Sometimes we forget that chess players have a life outside of chess. At least two players that I know of, the late Kim Commons, and
and Morrie Widenbaum owned music clubs. Widenbaum was Michigan chess champion in 1963 and was the owner of the Chessmate coffeehouse that used to be located along Livernois Road at 6 Mile Road near the University of Detroit campus and was one of Detroit’s most famous and legendary blues clubs and folk clubs in the 1960s. The club was originally originally created as a place for serious chess players, but to capitalize on the folk music scene of Detroit, he began scheduling live entertainment in 1963 and showcasing the folk and blues talent in the city. Many of those who appeared there went on to greater fame...Linda Ronstadt, Tom Rush and Chuck and Joni Mitchell, for example. It was different from other clubs...inside Chessmate it was dark, but it had high ceilings and was cavernous which led to a wonderful sound. By 1968, the club was featuring less folk music and began to feature rock and electric blues. Widenbaum came up with the idea and it brought in the bar crowd after the bars closed. Chessmate closed when Widenbaum died and it’s now University Coin Laundry.
The club’s founder, Morrie Widenbaum (1926-1972), died December 26th in Detroit of a cerebral hemorrhage. He won the first Motor City Open which ion those days was a strong Thanksgiving Day tournament in the Detroit area in 1959, and was Michigan Champion in 1963.
His most celebrated single victory was his win in the Tartakower Memorial Tournament in Detroit in 1956 over Arthur Bisguier. Widenbaum was also a legend when it came to playing blitz and in one session against Popel in 1963 they reputedly played continuously for forty hours. Popel had white and 5 minutes while Widenbaum had black and 7 minutes. Popel paid 50 cents for each loss and collected 25 cents for each win. It was reported that they broke even.
%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{French Defense: Advance Variation} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {Being an old
Botvinnik fan I used to play the Winawer Variation a lot, but there was a time
when I started running into this, the Advance Variation, so often that
eventually I gave up on the French. Not because the Advance Variation is so
great, but simply because I didn't like playing against it.} 3... c5 4. c3
Nc6 5. Nf3 {And here is the branching point. 5...Bd7 was mentioned by Greco
as early as 1620, and was revived by Korchnoi in the 1970s. Now it's the main
line. The idea behind the move is that since black usually plays ...Bd7 sooner
or later, he plays it right away and waits for White to show his hand. 5...
Nh6 is also popular; the idea is that 6.Bxh6 gxh6 gains black the semi-open
g-file to attack the white King, or black can play ...Bg7 to support ...f6
attacking white's P on e5. If white doesn't take the knight, it will move to
f5 to pressure d4, or (after ...f6) to f7 to pressure e5.} 5... Qb6 {The idea
of this move is to increase the pressure on d4 and eventually undermine
white's center. The Q also attack b2 so white's dark-square B cannot easily
defend the d4-P without losing the b2-Pawn. White's most common replies are
6.a3 and 6. Be2.} 6. Bd3 {Although this isn't quit so popular it yields good
results and is a reasonable alternative.} 6... Bd7 7. O-O {A sharp alternative
is 7.dxe5} 7... cxd4 8. cxd4 Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 10. Qe2 Ne7 11. Nd2 {This is
better than 11.Nc3 that's been seen several times in recent years.} 11... Nc6
12. Nf3 Qg4 {Compton,A (2061)-Rozycki,B (2231)/London 2015 saw black playing
12...Qa4 after which he lost a lot of time with his Q and ended up with an
inferior position.} 13. h3 Qh5 14. Bd2 Be7 15. b4 {Popel ignores the P offer
and elects to play in the center.} 15... f6 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Qe3 {For white
to have any chance at all he had to play 17.b5 and 18.Nd4. Fortunately for
him Popel fails to take advantage of white's error. After seizing the g-file
with 17...Rg8 and 19...e5 white would have been in serious trouble.} 17...
O-O 18. b5 Ne5 19. Nxe5 {Popel's next move is a tactical error that allows
white to equalize. Correct was 19...fxe5.} 19... Qxe5 20. Bxh7+ {A nasty
surprise. Now Popel should have allowed the draw by perpetual check after
20...Kxh7 and 21.Qh6+} 20... Kf7 {This loses.} 21. Qh6 {If 21...Rh8 22. Qg6+
Kf8 23.Bh6 mate} 21... Bd6 22. Bg6+ Ke7 23. Qg7+ Kd8 24. g3 {Now black could
try and hold out with either 24...Qd4 or 24...Qb2.} 24... f5 {Instead he opens
up his K to a devastating attack.} 25. Bg5+ Kc7 26. Rac1+ Kb6 27. Qxd7 {Popel
could have safely resigned at any time.} 27... Rg8 28. Rc6+ {This nice
tactical finish mates in six.} 28... bxc6 {28...Ka5 holds out two moves
longer.} 29. Qxc6+ Ka5 30. Bd2+ Ka4 31. Qa6# 1-0
No comments:
Post a Comment