Ronen Greatest Hits : Samuel Reshevsky

Samuel Reshevsky

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Player(s): Reshevsky

Samuel Reshevsky is a legendary figure in the chess world. He started playing chess when he was four years old, showing almost immediately his talent, and becoming a prodigy. Famous are the photos that show a baby Samuel playing simultaneous exhibition against bearded and grown up men. Reshevsky was a small kid too, and seeing this little thing playing a lot of grown up man is impressive. His family moved to the US when he was 9 years old. His chess career was just amazing: he played 21 US Championships, winning 8 and finishing in the top three 15 times, playing the most games in the Champs and winning the most games as well. He had a nemesis, as we know, named Robert Fischer. Reshevsky and Fischer didn't get along well, to say the least. There is an anecdote that explains their relationship: they both were playing in Buenos Aires 1960, and interviewed, Reshevsky reportedly said: 'I'd settle for the 19th place, if Fischer places 20th'. Reshevsky skipped 3 Olympiads, because he knew that Fischer would get first board. He played against 11 World Champions in his long career, which is amazing. In today's episode of his weekly show, GM Ronen Indiana-Jones Har-Zvi tells us about this important protagonist of almost 50 years of the past century.