Stories from Jerry

All Things Chess
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It is extremely regretable and unfortunate that Jerry Hanken has passed away. Not only was he a colorful character in his own right, but he often had anecdotes and stories about other players. My hope for this ‘thread’ is for people to share the stories and anecdotes they heard from Jerry Hanken.

I recall one story he told me: There was this one club player who was known as ‘Mr. Book’ due to his extensive knowledge of book openings. He would regularly beat up on the weaker players in the club due to this knowledge. One day while playing one of the weakest players in the club Mr. Book was heard to exclaim in disgust “I don’t believe it, that line is suppose to be winning.” It turns out there was a typo.

Please post something you heard from Mr. Hanken. Thank you.

Larry S. Cohen

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I attended a meeting with Jerry once. A particular person was talking, and I made the observation to Jerry " That sounds factual " Jerry looked at me agasp, and said " That S.O.B. never said anything based on the facts in his life"
Jerry had made that statement in that tone of voice, that only those who know Jerry will understand. It struck me funny, and I began to laugh, Jerry just looked at me very seriously, and said " That was not a joke, I really mean it!" Which made me laugh even harder.

I will always remember that meeting with Jerry, and a breakfast we shared. I have never met anyone with the knowledge of Chess History. and the History of the USCF. He was an amazing personality.