AFebruary 22 1938
The Winnipeg Tribune Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Tuesday, February 22, 1938
Young Brother Steals Chess Prodigy's Stuff
Nine-Year-Old Harry Yanofsky Gets Draw While Abie Bows to Visiting Master.
The best local experts could do against I. A. Horowitz, United States chess master and editor of The Chess Review, playing 30 games simultaneously in an exhibition at the Music and Arts bldg., Sunday, was obtain four draws.
Starting out in every game with P-K4, Mr. Horowitz showed he was a brilliant master of the art, and soon had most of the local players at his mercy. Among his victims was “Abie” Yanofsky, well-known local prodigy, who played a fine game but was forced to resign in 37 moves.
But, where “Abie” Yanofsky failed, Harry Yanofsky, nine-year-old brother of the prodigy, scored a triumph by gaining one of the four draws. Replying to the chess master's P-K4 with P-K3, Harry elected to play a French defense and betrayed no uncertainness in his moves.
“The boy played with confidence which is quite necessary in the game of chess,” Mr. Horowitz said after the exhibition. “He should have a bright future.”
Mr. Horowitz is a member of the Manhattan and Marshall Chess clubs, and is fourth ranking player in the United States. He has been a member of the U.S. team which has won the international team tournament for the last four years. In a brief speech after the exhibition he said he hoped to see a Canadian team entered in the next tournament which will take place in Buenos Aires in 1939.
Other local players who obtained draws in the exhibition match were R. Moser, Dr. I. H. Shankman and A. Helman, all of the Jewish Chess club.
February 23 1938
The Expositor, Brantford, Ontario, Canada, Wednesday, February 23, 1938
YOUNG CHESS PLAYER HAS BRIGHT FUTURE
WINNIPEG Feb 23.—(CP)—I. A. Horowitz, United Slates chess master and Editor of The Chess Review yesterday praised the play of 9-year-old Harry Yanofsky brother of Abe, 13 year-old Manitoba senior chess champion. “He should have a bright future,” Horowitz said after a tournament in which he played 30 games simultaneously as an exhibition. Winnipeg players obtained only four draws in the match. Young Harry scored one of the draws.
August 08 1938
Calgary Herald, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Monday, August 08, 1938
Western Chess Players Invited 08 Aug 1938, Mon Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) Newspapers.com
Western Chess Players Invited
Toronto (CP)—Three western players, including 14-year-old Abe Yanofsky of Winnipeg who placed fourth last year, have been invited by the Canadian Chess Federation to enter the Dominion-championship tournament here September 2-8. Boris Blumin of Montreal will defend his title.
Other western players whose entries are especially desired are H. W. Jordan of Moose Jaw, Sask., reputed to carry on more chess games by correspondence than any other Canadian player, and R. Taylor of Vancouver, one of the strongest British Columbia players.
August 24 1938
Clinton Daily News, Clinton, Oklahoma, Wednesday, August 24, 1938
BOY, 14, RANKED AMONG CANADA CHESS WIZARDS
TORONTO (U.P.)— Three Western Canada chess players including a 14-year-old Alberta boy and a British Columbian have been invited by the Canadian Chess Federation to enter the Dominion Championship tournament Sept 2-8.
The players sought are Yanofsky, 14, of Winnipeg, H. W. Jordan of Moose Jaw, Sask., and R. Taylor of Vancouver one of British Columbia's strongest players. The Winnipeg boy finished fourth in last year's tournament. The title was won by Boris Blumin of Montreal.
More than the $100 prize will be at stake at this year's tournament. On the basis of play here four players will be selected to represent Canada at the Argentine world tournament next April in Buenos Aires. Their expenses will be paid by the Argentine government.
September 13 1938
The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Tuesday, September 13, 1938
Yanofsky 4th In Canadian Chess Tourney 13 Sep 1938, Tue The Winnipeg Tribune (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) Newspapers.com
Yanofsky 4th In Canadian Chess Tourney
Winnipeg Youth May Gain Trip To Argentine
TORONTO, Sept. 13.—Maurice Fox, of Montreal, won the Canadian chess championship Monday for the eighth time in 12 years, completing 18 rounds of tournament play with only a single defeat and four drawn games dotting his record.
By defeating William Zombory, of St. Catharines, Ont., in the final round, Fox pushed his lead to a point and a half over the veteran J. S. Morrison, of Toronto, and former champion Harry Belson, also of Toronto, who finished in a tie for second place. Fox had 15 points, Morrison and Belson 13½.
Deadlocked in fourth place were defending champion Boris Blumin, of Montreal, S. Kitces, of Montreal, and 14-year-old Abie Yanofsky, of Winnipeg. Each had 13 points. With a chance to place second, Yanofsky lost his final game to Kitces, resigning in the end game where he had a knight against Kitces' rook.
J. Raugh, of Montreal, who had the distinction of being the only player to defeat Fox, placed seventh with 12 points. R. H. Martin, of Toronto, a former champion, was eighth with 11½ and the promising Walter Holowach, of Edmonton, came ninth with 10.
Fox, who held the championship continuously from 1927 to 1932 and then won it again in 1935, needed only a draw in his final match with Zombory to assure himself of finishing at least tied for first. He played with a draw in mind, taking no daring chances.
But when Belson resigned to Blumin at a nearby table and he saw that Yanofsky was on the point of defeat also, the Montreal expert attacked vigorously. Zombory could not cope with the attack and yielded to superior pawn strength.
Fox suffered his only defeat in the second last round to Rauch. He played draws with Kitces, Morrison, Marcel Dion, of Quebec, and Dudley LeDain, of Montreal. Morrison and Kitces were the only high-ranked players he failed to defeat.
The most spectacular giant-killing was accomplished by Yanofsky who won from Belson in the 16th round, Martin in the 17th and Blumin in the 18th. The Winnipeg prodigy was beaten by Fox, Holowach, Kitces and Charles Smith of Montreal.
Announcement of the Canadian team to compete in the international team tournament at Buenos Aires early in 1939 was withheld, but it was considered possible Yanofsky would be one of the four chosen.
September 14 1938
It's Back to School for Abie Yanofsky, Young Chess Wizard 14 Sep 1938, Wed Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) Newspapers.com
Star-Phoenix, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Wednesday, September 14, 1938
It's Back to School For Abie Yanofsky, Young Chess Wizard
Canadian Press. Toronto, Sept. 13 — It's to school now for Abie Yanofsky, 14-year-old Winnipeg chess wizard who took “valuable” time out to participate in the Canadian chess championships here and who likely will be a member of the Canadian team going to an International tournament next April at Buenos Aires.
The Canadian tournament, completed here yesterday and in which he came fourth, meant nearly two weeks away from school for the slender Winnipeg lad.
“I guess I can make up the lost time all right but you never can tell. Maybe it won't be so good for me in the long run. And just think, if I'm picked for the Canadian team to play at Buenos Aires it will mean taking a lot more time off from school.”
Abie just shrugged his thin shoulders when it was suggested he might be nervous playing against some of the world greats at the international tournament.
“I wouldn't be playing first board for Canada even if I'm picked on the team.” he said. “Our Canadian champion probably would be the first man. But even if I was playing fourth board it would still mean playing some good players and could learn a lot from them.”
Abie and S. Kitces were in a fourth place tie in the tournament with Boris Blumin of Montreal, Dominion champion in 1936 and 1937, who was third in the recent American Chess Federation championships at Boston.
Maurice Fox, another Montrealer, swept through 18 rounds on the 18-day tournament here, suffering only one defeat to win the title he held seven times previously.
Bernard Freedman, treasurer of the Canadian Chess Federation which sponsored the tournament, announced at the conclusion that Canada would send a team of six players to the international team tournament to Buenos Aires in April, 1939. Freedman said four regulars, a spare and one woman player would be taken.
September 28 1938
Star-Phoenix, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Wednesday, September 28, 1938
Youth Has Its Heroes 28 Sep 1938, Wed Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) Newspapers.com
Youth Has Its Heroes
Youthful Winnipeg Chess Wizard Watches Moves Of Masters of Game
By Elmer Dulmage
Canadian Press Staff Writer
Toronto, Sept. 28. Your small boy and mine are acquainted with Joe DiMaggio's batting average, the relative merits of Joe Louis and Max Schmeling and such news of the sports pages.
Abie Yanofsky is 14, he has watched Fritz Hanson play football in Winnipeg, but he can't tell you the first thing about the Blue Bombers. In fact, he doesn't care much about Hanson, the idol of every Winnipeg schoolboy. He isn't interested in the DiMaggio or the heavyweight situation.
Able is different from any other 14-year-old boy in Canada because he is a great chess player—some day he may be a master. Right now he is one of the first four or five chess experts in Canada and by far the most promising.
Most boys would like to compete at the Olympic Games; Abie wouldn't give a hoot for that. He looks forward to playing in the International team chess tournament at Buenos Aires in April, 1939. There isn't much doubt the Winnipeg prodigy will be named to the Canadian team.
Abie was talking about the Buenos Aires tournament the other day after playing his last match in the Canadian championship here. He had defeated three former champions Boris Blumin of Montreal and R. M. Martin and Harry Belson of Toronto. He was tied for fourth in the final standing. “It'll interfere with my school work if I go to South America, he said. But imagine playing with Alekhine and Keres and Reshevsky and Flohr.
Those are names that mean much to Abie, as they do to every chess player. They are his heroes, these masters of the chessboard. Abie couldn't tell you the first thing about the heavyweight situation, but just ask him about the chess championship situation.
I'd like to see Capablanca get a match with Alekhine for the title, he says. “Sure, I think Flohr is good, but he won't beat Alekhine that is if the champion gets in shape.”
LIKES KERES' PLAY
Abie's particular hero is Paul Keres, the young Estonian master, though Sammy Reshevsky of New York, United States champion, is a close second in his affections. “Keres play grand combinations,” says Abie, simply.
To the Winnipeg boy a nine-move variation, climaxed by the capture of a single pawn, is a thing of beauty. The record of such a variation and the move-by-move record of matches played by masters are widely published is something he likes to study.
“I don't read all the games between masters, but its good recreation,” Abie says. “Of course, when I'm preparing for a tournament like the Canadian championship I do a good deal of reading and studying. That's where Keres comes in; I like to go over his variations.”
What will become of Abie Yanofsky? At 14 he is in his fourth year at St. Johns Technical School, Winnipeg. He plans to enter University of Manitoba. He stands first in his class. He's good in all subjects and especially so in mathematics.
Fair-haired, slender, thin-featured, he is quiet and boyish. He wants to become a chess master and to that end he will probably specialize in mathematics when he enters university. He knows that Keres, who has designs on Alekhine's world title, is taking a course in advanced mathematics.
His immediate future in chess is being charted by Bernard Freedman of Toronto, treasurer of the Canadian Chess Federation, who sees in Abie's rise to prominence the greatest impetus chess has ever received in Canada. Freedman will not be satisfied until every schoolboy plays chess.
Abie will probably play next year in the United States championship where Reshevsky defends his title against such masters as Isaac Kashdan, Reuben Fine and Israel A. Horowitz. Then comes Buenos Aires. With these tournaments under his belt the Yanofsky boy will be one step higher on the ladder.
