Talk:Durkin Opening

message: The Oxford Companion to Chess doesn't have much information on Robert Durkin, so I tried googling for him.
All I could find is that according to one widely copied chess timeline created by Bill Wall, he was born on May 9, 1923 in Milwaukee.
The Oxford Companion agrees with the birth year but places him in New Jersey, presumably where he live(s/d) as an adult.
There is much confusion about Robert Durkin because there were two. One, Robert Durkin from Wisconsin, played in the Ventnor NJ tournaments of the 1940s. The other was Robert T. (1.NQR3) Durkin who grew up in Baltimore and eventually moved to New Jersey--Ventnor of all places! This led to further confusion. Robert T. went on to have a successful career in open tournament play. He beat such notables as Anthony Santasiere, John Collins, Lisa Lane, Weaver Adams, Irving Chernev and Mike Valvo.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by American Chess Magazine (talk • contribs) 17:58, 8 August 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: Is it true that 1.Na3 is the most rarely played of all White's possible moves? 84.69.191.87 14:25, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

text: According to http://www.chessgames.com/perl/explorer, it is. 88.122.16.225 18:14, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Old talk

message: I changed the middle name from T. to James as is documented in the USCF records. The only Robert Durkin registered in New Jersey, where chess documentation claims Robert Durkin played, is listed as Robert James Durkin. According to USCF records, his last rated event was April 9, 2010. His rating appears to have ended down at 1651. I'm not sure if this extra information adds any extra details for the opening, but if we are going to list the middle name, we should use the one recorded.
The Robert E. Durkin mentioned on this talk page seems to be registered with a different ID in Wisconsin. Since other sources on chess mention the Durkin associated with the opening played in New Jersey, I believe the similar name is a coincidence.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Koor der (talk • contribs) 23:47, 26 October 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: I think T. was probably correct. See for example . Though it's a bit strange that the USCF doesn't have any record of a Robert T. Durkin in the relevant area. (But do their records actually go back far enough?) --Zundark (talk) 19:58, 6 November 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Middle name 

message: The Social Security Death Index lists three Robert Durkins born in 1923, none of them on May 9 or in WI. It seems probable that he's still alive, since nearly everyone who lives and works in the USA for a long time gets social security death benefits. US Search (ussearch.com) lists 24 by that name around the right age, but none in NJ. I'll keep looking. Dynzmoar (talk) 12:57, 11 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bio Info 

message: I don't think there is any source for "Sodium Attack" before Schiller; it is proper to credit 1.Na3 to Durkin who played it often and published a short monograph on it. As for "Celadon Variation" and "Chenoboskian Variation", there are zero games in the databases with either "variation". Bloggers and chess.com posters can indulge Schiller and his silly made-up opening names if they want but wikipedia shouldn't. MaxBrowne (talk) 10:02, 10 May 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree.  Schiller's invented names are a scourge.  This isn't even among the worst examples—Reagan's Attack is obnoxious.  I'm no fan of Ronald Reagan, but that's beyond stupid and Schiller's political insults aren't worthy of encyclopedic notice. Quale (talk) 02:50, 11 May 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Schiller and his silly made-up names