SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
James Harvey Robinson
Solutions can be found at: http://www.wtharvey.com/bern.html
1
4
WHITE TO PLAY AND MATE IN 5 MOVES
5
WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
6
Stone vs Bernstein, London, 1946
BLACK TO PLAY AND WIN
9
John Walter vs Bernstein, Barmen, 1905
BLACK TO PLAY AND WIN
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Ossip Bernstein was one of those players who lived and thrived in troubled times. A successful financial lawyer, grandmaster calibre chess player, world traveller and a very cultured individual, his career(s) crossed with the Russian revolution, two world wars, the great depression and meeting every great chess champion of his time. In his tumultuous life he lost his fortune not less than 3 times!
–In February-March, 1911, he played in San Sebastian and tied for 8th-9th. Capablanca won the event.
–In 1912, he took 2nd at Wilno (now Vilnius), behind Rubinstein.
–In 1914, he played at St. Petersburg. He tied for 6th-7th. Capablanca won the event.
–In 1917, he lost his fortune in the Russian revolution. In 1917, he was arrested in Rostov, but released because of his chess reputation. They later moved to Kiev, then to Odessa.
–In 1919, the British government sent several ships to Odessa to help some of those escape who were in special danger of being killed. The Bernsteins were permitted to board one of the ships. The ship sailed to Serbia where Bernstein left and went to Belgrade. He then went to Vienna and to Oslo, Norway.
—In 1920, he settled in Paris where he became a financial lawyer. One of his first duties was to go to New York to take care of some financial matters for some clients. His chess reputation helped him get a visa right away and he made the trip to New York. Once on New York, the law firm he visited refused to turn over any documents to an unknown like Bernstein. However, a member of the Manhattan Chess Club that was also well known in the banking circles vouched for Bernstein, and he was able to complete his transaction. In 1920, he became a French citizen.
—In 1929-30, he lost his fortune again during the financial crash.
–In 1932, after an absence of 18 years, he took up chess again. He played at Bern in 1932.
–In 1933, he drew a training match with Alekhine (+1 =2 -1) in Zurich.
–In 1934, he played at Zurich.
—In 1940, he lost his fortune again when Paris fell.
–In 1940, he fled to Spain. When he reached the Pyrenees, he and his family had to walk over mountain roads at night, hiding in caves during the daylight hours to avoid the Germans. After two exhausting nights. he reached Spain. However, Bernstein had a heart attack and was unconscious. The Spanish frontier guards arrested the family and placed them in separate prisons. Through the intervention of some influentual friends in Spain, his family was released and was allowed to stay in Spain.
–After World War II, he returned to Paris in 1945. Their Paris home was completely robbed by the Germans. They did find their son again who had been a prisoner of war in Germany for 5 years.
–In 1946, Ossip’s son was an interpreter for the United Nations. He was able to speak almost every language in Europe.
–In 1946, he took 2nd in London.
–In 1948, he drew a game against Fine at a cable match between Paris and New York.
–In 1949, he won at the Mandrake Club in London.
–In 1950, he was awarded the International Grandmaster title.
—When President Eisenhower went to Europe to meet Kruschev, Bernstein’s son was selected to accompany him as interpreter.
–In 1954, he played Board 1 for France in the Amsterdam Chess Olympiad. He was 72. His score was 5 wins, 5 draws, and 5 losses.
–In 1954, he played at Montevideo and won a brilliancy prize for his game against Najdorf. Bernstein took 2nd place, behind Letelier.
–In 1956, at the age of 74, he played in a small tournament at Ostend. He played there 50 years earlier. He took 5th place.
–In 1956, he went to Moscow with the intention of playing for France in the Olympiad. But he fell ill before he could play a game.
–In 1961, he played in the IBM tournament in Amsterdam,
–In 1961, he retired to St. Arroman, a small town in the Pyrenees.
–He died in his sleep on November 30, 1962 in a sanatorium in the French Pyrenees.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS