English Chess Forum

The sad news has recently been reported that American Grandmaster Alexander Sherzer died on 4th December 2022, in Bonita Springs, Florida, aged just 51.
Alex was born on 1st February 1971 in Fallston, Maryland.
He won the U.S. Junior Championship in 1991 and became a Grandmaster in 1993.
RIP

Any cause of death given?

James Plaskett wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 03, 2023 11:15 am

Any cause of death given?

Hi James. Happy New Year to you.
I can't find anything at the moment.
Apparently, up until his death, he was a practising medical doctor and a volunteer for MSF.

From https://www.aei.org/articles/rah-rah-block-that-rook/

At the 2002 Pan Am Tournament, UMBC ’s “B” team upset its “A” team to win the title. (The “A” team, meanwhile, tied for second place with UTD.) The “B” team was anchored by Alex “The Surgeon” Sherzer, a 32-year-old grandmaster.

Several months later, in May of 2003, Sherzer would stun the collegiate chess community when he was arrested in Alabama for allegedly attempting to solicit sex from a 15-year-old girl he met on the Internet, according to wire services. He was acquitted of the charges, but because of the arrest, additional details came to light. Sherzer, who left UMBC before classes ended for an internship in Louisiana, had already received a medical degree from a university in Hungary.

No, Kevin Thurlow.

I was already aware of the, er, crime for which he was, er, investigated. And I was unaware of his status as MD.

I was just wondering why a man of fifty-one should shuffle off this mortal coil, that´s all.

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.c ... WyPg?pli=1

discusses the court case. Basically, he was in contact with a 15-year-old girl, her mother "found" the correspondence and told the FBI. The latter took over the correspondence and made explicit suggestions to Sherzer, who rather stupidly decided to visit the girl. The court decided the correspondence was harmless until the FBI intervened. US courts tend to regard entrapment of this sort as a dirty trick, (and the FBI the only criminals), whereas I suspect in UK, they might not look at it this way.

James Plaskett wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 03, 2023 5:38 pm

No, Kevin Thurlow.

I was already aware of the, er, crime for which he was, er, investigated. And I was unaware of his status as MD.

I was just wondering why a man of fifty-one should shuffle off this mortal coil, that´s all.

According to the website Ever Loved:
"Alex unexpectedly passed in peace"

Kevin Thurlow wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 03, 2023 5:52 pm

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.c ... WyPg?pli=1

discusses the court case. Basically, he was in contact with a 15-year-old girl, her mother "found" the correspondence and told the FBI. The latter took over the correspondence and made explicit suggestions to Sherzer, who rather stupidly decided to visit the girl. The court decided the correspondence was harmless until the FBI intervened. US courts tend to regard entrapment of this sort as a dirty trick, (and the FBI the only criminals), whereas I suspect in UK, they might not look at it this way.

Yes, I seem to remember reading at the time, he was caught with a diary in his possession which stated something along the lines of "April 15th, have sex with a 15 year old girl" with a smiley face. Even if it was a 1 off, by this time, he had certainly become allured with the idea. One has to ask the question, even pre-FBI, what was he doing talking to her? Can't see a Chess GM and MD overly interested in the chatter of a teenage girl - I feel he must, at least, have had ulterior motives in the back of his mind.

Probably, because the FBI majorly overplayed their hand, it was felt the case could not proceed despite other evidence.

Ben Finegold has made a tribute video about Sherzer, he addresses the legal troubles but does attempt to white wash it a little, as he has fond memories of him as a teenager. I can't help but feel the video was better off not getting made.

This is all news to me, but there are a number of states in the USA which recognise (improper forms of) entrapment as establishing a complete defence, so this would not be a big surprise. It might well have gone differently in the UK, where the defendant can only rely on a relatively uncertain doctrine of abuse of process, but it is hard to say more - much would depend exactly on what the FBI wrote in their undercover guise, and whether the FBI already had good reason to suspect him of other such activities.

Strange business... But, with respect, I am more interested in what caused the death of a GM and MD at the early age of fifty-one...

As someone close to GM Alex Sherzer, I suggest that the postings here contain inaccuracies. I do not know the motivations of those who expressed opinions about the Alabama court case, but Sherzer's memory should not be sullied by these postings. Although the case was brought in the federal court in Alabama, the American FBI had no involvement in the prosecution. Sherzer did not keep a diary, so I doubt the veracity of the suggestions contained in this forum.

The jury that heard the facts of the case in the deep South (Mobile, Alabama) would not be expected to have sympathy to a northerner with a Jewish name, yet it took a short time to find him not guilty. (The jury was not given the option of finding him factually innocent.)

He died in an accident.

Jon Mahony wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 04, 2023 8:39 am

[
Yes, I seem to remember reading at the time, he was caught with a diary in his possession which stated something along the lines of "April 15th, have sex with a 15 year old girl" with a smiley face. Even if it was a 1 off, by this time, he had certainly become allured with the idea. One has to ask the question, even pre-FBI, what was he doing talking to her? Can't see a Chess GM and MD overly interested in the chatter of a teenage girl - I feel he must, at least, have had ulterior motives in the back of his mind.

Have to say that it's depressing to find that, when one passes away, there's liable to be public speculation based on incomplete recollections ("I seem to remember", "something along the lines of", "he must, at least, have had ulterior motives") of an incident where a jury has acquitted.

What kind of accident killed him?

Alex was like a son to me, and I spoke to him the evening that he passed away. Everything related to his death is quite painful.

I would prefer that people remember him for his extraordinary kind-heartedness as well as his fabulous intellect. As a chess player, he won the first US Cadet (Under 16) Championship, twice won the US Junior (Under 21) Invitational, the US High School Championship, as well as numerous local and regional tournaments. At 13, he drew GM Lubomir Kavalek, and a few years later defeated GM Bent Larsen. He had an even score (1-1-1) against his friend Viswanathan Anand. He came within one move of being the US Champion in the 1992-1993 Championship. (Had he found 38...e3 against Fedorowicz his life would have been quite different.)

He was treated like a member of the Polgar family, and Bobby Fischer enjoyed his company, too.

A number of things about his supposed history related in postings above are not correct. He was born in Florida, not Maryland, and although he had contacted MSF he never worked with that worthwhile organization. He did, however, create two medical missions to support indigent and indigenous populations in the Philippines. (He had no particular connection to the Philippines, but a friend told him about the need of people outside the major cities and Alex decided he could help and, on his own, did.)

His arrest was a travesty and it had a substantial negative impact on the rest of his life. When he was arrested in Alabama he was on his way to begin a medical residency in Louisiana. The stigma of the charges caused people who did not know him to avoid developing relationships with him. That was their loss, but his, too.

I appreciate your response, David.
Thank you.