College students spend a Friday afternoon in Wilder Bowl playing chess against an international master. International Chess Master Goes 30-1 against Oberlin Students Photographs and text by Alex Pfeifer
Jonathan Hirsch defeats a master and wins a thousand dollars.		OCTOBER 4, 2001-- International chess master Calvin Blocker came to Oberlin last Friday to play a simultaneous exhibition against any and all challengers. Chess club president Jeff Scheur brought him here in an effort "to promote chess and creative thinking at Oberlin and to draw interest to the club. The simuls [a chess competition in which one player competes against several opponents at once] play an important role in bringing people out of the woodwork for the chess club." As part of the promotional effort, a prize of $1,000 from the chess club's budget was offered to any challenger who could beat Blocker. The high stakes were intended to attract a large group of participants and spectators. In past contests, nobody has defeated the international chess master, but that is exactly what Jonathan Hirsch '05 did during this year's competition. Hirsch, a first-year student from New York, had no expectations of winning at the outset of the three-and-a-half hour match against Blocker. The game ended when Blocker resigned in a lost position rather than continue playing knowing that victory was improbable. Oberlin College's chess club meets on Thursdays from 8:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. in Wilder 112. Calvin Blocker, who resides in Cleveland, Ohio, gives lectures every other week at club meetings. For more information regarding Oberlin's chess club, contact club president Jeff Scheur. Calvin Blocker calculates his next move.
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