Can anyone point me toward information on a Chicago Chess player, first half of the 20th century, named GR Wamsley? I’ve seen his simul wins over Ed Lasker and Capablanca.
You and I talked about this guy at one of your tournaments recently.
If you google “GR Wamsley” (with the quotes), the most interesting thing that comes up is a reference to ChessBase, with the following entry:
GR Wamsley. Elo: Age: 141. Flag of AUS.
But I assume you’ve already looked in ChessBase.
Bill Smythe
Some good information has come from Facebook forums.
And from the Facebook Forum “Members of USCF”
From the IIT Library - this presentation: “The Structural Design OF A Three-Story Reinforced Concrete Cold Storage Building
A THESIS PRESENTED BY GAGE REX WAMSLEY
TO THE PRESIDENT AND FACULTY OF THE ARMOUR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
FOR THE DEGREE OF CIVIL ENGINEER MAY 31, 1920”
From “CHAPEL HILL GARDENS WEST BURIALS”
DELLA MAY ASHERRY WAMSLEY
(1890-1960)
GAGE REX WAMSLEY
(1887-1974)
[Event “American Chess Bulletin”]
[Site “USA”]
[Date “1915.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Lasker, Edward”]
[Black “Wamsley, GR.”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C65”]
[PlyCount “64”]
[EventDate “1915.??.??”]
[EventType “swiss”]
[EventCountry “USA”]
[SourceTitle “EXT 2003”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “2002.11.25”]
[SourceVersion “1”]
[SourceVersionDate “2002.11.25”]
[SourceQuality “1”]
- e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Be7 5. Qe2 d6 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 8.
Bxc6 bxc6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. b3 Re8 11. Bb2 c5 12. Nf3 Bc6 13. Rae1 Nd7 14. Nd2 Bf6 - f4 Bd4+ 16. Kh1 Qf6 17. e5 Qf5 18. Nf3 dxe5 19. fxe5 Bxf3 20. Qxf3 Qxf3 21.
gxf3 Nxe5 22. Nd1 Nxf3 23. Rxe8+ Rxe8 24. Rxf3 Re1+ 25. Kg2 Rxd1 26. Bxd4 cxd4 - Rf2 f6 28. Kf3 Kf7 29. Ke4 Ke6 30. Rg2 g5 31. c3 f5+ 32. Kf3 dxc3 0-1
[Event “Chicago Simul”]
[Site “Chicago”]
[Date “1919.01.18”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Capablanca, Jose Raul”]
[Black “Wamsley, GR.”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “D02”]
[PlyCount “84”]
[EventDate “1919.01.??”]
[EventType “game”]
[EventRounds “1”]
[EventCountry “USA”]
[SourceTitle “Capablanca”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “2002.11.25”]
[SourceVersion “1”]
[SourceVersionDate “2002.11.25”]
[SourceQuality “1”]
- d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. dxc5 e6 4. a3 Bxc5 5. b4 Bd6 6. Bb2 Nf6 7. e3 Nc6 8. Nbd2
O-O 9. c4 b6 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Nb3 Bg4 12. Be2 Rc8 13. O-O Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Ne5 - Be2 Qe7 16. Nd4 g6 17. Nf3 Nxf3+ 18. Bxf3 Be5 19. Ra2 Rfd8 20. Bxe5 Qxe5
- Rd2 Qc3 22. Rd3 Qc2 23. Bxd5 Qxd1 24. Rfxd1 Rxd5 25. f3 Rxd3 26. Rxd3 Kf8
- e4 Ke7 28. h4 Rc2 29. g3 Nh5 30. f4 Nf6 31. e5 Ne4 32. Re3 Nd2 33. a4 Nc4
- Re4 h5 35. Rd4 Ne3 36. Rd3 Re2 37. Rc3 Ke6 38. Rc7 Kf5 39. Rxf7+ Kg4 40.
Rg7 Kh3 41. Rxg6 Rg2+ 42. Kh1 Nd1 0-1
This kibitz on “Chessgames.com”
[Event “Kenwood CC - Central YMCA m”]
[Site “Chicago, IL USA”]
[Date “1912.03.23”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Gage Rex Wamsley”]
[Black “Rolf Suckow Hoff”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “C50”]
[PlyCount “49”]
[EventDate “1912.??.??”]
- e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Be3 Bxe3 7. fxe3 Bg4 8.
O-O Qd7 9. Qe1 Rd8 10. Qg3 O-O 11. Nh4 Nh5 12. Qf2 Be6 13. Nd5 Ne7 14. Nf5 Nxd5 - Bxd5 c6 16. Bb3 d5 17. Qh4 Nf6 18. Nxg7 Ng4 19. Nf5 Kh8 20. Qxg4 Rg8 21.
Qh4 Rg6 22. Rf3 Rdg8 23. Qxh7+ Kxh7 24. Rh3+ Rh6 25. Rxh6# 1-0
From Bill Walls chess page at:Chess in 1933
On June 19, 1933, the National Chess Federation organized a chess program for the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. World champion Alexander Alekhine played a blindfold simultaneous exhibition on 32 boards that lasted over 12 hours. He won 19, lost 4, and drew 9 for a new world record for blindfold play. Afterwards, he was able to call off all the moves of all the games, which he had kept in his memory with absolute accuracy. His opponents were some of the strongest amateurs in Chicago. A masters tournament was planned during the Fair, but was called off due to lack of funds. The Intercollegiate Chess Tournament was won by John O, Matheson of West Point, who scored 9.5 — 0.5.
On July 16, 1933, Alekhine played 32 people blindfold simultaneously at the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago (World’s Fair), winning 19, drawing 9, and losing 4 games in 14 hours. This was a new world record.
And, of course, just about every weekend tournament played at the old Chicago Chess Club, first at 64 E Van Buren, and later at about 500 south on Wabash, was called a “Wamsley” in the late 1960s and early 1970s. “How did you do at this month’s Wamsley?” “Not too well, I guess I’ll just have to wait till next month’s Wamsley.”
They were invariably 5-round events, one round Friday evening and two each on Saturday and Sunday. The later ones might have ditched Friday evening, in favor of 3 rounds Saturday and 2 rounds Sunday.
My very first rated tournament was a Wamsley on east Van Buren. I played in the under-1800 section (I think the only time I ever did that), scoring 3-2, winning the first two, losing the next two, and winning the final game. My second opponent was an old man named Kazys Venesaar (or something like that), so I figured he must be a grandmaster or something. Never mind that his rating was 1500 and that I didn’t have too hard a time winning the game. My first rating, coming out of that tournament, was 1712.
Bill Smythe
When I started playing rated chess in 1971, my HS friends and I wondered what a Wamsley was. We all thought it must be some tournament style, like a Swiss system.