John Grefe

John Alan Grefe (born September 6, 1947 in Hoboken, New Jersey died December 22, 2013) was an American International Master of chess. His best result was a tie for first with Lubomir Kavalek in the 1973 U.S. Championship. FIDE awarded him the title of International Master in 1975. Grefe and Stuart Rachels are the only players since 1948 to win or share the U.S. Championship without already having, or later achieving, the title of International Grandmaster. Grefe, at the time he shared the championship, lived in Berkeley, California, and was a follower of the Guru Maharaj Ji. For that reason and also because of his hippyish appearance, Grefe was affectionately known as "Gandalf" amongst chess friends.

Before his success in the U.S. Championship, Grefe had been fairly successful in Swiss system tournaments in the United States. He tied for eighth in the 1969 and 1971 U.S. Open, tied for first in the 1971 National Open, finished sixth at Lone Pine 1971, tied for fourth through sixth at Lone Pine 1973, and finished sixth in the 1973 U.S. Open.

Grefe died of liver cancer on December 22, 2013 in San Francisco, California.

Here is his decisive win over Walter Browne, later a six-time winner of the U.S. Championship himself, in the 1973 championship:

Grefe versus Browne, U.S. Championship 1973
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 h6 9. Bh4 Qc7 10. 0-0-0 Nbd7 11. Be2 Rb8 12. Qg3 Rg8 13. Rhf1 g5 14. fxg5 Ne5 15. Nf3 b5 16. Nxe5 b4 17. Nxf7 bxc3 18. gxf6 Rxg3 19. fxe7 Rg5 20. Bxg5 hxg5 21. Nxd6+ 1–0

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