Reminiscences - Late 1960's & Early 1970's

by Kerry Lawless

Drying hands with fellow team-mate, Tom Matthews, in the San Leandro High School restroom, while commiserating with each other on how tension was creating butterflies in both of our stomachs because we were scheduled to sit down with the Berkeley High School chess team in less than 10 minutes.

* * *

Tooling down Highway 580 to a match with the Oakland Tech Chess Team in San Leandro High School Chess Coach Raymond Ausmus's car while our 2nd board, Jim Hutchinson, made jokes about how the opposing team was composed entirely of Wong's. (Only the top two boards had team members named Wong.)

* * *

Waiting in the San Leandro High cafeteria for the Alameda High School chess team to arrive while watching the cheerleaders practice to the tune of 'Georgie Girl' and being assured by several of the cheerleaders that they would always be there for our team. (As they practiced there every day the promise was easy to keep.)

* * *

Playing chess at the Hayward Chess Club (in the Hayward Art & Science Center on upper D Street) while Lupe Lopez came in the door and announced to the whole assemblage that he had just made class A player. Then watch him visibly wilt when he noticed his high school chess league nemesis, strong class A player Van Fong, grinning up at him.

* * *

Consoling myself by reading several 'Chess in Action' magazines I found lying around, after losing to my chess nemesis, Larry Kohl, at the First Tampa (Avenue) Invitational Round Robin, held at Richard Shorman's house.

* * *

Watching, but not playing, as the youthful expert Gary Pickler gave a simultaneous chess exhibition at the annual Hayward Chess Festival. It was the first simul that I'd ever witnessed - I was impressed!

* * *

Receiving an unexpected call from 'Chess Friends of Northern California' League Director Jim Hurt, urging me to enter a chess team from my Chabot Junior College chess club... I did. He was one of the warmest, nicest guys I have ever met.

* * *

First visit to the famed Cherryland Café... On one side of the booth, me, President of the Chabot Chess Club, on the other side of the booth, the "Viper", Café Champion Garry Wilson. WHITE: Garry Wilson; BLACK: Kerry Lawless, 1. f3?! e5 2. Kf2??. I lost like a baby!

* * *

Me... hanging on for dear life as Richard Shorman's Volkswagen zipped around corners on the way to the Cherryland Café. The passenger side door had a habit of unexpectedly opening at inopportune moments. You weren't a bonafide RRS student if you couldn't close the door securely upon setting out for a journey. The first half-dozen times, Richard had to come around and close the door himself. I finally got the hang of it, because the alternative (falling out when the door flew open!) was too gruesome to contemplate.

* * *

Pure shock, after chess master Frank Thornally called to say that he was taking Alan Benson's place in the upcoming Chabot College simultaneous chess exhibition, especially after he related how he had saved Alan from nearly expiring in the bathtub. After the simul, we took Frank to an all-night Winchell's to fill up on exotic donuts.

* * *

During a stopover at an Oakland Casper's hotdog stand, while enroute to the Alameda Chess Club for a Jude Acers simul, RRS and I watching in awe as Jude wolfed down hotdog after hotdog. I had just told him that I would buy him all the hotdogs he could eat for a lesson after the simul... bad move. But, as I got one of the only draws of the evening, it might have been worth it.

* * *

Being on the Hayward Chess Club team and going to Santa Rita Prison to play the prison team. Both my opponent and I were as nervous as cats. He, because he had never played a 'real' chessplayer before, and I, because I had never met a 'real' prisoner before. We agreed to a draw around the 30th move.

* * *

While at the Oakland Chess Club for a team match (I was on the Chabot College team), I joined several other players in kidding class 'C' player Craig Barnes about a recent newspaper article reporting on young 'chess master' Craig Barnes winning a chess tournament. Fifteen-year-old Craig appeared to take it well, but one could tell he was seething inside. In retrospect, the laugh was on us, because he became the National High School Champion and then a strong chess expert within two years, before becoming a USCF chess master afterward.

* * *

Dropping by Alan Benson's Oakland pad, and having Alan open the door to a room filled with a sweet-smelling, smoke-enriched atmosphere, while being introduced to the youthful chess elite of the San Francisco Bay Area as his beginner friend. (I was a class B player.) As I talked with chess master Steve Spencer, I gazed on with the rest of the crowd, while Jude and Alan finished a match game on the bed. Afterward, we were all regaled by Jude, as he demoed a draw from his, then recent match with IGM Walter Browne.

* * *

The Chabot Chess Club had found new leadership while I had been away in the Navy. In a meeting chaired by Becky Oliver, who was helping to organize the first Chabot College chess tournament, she called for tournament name suggestions. I can't for the life of me remember what I was thinking when I piped up with, "Let's call it the Richard Shorman Memorial!" After some discussion, that was the name we decided to go with. Later, when Richard was handed one of the tournament flyers, he protested, "But, I'm not dead yet!" Hastily new flyers were printed and they merely proclaimed, "First Honors to Richard Shorman."

* * *

I first met Mr. Sinkevich, a former White Russian chessmaster who escaped the Soviets in the early 1920's, settled for a while in Shanghi, before coming to the USA and joining the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club, at the San Francisco USO, where he was conducting a chess tournament for Armed Forces enlisted personnel. Bobby Fischer had just won the World Championship, but Mr. S., who only had one suit to his name, barely made enough money with the infrequent chess lessons he gave to eat. Most of his potential customers avoided him, because he appeared somewhat senile. Any time somebody engaged him in conversation, he would exclaim, "Look at this position!", and then he would play (as Black) 1. d4 e5 2. de Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. Bf4 Qb4+ 5. Bd2 Qb2 6. Bc3 Bb4 7. Qd2 Bc3 8. Qc3 Qc1 mate. Even if he had shown you the position a dozen times before, he would show it to you again, as if it were the first time. He was very proud of me, because somehow he had gotten the idea that I was a beginner when we first met and now I was a class 'A' player. He called me his best student, and I never disagreed. One day he invited me and a little kid named Jay to accompany him to a USO across the street from the Ferry Building. I remember telling the kid, "Listen to Mr. Sinkevich, if you really want to improve and maybe, just maybe, someday you'll be as good as me", but I really didn't mean it. He looked up at me and didn't say a word. I remember thinking that the kid would never become a chessplayer. Ha - wrong again! He became a 2600+ USCF senior master and a FIDE international master.

* * *

Listening to Alan Benson, Director of the East Asia Book & Game Center Chess Club, during the club's first meeting, as he related the story of how chessmaster Dennis Waterman was "hounded" by actor Peter Falk during a then recent tournament, because the actor was doing research for an upcoming episode of the Columbo TV show called "The Most Dangerous Match" (A 1973 episode about an American chess champion who murders the Soviet champion). According to Alan, Dennis would walk away and the actor would sidle up to him with more questions, which in turn would cause the master to move again; this happened over and over again. During the whole time that Alan was relating the anecdote, Dennis was sitting in his seat glowering. I don't think he liked being talked about, as (I was told) he was a somewhat taciturn and private individual. (Mr. Falk must have obtained enough good material from Mr. Waterman, because the TV show episode was entertaining.)

* * *

Going to Dennis Fritzinger's house to play a team match and after conferring with my imminent opponent and good friend, Mingson Chen and finding out that he didn't feel right about playing me; immediately telling the league director Alan Benson that we were agreeing to a draw without playing. While Alan was indignantly reprimanding me for my unprofessional behavior, my team-mate Mary Lasher and her good friend Minnie Gimdalf were agreeing to the same sort of arrangement, because I had set the precedent. Alan was livid with me, but I stubbornly stuck to my guns, even though I knew I was in the wrong. Definitely one of life's regretful moments - especially in retrospect.

* * *

Standing in the registration line for a tournament and telling Marty Sullivan, who was standing with me, that I thought Walter Browne would win the tournament hands down. Marty pointed out that Jim Tarjan was also playing and had to be one of the favorites as well. I, in turn, countered with the 'fact' that since Browne had the higher rating, he had to be favored most of the time... especially in this tournament. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a smiling Jim Tarjan turned around (he had been ahead of the player directly in front of me during the whole conversation) and said, "You might be surprised." Oops! Later, I was even more chagrined to learn that their encounters were anything but one-sided.

* * *

Playing the Black side of chess expert Max Burkett's favorite gambit at a Mechanics' Institute Marathon: WHITE: Max Burkett; BLACK: Kerry Lawless, 1.e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d4 ed 4. Nf3 d5 5. ed Bb4+ 6. Kf1 c5 7. a3 Ba5 8. b4 Bb6 9. bc Bc5 10. Nd4 Nd5 11. Nb3? I remember looking at the position for over a minute without coming up with anything, and being completely startled when I heard the words, "I resign." coming from across the board. I remain convinced to this day, that had he offered a draw instead, I would have accepted instantly - and, of course, regretted it later.