating
1heating at chess may #ell be as old as the game itself. &n his 1D51 treatise, no less a luminary
than Cuy ;ope( advised his students to )place your opponent #ith the sun in his eyes if you
play by day, and #ith the candle at his right side if you play by night.*
+his #as a trick that #as probably #ell kno#n to Spanish players, the same advice #as given
by ;ucenaG (1=)
1heating also comes in many flavours. ,ne #ay, often #ith a financial motive in mind, is to
misrepresent ones grade. @hen chess congresses #ere held at Aensington there #ere t#o
documented instances of players #ho had #ilfully misrepresented their grades in order to
enter #eaker tournaments ! and claim the pri(e money. $nd there #as one player in the
;ondon area #ho #ent one better by fixing games, ie losing lots of games to #eaker players at
club level to keep his grade do#n for the big events. $lthough & cannot name this player ! for
legal reasonsG ! he is #ell!kno#n, and this sad affair is #ell!documented. $fter an
investigation, he #as banned from playing in the >A.
$ some#hat older individual, he is not much belo# master strength. & had the dubious
pleasure of playing and losing to him three times, and although & had him in some trouble in
one of our games, it #as obvious to me ! and to everybody else ! that he had no business
playing in .a%or +ournaments. (1D) $s he ! or rather his #ifeG ! is independently #ealthy, his
motives #ere more likely psychological and extremely seedy than financial.
,nlad&like Beha#iour
$lthough there are today some extremely strong #omen and girl players around, and #omen
are not at a physical disadvantage ! as for example #ith boxing ! it remains a truism that
chess is very much a male!dominated pastime and that at all levels #omen are in the minority.
+here has been much controversy in recent years over postal and !mail players using
computers to analyse or even to play their games. @hile it is not al#ays possible to tell man
from machine, one #ould expect even at chess to be able to tell men from #omen. Sadly, this
is not al#ays the case.
&n the late 6:s, 1ambridge graduate, county player and former %unior correspondence
champion -ick Io#n said he believed ladies chess to be far #eaker than mens. "e set about
proving it by playing under the pseudonym ;eigh Strange. "is scam #as 'uite sophisticated,
involved t#o co!conspirators, and a first pri(e of L1D, #hich like the (over!the!board) villain
alluded to above, rules out a financial motive. +he scam came to light #hen one of his friends
mouthed off about it. .rs 8ean Cogers, 2ritish ;adies 1orrespondence 1hess 1hampion
1495 M 1496, #rote in the 'uarterly %ournal of the 2ritish 1orrespondence 1hess $ssociation
that after #inning the 146D!5 championship as ;eigh Strange, Io#n put himself for#ard for
the ;adies ?ostal ,lympiad and started to play before he #as defrocked. (15)
+he tournament controller, Aeith scott, said )&n postal chess you have to rely on trust*. (19)
Io#n #as banned from playing postal chess for t#o years. +he real loser #as the #oman #ho
should have #on the tournament concerned. Io#n #on all but one of his games, losing to
Ioreen "elbig, #ho came half a point ahead of ;ynn Spencer3 because Io#ns games #ere
allo#ed to stand, "elbig #as a#arded the title, and Spencer lost out.
Scandalous as Io#ns scam may have been, it #as d#arfed by the ?eruvian player #ho
mas'ueraded as a national team of eightG (16)
Accetable Cheating1
.urder and sex changes aside, there is one form of chess cheating that is often regarded as
bona fide, that of fixing the result in advance. @hen & played at "astings in 1449!6 & sa# one
score sheet #hich finished at move 0, and one year at the .ind Sports & #atched 8ohn -unn !
! no less ! and his opponent play the follo#ing game in one of the chess tournamentsH
1. e= cD
0. -f< -c5
<. 2bD
)Ira#E*
$nd that #as that.
+he phenomenon of the )grandmaster dra#* is #ell kno#n, and agreeing an early or even a
premature dra# is a practice most players can have some sympathy #ith. 1onsider the
follo#ing not entirely hypothetical position. (14) &n the fifth and final round of a S#iss
tournament you and your opponent are %oint tournament leaders #ith = points out of =. "e
offers you a dra#. &f you accept you are guaranteed %oint 1st and 0nd3 if you refuse, and lose,
you are relegated to minor placings. &s it really dishonest to agree a dra# in short orderE ,r if
you are playing in a match, and your half point means the difference bet#een your team
#inning and losing the match, or perhaps even being relegated in the leagueE
,bviously one has to %udge every individual case on its merits, or lack of themG Brandmaster
dra#s are so common that people seldom bat an eyelid, but there is at least one case on record
#here a tournament committee took an entirely different vie#.
$t the second ;uton 1ongress, the late +ony .iles ! #ho #as then 8unior @orld 1hampion !
#as leading the ,pen #ith DND. &n the last round he #as paired against Ste#art Ceuben, #ho
#as half a point behind3 the field #as on =. .iles needed a dra# to secure the L0:: first pri(e
plus the trophy. +he t#o men agreed a dra# #ithout a move being played, and duly pocketed
their ill!gotten gains, but after the pri(es #ere a#arded, the committee had second thoughts
and asked .iles to return L6: of his pri(e money and Ceuben the #hole of his L9:.
+he official tournament report reads )+his incident effected by a talented player (and up to
the 4th Feb.) respected controller #as almost infectiously copied in the .a%or #here Smith
(DND) and ;obo (DND) managed four trembling moves before the thought of record pri(e money
for a sub!19: tournament got the better of them and a dra# #as agreed*. (0:)
Ceuben replied to the report of this incident in Chess #ith a scathing letter in #hich he said
he had told the controllers in advance that he intended to offer .iles a dra# before their
game, Oie #ithout a move being played, #hich #as the #hole troubleP.
)"ad #e submitted a score!sheet reading 1 ?!A= dra# agreed, it #ould have been a lie. ,ur
game is a very #idely played one ! #ith no errors by either sideG &t is %ust that this may be the
first time there has been absolutely no hypocrisy.*
"e #ent on to point out that #ith the difference in their grades he could expect to score 1N5
against .iles, perhaps one out of 0: #ith black. "e picked up L9: for a dra#, good odds. "e
also complained about inaccurate pairings, and said he should have played .iles in the Dth
round. (01)
,ne can sympathise #ith Ceuben (though not #ith .ilesG)3 the attack on his integrity as a
controller #as most uncharitable. 8ust for the record, he #ent on not only to control many
further tournaments but to edit the 21F ne#sletter.
+here is a certain #ay to reduce grandmaster dra#s. @riting in the British Chess .aga/ine,
2asman points out that, rightly, that if this sort of fixing happened in soccer there #ould be
hell to pay. +he #ay around it, he suggests, is for a dra# to count as only a third of a point.
(00) &ngenious as this suggestion is, it is most doubtful if it #ill ever be taken up.
-hat A Combination"
T%) O2$ORD CO.PA*'O* TO C%)SS has a small entry entitled surious games #hich is
self!explanatory. ,ne of the games given here is $dams!+orre, -e# ,rleans, 1401, #hich
contains some fascinating tactics based on the classic #eakness of the back rank. ?achman
gives this game in his book .odern Chess Tactics. Sadly, it isnt all it appearsG ven $lekhine
#as not averse to being economical #ith the truth. &n his collection .3 B)ST GA.)S O$
C%)SS 45678459:, he gives the famous )five 'ueens variation*, #hich he says #as played in
.osco# in 141D. +here is no doubt the game #as played, but not 'uite the #ay he suggested.
And +ust Plain Rudeness
$s the 2iblical saying goes, before you attempt to remove the mote from your brothers eye...
&n ,ctober 149<, pensioner Stanley ;orley reminisced in Chess on the debate about #omen in
the Coyal Bame, and more. &n the good old days, he said, no player #ould have dreamt of
calling #eaker players rabbits (alluding to a previous correspondent). 1hess #as then played
by gentlemen. $s a spectator at &slington recently he #as shocked to see )so called
competitors dressed like trams* and #omen #alking around unescorted like harlots.
+he follo#ing month, @. "eidenfeld ! the previous correspondent in 'uestion ! put .r ;orley
in his place. "e could not but #onder he said at the mentality of a )true gentleman* #ho
ob%ected to #eak players being referred to as rabbits yet had no hesitation in branding
#omen harlots %ust because they #alked around #ithout an escort.
$nd there & must leave you.
*otes And References
(1) $ gentlemens game played by hooligansG
(0) The Killer Grob is the title of a book by chess author and &nternational .aster .ike
2asman3 the Brob #as one of 2loodgoods pet openings.
(<) 2loodgoods crime #as reported in the Richmond Times8Disatch of 8une 0:, 149:.
(=) ,northodo; Oenings *e(sletter, &ssue -o. =, $ugust 0::1 (#hich & found on!line) is
dedicated to the then recently deceased 2loodgood. &t contains a number of claims about him
including that the murder victim #as his stepmother. $ #hole mythology has gro#n up
around 2loodgood, much of it apparently invented by the man himself.
(D) British Chess .aga/ine, Kolume 115, -o. 9, 8uly 1445, page <6=.
(5) $ccording to the aforementioned ,northodo; Oenings *e(sletter, 2loodgoods early
career included #inning the Kirginia ,pen in 14D9 and 14D6 and four consecutive victories in
the -orfolk ,pen. "e #as -orfolk 1hess 1lub 1hampion 14D9!4 and 51.
(9) Se#en8&ear sentence for se; abuse teacher, by $dam 8ankie#ic(, published in The
'ndeendent, $pril 5, 0::0, page 1:.
(6) &n his biography of the great champion, Brandmaster $lexander Aotov says $lekhine
inherited a )pathological addiction* to alcohol from his parents.
(4) +he recently deceased Aen @hyld published a pamphlet called A0)K%'*) *A<'
ART'C0)S #hich makes this point.
(1:) +o be fair, at least one chess player ! $merican Sam Sloan ! has claimed that Fischers
comments on September 11 have been misrepresented.
(11) Sadly, & am old enough to #rite about this first handG
(10) "is 1440 rematch #ith Spaasky in Serbia #as a breach of >- sanctionsG
(1<) &t might be diplomatic to say something positive about Fischer. $ccording to Chess,
Kolume =:, -os. 901!90D. .ayN8une 149D, page 0<4, he #as said to have sho#n great concern
over a childhood friend, Caymond @einstein, #ho had been confined in a mental institution.
@einstein had %ust been arrested for the murder of an 6< year old man in the nursing home
#here he resided )the first kno#n homicide committed by a chess master in the annals of the
game*.
(1=) A %'STOR3 O$ C%)SS, by ".8.C. .urray, published by 1larendon ?ress, ,xford,
(141<), page 61=.
(1D) Benerally for players rated >nder 15:21F.
(15) Corresondence Chess, 8anuary 1466, -o. 49, page 1:.
(19) ,nlad&like chess =>ueen! la&s ?oker!s defence, by Cobin Qoung, published in the Times,
8uly 1<, 1469, page 1.
(16) ,nlad&like chess =>ueen!@@@, (ibid).
(14) +his is from personal experience in a tournament at 1entral Q.1$, ;ondon, although
sadly & #asnt one of the protagonists.
(0:) 'T %APP)*)D AT 0,TO*, published in Chess, Kolume =:, -os. 91D!16,
FebruaryN.arch 149D, page 1<: (unnumbered).
(01) Chess, Kolume =:, $pril 149D, -os. 914!90:, page 14D.
(00) T%) CAS) $OR T%R))8O*), by .ike 2asman, published in the British Chess
.aga/ine, .arch 0::1, Kolume 101, -o. <, pages 1D6!5:.