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September 13 1962
Redwood City Tribune, Redwood City, California, Thursday, September 13, 1962
Time Out For Chess
Leonard Hill, left, and Greg Bogdanoff, right, engage in the mental gymnastics of speed chess while two other members of Redwood City's Morphy Chess Club look on. Kibitzing are Peter Gleghorn, second from left, and George Kane. Players time moves on the clocks situated next to chess board.
A Venerable Game
Chess Gains Popularity In All Classes by John Kane, Tribune Staff Writer
The venerable game of chess is gaining new popularity across the nation, and the increased interest is reflected in the activities of Redwood City's Morphy Chess Club.
Once the sole province of the highly educated elite, chess has settled through the social strata to become a popular pastime with a cross section of the worlds population.
A dedicated little troupe of Redwood City chess devotees returned recently from a pilgrimage to San Antonio, Tex., and the U.S. Open Chess championships. Their performance indicates that chess, as played in many small clubs across the nation, has reached a plateau of considerable skill.
Mrs. Mabel Burlingame, a local housewife, wound up in a surprise tie for the U.S. Women's title by scoring 6½ points out of a possible 12. The tie-breaking system employed in the tournament, however, resulted in the championship being awarded to Mrs. Kathryn Slater of New York, who also tallied 6½ points.
Two other Redwood City residents, Jim McIlrath and George Kane, also racked up 6½ points, while Sid Rubin of the Morphy team had just one point less. Antonio Medina of Caracas, Venezuela, won the tournament with 10 points.
Right now, the Morphy team is preparing for its showdown match with the East Bay champion for the Bay Area regular league championship. Redwood City was unbeaten in the Peninsula Chess league, and captured the playoff with the El Camino Real titlists for the West Bay crown. Date for the Bay Area match hasn't yet been arranged.
Redwood City's own little chess renaissance has been repeated in many communities throughout California. In fact the number of teams, leagues and federations makes it difficult to keep an accurate count of the true popularity the game.
California ranks first in the number of members registered in the U.S. Chess Federation. Once distant second to New York, this state has sprinted into the lead with its rapid climb in population. Recent figures show California with 765 members in the U.S. Federation, New York with 710. There are a number of other organizations representing chess players in this country. The U.S. Federation, however, is the biggest in membership.
Still, all the strength the United States can muster is just a drop in the bucket compared with chess participation in Russia. The Soviet Union boasts more than one million officially rated players. The U.S. Chess Federation's membership recently went over the 6,000 mark. It's easy to determine that the chess playing segment is an infinitesimal portion of the U.S. population of 190 million.
To its aficionados, however, there is no game like it. It combines intelligence, concentration, experience and stamina in such a fashion to provide a challenge to the most well-disciplined mind.
And yet, chess certainly is not the sole province of eggheads with no other interests.
Peter Cleghorn, the team's only expert, plays at the first table in club matches. Either George Kane, a 14-year-old freshman at Woodside High, or Jim McIlrath, who operates the night switchboard at the Palo Alto Clinic, play in the number two and three spots. Mrs. Burlingame generally plays number four. Number five position is occupied by Greg Bogdanoff, a San Carlos High student win is unbeaten in team play. Elmer Burlingame often plays in the number six chair.
Chess teams in the Bay Area regular league are composed of an expert (2,000 points) on the first table, an A player (1,800-1,900 points) at next two tables and C players (under 1,600 points) filling the next two positions.
Points are determined by the number of victories and the quality of the opposition a player has defeated.
Some of the advanced players on the Morphy club also participate with other teams on the Peninsula in higher caliber leagues.
Like many an amateur outfit the Morphy team sometimes has trouble fielding a representative team. Rarely do their Friday night meetings attract more than 15 players.
“Most of the new players get discouraged when they don't win right away, and we never see them again,” explained McIlrath, unofficial leader of the group.
The same is true of the younger players. The Morphy club began a program, in conjunction with the YMCA, to interest youngsters in the game. After a fair beginning, interest dropped off and the program was discontinued, McIlrath said.
The club, named after America's first great chess player of 100 years ago, Paul Charles Morphy, is open to anyone interested in testing his skills across a chessboard. Newcomers are cordially welcome, McIlrath said, and the established members try to encourage people just learning the game.
Dues of 25 cents a month for students and 50 cents a month for adults are assessed to pay for use of the YMCA building each Friday night.
