Opened my Fortune magazine today and in the middle of the issue is billionaire Chris Flowers photographed sitting at the Marshall Chess Club. Online article is Checkmate for a Wall Street Wizard?, with picture. Very little about chess beyond the first few paragraphs.
Based on tournament results he he may know how to use that Colle system set up in the photo. Tournament results reveal he lost to Polly in February of this year.
Dunno about Christopher Flowers, but Cerberus’ Stephen Feinberg (better known as the owner of Chrysler when it went bankrupt; he also controlled GMAC) is a 2300.
So is Boaz Weinstein, the Michael Milken of credit derivatives.
Feinberg obviously is worth well over a billion bucks. Dunno about Weinstein, but he must be close, after several years as Deutsche Bank’s global head of credit trading. (His exit at the turn of the year to start a hedge fund was widely covered in the mass media.)
Both men stopped playing in tournaments a long time ago.
GM David Norwood is, or was, chief executive of a British investment firm.
And let’s not forget Max Zavanelli. I haven’t run across his name in chess circles in a long time. That’s puzzling - reading what he’s published over the years, I got the distinct impression he loved chess even more than he loved investing, and would never give up the game in one capacity or another.
By the way I’ve faced three of the above-named individuals at the board. Lost to Weinstein in a Manhattan Chess Club blitz tournament circa 1990, when he was a 1700-rated Stuy High student. Lost to Norwood (then a 15-year old IM) in a 1987 blitz game at the Kings Head, London’s best-known “chess pub” at the time. Beat Zavanelli in a tournament some time in the 1970s.
Boaz stopped by to watch part of the Under Age 13 tournament we held at the Club in May.
I think Crume may be onto something here. What about talking sponsorship with some of
these fine people. Aggressively seeking sponsorships could cure a few ills with just a little
success.
Rob Jones
As I write this, Howard Stern is now playing a game against Dr. Brady at the Marshall.
The rights to the scoresheet could be BIG.