Re: Harry Kasparov? [was: Re: for my wife and I]

On 2 Dec 2003 11:08:45 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Jerry Friedman) said:

> CeeBee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message 
>    news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...

[in a discussion of Garry Kasparov's name]

[ . . . ]

> > Probably under pressure of the USSR Ministry of Sports his name was 
> > changed from Harri Weinstein to Harri Kasparov, after his father Kim 
> > Weinstein was killed in a car crash. His mother is Klara Kasparov(a). 
> > Kasparova is the "female" version of the name Kasparov.
 
> I heard, from a Ukrainian Jewish emigre around 1984, that the name
> change resulted from Botvinnik's friendly suggestion that Kasparov
> would go farther in Soviet chess with a Russian surname than with a
> Jewish one.  Only a rumor.

I don't doubt that that's a good rumor, but, still, David
Bronstein got as far as drawing a match for the World
Championship with Botvinnik in 1951.  (The rules for that
particular match said the title stayed with Botvinnik if
there was a drawn match.)

ObAUE: Newspaper reporters who don't know much often use the
word "match" to refer to a single game of chess.  A match in
chess is a set of games.  For example, in 1927 Alekhine and
Capablanca played a match for the championship in which
Alekhine won six games, Capablanca won three, and there were
25 drawn games.  (That was apparently a record for number of
draws in a WC match until 1984 when Karpov won five,
Kasparov won 3, and there were 40 draws.)