Weaver W. Adams

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Weaver Warren Adams (born April 28, 1901 in Dedham , Massachusetts , † January 6, 1963 in Cedar Grove , New Jersey ) was an American chess player and writer.

Life

Weaver Adams grew up as the son of commercial agent Frank H. Adams in a middle-class family. He learned to play chess at the age of 12. After graduating from high school, he began studying engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , which he was unable to complete successfully because he mainly devoted himself to chess. His teacher was the Boston attorney John F. Barry, who was one of the best players in the USA at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1922 Adams won the Boston Chess Club championship and in 1924 the New England championship by beating Harold Morton in a competition . He held this title until 1929, when he lost a revenge match against Morton. In 1936 Adams took part in the US National Championship in New York City , but only came in last place. Even in the US championships in 1940, 1944, 1946 and 1948 he did not come in front places. He was able to win the Massachusetts championship in 1937, 1938, 1941 and 1945 and the US Open Championship in 1948 in Baltimore . He played his only tournament abroad at the turn of the year 1950/51 in Hastings , but only finished penultimate there.

Since Adams could not make a living from chess, he tried his luck as a chicken farmer at times with modest success. Since 1949 he was a member of the Log Cabin Chess Club in West Orange , from whose founder Elliot Forry Laucks he was also financially supported. Adams was gay.

His best historical rating was 2560 in December 1945, which put him in 50th place in the unofficial world rankings.

Contributions to opening theory

Adams was convinced that the suit advantage in chess was a decisive factor, and tried to prove this in numerous analyzes. Since he considered the opening moves 1. e4 e5 to be the best, they were the starting point for his investigations. At first he was occupied with the bishop game and gave the variant 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Bc5 4. Nc3 d6 5. f4 as profitable. Later he thought the Vienna game was better. In practice, he could not achieve any particular success with his variants, for which his opponents could prepare well. Grandmaster Larry Evans criticized Adams' dogmatism in the chess magazine Chess Life in 1962 . Hans Berliner , on the other hand, said positively about Adams , who also believes that White must have a decisive advantage in an optimal game, but considers 1. d4 to be the best move.

Two opening variants are named after Weaver Adams: In the Sicilian Defense the sequence of moves successfully played by Bobby Fischer 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 and in the Viennese game das Gambit 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. d4.

Works

  • White to play and win (1937, 1939)
  • Simple chess (1946, 1952, 1958)
  • How to play chess (1958)
  • Absolute chess (1959)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Massachusetts State Champions , accessed February 13, 2011
  2. ↑ Review of Chess Pride ( memento October 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), J. Franklin Campbell 1998
  3. ^ Entry at Chessmetrics.com , accessed February 13, 2011
  4. ^ David Hooper, Kenneth Whyld: The Oxford Companion to Chess , 2nd edition, Oxford University Press 1996, p. 3

literature

  • Michael Negele: Weiss attracts and wins. Weaver W. Adams, Apostle of Aggression. In: KARL 27.2010,3, pp. 48-51

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Adams, Weaver W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Adams, Weaver Warren (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American chess player and writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Dedham , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH January 6, 1963
Place of death Cedar Grove, New Jersey