Simon Rubinstein

    Among the millions who perished in the Nazi concentration camps were a number if chessplayers, some well known, some not. One of the latter that few have ever heard of was Simon Rubinstein (c. 1910–1942), an Austrian master who participated several times in the Leopold Trebitsch Memorial tournaments that were held in Vienna. 

    These tournaments were a chess competition organized by the family of Austrian silk manufacturer Leopold Trebitsch. Twenty tournaments were played in Vienna between 1907 and 1938. Leopold Trebitsch (1842–1906) loved chess and je and his family contributed greatly to the Vienna Chess Club (Wiener Schachklub) to organize the series of tournaments. Because Trebitsch died one month before the first tournament the competitions were named in his memory. Six of the first nine events (1907–18) were won by Carl Schlechter, but his death in December 1918, along with the loss of the Club's Trebitsch fund in the aftermath of World War I, put a temporary halt to the tournament. In 1926, Trebitsch's son made more funds available, enabling eleven additional tournaments to be held until 1938, when Germany's annexation of Austria ended the event.

 

 

    Here is one of only a handful of known Simon Rubinstein's games. Chessnetrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2540 in 1937, ranking him in 67th place. On that list the leaders were: Euwe was first (2753) followed by Botvinnik (2752), Capablanca (2751), Alekhine (2750) and Reshevsky (2745). 

     

ChessBase

Simon Rubinstein–Karl Kopetzky1–0D44Trebitsch Memorial, Vienna27.11.1933Stockfish 17

D26: Queen's Gambit Accepted 1.d4 d5 2.f3 f6 3.c4 dxc4 The QGA is not a true gambit because white regains the P because it is unprofitable for black to keep it. White will try to use his center space to lainch an attack. Black will try to hold white;s center at bay and gain an advantage in the endgame by giving white an isolated d-Pawn. The resulting oisitons can lead to a sharp fight. 4.c3 e6 5.e3 c5 6.xc4 c6 7.0-0 cxd4 8.exd4 e7 9.f4 a6 10.e1 0-0 11.c1 11.d2 b5 12.b3 b7 13.a3 b6 This position is nearly equal. Walta,P-Seto Wai Ling Dubai 1986 11.a3 This is satisfactory if followed up correctly. b5 12.d5 exd5 12...bxc4 This captur is wrong. Shevchenko,D-Tarnovetsky,R Evpatoria 2005 continued 13.dxc6 b6 14.d4 xb2 15.a4 Whute won quickly. 13.xd5 b7 with equal chances. 11...b4 12.a3 bd5 13.e5 He could also have pkaced a N on e5, but the text also works out well. 13.g3 xc3 14.xc3 b5 15.a2 b7 16.e5 13...b5 14.a2 In these types of positions white wull set up a battery attacking h7 with Bb1 and Qd3 b7 15.xd5 xd5 16.b1 d7 17.d3 While the position is theoretically equal white seems to be the one with all the chances and to keep thing equal black will be forced to defend accurately which is never an easy task. g6 18.d2 The Q never leaves here, but apparently white was thinking about the possibility of Qh6. The immediate advance 18,h4 was equally giid. fc8 19.h4 f6 20.g5 White's pieces have a lot of pent up energy, but sp far black has defended in a satisfactory manner and the position is equal. However, black now slips up. h5 Black is barking up the wrong tree. Instead of trying to bust up whiye's K-side attack he needs to hunker down on the defensive. 20...xc1 21.xc1 d8 22.f4 d5 with a solid position. 21.xf7 This speculative sacrifice pays off handsomely, but with correct defensem always a difficult job, black can equalize. The sharo\p 21.g4 secures a clear plus though. 21.g4 xc1 22.xc1 c8 23.e3 f6 24.gxh5 fxe5 25.hxg6 h6 25...hxg6 26.xg6 is winning for white. 26.e4 xe4 27.xe4 xd4 28.xd4 exd4 29.xe6 Black is in serious trouble. 21...xh4 Fatal! This P is meaningless. Taking the N keeps the chances eqiual...white can't whip up any serious threats. 21...xf7 22.h6 f6 23.xf6 xf6 24.xh7+ g7 25.xg6+ f8 An interesting position that is theoretically equal: white has 3 Ps vs. a B. In Shootouts using Stockfish white scored +1 -0 =5. Using the older, weaker Fritz 5.32 white scored +1 -2 =02. So, in actual play the outcome would be unclear. 22.h6+ f8 23.g4 xc1 24.xc1 d5 Played with the forlorn hope that white will overlook the mate. 25.f3 f6 26.e4 Black resigned. 26.e4 d8 26...d7 27.c7 wins 27.xf6 27.xb7 xe5 28.gxh5 also wins 27...xf6 28.xb7 d8 29.gxh5 xd4 30.c8+ e7 31.g8+ etc. 1–0

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Jacques Mieses, the Rodney Dangerfield of Chess

    Jack Roy (1921-2004, age 82), better known by his stage name Rodney Dangerfield, was a stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer who was known for his self-deprecating humor and his catchphrase "I don't get no respect!" and his monologues on that theme. 

    Jacques Mieses (1865-1954) might have said the same thing because these days he seems to be remembered (if at all) for losing games. Writing the October, 1944 issue of the British Chess Magazine, Miese himself wrote, “...I have always been an erratic player, even when I was at my best. At that time, when Marshall and myself entered a tournament, the general opinion was that we could as well finish at the top as at the tail of it.” 

    In his prime from the early1900s to the early 1920s Chess metrics has him generally just outside the top ten best players in the world. His highest estimated rating of 2660 was in 1907 which placed him at #11 on the list. The top 10 were: Lasker, Maroczy, Tarrasch, Schlechter, Rubinstein, Marshall, Duram Teichmann, Janowsky and Forgacs. In 1921 Mieses was ranked #9 at 2625/ Cearly he was a better player than most of us give him credit for and he did play a lot of great games. He had a very aggressive style that won him many brilliancy prizes, but he also suffered some catastrophic losses. 

    Mieses was born on February 27, 1865, in Leipzig as a scion of a merchant family. He studied natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences, aiming to understand fundamental principles and processes governing the universe, living organisms, and Earth's systems.) In 1882 at the age of 17, he won the Berlin Championship. 

    In 1937, he was nearly killed in a serious car accident and spent almost a year in the hospital. He was affected by World War II and was persecuted by the Nazis, but he managed to escape their clutches and make it to England. When he arrived there in 1938 he had the equivalent of what amounted to about $150 in buying power, but he somehow managed to survive and eventually became a British citizen. 

    Mieses was an international referee and worked as a journalist writing columns and reporting on tournament reports for newspapers across Europe. He also gave a lot of blindfold and simultaneous exhibitions. Although long past his prome, in 1950, FIDE awarded him the GM title and he remained a strong player in his old age. At the age of 88 he took part in the London Blitz Championship.His daily exercise routine included calisthenics, pushups and swimming and remained interested in world events. He died shortly before his 89th birthday on February 23, 1954, in London. 

 

    Today’s game was played in the Congress of the German Chess Association pf 1902 that was played in Hanover. The game is typical of both players…a messy tactical affair. After playing an old fashioned gambit which, by the way, Marshall himself used frequently early in his career, Mieses’ attack isn’t quite strong enough to finish Marshall off. But, when, in a winning position, Marshall played 30…Qc5 he overlooked Mieses’ stunning finish. 

 

ChessBase

Jacques Mieses–Fank Marshall1–0C2113th DSB Kongress (Hanover)21.07.1902Stockfish 17

C21: Danish Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 Black gets slightly better results with 3... d5 4.c4 cxb2 5.xb2 d6 Black has a wide choice of moves here, but this move along with 5...d5 are most often seen. 6.b3 d7 7.c3 c6 8.d5! The position is equal. a5 9.g3 f6 While this shields g7 it would have been safer to eliminate the B. However, the ensuing complications probably could not be calculated OTB. 9...xc4= 10.xg7 xg7 11.xg7 g4 12.xh8 xg2 13.f6+ f8 14.c1 e6 15.xg8+ xg8 16.xg8 xg8 with equak chances. 10.e2 A few years later Mieses found an improvement. 10.b5 c6 11.c3 e7 12.xa5 xd5 13.exd5 cxb5 14.e2 White is better and eventually won. Mieses,J-Berger,J Vienna 1908 10...c6 11.f4 h6 12.c3 b6 13.f3 e7 14.d4 0-0 15.de6 e8 This looks good, but the position is very complicated. Instead of the text which leaves black with a poor, if not lost, position, he should have guarded g7 with 15...Rf7 15...f7 16.d1 f8 17.f3 e7 with equal chances. 16.h5 This is tactically faulty and leaves white with a lost position! 16.xg7 is a winner. xg7 17.h5+ f8 18.xf6 xf6 19.xf6+ f7 20.xh6+ g8 21.f3 and white has won a piece. 16...f8 17.xe8 xe8 18.xf8 xe4+ 19.e2 a6 Stepping up the pressure. 19...Kxf8 was playable, bit not as effective. 20.0-0-0 xe2 21.d4 xg2 22.e1 xf8 23.xe2 d5 24.e3 c4 25.e6+ f7 Voluntarily accepting a pin on the N causes his advantage to disappear. 25...h8 leaves white with no effective continuation. 26.d1 f3 27.de1 c5 Black;s N+4Ps shpuld prove superior to white's R. 26.g4 Black must be careful! f1+ 26...xh2 results in disaster. 27.xg7+! h8 28.xf6 f4+ 29.xf4 xb2 30.f6 d3+ 31.d2 h6 32.xf7+ g8 33.g7# 27.e1 xf2 28.e2 After this black is back in charge. 28.xf6 Of course the B cannot be taken because of the pin on the g-Pawn. It's surprising that two excellent tacticians missed this move. d2+ 29.b1 a3+ 30.a1 and black can draw with 30...Nc2+ or he can try to win with 30...g6 28...f1+ 29.e1 f2 29...f3 Now ...h5 is a strong threat. 30.xf6 g6 31.b2 xb2 32.xb2 g7 Black's Ps should prove to be enough compensation for the exchange. 30.e2 30.xf6 was the only way to keep the balance. d2+ 31.b1 a3+ 32.a1 c2+ 33.b1 a3+ 34.a1 c2+ 35.b1 a3+ 30...c5 Threatening a dangerous looking discovered check, but Mieses is alert to the mate in 4 this move permits! 31.xg7+ h8 31...xg7 32.xf6+ g8 33.g7# 32.g8+ Black resigned. It;s mate in 2 1–0

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Classic Capablanca

    Moscow 1935 was conceived by Nikolai Krylenko, the head of Soviet Chess, to test the Soviet players against the Western players. Eight foreign masters, including two former World Champions, were invited. The joint winners were Botvinnik and Flohr, but in what was hailed as a "biological miracle" the 66-year-old Emanuel Lasker was undefeated and finished just half a point behind them. The biological niriacle was because in Germany in 1935 life expectancy for men was around 60.68 years. This was to be his last great tournament performance. In the following game from that event Capablanca executes a brilliant attack on both sides of the board. 

 

ChessBase

Jose Capablanca–Vyacheslav Ragozin1–0E24Moscow22.02.1935Stockfish 17

E32: Nimzo-Indian 1.d4 f6 2.c4 e6 3.c3 b4 4.a3 This is unusual for Capanlanca who usually preferred 4.Qc2. xc3+ 5.bxc3 d6 Ar this point black has a wide array of choices. Capablanca himself played 5...b6 against Lilienthal at Hastings, 1934 and ended up with an inferior game. 6.c2 White usually plays 6.f3. but the text is equally good. 0-0 7.e4 e5 8.d3 c5 Black hioes that white will play 9.d5 after which qhite's c-Pawns will be suject to attack. 9.e2 c6 10.d5 10.0-0 b6 11.f4 exd4 12.cxd4 cxd4 13.h3 e8 14.b2 equals. Miljkovic,M (2266)-Mitrovic,D (2371) Nis 2009 10...e7 This passive defensive move is often played even today, but a better plan might be eyeung white's weak Ps with 10...Na5 followed by ...b6 and ...Ba6 11.f3 d7 Black is getting himself into a cramped position and here the idea of playing ...f5 is not going to work. 12.h4 This launches a strong K-side attack and so Ragozin devises a startling plan...he is going flee with his K to the Q-side! The problem is that the time consumed with this plan gives white way too much control of the board and he ends up with a commanding position. b6 13.g4 f6 There is nothing at all wrong with this move in itsself, buy it is black's idea to move his K all the way over to the other side of the boatd that is faulty. He is successful in doing so, but in the process he hets a very passive game and allows Caoablanca to improve his position unhendered. Black's chances lie on the Q-side and by placing his K there any P advance will leave it exposed to attack 14.g3 f7 14...d7 is a better plan. Play might continue... 15.0-0 b8 16.h5 a4 17.f4 b5 Even here though white's chances must be considered better. 15.g5 g8 16.f4 e8 17.f5 e7 18.g2 d8 19.h5 This N is headed for e6 via g7. On e6 it will be a great hindrance to black. c7 20.gxf6 gxf6 20...xf6 was somewhat better. 21.xg7 If black trades Qs the N still reaches e6, so... f7 22.h6 xh5 23.xh5 d7 24.g5 White has a dominationg position. He can bring the R on a1 into play with Ra2-g2 etc. 21.g7 d7 22.h5 ac8 23.h6 b8 Success. The only problem is that strategically his position is lost. 24.g1 f7 25.b1 f8 26.e2 a8 A good indication that black is bereft of ideas. 27.h5 e7 28.a2 d8 Ragozin hopes that with his K is tucked away pm a8 it will be safe, but white starts an attack on it there, too. 29.d2 a4 30.b3 b6 30...b8 31.e6 xe6 32.dxe6 b6 33.f7 with a dominating position. 31.a4 Beginning another onslaught on black's K. This innediate threat is to win the N with 32.a5 b8 32.a5 c8 33.a2 f8 34.e3 b6 35.a6 Black's position is simply horrible. With the exception of his Q none of his pieces can move and all he can do is await white's coup de grâce. d8 36.d2 f8 37.b2 d8 38.b1 b5 A desperate attempt to gain breathing room. 39.cxb5 b6 40.a2 Preventing ...Nc4 c4 Creating another weakness om d6 and Capablanca wastes no time in taking advantage of it. But passive play pm b;ack's part is also doomed to failure. 41.a3 c7 42.c1 He has not forgotten about the K-side! f8 43.bg2 b8 44.b4 d8 45.g3 f8 46.e6 xe6 47.dxe6 c7 48.xd6 e7 49.d1 Black resigned. He could play on, but loss is inevitable, so why waste time simply shifting his pieces around? 1–0

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The All Around Hobby Player

    The past week was spent spectating in person and watching on television college basketball (the Akron Zips and the West Virginia Mountaineers), but now that the Mountaineers’ season is over and the Zips don’t play again until Friday it’s time to resume chess activities. 

    Back in December I reviewed the Fritz 19’s personalities that you can play against. The available opponents are: Beginner, Hobby Player, Club Player, Strong Club Player, Master Candidate and Grandmaster. 

    For another test game today I chose Hobby Player. For each opponent you can choose a style: All Around, Aggressive, Swindler, Positional, Timid and Endgame Specialists. I selected All Around. I am guessing the selection I chose plays at the 1400-1500 level. 

    My recent games against the machine seem to confirm the opinion that I reached back in December...the games could very well have been played by a couple of non-Masters. 

    The All Around Hobby Player caught me off guard with the ancient Philidor Defense and although the opening was not one of the main line variations, they were plausible until black’s 6...d5 which did not work out too well, but it’s pointless 7th move was already a losing one. The bot seems to like the Philidor Defense which is known as a solid but passive choice for Black and is probably as good as anything else in amateur play. 

     Once again I must conclude that the Fritz 19 program is a good choice for anyone who wants to play against a computer opponent, wants to play online at Playchess,com, study all phases of the game, annotate games or publish games. It packs a lot of gear for about $100. 

ChessBase

Tartajubow–All Around Hobby Player1–0C41Test Game2025Stockfish 17

C41: Philidor Defence 1.e4 d6 2.d4 e5 3.f3 f6 4.dxe5 xe4 5.c4 c6 6.bd2 d5 Feeble. 6...xd2 7.xd2 d5 8.d3 d7 White has played 9.b4, 9. e6 and 9.c3, all reasonable moves. 7.xe4 a5 Pointless. 7...dxc4 8.e2 e7 9.0-0 0-0 10.d1 c7 11.xc4 White is better developed and has more space, but black's position is tenable. 8.g5 b6 8...e7 9.d6+ f8 10.xe7+ xe7 11.xd5 cxd5 12.xd5 Stockfish gives white a large advantage and Fritz comments the he is clearing winning. In the case of the amateurs involed let's just sat white should win. 9.xd5 Because black is going to win back the piece, I decided on this simply because it picks up a P. Stockfiah says this is not bad, but much less strong than castling. 9.0-0 h6 10.h4 dxe4 11.e6 A nice little tactical shot. xe6 12.e5 Even better than the obvious 12.Bxe6 xc4 13.xc4 c7 Here, too, the engine says white is clear. y winning. 14.g4 9...cxd5 10.xd5 e6 10...xb2 11.d8# 11.d3 d7 11...xb2 12.d8# 12.0-0 Played without hesitation because it's too dangerous to take the P. Actually, the P might as well be captured because 12...h6 13.Be3 isn't a whole lot better. xb2 13.fb1 a3 Now what? White has a winning position, but to be honest at this point I was stumped and couldn't think of any clear way to concinut so just made what seemed to be a neutral move. 14.b5 14.d6+ I considered this, but black can exchange Qs and it didn't seem like a good idea to allow him to do so because his Q is in a bad location on a3 xd6 15.exd6 xd3 16.cxd3 h6 17.e7 b8 18.d4 e5 19.c1 xd3 20.c7 Still, white has a decisive advantage. 14...e7 I came within a whisker of grabbing the b-Pawn, but at the last second noticed the Q is trapped/ 15.c1 15.xb7 is not a disaster though... 0-0 16.d4 xg5 17.xe6 fxe6 18.xd7 e7 19.xe7 xe7 20.b7 and wgite should win the ending. 15...xf3 seems better. 15...b4 16.xb4 xb4 17.e3 0-0 White has a Q+P vs. R material advantage. 16.gxf3 0-0 17.xb7 Here white has a Q+P vs. B mterial advantage. ab8 18.a7 a8 19.e3 h3 Black has some piece activity, but is down too much material to claim any compensation. But...this move was seanky; I didn;t suspect anything. My problem now is to activate my pieces. 20.d2 a6 21.b7 Safer was 21.Kh1 h5 Pointless. It takes black a couple of move to play the R to g6/ 22.ab1 fa8 23.f4 g6+ 24.g5 24.h1 This hasty move would not be a tital disaster thanks to white's big material advantahe. g2+ 25.g1 xe4+ 26.f1 xc2 27.xd7 xb1 28.b3 f5 29.xe7 f8 30.xa5 24...f5 25.h1 a4 26.f3 26.e6 was even stronger. xe6 27.xe6 xe6 28.f3 26...g4 27.d5 f8 28.e6 28.xd7 was even stronger. xg5 29.fxg5 xd7 30.xd7 e6 31.b7 Black is out of useful moves. 28...f6 29.exf7+ Here I decided to retun the Q just to simplify matters. h8 30.xe7 30.d3 h6 31.xe7 h4 32.c3 h5 33.xf6 xg5 34.fxg5 h5 35.f5 xf7 36.xf7 e8 37.g6 e1+ 38.xe1 gxf6 39.h7# 30...xd5 31.e8 31.b8 mates in 11 f3+ 32.g1 xg5+ 33.fxg5 xb8 34.e8+ h7 34...xe8 35.fxe8+ h7 36.g6# 35.xb8 g6 36.f8 f6 37.gxf6 d5 38.fxg7 f7 39.b6+ f5 40.xf7+ e4 41.b4+ e5 42.f4# 31...xg5 32.xf8+ h7 Why not 33.fxg5 woulf be a good question and I can't answer it! 33.h4 Rh8+! would kill now. f3+ 34.h2 f5 35.bb8 g6 Now I realized the P won;t Q and so had to come up woth a different plan. 36.b5 xf7 37.f5+ xf5 38.xf5 xf5 39.c4 And here I did something we are unable to do in games agasinst live opponents...I resigned for black. 1–0

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Still One of the Best in the Country

    In 1969, Robert Fischer had a USCF rating of 2755 which placed him well over 100 points ahead of the 58-year-old Samuel Reshevsky who was followed by Pal Benko, Larry Evans, Lubomir Kavalek, William Lombardy, Robert Byrne, William Addison, Arthur Bisguier and Walter Browne. 

    In the absence of Fischer, Reshevsky’s undefeated victory in the 1969 US Championship, which was also a Zonal, showed that the old veteran was still one of the best players in the country. 

    If it was a Zonal, why wasn’t Fischer playing even though it meant he would not have a shot at the World Championship again until 1975? The short answer is that he was being a snot. 

    In a letter to Ed Edmondson, the Executive Director of the USCF, in which Fischer declined his invitation, he accused Edmondson of lying about the previous championship and, also, he (Fischer) believed the championship had to be 22 rounds just like the Soviet, Hungarian and other East European countries. They took chess seriously over there plus the small number of players in the US Championship made it too risky...one loss could cost you the title or you could miss qualifying. 

    It had been a long dry spell for Reshevsky who had last won the championship in 1946! Second place finisher William Addison and third-place finisher Pal Benko also qualified for the Interzonal. Nevertheless, thanks to Edmondson’s negotiations Benko stepped aside and Fischer was allowed to take his place and the rest was history.

 

    The following game is Reshevsky’s snappy first round win over Dr. Karl Burger. Owing to Addison’s surprising play, Reshevsky didn’t take the lead until round 9 and then held on to it. Going into the last round he was a half point ahead of Addison so to make sure he got a spot in the Zonal, he offered his opponent, Larry Evans a quick draw. Evans declined and ended up losing while Addison defeated William Lombardy to take second. 

     Reshevsky's first round opponent was Karl Burger (1933-2000, 67 years old), a physician and an IM who also had two GM norms (three were required for the title). This was his only US Championship appearance, but at one time he had been Bobby Fischer’s teacher at the Manhattan Chess Club. 

    The game feature an oft-played variation that poses problems for black starting at move 12! Burger lost because he failed to activate his Q-side pieces. In the last 12 moves of the game Burger had to make 6 Queen moves. 

ChessBase

Samuel Reshevsky–Dr. Karl Burger1–0E56US Champ/Zonal, New York, 1969Stockfish 17

E56: Nimzo-Indian: Rubinstein 1.d4 f6 2.c4 e6 3.c3 b4 4.e3 0-0 5.d3 c5 6.f3 d5 7.0-0 c6 8.a3 dxc4 9.xc4 a5 10.d3 Reshecsjy often played 10.Qd3 e7 Here 10...cxd4 is better 10...h6 This is probably black's best move. 11.c2 cxd4 12.exd4 c7 13.d3 e5 equals. Almasi,Z (2689) -Quesada Perez,Y (2608) Havana CUB 2013 11.e4 xe4 11...cxd4 12.exd4 h6 13.e3 d8 14.xf6+ xf6 was soon drawn in Balashov,Y (2470)-Uddenfeldt,D (2339) Rhodes GRE 2019 12.xe4 b6 12...d8 13.a4 b6 14.dxc5 xc5 15.b4 c4 16.c2 xc2 17.xc2 f6 18.b2 e5 19.b3+ ½-½ Lukacs,P (2420) -Luczak,A (2440) Lodz 1979 12...cxd4 13.exd4 is OK, but black must keep an eye on the possibility of Bxh7+ d7 White is better after 14.b4 and 15.b5, but the time is not quite ripe for the B sacrifice although it is playable. 14.xh7+ xh7 15.g5+ and black has only one equalizing defense which has been pointed out in similar positions by Vladimir Vukovic in his excellent book Art of Attack in Chess. g6 15...g8 16.h5 xg5 17.xg5 16.d3+ f5 17.g3 with roughly equal chances. 13.dxc5 xc5 It would have been safer to play 13...Bxc5. Now black's Q is harassed. In either case though white has a strong iitiative. 14.b4 c4 The text loses time so 14...Qg5 was probably a better choice. 15.d2 c3 16.a2 This threatens to win with Bb2. d8 17.c2 White is really pushing. e5 18.b2 g5 19.e2 e7 Closing off the Bs diagpnal with 19...e5 was worth considering. 19...e5 20.f3 h5 and, at least, black has defensive possibilities. 20.f4 At this point white's position can be considered a winning one. h6 21.c4 f5 A desperate attempt to block the B, but now black loses by force. It males little difference because he is lost no matter when he plays. 22.xb6 axb6 23.c7 fxe4 24.xe7 d7 25.e8+ f7 26.h8 Black resigned. The main threat from this curious move is the infiltration into his position bt white's Rs. 26.h8 e7 27.c1 h4 28.cxc8 xc8 29.xc8 d7 30.d4 with an easy win. 1–0

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A Brilliant Giuoco Piano by Rossolimo

    GM Robert Byrne of Indianapolis, Indiana scored 6.5-0.5 on the first Puerto Rico Open held May 28-June 3 in Rio Piedras, acommercial and residential district in San Juan. Bernard Zuckerman finished second with 6-1. Sixteen-year-old Puerto Rican Champion Julio Kaplan and GM Nicholas Rossolimo headed a group with 5.5-1.5. 

    The sensation of the tournament was Nicolas Rossolimo’s brilliant Queen sacrifice in his game against Puerto Rican Master Paul Reissmann which was reminiscent of Marshall famous Queen sacrifice against Levitsky at Breslau, 1912. See the game HERE 

    In addition to being a brilliancy, the game is also an instructive example of opening play. Inexperienced players have all surely read that unnecessary Pawn moves in the opening delay the development of pieces and can have drastic consequences. Even so, they are still prone to waste time with moves like a3 (or ...a6) and h3 (or ...h6) in the belief that they are thereby securing their position against possible attacks by their opponent’s N or B. However, such moves are often mistakes unless there is a specific reason for them. 

    Pawn moves in the opening are a means of developing the pieces, but Pawns also play an important part in controlling the center. Watch how Rossoilimo does it using one of his favorite opening, the Giuoco Piano, one of the oldest recorded openings. Even so, Reissmann has the antidote that keeps the position equal, but he soon plays too passively and Rossolimo’s position just keeps getting stronger until it explodes with a Queen sacrifice. 

    Dating back to the 16th century, the Giuoco Piano was popular through the 19th century, but refinements for black pretty much put the kibosh on it at the top levels except as a surprise weapon. 

ChessBase

Nicolas Rossolimo–Paul Reissmann1–0C54Puerto Rican Open, San Juan, 1967Stockfiah 17

C54: Giuoco Piano 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.c4 It's interesting that in my database white's winning percentage remains about the same with this or the Ruy Lopez (a little over 30%), but black's winning percentage changes significantly. With the Ri Lopez it's 20%. With the Giuoco Piano it jumps to 28%. c5 4.c3 f6 White's last move did not aid his development so black takes the opportunity to get his pieces into play. This move, attacking the e-Pawn, is clearly his best. 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 b4+ Best. Black dare not play 6...Bb6 because wite would then gain time as well as space in the center with 7.d5 6...d5 Falls short after 7.exd5 b4+ 8.c3 xd5 9.0-0 Black has to capture on c3 and whether he does it with the B or the N white has the better game/ 7.d2 xd2+ Safer than 7...Nxe4 which gets tricky tactically, 7...xe4 8.xb4 xb4 Now 9.Qb3 d5 is solid, but white can get fancy with 9.xf7+ xf7 10.b3+ f8 11.xb4+ e7 12.xe7+ xe7 and things have fizzled out to equality. 8.bxd2 It would appear that white has now achieved the ideal and strong Pawn center he was aiming for, but black's next move is a strong counterattacking move that shatters the illusion that white has a dominating position. d5 This is the most precise way to counter in the center. He could also play the tricky 8...Nxe5 though. 9.exd5 xd5 10.b3 White has an isolated d-Pawn which could be a disadvantage in the ending, so he must post his pieces as actively as possible and hope to attack. ce7 11.0-0 c6 Black is playing to keep control of the vital square d5.. 12.fe1 0-0 13.a4 This position has been reached many times and white has tried a variety of moves, but the text dates back to the late 1800s when the imaginative Russian Mikhail Chigorin played it. b6 Black usually plays either 13...Qc7 or 13...Qb6, but neither is entirely satisfactory. Opening theoretician Czech GM Ludek Pachman asserted that 13... b6 (a new move at the time) contained the seeds of defeat, but a thourough engine analysis shows an evaluation of 0.00, meanign, not that the position is drawn, but that both side have chances. That said, from the practical point of view white's position looks more promising and it;s certainly easier to play 14.e5 White's pieces arc extremely active and he is entertaining 15.Nxc6 Nxc6 17.Bxd5 b7 Oddlym it is this, the logical followup to 13...b6,cwhere black's troubles begin. 14...e6 15.df3 15.e4 f6 16.f3 f7 17.g3 d7 18.ac1 fb8 19.d1 a5 equals. Pereyra,H (2072)-Mazziotti Irigoyen,G (2149) Los Polvorines 2003 15...h6 16.ac1 b8 17.a3 e8 equals. Pereyra,H (2072)-Mazziotti Irigoyen,G (2238) ARG 2003 15.a5 Threatening 16. a6 Bc8 17.Nxc6 c8 16.e4 White's pieces are all well positioned. Compare then to black's: His 14th move has left a pathe to f7 for his N and blacl,s K-side is befreft of defenders. c7 Another small mistake. The R should have moved here in order to make c8 available to the N. 17.a6 Forcing the B to the most remote corner where it can be of no use during the looming attack on the K. a8 18.h3 The centralized Ns are a major factor in white's attack on the K. There is a looming threat of 19.Ng5 h6 20.Nxf7 f4 A pass to illustrate the threat. 18...b8 19.g5 h6 20.exf7 xf7 21.xf7 xf7 22.e6+ f8 23.a3 The addition of this R to the attack spells the end. 19.g4 ed5 20.a3 The last undeveloped piece joins the action. e6 This mistake allows white to pull his beautiful finish. 20...c5 offers some hope of defending himself. 21.g3 g6 22.f6+ xf6 23.xf4 d5 24.xd5 xd5 25.h4 21.xd5 The start of the winning attack...it removes a defender of f6. cxd5 22.f6+ h8 23.g6 White has a number of ways to win, but this move is both brilliant and strong. There is no playable defense.. c2 23...gxf6 24.xf6+ g7 25.g3 g8 26.xf7+ xf7 27.xf7 c6 28.xa7 wins 23...g5 24.xg5 d6 25.eg4 c6 26.h3 gxf6 27.h6 mates 24.h3 There is no way of avoiding mate in 7 24.h3 g5 25.xg5 gxf6 26.xf6+ g8 27.g4 h5 28.xh5 h7 29.xh7 xh7 30.h6+ g8 31.f6# 1–0

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Wanted by the Police

    Today’s game features the ancient Kings Gambit. Most of us regard it as a tactical opening, but it also contains a strategic idea...white offers a Pawn to divert black’s e-Pawn. If black accepts the Pawn then white can play d4 and Bxf4, regaining the Pawn and, at the same time, dominating the center. White also has the possibility of an attack on f7. The downside is that it weakens white's K-side.

    White fails in this game, but what’s more interesting than the game is white’s shenanigans off the board! The winner is the Dutch IM and Correspondence GM Hans Bouwmeester (born 1929) who has also authored a number of chess books.

    White was played by Brian Eley[2] (1946 – 2022) a former British champion. He was wanted by the British police on suspicion of sexual offenses against underage boys, and had been a fugitive from since 1991. Eley was among a group of talented British player who appeared in the 1970s after the dominance of Jonathan Penrose. He ran his own chess business selling books, chess sets, scorebooks, etc. 

    In 1979, James Plaskett, a future GM and British champion, reported to the president of the British Chess Federation about incidents of "misconduct" by Eley. The following year, Eley was fired from hus position as the England Team Manager after an unrelated incident. Howeverm as a BCF registered coach, he continued teaching juniors into the late 1980s. 

    In July 1991, Eley was arrested at home on suspicion of sexually abusing an underage boy he had once coached. He was released on bail which he then jumped and disappeared. He was subsequently charged with more than 30 similar offenses. He remained a fugitive, wanted by the British police and Interpol. 

    Over the years there were numerous unconfirmed sightings of Eley in various places, mostly in Amsterdam. According to reports his time as a fugitive was not good...he ran out of money he made from the sale of his house in England and he had to hustle small bets in cafes and doing computer work for a religious organization. 

    In 1992, he was identified in Amsterdam by English GM Stuart Conquest and a Dutch player who notified the police, but Eley was not apprehended. Supposedly he had friends in the city who believed his story that it was all a result of a disagreement with the BCF. Eley died in Amsterdam in April of 2022 from a respiratory infection.

 

ChessBase

Brian Eley–Hans Bouwmeester0–1C36Match: England vs. HollandVlissingen NED1972Srockfish 17

C36: King's Gambit Accepted 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.f3 This most natural continuation preventing ...Qh4+. In case of the immediate thematic 3.d4 after 3...Qh4+ 4.Ke2 white's K is insecure which offer black sufficient compensation for the loss of time with the Q which will hane to be moved again after Nf3. After the alternative 3.Bc4 it's a different story because after 3...Qh4+ 4. Kf1 black's Q is more vulnerable than white's K. 3.d4 h4+ 4.e2 d5 5.exd5 g4+ 6.f3 h6 Black is better; white will have difficulty recovering the P. 3.c4 h4+ 4.f1 Black has twi possibilities: the solid 4...d6 or the enterprising 4...g4 3...d5 This is the Modern Defense; it's not necessarily the strongest but pt's the must solid continuation. In the old days 3...g5 prevailed because it protects the P and, if need be, after Nf3 the N can be driven away with ...g4 plus black can still play ...Qh4+ 3...g5 4.h4 This prevents ...Qh4+ 4.c4 g4 5.0-0 gxf3 6.xf3 is the Muzio Gambit which few players today have the guts to play. 4...g4 5.e5 5.c4 Trying to ply the Muzio here is throughly bad. gxf3 6.xf3 c6 7.d3 e5 Whie is completely thwarted. 5...d6 6.xg4 e7 Black is ever so slightly better. 4.exd5 f6 The idea behind 3...d6, the P on d5 is attacked. 5.b5+ Not white's only option. He can defend the P with 5.c4, 5.Nc3 or 5.Bc4. Instead, with the text move he hopes to exchange it. c6 Black must play energetically or he will drift into a [assive position which is why he avoids 5...Nbd7 6.dxc6 xc6 7.d4 d6 Black's aggressive play has given him just a sliver of an advantage. 7...a5+ 8.c3 b4 9.a4 0-0 10.0-0 White has full equality/ 8.e2+ It was better to castle at once. e6 Excellent! Black is going to end up with two isolated Ps, but his active pieces are sufficient compensation. 9.g5 0-0 10.xe6 fxe6 11.xc6 bxc6 12.0-0 12.xe6+ at once is less effectibe because after h8 13.0-0 c5 14.dxc5 d4+ 15.h1 e4 followed by ...Rae8 and white is facing a lot of pressure. 12...c7 13.xe6+ Not really bad, but it's risky. 13.d2 ae8 14.c4 g5 15.d2 e5 16.dxe5 xe5 17.xe5 xe5 18.xe5 xe5 And Sulskis,S (2559) -Melkumyan,H (2530) Benasque 2009 was eventually drawn. 13...h8 Black has given back the P plus sacrificed one himself with the result of getting a lead in development White's only tleveloped piece is his Q which is now badly exposed. Even so, white is hardly lost! In reality, black has no more than a very slight advantage because he has no immediate crushing threats. 14.d2 ae8 15.c4 The surprising retreat 15.Qh3 was better because it keeps c4 clear for the N. g5 Normally such a move is risky, but in this position black's pieces are so active that a P-stom decides matters quickly 15...f3 This equally good move was played many years later in Reprintsev,A (2310)-Chudinovskih,A (2360) Belgorod 1989 whicj continuted 16.xf3 g4 17.h3 xf3 18.hxg4 xf1+ 19.xf1 Here black missed the win with 19...Qe7 although he did eventually win. Winning was h2+ 20.h1 g3 White has no satisfactory was of meeting ...Re1 21.g5 h6 22.d2 e7 Intending ...Qh4+ 23.g5 e4 There is no answer to ...Qh4+ 16.f3 e4 17.e1 This loses quickly. The best, but still inadequate, try was 17.h6 g4 Decisive. 18.e5 xe5 19.xe4 d6 20.xe8 xe8 21.f1 f3 After this black coasts to a win. 22.gxf3 gxf3 23.xf3 g7+ 24.g2 e1+ White resigned. 0–1

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How to Study a Chess Book

Verica Nedeljkovic

    Before getting to the subject of today’s post I want to share a helpful site that translates entire web pages. On the site, simply copy the URL of the page you want to translate in the space provided and click on translate and the translated page is opened in a new window. Visit LEXICOL 

    Woman Grand master Verica Nedeljkovic (nee Jovanovic) was born September 16m 1929 and passed away at the age of 94 on December 13, 2023. From the mid-1950s to the late 1960s, she was one of the leading Yugoslav women's players winning the Yugoslav Women's Championship six times (1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1958 and 1965). 

    An excellent student throughout her education, she studied at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Belgrade and graduated with as the first woman in the country to have a naval engineering degree. 

    She first worked for shipping companies and then from 1961 to 1987 she lectured at the University of Belgrade and also taught engineering at other schools. She also independently published an engineering textbook. o-author of several scientific research papers. 

    She learned to play chess at the in elementary school and when she moved to Belgrade in 1948 she joined the local chess club which she belonged to the rest of her life. She received the title of National Master title after winner of the Yugoslav Championship in Skopje in 1950. She earned the WIM title in 1954 and the WGM title in 1977. 

     Her opponent in the following game was Maria Albuleț (1932-2005). Romanian doctor and WGM and winner of the Romanian Women's Championship in 1951, 1955 and 1956. She was also known as Maria Pogorevici and Maria Albuleț-Pogorevici. She was also a correspondence player. She took part in the Women's Correspondence Olympiad (1974-1979) where the Romanian team took 6th place. 

ChessBase

Verica Nedeljkovic (Yugoslavia–Maria Pogorevici (Romania)1–0Team Match-Women, Bucharest1958Stockfish 17

B36: Sicilian: Maroczy Bind: Gurgenidze System 1.e4 c5 2.f3 c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 g6 5.c4 At once time this was conce considered a refutation of the Accelerated Dragon, but black began losing fear of the Maroczy Bind back in the 1950s when ways were found for him to work himself loose from the Bind. White gets an advantage in space but black's position is fundamentally sound. f6 Thus move was advocated by GM Roman Dzindzichasvili because it allows black to draw white's Q to d4. 6.c3 xd4 7.xd4 d6 This prtevents white from playing e5. 7...g7 is met by 8.e5 g8 9.f4 and black lacks a really good reply. 8.e2 8.e5 White can play this anyway because when black will not be able to castle. dxe5 By far the best. 9.xd8+ xd8 10.e2 e6 11.0-0 c8 Black has full equality. 8...g7 9.e3 0-0 10.d2 Black usually plays 10...Be6 and ...Rc8 putitng pressutre on the P on c4. Another good option is ...a5 and ...a4 followed by ...Qa5 aimimh fpr Q-side counterplay. g4 11.xg4 xg4 12.0-0 e6 13.b3 a5 14.d4 14.ac1 fc8 15.b5 xd2 16.xd2 a6 17.c3 b5 18.d5 Kochiev,I (2053)-Klepikov,N (2063) chess.com INT 2023. The chances are equal. 14...xd4 15.xd4 g5 This is not a good place for the Q as it results in a loss of time. 15...Rac8 was better. 15...fc8 16.fe1 c5 17.xc5 xc5 ½-½ Casas,F (2350) -Sanguinetti,R (2530) Santa Fe 1973 16.f4 c5 17.xc5 dxc5 At first glance this position ,ay look drawish, but it actually favors white as Nedeljkovic quickly demonstrates. 18.f5 An excellent nive! c8 A square too far; the B should have stopped at d7, but even the after 19.Nd5 white has a great position. 18...gxf5 19.exf5 d7 20.d5 There is no good way to meet the attack on the e-Pawn. ae8 20...fe8 21.c7 20...e6 21.f6+ 21.f6 e6 22.e7+ and black is in a serious bind. 19.ad1 Not at all bad, but 19.Nd5 was even stronger. gxf5 20.exf5 e6 Again, black's position looks like it can be defended, but white's next move seals black's fate. 21.f6 An absolutely fantastic move. Black's pieces are all confined helplessly to the 8th rank. b6 22.f3 b7 23.g3+ h8 24.d7 c6 25.e7 e8 26.e4 g8 27.g5 Moving in for the kill. d8 Naturally black wants her R on the open file, but the fly in the ointment is that it allows a mate in 7! This wins, too. 27...h6 avoids the matem but loses to 28.xf7+ xf7 29.xf7 xg3 30.hxg3 a5 31.e7 g8 32.xe6 b8 33.e7 is obviously hopeless for black. 28.xf7+ 28.xe8 One can harld bla,e white for missing this problem-like move, but it's a real beauty! d1+ 29.f2 d2+ 30.e3 Black can delay, but not prevent, the mate. h6 31.xd2 b5 32.xf7+ h7 33.gxg8 bxc4 34.g7# 28...xf7 29.xf7 xg3 30.hxg3 d2 The ending is clearly losst after, say 30...a6, but apparently enthused by grabbing the d-file black played this hasty move getting her R to the second rank, but overlooking the obvious. 31.f8# Perhaps not a flashy game, but still a very impressive win by Medeljkovic. 1–0

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Dr. Srecko Nedeljkovic

    Dr. Streko Nedeljkovic (December 4, 1923 - January 2, 2011) was the outstanding cardiologist of Serbia. He received his medical degree in 1952 from Belgrade, specializing in internal medicine. became the principal investigator of the Serbian component of the Seven Country Study. The study investigated the relationship between die. Nedeljkovic was also well known in Yugoslavia for other studies and he was active in international cardiology as a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, international exchanges with Baylor College of Medicine and Chairman of the Annals of the World Congress of Cardiology. 

    In the chess world he was an International Master. He learned the game at the age of 13 and his first teacher was his older brother. After World War II he moved to Belgrade where he achieving his first chess success in 1946 when he finished second in the championship of the Yugoslav People’s Army. He received the National Master title for his results in the indi finals of the 1949 Yugoslav Championship. His IM title came after he finished second behind Arthur Bisguier in Vienna, 1951. 

    Nedeljkovic was associated with the Yugoslav national team for 30 years as a player, coach and captain. Yugoslav players that he trained won gold medals in the 1950 Dubrovnik Olympisd, the 1966 Havana Olympiad and at the Olympiad in Buenos Aires in 1978. In 1947, he was the founder of the Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) chess club in Belgrade, of which he was a lifelong member. 

    From the mid-1950s to the end of the 1960s his wife, Vera Nedeljkovic (1929-2023) was a top female player who was the Yugoslav women's champion six times as participated in the Women's World Championship Candidates Tournament five times. In 1977 she was awarded the Women's Grandmaster title. 

 

ChessBase

Srecko Nedeljkovic–Petar Carev1–0D19Yugoslav Semifinal EastBelgrade YUG28.07.1946Stockfish 17

D19: Slav Defence 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.f3 f6 4.c3 dxc4 5.a4 f5 6.e3 e6 7.xc4 b4 8.0-0 0-0 9.e2 g6 10.e5 bd7 11.d3 d6 12.e4 e5 13.dxe5 This is all book so far and 13.dxe5 is better than 13.d5 13.d5 b6 14.b3 cxd5 15.exd5 bd7 16.e3 Black stands weell and eventually won. Vargas Maliqueo,I (2209)-Alonso,S (2466) Santiago de Chile CHI 2008 13...xe5 14.xe5 xe5 15.d3 e8 16.f3 a5 17.c2 h5 18.e2 c7 19.f4 Aggressive, but risky. A solid move was 19.Bd2 f6 20.g3 g4 This attack on f2 and along the diagonal after ...Ba6 does not work out well. 20...Rad8 was a good alternative. 21.h1 Avoiding a bit of tactics. 21.d2 b6+ 22.h1 ad8 is equal. 22...f2+ is deceptive. 23.xf2 23.g1 meets with disaster. h3+ 24.h1 g1+ 25.xg1 f2# 23...xf2 24.f1 b6 25.f5 with an excellent position. 21...b6 There is nothing to be had on this diagonal and the attack on f2 so it was still best to play 21...Rad8. 22.e2 It's hard to believe that black's position is so bad that white is just a few moves away from winning. f6 23.e3 b4 The attack black thought he had was an illusion and npw white has a decisive attack. 24.f5 xg3 25.fxg6 e5 This meets with a quick end. He could have put up a manly defense with the obvious 25...hxg6 when white stands well, but he does not have a forced win. 26.gxf7+ xf7 Black has left his K faally exposed and Nedeljkovic begins to deliver sledgehammer blows. 27.c4+ f8 28.g4 b5 He could have held out a bit longer with 28...h6 29.axb5 cxb5 30.d5 h6 31.g5 Taking the R does not even come under consideration; white is going after the K. hxg5 32.h5 Threatening nate in f7. e7 Trying to flee, but there is nowhere to go. 33.f7+ d6 34.a6# An impressive final attack by Nedeljkovic! 1–0

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Seidman Knocks Out Reshevsky

    In the 1959-60 U.S. Championship it was 16-year-old Bobby Fischer again and he was clearly a world championship contender even though he had finished fifth in the Candidates Tournament in Yugoslavia earlier in 1959. 

    It was equally clear that while he was still one of the best players in the country, Samuel Reshevsky’s star was fading. In the following game veteran Senior Master Herbert Seidman administers a solid beating to the veteran Grand master. 

     The game does not appear in the Chessgames.com database of Seidman’s games. Reshevsky plays the opening in a credible fashion, but n move 16 he makes a small inaccuracy that leaves him in a difficult position. Then on move 19 he makes a big mistake and Seidman finishes him off with two knockout blows. Reshevsky played on for a handful of moves just to stretch out the game and avoid the embarrassment of being victim of a miniature. 

 

 

ChessBase

Herbert Seidman–Samuel Reshevsky1–0B931959/60 US Championship, New York1959Stockfiah 17

B93: Sicilian Najdorf: 6 f4 1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 a6 6.f4 As usual Sideman Seidman avoids main line theory, but this move is by no means bad. e5 This move is considered to be the most aggressive. 7.f3 bd7 Today this is by far the most popular reply, but at the time black usually played 7...Qc7 8.c4 The main alternative is 8.a4 hindering ...b5. The advantage of the text is that ot develops the B to its most active square. e7 Reshevsky prefers to complete his development before playing ...b5 9.0-0 0-0 10.fxe5 dxe5 11.h1 Getting the K off the diagonal is simply a safety precaution. c7 12.e2 b5 13.b3 b4 14.d5 xd5 15.xd5 b8 16.g5 This position is completely equal and black should now play either 16...Bxg5 or 16...Nf6, both of which are equally good. b6 A small error that eventually lands him in trouble. Reshevsky, no doubt, was playing for a win against his lesser opponent, but he has underestimated white's attacking possibilities. 17.b3 White thr eatens to win with 18.Nxe5 a8 17...a5 This may have been what Reshevsky originally intended, but then realized it fails badly after 18.xe5 xg5 18...xe5 19.f4 19.xf7 f6 20.g5+ h8 21.e5 There is no forced win, but white ios clearly better after, say, 21...Ba6. He must not play... xe5 21...xe5 22.xe5 22.xf8# 18.f2 Thius time the threat is Bxe7 d6 It is amazingly diffi c ult to parry threat 18...a5 A pass to show the threat. 19.xe7 xe7 20.xb6 winning a piece. 19.h4 White has another winning threat which Reshevsky misses. e6 This loses. 19...c4 Blocking the Bs diagonal was the only defense he had, but white has the upper hand after 20.h6 Another offer which cannot be accepted. His best defense is the miserable 20...f6. After gxh6 21.xh6 Black still has to play f6 which is met by 22.h4 g4 23.xf6 xf6 24.xf6 f8 25.g5+ g7 26.xc4+ h8 27.xg7+ xg7 28.xa6 with a won ending. 20.f6 This blow has a beautiful point behind it. The threat is Qg5 gxf6 20...d7 21.g5 h6 22.xe6 fxe6 23.xe6+ h7 24.f5+ g8 25.xg7 xg7 26.g4+ h8 27.g6 f6 28.xh6+ h7 28...g8 29.e6+ 29.xh7 xh7 30.xd6 and wins 21.g5 Another sacrifice! It;s the only move that wins though. fxg5 22.xg5+ h8 23.f6+ g8 24.f3 fe8 25.h6 Threatening mate with Rg3+. g4 26.g3 d7 27.f1 f8 Reshevsky has baited a trap! 28.g5+ allows black some hope after 28.xb6 h8 29.f6+ g7 30.g5 f6 31.xg4 xg4 32.xg4 ad8 with a faint hope of salvaging the game. 28...h8 29.xg4 xg4 30.xg4 What follows is only Reshevsky blitzing out moves to prolong the game. Or, perhaps Seidman was feeling some time pressure. h6 31.xf7 f8 32.e6 g7 33.xb6 ac8 34.c4! fd8 35.d5 My database shows Seidman's move as 35.Bd3 with the rest of the moves being identical. I have given the move as 35.Bd5 because that is the one that appeared in print. h6 36.h3 Rf7 is the strong threat. e8 37.g6 White threatens Rf7 and mate. ed8 38.f7 g8 39.f5 39.e6 cd8 40.f5 d1+ 41.h2 h1+ 42.xh1 f8 43.xg7# 39...gf8 40.h5 f1+ 41.h2 Black resigned. 41.h2 f6 42.xh6+ xh6 43.xf6+ h7 44.f5+ g7 45.d7+ h8 46.xc8+ g7 47.g8+ f6 48.f7+ g5 49.f5+ h4 50.g4# 1–0

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A 1700 Sacs His Queen

    In 1975, we saw mood rings. They contained a “stone” that changes colors based on the temperature of the finger and the color was supposed to show your mood.

    Then there were pet rocks. They were just rocks packaged in custom cardboard boxes complete with ventilation holes and straw bedding.They didn't do anything.

    President Richard Nixon, who claimed he wasn't a crook, resigned over the Watergate Scandal. Then came the mass chaos when Americans evacuate from Saigon under President Gerald Ford, marking the end of the war in Vietnam. After Nixon's Vice President, Spiro Agnew, who was a crook, pleaded guilty to tax evasion, Nixon appointed Speaker of the House Forn to the VP position and when Nixon resigned Ford became President.

    The top rated players were 1-Bobby Fischer, 2-Anatoly Karpov, 3-Viktor Korchnoi, 4-Tigran Petrosian, 5-Lev Polugaevsky, 6-Mikhail Tal, 7-Lajos Portisch, 8-Bent Larsen, 9-Boris Spassky and 10-Robert Huebner. 

    Player lost that year were the legendary Paul Keres, Friedrich Samisch, Lajos Steiner, Nicolas Rossolimo, Karel Opocensky, Hans Johner, Vladimir Vukovic, Georg Kieninger, Abraham Baratz, Norman Whitake and John Morrison. 

    World Champion Bobby Fischer resigned his title when he and FIDE failed to agree on the terms for the defense of his title and the chess world went on without him. Nona Gaprindashvili successfully defended her Women's World Championship for the fourth time.

    Anatoly Karpov won in Milan, his first tournament since becoming world champion. He won again in Ljubljana. Ljubomir Ljubojevic of Yugoslavia, had a big year, winning three important tournaments. Tigran Petrosian made a comeback and dominated the USSR Chess Championship. Yakov Estrin, the Russian over-the-board IM, won the 7th World Correspondence Championship. There was a big scandal in England when Tony Miles and Stewart Reuben agree a draw at the Luton Congress without playing a single move. Their last round game was recorded as a draw, but the organizer notified both players requesting the return of their prize money. 

     The following non-Master game was played in a match for the championship of the Naval Station in Key West, Florida. It has some interesting tactics, but what caught my eye was the two exclamation marks white gave his 23rd move, sacrificing his Queen. Engines weren’t so kind...they slapped two question marks on it. Nevertheless, it was an exciting contest. 

    The opening, Bird’s Opening, is named after 19th century English player Henry Bird, is one in which white's strategic ideas involve control of e5 and it offers good attacking chances at the expense of slightly weakening the K-side. Although it is rarely played at the top levels, it’s not a bad opening for amateurs because it can lead to a quick and strong attack if black does not respond with precise play. 

ChessBase

Kevin Casey1726–Jack Hayden19001–0A03US Naval Station Chp, Key West. Floroda1075Stockfish 17

] A03: Bird's Opening 1.f4 c5 2.b3 White could transpose into the aggressive Sicilian Grand Prix Attack with 2.e4, but most Bird players like to stick to the familiar Bird patterns. d5 3.b2 f6 4.e3 g6 5.f3 g7 6.b5+ bd7 7.0-0 a6 The main option is 7...O-O 8.xd7+ xd7 Black has an edge. 9.d3 0-0 10.e5 A classic square for the N in the Bird, but here it's not sucj a good idea because it allows black to simplify into a position where he is slightly better. 10.e2 c8 11.bd2 offers equal chances. 10...c8 Black wants to keep the two Bs, but here that idea confers no particular advantage plus it loses time. Simply 10...g4 Also playable is the solid 10...Rc8 11.xd7 11.xg4 xb2 wins 11...xe3 12.c1 xb2 13.xb2 xd7 with the better position. 11.d2 g4 12.e2 h6 As soon becomes apparent, black has a faulty play in mind. 12...xe5 13.xe5 xe5 14.fxe5 c7 pretty much eliminates white's attacking chances/ 13.e4= d4 14.h3 f5 Here is black's faulty idea, but it neglects development and opens up his K-side. His best move would have been to stop a square short with the f-Pawn and drive the N away with 14...f6 ir play `4...b5 15.ae1 f7 16.exf5 xf5 17.g4 c8 17...d7 is fatal strategically. 18.xd7 xd7 19.xe7 xe7 20.xe7 18.df3 b5 This blunders away a Pawn and leaves black fighting for his life. Best was 18...Nxe5 when white would only be slightly better. 19.c6 d7 20.xe7+ h8 21.h4 b7 22.f5 This is very inviting, but it allows black to equalize. 22.e6 c7 22...xe6 23.xe6 d8 24.hxg6+ hxg6 25.xg6+ g8 26.xf8 xe6 27.xe6 wins 23.exg6+ hxg6 24.xg6+ g8 25.e7+ h8 26.g6 h6 27.g5 Threatening Ng6+ leaves white with a decisive advantage. 22...e5 At this point white thought his next move was crushing, but, in fact, black has equalized and the only move white has that keeps the chances equal is 23.g5 23.xe5 White incorrectly based this sacrifice on based on the idea that two defenders of bof wack's K are removed and the dark squares weakened, his N on e7 cramps black amd all white's pieces can be quickly brought to the attack on black's cornered K. White thought that even id the Q sacrifice was unsound he hoped for what Tarrasch called "sacrificial shock." It worked for Tal! Black has to find the precise defense which is not always easy. 23.g5 gxf5 24.exf5 ae8 25.h5 f3+ 26.xf3 xe1 27.xe1 xf5 28.xf5 xf5 with equal chances. 23...xe5 24.xe5 g7 This move avoids any sacrificial checks on g6, but it gives white's attack new impetis. 24...ae8 should prove decisive because white has no really good followup. 25.f6 25.fxg6 xf1+ 26.xf1 xe7 27.gxh7 is much less effective because of xe5 28.g6+ xh7 29.f8+ 25...d6 26.hxg6+ hxg6 27.xg6+ h7 28.xf8+ xf8 29.e7+ h8 30.xb7 g3+ 31.h1 xh3+ 32.g1 xg4+ and wins 25.c1 Adding the B to the attack makes all the difference! ae8 26.g5 Even stronger was 26.Rfe1 f7 Much better would have been 27.Rfe1 followed by Re6 increasing the pressure on g6. 27.f6+ h8 28.fe1 Now black could have equalized with either 28... Rfe8 or 28...Rd8. fxe7 Instead, black plays a move that allows white's piece to swam all over his K. 29.xe7 Not 25.fx36 because the P would be held hp and further progress by white would be extremely difficult. xe7 30.xe7 c6 31.f7 The P is now an unstoppable threat. The following checks are harmless. h1+ 32.f2 h2+ 33.e1 g3+ 34.d2 f2+ 35.c1 g7 36.h6+ White finishes up nicely. xh6 37.f5+ Allowing the P to queen. g5 38.f8 Black resigned. Not a perfect game, but an exciting one! 1–0

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Spielmann Pounds Chekhover

    Moscow 1935 was the second international chess tournament held in Moscow, taking place from February 5 to March 15, 1935. Salo Flohr and future world champion Mikhail Botvinnik tied for first, followed by former world champions Emanuel Lasker and Jose Raúl Capablanca. 

    The tournament was organized along the lines of Moscow 1925, with twelve Soviet players and eight foregin players. Of the twelve Soviets, four (Grigory Levenfish, Peter Romanovsky, Ilya Rabinovich and Fedir Bohatyrchuk) had played at the 1925 event. 

    Salo Flohr (then of Czechoslovakia) was internationally renowned and considered a world championship contender. And, Mikhail Botvinnik was known as a rising star. Two years earlier he had drawn a match with Flohr. Emanuel Lasker and JoseCapablanca were former world champions. 

    There was a controversy when Flohr (a Czech but later to become a Russian) was tied with Botvinnik going into the final round. This was considered unacceptable to Nikolai Krylenko, head of the Russian chess machine. 

 

 

    It was suggested to Botvinnik that Ilya Rabinovich would throw his last round to Botvinnik. Supposedly Botvinnik replied that if he realized that was happening, he would blunder away a piece and "resign on the spot". As it turned out, Botvinnik, fearing that Rabinovich would somehow manage to lose anyway and thereby force Botvinnik to carry out his threat, offered a premature draw which was readily accepted. Flohr did the same in his game against Vladimir Alatortsev and the result was Botvinnik and Flohr shared first place. 

    Although it is unlikely this tournament would make the list of one of the most important tournaments ever played, it was significant in that it 1935 heralded the arrival of the Soviet School of Chess in general, and Mikhail Botvinnik in particular.

    In today’s game check out Spielmann’s sudden attack in his game against Vitaly Chekhover )1908-1965, 56 years old) who was born in St. Petersburg. He was awarded the IM title at its inception in 1950. He was won the Uzbekistan championship in 1944. He also did some important theoretical work on endings.

ChessBase

Rudolf Spielmann–Vitaly Chekhover1–0A50Moscow28.02.1935Stockfish 17

A50: Queen's Indian 1.d4 f6 2.c4 b6 The Indian defenses were just coming into vogue and the best strategies were not yet known. The Q-Indian works best against 2.Nf3 3.c3 b7 Preventing 4.e4 4.c2 Renewing the threat. d5 5.cxd5 xd5 6.e4 xc3 7.bxc3 e5 8.f3 exd4 9.b5+ c6 10.c4 b5 White does not get enough compensation to justify sacrificing his B on f7. 11.e2 11.d3 dxc3 12.0-0 a5 13.e5 a4 14.xc3 d7 15.b1 e7 16.g5 a3 17.b3 c5 18.e6 f6 19.exf7+ Kezin,R (2510)-Bezzubenkov,S (2301) Sochi RUS 2022. White is winning. 11...dxc3 12.xc3 d7 The purpose of this move is to play ...Nc5 and ...Ne6 which defends the g-Pawn and so frees the B 13.0-0 e7N Black’s situation is unpleasant. This move is played with the aim of preventing the 14 Bb2 14.b2 As it turns out black's last move does not prevent this. c5 14...xe4 is strongly mey by 15.d3 b4 16.fe1+ d8 17.c2 and black is in serious trouble because his K is stuck in the center. 15.c2 Stronger was 15.Rad1 e6 15...xe4 Capturing the e-Pawn is still a poor idea. 16.e5 f6 17.fe1 0-0-0 18.xc6 xc6 19.xc6+ b8 20.f3 with a mating attack. 15...xe4 is actually black's best option. 16.d3 xd3 17.fe1 xe1+ 18.xe1+ xe1 19.e4+ e7 20.xe1 and black has compensation for the Q. 16.a4 Stronger was 16.Ne5, but the text induces a blunder. a6 Black could have equalized with 16... Qc5 17.axb5 axb5 18.xa8+ xa8 19.d1 As quickly becomes apparent black's Q-side Ps are no com[ensation for his undeveloped K-side and K in the center. b7 20.e5 e7 21.h5 f8 22.b3 g6 23.g4 c8 24.xf7 A forceful finish. xf7 25.f3+ e8 25...g8 26.h3 wins 26.h3 f4 27.d7+ Black resigned. 27.d7+ xd7 28.xd7+ f7 29.c7 e6 30.e5 d8 31.xd8 xd8 White is winning. 1–0

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Alexander Flamberg

    The Polish master Alexander Flamberg (1880-1926) was a highly gifted player with original ideas. Chronic ill health prevented him from ever asserting his full potential. Chessmetrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been 2578 in July, 1914, placing him at #25 in the world. 

    He was born in 1880 in Warsaw (then in the Russian Empire) and spent his early years in England where he learned to play chess. After return to Warsaw, he became one of the strongest Polish players. 

    Flamberg played his first strong tournament in Łodz (a Quadrangular) in 1906 and finished 3rd, behind Akiba Rubinstein and Mikhail Chigorin and aheas of Georg Salve. In 1910, he won the Warsaw championship ahead of Rubinstein, but lost a match to him (+0 –4 =1). In 1913, he drew a match with Duras (+1 –1 =0) and won a match against Bogoljubow (+4 –0 =1), both in Warsaw. 

    The following game was one of his notable games because it was significant in the history of theory...his countryman David Prepiorka commented, "When one examines the opening moves and the subsequent course of the game, it is almost incredible that it was played in 1914...the double fianchetto of the Bishops, the operations on both wings, and later on the maneuver with the black Knights and the posting of the Queen on the long diagonal, all these ideas are, as we know, considered the very latest achievements of the Hypermoderns." 

    The Hypermodern Period was in vogue during the period of 1919-1928, bit it did exist in its early development in 1914, but its development was delayed because of WW I. His opponent in this game was Stepan Levitsky (1876-1924), a Russian master. 

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Alexander Flamberg–Stepan Levitsky1–0A47All-Russian Masters. St. Petersburg16.01.1914Stockfish 17

E17: Queen's Indian Defense 1.d4 f6 2.f3 b6 A solid defense in which black tries to control the light squares in the center with pieces is in the Hypermodern style. 3.g3 A popular reply that contests the long diagonal. b7 The idea of playing ...Ba6 became popular in the 1970s and another idea is ...Bb4+ aining to exchange the less useful dark-squared B ha also been tried. 4.g2 e6 5.0-0 e7 6.b3 0-0 7.b2 d6 8.c4 bd7 9.bd2 c5 At the time the originality of these opening moves was revolutionary. 10.e1 Flamberg's idea is that the the whole game is based on the control of e4 and so he wants to eliminate light squared Bs in the belief that his K will be safe abd that he will win the battle for e4. The move is not at all bad, but nowadays white usually plays 10.e3 with a solid position. It seems Flamberg's idea has more potential. c7 Hardly bad, but simpler would have been 10... Bxg2 10...xg2 11.xg2 cxd4 12.xd4 c8 13.e4 c7 with a completely equal position. 11.c1 White has several reasinable moves here (for example, 11.e4), but the idea of the text is that it discourages black from central P exchanges as long as his Q is on the c-file. xg2 12.xg2 The position is completely equal. Black could now safely play 12...cxd4, but plays ot safe instead and removes his Q from any potential danger. b7 13.e3 Again, this position is so even that black has a number of reasonable moves. cxd4 14.xd4 c5 Black's plan of retaining control of K5 is logical, but unfortunate in its conse- quences. He misses the last opportunity to play ... P- Q4. 15.c2 ce4 16.xe4 xe4 17.b2 Hypermodern stuff...the posting of the Q on the long diagonal to supports the B. e5 This leaves him with a backward d-Pawn on the semi-open file and a bad B, but it's a profoundly well played move that closes the diagonal. 18.c3 Very nice. He is hoping Levitsky will tale the B leaving white with a good N against black's bad B. g5 18...Nxc3 would be positional suicide. 19.f4 exf4 20.gxf4 Black's last maneuver has enabled him to render white's e-Pawn backward and, at the same time, rein-forced his control of e3 because white can no longer play f3. For his part, white has pressure on black's d-Pawn and a a beautiful square for the N on d5. The f-file also has some potential for him. All on all, the position ids equal/ f6 21.xf6 xf6 22.cd1 e4 23.f3 Both players have been pursue their respective goals. h5 One annotator who evidently based his comments on the game's outcome called this move a desperate bid for counterplay. That's hardly the case, but the move is a bad seed and white now gets just a wee bot of an advantage. 23...Rfe8 would have kept the engine evaluation at 0.00. 23...Nh5 offers white a P capture which he wisely avoids taking. 24.d5 24.xd6 would not be wise because after xf4 25.d2 ae8 26.f2 g5 black has plenty of play. 24...ae8 25.f2 A real Master move! White protects his e-Pawn and at the same time makes room for the R on the g-file. He also threatnes Re3. f5 26.g1 f6 The threat was Rg5, but a better way to prevent it was with 26...h6. After the text white gains a small advantage. 27.b1 c8 One annotator opined that the exchange of Qs would yield white a favor-able ending and obviously Levitsky agreed, but they were both wrong! Exchanging Qs was exactly the right course to heep the chances equal. Now white treally does have the advantage, but that's not to say black is lost. 28.d3 Threatening to win the Knight by Rh3, but it allows black the equalizinf advance of his f-Pawn. White should have prevnted black's next move by advancing his own f-Pawn. f5 29.c3 h8 Black is starting to collapse. His intention probably was to play ...Rg8, but he is in for a surprise. Correct was 29...Qd8 29...d8 remains equal. 30.g5 f6 31.xf6+ 31.xf5 e4+ 31...xf6 32.fg3 g6 33.h4 d5 34.cxd5 e4 with equak chances. 30.h3 White now has a virile attack. f6 After this black is lost. 30...e6 is a better chance. 31.f3 f6 32.c7 e4+ 33.g2 d7 White is clearly better, but black could fight on. 31.xg7 A magnificent conclusion. xg7 32.g3+ h6 33.xf6 e6 34.g5 Black cannot parry the mating threats. c5+ 35.f1 It's mate, so black resigned. 1–0

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