The Naegeli Syndrome and Chess

    Dr. Oskar Naegeli (January 25, 1885 - November 16, 1959), was a Swiss player and dermatologist. 

    In the field of dermatology, the Naegeli–Franceschetti–Jadassohn syndrome is named after him. It is a rare condition characterized by reticular skin pigmentation (distinct brown or pink-red areas or raised bumps that form a net-like pattern), diminished function of the sweat glands, the absence of teeth and thickening of the skin of the palms and soles of the feet. One of the most striking features is the absence of fingerprints. It’s caused by mutations of a gene. Treatment is based on an individual's symptoms. 

    Naegeli was the son of the physician Otto Naegeli (1843-1922) and the brother of the \Otto Naegeli (1871-1938) who were prominent hematologists (specialists in diagnosing, treating and managing diseases that affect the blood). 

    He studied at Geneva, Zurich, Munich, and Heidelberg, obtaining his medical doctorate at Zurich in 1909. He worked in Freiburg at the pathological institute. Later he worked at the university dermatological clinic at Bern. His work concerns immunity research in dermatology and the diagnosis and treatment of syphilis.

    Chesswise, he represented Switzerland at the Chess Olympiads in 1927, 1928, 1931 and 1935 as well as at the unofficial Olympiad in 1936 at Munich.

    Naegeli won Swiss Chess Championship in 1910 and 1936. He lost a match to Dr. Ossip Bernstein by a score of 1-3 in 1932 and to Salo Flohr (by a score of 2-4) in 1933. He participated in the strong international tournaments at Berne 1932 and Zurich 1934, both won by Alekhine. 

    In the following game he pulls off a ni8ce win against Lacido Soler (1903-1964) who was one of the strongest players in Spain in the 1920s and 1930s. He won the Catalan Championship in 1924 and1931. He finished second in the Catalan Championship (1926).1 

    In 1926, he won the silver medal in the Catalan team Championships. In 1921, he was co-founder and first chairman of the Barcelona Chess Club. He was also a chess journalist and was the founder of the chess journal Els Escacs a Catalunya. 

 

[Event "Chess Olympiad Final, London"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "1927.??.??"] [Round "9"] [White "Placido Soler"] [Black "Oskar Naegeli"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B83"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "1927.07.18"] {B83: Sicilian Scheveningen} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e6 {This seemingly modest d6–e6 P-center gives black a solid defensive setup, controls the critical d5 and e5 squares and has the flexibility to break in the center with either ...e5 or ...d5.} 7. O-O Be7 8. b3 {A rare sideline that is not particularly effective. Ususal is 8.Be3} O-O 9. Bb2 a6 {Just one of deveral reasonable moves.} (9... Qb6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Re1 Bb7 {is equal. Apicella,M (2515)-Stefansson,H (2569) Cappelle la Grande FRA 1999}) (9... e5 10. Nf3 h6 11. Nd2 Nd4 12. Bc4 Bg4 {with complete equality. Dzierzenga,S (2178)-Novak,P (2349) Jenbach AUT 2013}) 10. Kh1 {White wants to play f2-f4 and so removes his K from the a7-g1 diagonal.} Qc7 11. Bf3 {This is hard to explain. First he placed one B in a rather passive position and now he does the same with the other one.} (11. f4 {is the thematic move.} Bd7 12. Nf3 b5 13. a3 Ng4 14. Qd2 Qb6 15. h3 Nf6 16. e5 {with an active position. Arnaudov, P (2129)-Peev,P (2320) Plovdiv 2003}) 11... Ne5 12. Be2 b5 13. a3 Bb7 14. f4 Ned7 15. Bf3 Rac8 16. Rc1 {Passive. 16.Qe1 and 17.Rd1 is a plausible plan.} Rfd8 17. Qe2 Nb6 18. Rfd1 Nbd7 (18... g6 {This is a more active move. It prevents f5 after black play ...e5} 19. Qf2 e5 20. Nde2 Bf8 {Repositioning the B to a more active square.} 21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. exd5 Bg7 {with just a very slightly better position because his pieces a better positioned.}) 19. Re1 Nc5 20. b4 Ncd7 21. Nb3 Nb6 22. Nd2 Rd7 {For the last few moves both sides have been jockeying for position without accomplisging much. White should continue that strategy with, say, 23.Qf2. Insteaf he embarks on the aggressive idea of advancing his e-Oawn in a position where his pieces do not support such an advance.} 23. e5 dxe5 24. Bxb7 Qxb7 25. fxe5 Nfd5 26. Nce4 {Clearly black is better, but it's hard to see that white's position is very close to collapsing. } Nf4 {This N is going to play a major role.} 27. Qg4 {Better was 27.Qe3 and 28.Bd4} Ng6 28. Nb3 Nc4 {[%mdl 32] This move could not have been prevented.} 29. Nec5 {A tactical miscalulation.} (29. Bd4 {was called for, but white would still be in serious difficulties after...} Qc6 30. Nec5 Bxc5 31. Nxc5 h5 32. Qd1 (32. Qxh5 Rxd4) 32... Rd5 33. c3 Ngxe5) 29... Bxc5 30. Nxc5 {This fork was probably what white was counting on because if black moves the threatened Q...} Rxc5 {[%mdl 512] ...and wins!} (30... Qc7 31. Nxd7 Qxd7 32. Qd4 Qxd4 33. Bxd4 Nxa3 34. c3 {an unclear position has been reached.}) 31. bxc5 Nxb2 32. Qb4 Nc4 33. Rcd1 {White is lost, but thus move falls into a mate in 10!} Nf4 {A major player steps up.} 34. c6 Qxc6 {White resigned as mate cannot be avoided.} ( 34... Qxc6 35. Rd5 (35. Rg1 Rxd1 {mates in 2}) 35... Qxd5 36. Rg1 Nxg2 37. Qc5 (37. Rxg2 Qd1+ 38. Rg1 Qf3+ 39. Rg2 Rd1+ 40. Qe1 Rxe1#) 37... Qxc5 38. h4 Nge3 39. a4 Qxe5 40. Rf1 Qe4+ 41. Rf3 Qxf3+ 42. Kg1 Qg2#) 0-1

Fine – Najdorf Match, 1949

    In the winter of 1948, when it came to the attention of the Manhattan Chess Club that three top foreign players would be spending December in New York, a tournament was put together on short notice. 

    The masters in question were former world champion Max Euwe, Miguel Najdorf and Swedish champion Gideon Stahlberg. Unfortunately, Stahlberg would not be staying in New York long enough to participate, so he declined. His invitation went to Samuel Reshevsky, who also declined. Argentinian master Herman Pilnik found out about the tournament from Najdorf and offered to fill the empty seat and so he did. 

    When it was all over Fine had defeated Najdorf in their individual game and so took first with Najdrof finishing second. Euwe and Pilnik tied for third. 

    After the tournament Euwe went on tour giving simuls while Fine and Najdorf played a little publicized 8-game match. The hard-fought match ended in a draw.

 

    The majority of the games were played at the Manhattan and Marshall chess clubs; Edward Lasker acted as referee. Fine looked like an easy winner when he won the first two games making it three in a row (counting the tournament) that he had taken from Najdorf. Then Najdort rallied winning games 3 and 4 to tie the natch. The final four games resulted in draws. 

    In the following game, the first game of the match, Fine made quick work of his redoubtable opponent. 

[Event "Match, New York"] [Site "?"] [Date "1949.??.??"] [Round "1"] [White "Miguel Najdorf"] [Black "Reuben Fine"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E34"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "54"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.04.15"] {E34: Nimzo-Indian: Classical Variation} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 { The Classical (aka Capablanca) Variation was popular in the early days of the Nimzo-Indian, and though eventually superseded by 4.e3 (the Rubinstein Variation), but it made a revival in the 1990s. White';s plan is to acquire the two Bs and at the same time avoid doubled c-Pawns. On the down side, his Q move will lose a tempo of two.} d5 {Besides this move b;ack has three other common replies: 4...0-0, 4...c5 and 4...Nc6} 5. cxd5 Qxd5 {Equally good is 5... exd5} 6. Nf3 c5 7. Bd2 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 O-O 9. dxc5 (9. e3 b6 10. Bd3 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. O-O cxd4 13. Bxd4 {as in Li,B (2325)-Moradi,B (2178) Anzali Free Zone IRI 2019 is completely equal.}) 9... Qxc5 10. Rc1 Nc6 (10... Nbd7 11. e4 h6 12. Bd3 b6 13. O-O Bb7 14. Qe2 {is equal. Dreev,A (2655)-Andersson,U (2582) Barcelona ESP 2009}) 11. Qb1 {While this may look rather odd, the position is so evenly balanced that pretty much anything short of a gross blunder keeps the balance.} (11. e3 Bd7 12. Qb1 Qe7 13. Be2 Nd5 14. O-O Nxc3 {Draw agreed. Kelecevic,N (2475)-Landenbergue,C (2410) Biel 1996}) 11... Qe7 12. g3 e5 13. Bg2 Nd5 14. O-O {A draw by agreement at any time seems reasonable.} Nxc3 15. bxc3 (15. Rxc3 {is more logical, but, again, even after Najdorf;s move giving himself an isolated P, the position is dead equal.} Be6 16. Qe4 f6 {and a handshake is a reasonable outcome.}) 15... Be6 16. Rfd1 Rac8 17. Ne1 {He has to make a move and this is as good as any.} Bc4 18. Nd3 {This gives Fine just a tiny opening. Doubling Rs on the d-file with 18.Rd2 was super-solid.} f5 { [%mdl 32] A sign of aggression. Black has the initiative, but not much else. Will it pay off?} 19. e4 {It does after this slightly risky move.} (19. h4 { Makes things interesting after} e4 20. Nf4 {and black has to plausible moves.} Ne5 (20... e3 21. Bd5+ Bxd5 22. Nxd5 exf2+ 23. Kxf2 Qc5+ {Black has some play, but white should be able to hold him off.}) 21. e3 Rfd8 {with a completely even game.}) 19... f4 20. Bh3 $1 Rcd8 21. Nb4 Qf7 22. Rxd8 {This proves fatal!} (22. Qc2 Qf6 23. Nxc6 Qxc6 24. Bf5 g6 {and the position doesn't offer much to either side.} 25. Bh3) 22... Nxd8 {[%mdl 32] This excellent move may have come as a surprise to Najdorf as he may have been expecting Fine to recapture with the R. Even so, white's position is far from lost.} (22... Rxd8 $6 23. Nxc6 bxc6 24. Rd1 {with a fully equal position.}) 23. Qc2 Ne6 {The N is headed more more versant pastures.} 24. Bf5 {All of a sudden black has a decisive advantage!} (24. Nd5 {might work better.} Ng5 25. Bg2 Qe6 26. Qd2 Qg4 27. Ne7+ Kh8 28. Qd6 {Black is better, but there is no forced win. His advantage lies in his more active pieces.}) 24... Nc5 25. Rd1 Qh5 26. Nd5 {A quick glance might leave on to think wjite is OK; his pieces look to be well placed.} g6 { The B doesn't have anywhere to go.} 27. Bd7 {Now if black plays 27...Nxd7 white gets the piece back with a N check plus he will ahve a R on the 7th rank. } Nxd7 {White resigned. Why?!} (27... Nxd7 28. Ne7+ Kh8 29. Rxd7 {Everything looks good for white, but...surprise! Black has a mate in 8 moves.} Qh3 30. Nxg6+ hxg6 31. Qc1 f3 32. Qh6+ Qxh6 33. h4 Qc1+ 34. Rd1 Qxd1+ 35. Kh2 Qf1 36. h5 Qg2#) 0-1

Akingtay ayay eakbray . . . enjoyyay ethay iscussionday!

Carl Ahues

    The little known German International Master Carl Oscar Ahues (December 26,1883 - December 31, 1968) was the champions of Berlin in 1910 and the German champion in 1929. 

    He was a frequent competitor in international tournaments in his career with his best result probably being Berlin 1926 where he shared 3rd place with Spielmann behind Bogoljubow and Rubinstein. He represented Germany in three Olympiads (1930, 1931 and 1936). 

    Ahues was awarded the IM title in 1950 and after World War II, he lived in Hamburg, West Germany. His son, Herbert Ahues (1922-2015), was a famous chess author composer specializing in two movers. 

    Ahues opponent was Hungarian IM and IA Dr. Lajos Asztalos (1889-1956) who won the country’s championship in 1913. After World War I, he moved to Yugoslavia, representing that country in the 1927 and 1931 Olympiads and the 1936 unofficial Olympiad. He returned to Hungary in 1942. 

    Asztalos became Vice President of the Hungarian Chess Union and Secretary of the FIDE Qualification Committee. Asztalos was a professor of philosophy and a languages teacher. He passed away in Budapest in 1956. The game was played in Kecskemet in1927. 

 

 

    The tournament was made up of 20 players divided into two preliminary sections of ten. The four leaders in each section then engaged in two separate final tournaments. 

[Event "Kecskemet"] [Site "Kecskemet HUN"] [Date "1927.07.10"] [Round "5"] [White "Lajos Asztalos"] [Black "Carl Ahues"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C79"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "1927.06.26"] {C87: Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 d6 7. c3 Bd7 8. d4 O-O {Black's Steinitz-like set up is passive, but very solid.} 9. Nbd2 Be8 10. Nf1 (10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 { ½-½ Szymczak,Z (2390)-Pytel,K (2420) Augustow 1975}) 10... Nd7 (10... exd4 11. cxd4 d5 12. e5 Ne4 13. Bc2 f5 {Neither side can claim an advantage. Artemiev,V (2081)-Zikunov,B (2222) Omsk 2009}) 11. Ng3 Kh8 12. Be3 (12. Qe2 Bf6 13. Be3 g6 14. Rad1 Qe7 15. Bc2 Bg7 16. Ng5 {White's position is more promising. Ilyin Zhenevsky,A-Romanovsky,P Leningrad 1933}) 12... f6 13. Nd2 Nb6 14. Bc2 d5 {This thrust is in white's favor. It would have been slightly better to have played 14...exd4 first.} 15. Nf5 exd4 16. cxd4 Bb4 17. Qg4 { This aggressive looking move is the turning point in the game. Black's position is able to withstand this direct assault and it's just amazing how quickly black's pieces begin swarning all over white. The prosaic 17.a3 woulf have kept the balance.} g6 $1 $17 18. Nh6 (18. Bh6 {was a better defense.} Rg8 19. Ng3 Nxd4 {but even here white has reason to feel glum about his position.}) 18... dxe4 {Seizing his opportunity. Watch black's pieces spring into action!} 19. Qxe4 f5 20. Qe6 Qd5 (20... f4 {Black does not fall for this trick.} 21. Bxf4 Kg7 (21... Rxf4 22. Qg8#) 22. Be3 Nd5 23. Ng4 {Black has equalized.}) 21. Bf4 (21. Qxd5 {is of no help.} Nxd5 22. Bg5 Nxd4 {and black is clearly better.} ) 21... Qxe6 ({Don't blunder} 21... Qxd4 $2 22. Be3 Qxb2 23. Rab1 $19) 22. Rxe6 Nd5 23. Rxc6 {A pointless offer oft the exchange, but a move like 23.Bg5 does not offer much hope either.} Nxf4 {White resigned...why?} (23... Bxc6 24. Be5+ Nf6 25. Nc4 Kg7 26. Nxf5+ gxf5 27. Ne3 {is utterly hopeless.}) (23... bxc6 24. Be5+ Nf6 25. Nf3 Bd7 {is equally hopeless for black.}) (23... Nxf4 24. Rxc7 Bxd2 25. Rxb7 Ne2+ 26. Kf1 Bxh6 27. Kxe2 Bb5+ 28. Ke1 Rfe8+ 29. Kd1 Be2+ 30. Ke1 Bc4+ 31. Kd1 Rad8 {with a clear win}) 0-1

Alekhine’s Greatedt Game?

 

   When it comes to picking Alehome’s greatest game it;s impossible because he had so many, but his game against Reti at Baden-Baden, 1925 has to be one of them. It’s been annotated by a lot of GMs including Gary Kasparov. You’ve probably seen it before, but even if you have it’s worth looking at again. 

    Following World War I which ended in November of 1914 no really great tournaments had been held in Germany and so Tarrasch prevailed upon the authorities Baden-Baden, a famous spa city, to host another international tournament...the last had bee in 1870! 

    Unfortunately neither Emanuel Lasker and Jose Capablanca both priced themselves out of the market when they insisted on a large appearance fee which officials were either unwilling or unable to meet. Also invited but unable to accept because of their professional employment were Milan Vidmar, an electrical engineer and college professor, and Geza Maroczy, at the time an auditor with the Hungarian government. Alekhine’s win at Baden-Baden was just the first of great wins to come. The others were San Remo in 1930 and Bled in 1931.

[Event "Baden-Baden GER"] [Site "Baden-Baden GER"] [Date "1925.04.25"] [Round "?"] [White "Richard Reti"] [Black "Alexander Alekhine"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "1925.04.16"] {A00: Reversed Alekhine} 1. g3 {Alekhine called this move eccentric.} e5 2. Nf3 {This is the eccentric move! The opening is now an Alekhine Defense with the colors reversed!} e4 3. Nd4 d5 (3... c5 4. Nb3 c4 5. Nd4 Bc5 (5... Nc6 6. c3 Bc5 7. Bg2 Nf6 8. O-O Nxd4 9. cxd4 Bxd4 {This weird position offers equal chances. Wohl,A (2415)-Hamdouchi,H (2615) Catalan Bay 2003}) 6. e3 d5 7. d3 cxd3 8. cxd3 Nf6 {Black is a little better. Katavic,B (2197)-Pejic,I (2097) Split CRO 2011}) 4. d3 exd3 5. Qxd3 {As far as I know this move has not been commented on, but 5.cxd3 is a good alternative.} (5. cxd3 Nf6 6. Bg2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc3 c5 9. Nb3 h6 10. Bf4 Nc6 11. Rc1 Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. g4 Bg6 14. Bg3 Rc8 15. Bh4 b6 16. Nd2 d4 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Nd5 Be7 {A draw as agreed. Zacurdajev,M (2374)-Serov,M (2275) St Petersburg 2007}) 5... Nf6 {Here or on the next move black could also have played ...c5} 6. Bg2 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 $11 Bxd2+ 8. Nxd2 {[%mdl 32]} O-O 9. c4 {Alekhine stated that (apart from his eccentric first move) Reti has played the opening very well. He is correct...Stocjfish evaluates the position as dead even.} Na6 {It's a bit off that Alekhine avoids ...c5, but Alekhune;s move is, as might be expected, perfectly satisfactory.} 10. cxd5 $14 (10. a3 {prevent ...Nb4, but then black has} Nc5 11. Qc2 dxc4 12. Qxc4 Ne6 13. N2f3 c6 {with complete equality.}) 10... Nb4 11. Qc4 Nbxd5 12. N2b3 c6 13. O-O Re8 14. Rfd1 Bg4 15. Rd2 Qc8 16. Nc5 Bh3 {The play of neither side can be faulted as evidenced bny the fact that Stockfish offers 17.Bxd5, 17.Bh1, 17.Bf3 and 17.Nf3 as all being of bearly equal worth!} 17. Bf3 Bg4 18. Bg2 Bh3 {And now ...b6 would win.} 19. Bf3 Bg4 {Obviously Alekhine is willing to accept the draw. Had Reti taken the draw bwith 20.Bg2 Alekhine would still have finished first by a full point.} 20. Bh1 {To quote a better annotator than I, "Had Reti played 20.Bg2, the game would have ended in a draw by repetition and we would not seen a brilliant combination..." Soviet GM Alexander Kotov.} h5 {Just the slightest hint of what's coming.} 21. b4 a6 22. Rc1 h4 23. a4 {It's hard to fault Reti's play on the Q-side as technically the position remains equal, but hindsight indicates that play in the center might have been better.} (23. e4 Nb6 24. Qd3 Nbd7 25. f3 {with the slimest advantage and black's shenanigans on the K-side have been greatly reduced.}) 23... hxg3 24. hxg3 Qc7 25. b5 {White is not yet facing a astrophysics, but just a smidgen better would have been 25.e4.} axb5 26. axb5 Re3 {"It seems almost incredible that this spectacular move not only stops white's attack but even brings him serious trouble. And yet it is so. It is obvious enough that the R cannot be taken because of 27...Qxg3, followed by 28... Nxe3 and wins; and also that white has to do something in order to parry 27... Rxg3!, etc." Alekhine. It's is an amazing move and one that Stockfish hit upon in an instant. However, the engine also evaluates the position a equal (0.18).} 27. Nf3 {"As the following shows, this move loses perforce." Alekhine,} (27. fxe3 { loses outright.} Qxg3+ 28. Bg2 Nxe3 {White cannot prevent ...Qxg2#}) (27. Bf3 { This move throws a monkey wrench into the works...} Bxf3 28. exf3 {and there is no black attack. Play might continue...} cxb5 29. Nxb5 Qa5 30. Rcd1 (30. fxe3 Qxd2 31. Qc2 Qxe3+ 32. Kg2 {At first glance it's hard to believe that black is winning, but here is how it's done...} Nb4 33. Qc4 Ra2+) 30... Re1+ 31. Rxe1 Qxd2 {with complete equality.}) 27... cxb5 {Again, I quote a better annotator than myself. "The start of a typhoon that sweeps almost all the pieces from the board." Kasparov} 28. Qxb5 (28. Qd4 {would have been tougher for black to meet.} Ra4 29. Qb2 Rc4 30. Rxc4 bxc4 31. Qd4 Re8 32. Ne1 Nc3 33. Qxc3 Qxc5 {and black's piece activity and two passed Ps assure him of a significant advantage.}) 28... Nc3 {[%mdl 512]} 29. Qxb7 Qxb7 30. Nxb7 { Even with the Qs off the board and with his R and N attacked black has a stunning continuation.} Nxe2+ 31. Kh2 {Now what?!} Ne4 {[%mdl 512] Alekhine explains the position: "The beginning of a new combination, wich however, is the absolutely logical consequence of the previous maneuvers, aiming, after a series of twelve practically forced moves, at the capture of white's exposed Nt at b7. Black's R is still taboo as 32. fxe3? Nd2 would lose the exchange." Alekhine. The move also receive high praise from Kasparov and Fuscher, so you know it simply must be good!} 32. Rc4 Nxf2 ({Worse is} 32... Bxf3 33. Rxe4 Bxe4 34. fxe3 Bxh1 35. Kxh1 Nxg3+ {and it;s highly doubtful that black could win.}) (32... Rxf3 {is also a clunker.} 33. Rxe2 Rxf2+ 34. Rxf2 Nxf2 35. Bd5 {with a likely draw.}) (32... Nxd2 {is met by} 33. Nxd2 Be6 34. fxe3 Ra2 35. Be4 Rxd2 36. Rc2 Rxc2 37. Bxc2 {with a draw.}) 33. Bg2 {Black is clearly winning, but Alekhine's final combination makes this game a true masterpiece.} Be6 {An important key move of the combination.} ({And not} 33... Bxf3 34. Bxf3 Rxf3 35. Rxe2 {White is equal.}) (33... Ne4 {It must be pointed out that this is an equally effective move.} 34. Rdc2 Ra6 {Threatening ...Ra6} 35. Nh4 N2xg3 36. Bxe4 Nxe4 37. Nc5 Nxc5 38. Rxc5 Rh6 {and wins}) 34. Rcc2 Ng4+ 35. Kh3 Ne5+ 36. Kh2 Rxf3 37. Rxe2 Ng4+ 38. Kh3 Ne3+ {Of his next move Alekhine wrote, "The final point! winning a piece."} 39. Kh2 Nxc2 40. Bxf3 Nd4 {White resigned.} ( 40... Nd4 41. Rf2 Nxf3+ 42. Rxf3 Bd5 {with a won ending.}) 0-1

Denker Takes On Washington DC Players

    The really big news in 1944 was  the Allies invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6th. The BBC Home Service presenter, John Snagge, announced these immortal words: "D-Day has come. Early this morning the Allies began the assault on the north-western face of Hitler's European fortress.” 

    A number of players were lost that year. German master Wilhelm Orbach (1894-1944) died Auschwitz/ Polish-Dutch master Salo Landau (1903-1944) was gassed by the Nazis in a German concentration camp in Poland. Polish masters Dawid Daniuszewski (1885-1944) and Dalomon Szapiro (1882-1944) died in the Lodz Ghetto. Vera Manchik, her mother and sister died in a bombing rin on London. Hungarian master Endre Steiner (1901-1944) died in a Nazi concentration camp near Budapest. 

     In non-war relatd deaths Danish master Jorgen Moeller (1873-1944) died in Copenhage. Austrian master Adolf Zinkl (1871-1944) died in Vienna. Argentine master Roberto Grau (1900-1944) died in Buenos Aires of cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 44. 

    American master Albert B. Hodges (1861-1944) died at his home on Staten Island. New York. The legendary Frank Marshall (1877-1944) died in Jersey City at the age of 67. And, George Sturgis, the USCF President, died of as heart attack in Boston. He was only 53. 

    In US chess news 24-year old Army PFC Herbert Seidman won the Marshall Chess Club championship with an incredible 12.5-0.5 score. For the third time Samuel Reshevsky won the US Open in Boston. Arnold S. Denker won the 5th US Championship, held in New York. With a 15.5-1.5 score. Reshevsky was preparing for his Certified Public Accountant exams and so did not compete. Gisela K. Gresser was the US women's champion. 

    In news that went almost unnoticed  Denker took part in an unusual exhibition in Washington DC when he defeated a team of ten of the city’s top players on September 16th. They were simultaneous clock games with each Washington player allowed two hours for his first forty moves. It took Denker 5 hours and 15 minutes to finish with +6 -2 =2. 

    Denker displayed plenty of pluck. He was material down in the last four games, but he succeeded in salvaging 1.5 points. The following day Denker gave a regular simul and scored +24 -1 =4. The sole winner was fifteen-year old Hans Berliner who had been the first to first to succumb to Denker in the previous day’s clock match. 

 

 

[Event "10 Bd Clock Simul, Washington DC"] [Site "?"] [Date "1944.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Arnold Denker"] [Black "Dr. H.V. Klein"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D46"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1944.??.??"] {D46: Semi-Slav} 1. Nf3 e6 2. d4 d5 3. c4 c6 {In this, the Semi-Salv, black is threatening to capture the P on c4 and hold it with ...b7-b5. White can avoid this in a number of waya, but in any case, the positions that arise are oftne very sharp.} 4. e3 Nd7 5. Nc3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. e4 {Typical Denker. Fine recommended the more reserved 8.b3} dxe4 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 10. Bxe4 h6 11. Re1 Nf6 12. Bc2 Re8 {Horowitz was critical of black's strategy of patient maneuvers behind his own line. Instead he thought black should attempt to free himself with 12...b5} (12... c5 {This is superior to Horowitz' suggestion.} 13. Be3 Qc7 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. Bxc5 Qxc5 16. Ne5 b5 17. cxb5 Qxb5 18. Ba4 Qb6 19. Bc6 Bb7 20. Bxb7 {½-½ Sofrevski,J-Ilievski,D Skopje 1968}) 13. b3 Bb4 { Better was 13...c5} 14. Bd2 Bxd2 15. Qxd2 Qd6 16. Rad1 Rd8 17. Qe3 Bd7 { Black sits tight and waits for something to happen. It's about to!.} 18. Ne5 Be8 19. f4 {[%mdl 32]} Qc7 20. g4 {Denker intends to expose his opponent's K.} Nd7 21. Qd3 Nf8 {Inhibits Qh7+.} ({leads to a slaughter.} 21... Nxe5 22. Qh7+ Kf8 23. Rxe5 b5 24. Qh8+ Ke7 25. Qxg7 Kd7 26. Rxe6) 22. g5 hxg5 (22... h5 { isn't really any better.} 23. f5 {continues the attack}) 23. fxg5 Rd6 24. Re4 { [%mdl 32] This r lift aims to place his R and Q on the h-file.} Rad8 (24... c5 {was worth a trym but white would still be winning.} 25. Qh3 Rxd4 26. Rdxd4 cxd4 27. Rh4 Ng6 28. Nxg6 fxg6 29. Rh8+ Kf7 30. Qf3+ Ke7 31. Qf8+ Kd7 32. Qxg7+ Kc6 33. Be4+ Kb6 34. Qxd4+ Qc5 35. Qxc5+ Kxc5 36. Bxg6) 25. Rh4 {Black is helpless.} Ng6 26. Nxg6 fxg6 27. Rf1 {Setting up a nifty finish. Intending Qh3 and mate.} Rxd4 {This allows mate in 4, but he was lost anyway.} (27... Qe7 28. Qh3 Qxg5+ 29. Kh1 {and to avoid mate black must surrender his Q}) 28. Rh8+ { [%mdl 512] Black resigned} (28. Rh8+ Kxh8 29. Rf8+ Kh7 30. Qh3+ Rh4 31. Qxh4#) 1-0

Reginald P. Michell, British Master

`The big event yesterday was the total solar eclipse and my city was right on the centerline of the zone of totality. It lasted from about 2:00pm until 4:30 pm, but the total time the sun was 100 percent covered was only about 3.5 to 4 minutes. That was the most stunning part of the whole experience.

    It did not get totally dark, like 2:00am dark, but was rather like sunset when the sun is below the horizon, but you still see a little glow in the sky. Also, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. All in all it was a somewhat eerie (and awesome) experience seeing it get dark in the afternoon! 

    Reginald P. Michell (April 9, 1873 – May 19, 1938, 65 years old) was born in Cornwall in SW England. His wife Edith Mary Ann Michell was a three-time British Women's champion. 

    Michell was British Amateur Champion in 1902 and between 1901 and 1911 he played in eight Anglo-American Cable Matches. He was on the English Olympiad team at Folkestone in1933. In 1914 he received a brilliancy prize for his game in the match against Holland in 1914 which is today’s featured game. 

    I was unable to locate any information on the match other than Britain was represented on the top 5 boards by H.E. Atkins, F.D. Yates, T.F. Lawrence, G.A. Thomas and J.H. Blackburne. 

    In the Hastings Congresses Michell scored wins over Sultan Khan and Vera Menchik and in British Championships he defeated Henry Atkins on several occasions. In Margate 1923, he tied for second place with Alekhine, Bogolyubov and Muffang where he scored 2.5-1.5 against Alekhine, Bogolyubow, Reti and Gruenfeld. 

    Chess metrics estimates his highest ever rating to gave been 2565 in 1904 which ranked him number 22 in the world. 

    Michell was a civil servant by profession and strictly an amateur player who was very modest about his chess accomplishments. Consequently, he rarely ever played outside of England and played in the British Championships on his vacations. His play was sound with few mistakes and with no fireworks. 

    His opponent in the following game was Klaas Geus (1878-1959, dates uncertain) who is virtually unknown today. He finished eighth in the 1929 Dutch championship. He also is supposed to have composed some chess problems under the name “J. de Jutter”

[Event "Anglo-Dutch Match, The Hague"] [Site "The Hague NED"] [Date "1914.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Klaas Geus (Holland)"] [Black "Reginald Michell (England)"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C77"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "1914.04.11"] [Source "John Saunders"] {C86: Ruy Lopez: Worrall Attack} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {[%mdl 32]} a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 {This is the Worrall Attack. White replaces 6.Re1 with 6.Qe2. The idea is that the Q will support the e-Pawn, leaving the R free to support the advance of the d-Pawn although there is not always time to do so. In my database statistically it performs considerably worse than the standard 5.O-O followed by Re1.} d6 6. c3 Be7 7. d4 Bd7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bb3 Bg4 10. Qd3 { It's probably best to play 10.d5 here.} (10. Rd1 Nd7 11. h3 Bh5 12. g4 Bg6 13. Nbd2 exd4 14. Nxd4 {equals as in Yates,F-Bogoljubow,E Bad Kissingen 1928}) 10... Bxf3 $15 11. gxf3 (11. Qxf3 exd4 {wins a P/} 12. Qd3 dxc3 13. Nxc3 { and black is slightly better.}) 11... Nh5 12. Kh1 {White obviously hopes to use the g-file, but his best move was 12.f4} (12. f4 Nxf4 13. Bxf4 exf4 14. Bc2 g6 15. Qf3 Bg5 16. Nd2 Qd7 17. h4 Bxh4 18. Qxf4 {with equal chances.}) 12... Bg5 13. Be3 (13. Bxg5 {is a serious mistake because after} Qxg5 14. Rg1 Qf6 { black will occupy f4 with his N leaving him with a significant positional advantage.}) 13... Nf4 14. Qd2 Qf6 15. Rg1 {White's occupation of the g-file doesn't amount to anything because it's black's pieces that control the K-side. s} Ne7 {[%mdl 32] This N begins its journey to the K-side.} 16. dxe5 {Opening up the d-file only serves to give black more open lines. Something like Na3-c4 was worth considering.} dxe5 17. Qd7 Ne6 18. Qd1 Rad8 {Little by little black's positional advantahge begins to grow.} 19. Nd2 Bf4 20. Qe2 Ng6 21. Nf1 Ng5 22. Bc5 Rfe8 23. Rd1 Nh4 {In the last 5 moves black's advantage has grown to be decisive.} 24. Rg4 Nhxf3 25. h4 Qh6 26. Rxd8 Rxd8 27. Be7 Qh5 {[%mdl 512] The fatal blow.} 28. Rxf4 (28. Rg2 Rd2 29. Nxd2 Qxh4+ 30. Rh2 Qxh2#) (28. Nh2 { is met by} Nxh2 29. Bxg5 Rd2 {and wins}) 28... exf4 29. Bxg5 {At this point black has only one move that secures the win,.} Qg4 {[%mdl 512] Threatening mate on g1 and also ...Qh3+ with mate next move.} 30. Bxf7+ Kxf7 {[%mdl 32] He could also decline the sacrifice and mate two moves sooner.} (30... Kh8 31. Qxf3 Qxf3+ 32. Kg1 Qg4+ 33. Ng3 Rd1+ 34. Kh2 Rd2 35. Nh1 f3 36. Ng3 Rxf2+ 37. Kg1 Qxg3+) 31. Qc4+ Kg6 32. h5+ Kxg5 33. Qc5+ Kh6 {White resigned. A solid performance by Muchell.} 0-1

James I. Minchin

James I. Minchin (March 12, 1825 - January 18, 1903) was born in Madras, India where for many years he was engaged in the Civil Service in India. 

    The Sepoy Rebellion (1857-1858), an uprising against the British, caught the British by surprise. During that time Minchin sent his wife Mary, who was in poor health due to the climate in Madras, back to England. In due course she returned to India, however the travel, the climate and seven pregnancies had taken their toll and she passed away in Madras, where she had been born, in about 1877.

    Minchin returned to England a wealthy man and was one of the main promoters of the London 1883 international tournament and he also edited the tournament book.

    For many years while he was in India he was a member of the Legislative Council of Calcutta which gave him the opportunity of becoming acquainted with Indian Princes and rulers, many of whom took a great interest in chess. 

    In a letter in the newspaper Morning Post Henry Bird stated that Minchin was " the principal originator in England and India of the great Exhibition Tournament of 1851", but the British Chess Magazine of the day disputed the claim because Minchin’s name was mentioned by Staunton in his tournament book nor was his name mentioned in the list of subscribers. However, the success of the 1883 Chess Congress in London was largely owing to Minchin’s influence with the Indian Princes and particularly with the Maharajah of Vizayanagram, after whom the Minor Tournament was named and who contributed largely to the prizes. 

    The St. George's Chess Club took a leading role in organizing the 1883 event and Minchin, an honorary secretary of the club, was appointed “manager” of the event. 

     Minchin was known as a kindhearted man who was an excellent scholar both in ancient and modern languages and he had a fondness for reading. 

    As for his chess, he was a very tough opponent over the chess board and no one took him lightly. As a member of the St. George's Chess Club he took part in its numerous matches with considerable success. 

    Later in his life when he had experienced the loss of many of his old friends he retired from the London chess scene and went to live near Bournemouth in southern England. There he was elected the president of the Bournemouth Chess Club where he appears to have played only casual chess. He died near Bournemouth, England. 

     In the following game, perhaps an offhand game, he handily defeats Henry Bird, who in 1866 was, according to Chessmetrics, one of the top 5 best players in the world.

[Event "London"] [Site "London"] [Date "1866.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Henry Bird"] [Black "James Minchin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C84"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "1866.??.??"] {C84: Ruy Lopez, MacKenzie Variation} 1. e4 e5 {[%mdl 32]} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d4 {This variation (a favorite of Bird) is named after George Henry Mackenzie who used it on a regular basis. It's a direct and aggressive approach, but modern theory frowns on it because it does not promise white any advantage. My databse confirms this opione;white wins 20 percent of the games, but loses over twice as many. This variation ( favorite of Bird) is namee after George Henry Mackenzie who used it on a regular basis. It's a direct and aggressive approachm but modern theory frowns on it because it does not promise white any advantage. My databse confirms this opione;white wins 20 percent of the games, but loses over twice as many.} exd4 6. e5 {Rarely played, but it's neither better nor worse than the usual 6.O-O because neither move has brought white much success.} Ne4 7. O-O Be7 {Black has achieved better results with the ift played 7...Nc5} 8. c3 {Risky, but playable!} (8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. Nxd4 O-O 10. f3 Nc5 11. Nc3 {Strikovic,A (2512)-Lazic,M (2528) Subotica 2008. White has equalized.}) 8... dxc3 9. Re1 (9. Bc2 {is inferior to the text. } cxb2 10. Bxb2 d5 11. Nbd2 {White does not have nearly enough compensation. Richter,K-Saemisch,F Berlin 1937}) (9. bxc3 {is not very good either.} O-O 10. Qd5 Nc5 11. Bc2 {Black has a solid position, but started making mistakes and soon lost!} b6 12. Be3 Bb7 13. Bxc5 Bxc5 14. e6 dxe6 15. Bxh7+ Kxh7 16. Qh5+ Kg8 17. Ng5 Re8 18. Qxf7+ Kh8 19. Qh5+ Kg8 20. Qh7+ Kf8 21. Qh8+ Ke7 22. Qxg7+ {1-0 Bird,H-Steinitz,W London 1866}) 9... cxb2 10. Bxb2 {White has barely sufficient compensation for his two Ps. Black's positiom is quite solid and it's going to be tough to crack his defense.} Nc5 11. Bc2 O-O 12. Nc3 d6 13. Nd5 Bg4 14. Nxe7+ Qxe7 $17 15. Qd5 {Walking into a fork gets white into major difficulties. His best chance was 15.exd6} (15. exd6 Qxd6 16. Bxh7+ {White must play this aggressive move even tgough black can survive it with little difficulty. White must play this aggressive move even tgough blaack can survive it with little difficulty.} Kh8 {This reserves black's edge.} (16... Kxh7 17. Ng5+ Kg8 18. Qxg4 Qg6 {Black id well defended, but white can continue attacking as foillows...} 19. Re3 Ne6 20. h4 Nxg5 21. hxg5 Rae8 22. Rh3 Re4 23. Qg3 Qd6 {and white's attack on the h-file has come to nothing. Even so, the position has fizzled out to a draw (5 Shootouts from this position were drawn). }) 17. Qxd6 {This is the best white has.} cxd6 18. Bc2 Bxf3 19. gxf3 {It's clear that this position is better for black, but can he win. The double Rs and white's two Bs will make squeezing out then win very difficult. In Shootouts white scored +9 -2 =3, but the games were long and laborious. In practical play it seems unlikely black could force a win.}) 15... Nb4 $19 16. Qd4 Nxc2 {The elimination of this B also eliminates any attacking chances white may have had...theoretically speaking that is. Practically speaking the position is quite thorny.} 17. Qxg4 {This is a tricky position! Black must be very careful to choose the right move here!} (17. exd6 {looks reasonable, but after looks reasinable, but after} Qxe1+ 18. Nxe1 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 cxd6 {black is winning.}) 17... Qe6 (17... Nxa1 {This proves once again that is't not over until it's over!} 18. exd6 Qxe1+ 19. Nxe1 Ne6 {and white has multiple ways to win.}) (17... Nxe1 {This should be sufficient to win. For example...} 18. exd6 Nxf3+ 19. gxf3 f5 20. dxe7 fxg4 21. exf8=Q+ Rxf8 22. fxg4 Nd3 {and with care black should win.}) 18. Qh4 {Of course white cannot afford to trade Qs.} Nxe1 19. Rxe1 Nd3 {Yet another fork.} 20. Re4 (20. Re2 dxe5 21. Bxe5 f6 22. Qe4 Nxe5 23. Nxe5 Rad8 24. h4 Rd1+ 25. Kh2 Qxe5+ {is an easy win.}) 20... Nxb2 {White is down so much material the game is over.} 21. Rg4 Qf5 22. h3 dxe5 23. Qg3 g6 24. Ng5 Rad8 25. Qh4 h5 {[%mdl 32]} 26. Ne4 Rd1+ 27. Kh2 hxg4 28. Ng5 Qf4+ { White resigned} (28... Qf4+ 29. Qg3 Qxg5 30. Qxg4 Qxg4 31. hxg4 Kg7 32. Kg3 Rd3+ 33. f3 Rh8 34. Kf2 Rd2+ 35. Kg3 g5 36. f4 exf4+ 37. Kf3 Re8 38. a3 Re3#) 0-1

Sam Loyd As A Player

    Samuel Loyd (January 30, 1841 – April 10, 1911) is best known as a chess problem composer, puzzle author and recreational mathematician (someone who does mathematics for entertainment rather than for research or application based purposes). 

    Loyd was born in Philadelphia but raised in New York City. At his peak, from about 1868 to 1870, according to Chess metrics, Loyd’s best rating was 2474 in 1870 and in 1868-1869 he ranked number 15 in the world. 

     He played in the strong Paris 1867 chess tournament with little success, placing 10th out of 13 with a +6 -17 =1 score. Loyd was infamous for being a fibber, a self-promoter and a hustler. Mel Stover, a contemporary Canadian problemist, called Loyd. "puzzledom's greatest celebrity...popularizer, genius. He also called Loyd a huckster and fast-talking snake oil salesman. 

    For a short period of time Loyd collaborated with another puzzle composer, a guy named Henry Dudeney. Then Dudeney broke off his correspondence with Loyd and accused him of stealing his puzzles and publishing them under his own name. Dudeney despised Loyd so intensely that he equated him with the devil.

    After Loyd's death, his son Samuel Loyd Jr. continued his father’s deceptive ways. He dropped the Junior and published reprints of his daddy’s puzzles. 

    The 1867 Paris event that Loyd participated in was his largest and strongest. The city was host to a World Fair that summer summer of 1867anf the master chess tournament was part of it. 

 

    It was a double round affair with an unusual time limit: 6 minutes per move and draws did not count. The US representatives were Loyd and Wilhelm Steinitz who had defeated Adolf Anderssen in a World Championship match the previous year. 

    The event was also organized somewhat haphazardly in that the players met each other, not in scheduled rounds, but according to availability and inclination.

    Loyd’s opponent in the following game was Polish master Samuel Rosenthal (1838-1903) who, following a Polish revolution in 1854m fled to Paris where he devoted himself to a study of chess and became so rapidly proficient that after a year he won the first prize in a tournament held at the Cafe de la Regence. Chess metrics estimated his highest ever rating to have been 2655 in 1885 and from 1873 to 1876 they rank him number 4 in the world.

 

[Event "Paris"] [Site "Paris FRA"] [Date "1867.06.10"] [Round "?"] [White "Sam Loyd"] [Black "Samuel Rosenthal"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "1867.06.04"] {C50: Giuoco Pianissimo} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 {That great teacher and author Australian C.J.S. Purdy recommended that amateurs play the Hungarian Defense here (3...Be7) because it is a quiet response with little danger and it is eadier to play.} 4. d3 {Giuoco Pianissimo} Nf6 5. Be3 Bb6 6. Nc3 d6 7. h3 Na5 8. Bb3 Nxb3 9. axb3 Be6 (9... Bxe3 $11 {is somewhat better.} 10. fxe3 c6 11. Qe2 Qe7 12. O-O O-O {The position could not be more equal. Belsak,Z-Spelec,D (2055) Ptuj 2007}) 10. Nb5 {A pointless sortie, but it cause no damage to white's position.} Bxe3 11. fxe3 c6 12. Nc3 Qc7 13. g4 a6 14. d4 O-O-O 15. d5 Bd7 16. g5 Ne8 17. Nd2 c5 18. Nc4 h6 19. Qh5 {Are you bored yet? The action is about to pick up.} Rf8 {This is a slight inaccuracy that allows white to gainst a small edge.} (19... Kb8 {stays ahead.} 20. Qxf7 {is too gangerous as after} hxg5 21. Qe7 (21. O-O-O Bxh3 {with the advantage.}) 21... g4 (21... Bxh3 22. Qxg5 {Black is slightly better.}) 22. h4 Bc8 23. Qxc7+ Kxc7 {Black is better.}) 20. gxh6 Rh8 {Bets} (20... gxh6 21. Qxh6 {Black's weak P on f7 and white's paseed a-Pawn gives white a clear advantage.}) 21. hxg7 $1 Rxh5 22. g8=Q Rxh3 23. Rxh3 Bxh3 {Here white has a slim advantage mostly due to the weak f-Pawn.} 24. Nb5 {Loyd likes this move, but here, too, it does not really accomplish anything because Rosenthal is not going to fall for taling the N. Better was the immediate 24.Qh7. That said, keep an eye on this N; we will be hearing from it later!} Qe7 (24... axb5 25. Ra8+ Qb8 (25... Kd7 26. Qxf7#) 26. Rxb8+ Kxb8 27. Nxd6 {with an easy win.}) 25. Qh7 Bg4 {Loyd's time wasting 24.Nb5 has resulted in Rosenthal's being able to get his pieces into action and so now after the correct 26.Nc3 Qf6 black has gorren slightly the better of it owing to white's exposed K.} 26. Na7+ {A losing idea.} (26. Nc3 Qf6 27. Qh2 Qf3 28. Qe2 Nf6 29. Qxf3 Bxf3 30. Nd2 Rh8 {White's P on e4 needs defending plaus black has gotten a lot of play with his pieces whereas white's are quite passively positioned.}) 26... Kb8 27. Rxa6 Nc7 (27... bxa6 { Rosenthal was far too good a player to fall for this!} 28. Nc6+) (27... Qf6 { Packs a winning punch.} 28. Ra1 {Thus guards against ...Qf6-f3-d1+} Qf3 29. Qh2 Nf6 30. Nd2 Qxe3+ 31. Kf1 Rg8 {mates in 7 moves at most...} 32. Nf3 Bh3+ 33. Qxh3 Nxe4 34. Nc6+ Kc7 35. Qd7+ Kxd7 36. Nfxe5+ Kc7 37. Ng4 Rxg4 38. c3 Rg1#) 28. Ra5 (28. Nc6+ bxc6 29. Rb6+ Ka7 30. Rxc6 {is no better for white.}) 28... Qf6 {White must deal with the threat od ...Qf3} 29. Qh1 Rh8 30. Qf1 Bf3 { This looks really good...the threat is ...Rh1, but white has a clever way of meeting it.} (30... Qg6 {This odd looking move has hidden dangers for white. It's hard to blame Rosenthal for missing it.} 31. Qg2 (31. Nc6+ {as in the game fails...} bxc6 32. Qg2 cxd5 33. Nd2 Qg5 34. Nf1 Rh3 35. Qg1 d4 {White has no defense.}) 31... Rh4 32. Kd2 {Seeking a safe havem but there isn't one.} Qh7 33. Kd3 f5 {White can delay defeat by meeting a succession of threats, but in the end he must lose.} 34. Nb6 fxe4+ 35. Kc3 Qh6 36. Qd2 Rh3 37. b4 Qxe3+ 38. Qxe3 Rxe3+ 39. Kd2 Rh3 40. bxc5 e3+ 41. Kd3 e2+ 42. Kd2 Nxd5 43. Ra1 Nf6 44. Rg1 Kxa7 45. Nc4 dxc5 46. Nxe5 Ne4+ 47. Ke1 Bh5 48. Ng4 Bxg4 49. Rxg4 Ng3 50. Kf2 Rh1 51. Ra4+ Kb6 {abd wins}) 31. Nb6 {This riposte gets white out of almost all of his trouble.} Qh4+ 32. Kd2 {Now Nd7+ would be a killer.} Qg4 { [%mdl 8192] Black needs to guard against Nd7+, but he does it with the wrong piece!} (32... Qxe4 {leads to a clever mate.} 33. Nd7+ Ka8 34. Nc6+ Na6 35. Nb6#) (32... Bg4 {This defends d7, but now white weasels out of his difficulties with} 33. Kd3 Qg3 34. Nb5 Rh3 35. Nc4 Bf3 36. Nbxd6 Rh2 37. Nxe5 Qxe5 38. Qxf3 Qxd6 39. Qxf7 {with equal chances. In a Shootout white scored +1 - 0 =4}) 33. Qxf3 {[%mdl 512] Even more clever than the previous move!. White now has a mate no matter what black plays.} Qxf3 (33... Rh2+ {Black gets in a few spite checks with thsi move.} 34. Kd3 c4+ 35. bxc4 Qxe4+ 36. Qxe4 Na6 37. Qg4 e4+ 38. Kc3 Kxa7 39. Qc8 Rh8 40. Qc7 f6 41. Rxa6+ Kxa6 42. Nd7 f5 43. Qb6#) 34. Nd7+ Ka8 35. Nc6+ Na6 36. Nb6# {IIt's mate next move so Rosenthal resigned. An imperfect, but very clever game by Loyd!} 1-0

A Tartajubow Treat

    Yesterday was a harrowing one owing to rain, flooding, severe weather alerts and power outages, but we were mercifully blessed to have been spared all but an incessant drizzle. I spent some time playing on Chess Hotel. 

    I like the site because you sign in with a guest name and then choose your time limit or click on the list of available games and start playing. The strength of the players is usually in the low to medium range. 

    There does not seem to be a lot of engine users and some players demonstrate bad etiquette by abandoning the game when they are losing. If they do, you receive a notice and the win. 

    Chat is available, but it’s rarely used. If it is it it’s mostly profanity laced insults that arr quite amusing. 

  In any case, it’s been a while since I have treated readers to one of my games, so here is one that was played yesterday. I played the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.

   In the gambit white intends (after 1.e4 d5 2.d4) to follow up with f3 intending to obtains a tempo and a half-open f-file in return for a P. White;s hope is that he can achieve rapid development and active posting with a resulting in a quick attack. 

    The G\gambit was originally named after Armand Blackmar (1820-1888) who was born in Vermon. Along with his brother Henry they invented the gambit. The brothers owned a music publishing company that was originally based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, and later Augusta, Georgia. The company became the most successful publisher of music of the Confederacy during Civil War. Armand was best known for the patriotic songs he wrote. Bonnie Blue Flag

    The gambit is considered aggressive, but its soundness is debatable. Back in the old days (i.e. pre-engine) when we played correspondence chess on post cards there were a few amateurs who specialized in it. GM Boris Avrukh wrote that the gambit "may not be fully correct" but cautioned that he "was surprised at just how potent white's initiative could become.” For us amateurs it’s worth a try! 

[Event "Chess Hotel G10"] [Site "?"] [Date "2024.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Anonymous"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] {D00: Blackmar-Diemer Gambit} 1. e4 d5 {I have run into this defense quite often online. In my day this was called the Center Counter Defense, but today it's known as the Scandanavian Defense. The general idea is to prevent white from controlling the center with Ps and thereby forcing an open game. In my database white scores very well...44 percent.} 2. d4 {Preferring to play on my own turf.} dxe4 {Of course black cna transpose into the French (2...e6) or the Car-Kan (2.c6), but that rarely happens.} 3. f3 exf3 {Black can decline the gambit with either 3,,,Nf6 or 3...e5 nut I have never had that happen!} 4. Nxf3 Nf6 5. Bc4 e6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Nc3 c6 8. O-O {One thing about this gambit is that both sides can usually play routine developing moves with little book knowledge required.} (8. Qe2 O-O 9. O-O-O Nd5 10. Bxe7 Nxe7 11. Ng5 Nd5 12. Qh5 {Ivanov, O-Panamski,S Sofia 2008. Wgite's attack looks more dangerous than it is and in the game black (who actually stands slightly better) was able to score the win.}) 8... O-O 9. Qe2 Nbd7 10. Rad1 Re8 11. Bb3 {Not bad by any means, but I played it because I could not think of anything that looked constructive. Stockfish likes 11.Ne5, but perhaps 11.Bd3 with an eye on h7 was a better practical choice.} Nd5 12. Ne4 {Hoping to get a N on g5 if black plays 12...Bxg5} Nf8 {Black is transferring the N to g6 to defend his K, but the maneuver is too slow. 12...f6! disrupts white's plans.} 13. c4 {This drives the N back with a gain of time and maybe prepares the way for d5,} Nf6 { This retreat is not the best.} (13... Bxg5 14. Nfxg5 f5 15. cxd5 fxe4 (15... exd5 16. Qh5 g6 17. Qh6 Rxe4 18. Nxe4 fxe4 {with a difficult material imbalance. Black has a B+N+2Ps vs a R, but the chances are about equal. A Shootout from this position resulted in white scoring +1 -1 =3.}) 16. Qh5 h6 17. Nf7 Qb6 18. Nxh6+ gxh6 19. Qf7+ Kh8 20. Rf6 {mates in 3}) 14. Bc2 {Aiming at h7, but black has adequate defensive resources against a K-side attack'} ( 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Ne5 Ng6 16. Bc2 Qe7 17. Qh5 Bxe5 18. Ng5 h6 19. Nxf7 Bxh2+ 20. Qxh2 Nh4 21. Ne5 {White has a decisive advantage.}) 14... Nxe4 $1 $15 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Qxe4 f6 {Preventing Ne5} 17. Rfe1 Bd7 18. h4 {The engine says that 18.c5 remains equal, but I was hoping for a K0side attack.} Qf7 19. Kf2 { Already thinking about a sacrifice on g5, the idea of this move is to get a R on the potentially open h-file. In reality it's just that...hope} b6 20. Rh1 e5 {This attempt to take advantage of the position of white's Q looks reasonable, nbut iy's not the most active plan.} (20... Qe7 21. h5 h6 {and white's plans are stymied and black has a solid position.}) 21. dxe5 fxe5 22. Kg1 {This allows the N to move.} Ng6 {[%mdl 8192] In his anxiety to defend against white's threatened attack. black makes a fatal mistake. For a reason that soon becomes clear he had to play 22...Rad8 which defends the B.} 23. Ng5 {This is what I.A. Horowitz used to call a scokdoilager, a powerful blow.} Qf4 {Black hopes that exchanging Qs will lessen white's attack, but he has failed to notice the B on d7 is undefended.} (23... Qe7 {This defends the B, but it doesn't matter. White can win as follows.} 24. c5 {The Q wants to go to c4} Rf8 25. Qc4+ Kh8 26. Bxg6 Rf4 (26... hxg6 27. h5 {mates.} Qxc5+ 28. Qxc5 bxc5 29. hxg6+ Bh3 30. Rxh3+ Kg8 31. Rd7 Rf1+ 32. Kxf1 Rf8+ 33. Nf7 Rxf7+ 34. gxf7+ Kf8 35. Rh8#) 27. Be4 h6 28. g3 Rff8 {and white has won a piece.}) 24. Qxf4 { Black realized the B on d7 was lost so he resigned.} 1-0

A Complicated Win by George Kramer

    The 1950/51 Manhattan Chess Club Championship was conduced at a furious pace as evidenced by the fact that some of the club’s strongest players at the time (Sidney Bernstein, Albert Pinkus, George Shainswit and Jack Soudakoff) finished way off the pace. 

    In this year’s championship, unlike his norm of playing recklessly, Arnold Denker, the defensing champion, played steady, but still imaginative chess and finished with 7 wins and 6 draws. 

    Even so, the outcome was not decided until the final round when Arthur Bisguier, trailing by half point, could not penetrate Denker's defense and had to be content with a draw and a second place finish. 

    Bisguier won more games than any of his rivals, but he had had a very poor start with losses to Edward Schwartz and Max Pavey in the first four rounds. Thereafter he simply could not make up his deficit. 

    Because of personal reasons, George Kramer played all but one os his games in advance of his schedule. Unfortunately, due to his moving to Boston Boris Siff was obliged to forfeit several games, but they had no effect on the top standings. 

    A real surprise was the poor showing of George Shainswit, the previous year's co-champion with Denker. His four losses amounted to his poorest showing in the last few years. 

 

 

    The winner of the following complicated game was George Kramer (1929-2014, 93 years old) the 1945 New York State Championship, the 1951-52 Manhattan club championship and the 1964, 1967 and 1969 New Jersey State Championships. He was also Manhattan Chess Club Champion in 1973 and Co-champion in 1974. 

    He tied for 3rd-4th in the 1948 US Championship with Olaf Ulvestad. He was a reserve for the U. team at the 1950 Olympiad, winning an individual bronze medal. 

    Outside of chess he was Dr. Kramer and was recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Scientists for dedication, achievements and leadership as a chess player.

    Kramer studied at Queen’s College in New York, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1951. Kramer served in the US Army, from 1952 to 1954. He then continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a Master of Science in 1955 and a PhD in 1957, and started working for Exxon (now Mobil) in research and engineering. Kramer also authored several published works, in his professional career. During his more than 35 years with the company, he rose to the rank of senior research associate and research chemist before his retirement in 1994. 

    It’s a little known fact, but Kramer was Samuel Reshevsky’s analysi partner in his competition for the world chess title in 1948. 

    Information on Richard Einhorn does not seem to be available, but in 1945 he was playing first board for the championship wining City College of New York chess team. 

[Event "Manhattan CC Champ, New York"] [Site "?"] [Date "1951.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Richard Einhorn"] [Black "George Kramer"] [Result "*"] [ECO "D85"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "1951.??.??"] {D85: Gruenfeld Defense, Exchange Vatiation} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 g6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 {Normally black plays 6...Bg7, but at the time it was believed that 6...c5 was necessary to break up white's center. It was thought this would ebhabce the scope of black's dark squard B a little by weakening the diagonal.} 7. f4 {An uncommon move that is a bit too ambitious. The modern way is either 7.Nc4 or 7.Nf3} (7. dxc5 Qc7 8. Qb3 Bg7 9. Bd3 O-O 10. Ne2 {Black is better. Roux Cabral,L-Letelier Martner,R Buenos Aires 1939}) (7. Be3 Qa5 8. Qb3 Bg7 9. Rd1 O-O 10. Bc4 cxd4 11. Bxd4 Bxd4 12. Rxd4 {Black is clearlyu better. Donovan,J-Pinkus,A Ventnor City 1942}) (7. d5 Bg7 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nxd7 10. Ne2 O-O 11. O-O {Equals. Pimenov,R-Khatenever,F (1981) St Petersburg 2007}) 7... cxd4 8. cxd4 e5 {Playing for complications. 8...Bg7 is the safe continuation.} 9. Nf3 (9. fxe5 Bb4+ 10. Kf2 {is OK, but the K's position appears uncomfortable.}) (9. dxe5 Bb4+ 10. Bd2 Qd4 11. Rc1 Qxe4+ 12. Kf2 {this position is also probably OK for white, but, again, his K is uncomfortable.}) 9... Bg4 {This is not best because it allows white so much play. 9...Bb4+ is probab;y best, but Kramer is still playing for complications. } 10. Qa4+ {White now has a lot of pressure on black's uncastled K.} Bd7 11. Bb5 (11. Qb3 {Intending Bc4 was much better.} Nc6 12. Bc4 Bb4+ 13. Kf2 O-O 14. fxe5 {with an excellent position.}) 11... exd4 $16 12. Qxd4 Bxb5 13. Qe5+ { Unfortunately for white he has misjudged the position and as a result black is right back in the game.} (13. Qxh8 {Black has no equalizing reply. It's odd, but the original annotator (a NM) made no comment on 13.Qe5+} Qd3 {is met by} 14. Kf2 Qe2+ {Perhaps it was thought that this was a dangerous situation for white especially with his Q way over on h8, but in reality white is winning. For example,,,} 15. Kg3 Bc6 16. Ba3 Nd7 17. Bxf8 Nxf8 18. Qe5+ {is winning for white.}) 13... Qe7 14. Qxb5+ (14. Qxh8 {is now neither better nor worse that taking the B!} Nc6 (14... Qxe4+ 15. Kf2 Nc6 16. Ba3 {wins as previously noted.} ) 15. Kf2 O-O-O 16. Qb2 Nb4 17. Kg3 Bc6 18. e5 {and black has enough play to claim equality.}) 14... Nc6 15. Rb1 {It would have been safer to play 15.Kf2} Qxe4+ 16. Kf2 (16. Qe2 {is a mistake.} Bb4+ 17. Bd2 Bxd2+ 18. Nxd2 Qxe2+ 19. Kxe2 {with an endgame advantage.} O-O-O) 16... a6 17. Qxb7 Bc5+ 18. Kg3 { [%mdl 2048]} O-O 19. Re1 Qc2 {This yields two pieces for a R.} 20. Rb2 $1 Bf2+ 21. Kh3 Qc5 22. Rxf2 Rfb8 23. Qd7 Rd8 24. Qb7 Qxf2 {Black should have been in serious difficulties after this!} (24... Rdb8 25. Qd7 Rd8 {taking the draw by repetition was his best course.}) 25. Qxc6 Rac8 {The original annotator commented that a look at the position shows that black has two open files for his Rs and white's K is awkwardly placed and ripe for exploitation. That was a superficial comment that was typical in the pre-engine days. Annotators often based their comments on the game's outcome.. Today, of course, engines are much more coldblooded in their assessment of the players' moves! Here white is winning...over 3.5 Ps according to Stockfish.} (25... Qxa2 $16 {was the best black had.} 26. Qf6 (26. Re5 Rdc8 27. Qe4 Rab8 (27... Rxc1 28. Qxa8+) 28. Bd2 Qb1 29. Qa4 Qb6 {Theoretically white is better, but would it be enough to win OTB?}) 26... Qc2) 26. Qxa6 {[%mdl 8192] This P snatch is worth two question marks because it leads to the loss of the game.} (26. Qf6 {is the narrow road that leads to a win.} Qc5 27. Bb2 Qf5+ 28. Qxf5 gxf5 29. Re3 Rd5 30. Ne5 { I am not sure what the practical outcome OTB would be, but in Shootouts using Stockfish white scored 5-- from this position.}) 26... Rc5 {[%mdl 32] As the original original annotator observed, there is no answer to this.} 27. f5 { This loses quickly, but even a better move would not have saved the game.} (27. Re5 {is best, but it does not really help much. The variations might be rather long winded, but the outcome is never in doubt.} Rxc1 28. Re2 (28. Qf6 Rf8 29. a4 Rc3 30. a5 Qf1 31. Kg3 Rc2 32. Ne1 Qf2+ 33. Kh3 Rc3+ 34. g3 h6 35. a6 Qf1+ 36. Kg4 Qf2 37. Ra5 Qd2 38. a7 Ra8 39. Qe5 Re3 {wins}) 28... Qc5 29. Qf6 Qc8+ 30. Kg3 Rc6 31. Qg5 Re8 32. Rxe8+ Qxe8 33. Qh6 {Hoping for a ,iracle (Ng5)} Rc5 34. Ng5 Qe1+ 35. Kh3 Rc3+ 36. Nf3 (36. g3 Rxg3+ 37. hxg3 Qh1+ 38. Kg4 f5#) 36... Qf1 {Threatening Rxf3+} 37. Kg3 Rc2 38. Qh3 h5 39. Kh4 (39. Ng5 Qf2#) 39... Rxg2 {Black mates in 19!}) 27... Rxf5 28. Qe2 {This move allows mate in 7, but he was lost in any case.} (28. Nh4 Rh5 29. Re4 Qf5+ 30. Kg3 Qxe4) 28... Rh5+ {Black mates in 6} 29. Kg4 Rd4+ {[%mdl 512]} 30. Nxd4 (30. Qe4 f5+ 31. Kf4 fxe4 32. Rxe4 Rf5+ 33. Kg4 Qxg2+ 34. Kh4 Rh5#) 30... Rh4+ {It's mate next move so white resigned.} *

A Vicious Attack By Edgar Walther

`FM Edgar Wather was born on December 24, 1930 and passed awau in Zuricj at the age of 82 on October 23, 2013. 

    Walther gained a measure of notoriety at Zurich in 1959 when he had a winning position against the eventual world champion, but thanks to a stroke of luck, Fischer managed to draw when Walther misplayed the ending. 

    Walther took four national titles: he was Federal Champion in 1949, 1957, 1971 and in 1965 he won the Coupe Suisse. Oddly, he never managed to win the Swiss Championship. The closest he came was in 1965 when he lost the playoff against Marcel Markus after they tied for first. As a long-time member of the Swiss national team Walther played in six chess Olympiads. He was a long time member of the Zurich Chess Club. 

    He was also well known in correspondence chess and he won the Swiss Correspondence Championship twice (1967 and 1971). In the semi-final of the 8th World Correspondence Championship (1972-75), he tied for first and second and in the final he finished 11th. As a result, he was awarded the Correspondence IM title. His highest OTB FIDE rating was 2316. 

    The following game wa splayed in Oldenburg, 1949. While Walther did not obtain a particularly good result, his game against Heemsoth contained a pleasing finale.

 

 

    Hermann Heemsoth (1909-2006) was a German player who was awarded the Correspondence IM title in 1972 and the Correspondence GM title in 1987. He was German Correspondence Champion in 1954 and 1969. 

    It’s interesting to note that three of the Oldenburg participants ended yp living in the United States. Elmars Zemgalis (1923-2014). Originally from Latvia, when the Soviet Union invaded Latvia in WWII he fled to Germany and in 1952 he finally settled in Seattle, Washington. 

    Nicolas Rossolimo (1910-1975) was born in Kiev and moved to Paris in 1929. In 1952 he moved to New York City. I met Rossolimo at his chess studio sometime in the early 1960s. U asked him for a game and he said, “I can’t play for nothing.” I coughed up his $20 fee and we sat down to play on regulation set. 

    After the opening I must have had a pretty good game because he jumped up, walked over to a display case and grabbed a glass board that look like the dark squares were made out of blue butterfly wings and sat it at the end of the table where the sun was shining on it. He then started grabbing pieces off out board and setting them up on the new one. When I asked what he was doing he said, “I want to play on this board.” I think he set up the position correctly, but in any case I lost quickly. 

    Povilas Tautvaisas (1916-1980) was born in what is now Belarus. Following the Second World War as a displaced person he eventually via Germany made his was ti the Chicago area.

 

[Event "Oldenburg"] [Site "Oldenburg GER"] [Date "1949.06.21"] [Round "4"] [White "Edgar Walther"] [Black "Hermann Heemsoth"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B67"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "1949.06.19"] {B67: Sicilian: Richter-Rauzer Attack} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 {The Richetr-Rauzer Attack threatening to double black's Ps after Bxf6 and avoids the once feared Dragon Variation.} e6 {After this move Vsevolod Rauzer introduced the modern plan of Qd2 and 0-0-0 in the 1930s.} 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 h6 10. Bh4 Be7 11. Nf3 Qc7 12. e5 dxe5 13. fxe5 Nd5 {Preferred by Stockfish engines around the world.} (13... Ng4 14. Bg3 Rd8 15. Qe1 h5 {and white is better. Ou,R (1390)-Gao,M (1172) Nanjing CHN 2023}) 14. Nxd5 exd5 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 {White now has several playable moves.} 16. Re1 ( 16. Bd3 O-O-O 17. Rhe1 (17. Qf4 Be6 18. Nd4 Nc6 19. Nxc6 Qxc6 20. Qd4 Kb8 { Draw agreed. Foltys,J-Kottnauer,C Vienna 1949}) 17... Kb8 18. Nd4 Nc6 19. Nxc6+ Bxc6 20. Qb4 {is equal. Kamishov,M-Chistiakov,A Moscow 1947}) (16. Qb4 Bf5 17. Bd3 Bxd3 18. Rxd3 O-O 19. Rhd1 {is equal. Pilnik,H-Wexler,B Mar del Plata 1955} ) 16... O-O 17. Rg1 Rfc8 18. g4 {A hint of what Walther is up to on the K-side. } b5 {A routine move that quickly lands him in trouble. A better idea was pressuring white's e-Pawn with 18...Re8} 19. Bd3 a5 20. Nd4 Qb6 21. Nf5 { Black's last few moves have amounted to beating the air. White, on the other hand, is clearly preparing a K-side strike.} Ng6 22. Rg3 {The idea is to place the R on the h-fule...clearly Walther is planning something on the h-file.} ( 22. Rgf1 {This was actually more potent.} Rc6 23. g5 hxg5 24. Qxg5 a4 25. h4 { with a very strong attack.}) 22... Re8 (22... Rc6 {was a far better defense which demonstrates the problem with white's 22.Rg3} 23. h4 (23. g5 h5 24. Nd6 Rb8 25. Bxg6 fxg6 26. Qxd5+ Kh7 {and suddenly with the reduced material it's going to be difficult, if not impossible, to get at black's K. And, in the meantime, black is poised for Q-side play. White's pieces are centralized, so the chances are equal.}) 23... Re6 24. Rge3 Rae8 25. Nd6 d4 26. R3e2 R8e7 { and black has successfully beaten off the attack/ The chances are equal.}) 23. Nxh6+ {Very nice...white's assault on black's K has been in the air for some time.} gxh6 {There was nothing that was really better.} (23... Kf8 24. Nxf7 Kxf7 25. Qg5 Re6 26. Rf1+ Kg8 27. Qh5 Rxe5 28. Qxg6 Qxg6 29. Bxg6 {with a decisive advantage.}) 24. Qxh6 Qf2 25. Rf1 Qxf1+ {A clever, but futile, attempt to save himself.} 26. Bxf1 Rxe5 27. Bd3 Ra6 28. Rh3 {Finally...the point of his 22nd move.} Bxg4 29. Bxg6 Re1+ {By giving up his Q black gets a series of checks and in OYB play who knows where it might lead?} 30. Kd2 Rd1+ 31. Kc3 (31. Ke3 {would have been an unfortunate mistake.} Re6+ 32. Kf4 (32. Kf2 Rf6+ 33. Rf3 Rxg6 34. Qh4 Bxf3 35. Kxf3 Rd2 {Black has equalized!}) 32... Rf6+ 33. Kxg4 Rxg6+ {draws}) 31... d4+ 32. Kb3 Be6+ 33. Ka3 b4+ 34. Ka4 Bd7+ 35. Kb3 {Stockfish is announcing mate in 27.} Be6+ 36. c4 dxc3+ 37. Kc2 Rd2+ 38. Kc1 {Now if black plays 38...Rd1+ he can hold pff mate for 15 moves.} fxg6 39. Qh8+ {Black resigned. It's mate next move.} 1-0

Smyslov Pulls Kottnauer's Strings

    The tournament held at Groningen, Netherlands from August 13 to September 7, 1946, was a watershed in chess history. Not only was it the first major international tournament after World War II, it marked the first time the Soviet Union sent a team of players to a foreign event. Their results confirmed the growing recognition of the great strength of Soviet players. Of the Soviets, only Alexander Kotov had a middling result, but he defeated both of the top finishers.

    Mikhail Botvinnik and Max Euwe were in a close race to the end. Botvinnik had a lead much of the way, but successive losses to Kotov and Yanofsky in rounds 14 and 15 let Euwe go ahead by a point. However, Euwe then drew three in a row while Botvinnik won three in a row to pull ahead by a half point going into the last round. 

    In the last round Botvinnik’s nerves tool over and he was outplayed by Najdorf, but Euwe blundered and lost a drawn position against Kotov and as a result Botvinnik and Euwe tied for first. 

     For Botvinnik, it was his first outright victory outside the Soviet Union and for Euwe, it was his last great international success. 

 

 

    As for the American representative, US Champion Arnold Denker, he had been playing non-stop since the previous year and his even score was respectable, but deeply disappointing for him personally. 

    Denker’s collapse started in round 11 when he e\suffered the worst mental blackout of his career against Euwe. Denker was tied for third with Smyslov at 7-3 he had already drawn (Botvinnik, Smyslov and Najdorf) or defeated (Szabo) then leaders. 

    Then against Euwe he reached a winning position, but at move 47 he was told that there was a Transatlantic phone call from his wife which he took because he had plenty of time on his clock. Mrs. Denker informed him that while he was out of the country that Reuben Fine and Samuel Reshevsky had conspired against him and convinced Maurice Wertheim, captain of the US team in the upcoming match against the Soviet Union to play on the top boards even though Denker was US Champion. 

    When an angry Denker return to his game against Euwe, he blundered on move 47 and then on move 48 and had to resign on move 52. He proceeded to score only 2.5-5.5 in the rest of the tournament. 

    By the way, the US team (Reshevsky, Fine, Denker, Horowitz, Kashdan, Steiner, Pinkus, Kevitz, Dake and Ulvestad) got crushed by the Soviets (Botvinnik, Keres, Smyslov, Boleslavsky, Kotov, Flohr, Ragozin, Bondarevky, Lilienthal and Bronstein) by a score of 7.5-12.5. Only Kashdan, Kevitz and Ulvestad managed to score a win for the US and Denker lost both of his games to Smyslov. 

    In the following game we see Kottnauer reach a position where everything looks safe, but in reality Smyslov was pulling the strings when he exploited a seemingly innocuous pin.

    For Denker in his game against Euwe, this game would have been a good example of why attention is required right up until the opponent resigns. Only three moves before the end Smyslov still could have allowed his opponent to get right back into the game.

[Event "Groningen"] [Site "Groningen NED"] [Date "1946.08.30"] [Round "14"] [White "Vasily Smyslov"] [Black "Cenek Kottnauer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B84"] [Annotator "Stoxkfish 16"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "1946.08.13"] {B84: Sicilian Scheveningen} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O b5 8. Bf3 Ra7 {An excellent move! The R is removed from the diagonal and at the same time prepares to make its way to the c- or d-file at the right time.} (8... Bb7 {is met by} 9. e5 {which wins. For example...} Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Nd5 (10... dxe5 11. Nxe6 fxe6 12. Qxa8) 11. Nxd5 exd5 12. exd6 Bxd6 13. Re1+ Be7 14. Bg5 f6 15. Ne6 Qd7 16. Nxg7+ Kd8 17. Rxe7 Qxe7 18. Bxf6) 9. Qe2 {Brilliant! Many strong players would probably try to take advantage of the position of the R on a7, but black has a strong answer to that idea.} (9. Be3 Rc7 10. Nb3 Rd7 (10... b4 11. Ne2 Nbd7 {with equal chances.}) 11. a4 b4 12. Ne2 Bb7 13. c3 {with complete equality.}) 9... Rc7 {Alas! This is not the right time! Smyslov will soon take advantage of the Rs position. The right way was 9...Be7 developing and preparing to castle.} 10. Rd1 (10. a4 {was a little stronger.} bxa4 11. Nxa4 Nbd7 {The wrong N moves to d7. The other N would have maintained equality.} 12. Bd2 e5 13. Nf5 {White is considerably better. Riff,J (2474)-Guliyev,N (2570) Nancy 2008}) 10... Nbd7 11. a4 {White needs to open up the game, and in this the position of the black R is going ti be to white's advantage.. .} bxa4 (11... b4 12. Na2 Bb7 (12... a5 13. Nb5 {is very good for white.}) 13. Nxb4 {with the more active position.}) 12. Nxa4 {It's somewhat surprising to find that these same moves were plsyed 50 yearsd later!} Bb7 ( 12... Ne5 13. Bf4 Nfd7 14. Bg3 Bb7 15. Bh5 g6 16. f4 Nc4 17. b3 gxh5 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Qxh5+ Ke7 20. Bh4+ {Black resigned. Anagnostopoulos,D (2495)-Banikas, H (2470) Kavala 1997} Nf6 21. Bxf6+ Kxf6 22. Qg5+ {wins the Q.}) 13. e5 { A typical move in this type of position. White must not allow black to complete his development because then the strength of black's center (two Os in the center and pressure on e4) would make itself felt. The move played opens more lines for the white pieces. As a result black will soon be faced by insoluble problems.} Nxe5 14. Bxb7 $18 Rxb7 15. Qxa6 {Black's position is now lost and it happened very quickly.} Qb8 16. Nc6 Nxc6 17. Qxc6+ Nd7 {A casual glance at the position may give the impression that black is not threatened by anything. However, Smyslov exploits the pin on the N in a most instructive way. His attack is based on two tactical motifs. 1) opening of lines for the R and B and the 2) diverting black's Q.} 18. Nc5 {[%mdl 512] Much stroinger than the immediate 18.Bf4 which should also win.} dxc5 19. Bf4 {[%mdl 512] The crusher. This game is a good example of why attention is required right up until the opponent resigns.} (19. Rxd7 {One wonders if this was what Kottnauer was expecting. If so, he salvages the game!} Rxd7 20. Ra8 Qxa8 21. Qxa8+ Ke7 { And black is right back in the gaem. In Shootouts from tjid podition all 5 games were drawn.}) 19... Bd6 (19... Qxf4 20. Ra8+ Ke7 21. Qxb7 {and the N is lost.}) 20. Bxd6 Rb6 21. Qxd7+ {[%mdl 512] Black resigned} (21. Qxd7+ Kxd7 22. Bxb8+ Kc6 23. Be5 {is an easy win.}) 1-0