Arthur Johnson Memorial Library

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Arthur Johnson Memorial Library

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The last gamesman :

by Hoffmann, Asa
Additional authors: Hoffmann, Virginia -- author. | Brady, Frank -- author of introduction.
Published by : Gatekeeper Press (Columbus, Ohio) Physical details: 239 p. ISBN:9781662922602; 1662922604.
Subject(s): Chess players -- New York -- Biography | New York (State) | Autobiographies.
Year: 2022
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title.
Item type Current location Call number Status Date due Barcode
700 - 799 Book Cart 794.1092 Hof (Browse shelf) Available 110810

The Last Gamesman is the story of Asa Hoffmann, legendary New York Chess player and master of Backgammon, Poker, Scrabble, Bridge, and Horse handicapping. Born into a privileged family of two attorneys, Asa was sent to the best schools including Horace Mann and Columbia University, but after a year at Columbia left school and his Park Avenue family home to make a living “hustling” chess and other games in the streets, parks and clubs of New York City. His character is portrayed in the book and film “Searching for Bobby Fischer”.

Asa has made a living plying his skills in parts of eight decades, winning tournaments in every game he plays, his main game being Chess. Asa also teaches gaming theory, is the author of two Chess books and has been featured in movies and documentaries about Chess and in a feature article in the New York Times. He teaches chess in New York City.

A teenage friend of World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer, Asa achieved the international chess title of FIDE Master and was ranked number 21 in the US at the age of 21. He has continued to play and win tournaments since the 1950’s and is now one of the top senior chess players in the country. In this volume Asa recounts the amazing and often humorous stories of the characters, the events, and the venues of the New York gaming world, many of which no longer exist but are worth memorializing.

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