Of course, induction time is a great excuse for Hall of Fame arguments. Of course, Howard Staunton eventually belongs in any World Chess Hall of Fame. But order of admission matters.
Staunton inducted before Anderssen? Questionable at best. (If one relies on Chessmetrics, then I’m patiently awaiting Kieseritzky’s induction.)
Staunton before La Bourdonnais??
Staunton before Philidor??? (Philidor is a funny case in that so few games of his games survive. But still…)
The Four Tops before Bob Marley? (I like the Four Tops; so did Bobby Fischer.)
Ah - but Philidor discovered a new element of chess - Pawn Structure. Prior to Philidor, it was Space, Time, and Material. In a sense, Philidor was the Einstein of chess. “The pawn is the soul of chess.” was the least important thing he wrote explaining this, but it’s a great soundbite.
Philidor took the analysis of chess to a new level, and that was his goal:
He clarified the importance of pawns in the 1792 edition:
In other words, Philidor had come to recognize that PLANS were related to Pawn Structure, that one could determine what was happening in a game largely by reading Pawn Structure.
Philidor’s recognition of the importance of analysis (in the strict definition), and his recognition of the importance of Pawn Structure, place him at the head of the line in terms of players who developed the theories of positional play. He certainly deserves to be in the HOF, and as an early entrant.
I was about to say that design of the standard set was worthy of admission in itself, but that was achieved by one Nathaniel Cook. Staunton was an influential promoter of the design.
Much like any other Hall of Fame, fans can debate forever who should get in and when. One way that chess is different from other sports like baseball, hockey and basketball is that a player can still be competitive until late in life. Korchnoi comes to mind. I would prefer to see only deceased players enshrined in the Chess Hall of Fame.
The selections of this year’s US Chess Hall of Fame are a good example. Kamsky before some others?? That can be argued I suppose, particularly as he’s still active. But Maurice Ashley? Now? At some point clearly yes given his achievements. However, in light of his business involvement with broadcasting chess from St. Louis and Rex’s patronage in St. Louis, I question the timing and hence the real legitimacy of this selection at this point in time. Thus, I would urge a moratorium on admitting any further living players to the US Hall of Fame.
I’m not aware of any Hall-of-Fame that admits only posthumously; for U.S. coinage, federal law prohibits a living person. Even U.S. postage stamps have bent the long-standing tradition, such as the “Harry Potter” commemorative set of 2013.
The Hall of Fame for golf and bowling, two sports with popular “senior tour” events (and where one can still compete at the top-level past age 50) members include men and women who are active tour members.
I don’t see much point in “honoring” a person for their contribution to the sport (or arts/entertainment), when they’re no longer alive to receive the honor, and when they may have outlived their spouse and even their children, so that not even a family member would be present. For that matter, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is nearly always awarded to living persons.
Of course, not all rules are absolute. USPS has had one living person on a postage stamp–Elvis.
I guess it depends on what one views as the purpose of a Hall of Fame. I tend to view it in primarily historic terms, not really for honoring those still living. One approach might be to induct three people each year, two deceased and one living. In the case with chess, I’d suggest not admitting a living player prior to the age of 50 or 55.
Of course, we are forgetting the most important rule: “He who has the gold makes the rules.”
Too stringent of a set of admitting rules makes the selection odd. Double standards are used in the sports Hall of Fames. Some bad characters who none of the other players liked are in. Others, who have an equal or better claim do not for various moral infirmities. Ty Cobb and Pete Rose come to mind as examples. Some players who have similar statistics are permitted in to a HOF while others are deemed to be lacking something that can’t be quite determined. They have to wait for future years voting. The recent mini-squabble over Terrell Owens not being picked a first ballot HOF selectee is a recent example.
In chess it should be easy to draft a whole bunch of the past legends into the HOF en masse. However, I guess it also depends on how much space you have to do it.
The U.S. Postal Service’s 20-stamp commemorative set featured the (still-living) actors and actresses as they appeared in their movie roles. (Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, did not pass away until January 14, 2016). uspsstamps.com/stamps/harry-potter
