11.08.13 Chess player, chess journalist, chess photographer, foodie and native New Yorker are a few terms that could be used to describe ChessLife contributing writer Chris Kerrigan, a.k.a. C.K. Damrosch. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, however, as we found out during this recent interview in which Chris shares his thoughts on chess and life and two of his most memorable games.

Chris Kerrigan Damrosch's USCF Member Details Page

ChessMaine: Chris Kerrigan it's great to get the opportunity to get to know you and your work in more detail. How was it that you first got introduced to chess?

Chris Kerrigan: My single mom and I bought a Milton Bradley chess set together when I was very young. We learned the rules together by reading the box top! I told her the next day that the "bishoops moved diagummmily," a fact she has never let me forget.

Later a professor at Columbia where my parents went to graduate school used to baby sit me on occasion. He had two suitable toys, a gyroscope and a chess board. He taught me the 4 move checkmate and had me perform it on my mother when she returned to collect me. I was hooked after that!

CM: Can you describe your current involvement with chess as a player, writer and photographer?

CK: After rediscovering the game in my 30's through Dick Powell's awesome Deer Isle/Stonington Chess Team, I went on a 10 year binge of tourney play throughout the East Coast. I coached the Deer Isle team for three years, wining the State Championship once.

Eventually, I moved back to my native New York and pursued a teaching career, but first put in some time on the street and club chess scene. I joined the Marshall Chess Club for a time. I segued from teaching math to teaching chess, first working for Chess in the Schools, and then for Tri-State Chess. The former taught in lower income school systems in a non profit capacity, the later was a for profit operation largely serving the City's Jewish Yeshiva school system.

CM: Your work writing for ChessLife has twice earned you honors from the Chess Journalists of America. Can you tell us a bit about your award-winning articles and from where do you draw some of your inspiration?

CK: I had collected what seemed a limitless collection of chess stories and characters. Ironically, the editor of Chess Life saw my posting on a journalism site for regular non-chess related freelancing. I had listed an interest in chess, and Dan Lucas contacted me with my first assignment.

That grew into a very fruitful partnership with many really quality pieces I'm very proud of. "Sunday in the Park with Maurice" is a blending of my experiences playing Maurice Ashley, our first Black Grandmaster, in a simul and interview prior, with my own chess experiences at the Central Park location of the event. The Chess and Checkers House as it's called should be a stop on everyone's next visit to the Big Apple.

The second award winner was "Chessanomics" a long research piece trying to piece together (pun slightly intended) if and how people make an actual living at chess. It represented my own struggles with the subject, and made for a fascinating project.

Others I loved were "Globetrotting Kasparov Plays Harlem" my very own sit down interview with Gary Kasparov. Talk about pressure! The piece ended up missing a key photo to really make it make sense, but I still was proud of it. And look what happened to little Rochelle featured in that piece!

"The Young, The Old, and the Classical" was my first piece I think, also other subjects included Nicholas Nip, the "inwood 7", and a controversial book review I did on a scholastic chess series.

Probably the piece I'm most proud of is called "Hedging Genius," a hard journalism, investigative piece that ended up bringing down a fraudulent Hedge Fund who was trading on Chess for PR and business. It took 6 months to research and complete, and could have gotten USCF, Chess LIfe, myself, and Dan Lucas all sued if a word of it was not true. So, alot of pressure:)

Luckily the firm went out of business immediately upon publication, so I guess we got it right.

CM: You have done some of your photojournalism work in Bronx, NY. Are you currently living in Maine?

CK: I got married in New York to my lovely wife Rea. We had a son who blossomed on a visit to Maine two summers ago. We got very lucky and were able to buy our first house in Eastbrook, Maine. We are girding for our second winter here as a family, and truly loving the lakes, nature, and people of Maine.

CM: In addition to chess and photography you have a penchant for good food. Are you related to Barbara Damrosch, one of the leading figures in the organic farming and gardening movement?

CK: Ha! Yes. My mother is Barbara Damrosch and as many know, she is a ungodly good cook. I grew up at the stove with her, and frankly at the stove a lot alone when she was working long hours. I have worked in restaurants and consider myself to be a moderately good home cook. My wife is from Antigua and has influenced my current cooking a lot--spicy spicy!

As to the farming part of my mother's legacy, I have what I call a "Black Thumb," everything I touch dies.

CM: How about your family life? Do you have children and are they interested in chess?

CK: My son Patrick is 3 and just started pre-K. He was fascinated as a child by my display board. We have wonderful pictures of the crazy positions he liked to set up (like 9 pawns on one square).

My daughter Ella is three months, born this summer in Ellsworth. Finally after 6 generations of our family living in Maine, we finally have an actual Mainer in our midst:)

CM: Looking at our tournament histories, I see that we have played in some of the same tournaments including the 1996 Downeast Open in Portland, Maine.

CK: Ahhh, the good ole' days. My first big Maine tourney I went in full of beans, confident after beating the primitive computer programs of the day. My first opponent was the infamous Sarge! At that point I was playing a weird double fiancetto opening. He got some enormous pawn chain in the center and disappeared.

Finally despairing, I went and looked for him and found him in the bar. We struck up and instant friendship and ended up being drinking buddies for many a tournament. A truly great chess guy and one who knew how to have a good time.

I played a lot of other Maine events, my favorites were always the ones in the Capital building in Augusta, so maybe I'll play that one again!

CM: I understand you are an accomplished exponent of 1.f4 Bird's Opening.

CK: It's all I've played as white for going on two decades. I believe part of whites advantage is you can pick the game you two are going to play, and why make it one they know better than you? It started as a way to equalize my own inferior opening knowledge, but grew into a strength and something of a trademark.

In New York, I'm even known as "Bird." Considering I love Jazz and Basketball, I find this really great.

CM: If you had to sum up your philosophy of chess and life what would it be?

CK: I'm tempted say to attack life like the chessboard, but in some ways my aggressive play is an outlet so that I can live my normal life without such aggression.

CM: What advice would you give aspiring players?

CK: Pick one white opening and two black (one for e4 one for d4). Play them against as many people as you can until you can safely get out of the opening. Then learn some endgame:)

CM: What are your thoughts on the upcoming World Championship Match?

CK: I followed the last one quite closely with my students in New York, playing each match out and following online. This time around I'm completely out of the loop!

CM: What draws you to chess and why do you think so many of us spend countless hours hunched over a board and pieces?

CK: It can accommodate all types of personalities and brains--the artist, the crook, the banker, the spy, the engineer and the poet--you can find a play style to match your own heart.

CM: What are you currently reading?

CK: I'm obsessed with games besides chess. I am currently defending my world championship in a game called "rad soldiers." I also play a lot of a game called "pirates glory" which is a number crunchers delight.

As for reading, I am revisiting the most excellent "World of Tiers" series by Sci Fi author Phillip Jose Farmer.

CM: Is there anything else you would like to add that we didn't touch on?

CK: Just that C.K. Damrosch is my pen and chess name, Chris Kerrigan my day to day identity---Shhh don't tell anyone:)

Just kidding, hope to run into a lot of my old chess pals in the coming months!!!

CM: Thanks so much for the interview!

GM Maurice Ashley Simul
June 24, 2007

Musiy Trosman Simul 2007