Sioux City Journal from Sioux City, Iowa • 23

SECTION THREE NEWS FEATURE MAGAZINE Smtnral SIOUX CITY, IOWA, SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 1338 world Qtyan Rules Correspondence Chess iin. ii. MMupJMMiMWti pm. u.juh.i i vm. m.i.

WWMtf m-M muun-iu mu ihiiwh rj) i tU'H'i 1 rr-f--- 3s i i Zw 4 -V- fc- ,4 -fd Lvr" kTZTT jar ssr BT 3 1- -i ft h-. -j -M i i It totoU I a --1 I H-' i jsrll "-I -1 r. tr i I i J. tr VX illd JiM lljll ilfcy tuijQfj I I Vf i i i i i il mt iv.tiy I vA I If l.vj i II 1 KFT 2 9 1 1 vy' ipiix A BY MARK MILLER SIOUX CITY is headquarters for the largest and oldest chess-by-mail organization. Here one man virtually rules this chess world, setting up -international matches and national tournaments in which thousands of players are entered.

In addition to being the tournament director, he is secretary of the national organization and is the editor and publisher of the group's monthly magazine, The Chess Correspondent, only periodical of its kind. The man who handles these multiple tasks which bring him 50 to 80 letters daily is Dick Rees, 818 S. Cecelia street, who has been bedfast for 29 years. Dick was 12 years old and ia the sixth grade when an accidental gunshot injured his spine and resulted in paralysis of the lower part of his body, but he retains use of his arms and shoulders. Dick first became interested in chess about 25 years ago when Municipal Judge( Berry J.

Sisk gave him a' chess set, a book of rules and a membership in the Correspon dence Chess League of America. At that time the late Walt James of Leeds was national secretary. Aiew years later Dick became tournament director. In 1944 he became secretary and combined the two jobs into one. He took over as editor JPty un I I I If v5-r jssf jet jor I I I LJli 1 tiJjn II ij i y-l 4S" 'Willi ii 1 gold and silver medal tour- -p St smothered between the Hastins tournament, a great news event because.

Botvin-nik was allowed off the reservation to play in it, and the great international Moscow tournament, which followed. Even the Russian press complained that it had been given very little space. "Yet it remains one of the most interesting of all Soviet championsips. With Botvinnik out of the way, the boys went at one another with hammer and sickle. The.play was, on the whole, rather nervous and insecure, but that was the era of purge trials, and it was practically a patriotic duty to feel insecure.

But some of the games were magnificent. We rescued a mere handful from oblivion." If you are interested in getting started, chess sets can be bought at almost any range of prices, from as low. as $1 up to $1,000 for fancy hand-carved ivory and inlaid outfits. The ivory sets are carved in India. One Pennsylvania coal mine owner had a set carved from blocks of coal.

Dick has worn out four typewriters answering his mail and works on chess subjects daily from 7 a. m. to noon. As secretary-editor his pay is $40 weekly. He also sells chess books and supplies.

He lives with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Rees. His father has been retired for five years and formerly worked at the Win-charger plant. of The Chess Correspondent two years ago.

Some idea of the work can be obtained from the fact that about games set up by Dick are being played simultaneously by members, each of whom has an average of 40 games going at one time. This rate usually falls off in the summer months. "Chess isn't easy," Dick recalls of his first experience. "I lost the first 72 games I played, but nothing-gave me keener pleasure than winning that 73d game." The Corres pondence league currently has 1,500 members in North America, including Hawaii and Cuba, and Dick runs the official United States correspondence chess championship tournament, as well as the women's and jtinior championships and conducts some dozen or more other tournaments. At the present time Dick has an international match going between the 12 best in the United States against the 12, best in India.

Chess by mail is not a game for impatient persons. In the case of the United States and India match, at least two years will be needed to arrive at a final jcore. One national open cham- pin sWpxequiredLal- most three years. Ifryou are appalled by the idea of spending two years on a chess game, the solution is easy Dick will naments between Canada, United States and Mexico with 460 players entered. A fee ranging from one to two dollars is charged- for tournament entry, but 80 per cent of that money is returned in the form of prizes.

"You can never tell when a match starts how it will end," Dick says. "A few years ago I matched a woman in Los Angeles with a man in Phoenix, Ariz. They got into some sort of a misunderstanding and the man went to Los Angeles to get it smoothed out. He did. A month later they were married." The monthly Chess Correspondent, which Dick edits, is printed in Sioux City and entered as second class matter in the postof-fice here, It strives to give its readers constant coverage of new chess ideas in the form( of special articles, master games, digests and translations of games played in England, The Netherlands, Russia and Latin America.

Every game published is annotated by an expert. Annual membership fee of $4.50 includes subscription to his magazine. Critical of Reporting And Dick's periodical isn't a bit bashful, about calling a pawn a pawn, with no punches pulled. For instance: "One of the worst, reported tournaments of recent times' was the 9th Russian championship. It as Plif'to Nrwman.

Rfaff photographer world as indicated by some of the envelopes surrounding the chessboard picture above. In addition Dick is editor of the only magazine in the world devoted to chess by mail. Running national chess tournaments and international matches keeps Dick Rees busy most of every day. He uses a special typewriter, built to operate on a sharp incline. Chess by mail requires a lot of correspondence, including letters from remote parts of the New York city, 14, is the ing, like the batting aver age of a baseball player.

The rating chart has 21 divisions, which insures that you will be playing someone about your own ability. If you are a natural chess player you will eventually enter one or more of the many tournaments. The present correspondence champion, Fred Tears of Dallas, won his title in the grand national tournament-conducted by Dick last summer. International Matches On Among the face to face 'players, Bobby Fischer of some hidden code having military information." The Russian fears have some basis in fact, as all countries clamped down on international games by' mail during the war, but all the. iron curtain countries have since relaxed restrictions.

As tournament director, Dick does not follow every move- of every match; that would take a staff of a dozen to match members, against the other, or teams against teams and record the result for future ratings. But, you protest, I'm just a beginner I don't want to play against experts. Paired on Ability That is all solved, too. You will be matched against other beginners. It works like this: When you join the league you are given a rating depending on your experience, similar to a handicap at a golf club; you will be matched with other players close -to your own -r atipg.

You report all games played and that record is kept. After awhile your wins and losses may change your rat match you against a dozen others and you can play that many games simultaneously. The record is held by a California minister who played 1,001 games concurrently. If you wish he can match, you against a foreign opponent but not one behind iron curtain. "The Russians are' the best chess players in the world," Dick adnyts, "butwecan't ach them.

Moscow seems to feel that the complicated reports of moves, indicated by letters and numbers, might conceal present American champion, the youngest in the history of the game. The person-to-person or face-to-face play is called "over the board" chess. Bobby will represent the United States at the world championship tournament in Europe this summer, and may get a chance to play V. Smyslav, a Russian, the present titleholder. The United States open championship tournam for play-by-mail fans usually gets from 400 to 800 entries.

Now in process are I.