Jeff Sarver (born May 14, 1978 in Kingston) is a Canadian chess player, world chess champion in the category of under 10 years (Puerto Rico 1986)
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Contents
- Early career
- Public life
- “Finding Bobby Fisher”
- Participation in a chess tournament after many years of break
- Poker
- Bibliography
- References
Early career
Jeff learned the chess rules of the game when he was 4 years old, from his 2 years old older sister, Julia, and at the age of 6, he started playing at the New York Manhattan Chess Club, which was one of the most prestigious in the world. The chairman of this club, Bruce Pandolfini, impressed by the small chess couple, provided them with lifelong memberships in the club, which were usually reserved for grandmasters.
Every year, in honor of Canada Day (a national holiday in Canada) on Parliament Hill in Ottawa , Jeff (7 years old) entertained crowds of people, playing with forty players at the same time, the so-called simultaneous game session. Also appeared in Washington Park in New York, where he played fast chess and attracted the attention of spectators who watched his game.
Public life
When Jeff was 8 years old, his enthusiasm for chess attracted the attention of Grandmaster Edmar Mednis, who invited him to analyze the 1986 World Chess Championship match between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Kapov at PBS (American television station) Jeff and his sister Julia (who was also the world champion among girls over 10 years old) again appeared on television , commenting on the rematch in 1987. After this event, both became famous in media circles and began to appear in different programs, as well as for a documentary.
Some magazines, such as CQ or Sports Illustrated, have written articles about Jeff and his family, often highlighting their strange lifestyles, challenging Jeff's safety and career in chess under the supervision of his father.
When it became clear to Jeff's father that he could not fully control the life of his son, he did not allow Jeff to continue his chess career. He brought his family out of New York and got into trouble over the Ontario Children's Assistance Society. A huge article in one of the most widely read and public opinion magazines in the United States, Vanity Fair , described the violence inflicted on Jeff and Julia by their father Mike, which led to the relevant services taking the children from their father and putting them under the supervision of a foster family . Jeff's father did not recognize any structures and state systems, he did not let children go to school and everywhere they made noise that he mocked them mentally and physically. Jeff and Julia fled from the care of the Children Assistance Society to their father and hid from services so that they would not be picked up again. Since that time, the whole three hid, lived in different countries and got used to an extraordinary way of life.
“Finding Bobby Fisher”
In 1993, a film was made under the name Searching for Bobby Fischer (Russian: Finding Bobby Fischer ) (pol. Chess childhood), in which Jeff served as the image for Jonathan Poi. In the culmination scene of the film in the last round, Jonathan Pöy received an offer about a draw, which he did not accept and lost. However, in reality, Jeff Sarver and his opponent Joshua Weitzkin drew that game and shared the first place. Jeff was 7 at the time, and Josh was 9 years old. The only other party between the guys took place in December 1985 and ended in a victory for Jeff.
Participation in a chess tournament after years of break
In September 2007, Jeff participated in the X International Rapid Chess Tournament for the Cup of the Malbore Castle. Since he did not have an international rating, he was recognized with a technical classification of 2,300 points. Jeff took III place in the match with a score of 7 points in 9 games among 86 participants in the competition, among whom were 4 grandmasters .
Poker
Since December 2008, Jeff has been participating in the European Poker Tour, completing 5 tournaments with cash rewards, while taking 10th place during the EPT Warsaw in October 2009 and 3rd place with a win of 156.170 Euros in the EPT Vilamoura in November 2009.