Claude Bloodgood
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Claude Frizzell Bloodgood III (alias: Klaus Frizzel Bluttgutt III; July 14, 1937 – August 4, 2001) was a controversial American
chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
player. As a young man, he got into trouble with the law and was arrested several times. He was
sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
in 1970 after having been convicted of murdering his mother, although this sentence was later commuted to
life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...
. While in prison, he remained a very active chess player, playing a large number of correspondence games and rated games with other inmates. Over time, he achieved a very high ranking in the
United States Chess Federation The United States Chess Federation (also known as US Chess or USCF) is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in FIDE, The World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official national Chess ...
(USCF) by playing in a closed pool, which allowed rating manipulation. He died in prison in 2001.


Early life

Bloodgood was born in
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
, to Claude Frizzell Bloodgood Jr. and Margaret B. Howell.


Early chess career

In 1955, Bloodgood played a number of chess games against actor
Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...
, who was a good amateur player. Bloodgood was an active chess organizer in
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
in the late 1950s. He was the rating statistician for the Virginia State Chess Federation, where he rated himself at an
Elo rating The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess or esports. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American chess master and physics professor. The Elo system wa ...
of 1956.


Life in prison, chess and brief escape

In the early 1960s, he was twice convicted of burglary and served prison time in
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
. He was also convicted of forgery of his parents' accounts, and spent more time in jail. In 1969, just nine days after being released from prison, he murdered his mother, Margaret Bloodgood (whom he later claimed to be his stepmother). According to reports, he rolled her body in a carpet and left it in Dismal Swamp, where it was soon found. His death sentence was ultimately commuted to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
after ''
Furman v. Georgia ''Furman v. Georgia'', 408 U.S. 238 (1972), was a landmark criminal case in which the United States Supreme Court decided that arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and const ...
'', the 1972
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
ruling that the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
, as then administered, was
unconstitutional In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...
. From prison, Bloodgood played thousands of chess games by mail, as well as thousands with fellow inmates. He also published three books on chess openings, including ''The Tactical Grob'' (on 1.g4) . In 1974, Bloodgood and fellow inmate Lewis Capleaner received a furlough to play in a chess tournament. They overpowered the single guard assigned to them and escaped, but they were recaptured after a few days.


Legal challenges

Bloodgood filed two petitions for
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
with the courts. His contention was that the
death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
, later commuted to life, was based in part on the fact that he was a repeat offender, having been convicted twice of
burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...
in Delaware. But these convictions had been obtained before the U.S. Supreme Court decision of
Gideon v. Wainwright ''Gideon v. Wainwright'', 372 U.S. 335 (1963), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment to the United S ...
which guaranteed the right to counsel. He argued that since no defense attorney had been assigned to him in the Delaware cases, the two convictions were unconstitutional and thus the Virginia death sentence was unconstitutional as well. The courts rejected his contentions, resulting in decisions of the
Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...
in Bloodgood v. Virginia and the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...
in Bloodgood v. Garraghty, 783 F.2d 470 (4th Cir. 1986).


High rank possibly via manipulation

Bloodgood organized chess games within Powhatan Correctional Center in
Powhatan, Virginia Powhatan is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Powhatan County, Virginia, United States. It was initially known as Scottville (after Revolutionary war hero General Charles Scott), and has historically also been known as Powhatan ...
, which were by necessity with fellow inmates. Many of these inmates were taught the game by Bloodgood, and thus began as unrated and inexperienced players. Bloodgood obtained USCF memberships for them. Some accused Bloodgood, with his intimate knowledge of the rating system, of rigging their ratings. The accusation was that he arranged for new prisoners to play rated games against other prisoners, who would deliberately lose, thus giving the new inmate an inflated USCF rating. Bloodgood, it is further alleged, then played rated games against the new highly rated prisoner, and each time he won, gained a few more rating points. This continued for several years, and by 1997 his rating rose to 2759, making the 59-year-old Bloodgood the second highest rated player in the nation, behind only
Gata Kamsky Gata Kamsky (; ; born June 2, 1974) is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and a five-time U.S. champion. Kamsky reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 at the age of 22, and reached a ranking of fourth in the world ...
. This is all a matter of considerable controversy even today. Bloodgood himself vehemently denied these accusations, and said that he played chess in the only competitions available to him, prison tournaments, and won almost every game because he was the strongest player in the prison system. As his rating rose, he wrote to the USCF to warn them that its system was prone to "closed pool" rating inflation. But nothing was done until Bloodgood's rating skyrocketed. By virtue of his high rating, Bloodgood would have qualified for entry into the U.S. Chess Championship, a prestigious invitation-only event intended for the best 16 players in the country. This caused an investigation by the USCF, which debated extensively what to do about the situation. In the end, Bloodgood wasn't invited to the event (which he could not have attended anyway), and the USCF changed its rating system rules to attempt to prevent "closed pool" ratings inflation from prison memberships.


Later life in prison

Late in life, Bloodgood made a variety of claims that seemed designed to obtain a release from prison. For example, he claimed to have been born in 1924 and asked for a furlough based on old age. He claimed to have been born in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
or
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and asked to be
extradited In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...
to those countries or to be involved in
prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoner of war, prisoners of war, spy, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, cadaver, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conven ...
. He also claimed to have been a
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
spy during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He often gave interviews, trying to convince the interviewer that he was completely innocent of his crimes and a victim of mistaken identity. Bloodgood died in Powhatan Correctional Center of
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
on August 4, 2001.


Library

The
Cleveland Public Library The Cleveland Public Library is a public library system in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1869, it had a circulation of 3.5 million items in 2020. It operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 27 branches throughout the cit ...
houses the Claude F. Bloodgood Collection,The Claude F. Bloodgood Collection
/ref> which "contains the personal papers of Claude F. Bloodgood, including legal documents, medical and other prison records, and chess related items."


Sample games

* Bloodgood vs. Cetenski, Winston-Salem Ladder, third match game, November 10, 1971:
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.f5 Nc6 11.fxe6 fxe6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.e5! dxe5 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Ne4 f5? (15...Be7) 16.Be2 Be7 (if 16...fxe5 17.Bh5+ Ke7 18.0-0 Qd6 19.Rf7+ Kd8 20.Rxf8+ wins) 17.Bh5+ Kf8 18.Qh6+ Kg8 19.Rb3 1–0 Black resigns. (Notes by Bloodgood.) * Bloodgood (2250 postal) vs. Barnsley (2475 postal, British Postal Champion), correspondence game 1997:
1.Nf3 d5 2.b3 c5 3.e4 dxe4 4.Ne5 Nd7 5.Bb5 a6 6.Bxd7+ Bxd7 7.Bb2 Bf5 8.0-0 e6 9.f3 exf3 10.Qxf3 Qc7 11.Na3 f6 12.g4 Bg6 13.Rae1 0-0-0 14.Nec4 h5 15.g5 Bf5 16.gxf6 gxf6 17.Bc3 Qg7+ 18.Kh1 Rh6 19.Ba5 Rd4 20.Nb6+ Kb8 21.Nac4 Qc7 22.Nd5 Qc6 23.Bc7+ Ka7 24.Bb6+ ½–½
draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn most commonly refer to: * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Draw (tie), in a competition, where competitors achieve equal outcomes * Draw ...
.


Books

*''The Tactical Grob''. Chess, Sutton Coldfield 1976, ASIN B0007AQKAC (public domain e-book available via ) * ''Nimzovich attack: the Norfolk gambits, 1 Nf3 d5 2 b3 c5 3 e4 or 1 Nf3 d5 2 b3 Nf6 3 Bb2 c5 4 e4''. Chess Digest, Grand Prairie (1997). *''The Blackburne-Hartlaub Gambit: 1 d4 e5 2 dxe5 d6!? (Chess openings for hustlers)'' (1998).


References


External links

*
Hans Ree article (pdf)
*Marc Davis: The convict who would be king. In:
Claude F. Bloodgood Collection
at
Cleveland Public Library The Cleveland Public Library is a public library system in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1869, it had a circulation of 3.5 million items in 2020. It operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 27 branches throughout the cit ...
. According to the guide, "The Bloodgood Collection contains the personal papers of Claude Bloodgood, including legal documents, medical, and other prison records, and chess related items." {{DEFAULTSORT:Bloodgood, Claude 1937 births 2001 deaths American people convicted of murder American people convicted of burglary American people who died in prison custody American prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners and detainees of Delaware Prisoners sentenced to death by Virginia People convicted of murder by Virginia Prisoners who died in Virginia detention Deaths from lung cancer in Virginia 20th-century American chess players