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© Copyright 1999, 2000, Jim Loy
Note: The former title of this article was John Watson Needs Our Help! There has been some change in the info that I gave below. John is much better. Most of his medical bills have been paid, due to donations from individuals and from the USCF Professional Players Fund (which matched every donation). John thanks all of us and requests that we give money to the Professional Players Fund (The USCF is at 3054 Rte. 9W, New Windsor, NY 12553), which was set up for just such emergencies. Here is my original article:
International Master John Watson recently suffered a stroke. He is paralyzed on his right side. He does not have medical insurance, and his medical bills may exceed $200,000. Unfortunately, donations are not tax deductable. Send checks to [Here I originally gave the address of the John Watson Medical Fund].
John is a very nice and cheerful person. His book Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy recently won the 1999 Cramer Award for best chess book of the year.
I first met John in a North American Open, in the 1970's. I had him beat in the opening, and he managed to win the game. After the game, he told me that he would have to start studying openings. Within a few years, he was an International Master and was the author of a four volume set of books on the English Opening. I like to think that I had something to do with his rise to stardom. I met him again when I showed him a variation of the English which I had worked up. He didn't think much of it. Oh well. In a later tournament, John helped analyze a game I played against Frank Thornally, a master and a friend of John's. All three of us thought that I had a win. But we couldn't figure out where I had gone wrong. Eventually, we decided that the win was an illusion, and that I was lost all along.