Andrew Eden Soltis (born May 28, 1947 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania) is an American chess Grandmaster, author and columnist.
Soltis learned how the chess pieces moved at age 10 when he came upon a how-to-play book in the public library in Astoria, Queens where he grew up. He took no further interest in the game until he was 14, when he joined an Astoria chess club, then the Marshall Chess Club and competed in his first tournament, the 1961 New York City Junior Championship.
He has written a weekly chess column for the New York Post since 1972. His monthly column "Chess to Enjoy" in Chess Life, the official publication of the United States Chess Federation, was begun in 1979 and is the longest running column in that magazine. He was named "Chess Journalist of the Year" in 1988 and 2002 by the Chess Journalists of America.
Soltis was one of the few Americans in the 20th century who earned the International Grandmaster title but was not a professional chess player. He worked as a news reporter and editor for the New York Post from 1969 until he retired in 2014. He began writing a weekly chess column for the Post in 1972 and continued it after he retired.
He is considered one of the most prolific chess writers, having authored or coauthored more than 100 books and opening monographs about chess. His books have been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian and Polish. In 2014 his work Mikhail Botvinnik, The Life and Games of a World Chess Champion was named Book of the Year by the Chess Journalists of America and the English Chess Federation. Other honors for his books include the 1994 British Chess Federation award for Frank Marshall, United States Champion and the Cramer Award in 2006 for Soviet Chess 1917-1991 and in 2006 for Why Lasker Matters
Soltis has been inactive in tournaments since 2002. He reached his playing peak as a competitive player when he was rated the 74th best player in the world, in January 1971. He was inducted into the United States Chess Hall of Fame in September 2011. He tied for first prize in the 1977 and 1982 U.S. Open Championships.
In 1970, he played second board on the gold-medal winning US team in the 17th World Student Team Championship and tied for the best overall score, 8-1. He was also a member of the silver-medal winning U.S. teams in the 14th and the 18th World Student Team Championships.
Soltis won the annual international tournament at Reggio Emilia, Italy in 1972 and was awarded the International Master title two years later. His first-place finishes in New York international tournaments in 1977 and 1980 resulted in his being awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1980.
He won the championship of the prestigious Marshall Chess Club a record nine times, in 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1986, and 1989. He also competed in four U.S. (closed) Championships, 1974, 1977, 1978 and 1983.
He is credited with the Soltis Variation of the Sicilian Defense, characterized by 12… h5, after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 g6 6 Be3 Bg7 7 f3 0-0 8 Qd2 Nc6 9 Bc4 Bd7 10 0-0-0 Rc8 11 Bb3 Ne5 12 h4. Previous experience showed that Black often got mated if he allowed 13 h5. He also gave names to chess openings such as the Nimzo-Larsen Attack, the Baltic Defense and the Chameleon Sicilian. Several names for pawn structures and moves, such as the Marco Hop and the Boleslavsky Hole, were popularized by his book Pawn Structure Chess. He introduced the Russian chess term priyome to English literature in Studying Chess Made Easy.
Soltis graduated from City College of New York in 1969. He has been married to Marcy Soltis, a fellow journalist and tournament chess player, since 1981.
Partial List of Books
- The Great Chess Tournaments and Their Stories , 1975, ISBN 0-8019-6138-6
- Pawn Structure Chess, 1976, Tartan Books, ISBN 0-679-14475-7; also 1995, McKay, ISBN 0-8129-2529-7
- Karl Marx Plays Chess : And Other Reports on the World's Oldest Game, ISBN 0-8129-1906-8
- Turning Advantage into Victory in Chess, ISBN 0-8129-3581-0
- Chess to Enjoy, 1978, Stein and Day, ISBN 0-8128-6059-4
- Catalog of Chess Mistakes, 1980, Three Rivers Press, ISBN 0-679-14151-0
- The Art of Defense in Chess, 1986, Random House, ISBN 0-679-14108-1
- A Black Defensive System For The Rest of Your Chess Career, 1987, Chess Digest, ISBN 0-87568-166-2
- Winning with 1 e4, 1988, Chess Digest
- Confessions of a Chess Grandmaster, 1990, Thinker's Press, ISBN 0-938650-46-7
- Winning with 1 c4: A Complete Opening System, 1990, Chess Digest, ISBN 0-87568-192-1
- Winning with 1 f4: Bird's Opening, 1992, Chess Digest, ISBN 0-87568-203-0
- White Opening System: Combining Stonewall Attack, Colle System, Torre Attack, 1992, Chess Digest, ISBN 0-87568-205-7
- The Stonewall Attack, Revised 2nd Edition, 1993, Chess Digest, ISBN 0-87568-165-4
- The Inner Game of Chess: How to Calculate and Win, 1994, Random House, ISBN 0-8129-2291-3
- Grandmaster Secrets: Endings, 1997, 2003, Thinker's Press, ISBN 0-938650-66-1
- Soviet Chess 1917â€"1991, 1999, McFarland & Company, ISBN 0-7864-0676-3
- Grandmaster Secrets: Openings, 2000, Thinker's Press, ISBN 0-938650-68-8
- Why Lasker Matters, 2005, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-8983-9
- Bobby Fischer Rediscovered, 2003, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-8846-8
- Los Voraces, 2019, 2003, McFarland, ISBN 978-0-7864-1637-0
- Rethinking the Chess Pieces, 2004, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-8904-9
- How to Choose a Chess Move, 2005, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-8979-0
- The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century, Ranked, 2006, McFarland & Company, ISBN 0-7864-2741-8
- Transpo Tricks in Chess, 2007, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-9051-9
- The Wisest Things Ever Said About Chess, 2008, Batsford, ISBN 978-1-906388-00-3
- Studying Chess Made Easy, 2010, Batsford, ISBN 978-1-906388-67-6
- What It Takes To Become A Chess Master, 2012, Batsford
References
External links
- Andrew Soltis rating card at FIDE
- Andrew Soltis player profile and games at Chessgames.com
- Jim Eade (September 18, 2011). "GM Andrew (Andy) Soltis Interview by Jim Eade (Chess Trust)".Â