Kismet
Submitted by
on Fri, 06/20/2008 at 12:07am.
In the musical classic, Kismet, the young caliph (portrayed by Vic Damone in the movie) disguised himself as a commoner and went walking in the market place.
It might be feasible for a flesh-and-blood ruler to do that but on the chessboard it's a no-no. Of course there are times when, no matter how reluctant you are to allow your king out on his own, he just can't seem to stay at home.
Josh Waitzkin, the subject Searching for Bpbby Fischer, perpetrated this daring attack on IM Edward Frumkin's king in the 1976 New York Open. It resulted in one of the most astonishing king walks I've ever seen.
The attached photograph shows Josh Waitzkin at the chessboard. I believe this photograph was taken on the day he defeated Frumkin, but I don't know if that's Frumkin sitting with him. He was only ten years old.
On move 24 black threatened Waitzkin's rook. Josh thought for a while—who know's for how long—then went and asked his father, who was in the hall, to come and watch.
What followed was the kind of brilliancy Tal might have played. From a small child it was amazing.
Frumkin was the first IM young Waitzkin beat but was by no means the last. He won his own IM title when he was sixteen.