The Attacking Genius Of Mikhail Chigorin

     Chess in Translation has an old article in 2010 titled The Forgotten Recollections of Chigorin’s Daughter that is fascinating reading. 
     Chessmetrics puts Chigorin's rating at a hefty 2797 in 1895 which places him right behind Lasker and Tarrasch. In 1889 and 1897 he is ranked number two behind Steinitz and Lasker respectively. In 1893 he tied Tarrasch 11-11 in a match in St. Petersburg. Both players score +9 -9 =4. The first player to win ten games would win the match, but if each player won nine games, the match would end without a winner. In Three Hundred Games, Tarrasch wrote that he received an invitation "couched in the most flattering terms" from St. Petersburg. However, Garry Kasparov stated in his On My Great Predecessors, Part I that Tarrasch challenged Chigorin. 
     In any case, Kasparov praised this match between the two who were among the best players in the world at the end of the Steinitz era for the richness of its content and noted that the contestants "fought literally to the to the last pawn: in the first nine games and the six final ones there was not a single draw!" The match was a battle between two different style: Tarrasch's classical style and Chigorin's creative style in which he frequently looked not for the rules but the exceptions. 

     The only book contining a collection of his games that I know of is Mikhail Chigorin: The Creative Genius by Jimmy Adams, but it has the rather hefty price tag of $34.00. I have never seen the book, but am familar with Adams writing which is superb. 

     Chigorin greatly influenced the development of chess in Russia because of his striking originality. He rebelled against the dogmatic principles of Steinitz and Tarrasch which he believed placed restrictions on creative thinking. Chigorin's claim was that it was necessary to take into account all the "concrete" features of the position and make a dynamic appraisal of each position, especially its tactical possibilities.  It was this thinking that lead him to infuse new life into many openings of the day and inspire those who came after him to delve more deeply into opening theory. 

House of Staunton St. Petersburg chess set...only $895

     Chigorin challenged Steinitz for the world championship twice, losing 10-6 and 10-8. In those matches Adams states "In the match came to light the weak side of Chigorin - the sportsman. He ought to have set himself the task, long before, of finding a correct system of play as Black against 1. d4. In 1889, as indeed also later, he placed too many hopes on improvisation at the board."
     While playing over the games from the book The Games of the St. Petersburg Tournament 1895-1896 by James Mason and WHK Pollock, the games of Chigorin were a source of fascination. 
     At the closing banquet of the Hastings 1895, Chigorin announced that the top prizewinners had been invited to St. Petersburg for a match-tournament to begin in December that year. The top finishers Pillsbury, Chigorin and Lasker, plus fifth-place finisher Steinitz agreed to play; fourth-place finisher Siegbert Tarrasch declined. They played six games against each other. The tournament was a disappointment for Pillsbury and Chigorin. 
     Pillsbury was in bad form in the second half and Chigorin in the first or the results might have been completely different. 

     In the following game Chigorin had lost the opening battle and was facing a sure defeat when at move 17 he decided on a R sacrifice that while not sound turned out to be more than Pillsbury could handle. He ended up in time pressure and wasn't able to find the correct defense. 

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[Event "St. Petersburg 1895/96"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1896.1.14"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Mikhail Chigorin"]
[Black "Harry N. Pillsbury"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 {In the Ruy Lopez variations in
which black does not play ...a6 are generally thought to give black fewer
chances but they do have their points. This game Pillsbury played 3...g6
which today is known as the Smyslov Defence, Fianchetto Defence, Barnes
Defence, or Pillsbury Defence. It's a quiet positional system that was played
occasionally by Vasily Smyslov and Boris Spassky, becoming popular in the
1980s when it was shown that 4.c3 a6! gives Black a good game. During the
period in which this game was played Pillsbury did a great deal to revive this
move.} 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. d3 {With this move, instead of 5.d4, white hopes to limit
the scope of black's B on g7.} 5... Nge7 6. Bg5 f6 7. Be3 a6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bb3
Na5 10. Qd2 Nxb3 11. axb3 Bb7 12. Bh6 O-O {Now white has several reasonable
options, but the adventurous move he chooses coupled with castling Q-side
guarantees an exciting game.} 13. h4 {Pillsbury's next moves adds additional
support to the e-Pawn. In the tournament book Pollock claimed this was
necessary and assigned the alternative 13...d5 a question mark, but his
analysis is faulty. In fact, black can safely play the more aggressive 13...
d5. Pollock's suggestion of meeting 13...d5 with 14.h5 g4 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.
Nxg6 nets white three Ps for the piece, but the position is in black's favor,
not white's as Pollock hints. The correct line after 13...d5 is 14.Bxg7 Kxg7
15.h5 g5 with equal chances.} 13... d6 14. O-O-O {Rather than this move white
might have done better with the straightforward 14.h5.} 14... c5 15. g4 b4
{Pollock points out that white's next move is necessary because 16.Na4 results
in the loss of a P after 16...Bc6 and ...Qa5. White could, if he chose,
probably look at it as a sacrifice and try to get compensation by pushing his
K-side Ps.} 16. Nb1 a5 {White's next move, which prepares the advance of the
g-Pawn was a waste of time. He should have tried 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.g5 and push
the h-Pawn.} 17. Rdg1 { White prepares the advance g5} 17... a4 18. bxa4 Rxa4
19. Qe3 {The idea of this move is to make d2 available for either his N or K
in the event of an invasion on the a-file.} 19... Nc6 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. g5
Nd4 22. h5 {By this point Pillsbury has gained the upper hand and if white
does nothing he is going to lose. So, with his next move Chigorin prepares to
sacrifice a whole R.} 22... Nxf3 23. hxg6 {By annotating based on the result
Pollack wrote that black must accept the sacrifice and gave the faulty
23...Nxg5 as proof. In fact, there is absolutely no reason not to accept the
sacrifice which eaves black with a won game. If, for some reason black did
not want to take the R, he could play 23.. .hxg6 24.Qxf3 fxg5 25.Qh3 Rh8 with
an unclear position.} 23... Nxg1 24. gxf6+ Kxf6 25. gxh7 {At this point
Pillsbury was very short of time.} 25... Ke6 {Heading for safety on the
Q-side.} 26. Rxg1 Kd7 27. Qh3+ Kc6 28. Qe6 Ra8 29. Rg7 {A seemingly safe
neutral move in time pressure, but it tosses away black's advantage. The
correct move was 29...Qc8 and there is no way for white to utilize his P on h7
or sustain an attack on the K and he dare not trade Qs.} 29... Kb6 30. Na3
{Brilliant!! This offer of a N is the only way to get to black's K. If black
take the N he will lose. 30...bxa3?? 31.Qb3+ followed by Qxb7.} 30... Ba6 {
Pillsbury's time presure is becoming acute.} 31. Rd7 Qxd7 32. Qxd7 Rad8 33.
Qg7 bxa3 34. bxa3 {Black has managed to survive and his two Rs and B are
sufficient to hold off the Q a P on h7. The simple 34...Rh8 was good.
Either 34...Rh8 or a neutral B move was better.} 34... c4 {Contrary to
Pollack's exclamation mark in the tournament book, this move is not so great
because it allows white to utilize his center Ps.} 35. d4 {Now the capture of
the f-Pawn loses the game. After 35...Rfe8 36.c3 Bb5 37.f3 Bc6 it's hard to
see how white can make any progress.} 35... Rxf2 36. (35 Rfe8 37. c3 Bb5 38.
f3 Bc6) 39. h8=Q Rxh8 40. Qxh8 Rf1+ 41. Kb2 exd4 42. Qxd4+ Kc7 43. a4 Rf7 44.
a5 Kc8 45. Qxd6 Rb7+ 46. Kc3 Bb5 47. a6 Rc7 48. a7 {This flashy move mates in
17 moves and is prettier that the quicker 45.e5 which mates in 15 moves.} 1-0

Eric Andersen Revisited

     “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5 and the path leading out I only wide enough for one.” (Mikhail Tal) 
     As astute reader “Cribb” pointed out, my post on Eric Andersen on February 4th contained a faux pas on my part in which I described one game and posted another one, a loss no less! 
     After playing over several of Andersen’s games the one I had decided to post (given below) was hardly one of his “best,” but it was an exciting one. Chessgames.com had a discussion of it in which one reader thought it was a great game with a masterful finish worthy of a puzzle of the day. Another disagreed, pointing out that based on engine analysis, it was a comedy of errors.
     It doesn’t matter. If one is looking for perfection, one can play over the games of modern day correspondence champions with their engine assisted near perfect games. If one is looking for spill and thrills, play over games like Andersen’s win over Wagner in the following game! 
     Andersen’s sacrifice was unsound in that it should have resulted in no more than equality and at move 30 black missed the winning line. Then on the very next move, he resigned in a position in which Andersen had no more than a perpetual check! 
     OK, so the game was far from perfect and black got lead into the forest where 2+2 actually did equal 4; the path leading out was wide enough for two, but it was too dark for the players to discern it!
     Heinrich Wagner (August 9, 1888 – June 24, 1959) was a German player. He was awarded the IM title because of his 3rd= placing with Akiba Rubinstein after Efim Bogoljubov and Aron Nimzowitsch at Breslau in 1925. He also played on the German Olympiad teams of 1927, 1928, 1930 and 1931, but retired from chess when the Nazis came to power. 

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[Event "Swinemuende"]
[Site "Swinemuende GER"]
[Date "1930.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Erik Andersen"]
[Black "Heinrich Wagner"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{D37: Queen's Gambit Declined: 5 Bf4} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3
Nbd7 5. e3 Be7 6. b3 O-O 7. Bd3 c5 8. O-O dxc4 9. bxc4 cxd4 10. exd4 {The
infamous Hanging Pawns. It takes a good positional understanding both to use
their advantages and to play against them. They are a weak pawn formation by
nature, so piece activity is the key. When playing against them, one must
apply pressure on the Ps in order to force the advance of one of them.
Normally this leaves weak squares which can be used to establish a permanent
blockade. In general terms, it's a dynamic formation in which the piece play
is a major factor to consider. Instead of his next move black should have
pressured the hanging Ps with moves like ...b6, ...Bb7 and ...Rc8.} 10... Nb6
11. Re1 Bd7 12. Ne5 Rc8 {Black has succeeded in putting pressure on the
c-Pawn, but that's a far as he gets. As compensation white has a N on e5 and
black's QB would be better placed on b7.} 13. Re3 {White has an interesting
idea: a direct attack on black's K.} 13... Bc6 14. Rh3 g6 15. Be3 Nbd7 16. f4
Qa5 17. Qc2 {Black's next move is too passive. He should have eliminated the
N on e5 with 17...Nxe5 18. fxe5 Ng4! The N may look dangerously exposed here,
but white will be unable to take advantage of it. There is also a neat little
tactical point. If white tries to avoid the exchange of his dark squared B
with 19.Bd2 black has 19...Bc5! and if 20.dxc5?? (Better is 20.Rf1) Qxc5+
21.Kh1 Nf2+ 22.Kg1 Nxh3+ and mates in two.} 17... Rfe8 18. Rf1 Nf8 {A
pointless waste of time. Better was 18. ..Bf8.} 19. g4 {White has already
established a winning attacking position.} 19... Bb4 20. g5 N6d7 21. Ne4
{White intends c5} 21... Bxe4 22. Bxe4 Nxe5 23. fxe5 b5 24. c5 Bc3 25. Rxh7
{Unsound, but it leads to complications black proves unable to handle. The
best plan was 25.Qf2 followed by the advance of the d-Pawn.} 25... Kxh7
{Definitely not 25...Nxh7 26.Bxg6 winning.} 26. Rxf7+ Kg8 27. Bxg6 Qd8 {
Attacking the backward pawn on d4. The B on c3 is immune because the attack
is over and white is down a R.} 28. Bh5 Bxd4 29. Rxf8+ Kxf8 {White's next move
is a losing blunder. He can reach a very unclear position after 30.Qf2+ Kg8
31.Qf7+ Kh8 32.g6 Bxe3+ ( or 32...Qg5+ 33.Kh1 Re7 34.Bxg5 Rxf7 35.gxf7 Kg7)
33. Kh1 Qd5+ 34.Bf3 Qxf3+ 35.Qxf3} 30. Qh7 {An interesting position! In the
comment sections to this game on Chessgames.com one player asserted that this
move is winning which is probably the view shared by both Andersen and Wagner.
But that is wrong! Black can reach a position where he is two Rs up and
facing no danger after 30...Bxe3+!! 31.Kf1 Qc7} 30... Qxg5+ 31. Kh1 {Now
Wagner mistakenly resigned, but Andersen has no more than a perpetual check
after 31.. .Re7 32.Qh8+ Qg8 33.Qf6+ Rf7 34.Bh6+ Ke8 35.Bg5 Black has to allow
the perpetual because the attempt to escape by 35...Kd7 is met by 35...Kd7
36.Bxf7 Qf8 37.Qxe6+ Kc7 38.Be7 winning easily.} 1-0

Jiri Vesely, Chessmaster and Informer

    If you follow tennis you might be familiar with the Jiri Vesely, the Czech professional tennis player, but if you follow chess, you probably aren’t familiar with Jiri Vesely, the Czech chess player.
     Jiri Vesely (May 30, 1932 – February 27, 2009), the chess player, was a well known chess writer and reporter who wrote several chess books which are still quite popular in Czech Republic. In 1950s and early 1960s he was also one of leading Czech players. As late as 2006 Vesely was still active in team play for his club, but his rating had slipped from a high in the 2400s back in the 1960s to about 2100. 
     But Jiri Vesely had a dark side...he was a long time StB informer under nickname Sachista which means Chessplayer. The StB was the Czechoslovak communist secret police. It was a plainclothes communist secret police force in the former Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. The StB served as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency that dealt with any activity that could possibly be considered anti-state or western influence. 
     From its establishment on June 30, 1945, the StB was bound to and controlled by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The Party used the StB as an instrument of power and repression that spied on and intimidated political opponents of the Party and forged false criminal evidence against them. The StB facilitated the Communists' rise to power in 1948. 
     Even before Czechoslovakia became Communist, the StB forced confessions by means of torture, including the use of drugs, blackmail and kidnapping. Other common practices included telephone tapping, permanent monitoring of apartments, intercepting private mail, house searches, surveillance, arrests and indictment for so-called subversion of the republic. The StB's part in the fall of the regime in 1989 remains uncertain. The reported murder of a student by police during a peaceful demonstration in November 1989 was the catalyst for wider public support and further demonstrations, leading to the overthrow of the Communist regime. 
    State Security was dissolved on February 1, 1990. The current intelligence agency of the Czech Republic is the Security Information Service, but it is not a successor to StB. The former employees and associates (informers) of the StB were banned from taking certain jobs, such as legislators or police officers. 
     In the early 1990s former dissident and "StB hunter" Petr Cibulka published the names of over 200,000 alleged StB officers and collaborators who spied and reported on family members, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. In 2003, the Czech Interior Ministry released an official list of 75,000 StB agents and collaborators, including 3,000 names of collaborators from abroad. One of the more famous StB agents was Karl Koecher, who infiltrated the CIA as a mole in the 1970s; he was chose because of his English language skills. You can read his story HERE. 
     Another guy who has been accused of cooperating with the StB before 1989 is Vojtech Jasny, a Czech-American film director who came to prominence in the sixties. He won a Cannes Special Jury Prize for The Cassandra Cat in 1963. 
     As a son of a Czech patriot killed in Auschwitz, he was an active member of the Czech Resistance and also acted as a spy for the allies throughout the Second World War. An active filmmaker in Czechoslovakia throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he was among many artists and intellectuals who left the country after the USSR-led invasion following the Prague Spring of 1968. Jasny worked in other European countries for several years including Austria, West Germany and Yugoslavia until relocating to Brooklyn, New York in the early 1980s. 
     It’s interesting that in 2006, Radio Prague reported the Interior Ministry had for the first time admitted that some 800 agents of the former StB were still working in the country's police force. The then new interior minister Ivan Langer said that he wanted all former StB officers to leave the police as soon as possible. He planned to use a new civil service law to carry out personnel changes. 
     And, according to Reuters, last year a Slovak court rejected a demand by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis to be cleared of cooperation with the communist-era secret police (StB). 
     The following game by Vesely was played in Chocen, a very small town in the Czech Republic. Vesely tied for first with J. Lastovicka and A. Pechan with 7.5-3.5. This game shows the difficulty of winning even when you have the superior position. The advantage seesawed back and forth until white made the final blunder at move 35. One suspects time pressure may have had something to do with it. 

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[Event "Chocen "]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1950.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "F. Leitner"]
[Black "Jiri Vesely"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{Two Knights Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. O-O {This move is
rare. In fact when it's not even listed in Modern Chess Openings, though it
appears quite a few time in the database.} 4... Nxe4 {The most often seen move
in the database is 4...c5, but why not play this...it grabs a P plus it
entices white into playing not the correct 5.Bb5 Be7 6,Bxc6 dxc6 7.Re1
followed by Nxe5, but rather to fall into a trap with 5.Re1.} 5. Re1 d5 {Now
6.d4 may look inviting but it is met by Nxf2! 7.Nxe5 (Not 7.Kxf2 dxc4 8.Nxe5
Qxd4+ with the much superior position.) 7...Be6! And black comes out a P
ahead.} 6. Bb5 Bc5 {Black has already established a huge advantage owing to
his control of the center and better development.} 7. d4 exd4 8. Nxd4 {Another
opening mistake that allows black to build up pressure on f2. Best was 8.Nbd2
but even then black is much better.} 8... Qf6 9. Be3 O-O 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. c3
Ba6 12. f3 {Better was the developing move 12.Nd2} 12... Ng5 13. Nd2 Rfe8 14.
N2b3 Bd6 15. Qd2 Ne6 {Vesely isn't concerned with the P...he is going for the
attack.} 16. Nxc6 Nf4 17. Nb4 {Attacking the d-Pawn and seemingly forcing
black's next move. Vesely's next move is OK, but even better would have been
17...Ne2+ as it would have resulting in a material advantage, but calculating
the correct sequence OTB is beyond most players' ability.} 17... Bc4 18. g3
Ng6 19. Kg2 {White's f-Pawn is still a concern.} 19... Ne5 20. Bf4 {With his
next move black missed a tactical shot that assures him of the advantage.
20...Nxf3!! 21.Kf3 g5 win back the piece because the B is pinned. His next
move lets white right back in the game.} 20... c6 21. Bxe5 Bxe5 22. Na5
{Black's attack has disappeared and now he even loses a P. } 22... c5 23. Nxd5
Bxd5 24. Qxd5 Rad8 25. Qe4 Rd2+ 26. Re2 Qd8 {After this white should have
gotten the advantage. Correct was 26...Rxe2+ and only then ...Qd8. In that
case his B vs N and control of the center files offsets white's extra P. On
his next move white missed his chance to trade down to an even ending with
27.Rxd2 Qxd2+ 28.Kh1 and black has to do something about his pinned B. So,
28...f5 29.Nc4 fxe4 30.Nxd2} 27. Nc4 Rxe2+ 28. Qxe2 Bxc3 29. Qc2 {Offering a Q
trade with 29.Qd1 was better.} 29... Bf6 30. Rd1 Qe7 31. Rd2 Bd4 32. b3
{Another poor decision. 32.b4! Qe1 33.Qd1 trading Qs was correct. A draw
would then be a likely outcome.} 32... Qe1 {With the obvious threat of ...Qg1+
followed by ... Re6. White should still trade Qs. After 33.Qd1 Qxd1 34.Rxd1
Re2+ followed by ...Rxa2 with an extra P, B vs N and R on the 2nd rank, black
is better, but white has drawing chances.} 33. Qd3 Qg1+ 34. Kh3 Re6 {White' K
is now cornered. There's a way out of immediate disaster though with 35.f4
Rh6+ and after ... Rxh2 and the trade of Rs white would be a P down on the
K-side and have good drawing chances.} 35. Qf5 {This is a real blooper that
loses at once.} 35... Qf1+ 36. Kg4 Rg6+ 37. Kh5 Rh6+ 38. Kg4 Qh3+ {Now 39.Kd5
Rh5+ mates next move and 39.Kf4 Rf6 loses the Q.} 0-1

Chess Records and the 1954 Rosenwald

    
     Hoochie Coochie was a really old term, going back to 1890, about a sexual belly dance performed in carnival side-shows. Such dances, or something similar, were performed at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London in 1851, the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, and the World's Fair in Paris in 1889. 
     Although such dances became wildly popular in the United States during the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, there is no evidence of them being known by the name Hoochie Coochie until a couple of years after the fair closed. 
     I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man was the original title of a blues standard on Chess Records that was written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954. The song makes reference to hoodoo folk magic elements and makes novel use of a stop-time musical arrangement. 
     It became one of Waters' most popular and identifiable songs and helped secure Dixon's role as Chess Records' chief songwriter. The song is a classic of Chicago blues and one of Waters' first recordings. After the song's initial success in 1954, Waters recorded several live and new studio versions. 
     On October 2, 1954, Elvis Presley appeared on the legendary Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. After hearing his rendition of Blue Moon of Kentucky, Opry talent manager Jim Denny told him he should go back to his day job as a truck driver. 
     Pool player Willie Mosconi sunk 526 pool balls, without missing, in Springfield, Ohio and then Vice-President Richard Nixon broke the original ivory gavel that had been in use by the Senate since 1789. RCA produced the first color televisions for public use and they cost $1,000, that’s almost $9,000 in today’ currency. Big names in entertainment were Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, Milton Berle and Lucille Ball. The big late night television talk show was hosted was Steve Allen. 
     The 1954-55 Lessing J. Rosenwald Tournament was the first of a series of strong year-end invitational tournaments sponsored in part by Lessing J. Rosenwald of Sears Roebuck Co. One goal was to provide young US masters strong competition at home, with the long-term aim of improving US performance in international events. The initial plan was to have the Rosenwald Trophy rotate each year until a player had won it three times. 
     The fourth Rosenwald tournament would double as the US championship and would be Bobby Fischer’s first entry into a US championship and also his first of his eight US championships. 
    In the 1954-55 event Reuben Fine was originally invited, but declined. Robert Byrne was also invited, but decided against playing because of his graduate studies. James Sherwin was selected as Byrne's replacement. 
     Samuel Reshevsky had dominated US championship tournaments from its inception in 1936 until Fischer took over in 1957, with Reshevsky winning every championship he entered, with the exception of the 1951 event, which was won by Evans. 
     Larry Evans won the Marshall Chess Club championship at age 15, played in his first US championship at age 16, and his first Olympiad at 18. Evans had won the US championship in 1951 ahead of Reshevsky. 
     Arthur Bisguier won the US Championship in 1954. Donald Byrne won the 1953 US Open and would lose to Fischer in the Game of the Century in the third Rosenwald tournament in 1956. 
     James T. Sherwin was NY state champion in 1951 and won the US speed championship several times. He would play in a number of US championships.  George Kramer played in a number of US championships and was a reserve for the US team at the 1950 Olympiad, winning an individual bronze medal. 
     Reshevsky jumped out to a comfortable lead in the first half of the tournament with with a point and a half lead over Evans and Sherwin who were tied for second, Despite losing to Bisguier in Round 8, Reshevsky was able to hold his lead and win the tournament as Evans was only able to gain a half point on him. 
     Sherwin lost every game in the second half! Bisguier was able to finish third on the strength of an impressive +4 -0 =1 in the second half. 
     One of the more interesting games was Sherwin’s defeat of Kramer in the second round when Kramer played a variation with which he had scored many successes even though he knew that by the time this game was played it had been refuted. 
     The game followed Kramer’s analysis up until move 14 when Sherwin punched a hole in the analysis and followed it up with a series of hard hitting blows. 

1) Samuel Reshevsky 7.5-2.5 
2) Larry Evans 6.5-3.5 
3) Arthur Bisguier 6.0-4.0 
4) Donald Byrne 5.0-5.0 
5) James Sherwin 3.0-7.0 
6) George Kramer 2.0-8.0 

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[Event "Rosenwald 1954/55"]
[Site "New York, NY USA"]
[Date "1954.12.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "James T Sherwin"]
[Black "George Kramer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{Queen's Gambit Accepted} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 {In the QGA black can only hole
the P to his detriment so black will allow it to be recaptured and use the
time to play against white's center. For his part, white will try to seize
space in the center.} 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O {The major
alternatives are 6.Nc3 and 6.Qe2. The idea of the latter is to support the
advance of the e-Pawn.} 6... a6 7. Qe2 b5 8. Bb3 Bb7 9. Nc3 Qc7 10. Rd1 {Now
black could prevent 11.d5 with 10...Nbd7 which keeps the Bs diagonal open.}
10... Nc6 { This was Kramer's pet move and he scored many successes with it,
but it's inferior to 10...Nbd7. Kramer knew that, but he was trying to revive
10...Nc6. } 11. d5 exd5 12. e4 {Black has an easy game after 12.Nxd5 Nxd5
13.Bxd5. After the text move black is pretty much committed to playing his
next move because 12...dxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4+ leaves white with a huge
advantage.} 12... d4 13. Nd5 {This is much better than 13.e5 O-O-O as was
played by Abe Turner against Kramer in the 1948 US Championship qualifying
tournament.} 13... Qd8 14. Bf4 {This is even stronger than pinning the N with
14.Bg5.} 14... Rc8 {And here ends Kramer's home analysis which he thought
favored black. It doesn't as Sherwin quickly demonstrates. Note that
14...Rc8 is black's only decent move though because if 14...Bd6 he meets with
a nasty refutation in 15.e5! Nxe5 16.Bxe5 O-O 17.Nxf6+ winning.} 15. a4
{Black's next move is forced because 1f 15...c4 16.axb5 axb5 17.Nxd4 Nxd5
18.Rxd4 the threat of Nc7+ leaves black lost.} 15... bxa4 16. Rxa4 {Another
fine move by Sherwin! If 16.Bxa4 Be7 and black has time to consolidate.
White needs his B on the a2-h7 diagonal.} 16... Be7 17. Ng5 {A second fine
move! Black can't play 17...Nxd5 18.exd5 O-O (Black loses a piece on 18..
.Nb4 19.Nxf7 Kxf7 20.d6+) 19.dxc6 followed by Qh5 with a very strong attack.}
17... O-O 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6 {Now with his next move the whole poin t of white's
play is apparent.} 19. Nxh7 {Stunning! The N can't be taken because after
20...Kxh7 20. Qh5+ followed by the R-lift 21.Rd3 with a winning attack. Not
that it matters because black is lost no matter what he plays.} 19... g6 20.
Nxf8 {White has won the exchange and the rest should be a matter of technique,
but things are rarely so simple. Sherwin had used quite a bit of time and was
now short of it. Throw in Kramer's resourceful play and things get
difficult.} 20... Qxf8 21. Qg4 Ne7 {This prevents 22.Qxg6+} 22. Bd6 Rc6 23.
e5 Qc8 {On his next move Sherwin missed the far better 24.Qxc8+ Nxc8 25.Bxc5
Bxe5 26.Bxd4} 24. Qg3 c4 {Once again in time pressure SHerwin misses the best
move. 25.Rxc4 snags another P.} 25. exf6 Nf5 26. Qh3 {But this is a serious
mistake that could have given black drawing chances after 26...Nxd6. He
should have played 26.Qf4 cxb3 27. Be5 leading to an eventual win.} 26...
cxb3 {Better was 26...Nxd6 and maybe he could hold out for a draw.} 27. Bf4
{Preventing ...Rb1+} 27... Rc2 {Natural, but it loses quickly. Better was
27...Re6 after which he can get his R to the second rank with ...Re2 followed
y ...Qe6. Even then, he would still be losing though.} 28. ( Re6 29. Qxb3
Qc6 30. f3 Re2 31. Rc4 Qe6) 32. Ra5 {Kramer's next move is a definite blunder
because it allows white to get his R onto the e-file. Best was 28...Re2
29.Qxb3 Qc6 threatening mate and so winning the P on f6.} 32... Qe6 33. Re5
Qc8 34. Rde1 Bc6 35. Qxb3 {The game is over now, but Sherwin was probably
still pressed for time.} 35... Bb5 36. Qh3 d3 37. Rd5 {There was no
satisfactory answer to 33.g4!} 37... Rxb2 {Better was 34...Re2 blocking the
e-file.} 38. g4 Bc4 {If one wanted to nitpick Kramer could be criticized for
playing this which allows a mate in 11 where as 34...Re2 leaves him merel
lost.} 39. Rde5 {No need to nitpick Sherwin for missing the mate that follows
35.gxf5.} 39... Bb5 {At this point even moving the R toe2 won't save the game
after 36.gxf5 Rxe1+ 33.Rxe1.} 40. gxf5 d2 {White now has a mate in 9 moves.}
41. Bxd2 Rxd2 { This wins the R, but he could have mated in 5 with 38.fxg6.
The Q can't be captured because of a pretty mate after 38...Qxh3 39.Re8+!!
Bxe8 40.Rxe8 mate.} 42. Qh6 Qf8 {White has a mate in 5 with 39.Re8, but only a
mate in 8 after 39. Qxd2. A nice game by Sherwin.} 43. Qxd2 1-0

Boleslavsky’s Hole

     Backward Pawns and holes are bad except when they’re not. What about when black plays ...e5 in the Sicilian leaving his d-Pawn backward and a hole on d5? The idea is that black wants to:

1) obtain superiority in the center by controlling d4 and f4 and prevent white from occupying d4 
2) build a solid center and prevent white from playing ...e5 
3) prepare quick development with moves like ...Be7 and Be6 and, at the same time, control d5 
4) often black will be able to play ...d5 after which he will have a clear superiority in the center 

      If white is to prevent this he must generally occupy d5 with a N and after black exchanges on d5 and white retakes with the e-Pawn the result will be black has a superiority on the K-side. Finally, the move ...e5 considerably reduces white’s attacking prospects on the K-side which allows black better chances of carrying out his plans on the Q-side. 
     For black, the Q-side operations mean that the c-file is of great importance. Oddly, black’s play on the c-file is often of greater effect than white’s against the backward P on the d-file; that’ because black’s d-Pawn is well protected by the B on e7. 
     The short version is that playing ...e5 gives black active piece play that outweighs the weakness of the backward Pawn. 
     The following model game was played at the Gothenburg Interzonal in 1955. The top nine players qualified for the Amsterdam Candidates tournament in 1956. Samuel Reshevsky and Larry Evans qualified, but withdrew, opting to play in the US Open instead. 
     Of particular theoretical note was that the 14th round saw three unsuccessful tries of a novelty in the Sicilian by players from Argentina against their Soviet opponents. 
     The case of the brilliant Yugoslav player Andrija Fuderer was also significant. After 12 rounds Fuderer’s score was 7.5-3.5 with one bye. But in the remaining rounds he totally collapsed and scored only 1.5-7.5. He lost to Szabo, Donner, Keres, Geller, Bronstein, and Pachman, drawing with Petrosian, Spassky and Ilivitzky. After this tournament Fuderer left chess for a University career.

Play Online Chess

[Event "Gothenburg Interzonal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1955.8.16"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wolfgang Unzicker"]
[Black "David Bronstein"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{B92: Sicilian Najdorf: 6 Be2} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5.
Nc3 a6 6. Be2 {This game was played in round 2. Later, in round 14, the three
Soviet players caught their Argentine opponents in a prepared variation
beginning with 6.Bg5 and all won quickly.} 6... e5 7. Nb3 {More precise than
7...Be6 because after white castles he will play f4! with an active position.
By playing ...Be7 black retains the possibility of developing his B on b7 if
white plays f4.} 7... Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Be3 {Now black has to decide how to
complete his development. The logical 9...Be6 is met by 10.f4 ut that would
give white good play. SO, with his next move black has the option of
developing his B on either e6 or b7 depending on what white does. Note that
9...b5 can be met by 10.a4! b4 11.Nd5.} 9... Qc7 10. a4 b6 11. Qd2 {Unzicker
is hoping Bronstein will follow the game Scherbakov-Simagin from a recent
oviet Championship in which black played 11... Bb7 and white got a good game.
In Gothenburg, against Averbakh, Simagin had an improvement prepared. Later,
at Stockholm 1962, in the game Geller-Fischer, black found further
improvements and managed to draw.} 11... Be6 {An original maneuver by
Bronstein deigned to get control of d5 plus give him pressure on the c-file.
Now 12. f4 is possible, but it's not so effective because after 12...Rc8 13.
g4 (Not 13. f5 Bc4) 13... exf4 14. Bxf4 Nxg4 15. Nd5! Qd7 (Black can't play
15... Bxd5?? 16. Qxd5 winning material) and white is much better.} 12. Rfd1
Rc8 13. Qe1 {Soltis recommended 13.Nc1 followed bt the maneuver Na2-b4 to
control d5, but he didn't give any supporting analysis. It seems that when
the N hits a2 black can prevent it from going to b4 with wither ... a5 or
...Nc6.} 13... Qb7 {Interesting! Soltis states black threatens ...Rxc3 and
... Nxe4 or ...d5. Pachman doesn't mention this possibility stating that
black will now secure control over d5 with the help of his Q and B. White can
only prevent the advance ...d5 by placing his B on f3 thereby giving up any
hope of active play.} 14. Rd2 {Now, in view of Soltis' comment that black's
last move threatened ...Rxc3, you'd think this move which does nothing to
prevent it would be bad. And, you're probably wondering why Bronstein didn't
play 14... Rxc3. Also, why did Soltis not make any comment about Bronstein's
next move? I found myself wondering the same thing. Soltis also made no
comment on why it would be bad for black to play 14...Nxe4.} 14... Nbd7 {Not
14...Nxe4 15.Nxe4 and black can't recapture because Bf3 would pin his Q and R.
What about 14...Rxc3. My sources (Stockfish and Komodo) indicate that after
the exchange sacrifice the chances would be about equal as white has about a
half-P advantage.} 15. f3 {White could prevent the advance ...d5 with 15.Rad1.
If he does then black's best chance would be to sacrifice the exchange. The
chances would then be about equal.} 15... d5 16. exd5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18.
Rad1 Nf6 {The threat is 19... Rxc2 and 20...Bxb3 winning a P. The upshot of
the trades have been that, theoretically at least, the position is equal.
But, clearly black has all the chances because white's pieces are lacking
mobility.} 19. Nc1 e4 20. Qf2 Bc5 21. Bxc5 bxc5 {Stockfish is still calling
this position equal, but Pachman observed that black has two spheres of
influence...the b-file and the K-side.} 22. Qe3 Re8 23. f4 {The passed d-Pawn
is blockaded, but using the Q to do it is not the most favorable piece to have
to use.} 23... c4 {He could not take the b-Pawn because 24.c4 attacks both the
Q and B. Now he does threaten the b-Pawn. Pachman says the threat is ...c3
and ...Rac8, but that's not the case.} 24. b3 {As Pachman points out, 24.c3
is bad. It leaves the a-Pawn weak and black can maneuver his N to d3.} 24...
Rac8 25. h3 {Neither Soltis nor Pachman commented on this move, but Unzicker
is playing very passively. He could have retained decent chances with the
aggressive 25.g4!} 25... Be6 26. Kh2 {Now 26.g4 has lost its punch because the
N can go to the aggressive post on d5. However, white could have tried 26.f5!
when the B must return to d5 so as to defend the c-Pawn.} 26... Qc7 27. Rd6
{By this point white has no active continuation.} 27... a5 { Engines, as they
do, point out a line where black can win the exchange, but white would have
two connected passed Ps (the a- and b-Ps) and in reality, nobody would want to
play that position.} 28. bxc4 Bxc4 29. Nb3 {Again, nobody has pointed out that
while black is better, Unzicker's position is by no means lost...that is until
after this move! He should have played 20.c3. Black would still be better
though. After the text with 29...Bd3! Bronstein would be attacking the R on
d6 and after 30.Rd4 Bxc2 black has a clearly winning position.} 29... Bxe2
30. Qxe2 e3 31. R6d4 Ne4 {Of course white can't take the P because of ...Nc3}
32. Qf3 Ng5 {He could have captured on c2 immediately, but the P isn't going
anywhere so he takes time to redeploy his N.} 33. Qg4 Ne6 34. Re4 {Is the
e-Pawn doomed?} 34... h5 35. Qf3 Ng5 {Even better was 35...Nxf4 and the N
can't be taken. If the R takes then 36...g5 and it's pinned against the K.
If the Q takes then after 36...Rxe4 the exchange of Qs is forced leaving black
an easy win. Bronstein was in time pressure here and that's why he missed
35.. .Nxf4.} 36. Rxe8+ Rxe8 37. Qg3 Qxc2 {Black's e-Pawn is going to decide
the issue.} 38. Rd5 e2 {Bronstein says that, with seconds left, he had no time
to calculate the consequences of this move, but played it based on instinct.}
39. Rxg5 e1=Q 40. Rxg7+ Kh8 41. Qg5 {Threatening mate of course, but Bronstein
has prepared a nice finish that decoys white's Q.} 41... Qxg2+ {Now 42.Kxg2
Re2 mates in two.} 42. Qxg2 Re2 0-1

Paul Mross

     World War II ended the career and sometimes the lives of many strong players. In many cases the memories of players of that era have been forgotten.
     Paul Mross, born as Pawel Mroz on January 23, 1910, was one such player. Although Mross held his own against players like Alekhine, Bogoljubow, Richter and Euwe and was still active after the war, he is unknown to chess fans of today. 
     One source lists his date of death as January 17, 1991 and says that in 1986, he moved to Dusseldorf, where his son Joachim Mross also lived.  However, a 2004 article in Chessbase (in German) states that his fate is unknown. 
     Mross grew up in Silesia, a region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany, which was raped by the Nazis after 1939. He won the Silesian Championship in 1929 and played for Silesia at second board in the 1st Polish Team Championship in 1929. 
     Mross was a member of the club Wielkie Hajduki (today: Chorzow Batory). At that time, it was a large and well-known club that was active until the outbreak of World War II. Mroz was a pillar of the club and his chess career started out to be very promising. 
     In early 1930s, he moved to Berlin and in 1935, tied for 3rd-4th in Swinemunde. In the Berlin City Championship he tied for 7th-8th in 1936, and tied for 4th-6th in 1938. In the spring of 1939, he finished 2nd in Berlin-Kreuzberg. 
     On September 1, 1939, Germany when invaded Poland to start World War II the finals began at the Chess Olympiad in Argentina. Two days later England declared war on Germany and the British team withdrew from the Olympiad and returned home on the first ship back to Britain. 
     The Olympiad continued and was won by Germany, but all five members of the German team (Eliskases, Michel, Engels, Becker, Reinhardt) chose not to return to Nazi Germany. Additionally, most of Jewish players from Europe chose to stay in Argntina. The list included Moshe Czerniak, Movsas Feigins, Paulino Frydman, Sonja Graf, Aristide Gromer, Markas Luckis, Mendel Najdorf,Jiri Pelikan, Ilmar Raud, Adolf Seitz, and Gideon Stahlberg, among many others.
     There were some tournaments held in Germany during the War. Salzburg in Austria brought together the six strongest players in Germany and the occupied and neutral European countries. The players included Alekhine, Keres, Stoltz and Germans Paul Schmidt, Klaus Junge and Bogoljuow. Euwe was invited by withdrew due to “illness.” 
     A book that may be interesting to chess players is The Death's Head Chess Club by John Donoghue, a psychiatric pharmacist by trade, that tells the story of an SS- Obersturmfuhrer who is transferred to Auschwitz from the Russian front after he is wounded. There, in an attempt to shore up camp morale, he establishes a chess club and learns of a Jewish prisoner considered unbeatable. The novel shifts between the camp and Amsterdam in the 1960s where a chess tournament brings up ugly issues of forgiveness after the horror of the concentration camps. 
     The German Championship was played from 1939 to 1943 and was won by Erich Eliskases (1939), Georg Kieninger (1940), Paul Schmidt and Klaus Junge (1941), Ludwig Rellstab (1942) and Josef Lokvenc (1943). There is an interesting biography of Elikases HERE that discusses his relationship with the Nazi party.
     The most promising German player was Klaus Junge (born 1924), who tied with Alekhine for first place at Prague 1942, at the age of just 18.  Prague proved was his last tournament. Serving in the German army, he was killed in action on April 17, 1945, just three weeks before the war ended in Europe. 
     Mross played in several tournaments during During World War II: 5th-8th in the 1st General Government tournament at Krakow–Krynica–Warsaw, 1940, 12th at Munich 1941, 10th-12th in the 2nd General Government at Warsaw–Krakow in 1941 and he won in the Krakow Championship in 1941. 
     After the war, he lived in Berlin-Spandau, where he played in several tournaments with moderate success before moving to Erlangen in the 1960s.
     The following game is from a forgotten tournament against an opponent known only as Baueriedel and is most interesting; Mross launches a snappy tactical attack that seems to materialize out of nowhere. 

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[Event "Wiesbaden"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1934.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bauriedel"]
[Black "Paul Mross"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{King's Indian} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. h4 {An
interesting direst onlaught against the K-side, but it's premature because
white's not yet developed sufficiently.} 6... c5 7. d5 e6 {Standard
stuff...meet a flank attack by a counterattack in the center.} 8. h5 exd5 9.
cxd5 Re8 10. hxg6 hxg6 11. Qc2 Nbd7 12. Nh3 b5 {This P offer isn't quite
correct and should have been prepared with 12...a6. As it is, white could
have safely played 13.Bxb5.} 13. Ng5 {White's not interested in a P, he is
going for an all out attack, but he doesn't have quite enough pieces aimed at
balck's Q to insure success.} 13... Qa5 {Now if the P is taken things get
complicated, but should result in equality: 14. Bxb5 Nxe4 15. Ngxe4 Bxc3+ 16.
bxc3 Rxe4+ 17. Qxe4 Qxc3+ (Not 17...Qxb5 18. Qh4 and black gets mated) 18. Kd1
Qxa1 19. Qe7 (19. Qh4 is met by 19...Nf8) Qf6 and a draw is likely.} 14. Bd2
{After this black gets a virulent attack.} 14... b4 15. Nd1 Ba6 {White now
plays the losing move. WIth 16.Ne3 Bxe2 17.Ke2 he had resonable chances of
holding off the attack. As it is his K has nowhere to hide.} 16. Bc4 Bxc4
17. Qxc4 Ne5 {Black already has obtained a winning position, and after the
better 18.Qe2, which is met by 18...c4 and 19...d3 black would be winning.}
18. Qb3 Qb5 {Threatening ...Nd3+ against which there is no defense. White's K
would be forced onto a white square that's in line with black's Q and so
...Nc1+ would win the Q.} 19. Be3 {Giving his K access to a black square, but
his position is still lost.} 19... Nd3+ 20. Kd2 c4 21. Qc2 { Now black has an
even more forceful than the move he played. 21...Nxe4+ 22. Nxe4 Rxe4 with the
threat of ...Nxf2, ...c3+ and ...Re2.} 21... Rac8 22. f3 Nxd5 {A sudden end.
The N cannot be taken because after 23.exd5 c3+ 24.bxc3+ 25.Ke2 Nb4+ wins the
Q. Nor will 23.exd5 c3+ 24.Ke2 work because after 24...cxb2 white Q and R are
both attacked. It would be equally hopeless to play on after, say, 23.a4 Qa5
(threatening ...b3+) and black wins with ease.} 0-1

Leela Zero Chess

     The Leela Chess Zero project was first announced on TalkChess.com on January 9, 2018. Leela Chess Zero is a free, open-source, and neural network based chess engine. Leela Zero and AlphaGo Zero, Leela Chess Zero only knows the basic rules and nothing more. 
     According to Wikipedia, Leela Chess Zero quickly reached the GM level, surpassing the strength of the early releases of Rybka, Stockfish, and Komodo. 
     In April 2018, Leela Chess Zero became the first neural network engine to enter the Top Chess Engine Championship (TCEC), during season 12 in the lowest division, but did not perform well, scoring +1 -26 =1. But, it improved quickly.
   In December 2018, Leela participated in season 14 of the TCEC and dominated divisions 3, 2, and 1, easily finishing first in all of them. In the premier division, Stockfish dominated while Houdini, Komodo and Leela competed for second place. It came down to a final-round game where Leela needed to hold Stockfish to a draw with black to finish second ahead of Komodo. This it successfully managed, and therefore contested the superfinal against Stockfish. It narrowly lost the superfinal against Stockfish with a 49.5-50.5 final score.
    In February 2019, Leela scored its first major tournament win when it defeated Houdini in the final of the second TCEC cup where it did not lose a game.  And, in April 2019, Leela won the Chess.com Computer Chess Championship: Blitz Bonanza. 
     Chessbase had a good article on it last year HERE. Installation instructions are also included, but you can also find them on Youtube. You can play against it on lichess. On the right hand side, click on “Play with the machine” then pick your level, time and color. 
     Yesterday I played it a 10 minute game on level 1 and won quite easily, but today playing it 10 minute games on level 8 was a different story! I became the crushee. Anyway, it was fun to play against. 

Here are the estimated Elo for each level. 
Level 1 = 1350 
Level 2 = 1420 
Level 3 = 1500 
Level 4 = 1600 
Level 5 = 1700 
Level 6 = 1900 
Level 7 = 2200 
Level 8 = 2700 

Play Online Chess

[Event "Online"]
[Site "Lichess"]
[Date "2019.4.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tartajubow"]
[Black "Leela (Level 8)"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{Urusov Gambit} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d4 {On level 1 the engine played the
inferior 3...Nxe4 4.dxe5 Nc6 which ia a blunder. 5.Bxf7+ followed by 6.Qd5+
gives white an overwhelming position.} 3... exd4 {Now 4.e5 looks inviting but
after the typical 4...d5 black has equalized.} 4. Nf3 Nxe4 {What theory there
is on the Urusov suggests that 4...Nc6 is best.} 5. Qxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 {White has
a lead in development, but won't be able to maintain it. Also, with no Ps in
the center black will soon gain the upper hand there too.} 6... c6 7. O-O d5
8. Re1+ Be7 9. Bd3 O-O 10. Bg5 {Stockfish is evaluating this position at
almost dead equal after 10...h6 or 10...Na6 or 10...Re8. The more I look at
the position the more I like black's chances in the long run.} 10... a5
{Stockfish slapped this with two question marks in the auto-annotaion. The
reason is that after 11. Qh4 white has a considerable superiority because
11...h6 is pretty much forced and after 12.Bxh6+ Ne4 white has regained the P
and has the makings of a strong attack.} 11. Rad1 {Routine and played almost
instantly. I got two question marks from Stockfish for failing to play 11.Qh4.
I was going to play it, but just not yet. The position is evaluated at 0.00.
I still like black's long range chances.} 11... h5 {11...h6 would have been
met by 12.Bxh7 gxh6 13.Qe3} 12. Qh4 Bg4 {At this point I kind of ran out of
ideas. After my next move the position is still equal, but Stockfish prefers
13.Ne2 and 14.Nfd4.} 13. h3 Bxf3 14. gxf3 Nbd7 15. Ne2 {Transferring the N to
the K-side where it may find something to do. Vague, but it's a plan.} 15...
Ne5 {Most unpleasant. Besides threatening the fork on f3, at some point I am
going to lose the two Bs. Here I was beginning to feel a little pessimistic
even though Stockfish says black is better by only half a P.} 16. Kg2
{Clogging up the open g-file can't be good. 16.Nd4 and 17.f4 was better.}
16... Re8 {After a minute or so I couldn't decide where to put the N, on f4 or
g3. According to Stockfish there's not much difference.} 17. Nf4 Nfd7 18.
Bxe7 Qxe7 {A little more time was wasted on my next move. Either way I win
the h-Pawn, but should I trade Qs or not? I decided not too because there
seemed no point in simplification.} 19. Qxh5 Qf6 20. Qh7+ Kf8 21. Qf5 {I
decided simplification was unavoidable...my Q was starting to look a little
vulnerable. It turns out that 21.Bf5 was a little better, but black is
already getting the upper hand.} 21... Qh6 {This is interesting. Without
making any serious mistakes I have already achieved a position that is
lost...just about any engine should be able to win from this position.} 22.
Ne2 Nc5 {My next move loses quickly. Better was 23.f4, but even then, black
has the much better position.} 23. Ng3 g6 {Here I realized my Q doesn't have
any retreat squares.} 24. Qf6 Re6 {I have one rather pathetic shot.} 25. Nf5
{This might have scared a human, but not an engine.} 25... Qh7 26. Qh4 Qxh4
27. Nxh4 {At least I saved the Q.} 27... Nexd3 28. cxd3 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 Nxd3
30. Rb1 c5 {But I couldnt save the game...this ending is completely lost.}
0-1

First USSR Championship, Moscow 1920

     
     Officially the USSR Championship was played from 1921 to 1991 and they were probably the strongest national championship ever held; eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists were among the winners. It was held as a round-robin tournament with the exception of the 35th and 58th championships, which were of the Swiss system. 
     In 1920 the All-Russian Chess Olympiad was held in Moscow; it was later recognized as the first USSR championship. Conditions were deplorable; the players who didn’t live in Moscow were housed in a cold dorm with hard beds and poor food. 

     At one point the players threatened to quit, mostly because of the food which was Red Army rations. For example, soup made out of herring heads and fried herring tails. The players wondered where the middle of the herring was.
     Organizer and participant Ilyin-Genevsky managed to convince everybody to finish the tournament with the promise to pay expense money and increase the ration of bread and cheese. According to Levenfish, they were still hungry, but decided to finish the tournament anyway. 
     First prize was supposed to be an ivory Chinese chess set. However, it turned out to be assorted junk formerly belonging to emigres that had been confiscated from pawn shops. Alekhine chose a big, heavy vase and he and second place winner Romanovsky also received a cheap paper certificate. According to Alekhine, the apple cakes made from fine white flour that were served at the closing ceremony were pretty good though. 
     At age 26, Alekhine was by far the strongest player in Russia, but he was lucky to be alive to win the tournament. After his arrest and release at Mannheim 1914 at the outbreak of World War I, he had served as a Red Cross worker and was wounded twice, earning three medals in the process. However, his hair raising adventures weren’t over. 
     He had been in Moscow in 1917 during the revolution that overthrew the Czar and left Moscow's economy in ruins, so he left for the Ukraine to be a professional player even though it was also a battleground. 
     In 1919 the Red Army occupied Odessa and arrested and shot some 1,300 suspected traitors and Alekhine was nearly one of them. He was arrested by the Cheka, the forerunner of the KGB, and interrogated as a result of an anonymous accusation that he had passed on secret information. 
     There have been various stories about how Alekhine dodged the firing squad, but the future Canadian player Fedir Bohatyrchuk claimed that a strong master and problem composer from Odessa told him that just a few hours before Alekhine went before the firing squad, the master/composer sent a telegram to the Chairman of the Ukrainian Commissar who had heard of Alekhine and so ordered him freed. Clearly, Alekhine had political enemies, but he also had friends in high places because of his chess. 
     Going into the tournament, besides Alekhine, the only serious contender for first was Levenfish, but he was out of practice, arrived late from Petrograd and lost his first two games after getting winning positions from Romanovsky and I. Rabinovich. Alekhine was a clear winner, going undefeated. Romanovsky finished second despite three defeats (I. Rabinovich, Blumenfeld and Pavlov-Pjanov), but he only had two draws (Alekhine and Grigoriev). 

1) Alekhine 12.0 
2) Romanovsky 11.0 
3) Levenfish 10.0 
4) I. Rabinovich 9.5 
5-7) Grigoriev, A. Kubbel an A. Rabinovich 8.5 
8) Blumenfeld 8.0 
9-10) Danushevsky and Iljin-Genevsky 7.0 
11-12) Zubarev and Pavlov-Pjanov 6.5 
13) Tselikov 5.5 
14) Mund 4.5 
15) Pavlov 4.0 
16) Golubev 3.0 

     In the following game the position after 12.Nxd4 is worth taking a look at because it results in some neat tactics if black takes the R with 12...Bxe1. 
After 13.Nc5 Qb6 14.Ndxe6 Ne5 15.Qxe1 fxe6 16.Qxe5 white has a B and N for the R. Stockfish assigns white a winning advantage of almost four Ps, but just looking at the position, that looks very optimistic. In Shootouts white won every game, but how exactly would that be accomplished? 

Position after 16.Qxe5 (analysis)

You can see Stockfish’s solution HERE. 

Play Online Chess

[Event " All-Russian Chess Olympiad "]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1920.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petr Romanovsky"]
[Black "Abram Rabinovich "]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{Two Knights Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 {In Modern Chess
Openings, GM Nick de Firmian wrote that this might better be called the Two
Knights' Attack. One of the oldest openings, it gives white the choice of
trying to win a P with 4.Ng5 or keeping the initiative with 4.d4. Tarrasch
called 4.Ng5 "ein stumper zug" because white begins a crude attack with only
two pieces developed. Steinitz on the other hand believed it was correct
strategy. Even today opinion is mixed.} 4. d4 {White plays for development
rather than material gain.} 4... exd4 5. O-O Nxe4 {The Max Lange Attack,
5...Bc5, leads to more complicated play.} 6. Re1 d5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8. Nc3 Qc4
{An old-timey move. Today you'll likely see 8...Qa5 or maybe 8...Qh5.} 9.
Nxe4 Be6 10. Bg5 Bb4 11. b3 { At this point black is slightly better, but with
his next move Rabinovich allows white to gain the advantage.} 11... Qa6 {This
misplaces the Q and is an odd choice. One wonders what Rabinovich's reasoning
was. With 11...Qd5 he keeps the Q centralized, defends the d-Pawn and keeps the
chances even.} 12. Nxd4 { After this white secures an excellent position as the
R cannot be taken. If 12. ..Bxe1 13.Nc5!! Qb6 14.Ndxe6!! (Threatening mate on
d7) Ne5 15.Qxe1 fxe6 16. Qxe5 winning.} 12... O-O 13. Nxe6 fxe6 14. c3 Ba3
{Not that it would save the game, but it would have been better to at least
trade Bs with 14...Be7.} 15. b4 Rf5 16. Qb3 Ne5 17. b5 {Black's Q is
overburdened. If 17...Qa5 defending the B then 18.Qxe6 wins material} 17...
Nf3+ 18. gxf3 Rxb5 19. Qd1 Bb2 20. Rb1 Bxc3 21. Rxb5 Qxb5 {White has come out
of the flurry of exchanges with an extra piece, but black seems to have
compensation in the form of a bunch of Ps.} 22. Re3 Ba5 23. Rd3 c5 {Black tries
to get his Ps moving, but this is as far as that idea will get. White's
advantage is crushing.} 24. Rd7 {Rs on the 7th rank are always a force to be
reckoned with.} 24... c4 25. Bh6 {Surprise! The B can't be taken. 25...gxh6
26.Nf6+ mates next move.} 25... Qh5 26. Bxg7 {Missing a mate in 9 with
26.Rxg7. Now the best he has is a mate in 11.} 26... Qg6+ 27. Kf1 Bd8 28.
Bc3 Bh4 29. Qd4 {29...e5 30.Qxe5 Be7 31.Rxe7 Kf8 32.Rxb7 a6 33.Qh8+ Qg8
34.Ng7+ Ke8 35.Qxg8 mate.} 1-0

Have Fun...Experiment With the Quaade Gambit

     The Chess Player's Chronicle, 1889, printed the following article that appeared in the London edition of the New York Herald. Unless you’re a GM it remains relevant even today: 

BOOK OPENINGS “Keenest knowledge of chess openings is certainly essential to every chess player who is at all ambitious to make a reputation. It is, however, surprising how little book knowledge apparently is required nowadays by experts of the first rank when engaged in important chess tournaments or set matches. Enthusiastic amateurs who deem it necessary to learn by heart every new variation in the openings frequently burn the midnight oil in industriously analyzing the intricacies of the “Rosenstretter Gambit,” or the combinations which arise from the Meadow Hay opening. They consider it an absolute necessity to digest all the latest chess publications which appear from time to time, from the ponderous and really profound German Handbook down to the shilling pocket chess manual. Such enthusiasts might well pause, and with out recent experience enquire whether such studious labour is not wasted in these days of the modern chess school.” 

     The Meadow Hay is also known as the Ware Opening and begins 1.a4 and the Rosenstretter Gambit is a variation of the Muzio Gambit and begins 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. d4 g4 5. Bxf4; it’s considered to be refuted, but the similar Quaade Gambit, or as it is sometimes called, the McDonnell Gambit. (1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Nc3 Bg7 5.d4 g4 6.Bxf4 gxf3) in which white sacrifices a piece for unclear compensation isn’t. The only problem with the Quaade is that it has not been thoroughly tested and it remains for white has to prove he has compensation. 
     There is a good sample of annotated Quaade Gambit games HERE and here’s a sample from Chessbase’s Simon Williams’ DVD, King's Gambit.

Margate 1935

Jacques Mieses

     Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (born Laszlo Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Hungarian painter and photographer with a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts. A New York Times article called him relentlessly experimental because of his pioneering work in painting, drawing, photography, collage, sculpture, film, theater, and writing. Below is a sample of his “art”, dated 1935, titled Chairs at Margate. 

     It’s possible that the participants at Margate could have been entertained by Harry Gold (born Patrick Ricks; 1866-1946) who started a troupe of entertainers in Margate as early as 1903. With many changes of cast, Gold's Entertainers were a fixture at the popular resort right up until the outbreak of war in 1939. Some members of the troupe performed in drag. 

     In the spring of 1935, Margate held the first of five consecutive international tournaments in the spring. Andre Lilienthal had been invited, but he was unable to attend because of illness and so was replaced by Ernst Klein. Klein (1910 – 1990) was an interesting character. 
     He was born in Vienna and emigrated to the UK in the 1930s, had modest successes in a handful of international tournaments at that time and served as Alekhine’s unofficial second in his World Championship match against Euwe in 1935. 
     Harry Golombek once wrote that Klein, “got his recollections of this famous match in a most inglorious muddle. Possibly he did give Alekhine some unofficial help during the last few games of the match, but he never served in any official capacity at any time in the contest.” It turned out that it was Golombek who got his recollections in a most inglorious muddle. Golombek was known to have a carefree writing style and much of what he wrote was riddled with factual mistakes, so that shouldn't be surprising.
     Later, after checking with Euwe, it turned out that after the 26th or the 27th game Landau withdrew as Alekhine’s after a disagreement between the two. In the remaining games Klein helped Alekhine, but he had no official status. 
     Klein’s son described his father as a man who was easily offended and with a short, explosive temper. Edward Winter’s site has a brief biography of Klein by his son HERE. 
     In what was described as an unpleasant incident Klein got expelled from the playing hall during the 28th game. Alekhine had recently been analyzing with Klein, who was representing several foreign papers as a journalist. The opening was a Vienna Game and Alekhine openly consulted with Klein several times while the game was in progress. After reaching a good middlegame position, Alekhine walked over and shook Klein’s hand. 
     An official pointed out to Klein that talking to a player during the game wasn’t allowed and if he did not stop, he would be removed from the playing area and not allowed access to the other games. Klein stated that he couldn’t prevent Alekhine from talking to him. He was then told to leave the room and to hand in his press-card. Klein replied by slapping the official’s face after which he was forcibly removed by the police. It’s odd that nobody said anything to Alekhine! 

Klein

     Although I haven’t been able to uncover the details, it seems that Klein was also involved in an incident at Margate in in 1937 in which most of the foreign players signed and published a letter complaining about Klein’s “unfair and obnoxious behavior.” They also stated they didn’t want him playing in anymore tournaments in which they participated. Apparently Klein filed a lawsuit for libel against Alekhine, Menchik, Prins and others which he withdrew after receiving an apology. (Edward Winter - Post 1602) 
     At Margate in 1935, everybody reckoned that Capablanca would be the winner, but the 23-year old Reshevky went undefeated, won his individual game from Capa, and finished first by a half point in his first big international win. 

1) Reshevsky 7.5 
2) Capablanca 7.0 
3) Thomas 5.0 
4-5) Klein and Sergeant 4.5 
6-7) Reilly and Fairhurst 4.0 
8) Milner-Barry 3.5 
9-10) Menchik and Mieses 2.5 

     The following game isn’t a great masterpiece, but I like it because it shows the ease with which great players can squeeze out a win. Mieses does a good job holding Reshevsky to what looked like was going to be a draw, but then made one tiny little tactical mistake and the game was over. 

     Mostly Mieses is remembered for taking a beating at the hands of stronger players. According Wikipedia, Mieses largely adhered to the Romantic school of play and showed little aptitude for positional chess, but perhaps that should read “showed little preference for positional chess. 
     GM Alex Yermolinsky was talking about David Janowsky when he wrote, “Is anybody out there ignorant enough to say that David Janowsky...lost this game because he didn’t understand simple positional principles?”, but he could have been talking about Meises. 
     It reminds me of the Tal-Botvinnik World Championship matches. Tal, the tactical genius; Botvinnik, the icon of positional play. But, examine the games and you’ll see they hammered away at each other with every tool available. Tal played some positional games and went for endings if he thought it expedient while Botvinnik sometimes headed for tactical situations. 

Play Online Chess

[Event "Margate"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1935.5.1"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Jacques Mieses"]
[Black "Samuel Reshevsky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{Caro-Kann} 1. e4 c6 {An unpretentious choice by Reshevsky.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3
dxe4 4. Nxe4 {This is the Main Line and is black's oldest and most solid
defense. The classical continuation is 4...Bf5. It's extremely solid, but
gives black few winning chances.} 4... Nf6 {Now if white plays 5.Nxf6+ gxf6
black hopes to be able to use the g-file to produce sharp attacking chances.
Safer would be 5...exf6. It would have been interesting to see which move
Reshevsky would have played.} 5. Ng3 {Seldom played. Sax-Larsen, Tilburg 1979
continued 5...g6 6.Nf3 g7 which lead to equality.} 5... e5 {An interesting
alternative is try and take advantage of the placement of white's N with
5...h5.} 6. Be3 exd4 7. Qxd4 Qa5+ 8. Qd2 Bb4 9. c3 Be7 10. Bd3 O-O 11. N1e2
c5 12. Nf5 Bxf5 13. Bxf5 { Neither side can claim an advantage, but just
looking at the position suggests that white may have the makings of a K-side
attack.} 13... Nc6 14. O-O Rad8 15. Qc2 g6 16. Be4 {One wonders why Mieses
voluntarily relinquishes his two Bs instead of playing 16.Bd3.} 16... Nxe4
17. Qxe4 Rfe8 18. Qc2 c4 19. b4 Qc7 20. Rfd1 Ne5 { This position is quite even
and white should now exchange Rs and then play a2-a4. The move he selects
ultimately results in Reshevky gaining control of the center.} 21. Bf4 Bd6
{White should now play 22.Bxe5 when black has a slight advantage.} 22. Nd4
Nf3+ {Even better appears 22...Nd3 when the N is on an excellent outpost deep
in white's territory.} 23. Nxf3 Bxf4 24. g3 Bh6 25. a4 Bg7 26. b5 {Mieses has
succeeded in isolating Reshevsky's c-Pawn, but he never gets to take advntage
of it.} 26... Qc5 27. Rac1 Rd5 28. Rxd5 Qxd5 {So far Mieses has managed to
play solid positional chess and the position is almost dead equal. Bit his
next move, with which he probably expect to achieve a draw, turns out to be a
serios error. Passive moves like 29.Kg2 or offering to trade Qs with 29.Qd1
were super-solid.} 29. Nd4 Bxd4 30. cxd4 {No doubt Mieses was expecting
30...Qxd4 31.Qxc4 with a draw.} 30... Re4 {A surprise tactical shot. White
can't take the c-Pawn because if 31.Qxc4 Re1 wins the Q.} 31. Rd1 Rxd4 32.
Rxd4 Qxd4 {White has lost a P and black's passed c-Pawn is sufficient to win
without any great difficulty.} 33. Kf1 Kf8 34. a5 Qd3+ 35. Qe2 Qxe2+ 36. Kxe2
Ke7 37. Ke3 Kd6 38. Kd4 c3 {Very nice as it allows his K to break through. }
39. Kxc3 Kc5 40. b6 axb6 0-1