I suspect I had as much fun on the road to Tel Aviv as ever Bob Hope had on any of his “Roads”. – Beth Cassidy, The Road to Tel Aviv
Beth Cassidy played for Ireland in the very first FIDE Women’s Olympiad at Emmen, The Netherlands in 1957. Sometime after that (the precise year is unknown to us) she moved to New York, where in the 1960s she worked at the Manhattan Chess Club and for Chess Life, the official magazine of the United States Chess Federation.
It was through her work at Chess Life that she accompanied the U.S. Delegation to the 1964 Olympiad in Tel Aviv. An article on her experiences in Israel appeared in the January 1965 edition of the magazine. Here are a couple of Beth’s misadventures, retailed in her trademark humorous style.
A brush with officialdom
The long flight to Tel Aviv arrived at 9 p.m. Israel time but Cassidy nearly didn’t make it out of the airport.
I was trailing through Immigration in the wake of the U.S. delegation when I was stopped. “You cannot come in,” the Official said flatly. “You have an Irish passport and you need a visa; this will cost you money,” he added triumphantly, “the Visa Office is closed for the night.” He held onto my passport and let me loose in a small pen from which I frantically tried to hail one of the team. Another Official who was watching my performance with interest asked what the trouble was. I explained, and when I told him I was with the chess group he moved with alacrity. “I’m supposed to be looking after you people,” he said, and with that he hopped over the barrier and two minutes later returned with my passport complete with visa. It appears the Immigration Officer was also the Visa Office and he had apparently closed himself for the night. The nice Official handed me my passport with a bow saying, “You are our guest, there is no charge. Be happy in our country.”
Petrosian and the wannabe paparazza
Cassidy was the Official Press Photographer to the U.S. Team but in an encounter with the World Champion she cheekily exceeded the limits of her authority to take photographs during play.
Photographers, who had to have a Government pass, were permitted to work for the first 15 minutes of play, and then only from outside the ropes. I managed to get inside and photographed each of the Russians as they commenced to play. When I came to him, Petrosian was sitting just about ready to make his first move. I hissed his name and when he looked up I whispered to him to smile. For my pains I got the filthiest look I ever received and he looked away, refusing to move till I was hustled out if the arena. I got a good profile picture though!
Petrosian, photo by Beth Cassidy
Sources:
The Road to Tel Aviv by Beth Cassidy at pages 4, 5 and 7 of Chess Life, January 1965.
An abridged version of the article appears at pages 8-9 of the Official Book of the event, XVI Chess Olympiad Tel Aviv November 1964 by Moshe Czerniak.
Beth Cassidy: HER REMARKABLE LEGACY OF CHESS PHOTOJOURNALISM FROM A GOLDEN AGE by Tom Braunlich Oklahoma Chess Monthly July 2019.