Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

The reporting of notable birthdays and anniversaries in the chess arena.
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JustinHorton
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by JustinHorton » Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:06 pm

Here's a curious one. Yukio Miyasaki of Japan, who Fischer played at Siegen. Does anybody know anything about him at all?
"Do you play chess?"
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JustinHorton
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by JustinHorton » Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:07 pm

John Moore wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:02 pm
JustinHorton wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 6:51 pm
I can't see any reason to suggest that Jose Luis Agdamus, who came last in Buenos Aires, is not still with us.

Similarly Bruno Parma, Bojan Kurajica, Vlatko Kovačević and Dražen Marović from Rovinj/Zagreb.
I did manage to get Kovacevic but well done with the others.
So you did, sorry about that. Should we keep a running list?
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:12 pm

It is quite possible the first person to beat Fischer in an extant tournament game, Ken Warner, is still with us (born 1936)
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

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JustinHorton
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by JustinHorton » Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:20 pm

Armando Acevedo (Siegen) is still going as far as I know. Similarly Emil Nikolic (Vinkovci) though obviously some of these players are in a "don't know" category. Mladen Matov (also Vinkovci) seems to be as obscure as Miyasaki.
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Richard James
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by Richard James » Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:48 pm

:lol:
John Moore wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:00 pm
We'll need Richard James to check the Argentine census :lol:
:lol: :lol: :lol:

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:24 pm

JustinHorton wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:06 pm
Here's a curious one. Yukio Miyasaki of Japan, who Fischer played at Siegen. Does anybody know anything about him at all?
Well he used to be widely known as "Miyasaka" I think, which may complicate finding stuff out about him.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

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JustinHorton
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by JustinHorton » Mon Oct 26, 2020 8:36 am

I'm guessing anything about him might also be written in a language not employing Latin script.
John Moore wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 6:50 pm
Svend Hamann and Shimon Kagan from Netanya 1968.
Also Yair Kraidman. And Hans Ree! (And Uzi Geller, Zadok Domnitz and Yaacov Bernstein as far as I know.)
Last edited by JustinHorton on Mon Oct 26, 2020 8:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Do you play chess?"
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John Moore
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by John Moore » Mon Oct 26, 2020 8:50 am

Rather less obscure are Hans Ree who played Fischer at Netanya and Ljubomir Kavalek from the Sousse Interzonal. There seem to be a lot more than I first thought.

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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by John Moore » Mon Oct 26, 2020 9:02 am

Klaus Darga, who is 86, played Fischer twice in 1960 and 1961.

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JustinHorton
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by JustinHorton » Mon Oct 26, 2020 9:59 am

John Moore wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 8:50 am
Rather less obscure are Hans Ree who played Fischer at Netanya and Ljubomir Kavalek from the Sousse Interzonal. There seem to be a lot more than I first thought.
I mean when you think about it he played the bulk of his chess in the Sixties so quite a lot of his opponents would have been born in the Thirties or later, and getting to eighty or so isn't so unusual now.

Slim Bouaziz would have been 17 at the time had they played at Sousse. He's only 70 now.

Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren, who he did play, is 82.
Last edited by JustinHorton on Mon Oct 26, 2020 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Matthew Turner
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by Matthew Turner » Mon Oct 26, 2020 10:04 am

If you want obscure then I will offer Roelof Westra. No longer competing, but still occasionally imbibing :)

John McKenna

Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by John McKenna » Mon Oct 26, 2020 1:06 pm

Matt Mackenzie wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:24 pm
JustinHorton wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:06 pm
Here's a curious one. Yukio Miyasaki of Japan, who Fischer played at Siegen. Does anybody know anything about him at all?
Well he used to be widely known as "Miyasaka" I think, which may complicate finding stuff out about him.
There's been a bit of a tendency for a few Japanese top professional Shogi players to try their hand at what they call "International Chess".

In recent times Yoshiharu Habu achieved the FIDE FM title fairly easily.

Whether or not Fischer's opponent Yukio Miyasaki was the Shogi master Yukio Miyasaka (b. 1929) is open to question.

http://shogihub.com/players/433

NB: Yukio Miyasaki last appeared on a FIDE rating list in July 1995 and after that he seems to have been removed. His FIDE number 7000049 has been recyled to a young Japanese player of a different name.

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Mon Oct 26, 2020 3:06 pm

John McKenna wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 1:06 pm
Whether or not Fischer's opponent Yukio Miyasaki was the Shogi master Yukio Miyasaka (b. 1929) is open to question.
Recall seeing a pic of him at the Skopje olympiad in 1972 and he looked fairly middle aged, so yes it could well be the same person.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

John McKenna

Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by John McKenna » Mon Oct 26, 2020 10:44 pm

Matt Mackenzie wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 3:06 pm
John McKenna wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 1:06 pm
Whether or not Fischer's opponent Yukio Miyasaki was the Shogi master Yukio Miyasaka (b. 1929) is open to question.
Recall seeing a pic of him at the Skopje olympiad in 1972 and he looked fairly middle aged, so yes it could well be the same person.
It seems you are most probably right about that, Matt.

The winner of tbe inaugural Japanese Chess Championship held in 1969 was Yukio Miyasaka.

It is highly likely that he is the Shogi Master of the same name - since the written Japanese characters of the names of the Shogi Master and the first Japanese "International" Chess Champ are identical. Making it very possible that it was the Shogi Master who played R.J. Fischer in the 1970 Siegen Ol.

That suggests that somewhere along the line the last letter of his name in our alphabet got changed to an 'i' from an 'a'. Hence the confusion.

Yukio Miyasaka - first Japanese Champion of International chess 1969 - made his debut to FIDE competitions as Yukio "Miyasaki" at the Singapore Zonal, also in 1969.

And, it would appear, he continued to play under that slightly-changed name at the Siegen Olympiad in 1970, then in both the Hong Kong Zonal and Skopje Olympiad in 1972.

After which he seems to have ceased playing in FIDE-rated events completely (perhaps he returned to Shogi) got flagged as inactive then finally dropped off the rating lists after July 1995.

NB: There is a single (spurious) game attributed to "Miyasaki" at the 1980 Malta Ol. on 365chessdotcom -

https://www.365chess.com/players/Yukio_Miyasaki


It is identical to the real (as opposed to spurious) game Torre,E vs. Magmasuren,L from that Olympiad.

It would seem that "Miyasaki" (aka Miyasaka) of Japan and, as we know from Justin H, Magmasuren of Mongolia are still with us.
Last edited by John McKenna on Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Matt Mackenzie
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Re: Happy Birthday IM James Sherwin (25-x-1933)

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Mon Oct 26, 2020 11:30 pm

Matthew Turner wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 10:04 am
If you want obscure then I will offer Roelof Westra. No longer competing, but still occasionally imbibing :)
Never played him but have "seen him around" at congresses in the past - when did he play RJF?

(chessgames.com has just one 1980 game for him)
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

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