Friday, August 1, 2014

Let's hear it for the old guys!

James Tarjan was one of the top chess players in the country when I was learning chess as a child in the early 1970's.

I knew he had stopped playing chess, but I had absolutely no idea that he had become a librarian!

He's apparently been living just 75 miles away from me for the last 25 years, working at the Santa Cruz public library.

Dana MacKenzie takes up the story: Rip Van Winkle Returns.

... James Tarjan, a grandmaster and frequent contender for the U.S. championship in the 1970s who has not played a single tournament game since 1984. He dropped out of chess and for at least the last ten or fifteen years he has been a librarian for the Santa Cruz Public Library.

It looks like he's still playing well at the open, with 4.5 points out of 6 rounds.

Way to go, GM Tarjan!

No comments:

Post a Comment