Maurice Fox
Maurice Fox (14 January 1898 in Russian Empire – 25 June 1988 in Canada) was a Canadian chess master. He won the Canadian Chess Championship eight times, and is tied for the most Canadian titles with Daniel Yanofsky.
Biography[]
At the end of 1898, Fox' family moved from Russia to London, England. After graduating from the University of London in 1921, he emigrated to Canada in 1923. The next year, Fox took second, behind John Morrison, in the Canadian Chess Championship in Hamilton. In 1926, he took second in the Canadian Chess Championship held in Montreal. He was Canadian champion in 1927, 1929, 1931 (after playoff), 1932, 1935, 1938, 1940 and 1949. He also played in several United States Opens.
In 1928 and 1929, he won the Montreal City Championship. In 1929, he took 5th in Bradley Beach, New Jersey, USA (Alexander Alekhine won). In 1930, he won the Montreal CC Summer tournament. In 1931, he took 12th in New York City (José Raúl Capablanca won). In 1933, he took 9th in Detroit (US Open). The event was won by Reuben Fine. In 1935, he won the First Montreal Speed Championship, Montreal City Championship, and Canadian Chess Championship held at Sun Life. In 1936, he took 2nd, behind Boris Blumin in Toronto at the Canadian Championship. In the 1936 US Open, he took 2nd, behind Arthur Dake in the preliminaries and tied for 8-10th (finals) in Philadelphia. The event was won by Israel Horowitz.
In 1937, Fox took second in Quebec City (CAN-ch, Boris Blumin won). He won the Canadian Championship at Toronto 1938 and in Montreal 1940. His last win of the Canadian Championship title was in 1949 at Arvida, Quebec, ahead of Daniel Yanofsky and Fedor Bohatirchuk. In 1945, Fox beat Morrison on board 1 in a telegraph match Toronto vs Montreal. In 1954, he played for Canada at first reserve board in the 11th Chess Olympiad in Amsterdam (+5 –2 =1). At age 58, Fox beat 13-year-old Bobby Fischer, a future World Champion, in the 1956 Canadian Open Chess Championship at Montreal.
Notable chess games[]
- José Raúl Capablanca vs Maurice Fox, London 1919, Simultaneous Exhibition, Vienna Game, Anderssen Defense, C25, 0-1
- Alexander Alekhine vs Maurice Fox, Toronto 1924, French Defense, Exchange, Svenonius Variation, C01, 1/2-1/2
- Robert James Fischer vs Maurice Fox, Montreal 1956, CA Open, Zukertort Opening, Symmetrical Variation, A05, 0-1
External links[]
- 1898 births
- 1988 deaths
- Alumni of the University of London
- Jewish Canadian sportspeople
- Canadian chess players
- Jewish chess players
- Ukrainian emigrants to Canada
- Ukrainian Jews
- Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada
- Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
- 20th-century chess players