Hans Mueller's Opponent Makes A Faulty Assumption

Mueller, the chess player

     There have been a lot of Hans Muellers! The name may refer to a well known German politician, two World War I flying aces, a physicist, a professor, a German film and television director, a physician working in China, a Swiss figure skater and coach, a Swiss Olympic pentathlete, a Swiss Grand Prix motorcycle racer, a German football player, an Austrian mathematician, a Dutch water polo player and the Austrian chess player. 
     It's the chess player who is the subject of this post. According to a post in Edward Winter's site, besides chess, Mueller was a master of fencing, skiing and lawn tennis and also published works on graphology, microscopy and Hindu philosophy, but I was unable to find more information on any of his accomplishments in those areas. 
     Mueller (December 1, 1896, Vienna – February 28, 1971, Vienna) was an Austrian master (both over the board and correspondence), theoretician and author of books. He was one of the best players in Austria until the end of the Second World War. He was also an opening theorist and authored books on Alekhine and Botvinnik. Awarded the IM title in 1950, his career began in the 1920s and lasted until 1970. 
     Mueller's father was a military Kapellmeister (leader or conductor of an orchestra or choir) who was wounded in World War I and returned home to find little left. Hans was forced to abandon his studies in mechanical engineering in order to earn a living and worked various jobs which included laborer, banker, chess instructor, language, music, tennis and skiing. Once he managed to establish himself he was able to pursue his other interests: graphology (handwriting analysis), gardening, meteorology, fish farming and sports. 
     His chess career started in 1921 when he won his first tournament in Vienna and in 1922 he won the Austrian championship. Most of his successes came in the 1930s, mostly in Austrian tournaments, but he also had some good results in international events. 
     Mueller also represented Austria at the Olympiads in 1928, 1930, 1933, 1935, 1936 and 1950. He was also successful in correspondence chess. In 1932-33 he won the first unofficial World Correspondence Championship which was conducted by the forerunner of the ICCF. He represented the Austrian national team at the first Fernschach Olympiad of the IFSB in the years 1937-39 and scored with 4.5-0.5 on third board in the final round. 
     After the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in March 1938, Austrian chess was reorganized and affiliated with the Greater German Chess Federation (GSB) and during that time Mueller was one of the best players in Austria until the end of the Second World War. 
     During the Nazi years many Jewish Austrian players (the "Aryan" paragraph of the GSB forbade them from playing) and non-chess players faced an uncertain future or managed to escape. In 1939, in Aachen, Mueller, a non-Jew, was awarded the newly created title "Reichsschachmeister" after winning the first Official Championship Tournament of the National Socialist organization Kraft durch Freude. 
     During the occupation Mueller won the Vienna City Championship, which included Ernst Gruenfeld, in 1938, 1939 and 1941. He also participated in the German Championships in 1939, 1941, 1942 and 1943. In 1942 he finished second behind Ludwig Rellstab. 
     After the end of the Second World War, Viennese players no longer occupied places of prominence as the old timers were no longer able to keep up with a new generation players. That included Mueller whose results began to slip in the late 1940s and 1950s. 
     His active tournament career came to an end in the mid-1950s and he began writing instructional chess books which enjoyed great popularity. However, in 1954 he did win San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy. Until the late 1960s he participated in team events and Vienna City Championships where his best result was was third in 1964. 
     For decades, Mueller was a leading chess columnist in various Austrian daily newspapers, wrote articles for numerous chess magazines and was also a respected trainer and chess teacher. 
     Mueller's opponent in this game did what many of us do. When we analyze we make assumptions: I play here, he plays there. Then I capture and he retakes, etc. 
     What often happens is that amateurs calculate moves where they assume their opponent will make moves that fall in line with their plans. Masters on the other hand look for ways their opponent can upset their plans. 
     Those “ifs” and “thens” are our assumptions, but if we are assuming wrong, we are likely to have an accident when the opponent throws a monkey wrench (as Andrew Soltis called them) into our plans. That's exactly what happened to white in this game when he played 21.Qc7?? 
     He most likely assumed that his opponent would take the Q and white would recapture with a R on the 7th which is almost always a good thing. These accidents happen because we never stop to ask, “What other useful move does he have?”
     When we realize we've made a false assumption, assuming it doesn't lead to immediate disaster as in this game, there's also a psychological factor...we start second guessing ourselves. Instead of forgetting the past and making a new evaluation of the situation we keep reliving it. I remember reading a note by Rossolimo in which he explained his poor play because he suddenly realized his situation was critical. Instead of reassessing the new situation, he spent his time inveighing against his previous play. 
     These false assumptions frequently involve captures; we assume they are obligatory. Take the following position from Yusupov vs. Short played in Barcelona, 1989. 
 

White to move

     Yusapov's strategy has been to attack the P on d5 and he now assumed it was now time to take it which is made possible because of black's unguarded R on e8 and so he played 31.Rxd5?? 
     Yusupov's assumption was that black had to take the R with 31...Rxd5, then he could play 32.Qxe8 Qxb3 33.Qe7 and his strategy has successfully resulted in a tactical sequence that wins the d-Pawn. Likewise, if black plays 31.Bxd5 32.Qxd7 also picks up material. It was a bad assumption. Short didn't recapture; he played 31...Red8 which wins a piece and white had to resign. 

Fun With Queens

     For whatever reasons studying endings isn't something most amateurs concern themselves with, but they actually can be quite enjoyable as well as instructive. My guess is that if most players spent as much time studying endings as they do openings they would be more advanced. 
     When I played over the following game in which white had a Q+3Ps vs. a Q+2Ps with all the Pawns on the same side, I thought there was no way white could win, but Averbakh managed to win in just a handful of moves. 
     What makes endings tough to study is that there are rules that must be remembered, lots of them. For example, in the case of a Q vs. a single P, the P always wins unless her K is not nearby and the P is a BP or a RP. Of course, there are exceptions. 
     Generally, in Q+P vs Q endings, the Q moves in a zig-zag fashion, checking and pinning until the K is forced to block its P allowing the opposing K to approach. 
    In a R and P ending where there are Ps on one side of the board, the game is almost always drawn, but with Qs there are winning chances. The reason is that with Qs there are mating chances. 
     In the following game, black also has a weak P, so combined with the mating possibilities, white was able to win fairly quickly.  
     Averbakh's opponent in this game was Alexey Suetin (November 16, 1926 - September 10, 2001) who was a Russian GM and author. A Muscovite and a mechanical engineer by profession, his philosophy was always that "mastery is not enough; you must dare, take risks." 
     Suetin was a strong GM and for many years one of the most respected coaches in Moscow; he guided the ultimate strategist, Tigran Petrosian, to the World Championship and numbered Vassily Ivanchuk among his many pupils. 
    He achieved many excellent results in tournaments in the 1960s and 1970s and participated in seven USSR Championships from 1958 to 1966. His playing career stretched into the 1990s, but he was a chain-smoker,and found it difficult to adjust to FIDE's ban on smoking in tournament halls that went into effect in 1990. 
     Suetin was married to WGM Kira Zvorykina; He died aged 74 of a heart attack shortly after returning home from the Russian Senior Championship. Two of his books that are worth reading are: Soviet Chess Strategy - a collection of Suetin's best writings covering things like strategy, play in the center, accurate evaluation, attack and defense and the relationship between strategy and tactics, etc. An excellent book. Plan Like A Grandmaster - how to formulate a plan in the opening and early middle game 
     This game was played in the 21st (1954) Soviet Chess Championship which was held in Kiev. Twenty of the Soviet Union's best players participated. Vladimir Simagin quailfied, but was unable to play and his place went to Salo Flohr. Four places were awarded on merit to Averbakh, Geller, Petrosian and Taimanov.
     Averbakh's play was surprising...he was undefeated, drawing with Taimanov, Korchnoi, Lisitsin, Petrosin, Kholmov, Nzehmetdinov, Flohr, Borisenko and Shamkovich. Both Taimanov and Petrosian were also undefeated, but had too many draws. 

1) Averbakh 14.5 
2-3) Taimanov and Korchnoi 13.0 
4-5) Lisitsin and Petrosian 11.0 
6) Kholmov 10.5 
7-9) Suetin, Furman and Nezhmetdinov 10.0 
10-11) Byvshev and Geller 9.5 
12-13) Flohr and Borisenko 8.5 
14-16) Bannik, Ilivitsky and Lilienthal 8.0 
17-18) Shamkovich and Ragozin 6.5 
19) Livshin 6.0 
20) Sokolsky 5.0 

     The year 1954 had some interesting events: Actress Marilyn Monroe eloped with baseball player Joe DiMaggio in an ill-fated marriage that lasted only nine months. DiMaggio quit his job on August 1, 1962 because he had decided to ask Monroe to remarry him, but she was found dead in her home on August 5th.
     The seeds of the Vietnam War had already been planted. In early 1954, President Eisenhower authorized the release of $385 million over the $400 million that was already budgeted for military aid to Vietnam and at the same time warned against United States intervention in Vietnam. Nevertheless, in April, Vice President Richard Nixon announced that the United States would be “putting our own boys in Indochina regardless of Allied support.” 
     Four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire in the House of Representatives and wounded five people. The Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional. Elvis' first single, That's All Right, was released. 
     The Senate voted 67–22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute” because of his witch hunt for Communists. Too bad they don't condemn members today for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute”, but I suppose that's because if they did, just about everybody in the Senate would be censured. TV dinners were introduced. 
     In chess, the Russian team pummeled the American team by a score of 19-13 in New York. As if that wasn't bad enough, Keres beat Reshevsky 21-19 in ping-pong, in team play Bisguier and Kaminsky lost two matches to Keres and Geller, Tainanov beat Evans and Kotov beat Abe Turner. 
     Arthur Bisguier won the U.S. Championship with an undefeated 10-5. Defending champ Larry Evans was second a point back. The U.S. Open was a tie between Larry Evans and Arturo Pomar of Spain. 

Eric Cobb's Brilliancy Prize

     Memphis, Tennessee was the site of the 21st Western Championship held from September 20-26, 1920. 
     The U.S. Open Championship has been held in the United States annually since 1900. The tournament was originally the championship of the Western Chess Association and was called the Western Open. In 1934 the Western Chess Association became the American Chess Federation and the tournament became the American Chess Federation congress. In 1939, that organization merged into the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and the tournament became the U.S. Open. 
     In early years the tournament was usually small and most years was a round robin. In some years it had to be divided into preliminary and final sections. It grew larger starting in 1934, necessitating use of different formats. In 1946 the Swiss System was used for preliminary rounds and beginning in 1947 it became a single section Swiss. 
     The early Western Opens were a Who's Who of American players of the day, many of whom are long forgotten: Louis Uedemann, Nicholas MacLeod, Stasch Mlotkowski, Edward F. Schrader, George H. Wolbrecht, Einar Michelsen, Edward P. Elliot, Charles Blacke, Bradford B. Jefferson, Samuel Factor, Leon Stolzenberg, Albert Margolis and Herman H. Hahlbohm. 
     A few were well known: Max Judd, Oscar Chajes, Jackson Showalter, Edward Lasker, Bora Kostic, Norman Whitaker, Carlos Torre, Abraham Kupchik, Samuel Reshevsky and Reuben Fine. 
     There wasn't much going on in Memphis in 1920. The city did host the Commission on Interracial Cooperation Women's Interracial Conference, but that's about it. The population was 162,351, today it's over 650,000 and it's known as home to musicians like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Muddy Waters, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Robert Johnson, W. C. Handy, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. Jones, Eric Gales, Al Green, Alex Chilton, Justin Timberlake and the late Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis. 
     One interesting thing about Memphis didn't come about until long after the tournament...their strange traffic laws. By 1929 the city was experiencing an alarming increase in automobile accidents and the motor car had become the greatest menace to human life and had made the streets of the city places of real danger. That's what the city's traffic code book said. In fact, on the front cover there was an ad for an ambulance service whose slogan was “World's Finest Ambulance Service.” 
     By 1929 you couldn’t hitch a horse to a hydrant or to any ornamental or shade tree or lamp post and it was forbidden to drive or ride any animal with a bell attached to it. The only exception was made for a sleigh or sled. 
     No motor vehicle could be operated at a speed greater than 25 miles per hour and if you were going around a corner you had to slow to 10 miles per hour. Trucks could not be driven at a greater speed than 20 miles per hour.
     Roller skates were not permitted on city streets and you couldn't hitch a ride on a moving streetcar or other moving vehicle for the purpose of being propelled along if you were riding a bicycle. 
     If you had a vehicle that was used primarily for advertising purposes you couldn't stop in a congested district, but had to keep moving at a speed of at least 3 miles per hour. One “traffic” law even stated you could not use dirigible searchlights or spotlights on public streets. 
     Back to the tournament...defending champion Edward Lasker took his fourth title, but he was challenged by hometown hero and two-time champion Bradford B. Jefferson. Lasker defeated Jefferson in the first round, but three draws allowed Jefferson a chance to catch up before his last-round loss to John T. Beckner. Jackson W. Showalter had been expected to play, but telegraphed his regrets at the last moment. 
     The tournament was held in the Chess Room of the Memphis Chamber of Commerce. Play was from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, then after lunch from 3;00 pm to 7:00 pm. The time limit was 15 moves per hour. 

1) Edward Lasker (+4 -0 =3) 5.5 
2) Bradford B Jefferson (+4 -2 =1) 4.5 
3) John T. Beckner (+4 -2 =1) 4.5 
4) Robert Scrivener (+3 -2 =2) 4.0 
5) Eric M. Cobb (+4 -3 =0) 4.0 
6) Louis R. Eisenberg (+3 -3 =1) 3.5 
7) Marvin C. Palmer (+2 -5 =1) 1.5 
8) John H. Norris (+0 -6 =1) 0.5 
Norris' only draw was against Lasker 

     The first brilliancy prize was awarded to Henry Bird in 1876. Brilliancy prizes were simply a consolation prize and the games often proved to be unsound and filled with mistakes, but that doesn't matter. 
     When writing about the famous Evergreen Game between Anderssen and Dufresne, Kasparov wrote, "To create a chess masterpiece, you really do need the generous participation of your opponent!" I'm not sure, but I think that means sacrifices are not sound if one's opponent makes no glaring mistakes. Of course, if both the opponent and the player make no mistakes, glaring or otherwise, at all, the game should theoretically end in a draw. Chess relies upon mistakes, however minuscule, in order to remain a game that people actually want to play.” 
     The following game earned Eric Cobb of Austin. Texas the brilliancy prize; like many brilliancy prize games it's not perfect, but it is a lot of fun to play over!

Knight Sac vs Queen Sac

    Jackson W. Showalter, known as "the Kentucky Lion" after his birthplace and his hairstyle, loved life, family, chess, and cigars and was so well respected by his fellow chess players that even the acerbic William Steinitz was once said that Showalter was one of only six men from whom he would accept a cigar. Showalter passed away at the age or 76 on his birthday, February 5. 1935.
     The Franco-Polish David Janowski (May 25, 1868 – January 15, 1927) began his professional chess career in 1894. He won tournaments in Monte Carlo 1901, Hanover 1902 and tied for first at Vienna 1902 and Barmen 1905. In 1915 he left Europe for the United States and spent the next nine years there before returning to Paris. A sharp tactician who was known for his love of the Bishop pair, Capablanca said, "when in form [he] is one of the most feared opponents who can exist". Capablanca also noted that Janowski's greatest weakness as a player was the endgame. A gambler, he would often lose all of his chess winnings at the roulette wheel. 
     They played four matches, three while Janowski was visiting New York in 1898-1899 and a on in 1916 when the war left Janowski stuck in the United States. 

New York 1899

      On September 13, 1899 Henry Bliss went down in history when he became the first known traffic fatality when he stepped off a streetcar at Central Park and West 74th Street and was run over by an almost silent electric taxi.
     The taxi driver, Arthur Smith, was arrested and tried for manslaughter, but was acquitted.  Smith's passenger was Dr. David Edson, son of a former city mayor.  Today there is a plaque in Smith's memory.

74th and Central Park today

     The first match was played at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York from November 18, 1898 through January 12, 1899. The stakes were $750 a side. The match was to be played to seven wins for either player, draws not counting. However, if there were a tie at six games each, then they were to play till one achieved ten wins. The match was postponed after the ninth game on December 10th, with Janowski leading by 4-2, when Showalter returned home to Georgetown, Kentucky, after receiving news of the death of his brother, Judge John W. Showalter of Chicago. After resumption on January 6, 1899 only four more games were required, Janowski winning the final three in a row. Janowski scored a decisive +& -2 =2 victory. 

The Showalters: John and Jackson

     The second match was originally meant to be a series of five games played at the Manhattan Chess Club from March 15-20, 1899, but the players agreed to add a sixth game when the score was tied 2-2. The stakes were $125 per side, with a $60 purse put up by the club and split between the two players. Showalter lost the first two games then scored four wins in a row to take the match 4-2. 
     A little over week, starting on March 29 and lasting until April 7, 1899 they began the third match hosted by the Brooklyn Chess Club. The stakes were $250 a side, with the Club tossing in an extra $100 to be divided equally between the players. Showalter scored a solid win, +4 -2 =1. 
     The fourth match was played December 8-29, 1916 at the Elks' Club in Lexington, Kentucky, with games 6-10 in Showalter's home town of Georgetown. The stakes were $750 a side, with Janowski's travel and living expenses being paid. 
     By that time both players were past their peak, but while Janowski had stayed active while the older Showalter had been semi-retired for some time, but had recently staged a successful return to tournament play. In match play in 1916 he demolished Norman T. Whitaker by a score of 6-1. He also tried to arrange matches in Kentucky with Abraham Kupchik and Boris Kostic. 
     The Russian-born Kupchik isn't well known, but he was a very solid player with an extremely boring style.  Arnold Denker described Kuochik, an accountant by profession, as a frightened little rabbit who was barely five feet tall and weighing no more than 115 pounds, adding that he was “so lacking in physical substance that he seemed in perpetual danger of becoming the man who was no longer there. 

Kupchik in the 1930s

     He won the Manhattan Chess Club Championship ten times outright and tied for wirst once. In 1915, he tied for third place with Oscar Chajes, behind Capablanca and Marshall in New York. In 1916, he tied for second with Janowski and Kostic behind Capablanca and he tied for first with Marshall at Lake Hopatcong 1923. In match play, Kupchik lost a to Bogoljubow (+1 −3 =2), drew a match with Carlos Torre Repetto (+1 −1 =4) in New York. He played for the US team in the Olympiad at Warsaw 1935, scoring an impressive +6 -0 =8 on third board. 
     Borislav Kostic (1887 – 1963) was a Hungarian-born Serbian player. In 1910 he moved to Germany and began touring mainly in the Americas, playing matches against local champions and exhibiting his legendary skills as a player of simultaneous blindfold chess.  
     At New York in 1916, he played twenty opponents without sight of a board and won nineteen games and drew one, while engaging in conversation with opponents and spectators. 
     Kostic played matches against Frank Marshall, Jackson Showalter, and Paul Leonhardt, winning them all. Then at Havana in 1919 he lost 5-0 to Capablanca who was just coming into his own. Kostic also played in several tournaments while in the United States; In New York 1918 he finished second behind Capablanca. 
     In their first three matches, Janowski and Showalter were fairly evenly matched with Janowski scoring +11 -10 =5. In the last match Janowski dominated and the overall total was a Janowski victory with a +18 -12 =6 score.
     One of the most exciting games was game 6 of their 1898 match: Janowski sacrificed a N and then two moves later Showalter counter sacrificed his Queen. This amazing game is filled with fascinating tactics, many of which were missed by both players as well as annotator James Mason! 

Kotov's Masterpiece

via GIPHY
     Everybody is (or should be) familiar with the great Zurich 1953 tournament and has (or should have) the tournament book either by Bronstein or Najdorf. Zurich was a Candidates Tournament for the 1954 World Chess Championship which led to the match between Smyslov and Botvinnik. Also, most players have probably seen the famous Αverbakh vs. Kotov game which is presented below because it has appeared in numerous books. Even if you have seen it before, it never gets old. 
     Writing in the tournament book Bronstein said of this game, "This most beautiful game of the Zurich tournament aroused an enthusiastic response throughout the chess world.” Needless to say, the spectators in the tournament hall were very excited because how often do you see a Queen sacrifice in this modern era? 
     In his book Grandmaster At Work, Kotov wrote, “Combinations, the final aim of which is the announcement of mate to the enemy King, are perhaps met most often in chess practice. The theme of such combinations is simple – in the final position mate is unavoidable...The means of such combinations are diverse and inνolνe clearing the way for the attacking pieces to the enemy camp. Often this is by sacrifices...and it is possible to give up a great deal to achieve it.” Kotov described what he called extracting combinations as being those “where the attacking side draws the opponent's King out of its sanctuary and driνes it all oνer the board to meet its downfall.” The following game is such an example, and a great one it is! 

The Game That Shocked Bobby Fischer

     Some things that happened in 1975 were shocking at the time, but if they happened today we wouldn't bat an eye. One example: a renegade clerk in Colorado married a male couple. That, one of the first such marriages in the country, was shocking. When they tried to get their “marriage” recognized by the federal government so one, an Australian, could remain in the country, a district director at the Justice Department's Immigration and Naturalization Service replied by letter stating, "You have failed to establish that a bona fide marital relationship can exist between two faggots." At the time that wasn't shocking, today it would be. 
     It was also in 70s that television entertainment became topical and often intentionally polarizing as it explored issues that were dividing the country. On the popular, and risque, program Maude, she got an abortion. Guest host Richard Pryor on Saturday Night Live reacted to the "N-word" in a sketch with Chevy Chase. All in the Family starred Carroll O'Connor as the bigoted Archie Bunker who was constantly at odds with his liberal son-in-law. 
    Other programs such as Good Times and The Jeffersons confronted viewers with the type of controversies, and language, that had been considered taboo in a prime-time.
     In the chess world Bobby Fischer was so shocked by an event at Lone Pine 1975 that he called his friend Pal Benko trying to find out what happened. 
 

   In the strong Louis D. Statham Tournament in Lone Pine, California, Alla Kushnir, the first woman to play at Lone Pine, defeated Grandmaster Larry Evans in the very first round. Shocking!! If that wasn't enough, she also defeated GM Istvan Bilek in round 7 and went on to tie for places 18-28 with an even score of 5-5.
     The 1975 Lone Pine tournament was significant because the eligibility requirements were increased again in order to limit the size which had been growing. Entrants needed an IM or GM title or a rating of 2350 or higher (2250 for juniors) to qualify. The field had forty-four players, including 22 GMs, plus the tournament was increased to ten rounds in order to allow it to be FIDE rated which made titles and norms possible for the first time. 
     Alla Kushnir (August 11, 1941 – August 2, 2013) was a Soviet-born Israeli player who was awarded the WIM title in 1962 and the WGM in 1976.  By the way, she is not to be confused with the famous Ukrainian belly dancer! 

Kushnir at Lone Pine 1975

     Kushnir played three title matches against Nona Gaprindashvili for the Women's World Championship (1965, 1969 and 1972), but lost them all. She was the second ranking woman chess player in the world but in order to expedite her move to Israel in 1974 from the Soviet Union, she had to agree not to enter the current cycle for Woman’s World Championship. 
     At Lone Pine she was the only woman and came over from Israel with her other ex-Russian compatriots, Vladimir Liberzon and Leonid Shamkovich. She died in 2013 in Tel Aviv, nine days before her 72nd birthday from undisclosed causes. 

1) Liberzon 7.5 
2) Evans 7.0 
3-8) Browne, Gheorghiu, Weinstein, Quinteros, Panno and Gligoric 6.5 
9-13) Benko, Sigurjonsson, Shamkovich, Torre, Biyiasas 6.0 
14-17) Tarjan, Denker, Suttles and Forintos 5.5 
18-28) Robatsch, Yanofsky, Commons, Kushnir, Martz, Pilnik, Csom, Damjanovic, Reshevsky, Bilek and Tisdall 5.0 
29-33) Schmid, Ghizdavu, Rossetto, Barnes and Berry 4.5 
34-35) Ervin and Silman 4.0 
36-40) Dake, Day, Karklins, Levy and Vranesic 3.5 
41-43) Parr, Waterman and Grefe 3.0 
44) Rohde 2.5 

     A 400-plus pdf booklet containing games from all the Lone Pine events can be downloaded from Dropbox.  You can copy and paste the games into an engine to play over them. Download