Chess in 1936
by Bill Wall
In January 1936, the All-Russian Trade Union Tournament finished after six months of steady play. The event had 700,000 participants. Georgy Lizitzin and Vitaly Checkover tied for 1st place.
On January 4, 1936, the 16th Annual Hastings Christmas Congress ended. The winner if the Premier Section was Reuben Fine (7.5), followed by Salo Flohr (6.5), Tartakower (6), and Koltanowski (5.5).
On January 14, 1936, George Hume died in Nottingham, England. He was a chess problemist and collector.
From January 26 to April 5, 1936, the U.S. Women’s Championship was held at the Marshall Chess Club in New York. The winner was Mrs. Adele P. Rivero.
On January 28, 1936, Luben S. Popov was born in Bulgaria. He was awarded the International Master (IM) title in 1966. He won the Bulgarian Championship in 1970.
In February 1936, Alexander Kevitz won the Manhattan Chess Club championship after beating Albert Simonson in a play-off.
On February 21, 1936, Laszlo Barczay was born in Miskolc, Hungary. He was awarded the Grandmaster (GM) title in 1967 and the Correspondence Grandmaster (GMC) title in 1979.
On February 23, 1936, Miguel Farre- Mallofre was born in Barcelona, Spain. He was awarded the IM title in 1959.
On March 19, 1936, Eduard Gufeld was born in Kiev. He was awarded the GM title in 1967. He died in 2002.
On March 26, 1936, Percy Blake died in Warrington, England. He was an English problemist.
From March 30 to May 16, 1936, the first U.S. Chess Championship Tournament (not match) was held in New York. The winner was Samuel Reshevsky (11.5), followed by Albert Simonson (11), Reuben Fine and George Treysman (10.5), and Isaac Kashdan (10).
From April 15-23 the second annual international Congress at Margate, England was held. The Premier Tournament was won by Salo Flohr (7.5), followed by Capablanca (7), and Stahlberg (5.5). The Premier Reserves section was won by George Koltanowski and A.G. Conde.
From May 14 to June 8, an international tournament was held in Moscow. The event was won by Jose Capablanca (13), flohr (9.5), Lilienthal (9), Ragosin (8.5), and Emanuel Lasker (8).
On May 15, 1936, Karel Traxler died in Vlachovo Brezi, Czechoslovakia. He was a chess master and composer of chess problems. The Traxler Variation in the Two Knights Defense is named after him. He was a Roman-Catholic priest.
From May 17-24, 1936, an international chess tournament was held at Bad Nauheim, Germany. Alexander Alekhine and Paul Keres tied for 1st place.
On May 24, 1936, Heinz Liebert was born in Germany. He was awarded the IM title in 1966. He represented East Germany in the chess Olympiads from 1962 to 1972.
On May 27, 1936, Raimundo Garcia was born in Argentina. He was awarded the IM title in 1964.
From June 14-21, 1936, an international tournament was held in Dresden. The winner was Alexander Alekhine (6.5) followed by L. Engels (6), Maroczy and Stahlberg (5.5), and Bogoljubow (5).
On July 6, 1936, Leslie Braun was born. He was a National Master and the manager of the Marshall Chess Club in the 1970s and 1980s. He died on January 27, 1998.
On July 16, 1936, Samuel Schweber was born in Argentina. He was awarded the IM title in 1961. He played for Argentina in five Chess Olympiads.
From July 18 to August 1, 1936, and international tournament was held in Zandvoort, Holland. The winner was Reuben Fine (8.5), followed by world champion Max Euwe (7.5), and Keres and Tartakower (6.5).
On July 19, 1936, Dieter Keller was born in Switzerland. He won the Swiss championship 4 times. He was awarded the IM title in 1961.
On August 10-28, 1936, an international tournament was held at Nottingham, England. Botvinnik and Capablanca tied for 1st place in the Master Section with 10 points, followed by Euwe, Fine, and Reshevsky (9.5), Alekhine (9), Lasker and Flohr (8.5).
On August 15-31, 1936, the 37th American Chess Federation Congress (U.S. Open) was held in Philadelphia. Al Horowitz took 1st place (8), followed by Dake and Denker (7.5), and Kashdan and Kupchik (7). There were 50 players.
On August 16, 1936, Vladimir Bagirov was born in Batumi, Georgia, USSR. He was awarded the GM title in 1978. He died in 2000.
From August 17-31, 1936, an Olympic Team Tournament was held in Munich, Germany. The Hungarian team won the event, followed by Poland and Germany. There were 21 teams. The event was not officially sponsored by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) so it was an unofficial chess Olympiad.
From August 31 to September 5, 1936, the annual New York State Championship was held in Poughkeepsie, New York. Isaac Kashdan successfully defended his title with 10 wins and 1 draw. 2nd-3rd went to Hermann Helms and G. Shainswit.
On October 3, 1936, Vladimir Sergievsky was born. He was awarded the IM title in 1966.
On October 22, 1936, Shelby Lyman was born. He is a syndicated chess columnist.
On October 27, 1936, Clarence Seaman Howell died in New York City. He was an American chess master.
On October 31, 1936, Milorad Knezevic was born in Yugoslavia. He was awarded the GM title in 1976.
On November 9, 1936, Mikhail Tal was born in Riga, Latvia. He won the USSR championship 6 times. He was awarded the GM title in 1957. He won the world chess championship in 1960. He died in 1992.
On November 25, 1936, Guenther Moehring was born in Gera, Germany. He was awarded the IM title in 1976. He won the East Germany Championship in 1963.
On November 29, 1936, Burkhard Malich was born in Schweidnitz, Germany. He won the East Germany championship in 1957 and 1973. He was awarded the GM title in 1975.
On December 4, 1936, Jose Cuchi was born in Segovia, Spain. He was awarded the International Arbiter (IA) title in 1986. He organized several major chess events in New York.
On December 5, 1936, Ingi Randver Johannsson was born in Iceland. He won the Icelandic Championship 4 times. He was awarded the IM title in 1963. He died on October 30, 2010.
On December 18, 1936, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo died. He created the Ajedrecista automaton.
On December 27, 1936, Ivan Buljovcic was born in Subotica, Yugoslavia. He was awarded the IM title in 1974.