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World War II-dated ALS signed “Bogart,” penned on the back of a 3.25 x 5.5 government postcard, addressed by Humphrey Bogart to “Irving Kovner, 2863 W 27 St., Brooklyn, N.Y.,” postmarked from Balboa Island, California, on May 18, 1943. Handwritten letter to Kovner, Bogart’s famous chess opponent, with whom he shared a 'move-by-mail' chess match during production and post-production of the classic 1942 film Casablanca. The letter reads: “Sorry for the delay, but have been away in the desert. Believe it or not – game in Casablanca was this game.” Bogart then writes his subsequent moves: “18 – R. Q1 / 19 R. R3 – Q x K KT P / 20 ?” This remote chess game would have been played during the production of Casablanca, with Bogart himself asserting that the game was played on the actual chessboard from ‘Rick's Café.’ Includes a glossy 8 x 10 publicity photo of Bogart and Peter Lorre sitting on-set in front of the chessboard. In very good to fine condition, with light soiling, and old masking tape to the edges of the address side.
Humphrey Bogart’s love of chess was as real as the world-weary intelligence he brought to the screen. Long before he found success as an actor, Bogart honed his skills hustling chess for spare change in New York City parks and at Coney Island, taking on passersby for dimes and quarters. He played at a serious competitive level—roughly one division below master—and approached the game with the same cool discipline that later defined his film roles.
That authenticity carried directly onto the set of Casablanca. Bogart himself conceived the idea that Rick Blaine should be a chess player, using the game as a metaphor for his character’s detached, strategic way of navigating friends, enemies, and moral dilemmas. During filming, Bogart frequently played chess with cast and crew, most notably co-star Paul Henreid, who reportedly bested him more often than not.
He also played correspondence chess by mail, perhaps most famously against Irving Kovner, a brother of a Warner Bros. employee, with Bogart often relying on Rick’s café chessboard to make his next moves. The two men had started the chess game in January 1942, with Bogart eventually sending Kovner a total of 17 postcards and two letters. So convincing was the actor’s devotion that the FBI briefly intercepted his chess correspondence, mistaking algebraic notation for coded wartime messages. In the end, Rick’s chess wasn’t just a character detail—it was Bogart being himself, thinking quietly, carefully, and always a few moves ahead.
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