Athletes - Raymond Weinstein

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	Athletes - Raymond Weinstein

Raymond A. Weinstein was born on April 25 1941 in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Erasmus Hall High School. He won the 1958 U.S. Junior Chess Championship in Homestead, Florida. Weinstein played a total of five times in the U.S. Chess Championship. Weinstein was on the U.S. Team that won the 1960 World Student Team Championship in Leningrad, USSR, the only time the U.S. Team has ever won that title. Weinstein tied for the gold medal in that event. Weinstein played on the U.S. Team in the 1960 World Chess Olympiad in Leipzig, East Germany.

Weinstein is an International Master recognized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. Weinstein defeated at one time or another every top U.S. chess player, including Samuel Reshevsky and Pal Benko, except that he never defeated Bobby Fischer, although he drew with Fischer several times. Weinstein is a life member of the United States Chess Federation.

Unfortunately, in about 1965 Weinstein developed schizophrenia and went completely crazy. He was reportedly arrested for assault in the Netherlands and deported to the U.S. There, he was detained in a half-way house. In 1972, he reportedly murdered one of the other inmates in the halfway house. Weinstein was deemed too insane to stand trial, so he was locked up in an insane asylum, the Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center on Manhattan's Ward's Island, where he remains to this day, 40 years later.

The greatest achievement of Raymond Weinstein came in the 1960-1961 U.S. Championship. There, Weinstein finished third behind Bobby Fischer and William Lombardy. As this was a zonal year, this result qualified Weinstein to play in the World Interzonal tournament. This result also gave Weinstein the automatic International Master title. Weinstein defeated Lombardy, Reshevsky, Arthur Bisguier and Robert Byrne in this tournament. The results of this tournament were Fischer 9-2, Lombardy 7-4, Raymond Weinstein 6 1/2 - 4 1/2, Bisguier, Reshevsky, James Sherwin and Charles Kalme 6-5, Benko, Hans Berliner, Robert Byrne and Anthony Saidy 4 1/2 - 6 1/2, Herbert Seidman 2 1/2 - 8 1/2.

Chess players have not forgotten Raymond Weinstein, even though he has been absent from the scene for 40 years. He regularly receives a few votes in the annual elections for Executive Board of the United States Chess Federation. Supporters say that, if elected, Weinstein will clean up the USCF.

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