AThe Honolulu Advertiser Honolulu, Hawaii Monday, August 06, 1956 - Page 13 — Chess Played At Long Range — Oakland, Calif. (UP) — Talk about long chess games! Nick Preo recently won one that began in 1951 and is currently in another that isn't expected to end until 1960. Preo, an Owens-Illinois Glass Co. employee, recently took the honors in the 19th Grand National Correspondence Chess Tournament. The tournament began in 1951, and he won eight matches in the first, state-round.
Then he took nine games and drew the 10th in the second regional round to qualify for the seven-game championship round with eight chess masters out of a starting field of 1,000.
The Games are necessarily long because they are played by mail and each move is made by letter. Both players keep records of the moves and since there are 30 to 50 moves in a single game, it usually takes a month to complete one.
With the 19th championship under his belt, Preo is currently entered in the 20th Grand National, scheduled to conclude in 1957, and the 21st and 23rd. The 23rd began late last year and probably will require four years.
