John Curdo
Full nameJohn Curdo
CountryUnited States
Born(1931-11-14)November 14, 1931
Lynn, MA
DiedSeptember 30, 2022(2022-09-30) (aged 90)
TitleFIDE Master
Peak rating2345 (July 1993)[1]

John Anthony Curdo (November 14, 1931 – September 30, 2022[2]) was an American chess player from Auburn, Massachusetts, best known for winning the Massachusetts state championship 17 times between 1948 and 1985,[3] as well as the US Senior Championship.[4] Though Curdo never attained the rank of Grandmaster or International Master, he was known for over 50 years as one of the strongest players in New England, with victories over Grandmasters Pal Benko, Robert Byrne, and Arthur Bisguier, among many others. At his peak, his United States Chess Federation rating exceeded 2500.[5]

As of August 2009, Curdo had won 830 tournaments over the course of his career, a number believed to be a world record by a wide margin.[6] By December 2011, he had attained 865 tournament wins,[7] while in 2018 he had extended the number to 1000 tournament victories.[8] His opening repertoire remained relatively consistent throughout his career, and he was well known as an expert on the Dutch Defense and the Belgrade Gambit of the Four Knights Game. Curdo published four game collections, including the annotated game collection Forty Years at the Top and the Chess Caviar series (Chess Caviar, More Chess Caviar and Still More Chess Caviar).

Selected Game

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
f8 black bishop
g8 black king
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a6 black queen
c6 black bishop
e6 white pawn
f6 black rook
g6 black pawn
h6 white queen
c5 black pawn
e5 white bishop
g5 black pawn
h4 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
c1 white king
d1 white rook
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
White to move: 20.?

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1361815 Curdo vs. GM Robert Byrne, US Open, August 10, 1994. In a wild Sicilian, Curdo uncorks a blistering mating combination.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 Nf6 5.e5 Qa5+ 6.Nc3 Ne4 7.Bd2 Nxc3 8.Bxd7+ Bxd7 9.Bxc3 Qa6 10.d5 e6 11.Ng5 dxe5 12.Qf3 f6 13.dxe6 Bc6 14.Qf5 Be7 15.O-O-O g6 16.Qh3 fxg5 17.Bxe5 O-O 18.Qh6 Rf6 19.h4 Qxa2 20.Qxh7+ Kxh7 21.hxg5+ Kg8 22.gxf6 1-0


References

  1. ↑ http://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/player/Curdo,%20John.html
  2. ↑ https://chessmaine.net/chessmaine/2022/10/in-memory-john-curdo-1931-2022.html
  3. ↑ "MACA: Massachusetts State Champions".
  4. ↑ "US Chess Hall of Fame - Larry Evans' Inductee Biography". Archived from the original on February 8, 2007.
  5. ↑ "John Curdo, Rating Supplement entries". uschess.org. US Chess Federation. October 1992. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  6. ↑ Arsenault, Mark (August 19, 2009). "At 77, John Curdo still keeping opponents in check". The Boston Globe.
  7. ↑ "Chess Chat with John Curdo". Archived from the original on 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
  8. ↑ Chase, Chris (September 23, 2018). "Chess Notes". The Boston Globe.


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