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Monday, March 18, 2024

Ventnor City 1940


    
In 1940, in the United States the military draft went into effect. The first Social Security checks were mailed on January 30th. The Pennsylvania Turnpike, the first multi-lane in the country opened. The first McDonald's hamburger stand opened in Pasadena, California. 
CBS demonstrated color television in New York City and WNBT, the first regularly operating television station, debuts in the city with an testimated 10,000 viewers. Superman, the radio show debuted as did he first Bugs Bunny cartoon. In the world of science freeze drying was adapted for food preservation. Plasma was discovered to be a substitute for whole blood in transfusions. 
    On February 17, 1940, New England champion Harold Morton died in a car accident in Iowa and his passenger, I.A. Hprpwirz, was seriously injured. On April 9, 1940, the strong amateur player John F. Barry (1873-1940) died in West Roxbury, Massachusetts at the age of 66. 
    Adele Rivero won the US women's championship. Arnold Denker won the Manhattan Chess Club championship for the second year in a row. Samuel Reshevsky won his third US Championship. Reuben Fine took won the US Open in Dallas. 
    In the resort town of Ventnor City, New Jersey the second Ventnor tournament was held in early July. The players were especially pleased because the bonus money for non-prize- winners had been increased. 
    Shortly before the tournament was slated to start, it suffered two minor setbacks when Jacob Levin and Fred Reinfeld, who had originally accepted invitations, became unavailable at the last moment for business reasons. Fortunately two other players, the strong Jeremiah Donovan and the not so strong L. Walter Stephens, were available. Jeremiah Donovan’s performance was a pleasant surprise as he reinforced the good impression he had previously made in the Marshall CC Championship. 
    An innovation of the tournament was the exclusive use, for the first time in tournament history, of all-electric clocks which were designed and made by one of the tournament officials, Gerald Phillips. The clocks worked very well, but they never caught on.
 


    The finish was exciting because both Sidney Bernstein and Milton Hanauer had to win their last round games in order to to tie for first. 

  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Ventnor City"] [Site "?"] [Date "1940.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Anthony Santasiere"] [Black "Milton Hanauer"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A29"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "1940.??.??"] {A29: English Opening: Four Knights Variation} 1. c4 {Although Santasiere was critical of players who played, dull, boring chess, he, himself, was guilty of playing a plodding style. In a dispute they had, Larry Evans asked where werre the games that qualified Santasiere as the spokesman fore Ropmaticisim?} e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. g3 Be7 7. Bg2 Be6 8. O-O O-O 9. a3 f6 {The openig is similar to a Dragon Sicilian Reversed.} 10. Qc2 (10. e4 Nb6 11. Be3 Nd4 12. Bxd4 exd4 13. Ne2 c5 14. Nf4 {with a slight advantage for white. Agrest,E (2605)-Chuchelov,V (2608) Mainz 2003}) 10... Qd7 11. Ne4 { White wants ti invade on c5.} b6 {A bold decision...it opens up the diagonal and weakens the c-Pawn, but at the same time black himself figths for play on the c-file.} 12. b4 {Hanauer did not like this move because it neglects development and it's not so important that it cannot be delayed. He favored 12. Bd23 followed by Rc1. Giving the move a ? was a bit harsh though.} (12. e3 { ios the modern GM's move.} a5 13. b3 Rad8 14. Bb2 Na7 15. d4 {as in Filippov,A (2598)-Grishchenko,S (2464) Dagomys RUS 2010 where wgite's strong initiative lead to a win.}) 12... a5 (12... Nd4 {was a better way to take advantage of white's last move.} 13. Nxd4 exd4 14. Bb2 f5 15. Nd2 c5 {with an aggressive position.}) 13. b5 Nd4 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. a4 (15. Bb2 {keeps the balance.} Qxb5 16. Bxd4 c5 17. Nc3 Qd7 18. Nxd5 Bxd5 19. Bxd5+ Qxd5 20. Be3) 15... Rac8 { [%mdl 32] Putting into action the plan mentioned in the note to move 11.} 16. Nd2 c6 17. bxc6 Rxc6 18. Qb2 {Moving the Q away from the R makes sense, but after this white lands in serious difficulties.} (18. Nc4 Rfc8 19. Bd2 { Black stands well, but there is no clear way for him to make progress.}) 18... Nc3 {Not bad, but both players have overlooked the tactical shot 16...Bb4!} ( 18... Bb4 {There is no way to meet ...Bc3} 19. Nb1 (19. Ra2 Nc3 20. Ra1 (20. Bxc6 Nxe2+ 21. Kh1 Qxc6+ 22. f3 Bh3 23. Re1 Bxd2 {mates in 5} 24. Rf1 Bxf1 25. Qb3+ Kh8 26. Qd5 Qxd5 27. h3 Qxf3+ 28. Kh2 Qg2#) 20... Nxe2+) (19. Nf3 Bc3 20. Qb1 Bxa1 21. Qxa1 Nc3 {with a decisive advantage.}) 19... Rfc8 20. Ra2 Rc5 21. Bd2 Bc3 22. Nxc3 dxc3 23. Bxc3 Nxc3 {and wins}) 19. Re1 (19. Bxc6 Nxe2+ 20. Kh1 Qxc6+ 21. f3 Nc3 {Materially black only has a B+P agaonst a R, but his active play assures him of an advantage. Shootouts from this posion resulted in white scoring +0 -3 =2}) 19... Bb4 {This is less effective than it would have been last move.} 20. e3 {[%mdl 8192] this allows black to gain a decisive advantage. } (20. Bxc6 {Oddly enough, after black's last move this is now white's correct reply because after} Qxc6 21. Nf3 Bh3 22. e4 dxe3 23. Rxe3 Nd5 24. Re4 { Black should probably take the draw by repeating moves.}) 20... dxe3 21. fxe3 ( 21. Rxe3 Rd6 22. Qc2 Rc8 23. Nc4 Nxa4 {is winning for black.}) 21... Rd6 { Black is not interested in winning a mere P with 21...Nxa4} 22. d4 Rc8 23. Rf1 Ne2+ {Black is clearly winning.} 24. Kf2 Bc3 25. Qb1 Nxc1 (25... Bxa1 {is also good.} 26. Qxa1 Nc3) 26. Rxc1 Bxd2 27. Rxc8+ Qxc8 {Being a piece up the win is only a matter of technique for black.} 28. Qd3 Bb4 29. d5 Bf5 30. e4 Qc5+ 31. Qe3 Qc2+ 32. Qe2 Bc5+ 33. Kf1 Qc3 34. Rd1 Bd7 35. Rd3 Qa1+ 36. Rd1 Qxa4 { White resigned.} 0-1

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

1950/51 New Zealand Championship

David Lynch
    
The New Zealand Congress officially opened at 10am on Tuesday, December 26, 1950 in Christchurch. The Championship was won by David Lynch (April 20, 1901 – September 26, 2002, 92 years old). 
    In addition to being an OTB champion, Lynch was also New Zealand Correspondence Champion on three occasions in the 1940's and 1950's. 
    In the early 1980's Eduard Gufeld and Murray Chandler both played simultaneous displays New Zealand and Lynch, then in his 70's, drew with both.
    One of the country’s greatest players, he passed away peacefully in the Hawke's Bay Regional Hospital in 2002. 
    Lynch was active in a great many organizations and charities and was also a local Bridge champion. In his younger years, he played hockey, tennis, golf and tramping. In In New Zealand, long distance walking or hiking for at least one overnight stay is known as tramping. He also cycled around Europe in the 1930's and was just manages to get out of Europe when World War II broke out and closed off the ports. He served in the New Zealand military during the war. 
    Lynch's chess career started in the 1930's with his first New Zealand Championship in 1937. 1949 saw him win the North Island Championship. Then in 1951 he won NZ title again. 
    Altogether Lynch played in 17 New Zealand Championships between 1937 and 1963. Besides his win in 1951, he finished second four times (and third once. 
    He was also a very strong correspondence player after starting to play in 1939. He won the country’s correspondence title on three occasions in the 1940s and 1950s. He served as the President of the NZ correspondence organization from 1979 to 1998. 
    After his days on the national chess scene Lynch continued to be active in Hawke's Bay, a region on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, where he promote the game. In his mid-eighties he was still able to win the local club championship. 
 

    His opponent in this game was Robert O. Scott who won the New Zealand correspondence championship in 1933. Scott, who was deaf, was an experienced player from Wellington. 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "New Zealand Chp, Christchurch"] [Site "?"] [Date "1950.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "David Lynch"] [Black "Robert O. Scott"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D44"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {D44: Semi-Slav: Botvinnik System} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. Ne5 (6. e4 {is white's best continuation.} b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. exf6 {This is all book.}) 6... Bb4 {Another good alternative is 6...b5} 7. e3 Qa5 8. Bxf6 {Played to prevent 8...Ne4 which Lynch stated (without any supporting analysis) would win for black, but that was not a correct assumption. Black's advantage would be minimal at the most. That said, things get pretty complicated, so in the end Lynch's decision was a practical one.} (8. Bxc4 Ne4 9. O-O (9. Bf4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3+) 9... Nxg5 10. Qh5 Bxc3 (10... O-O 11. f4 Nd7 12. Qxg5 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qxc3 14. Bb3 Qxe3+ 15. Kh1 Nxe5 16. dxe5 h6 {Black is only marginally better because white is still able to whip up some attacking chances after} 17. Qh4 b6 18. Rf3 Qc5 19. Rg3 Kh7 20. Rd1 a5 {[%eval 0,0] The threat is 21...a4 winning the B.} 21. Rd2 Qc1+ 22. Rd1 Qc5 23. Rd2 {Black has to repeat moves because if} a4 24. Bc2+ Kh8 25. Qg4 g6 26. Qh4 h5 27. Qf6+ Kh7 28. Bxg6+ fxg6 29. Qxg6+ Kh8 30. Qg7#) 11. bxc3 O-O (11... Qxc3 12. Qxg5 O-O {White has a slight advantage after} 13. Qe7 Qa5 14. Rfb1 {Black is a P up but has a hard time developing his pieces.}) 12. Bd3 (12. Qxg5 f6) 12... g6 {with equality.}) 8... gxf6 {Lynch gave this move a ? and noted that it's the wrong way to exchange because 9...Bxc3+ would have weakened the white K.} (8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qxc3+ 10. Ke2 gxf6 11. Rc1 Qb4 12. Nxc4 O-O {White lost 5 Shootout games from this position.}) 9. Nxc4 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxc3+ 11. Nd2 Qa5 12. Bd3 {[%mdl 1024] Black has development problems so white has enough compensation for his P. It's interesting to note how black's position gradually slides downhill even though he makes no obvious mistakes.} Qc3 13. Be2 Qa5 14. O-O Nd7 15. Nc4 Qc7 16. e4 b5 (16... Nb6 {was a somewhat better defense. The best line runs...} 17. Ne3 f5 18. e5 O-O 19. Re1 Qe7 20. a4 Nd5 21. Nc4 b5 22. Nd6 {White is better.}) 17. Ne3 {[%mdl 32]} Nb6 18. Rc1 { Threatening 19.Bxb5} Qd6 19. Ng4 e5 {Opening up the position results in a quick loss.} (19... Nd7 {was a bit better, but after} 20. d5 exd5 21. exd5 Qxd5 22. Qc2 O-O 23. Rfd1 {Black's position is unenviable.}) 20. dxe5 Qxd1 21. Nxf6+ Ke7 22. Rfxd1 Nc4 23. Bxc4 bxc4 24. Rxc4 {Black is positionally lost and the rest is a matter of technique.} Be6 25. Rxc6 Bxa2 26. Nd5+ Kf8 27. f4 {[%mdl 32]} Bb3 28. Rd3 Rb8 29. Nf6 Be6 30. f5 Rb1+ 31. Kf2 Rb2+ 32. Kf3 Bb3 {White has a mate in 6.} 33. Rd8+ Ke7 34. Rxh8 Bd1+ 35. Ke3 {He mates a move sooner with 35.Kg3. Black resigned.} (35. Ke3 Re2+ 36. Kd3 Bc2+ 37. Kxe2 Bd3+ 38. Kxd3 a5 39. Rc7#) 1-0

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Boris Blumin Wins the 1936 Canadian Championship

    
The 1936 Canadian Championship, held in Toronto, was won by Boris Blumin (January 11, 1908 - February 16, 1998). He was a Canadian-American master who was born in Russia. 
    He immigrated to Canada in the early 1920s and played in several Canadian Championships, winning it twice (1936 and 1937).      
    At some point, probably in the late 1930s or early 1940s, he emigrated to the United States. Suffering from Alzheimers, he passed away in his home in Trenton, New Jersey. His wife passed away at the age of 99 in Trenton in 2008
 
 

 

. A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Canadian Champ., Toronto"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "1936.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Boris Blumin"] [Black "C. Cradock"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D55"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "1936.08.28"] {D35: Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 c6 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. cxd5 exd5 {White usually plays the Exchange Variation at move 4 with 4.cxd4. In the Exchange Variation strategy is determined based on the fact that white has a P-majority in the center nd black on the Q-side. White can either advance his Ps in the center by means of Nge2, f2-f3 and e2-e4. The move order jere has obviously eliminated that plan. The other white plan is to play for a Minority Attack by means of Rb1, followed by b2-b4-b5, then bxc6. From black;s point of view, the exchange has released his light-squared B and opened the e-file. This gives him the use of e4 as a springboard for central and K-side attack.} 9. O-O h6 10. Bh4 Ne4 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Qc2 f5 13. Rfe1 {Blumin has elected to go his own way and eschews the Minority Attack.} (13. Rab1 g5 14. b4 g4 15. Nd2 Ndf6 16. Ne2 Nh5 17. b5 {Tomilova,E (2207)-Badelka,O (2416) Sochi RUS 2022. White's position is more o\pronising.}) 13... Ng5 {This idea, which sets a trap, does not work out very well.} (13... g5 14. Bf1 Qg7 15. Nd2 Nxd2 16. Qxd2 Nf6 { with full equality. Steppan,S (1584)-Samarian,C (1811) Berlin 2009}) 14. Ne5 ( 14. Bxf5 {falls headlong into the trap.} Nxf3+ 15. gxf3 Qg5+ 16. Kh1 Qxf5 { and black has won a piece.}) ({White should try} 14. Nxg5 $16 Qxg5 15. Ne2) 14... Nxe5 15. dxe5 Be6 (15... f4 {was an alternative.} 16. exf4 Rxf4 17. Ne2 Rg4 18. Ng3 {but black does not appear to have gained anything.}) 16. f4 Ne4 17. Na4 Rad8 18. Rad1 Qc7 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. b3 (20. Nc5 Bd5 (20... Bxa2 21. b3 {traps the B}) 21. Rd2 Kh7 22. Red1 {is only equal.}) 20... b6 21. Nc3 Qe7 22. Na4 c5 23. Nc3 {So far it's been a dull maneuvering game, but with his next move which is designed to prevent Nb5 black slides into inferiority simply because 23...Qe8 does not really prevent Nb5.. The best way to prevent Nb5 ui 23...a6} Qe8 24. Rxd8 $16 Qxd8 25. Rd1 Qh4 26. Nb5 Rd8 (26... a6 27. Nc7 Bf7 28. Qd2 {with a positioal superiorty}) 27. Nxa7 Rd3 {Hoping for ...Qd8.} 28. Nb5 (28. Rxd3 Qe1#) 28... Qd8 {Worth considering was 28...Kf8} 29. Nd6 (29. Rxd3 {leads to some tricky play, but white would come out with the advantage. Such lines are virtually impossible to accurately calculated OTB though!} exd3 30. Qd2 c4 31. Nd6 b5 32. Nxb5 Bd5 33. bxc4 Bxc4 34. Nd6 Qb6 35. Nxc4 Qb1+ 36. Kf2 Qc2 37. Ke1 Qxc4) 29... Rxd1+ {After this black is lost.} (29... Qa8 { makes a defense possible because if...} 30. Rxd3 exd3 31. Qxd3 Qxa2 32. Nxf5 Bxf5 33. Qxf5 Qe2 {Threatening mate.} 34. h3 Qxe3+ 35. Kh2 h5 {Intending ...h4 ...Qg3+ and ...Qe1+, etc. Now a draw seems likely.}) 30. Qxd1 Qa8 {A move too late.} 31. Qh5 {Qg6 is the strong threat.} Qd5 (31... Qxa2 32. Qe8+ (32. Nxf5 { allows black to equalize after} Qxb3 33. h3 Bxf5 34. Qxf5 Qxe3+ 35. Kh2 h5 36. e6 (36. Qxh5 {actually loses...} Qxf4+ 37. Kh1 e3 {etc.}) 36... h4 37. Qf7+ Kh7 38. Qh5+ {draws}) 32... Kh7 33. Qxe6) (31... Qa5 {threatening ...Qe1# was worth a try.} 32. Qe2 Qc3 33. h3 Qc1+ 34. Kh2 Qc3 {White is better, but finding a way to make progress is going to be difficult. In Shootouts white scored +4 -0 =1, but the gmes ran another 50 moves or so.}) 32. h3 {Making an escape square for the K.} Kh7 33. Kh2 Qc6 34. Nxf5 {Now white is clearly winning.} Qd7 35. Nd6 g6 36. Qh4 Qg7 37. Nxe4 Bf5 38. Nf6+ Kh8 39. Ne8 Qf8 40. Qf6+ {Black resigned.} (40. Qf6+ Qxf6 41. Nxf6 Be6 42. Kg3 Kg7 43. Ne8+ Kf8 44. Nd6 {with an easily won ending.}) 1-0

Friday, March 8, 2024

The US-Canadian Border War of 1950

    
On Sunday, June 25th of 1950, troops from Communist-dominated North Korea launched a series of attacks across the border into American-backed South Korea along the 38th parallel, which divides the Northern and Southern parts of Korea. The result was a war that lasted until July 27, 1953. 
    Just a week before that, on June 18, 1950, players from the United States and Canada met in in a series of matches in cities along the 3,000 mile long border from Washington state to Maine in a chess war that lasted only one day. In this war the United States won. 
 
 
    The following game was played on board 2 between the teams from New Yor, Ohio and Pennsylvania against a team from Ontario. On board one was Glen Hartleb, an Expert from Erie, Pennsylvania. He was a friend of the nefarious Norman T. Whitaker with whom he coauthored a book on endgame studies. In 1962, Hartleb was killed in a car accident in which Whitaker was seriously injured.
    Hartleb's opponent on board one was Frank Anderson (1928-1980), who became the first Canadian born player to receive the IM title (1954). 
    Conducting the white pieces in today's featured game was Povilas Vaitonis (1911-1983), a Lithuanian–Canadian Master. In 1948, he moved to Canada and settled in Hamilton, Ontario. He was a five-time Lithuanian (1934, 1937, 1938,1942 and 1944) champion and was Canadian champion twice (1951 and 1957). 
    His opponent was New York Master Roy T. Black (1888-1962), a judge by profession who had a +1 -3 =1 score against Capablanca. 
    The game itself is a delightful little game. It was amusing to read the original notes...the annotator did what was common in the days of yesteryear...his annotations were based on the result, praising every move of the winner and criticizing every move of the loser. 
    Of course, Stockfish is a lot more objective. Fritz' analysis function assigns a Weighted Error Value to th game. In this game the values are: White=0.74 and Black=0.87, so the mistakes were not huge and the game was more closely contested than the original annotator gave credit for. I am not sure what Weighted Error Value is, but I do know that the lower the score the better. If you care to wade through the article, ChessBase has what I think is an explanation HERE.

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Border Match, Niagra Falls, Canada"] [Site "?"] [Date "1950.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Povilas Vaitonis (Ontario)"] [Black "Roy T. Black (New York)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A16"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {A16: English Opening} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c6 3. e4 {[%mdl 32]} d5 4. cxd5 { More common is 3.exd5 followed by 4.d4 with a Queen's Gambit setup.} cxd5 5. e5 Ng4 {An innovation and not a very good one as he will end up losing time repositioning the N. His best move is 5...d4} (5... Ne4 {This has also been tried.} 6. Nf3 (6. Nxe4 dxe4 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. Qxe4 {is equal. Pogorelov,R (2326) -Bailet,P (2484) Sitges ESP 2014}) 6... Nc6 7. Be2 Bg4 8. O-O e6 9. d4 { equals. Hjartarson,J (2590)-Chernin,A (2600) New York 1995}) (5... d4 6. exf6 dxc3 7. bxc3 exf6 {This boring position offers equal chances.}) 6. d4 g6 { Ordinarily this prepare to fianchetto the B, but here it's to keep black from getting his K-side destroyed after the N is forced back to h6 and white plays Bxh6.} 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Nf3 {White is clearly better thanks to blak's awkwardly place N.} Nh6 {Already black has development problems.} 9. Qb3 e6 {Now there is a bad hole on f6 and white immediately takes advantage of it!} (9... Bg7 { was worth a try.} 10. h4 Nf5 11. Be3 Nxe3 12. fxe3 Bh6 13. Kf2 O-O 14. Qxd5 { White is a P up and and has more space and so is clearly better, but at least black's K-side is intact.}) 10. Bg5 Qa5 11. O-O Nf5 12. Ne2 Bg7 13. g4 { Vaitonis is not wasting time and is going in for the kill.} Nfe7 14. Nc3 { Perhaps white was thinking about Nb5-d6, but it never somes to that.} (14. Bf6 {is more deadly.} Rg8 {An awful move to have to play,. but there is nothing better.} (14... Bxf6 15. exf6 Ng8 16. g5 {and black's position is too ugly to look at.}) 15. Rfc1 Bd7 16. Rc5 Qb6 17. Rb5 {and black has no play anywhere on the boiard.}) 14... h5 {Being able to use the h-file is a pretty forlorn hope.} 15. h3 {[%mdl 32]} hxg4 {Opening the h-file is only going to help white, but black has to try something.} 16. hxg4 a6 17. Bf6 {This is a slip that allows black to equalize. White should have played 17.Kg2 and then used the h-file to his advantage.} (17. Kg2 Qb4 18. Qxb4 Nxb4 19. Be2 Bd7 20. Rh1 Rxh1 21. Rxh1 Ng8 22. Rh7 Kf8 23. a3 Nc6 24. Na4 Rb8 25. Nc5 {with a very good position.}) 17... Bxf6 18. exf6 Ng8 {This is a natural move, but it's the wrong followup.} (18... Qc7 {A very fine move that makes the once dreamed about K-side attack possible. Black threatens to plunge his Q into the very guts of white's position.} 19. Na4 {a pass to demonstrate black's threat.} Qf4 {Black has too many threats to be met.} 20. Bf5 {This holds out the longest.} Nxd4 21. Kg2 Nexf5 22. Rg1 Nxb3 23. axb3 Nd4 24. Nh4 Rxh4 25. Kf1 Qf3 26. Nc3 Qd3+ 27. Ne2 Rh2 28. Re1 Qh3+ 29. Rg2 Qxg2#) 19. g5 {This totally quashes any hope black had of generating K-side play.} Bd7 (19... Rh3 {causes only a temporary lill in the action as white can easily defend with} 20. Be2 Rh5 21. Qd1 Qd8 22. Re1 Nxf6 {This is his best hope, but after} 23. gxf6 Qxf6 24. Bf1 Rf5 25. Re3 Bd7 26. Bg2 {White has fended off the attack and should be abler to grind out a win.}) 20. a3 {It would have been better to snatch the b-Pawn, but the complications that result in white winning would be hard to calculate OTB, so it's hard to criticize this move.} (20. Qxb7 Ra7 21. Qb3 Rh3 22. Qd1 Rb7 23. Kg2 e5 24. Rh1 Rxh1 25. Qxh1 e4 26. Ne5 Nxe5 (26... exd3 27. Qh8 Kf8 28. Qg7+ Ke8 29. Qxg8#) 27. Qh8 Kd8 28. Qxg8+ Be8 29. Rh1 Qb6 30. Rh8 Qe6 31. Bxa6 { with an easy win.}) 20... Qc7 {Missing his chance to counterattack and breathe new life into his position.} (20... Rh3 21. Qd1 Nxf6 22. gxf6 O-O-O 23. Kg2 Rdh8 {with complete equality! In Shootouts from this position white scored +1 -0 =4}) 21. Ne2 {Putting th kibosh on ...Qf4} Qd6 {The original annotator was critical of this asking the question was black's only reason for this move a desire to get his Q off the open c-file? The truth is that there is nothing else that is even slightly better.} (21... e5 {is a bid for active play, but after} 22. Qxd5 Be6 23. Qc5 Rd8 24. Qc2 exd4 25. Rfe1 Qd6 26. Rad1 {White's advantage will prove decisive because black is, in effect, playing without the N and R. He is also faving a potential Bxg3.}) 22. Qb6 {Hereabouts Stockfish is recommending different move because they are a few hundredths of a P better, but that is inconsequential,} e5 {...and loses.} (22... Rh3 {is better, but it would not save the game.} 23. Ne5 {and black is out of useful moves and can only wait for the inevitable.}) 23. Nxe5 Qe6 {This allows an abrupt end, but he was lost no matter what he played.} (23... Rd8 24. Nf4 Nxf6) 24. Nf4 Qd6 25. Rfe1 Kf8 26. Qc5 {Black resigned.} (26. Qc5 Qxc5 27. Nxd7#) 1-0

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

William M. de Visser

 
    
William M, dr Visser (November 5, 1855 – Secember 4, 1923, 68 years old) was a charter member of the Manhattan Chess Club, player and organizer. He was the 1899 New York State Chess Championship 
    After ailing for six months, de Visser entered eternity at his country residence in Brentwood, Long Island and chess circles in the New York City area lost one of the outstanding figures who for nearly 30 years had been active both as a player and organizer of repute. 
    For the last few years he had been president of the Metropolitan Chess League for several terms. As an active member of the Brooklyn Chess Club he occasionally played on its teams until shortly before his death. He was also elected an honorary member of the Manhattan Chess Club with which he had been associated with in one way or another for nearly forty years. 
    As an organizer de Visser was instrumental in furthering the annual international matches between the Brooklyn Chess Club and the City of London Chess Club.

    In the following game de Visser uses the adventurous Wing Gambit to defeat the redoubtable Walter Penn Shipley (1869-1942), a Philadelphia lawyer, player and organizer in an enjoyable tactics filled game. 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Manhattan CC - Franklin CC Match"] [Site "New York, NY"] [Date "1900.05.30"] [Round "?"] [White "William de Visser (Manhattan)"] [Black "Walter Shipley (Franklin)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B20"] [Annotator "Stockgiah 16"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "1900.??.??"] [Source "Edward Winter, A"] {B20: Sicilian: Wing Gambit} 1. e4 c5 2. b4 {The deflection of the Pawn is an attempt to gain control; of the center. Although rarely played, in my database which contains 36 Wing Gambit games played by Masters white wins an astonishing 23 games while losing only 6!} cxb4 {Almost always played, but perhaps the safer 2...e6 is advisable.} 3. a3 e5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. axb4 Bxb4 6. Bc4 (6. c3 Be7 7. d4 exd4 8. cxd4 d5 9. e5 Bg4 {Black is better. Tiarks,J (2231) -Jaskolka,T (2238) chess.com INT 2023}) 6... Nf6 7. Qe2 (7. c3 Be7 8. d4 (8. Qb3 O-O 9. Ng5 Qe8 10. O-O {Whute dies nit have enough play to compensate for the P. Gorovykh,E (2447)-Yemelin,V (2571) St Petersburg RUS 2010}) 8... O-O 9. d5 Na5 10. Rxa5 Qxa5 11. d6 {Technically black is better, but in Nanu,C (2325) -Bernat,R (2140) Szeged 1998, white went on to win.}) 7... O-O 8. O-O { Thoreticall white can boast of no compensation for the P. Practice is another matter!} d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 {Now black should not take the N.} Nd4 (10... Nxe5 11. Qxe5 Nf6 12. Ba3 Bxa3 13. Nxa3 {White appears to have sufficient play. }) (10... Nf4 {immediately was his best reply. Then after} 11. Qe4 Qh4 12. d3 Nh3+ 13. gxh3 Qxe4 14. dxe4 Nxe5 {Black is clearly better.}) 11. Qd3 Nf4 12. Qe4 Nfe2+ {[%mdl 8192] This is a tactical error.} (12... Qh4 {is much less effective now.} 13. Kh1 Bd6 14. Nxf7 Be6 15. Bxe6 Rae8 {with head spinning complications. Practically speaking the chances are equal In Shootouts from this position white scored +1 -1 =3}) (12... Be6 {stymies the attack on f7 and after} 13. Bxe6 Nfxe6 {black has just a smidgen of an advantage.} (13... fxe6 { is also playable, but it invites unclear complications after} 14. Bb2 (14. c3 Nb3 15. Qxb4 (15. d4 Nxc1 (15... Nxa1 16. Bxf4 Qd5 17. Qe3 Nc2 18. Qc1 Nxd4 19. cxd4 Qxd4 {Black is winning.}) 16. cxb4 Nfe2+ 17. Kh1 Rf4 18. Qe3 Qxd4 { Black is winning.}) 15... Qd5 {is decisive.}) 14... Qd5 15. Qxd5 exd5 16. Bxd4 Ne2+ 17. Kh1 Nxd4 {with a slight advantage.})) 13. Bxe2 Bf5 14. Qe3 Nxc2 15. Qf4 Nxa1 {The capture of the R has been a distraction that has cost black the game.} 16. Qxf5 (16. Qxb4 {would be quite wrong because after} Nc2 17. Qf4 Nd4 {the chances have swung back ti even.}) 16... Qc7 17. Bb2 (17. Bd3 g6 18. Qe4 Rfe8 19. Qxb4 Nc2 20. Bxc2 Qxc2 21. Ng4 {also wins.}) 17... Nb3 18. Bd3 g6 19. Ng4 {This does not lead to a forced mate as does 19.Qf6, but it's more spectacular!} (19. Qf6 Bc3 20. Bxc3 Qxc3 21. Nxc3 Nxd2 22. Ng4 h5 23. Nd5 Rae8 24. Bxg6 hxg4 25. Bf5 Nf3+ 26. gxf3 Re6 27. Ne7+ Rxe7 28. Qg5+ Kh8 29. Qh6+ Kg8 30. Qh7#) 19... Bc3 (19... gxf5 20. Nh6#) 20. Qf6 {[%mdl 512] A temporary Q sacridice, but it's a spectacular one!} Bxf6 21. Nxf6+ {[%mdl 32]} Kg7 (21... Kh8 22. Ne8+) 22. Ne8+ Kg8 23. Nxc7 Rad8 24. Be4 {Materially white has 2Bs + N vs a R+P which is more than enough compensation.} Nxd2 25. Nxd2 Rxd2 26. Bc3 Re2 27. Nd5 {A nice little move.} f5 (27... Rxe4 28. Nf6+ Kg7 29. Nxe4+) 28. Bd3 Ra2 29. Bc4 Ra4 (29... Rc8 {avoids the mate, but still loses.} 30. Bxa2 { is hopeless for black}) 30. Ne7# {An impressive win by de Visser!} 1-0

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Water O. Cruz and Dr. Luiz Tavares, Brazilain Masters

Walter O. Cruz
    
After many years of misery because of the depression and World War II the postwar prosperity was starting to get underway in 1949. Sales of consumer items like televisions and big cars were booming. 
    On the international scene China became a communist country and Russia had nuclear bombs and there was increased the tension between East and West, i.e the US and Russia in what was known as the Cold War. 
    In the US, one of the first long-running and successful sitcoms, The Goldbergs, first aired live on January 17, 1949. It was on the air until 1956. It was about the daily lives of a Jewish family in New York, tackling the everyday issues of an ordinary family. 
    President Harry S. Truman gave his fair deal speech in which he expressed his thoughts on how every American should expect a fair deal from the U.S. government. 

    In chess news, the year started off with Nicholas Rossolimo winning Hastings 1948/49. Larry Evans won the Marshall Club Ch. The strong local master James B, Cross tied with Arthur Bisguier and Larry Evans in the US Junior Championship, held in Fort Worth, Texas. Cross won the1950 US Junior Championship and was the 1957 California State Champion. In the late 50s or early 60s Cross gave up chess. 
    Claude Shannon presented a paper on programming a computer to play chess. Reuben Fine won the New York International. 
    Down in Brazil Walter Oswaldo Cruz (January 23, 1910 - January 3, 1967) won the country's championship dor the fifth time. He had been champion in 1938, 1940, 1942, 1948 and won the titl for the last time in 1953. He was runner up in 1928, 1929and 1939. 
    He played third board for the Brazilian team at the 1939 chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires where he scored +4 -7 =5. For many years he was a regular participant in South American tournaments. 
    His opponent in the following game was Luiz Tavares da Silva (April 13, 1916 – June 29, 1994). He was Brazilian Champion in 1957. He was also President of the Brazilian Chess Federation from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1986 to 1988. 
    In addition to his chess career, he was also an eminent thoracic surgeon and cardiologist, who lived and studied in London for part of his life and was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. There is an excellent article (with photos) about Tavares HERE.  
    In the game when Tavares' Knight threatened to penetrate his position, Cruz failed to recognize that he had to exchange it and so lhe ended up losing[ it was his only loss in the tournament which he won. 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Brazilian Chp, Rio de Janeiro"] [Site "Rio de Janeiro BRA"] [Date "1949.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Luiz Tavares"] [Black "Walter O. Cruz"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E70"] [Annotator "Stockfiah 16"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1949.08.22"] {E88: King's Indian: Saemisch} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. Be3 d6 6. f3 {Friedrich Saemisch developed this system in the 1920s. It often leads to very sharp play with the players castling on opposite wings and attacking each other's King.} c6 7. Qd2 e5 8. d5 {It was thought that this move promises little and that white does better by maintaining the tension in the center, for the time being at least, with 8.Nge2. However, Tavares has an interesting idea planned.} cxd5 9. cxd5 Ne8 {White has tried several move herem but 10.h4 is a new, and now pretty much forgotten, one.} 10. h4 {At the time this was criticized as, well, let's quote the annotator of the day... Another inconsistent move. As will become obvious, the weakening of g3 only diminishes white's chances of opening lines on the King-side. 10 0-0-0 is better. That said. 10.h4 is Stockfish's preferred move.} (10. O-O-O f5 11. Bd3 {Preferrable is 11.exf5} Na6 12. Nge2 Nc5 13. Bc2 a5 14. exf5 gxf5 15. h3 { with equal chances. Gheorghiu,F (2525)-Kozul,Z (2450) Graz 1987}) 10... f5 11. O-O-O {Here white has tried 11.g3,m but it is too passive.} (11. Bg5 Bf6 12. exf5 gxf5 13. O-O-O f4 14. Ne4 {with equal chances. Lorenzo de la Riva,L (2391) -Vidal Zamora,A (2112) Figueres ESP 2011}) (11. h5 {This is an interestingm but untested, line. After} f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. h6 Bf6 14. O-O-O {followed by 15. g3 seems to offer white good attacking chances.}) 11... Nf6 12. Nh3 (12. exf5 { is promising...} gxf5 13. h5 f4 14. Bf2 h6 15. g4 {with attacking chances.}) 12... Nbd7 {Strangely enough, black ignores the dangerous threat of Ng5-e6. He must play 12...f4} (12... f4 13. Bf2 h6 {And white's advantage is minimal.}) 13. Bc4 {Pointless. For the time being at least white ignores his own threat!} (13. Ng5 Nb6 (13... Re8 {Leads to white getting a decisive attack in which many roads all lead to victory.} 14. Ne6 Qa5 15. Bh6 Bh8 16. h5 f4 (16... Nxh5 17. Rxh5 gxh5 18. Qg5+ {mates}) 17. hxg6 hxg6 18. g3 Nc5 19. gxf4 Nxe6 20. dxe6 Bxe6 21. f5 Bf7 22. fxg6 Bxg6 23. Bc4+) 14. Ne6 Bxe6 15. dxe6 {is similar to the game continuation.}) 13... Qc7 {Black still should play 13...f4} (13... f4 14. Bf2 h6 {and the chances are equal. Thius shows the drawback to white's 13. Bc4}) 14. Bb3 fxe4 {After this black faces serious difficulties. He could still play 14...f4, but now there is time to try a counterattack with 14...Bc4 and after 15.Bc2 then 15...b5} (14... Nc5 15. Bc2 b5 16. Nxb5 Qb6 17. Nc3 Rb8 { etc.}) 15. Ng5 {Finally.} Nc5 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. Ne6 Bxe6 (17... e3 {is his best try.} 18. Qe2 Qb6 19. g4 Bd7 20. h5 Rac8 {Of course white is clearly better, but at least black has some play.}) 18. dxe6 {This interloper on e6 turns out to be a mighty passed Pawn. Add to that white's control of the d-file and he has a decisive advantage.} d5 {Black hopes for 19.Bxd5} 19. fxe4 (19. Bxd5 Nxd5 20. Qxd5 Qxd5 21. Nxd5 exf3 22. e7 Rfe8 23. gxf3 Kf7 {and black has equalized.}) 19... Nxe4 20. Qxd5 Bh6+ (20... Qe3+ {is no salvation.} 21. Kb1 Nxc3+ 22. bxc3 Kh8 23. h5 {with a decisive advantage.}) 21. Kb1 Qxd5 22. Rxd5 {This is the correct way. Other recaptures are less effective.} Nxc3+ 23. bxc3 Rfe8 24. Rd7 Be3 25. Rf1 {There is no way to prevent 26.Rff7 so black resigned.} 1-0

Monday, March 4, 2024

Dr. Orest Popovych

    
As mentioned in the Februart 28th post, one of the players we lost last year was Dr. Orest Popovych (January 18, 1933 – March 14, 2023) who passed away at the age of 90 is his home in Howell, Bew Jersey. 
    Born in Lvov, in the Ukraine, he immigrated to the US at the age of 16 in 1949 and his family settled in Newark, New Jersey. After finishing high school in 1951, in the fall he enrolled in Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, majoring in chemistry. 
    In the fall of 1955, he entered the PH.D. Program in Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, first as a teaching assistant and then as an Allied Chemical and Dye Fellow. In January 1959, he was awarded his Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in analytical chemistry. 
    He then began a corporate career with ESSO (Exxon/Mobil) and in 1963, he began teaching in Brooklyn College of the City University of New York where he became a full professor in the Department of Chemistry. 
    Popovych was a member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, a Ukrainian-American scholarly institution, and served as its president from 2006 to 2012. 
    In 2010, he was awarded a prize for Best Translations from Ukrainian into English by the American Association for Ukrainian Studies for his translations of three collections of poems. 
    That sums up his professional life, but Popovych also had a long career as a tournament player and later also as a chess organizer and author. In 1957, he obtained the rank of USCF Master and 1972, hr reached the Senior Master rank (2400+). In 1974 the USCF mage him a Life Master. 
    Beginning in 1976, he has played in a few international tournaments, mostly in the US, England and Norway, but also twice in Germany and once in Switzerland, Italy and Iceland. In 1980, je was awarded the title of FIDE Master. 
    Popovych won the New Jersey championship in 1959, 1961, 1985 and in 2001. In 2001 he authored a chess book featuring games by former champions of the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the USA and Canada. He was inducted into the Ukrainian Sports Federation Hall of Fame in 2016. He won the 1971 Atlantic Open and the championship of the Ukrainian Sports Federation nine times. 
    The following game was played in the 1956 US Open which was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Arthur Bisguier and James Sherwin shared first place with 9.5-2.5 scores. Bisguier was champion based on superior tiebreaks. Popovych tied for places 9-15 (out of 102), scoring +5 -1 =6. At the tie Popovych was living in Newark, New Jersey ans was rated 2055, a USCF Expert. 
    In the game Popovych took out Benjamin E. Thurston 1903-1999, 95 years old). Thurston was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He passed away peaceably, in his sleep in Seattle, Washington on April 14, 1999, after about a 10 week battle with pneumonia and other respiratory problems. 
    His mother, an opium addict, crusaded for child labor laws and and her children raised themselves. Thurston won an appointment to the US Military Academy and graduated in 1926. 
    After graduation he served at various posts in the peacetime Army and was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December of 1941.      
    In 1944, he was appointed as a Battalion Commander in Europe under the command of General Patton. He retired from the Army with the rank of Colonel in 1955. 
    In this tournament Thurston tied for places 75-84 with a +4 -7 =1 score. At the time the game was played Thurston was living in Spokane, Washington and his USCF rating was 1682 (Class B).

  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "US Open, Oklahoma City"] [Site ""] [Date "1956.07.20"] [Round "5"] [White "Orest Popovych"] [Black "Ben Thurston"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B64"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "1956.??.??"] {B64: Sicilian: Richter-Rauzer} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 {The Richter–Rauzer Attack threatening to double black's Ps after Bxf6 and at the same time avoids the once feared Dragon.} e6 {After this Rauzer introduced the modern plan of Qd2 and 0-0-0 in the 1930s. White maintains pressure on the d-Pawn.} 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O O-O 9. f4 {The main alternative is now 9...Nxd4 though sometimes 9...h6 is interpolated.} e5 10. Nf3 Bg4 11. h3 $16 Bxf3 12. gxf3 {[%mdl 32]} Nd4 13. fxe5 dxe5 14. f4 {This is at least as good as 14.Rg1} (14. Rg1 {Turns out not to be as good as it looks if black responds correctly.} Nxf3 {Which he did not in thsi game.} (14... Rc8 15. Be2 Rxc3 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. bxc3 Be7 18. Kb1 (18. cxd4 Ba3+ 19. Kb1 Qb6+ { with mate to follow.}) 18... Qb6+ {Black is better. Karaklajic,N-Joppen,E Belgrade 1954}) 15. Qf2 Qb6 16. Be3 Nd4 17. Rxd4 exd4 18. Bxd4 {White is better. Korschnoj,V-Geller,E Kiev 1954}) 14... Nc6 {A tactical oversight.} ( 14... Ne6 {had to be played in order to defend g7.} 15. Qe1 (15. Qg2 {now has no sting.} Qa5 16. f5 Nxg5 17. Qxg5 Nd5 18. Qg3 Nxc3 19. Rg1 (19. Qxc3 Qxa2 20. Rg1 Rad8 21. Bd3 {Black is better.}) 19... Nxa2+ 20. Kb1 Bf6 {with the better position.}) 15... Qc8 16. fxe5 Nxg5 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. Nd5 {White is slightly better owing to his better placed piece.}) 15. Qg2 {This wins the exchange and generates a strong attack against black's K.} Qa5 16. Bh6 g6 17. Bxf8 Bxf8 18. f5 Nd4 (18... Ba3 {was worth a try.} 19. Qg3 (19. bxa3 Qxa3+ 20. Kd2 Nd4 { and black has enough play that he is very close to equalizing.}) 19... Qb4 20. bxa3 Qxa3+ 21. Kd2 Rc8 22. fxg6 hxg6 23. Bc4 Qxc3+ 24. Qxc3 Nxe4+ 25. Ke1 Nxc3 26. Rd7 {White has the advantage and should be able to nurse it to a win.}) 19. fxg6 hxg6 (19... Rc8 {was worth a try.} 20. gxf7+ Kxf7 21. Rd3 Bb4 22. Qg3 { White has successfully defended against the assault on c3.}) 20. Bc4 Kg7 21. Rhg1 {Hoping for 22.Bxf7!} Nh5 {He should at least try to defend f7 with 21... Qc7} (21... Rc8 22. Bxf7 Kxf7 23. Qxg6+ Ke7 24. Rgf1 Rc6 25. Qg5 Qc5 26. Nd5+ Kd8 27. c3 Nb5 28. Rxf6 Rxf6 29. Qxf6+ Be7 30. Nxe7+ {wins}) 22. Qf1 f6 { This allows a flashy finish, but he was lost anyway.} 23. Rxg6+ {[%mdl 512]} Kxg6 24. Qg2+ Kh6 25. Rg1 Nf4 26. Qg8 Qc7 27. Qh8+ {White mates.} Qh7 28. Qxf6+ Ng6 29. Bf7 Nf3 30. Rxg6+ {Black resigned. It's mate next move.} 1-0

Friday, March 1, 2024

Two Forgotten Ladies

    
I am guessing most readers never heard of the two ladies who played the following game in the 1939 Women’s World Championship tournament that was held in Buenos Aires concurrent with the Olympiad. 
    Dora Trepat de Navarro (1910 - 1971, 61 years old) was women's champion of Argentina eight time (1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1959, 1960, 1964) and participated in two women’s world championship challenger tournaments (1939 and 1964). 
    She started played chess in Buenos Aires chess in the Club de Ajedrez Jaque Mate de la Capital Federal. From 1935 to 1939 and from 1954 she worked as a children’s chess instructor at the Lorenzo.
 

 
    Her opponent in this game was Salome Reischer (February 19, 1899 – January, 1980, 80 years old), an Austrian player. Reischer was born in Poland, then under Russian government. 
    Her meanderings due to wars are not entirely clear, but it seems she moved from Austria, first to Palestine and then to the USA. Apparently she returned to Austria after World War II. Awarded the Women’s IM title in 1952, she participated in was a Women's World Championship Challenger tournaments in 1937 and 1939. She was Austrian Women's Champion in 1950, 1952 and 1954. 
    In the following game Reischer had the unfortunate experience of resigning in a position where she actually had a slight advantage! It probably was not enough to win because Shootouts with Stockfish 16 resulted in white scoring +1 =0 =4. Reischer probably resigned because blacsk’s two Rooks on the second rank LOOK intimidating!

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Womens Worpd Chp, Buenos Aires"] [Site "?"] [Date "1939.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Solome Reischer"] [Black "Dora Trepat"] [Result "*"] [ECO "E61"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "1939.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.29"] {E61: King's Indian Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. h3 d6 6. Bf4 {This move is not eapecially effective. 6.e4 is a better option.} Nbd7 7. e3 Nh5 {This game was played in the early days of the K-Indoian and theory was not yet fully developed. While the text is haerdly bad, either 7...c6 or 7. ..Re8 are better.} 8. Bh2 e5 9. dxe5 (9. Be2 exd4 10. Nxd4 Nhf6 11. O-O Nc5 { Or 11...Re8} 12. Qc2 Re8 13. Bf3 a5 14. Rfd1 {is equal. Dzindzichashvili,R (2550)-Southam,T (2325) New York 1993}) 9... dxe5 {Or 9...Nxe6 which seems more appropriate.} 10. Be2 f5 11. O-O f4 (11... c6 12. Nd2 Nhf6 13. Qc2 Qe7 14. Rfd1 a5 15. Na4 Nc5 16. Nxc5 Qxc5 17. Nf3 Re8 18. Rd2 Ne4 19. Rdd1 {Draw agreed. Giardelli,S (2438)-Szmetan,J (2394) Pinamar 2001}) 12. Qd5+ Kh8 13. Rad1 Qe7 14. Qd3 (14. exf4 {is a promising alternative. After} Nxf4 15. Qe4 c6 16. Rfe1 {White has completed her development and so her position is the more promising.}) 14... c6 15. a3 a5 16. Ne4 Nc5 17. Nxc5 Qxc5 18. b4 {In view of what is to come this opening of the a-file, while by no means bad, was probably not such a good idea! Instead, white has several plausible moves: 18. exf5 followed by 18.Nd4, 18.Ng5, 18.Nd4 followed by 18.Ne4 or even 17.Qd6} axb4 $17 19. axb4 Qe7 (19... Qxb4 $17 {There was no reason at all to avoid this.} 20. Nh4 Qc5 21. Bxh5 gxh5 22. exf4 exf4 23. Rfe1 Ra3 24. Qe4 Rc3 25. Rc1 Rxc1 26. Rxc1 Bd4 {Black has a slight advantage.}) 20. Qd6 Qxd6 21. Rxd6 Ra2 22. Re1 {It would has been a little more prudent to chase away the interloper on a2 with 22.Rd2} Bf5 (22... e4 {was nore active. Then if} 23. Nd4 Be5 24. c5 Rd2 ( 24... Bxd6 25. cxd6 Rd2 26. b5 {White has almost enough compensation for the exchange.}) 25. b5 {with complications. Although black can safely take the R she can also keep the complications up with....} Ng3 26. bxc6 Nxe2+ 27. Nxe2 Bxd6 28. cxd6 fxe3 29. fxe3 bxc6 30. Be5+ Kg8 31. Nc3 Rff2 32. g4 {and black is slightly better.}) 23. b5 cxb5 24. cxb5 Rc8 25. Ng5 {This should have lost, but black misses the refutation.} (25. Rd2 {results in a completely even position after} Rxd2 26. Nxd2 Bf8 27. Nf1 Rc2 28. g4 fxg3 29. Nxg3 Nxg3 30. Bxg3 e4 31. Bg4) 25... Bf6 {Not really ad because even after this black has the advantage, but she has missed the winning move.} (25... Rxe2 26. Red1 { The threat is 27.Rd8+} (26. Rxe2 Rc1+ 27. Rd1 Rxd1+ 28. Re1 Rxe1#) 26... Bf8 27. Rd8 Rxd8 28. Nf7+ Kg8 29. Nxd8 Rb2 {Black is a piece up.}) 26. exf4 { [%mdl 8192] Another move that should have lost!} (26. Bxh5 {at least allows white to play on after...} Bxg5 27. Bf3 Bh4 28. g3 Be7 29. Rdd1 e4 30. g4 exf3 31. gxf5 Bh4 32. Rf1 Rcc2 (32... fxe3 33. fxe3 Rg2+ 34. Kh1 Rf2 {is equal.}) 33. Bxf4 gxf5 {Black is better, but white may be able to defend her position.}) 26... exf4 {Another missed chance!} (26... Rxe2 {and wins!} 27. Rdd1 Rxe1+ 28. Rxe1 exf4 {Black is a piece up with a won position.}) 27. Bxh5 {This saves the game.} Bxg5 (27... gxh5 {loses as follows...} 28. Rxf6 Bg6 29. Bxf4 Kg8 30. Re7 {and black;s situation is grave. A sample line...} h4 31. Ne6 Re2 32. Rxb7 Re1+ 33. Kh2 Bd3 34. b6 Ba6 35. Rg7+ Kh8 36. Rh6 Bd3 37. b7 Re8 38. Re7 {mates in 7} Rd8 39. Nxd8 Rxe7 40. b8=Q Kg7 41. Qd6 Re8 42. Qf6+ Kg8 43. Qf7+ Kh8 44. Qxe8+ Kg7 45. Ne6#) 28. Bf3 Rcc2 {White resigned, but there was absolutely no reason to do so because black has no way of forcing a win. In fact, in this position it's white who stands better, but in Shootouts from this position white only scored one win and 4 draws.} (28... Rcc2 29. g4 {Thepoint of 28.Bf3} Bc8 (29... fxg3 30. Bxg3 Kg7 31. Rb6 Bc8 32. Bxb7 {and white should be able to win this ending.}) 30. Re8+ Kg7 31. Bd5 {and it's white who has the more promising position.}) *

Thursday, February 29, 2024

FM Ales Dunne

 
    
The Unites States lost several players last year: veteran Master George Kramer (1929-2023), popular author IM Jeremy Silman (1954-2023), veteran FM Dr. Orest Popovych (1933-2023), hero of a hundred tournaments in New England FM John Curdo (1931-2023) and Chess Life columnist FM Ales Dunne (1942-2023).
    FIDE Master (FM) Alex E. Dunne (January 3, 1942 - January 16, 2023, age 81) passed away at his home in Sayre, Pennsylvania on Monday, January 16, 2023, following an extended illness. 
    Born in Sayre, he graduated from Mansfield University and taught English in the local school district for 30 years. In his personal life Dunne loved Monty Python comedies, The Simpsons, trivia games, puns, Dr. Pepper soda, Friday evening Chinese dinners and taking walks around the Sayre Pond with his dog.
    Tragedy struck Dunne’s life in February, 2003, when his first wife and grandson died in a fire in Sayre while he was away playing in a tournament. A 4 am fire ripped through the Dunne home on a Sunday, claiming the lives of his 62-year-old wife and a 2-year-old grandson. 
    Dunne fell in love with chess at an early age and for many years he wrote a long-running column for Chess Life on correspondence chess. He also authored How to Become a Candidate Master (i.e. a USCF Expert, 2000-2199 Elo), a book that uses illustrative games between Experts and Class A (1800-1999 Elo) players. 
    Dunne was the US Chess Correspondence Director from 2005 until retiring in 2020. His Check is in the Mail column (the printed magazine edition and later online)ran from December 1981 through February, 2021. 
    In the following game Dunne takes out William J. Adam (1962-1982, 19 years old) in a brilliant finish.
    Adam had achieved a rating of over 2400 when he died after a brief illness. He competed in the US Junior Invitational on three occasions with his best result being a tie for second in 1981. He was also a strong correspondence player.
    Adam was from Syracuse, New York had a huge natural talent. He was a student at State University New York in Stony Brook, New York during which time he appears to gave mostly abandoned competitive chess. 

  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Rochesterm NY"] [Site ""] [Date "1978.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "William Adam"] [Black "Alex Dunne"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B90"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "1978.??.??"] [Source "Alex Dunne"] {B87: Sicilian Defense} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Qe2 Be7 8. Be3 b5 9. Bb3 O-O 10. O-O-O b4 11. Na4 Nxe4 {So far this is all book. The usually move here is 11...Qa5} 12. f3 {After this black gets the better of it. More exact was 12.Nb6!} (12. Nb6 Qxb6 (12... Ra7 13. Nxc8 Qxc8 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Bxa7 {wins}) 13. Nxe6 Nc5 14. Bxc5 dxc5 15. Nxf8 Bxf8 16. Bxf7+ Kxf7 17. Qf3+ Kg8 18. Qxa8 {with the advantage. Aldokhin,I (2413) -Gadimbayli,A (2507) chess.com INT 2023}) (12. Nxe6 {fails to} Bxe6 13. Bb6 Qe8 14. Qxe4 Bxb3 15. Qxa8 Bxa4 16. Rhe1 (16. Qd5 Qc8 17. b3 Bc6 18. Qd2 Qf5 19. f3 Nd7 {with a decisive advantage. Varga,Z (2400)-Pedzich,D (2405) Santiago wch-jr 1990}) 16... Qd7 17. Qe4 Nc6 {Black's advantage proved decisive in Ozolin,M (2510)-Dvoirys,S (2585) Omsk/Perm 1998}) (12. f4 {was tried in Cozianu,C (2420)-Suba,M (2535) Timisu de Sus 1998 which continued} d5 13. f5 { Black is better, but after mistakes by both sides the game was soon drawn.}) 12... Nf6 {The threat is 13...e5 trapping the N on the open board.} 13. g4 { So that is 13...e5 14.Nf5, If black captures the N then white has the semi-open g-file.} Bd7 14. Rhg1 Nc6 15. g5 Nh5 16. f4 g6 {A pass to demonstrate the threat.} 17. Nf3 (17. Kb1 Nxd4 18. Rxd4 (18. Bxd4 Nxf4 19. Qe3 Bxa4 20. Bxa4 (20. Qxf4 Bxb3 21. axb3 e5) 20... Bxg5 21. Bb3 {Black is better.} ) 18... Qa5 {Wgite must lose a piece.}) 17... Na5 $19 18. Kb1 Nxb3 19. axb3 Bb5 20. Qf2 Qc7 21. Nb6 Rab8 22. f5 exf5 (22... Bd8 {has better winning chances.} 23. Nc4 Bxc4 24. bxc4 {and now both 24...Qc4 and 24...exf5 leave black with a modest advantage.}) 23. Nd5 Qb7 24. Nxe7+ {A natural move, but not the best. It's surprising how quickly white's game now collapses.} (24. Nh4 {and White has nothing to worry.} Bc6 25. Nxf5 {Equally playable wasd 25.Nf6+, but this is flashier!} gxf5 26. Qh4 Bxd5 27. Qxh5 {White has sufficient compensation. The best line is} Bg2 28. Bd4 Rfe8 29. Qh6 Bf8 30. Qf6 Re5 31. Bxe5 dxe5 32. Rxg2 Qxg2 33. Rd7 {with about equal chance.}) 24... Qxe7 25. Rge1 {[Black must now prevent 26.Bf4} Qc7 (25... a5 26. Bf4 Qb7 27. Bxd6) 26. Rd4 {Somewhat better would have been 26.Nd4} Bc6 27. Rh4 {This move leads nowhere, but white's position is already critical.} Be4 28. Nd4 Rfc8 29. Re2 Ng7 30. Rh3 a5 31. Bf4 Ne6 32. Qh4 Nf8 (32... Nxd4 {lands black in trouble after} 33. Qxh7+ Kf8 34. Qh8+ Ke7 35. Qxd4 {with the more promising position.}) 33. Rd2 a4 { Threatening 34...axb3} 34. bxa4 b3 {The attack on c2 has been sudden and it's decisive.} 35. Kc1 bxc2 36. Ne2 {This allows a brilliant mate in 8, but he was lost in any case.} (36. Nxc2 Bxc2 37. Rc3 Qb7 38. Rdxc2 Rxc3 39. bxc3 Qh1+ 40. Kd2 Rb1 41. Bxd6 Qg2+ 42. Kd3 Rd1+ 43. Ke3 Qxc2) 36... Rxb2 {[%mdl 512] Black mates.} 37. Kxb2 (37. Rxd6 Rb1+ 38. Kd2 c1=Q+ 39. Nxc1 Qxc1+ 40. Ke2 Qf1+ 41. Ke3 Rb3+ 42. Kd4 Qa1+ 43. Rc3 Qxc3#) 37... c1=Q+ 38. Nxc1 Qxc1+ 39. Ka2 Bb1+ 40. Ka1 Bc2+ {A move quicker was 40...Bd3+} 41. Ka2 Rb8 {41...Qb1+ was one move quicker.} 42. Qxh7+ Nxh7 43. Be5 Qb1+ 44. Ka3 Rb3+ {White resigned...it's mate next move.} 0-1

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

The Craigside Tournament of 1900/01

    
The following game is proof that even bad play can have redeeming qualities. It was played in the Craigside Cup Section of the 1900/01 Craigside Llandudno tournament. One newspaper report of the day commented that they felt obliged to label the play “cheap”, but noted that the finish was “attractive”. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. 
    Of the event one contemporary newspaper reported “one of the most enjoyable meetings in the year is that held annually in the first week of January at the Craigside Hydro, Llandudno”. That’s a hotel in a coastal town in northern Wales.
    One reason for this event being enjoyable was that the weather conditions at the seaside resort at that time of the year offered a nice change from the gloom weather that prevailed in most parts of the country. 
    Previous tournaments had been divided into two classes, but for this event a new format consisting of three classes was used. The Cup tournament was for previous winners of the Craigside Cup or of an open event. The First Class event was for for recognized first-class amateurs and the Second Class event was for players ineligible for the first two classes. 
 
    
    The First Class event was won by Anthony Dod ahead of 2) Charles Sherrard. Newman Clissild, Henry Cran, Arthur Mackenzie and Bernard Wilmot all tied for places 3-6. 
    This section used a rather curious scoring system known as the Lasker System. Drawn games were scored as ¼ point for each player and a second game had to be played. The winner got ½ point and if the second game was drawn bothe players got another ¼ point. Fortunately, or oddly, there were no drawn games in this section! 
    The Second Class section was won by Thomas Billington (7-1) ahead of Mrs. Lousia Fagan (6-2). There was also a Handicap event and Burn, Atkins and Gunston taking the three prizes. 
 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Craigside Cup Tourney"] [Site "Llandudno"] [Date "1901.01.01"] [Round "2"] [White "William Gunston"] [Black "George Bellingham"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C14"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1900.12.31"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "WLS"] [SourceTitle "BritBase"] [Source "John Saunders"] [SourceDate "2023.05.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.05.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] {C14: French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. Nb5 Qd8 8. c3 a6 9. Na3 c5 10. Nf3 Nc6 (10... cxd4 11. cxd4 Nc6 12. Be2 Qa5+ 13. Qd2 Qxd2+ 14. Kxd2 b6 15. Rhc1 Bb7 {Draw agreed. Petrov,S (2129)-Dimitrovski,J (2208) Struga MKD 2014}) 11. Nc2 c4 {So far the opening had bee known book moves, but this move is not especially good because it's too slow. Black should counter in the cente.} (11... O-O $11 12. Bd3 f6 13. exf6 Qxf6 14. O-O b6 15. Qd2 Bb7 16. Qg5 Rae8 {equals. Molina,J-Gershman,J Argentina 1938 0-1}) (11... Qb6 12. b3 cxd4 13. cxd4 f6 14. exf6 Nxf6 {Equals. Wielecki,Z (2350)-Raszka,J (2215) Bielsko Biala 1991}) (11... cxd4 12. cxd4 f6 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. Bd3 O-O {Equals. Pilnik,H-Gershman,J Argentina 1938}) 12. g3 O-O 13. Bh3 Qe7 14. Nh4 {Somewhat better was 14.O-O as the B is out of place here because it no lonfer defends e5. Black's next move takes immediate advantage of that fact.} f6 {Completely equalizing.} 15. f4 {A tactical mistake...his B on h3 is undefended.} (15. exf6 Nxf6 16. Bg2 e5 17. O-O { keeps the chances equal.}) 15... fxe5 16. dxe5 {Black could now have obtained a decisive advantage.} Ndxe5 {[%mdl 512] Good, but 16...Rxf4 was much better.} (16... Rxf4 17. Nf3 (17. gxf4 Qxh4+ 18. Ke2 Qxh3) 17... Re4+ 18. Kf1 Nc5 { Black has a winning advantage.}) 17. fxe5 Nxe5 18. Rf1 Nd3+ 19. Ke2 {Even though he is a piece down black is clearly better here, but his next move lets white offf the hook because it's not aggressive enough.} Bd7 (19... e5 { is harder for white to meet. After} 20. Nf5 Qc7 21. Qd2 Kh8 22. Qg5 g6 23. Nce3 Be6 {Black is slightly better.} (23... gxf5 {is also acceptable.} 24. Bxf5 Bxf5 25. Rxf5 Qg7 26. Qxg7+ Kxg7 27. b3 {But here white has equalized.})) 20. Qd2 e5 21. Bxd7 {The undefended B has disappeared...a plus for white.} Qxd7 22. Ne3 { [%mdl 8192] This prevents ...Qg4+, but the cure is worse than the disease!} ( 22. Qg5 {keeps black's advantage to a minimum after} d4 23. cxd4 exd4 24. Nf5) 22... Qh3 {Black now has what should be a decisive advantage, but he is going to let it slip.} 23. Nhf5 {[%mdl 32]} Rad8 {Well played!} (23... Qxh2+ { looks inviting, but after} 24. Kd1 Nxb2+ 25. Kc2 Qxd2+ 26. Kxd2 Rf7 27. Kc2 Nd3 28. Nxd5 Raf8 29. g4 {with complications that, theoretically at least should favor white.}) 24. Kd1 d4 {To quote one commentator of the day...White is being smashed off the board and deservedly so. But he now gets lucky.} 25. Qg2 {Now black tries to win in a flasjy fashion by making what he thought was a temporary Q sacrifice.} dxe3 {A gross blunder.} (25... Qxg2 {leads to a mundane win.} 26. Nxg2 g6 27. Ne7+ Kg7 28. Kd2 Rfe8 29. Nf5+ gxf5 30. Rxf5 Rf8 {with a decisive advantage.}) 26. Ne7+ {The refutation of black's last move.} ( 26. Qxh3 {This is probably what black expected, but even so, his advantage would be minimal after} Nf4+ 27. Ke1 Nxh3 28. Nxe3 Rxf1+ 29. Nxf1 {Prevents ... Rd2. Black is only slightly better here.}) 26... Kh8 27. Ng6+ {[%mdl 512] Very nice!} Kg8 (27... hxg6 28. Qxh3+) 28. Qd5+ {[%mdl 512] This is even nicer than his last move and black resigned. To quote a contemporary commentator... White's triple whammy is very attractive, but I feel we have to label it a cheapo because of the poor play that preceded it.} (28. Qd5+ Qe6 (28... Rxd5 29. Rxf8#) 29. Qxe6+ Rf7 30. Qxf7#) 1-0

Friday, February 23, 2024

Gustavus Reichhelm and Hardman Mongomery

Reichelm
    
The American Civil War, which took place from April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865, naturally resulted in a cultural life in both the North and the South that was greatly distinct from life in the antebellum years. 
    Newspapers often featured reports directly from the battlefield and photography, a relatively new development, brought the horrific imagery of the war into people’s homes. 
    One development in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during that time were “sanitary fairs”. These fairs were patriotic, voluntary affairs and they climaxed with the Great Central Fair of 1864 in Logan Square in the city. It provided a creative and communal way for ordinary citizens to promote the welfare of Union soldiers.
    Sanitary fairs were civilian organized bazaars and expositions dedicated to raising funds and supplies for the United States Sanitary Commission and other charitable relief organizations. 
    The Sanitary Commission was the only civilian run organization recognized by the federal government. It offered assistance to the military. Civilian volunteers advised on the physical and mental health of the military, assisted in organizing military hospitals and camps and aided in the transportation of the wounded. They also distributed medical supplies, food and clothing where needed. 
    Naturally, in 1864 there was not a lot of chess activity, but in January the Philadelphia Chess Club defeated the Paulsen Chess Club in New York in a one game telegraph match. 
    In June 1864, former Union Captain George H. Mackenzie (1837-1891), who was born in Scotland and moved to the US in 1863, became a Captain in the 10th United States Colored Troops Regiment. Then in June of 1864, he was declared a deserter, was arrested and forfeited all pay and allowances. He was released from prison in May, 1865, and moved to New York and started playing chess. By 1867, he was US champion. 
    A prominent Philadelphia player of the era was Gustav Reichelm (1839-1905). Besides being a strong player, he was a journalist and composer who also stood out as an analyst. Chess metrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been 2363 in 1869 and his best ever world rank to have been number 5 (behind Berthold Suhlem Wilhelm Steinitz, Hans von Minckwitz and Philipp Hirschfeld), but needles to say information upon which to estimate ratings was scant in those days. 
    He was a specialist also in Pawn endings and he published a famous study with Emanuel Lasker with whom he was very friendly and with whom he used to play and analyze. He was editor of Brentano Chess Monthly and for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. 
    Reichelm was born in Prussia. He and his brother Frederic began their studies at the Gymnasium (a preparatory school) previous to their father' s death in 1816. Gustavus remained at the Gymnasium until he was qualified to pursue his studies at the University of Halle where he studied law. 
    He came to the United States in about 1831 and made the acquaintance of a couple of homeopathic doctors in Allentown. Pennsylvania at what was the first homeopathic college in the country. He studied there and from that time until his death he was an ardent disciple of Homeopathy
    He commenced practicing in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, but on the advice of his mentor he moved to Pittsburgh in 1837 where he enjoyed great success. In 1853, much to the regret of his friends in Pittsburgh, he moved to Philadelphia. 
    His opponent in the following amusing game was Hardman Montgomery (1834-1870), the youngest son of John C. Montgomery, formerly Postmaster of Philadelphia. 
Montgomery

    After entering the University of Pennsylvania as a Sophomore in 1851, Montgomery's talent for chess and mathematics was soon spotted by one of his professors. 
    From 1852 onward, Montgomery quickly rose among the ranks of local players and was a member of the successful Philadelphia team beating New York in two correspondence games in 1855-1856. 
    Montgomery was the sole Philadelphia representative in the 1st American Chess Congress held in New York in 1857. It was a knockout tournament and Montgomery defeated his first round opponent, William S Allison, but lost the next round to Louis Paulsen. 
    Because of the popularity of Paul Morphy the Philadelphia Chess Club was founded and Montgomery became its first President. 
    In 1861, after losing a match against New York's Theodore Lichtenhein (+2 -7 =1), Montgomery practically retired from serious chess. However, he did later defeat James A. Leonard (+8 -4 =2) in 1861 and lost a match Reichhelm (+4 -8 =0 in 1864. 
    Montgomery resided in Philadelphia and New York and practiced law for a time in Pennsylvania. Eventually he moved to California. On Christmas day in 1869 he was struck with paralysis and then on January 22, 1870, at the age of 34, he suffered a fatal stroke. He died in Marysville, California. 
    The game given here was not very well played. In fact, Reichhelm was losing, but Montgomery let him get away. 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Philadelphia"] [Site "Philadelphia"] [Date "1864.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Hardman Montgomery"] [Black "Gustavus Reichhelm"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "1864.??.??"] {C44: Scotch Gambit} 1. e4 e5 {[%mdl 32]} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 {This opening was analyzed as far back as 1750 and received the name Scotch Game fromm a correspondence match in 1824 between Edinburgh and London. It remained popular in the 1800s, but by 1900 it was considered to give b;ack easy equality. In modern times Garry Kasparov and Jan Timman used it occasionally as a surprise} exd4 4. Bd3 {Very passive. 4.Nxd4 or 4.Bc4 are usually played.} Bc5 5. c3 { Offering a P after playing the passive 4.Bd3 may not seem logical, but in doing so white frees up his game.} (5. Nbd2 Qe7 6. Nb3 Bb6 7. a3 d6 8. Bd2 Bg4 9. O-O {Black is better. Scherbakova,G-Kozhukina,E Odessa 2008}) 5... dxc3 6. O-O {Equally good was 6.Nxc3, but he offer of another P is also quite playable. } Nge7 (6... cxb2 7. Bxb2 Nf6 8. e5 {allows white plenty of play and black's attacked N has no really good square to retreat to.}) 7. e5 {This is less effective with black's N on e7 because now the Ps advance does not gain a tempo. Better was 7.Nxc3} O-O {Castling at this point is risky because defend ing against the coming attack will require precision.} (7... cxb2 {While this might look risky it would leave black with the advantage.} 8. Bxb2 d5 (8... O-O 9. Bxh7+ Kxh7 {Better is 9...Kh8, but white has a very promising position.} 10. Ng5+ {wins}) 9. exd6 Qxd6 {White does not have quite enough compensation for the two Ps.}) (7... d5 {This is simply a transposition.} 8. exd6 cxb2 9. Bxb2 Qxd6 {with the same position as after 7...cxb2}) 8. Bxh7+ {Of course! Black can survive this, but accurate defense is a must.} Kxh7 {Forced.} (8... Kh8 9. Ng5 g6 (9... Ng8 10. Bxg8 Kxg8 11. Qh5 {wins}) 10. Qf3 Nf5 11. Bxg6 {wins. Just one line...} Kg7 12. Bxf5 Nxe5 13. Qg3 Ng6 14. Bxg6 fxg6 15. Qxc3+ Kg8 16. Qxc5) 9. Ng5+ Kg6 {This is the right square for the K. White has no forced win IF black accurately defends.} (9... Kg8 {would lose.} 10. Qh5 Re8 11. Qh7+ Kf8 12. Qh8+ Ng8 13. Nh7+ Ke7 14. Bg5+ f6 15. exf6+ Ke6 (15... Nxf6 16. Qxg7+ Kd6 17. Nxc3 Nd4 18. Bxf6 Ne6 19. Qg3+ Kc6 20. b4 b6 21. Bxd8 Rxd8 22. bxc5 {wins}) 16. f7 Kxf7 17. Bxd8 $18) 10. Qd3+ Nf5 (10... f5 {was a better defense.} 11. exf6+ Nf5 12. fxg7 Kxg7 13. Qh3 Qe7 14. Nxc3 Kg8 15. Nd5 Qg7 {In Shootouts from this position white scored +1 -0 =4, so black has reasonable drawing chances.}) 11. g4 d6 {The correct move here and the one that results in equality is 11...d5. As will be seen, the reason is that 11...d5 makes e4 inaccessible to white's N.} (11... d5 12. gxf5+ Bxf5 13. Qg3 Kh5 14. Nxc3 f6 15. exf6 gxf6 16. Nh3 Rg8) 12. gxf5+ Bxf5 13. Qg3 {Threatening Ne6+} Kh5 { The safest square for the K, but white is clearly better.} 14. Nxc3 f6 (14... Nxe5 15. Nd5 Nd3 16. Nh3 Nxc1 17. Qxg7 Bg6 18. Nf6+ Kh4 19. Qh6+ Bh5 20. Qxh5#) (14... dxe5 15. Kh1 f6 16. Nge4 Bxe4+ 17. Nxe4 g5 18. Qf3+ Kg6 19. Nxc5 { is decisive.}) 15. Nce4 {[%mdl 8192] Wrong N!! This is a losing blunder.} (15. Nge4 {Had black's P been on d5 (see move 11) this would not have been. possible. White is now winning.} Bxe4 16. Nxe4 Qe7 17. Kh1 Qxe5 18. Qf3+ Kg6 19. Bf4 Qe6 20. Rg1+ Kf7 21. Nxc5) 15... fxg5 16. Bxg5 Qe8 {After this black's advantage is not so great, but the better Q sacrifice would not be so clear over the board!} (16... Nd4 {is another story.} 17. Rfe1 Bxe4 18. Bxd8 Nf3+ 19. Kf1 Bd3+ 20. Re2 Raxd8 21. Rd1 Bxe2+ 22. Kxe2 g5 {Black's advantage should prove decisive.}) 17. Nxc5 {[%mdl 8192] After this white loses quickly.} (17. Rae1 {puts up stouter resistance.} Bd4 18. Bf4 Qg6 {Black is better.}) 17... dxc5 18. Kh1 Qxe5 {Black is clearly winning.} 19. f4 Be4+ 20. Kg1 Qd4+ 21. Rf2 Ne5 {[%mdl 32] The N joins the attack.} 22. Qh3+ Kg6 {The strong threat is ... Nf3_} 23. Qe6+ Rf6 24. Bxf6 Nf3+ 25. Kf1 {White wants to mate with Rg2+.} Qd3+ {Correct!} (25... gxf6 {is a self mate.} 26. Rg2+ Kh5 27. Qh3+ Nh4 28. Qg4+ Kh6 29. Qxh4#) 26. Kg2 Ng5+ 27. Kg1 Nh3+ {White resigned.} (27... Nh3+ 28. Qxh3 Qxh3 {Stockfish informs us that there is a mate in 21 moves!} 29. Bd4 Qg4+ 30. Kf1 cxd4 31. Re1 Bd3+ 32. Ree2 Bxe2+ 33. Rxe2 Qf3+ 34. Ke1 Qxf4 35. Kd1 d3 36. Re1 Qf3+ 37. Kd2 Qf2+ 38. Kc3 Qc2+ 39. Kd4 Rd8+ 40. Ke3 Qc5+ 41. Kf3 Rf8+ 42. Ke4 Re8+ 43. Kxd3 Rd8+ 44. Ke2 Qe5+ 45. Kf1 Rf8+ 46. Kg2 Qxe1 47. h4 Qe2+ 48. Kg3 Rf3+ 49. Kg4 Qg2#) 0-1