AAdditional Games
Otto Estenger
August 08, 1931-February 27, 1998
March 08 1964
The Terre Haute Tribune, Terre Haute, Indiana, Sunday, March 08, 1964
September 10 1972
The Greenville News, Greenville, South Carolina, Sunday, September 10, 1972
February 23 1975
The Greenville News, Greenville, South Carolina, Sunday, February 23, 1975
Lander Professor Grew Up With Great Love For Chess
By Stan Shealy, Greenwood Bureau
Greenwood-Lander College professor Dr. Otto Estenger grew to manhood in his native Cuba with a great love for the game of chess.
As a young boy, he learned the game from his father, who was impressed by Jose Capablanca, a Cuban who held the world chess championship in the 1920s.
Young Estenger also relished the thought of becoming a world's champion or of attaining the highest rank, that of grandmaster.
But now at the age of 43, ranked as an “expert” chess player, Estenger doesn't figure he'll ever reach that highest ranking.
“After you are 40, you begin to decline in tournament chess,” he said. “The stress is too great.”
He already has a number of titles to his credit, however. He was twice the South Carolina state Chess Champion, in 1972 and 1973. He just barely missed the Southeastern Regional Championship in a tournament last year.
He finished only half a point behind the Georgia champion, the man who clinched the regional title. Estenger says he might have won had he not miscalculated about what he needed to win.
“I thought that by playing to draw on my last game, I would have won. If I had won my last game, instead of playing to a draw, I would be the Southeast Regional champion.”
Estenger is in temporary retirement from tournament play now because tournaments are costly to participants and demand a great deal of time and energy. He is planning to compete again in the future.
He now spends his spare time and many Saturday evenings mulling over the chess board with his 14-year-old son, Otto Jr. or with friends.
There are not many chess players in Greenwood, he said.
Otto Jr. isn't a bad chess player.
In fact, the Lander College Chess Club broke up after little Otto, then about 11 years old, defeated all of the members, much to their discouragement.
Mrs. Estenger, who also teaches at Lander, doesn't play chess.
Her husband says women don't make good chess players.
“Checkers is the game for ladies,” he said. “Chess is for males.”
“There's only one good woman chess player in the world--a Russian,” Estenger said. Otto Jr. advances the reason why: “They can't keep quiet that long.”
For a time years ago, chess was Estenger's primary interest, but he found it was no way to make a living.
But Estenger has no regrets about choosing a teaching profession. He is the only Spanish professor at Lander College and he said, “I'd rather teach at Lander than play chess. It's more rewarding.”
Valentine's Day was an anniversary for the Estenger family. On that date they had been in the United States for 12 years.
