Profile
the years the U.S. needed to produce a zonal winner. Thus, in the ‘50s, there were reduced chances for Americans to compete at the top level. But the Amer- ican Chess Foundation helped to fill the void by sponsoring three powerhouse round-robins—the Rosenwald Tourna- ments—between December 1954 and October of 1956. The third and final Rosenwald was played at both the Man- hattan and Marshall Chess Clubs and directed by Hans Kmoch. Reshevsky— trying out his brand-new David-Niven- mustache— won the event in strong form, with nine out of 11, ahead of Arthur Bisguier with 7. But a whisker- less 20-year-old named Feuerstein was the surprise third-place finisher in the 12-man invitational. He drew Reshevsky, Bisguier and Fischer (who finished eighth but played “The Game of the Century” against Donald Byrne) and scored five wins to finish with 6½.
Climbing the rating ladder and falling in love
Readers of chess publications began
often to see Feuerstein’s play praised. Dr. Harold Sussman wrote: “He showed splendid tactical finesse under pressure and pressed Reshevsky for the lead in the early rounds. Had he not weakened in a favor- able game against Mednis, he would have finished second. … We need more training tournaments like the Rosenwald to develop our young players like Fischer [and] Feuerstein …” Annotating their encounter in the Manhattan Chess Club Championship in the April 20, 1956 Chess Life, Bisguier wrote that “the younger Arthur displays a tactical resourcefulness and tenacity which seem destined to place him among our leading players for many years to come.” Art’s climb up the rating ladder was quick. In USCF’s May, 1956
rating list, Feuerstein was listed as a high expert, at 2150. By the spring, 1957, he was one of 60 on the master list, printed beneath 14 senior masters and one grandmaster (Reshevsky). One year later, he was a senior master, ranked 12th overall. In 1957 Art was selected for the team to represent the USA
at the fourth World Student Team Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he played third board behind Bill Lombardy, already an IM (and who that year won the World Junior Cham- pionship with a perfect score), and Edmar Mednis, and ahead of Anthony Saidy and reserve Robert Sobel. Feuerstein finished his first international event with a respectable 50 percent as the U.S. team finished fifth out of 14. The USSR was first. The next year at the Student Team in Varna, Bulgaria, Feuer- stein, with the same teammates, finished sixth out of 16, the Soviets winning again. Art and Saidy, switching boards that year, both finished with an impressive winning percentage of 67 percent. But Feuerstein, Saidy, and Mednis were competing at the
seaside resort for more than mere checkmates. In Varna, all three were captivated by the beautiful, 17-year-old Alice Rapprich, a physician’s daughter on vacation from her hometown of Prague before beginning her own study of medicine. All three young Amer- icans played their games until late afternoon, then would go out for evenings of dancing and walks. “My traveling friend was ill and told me to go ahead and go to the dance. I was sitting at a table alone when I saw both these two Americans—Feuerstein and Med-
22 Chess Life — January 2012 From the March 1958 issue of Chess Review
nis—get up and make a dash for me,” Alice remembered with a laugh. She put them off, but Art was persistent. Ten days later, he spotted Alice walking on the beach. He took her to see the opera Aida. “After that, I hung out at times with the team and their friends,” Alice said. “Many women had eyes for Saidy—he was gor- geous. But Arty was so funny! He always made me laugh.” Returning home to the U.S., the team members wrote Alice let- ters. Feuerstein, as we’ll see, however, was once again to prove the “tenacity” Bisguier had praised. In December of 1957 and January of 1958, Feuerstein, now
23, got his first chance to play in a U.S. Championship, plac- ing equal sixth among 14 of the country’s best masters. He finished tied with Edmar Mednis and former champion Arnold Denker—and ahead of defending champ Bisguier. Along the way, he beat James Sherwin, Hans Berliner, Denker, and Herbert Sei- dman. A 14-year-old Bobby Fischer won the event, beginning his run of eight championship victories. Because of his good sportsmanship, Feuerstein secured an
interesting place in Fischer-trivia. Bobby’s victory against Feuerstein was played some two weeks before the opening round of the event so that Bobby could take his exams at Erasmus High—so it was Fischer’s very first win in the U.S. Championship. Bobby then went on to triumph in all eight events he played in. To Feuerstein’s credit, Fischer’s victory in their last game together only evened their score.
Serving his country, with a special request Later in 1958, Art joined the army. But he made sure to
request a stint in Europe. He had been writing Alice! Assigned to Munich, he went to visit Alice in Prague. He hadn’t been the only member of the student team to do so. Saidy met her fam- ily there when he was shopping for a microscope for medical school. Alice recalls her mother’s advice, given in Prague when the young girl had received two letters from America on the same day—both with photos enclosed—one from a suave-looking Saidy and one from Feuerstein, who was topped off with an
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