Chess Pro Takes on 25 Tipp Students
Written by Mike Woody
Wednesday, 09 April 2008
A group of twenty-five middle and high school students tried to keep chess King, Tony Mantia, in check but ended up as pawns.
In the exhibition held in the Tippecanoe Middle School library on March 27th, Mantia competed against each of the students simultaneously.
Moving around in the wide circle made of the young chess players, Mantia would do one series of moves and then directly continue on to the next opponent, averaging ten seconds at each stop. As has become a tradition in Mantia’s history of the game, victory was routine.
Wins or losses weren’t the purpose for either party, but for the students to have fun and gain from the experience of battling such a skilled competitor. Eighth grader Alexandra Mayhan, participating with her sister Nadia, enjoys the game for the chance to learn from others. “Playing with other people and seeing their different skills helps you become a better chess player,” she said.
A chess enthusiast for fifty years, Mantia has faced many of the world’s top players and won several tournaments. He started playing seriously in high school, joining Centerville’s chess team in 1958. “I learned from a neighborhood friend, we played our first game and I won, which was probably a mistake because we kept playing till he could win. He never did and gave up.”
More than just a board game, the richness of chess runs deep for Mantia and exposes some of life’s lessons. “It teaches you to look at the consequences of your actions and, to play well, you need to envision your moves ahead,” he said.
At times Mantia can look up to twelve moves ahead and with experience comes the recognition of patterns. In addition to skill, according to Mantia a big ego with a strong will to win is needed. “It’s a game of mental struggle, your trying to enforce your will on somebody else,” he said.
In 1984 (perhaps 1964?), Mantia played against world famous chess player Bobby Fischer, as one of fifty opponents at a time. Fischer was victorious against 48 of his opponents, including Mantia. “I had a good game against him but I lost a pawn. I just felt good that he didn’t blow me off the board,” he said.
Mantia also got to meet the multi-time champions of Yugoslavia and Denmark as well as the top players from America and other countries. No matter the nationality of an opponent, he is able to communicate with them through the language of chess. “I could walk into a club in Russia or anywhere without knowing the language and by playing chess with someone we would be friends by the end of the night by sharing a common language.”
The credentials of Mantia are impressive as in a 1976 national tournament with 20,000 participants, and which took five years to complete, he finished fourth. Mantia is a four time Dayton champion. Mantia has twice won both the Gem City Tournament and a competition sponsored by the University of Dayton’s chess club. Additionally, Mantia has won countless other tournaments, as well.
Through it all Mantia has played over 23,000 games and estimates he has won 63% of the serious games. “That’s a lot of time wasted,” Mantia said, but he wouldn’t take a single second of it back.
Here is the full story.
Not likely that he played Fischer in 1984. 1964, maybe.
Vaguely insulting though, that the most important thing about his life, worthy of the top spot in the story, is that he played Fischer. Reminds me of that old joke where the Soviets are trying to decide on a fitting statue of Pushkin, and after much deliberation, what they come up with is a statue named “Comrade Stalin Reading Pushkin”.
Loath as I am to further co-opt a story about Mantia into a story about someone else, if the most important thing about his life is that he played Fischer, I thought people would want to see the game.
It was 1964, and not 1984.
[Event “Fischer tour simul”]
[Site “Columbus”]
[Date “1964.05.??”]
[Round “0”]
[White “Fischer, Robert James”]
[Black “Mantia, Anthony”]
[Result “1-0”]
[Eco “B18”]
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Nc5 e5 6.Nxb7 Qxd4 7.Qxd4 exd4 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.cxd3 Nd7 10.Nf3 Rb8 11.Na5 Bb4+ 12.Bd2 Bxd2+ 13.Nxd2 Nc5 14.Ke2 Kd7 15.Rhc1 Ne6 16.Nxc6 Rxb2 17.Ne5+ Ke7 18.Rcb1 Rxb1 19.Rxb1 Nh6 20.Ne4 Rc8 21.Rb7+ Kf8 22.Nd6 Rc7 23.Rxc7 Nxc7 24.Nc6 Ne6 25.g3 a6 26.a4 f6 27.a5 Nf7 28.Nf5 g6 29.Nfxd4 Nxd4+ 30.Nxd4 Nd6 31.Ne6+ Ke7 32.Nc5 h6 33.Ke3 Kd8 34.Kd4 Nb5+ 35.Kc4 Nc7 36.d4 f5 37.Nd3 Ke7 38.Kc5 Kd7 39.d5 g5 40.Ne5+ 1-0
Mantia t-shirt reads:
“Bobby Fischer kicked my butt and all I have to show for it is this lousy t-shirt!”
Meh.
he beats up on grade eights and thinks hes good. lmao.. thats something to be proud of..12 moves ahead?? are you kidding me..even the top grandmasters cant see that many moves ahead..ill bet this guy cant see more than one move ahead from his head stuck in his ass..
You know I ignored this comment for years but obviously the commentator has never been interviewed especially by a person who knows little of Chess, the 12 moves I mentioned was one specific correspondence game but the writer totally misunderstood what I said. Rarely does what you say to an interviewer writes what is actually said. I was pleased to play Fischer, see my article in Chess magazine for full details, but It did not nor ever will define my Chess experiences.
He is about 2100 USCF.
This gives me, as an european, a fair view on American chess. 200 million people and this guy gets praised for chess. I’m not impressed at all.
“Anonymous said…
This gives me, as an european, a fair view on American chess. 200 million people and this guy gets praised for chess. I’m not impressed at all.”
This gives me, an American, a fair view on European hygiene. 300 million Europeans and only one stick of underarm deodorant.
I’m not impressed at all. *Phew!*
Curiously, this game appears in Lou Hays, Bobby Fischer: The Complete Games of the American World Chess Champion, exactly as described above. Well, almost exactly. The moves are identical, right up to the final 40.Ne5, and then the result is given as “1/2-1/2”.
To “anonymous” — how uncharitable to sling slurs at someone you don’t even know.
I’m a longtime friend of Tony Mantia and can tell you that the little corner of the chess universe which he occupies in Ohio is much richer for his long devotion to the game. He is the very best *ambassador* for chess that I know — and a very fine and very creative player himself.
Your corner would be blessed by someone like him.