Allen Kaufman

Allen Kaufman (1933) is an American chess master and the former Executive Director of the American Chess Foundation[1] and Chess-in-the-Schools.[2]

Allen Kaufman
Born1933
New York City
Known forAmerican Chess Foundation, Chess-in-the-Schools

Kaufman, a longtime member of the Marshall Chess Club and former vice president,[3] competed nationally in chess in the 1950s. In 1954, Kaufman finished seventh in the U.S. Open.[4] In 1957 at the U.S. Open, while ultimately finishing out of contention, Kaufman was in first place after the fourth round[5] and tied for third after the sixth round.[6] In 1958, Kaufman came in sixth in the U.S. Open. The winner, Eldis Cobo Arteaga, lost his only game to Kaufman.[7]

As the executive director of the American Chess Foundation, Kaufman expanded their program of teaching chess to school-age children, leading to the name change of the organization to "Chess-in-the-Schools". Kaufman is an advocate of chess as mental training and believes that chess increases children's reading and reasoning skills.[8]

At the American Chess Foundation, Kaufman aided the chess prodigy Gata Kamsky in his defection from the Soviet Union in 1989.[9] He was also instrumental in the formation of the Samford Chess Fellowship and is former secretary of the fellowship committee.[1][10] Kaufman has a Morphy Number of 4 through, for example, Arthur Bisguier and Norman T. Whitaker.[1]

Kaufman was a friend of Bobby Fischer in his teen years.[11]

References
  1. Allen Kaufman Chessgames Biography
  2. Chess in the Schools, New York City
  3. "When Chess Was King of the City", New York Observer, September 14, 2015.
  4. U.S. Open 1954, New Orleans
  5. “KAUFMAN ON TOP IN NATIONAL OPEN; Gains Undisputed Possession of First Place in Chess Tourney at Cleveland", The New York Times, August 10, 1957.
  6. "CO-LEADERS PLAY TO DRAW IN CHESS; Donald Byrne and Berliner in Stalemate at National Open—Bisguier Upset", The New York Times, August 12, 1957.
  7. U.S. Open 1958, Rochester
  8. “In Harlem, a Chess Champion Passes On His Moves and Enthusiasm”, The New York Times, December 29, 1999.
  9. Getlin, Josh. After Defection, Chess Whiz Kid Wants to Be King, Los Angeles Times, May 29, 1989.
  10. John Donaldson is the New Secretary of the Samford Fellowship Committee, June 23, 2011
  11. Nicholas, Peter, and Clea Benson. Life is not a Board Game. The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 8, 2003
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