English Chess Forum

Got a bit of a shock today when I read a column entitled Rip Van Winkle and came across a player whose name I hadn't heard for 35 years, who has just started playing chess again...

http://www.danamackenzie.com/blog/?p=3042

The last time I heard of Tarjan he had just obliterated one of Basman's maniac openings. Think it was 1 e4 b5. I remember Basman telling me he'd never play that again. But to give up GM chess to become a librarian?

Tarjan (b. 1952) won the 2nd reserve prize at the Nice Olympiad in 1974 (USA 3rd).

Even in the US there may well be a lot more money in being a librarian than a GM and it would certainly be a more secure and less stressful profession.

Mecking (b. 1952) also retired early from competitive chess - for health reasons - and staged a comeback of sorts much later.

A little bit more info in the comments here
http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2014/7 ... -open.html

Tarjan was just one of many strong US players who packed the game in for something more profitable; this is a "tradition" which goes back to at Fine, Dake, and Kashdan.

Patrick Wolff, Ken Rogoff, Kim Commons, Michael Wilder, the late Mark Diesen, Ron Henley, Stuart Rachels, Tal Shaked....and probably quite a few others. Of course we've seen the same thing in Britain & Europe as well.

Good luck to Tarjan on his comeback!