Asa Hoffman
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Asa Hoffmann (born February 25, 1943) is a
FIDE Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating an ...
in chess, chess teacher and author from the
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. He is known as "the sparring partner of champions". His peak regular USCF rating is 2471, his peak quick rating is 2515 and his peak blitz rating is 2414. Hoffmann is interviewed in the documentary ''
Bobby Fischer Against the World ''Bobby Fischer Against the World'' is a documentary feature film that explores the life of chess Grandmaster and 11th World Champion Bobby Fischer. It incorporates interviews with chess players Anthony Saidy, Larry Evans, Sam Sloan, Susan Pol ...
'' along with
Anthony Saidy Anthony Saidy (born May 16, 1937) is an International Master of chess, a retired physician and author. He competed eight times in the U.S. Chess Championship, with his highest placement being 4th. He won the 1960 Canadian Open Chess Championshi ...
, Larry Evans, and
Susan Polgar Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...
. In 1987 he was profiled in ''
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''. The winner of the New York City junior championship in 1962 and the First Army Championship in 1966, by the age of 21 Hoffmann was ranked number 21 in the nation. His natural tactical flair and strong positional understanding made him a dangerous opponent even to top Grandmasters. Hoffmann went on to have more than a 50-year chess career, winning hundreds of tournaments and playing against most of the top ranked U.S. Grandmasters as well as many World Championship contenders. He was vice president of the
Manhattan Chess Club The Manhattan Chess Club in Manhattan was the second-oldest chess club in the United States (next to the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club in San Francisco) before it closed. The club was founded in 1877 and started with three dozen men, eventually ...
. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the
Marshall Chess Club The Marshall Chess Club, in Greenwich Village, New York City, is one of the oldest chess clubs in the United States. The club was formed in 1915 by a group of players led by Frank Marshall. It is a nonprofit organization and a gold affiliate o ...
in New York City. A colorful figure on the New York City chess scene, Hoffmann was the son of two attorneys, Mercedes Solomon Hoffmann and David Hoffmann and grew up on
Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
. He attended
Hunter College Elementary School Hunter College Elementary School is a New York City elementary school for select students who reside in New York City, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Administered by Hunter College, a senior college of the City University of New York or C ...
, Horace Mann School and
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. His parents had hopes he would become an attorney but Hoffmann had other plans and after a year at Columbia, dropped out to play chess full-time. The talented young Hoffmann was able to make a modest living playing blitz chess for money in the clubs and parks and was good friends with future
World Chess Champion The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013. The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 match ...
Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11â ...
, who also enjoyed playing blitz chess for money. The two played countless blitz games together but Hoffmann concedes that only rarely was he able to win a game against Fischer. Hoffmann began teaching chess students at the age of 18 years and has continued teaching students to this day. As of April 2016, Hoffmann was the top ranked senior blitz player in the U.S. He also holds the titles of U.S. Life Master and U.S. Senior Master. In 1981 he was awarded the international chess title of
FIDE Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating an ...
(FM). In 2015, Hoffmann played a blitz match against IM Jay Bonin billed as the "Gladiator" vs. the "Iron Man". Iron Man Jay Bonin won 8 - 5. In 2016, a book was published about the match, entitled "Ironman vs. Gladiator". Hoffmann describes himself as a Games Master, being a master in Chess, as well as Backgammon,
Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, Scrabble and
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. Specializing in blitz chess, he has been described by Yasser Seirawan as "a near legendary figure in the New York City chess world" and a collection of his games entitled ''The Chess Gladiator'' (Intl Chess Enterprises, 1996) includes a blitz win against
Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11â ...
. Hoffmann has also authored a book about his signature Czech Benoni chess opening entitled ''The Czech Benoni in Action'' (with Greg Keener, Mongoose Press, 2014), and is working on an update of his earlier book ''The Chess Gladiator'' as well as a book of his memoirs. His book "The Last Gamesman" was published in 2022. It is a book of reminiscences about a lifetime spent playing games in New York City. Hoffmann was portrayed in the movie ''
Searching for Bobby Fischer ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', released in the United Kingdom as ''Innocent Moves'', is a 1993 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Steven Zaillian in his List of directorial debuts, directorial debut. Starr ...
'' by actor
Austin Pendleton Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor. He is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen who has appeared in films including ''Catch-22'' (1970); '' W ...
; Hoffmann himself declined to participate in the movie, unhappy with the depiction of himself as socially inept and obsessive. In 1987 he married long-time girlfriend, chess photographer and actress Eva Veronika Klein and the two were together until her death in 2007. On February 24, 2014, Hoffmann married fellow chess player Virginia D'Amico Hoffmann. Their wedding reception was held at the
Marshall Chess Club The Marshall Chess Club, in Greenwich Village, New York City, is one of the oldest chess clubs in the United States. The club was formed in 1915 by a group of players led by Frank Marshall. It is a nonprofit organization and a gold affiliate o ...
. The two had dated 37 years earlier and were reunited in 2013 through mutual friends. They live in the
Gramercy Park Gramercy ParkSometimes misspelled as Grammercy () is the name of both a small, fenced-in private park and the surrounding neighborhood that is referred to also as Gramercy, in the New York City borough of Manhattan in New York, United States. T ...
area of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in
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.


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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffmann, Asa 1943 births Living people American chess players American chess writers Chess FIDE Masters People from Gramercy Park