Intersection between academia and international chess titles

[Christopher Kreuzer]

So I went from this post on another thread to doing a search on Wikipedia for pages in the category "Chess International Masters" with the word "professor" and found the following (some chose to concentrate on their professional careers, rather than their chess):

IM Greg Hjorth (mathematics)
IM Zvonko Vranesic (electrical and computer engineering)
IM Danny Kopec (computer science)
IM Benjamin Martin (mathematics)
IM Stuart Rachels (philosophy)
IM Lajos Asztalos (philosophy and languages) (^^)
IM Edward W. Formanek (mathematics)
IM Fernand Gobet (cognitive science)
IM Christian Seel (economics and game theory)
IM Paul Felix Schmidt (chemistry) (^^)
IM Alisa Marić (culture and media)
IM Fedir Bohatyrchuk (medicine) (^)
IM Johan Barendregt (psychology)
IM Dolfi Drimer (engineering)
IM Srećko Nedeljković (medicine)

(^) - Title awarded by FIDE in 1954 (may have been strong enough for the GM title).
(^^) - Awarded the IM title by FIDE in its inaugural list of 1950.

I am not sure how widely known it is that a New Zealand IM (Benjamin Martin) is a professor at the University of Aberdeen? But maybe those from Scotland will look at me quizzically and say "of course we knew that"? (I am trying to find definite confirmation of the connection) Possibly also of interest is that Johan Barendregt's son (Henk Barendregt) is a professor of mathematics and computer science, and that apparently Johan Barendregt was likely the person assaulted in 1963 by another chess IM Raymond Weinstein (a lucky escape, possibly, as Weinstein went on to kill someone in 1964 and has been institutionalised ever since!).

Moving swiftly on from that, the same search among the Wikipedia pages for grandmasters, gives this list:

GM Kenneth Rogoff (economics)
HGM Elmārs Zemgalis (mathematics) (*)
GM Robert Byrne (philosophy)
GM Jan Michael Sprenger (philosophy of science)
GM Milan Vidmar (electrical engineering) (**)
GM Jonathan Mestel (applied mathematics)
GM Reuben Fine (psychology) (**)
GM Max Euwe (computer science) (**)
GM Jonathan Penrose (psychology)
GM Hou Yifan (education)

(*) - Elmārs Zemgalis was awarded an Honorary Grandmaster title by FIDE in 2003.
(**) - Awarded the GM title by FIDE in its inaugural list of 1950.

Note that this listing (an attempt to identify the intersection between those holding professional positions in academia and also holding the chess titles of IM or GM) does not claim to be complete, as there will be many omissions. An example is the chess IM Vladimir Nikolaevich Smirnov, who is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Sydney and father to the more famous chess player, GM Anton Smirnov. I chose to leave out Efstratios Grivas, as it is not clear what the exact status was of his professorship (which may have been more akin to being a chess trainer). It is also difficult to know how to classify botanist Karl Robatsch, whose career spanned eminent contributions to research on orchids as well as a storied chess history - though I have not been able to identify any formal academic qualification or position. Other omissions from the above, if you consider those with a less orthodox academic career, include Jonathan Rowson, who clearly has all the hallmarks of an academic, but as far as I can tell has never held a formal position in academia, with one of his roles best described in his own words as at the "nexus of academia, journalism and campaigning".

That might be a good place to stop. I am sure others can provide other examples.

(The previous threads on chess-playing academics were: Chess-playing Fellows of Royal Society and the strangely-titled, as it was split from an obituary thread: Past recollection a split topic.)

[Christopher Kreuzer]

As an addendum to the above, I can confirm that the Aberdeen professor of mathematics is the same Ben Martin who appears extensively in the archives of New Zealand chess, the clincher being the articles he wrote about his chess exploits in the UK in around 1996 while studying at King's College London:

https://www.newzealandchess.co.nz/nzche ... 996-08.pdf

"FM Ben Martin has wound up a successful visit to Britain by completing his postgraduate studies and winning an international toumament in Sheffield to gain a third IM norm and earn application for IM."

He played in and wrote reports on the First Sheffield International and the First Imperial College International. Others here may have memories of those events.

http://www.newzealandchess.co.nz/nzches ... 992-10.pdf

"Ben Martin wrote to say he will be in London for the next three years, studying for his PhD in Maths at King's College. As possibly New Zealand's top player for the past two years, he will be missed on the tournament circuit." (p.109)

http://www.newzealandchess.co.nz/nzches ... 993-04.pdf

"Ben Martin is now well settled in England, where he is attending King's College in London, and has already lodged his entry for the British Championship [1993], which will be played in Dundee in August." (p.18)

Consulting BritBase for the Championships of 1993:

http://www.saund.co.uk/britbase/pgn/199 ... iewer.html

We see that Benjamin M. S. Martin (born 1969) came 14th that year, losing to Jonathan Parker and Mark Lyell, while also beating Adam C. Hunt, Aaron Summerscale and Richard Bates! He drew with (among others) Mark Ferguson and Jonathan Levitt.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Returning to this thread to add another example, of a US chess player who I think only achieved the FM title but appears not to have taken chess further, probably due to concentrating on an academic career. His name is David Glueck.

Am posting here to ask: (a) Are the academic and the chess player definitely the same person (I could contact him and ask him, but I suspect someone reading this forum will know)? (b) How good a player was he when active? Maybe people in Oxford(shire) at the time knew him? Are there many of his games in databases?

Does anyone know if this David Glueck is the chess player?

https://glueck.host.dartmouth.edu/Bio.html

David Glueck grew up in Cincinnati, and received his A.B. and A.M. degrees in chemistry in 1986 from Harvard University, where he did research with John Cooper. He moved to the University of California, Berkeley for his Ph.D. (1990), working with Bob Bergman. After working on crown ethers, intercalation, and buckyballs as an NSF-NATO postdoctoral fellow with Malcolm Green at the Inorganic Chemistry Lab, University of Oxford, he joined the Dartmouth faculty in 1992, and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 1998, then to professor in 2004. He served as department chair from 2007-2010.

Seems likely, as the dates fit when he was in Oxford, qualifying him for the above-mentioned Minor Counties Final. Was he not strong enough or not eligible in some way for the Varsity Matches of that time? Possibly too busy with his chemistry!

Hang on, I am being silly. As a postdoc, he is not a student, hence not eligible. Mystery 'solved'!

His FIDE rating appears to have stayed at 2320 since forever:

https://ratings.fide.com/profile/2001110

Can anyone track down the year he went inactive?

He played (and lost to) Samuel Reshevsky in 1983 when he (Glueck) was about 19:

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1462680

[MJMcCready]

Interesting stuff. I just looked at the game, looks like a blunder in time trouble cost him victory. I note he also beat an upcoming Patrick Wolff

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I too noticed that he was contemporary (a bit ahead in time) with Patrick Wolff (who went on to the GM title). From the chessgames comments: "Reshevsky was 71 while Glueck was 18". The comment there that Glueck went on to be a professor at Dartmouth seems to confirm the connection.

I wonder who in the Oxfordshire team of the time (1992) might remember him? Who would have been captaining the team, is that recorded anywhere? May have to start a post that names Glueck to really get more visibility.

Glueck was a strong US junior. His peak FIDE rating I think was a bit higher than it was at the point he went inactive. I think the only option there is to go though the pre-2000 lists that are online?

[MJMcCready]

We don't know how many games he played that year but I think someone with the 1991 Yearbook and rating list would have more information on him.

[Mike Gunn]

According to the 1993 yearbook board 1 of the 1991/2 County Championships Finals (Beds vs Oxfordshire) was A Ledger 1/2 D Glueck. D Glueck also played in the semifinal on board 2 against Surrey: D Glueck 1/2 G.Wall.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Surrey were in the Minor Counties Championship then? That is a bit surprising. Is this the era when the Minor Counties was stronger? I will have to try and contact Gavin Wall and see if he has that game!

[Roger de Coverly]

Surrey were in the Minor Counties Championship then?

There was a rule that if you didn't qualify for the big boys event several years running, you could play in the Minor Counties. Bedfordshire were frequent qualifiers by virtue of playing and winning in the EACU whose champion was only allowed in the Minor.

[MJMcCready]

Surrey were in the Minor Counties Championship then? That is a bit surprising. Is this the era when the Minor Counties was stronger? I will have to try and contact Gavin Wall and see if he has that game!

Let us know how you get on with that.

[NickFaulks]

Surrey were in the Minor Counties Championship then?

Surrey won the Minor Counties in 2018. They gave all team members a very nice trophy.

[Brian Valentine]

Surrey were in the Minor Counties Championship then?

There was a rule that if you didn't qualify for the big boys event several years running, you could play in the Minor Counties. Bedfordshire were frequent qualifiers by virtue of playing and winning in the EACU whose champion was only allowed in the Minor.

My hazy recollection is that up until relatively recently the EACU elected not to enter the championship and the top two teams competed in the minor counties. I doubt if Bedfordshire have won more than a handful of EACU championships (our runner up result this year we regard as a major achievement). My firm evidence is that Beds played Norfolk in the 2004 and 2007 Minor Counties Finals.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Surrey were in the Minor Counties Championship then? That is a bit surprising. Is this the era when the Minor Counties was stronger? I will have to try and contact Gavin Wall and see if he has that game!

Surrey were simply not so strong in the 1980s and 1990s; they only started to emerge from 2006 or so. Also, in the 1980s and 1990s things were tough for Southern counties teams who wanted to make the final stages, because Kent and Middlesex, and sometimes Cambridge and Essex, were very strong, and yet only two qualifying places were available, with little appetite for change despite the fact that the two SCCU qualifiers seemed almost always to make the final (1992 being, I think, the only exceptional year when neither did).

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Thank you Jonathan, that is a very helpful summary of the ebb and flow of county fortunes for that period. Any advance on who captained Oxfordshire in that period?

[Roger de Coverly]

. Any advance on who captained Oxfordshire in that period?

The place to look can be the SCCU Bulletin where the September edition has a note of the mtach captains.

So in September 1990, the Oxford captain was D Metcalf
https://sccu-chess.com/bulletins/SCCUBu ... 90_195.pdf