I’ve never indulged in personal anecdotes in this way until now but this photo found by our TD, Chris Bunch, triggers memories about Jeremy Silman and Mikhail Tal that I can’t resist. The Santa Monica Bay Chess Club hosted the 1988 American Open from which the photo certainly comes. I was an assistant TD at that event.
Jeremy Silman was an occasional guest at our chess club and he was about the wittiest, funniest person I’ve ever encountered. I also based my opening repertoire with black pieces to this day on his work A Complete Black Repertoire (out of print so I can safely reveal that). I was also greatly influenced by his The Amateur’s Mind, and How to Reassess Your Chess, which I highly recommend.
One of Jeremy’s stories was when, in lectures, he would set up a position to showcase what he referred to as the “Idiot’s Combination”. It was an example of how a player could enter a series of forcing moves against an opponent that would only lead to a bad position for the one initiating it. He would introduce this example carefully. That, he explained, was because previously he had set up the position, saying “this is what I call…” only to be interrupted by a high profile legislator in the audience, anxious to show off his cleverness. The legislator blurted out the series of moves as if he’d solved the problem. Jeremy was left with his mind racing to come up with an alternate title to “Idiot’s Combination” so as to avoid offense.
Latvian GM, Mikhail Tal was at that 1988 American Open. He had been a World Champion 1960-1961, famous for boldly engaging in complex attacks that seemingly only he could navigate. He played a simul in 1988 at the Santa Monica Bay Chess Club. A frequent simul guest at our club once confided to me that the secret to winning most boards in a simul was to play simple and safe, waiting for the players to make inaccuracies that could be exploited. Tal’s simul was nothing of the sort. He made a point of playing in the style he was famous for. He entered into risky labyrinth complications in nearly all games (40+). To the surprise of our club members, he actually gave up a few points as a result. Under the circumstances it was still an amazing performance. Rather than protect his ego, he put on the show that players would want from the “The Wizard of Riga”.
Santa Monica Bay Chess Club made a memorable impression on Tal. A couple of years later while taking lessons at USSR’s Central Chess Club, I ran into Tal on a Moscow sidewalk where he was trying to hail a cab. I gathered my fellow traveling chess companions to come meet him. He probably had no recollection of me, but when I mentioned Santa Monica Bay Chess Club, he lit up with cheerful recognition saying “yes”, repeating the name of our club.
Pete Savino
President/T.D. SMBCC