Fischer's Encounter with Hoffman at the Manhattan Chess Club
Joel V. Benjamin
of Bobby Fischer's encounter with Asa Hoffman at the Manhattan Chess
Club?
I was there and remember it very well - I've read other accounts that
differ from my recollection in several respects.
Fischer gave Hoffman 20-1 odds at blitz. I don't remember if there
were any time odds given by Fischer. Hoffman won the first game with
the Evan's Gambit. At one point in the second game, Hoffman had a
winning move that all of the onlookers noticed (confirmed after the
game) but Hoffman overlooked the move and went on to lose the second
game. Hoffman lost the third and final game.
It was a great scene and a great experience.
Thanks,
Joel Benjamin
joelbe...@comcast.net
EZoto
From what I heard Hoffman was pretty good and gave those odds more to
psyche him out. I remember Hoffman saying that the best blitz player
he ever played was Reuben Fine and not Fischer.
EZoto
Arthur
Club....doesn't he remember the details?
"Joel V. Benjamin" <joelbe...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:ff75716b.0312...@posting.google.com...
Sam Sloan
Benjamin) wrote:
You are obviously not the real Joel Benjamin. The real Joel Benjamin
was not yet born when this happened. Also, your recounting of the
events is wrong in many respects. I doubt that you were there.
The event did not talk place at the Manhattan Chess Club. It happened
in early 1964 at the Chess and Checker Club of New York, better known
as the "Flea House". I was not there that day but many people I know
were there, including Fred Wilson and Leon Zukoff.
Fischer offered Hoffman 20 to 1. Hoffman was rated 2377 at the time.
The first game was an Evans Gambit. Hoffmann won when Fischer fell
into an opening trap which Hoffman knew but Fischer did not know.
Fischer went through his pockets and pulled out 20 one dollar bills,
some from each pocket, to pay Hoffman.
Fischer then got real serious and proceeded to defeat Hoffmann 19
games in a row. Hoffmann then quit, leaving himself one dollar ahead.
Hoffman did this so that he would always be able to say that he won
money from Bobby Fischer at chess.
Sam Sloan
Sam Sloan
Benjamin) wrote:
You are obviously not the real Joel Benjamin. The real Joel Benjamin
Seymore Butts
Do you even realize how many Joel Benjamin that there are in this world??
Did he claim to be GrandMaster Joel Benjamin? Why can't the guy have the
name Joel Benjamin?
"Sam Sloan" <sl...@ishipress.com> wrote in message
news:3fef6b4f...@ca.news.verio.net...
Sam Sloan
especially the fact that Hoffmann was unwilling to bet a whole dollar
against Fischer and as a result there were many side-bettors.
You are correct that I was not there that day. Actually, the first
time in my life that I ever came to New York City was August 1964,
just after the US Junior Championship in Townsen Maryland and just
before the US Open Championship in Boston. I travelled by bus from
Townsen Maryland to New York with John Blackstone, who had also played
in the US Junior Championship. Blackstone had the address of the Flea
House and together we found it. The first person I met when I walked
in the door was Harold Feldheim. The second person I met was Asa
Hoffmann who, on finding that I was a rated expert, promptly offered
me the odds of rook against pawn at two minute chess. I did not
believe that he could beat me at those odds, but he could.
In a subsequent visit to the Flea House, I met Stewart Reuben who
introduced me to the New York City Subway System and took me on the
first subway ride in my life.
This incident in which Hoffmann played Fischer at odds of 20-1 took
place very shortly, just a few weeks or months, before I first arrived
at the Flea House, and was still being actively talked about.
However, I think you are mistaken when you say that the games were
played at the Manhattan Chess Club. The Manhattan Chess Club was at
that time located in the Henry Hudson Hotel and gambling was
absolutely prohibited. I think Hans Kmoch was still the director or
possibly Beth Cassidy. It would have been virtually impossible for all
this gambling and side betting to take place in the Manhattan.
In another respect, it does surprise me that it took place at the Flea
House. As far as I know, the last person ever to take Fischer to the
Flea House was me. I was walking around Manhattan with Fischer in late
1964. We came to the Flea House. I wanted to go in but at first he
refused to go in there. Finally, he said that he would go in but wait
at the door. We went up the stairs together. I walked around the
inside of the Flea House while Fischer waited just inside the front
door. There was nothing interesting going on so I decided to leave. I
do not believe that anybody recognized or noticed Fischer standing at
the door. That was the last time I ever tried to convince Bobby
Fischer to go into the Flea House and as far as I know he never went
there again.
Sam Sloan
At 09:27 PM 12/28/2003 EST, Stewar...@aol.com wrote:
>Sam, who was not there I think, has expressed matters wrong in some details
>Writing this at Hastings without access to my book, The Chess Scene which was
>written in 1972.
>I was certainly there as was Leon Zukoff. I cannot remember about Fred, but
>it is very likely he was there. Fischer definitely gave Asa 20-1 odds. It was
>annoying because he would give me no more than 10-1, and Asa was better than
>me.
>Asa was unwilling to take the whole dollar himself, so we some of us took
>pieces of him. I think I took a quarter. The atmosphere was not one of concern
>about the money to be one or lost, several matches at this time were done this
>way to see good chess.
>Asa indeed won that first Evans Gambit game. Bobby found the $20 and tried to
>pay us off. We were so cheap that a nickel of the bet apparently had not been
>taken up (or somebody did not claim it). Thus Bobby only paid out $19.
>Bobby wanted to play more games but did not have the money to pay up if he
>lost. Leon staked him accepting that Bobby would owe him the money.
>Bobby won the remainder of the games.
>Now our versions differ. I thought it was at the Manhattan. My reason for
>that is that only a few more games were played and then the club closed. This
>would not have applied at the Flea House. It is possible they adjourned to The
>Flea House and I went home.
>Of course there may be another Joel Benjamin in the universe, but I doubt
>there was anybody of that name there that night. It had to be within the period
>1963-5 as that is definitively when I lived there.
>I am sure Asa would not have played 17 games and been willing to risk losing
>another.
>For those of you a little younger than me. $1 was a substantial sum to play
>for at the time. I probably played Benko for 50 cents.
>Stewart Reuben
chessasaurus rex
Greetings!
Many years ago I asked Hoffman who,in his opinion, was the stronger
speed player Kasparov or Fischer. He replied that he had played them
both and there was absolutely no comparison. Hoffman told me that he
was able to win a game here and there from Garry but to even get a
draw against Fischer was just about impossible.
This would tend to lend credence to what Sloan has written.
Happy New Year from the Chessasaurus Rex
Arthur
Chess and Checker Club was located two (maybe three) flights above a
storefront gambling establishment, where patrons pumped coins into all
sorts of slot machines, in addition to playing bingo-type games with a
barker calling the numbers. Some years before 1964 there was a real (!)
Flea Circus located in "Hubert's Museum" at the rear of the store. One
had to pay an admission fee to watch Prof. Hecker and his trained fleas
in action.
Chess players and checker players were always exposed to the hullabaloo
of Hubert's Museum and the Flea Circus--hence the term "Flea House".
(Prof. Hecker took his fleas away in the late 1950's.)
Arthur