“Sonja Graf had a good position against the Women’s World Champion, but she was too precipitate in sacrificing play, and Vera Menchik turned the tables. Menchik experienced an even more critical situation against the Italian Benini, who entered the endgame a piece up. It might have been a sweet tidbit for Mussolini’s muse, but she ended up losing the game”.
|
“At the closing ceremony, Clarice Benini (1905–1975) blatantly raised her right arm in a fascist salute and pocketed second prize. Sonja, on the contrary, neatly avoided to honour the Führer with such a gesture, which earned her the sympathy of the public. An act of courage that, if denounced, could have exposed her to the fury of Hitler’s terror regime and made her deported to Nazi concentration and death camps”.
|
Sonja Graf in 1941
Photo: kwabc.org
Photo: kwabc.org
No comments:
Post a Comment