Dick Butkus: Quintessential Bear, Quintessential Linebacker

The Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals are the only two original NFL franchises that still exist. The Bears were dubbed "Monsters of the Midway" during their glory years in the 1940s when they won four NFL titles (1940, 1941, 1943, 1946) in a seven year span, but no player embodied that "Monsters" ethos more than Dick Butkus, who passed away in his sleep yesterday at the age of 80. 

Chicago native Butkus led the University of Illinois to a 17-7 Rose Bowl win versus Washington in 1964 before being drafted by his hometown Bears as the third overall selection in the 1965 NFL Draft, one pick ahead of fellow future Hall of Famer Gale Sayers. The legendary George Halas--who at various times played for, coached, and owned the Bears--was the team's coach and owner at that time, and he remained the coach through 1967. Butkus made the Pro Bowl in eight of his nine NFL seasons, missing out only in his last, injury-riddled campaign during which he played in just nine of 14 games. Butkus injured his right knee in high school, but he battled through the pain and limitations caused by that injury until he had nothing left and retired from the NFL at the age of 30; prior to his final season he played in 110 of a possible 112 games. Butkus was selected First Team All-Pro five times (1965, 1968-70, 1972). He finished his career with 22 interceptions, 27 fumble recoveries, one touchdown scored, one safety and two extra points; the last number requires some explanation: before the NFL added a two point conversion rule in 1994, if a team passed or ran the ball into the endzone on an extra point attempt that counted as one point. On November 14, 1971, the Bears beat the Washington Redskins 16-15, with Butkus providing the winning margin by catching a Bobby Douglass pass in the endzone after the Bears botched the snap on an extra point attempt and were forced to go into scramble mode. You can see a video of the wild play here. In 1972, Butkus caught another extra point pass. 

The numbers do not tell the full story of Butkus' impact--literally and figuratively. He was renowned--and feared--as perhaps the hardest hitting NFL player, and he took pride in the fact that after he hit someone the player did not have to try to figure out who made the play: a Dick Butkus tackle felt like no other. Although Butkus was a fierce player, he also took pride in playing within the rules, and when some Detroit players accused him of being a dirty player Butkus deeply resented the accusation, declaring, "No one but those jerks has ever called me a dirty player. I play as hard as I can. I try to hit as hard as I can. To me that’s what the game is all about."

Butkus never played for an NFL champion or even for a playoff team. The lack of playoff success by a Chicago team that featured Butkus on defense and Sayers on offense is a stark reminder that football is perhaps the ultimate team sport: in basketball one dominant player can carry a team, and in baseball a dominant pitcher can have a tremendous impact, but in football even an elite player needs a lot of help in order to enjoy team success. Jim Brown is arguably the greatest football player of all-time, and his Cleveland teams posted a 1-2 record in the NFL Championship Game during his fabulous nine year NFL career.

Despite the lack of postseason success, in his nine NFL seasons--all spent with the Bears--Butkus earned recognition as the prototypical linebacker. NFL Films President Steve Sabol called Butkus the greatest defensive player of all-time, describing him as "A force of unmanageable proportions, he was Moby Dick in a goldfish bowl. His career as the middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears stands as the most sustained work of devastation ever committed on a football field by anyone, anywhere, anytime...No one played harder or better than Dick Butkus."

Butkus was selected to the NFL's All-Decade Teams for both the 1960s and the 1970s, he was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 (the first year that he was eligible), and he was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983. Starting in 1985, the Butkus Award has been presented to the best linebacker in college football; since 2008, the Butkus Award has also been presented to the best NFL linebacker and the best high school linebacker. 

After he retired, Butkus became an actor in TV shows, TV commercials, and movies, and he did some football commentary as well. I suspect that the first time I ever saw Butkus was probably in a Miller Lite commercial during an NFL telecast! I am too young to have seen Butkus play during his career, but I saw a lot of NFL Films footage of him, so I understand why he was so respected and so feared. I cannot find the exact quote, but I remember reading something to the effect that it was not possible to block Butkus head on, so players resorted to chipping him low, which infuriated Butkus because he already had a bad knee. It is remarkable that Butkus played nine seasons at such a high level under those conditions. 

It is disconcerting to see so many people from my parents' generation--people who were in the prime of their lives when I was a child--getting old and passing away. For me, the 1970s and 1980s were a golden age in many different sports, even though I only remember the second half of the 1970s: when I think of great basketball I think first of Julius Erving, Pete Maravich, George Gervin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird; when I think of great baseball I think first of the Big Red Machine teams, of Reggie Jackson's clutch play with the New York Yankees, and of Eric Davis' early career brilliance; when I think of great football I think first of the dynastic Pittsburgh Steelers (even though as a Cleveland Browns fan I hate them); when I think of great tennis I think first of Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, and John McEnroe; when I think of great boxing I think first of Muhammad Ali. That does not mean that each of the listed players and teams was the greatest of all-time (although a strong case could be made for several of them), but rather just that my deep love of sports was forged by watching and admiring them. That time is long past, but the memories and the historical impact will live forever.

Butkus was from just before that time, but I have great respect for icons like Dick Butkus, Jim Brown, and Sandy Koufax who made such indelible impacts on the sports world despite having relatively brief careers. Today, the sports world generates more money than ever, and new technologies make it possible to watch more games in more ways than ever, yet it feels like something is missing.

Rest in peace, Dick Butkus, and enjoy your reunion with George Halas and the other legends from the past.

Journey to the National Master Title, Part 7

In the August 19, 2023 Dublin (Columbus, Ohio) Summer Open, I scored 3/4, but finished out of the money as three players tied for first place with 3.5/4. I drew with two of the first place finishers: National Master Charles Diebert (the top seeded player, with a pre-tournament rating of 2217), and Evan Fan, one of the top rated players in the country under the age of 10 (1794). I gained five rating points to push my rating up to 1991.

I scored 3.5/5 (three wins, one draw, and one loss) in the U2100 section of the August 26-27, 2023 Indianapolis Open, finishing tied for fourth through eighth but losing three rating points. The difference between gaining points and losing points in this tournament--and the difference between potentially winning the U2100 section versus settling for a lesser prize--was how I handled being up an Exchange by move 12 as Black in the second round. Here is the position after my opponent played 13. Kxf1 (taking my Bishop after I had just captured his Rook) and then I replied ...Nd5, strongly centralizing my Knight:

 Here is the position just 11 moves later:

What happened to my extra Exchange, and what happened to my Queen? The moves between the two diagrams were 14. Rb1 Nb4 Objectively this is fine, but there is no reason to seek complications when you are up an Exchange: 14...Nxc3 15. dxc3 d5 is a simple and direct way to play. 15. Qd1 Qa5 16. Ne5 d6 17. Nc4 Qa6 18. Kg1 d5 19. Nxa3 Bxc3 20. dxc3 Nxa2 21. Bb2 Qxa3?? I thought that I was simplifying to a position in which my two Rooks would be better than my opponent's Queen but--needless to say--I miscalculated. I should have played 21...Qa5 22. Qe1 Nb4 This is the idea that I missed during the game: if my opponent takes my Knight with his Pawn then his Knight is trapped after I take back with my Pawn. 

The game continued: 22. Bxa3 Nxc3 23. Qe1 Nxb1 24. Bxc5. I underestimated my opponent's 24th move; I would be winning if he had taken my Knight and I had then taken his Bishop, but this intermezzo puts him on top. He soon gave me one chance to equalize, but I missed the opportunity to fully activate my Rooks and then it was downhill from there, as his Queen and Bishop proved to be too powerful.

After the first three rounds of the Indianapolis Open, I played in the Indianapolis Open Saturday Night Blitz, scoring 5/8. I finished tied for seventh through tenth out of 32 players. I lost my mini match with National Master Joseph Cheng-Yue Wan 2-0, and he went on to tie for first place with FIDE Master Arvind Jayaraman at 7/8 each. My USCF blitz rating remained unchanged (1816).

I scored 2/5 in the Open section of the September 2-3, 2023 Ohio Chess Congress, finishing out of the money but gaining 21 rating points to push my rating back over 2000 (2009). I drew with two National Masters: Justin Storn--who is the new Ohio Chess Champion (he finished tied for second overall behind Grandmaster Alex Fishbein, who is not an Ohio resident)--and two-time Ohio Chess Champion (2005, 2013) William Wright. I have drawn with and defeated many Ohio Chess Champions in rated tournament games, but I have not won the Ohio Chess Championship, though I contend that John Lodger Hughes and I should be recognized as co-Ohio Chess Champions for 2010; we were the highest scoring Ohio residents in that year's Ohio Chess Congress, but the Ohio Chess Champion title was inexplicably granted to the overall first place finisher despite there being no information proving that he was an Ohio resident (that player, IM Siddharth Ravichandran, is a resident of Chennai, India and the 2010 Ohio Chess Congress is the only tournament he ever played in Ohio).

After the first three rounds of the Ohio Chess Congress, I played in the Ohio Chess Congress Saturday Night Blitz, scoring 5/8. I started out 5/6, and so I played National Master Jesse Ren on board one in the last round. Ren beat me 2-0 in our mini match, just like he beat me 2-0 in our mini match in the June 10, 2023 Cleveland Open Saturday Night Blitz. I gained 14 rating points, pushing my USCF blitz rating to 1830.

I scored 2/3 in the top section of the September 9, 2023 Dublin (Columbus, Ohio) G/60 tournament, tying for second through fourth place. I gained four rating points to improve to 2013. Two weeks later, I scored 3.5/4 in the September 23, 2023 Columbus G/45 tournament, gaining 22 rating points to lift my rating to 2035. In round three, I defeated the number one seeded player, National Master Charles Diebert, who has been one of Ohio's top players for well over 30 years. Despite my great result, I did not win a prize, as two players in the 55 player field finished with 4/4.

The Ohio Senior Open tournament is one my favorite annual events, as it provides a great opportunity to catch up with--and compete against--players who I have known for more than three decades. Organizer/chief tournament director Grant Neilley does a wonderful job, and I would encourage anyone who is eligible to participate in next year's event, which is scheduled for the weekend of September 28, 2024. One of the highlights this year was a contest for the most interesting or unusual chess set. Charles Diebert won in the non-Staunton set category with this beautiful set that his mother gave to him over 40 years ago; a friend of hers handcrafted it from ceramic materials:

Peter Galupo won in the Staunton set category:

I scored 3.5/5 in the September 30-October 1, 2023 Ohio Senior Open, losing four rating points to drop to 2031. I tied for fourth-fifth overall, and received the trophy for first place in the 50-59 age group. John Bath won the tournament on tiebreaks over Alan Casden (who defeated me in round three) and Mike Sheaf. Those three players each scored 4/5. This is the third consecutive year that I have participated in this event, which is open to anyone who is at least 50 years old (or who turns 50 before December 31 in the year that the tournament is held); each time, I have scored 3.5/5, and each time my only loss has been to a player who finished first or tied for first. In both 2021 and 2022 I won the third place trophy on tiebreaks. I was the fifth seeded player out of 22 Open section participants this year, I was the fourth seeded player out of 24 Open section participants in 2022, and I was the ninth seeded player out of 31 Open section participants in 2021. In other words, I have finished higher than my seeding each year; I like to think of this being equivalent to a race car driver who consistently finishes higher than his qualifying position, because I have "passed" players en route to winning a prize in each of these three tournaments. 

In the past 12 months, I have scored 50% against National Masters in regular rated tournament games (one win, four draws, one loss). I drew my game in the Ohio Chess Congress versus the eventual champion, National Master Justin Storn (and I also drew a quick rated game versus Storn in the July 20, 2023 Cincinnati Chess Club G/24 Swiss as he and I shared first place with 3.5/4). I have often demonstrated that I can play National Master level chess. Why have I yet to break the 2200 rating barrier, and why is my current rating below 2100? My journey to National Master has been slowed down by two issues: 

1) My unfortunate proclivity to squander winning positions, most recently demonstrated in the above example from the second round of the Indianapolis Open. This year alone I have cost myself at least 100 rating points by losing objectively winning games to lower rated opponents.

2) Many young players are significantly underrated, in part because during the early days of COVID over the board play paused while online play increased, which created a large group of young players whose over the board ratings lag far behind their actual playing strength. FIDE, the governing body of international chess, plans to address this issue by providing a one-time rating increase to the 85% of chess players whose FIDE ratings are below 2000; this increase is scheduled to take place in January 2024, subject to final approval by the FIDE Council in October 2023. 

What can I do to address these two issues? Regarding the first issue, I must be more aware of my opponent's threats, particularly in positions that seem to be easy wins (there are no easy wins!). I remember what Senior Master Boris Men once told me about how to win from a winning position--"You must play against your opponent's play"--but I must apply that wisdom in practice as opposed to just understanding it in theory. There is not much that I can do about the second issue, though perhaps it is worth considering playing in tournaments in which I am less likely to play against underrated young players.

In 2023, I have scored 68 wins, 17 draws, and 22 losses in regular rated tournament games with eight first place finishes in 27 events--but five losses to players rated below 1750 were costly, and as a result my net rating gain for 2023 is 19 points, so I need to gain 169 points to reach my goal.