Jarrod Tavares of New York was in Boise, Idaho recently for his Idaho game for his playing a rated game in all 50 states. I recall there was a fellow who did this once. I can’t remember his name but he played in a tournament of mine in Yakima Washington many years ago. Maybe some one can
tell me his name. There will be an article in a future issue of NORTHWEST CHESS about the Boise game as the TD for it was the NWC editor Jeff Roland.
Sorry, Rusty, I remember someone saying he was doing it, I don’t remember who it was. Dan or Jennifer might know, I think they at least considered doing an article on it. If it was done after 1991, it might be possible to pull that out of the tournament database, I’ll try that, might take a while to run.
According to the database, there are two players who have played rated events in 51 states (including DC) and two players who aren’t too far behind.
id name states
-------- ------------------------------ ------`
11326846 ABRON, MICHAEL 51
12758264 BELANOFF, TED 51
10086078 FELDSTEIN ESQ, ROBERT A 48
10384508 DENNISON, B G, JR 47
Mike: Thanks for the info. I think the person I was trying to find is Robert Feldstein. I checked his records since 1991 and did not find a tournament in Washington State that I ran that he played in.
There was a Tacoma WA event that I did find. Note he played several Idaho events. The tournament I
directed might have been before 1991. His id number indicates to me that he was a US Chess member for a long time and before 1991.
Google Search found me the below in US Chess website. Now I need to find the CHESS LIFE article
I recall about Robert.
In Passing
Robert Feldstein
By Phillip R Smith
November 9, 2011
Robert A Feldstein (1956-2011)
I learned of Robert Feldstein ESQ’s passing recently. Robert was either insane with chess or an innovator in chess. Robert was to play on our team for the November 2011 Eastern Team Championship but sadly resigned before it began.
First playing Robert in May 1982 and seven times since where he played as white the Reti and as black the Alekhine Defense. Throughout the years Robert would call me with plans to play chess; once in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on Groundhog Day to get chess publicity and anther time to fly to the first city to welcome the new millennium and be the first players to play a USCF rated game.
In September 1991m there was a weekend series of chess tournaments played in 5 states where Robert flew out to play for the entire weekend. We played in Wisconsin for first place where he lost playing the Reti.
One year at the US Amateur Team Championship East Robert had a team called “The Knightmares,” where each team member signed a binding contract to always play NKB3 as either white or black (which is easy if you are a Reti and Alekhine player, LOL). Later he called me to play in 2 US Amateur Team Championships at once, playing in Florida on Saturday and Sunday and in NJ on Monday.
On day turning my television on, I saw Robert and his wife on the Jerry Springer show in which he later told me he agreed to go on with a fake story so he could get a free flight to Chicago to play in a chess tournament.
Recently, Robert and I last played at the 2011 World Open Senior Championship as he was sitting in his wheelchair. That victory helped me tie for first place in that tournament but we spent a good hour analyzing the game afterwards.
I last saw Robert on two occasions, the 2011 NJ Open and Ken Thomas’ 5 County Championship in Somerset, NJ…
Roger E Pedersen Here is our last game at the 2011 World Open Senior Championship
[Event “3rd Annual World Open Senior Amateur”]
[Date “2011.11.03”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Robert Feldstein ESQ, 2000.”]
[Black “Roger E Pedersen, 1906.”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “B10”]
{B10: Caro-Kann: 2 d3 and 2 c4} 1. e4 c6 2. c4 e6 {last book move} 3. e5 d6 4. exd6 Bxd6 5. d4 Nf6 6. Nf3 O-O {Black castles and improves king safety} 7. Bd3 h6 {Prevents intrusion on g5} 8. O-O b6 {White has an active position} 9. Nc3 {White has a very active position} Bb7 10. a3 {Controls b4} c5 11. dxc5 Bxc5 {White has an active position} 12. b4 {White threatens to win material: b4xc5} Be7 13. Qe2 {White has a very active position} Nbd7 {Black has a cramped position} 14. Rd1 Qc8 {White has a very active position} 15. h3 {Black has a cramped position} (15. Bf4 Re8 $14) 15… Qc6 {White has a very active position} 16. Qf1 Qc8 {Black has a cramped position} 17. Nd4 {White has a very active position} Ne5 18. Be2 {White has an active position} Rd8 19. Bf4 {White threatens to win material: Bf4xe5} Ng6 {Black threatens to win material: Ng6xf4} 20. Bg3 Ne4 (20… a5 21. Na4 Nd7 (21… axb4 $2 {leads to nothing} 22. Nxb6 Qc5 23. Nxa8 Rxd4 24. axb4 Rxd1 25.Qxd1 $18 (25. Bxd1 $6 Qxb4 26. Be2 Bc5 $16))) 21. Nxe4 $14 Bxe4 22. Nb5 Rxd1 {Black pins: Rd1xf1} 23. Rxd1 (23. Bxd1 $6 a5 24. Nc3 Bf6 $11) 23… e5 24. Nd6 Bxd6 25. Rxd6 {White has the pair of bishops} Bf5 26. Bf3 e4 27. Bd1 Qe8 28. Bb3 e3 29. Qe2 exf2+ 30. Qxf2 Qe4 (30… Be6 31. Qc2 $14) 31. Kh2 Re8 (31…Be6 $5 $14 {has some apparent merit}) 32. Ba4 Re7 33. Rd8+ Kh7 34. Bd6 (34. c5 $142 $5 bxc5 35. Qxc5 $16) 34… Re6 $14 35. c5 { White threatens to win material: c5xb6} Rf6 (35… bxc5 36. Bxc5 (36. Qxc5 $143 Bxh3 37. Qf2 Bxg2 $19) 36… Qe5+ 37. Qg3 $14) 36. Qd2 (36. Qg3 $142 $5 $16) 36… bxc5 $11 37. Bxc5 Qe5+ 38. Time (White Loses) (37… Qe5+ 38. Kg1 Nf4 $11) 0-1
Obituary submitted by Roger E Pedersen.
Robert Feldstein was a chess player off the beaten path. His opening reportoire was quite unique in that he popularized as white, Nf3 followed by b4, not exactly like N-QR3 Robert Durkin, but it ranks up there. To me and others, Robert Feldstein absolutely loved the game of chess, and was the first chess player to compete in at least 1 tournament in all 50 states. His 50th State was Hawaii and he got that in July of 1991, and it was my hope for me to be the first player to compete in all 50 states. I actually have participated in 37 states and 1 Canadian Province (Ontario). Robert’s goal was to spread his love of the game to all over the country, and I do recall a picture of him with former President and First Lady, James and Roslyn Carter in Georgia, where President Carter autographed Mr. Feldstein’s scorebook as setting another record. Robert was featured in the edition of Chess Life where Mr. Dennison got to compete in all 50 states, and there was mention of other players that have played in at least 30 States.
Robert was from Brooklyn, but as recent as a month ago, he was seen frequenting tournaments here in New Jersey. He achieved an Expert Rating, and competed in the U.S Amateur Team Championship in all 4 regionals. Robert was also the victim of the largest rating upset as at one of the U.S. Opens Robert was defeated by a player rating about 1,400 rating points below him. Win, lose or draw, Robert was always gracious to his opponents in more ways than one, and he kept all of us entertained.
Robert had to undergo kidney dialysis, and in the end, he succumbed to heart failure at the age of 54 as he was 2 months shy of his 55th birthday.
RIP Robert A. Feldstein, as your presence on the chess board was appreciated by many.
Respectfully Submitted,
David A. Cole
Robert Fedlstein may you rest in peace.
I did try to eliminate mis-spelled states, but of course I could only go back as far as late 1991. Mr. Feldstein was in some interesting events, a few of them look like they might have been simuls that someone submitted for rating.
Feldstein’s goal was to play in every county, possibly in the county seat. I don’t think they were simuls as much as he would drive from county (seat) to county (seat) and play a (rated) game on arrival, often with an opponent brought along for that purpose.
Alex Relyea
There was an article in Chess Life about Mr. Dennison accomplishing the feat of playing tournament chess in all 50 states and he was on the cover of a Chess Life Magazine for doing that. I am still stuck on 37 States and 1 Canadian province, however, there was 1 player that had 49 States, only missing Alaska, and that was Joseph Felber. I remember meeting up with him in New Orleans, back in August of 1998, and could recall that he had that goal in mind of competing in all 50 States. It is true that the records were not kept prior to 1991, and that was the year that I moved out to St. Louis, Missouri, for the first time, where I could easily get to other states from there, since it was also a goal of mine.
Good Luck to those that are trying to achieve that goal, and perhaps, I will try and get closer to doing that.
Respectfully Submitted,
David A. Cole, USCF Life Member, Franklin, NJ
I haven’t even been to all 50 states, much less played chess there. I know I’ve never been to Arkansas, North Carolina, North Dakota and Alaska, and I’m not sure about Rhode Island.
There may be others who have played chess in all 50 states but some of those events occurred prior to December of 1991.
At one time there was a TD trying to direct an event in all 50 states, I don’t know if he succeeded.
Having played in twenty five different states I hold the record for a native-born Georgian. Let us now hear from the record holder in the other forty nine states.
W. Michael Bacon
“A win by an unsound combination, however showy, fills me with artistic horror.” - Wilhelm Steinitz
Gee, does that mean we need a field in the new database for ‘birthplace’? 
How many tournaments are held in states like Alaska, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming or similar low population states each year? Several states rarely post any TLAs so it is difficult to complete the 50 state challenge if you only research events through the USCF.
That’s a good question, and there are multiple parts to it.
Here’s a list of the states with 30 or fewer tournaments since 4/1/2018:
[code]state tournaments avg_size
AK 3 6.3
WY 3 15.0
HI 6 23.0
SD 11 29.5
VT 16 21.8
WV 17 26.9
DC 18 24.7
AR 19 24.3
MT 20 14.7
NE 20 27.4
ND 26 12.2
[/code]
But a second part of the question is that it isn’t clear how many of these tournaments are ones that were open events, and a third part is how many of the ones that were open events were ones that had any pre-tournament publicity on the US Chess site. I’m not sure how to answer those parts.
But it gives me a chance to mention that the milestones and norms emails that we plan to send out twice a month include a list of upcoming events with TLAs. I think that only includes print TLAs at this time, I’m looking into how to include online-only TLAs.
However, most organizers should have received an email from the office recently promoting 2019 National Chess Day, you can get a free print TLA AND free ratings fees!
For those who might not have looked at that email, here’s what it said:
Celebrate
National Chess Day!
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Plan a tournament or any kind of chess event to promote chess on National Chess Day and enjoy the following benefits:
-
Any one-day event for October 12, 2019 which has “National Chess Day” in its Tournament Life Announcement (TLA) title receives a complimentary TLA and free rating fees.
-
Any two-to-three-day event held over a period which includes October 12, 2019, and which has “National Chess Day” in its TLA title, will receive a complimentary TLA and free rating fees.
-
Any Rated Beginners Open (RBO) that includes “National Chess Day” in its TLA title and falls on October 12, 2019, will receive both a complimentary TLA and free rating fees. The event must include October 12, 2019, but may include adjoining days. RBOs are Open to Under 1200/ Unr or Under 1000/ Unr . The tournament name must also include ‘Rated Beginners Open’ or ‘RBO’.
Be sure to mention National Chess Day in the title when submitting the TLA. Please note: Some portion of the event must take place on Saturday, October 12, 2019, to be eligible for the complimentary TLA and free rating fees.
Deadline for TLA submission: June 10, 2019, for two issues of Chess Life (August and September) or July 10, 2019, for one issue (September). Please send your TLA to Joan DuBois, tla@uschess.org . Please keep your TLA to 15 lines or less (75-80 characters constitutes one print TLA line).
Submit your articles and photos for possible publication in Chess Life magazine and on uschess.org within CLO . Photos for Chess Life magazine must be high resolution. Send to Daniel Lucas, dlucas@uschess.org .
We are working on additional ways to promote National Chess Day events, so be sure to get your TLA in early!
In thinking about it, the self-reported TLA field may be useful here, so here’s the same time period along with columns showing how many of those events reported having a print TLA, an online TLA, some other kind of TLA or no TLA. I listed all states because that might be useful information in its own right.
[code]state tournaments print_tla online_tla other no_tla
AK 3 0 0 0 3
WY 3 2 0 0 1
HI 6 1 0 1 4
SD 11 0 0 0 11
VT 16 3 1 0 12
WV 17 2 2 0 13
DC 18 1 1 1 15
AR 19 1 5 0 13
NE 20 0 0 0 20
MT 20 6 1 1 12
ND 26 0 0 0 26
MS 39 1 9 0 29
OK 40 4 9 0 27
NH 41 5 10 0 26
ID 42 3 1 1 37
DE 47 3 2 0 42
ME 58 2 0 1 55
AL 69 8 20 0 41
IA 72 11 4 2 55
NM 75 0 1 0 74
RI 78 0 3 2 73
KS 79 1 6 0 72
OR 87 12 24 0 51
UT 107 1 2 1 103
NV 115 15 0 6 94
WI 123 18 1 1 103
MD 131 13 53 1 64
IN 133 8 25 3 97
SC 145 3 13 1 128
MI 172 11 1 3 157
MN 187 1 1 0 185
WA 206 11 0 1 194
CO 223 6 3 2 212
CT 239 8 34 1 196
GA 254 18 7 1 228
LA 267 7 10 3 247
KY 271 2 14 1 254
TN 298 17 56 1 224
AZ 328 7 103 2 216
OH 345 49 31 22 243
IL 356 39 14 18 285
MO 357 32 47 21 257
MA 372 45 12 14 301
VA 452 18 187 4 243
FL 467 20 74 1 372
NC 482 16 13 0 453
NJ 687 149 153 13 372
PA 705 82 65 5 553
CA-S 720 36 3 41 640
CA-N 894 225 53 15 601
TX 1321 41 277 66 937
NY 1397 385 86 112 814
Total 12874 1349 1437 369 9485
[/code]
That means that about 10.5% of events had a TLA in Chess Life, another 11.2% had an online TLA on uschess.org, 2.9% had some other kind of TLA and over 73% didn’t report having a TLA, though they might have used a state chapter or other website or other means of advance promotion.
Slightly off the topic of playing chess in all 50 states, but we recently started publishing a daily Leader Board showing who’s played the most games in the last week, month and year in each of our ratings systems.
Some interesting information there.
See uschess.org/datapage/leaderboards.php
And for those who like data, there’s our daily Top Ten lists:
uschess.org/datapage/toptenlists.php
FWIW, 26 members have played rated games in 10 or more states in the last 12 months, one member has played rated games in 20 states in the past year, including Alaska and Hawaii.
Take a bow, Michael Abron!