Isaac Kashdan
Encyclopedia
Isaac Kashdan was an American chess
grandmaster and chess writer. Kashdan was one of the world's best players in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was twice U.S. Open champion
(1938, 1947). He played five times for the United States in chess Olympiad
s, winning a total of nine medals, and his Olympiad record is the all-time best among American players.
named him one of the most likely players to succeed him as World Champion. Kashdan could not, however, engage seriously in a chess career, for financial reasons; his peak chess years coincided with the Great Depression
. He resorted to earning a living as an insurance
agent and administrator in order to support his family. One of Kashdan's children had serious health problems, and the family moved to California
in the 1940s, because of its better climate.
Kashdan attended CCNY in the 1920s.
In Stockholm 1937, he scored 14/16, the best individual record of all the players. His all-time Olympic record stands at 79.7% (+52 -5 =22), the best all-time among American players. Kashdan won four team medals: three gold (1931, 1933, 1937), one silver (1928), and five individual medals: two gold (1928, 1937), one silver (1933), and two bronze (1930, 1931).
Among players who have played in the open section of four or more Olympiads, Kashdan's winning percentage is the fourth best in history, behind only World Champions
Mikhail Tal
, Anatoly Karpov
, and Tigran Petrosian
.
in 1930, he took second place (behind Aron Nimzowitsch
) and won in Stockholm
. He won at Győr
1930 with 8.5/9. In 1930, he defeated Lajos Steiner
in a match (+5 -3 =2) in Györ
, and lost a match against Gösta Stoltz
, (+2 -3 =1), in Stockholm. Kashdan defeated Charles Jaffe
by 3-0 in a match at New York 1930.
At New York
1931, Kashdan took second place with 8.5/11, behind José Raúl Capablanca
. At Bled
1931,Kashdan scored 13.5/26 to tie for 4-7th places, as Alekhine scored an undefeated 20.5 points. In 1931/32, at Hastings
, Kashdan took second place, behind Salo Flohr
, with 7.5/9. In 1932 in Mexico City
, he tied for first place with Alekhine with 8.5/9, and took second place behind Alekhine at Pasadena
with 7.5/11. At London 1932, Kashdan tied 3rd-4th places with 7.5/11, with Alekhine winning. At Syracuse
1934, Kashdan finished 2nd with 10.5/14, as Samuel Reshevsky
won. In the U.S. Open Chess Championship
/ Western Open, Chicago
1934, Kashdan scored 4.5/9 in the finals, to tie for 5-6th places, with Reshevsky and Reuben Fine
sharing the title. In the U.S. Open Chess Championship
(then known as Western Open), Milwaukee 1935, Kashdan placed 3rd with 6.5/10, as Fine won.
in 1938 (jointly with Israel Horowitz) at Boston
, and in 1947 at Corpus Christi
. Kashdan also tied 2nd-4th places in the U.S. Open at Baltimore
1948 with 9/12, half a point behind Weaver Adams.
But Kashdan never won the U.S. (Closed) Championship
. Arnold Denker
and Larry Parr note this as the central failure of his chess life, since, had he been able to win it, this may have provided him with the financial resources to pursue chess full-time. Denker and Parr state that "from 1928 onwards, Kashdan was clearly the best player in the United States, but the aging Frank Marshall was attached to his title." Kashdan "bargained and haggled with Frank for years until Marshall voluntarily relinquished the crown. The result: the first modern U.S. Championship tournament in 1936. But by this time, (Reuben) Fine and Samuel Reshevsky
had surpassed" Kashdan.
In U.S. Championships, Kashdan
1) placed 5th in 1936 at New York with 10/15, with Reshevsky winning
2) placed 3rd in 1938 at New York with Reshevsky repeating;
3) placed 3rd at New York 1940 with 10.5/16, with Reshevsky winning his third straight title;
4) tied for 1st-2nd with Reshevsky at New York 1942 with 12.5/15, but lost the subsequent play-off match (+2 −6 =3) 5) placed 2nd in 1946 at New York
with a strong 14.5/19, 1.5 points behind Reshevsky;
6) tied 1st-2nd in 1948 at South Fallsburg, with Herman Steiner
, but again lost the playoff match.
Kashdan would have been U.S. champion in 1942, but lost out to Reshevsky when the Tournament Director, L. Walter Stephens, scored Reshevsky's time-forfeit loss to Denker as a win instead.
1938. With the arrival of World War II in 1939, competitive chess was significantly reduced. Kashdan won at Havana
1940 with 7.5/9. Kashdan tied 2nd-4th in the New York State Championship, Hamilton 1941, with 7/10, with Fine winning. Kashdan lost both of his games against Alexander Kotov
in the 1945 radio match against the USSR
, a match which marked the definitive shift in world chess power to the Soviet Union. At Hollywood 1945, Kashdan placed 5th with 7/12, as Reshevsky won.
in 1948, Kashdan scored 5.5/7 to place 2nd behind George Kramer. But in the 1948 New York International, Kashdan made just 4/9 for a tied 7-8th place, with Fine winning. In the U.S. Open Chess Championship
, Fort Worth 1951, Kashdan scored 8/11, with Larry Evans
winning. At Hollywood 1952, Kashdan scored 4/9 for 7th place, with Svetozar Gligorić
winning. Kashdan's final competitive event was the 1955 match in Moscow against the USSR, where he scored 1.5/4 against Mark Taimanov
.
title in 1960. Kashdan captained the American Olympiad team for Leipzig 1960
to a silver medal finish. Brady praised Kashdan's contribution: "Possibly the most valuable member was a non-player, Isaac Kashdan. As team captain, he brought to our players an incomparable knowledge not only of the complications of international team chess, but also of the zest and confidence of the Thirties that had seen him front and center in an unbroken succession of American victories."
In 1933, Kashdan, in partnership with Horowitz, founded Chess Review
, a magazine that was purchased by the United States Chess Federation
in 1969. He edited the tournament book for the 1966 Piatigorsky Cup
tournament.
Kashdan was the longtime editor of the Los Angeles Times
chess column, from 1955 until 1982, when he suffered a disabling stroke.
In his role as an arbiter he directed many chess tournaments, including the two Piatigorsky Cup
tournaments of 1963 (at Los Angeles) and 1966 (at Santa Monica
). Kashdan also helped to organize the series of Lone Pine
tournaments in the 1970s, which were sponsored by Louis Statham. Kashdan was later involved in administration in the United States Chess Federation
, serving as a vice-president.
His only surviving son, Richard Kashdan, is an attorney currently living in San Francisco (as of 2010). Richard keeps up with chess news, and is interested in the game, although he does not play competitively.
.com calculates Kashdan's peak rating at 2742 in March, 1932. Kashdan was #2 in the world from November 1932 until June 1934, behind only world champion Alekhine. Kashdan was in the top five players for more than four years, from December 1930 until February 1935, the period of his greatest top-class activity. However, the chessmetrics database is missing several of Kashdan's important results from this period. After this time, the rise of Reshevsky and Fine somewhat eclipsed Kashdan among the top American players. Denker and Parr write that Kashdan was a powerful tactician, but that his real strength was in the endgame, and that he was very strong with the two bishops. However, Grandmaster Denker also pointed out that "the slightest touch of rigidity" occasionally crept into Kashdan's play, as he sometimes resorted to artificial maneuvers to obtain the two bishops. Lack of top-class practice after the mid-1930s, due to economic imperatives, led to Kashdan's gradual slide from the elite.
, If You Must Play Chess, 1947
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grandmaster and chess writer. Kashdan was one of the world's best players in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was twice U.S. Open champion
U.S. Open Chess Championship
The U.S. Open Championship is an open national chess championship that has been held in the United States annually since 1900.-History:Through 1938, the tournaments were organized by the Western Chess Association and its successor, the American Chess Federation .The United States Chess Federation ...
(1938, 1947). He played five times for the United States in chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s, winning a total of nine medals, and his Olympiad record is the all-time best among American players.
Early years
Kashdan, who was Jewish, was often called 'der Kleine Capablanca' (The little Capablanca) in Europe because of his ability to extract victories from seemingly even positions. Alexander AlekhineAlexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
named him one of the most likely players to succeed him as World Champion. Kashdan could not, however, engage seriously in a chess career, for financial reasons; his peak chess years coincided with the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. He resorted to earning a living as an insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
agent and administrator in order to support his family. One of Kashdan's children had serious health problems, and the family moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the 1940s, because of its better climate.
Kashdan attended CCNY in the 1920s.
Olympiad star
He played five times for U.S. team in the Chess Olympiads, with his detailed results below:- In 1928, he played at first board in 2nd Chess Olympiad2nd Chess OlympiadThe 2nd Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 21 and August 6, 1928 in The Hague, Netherlands.The final results were as...
in The HagueThe HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
(+12 –1 =2). - In 1930, he played at first board in 3rd Chess Olympiad3rd Chess OlympiadThe 3rd Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 13 and July 27, 1930, in Hamburg, Germany...
in HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
(+12 –1 =4). - In 1931, he played at first board in 4th Chess Olympiad4th Chess OlympiadThe 4th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 11 and July 26, 1931, in Prague, Czechoslovakia...
in PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(+8 –1 =8). - In 1933, he played at first board in 5th Chess Olympiad5th Chess OlympiadThe 5th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 12 and July 23, 1933, in Folkestone, United Kingdom...
in FolkestoneFolkestoneFolkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
(+7 –1 =6). - In 1937, he played at third board in 7th Chess Olympiad7th Chess OlympiadThe 7th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 31 and August 14, 1937, in Stockholm, Sweden]....
in StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
(+13 –1 =2).
In Stockholm 1937, he scored 14/16, the best individual record of all the players. His all-time Olympic record stands at 79.7% (+52 -5 =22), the best all-time among American players. Kashdan won four team medals: three gold (1931, 1933, 1937), one silver (1928), and five individual medals: two gold (1928, 1937), one silver (1933), and two bronze (1930, 1931).
Among players who have played in the open section of four or more Olympiads, Kashdan's winning percentage is the fourth best in history, behind only World Champions
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
, Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
, and Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
.
Excels in Europe and Americas
In FrankfurtFrankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
in 1930, he took second place (behind Aron Nimzowitsch
Aron Nimzowitsch
Aron Nimzowitsch was a Russian-born Danish unofficial chess grandmaster and a very influential chess writer...
) and won in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. He won at Győr
Gyor
-Climate:-Main sights:The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Rába and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr’s bishops can be easily recognised by its incomplete tower. Győr’s oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the...
1930 with 8.5/9. In 1930, he defeated Lajos Steiner
Lajos Steiner
Lajos Steiner was a Hungarian–born Australian chess master.Steiner was one of four children of Bernat Steiner, a mathematics teacher, and his wife Cecilia,, and a younger brother of Endre Steiner...
in a match (+5 -3 =2) in Györ
Gyor
-Climate:-Main sights:The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Rába and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr’s bishops can be easily recognised by its incomplete tower. Győr’s oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the...
, and lost a match against Gösta Stoltz
Gösta Stoltz
-Biography:Stoltz played a few matches with strong chess masters. In 1926, he lost to Mikhail Botvinnik at a team match Stockholm – Leningrad in Stockholm. In 1927, he drew with Allan Nilsson in Göteborg . In 1930, he won against Isaac Kashdan in Stockholm. In 1930, he lost to Rudolf Spielmann ...
, (+2 -3 =1), in Stockholm. Kashdan defeated Charles Jaffe
Charles Jaffe
Charles Jaffé was a Belarusian-American chess master, of virtually Grandmaster strength at his peak in the 1910s, when he was one of the world's top players. Jaffe was also a chess writer....
by 3-0 in a match at New York 1930.
At New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
1931, Kashdan took second place with 8.5/11, behind José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
. At Bled
Bled
Bled is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia in the region of Upper Carniola. The area, within the Julian Alps, is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
1931,Kashdan scored 13.5/26 to tie for 4-7th places, as Alekhine scored an undefeated 20.5 points. In 1931/32, at Hastings
Hastings International Chess Congress
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
, Kashdan took second place, behind Salo Flohr
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
, with 7.5/9. In 1932 in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, he tied for first place with Alekhine with 8.5/9, and took second place behind Alekhine at Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
with 7.5/11. At London 1932, Kashdan tied 3rd-4th places with 7.5/11, with Alekhine winning. At Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
1934, Kashdan finished 2nd with 10.5/14, as Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
won. In the U.S. Open Chess Championship
U.S. Open Chess Championship
The U.S. Open Championship is an open national chess championship that has been held in the United States annually since 1900.-History:Through 1938, the tournaments were organized by the Western Chess Association and its successor, the American Chess Federation .The United States Chess Federation ...
/ Western Open, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
1934, Kashdan scored 4.5/9 in the finals, to tie for 5-6th places, with Reshevsky and Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
sharing the title. In the U.S. Open Chess Championship
U.S. Open Chess Championship
The U.S. Open Championship is an open national chess championship that has been held in the United States annually since 1900.-History:Through 1938, the tournaments were organized by the Western Chess Association and its successor, the American Chess Federation .The United States Chess Federation ...
(then known as Western Open), Milwaukee 1935, Kashdan placed 3rd with 6.5/10, as Fine won.
Wins U.S. Open, frustrated in U.S. Championships
Kashdan was U.S. Open ChampionU.S. Open Chess Championship
The U.S. Open Championship is an open national chess championship that has been held in the United States annually since 1900.-History:Through 1938, the tournaments were organized by the Western Chess Association and its successor, the American Chess Federation .The United States Chess Federation ...
in 1938 (jointly with Israel Horowitz) at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and in 1947 at Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
. Kashdan also tied 2nd-4th places in the U.S. Open at Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
1948 with 9/12, half a point behind Weaver Adams.
But Kashdan never won the U.S. (Closed) Championship
U.S. Chess Championship
The U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational tournament held to determine the national chess champion of the United States. Since 1936, it has been held under the auspices of the U.S. Chess Federation. Until 1999, the event consisted of a round-robin tournament of varying size...
. Arnold Denker
Arnold Denker
Arnold Sheldon Denker was an American chess player, Grandmaster, and chess author. He was U.S. Chess Champion in 1945 and 1946....
and Larry Parr note this as the central failure of his chess life, since, had he been able to win it, this may have provided him with the financial resources to pursue chess full-time. Denker and Parr state that "from 1928 onwards, Kashdan was clearly the best player in the United States, but the aging Frank Marshall was attached to his title." Kashdan "bargained and haggled with Frank for years until Marshall voluntarily relinquished the crown. The result: the first modern U.S. Championship tournament in 1936. But by this time, (Reuben) Fine and Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
had surpassed" Kashdan.
In U.S. Championships, Kashdan
1) placed 5th in 1936 at New York with 10/15, with Reshevsky winning
2) placed 3rd in 1938 at New York with Reshevsky repeating;
3) placed 3rd at New York 1940 with 10.5/16, with Reshevsky winning his third straight title;
4) tied for 1st-2nd with Reshevsky at New York 1942 with 12.5/15, but lost the subsequent play-off match (+2 −6 =3) 5) placed 2nd in 1946 at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with a strong 14.5/19, 1.5 points behind Reshevsky;
6) tied 1st-2nd in 1948 at South Fallsburg, with Herman Steiner
Herman Steiner
Herman Steiner was a United States chess player, organizer, and columnist.He won the U.S. Chess Championship in 1948 and became International Master in 1950....
, but again lost the playoff match.
Kashdan would have been U.S. champion in 1942, but lost out to Reshevsky when the Tournament Director, L. Walter Stephens, scored Reshevsky's time-forfeit loss to Denker as a win instead.
Wartime years
Kashdan drew 5-5 in a match against Horowitz at New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
1938. With the arrival of World War II in 1939, competitive chess was significantly reduced. Kashdan won at Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
1940 with 7.5/9. Kashdan tied 2nd-4th in the New York State Championship, Hamilton 1941, with 7/10, with Fine winning. Kashdan lost both of his games against Alexander Kotov
Alexander Kotov
Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. He was a Soviet champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific chess author. Kotov served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation and most of his books were written during the period of Cold War between the...
in the 1945 radio match against the USSR
USA vs. USSR radio chess match 1945
The USA vs. USSR radio chess match 1945 was a chess match between the USA and the USSR that was conducted over the radio from September 1 to September 4, 1945. The ten leading masters of the United States played the ten leading masters of the Soviet Union for chess supremacy. The match was played...
, a match which marked the definitive shift in world chess power to the Soviet Union. At Hollywood 1945, Kashdan placed 5th with 7/12, as Reshevsky won.
After the war
The American team traveled to Moscow in 1946 for a rematch against the Soviet team, and Kashdan partially avenged his result against Kotov from the previous year, winning 1.5-0.5. In a Master event organized by the Manhattan Chess ClubManhattan Chess Club
The Manhattan Chess Club in Manhattan was the second-oldest chess club in the United States . The club was founded in 1877 and started with three dozen players; membership later reached into the hundreds before the club ended its existence in 2002...
in 1948, Kashdan scored 5.5/7 to place 2nd behind George Kramer. But in the 1948 New York International, Kashdan made just 4/9 for a tied 7-8th place, with Fine winning. In the U.S. Open Chess Championship
U.S. Open Chess Championship
The U.S. Open Championship is an open national chess championship that has been held in the United States annually since 1900.-History:Through 1938, the tournaments were organized by the Western Chess Association and its successor, the American Chess Federation .The United States Chess Federation ...
, Fort Worth 1951, Kashdan scored 8/11, with Larry Evans
Larry Evans
For the football player of the same name, see Larry Evans .Larry Melvyn Evans was an American chess grandmaster, author, and journalist. He won or shared the U.S. Chess Championship five times and the U.S. Open Chess Championship four times...
winning. At Hollywood 1952, Kashdan scored 4/9 for 7th place, with Svetozar Gligorić
Svetozar Gligoric
Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
winning. Kashdan's final competitive event was the 1955 match in Moscow against the USSR, where he scored 1.5/4 against Mark Taimanov
Mark Taimanov
Mark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess:He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...
.
Organizer, arbiter, writer
Kashdan was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1954, and the International ArbiterInternational Arbiter
In chess, International Arbiter is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter in important chess matches . The title was established in 1951....
title in 1960. Kashdan captained the American Olympiad team for Leipzig 1960
14th Chess Olympiad
The 14th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 26 and November 9, 1960, in Leipzig, East Germany.-References:...
to a silver medal finish. Brady praised Kashdan's contribution: "Possibly the most valuable member was a non-player, Isaac Kashdan. As team captain, he brought to our players an incomparable knowledge not only of the complications of international team chess, but also of the zest and confidence of the Thirties that had seen him front and center in an unbroken succession of American victories."
In 1933, Kashdan, in partnership with Horowitz, founded Chess Review
Chess Review
Chess Review is a U.S. chess magazine that was published from January 1933 until October 1969 . Until April 1941 it was called The Chess Review. Published in New York, it began on a schedule of at least ten issues a year but later became a monthly...
, a magazine that was purchased by the United States Chess Federation
United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...
in 1969. He edited the tournament book for the 1966 Piatigorsky Cup
Piatigorsky Cup
The Piatigorsky Cup was a triennial series of double round-robin grandmaster chess tournaments held in the United States in the 1960s. Sponsored by the Piatigorsky Foundation, only two events were held, in 1963 and 1966. The Piatigorsky Cups were the strongest U.S. chess tournaments since New...
tournament.
Kashdan was the longtime editor of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
chess column, from 1955 until 1982, when he suffered a disabling stroke.
In his role as an arbiter he directed many chess tournaments, including the two Piatigorsky Cup
Piatigorsky Cup
The Piatigorsky Cup was a triennial series of double round-robin grandmaster chess tournaments held in the United States in the 1960s. Sponsored by the Piatigorsky Foundation, only two events were held, in 1963 and 1966. The Piatigorsky Cups were the strongest U.S. chess tournaments since New...
tournaments of 1963 (at Los Angeles) and 1966 (at Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
). Kashdan also helped to organize the series of Lone Pine
Lone Pine International
Lone Pine International was a series of chess tournaments held annually in March or April from 1971 through 1981 in Lone Pine, California. Sponsored by Louis D. Statham , millionaire engineer and inventor of medical instruments, the tournaments were formally titled the Louis D. Statham Masters...
tournaments in the 1970s, which were sponsored by Louis Statham. Kashdan was later involved in administration in the United States Chess Federation
United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...
, serving as a vice-president.
His only surviving son, Richard Kashdan, is an attorney currently living in San Francisco (as of 2010). Richard keeps up with chess news, and is interested in the game, although he does not play competitively.
Style and assessment
Although ratings for international chess were not introduced formally until 1970 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, it is possible to retrospectively rank performances from before this time using modern algorithms. The site chessmetricsChessmetrics
Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system.-Implementation:...
.com calculates Kashdan's peak rating at 2742 in March, 1932. Kashdan was #2 in the world from November 1932 until June 1934, behind only world champion Alekhine. Kashdan was in the top five players for more than four years, from December 1930 until February 1935, the period of his greatest top-class activity. However, the chessmetrics database is missing several of Kashdan's important results from this period. After this time, the rise of Reshevsky and Fine somewhat eclipsed Kashdan among the top American players. Denker and Parr write that Kashdan was a powerful tactician, but that his real strength was in the endgame, and that he was very strong with the two bishops. However, Grandmaster Denker also pointed out that "the slightest touch of rigidity" occasionally crept into Kashdan's play, as he sometimes resorted to artificial maneuvers to obtain the two bishops. Lack of top-class practice after the mid-1930s, due to economic imperatives, led to Kashdan's gradual slide from the elite.
Quotes
"It has never been a disgrace to lose to Kashdan."--IGM Arnold DenkerArnold Denker
Arnold Sheldon Denker was an American chess player, Grandmaster, and chess author. He was U.S. Chess Champion in 1945 and 1946....
, If You Must Play Chess, 1947
Trivia
- He appeared on 9 February 1956 TV edition of Groucho MarxGroucho MarxJulius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
's show You Bet Your LifeYou Bet Your LifeYou Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in September...
, where the host referred to him throughout as "Mr. Ashcan", and challenged him to a match for $500 (but only if allowed to cheat). Kashdan and his partner, Helen Schwartz (mother of the late actor Tony Curtis) won $175.