Did you ever have to prove you were a chess player?

[Gerard Killoran]

The London Chess Champion and the Police
Otago Witness, Issue 2012, 15 September 1892, Page 36

The London Chess Champion and the Police
The London Evening News and Post gives the following very interesting account of an experience that betel Mr Moriau, the champion of the City of London Chess Club, and which he recently related at the club:-

"On the 1st of February I moved to new offices in the city. One evening having to play a match game at the club, I stayed at my offices till club time. On going downstairs, accompanied by my clerk, I found the street door locked. I knocked violently against the door in the hope of attracting the attention of some passer-by. A man came up, to whom I explained the situation, begging him to fetch a policeman, in the belief that in London policemen could do anything. By-and-bye a policeman came to the door. I had to answer a number of questions, but the upshot was that I was to be left to pass the night in my offices. Scores of people soon congregated in the street, and poked fun at me on the softness of my prospective bed. The situation was not an agreeable one, and moreover, I stood a chance of losing my game by forfeit. So, at length, I asked the policeman if he had a skeleton key. He answered in a sharp voice that the members of the police force did not carry skeleton keys to open other people's doors, and cunningly inquired if I had a skeleton key myself. My answer was that skeleton keys were not in my line. Then the policeman said that he would go and see what he could do to help me. By-and-bye, I saw through the aperture for letters that an inspector of police and two more policemen I had come to look after me and I told the inspector that I was the man whose name was printed on the door plate. Meanwhile, my clerk had. grown impatient, and had gone upstairs. Presently he called to me to come up to him. There was a window near the roof, which looked over a yard, and on the other side of the yard I saw some masons who were still busy in making alterations in a house. I called out to them, asking them to stretch a ladder across the yard from window to window. This they did, and I and my clerk crawled across to the other house. The house proved to be the Poulterers' Arms. On going into the street I found that the police force was not to be evaded by my flank movement. A policeman confronted me, and insisted on taking me back to my office door, against which the inspector was knocking louder than ever. I explained that I had got out of a window, and was about to go away. Thereupon I was politely informed by the inspector that I must find someone to identify me, or he must take me to the station. I was walked back to the Poulterers' Arms, followed by a crowd of people. There the inspector turned to me, and asked me the odd but momentous question, 'Do you know any barmaid here?' Then I was taken, into the bar, and every barmaid in turn was asked if she knew me. It was rather trying to my feeling 'to be told by pretty lips in the presence of members of the city force that I was unknown to them. But as it is with skeleton keys so it is with barmaids — they are not in my line. Then we left the Poulterers' Arms, and as we passed the Old Burton the inspector again asked me, 'Do you know a barmaid here?' The previous experience was repeated, and we set out for the police station. Then a sudden idea struck me. I told the inspector that I had the honour to belong to the City of London Chess Club, and handed him a paragraph relating to some blindfold play by me. Thereupon a policeman who was walking behind came up and said, 'If this gentleman be Mr Moriau he is a distinguished chess player.' Whether I am distinguished or not is another matter, but the 'bobby' said so. The inspector read the notice paper and said, I should very much like to play a game of chess with you.' I replied, 'It is very easy, Mr Inspector. Come to the Salutation Tavern, and we shall have a game. Besides, you will find a lot of people there ready to testify that I am Mr Moriau.' But the inspector told me he was very sorry that the Salutation Tavern was out of his beat, and that if I could not find anyone to identify me he would be only doing his duty in taking me to the station. Then I luckily happened to mention that if the manager of the City Restaurant was there he would know me at once. I was soon afterwards identified, and went to the Salutation, where Blackburne was the first to hear my story. Its moral seems to be that to put yourself right with the police if you do not know a barmaid you ought to be, a chess player."

[Michael Farthing]

A delightful story. I can think of another instance involving an even more famous person - a certain Mr R Fisher - though from before the time of his fame in America. Regrettably I cannot locate the details but it would have been some time in the 60s and Chess gave over several columns to reporting it if anyone can locate it. Anyway, Fischer had been arrested for some unconventional behaviour and attempted to establish some credit by asserting his status as a chess player. No one in the station had heard of him and Fischer gave a long list of chess organisations that could atest to him. B H Wood was clearly quite proud that his magazine was included in the list, and indeed Chess was contacted and was able to affirm Mr Fischer's claims.

[Gordon Cadden]

A delightful story. I can think of another instance involving an even more famous person - a certain Mr R Fisher - though from before the time of his fame in America. Regrettably I cannot locate the details but it would have been some time in the 60s and Chess gave over several columns to reporting it if anyone can locate it. Anyway, Fischer had been arrested for some unconventional behaviour and attempted to establish some credit by asserting his status as a chess player. No one in the station had heard of him and Fischer gave a long list of chess organisations that could atest to him. B H Wood was clearly quite proud that his magazine was included in the list, and indeed Chess was contacted and was able to affirm Mr Fischer's claims.

I was tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse, by Bobby Fischer c1982 14p paperback.
His claim that he was a World Chess Champion did not impress his torturers.

[Michael Farthing]

Thanks Gordon! Got most of it wrong then - just shows how unreliable memories can be. At least I didn't blame it on Sacramento, which is where I (mis)remembered it happening.

[John McKenna]

Revisiting the jailhouse -

Like Garry, Bobby was arrested and spent time in the jailhouse -

http://anusha.com/pasadena.htm

The U.S. of A. also has its authoritarians.

Absolutely. Happily, I'm not old enough to remember McCarthyism, which was an extreme expression of authoritarianism in US public life, but even today, one need only think of the Patriot Act, for example. And such things apply also to the United Kingdom, and in some degree even to the most open, transparent, liberal democracies. The danger in mentioning such appalling lapses by democracies, is that of creating false equivalences with the grevious crimes against liberty of genuinely authoritarian states and despotisms. And one is then a long way along the path towards useful idiocy...

Edit: Just in case you didn't get the punch line - it was Paul calling me a useful idiot (better than being a useless one, eh?)
Edit: Actually, I think Paul regards a useless idiot as superior to a useful one since he regards the latter as a (super) dupe(r).

[Brian Towers]

Edit: Just in case you didn't get the punch line - it was Paul calling me a useful idiot (better than being a useless one, eh?)

I wonder what he thinks of Snowden?

[John McKenna]

Good question.

[Mark Jordan]

I was scheduled to play a team match in the London League against a civil service team which was to take place in a government building with tight security. The team captain had been told to send a team list in advance which would be given to security and we would be checked off on arrival. When I got there I explained my business, they checked the list, and I wasn't on it! It turned out that, for some reason, they had the previous year's list! Fortunately my team mate with whom I'd arrived was listed so they gave me the benefit of the doubt which was good for me and the team but does suggest that the security was perhaps not as tight as the minister might have thought and hoped!

A rather more celebrated and potentially serious instance was that of American GM, Larry Evans. He arrived at the border of the USSR, en route to a tournament, and the guards on searching his luggage were very suspicious of his files of chess analysis which they thought to be secret code. His explanations and that of a colleague were to no avail and he was in danger of at least being denied entry or very possibly clapped in irons! Eventually some phone calls were made and he was vouched for by none other than Botvinnik who even the guards had heard of! I've no idea if his near incarceration affected his play!

[NickFaulks]

Seems a bit odd that Russian border guards wouldn't have recognised chess analysis. Perhaps it all looked like Kt-QKt5.

[JustinHorton]

A rather more celebrated and potentially serious instance was that of American GM, Larry Evans. He arrived at the border of the USSR, en route to a tournament

Which one?

[PeterFarr]

I'm a bit sceptical about that story; I'm fairly sure I've seen it before, but maybe with Euwe instead of Larry Evans, and the joke being that he really was carrying anti-Soviet materials in the form of analysis to beat Botvinnik. Maybe it was in one of Bronstein's books?

It's the kind of thing that Messrs. Winter or Urcan would track down in a flash.

[David Sedgwick]

I'm a bit sceptical about that story; I'm fairly sure I've seen it before, but maybe with Euwe instead of Larry Evans, and the joke being that he really was carrying anti-Soviet materials in the form of analysis to beat Botvinnik.

I've seen a version of the story, but I can't remember where.

According to that version, the five players in the World Championship Tournament 1948 travelled together overland from the Hague to Moscow between the two parts of the event. Euwe was searched on arrival at the Soviet border and was found to be carrying a notebook with mysterious hieroglyphics. The border guards were initially disbelieving of Euwe's claim that they were notes of his preparation for the remaining rounds, but the day was saved when Botvinnik confirmed their nature.

[PeterFarr]

Yes, thank you David you are quite right, tracked it down now, the episode is related in Botvinnik's "Achieving the Aim".

[Matt Mackenzie]

Larry Evans being economical with the actualite? Who knew??

[Mark Jordan]

Interesting! Perhaps it happened to Larry too: It's not beyond the bounds of possibility! And with Botvinnik thinking "Oh No, not again!"