Once upon a time there was a 16-year-old boy living in the chess desert which was San Diego. This boy dreamed of being a chess professional, and though he was quite a weak player, he had big dreams and endless passion for the game. Naturally, the few strong players in San Diego pretty much ignored him, until the lone internationally titled player in that city invited the boy and a couple of chess masters to his home for a small chess get-together. That boy was me, and why I was invited to that (and subsequent) chess meetings at the IM’s home is still a mystery.
The IM in question was Frank Ross Anderson, and I had pretty much forgotten these meetings until John Donaldson showed me a used book that was signed by Frank. Memories flooded back, Donaldson did some research and realized that this was the same man that had won a couple of Canadian Championships, and who had scored the highest winning percentage at the Munich Olympiad in 1958 on board two (there is a very interesting tale, covered in detail in the book, about this event and how Frank was cheated out of the Grandmaster title).
Curious, Donaldson did some research and managed to find Frank’s wife (he passed away in 1980), and before I knew it we were driving from Los Angeles to San Diego in an effort to see how much information existed about this enigmatic player. What we discovered was an endless series of pristine notebooks containing all his games, annotations, articles, photographs, etc. Apparently Frank wrote about everything he did in a neat, orderly manner. This is an historian’s dream, and Donaldson decided to do a book about this forgotten player. And this takes us to the present review.
For those that only want to study games by World Champions, move on. Those that have no interest in chess history should also move on. But those that are interested in Canadian chess, or the more general story of a man who, against all odds and in spite of serious health problems, reached great chess heights, will be happy to own this book.
The book’s title, THE LIFE AND GAMES OF FRANK ROSS ANDERSON, pretty much sums up the contents. A 21-page biography takes you through Frank’s life, travels, and adventures. Some photos give the name a human face, and shots of him playing Russian Grandmaster Bondarevsky (and beating him!) are fascinating. The bulk of the book though, is made up of his games, many of them with notes (many of his notes and game stories were culled from his “Game of the Month” column in Canadian Chess Chat.
Here’s the lead-in to Anderson’s game vs. Robert J. Fischer:
“The temperature was in the nineties, with hundreds of players and spectators jammed into the YMHA Hall. All games but one were finished. On that one game, the tournament hung in the balance. Most of the throng (600 to 700) was jammed into one end of the room, their attention fixed on the demo-board and two ‘hard at it’ contestants. On a platform, surrounded by officials, reporters and photographers sat Evans and Sherwin. The round which had started casually enough had now reached a tense, dramatic, high point.
“Before this round, only five contestants had a mathematical chance of winning or tying for first place. There were Lombardy and Sherwin with 7 points each, closed followed by Evans, Vaitonis and DiCamillo, each half a point behind. The first pairing announced was Evans - Sherwin. When it was called out, everyone began to talk at once. The din was such that order had to be requested. The second pairing was announced: Lombardy - Vaitonis. The din started all over again. The remaining pairings were announced and everyone settled down to their individual battles. These were remarkable for their peacefulness. In the first half hour, 11 draws were turned in. Everyone was too tired and too hot to put up a struggle. There were of course a few exceptions. One of these early draws, in only 19 moves, was Anderson - Fischer. This marked the first time that Bobby was not involved in a fierce struggle. It was also the first time that the did not command the limelight.”
Clearly, there’s a lot to read and enjoy here. IM Donaldson has done a great job in bringing a forgotten player, and forgotten areas of chess history, back to life.
For those interesting in purchasing this excellent book, please visit http://www.moravian-chess.cz/. Aside from THE LIFE AND GAMES OF FRANK ROSS ANDERSON, you’ll also see many other books (in English!) that most American chess book fans don’t even know exist. For example, the three-volume set of Alekhine’s life and games (COMPLETE GAMES OF ALEKHINE by Fiala and Kalendovsky) are my favorite Alekhine books ever. Three hardback volumes of Botvinnik’s best games (in English, all annotated by Botvinnik) are must buys, as are SMYSLOV’S BEST GAMES, Volumes 1 & 2.
