I'll start it off...Bobby Fischer was so confident in his play, sometimes when he was playing a 5 minute blitz game, he'd get up, go over to a Coke machine, put in coins and get a Coke, start drinking it and walk back to the board. . . and still win.
Okay, many have heard this one, but for those who haven't. . . the Black Death, Joseph Blackburne, saw that his opponent had left his whisky en prise. . . so he grabbed it en passe while he wasn't looking and drank it down. (just realized, Joe Blackburned wasn't a world champ, but a famous player; so stories on ANY famous players)
listverse.com/2016/01/26/10-craziest-events-in-the-history-of-chess/ has interesting stories, although not all from champions.
The Unknown Capa:
Friends, acquaintances, and others would often drop by, participating in games and libations with the former, charismatic, champion. One day, while Capa was having coffee and reading a newspaper, a stranger stopped at his table, motioned at the chess set and indicated he would like to play if Capa was interested. Capa’s face lit up, he folded the newspaper away, reached for the board and proceeded to pocket his own queen. The opponent (who apparently had no idea who Capablanca was) reacted with slight anger. “Hey! You don’t know me! I might beat you!”, he said.
Capa’s face lit up, he folded the newspaper away, reached for the board and proceeded to pocket his own queen. The opponent (who apparently had no idea who Capablanca was) reacted with slight anger. “Hey! You don’t know me! I might beat you!”, he said.
Capablanca, smiling gently, said quietly, “Sir if you could beat me, I would know you.”
Alekhine's Joke:
Once he found himself on the same banquet together with his big rival Efim Bogoljubow. Bogoljubow started trash talking Alekhine; the latter replied with the following joke:
“I have dreamt that I have died and arrived at the gates of heaven. Saint Peter approached me and asked me what have I done during my days on Earth.
‘I was a chess master and the Champion of the World.’
‘Chess master? I am sorry, we don’t accept chess masters in heaven.’
‘What do you mean. Here, there is Bogoljubow lying on this cloud.’
‘Bogoljubow? Oh, he is not a chess master. He only thinks he is one.’
http://www.tomthumb.org/695/the-story-of-the-man-who-could-win-a-game-of-chess-in-9-moves/
There's others which I can't find: Capablanca "exchanges" pieces for tempi in starting position, Lasker's bishop sliding across board during ship travel, Alekhine moving pieces between board during simul.
The Unknown Capa:
Friends, acquaintances, and others would often drop by, participating in games and libations with the former, charismatic, champion. One day, while Capa was having coffee and reading a newspaper, a stranger stopped at his table, motioned at the chess set and indicated he would like to play if Capa was interested. Capa’s face lit up, he folded the newspaper away, reached for the board and proceeded to pocket his own queen. The opponent (who apparently had no idea who Capablanca was) reacted with slight anger. “Hey! You don’t know me! I might beat you!”, he said.
Capa’s face lit up, he folded the newspaper away, reached for the board and proceeded to pocket his own queen. The opponent (who apparently had no idea who Capablanca was) reacted with slight anger. “Hey! You don’t know me! I might beat you!”, he said.
Capablanca, smiling gently, said quietly, “Sir if you could beat me, I would know you.”
Alekhine's Joke:
Once he found himself on the same banquet together with his big rival Efim Bogoljubow. Bogoljubow started trash talking Alekhine; the latter replied with the following joke:
“I have dreamt that I have died and arrived at the gates of heaven. Saint Peter approached me and asked me what have I done during my days on Earth.
‘I was a chess master and the Champion of the World.’
‘Chess master? I am sorry, we don’t accept chess masters in heaven.’
‘What do you mean. Here, there is Bogoljubow lying on this cloud.’
‘Bogoljubow? Oh, he is not a chess master. He only thinks he is one.’
http://www.tomthumb.org/695/the-story-of-the-man-who-could-win-a-game-of-chess-in-9-moves/
There's others which I can't find: Capablanca "exchanges" pieces for tempi in starting position, Lasker's bishop sliding across board during ship travel, Alekhine moving pieces between board during simul.
A story of players arguing over the importance of tempi. Lasker claimed that even 4 (with some restrictions) weren't enough to be a winning advantage. The next day, during NY 1924 tournament(?), Lasker, playing white, gave his opponent 4 free, consecutive moves, with a capture in the middle.
Not about a world champion but about German IM Carl Carls (1880-1958) .
He was notorious for playing always 1. c2-c4.
Some day someone glued the c2 pawn on the board.
See also http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=23744
He was notorious for playing always 1. c2-c4.
Some day someone glued the c2 pawn on the board.
See also http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=23744
Good stories. I guess Carls had to move his N instead. ;-)
“Sir if you could beat me, I would know you.” heh, I like this one.
Many may know of this...Paul Morphy, perhaps the real 1st world champion, loved to have ladies' shoes arranged in a semi circle around his bed when he slept at night.
He tried lawyering, but annoyed his potential clients by talking too much and ranting about chess, so they left.
After his practice failed, he would walk around New Orleans muttering to himself in French...staying on the move to keep his Mother from committing him to mental asylum. Later he died in his bath tub after a long walk, perhaps from a stroke; so the story goes.
“Sir if you could beat me, I would know you.” heh, I like this one.
Many may know of this...Paul Morphy, perhaps the real 1st world champion, loved to have ladies' shoes arranged in a semi circle around his bed when he slept at night.
He tried lawyering, but annoyed his potential clients by talking too much and ranting about chess, so they left.
After his practice failed, he would walk around New Orleans muttering to himself in French...staying on the move to keep his Mother from committing him to mental asylum. Later he died in his bath tub after a long walk, perhaps from a stroke; so the story goes.
Staunton anecdote: Staunton pretended sometimes not to see Harrwitz, and would look round the room and even under the chairs for him when he was sitting at his elbow, which greatly annoyed Harrwitz, who, however, sometimes got a turn, and was not slow to retaliate. In a game one day, Staunton materially damaged his own prospects by playing tamely and feebly, and testily complained- " I have lost a move. " Harrwitz told the waiter to stop his work, and search the room until he had found Staunton's lost move, and his manner of saying it caused a degree of merriment by no means pleasing to the English Champion.
Nice. And Harrwitz was one of the few players to beat Morphy in his prime.
"In the 1940s, Humphrey Bogart lost a game to a friend, then went home. He then called up his friend and challenged him to another game, this time for money. Bogart and the friend played the game over the phone and Bogart won. He later admitted he cheated because at his house was the former U.S. chess champion Herman Steiner, who helped Bogart make his moves." Bill Wall
"In the 1940s, Humphrey Bogart lost a game to a friend, then went home. He then called up his friend and challenged him to another game, this time for money. Bogart and the friend played the game over the phone and Bogart won. He later admitted he cheated because at his house was the former U.S. chess champion Herman Steiner, who helped Bogart make his moves." Bill Wall
@DavyKOTWF : I wasn’t aware that Bogie was a chess player. May be he is the proof that positive drinking and playing chess are not a Widerspruch.
@Makropoulos He evidently was sehr gut, almost 2000 rating. thechessworld.com/articles/general-information/55-famous-people-that-play-chess/
In 1994, world champion Garry Kasparov changed his move against woman champion Judit Polgar. He moved a piece, then took it back and moved another piece, violating the “touch move” rule. He went on to win the game. The tournament organizers had video tape proving that his hand left the pieces, but refused to release the video evidence. BW
In 1966, USSR grandmaster Mikhail Tal was flirting with a woman at a bar in Havana when her jealous boyfriend got into a fight with him and hit him over the head with a beer bottle. Tal missed the first 5 rounds of the Havan Chess Olympiad because of his injuries in the bar fight. BW
In 1994, world champion Garry Kasparov changed his move against woman champion Judit Polgar. He moved a piece, then took it back and moved another piece, violating the “touch move” rule. He went on to win the game. The tournament organizers had video tape proving that his hand left the pieces, but refused to release the video evidence. BW
In 1966, USSR grandmaster Mikhail Tal was flirting with a woman at a bar in Havana when her jealous boyfriend got into a fight with him and hit him over the head with a beer bottle. Tal missed the first 5 rounds of the Havan Chess Olympiad because of his injuries in the bar fight. BW
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