Interview with Henry Horak

I'm taking a break from scanning and just having a chat with Henry this morning while waiting to get an online boarding pass for my nephew.

Henry first went down to the YMCA by taking the Brooklyn streetcar (for 10 cents). Possibly in 1933 or 1934. He would have been 14 or 15 at the time. There he met ___, who was the senior player at the time. He still sends a Christmas card to his daughter living on Catalina Island, CA, so its only a matter of time until we discover his name.

In those days Masters and Grandmasters came through with some regularity. Henry recalls:

Rubin Fine--a very strong player; played 60 simultaneous games; didn't start out aggressively, but played steadily towards an end game where he would finally conclude the matter in his favor; got irritated with Henry because he wasn't playing fast enough during a simultaneous match.

Horowitz--We have records of the game in January 1940. Horowitz was traveling with the New England Champion, Harold Morton, when he played in KC. Afterwards there was an automobile accident in which Morton was killed but Israel survived. (Henry recalls it was "near Topeka," but Chessopedia shows it to have been February 17, 1940 in Iowa). This would have been a month to the day after Henry's game.

Bobby Fisher--probably in 1962 or 1963 while Henry was in Lawrence.

Henry also fondly recalls a gentleman by the name of Latshaw. He may have been more of a chess spectator. He remembers the two of them following the Euwe vs Alekine match game by game. They would go down to the Kansas City Star offices on Saturday and read the chess listings.

Played some chess with a Master in LA while at Wx school. I'll have to work on getting the details.

KC Chess Club in England. Met Latshaw on a double-decker bus in London during the war. He had been taking a war orphan home after buying him dinner. This act of kindness made a great impression on Henry.

Through the Catholic Chaplin, Henry learned about a chess player in Kettering (near the base at Grafton-Underwood). He was not a particularly good player, but chess players of any caliper were hard to find during the war. Henry's mother Leota kept up a correspondence until her death with several of the women that Henry met through this gentleman. I believe they were older children sent to the countryside to avoid the bombings in the cities like the Pevensies in the Chronicles of Narnia.

In England Henry came across a beautiful red and white ivory chess set (the King about 4" high). Some estate under financial stress was having to sell it. He picked it up for the equivalent of $200. Back in the mid-60s Lou crafted a walnut and beech board for the set. I'll post photos of the entire kit sometime soon.