Out of the Past
History of the Hayward Chess Club, 1950-2012.
Revised article by Kerry Lawless.(Click to view.)
Cherryland Cafe: Mecca For Bay Area Chess Players by Mike Padovani, Chess Voice, April-May, 1975
Chess Voice article.(Click to view.)
San Francisco International Chess Tournament program and bulletins, March 5-23, 1986
San Francisco International program.(Click to view.)
San Francisco International bulletins.
(Click to view.)
Mechanics' Institute Newsletter 1000, January 1, 2022
Mechanics' Institute Newsletter Special Edition features articles by MI Chess Club Director Abel Talamantez, IM John Donaldson, NM Kerry Lawless, NM Jude Acers, MI Scholastic Director Judit Sztaray, NM Michael "fpawn" Aigner, NM Mike Walder, FM Paul Whitehead, and GM Nick de Firmian.(Click to view.)
California Chess Reporter, January-February, 1974
Crosstables of the First California People's Chess Festival, held in Hayward at Chabot Junior College on February 16-18, 1974.(Click to view.)
Terrachess for December 21, 1969
Terrachess newsletter featuring a complete crosstable of the 5th American Open, held in Santa Monica.(Click to view.)
Article about National Master Vladimir Pafnutieff
Article about Vladimir Pafnutieff; chess master, opera singer, and tennis coach.(Click to view.)
Lina Grumette letter to George Koltanowski
Lina Grumette's letter to IM George Koltanowski about Jacqueline Piatigorsky's qualifications for the 1963 Paul Masson Award.(Click to view.)
Arthur Dake letter to Alan Benson
GM Arthur Dake Lone Pine photo & letter to Alan Benson.(Click to view.)
Return of the King
Flyer for BCC Friday Night Chess Tournament starting on May 14, 2021; 1st OTB tournament since Covid started.(Click to view.)
California Chess Medallions
California chess medallions given as scholastic tournament prizes;2000 to present.(Click to view.)
The 1971 United States Open Chess Championship was held in Ventura, California!
72nd Annual U.S. Open Chess Championship booklet, August 8-20, 1971.(Click to view.)
The 1981 United States Open Chess Championship was held in Palo Alto, California!
The USCF crosstable rating report, August 2-14, 1981.(Click to view.)
First chapter of Senior Master Jude Acers' exciting, but sadly unfinished book, 'The Road'!
"Atlanta at Dawn", one of 15 chapters printed in the Berkeley Barb, December 8-14, 1972.(Click to get full story.)
Second Piatigorsky Cup Tournament Bulletins; tournament played at the Santa Monica Miramar Hotel on July 17 through August 28, 1966 (large file, long download)
18 Bulletins edited by GM Isaac Kashdan(Click to get full story.)
Bruce Monson's Revise Article on The 1932 Pasadena Congress Women's Tournament
Catalyst to Women's Chess in the Modern Era(Click to get full story.)
Koltanowski's Chess Annual, First and only issue of his periodical from 1955
1955 Koltanowski's Chess Annual(Click to see PDF of scarce periodical.)
Chess Chats, compilations of Santa Rosa Press Democrat chess columns 1947-1949
Chess Chats by George Koltanowski(Click to see PDF of scarce booklet.)
Sam William Bean 1896-1952
Samuel William Bean, Oakland blind and deaf chess expert!(Click to get full story.)
Duchamp's Pipe, A Chess Romance by Celia Rabinovitch
Celia Rabinovitch has done a remarkable job of research to unearth a coherent story of the intertwining lives of two remarkable figures. As an amateur California chess historian, I was blown away by the way she made the history of both men come alive. The history of Marcel Duchamp was new to me; I had no idea how much he loved chess or how good he was. She also brought out facets of Kolty's life which I hadn't known. It also has a forward about Kolty in California. If you like chess or art; this is a must read!
Curtis Wilson 1903-1996
Curtis Wilson, Oakland chess expert!(Click to get full story.)
Hans Poschmann Master Craftsman!
A Record In Review: The story of 56 consecutive blindfold games...a world record!
A Record In Review.
(Click to get full story on Kolty's World Record)
How Kolty Invigorated Northern California Chess
How Kolty Invigorated Northern California Chess.
(Click to get full story on Kolty)
Kenny Fong: Hayward Chess Prodigy!
Kenny gives simultaneous exhibition in Hayward.
(Click to get full story of Hayward prodigy!)
All Comers Community Chess Tournament
The ‘All Comers Community Chess Tournament’ was held at Weekes Park Community Center in Hayward. The 5-round unrated Open was sponsored by the South Hayward Parrish, the Hayward Area Recreation Department, the Hayward Chess Club, and drew 60 players. First through third places, in each division, received prizes; everyone left with a participation ribbon. It was directed by Richard Shorman.
From the National Enquirer on September 29, 1992!
George Koltanowski's 20-Day Chess Cruise
George sponsored a round-trip cruise from California to Hawaii aboard the SS Lurline. His included festivities were a Blindfold Exibition, lectures and a USCF rated Cruise Championship, with trophies and book prizes. Kolty was the P.T. Barnum of chess. He knew how to market himself like no other chess player, before or since!
Brochure for George Koltanowski's 20-Day Chess Cruise
Third Annual Valley of the Moon Chess Festival program
The Chess Festival was sponsored by the Redwood Empire Chess League, the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Chess Friends of Northern California. It was, of course, directed by George Koltanowski.It also had all the pre-registered players and what cities they came from. A large percentage of them weren't USCF or CFNC rated players. They were probably avid followers of Kolty's column. (Use browser Zoom to enlarge jpg image)
Program for the Third Annual Valley of the Moon Chess Festival (Front)
Program for the Third Annual Valley of the Moon Chess Festival (Back)
San Francisco Chronicle Chess Festival
The Chess Festival had a number of scheduled Simultaneous Exhibitions besides Kolty's attempt at a new blindfold record. The scheduled simul players and their United States Chess Federation ratings as of October 5, 1951. (The USCF ratings started on November 20, 1950 and through 1955 had a slightly different rating system; 1900-2099 was A, 2100-2299 was Expert. The USCF was a fledgling organization back then and all of these players belonged to competing organizations, some of which had their own ratings.)Jim Myers - unrated (Northern California Chess rated Expert)
Charles Bagby - 2203 (NCC Master)
Dr. H. P. Ralston - 2154* (NCC Master - started the 'California Chess Reporter' (1951-1976) and was the Editor for the SF Argonaut (1952-1953) and SF News (1953-1956) chess columns)
Dr. Kenneth Colby - unrated (NCC A)
Carroll Capps - 2180 (NCC Master)
Guthrie McClain - unrated (NCC Master - took over the California Chess Reporter magazine after Dr. Ralston left)
Robert Currie - unrated (NCC A)
Walter Pafnutieff - 2079 (NCC Master - wrote the book, 'How To Create Combinations')
Henry Gross - unrated (NCC Master)
Ray L. Richards - unrated
Other players of note: William Adams (2108) was many time Champion of the San Jose Chess Club. Neil Austen was one of the stronger players (1965*) at the Sacramento Chess Club. Hermann Ernst was a founding member of the Hayward Chess Club (1950) and its first director through 1955 or 1956.
Program for the San Francisco Chronicle Chess Festival