Jay Bonin

Last updated
Jay Bonin
Jay Bonin 2011.jpg
Bonin in 2011
CountryUnited States
Born (1955-07-07) July 7, 1955 (age 68)
Brooklyn, New York
Title International Master (1985)
Peak rating 2455 (July 1986)

Jay Richard Bonin (born July 7, 1955, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American International Master in chess, chess teacher, author and lecturer. He is known as the "Iron Man of Chess" [1] and is among the most active tournament players in the US, having played over 25,000 tournament games (over 13,000 games since the US Chess Federation started collecting data in 1991 and an estimated 12,000 games for his almost 20 years of tournament play prior). [2]

Contents

According to a 2012 article by Dylan McClain in The New York Times , Bonin has "probably has played more tournaments than anyone. The United States Chess Federation lists more than 3,300 tournaments Bonin has competed in since 1991, which is as far back as the computerized records go, though Bonin played just as frequently in the '80s." [3] [4] [5] His peak USCF rating is 2526. [6]

Chess career; early years

Bonin got interested in chess at the age of 14 while attending Andres Hudde Junior High School but did not actively pursue chess until the age of 17 when he watched the televised World Chess Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1972. Bonin got hooked on chess and started frequenting the local chess clubs such as Times Square’s Chess and Checker Club of New York (known as "The Flea House" due to the fact that there was once a Flea Circus upstairs). He also visited The Chess House and played in Washington Square Park. By the end of 1972, Bonin joined the famous Marshall Chess Club in Greenwich Village, having learned about it from an opponent in a high school chess match.

The 1970s

Jay Bonin 1974 Jay Bonin 1974.jpg
Jay Bonin 1974

Bonin's chess rating steadily improved and in 1977 he achieved the rank of United States Chess Federation National Master. He worked for the Marshall Chess Club as a manager and tournament director from 1977 to 1979. In late 1979 Bonin started teaching chess and began to make a modest living between his tournament prizes and teaching. He supplemented his chess earnings with various odd jobs such as being a messenger and working in a mail room. He would go on to earn the ranks of USCF Senior Master, USCF Life Senior Master, [7] FIDE Master, and FIDE International Master. [8]

The 1980s

On his twenty-seventh birthday in 1982, Bonin collected his first Grandmaster scalp, beating the eight-time U.S. chess champion Sammy Reshevsky at the Continental Chess Association International. He dispatched Reshevsky as black in 43 moves. [9]

Bonin's career in chess really took off in the 1980s. He won the New York State Championship for the first time in 1982. He has won clear first three times (1982, 1997 and 1999) [10] and tied for first in 1993 but tie-breaks gave the title to GM Michael Rohde. Bonin earned the international title of FIDE Master in 1983 and the title of International Master in 1985. [11] Bonin also won the championship of the Marshall Chess Club in 1984, 1987 and 1997. He won the National Congress in 1982. [12] He joined the prestigious Manhattan Chess Club in 1984 and won the club championship three times. [13] [14]

Chess abroad

In 1986, Bonin took a trip to the UK to play in the Lloyds Bank Master Chess Tournament. [15] In 1987 he played in Switzerland and the UK in three tournaments and in 1989 played in the Lloyds Bank tournament once again. [16]

The 1990s and beyond

In 1992, Bonin hit his peak all-time rating of 2526. [6] In October 1995, he was profiled in the New York Times highlighting his active tournament play and the financial struggles of a professional chess master in New York. [17] 1997 was a successful year for Bonin as he won four club championships: Marshall Chess Club, Manhattan Chess Club, Nassau Chess Club and Queens Chess Club. [1] He also achieved something never before done, winning the "Triple Crown" of New York chess events: The New York State Championship, Manhattan Chess Club Championship, and Marshall Chess Club Championship all in the same year, 1997. [1] From 1998 until 2002, he worked at the Manhattan Chess Club as a manager and tournament director.

In 2007, Bonin competed in the US Chess Championship Tournament consisting of thirty six players gathered from the best in the country. [18] In 2005 he competed in the New York Masters [1] events winning three tournaments in a row, defeating Grandmasters Leonid Yudasin, Alexander Stripunsky, Aleksander Wojtkiewicz, and Kamil Miton. In March 2012, Bonin's life as a prolific but struggling chess master was again profiled in The New York Times . [3]

In 2014, Bonin tied for first in the Cleveland Open [19] and in 2015 he took clear first in the same event. [20] In 2014 he tied for 2nd in the New York State Championship. [21] In 2015, Bonin played a blitz match against FM Asa Hoffmann billed as the "Iron Man" vs. the "Gladiator". Iron Man Bonin won 8 - 5. In 2016, a book entitled "Ironman vs. Gladiator: The Ultimate Chess Battle of Legends!" was published about the match. [22] In 2016, Bonin authored a book with Greg Keener entitled "Active Pieces, Practical Advice from America's Most Relentless Tournament Player" with many of his best games (Mongoose Press). [23]

Having won countless tournaments over the years, and competed for parts of five decades, Bonin remains a very active tournament player and played in over 600 games in 2015, winning the Cleveland Open in August 2015. While continuing to play actively, Bonin remains the best known active American International Master to have pursued the elusive title of Grandmaster and not to have achieved it. Bonin remains active in Chess in 2016 as a player, teacher, author and lecturer. [24] [25]

Style of play

Bonin's style of play has evolved over the years. Starting out as a tactician (1.e4 player), he developed into a more positional player, playing mostly 1.d4. He is especially known for his positional maneuvering with knights, known as the "Bonin Knights". [1] He tells his students to control the center, place pieces on optimum squares, to be flexible, and to learn from their losses.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irina Krush</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1983)

Irina Borisivna Krush is an American chess Grandmaster. She is the only woman to earn the GM title while playing for the United States. Krush is an eight-time U.S. Women's Champion and a two-time Women's American Cup Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Chess Federation</span> US governing body for chess competition

The United States Chess Federation is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in FIDE, the World Chess Federation. US Chess administers the official national rating system, awards national titles, sanctions over twenty national championships annually, and publishes two magazines: Chess Life and Chess Life for Kids. The USCF was founded and incorporated in Illinois in 1939, from the merger of two older chess organizations. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its membership as of 2020 as COVID hit was 97,000; as of 2024 the membership was 112,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Byrne (chess player)</span> American chess player (1928–2013)

Robert Eugene Byrne was an American chess player and chess author who held the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM). He won the U.S. Championship in 1972, and was a World Chess Championship Candidate in 1974. Byrne represented the United States nine times in Chess Olympiads from 1952 to 1976 and won seven medals. He was the chess columnist from 1972 to 2006 for The New York Times, which ran his final column on November 12, 2006. Byrne worked as a university professor for many years, before becoming a chess professional in the early 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Denker</span> American chess player

Arnold Sheldon Denker was an American chess player and author. He was U.S. champion in 1944 and 1946. In later years he served in various chess organizations, receiving recognition from the United States Chess Federation, including in 2004 the highest honor, "Dean of American Chess".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Bisguier</span> American chess grandmaster

Arthur Bernard Bisguier was an American chess player, chess promoter, and writer who held the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM).

William Goichberg is a chess master and chess tournament organizer and director. He founded the Continental Chess Association (CCA), which runs the annual World Open and other large tournaments. He is also a former president of the United States Chess Federation (USCF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Finegold</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1969)

Benjamin Philip Finegold is an American chess grandmaster and YouTuber/Twitch streamer. He had previously been nicknamed the "strongest International Master in the United States" until receiving his Grandmaster (GM) title in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Ivanov (chess player)</span> Soviet-American chess grandmaster (born 1956)

Alexander Vladimirovich Ivanov is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster. Born in Omsk, present-day Russia, he moved to the United States in 1988. FIDE awarded him his grandmaster title in 1991. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, fellow chess player and Woman International Master Esther Epstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Hess (chess player)</span> American chess grandmaster (born 1991)

Robert Lee Hess is an American chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in 2009. In May 2012, his FIDE rating was 2635, fifth in the United States. Hess is a commentator for Chess.com, covering events such as the World Chess Championship and Candidates Tournament. He also streams chess content on his Twitch channel GMHess, which has 73,000+ followers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chess title</span> Title bestowed on a chessplayer

A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most prestigious of which is Grandmaster; many national chess federations also grant titles such as "National Master". More broadly, the term "master" can refer to any highly skilled chess player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asa Hoffmann</span> American chess player

Asa Hoffmann is a FIDE Master in chess, chess teacher and author from the United States of America. He is known as "the sparring partner of champions". His peak regular USCF rating is 2471, his peak quick rating is 2515 and his peak blitz rating is 2414.

A chess rating system is a system used in chess to estimate the strength of a player, based on their performance versus other players. They are used by organizations such as FIDE, the US Chess Federation, International Correspondence Chess Federation, and the English Chess Federation. Most of the systems are used to recalculate ratings after a tournament or match but some are used to recalculate ratings after individual games. Popular online chess sites such as chess.com, Lichess, and Internet Chess Club also implement rating systems. In almost all systems, a higher number indicates a stronger player. In general, players' ratings go up if they perform better than expected and down if they perform worse than expected. The magnitude of the change depends on the rating of their opponents. The Elo rating system is currently the most widely used. The Elo-like ratings systems have been adopted in many other contexts, such as other games like Go, in online competitive gaming, and in dating apps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Polgar</span> Hungarian chess grandmaster (born 1969)

Susan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess grandmaster. Polgár was Women's World Chess Champion from 1996 to 1999. On FIDE's Elo rating system list of July 1984, at the age of 15, she became the top-ranked female chess player in the world. In 1991, she became the third woman to be awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE. She won eleven medals at the Women's Chess Olympiad.

The Dallas Chess Club (DCC) is one of the major chess organizations in the United States and a gold affiliate of the United States Chess Federation. The club has approximately 300 members, including a number of FIDE titled players such as: Grandmaster Alejandro Ramírez, GM Amon Simutowe, IM Jacek Stopa, IM Marko Zivanic, IM John Bartholomew, IM Robert Sanchez, IM Keaton Kiewra, FM Keith Hayward, GM Darwin Yang, FM Tommy He, and WIM Sarah Chiang. There are also a number of US Chess masters such as: Dion Su, Mihail Bantic, Austen Green, Jimmy Heiserman, Adarsh Jayakumar, Nelson Lopez, Jarod Pamatmat, and Abhishek Mallela. International Master (IM) Stopa is the club's most prominent member, as he tied for first place at the US Open in Indianapolis in August, 2009. James T. Campion directed the club for many years from old East Dallas. Historically, the club's most famous member was Ken Smith for whom the Smith-Morra Gambit is co-named, and the DCC hosts an annual tournament in his honor. In 2010, DCC hosted the state chess tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shinsaku Uesugi</span> Japanese chess player

Shinsaku Uesugi is a Japanese chess player who holds the title of FIDE master. He won the 40th Japanese Chess Championship in May 2007 and became the youngest ever national champion. He also played for Japan at the 38th Chess Olympiad in November 2008 and became co-champion of the U.S. National High School Championship in April 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Sevian</span> Armenian-American chess grandmaster (born 2000)

Samuel Sevian is an American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned the grandmaster title at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 27 days, making him the youngest ever American grandmaster at the time. He also broke all US age records in reaching the titles of National and International Master.

William Grady "Bill" Addison was an American chess International Master (1967).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awonder Liang</span> American chess grandmaster (born 2003)

Awonder Liang is an American chess Grandmaster. A chess prodigy in his youth, he was the third-youngest American to qualify for the title of Grandmaster, at the age of 14. Liang was twice world champion in his age category.

Rochelle Ballantyne is an American chess player. She is best known for appearing in the 2012 documentary Brooklyn Castle. Her USCF rating is 1988, putting her in the 99th percentile of American junior players. Her FIDE rating is 1912, with her highest rating achieved being 1954 in January 2012. According to the USCF's rating system, she is currently an "Expert" or "Candidate Master."

Darrian Robinson is an American chess player. As of 2014, she was the highest rated African American female player in the United States Chess Federation system. She holds the USCF title of Candidate Master and her most recent USCF rating is 2086.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "New York Masters". New York Masters. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  2. ↑ "Record vs Opponent's Rating (Pre-event)". Uschess.org. 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  3. 1 2 McClain, Dylan Loeb (4 March 2012). "Chess: Jay Bonin Says the Game Is an 'Elixir'". The New York Times . Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "US Chess MSA - Member Details (Tournament History)". Uschess.org. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Soltis, Andy (April 1983), "The Active Life", Chess Life
  6. 1 2 "USCF Ratings History Graph for 10098327". Uschess.org. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  7. ↑ "US Chess MSA - Member Details (Milestones History)". Uschess.org. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Bonin, Jay FIDE Chess Profile - Players Arbiters Trainers". Ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Samuel Reshevsky vs Jay R Bonin (1982)". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  10. ↑ "New York State Chess Champions". Chesstour.com. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  11. ↑ "Bonin, Jay R FIDE Chess Profile - Players Arbiters Trainers". Ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  12. ↑ "46th National Chess Congress in Philadelphia". Chessdom.com. 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  13. ↑ "Manhattan Chess Club | IM Mark Ginsburg Presents A Personal Chess History". Nezhmet.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  14. ↑ Hoffmann, Virginia (10 April 2016). "NYC Chess History and News: Manhattan Chess Club History - A sad tale". Nycchessnews.blogspot.com. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "Peter G Large vs Jay R Bonin (1987)". Chessgames.com. 2006-10-13. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  16. ↑ "Mark Hebden vs Jay R Bonin (1989)". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  17. ↑ Van, Don (1995-10-06). "Pawn of a Sort, To a Life Spent In Strategizing - Pinnacle of Grandmaster Eludes Career Chess Player". The New York Times . New York City. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  18. ↑ "Frank K Berry 2007 US Championship July 2007 United States of America FIDE Chess Tournament report". Ratings.fide.com. 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  19. ↑ "Cleveland Open 2014 Standings – Open Section « CCA Chess Tournaments". Chessevents.com. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  20. ↑ "Cleveland Open 2015 Standings – Open Section « CCA Chess Tournaments". Chessevents.com. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  21. ↑ "136th New York State Championship". Fide.com. 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  22. ↑ Com, Chesslessons. Ironman vs. Gladiator: The Ultimate Chess Battle of Legends!. Lulu.com. ISBN   9781365411717 . Retrieved 17 August 2018– via Google Books.
  23. ↑ Bonin, Jay; results, search (7 February 2017). Active Pieces: Practical Advice from America's Most Relentless Tournament Player. Mongoose Press. ISBN   978-1936277766.
  24. ↑ Hater, David A. "The United States Chess Federation - Bonin Wins Cleveland Open". Uschess.org. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  25. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-12-15. Retrieved 2016-04-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.