As a teen i played tourney and informal games w.ith players who had played some of the greats.
Tony Santasiere played Capablanca, Marshall. Edward Lasker, CarlosTorre.
Al Horowitz played Marshall, Capablaca, Fine, Reshevky.
Bob Bornholz (USCF Master from Pgh) played Marshall, Reinfeld, Alekhine.
Edward Lasker played ALL the greats.
Abraham Kupchik played Bolgoyubov, Janowski. Kashdan, Capablanka, Marshall.
Victor Soultanbeieff played Alekhine, Flohr. Etc.
Anyone out there with a similar experience? Were you aware who you were playing and their connections to the greats?
I have two draws against Erik Karklins. For the purist, does he really count as a “true” MN3? (He played Em. Lasker in a simul in Riga sometime in the late 1920s).
I’m sure some folks in this forum could claim a Purist’s Morphy Number (PMN ) of 6 or less if they’ve beaten someone who’s beaten Reshevsky: “I beat A who beat B … who beat Morphy.”
In tournament play, mine is 7: I beat Morris Giles (once! with five losses) who beat Browne who beat Reshevsky who beat Lasker who beat Bird who beat Anderssen who beat Morphy.
NM Rhine notes that Reshevsky also played and won against Mieses.
So if you’ve ever won a game against someone who’s beaten Bisguier, Peters, Michael Brooks, or anyone else who had previously beaten Reshevsky, your PMN is 6…
And if you enjoy this game, you might check the MSA history of Igor Ivanov (I did not realize that he was awarded the GM title before he died), Boris Gulko, and Anatoly Lein to discover your tenuous connections to the famous…
I’m not using a “purist” standard, because it’s not really part of the Morphy calculcations. Also, if I use it, I don’t get to have a Morphy number of 4. (I played George Koltanowski when he came to St. Louis to do an exhibition in the late '80s.)
Besides, Hank Aaron is sometimes said to have an Erdos number of 1, since the two once signed the same baseball. I figure my Morphy number is at least a little more rigorous than that.
If I have to use tournament wins…well…I think I work out to a 9. (Bachler - Colias - Dzindzichashvili - Bisguier - Fischer - Keres - Mortimer - Bird - Morphy) I’m too lazy to look into it any more than that.
You may be lower than you think. Masters who beat up and coming future GMs can accelerate things greatly. For instance, using tournament wins I am a 7, and I’ve never hit expert. (Juan Leon Jimenez - Pupols-Fischer…as you listed above). Pupols is active and plays all around the country, so many people can probably get into the “fast lane” by beating someone who beat him.