Chess player and benefactor Jacqueline Piatigorsky dies at 100

by ChessBase
7/21/2012 – U.S. chess lost one of its major figures with the passing of Jacqueline Piatigorsky at age 100. Her accomplishments as an organizer, benefactor, and player were legion. As a player she came second in the US Women's Championship in 1965, but worldwide she is most famous for organizing, among others, the Piatigorsky Cups in the 1960s with Fischer and Spassky. Obituary.

ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024 ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024

It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.

More...

Chess player and benefactor Jacqueline Piatigorsky dies at 100

By Randy Hough

U.S. chess lost one of its major figures of the 20th century Tuesday with the passing of Jacqueline Piatigorsky at age 100. Her accomplishments as an organizer, benefactor, and player were legion.

A member of the Rothschild banking family, Jacqueline was born in Paris on November 6, 1911 and married the fabled cellist Gregor Piatigorsky in 1937. They fled to the U.S. in the wake of the Nazi invasion, eventually settling in Los Angeles in 1949.

Mrs. Piatigorsky's accomplishments as a player included a bronze medal in the first Women's Olympiad in 1957, scoring 7.5/11 on second board. She played in several U.S. Women's Championships, finishing a half-point out of first in 1965.


Source: Chess Review, October 1955, page 291 - scan from Chess Notes

[Event "Emmen ol (Women) qual2 1st"] [Site "Emmen"] [Date "1957.09.05"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Piatigorsky, Jacqueline"] [Black "Kertesz, Eva"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C47"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "1957.09.02"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "NED"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.11.25"] [WhiteTeam "US of America (W) (W)"] [BlackTeam "Hungary (W)"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "HUN"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 cxd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 c6 11. Qf3 Be7 12. Rae1 Qc7 13. Ne2 h6 14. Bc1 Bg4 15. Qg3 Bd6 16. Qh4 Be5 17. Ng3 Bd7 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. Bxf5 Nh7 20. Bxh6 gxh6 21. Qxh6 f6 22. f4 Bxb2 23. Rf3 Kh8 24. Qxh7+ Qxh7 25. Bxh7 Kxh7 26. Re7+ Kh6 27. Rh3+ Kg6 28. f5+ Kxf5 29. Rf3+ 1/2-1/2

After the sudden death of her teacher, IM Herman Steiner, in 1955, she stepped up as the organizer of what became known as the Steiner Club. Its offshoots included the Student Club, which from the mid-60s to the mid-80s mentored young players and prepared them to enter the world of tournament chess (at the start of this period, junior tournaments were rare).

Mrs. Piatigorsky's name is forever linked to the Piatigorsky Cup GM tournaments held in Los Angeles in 1963 and 1966. Participants included world champions Petrosian, Spassky, and Fischer. She oversaw all the details of these events, including the relay of moves to the analysis room, and personally designed the Cup. She even placed the demonstration boards on the stage herself once when none of the helpers were present and none of the masters would deign to help. These two tournaments, universally considered to be the strongest in the U.S. since New York 1924, did much to enhance the stature of chess in the U.S. and generated still-popular tournament books.


Source: Second Piatigorsky Cup (published in Los Angeles, 1968) - scan from Chess Notes

Other invaluable organizational efforts included the 1961 match between America's two strongest players, Bobby Fischer and Sammy Reshevsky (unfortunately aborted in a scheduling dispute) and the 1968 Interzonal playoff that advanced Reshevsky to the Candidates matches.


Source: Chess Life, March 1963, page 73 - scan from Chess Notes

Mrs. Piatigorsky sponsored the U.S. Junior Invitational for several years in the late 60s and early 70s. Future GMs like Walter Browne, Larry Christiansen, Jim Tarjan, and Ken Rogoff honed their talents in these events.

Her philanthropic efforts also included chess programs for underprivileged and disabled students in Los Angeles schools, and paying expenses to national competitions for local teams.

Gregor died in 1976. Retiring as a player in the late 70s, Mrs. Piatigorsky increasingly focused on tennis (winning several national championships) and sculpting; some of her work can be viewed here, along with her rewarding ruminations on aging, Growing as We Age. She also published an autobiography, Jump in the Waves: A Memoir.

Despite Mrs. Piatigorsky's regal bearing and wealth, she was friendly, and especially beloved by the young Student Club players. Her contributions to chess in the United States have had a lasting ripple effect. Our thoughts are with her children, Jephta and Joram.

My thanks to Art Drucker and John Donaldson for their help in compiling Mrs. Piatigorsky's list of accomplishments.

Copyright Randy Hough/ChessBase


Reports about chess: tournaments, championships, portraits, interviews, World Championships, product launches and more.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register