Tartajubow vs. Morphy (Personality)

    Does Fritz 20 really play like the historic personalities? The fact that I lost two games against the Fischer personality wasn't surprising, but what about my win over the Morphy personality?!  

    The “book” on Fritz 20 is, “Yes, (it is) largely succeeds in playing like specific, configurable personalities by deliberately reducing tactical precision to mimic human decision-making, positional preferences, and weaknesses.” 

    During the following game I ignored the hints the program suggested and simply plated my own game. Honestly, I don’t know how Morphy-like the program played, but I never saw any tactics or traps from the program nor did I ever feel like I was in any danger of losing.  “Morphy” seemed to play a pretty passive game. Also, I cannot explain the horrible blunder on move 34. 

    One thing is clear though. If you are interested in training and practicing against a fairly realistic environment then Fritz 20 (or even Fritz 19 which does not have the historic players) then it is an entertaining program that is well worth the price. (Note: I have no financial interest in ChessBase products.) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Event "Fritz 20 Personality"] [Site "?"] [Date "2026.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Paul Morphy (Personality)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2026.01.29"] {C55: Two Knights Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 {I am not familiar with Morphy's play, but this lools like something he might have played.} 3. Bc4 Be7 4. O-O Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Re1 {White usually plays 6.d3} O-O (6... Nxe4 {This looks more like a Morphy move than the text.} 7. Rxe4 d5 {This position is tactically tricky!} 8. Nxe5 (8. Re1 dxc4 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Rxe5 O-O {White has some problems trying to get developed so black is better.}) 8... Nxe5 (8... dxe4 9. Nxf7 {wins}) 9. Bb5+ Bd7 {with a completely equal position.} 10. Rxe5 Bxb5) 7. d4 {[%mdl 32] Again, white almost always plays 7.d3} Bg4 {The threat is ...Bxf3 removing the guard from the d-Pawn, so white does not have much choice/} 8. d5 Nb8 {Here I was not happy with my position. It's closed and so tactics are at a minimum which is probably a good thing against the Morphy personality, but the bad B and lack of attacking prospects is a downer.} 9. h3 (9. Nbd2 c6 10. Nf1 Nbd7 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 cxd5 13. exd5 Rc8 14. Ne3 g6 15. Bb3 {is about equal. Vykouk,J (2445)-Dolezal,R (2396) Liga Zapad Czech Republic 2015}) 9... Bh5 {Should I play 10.g4 risking that black will sacrifice a piece?} (9... Bc8 10. Bf1 h6 11. c4 Nbd7 12. Nc3 a5 {White is slightly better. Niephaus,W-Witkowski,S Heidelberg 1949}) 10. Bd3 {It would have been OK to play 10.g4 because any sacrifice would not have been quite correct...black has no followup to het to the white K.} h6 11. Nbd2 Nbd7 12. g4 {Played after coming to the conclusion that there is no other way of making progress.} Bg6 13. Nh4 a5 {Oddly, this is not a bad move, but it came as a total surprise.} (13... Bh7 {was what I expected.} 14. Nf5 {I would not expect black to play 14...Bxf5 which allows the opening of the g-file, but Stockfish finds ni fault with it. Evidently, black can defend any attack on the g-file. Equally good would be counterattacking in the center with 14...c6}) 14. Nxg6 { I was surprised to find that Stockfish disapproves of this move, It wants me to play 14.Nc5. It now considers black's position to be more promising.} fxg6 { There is no way to take advantage of the doubled Ps, so I decided to improve the position of my N.} 15. Nf1 {Now black should play ...Nh7 and ...Bg5 eliminating the dark squared Bs/ Instead, the next move is rather aimless as black's opportunities on the Q-side are limited.} a4 16. Ng3 Nh7 17. Be3 Ng5 18. Bxg5 Bxg5 19. Qc2 {The idea is to connect the Rs and hopefully open the h-file.} Qf6 20. Rf1 h5 {[%mdl 512] I thought this was a mistake, but the auto-analysis by Fritz gave it a ! and black is better by about 1.75 Ps.} 21. f3 Be3+ 22. Kg2 Bf4 23. Ne2 Qh4 {This is hardly bad, but keeping the B woth 23. ..Be3 was a bit better.} 24. Nxf4 {Happy to eliminated the B!} exf4 25. Qf2 Qxf2+ {Keeping Qs on with 25...Qe7 was a bit better.} 26. Kxf2 Ne5 27. Be2 { White is weak on the dark squares and the B is useless. If 27.Rac1 there would be no chance that blacl would make the mistake of exchanging his good N for it. It’s a miracle that the B actually makes a major contribution to winning the game.} hxg4 28. hxg4 g5 29. Rh1 Rfb8 30. Rh5 {At long last...counterplay against the weak g-Pawns!} Ra5 31. Rah1 (31. Rxg5 {is a bad mistake.} g6 { and the R is trapped.}) 31... Kf7 32. Rh8 Rxh8 33. Rxh8 {[%mdl 4096] Here I was confident that with the R behind enemy lines I would not lose the game and might even win. Actually, the position is equal.} b6 34. Rc8 {I cannot explain black's next move which loses outright. 34...Ra7 draws.} Ke7 {[%mdl 8192]} 35. Rxc7+ Kf8 36. Rb7 b5 37. Rxb5 Rxb5 {Keeping the Rs on would have held out longer.} 38. Bxb5 a3 39. bxa3 Ke7 40. a4 g6 41. a5 Kd8 42. a6 Kc8 43. Bc6 Kb8 44. Bb5 Kc7 45. a4 {[%mdl 32]} Kb6 46. a5+ Ka7 47. Be2 {To free the K to advance to the Q-side.} Nd7 48. Ke1 Ka8 49. Kd2 Ne5 50. Kc2 Kb8 51. Kb3 Kc7 52. Kb4 Kb8 53. c4 Nd7 {Wards off c5} 54. Kb5 Kc7 55. a7 {Sacrificing the P to allow the K to penetrate.} Kb7 56. a8=Q+ Kxa8 57. Kc6 Nf6 58. Kxd6 {Here I resigned for black. Unfirtunately you cannot resign for your opponent in a real game.} 1-0

Tartajubow vs. Bobby Fischer (Personality)

 

    The weather the past couple of weeks has seen temperatures in the single digits and low teens and today we woke up to a temperature of minus 10 (F) or minus 23 Celsius. No doubt many readers will get a chuckle out of our predicament because that’s normal for them, but not for us. 

    Even more annoying than the cold and off and on snow flurries is the shouting of the local weathermen (and women) who seem to be armed with a thesaurus as they try to find more forceful ways to sensationalize and tell us how cold it is. There is no need to shout. I know 10 below is cold, so forget the hype...just give me the forecast.

    Being holed up indoors means a chances to experiment with Fritz 20 a bit. As many readers know, Fritz 20 has AI-driven historic players that you can play against: Lasker, Capablanca, Tal, Fischer, Karpov and Morphy. 

    The program is designed to mimic their openings and style of play. I can’t really say how accurately the program accomplishes the task, but recently I played Bobby Fischer two games and, just like what would have happened in real life, I lost badly. 

 

 

 

[Event "Fritz 20 Personality"] [Site "?"] [Date "2026.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Bobby Fischer (Personality)"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B52"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2026.01.29"] {B52: Sicilian: Moscow Variation} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {Like Tartakpwer and Rossolimo. I am addicted to playing this against the Sicilian. Against 2. d6 it is teh Moscow Variation; against 2.Nc6 it is the Rossolimo Variation. If 2.Bb5 has any value at all it is that it allows white to bypass the massive mountains of theory in the Open Sicilian lines} Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Nxd7 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Ngf6 7. Nc3 Rc8 (7... g6 8. O-O Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. f3 Rc8 {is frequently seen.}) 8. O-O g6 9. Bg5 {This is out of place here.} (9. f3 {was the other move I considered here and it's probably a bit better.} Bg7 10. Kh1 a6 11. Be3 O-O 12. Bg1 Qc7 13. a4 {with equal chances.}) 9... Bg7 10. Qd2 Rc4 {Clever... it prevents my intended 11.Bh6. There is also a hidden attack on the e-Pawn.} 11. Rad1 {Defending the N and so Bh6 is still on.} (11. Bh6 Bxh6 12. Qxh6 Rxd4) 11... Qb6 {Agai, Bh6 is prevented.} 12. Nb3 {Again, Bh6 is back on!} Qa6 { The only reason I cn see for this move is that it gets the Q out of range of a white N on d5 for whtever that is worth.} (12... O-O 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. Qxd5 { A complicated position that offers equal chances.}) 13. Bh6 {Finally! The only problem is that it is quite harmless because black has plenty of counterplay and there does not seem to be any way of attacking his K in the center. Honestly, I was so intent on playing this that I did not realize it lost the e-Pawn otherwise I would have played 13.Rfe1} Bxh6 14. Qxh6 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 Rxe4 {So, black has won a P, but white actually has sufficient compensation; in fact, Stockfish's evaluation is only –0.19. I now spent some time trying to decide on whether or not to play 16.Qg7 which leads to huge complications.} 16. Rfe1 {At this point I was beginning to feel that I was on the path to defeatt, but black's advantage is only a modest =/+.} (16. Qg7 {This is the best move, but I rejected ot thinking my Q was too far out of play. After} Rf8 17. Qxh7 Ne5 18. Qh3 f5 19. Qh6 Rf6 20. Qh8+ {Black can repeat moves or try} Rf8 21. Qh6 f4 22. Nd4 Qxa2 23. b3 Qa6 24. Qh3 f3 25. Qc8+ Kf7 26. Qe6+ {and black must take the draw.}) 16... Qc4 {This was my last chance to plau Qg7 with any effect.} 17. Rxe4 (17. Qg7 Rf8 18. Rxe4 Qxe4 19. Qxh7 Qe2 {and black is slightly better.}) 17... Qxe4 {[%mdl 128]} 18. Qg7 {At this point this is a losing move. Hunkering down on the defensive with moves like h3 and withdrawing the Q to c1 offered the best chance.} Rf8 {This is a weak move that allows white back in the game!} (18... Qe5 {leaves white little choice...} 19. Qxe5 Nxe5 20. f4 Nc4 21. Nd4 Kd7 22. b3 Ne3 {and black has excellent winning chances.}) 19. Qc3 {It would have been a bit better to play 19.Qh7, but I thought getting ny Q back into play was more important than regaining the P.} Kd8 {Better was 19...Qc6 which maintains a small advantage.} 20. Qd3 { [%mdl 8192] Panic! I thought getting Qs off the board would help my defensive chances in the ending which is now lost for white. In reality, white missed the opportunity to strike back.} (20. Na5 {This attack on b7 at least equalizes.} {Stockfosh's analysis after 30 minutes runs} Nb6 21. Rd4 Qe6 22. Nxb7+ Ke8 23. Qa5 Rg8 24. Rd1 Qg4 25. Re1 Kf8 26. a3 Qc8 27. Qxa7 Qc7 28. Qa6 Kg7 29. Na5 Rc8 30. b3 d5 31. h3 e6 32. Re2 Qc5 33. b4 Qd4 34. Nb3 Qd1+ 35. Kh2 Ra8 36. Qb5 Nc4 37. Rxe6 Qxc2 38. Qxd5 fxe6 39. Qb7+ Kf6 40. Qxa8 Qxb3 41. Qh8+ Kf5 42. Qxh7 Nxa3 43. Qf7+ Ke5 44. Qxg6 {with a theoretical draw.}) 20... Qxd3 21. Rxd3 {[%mdl 4096] Black is a P up and has a theoretical win/} Ne5 22. Rc3 Kd7 23. Kf1 Ng4 24. h3 Nh6 25. Nd4 Rc8 26. Rxc8 Kxc8 {KN-KN} 27. Ke2 Kd7 28. Ke3 d5 29. Kd3 e5 30. Nb5 a6 31. Nc3 Kd6 32. g3 Nf5 33. Ne2 e4+ 34. Kd2 Ke5 35. Nc3 b5 {White resigned. Further play is pointless. Not only is he a P up, but his pieces occupy dominating positions.} 0-1

A Tragic Murder-Suicide

 

    Back in March of 1992, the Plantation, Florida Police Department reported two deaths. The deaths of an elderly couple from Tamarac, a part of the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Area, were classified as a murder-suicide. According to the couple’s daughter the deaths were an act of love. 

    The man had met his future wife Angela in Cleveland, Ohio, her place of birth, where he worked for the Cuyahoga Valley Railway for 32 years. Angela worked as a long-distance telephone operator and later in a Chevrolet automobile plant in Cleveland. They were married 62 years and had moved to Tamarac in 1973. 

    The husband sneaked a handgun into his ailing wife's hospital room and shot her in the temple and then turned the gun on himself. They were found shortly after 4:15 p.m. when a nurse checked the room after hearing noises. The 80-year-old woman was found dead on her bed and her husband, 84, was found on the floor by the bed. He was barely alive and died in the emergency room 15 minutes later. 

    The couple's daughter said her father couldn't bear to be apart from his wife nor could he take the pain of watching her suffer. Her mother had been in the hospital nearly two months suffering from a circulation problem affecting her legs and she was expected to lose one leg and eventually the other. 

    She added that her mother's health had gotten really bad during the past few years. She had lost her left eye in a cataract operation and about three years earlier had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Then her left leg started ulcerating and the sores got very big. Through it all her husband was there to care for her. For 52 days he watched her suffer in pain and every day sat with her for 4 or 5 hours holding her hand and trying to feed her and give her her medicine. 

    She was scheduled to be admitted to a nursing home in a couple of days, but didn't want to go and didn't want to lose her legs. All she wanted to do was go home. Her husband couldn't bear to see her suffer and cried for his wife every day. A neighbor told how the old man often spoke of his wife's suffering and had said she didn't want to live, explaining that she was in a lot of pain and wanted to die.

    The old man had founded the local chess club about 10 years earlier and served as its president. During that time he carved his own chess set. He was a member of the National Woodcarvers Association and while reading their magazine he saw an ad for exotic hardwoods from the rain forests, ordered the wood and then shaped the pieces on his lathe. Putting his wife's needs first, he eventually stopped attending club functions because he hated to leave his wife at home alone when she was ill. 

    Soren “Sam” Korsgaard was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and arrived in the United States when he was 14. Korsgaard learned the basics of the game from an elderly lady who lived in his neighborhood in his native Copenhagen, but only began to play seriously after he moved to Ohio and joined the Parma Chess Club. In 1970, Korsgaard won the club's championship. After his death Tamarac club members named a tournament in his honor. 

    The following gem was the only one of Korsgaard’s games that I could find (January 1948 Chess Review). Black had a difficult position, but it was quite defendable until he played his 17th move and then Korsgaard jumped all over him.

 

[Event "Cleveland, Ohio"] [Site "?"] [Date "1947.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Soren Korsgaard"] [Black "William Granger"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "James Massie"] [PlyCount "45"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.01.27"] {B50: Sicilian Defense} 1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 {The Bowdler Attack. It seems popular with some amateurs, bit the statistics show that black performs very well against it (61% wins).} Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. O-O g6 {The fianchetto does not perform well here. Either 4...Nf6 or 4...e6 are better choices.} 5. c3 Nf6 6. d3 {This slow but solid move is often played. More dynamic is 6.d4} Bg7 7. Re1 O-O 8. a3 {Both sides have been going about their busibess of getting developed. It's possible white played this in order to meet ...Na5 with Ba2.} ( 8. Nbd2 Na5 9. Bb5 a6 10. Ba4 b5 11. Bc2 e5 12. d4 {Black stands well. Velicka, P (2472)-Dragun,K (2424) Krakow POL 2011}) (8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bd7 10. b4 Ne8 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Be3 {Here, too, black hAas a comfortable position. Erenska,H (2293)-Dragasevic Georgieva,A (2134) Arvier 2006}) (8. Bg5 Na5 9. Nbd2 Bd7 10. Qe2 Nxc4 11. dxc4 {Black is a bit better. Erenska,H (2293)-Dragasevic Georgieva,A (2134) Arvier 2006}) 8... Na5 (8... d5 {looks like a good way to try and take advantage of white's last move, but the position remain equal after} 9. Bb3 dxe4 10. dxe4 Qxd1 11. Bxd1 Rd8) 9. Bb3 {In view of his last move one would have expected white to preserve his B with 9.Ba2} Nxb3 10. Qxb3 Qc7 11. Nbd2 {[%mdl 32] This N is going on a quick trip to f6 where it plays a major part in the win.} Be6 12. Qc2 b5 13. e5 {All of a sudden white gets aggressive!} Nd7 (13... dxe5 14. Nxe5 Rad8 15. Ndf3 {Black has the freer game and so can claim a small advantage.}) 14. exd6 exd6 15. Ne4 Nb6 {Not bad, but avoiding the pin white soom inflicts on him by playing 16...Qc6 would have been prudent.} (15... Qc6 16. Bf4 Ne5 17. Bxe5 dxe5 {equals.}) 16. Bf4 Rad8 17. Bg5 {Because black's N is on b6 the f6 square has become vulnerable.} f6 { A fatal tactical error.} (17... Rde8 {is an adequate defense,} 18. Nf6+ Bxf6 19. Bxf6 Qd7 20. Qd2 Nd5 {The dark squares around black's K are weak, but because black is well developed there is no way white can take advantage of it. }) 18. Nxf6+ {[%mdl 512] Ripping the guts out of black's position.} Bxf6 19. Rxe6 Bxg5 20. Nxg5 Kh8 21. Rae1 {White is clearly winning.} Nd5 22. c4 bxc4 23. dxc4 {Black resigned.} (23. dxc4 Nf6 24. Qc3 Qg7 (24... d5 25. Rxf6 d4 26. Qf3 Qg7 27. Rf7 Rxf7 28. Nxf7+ {wins}) 25. Re7 Qh6 26. Nf7+ {wins}) 1-0

A Correspondence Beauty

    Around midnight Saturday the 1,900 mile long strip of bad weather that originated in Southern California hit my neck of the woods and the snow started and lasted nearly 24 hours. Sunday, right in the middle of a movie, we lost our Internet and cable for 5-6 hours. Officially we had 8 inches of snow, but there was closer to 12 inches in my driveway. 

    After spending about two hours out in the 10 degree weather clearing driveways and siderwalks, it was time to settle in with coffee and look over some of the games in the entertaining book The History of Correspondence Chess in America by Bryce Avery where I came across this pleasing game. I have no information on the winner, but Stephan Gerzadowich is a familiar name. 

    A Goole AI report says, “Based on available chess community records, Stephan Gerzadowicz...notable Massachusetts chess master, tournament director, and author, passed away before early 2023. However, a Facebook entry on January 14, 2024, reports that date as being the 79th birthday of “chess author, coach, correspondence chess master, and former MACA president and New England Chess Association president Stephan C. Gerzadowicz.” We will fo wityh that report!

    Gerzadowicz spent his first 53 years in rural Massachusetts where he ran nine marathons, wrote five books and became a Correspondence Master. He played in five USCF Absolute Championships and one USCCC. He has ranked as high as #10 on the USCF Top 50 List of correspondence players. 

    He also served as president of both the Massachusetts and the New England Chess Associations. He has been a tournament director at The Denker Tournament of High School Champions, The U. S. Blind Championship, the Tennessee Open Championship, and the Final Four of College Chess. 

    In 1998, while living in Princeton, New Jersey he taught chess as part of the regular curriculum in a small elementary school with his students winning numerous New Jersey Scholastic Championships. Gerzadowicz attended Princeton University but left after three years. After leaving Princeton he lived and taught in New York, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. 

 

[Event "CCLA North American (postal)"] [Site "CCLA"] [Date "1994.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Steven D. Wolff"] [Black "Steven Gerzadowicz"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Dtosckfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "1994.??.??"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.01.26"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Leningrad Dutch} 1. c4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 {A sharp, tactical variation.} 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e3 d6 6. Nge2 c6 7. O-O O-O 8. d4 e5 9. b3 {[%mdl 32] White has chosen a rather modest setup.} e4 10. Ba3 {This is just one of many moves white has played here, but the most promising seems to be 10.d5} Re8 11. Nf4 ( 11. h4 a6 12. Nf4 b5 13. d5 c5 14. Bb2 Ng4 15. Ne6 Rxe6 16. dxe6 Bxe6 17. cxb5 axb5 18. Qd2 {with equal chances. Raicevic,M (2355)-Marjanovic,S (2425) Yugoslavia 1994}) 11... Na6 12. h4 Nc7 13. Rc1 Rb8 14. b4 Bd7 15. Qb3 Bf8 { Too passive.} 16. Rfd1 Kg7 {Once again black plays a move that is much too passive. After this move white launches a strong attack. Vlack still should have played ...Ne6} (16... Ne6 $16) 17. d5 {An excellent move opening the long diagonal.} Ng4 (17... cxd5 18. Bb2 dxc4 19. Qxc4 b5 20. Qb3 {Black has to get his K off the diagonal, but h6 is hardly a safe square.} Kh6 21. Qf7 Be6 22. Nxe6 Nxe6 23. Bf1 a6 {Now, no doubt, we can expect some violenr K-side action, but first....} (23... Qe7 {Eliminationg Qs does not lessen the attack's ferocty.} 24. Qxe7 Rxe7 25. Nxb5 Ng4 26. Nxd6 Rxb4 27. Ba3 Rb8 28. Nxe4 fxe4 29. Bxe7 {White is up the exchange and a P.}) 24. Nxb5 {Opening up the diadonal for the B.} axb5 25. Bxf6 Be7 26. Be5 Rf8 27. Qxe6 {wins}) 18. c5 dxc5 19. bxc5 cxd5 20. Ncxd5 Kh6 21. Bb2 Nxd5 22. Rxd5 {the R into play against the black K.} Qc8 (22... Qe7 $142 23. Bh3 Bg7 24. Bxg7+ Kxg7 25. Bxg4 fxg4 26. Qc3+ Kg8 27. Rd6 Bc6 28. Rcd1 {Material is equal, but white has a winning attack, One example...} Qg7 29. Rf6 Rf8 30. Qb3+ Kh8 31. Rxf8+ Qxf8 32. Rd6 Re8 33. Rxg6 hxg6 34. Nxg6+) 23. Bh3 Be6 24. Bxg4 fxg4 {After this black loses quickly. } (24... Bxd5 {Would have made things more difficult for white.} 25. Qxd5 Qd8 26. Qg8 Qe7 27. Bxf5 Bg7 28. Qxg7+ Qxg7 29. Bxg7+ Kxg7 30. Bh3 {Material is unbalanced (B+N+P vs, a R) and white is theoretically winning, but it will reuire some technique.}) 25. Rh5+ {[%mdl 512] Who could resist playing this move?} gxh5 26. Qc3 Qd8 27. Qh8 {The f6 square is reserved for the B.} Bf5 28. c6 {White intends to play his R to c5 so vacates the square.} Qe7 {White must now prevent ...Bg7.} 29. Bf6 Rbc8 30. Rc5 {Black resigned.} 1-0

Watson Plays Like Tal

    While browsing one of C.J.S. Prudy's books I came across his description of the play of this rather obscure (to most of the chess world) Australian champion and was curious to find out more about him. 

    According to Purdy, Watson was one of those players whose tactics were far superior to their strategy. Watson studied chess books, but he never bothered with general principles and preferred to revel in sheer calculation. Purdy speculated that he probably whipped through a dozen variations almost every move and saw far more, and far more quickly, than most of his opponents. Purdy added that he still had a plus score over Watson in their individual encounters, mostly because Purdy, as he put it, "...had some faith in principles, and discarded quickly many of the lines Watson took the trouble to calculate out for many moves ahead." 

    Purdy concluded that because Watson despised general principles he suffered for it. According to Purdy, the moral is that even though seeing tactics is absolutely essential, studying strategy is beneficial and is of practical value in that it will often save a lot of time on the clock. Purdy suggested that he looked at fewer lines than Watson, but discovered sounder ones sooner than he did. 

    Charles Gilbert Marriott Watson (October 22, 1878 – March 5, 1961) was an Australian national chess champion. Born in Buninyong, he started playing chess with his father at the age of 10 and, also, at the local club. He later joined the Melbourne Chess Club, winning the Melbourne Chess Club championship for the first time in 1898, then in 1902, 1904, 1905, 1914, 1921, 1931 and 1936. He won the Australian Championship in 1922 and a second time in 1931. 

    Watson only played one international tournament, and was soon overshadowed by younger players like Purdy, Koshnitsky, Steiner and so he is unknown outside of Australia and even there, his career wallows in obscurity. Watson retired from chess many times, but always reappeared and was known for his uncanny ability to win lost games. 

    He competed in the championship of the province of Victoria 12 times, won it on his first attempt in 1898 and last won it in 1936. When he won the Australian championship in 1922 the British Chess Federation had reserved a place for the winner of the Australian title in the International Masters tournament to be held later that year. The 1922 London International Congress, won by Capablanca ahead of Alekhine and Vidmar, was Watson's only international tournament. He finished 15th out of 16, scoring +4 -10 =11.. However, he did mange to defeat many time British Champion H.E Atkins and Richard Reti in a 92-move ending. 

    Watson also had a brief soccer career and played 11 games for the Melbourne Demons in the inaugural season of the Victorian Football League Australian Football competition in 1897. Later in life became a big fan of bridge. 

    The following game, plated in the 1945 Australian Championship (won by Lajos Steiner), has been described as worthy of Tal. I have to admit that when I saw 10...h4 it left me flummoxed! In the Dragon isn't white supposed to storm the K-side while black seeks counterplay on the Q-side? In this game we see black attacking on the K-side while white is reduced to passive defense. Tinkering around with Stockfish didn't yield any refutation to Watson's idea though and his play, if not perfect, was still admirable. 

    Watson’s opponent, Stefan “azare (1909-19991, 82 years old) was born Lazar Suchowolski in Bialystok, Poland and moved to France in 1927 where he studied Mathematics at Besancon University. He changed his name to Stefan Lazare when he arrived in Melbourne, Australia in June 1939. 

 

[Event "Australian Champ, Sydney"] [Site ""] [Date "1945.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Stefan Lazare"] [Black "Charles Watson"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B72"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "1945.09.03"] {B72: Sicilian Dragon} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 {Lazare chooses the older Classical Variation.} Bg7 7. Be3 {In Starting Out: The Sicilian Dragon, author Andrew Martin calls this the traditional way of handling the variation.} Nc6 8. Nb3 {Although it’s not absolutely essential, white generally avoids allowing black to exchange on d4.} Be6 9. f4 {My opening book shows black has played 9 different moves here, but 9...Qc8 is, by far, the most populr.} h5 {This might be called caveman chess. It weakens the K-side, but hinders the advance of white’s g-Pawn.} (9... Qc8 10. h3 a5 11. a4 Nb4 12. O-O O-O {us about equal. Vuckovic,A (2325)-Berndt,S (2438) BL 0405 SFR Neukölln - Stuttgart 2004}) 10. h3 {To play g4.} h4 {Played to stop g4, but it’s still not possible for white to play it, so 10...h4 seems unnecessary. But as subsequent play shows, the P on h4 presents white with some problems. 10...a6 getting his Q-side counterplay going is more natural looking, but Watson continues his operations on the K-side.} (10... a6 11. O-O (11. g4 hxg4) 11... b5 12. Bf3 Qc7 13. Qd2 Rc8 {White;s position is the more active. Pytlakowski,A-Gadalinski,J Warsaw 1947}) 11. O-O Qc8 12. Kh2 Nh5 { This game is rather unusual for a Dragon because it’s black who is conducting operations on the K-side, not white. White probably wisely chooses to eliminate the pesky N, but he could also have tried 13.f5.} 13. Bxh5 Rxh5 { It's not obvious nowm but this R is destined to play an important role in the future.} 14. Rb1 {Very passive, but oddly there is no way for black to establish dominance here.} (14. f5 {seems a natural move. Obviously ...gxf5 leaves the R hanging.} Bc4 15. Rf2 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Ne5 17. Nd4 {with a complicated position in which the chances are equal.}) 14... Bc4 {[%mdl 2048]} 15. Rf2 f5 16. exf5 Qxf5 17. Nd4 {Lazare has managed to fend off black’s attack and has even managed to keep the game even. Watson decides to keep possession of his minor pieces rather than to trade them on d4 which would leave him with nothing at all.} Qf7 18. b3 Bd5 {Preventing Ne4} 19. Nxd5 { This is wrong on principle. It’s rarely a good idea to allow your opponent to pin a piece. Plus, Watson now gets his R into play and his attention is now on the d4 square. Cirrect was 19.Ncb5! giving black something to think about.} (19. Ncb5 Kf8 20. c4 Be4 21. Rbb2 Rd8 22. Rbd2 {and now white stands a bit better.}) 19... Rxd5 20. c3 Nxd4 21. cxd4 {An unreasonable reply. He should have recaptured with the B.} Rc8 22. Rc1 Rxc1 23. Qxc1 {All the tactical stuff of the last few moves is over and white is left defending his d-Pawn, plus his B is bad.} Qe6 24. Qc3 Kf8 {The reason for this move is not clear. 24...Qe4 would have put more pressure on white/} 25. Rf3 Bf6 26. a4 b6 27. Bf2 Kg7 28. Qc7 {Fortunately for white his active Q assures that he is still in the game and is no longer in any danger.} g5 {Rather than calmly defend the a-Pawn with 28...Ra4 Watson continues attacking and Lazare soon goes wrong.} 29. fxg5 { This is by no means bad, but 29. Qxa7 probably draws. White will eventually get as outside passed Ps and he would have almost no losing chances.} Bxd4 30. Bxh4 {[%mdl 8192] This loses. The temptation to have a gob of passed Ps on the K-side is just too much, but exchanging on d4 was the best way to go.} (30. Bxd4+ Rxd4 31. Rf1 Qe5+ 32. Kg1 Qe3+ 33. Kh1 Qe2 34. Rg1 Rd1 35. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 36. Kh2 Qe1 37. Qxa7 Qg3+ {draws}) 30... Rc5 31. Qb7 (31. Qxa7 {makes no difference.} Rc1 {White has no reasonable move.} 32. Bg3 Bg1+ {wins}) 31... Be5+ {Wason finally makes a serious error n choosing the wrong move order.} ( 31... Rc1 {leaves white with no defense/} 32. Bf2 Qe5+ 33. g3 Rc2 {wins}) 32. Bg3 {Now the win is, or should have been, gone!} Rc1 33. Qa8 (33. Qxa7 { loses to} Bxg3+ 34. Rxg3 Qe1 35. Rd3 Qe5+ 36. Rg3 Rc3) 33... Bxg3+ {This move may be obvious, but it involves a trap into which Lazare falls.} 34. Rxg3 { [%mdl 8192] The threat of Qf8+ is removed and white traps his own K. As mentioned in the note to move 19, walking into a pin is often not good.} (34. Kxg3 {This keeps things even, but also leads to some complicated play.} Qe1+ { This looks scary for the white K, but it will actually be quite safe on its journey} 35. Kg4 Qe6+ 36. Rf5 Rf1 {Another pin, but this time white can escape. } 37. Qf8+ Kh7 38. Qh6+ {draws} Qxh6 39. gxh6 Rg1 40. Rf2 Kxh6 {It's likely that the game would eventually be drawn.}) 34... Qe1 35. Rf3 {Renewing the threat of Qf8+, but it's too late.} Qe5+ {Forcing another pin on the R, but this time there is no way out.} 36. Rg3 Rc3 {White resigned} 0-1

Unlawful Upsetting of the Balance

    According to Chess metrics calculation, on the September 1950 rating list Soviet GM Alexander Kotov (1913-1981) was tanked #3 in the world behind David Bronstein and Vassily Smyslov. 

    His best result came at the 1952 Saltsjibaden Interzonal where he finished an undefeated first hree clear points ahead of Tigran Petrosian and Mark Taimanov. In the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953 he tied for 8th place out of 15. 

    Kotov wrote several books, but he is probably most famous for Think Like a Grand master (1971) and Play Like a Grandmaster (1973). Both are heavy reading. In Think Like a Grandmaster he teaches amateurs how Grandmasters think. His main focus is on the what he calls the tree of analysis, candidate moves and the decision-making process. In Play Like a Grandmaster, Kotov gives a practical guide that focuses on things like positional judgment, planning and calculation. 

 

 

    In describing the following game Kotov observed how sometimes in the opening one of the players “flagrant1y violates the genera1 princip1es” of the opening and “his moves are not ίn accordance with the requirements οf the position, presenting themse1ves either as a loss of time or cutting across the genera1 harmonious setup of the pieces. 

    Kotov wrote that when that happens, the opponent “have the right and are obliged to punish the opponent for such a disregard of general chess princip1es.” He added that such punishment is often carried out “quickly with maximum energy from the attacking pieces.” 

    That’s what happened to Wade in this game. His first few opening moves do not seem as bad as Kotov claimed or were they? Stockfish doesn’t show black’s position to be losing after 5...f6, but only that white is better by a little less that a P. In practice though black’s survival chances are slim. Engines are tactical monsters, but are GMs better at evaluating long term strategic advantages? Also, take a look at the position after 7.c5. How many humans would play 7...g5 which appears to seriously weaken black’s K-side and leaves him with most of his Ps on dark squares? Yet, Stockfish fails to demonstrate any advantage for white. 

 

[Event "Saltsjobaden Interzonal"] [Site ""] [Date "1952.10.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Alexander Kotov"] [Black "Robert Wade"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A41"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "1952.09.15"] {A41: Modern Defense} 1. d4 d6 {Αt the time this games was played this move had become popular and it often transposed into the King's Indian Defense.} 2. c4 e5 {In annotating this game Kotov claimed that with this move Wade displayed an unfamiliarity ith the ideas of this νariation and claimed that 2. ..e5 was premature because it leads to a significant weakening of the K-side which white subsequently exploits. That claim seems a bit outlandish. In my database this move has been played over 6,000 times and black has won 39% compared to white's 28%. What's more, engines give white no advantage beyond that of the first move.} 3. Nf3 Nd7 {This, however, is where black starts drifting into an inferior position. He should either play 3...exd4, or play aggressively with 3...e4} (3... e4 4. Ng5 f5 5. Nc3 c6 {with a lot of possibilities for both sides.}) 4. e4 g6 {Kotov pronounced this bad and recommended 4...Nf6. He quoted Alekhine who used the term "unlawful upsetting of the balance" ίn the opening. i.e. that happens when one side deνiates greatly from the positional foundations. When that happens the other side must immediately take steps to punish the offender by using energetic tactics. Kotov write, "Wade carelessly weakens the black squares οη his K's flank, induced by P moνes which will be particularly noticeable after the important exchange dxe5." Exactly how horrible was Wade's move? White's advantage has increased a bit to 3/4 of a P.} 5. Bg5 {Kotov claims this punishes black for weakening the dark squares around his K and that the best move is 5...Be7, but that results in the exchange pf hos valuable dark squared B.} f6 {This move (which cannot be good) has been played 5 times in my database and black has lost 4 of them, so it is clearly not good. For whatever reason Kotov neglects to mention the possinility of 5...Ngf6 after which it is unclear how white has any significant advantage.} (5... Ngf6 {And bow Stockfish says the position is equal after 6.Nc3 Bg7. There is another possibility thatis equally good and a bit more inetersting...} 6. Nxe5 dxe5 7. dxe5 Bb4+ (7... Nxe5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Bxf6+) 8. Nc3 Qe7 9. exf6 Qxe4+ 10. Qe2 Nc5 {White's advantage is minimal.}) 6. Bh4 Bg7 {He could have remained equal after 6...c5!} (6... c5 7. d5 Be7 8. Nc3 f5) 7. c5 {Here Kotov babbles on about how black has "unlawfully upset the balance and therefore (white) takes immediate measures to punish him." Kotov was pretty harsh on the next move stating the "continuation chosen by Wade merits censure ίη eνery possible way."} dxc5 (7... g5 {looks really bad at first glance and it's not likely to suggest itself to a human player but after} 8. Bg3 h5 9. h3 h4 10. Bh2 dxc5 {neither side can demonstrate any advantage!}) 8. dxe5 Qe7 9. Nc3 Nxe5 {This careless move loses instantly. Even after the better 9...c6 white has an excellent position} (9... c6 $16 {was called for.} 10. Qb3 {Black's best chance is to mix things up with} g5 11. exf6 Bxf6 (11... Ngxf6 12. Bxg5 {White is much better.}) 12. Bg3 g4 13. Nd2 Ne5 {and at least black can play on.}) 10. Nxe5 Qxe5 {The exposed position of his Q results in black's losing the game/} 11. Bg3 Qe6 {Resigns was the only other alternative.} 12. Nd5 {Kotov is after more than 12.Bxc7 has to offer.} Kf7 13. Nxc7 Qxe4+ 14. Be2 Bh3 15. Nxa8 {There were other ways to win, but white decided to win by picking up material.} Bxg2 16. Rg1 Bh6 17. Qb3+ Kg7 18. f3 Qd4 19. Rxg2 Bd2+ 20. Kf1 Ne7 21. Nc7 {Black resigned, Poor Wadw never had a chance. The auto-analysis feature of Fritz assigned hin an Accuracy rating of a miserable 22%. In the book Kotov was equally harsh on Wade's play. But, let's not fprget Wade was was New Zealand champion three times and British champion twice} 1-0

Troianescu Crushes His Opponent

    Today where I live the temperature is in the single digits and there is 6-8 inches of snow on the ground. Things were different on this date in 1951. It was mild with a high temperature of 62 degrees (F) and a low of 36. There was light precipitation that day measuring 0.08 of an inch. 

    Chess in 1951 was dominated by the Botvinnik-Bronstein World Championship match which ended in a 12-12 tie and so Botvinnik retained his title. Rumor has it that Bronstein was ordered not to win. 

    It was also the year 7-year-old Bobby Fischer lost a simultaneous game to US Senior Master and US Speed Champion Max Pavey. The loss resulted in Fischer subsequently being invited to join the Brooklyn Chess Club and you know the rest of the story. By the way, on January 17, 2008, Bobby Fischer died at the age of 64 in Reykjavik, Iceland. 

    1951 saw the development of the first operational computer chess program by Dr. Dietrich Prinz in England. It ran on a computer at the University of Manchester. The program was not capable of playing a full game. Instead, it was designed to find the best move to win within two turns. 

    In Romania in 1951, the communist regime intensified political repression which included the torture of political prisoners, the launching of forced agricultural collectivization and rapid industrialization. 

 

 

    That was the world of Octav Troianescu (1916-1980), an International Master (title awarded the previous year). From the mid-1940s to the end of the 1970s he was one of the strongest Romanian players winning the Romanian Championship in 1946, 1954, 1956, 1957 and 1968. His highest rating was 2320 in 1971. Here is one of his games to enjoy. 

[Event "Bucharest"] [Site ""] [Date "1950.08.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Kazimierz Makarczyk"] [Black "Octavio Troianescu"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E39"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "1951.??.??"] {[%evp 19,50,-25,-19,-12,-8,-8,-1,-134,4,-31,-24,-34,-59,-33,13,-45,-39,-245, -243,-243,-263,-255,-248,-370,-382,-501,-499,-451,-346,-472,-425,-512,-492] E39: Nimzo-Indian: Classical} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. Nf3 Na6 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Nxc5 9. g3 b6 10. Bg2 Ba6 11. Nd2 {In the heavily analyzed Nimzo-Indian all this has been played many time before. The text is necessary to prevent black from playing 12...Nce4} (11. Nd4 Nce4 12. Qe3 (12. Bxe4 Nxe4 13. Qc2 d5 {gains the advantage after} 14. cxd5 Nf6 15. Nc6 Qd7 16. Nb4 Bb7) 12... Bxc4 {with the advantage. White should not castle and avoid} 13. Bxe4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Bd5) 11... Rc8 12. b4 Bb7 13. f3 {Castling was better.} Na6 {It looks like this N has no future on a6, but as luck would have it, it's sson to play an important role/} 14. Qd3 d5 15. cxd5 Nxd5 16. Bb2 Qe7 17. Qd4 {Not bad, but the obvious mate on g7 is easily met. Instead of exposing his Q 17.Rc1 would have been safer.} f6 {Equally good would have been 17...Nf6, but Troianescu likes his N on d5. Now with the routine 18.Rc1 that position remains equal...and boring!} 18. b5 {A tactical mistake that results in the sudden collapse of his position...black takes advantage of the Q's exposed position.} e5 19. Qf2 {Where else?} (19. Qe4 Nf4 20. Qf5 Nxg2+) (19. Qa4 Nc5 20. Qc4 Kh8 21. Bh3 f5 22. Qh4 g5 {White has no reasonable continuation.}) 19... Nc5 20. O-O {The K has reached safety, but black has a couple of quick blows that end the game.} Na4 21. Rfb1 Rc2 22. Bc1 Ndc3 23. Rb4 Qd6 24. Qe3 Nd5 25. Qb3 Qc5+ {White had to resign because he is going to lose a piece.} (25... Qc5+ 26. e3 Rxc1+ 27. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 28. Nf1 Nc5 {Black is a piece up.}) 0-1

A Lasker Classic

    The St. Petersburg tournament of 1914 featured the joint winners of the 1914 All Russian Championship (Alekhine and Nimzovich) and players who had won at least one major tournament. 

    The preliminary event consisted of Emanuel Lasker, Jose Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Siegbert Tarrasch, Frank Marshall, Ossip Bernstein, Akiba Rubinstein, Aron Nimzovich, David Janowski, Joseph Blackburne and Isidor Gunsberg. 

    The top five qualified for the final with their preliminary scores carrying over. It was expected that Lasker, Capablanca and Rubinstein would be the main contenders, but Rubinstien failed to qualify. 

    In the finals Lasker and Capablanca battled it out for first. Lasker was a point and a half behind Capablanca at the start of the finals, but in the end Lasker emerged victorious in part due to his win over Marshall in the following last round game. 

 

    I found this game in two books and in neither one of them did the authors make mention of the fact that Marshal missed the best defense at move 17. Perhaps it was the mindset that sacrifices have to be accepted. What the game does prove is that any patzer with an engine can produce better analysis than even the strongest players of yesteryear.

 

[Event "St Petersburg Final"] [Site ""] [Date "1914.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Emanuel Lasker"] [Black "Frank Marshall"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "1914"] [EventType ""] [EventRounds ""] [EventCountry ""] [SourceTitle ""] [Source ""] [SourceDate ""] [SourceVersion ""] [SourceVersionDate ""] [SourceQuality ""] {C42: Petrov Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Qe2 {An old move favored by Paul Morphy. It's quite drawish and so 5. d4 is generally preferred. However, this game was played in the last round and Lasker had a half point lead iver Capablanca and so this line keves him slim chances of losing, There was also a psychological factor involved, Marshahall was not the type of player who acquiesced to a draw si easilt, so he kight take rusk to avoid one.} Qe7 6. d3 Nf6 7. Bg5 Be6 {Black generally prefers to exchange Qs when a draw is almost assured. By avoiding the exchange Marshall is taking a bit of a risk because white is better developed.} 8. Nc3 Nbd7 9. O-O-O {This is the correct side on whicj to castle because the B on f1 is blocked in making O-O difficult to achieve, Also, the R on d1 supports a potential advance of the d-Pawn.} h6 {The immediate 9...O-O-O was playable, Marshall first plays to eliminated white's B.} 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Nh5 12. d4 Nxg3 13. hxg3 g4 14. Nh4 {Not bad as he may be able to follow up with f4. Equally good would have been 14.Nd2.} d5 {Two authors called this move a decisive mistake and suggested 14...Nb6 which, in fact, is a bit better, but 14...d5 is hardly decisive or even a mistake because the position is equal.} 15. Qb5 O-O-O {The same author claimed that this move is practically forced. It's not, but now white's advantage is only minimal, about hals a Pawn. Black's absolute best line is simply beyond human ability to calculate.} (15... c5 {It is no wonder this move escaped human attention; it looks wrong because it seems to leave black's K stuck in the center. The best continuation now is.. .} 16. dxc5 O-O-O $1 {Surprise! Castking Q-side is playable.} 17. c6 {[%csl Gc6][%cal Rb5b7]} Nc5 18. Ne2 Ne4 19. Nd4 Nxf2 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Ng6 Qc7 $1 22. cxb7+ Kb8 $1 23. Rh5 Nxd1 24. Kxd1 Rh7 25. Ne5 $1 {[%cal Re5c6]} Qxb7 26. Nc6+ Kc8 27. Qxb7+ Rxb7 28. Ba6 Rd6 $1 29. Bxb7+ Kxb7 {With complete equality.}) 16. Qa5 a6 {Marshall surely saw what was coming.} (16... Kb8 {favors white after} 17. Nb5 a6 18. Nxc7) (16... c6 {This leaves white with only a slim advantage after} 17. Qxa7 Kc7 18. Qa5+ Kb8 19. Bd3 {White is a P up, but for all practical purposes he can claim no more than abour half a P advantage.}) 17. Bxa6 {[%mdl 640] This is absolutely correct, but white gains the advantage only if black accepts the B.} bxa6 {There wasn't much Marshall could have done about white's move. but it seems incredible that he took the B. If Lasker saw what was going to happen next, it is certain that so did Marshall and so one wonders why he played this move. It's also surprising that the authors of two books make no comment on 17...bxa6. I checked this position with multiple engines and they all quickly settled on 17...c6.} (17... c6 18. Bd3 {White has won a P, but black is not without some compensation.} Qf6 {Attacking two Ps.} 19. Ne2 {He can;t afford to lose the d-Pawn and now it would be too risky fir black to play ...Qxf2, so...} Bd6 {and white is only slightly better.}) (17... Bg7 {This was a possibilty first looked at, but quickly discarded, by a couple of engines.} 18. Rhe1 Kb8 19. Nf5 {At long last this N gets into play.} Qg5+ 20. Ne3 Nb6 21. Be2 {White is better, but black is far from lost.}) 18. Qxa6+ Kb8 19. Nb5 {Now it is clear that white has the makings of a decisive attack on black's K. An important factor is, as mentioned in the note to 9.O-O-O, the R on d1 has supported the advance of the d-(awn and white is now able to play the R to d3 from where it can hoin the attack. White has a decisive advantage adnd the win is routine. White wants to mate with Qa7+.} Nb6 20. Rd3 Qg5+ { This removes the Q from helping defend the Q-side and so only results in q quicker defeat.} (20... Rd7 {was only a bit better.} 21. Rb3 c5 22. Nc3 Rb7 { and white finishes up with} 23. Rxb6 Rxb6 24. Qxb6+ Qb7 25. Qd8+ Qc8 26. Qf6 Rg8 27. Rd1 {White is two Ps up and now adding the R to the attack assures the win.}) 21. Kb1 Bd6 22. Rb3 {Pretty much ending the game.} Rhe8 23. a4 {[%mdl 32]} Bf5 24. Na7 Bd7 25. a5 Qd2 26. axb6 Re1+ 27. Ka2 c6 28. Nb5 $1 {[%mdl 512] } cxb5 29. Qa7+ {Black resigned It's mate in 2.} 1-0

Blundering

    Wednesday’s weather started off pretty decent...temperature in the mid-40s (7 or 8 C) with misty rain. Then temperatures dropped to 15 degrees (-9 C) with gusty winds and light snow that kept up for over 24 hours. As can be seen from the traffic camera of a nearby Interstate it was ugly out there. And, yes, there are a couple of cars in the picture. 

    It was a good day to play some online games. It was obvious from the start of the games that most of my opponents were low rated. In order to make things more challenging I played poor openings myself. For example, 1.g4, 1.f3 and 1.h4 plus I made a few unsound sacrifices. 

    Many amateurs like to think they have a tactical style and, having heard the saying “chess is 99 percent tactics,” think that by playing tactical chess they are bound to win more games. 

    From what I've seen online, some players consider blundering away a piece to be sacrificing it. Among amateur and novice players, blunders often occur because of a faulty thought process where they do not consider the opponent's forcing moves. 

    Another thing I observed is that when facing an obviously bad opening many players will play bad moves trying to refute it. Usually there is no quick refutation and instead, solid developing moves will gain the advantage. 

    Also, blunders are common simply because players don’t do a quick board scan before moving. If they did they would be less prone to putting a piece en prise and making gross tactical blunders. 

 

[Event "Online G/10"] [Site "?"] [Date "2026.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Anonymous"] [Black "Tartajubow"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] {Irregulat Defense} 1. d4 f6 2. Bf4 (2. e4 g6 3. Nf3 Nh6 4. Bc4 e6 5. O-O Nf7 6. Re1 Bg7 7. Bb3 O-O {White is better. There is no forced win, but in the long run black's poor position told against him and he lost. Malaniuk,V (2573) -Wuttke,E (2064) Dresden, 2010} 8. c3 {1-0 (39)}) 2... Kf7 (2... e6 3. e4 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bd3 Ne7 6. Nf3 O-O {Vargas Pereda,J (2006)-Sargissyan,S (2269) chess.com INT 2022. White is better, but by no more thanb the advantage of the firt move,}) 3. e3 h6 4. Bc4+ e6 5. Nd2 {Too slow.} (5. d5 {The threat fi 6. dxe6 cretes a serious problem for black.} d6 6. dxe6+ Bxe6 7. Qh5+ Ke7 8. Bxe6 Kxe6 9. Nc3 {Black's K is badly exposed.}) 5... Kg6 {Of course 5...d5 is the best black has, but I jad an idea of what was coming. White is very well off after either 6.Bd3+ or 6.h4} 6. Qg4+ {While this is certainly not a horrible move it ends up leaving his Q exposed and black uses the time to consolidate his position.} Kh7 7. Bd3+ {A rather pointless check. Better would have been 77.h4 and the h5 with the intemtion of controlling g6.} f5 8. Qg3 d6 9. e4 Nf6 {It's time to develop! 9...g5 was probably OK, too. At this point Stockfish is saying white's advantage is about one Pawn.} 10. O-O-O Nh5 {This gains the two Bs, but continuing ti develop with 10...Nc6 has its merits/} (10... Nc6 $14) 11. Qe3 Nxf4 12. Qxf4 Qf6 13. h4 Nc6 {White should develop with 13.Ngf3. Instead he plays to break up the position on the K-side with a view to getting to my K. Howver, he doesn't have enough pieces iun play and his Q is exposed so the plan doesn;t accomplish much.} 14. g4 e5 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Qh2 {Finally. ..a mistake. 16.g5 would have resulted in equal chances.} fxg4 {Black has a free P and white's pieces are not especially well placed.} 17. h5 Nd4 (17... Bc5 {attacking the f-Pawn would have nearly put whiyte out of commission+/-} 18. f3 Rf8 19. fxg4 Bxg4 {and black is winning.}) 18. f4 Be6 19. Nc4 {Here 19.. .Qxf4 would be decisive, Instead, I tried to get fancy and white ends up with the advantage.} Nxc2 {This earns a question mark.} 20. Qxc2 Qxf4+ 21. Kb1 Rb8 { B;ack could at least stay in the game with 21...Rd8. There is no reason at all for the text which is a serios blunder. White now has what should amount to a winning position.} 22. Ne2 (22. Rf1 {was extremely potent.} Qg5 23. Rf5 Qe7 ( 23... Bxf5 24. exf5 Qf6 25. Ne3 Rd8 26. Nxg4 {with a vicious attack.}) 24. Rxe5 Rd8 25. Rxe6 Qxe6 26. Ne2 {White has two Ns vs a R+2Ps, but more important than material, is white's positional superiority. For example...} g5 27. hxg6+ Qxg6 28. Nf4 Qc6 29. e5+ Rxd3 30. Qxd3+ Kg8 31. Rf1 Rh7 32. e6 Rg7 33. Ng6 Qc5 34. Rxf8+ {wins}) 22... Qg5 23. Ng3 b5 24. Na5 c5 25. Nf5 c4 {White still has a significant advantage, but now, even with several minutes on his clock, he saw a ghost and made a bad sacrifice when all he needed to do was retreat the B to e2/} 26. Bxc4 {[%mdl 8192]} bxc4 27. Nxc4 Rc8 {The pin is fatal.} 28. Nfd6 (28. b3 {is equally hopeless.} Bxc4 29. bxc4 Rb8+ 30. Ka1 Ba3 31. Rb1 Rhd8 32. Qc3 (32. Rxb8 Rxb8 33. Rb1 Rxb1+ 34. Kxb1 Qf4 {The threat on ...Qf1+ wins outright.}) 32... Rxb1+ 33. Rxb1 Bc5 34. Qa5 Bf2 35. c5 g3 36. c6 g2 {wins. Would I have seen all this if white had played 28.b3? Of course not.}) 28... Bxd6 29. Rxd6 Bxc4 30. Qf2 Rhd8 31. Rg6 Bd3+ 32. Ka1 Qc1+ {Why not sacrifice the Q?!} 33. Rxc1 Rxc1# 0-1

A Brilliant Finish by Lasker

    St. Petersburg 1895/96 was a quadrangular event with the four strongest players in the world, Lasker, Steinitz, Pillsbury and Chigorin who played 6 games each against the other three competitors. 

    The only top player missing from this event was Tarrasch. According to Chessmetrics' December 1895 rating lisi the top players were Lasker ((2842), Tarrasch (2803), Chigorin (2794), Steinitz (2746) and Pillsbury (2727). 

    Lasker clearly maintained his right to claim the World Championship despite the fact that he had a minus score of +1 -2 =3 against Pillsbury. Pillsbury was the most dangerous opponent that Lasker faced during the first years of his reign and between 1893 and 1904 they faced each other in 12 tournament games. The final score was +5 -4 =3 in Lasker’s favor. 

    The openings in this event were mostly QP, Ruy Lopez, Petrov and the Evans Gambit. Steinitz was experimenting with his line against the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6) without much success and later abandoned it in favor of 3…a6 followed by 4…d6. It was also rumored that in three of their game Pillsbury and Steinitz agreed to open with 1.d4. 

 

 

    Blunders. Lasker hardly made any while Steinitz and Pillsbury (most of Pillsbury’s were because of time pressure) made a fair share. Chigorin also made quite a few, but his seemed to have mostly been caused by fatigue, perhaps due to illness. 

    In the following game, while Steinitz wastes a lot of time maneuvering on the K-side, Lasker methodically builds up his position and when Steinitz blunders on move 26, it’s all over. You’ll like Lasker’s refutation of Steinitz’ mistake and it’s worth playing through the final moves several times trying to visualize the possibilities.

[Event "St. Petersburg 1895/96"] [Site ""] [Date "1895.12.15"] [Round "2"] [White "Emanuel Lasker"] [Black "Wilhelm Steinitz"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C71"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "1895.12.13"] {C87: ClRuy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 {The ideas for both sides are somewhat limited with this defense and black's main disadvantage is that he remains cramped.} 5. d4 Bd7 6. c3 {These days this is the most popular move, but also playable is the immediate 6.O-O} Nf6 7. Nbd2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 Re8 10. Nf1 Bf8 11. Ng3 g6 12. h3 Bg7 13. Bc2 (13. d5 {is also effective.} Ne7 14. Bc2 Rf8 15. c4 Nh5 16. Nxh5 gxh5 17. Nh2 Be8 18. Qxh5 {Gruenfeld,Y (2545)-Adams,M (2660) New York, 1994}) 13... Bc8 {Black has tried multiple moves here, but none are especially promiaing.} (13... h6 {is the usual move today. At the time Steinitz was experimenting.} 14. Nh2 Kh7 15. f4 exd4 16. cxd4 {White is still better. Reti,R-Bogoljubow,E Dortmund 1928}) 14. d5 Ne7 15. Be3 {In the tournament book James Mason was critical of Steinitz’ play hereabouts because he does a lot of shifting about of his pieces, eventually playing for ...f5. This was typical of Steinitz’ play, but in the meantime Lasker methodically prepares his attack. But there appears to be no better plan for black.} Rf8 16. Qd2 Ne8 17. Bh6 Kh8 $14 18. Rad1 Ng8 {Black seems to be wasting a lot time fiddling around here, but his position is so solid that it is difficult for white to make any headway.} 19. Bxg7+ Nxg7 20. c4 {[%mdl 2048] Black is under pressure and with his nexr nive seeks some freedom..} f5 21. Qc3 {Better woulld have been 21.exf5} fxe4 (21... f4 {This was Mason’s recommendation and it does seem better. The N’s aren’t well placed, but there is some possibility that Black would be able to work up a K-side attack. Opening up the file has some disadvantages in this position as we shall see.} 22. Nf1 g5 {with about equal chances.}) 22. Bxe4 Nf6 {Evidently played with the intention of exchanging the B, but the result is that white's N finds a nive outpost on e4. Something like the precautionary 22...b6 hindering white's counterplay with c5 was in order.} 23. Qe3 Nxe4 24. Nxe4 {The N occupies a nice outpost from here.} Rf4 {This turns out to be a poor idea.} (24... Nf5 25. Qd3 b6 26. b4 {and white is only slightly better.}) 25. c5 Bf5 (25... dxc5 26. Nxe5 {Threatening Nf7+} Qf8 27. Nxc5 {with a technically won position.}) 26. Nfg5 Qd7 {Lasker finishes the game in great style.} 27. Qxf4 {[%mdl 512] This must have come as a shock to Steinitz.} exf4 28. Nf6 Ne6 (28... Qc8 29. Nf7#) ( 28... Qd8 29. Nf7#) 29. Nxd7 Nxg5 30. Re7 Kg8 31. Nf6+ Kf8 32. Rxc7 {Black resigned, White is up the exchange and a P/} 1-0

Rose Almost Beat Capablanca

    My father, who never played chess, was born in 1907, a time when comic strips, dime novels and early silent films (nickelodeons) were becoming popular. Traveling vaudeville shows were popular. They featured variety acts like comedians, singers, dancers, magicians, acrobats, trained animals, and dramatic skits. 

    In 1907, Emanuel Lasker successfully defended his World Championship title against Frank Marshall that was played in six American cities. Lasjer won by a score of +8 -0 =7. 

    A major tournament was held in Ostend, Belgium that was won by Siegbert Tarrasch. It was also the year some young player, ike Akiba Rubinstein, Aron Nimzovich, Richard Reti, Milan Vidmar and Tarrasch himself were beginning to make their mark. 

    In a minor, long forgotten event, for the seventh time the international cable match between an American team of players from Columbia, Harvard and Yale met a British team rom Oxford and Cambridge in a cable match that was held on Saturday, March 23, 1907. They were playing for a silver shield, a gift from Professor Isaac L. Rice. At the time it was in the custody of Oxford and Cambridge.

 

    The Americans played at the rooms of the Rice Chess Club in the Cafe Boulevard, 156 Second Avenue, New York City. The British team played in the rooms of the Metropolitan Chess Club in the Inns of Court Hotel, London. By 7:30am New York time, a crew from the Commercial Cable Company established a direct connection and play began half an hour later. 

    Capablanca’s opponent in this game, Herbert J. Rose (1883-1961, 78 years old) was born in Orillia, Ontario, north of Toronto. He attended McGill University in Montreal, and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. Studying at Balliol College, Oxford, he was a member of the university chess team playing in four Varsity matches, and against Capablanca in the cable match. Rose went on to become a professor of Latin and Greek, authoring the standard textbook, A Handbook of Greek Mythology, in 1928.

 

[Event "College Cable Match"] [Site "?"] [Date "1907.03.23"] [Round "?"] [White "Jose Capablanca (USA)"] [Black "H.J. Rose (England)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C63"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "1907.??.??"] {C63: Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense/Jaenisch Gambit} 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 {The Schliemann Defense, aka the Jaenisch Gambit, is a sharp line in which black sacrifices a P with the hope of getting a K-side attack. It's risky.} 4. d3 {At the time a great deal of analysis was done on this position and it was concluded that 4.Nc3, a move which had the backing of Lasker, was best. Today both moves get equal billing, but statistics seem to favor 4.Nc3} Nf6 5. O-O fxe4 6. dxe4 d6 7. Nc3 Be7 8. h3 O-O 9. Ng5 {It was correctly suggested that 9.Bc4+ and 10.a3 securing a retreat for the valuable B was better.} Qe8 10. f4 h6 11. Bc4+ Kh8 12. Ne6 (12. Nf7+ Rxf7 13. Bxf7 Qxf7 {Generally speaking the B+N are to ne favored over the R amd sp sucj an exchange should be avoided.}) 12... Bxe6 13. Bxe6 Nd4 14. Bb3 (14. Bc4 b5 15. Bd3 b4 16. Ne2 Nxe2+ 17. Qxe2 {is about equal. Schurade,M (2360)-Moehring,G (2375) Leipzig 1981}) 14... Nxb3 15. axb3 Qc6 16. Qe2 {He could have played 16. Qd3 immediately.} exf4 17. Bxf4 a6 18. Rae1 Rae8 19. Qd3 Nd7 20. Nd5 Nc5 21. Qc3 {Baiting a trap.} Ne6 (21... Nxe4 {An early annotator suggested that this was less complicated, but it is, in fact, more complicated and inferior to the move played.} 22. Qxc6 bxc6 23. Nxc7 Bh4 24. Nxe8 Bxe1 25. Nxd6 Rxf4 26. Rxf4 Nxd6 {White has a R+P vs B+N plus nlack has weak Ps and so this position strongly favors white.}) 22. Qd2 {White would have done better by making a couple of exchanges.} (22. Nxe7 Rxe7 23. Qxc6 bxc6 24. Bd2) 22... Nxf4 23. Nxf4 Qc5+ 24. Kh1 Bg5 25. Ng6+ Kg8 26. Qd3 Rxf1+ 27. Rxf1 Bf6 {[%mdl 2048] Now a good way for white to seek play is to advance his h-Pawn.} 28. e5 {An annotator of the day correctly called this move unnecessarily risky, adding that apparently Capablanca felt it incumbent upon himself to do something. His main problem is that he was hampered by the weak e-Pawn. Writing in The Unknown Capablanca author Dale Brandreth stated that Capablanca only played in two telegraph matches, because he did not like the slow pace of play. And, he arrived late for this game, played quickly and that explains his rash play in maling this move.} (28. h4 Qb5 29. c4 Qc6 30. Rf4 b5 31. h5 bxc4 (31... Bxb2 { loses to} 32. Rf8+ Rxf8 (32... Kh7 33. e5 Rxf8 34. Ne7+) 33. Ne7+) 32. bxc4 Bg5 {with completely equal chances.}) 28... dxe5 29. b4 {Baiting another trap.} Qc6 (29... Qxb4 30. Qd5+ Kh7 31. Rxf6 gxf6 32. Qf7#) 30. Qb3+ Qe6 31. Qg3 {Trading Qs would have left white with no chances at all.} Bg5 32. Nh4 {This loses outright, but even after his best try of 32.h4 black would be winning.} Bxh4 { This move is just OK, but it's not the strongest.} (32... Qc4 {threatening ... Qxf1# secures the win after. It;s surprising that the annotator in the American Chess Bulletin and the players missed this.} 33. Kg1 Qxh4 {and black is a B and a P up.}) 33. Qxh4 {[%mdl 4096]} e4 34. Re1 Qe7 {His passed P would have been stronger with Qs on the board.} (34... e3 {has better winning chances.} 35. Re2 Qd5 36. c3 Qd1+ 37. Qe1 Qd3 {Black has the advantage, but squeezubg out the win would likely be an arduous process.}) 35. Qxe7 Rxe7 36. Kg1 Kf7 37. Kf2 Kf6 38. Ke3 Ke5 39. Rd1 h5 40. Rd4 Kf5 41. Rd5+ Kg6 42. Rd4 { Fraw agreed.} 1/2-1/2

Geller Gets Lucky Against Fischer

    Soviet GM Yefim Geller (1925-1998) was one of the least appreciated of the GM’s of his era. In addition to ranking among the world’s elite players, he was known for his tactical ability and brilliant attacking style. 

    In later years he abandoned his youthful aggressiveness and became a more rounded player and, according to Botvinnik, was the best player in the world in the late 1960’s. If you enjoy attacking chess, his games are worthy of examination.

    Here’s one of his wins over Fischer that was played at Skopje in 1967. Skopje was rebuilt because of a devastating earthquake in 1963 that destroyed about 80% of the city. Following its rebuilding Yugoslavia organized the first in a series of international tournaments to be held in Skopje. 

    The first tournament featured a field of twelve Yugoslav masters headed by GM Milan Matulovic. The Soviet Union sent two veteran grandmasters, Efim Geller and Ratmir Kholmov. Fischer had just recently returned to international competition and Skopje would be an important stop on his road to the 1967 Sousse Interzonal.

    Going into this event, Matulovic, Geller, and Kholmov all had plus scores against Fischer, making them excellent choices to potentially challe Fischer’s chances at taking first place.

 

 

    Fischer lost his second round game to Geller and after the ninth round, despite being tied for first with Kholmov, Fischer, ever the petty little snot, announced he would withdraw from the tournament unless the spectators were removed from further rounds. The organizers wouldn’t meet the demand and Fischer forfeited his tenth round game (against Knezevic). However, upon a compromise was reached and in a show of true sportsmanship Knezevic agreed to play the forfeited game.

 

 

[Event "Skopje"] [Site ""] [Date "1967.08.08"] [Round "2"] [White "Robert Fischer"] [Black "Efim Geller"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B88"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "1967.08.??"] {[%evp 21,46,113,104,96,123,110,155,176,183,164,163,190,171,147,155,143,109, 146,217,0,-7,-335,-347,-338,-332,-499,-499] B89: Sicilian: Velimirovic Attack} 1. e4 {In tournament play Geller's life time score against Fischer was +5 -2 =3.} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 {Geller plays the classical 5...Nc6 instead of the popular and highly analyzed Najdorf 5...a6} 6. Bc4 {A Fischer favorite as it leads to sharp play.} e6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Bb3 O-O 9. Qe2 {Preparing to castle Q-side. Wf can plan on seeing a real fight.} Qa5 { Gekker is going all out for an attack, but this is risky, The standard ...a6 and ...b5 is a safer alternative.} 10. O-O-O Nxd4 {Best. With black's Q on a5 the other two options (10...a6 and 10...Bd7 have proven much less effective.} 11. Bxd4 Bd7 12. Kb1 Bc6 {The point of his 10th move. On c6 the B puts pressure on white's e-Pawn and allows for a potential break by ...d5} 13. f4 Rad8 (13... d5 {loses the game...} 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Bxd5 Qxd5 ( 16... exd5 17. Qxe7) 17. Bxg7) (13... e5 {Appears to limit white's attacking possibilities by blocking the center, but after} 14. fxe5 dxe5 15. Bf2 { Black should now play ...Bd7-e6 when white still has the better game, but not} b5 16. g4 {This is a very sharp position, but the complications favore white.} b4 17. g5 Nd7 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. Rxd5 Qc7 20. h4 {White has all the chances.}) 14. Rhf1 b5 15. f5 {The idea is to open up lines so he can use his two Bs which are aimed at the black K. At this point Fischer has established a very promising position.} b4 {This traps the N, but white has resources that make up fot it!} 16. fxe6 bxc3 17. exf7+ Kh8 {Black threatens ...Bb5.} (17... Rxf7 { fails because the B on c6 is loose.} 18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. Qc4+ d5 20. Qxc6 dxe4 21. Bxc3 Qc5 22. Qxc5 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 Bxc5 24. Bd4 Bxd4 25. Rxd4 {and white is winning.}) 18. Rf5 {[%mdl 2048] Keeping up the pressure.} (18. Bxc3 {This is a good looking movem but after} Qg5 {white's K-side play is gummed up.} 19. h4 Qg4 {and black can claim at least equality.}) 18... Qb4 19. Qf1 {Fischer has a very strong attack on f6 which, if successfully carried out, would win. Unfortunately for him, in the complications he mishandles the attack.} Nxe4 { There is but a single move that keeps the attack going and Fischer fails to find it.} 20. a3 Qb7 21. Qf4 {[%mdl 8192] What a paradox! Last move this would have won; this move it loses.} (21. Rh5 {keeep white in the game.} Qd7 (21... Ba4 22. Qf5 Ng5 23. Bxg7+ Kxg7 24. Rxg5+ Kh8 (24... Bxg5 25. Qxg5+ {mayes}) 25. Rxd6 {wins as the R cannit be taken.} Rxd6 26. Rg8+ Rxg8 27. fxg8=R#) 22. Bxg7+ Kxg7 23. Qf4 d5 24. Qh6+ Kxf7 25. Qxh7+ Ke8 26. Qg6+ Rf7 {and a draw is a likely outcome.}) 21... Ba4 {This sudden attack on white's K is an unexpected blow.} 22. Qg4 Bf6 23. Rxf6 {Losing instantly, but there was no way of saving the game/} Bxb3 {White resigned.} (23... Bxb3 24. cxb3 Nxf6 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Qd4 c2+ 27. Kxc2 Rxf7 {White is a R down.}) 0-1