I just noticed that for unknown reasons all the games posted in this blog from 2012 and earlier have disappeared! I don’t know what the problem could be...Blogger or Knight Vision. For some reason even on the website games posted using Knight Vision have begun appearing only in the mobile view without notes. Not that it matters because Knight Vision uses Adobe Flash which will quit working next year. See article. Thankfully, we have Caissa's Web! On to Bournemouth...
1939 was a fateful year for Great Britain as the country began gearing up for war. In April, the Military Training Act introduced conscription men aged 20 and 21 had to undertake six months military training. Then in June there was the Tientsin Incident when the Imperial Japanese Army blockaded British trading settlements in the north China treaty port of Tientsin. The Women's Auxiliary Air Force was created and in July the Women's Land Army was re-formed to work in agriculture. In late August, Army reservists were called up and Civil Defense workers placed on alert and the Royal Navy proceeded to war stations. Beginning in September Operation Pied Piper, a 4-day evacuation of children from London and other major U.K. cities began and blackouts were imposed all across Britain. And, finally, on September 3 Nazi Germany declared war on Great Britain.
In the midst of it all, in mid-August the British Chess Federation Congress at Bournemouth was held. But, with the war being so close the British Championship was not at stake. Also, at the same time Harry Golombek, C.H.O’D. Alexander, Sir George Thomas, P.S. Milner-Barry and B.H. Wood were all competing in the Buenos Aires Olympiad so the men’s championship was scrapped.
1) Euwe 9.0-2.0 2-3) Flohr and Klein 8.5-2.5 4-5) Komig and Landau 6.5-4.5 6) Conde 6.0-5.0 7-8) Aitken and Wallis 5.0-6.0 9) Thomas 4.5-6.5 10) Mieses 3.5-7.5 11) Kitto 2.0-9.0 12 Abrahams 1.0-10.0 William Winter withdrew in the last minute and was replaced by P.N. Wallis. The concurrent British Women's Championship was won by 13-year-old Elaine Saunders Pritchard, who had nine wins and two draws.
The unfortunate Gerald Abrahams won a single game, against Mieses. Abrahams was a rather wayward player who like unconventional openings and in the following game it cost him a point against Euwe.
Gerald Abrahams was an author and barrister. He is best known for the Abrahams Defense of the Semi-Slav, also known as the Abrahams–Noteboom Variation, or the Noteboom Variation. He was also known for his prowess at playing blindfold. I did a post on Abrahams HERE.
%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. d4 b5 {This move has little to commend it.} 2. e4 Bb7 3. f3 a6 4. c4 bxc4
{As miserable as it may be, his best move was 4...c6. } 5. Bxc4 {Threatening
to win a piece with Qb3. } 5... e6 6. Nc3 d5 {This loses a P. Best was
6...Nf6 7.Bb3 c5 8.Nge2 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nc6. White is better, but black is still
in the game.} 7. Qb3 {Excellent! } 7... Nc6 {If 7...dxc4 8.Qxb7 Nd7 9.Qc6
white wins a P for which black has no compensation. However, while 7...Nc6 is
even worse, black is hoping Euwe falls for a swindle.} 8. exd5 {Taking the B
with 8.Qxb7 is met by 8,,,Na5 and white's Q is trapped. He can get a R and B
for the Q with 9.Bb5+ Ke7! 10.Qxa8 Qxa8 11.Bd3, but that would hardly be
enough. } 8... Nxd4 9. Qxb7 Rb8 {No better is 9...Nc2+ 10.Kf1! Nxa1 11.Qc6+
Qd7 12.Qxa8 and as soon as white wins the N on a8 he will be two pieces up.
It would have been worth a try to play 9...Bc5 threatening to trap the Q with
...Ra7, but then 10.dxe6! makes a retreat for the Q and leaves black
hopelessly lost. } 10. Qxa6 Ra8 11. Bb5+ Ke7 {11...Nxb5 is met by 12.Qc6+
followed by the capture of the N. } 12. d6+ cxd6 {This allows a mate in 3. It
would have been better to play 12...Kf6 with the hope of holding out to move
20 and so avoiding being a victim of a miniature! } 13. Bg5+ Nf6 14. Qb7+
{It's mate next move.} 1-0
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