Chess by Stephen Dann

Grandmaster Robert Eugene Byrne, 84, of Ossining, N.Y., a chess columnist for The New York Times from 1972 to 2006, died April 12 at home after a long bout with Parkinson’s disease. Learn more about his career at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrne_(chess_player).

Born in Brooklyn, he attended Yale University. He won the 1946 New England Open and tied for first premier reserve section of the then record U.S. Open in Pittsburgh (earlier that year), one of the first major events to use the Swiss System of pairings. He won the 1972 U.S. Championship after playoffs. Tributes abound at www.uschess.org, as well as several stories and notable games at www.chessbase.com.

One of the most touching tributes was written by Bruce Weber in The New York Times of April 13, especially on his rivalry with Bobby Fischer during the 1960s.This writer only met him once, at the 1970 U.S. Open at Boston’s Parker House Hotel, where he was one of five grandmaster participants, finishing clear third behind Bent Larsen and Pal Benko in the 303-player event.

Carissa Yip, 9, of Chelmsford is playing a match with Michelle Chen, 15, of Concord today in Marlboro during the Mass. Game/60 tournament at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel. The winner will represent Massachusetts in a new girls closed event during the U. S. Open in August in Madison, Wis.

Carissa has closed within 150 rating points of Michelle in the past month, and both families agreed that a four-game match in public would be a fair test of who should represent the state at this year’s inaugural event. Last time they met, in Somerville earlier this month, Carissa took the point.

Look for more of top-rated-in-the-world Magnus Carlsen, 22, of Norway, as Time magazine’s April 29 issue (now on newsstands) includes him on the 100 Most Influential People in the World. This follows this month’s win of the Candidates in London, and being named as one of the Sexiest Men of 2013 by Cosmopolitan on Campus late last month.

Tops next Sunday is the annual Hurvitz Cup in Boxboro, state scholastic four-player team championships in four age groups, Grades K-12, from the same school. Details of this and a host of other events around New England at www.masschess.org.

Answer to quiz: Can you see the tactics starting with 1. Qxe7ch? GM Svetozar Gligoric (1923-2012), the Yugoslavian writer and ambassador of chess, toured Massachusetts in 1963 and won the New England Open in Springfield. Position from Chess Tactics Antenna, published by www.Newinchess.com.

Source: http://www.telegram.com