Norman Tweed Whitaker (April 9, 1890 – May 20, 1975) was an American International Master of chess, a lawyer, a civil servant, and a chess author. He was convicted of several crimes, was disbarred from the practice of law, and served several terms in prison. His most infamous criminal escapade was a confidence trick involving the Lindbergh kidnapping in 1932.
Early life, family and education Whitaker was born in Philadelphia, and grew up in an upper middle class, socially prominent family. His father, Dr. Herbert Whitaker,http://www.genealogy.ams.org/id.php?id=36252; American Mathematical Society genealogy project was a respected mathematics teacher with a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, while his mother was well known as a champion whist player. Norman attended high school there, graduating in 1908, and was involved in many extra-curricular school activities.Denker and Parr, p. 262 Whitaker graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor's degree in German Literature. He graduated from Georgetown University with a law degree.The Bobby Fischer I Knew And Other Stories, by Arnold Denker and Larry Parr, Hypermodern Press, San Francisco, 2000, pp. 262 and 266; Hilbert
Chess involvement Whitaker was taught to play chess at the age of 14 by his father and learned more by watching Harry Nelson Pillsbury, one of the world's very best, play in 1905.Hilbert
Whitaker was a member of the Franklin Mercantile Chess Club in Philadelphia, the nation's second-oldest chess club, and represented Franklin in team matches. This club was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, a Philadelphia chess enthusiast and one of the most prominent Americans of the 18th century.chessgames.com, the Norman Whitaker games collection; Hilbert During Whitaker's early chess years, the Franklin club featured the strong veteran Master Walter Penn Shipley, a lawyer by profession and an experienced chess organizer and promoter.
Whitaker in his teens won high-quality games in simultaneous exhibitions against World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker and future world champion Jose Raul Capablanca. Lasker was in Philadelphia to play part of his World Chess Championship 1907 match against Frank Marshall; Lasker won that match. While not of competitive significance, these achievements by Whitaker boosted his confidence and spurred his further development as a rising talent.chessgames.com, the Norman Whitaker games collection; see Emanuel Lasker vs. Whitaker, 1907; and Capablanca vs. Whitaker, 1909.
While attending the University of Pennsylvania, which he represented successfully in intercollegiate team play, Whitaker also represented the United States against England in two transatlantic cable university challenge matches, winning his 1909 game and drawing in 1910.chessgames.com, games collection of Norman Whitaker, see Whitaker vs. Humphreys, 1909; chessmetrics.com, the Norman Whitaker career results file; Hilbert.
Reaches Master strength One of Whitaker’s earliest notable performances at master level came at the 1913 New York National round-robin tournament. Despite its title, the event did not hold official national championship status and included several international participants. The field featured future World Chess Champion Jose Raul Capablanca, who won the tournament, along with American champion Frank Marshall, former World Championship challenger Dawid Janowski, Charles Jaffe, and Oscar Chajes. Whitaker finished tied for eighth and ninth place with a score of 5.5/13.chessmetrics.com, the Norman Whitaker career results file
Whitaker challenged Marshall in early 1914 to a match for the U.S. title, held by Marshall, but the two could not agree on financial terms.American Chess Bulletin, March and June 1914 issues, p. 51 and 76
Whitaker competed frequently and successfully in the Western Open during his college years and afterwards; organized by the Western Chess Association, this was often the nation's strongest-field annually-staged tournament in that era.chessgames.com, the Norman Whitaker games collection; see 'phonybenoni' file of tournament crosstables at that url This tournament later became known as the U.S. Open Chess Championship. During this era, it was an elite round-robin format event.
His major results from this period: 16th Western Open, Excelsior, Minnesota 1915–8.5/10, second place, winner Jackson Showalter; 17th Western Open, Chicago 1916–13.5/19, tied 4-5th, winner Edward Lasker.chessgames / phonybenoni games collection
By 1918, he was one of the strongest players in the country, defeating former U.S. champion Showalter in a match, by a score of +4 -1 =3. This was actually the second match between the two: Showalter had dominated their contest in 1916 by +6 -1 =0.Denker and Parr, p. 271.
In 1920, Whitaker represented Washington, D.C. against Chicago in what is believed to have been the first American shortwave radio long-distance chess match. He faced the very experienced master Edward Lasker. A pre-arranged time limit of three hours for the game found it still unfinished after 25 moves, with Whitaker having a slight advantage, and Capablanca adjudicated the position as a win for Whitaker.chessgames.com, games collection of Norman Whitaker; see Whitaker vs. Edward Lasker, 1920
Peak performance In 1921, at Atlantic City, he placed clear second, and top American, in the Eighth American Chess Congress. This series of nine tournaments, staged at irregular intervals between 1857 and 1923, was the forerunner to the modern United States Chess Championship tournament series. Whitaker finished with 8/11, only half a point behind winner Janowski, and ahead of Marshall, both of whom he defeated head-to-head. This was arguably his peak lifetime performance.Denker and Parr, p. 263
Whitaker was then scheduled to play a match against Marshall for the U.S. Chess Championship, but did not show up.Shady Side: The Life and Times of Norman Tweed Whitaker, Chess Master, by John Samuel Hilbert, 2000, Caissa Editions, He had been arrested and criminally charged in November 1921 (see below), and this was the likely reason for cancellation of the match.Denker and Parr, p. 266.
Wins Western Open Whitaker was a regular challenger for top places in the Western Open, held annually in the midwest, south, or far west. In 1921, at Cleveland (22nd Western), he placed fourth with 8/11; Edward Lasker won with 9.5. In 1922, at Louisville (23rd Western), he placed clear second with 9/11, half a point behind champion Samuel Factor. He tied with Stasch Mlotkowski for the title in 1923 at San Francisco (24th Western) with 9/11. At Detroit 1924 (25th Western), he tied 2nd-4th with 11.5/16, but a young Mexican Carlos Torre Repetto dominated with 14.
Represents U.S. in international chess In 1927, following release from prison, he won a nine-player invitational round-robin event, which was the first National Chess Federation Congress, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, ahead of the teenaged Samuel Reshevsky, who was already Master strength, and who later became one of the world's top players. Based on this result, with 6.5/8 -- Whitaker was declared champion of the NCF, a predecessor of the United States Chess Federation (USCF).Hilbert; chessgames.com, phonybenoni tournament crosstables files However, despite winning this title, Whitaker was not even invited to participate in the championship the following year, held at Bradley Beach, New Jersey; this situation indicates conflict with chess administrators, likely over his criminal past.
In 1928, while on his honeymoon, Whitaker went to The Hague to represent the United States in the Amateur World Championship, a round-robin tournament, against the champions of 15 other nations. Also being staged at the same time and site was the 2nd Chess Olympiad for international teams. Despite being in a terrible train wreck which killed nine people and severely injured his wife, he finished with a solid score of 9.5/14 in his first strong international event outside the U.S.; this tied for 4th-6th places, and won a prize. The tournament champion was Max Euwe, who became World Chess Champion seven years later.
In 1929 at St. Louis (30th Western), Whitaker defeated the eventual champion, Chicago Master Herman Hahlbohm, but trailed him by half a point with 7.5/10, tied 2nd-4th. Whitaker tied for the title in 1930 at Chicago (31st Western) with Samuel Factor with 6.5/8.
In 1930, Whitaker represented Washington, D.C. against London in a transatlantic radio match, losing a spectacular tactical game to former British champion Sir George Thomas, 7th Baronet.chessgames.com, games collection of Norman Whitaker; see Whitaker vs. Thomas, 1930 This game was later selected for the classic, highly regarded 1952 best games book: 500 Master Games of Chess, by Savielly Tartakower and Julius du Mont.
Selection dispute Whitaker became embroiled in a dispute with chess administrators during the early 1930s. He believed he should have been selected into the American team for the 3rd Chess Olympiad, Hamburg 1930 (instead of Harold Meyer Phillips (0.5/2 at Hamburg) or James Allan Anderson (6/17)), or for the 4th Chess Olympiad, Prague 1931.olimpbase.org, Hamburg 1930 Olympiad final group crosstable, U.S. team detailed results Based on prior competitive results, and on the weak showings by Phillips and Anderson on an otherwise well-performing American team (6th place) at Hamburg, Whitaker may have had a reasonable case. But it is likely that his criminal past (see below) was also a factor in the decision. He went so far as to directly contact FIDE President Alexander Rueb, suggesting that two American affiliate chess organizations be permitted as members of FIDE, allowing two American teams, while other nations had only one, but his argument was dismissed. This approach by an individual to the FIDE President over a national team selection matter was unlikely to win any friends for Whitaker. While seemingly frivolous, questions over which players were best qualified to play on the team did lead American chess administrators to stage a qualifying tournament among Masters, to select the national team for the 1933 Olympiad.Denker and Parr By that time, Whitaker was facing serious criminal charges (see below); he was never selected to future teams. American teams without Whitaker were able to claim the Olympiad team gold medals for 1931, 1933, 1935 and 1937, along with many individual medals.olimpbase.org, final group standings for Prague 1931, Folkestone 1933, Warsaw 1935 and Stockholm 1937 Olympiads By 1939, the Western Chess Association and the National Chess Federation had merged into the United States Chess Federation.
Professional career Whitaker was practicing law in Washington, D.C. by 1916. He worked for several years as a civil servant for the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as a patent attorney. He avoided military service during World War I by travelling around the country, staying ahead of recruiting notices, before finally reporting as the war wound down in November 1918, then being discharged after one day, for defective vision.
Criminal involvement, conviction, prison However, Whitaker was disbarred in 1924 from the practice of law.
Whitaker conspired with several of his own family members in an elaborate auto theft / insurance fraud scheme in the early 1920s. Whitaker, together with brother Roland and sisters Dorothy and Hazel Whitaker, was arrested in November 1921 for violating the Dyer Act, which had been passed with the aim of preventing the transportation of stolen automobiles across state lines. It was "a nationwide plot to recover insurance on automobiles claimed to have been stolen and transported from one state to another."The New York Times, February 26, 1922; Denker and Parr, p. 266 After exhausting more than three years of delays and appeals in 1925, Whitaker served two years in United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth.