IM Michael Schleifer: 1967-2009
It is with great sadness that I learned from Neil Sullivan of the death of International Master Michael Schleifer. According to a Canadian chess board, “Chess Talk“, someone placed a call into the Montreal City morgue to verify the story. Morgue officials stated that he had died on November 21, 2009. Schleifer grew up in the Ontario province, the city of Toronto.
According to Daniel Rousseau, “After being held at the morgue for some time, he was transferred to a funeral home in Longueuil (south shore) where he was eventually claimed by his mother. The funeral home would not tell me if he was still held there or had been transferred to Toronto.” While an autopsy has been performed, resulting are pending. Reports have cited his cause of death as either “unknown causes” or a “brain aneurysm”.
Canada has lost a strong player and citizen. Those in the U.S. may not have seen Schleifer much, but he participated in the historic Wilbert Paige Memorial tournament in Harlem, New York held in 2001. This tournament featured 10 of the strongest players of African ancestry. It was there that Schleifer gained the respect of many who had not encountered him previously. A quiet, unpretentious and unassuming person, he played an interesting brand of chess. He played in a number of Canadian Championships and earned the IM title ten years ago. I once asked him about his chess beginnings. This is what he sent.
I started chess at about 9 yrs. After an approximate 3yr lapse I started to play again. Then at about 13 my brother brought me to a tournament and from there I was hooked. At 16 I became a master. Thus, in the early to mid 80’s I was one of my countries top junior players. For me the struggle is the most important aspect of Chess.
Brad Thomson of Canada posted on the Chess Talk board that Schleifer liked the following song and would request it. It is called, “Melissa” by the Allman Brothers. This post is a tribute to Michael Schleifer. May he rest in peace!
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IM Michael Schleifer (1967-2009)
International Master Michael Schleifer will certainly be missed. I only knew him for a short time during our participation in the Wilbert Paige memorial tournament. He was a wonderful brother who always seemed to be at peace. I recall the tournament atmosphere was filled with nervous energy and excitement. But Michael maintained a quiet confidence which was seen in each of his games. He smiled often and analyzed deeply. Like Wilbert Paige, it was an honor to have known him, competed against him, and to have shared our love for chess.
Michael often spoke fondly of the chess tournament in Harlem. He said he felt very much at home and that everyone was fantastic. And he would laugh while trying to recreate some of the brotha’ lingo, as he would call it. Give him the bone, or something to that effect, was his favourite. Schlee, as he was known to his friends up here, also said that he played some of his best chess in the Harlem tournament.
Apart from the Allmans, Michael generally wanted to hear Miles Davis, especially the cool era of the late 50s. I got him heavily into Coltrane as well.
Thank you for this tribute page.
I met Michael Schleiffer at the Toronto Open in the late nineties where he graciously pointed out to my opponent how he could have beaten me! My opponent was FM Eduardo Teodoro whom I defeated in 24 moves seated at the board next to Schleiffer. He complimented me on my victory and also showed me some things that I had missed.
I believe he went on to win the tournament and I was impressed with his analysis and the respect that he garnered from his Canadian countrymen. He was over 2500 rated at the time I believe.
I wish I had gotten to know him better.
Ed Mark
If you knew Michael from the tourneys he was the calm reserved concentrated type, outside he was such a witty fun loving individual who to me impersonated many aspects of chess itself. Strong willed and brilliant he will have left a lasting impression on me. He was a good friend and he will be missed.
I’ve lost a friend … RIP Michael!
Sad and surprising to hear of his passing. Never met him in person but I definitely was a fan of his style of play which I first saw by reading the book of the Will Paige Memorial Tourney. His ever calm demeanor and the fact that he had Jamaican roots also intrigued me.
Michael’s grandfather was from Germany. His dad, he told me, was of mixed race with a relatively fair complexion. Michael was never quite the same after his dad suddenly passed away, back in the early to mid 90s. He became fatalistic, pessimistic. As has been noted, Michael tended to be quiet and reserved, almost aloof in public. He was a very private person. Michael always stayed at my place in Ottawa, when he was here for chess tournaments. Gradually over the years we became incredibly close. Schlee told me that I was the only person in the world who really knew him. He often said, Brad, you’re my brother. And I find myself devastated by his untimely demise.
Yes, Daaim, Michael was much more comfortable one on one, or in small groups of people he knew. Being an IM in the Canadian chess community brought him many acquaintances, but Michael befriended few. He and IM Tom O’Donnell were very good friends, and Schlee was also quite fond of FM Robert Hamilton. Earlier, Michael was a close friend of the late IM Bryon Nickoloff, also of Toronto.
Michael told me that he was very impressed with Ashley’s chess, and that the blitz games were about even. Schlee was a lightning fast calculator, and tactics was his strength.
I loved watching Michael destroy all takers at blitz. And no, he was certainly not a trash-talker. He just played the position, and was always gracious to his victims.
Schlee was an utterly voracious reader, he simply could not get enough. Biographies and history mostly. He also loved watching older movies. And Michael was incredibly romantic at heart. His only interest in women was for those whom he felt he could truly fall in love with. And he managed to do so twice.
I believe that Michael had a terrible fear of being hurt, because he was capable of such astonishing amounts of love himself.
Daaim,
Thank you for bringing this tragedy to my attention. Although I did not meet the brother in person I met him via his games and he clearly had a lot of passion and personality. When you came to Jamaica the first time (2004 I think) and gave me a copy of the Wilbert Paige memorial booklet I had many enjoyable moments playing over the games and digesting the analyses and Michael’s were very interesting. You spoke of French so I’ll simply say that he had a lot of joie de vivre!
His contribution to mankind, particularly through chess, will not go unnoticed as history and chess folklore will be kind to him by immortalising him through his games.
The Jamaican chess community (especially as he is alleged to have Jamaican roots!) extends condolences to his family and friends at this time of bereavement. We will not mourn him by being sad but will celebrate and be happy that, through chess, we were able to be a part of his life.
Nuff respect!
Ian Wilkinson
President
Jamaica Chess Federation
As noted above, Michael had a grandfather who was from Germany. He moved to Jamaica and married a Jamaican woman. They had a son who would become Michael’s father. Michael’s mother was Jamaican born, and her and her husband moved to Toronto before Michael was born. Schlee was proud of his Jamaican heritage, though he considered himself, naturally, a Canadian.
I always loved to see Michael Schleiffers games published in the Quebec chess federations magazine. That’s where I came to know him. He played against Quebec’s top players and it was a real treat to see his games. He inspired me to achieve a higher level of chess. Not only did he become one of Canada’s top players but also most probably the strongest african-canadian player of Canadian history.
I played him once in a tournament (40moves/2 hours) and I had a problem with my clock at time control. I wanted to get the referee but he said just fix it yourself and will continue the game. If I had seen the referee I’m certain I would have been penalised because it was my fault. I’ve seen many players get upset about clock problems, and legitimately so. Michael’s attitude had surprised me. I was embarassed by this clock problem and thought that he had behaved in a kind and friendly way. He was not upset at all. As if he was saying: “It’s the clock of life that’s important. Life goes on. May the game continue.”
I consider myself having rare fortune. I was the brother-in-law of a man who had immense inner beauty – Michael. I speak for his family in saying thank you so much for these kind words. It helps. We loved Michael dearly. I think of him constantly.
Michael died suddenly Saturday Nov 21 midday of a ruptured brain aneurysm. We were notified Monday Nov 23 by a phone call to Jackie ( Michael’s sister, my wife) at work from Montreal police. Myself, Jackie, Michael’s mother, and my children Natasha, Maya and Denby , left for Montreal within hours, stopping in Kingston, to arrive at the Montreal morgue Tuesday morning. Michael was cremated Wednesday November 25.
Michael’s death is still very raw and difficult for us all. Thank you again for your thoughtful memories. Michael was what you saw. To say that we miss him is profound understatement. Paul.
Daaim,
I have a copy of the magazine. As soon as I can I will type it out and send it to you. I think it would be a nice addition to this tribute page.
# Name Old Perf New High Results Tot
1 Schleifer, Michael
2452 2609 2468 2490 D 2 W 7 W 5 D 4 W 3 4.0
2 Khassanov, Marat
2453 2545 2465 2496 D 1 W 13 W 15 D 3 W 7 4.0
3 Hébert, Jean
2524 2405 2517 2534 W 17 W 16 W 10 D 2 L 1 3.5
4 Duong, Thanh Nha
2383 2309 2379 2383 L 7 W 0 W 9 D 1 W 8 3.5
5 Soudre, Nicolas
2130 2239 2150 2183 D 6 W 14 L 1 W 12 W 9 3.5
6 Bachand-Fleurent, Julien
1967 2180 2027 2027 D 5 L 17 W 18 W 16 W 14 3.5
7 Hua, Lefong
2355 2371 2358 2358 W 4 L 1 W 17 W 10 L 2 3.0
8 O’Connor, Michael
1951 2318 1976 1976 D 0 D 0 D 0 W 15 L 4 2.5
9 Marineau, Remi
2009 2148 2079 10 W 11 D 15 L 4 W 13 L 5 2.5
10 Lacroix, Serge
2185 2107 2171 2206 W 0 W 18 L 3 L 7 D 11 2.5
11 Carrier, Claude
2031 1940 2017 2045 L 9 L 12 W 0 W 18 D 10 2.5
12 Morin, Louis
1978 2022 1987 2022 L 15 W 11 D 16 L 5 D 13 2.0
13 Lecomte, Andre
1942 2007 1947 1947 D 0 L 2 W 14 L 9 D 12 2.0
14 Langlais, Daniel
2010 1806 1919 9 W 0 L 5 L 13 W 17 L 6 2.0
15 Larochelle, Martial
2253 2015 2235 2282 W 12 D 9 L 2 L 8 L 0 1.5
16 Cossette, Daniel
2152 1996 2124 2204 W 18 L 3 D 12 L 6 L 0 1.5
17 Arsenault, Michel
1983 1991 1975 2008 L 3 W 6 L 7 L 14 L 0 1.0
18 Morin, Jean-Pascal
1987 1684 1916 17 L 16 L 10 L 6 L 11 W 0 1.0
He played this tournament in 1998, in a hot streak of victories and He obtain a TPr of over 2600 !! The only he did come in Val-d’Or, in the northern part of Quebec province …
It was an open championship in Abitibi, the strongest we ever had. It’s about 300 miles north of Montreal. He came here and play against all the tougher opponents and he won this tournament!!
I have enjoyed very much learning about this brother who I did not
meet but continue to appreciate more through this page! I wish that
we could have met. His honesty in his annotations and general interest/passion for chess is very inspiring. I look forward to learning more. Best wishes to his friends and family!
Kimani A. Stancil
Here is the Toronto newspaper obituary with a game that Mike beat me in a back and forth top board last-rounder featuring two time scrambles.
Chess Dec 19 (1814)
Toronto Star
Chess
By Lawrence Day
With the untimely passing of Michael Schleifer Canada has lost a talented International Master. Born in Toronto in 1967 Schleifer became strong early. He achieved national master rating (2200) at age 16. Beginning in 1986 at Winnipeg he was a regular in the Canadian Championship and FIDE Zonal. His best result was sharing second place with Kevin Spraggett and myself behind Alexandre Lesiege at Brantford 1999. That performance gave Schleifer the IM title. In 2001 he represented Canada at the Wilbert Paige Memorial in Harlem, a tournament that invited the world’s best masters of African ancestry. Schleifer would probably have been favourite if the event had been held ten years earlier, but by 2001 there were many serious young contenders and he finished equal second with South Africa’s Watu Kobese behind Philadelphian Stephen Muhammad. “Schlee” deeply enjoyed that event, especially the opportunity to learn what he wryly termed the “Brotha’ Lingo”. The patter was, and probably still is, the poetic trash-talk used for kibitzing during informal speed chess. Schleifer, calm and concentrated, excelled at blitz. Modest in his aspirations, Schleifer aimed to be among the prize winners rather than win tournaments. In the top sections of 6-round weekend events in Toronto and Montreal he aimed for 4.5-1.5 and achieved more points as often as less. Schleifer died November 21 in Montreal likely of an aneurism.
This tension-filled game was last round, board one, 1992 Toronto Open:
Everything about the Wilbert Paige Memorial made a big impression upon Michael. As I noted earlier, Schlee said he felt very much at home, and that everyone was fantastic. Remember that Michael was raised in a caucasian environment. He would have been a teenager before large numbers of Jamaicans and others began emmigrating to Canada. And so his visit to Harlem brought him special delight, taught him very much, and connected him with his roots. All of Michael’s close friends, and the woman with whom he fell most deeply in love, were caucasian. And so Schlee’s visit to Harlem was the only time in his life that he had such close connection to so many others that shared his own ancestry. Michael certainly felt some alienation growing up in Canada, but for a few days in Harlem he was just one of the boys, and nothing more. He found this to be incredibly refreshing. And he came away from it a very contented person.
Sad day for the chess community……I played Schleifer at the Wilbert Paige Memorial…..he won after I made a one move blunder. He wasn’t happy he won that way and he genuinely felt sorry for me…….It was the first time I met such a chess player under the mentioned circumstance – He left a lasting impression on me …because…in the chess world, we seem concerned about winning without much thought about how we do it and the quality of the game.
Schleifer seemed to like wins he strongly felt he deserved. This seemed quite unusual to me especially that playing chess meant just wanting to win. Perhaps we should worry more about winning since chess involves only pieces and our luck on the chess board does not harm anyone.
Was Schleifer’s predilection for a great game whether he won or lost his demonstration of his love for chess or his fair personality?
Those who met him will attest he was one of those rare gentlemen.
If Michael liked someone, he always felt sorry for them when he beat them. And he was quite generous with post-mortems in these cases.
A local Ottawa master, David Gordon, told me he played Schlee three times, losing all of the games. In one of the post-mortems, where David had the Black side of a Benoni, he said to Michael, don’t I have everything here that a Benoni is supposed to achieve?
Michael responded, yes, you’re all dressed up but you’ve got nowhere to go.
Dear Daaim,
I never had an opportunity to met this brother but reading more and more about him reveal some beautiful aspects about his personal character and playing style that I deeply admire and respect.
My his soul rest in eternal peace………..
Michael saw incredible beauty and love everywhere he looked. But for fear of being hurt, he tended to stay somewhat detached. He had profound love and respect for his parents and siblings, and the loss of his father was very difficult for him. It changed him.
Michael was not a poltical person, but there were certain prominent figures whom he loved. We used to sit together and watch documentaries on Martin Luther King, Schlee adored him. But he was not impressed with Louis Farakhan, Michael felt him to be dangerous. Schlee had great love and respect for Pierre Elliot Trudeau.
Michael was not religious, and he had a very difficult time believing in any kind of God. The closest he would come was when I would play great spiritual musicians for him, Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, John Coltrane. Michael would say, I hear God there, he has reached God. I would ask, does that not prove to you that God exists?
Michael would respond, for him maybe, but not for me.
I asked Michael about Malcolm X, but he was not familiar enough with the history of the man to offer a response. Schlee would never fake an answer, if he did not know, he would tell you so. I do remember him saying he understood why the African-American athletes took to the Olympic podium and raised their fists, but he was not sure if this did the cause they were fighting for more harm than good.
Michael was quite aware of the plight of his brothers and sisters in America, and tried very hard to comprehend the situation. But having grown up in a non-racist caucasian environment, this was at times difficult for him.
Schlee felt apart from his people in this sense, and as noted, this is one reason why his trip to the Paige Memorial was so delightful for him.
Great stuff Daaim!
I do not have contact information for the Schleifer’s. Michael has friends in Toronto, Ottawa/Gatineau, Quebec City and Montreal who would all be honoured to welcome you, I am sure.
I recently kept an important promise to Michael myself. 🙂
That’s Warren Haynes on the guitar, sweetness just like Schlee.
I knew Michael, back from when I lived in Montreal, in the mid 90’s.
We both used to teach for Chess ‘N’ Math. He had a fabulously quirky sense of humour, and a big wry smile. I remember watching him beat Alex at a tournament in Laval, and watching him beat up on experts and masters alike at blitz. I think it was commonly known
that he was if not the strongest, then at least one of the strongest blitz players in the country. I think at one point he was top 5 on the CFC ratings list.
RIP Mike, see ya on the flip side.
Michael came up to North Bay, Ontario, to play in several tournaments that Carsten Jorgensen and I had organized in the 90s and I can testify to his aloof character. Frankly, to me he came across as a snob.
This is a lesson learned the hard way…you shouldn’t be so quick write people off.
I wish I had known about his interest in jazz. He would’ve fit in well then with me and a jazz and chess loving friend I had in those days.
I can’t say that I knew Michael Schliefer, but I have met his brother Carl several times at chess tournaments and once played him at a Labor Day Open in Toronto when they were held at the Bay/Wellesley government buildings. He is a very civil, likable guy – an older brother I believe. Probably still lives in Toronto area, but might, like myself, be no longer active in chess except for Internet play.
Has anyone had contact with his brother for memories or anecdotes that would be interesting?
Michael was a good friend. I wish I knew what sadness filled his heart and that I could have helped him, but he probably was behond that…
He was one one the very few Free Spirits that you meet in your life.
I will remember him and he will be missed.
Eric, there was a certain sadness in Michael’s heart, this is true. He felt things very intensely, and gradually over time adopted a very fatalistic, pessimistic attitude. Schlee was in my opinion highly intelligent, and he loved our metaphysical conversation where I would explain to him my understanding of the idealist thinkers such as Plato and Hegel. When I played Duane Allman or John Coltrane for him he admitted that he saw God in their music, but concluded that while God did exist for these musicians, there was no God for himself. Michael was very empathic, he felt the emotions of others, and the collective emotional state of the planet at all times.