Carroll Capps

Born in 1913, Carroll Mather Capps was raised in Oakland, California. He was 16 years old when he started playing chess at Oakland Technical High School. The Northern California chess scene was very different before the 2nd World War. There were no weekend chess tournaments, no chess ratings, and very few opening books. During that period, high school was the cauldron where most chess players were formed; some of them graduated to the local chess clubs. Chess clubs were where chess players went to play and socialize. Competition was keen, but friendship and bonding over the game were equally important. The chess clubs were the backbone of organized chess and almost every city, town, large company and college sported a chess club. There were interclub round robin tournaments (where everyone played everyone), league matches between chess clubs and an occasional simultaneous exhibition by a visiting master. The highlights of the year was the San Francisco team verses East Bay team match, which led to the Northern California team verses Southern California team match. The annual match between the East Bay team verses the San Francisco team was designed to choose the players for the annual Northern California verses Southern California match later in the year.

Graduating from Oakland Tech, Carroll attended UC Berkeley; eventually earning a degree in chemistry. Sometime during his university years, he joined Oakland's Castle Chess Club and began to play in the Northern California Chess League. The first mention of his chess activities has him winning on Castle's board 18 against Crafts of the UC Berkeley Chess Club on April 1, 1933. Castle CC won by a score of 14-11. Several months later, he played for the East Bay Team against the San Francisco Team; both he and his team won.

By 1937, he had become a strong club player (a Class A player by modern standards) and agreed to play on the annual Northern California chess team against the Southern California chess team. Unfortunately he lost to Gordon on board 10. The event was held at the Hotel Anderson in San Luis Obispo (240 miles south of San Francisco) on May 30th. In those days, there were no modern highways and travel from Northern California to Southern California often took the better part of a week. So, both teams agreed to play in the middle of the state; even so, it was an overnight affair. Players often brought their spouses and made it a mini-vacation. The North won by a score of 13-12. There were other events beside the North-South team match during the day; the festivities often included chess problem solving contests and rapid transit tournaments. Rapid transit is similar to modern speed chess, except that instead of 5 minutes to play all the moves, the player must make his move every 10 seconds or lose (the player can't touch the piece he intends to move until a bell rings on the 8-second mark and he must complete the move before the 10-second bell rings.) The event always concluded with a dinner for all the players and their spouses. On June 26th, Master Arthur Dake played a 20-board Simultaneous Exhibition at the Mechanics' Institute CC; Carroll was one of two players to win.

In 1938 at the 10th Annual North-South match, he beat A. V. Taylor on board 12. The North won again by a score of 14.5-10.5.

During the Northern California Chess League season, on March 25, 1939, the Castle CC lost to the Mechanics' Institute CC by a score of 4.5-2.5. Although on board 5, Carroll, playing for the Castle CC, beat Vladimir Pafnutieff (a strong player and author of the book, How To Create Combinations.) Not long after, on April 8th, the annual match between San Francisco and the Eastbay was won by the former by a score of 14.5-10.5. Capps playing 8th board for the Eastbay lost to Leslie Boyette. Even so, on May 21st, he played on the 15th board for Northern California and drew with Leroy Johnson of Southern California. The North won by a small margin, 14-12. Board one featured an historic encounter between A. J. Fink, Problem Editor for several Northern California newspapers, and Herman Steiner, Editor of Southern California's Los Angeles Times; they drew!

In early 1940 he played in the Mechanics' Institute CC Championship, but only tied for 7-8 place with 6 points out of 12.

MICC Championship

Carroll Capps-Peter Lapiken

1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 c5 3. Bb2 f6 4. e3 e5 5. Nxe5 fxe5 6. Qh5+ Kd7 7. Bxe5 Qe8 8.Qg4+ Qe6 9. Qg3 Nc6 10. Bxg7 Bd6 11. f4 Nd4 12. Bxh8 Nxc2+ 13. Kd1 Nxa1 14.Bxa1 Ne7 15. Be2 Kc7 16. Nc3 a6 17. Bf3 b5 18. Qg7 Kb8 19. h3 Nf5 20. Qxh7 Ra7 21. Qh8 d4 22. exd4 cxd4 23. Re1 Qg6 24. Re8 Rc7 25. Nd5 Ne3+ 26. Nxe3 dxe3 27.Rxe3 {A hopeless struggle. 27... Qb1+ 28 Ke2 Rc1 29 Be5, etc. (E. J. Clarke)}

1-0

The 12th Annual North-South Match, played on June 9th, was won by Northern California with a lopsided score of 18.5-6.5. Capps won on board 11 against Erickson. Playing for the Castle CC against the Los Angeles Chess and Checker Club on July 20, 1941 in Santa Barbara, he beat their Team Captain, E. R. Elliott, on board 3; the final team score was 9-2.

According to Mike Goodall (ChessDryad Hall of Fame), Capps enlisted in the Navy at the outbreak of World War II and became a photographer in the South Pacific. During the war, Bay Area chess, indeed, California chess stopped almost completely. Most Northern California chess clubs simply folded due to lack of participation. Of course the traditional bastion of chess, Mechanics' Institute, still drew players, even though most of the men between the ages of 18 and 35 had enlisted. It was a very patriotic time. When the war ended, he returned to civilian life as a paint chemist.

By the time he returned to the Bay Area, he was undoubtedly of Expert strength, as his showing in the 1st post war North-South Match of May 26, 1946 attests to. He played 3rd board for the North and beat M. Casdan. The North beat the South by a score of 14-11. He also won the Mechanics' Institute CC Championship with a score of 10-2; followed by Vladimir Pafnutieff 9.5-2.5 and A. J. Fink 9-3.

The next year, April 5, 1947, he led the MICC against the East Bay team on 1st board and beat A. Loera; it was a walkover, 16.5-4.5 (A.J. Fink won on board 2 and A.B. Stamer won on board 3, etc.) He played 2nd board on the North-South Match, played in Atascadero. The North crushed the South with a score of 17-5; although he lost to 3-time California Champion, Harry Borochow. He also headed the MICC Team against a North Bay team and won against ChessDryad Hall-of-Famer, Jim Hurt. The world blindfold champion and professional chess player, George Koltanowski, decided to settle in Santa Rosa. Knowing that he needed a large number of regional chess players to support him, he started giving free simultaneous exhibitions to the sickly clubs of Northern California. To increase his audience, he also started a chess column in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, a chess column in the San Francisco Chronicle and a chess magazine, California Chess News.

1948 Was a good year for him. On April 24th as MICC's 1st board, he beat the Central California combined team's 1st board, N. Preo. MICC won the match by a score of 16-5. 1st Board again for MICC, he beat UC Berkeley's Pomeroy. The match was closer than usual with MICC scoring 5.5-3.5 against UCB. Playing 2nd board for the Oakland CC team against the SF Russian CC team, he beat S. Kondrashoff; team score was Oakland CC-Russian CC, 8.5-2.5. In a second match he play 1st board for the Oakland CC, winning against Carl Bergman of the Berkeley CC; OCC won by a score of 9.5-5.5. Both matches were played in the Oakland CC meeting rooms at 387 12th Street. Again playing 1st board for MICC, he beat Dr. Branch of the Castle CC. The November 19th match score was MICC, 5.5 verses Castle CC, 1.5.

On the 12th of March, 1949, Capps played 2nd board on the East Bay team, against the MICC team and lost to 4-time California Champion, A.J. Fink. Even so, the East Bay team won by score of 16.5-9.5. George Koltanowski put on a spectacular chess festival and Simultaneous Exhibition on December 5th at the Marines' Memorial Club Ballroom in San Francisco. Kolty played 271 games which took about 13.5 hours; he only played 37 boards at a time. Because he could play only one group at a time, other players such as Carroll Capps of Oakland gave small side Simultaneous Exhibitions while people were waiting to play Kolty.

The first United States Chess Federation rating list appeared in their newspaper, Chess Life, on November 20, 1950. They listed C. M. Capps (San Francisco) as having an Expert rating of 2160. The first Northern California Chess Rating list listed Carroll Capps as a Master; A. J. Fink was the only player listed as a National Master and George Koltanowski was listed as an International Master (FIDE, the world chess organization, had published their own title list in 1950.) The NCC Rating list was published in the last issue of Kolty's chess magazine in December 1950.

The 1st Pacific Invitational was held on February 1951 in Kolty's Barton Studio CC in San Francisco. Capps tied for 4-5; Arthur Dake won the tournament. Here are some Carroll Capps games from the event:

1st Pacific Invitational

H. J. Ralston-Carroll Capps (2160)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nf3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 c6 9. O-O Qa5 10. Qc2 dxc4 11. Bxc4 e5 12. e4 exd4 13. cxd4 Nb6 14. e5 Nxc4 15. exf6 Nd6 16. fxg7 Kxg7 17. Ne5 Qd5 18. Qd2 f6 19. Qh6+ Kg8 20. Ng6 Rf7 21. Nf4 Qf5 22. Bd2 Rg7 23. Rfe1 Bd7 24. Nh5 Rg6 25. Qf4 Qxh5 26. Qxd6 Bh3 27. Re3 Rxg2+ 28. Kh1 Rg6 29. Rg1 Rf8 30. Rxg6+ hxg6 31. Qg3 Bf5 32. Re1 Rd8 33. Bb4 Rd7 34. Re8+ Kf7 35. Qb3+ Rd5 36. Re7+ Kg8 37. Re8+ Kh7 38. Re7+ Kh6 39. Re8 g5 40. Rh8+ Bh7 41. Bf8+ 1/2-1/2

1st Pacific Invitational

Henry Gross-Carroll Capps (2160)

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 Be7 4. Bd3 d5 5. O-O O-O 6. Nbd2 c5 7. c3 Nbd7 8. Ne5 Nxe5 9. dxe5 Nd7 10. f4 Re8 11. Nf3 Qc7 12. Qe1 b6 13. Bd2 Bb7 14. Qg3 g6 15. Ng5 Kg7 16. h4 Bxg5 17. Qxg5 h6 18. Qg3 h5 19. Rf2 c4 20. Bc2 Rad8 21. Raf1 Nc5 22. f5 exf5 23. Rxf5 Ne4 24. Rxf7+ Qxf7 25. Rxf7+ Kxf7 26. Qf4+ Kg8 27. Be1 Re6 28. Bxe4 dxe4 29. Bg3 Rd1+ 30. Kh2 Rd2 31. Qf1 Bd5 32. Bf4 Re7 33. Qc1 Rd3 34. Qe1 Be6 35. Qg3 Bf5 36. Bg5 Re6 37. Bf6 Rd2 38. Qg5 Kh7 39. b3 cxb3 40. axb3 Bg4 41. Kg3 Rd3 1/2-1/2

1st Pacific Invitational

Carroll Capps (2160)-Vladimir Pafnutieff (2079)

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. exd5 exd5 7. O-O Bd6 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. Re1+ Be6 11. Nfd4 O-O 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 g5 14. Bg3 Bg4 15. f3 Bh5 16. Bf2 Ne4 17. Be3 Nd6 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Nxc6 Bxe3+ 20. Rxe3 Qb6 21. Ne7+ Kh7 22. Nxd5 Qc6 23. Rc3 Qa6 24. Nc5 Qb5 25. Nf6+ 1-0

1st Pacific Invitational

Carroll Capps (2160)-Ray Martin (2170)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nc3 d6 9. Nd5 Na5 10. d4 Nxb3 11. axb3 Bg4 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. h3 Nxd5 14. hxg4 Nb4 15. Qe2 Nc6 16. c3 Qc8 17. Nh2 Qe6 18. b4 Rfd8 19. Nf1 Bf8 20. Ne3 Rd7 21. Nd5 Ne7 22. Nxe7+ Bxe7 23. Be3 Rad8 24. Red1 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 26. Qxd1 Kf8 27. Qd5 Qxd5 28. exd5 Ke8 29. Bc5 Kd7 30. Kf1 Bg5 31. Ke2 g6 32. Kd3 f5 33. gxf5 gxf5 34. f3 h5 35. b3 Bh4 36. c4 c6 37. dxc6+ Kxc6 38. Bf8 Be1 39. Be7 Bf2 40. Bf8 Bh4 41. Bc5 Bg3 42. Bf8 Be1 43. Be7 1/2-1/2

1st Pacific Invitational

Carroll Capps (2160)-Arthur Dake (2598)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3 Be7 7. Ng3 Nbd7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Nf5 Re8 10. Nxe7+ Qxe7 11. Bd3 Nb6 12. O-O Ne4 13. a4 a5 14. f3 Nxc3 15. bxc3 f5 16. Re1 Bd7 17. Qc2 Qh4 18. Re2 Qh5 19. c4 dxc4 20. Bxc4+ Kh8 21. Bb3 Bc6 22. Bd2 Qg6 23. Rf1 Bd5 24. Bxd5 Nxd5 25. Qb3 $2 Nf4 26. Rfe1 Nxe2+ 27. Rxe2 b6 28. Be1 Rad8 29. Rc2 Qh6 30. Bf2 c5 31. h3 Qe6 32. Qxe6 Rxe6 33. dxc5 Rc8 34. Rd2 bxc5 35. Rd5 c4 36. Be1 Rxe3 37. Kf2 Rd3 0-1

1st Pacific Invitational

Charles Bagby-Carroll Capps (2160)

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. d4 d6 6. e4 Nc6 7. Nge2 e5 8. d5 Ne7 9. O-O Nd7 10. f4 f5 11. Qc2 Nc5 12. Be3 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 fxe4 14. fxe5 Bxe5 15. Bd4 Bxd4+ 16. Nxd4 Nf5 17. Qxe4 Nxd4 18. Qxd4 Rxf1+ 19. Rxf1 Qe7 20. b4 Bd7 21. c5 Rf8 22. Rxf8+ Qxf8 23. c6 bxc6 24. dxc6 Be6 25. Qxa7 Qf7 26. b5 Bxa2 27. b6 cxb6 28. Qxf7+ Kxf7 29. c7 1-0

Dr. H. J. Ralston published the first issue of The California Chess Reporter in June of 1951 to fill the void left by Kolty's magazine. The October 1951 issue showed that Capps was continuing his winning ways by tying Charles Bagby for 1st in the Northern California Championship. Ralston said, "Whenever these two players meet across the chess board a hard struggle may be expected, since they are very closely matched. Mr. Bagby is primarily a positional player, winning many of his games by exploiting weaknesses in his opponent's Queen-side. Mr. Capps, on the other hand, is fond of the direct King-side assault." J. B. Gee was one of the strongest players in Sacramento. The Sacramento Chess News staff had great hopes for his chances with the Mechanics' Institute CC master...unfortunately their faith was misplaced.

Northern California Championship

Carroll Capps (2160)-J. B. Gee (2000)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Nc3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. O-O d6 8. Nd5 Bg4 9. c3 Nxe4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Ng5 12. Nf6+ gxf6 13. Qxc6+ Ke7 14. d4 Bb6 15. Bxg5 fxg5 16. dxe5 Qd7 17. exd6+ Qxd6 18. Rae1+ Kf6 19. Qf3+ Qf4 20. Qh5 Raf8 21. Qh6+ {(time for White :36/time for Black 1:05 - Sacramento Chess News)} 1-0

Northern California Championship

James Schmitt-Carroll Capps (2160)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Nc6 8. Nf3 Re8 9. O-O e5 10. cxd5 Qxd5 11. c4 $2 {This move gets White into trouble. It is better to close the e-file by 11. e4! followed by 12. d5. (California Chess Reporter)} Qd6 12. d5 e4 $1 {(CCR)} 13. dxc6 exf3 14. cxb7 Bxb7 15. Qb3 Ng4 $1 {White's game must collapse soon. (CCN)} 16. g3 Bc6 17. Bf5 Ne5 18. Qc2 g6 19. Be4 Qe6 20. Bf5 gxf5 {Beautifully played by Black. (CCR)} 0-1

Northern California Championship

Boris Popoff-Carroll Capps (2160)

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. c4 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. Qc2 Bb4 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Be4 9. Qb3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 d6 11. Nd2 Bg6 12. f3 Nbd7 13. e4 {White's center should win. Black is doomed to passivity. (California Chess Reporter)} Qe7 14. c5 dxc5 15. dxc5 Qxc5 16. Qxc5 Nxc5 17. Bb5+ Ke7 18. b4 Ncd7 19. Bxc7 a6 20. Bd3 Rhc8 21. Bg3 Rc3 22. Ke2 a5 23. Nc4 Rc8 24. Nd6 Rd8 25. Nb7 Ra8 26. bxa5 bxa5 27. Rhc1 Rxc1 28. Bd6+ Ke8 29. Rxc1 Nb6 30. Bb5+ Nfd7 31. Rc6 Nc8 32. Rc7 Nxd6 33. Nxd6+ Kf8 34. Rxd7 Rb8 35. a4 Rb6 36. Rd8+ Kg7 37. Ne8+ Kf8 38. e5 f5 39. Nd6+ Kg7 40. Nc4 {This was Capps' only loss in the tournament. (CCR)} 1-0

In the Spring of 1952, the California State Chess Federation was formed; the California Chess Reporter became its official magazine. Dr. Ralston wrote that the purpose of the Federation was to promote chess in California. The magazine reported the results of the San Francisco Bay Area Chess League almost as they occurred and more people joined due to the general excitement of seeing their name in print. California chess activity started to heat up; but Capps results dipped somewhat. Capps (2278 - Master ratings started at 2300), James Schmitt (2100) of SF and Fred Byron of SF tied for the MICC Championship; Schmitt won the play-off.

MICC Championship

Jim Schmitt (2100)-Carroll Capps (2278)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 Re8 9. O-O a6 10. Bf4 c6 11. Qc2 Nf8 (11... Nh5 12. Nxd5! cxd5 13. Bc7 - J. Schmitt) 12. Rab1 Ne6 13. Be5 a5 14. a3 Bd7 15. b4 axb4 16. axb4 Ra3 17. Qb2 Qa8 18. Bxf6 (18. Ra1? Bxb4 - J. Schmitt) 18... gxf6 (18... Bxf6 19. Ra1 - J. Schmitt) 19. Nh4 Ng7 20. Rfc1 b5 21. Qe2 Bxb4?! {This fireworks may offer better chances than passive play. - J. Schmitt} 22. Nxd5 cxd5 23. Rxb4 {Black's pawns are all isolated and weak. - J. Schmitt} 23...Qa5 24. Rcb1 Rc8 {Eyeing Qb4. - J. Schmitt} 25. h3 Ra2 26. Qf3 Ra1 27. Qxd5 {Tricky, but sound. - J.

Schmitt} 27...Rc1+ 28. Kh2 Qc7+ 29. f4 (Not 29. g3 because of Be6 with the mating threat of Rh1. - J. Schmitt) 29... Raxb1 30. Rxb1 Rc3 {Black is feeling the time pressure. J. Schmitt} 31. Qa8+ Ne8 32. Qe4 f5 33. Nxf5 Nf6 34. Qa8+ Ne8 35. Ne7+ {Finally some simplification. J. Schmitt} 35...Kf8 36. Nd5 Qc8 37. Qxc8 {The rest is easy. J. Schmitt} 37...Rxc8 38. Nb6 Rc7 39. Nxd7+ Rxd7 40. Bxb5 Rb7 41. Bd3 Re7 42. e4 Nf6 43. e5 1-0

Capps played Arthur Spiller of Hollywood on board 2 of the North-South Match and lost.

North-South Match

Carroll Capps (2278)-Arthur Spiller (2154)

1. e4 c5 2. c3 e6 3. d4 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Be3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 Qa5 9. Qb3 Nf6 10. Rc1 O-O 11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 b6 13. Bb5 Bd7 14. O-O a6 15. Be2 b5 16. c4 bxc4 17. Rxc4 Rfb8 18. Qd3 Ne7 19. Bd2 Qd8 20. a4 Bc6 21. Bf4 Be4 22. Qa3 Rb7 23. Be5 Nfd5 24. Nd2 Nb6 25. Nxe4 Nxc4 26. Bxc4 Nc6 27. Qg3 Nxe5 28. dxe5 Qd4 29. Nd6 Rb4 30. Bb3 Rab8 31. Bc2 Rb2 32. Qd3 Qxd3 33. Bxd3 Ra2 34. Bxa6 Rxa4 35. Bc4 Kf8 36. f4 g6 37. Rc1 Rb2 38. g3 Rab4 39. Bf1 Rb1 40. Rxb1 Rxb1 41. Kf2 Ke7 42. Ne4 h6 43. h4 h5 44. Bd3 Rb2+ 45. Ke3 Rb4 46. Be2 Ra4 47. Bxh5 gxh5 48. Nf6 Ra3+ 49. Kf2 Kf8 50. Nxh5 Kg8 51. Kg2 Kh7 52. Kh3 Kg6 53. Kg4 f5+ 54. exf6 Ra7 55. f5+ exf5+ 56. Kf4 Kxh5 57. Kxf5 Ra5+ 0-1

Vladimir Pafnutieff sitting across from Herman Steiner's chair, Carroll Capps (in colorful shirt) playing Arthur Spiller.

Capps found time in his schedule to travel to the 1st California Open Championship in Santa Barbara on the August 30-September 1 weekend. He came in 9th, with 4.5-1.5, out of 40 players. He also played in the Northern California Championship at the MICC, and came in 3rd. The MICC held a 30 move in 30 minutes Open Championship and he came in 3rd after Charles Bagby (2203) of SF and Vladimir Pafnutieff (2079) of SF. In an SF Bay Area League Match he played Charles Svalberg of the Russian CC.

Charles Svalberg (1899)-Carroll Capps (2278)

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 e4 5. Nd2 Bb4 6. e3 O-O 7. Be2 Re8 8. O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 d6 10. Bb2 Bf5 11. Re1 Qd7 12. Nf1 Bg6 13. Ng3 Rad8 14. Rb1 b6 15. Ba1 Na5 16. Rb4 c5 (Gains space, locks the Q-wing, and seals in White's dead bishop. - Capps) 17. Rb5 Re7 (Clears a path for the other Rook, and a square for the N on f6. - Capps) 18. h3 Ne8 19. Rb1 f5 20. d5 Nf6 21. Rb2 Rf8 22. Bf1 Qc8 (Qa6 isn't much of a threat, but Nd7 is! - Capps) 23. Qe2 Nd7 24. f4 (A losing sort of move. - Capps) exf3 25. gxf3 f4 26. Ne4 Bxe4 27. fxe4 f3 (No hurry about capturing material, White will be tightly blockaded, while all Black's pieces go to work - even the exiled N on a5! - Capps) 28. Qh2 Ne5 29. Rf2 Rf6 30. Kh1 Rh6 31. Qg3 Nd3 32. Rxf3 Nxe1 33. Qxe1 Rxe4 34. Qf2 Nxc4 35. Rg3 Qf8 36. Rf3 Rf6 37. Rxf6 Qxf6 38. Qg2 (If 38. Qxf6 gxf6 39. Bd3 Rxe3 - Capps) 38... Nxe3 39. Qxe4 Qxf1+ 40. Kh2 Qf2+ (If 41. Kh1 Qe8+ 42. Kh2 Nf1+, winning practically everything. - Capps) 0-1

May 16, 1953 finds him relegated to 5th board on the SF verses Bay Area Team Match; he beat Neil Austin (1965) of Sacramento.

In the SF Bay Area Chess League matches for January of 1954, he beat Wade Hendricks (1964) of Hayward (he was playing 3rd board on the Golden Gate CC Team and Wade was playing on the Castle CC Team.) The last match of the season in the Class A division for his Golden Gate CC was with the Oakland CC. He played Russell Freeman of Oakland and drew. Needless to say, with an advantage of 300 rating points over his opponents, he won the prize for the best individual performance in the Bay Area Chess League. May saw him play a worthy opponent on board 4 of the SF-East Bay Match; he won from Guthrie McClain (2202) of SF. Later in the same month, he played 7th board in the North-South Match; he beat Irving Rivise (2300 Master) of West LA. One of the strongest SF tournaments in many years, the Golden Gate CC Championship, was won by Bob Currie (2178) of SF who had just enrolled as a freshman at UC Berkeley; Carroll (2149) came in 5th. Despite his good performance during the year, he was over 40 years old and some of the youngsters were becoming very strong.

The Annual SF-East Bay team match at MICC on May 14, 1955 had Capps (2126) playing 3rd board; he beat Robert Burger (2087) of Oakland. Forry Laucks directed a chess team, the Log Cabin CC, which traveled all over the United States visiting chess clubs to engage in team matches. When he brought his team to the MICC for a match in August, Capps (2117) won an encounter with Viktors Pupols (2027) on board 4.

Golden Gate Chess Club A Team, circa August 1955.

(2nd from left) Carroll Capps playing at the MICC

In August, youth had its way. Twenty-one year old William Addison (2209) of SF won the Golden Gate CC Championship with a 11.5-.5 score. Capps (2117) tied with high school student, Gilbert Ramirez (1974) of SF for 2nd place with a score of 10-2.

The 1956 SF Bay Area Chess League saw the Golden Gate CC Team and Capps win most of their games. The deciding match between the MICC and the GGCC in March saw the MICC win the league. Capps (2117) lost on board 3 against William Addison (2209)

In May of 1956, the United States Chess Federation lowered the points needed for the various rating classes; now Master started at 2200, Expert started at 2000, Class A started at 1800, etc. Capps (2126) finished the year with a 5th & 6th place tie with Vladimir Pafnutieff (2182) in the Annual Golden Gate CC Championship; both William Addison (2244) and Gilbert Ramirez (2059) finish ahead of them, 1st and tied for 2nd respectively.

Golden Gate CC Championship

Kurt Bendit (1910)-Carroll Capps (2126)

1. b4 e5 2. Bb2 d6 3. e3 Be7 4. f4 Bf6 5. fxe5 dxe5 6. e4 Ne7 7. Be2 Nbc6 8. b5 Nd4 9. Nf3 Nxe2 10. Qxe2 Ng6 11. g3 Qe7 12. a4 Be6 13. d3 Qd7 14. Ba3 a6 15. c4 axb5 16. axb5 Bg4 17. Ra2 Be7 18. O-O O-O 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Nc3 Rxa2 21. Qxa2 Qd7 22. Nd5 c6 23. bxc6 bxc6 24. Nb4 Rb8 25. Qa4 h6 26. Qa3 Bh3 27. Rd1 f5 28. Rd2 f4 29. d4 exd4 30. Nxd4 fxg3 31. hxg3 c5 0-1

Capps continued to play for the Golden Gate CC Team during the league's 1957 season on board 3. As usual, he won most of his games. The MICC beat the GGCC again in the play-off match be a score of 4-3. Capps (2145) on board 2, drew Earl Pruner (2171). The Annual Golden Gate CC Championship started in 1957, but finished in 1958. This year Capps tied for 6th & 7th places, with a score of 6.5-5.5.

Carroll Capps (2145)-Henry Gross (2122)

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bf5 4. c4 c6 5. O-O e6 6. b3 Be7 7. Bb2 h6 8. d3 Qb6 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Rc1 a5 11. a3 Na6 12. Bd4 Qd8 13. c5 Nd7 14. b4 axb4 15. axb4 Bf6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. b5 cxb5 18. Nb3 Nb4 19. Nfd4 Na2 20. Rc2 b4 21. e4 dxe4 22. dxe4 Bg6 23. c6 bxc6 24. Nxc6 Ne5 25. Nxe5 Qxe5 26. f4 Qb5 27. f5 Bh7 28. fxe6 Qb6+ 29. Nc5 fxe6 30. Rxf8+ Rxf8 31. Qd4 Nc3 32. Bh3 Bxe4 33. Bxe6+ Kh8 34. Rd2 Ba8 35. Rf2 Rd8 36. Bd7 Qg6 37. Qxb4 Nd5 38. Qh4 Qb1+ 39. Rf1 Qb6 40. Rf2 Nf6 41. Rxf6 Qxc5+ 42. Kf1 Qc1+ 0-1

In 1958, Capps was doing well on the Golden Gate CC Team on 5th board. Here is a rare loss:

Golden Gate CC-UC Berkeley CC

Carroll Capps (2145)-Jack Hursch (2053)

1. Nf3 c5 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O Nc6 5. d4 Bf5 6. c3 e6 7. Nbd2 h6 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Nb3 Bd6 10. Nbd4 Be4 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Qa4 Qd7 13. Bh3 O-O 14. Nd4 Rab8 15. Qxc6 Qe7 16. Qa4 Rfc8 17. Re1 Rc4 18. Qd1 Qc7 19. e3 h5 20. Qe2 h4 21. f3 hxg3 22. fxe4 gxh2+ 23. Kg2 dxe4 24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. Bxe6+ Kh7 26. Bxc4 Qc5 27. Rh1 Rf8 28. Rxh2+ Bxh2 29. Kxh2 Qg5 30. Be6 Qe5+ 31. Kg2 Qxe6 32. Bd2 Ng4 33. Rh1+ Kg8 34. Rf1 Rxf1 35. Kxf1 Ne5 36. Qh5 g6 37. Qg5 Qf7+ 38. Qf4 Qc4+ 39. Kg2 Qe2+ 40. Qf2 Qg4+ 41. Qg3 Qe2+ 42. Qf2 Qd1 43. Qe1 Qf3+ 44. Kh2 Qh5+ 45. Kg2 Nf3 46. Qg3 Nxd2 47. Qb8+ Kh7 48. Qxa7+ Kh6 49. Qd4 Qe2+ 50. Kh3 Qf3+ 51. Kh2 Nf1+ 52. Kg1 Nxe3 0-1

In the Annual SF-East Bay team match, he beat George Farly of Berkeley on board 11. By 1959, he was playing board 6 in the league matches for the GGCC.

Around this time, he became ill and retired as a paint chemist. Whether he had always longed to become a writer or started to write on a whim, he published his first science-fiction story, "A Pride of Islands" in the May 1960 issue of IF magazine, written under a pen-name of C.C. MacApp.

As the 1960s dawned, his play and board position on the Golden Gate team was somewhat uneven, of course.

Peninsula-Golden Gate Team Match (February 6, 1960)

Erik osbun (2170)-Carroll Capps (2092)

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nbd7 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. a3 O-O 9. Ba2 a6 10. Kh1 Qc7 11. f4 b5 12. f5 e5 13. Nde2 Bb7 14. Ng3 Nb6 15. Bg5 Nc4 16. Bxc4 Qxc4 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Nh5 Qc7 19. Nxf6+ gxf6 20. Qh5 Kh8 21. Rf3 Rg8 22. Rh3 Rg7 23. Rd1 Rd8 24. Qh6 (Much stronger is 24.Rh4 with the idea of Rd3 and R3h3. - Osbun) 24...Bxe4 25. Rg3 Rdg8 (Loses, 25...Rxg3 is correct. - Osbun) 26. Nxe4 Qxc2 27. Rc1 Qxe4 28. Rxg7 (Wins, but 28.Qxg7+! is prettier. - Osbun) Qxf5 29. Rxf7 1-0

He continued writing for the Sci-Fi magazines under several pen-names; C. C. MacCapp and C. C. MacApp. In the Annual East Bay verses San Francisco Match for May 11, 1963 he beat Bill Haines (2148) on board 2. In October 1963, he played in one of two SF Bay Area qualifying tournaments for the California State Championship. Only the 1st place finisher would advance to the finals; he came in 2nd.

The Stamer Memorial Tournament of May 9-10, 1964, saw him obtain only 3 out of 6 points; the young players kept getting stronger. On May 23, for the 1st time in years, the East Bay Team, led by Duncan Suttles (2346), crushed the SF Team by a score of 12.5-7.5. Capps (2127) lost his individual game on board 4 to Max Wilkerson (2008) of the East Bay Team. Playing 10th board for the North in the North-South Match, held on May 30th, he beat Sven Almgren (2140) and accepted his 10-year N-S pin. Players received the pin after having played 10 years in the N-S Match; it was a rare honor. His "batting average" or winning percentage was .650; the 3rd highest in Northern California history. During that same day, the CSCF conducted their annual meeting and Capps give an account of the recent simultaneous exhibition by Bobby Fischer at the MICC. As usual, the were three Northern California qualifying tournaments for the California State Championship; Capps (2101) played in all three of them, probably because the Championship was to be held in SF. In the first one on September 26-27, he came in 4th place with 3.5-1.5; losing to Richard Laver (2068) and drawing with Erik Osbun (2209). On November 7-8, he qualified by coming in 1st; he only allowed one draw against Roy Hoppe (2215). Since he had already qualified, he let himself come in 6th place in the last tournament, held on November 26-29th; even though it was also for the San Francisco City Championship.

1st Northern California Qualifying Tournament

Carroll Capps (2127)-P. Coffino

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. h4 h6 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Qc7 10. Be3 Ngf6 11. O-O-O e6 12. Kb1 Bd6 13. Ne2 Nd5 14. Bd2 Nf4 15. Bxf4 Bxf4 16. c4 Bd6 17. d5 cxd5 18. cxd5 e5 19. Rc1 Nc5 20. Qb5+ Qd7 21. Rxc5 Bxc5 22. Qxc5 Rc8 23. Qb4 Qf5+ 24. Ka1 e4 25. Qb5+ Qd7 26. Qxd7+ Kxd7 27. Ne5+ Ke7 28. Nc3 Rhd8 29. Re1 f5 30. Ng6+ Kf6 31. Nf4 g5 32. hxg5+ hxg5 33. Ne6 Rh8 34. g4 e3 35. fxe3 fxg4 36. Kb1 Rh2 37. Rg1 b5 38. Rxg4 Rc4 39. e4 Rh4 40. Rxg5 b4 41. e5+ Ke7 42. Rg7+ Ke8 43. d6 1-0

Northern California Qualifying Tournament

Carroll Capps (2101)-Erik Osbun (2197)

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nge2 d6 6. d3 Nf6 7. O-O Bd7 8. h3 Rb8 9. Be3 b5 10. d4 b4 11. Nd5 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd5 13. exd5 Na5 14. b3 O-O 15. a3 Qc7 16. axb4 Rxb4 17. Ra2 Rfb8 18. Qd2 e5 19. dxe6 fxe6 20. Rd1 (20.R1a1! - Osbun) d5 21. Ne2 Kh8 22. Bh6 Be5 23. Qg5 Nc6 24. Nf4 Qd8 25. Qxd8+ Rxd8 26. Bg5 Rf8 27. Nd3 Rb7 28. Nxe5 Nxe5 29. c4 Nf3+ 30. Bxf3 Rxf3 31. Be3 Bc6 32. Ra6 Rc7 33. Rc1 Ba8 34. Bxa7 e5 35. Bb8 Bb7 36. Bxc7 Bxa6 37. Bxe5+ Kg8 38. Ra1 Bb7 39. Ra7 Bc6 40. Rc7 Be8 41. cxd5 Rxb3 42. d6 Rd3 43. h4 h5 44. Kg2 Rd5 45. f4 Kf8 46. Kf3 Ba4 47. Ke3 Ke8 48. Ke4 Rd1 49. Re7+ Kd8 50. Bd4 Re1+ 51. Be3 Bc6+ 52. Kd4 Rd1+ 53. Ke5 Bd7 54. Bb6+ Kc8 55. Rg7 Re1+ 56. Kd5 Rd1+ 57. Bd4 Bf5 58. d7+ Bxd7 59. Rxg6 Kd8 60. Ke5 Ke8 61. Kf6 Bg4 62. Rg8+ Kd7 63. Be5 Rd3 64. f5 Ra3 65. Rxg4 hxg4 66. h5 Ke8 67. h6 Ra6+ 68. Kg7 Ra7+ 69. Kg6 Ra6+ 70. Bf6 Kf8 71. h7 1-0

Played at Mechanics' Institute CC

Alan Bourke (2061)-Carroll Capps (2101)

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qc7 7. Nf3 Ne7 8. Bd3 c4 9. Be2 Qa5 10. Bd2 Nbc6 11. O-O O-O 12. Re1 Bd7 13. Bf1 Rad8 14. Ng5 h6 15. Nh3 f5 16. Nf4 Kh7 17. Re3 Ng8 18. Rg3 Nce7 19. a4 Qa6 20. Bc1 g5 21. Nh5 Ng6 22. f4 g4 23. Ba3 Rf7 24. h3 gxh3 25. gxh3 Be8 26. Be2 Rc8 27. Kh1 Rd7 28. Bb4 Qb6 29. a5 Qd8 30. a6 b6 31. Qg1 Qh4 32. Qg2 Kh8 33. Rg1 Bf7 34. Qf2 Qd8 35. Rxg6 Bxg6 36. Rxg6 Qe8 37. Qg3 Rh7 38. Bd6 Qf7 39. Nf6 Nxf6 40. Rxf6 Rg8 41. Rxf7 Rxg3 42. Rf8+ Kg7 43. Kh2 Rxc3 44. Bd1 Rh8 45. Rf6 Re8 46. Bb4 Re3 47. Bh5 Rg8 48. Rxe6 Kh7 49. Re7+ Kh8 50. Re8 Rxe8 51. Bxe8 Re2+ 52. Kg3 Rxc2 53. Bh5

Rb2 54. e6 Rxb4 55. e7 Rb3+ 56. Kf2 Rb2+ 57. Be2 1-0

The State Championship was held at the Mechanics' Institute CC in December. Capps came in 7th (out of ten players) with 4.5-4.5.

1964 California State Championship

Carroll Capps (2101)-Ed Kennedy (2155)

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Be6 8. Bb5 h6 9. d4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 exd4 11. Qxd4 a6 12. Be2 c5 13. Qd3 d5 14. e5 Ne8 15. Rd1 d4 16. Ne4 f5 17. Ng3 Qc7 18. f4 Rd8 19. Qf3 g6 20. Qf1 Ng7 21. b3 b5 22. Nh1 Qc6 23. Kh2 Bd5 24. a4 c4 25. axb5 axb5 26. bxc4 bxc4 27. Ra7 Bc5 28. Ra5 Qb6 29. Ra4 c3 30. Ra6 Qb7 31. Ba3 Bxa3 32. Rxa3 Qb2 33. Ra5 Be4 34. Bd3 Ne6 35. Ra7 Ra8 36. Rxa8 Bxa8 37. Ng3 Kg7 38. Ra1 Qb7 39. Ba6 Qc6 40. Bc4 Nxf4 41. Ra7+ Kh8 42. Rxa8 Rxa8 43. Qxf4 Kh7 44. Bd3 Rd8 45. h4 h5 46. Nxf5 gxf5 47. Qxf5+ 1-0

1964 California State Championship

John Blackstone (2173)-Carroll Capps (2101)

1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. Ngf3 e5 5. g3 Nf6 6. Bg2 dxe4 7. dxe4 Bc5 8. O-O Qe7 9. c3 a5 10. h3 Bd7 11. Nh4 g6 12. Kh2 Rd8 13. a3 a4 14. Qxa4 Nb4 15. Qd1 Nd3 16. Qe2 Bc6 17. b4 Qd7 18. Nb3 Be7 19. Rd1 Ba4 20. Bf1 Bxb3 21. Rxd3 Qc6 22. Rxd8+ Bxd8 23. Qb2 Bc4 24. Bxc4 Qxc4 25. f3 O-O 26. Bh6 Re8 27. Ng2 Be7 28. Ne3 Qe6 29. Rd1 c6 30. c4 Nd7 31. h4 f5 32. Kg1 fxe4 33. fxe4 Nf6 34. Qc2 Ra8 35. Qd3 Rd8 36. Qc2 Ra8 37. Qd3 Rd8 38. Qc2 Rd4 39. Bg5 Nxe4 40. Bxe7 Qxe7 41. Ng4 Kg7 1/2-1/2

Even though he didn't win, Capps seems to have experienced a resurgence of chess interest. His Golden Gate Team beat the UC Berkeley Team to win the San Francisco Bay Area League Championship in April 1965. On board 5, Capps (2171) won against Aki Kanamori (2009). In May, Capps won his game in the San Francisco-East Bay Match:

Carrol Capps (2171)-Richard Laver (2075)

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Nge2 Rb8 7. O-O Bg4 8. f3 Bd7 9. h3 Qc8 10. Kh2 h5 11. Nd5 Nf6 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 13. c3 g5 14. f4 h4 15. g4 gxf4 16. Bxf4 Ne5 17. d4 Ng6 18. Bxd6 Bxd4 19. cxd4 exd6 20. Rc1 O-O 21. Qd2 Bb5 22. Rf5 b6 23. Nf4 Qd8 24. Nh5 Kh7 25. Rc3 Qe7 26. Rcf3 Bd7 27. Nf6+ Kg7 28. Qh6+ 1-0

The 2nd Annual Arthur B. Stamer Memorial Tournament was held on May 15th-16th at the Mechanics' Institute CC. Capps tied for 2nd with 4-1; drawing with John Smail (1627) and Duncan Suttles (2405).

1965 Stamer Memorial

Robert L. Henry (1967)-Carroll Capps (2171)

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. c3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd7 6. Bd3 Be7 7. Qg4 O-O 8. h4 f5 9. Qg3 Qe8 10. Ndf3 Nd8 11. Nh3 c5 12. Bd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nb6 14. Nf4 Bd7 15. Ng5 Kh8 16. Be2 Rg8 17. h5 Rf8 18. Ng6+ Kg8 19. Nxf8 Qxf8 (As a result of his inferior fourth move Black has found himself in a terrible bind. With 17. Bh5 White could have provoked a weakness in Black's K-side pawn position which would have allowed a breakthrough. A final chance at breakthrough was 19. Nh7! Kh7 20. h6 Qg6 21. hg+ Kg7 22. Bh6+ Kf7 23. Bh5 Rg8 = Material would be even, 3 pieces for the Queen, but the Black King remains weak. After the text Black crawls out of his box and there occurs an unnecessary de-escalation from triumph to tragedy.) 20. Nf3 Rc8 21. O-O Be8 22. h6 g6 23. Rac1 Bc6 24. Bg5 Nf7 25. Bxe7 Qxe7 26. Qf4 (The indicated move was 26. Qh3. - W. G. Addison) g5 27. Qh2 (And here 27. Qd2 threatening 28. Qa5 was appropriate. - W. G. Addison) Kh8 28. Nd2 Rg8 29. b3 Rg6 30. g3 Rxh6 31. Qg2 Qb4 32. Rfd1 g4 33. Kf1 Ng5 34. f3 Qf8 (Objectively best was 34....Qd4 35. Nc4 Nc4! etc. But Black was moving rapidly to make White's flag fall... - W. G. Addison) 35. Kf2 f4 36. Rh1 Rg6 37. fxg4 fxg3+ 38. Kxg3 Qb4 39. Nf3 (And White lost on time. - W. G. Addison) 0-1

In the MICC Summer Skittles (60/60) Tournament, Capps (2188) tied with Rex Wilcox (2193) with a score of 5-1, but won on Solkoff tie-breaking points 23-19.5. On September 26th-27th, the qualifier for the State Tournament, the Northern California Championship, was held. Although both Donald Sutherland (2181) and Capps scored 4.5-.5, Sutherland won on tie-break.

Northern California Championship

Carroll Capps (2188)-Richard Laver (2075)

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 g6 5. Nge2 Bg7 6. O-O e6 7. d3 Nge7 8. Be3 O-O 9. d4 d5 10. exd5 exd5 11. Qd2 Bg4 12. h3 Be6 13. Rad1 Nf5 14. dxc5 d4 15. Qc1 Qc8 16. Bxc6 Qxc6 17. Bxd4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Bxd4 19. Rxd4 Bxh3 20. Nd5 Rfe8 21. Rfd1 Re5 22. Qh6 Bg4 23. Qf4 Rxd5 24. Qxg4 Rxc5 25. Rd8+ Rxd8 26. Rxd8+ Kg7 27. Qd4+ Kh6 28. Rd6 Qb5 29. Qf4+ Kg7 30. Qf6+ Kh6 31. Qxf7 Rf5 32. Rf6 Rd5 33. Qf8+ Kh5 34. Rf4 Rd1+ 35. Kh2 Qe5 36. Rh4+ Kg5 37. f4+ 1-0

Northern California Championship

Carroll Capps (2188)-Erik Osbun (2210)

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Bc5 5. c3 Bb6 6. O-O d6 7. Be3 O-O 8. Nbd2 Bg4 9. b4 Bxe3 10. fxe3 d5 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Qe1 Nb6 13. Bb5 f6 14. Ne4 Ne7 15. d4 c6 16. Be2 Nf5 17. Bd1 Nd5 18. Bb3 Kh8 19. Bxd5 Qxd5 20. Ned2 e4 21. h3 Bxf3 22. gxf3 Nd6 23. fxe4 Nxe4 24. Nxe4 Qxe4 25. Rf4 Qe6 26. Rf3 Rae8 27. Qf2 Qc4 28. Rc1 Re6 29. Rc2 Rfe8 30. Rg3 Qd3 31. Qe2 Qe4 32. Rc1 Qh4 33. Kg2 Qxg3+ 34. Kxg3 Rxe3+ 35. Qxe3 Rxe3+ 36. Kg2 Kg8 37. c4 Kf7 38. a4 Ke7 39. b5 Kd6 40. bxc6 Kxc6 (40....bxc6 would win. - Osbun) 41. d5+ Kc7 42. c5 Rd3 43. d6+ Kc6 44. a5 Ra3 45. Rd1 Kd7 46. Re1 Rxa5 47. Re7+ Kc8 48. Rc7+ Kb8 49. Re7 Kc8 50. Rc7+ Kd8 51. Rxb7 Rxc5 52. Rxa7 Rd5 53. Rxg7 Rg5+ 54. Rxg5 fxg5 55. h4 1/2-1/2

The December 1965 issue of "Galaxy" magazine came out with one of his most famous novellas, The Mercuryman. It received a nomination for the Nebula Award (like the Oscar for science-fiction professionals), a great honor. But, it lost out to "He Who Shapes" by Roger Zelazny and "The Saliva Tree" by Brian W. Aldiss.

January 1966 saw Capps jump ship from the GGCC Team to the MICC Team, resulting in some rather disheartening losses; he had been doing rather well on the Golden Gate Team.

4th board: Capps (2217) - E. Krestini (2114) GGCC

2nd board: Neil Falconer (2144) Castle CC - Capps (2217)

He also became the President of the San Francisco Bay Area Chess League. On the July 4th weekend, the 3rd Annual Arthur B. Stamer Memorial was won by Duncan Suttles (2378); Capps came in 11th place. Borel Menas won the Northern California Championship and became the first finalist from San Francisco to qualify for the State Championship; Capps tied for 2nd.

Northern California Championship

Carroll Capps (2217)-M. Mattingly (1749)

1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. exd5 Nxd5 4. Bc4 Nb6 5. Bb3 c5 6. d3 Bf5 7. Qf3 Qc8 8. Nge2 Nc6 9. Ng3 Bg6 10. Be3 Nd4 11. Bxd4 cxd4 12. Nce2 e5 13. O-O Bd6 14. Rac1 Qd7 15. Ne4 Be7 16. Qg3 Qf5 17. f4 Qh5 18. Qf2 f6 19. N2g3 Qh6 20. Rce1 Rf8 21. Be6 Nd7 22. Bxd7+ Kxd7 23. Qd2 Rfc8 24. Qa5 exf4 25. Nf5 Bxf5 26. Qxf5+ Ke8 27. Nd6+ 1-0

As the year, 1967, rolled around, he was still President of the SF Bay Area Chess League.

Still on the MICC 1st Team, he continued to play, albeit on lower boards:

7th board: Capps (2140) won against Lee - UC Berkeley Team

5th board: Peter Grey (1871) - MICC 2nd Team, won against Capps

He played in a San Francisco 5-minute speed chess tournament on January 12th.

Carroll Capps (2217)-Erik Osbun (2253)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. d3 f6 7. Nbd2 Qd7 8. Nc4 O-O-O 9. Ne3 h5 10. Re1 g5 11. h3 Be6 12. Nh2 Ne7 13. Nef1 Ng6 14. Bd2 Nf4 15. Bxf4 gxf4 16. Qd2 Bc5 17. b4 Ba7 18. a4 Rdg8 19. Kh1 f3 20. Nxf3 Bxh3 21. gxh3 Qxh3+ {+} 22. N1h2 Qg2# 0-1

The July 4th weekend came around and with it the Stamer Memorial; Capps came in 13th place. Of course, he was 54 years old, well past his prime.

In 1968, he published his first novel, "Omha Abides" and joined the infamous Kearny Street Irregular Chess Team. He didn't do so badly on his new team.

5th board: Curtis Wilson (1934) of the Castle CC, lost to Capps

6th board: Capps drew Peter Dahl (2112) of the Golden Gate CC

Most older players don't have the stamina for long weekend tournaments and Capps (2101) seemed no exception. He came in 39th place in the Stamer Memorial with a 3.5-3.4 score.

In the November 1-2, 1969 Northern California Championship, he (2047) came in 14th place with a 3-2 score. He lost to Rick Swanson (1770) and Ruth Herstein (1907). On November 15-16 at the Sheraton Palace Hotel, he had a terrific result, despite his age, at the 3rd Annual San Francisco Open. He tied Alan Baisley (2233) for 1st place with 5-0 and won $162.50. Money prizes were becoming more common. On his way to winning the tournament, he beat both Erik Osbun and Jude Acers (2228).

Carroll Capps (2047)-Erik Osbun (2206)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 cxd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 c6 11. Qf3 Be7 12. Rae1 Be6 13. Ne2 h6 14. Bc1 Bd6 15. h3 Nd7 16. Nd4 Ne5 17. Qd1 Nxd3 18. Qxd3 Bd7 19. Nf5 Qf6 20. Nxd6 Qxd6 21. Re3 Rae8 22. Rg3 c5 23. b4 Re6 24. bxc5 Qc6 25. Bb2 Rg6 26. Rd1 Rxg3 27. Qxg3 f6 28. c4 dxc4 29. Rd6 Qc7 30. Qf3 Be8 31. Qd5+ Bf7 32. Qd4 Qe7 33. c6 Rc8 34. Bc3 Qe2 35. Rxf6 gxf6 36. Qxf6 Qd1+ 37. Kh2 Kf8 38. Qxh6+ Ke7 39. Qf6+ Kf8 40. Qh8+ Bg8 41. Qg7+ 1-0

The 6th Annual Monterey International Open was held on June 27-28, 1970. Capps (1996) came in tied for 4th place with a 4.5-.5 score. His only draw was with Harold Edelstein (1808). The 7th Annual Stamer Memorial was held on the July 4th weekend. Capps worst result of his chess carrier was his 89 out of 101 place showing with 1 point. He probably had to withdraw. For the first time since WWII, the North-South Match was cancelled; GM Kashdan, president of the California State Chess Federation, Guthrie McClain, captain of the North team, and Gordon Barrett, captain of the South team, decided to replace it with the California Class Championship. On November 7-8, in the Northern California Championship Capps (2086) took 13th place with a score of 3-2. The next month, on December 12-13, Capps (2069) placed 17th with a 3-2 score in the SF City Championship. He also played in the once a week MICC Fall rating tournament. He achieved a tie for 3rd place with 3-1. He drew Craig Barnes (1982) and the tournament winner, C. Bill Jones (2109). Like most older players, he found once a week games less taxing.

Carroll Mather Capps passed away on January 15, 1971. His last novel, "Bumsider", appeared posthumously in 1972. Www.sf-encyclopedia.com wrote, "In general he wrote clearly and excitingly, and his range was still growing at the time of his death; the early truncation of his career was much regretted."

On Amazon.com, there is a fitting tribute to his writing career, "SOMEWHERE IN SPACE is Volume One of John Pelan's new series of novellas and stories by C.C. MacApp. It contains ten stories from the 60's by this traditional SF author who blazed so brilliantly then died too soon."

During his writing career, he published 41 short stories, 7 novels and 2 chapbooks (short, illustrated, high quality paperbacks).

During his life, he love for chess never waivered. It's very fitting that the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club has honored him with the Carroll Capps Memorial Chess Tournament for almost 45 years.