AApril 07 1937
Calgary Herald, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Wednesday, April 07, 1937
Junior Chess Champ Of Manitoba Takes Senior Championship 07 Apr 1937, Wed Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) Newspapers.com
Junior Chess Champ Of Manitoba Takes Senior Championship
Winnipeg, April 7—(C.P.)—Little Abie Yanofsky, a chess-world sensation at 12 years of age, Tuesday tucked away the Manitoba chess championship along with the junior title he won last August at the Canadian National Exhibition at Toronto.
Playing against six men, Abie set them back on their heels Tuesday night to take the provincial championship with a one-point advantage over Abe Helman, a former provincial champion. Joe Demers, also a former titleholder, was the only competitor to defeat the Winnipeg Polish boy.
Abie took up chess three years ago and will take a whirl at the Canadian championship this summer.
At present he goes to school in Winnipeg like any other kid and coaches his eight-year-old brother, Harry, in the rudiments of the game. Experts here claim Harry is a comer too.
April 30 1937
The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Friday, April 30, 1937
Jewish Chess Prodigy Wins the Manitoba Championship 30 Apr 1937, Fri The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com
Jewish Chess Prodigy Wins the Manitoba Championship
Winnipeg, Man.—(JTA)—Little Abie Yanofsky, 12-year old chess sensation, tucked away the Manitoba chess championship in a match against six men. He won with a one-point advantage over Abe Helman, former provincial champion.
Yanofsky also holds the junior title, won last August at the Canadian National Exhibition at Toronto.
May 24 1937
Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Monday, May 24, 1937
Winnipeg Defeats Local Chess Team
Twenty-four players of the Minneapolis Chess club returned Sunday night from Fargo where they lost their annual match with the Manitoba Chess club of Winnipeg, 13½ to 10½. It was Winnipeg's first victory over Minneapolis, the locals having won the past two years. The feature of the match was provided by the play of Yanofsky, 12-year-old Manitoba champion, who lost to George Barnes, Minnesota champion, after a close game.
August 18 1937
The Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Wednesday, August 18, 1937
Yanofsky Leaves for Quebec 18 Aug 1937, Wed The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) Newspapers.com
Yanofsky Leaves for Quebec
Winnipeg, August 17—(CP)—Abie Yanofsky, 13-year-old Winnipeg chess expert, left here today for Quebec City, where he will try for the Dominion chess championship, in a tournament beginning Friday. Abie won the Manitoba chess title last spring.
September 02 1937
The Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Thursday, September 02, 1937
Young Chess Prodigy Plays Eight at Once
When a lad of 13 checkmates a seasoned old timer in the ancient game of chess it is news. But when the same youth plays a simultaneous game with eight chess seniors, and downs them all, then surely this is hot news. Abe Yanofsky, aged 13, of Winnipeg, was the boy who last night took the stumps of the eight members of the Montreal Chess Club, all of them club champions, and one Joseph Schneider, resident of the Montreal Chess League. The game took place at the club headquarters in the Harmonia Club, Drummond street.
In Quebec last week Abe Yanofsky entered the Dominion chess championship series and took fourth place, Boris Blumin, of Montreal, capturing the championship. He is staying in Montreal until Friday.
A perfectly normal, healthy boy, looking his age physically, the chess prodigy has played the game for the past three years—no long period for skill in the game. His ability in chess, however, is just indicative of the mental power he has shown in his school career in Winnipeg for he has taken work of two grades in one year on three different occasions and at present is in the eleventh grade, preparatory year for the university. He returns to Winnipeg on Friday.
Nanaimo Daily News, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, Thursday, September 02, 1937
CHESS PRODIGY WINS
Montreal, Sept. 2 Abe Yanofsky, 13-year-old Winnipeg chess wizard, played simultaneous games with eight chess seniors here last night and defeated them all. In Quebec last week he took fourth place in the Dominion chess championship series, won by Boris Blumin of Montreal.
September 23 1937
The Expositor, Brantford, Ontario, Canada, Thursday, September 23, 1937
MAY BE CHAMPION AT 17 PREDICTION OF CHESS PLAYER
Abie Yanofsky Pretty Close Now at the Age of 13
By WILLIAM AUSTIN
Canadian Press Staff Writer.
TORONTO, Sept. 23.-(CP)— Abie Yanofsky of Winnipeg will be Canadian chess champion by the time he's 17. This is the studied prediction of Bernard Freedman, Toronto Secretary of the Canadian Chess Federation. Mr Freedman gives Abie most of the credit for the rapid headway chess playing has made in Canada recently especially by youngsters.
“Abie will be Dominion champion within four years,” Mr. Freedman said of the 13-year-old son of a Winnipeg religious teacher. “He has an exceptional mind unusual insight and will readily shoot to the top of the chess world. The boy doesn't need to force his intelligence to play the excellent game he now plays. The game seems natural to him.”
Fourth in the Dominion chess championship at Quebec in August, Abie has shown Canadian youth the game was not restricted to elderly persons. He first came into chess prominence in 1933 when Mr. Freedman was visiting Winnipeg. He had heard about Abie's ability and, when he saw the lad play, determined to bring him to the Dominion championships at Toronto that year. Abie cleaned up the junior classes and gave several senior players a trimming.
Back to Winnipeg and school, Abie kept practising and this year when the championships were played Mr. Freedman made arrangements to bring the boy to Quebec and a chance at the title.
“To top it all he met the champion in his first game and lost when he shouldn't have done so. He was ahead of the champion and on the road to victory when he overlooked a good chance to win and lost the match.
“Abie lost the first three games he played. Then he took hold of himself and won the rest of his matches to finish fourth. It was an excellent showing for one so young and confirmed the general opinion he had an excellent mind.”
Mr. Freedman coaches several hundred Toronto boys at chess and says Abie is the envy and inspiration of them all. By trying to equal the feats of the Winnipeg lad some excellent young players are developing, Mr. Freedman said.
December 30 1937
Calgary Herald, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Thursday, December 30, 1937
Finds Chess Fine Brain Exercise
Winnipeg (CP) — Thirteen-year-old Abie Yanofsky finds chess a great brain exercise. Abie is senior champion of Manitoba and placed fourth in the last Canadian chess championship tournament. He is a member of the Winnipeg Jewish Chess Club.
“Playing chess exercises the brain in many ways,” said the young player. “In rapid transit games, where a move must be made every five seconds, the player must necessarily think quickly and accurately. In serious games, one must develop the faculty of figuring many moves in advance, and must learn to exercise extreme patience.”
Abie does not like to talk about his own accomplishments. “You should see my brother play,” he said. “Harry is only nine years old, but he recently defeated the club secretary who is our B class champion.”
“He's a real good player,” put in the boy's father. A. Yanofsky “Pretty soon he will be able to beat Abie.” Mr. Yanofsky is proud of his two chess-playing children.
