Comments on: GM Walter S. Browne 1949 – 2015

By: john Lee

john Lee — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 13:38:07 +0000

Very sad to just discover this. Walter and I played many times… we were pretty evenly matched.. in
tennis only!

He was always late for matches because he didn’t drive and could never find a cab.

A most memorable fellow!

By: Bill Huseman

Bill Huseman — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 03:42:24 +0000

I was saddened to learn of Walter’s passing. To me he was a modern day chess hero. I would have loved to have met him but his games and successes on and off the board were fantastic. May God Bless you Mr. Browne and your family. RIP

By: Gilbert Sommerfeld

Gilbert Sommerfeld — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 06:32:05 +0000

I remember seeing Walter on only about 5 occasions. I saw him play Paul Keres last game. They were such a contrast to each other. Keres was poise and composure, Walter was high-strung and nervous. Years later I had the privilege of seeing Walter in the NY State Open a couple times, the World Open and the National Open. I saw him in a much better light and I really saw a remarkable character shine through in those tournaments. My heart is saddened deeply with his passing. He was a source of inspiration and joy in chess. Liveliness and energy were the hallmark of his chess. God bless you Walter.

By: Dan Shapiro

Dan Shapiro — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 21:38:07 +0000

You know this one really hit me. I’m from the Bobby Fischer era, in fact I even predate that amazing match in 1972 as I was competing in tournament’s since the mid 60’s. Somehow I always associated Walter Browne with that time, and while Bobby Fischer was an inaccessible God, Walter was always there for us, to appreciate his amazing chess and inexhaustible passion for the game. This era
is just so special for us old timers as chess just
seemed more magical and full of hidden wonders back in the pre computer days when
we just had to figure it all out for ourselves.
As for my own experiences with Walter, well several come to mind, starting with him
mating me in about 15 moves in a blindfold simul back around 1970. Since then I did play
him in a handful of OTB tournaments with the
usual share of lopsided losses, but still I managed to “hold” two draws with the white pieces at the US Open at Fairfax 1976 and
Boston 1988. After the Boston draw I was treated to a long skittles room post-mortem
where Walter dissected the position in detail
from start to finish, a free lesson for me that I
will never forget.
Also I got to hang out with Walter at
various times and chess venues and spend
some time with him. I remember playing a
round of golf with him once and even spending an afternoon bowling (at least one
game that I could beat him at). We always had
a friendly wager on the outcomes and even
at games that he lacked the skill he never lacked the ferocious desire to compete. In
fact it was his passion for all that he did that
just sticks with me and makes his passing so difficult to accept.
If I was to sum up one thing that I remember him saying I think it goes back to
that old Sports Illustrated article, where he
basically stated that he just feels sorry for those people who never learned to play chess.
I think we as chess players and I know especially in my case through high school etc.
I can just so relate to that. It always felt like it
was us (the chess players) and them (the straight world) and it was the straight world
that just didn’t get it.

Walter buddy, thanks for the lifetime of memories and now it’s time for you to
take that well deserved rest.

By: - GrognardsGrognards

- GrognardsGrognards — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 14:53:22 +0000

[…] the home of a friend, according to an announcement on the Las Vegas International Chess Festival’swebsite. The cause was not yet known. He had tied for ninth in the event, which had concluded on Sunday, […]

By: Grognards

Grognards — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 14:52:38 +0000

By: David Arsanis

David Arsanis — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 01:31:21 +0000

In reply to Janelle Losoff.

Wally, rest in peace. When we met at the Oak’s club over 30 years ago and played Low Ball, $200 limit, I always knew you were the best player I ever played against. You knew when to “hold em ad new when to fold em”. I heard of your chess ability, and experienced your poker ability…None better.

David Arsanis

By: Conrad Conero

Conrad Conero — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 18:08:01 +0000

Just learned about this, and even though I didn’t know Walter, I was still shocked. I guess when you read about someone in the chess literature through the years as I have done since the ’70’s, you feel you know them well. My condolences to his family and loved ones.

By: Henrik Mortensen

Henrik Mortensen — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 09:26:42 +0000

I only saw during the tournament Nimzowitsch Memorial (1985) where he shared the first prize with Bent Larsen and Rafael Vaganjan. There is a cute tournament book, but unfortunately only in danish.

“The Stress of Chess” remains forever.

HVIL I FRED/REST IN PEACE.

NB: Was he last game kept??

By: Kevin Bachler

Kevin Bachler — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 22:57:20 +0000

I recall attending a lecture by GM Browne at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside — I would guess in the late 1970’s. He was an enthusiastic speaker, and imparted several insightful comments. I can’t exactly recall the game now – I believe it was versus a GM who had decided to try to snatch a pawn out of the opening — I know its vague but does anyone have an idea of it? I’d like to go back and review it to recall the only opportunity I had to interact with GM Browne.

By: Walter Shawn Browne, Chess Grandmaster, Dies at 66 | TOP Daily Trends

Walter Shawn Browne, Chess Grandmaster, Dies at 66 | TOP Daily Trends — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 16:06:45 +0000

[…] home of a friend, according to an announcement on the Las Vegas International Chess Festival’s website. The cause was not yet known. He had tied for ninth in the event, which had concluded on Sunday, […]

By: Janelle Losoff

Janelle Losoff — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 01:17:20 +0000

In reply to Mike Anderson. Yes, that's an important interview. It's called, " A Conversation with GM Walter Browne." Thank you for posting it. Many great tributes to Walter are posted here as well.

By: Alan Losoff

Alan Losoff — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 00:00:28 +0000

In reply to Tom Wayman.

I was there in Reno, too. I was so impressed by the game I asked Walter several years later if he could send me the game. Not only did send the game, but he added some annotation.

[Event “Reno Open”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “1996.10.27”]
[Round “5”]
[White “Browne, Walter”]
[Black “Saidy, Anthony Fred”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “E16”]
[WhiteElo “2555”]
[BlackElo “2400”]
[PlyCount “267”]
[EventDate “2007.01.18”]

{Started at 9am and ends around 8:15 at night!! Thankfully my wife Raquel was
on hand to help with meals. Then I had only 30 minutes before playing
Yermolinsky in the last round. I won that game in aqround 35 moves fairly
easily tying for first with Alex Ivanov.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3
Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Ne5 Qe7 10. a3 Bd6 11.
Ndc4 $1 $14 Ne4 12. Nxd6 cxd6 13. Ng4 Nc6 14. f3 Ng5 15. Ne3 $16 Na5 16. b4 $6
(16. Qd3 $1 g6 17. b4 $16) 16… Nc4 17. Nxc4 dxc4 18. h4 (18. e4 d5 19. e5
Rac8 $11) 18… Ne6 19. d5 Nc7 20. e4 $14 a5 21. Qd4 $1 axb4 22. Qxb6 Rfb8 23.
Bf4 $16 Ne8 24. axb4 Bxd5 25. Qd4 Be6 26. Rxa8 Rxa8 27. b5 h6 28. b6 Qb7 29.
Rb1 Ra3 $1 30. Qd2 c3 31. Qc1 Rb3 32. Rxb3 Bxb3 33. Be3 Qc6 34. Qb1 Qc4 35. Bf1
Qb4 36. Bd3 d5 37. Bc2 $6 (37. Bf2 Qa3 38. b7 $18) 37… Qd6 $1 38. Qxb3 Qxg3+
39. Kf1 Qxf3+ 40. Bf2 dxe4 41. Qb5 Qh1+ 42. Ke2 Nd6 43. b7 (43. Qe5 Qf3+ 44.
Kf1 Qh1+ 45. Bg1 Qh3+ 46. Kf2 Qxh4+ 47. Qg3 {is superior according to Fritz
but during the game wasn’t too clear.}) 43… Qf3+ 44. Ke1 Qh1+ 45. Ke2 Qf3+
46. Ke1 Qh1+ 47. Qf1 Qxf1+ 48. Kxf1 Nxb7 49. Bxe4 Nd6 50. Bd3 Ne8 51. Bd4 {
Fritz evaluates this as a win though lots of work ahead!} g5 52. Bxc3 gxh4 53.
Kg2 Ng7 54. Kh3 Ne6 55. Kxh4 Ng7 56. Bf6 Ne8 57. Bd4 Ng7 58. Be3 h5 59. Bg5 Ne6
60. Bf6 Nf4 61. Be4 Kf8 62. Kg5 Ng6 63. Bc6 Ne7 64. Bd7 Ng8 65. Bd8 Kg7 66. Ba4
f6+ 67. Kxh5 Nh6 68. Bd7 Nf7 69. Be7 Nh6 70. Be6 Ng8 71. Ba3 Nh6 72. Bb4 Nf7
73. Kg4 Nd8 74. Bd5 Nf7 75. Kf5 Nh6+ 76. Ke6 Kg6 77. Bc6 Ng4 78. Be8+ Kg5 79.
Bd2+ Kh4 80. Bf4 Kh3 81. Kf5 Kh4 82. Bb5 Nf2 83. Be2 Nh1 84. Bf3 Ng3+ 85. Kg6
f5 86. Bc7 Kh3 87. Kg5 Nf1 88. Bf4 Ng3 89. Be5 Nf1 90. Kxf5 Nh2 {Due to a very
fast time control of ten moves in ten to 15 minutes I repeated moves many
times to gain time.} 91. Bc6 Ng4 92. Bf4 Nh2 93. Bc7 Nf1 94. Kf4 Nh2 95. Bd6
Nf1 96. Bc5 Nh2 97. Bd4 Nf1 98. Ba7 Nh2 99. Be3 Nf1 100. Bb6 Nh2 101. Bc5 Nf1
102. Bb7 Nh2 103. Bd5 Nf1 104. Ba8 Nh2 105. Be4 Nf1 106. Bb7 Nh2 107. Be4 Nf1
108. Bh1 Ng3 109. Bf3 Nf1 110. Bd5 Nh2 111. Bd6 Nf1 112. Kf3 Nh2+ 113. Ke2 Ng4
114. Be6 Kh4 115. Kf3 Nf6 116. Bf4 Nh7 117. Bf5 Ng5+ 118. Ke3 Kh5 119. Kd4 Nf3+
120. Ke4 Ng5+ 121. Ke3 Nf7 122. Kf3 Ng5+ 123. Kg3 Nf7 124. Bd2 Ng5 125. Kf4 Nf7
126. Bc3 Nh6 127. Bd7 Kg6 128. Be8+ Kh7 {Now it’s easy as the knight will run
out of squares.} 129. Kg5 Nf7+ 130. Kf6 Nh8 (130… Nh6 131. Bg6+ Kg8 132. Bh5
Kh7 133. Bf3 Ng8+ 134. Kg5 Ne7 135. Bb4 Ng8 136. Bf8 Kh8 137. Kg6 {wins.}) 131.
Bd7 Kg8 132. Bf5 Kf8 133. Be6 Ke8 134. Bb4 1-0

By: Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 21:07:29 +0000

I highly recommend this website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=472&v=5pZHZdlt7VE

By: Janelle Losoff

Janelle Losoff — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 18:54:10 +0000

In reply to Brian McCarthy.

Yes, Walter was always a ball of inspired energy. He burned brightly like the Sun at the Chess Festival. He was a “Star” in every sense of the word. Never full of himself, he warmed and inspired others. Walter was generous and giving and he died, as he lived, doing what he loved. What tribute could be greater?

Oh Walter, your star supernova-ed too soon!

By: lynn harrell

lynn harrell — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 10:07:00 +0000

In reply to Tim Brennan.

My brother passed “suddenly” in his sleep a few years ago as well. It leaves us bereft and empty… It is a sadness that for many of us will remain with us the rest of OUR lives. too. Whether we knew them closely or not at all.
Goodbye, dear one… Lynn Harrell

By: Brian McCarthy

Brian McCarthy — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 07:52:15 +0000

I never got to play “Mr. Six Time” but did sneak a few comments in edgewise during one of his legendary post mortems. I also witnessed him luring more than one victim into his time pressure,.
He was the ultimate role model for being competitive and giving your all at the chess board. He left many stories on his travels. An old friend, John Fincken (RIP), had many and used to love to tell about the challenges of getting Walter to focus his energies for a video series. He was a ball of energy, “like the sun was in my stomach” he told Sport’s Illustrated. RIP.

By: Tibor Weinberger

Tibor Weinberger — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 03:17:06 +0000

Shocked to hear of Walter’s passing. Last time I saw him was at the 2014 National Open and was going to see him this year as well but I had to withdraw at the last moment. My loss.
Walter was a towering figure in California chess for decades. He was one of those rare chess players who embodied great fighting spirit with true art. Walter always wanted to win, but win in the most artistic way. That was most important to him. Great memories. Bon voyage Walter.

By: Gregory

Gregory — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 23:33:22 +0000

I watched Walter play against Gufeld at a big Los Angles open in the mid 1990’s, you could tell they were both out for blood. The game got to the ending where Walter had a King and Knight, and Gufeld had a King and Rook. Walter got up and said something like, Draw? and Gufeld said no, exclaiming that someone in Russia had recently won a game in a similar position! Well, this really ticked Walter off, he said something like, this is a dead draw, I don’t care where you come from. Needles to say, it was great to watch this all unfold live. And, yes the game ended in a draw.

By: Alan Bishop

Alan Bishop — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 22:42:52 +0000

I was stunned to find Walter Browne listed recently as the Player of the Day on chessgames.com, with “(1949-2015)” below his name. I had just seen him in April at the Larry Evans Memorial in Reno. I purchased his new book there (“The Stress of Chess… and its Infinite Finesse”) and had him sign it, and commented on one of his games from the book that I found particularly interesting and enjoyable. It was against a fellow GM who grabbed a couple of pawns in the opening at the expense of development, and got soundly thrashed for his disregard of opening principles. Walter commented that it was the only game of its kind that he was aware of, where his opponent resigned with all his remaining pieces on their original squares – except his king!

I didn’t know Walter well at all, but always found him to be very approachable. At a Reno tournament several years ago, I met him in the book store before the start of the tournament, and he seemed to recognize me (although I am just a “lowly” Expert), likely from the many tournaments we attended. I asked him about his poker game, though I never became much of a poker player myself. His eyes lit up — “Do you play?” he asked. I had to confess that I wasn’t much of a poker player but enjoyed the game and wanted to play more, then told him my memory of him at a Las Vegas tournament a few years back, carrying a paper sack of money he won playing poker one night, with a big smile on his face.

Walter, thank you for your passion for chess, and the legacy you have left behind. Your name will be forever linked with Fischer, Reshevsky, Evans and the other American greats of the game. We will miss your energy and enthusiasm, and relentless search for truth on the chessboard.

By: Young Yee

Young Yee — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 19:46:26 +0000

I played Walter Brown in Los Angeles when I was a college student at New Mexico State University in the early 1970’s. I remember it was the second round of the American Open (Nov 25, 1971) and he was very intense and played very fast and I quickly lost the game. My impression of Walter Brown was that he was like a Spartan warrior ready to do battle to the end. Even if the chess game was drawish, Walter would drag the game on until he uncovered a weakness that he could exploit. One of his games at that tournament went way pass midnight. At that time Walter was co-champion of the US Chess Open with Larry Evans and he was playing high caliber chess. I stopped playing chess a few years later and raised a family. Over 40 years have passed and I started to play again and I entered the Las Vegas Chess Festival 2015 this year. I attended Walter Brown’s chess lecture on June 19, 2015. I bought his book and he signed and dated it. We talked and I said I just turned 65. Walter won the US Senior Chess Open last year (2014) and encouraged me to enter the next one. I was surprised how pleasant and friendly Walter was to me, a big difference from his earlier chess career. I was looking forward to meeting Walter again. I was shocked and deeply sadden to hear the news of his sudden death. Walter was one of a kind. We all will miss him dearly.

By: Greg Blesch

Greg Blesch — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 13:46:19 +0000

Walter and I had a hard-fought draw at Chess City in 1975.His intensity at every board was unbelievable.It was at that time that we became friends and worked on several NYC chess projects together.Walter Browne was the most exciting Chess Player to watch in the history of the game.His level of intensity and concentration was a marvel to behold.R.I.P.

By: Steve Doyle

Steve Doyle — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 11:36:48 +0000

Walter Browne came to te Toms River Chess Club and gave an excellent kecture and simultantaneous. He brought his tiurnament booklets as prizes. We had a surprise birthday party and he was very kind to every payer but won almost all the games.
A fine person. May the good Lord watch over him now.
Steve Doyle

By: Lev Zilbermintz

Lev Zilbermintz — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 06:32:06 +0000

RIP GM Walter Browne. You will be dearly missed by those who knew you.

Let me share some experiences…

I used to write for the Blitz Chess magazine in the 1990s and was a member of the World Blitz Chess Association (WBCA) until it folded. Walter Browne thought my games were very good tactically. This was why I frequently found my blitz games included with those of Grandmasters.

The joke at the time was that WBCA was the Walter Browne Chess Association due to the similarities in initials.

One time I complained that my name was not listed among the contributors. Well, the next time an issue came out, I found myself listed along with Anatoly Karpov, Ron Henley, and a few others. I was the only non-master to be included in this company.

Next thing I knew, someone from among this group complained to Walter Browne about my name being included. The following issue, my name was removed from the list of contributors. At the same time, my membership in the WBCA was extended, and more of my games published. I think this was Browne’s way of keeping everyone happy.

Back in those days, I played at the Marshall Chess Club in blitz tournaments. I suppose my games were a stable source of copy material. It was from the East Coast (NY to be precise), while Walter Browne resided on the West Coast.

Today I have a blitz rating of 2284 USCF. The United States Chess Federation now has a separate rating system for both Quick Chess and Blitz Chess. However, it got there thanks to Walter Browne. He was more than a decade ahead of USCF in setting up a rating system for blitz tournaments.

Rest in peace, GM Walter Browne. Your contributions to chess and poker will be always remembered.

By: JUDE ACERS

JUDE ACERS — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 00:03:27 +0000

…… 1970…astride a newly bought motorcycle in Berkeley California ….eyed Waterman,William Bills and Jude Acers..”you know if I don’t make it in chess..I know I can always make it in music..play in a band..that would be good” ..someone asked instantly… “Walter what …what instrument would you play?” “THE DRUMS”………. final verdict…. Browne stands alone , a whole separate building in world chess history. Jude Acers/New Orleans