On Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 4:54:19 PM UTC-5, William Hyde wrote:
On Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 4:31:24 PM UTC-5, Phil Innes wrote:
There are of course two historic players who changed their names for Russified presentation, firstly Tal whose Latvian name and pronunciation was Tahls, then there was the complexity of Alekhine, to which the subject changed his western spelling to
in France, and to sound French, but in Russia to avoid and distance himself to a certain semitic reference — and as we grew up reading his name we all said "Alec-Keen" didn't we? — still in Russia it was, it is, more like "Al-io-kin" with that
diphthong and extra syllable.
Max Euwe's name is pronounced according to our local Dutch landscaper, "Yovay".
When I was in the Hague I learned how to pronounce "Sheveningen", after many repeated attempts. I doubt that I can pronounce it
correctly now, but at least I get closer than I once did.
Maybe like Shavan-YING-er
James Mason, of course, was not born under that name. IIRC someone has gone to considerable effort to find out just
who he was, with what success I do not know.
I looked that up, and neither did his researchers know, though he was once thought #1 in the world. Irish, though. And was that a disguise from that?
Nimzowitch's name
(Latvian: Ārons Nimcovičs, Russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич, Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich;—
Mother's name: Esphir Nohumovna Nimzowitsch (born Rabinovich, 1865) and, perhaps explaining a name change "During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Nimzowitsch was in the Baltic war zone. He escaped being drafted into one of the armies by feigning madness,
insisting that a fly was on his head. He then escaped to Berlin, and gave his first name as Arnold, possibly to avoid anti-Semitic persecution."
and everyone should love "'Gegen diesen Idioten muss ich verlieren!' ('That I should lose to this idiot!')" About Samisch, no less.
Probably Ray Keene would know better of his name and psychological condition, but we are not currently in touch.
was changed by a passport official, who forgot a syllable
That is possibly the "m"
from his original name as detailed, IIRC in Winter's
"chess Notes". It was a short syllable and Nimzowitch was so happy to get the passport that he didn't complain. The original name
meant "person from Germany" so the opening was from the Russian word for German.
Reshevsky's name was greatly shortened in America. I can barely spell it as it is, and won't attempt the complete
version, which IIRC is longer than the one given in Wikipedia.
When I first stared attending the chess club there was an elderly player, Peter Avery, Toronto Champion 1942, who was
born Petr Avarovich, and was one of Kerensky's followers in 1918. I wish I'd spoken to him about those times.
And then of course there's Kasparov.
Petersburg, guttural, Moscow, like many capitals moderated but heavy on the consonants, but in Baku, soft — so we might expect another Shaskorrrrov
Cordially, Phil Inez
as they say on the phone
including today when I called Texas
and while she concluded that it was
"extremely cold here" being 65 degrees
the sun was just setting here over the hill at 40 degrees
and I assume it was even lesser where you are
the sun setting earlier
because of your northerly situation
William Hyde
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