In Memoriam Billy Levene

With Hope in a chess gown! (New York 2007)

Dr. Benjamin (Billy) Levene

* 16 February 1918    † 4 November 2015

Our eldest member, Dr. Benjamin (Billy) Levene passed away at the age of 97 already in last November, as we learned only a few days ago.

Billy Levene has been first and foremost a collector of chess sets and books, so he has especially campaigned for the Chess Collectors International (CCI USA). Once he has also visited a general meeting of the KWA, when the latter took place in New York City, 2007. On another occasion, the great chess exhibition in Hamburg 2005, organized by the CCI group, we met him with his wife Hope in Germany.
Some years ago he has been included in the page Our Doyens (Unsere Nestoren) - please scroll down to the bottom of that page - where you will find more biographical details and photos of the deceased.
An obituary was published in CCI-USA News  Vol. 2016  Issue 1 on page 3 (PDF, 3.6 MB).

We add a few photos of Billy with his wife Hope:

  • In Hamburg, 2005 (Photo courtesy of Andreas Saremba, Brieselang)
  • Photographed in profile - in the background Yuri Averbakh
  • With Hope in a chess gown! (New York 2007)

(Last two photos courtesy of Dr. Michael Negele, Wuppertal)

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