Larry Kaufman (1947- )
On December 13, 2020, Grandmaster Larry Kaufman and myself were guests on Sage (SĀGE | elders their expertise through 1:1 informal learning sessions (findasage.com), a platform for elders to share their experience about many subjects, including chess. The host and founder of SAGE was Esther Hershcovich, and the interview and questions came from Ira Immergluck (a woman chessplayer originally from Russia and now an Israeli journalist) in Tel Aviv. Here are some questions and answers from Larry Kaufman.
Larry mentioned that not only was he World Senior Chess Champion in 2008, but that he was the top Western Shogi (Japanese chess) player for the past 20 years. He has been working with computer chess, off and on, for 53 years. He is now working on the number 2 computer engine in the world, Komodo Dragon.
Larry mentioned that chess computers are changing and have moved on to neural networks. It is harder for humans now to figure out how computers pick their moves anymore.
When asked if chess players could become really good learning chess at a later age, Larry said he knew of players who started late that became masters, but not grandmasters. You could become pretty good at chess if starting later in years, but not good enough to make a living at chess.
Larry never made a living playing chess, but has been considered a chess professional for the past 30 years. He works with chess computers professionally, has been teaching chess, and is on his 5th chess book.
When asked about one memory that was most interesting and most amazing, Larry responded that it was when he won the World Senior Championship in 2008 at age 60, which also gave him the grandmaster title. He put everything into it to win. It was his last change to get the grandmaster title. He knew it was a long shot, but he made a serious attempt to win. He got the best computer to help him prepare. He didn’t spare any expense. Even during the tournament, he didn’t expect to win it, but he had a great start.
When it came to women and chess, Larry said that he played most of the top women chessplayers in the U.S. He has played Irina Krush more times than any other female chessplayer by far. He played her 8 times with a dead even score. Asked why they have separate sections or separate prizes for women, Larry said that it was a way to have more women play chess. They give a little incentive to women by offering them prizes. There is no real argument in intellectual abilities of men and women chessplayers. However, there is more social pressure for women playing in chess tournaments. When the Queen’s Gambit was written in 1983 by Walter Tevis, women weren’t very good at chess and there was a stigma of women playing chess. Judit Polgar was the first woman to reach a level where she was considered a serious competitor.
Larry was asked what he thought of the Netflix Queen’s Gambit series, and he responded that he liked it. He had a strong feeling that the character, Beth Harmon, was based on a real life American-born woman chessplayer before the book was written. At first, I thought he was thinking it was Lisa Lane, but Larry said the character was nothing like Lisa Lane. My guess is that the character was based on Diani Lanni, once a top woman chessplayer in America in the early 1980s who beat a drug problem and other issues. Of course, the story was fictional of a woman that was playing at world championship level, but Larry speculates that a lot of the character was based on a real woman in America. Larry said they did a good job in the series with Garry Kasparov advising the scenes.
Larry mentioned that he met both Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov several times. Larry never played Kasparov, but Larry’s son, Raymond, did play Kasparov in an 8-board simultaneous exhibition at UMBC in 1997. His son lost in 63 moves, but he missed a rook sacrifice that would have forced a perpetual check and a draw.
Larry was asked how he prepares his opening. If it an event where you know who your opponent is the next day, Larry picks an opening that hopefully surprises his opponent, otherwise the opponent would be ready for him and his opening. He tries very hard to pull off a surprise. If it is an event that you only know the opponent 10 minutes for the game, he uses the opening he has been studying lately.
When asked for best advice on chess, Larry said to just play the present position. For some people, if they make a bad move, they say to themselves, “Oh, I should have done that” instead of thinking what should you do now. It’s the same thing in real life. If you make a mistake in life, move on , this is what happened, and think about what you can do now.
When asked about resigning, Larry said that every good player will resign at some point, but they all don’t agree how bad it can be before you resign. He tells the story of not resigning after he fell in an opening trap, losing a knight for a pawn. He eventually got into an endgame of rook and bishop for his opponent vs. Larry’s rook. This ending is sometimes a win, and sometimes a draw. His opponent had to checkmate Larry in 50 moves, otherwise it was a draw. Larry made it to 50 moves, one move before checkmate, and got the draw.
Larry mentioned that he went to high school that also had the best high school chess club in the county. He was able to play decent players in school. He was part of a chess team that played in the D.C. chess league. He then joined the Takoma Park Chess Club and the Washington Chess Divan and got chess advice from Larry Gilden, a very strong player. He played a match with African-American master Frank Street at one of the clubs. That’s how he got his experience. He then went on to MIT and was on the chess team there. He played in many Open tournaments in the DC area. He won the Eastern Open junior championship. He had a fair amount of chess tournaments locally. He had family near Santa Monica in 1966, and went out there and had a place to stay, played in the American Open and won it.
Larry was proud of his work with Komodo and mentioned that Komodo Dragon beat Hikaru Nakamura in November. Nakamura received odds of two pawns. Larry said it was amazing how far computers have gone.
Lawrence “Larry” C. Kaufman was born in Washington, D.C., on November 15, 1947.
In 1953, at the age of 7, his father, born in 1910, taught him the rules of chess.
In 1954, he took chess lessons (checkmating with king and rook) from Harold Meyer Phillips (1874-1967), the first USCF president and a New York state champion in 1895. In 1903, he won the Manhattan CC championship. Phillips played Wilhelm Steinitz in 1894. Phillips also played Capablanca and Alekhine.
1n 1961, at the age of 14, he played in his first chess tournament, the Maryland Junior Championship. Larry placed 2nd.
In 1962, he played in his first USCF-rated tournament in the D.C. Chess League.
In 1964, he graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD. Other attendees of the school include Goldie Hawn, Sylvester Stallone, Ben Stein, Carl Bernstein, and Connie Chung (1964).
In 1964, he began to study economics at MIT.
In 1964, Larry took 2nd in the first Massachusetts State 5-Minute championship, won by Stephen Brandwein (1942-2015).
In March 1965, he played in the 2nd George Sturgis Tournament, held in Boston. His rating was 2034.
In October 1965, he played in the Greater Boston Open, scoring 4-1, and tied for 3rd. William Robertie and Alex Keys tied for 1st.
In November 1965, he played in the Empire City Open, held in New York City. He tied for 2nd. James Sherwin won the event.
In February 1966, he tied for 2nd in the Massachusetts State Championship, held in Boston. John Curdo won the event.
In March 1966, Kaufman took 3rd in the Vermont State Championship. At the same time, the New England Intercollegiate Championship was played in Northfield, Vermont. The MIT team, which included Kaufman, won the event with a 4-0 score.
On May 1, 1966 Larry won the Metropolitan College Open, held in New York City. The team prize was awarded to MIT. Kaufman was a member of the MIT team.
In July 1966, he played in the Delaware Valley Open, held in Philadelphia.
In October 1966, he played in the Empire City Open, held in New York City. He won the Junior (under-21) trophy.
In 1966, he played in the Greater Boston Open.
On November 13, 1966, he took the Junior prize in the Southeastern New England Open, held in Providence, Rhode Island.
On November 27, 1966, Larry Kaufman (2259) tied for 1st at the 2nd American Open at the age of 19, held at the Club Del Mar in Santa Monica. He scored 7-1, and won on tiebreak over Robion Kirby (1938- ), a professor of mathematics at UCLA. There were 128 players in the event. In his final round, he defeated Jerry Hanken (1934-2009). Kaufman became the first junior to hold an open national title since Bobby Fischer won the US Open in 1957. Soon, Kaufman’s USCF rating was 2300. He appeared in the cover of the December 1966 issue Chess Life for winning the American Open. (source: “Kaufman Edges Kirby In American Open,” Chess Life, Dec 1966, p. 305)
On December 17, 1966, He tied for 1st in the annual Christmas Tournament, held in Boston.
In December 1966, he played for MIT in the US Intercollegiate Championship. MIT won the team event.
In December 1966, he was America’s top-rated Junior, rated 2259.
In January 1967, he provided technical advice and wrote the opening book of Richard Greenblatt’s MacHack VI computer. MacHack VI had a USCF rating in the Class C category (in the 1500s).
In 1967, he played in the Massachusetts Open.
In June 1967, he tied for 1st in the Metropolitan Masters’ Championship in New York.
In July 1967, he was a member of the US Student Team that played in the 14th World Student Team Championship, held in Harrachov, Czechoslovakia. The USA Student Team took 2nd, behind the USSR Student Team. Kaufman played Board 4, behind Zuckerman, Verber, and Gilden. Andy Solts played Board 5 and William Martz played Board 6. Kaufman’s score was 2 out of 5 (40%), and placed 17th for Board 4. He won 1, lost 2, and drew 2.
In September 1967, he was the highest rated junior in the United States, with a rating of 2311. He ranked higher than Andy Soltis (2286) and Walter Browne (2280). He was ranked #39 in the US among all chess players. Fischer was 1st at 2762.
In 1967, he was best Junior in the New Jersey Closed championship.
In 1967, he tied for 3rd in the Greater Boston Open Championship.
In October 1967, he took 2nd in the Eastern Masters’ Championship, won by Neil McKelvie.
In December 1967, he played for MIT in the US Intercollegiate Championship. MIT took 5th place.
In 1968, he played in the New England Invitational.
In June 1968, he played in the 2nf Puerto Rico Open.
In July 1968, He played in the Atlantic Open in New York City. Donald Byrne and Lawrence Day tied for 1st.
In August 1968, he played in the 69th US Open in Aspen, Colorado. He tied for 4th place. Bent Larsen won the event. Kaufman lost to Larsen and Pal Benko. Benko won with the Benko Gambit. The game was annotated by Benko in the April 1969 issue of Chess Life, pp. 156-157.
In 1968, he graduated from MIT with a degree in Economics.
In 1968, he took 1st on tiebreak in the Southern California Open.
In 1968, he won the 2nd annual Turkey Shoot Open, held at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
In January 1969, he played in the Washington Adult Open.
In 1969, he defeated Charles Powell in a match.
In 1969, he won the Virginia Open, held in Fredericksburg, VA, scoring 6-0.
In August 1969, he was a member of the US Student Chess Team that played in Dresden, East Germany.
In September 1969, he tied for 2nd in the Eastern Chess Congress, held in Baltimore. The event was won by Lev Zaitsev.
From 1969 to 1986, he worked as a stock trader, then in the software industry. He was a member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
In July 1970, he tied for 1st with Donald Byrne (1930-1976) at the Eastern Open in Washington, DC.
In September 1970, he was rated 2319 and ranked #40 in the U.S.
In October 1970, he took 2nd at the Eastern Chess Congress in Washington, DC. The event was won by Lubomir Kavalek.
In 1971, he won the Maryland Open, held at the University of Maryland at College Park. Kaufman scored 5-0.
In 1971, Kaufman was the state champion of Maryland and the champion of the District of Columbia.
In 1971, he won the D.C. Open, held at the U of Maryland. He scored 8-0.
In September 1971, he was rated 2378 and ranked #23 in the USA.
In October 1971 won the Eastern Chess Congress, held in Washington, DC.
In January 1972, he was rated 2408 and ranked #17 in the nation.
In 1972, Larry was ranked 16th in the nation.
In April-May 1972, he participated in the US chess championship, held in New York City. He scored 5 out of 13 (3 wins, 6 losses, 4 draws) and took 11th place out of 14.. There was a 3-way tie for 1st between Robert Byrne, Lubomir Kavalek, and Samuel Reshevsky.
In 1972, he was a member of the US Student Team and played in the 19th World Student Team Championship in Graz, Austria. Kaufman played Board 4. He scored 4 out of 6. The USA team took 4th place. The event was won by the USSR team.
In 1972, he tied for 2nd in the Eastern Open, played in the District of Columbia. The event was won by Robert Eberlein.
In August 1972, he tied for 2nd at the US Open, won by Walter Browne.
In December 1972, Kaufman was rated 2408 and ranked #26 in the nation.
In February 1973, he played in the New York Senior Masters Tournament in New York City. He scored 2 out of 5. The event was won by Larry Gilden.
In 1973, he played in the First International Open in Silver Spring. MD. The event was won by Arthur Bisguier.
In May-June 1973, he played in the Masters’ Section of an international tournament in Netanya, Israel. It was his first international individual event. The tournament was won by Lubomir Kavalek.
In July 1973, he won the Washington Summer Open.
In July 1973, he tied for 1st in the Eastern Open, played in Washington DC.
On September 3, 1973, Kaufman tied for 2nd at the 5th annual Eastern Chess Congress, held in Washington, DC. The event was won by Edward Formanek.
In 1973, he tied for 2nd in the Washington August Open. The event was won by Rusty Potter.
In 1973, he tied for 2nd in the Northern Virginia Open in Arlington, VA. The event was won by Joseph Bradford.
In November-December 1973, he played in the Second Chicago USCF International tournament. Larry took 10th place out of 12. It was won by Norman Weinstein.
In 1974, he won the Adelphi Invitational in Maryland.
In 1974, he won the George Washington Birthday Open, held in Washington, D.C.
In 1974, he won the 6th Washington Open, held in Washington, DC.
In 1974, he played in the 4th annual Louis D. Statham Master-Plus Tournament at Lone Pine, California.
In April 1974, he played in the Third Los Angeles USCF International Tournament. He tied for 9th out of 12. The event was won by Gligoric.
In June 1974, he won the ACA June Open in Washington, DC.
In 1974, he won the Eastern Open, held in the District of Columbia.
In 1974, he tied for 1st in the 3rd Washington Summer Open.
In 1974, he tied for 2nd in the Washington Fall Open, won by David Anderson.
In 1974, he won the Turkey Shoot Open, held in College Park, MD.
In 1974, he took 2nd in the Region III Championship, held at the University of Maryland. The event was won by Peter Biyiasas.
In 1975, he won the Maryland Open, held in Silver Spring, Maryland.
In 1975, he managed the Chess Club of Metro Washington in Silver Spring, Maryland, and directed several USCF tournaments.
In 1975, he won the Washington Summer Special, scoring 5-0.
In August 1975, he played in the US Open, held in Lincoln, Nebraska. He tied for 9th place. The event was won by Pal Benko.
In October 1975, he tied for 1st in the Region III Open.
From late 1975 to 1996, he lived in North Miami Beach, Florida. Before this move, he lived in Adelphi, Maryland.
From 1976 to 1986, he was President of Chess Options Corporation, a stock option trading company.
In 1976, Larry was captain of the Miami Capablancas team that played in the National Chess League. Games were played by telephone. He played Board 2. Arnold Denker played Board 1. His team took 6th place. The Washington Plumbers and the New York Threats tied for 1st.
In March 1976, he was rated 2329, ranked #49 in the nation.
In 1976, he played in the Jacksonville Classic and tied for 3rd place. Ron Henley and Ed Formanek tied for 1st.
In June 1976, he was rated 2335, ranked #47 in the nation.
In 1979, Larry made his first IM norm at the Marshall Chess Club.
In 1980, he took 2nd place in the New York Internationals, scoring 11-3.
In 1980, he was awarded the International Master title at the age of 33.
From 1981 to 1986, he was Chairman of the USCF Ratings Committee.
In 1981, he took 1st place in the Falls Church Futurity tournament in Virginia.
In 1986, he retired from the financial world. And got involved in computer chess.
In 1986, he was senior editor of Computer Chess Reports.
In 1986, he was relieved of his post as chairman of the (human) ratings committee of the USCF on the grounds that his work with Computer Chess Reports was a conflict of interest, even though the ratings committee did not deal with computer ratings.
In 1987, Larry became acquainted with Don Dailey (1956-2013), a chess programmer.
In 1993, as editor of ICD’s Computer Chess Reports, he proposed a 25 problem test suite for chessplaying programs.
In 1997, he won the Maryland Open.
In 1997, Larry reached his highest USCF rating of 2538, just before his 50th birthday.
In 1998, he won the Maryland Open.
In 1998, he won the Virginia Open.
In 1999, he won the Maryland Open.
In 1998, he won the Pan-Atlantic Shogi championship.
In 1999, he won the Pan-Atlantic Shogi championship.
In 1999, he won the European Shogi Open.
In 1999, he was awarded for the Best Chess Theoretical Article for an article he wrote for Chess Life.
In 2000, he won the Virginia Open.
On March 25, 2001, he married Priscilla.
In 2002, he participated in the 47th US chess championship, held in Seattle. He took 35th place out of 56. Larry Christiansen and Nick de Firmian tied for 1st.
In 2002, he won the Eastern Open Championship.
In 2003, he participated in the 48th US chess championship, held in Seattle. He took 35th place out of 58.
In 2004, he wrote The Chess Advantage in Black and White: Opening Moves of the Grandmasters, (ISBN 0812935713) published by Random House (McKay Chess Library). The book included the latest developments as of November 2003.
In 2004, Larry’s father was 94 and still played chess.
In 2006, he won the Virginia Open.
In 2006, Larry’s father died at the age of 96. He played chess until the day before his death.
In 2007, he won the Virginia Open.
From 2007 to 2008, he worked on “Rybka 3” chess engine. At the time, it was the world’s strongest chess engine.
In 2007, he worked with Don Dailey to create the Komodo chess engine. At the time, Komodo was called Doch., an abbreviation for “Don’s Chess.” Kaufmann later suggest “Komodo Dragon.”
In 2008, he won the U.S. Senior Open. Part of the prized included expense money for the World Senior Chess Championship in Germany.
In 2008, he won the Maryland Open.
In July 2008, he appeared on the cover of Chess Life for his win in the 2008 U.S. Senior Open.
On November 10, 2008, at age 60, he tied for 1st with Miha Suba of Romania at the 18th World Senior Chess Championship, held in Bad Zwischenahn, Germany. He scored 9 out of 11. He won on tiebreak. He drew his final round in a favorable position against IM Alexander Zakharov. At the beginning of the event, Kaufman was ranked 17th going into the tournament, rated at 2400. There were 304 players in the main event. His prize money was $3,000. After winning the World Senior Championship, he was automatically awarded the Grandmaster title. (source: Kaufman, “World Senior Chess Championship,” Virginia Chess Newsletter, #6, 2008, p. 1)
In 2010, he won the Maryland Open.
In 2010, he tied for 1st in the World Senior Championship,
In 2011, he won the Virginia Open Championship.
In 2011, he won the Maryland blitz championship.
In November 2011, Komodo 4 was released. It was their first commercial release.
In 2012, he wrote The Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White: A Complete. Sound and User-friendly Chess Opening Repertoire, published by New In Chess.
In 2012, he won the Maryland Open.
On July 28, 2012, GM Larry Kaufman lost to 9-year-old Awonder Liang (born on April 9, 2003). Awonder is the youngest person to ever beat a grandmaster in tournament play. It occurred in round 3 of the Washington International in Rockville, Maryland.
In 2012, his Elo rating was 2401.
In 2016, he won the Maryland Open.
In 2019, he wrote Kaufman’s New Repertoire for Black and White: A Complete, Sound and User-friendly Chess Opening Repertoire, published by New in Chess.
On November 9, 2020, Larry introduced Dragon by Komodo Chess.
Larry is the top-rated U.S. player over 70. He is currently rated 2311.
Larry is/was involved in the development of Mac Hack VI, Rex, RexChess, Heuristic Alpha, Titan, Socrates, Kasparov’s Gambit, Star Socrates, Corei Chess, Mini, Occam, Rybka, Doch, Komodo, and Dragon by Komodo Chess.
Larry Kaufman’s son, Raymond S. Kaufman (1982- ), is an International Master. He was awarded the IM title in 2008.
Larry has won state chess championships in VA, FL, MA, PA, MD, and Southern California.
Larry currently lives in Potomac, Maryland and has 3 children
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