If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Fred Reinfeld (1910-1964)
Fred Reinfeld (1910-1964)
Fred Reinfeld was one of the most prolific authors ever. In fact, Reinfeld may even be the most prolific author of any kind in the entire history of the world. Fred Reinfeld wrote so many books that it will probably never be known how many books he wrote, especially since he not only wrote under his own name, but he worked as a ghost writer for other famous players and he had some pseudonyms. For example, it is believed that the book “Reshevsky on Chess” by Samuel Reshevsky was actually written by Fred Reinfeld. It is also believed that books by Frank Marshall were written by Reinfeld. Of course, the supposed author would never reveal this and Reinfeld himself could not disclose that Reinfeld actually wrote the book. It is known that Reinfeld wrote at least 200 books by himself and at least 81 books in collaboration with other authors. This of course does not count the books he ghost wrote. Most of Reinfeld's books were chess books. A little appreciated fact is that Reinfeld was a strong chess player. His books often mentioned that he was once New York State Champion. However, a much greater accomplishment that is rarely mentioned is his result in the great tournament at Pasadena 1932, a tournament featuring World Chess Champion Alexander Alekhine at the peak of his powers and almost all of the top players in America. Reinfeld drew his individual game with Alekhine and defeated Reshevsky. Final scores we Alekhine 8.5-2.5, Kashdan 7.5-3.5, Dake, Steiner and Reshevsky 6-5, Borochow 5.5-5.5, Reinfeld, Bernstein, Fine and Factor 5-6, Araiza 3.5-7.5, and Fink 3-8. All of these players were grandmasters on the modern standard, except for perhaps the bottom two. When the first USCF rating list came out as of July 31, 1950, Fred Reinfeld was rated 2593, making him the sixth highest rated player in America. That was also Reinfeld's last USCF rating, because by then he was no longer an active tournament player. He was devoting himself to writing books about the game. In addition to writing chess books, Reinfeld also wrote books about coin collecting, stamp collecting and a variety of other subjects. He wrote a book about presidential politics, a book about whales and he even wrote a revised edition of the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist. Reinfeld's chess books especially are still studied today. Probably his best remembered chess book is “The Complete Chess Course” which is simply a combined reprinting of eight of his previous books. At 692 pages, it is still in print and recommended for players of all levels. Reinfeld was not without his critics. Cracks about his “Chess Book of the Week” were common. It was alleged that he simply re-shuffled and reprinted the same book over and over again. However, it has yet to be proven that this is true. Sadly, I never met Fred Reinfeld. I did write him a letter once. As a kid in Lynchburg Virginia, I was studying one of his books and I came to one of his “White to Play and Win” puzzles that I could not solve. Actually, the solution was in the back of the book. However, even after studying the solution, I could not see it and I thought it was wrong. So, I wrote Reinfeld a letter and told him that I believed that I had found a mistake in one of his books. I was amazed when, less than a week later, a reply shot back. Reinfeld wrote me with a more detailed solution to the problem. Of course, I had been mistaken. Reinfeld's book had been correct. I just had not seen the solution down to the end. I no longer have Reinfeld's letter but I think this happened in 1957 or 1958. Fred Reinfeld was born on January 27, 1910. He started writing at an early age. I found an ad by him in Chess Correspondent magazine in the 1930s. He was offering to annotate chess games for a dollar. The reader could send him any chess game plus one dollar and Reinfeld would return the game with complete notes to the game. One wonders if any of those annotated games survive and what they might be worth today as collectors items. Fred Reinfeld died on May 29, 1964 in East Meadow, New York. He has been inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame. Sam Sloan December 24, 2009 |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
LAST DAY: 1910 Mecca Champion Athlete Series ( 29 Cards ) 1910 | DinoPro | General | 0 | October 10th 05 08:13 PM |
LAST DAY: 1910 Mecca Champion Athlete Series ( 29 Cards ) 1910 | DinoPro | General | 0 | October 10th 05 08:13 PM |
FA: 1910 MECCA BOXING Cards ( 16 ) LOT........1910 | DinoPro | General | 0 | October 8th 05 10:00 PM |
1964 Doug Barkley hockey stick, signed by entire 1964 Detroit redwings team | Myssie81 | Hockey | 0 | July 25th 05 09:17 AM |
1964 stick owned by Doug Barkley, signed by the entire 1964 detroit redwings team | Myssie81 | Hockey | 0 | July 25th 05 09:12 AM |