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Date: 22 Apr 2007 16:52:19
From: samsloan
Subject: Biography of Weaver W. Adams
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Weaver W. Adams
Weaver Warren Adams (b. April 28, 1901 in Dedham, Massachusetts) was a
chess player, author and chess opening theoretician. He won the US
Open Chess Championship in 1948 and his picture was on the cover of
the August, 1948 issue of Chess Review magazine. He played in the US
Chess Championship five times.
He was best known for his books and magazine articles in which he
claimed and attempted to prove that White has a win by force from the
first move.
His first book which expounded on this thesis was "White to Play and
Win" published in 1939. In this book, he claimed a forced win with the
Bishop's Opening 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4.
However, he was unable to prove this over the board. In the 1940 US
Open he played this line in all of his games with White and lost of
all his games except for only one draw. However, he won all his games
with black.
He thereafter switched to the Vienna Game in which he claimed a win
with White after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5.
When this did not work either, he switched to other lines.
Even though he was rarely successful at the top levels, his ideas were
studied and sometimes adopted by the strongest grandmasters, including
Bobby Fischer. Fischer scored spectacular wins by playing the Adams
Attack against the Najdorf Sicilian, which starts with the moves 1. e4
c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 !!!
The problem Adams had was that he published his analysis and then
played it, so that his opponents knew in advance exactly what he would
play and had time to prepare a refutation.
Weaver W. Adams believed that he was descended from Henry Adams who
landed in Braintree, Massachusetts in 1644 and thereby was distantly
related to Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. His father was
Frank Harding Adams and his mother was Ethel Weaver. Both Weaver and
Warren were his ancestral names. His mother's side has been traced
back to the founding fathers of America. His father's side has as not
yet been established.
Adams died in the mid-1960s.
Books
* White to Play and Win 978-0-923891-83-1
* Simple Chess
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Date: 22 Apr 2007 17:26:59
From: Ian Burton
Subject: Re: Biography of Weaver W. Adams
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Weaver played for the Log Cabin Chess Club run by E.Forry Laucks, a club
that has some links with Bobby. Didn't he tour with them as a youngster? I
recall Weaver playing a Met League match at the Manhattan Chess Club. He
sat on his chair sideways and rarely looked at the board. The pieces, he
claimed, were a distraction to his thoughts.
--
Ian Burton
(Please reply to the Newsgroup)
"samsloan" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Weaver W. Adams
>
> Weaver Warren Adams (b. April 28, 1901 in Dedham, Massachusetts) was a
> chess player, author and chess opening theoretician. He won the US
> Open Chess Championship in 1948 and his picture was on the cover of
> the August, 1948 issue of Chess Review magazine. He played in the US
> Chess Championship five times.
>
> He was best known for his books and magazine articles in which he
> claimed and attempted to prove that White has a win by force from the
> first move.
>
> His first book which expounded on this thesis was "White to Play and
> Win" published in 1939. In this book, he claimed a forced win with the
> Bishop's Opening 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4.
>
> However, he was unable to prove this over the board. In the 1940 US
> Open he played this line in all of his games with White and lost of
> all his games except for only one draw. However, he won all his games
> with black.
>
> He thereafter switched to the Vienna Game in which he claimed a win
> with White after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5.
>
> When this did not work either, he switched to other lines.
>
> Even though he was rarely successful at the top levels, his ideas were
> studied and sometimes adopted by the strongest grandmasters, including
> Bobby Fischer. Fischer scored spectacular wins by playing the Adams
> Attack against the Najdorf Sicilian, which starts with the moves 1. e4
> c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 !!!
>
> The problem Adams had was that he published his analysis and then
> played it, so that his opponents knew in advance exactly what he would
> play and had time to prepare a refutation.
>
> Weaver W. Adams believed that he was descended from Henry Adams who
> landed in Braintree, Massachusetts in 1644 and thereby was distantly
> related to Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. His father was
> Frank Harding Adams and his mother was Ethel Weaver. Both Weaver and
> Warren were his ancestral names. His mother's side has been traced
> back to the founding fathers of America. His father's side has as not
> yet been established.
>
> Adams died in the mid-1960s.
>
> Books
>
> * White to Play and Win 978-0-923891-83-1
> * Simple Chess
>
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Date: 22 Apr 2007 17:02:58
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Biography of Weaver W. Adams
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CHESS CATECHISM
Chapter 22 (slingshots) contains an interesting feud between Weaver
Adams,
Anthony Santasiere with Larry Evans who noted: "My fondest memory is
of Weaver playing a tournament game and swaying back and forth in his
chair, like a pendulum, as he pondered for twenty minutes over his
second move in the Vienna (1 P-K4 P-K4 2 N-QB3). 'What the hell is he
thinking about?' I used to ask myself. Surely enough, he played the
predictable move every time. Occasionally he was in time pressure when
he reached the end of a variation of 18 or 19 moves which he had
previously published. This endless search for perfection is
characteristic of him."
samsloan wrote:
> Weaver W. Adams
>
> Weaver Warren Adams (b. April 28, 1901 in Dedham, Massachusetts) was a
> chess player, author and chess opening theoretician. He won the US
> Open Chess Championship in 1948 and his picture was on the cover of
> the August, 1948 issue of Chess Review magazine. He played in the US
> Chess Championship five times.
>
> He was best known for his books and magazine articles in which he
> claimed and attempted to prove that White has a win by force from the
> first move.
>
> His first book which expounded on this thesis was "White to Play and
> Win" published in 1939. In this book, he claimed a forced win with the
> Bishop's Opening 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4.
>
> However, he was unable to prove this over the board. In the 1940 US
> Open he played this line in all of his games with White and lost of
> all his games except for only one draw. However, he won all his games
> with black.
>
> He thereafter switched to the Vienna Game in which he claimed a win
> with White after 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5.
>
> When tCChis did not work either, he switched to other lines.
>
> Even though he was rarely successful at the top levels, his ideas were
> studied and sometimes adopted by the strongest grandmasters, including
> Bobby Fischer. Fischer scored spectacular wins by playing the Adams
> Attack against the Najdorf Sicilian, which starts with the moves 1. e4
> c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 !!!
>
> The problem Adams had was that he published his analysis and then
> played it, so that his opponents knew in advance exactly what he would
> play and had time to prepare a refutation.
>
> Weaver W. Adams believed that he was descended from Henry Adams who
> landed in Braintree, Massachusetts in 1644 and thereby was distantly
> related to Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. His father was
> Frank Harding Adams and his mother was Ethel Weaver. Both Weaver and
> Warren were his ancestral names. His mother's side has been traced
> back to the founding fathers of America. His father's side has as not
> yet been established.
>
> Adams died in the mid-1960s.
>
> Books
>
> * White to Play and Win 978-0-923891-83-1
> * Simple Chess
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