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Chess autographs : An overview |
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Written by Lawrence Totaro
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Monday, 09 June 2008 |
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Chess autographs: An overview Submitted by: Lawence Totaro for German Autograph Soceity The following scale is based from 1 - 5, 5 being very rare. Although some of the world chess champions are very easy to obtain, the numbers may vary relative to what is signed. For example, seventh world champion Vasily Smyslov is given a 2 but if a document offers interesting chess content, the item itself will advance to a 3, perhaps 4. Although these numbers offer a general scale of rarity, they may vary from item to item. The condition of the item is obviously a factor when determing a value. Also keep in mind that these numbers represent items that appear in the American market. Prices are given in USD. Readers will notice that only thriteen chess players are present. All of them are world champions and they are quite popular among auctions. Other players such as: Paul Morphy, Howard Staunton, Harry Pillsbury, Aron Nimzovitch, Richard Reti, and several others are either rarely seen or only sought after by several collectors who wish to complete their collection. The following players will guide readers a place to start. Let it be known, however, that to obtain all the world champions is no easy feat; only several collectors in the world have accomplished this task. Wilhelm Steinitz 5 Emanuel Lasker 4 Jose Capablanca 3 Alexander Alekhine 5 Max Euwe 2 Mikhaill Botvinnik 3 Vassily Smyslov 2 Mikhial Tal 2 Tigran Petrosian 2 Boris Spassky 1 Bobby Fischer 1 Anatoly Karpov 1 Garry Kasparov 1 Wilhelm Steinitz A first edition, seven volume set of The International Chess Magazine sold on eBay recently for just over $3,000; one of the books was signed and inscribed by Steinitz from 1891. This might've been the last chance to obtain the world champion's autograph as it will be quite a while for another to reappear. The scan of the inscription is very poor but this did not stop collectors from producing such high bids. Kurt Landsberger (a great-grand nephew of Steinitz) collected documents, photographs, books, letters, etc, and recently donated his lifetime collection to the New Jersey Historical Society: http://www.jerseyhistory.org/findingaiddirnb.php?dir=EAD/faid2000&aid=mg1638 Below is a similar item of interest, dated earlier from 1886; it resides in the hands of Kurt Landsberger's son. Emanuel Lasker Many Lasker autographs are in the possession of American collector, David DeLucia. Lasker items are very desirable and fetch from $350.00 (signed books) to well over $1,500 (letters depding upon chess content) Signed letter to a John R. McMahon on a Union Club Habana letterhead dated Feb 26, 06 Signed book by Emanuel Lasker, The Community of the Future (1940) Signed check to a Mrs. Cohen dated October 25th, 1935  World chess champion, Jose Raul Capablanca, defeated Lasker for the title is very popular among collectors and widely seen at auctions. However, a signed photograph of Capablanca is of extreme rarity and if offered at an auction, no doubt the price would range from $1,2000-2,000 USD (maybe more in European markets.) The following item was observed at an eBay auction with no collector attributed. It is dated very young from 1912; a scarce and desirable item.  Signed letter dated May 1st, 1924. Alamac Hotel Stationary (New York, 71st Street and Broadway) Signed letter on a Union Club Habana letterheard dated July 3, 1928. Alexander Alekhine, Russian-born naturalised French champion, is a person whose autograph is rarely seen for sale and much desired. Many interesting items belong to Canadian collecor, Guy Gignac, who offers one item from his collection. The following item will be printed in his much intended book, Sur les traces d'Alekhine. 1925-1938* The Chess players of Kromeriz to the World Champion. Inscribed on bottom:'Spolekceskych sachistu v Kromerizi' means 'Club of Czech chess players in Kromeriz'.
Alekhine started on an extensive exhibition tour in Czechoslovakia December 1942 – March 1943
December 20, 1942 Alekhine was taken seriously ill with scarlet fever. He was able to leave the hospital towards the end of January. He was treated in the same hospital where Richard Reti (another famous chess player) died in 1929 from the same illness.
January24 – March 3, 1943 he gave 28 – 30 exhibitions most of which were on 35 or more boards.
Alekhine played a simultaneous at Kromeriz February 11, 1943 (W26, D6, L3).
At the General Government tournament in October 1942, Dr. Hans Frank had invited Alekhine to take the leading role in the organisation of the “First Chess Siminar” in Cracow during the weeks 7– 21 February 1943. With the difficult war time, it appears to have been delayed.
* Alekhine played asimultaneous at Kromeriz March 23, 1925 (W 27, D 3, L0)
Alekhine played a simultaneous atKromeriz May 28, 1938 (W 29, D 6, L2) Another fine item is from Peter Mueller: For a closer look, please visit Peter's page: For more Alekhine signatures visit: Max Euwe One of the earliest "Max Euwe" signatures dated July 7th, 1921. Dated July 15th, 1952 The latter autograph is a commonly noticed signature of Max Euwe as the fomer is very rare. Notice the abbreviated, "M" and the spelled out, "Euwe" in the earlier signature. Mikhail Botvinnik Autographs of Mikhail Botvinnik are not rare and can be seen in most chess collections; many of them are observed on FDC's or books. However, the following signed photo is scarce and also signed scoresheets which are desirable can fetch prices over $100.00 on ebay.  Vassily Smyslov A Russian chess document signed by Botvinnik (bottom) and Smyslov (middle) The first person is unknown. Dated February 1st, 1958. Russian signed book. Tigran Petrosian We see three variations of the Armenian's signature. The first, a very rare English signature and the following two in Armenian/Russian  Boris Spassky Very widely seen and always observed in most collections. Spassky's autograph is easily obtainable and barely fetches $50.00 at eBay auctions. Bobby Fischer No other chess champion has had their autograph forged more than the American, Bobby Fischer. Featured below are several of the many seen on eBay; the last two are authentic. There have been eleven variations of Bobby's signature observed thus far. A most famous forgery sold for $676.00 on December 23rd, 2003. More can be read about it at the most visited chess site, ChessBase (Courtesy of Frederic Friedel, Hamburg, Germany): Recently on March 25th, 2008, an unfortunate buyer paid $125.00 for the following: Bobby defeated Russsian Boris Spassky in 1972 for the chmpionship (Reyjavik, Iceland) He disappeared from the chess scence only to come back and defeat Spassky again in 1992 (Sveti Stefan, Sarajevo) He disappeared once more and in 2003, his passport was revoked at Narita International Airport (Narita, Japan). Three years ago a creative seller on eBay produced the following, with the text, "Me now." Fischer died earlier this year. Signed check dated September 9th, 1974 to Claudia Mokarow, in the amount of $200.00 A signed card from chess collector, Andy Ansel: An average Fischer autograph sells for $350.00. On letters, they have soared well over $1,000.00. Signed photos and some scoresheets are very rare. Anatoly Karpov Karpov's autograph is easily obtainable and appears on many items such as books, photos, FDC's, etc. There has been one Karpov signature oberved in the past that was not authentic. It was offered by Gallery of History (Las Vegas, NV). An email was sent to them and they removed it from their website. See the following: Compare it to these: Garry Kasparov Two different signatures from thirteenth world chess champion, Garry Kasparov.  Signatures of Kasparov can range from $35.00 - $65.00 but his recent book, How Life Imitates Chess (Easton Press edition) has sold many copies from $140.00 - $180.00. The following shows a copy at a Buy-It-Now price of $200.00: Recommended material: David DeLucia's Chess Library: A Few Old Friends Volume 1 (2003) and Volume 2 (2007) David DeLucia Fisching for Forgeries, (www.fischingforforgeries.com ) eBay material regarding Bobby Fischer's autographs, Lawrence Totaro Georgia Chess July/August and September/October, 2006, Articles by Kurt Landsberger and Lawrence Totaro Chess Life, August 1998, Hanon Russell explains his collecting acquisitions. SQUARES, www.chessco.com Summer 2004, Bob Long's informative but short run magazine. Chesstamp Review #119 Volume 28 Number 1 Jan-Mar 2006, "Bobby Fischer's signature" by NM Richard Benjamin Ken Whyld Association (www.kwabc.org), UACC (Universal Autograph Collectors Club, (www.uacc.org), The Manuscript Society (www.manuscriptsociety.com ), The Ephemera Society (www.ephemerasociety.org ) Markus Brandes' fantastic website, www.isitreal.com and the German Autograph Society (www.autograph-club.org ) To observe just chess autographs, please visit Gehard Radosztics site, www.evrado.com/chess Semyon Gelfer's page http://sgelfer.blogspot.com/ and isitreal.com expert, Peter Mueller's homepage, http://www.isanhalt.de/home/sportautogramme/Sports.html Acknowledgements: In no special order, this article could not have happened without the following assistance from: Allan Savage Andy Ansel Massimo Congera Peter Mueller Markus Brandes Tony Peterson Clive Lane Steven Bissmire Bill Price David Jarrett Scott Dunning Gerhard Radosztics Guy Gignac Ron Gross Larry Evans |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 09 June 2008 )
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Autograph Article 
