The Father of Fremont Chess
After graduating high school in 1996, I attended Ohlone College in Fremont, California. Still passionate about chess, I would check out chessboards from the school library and sought out to learn more about the local chess community. It was during this important period of my life that I met Hans Poschmann, who can be thought of as the Father of Fremont chess.
Hans Poschmann came to Fremont during the 1960s and quickly worked to establish a chess club in the style of the chess club he enjoyed while living as a young man in Berlin, Germany. In addition to organizing the Fremont Chess Club, Hans was an original founder of CalChess and the CalChess Journal. A correspondence chess master, Hans taught chess at elementary schools in Fremont and organized hundreds of chess tournaments in the East Bay. Hans Poschmann mentored me in chess, chess teaching, correspondence chess and encouraged me to organize tournaments in the Fremont Area. It was with Hans, that I began my chess teaching career at Weibel Elementary School in Fremont.
Here is an early chess game that I played with Hans at Weibel Elementary School in Fremont, California. Hans Poschmann was a leading expert on the Orangutan Opening and so it was no surprise that he chose to start our game with 1. b4. It was also not surprising that Hans was victorious as, especially at that time, he was a much stronger chess player than I.
Hans Poschmann, passed away on September 22, 2006 at the age of 73 but not before passing the torch to me to carry on his legacy. I know Hans would be proud to see all that I have accomplished in the Fremont area and it is in his memory that I continue his fine work as an organizer, tournament director, journalist, and mentor.
[Event “Weibel Chess Club”]
[Site “Fremont, California “]
[Date “1998”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Hans Poschmann”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[Black “Chris Torres”]
[BlackElo “?”]
[Result “1-0”]
1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 Bxb4 3.Bxe5 Nf6 4.Nc3 O-O 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.Nd5 Qd6 7.Nxb4 Qxb4 8.c3 Qe7 9.e3 d5 10.Bd3 c5 11.Qh5 g6 12.Qh6 Nd7 13.Nf3 Nf6 14.Ng5 b6 15.h4 Bb7 16.h5 c4 17.hxg6 cxd3 18.g7 Rfc8 19.Nxh7 d4 20.Nxf6+ Qxf6 21.Qh7#
1-0