Give a little, get a lot

 

   The 25th congress of the German Chess Union was held in 1927 in Magdeburg and was attended by 13 German master plus Rudolf Spielmann of Austria. The surprise was the good performance of the veteran Walther Holzhauswn and Paul List. 

     Pawel M. List was born in Odess in 1887 and died in 1954, probably in London. List emigrated to Britain in 1937 but never became a British citizen. He had several early successes in Russian tournaments before moving to Germany in the 1920s where he also had a number od successes in German tournaments. In 1937 he settled in Britain where he again had some excellent results in British events. 

     The 50th anniversary congress of the Deutscher Schachbund held in Magdeburg in 1927 was the last German chess congress in the history of the DSB. 

     The Deutscher Schachbund (DSB) was founded in Leipzig on July 18, 1877. When the next meeting took place in the Schutzenhaus on July 15, 1879, sixty-two clubs had become member of the federation. At Magdeburg the two surviving participants of Leipzig in 1877, Alexander Fritz and Fritz Riemann were guests and when they entered the tournament room they were greeted with a standing ovation. Also, after a long absence it was decided that cash prizes were needed and so they were reintroduced at this tournament. Spielmann was awarded a prize sponsored by Lufthansa for the most beautiful game...a free flight to anywhere within Germany. 

     Today’s game is the round 5 game between the leaders, Spielmann and Bogoljubow which turned out to be one of the critical encounters. Spielmann gave this game in his book The Art Of Sacrifice In Chess and example of making a sacrifice in order to gain material. In other words, a sham sacrifice in which you give a little to get a lot. 

     As a rule, the opportunity for such combinations arises in positions where one already has the advantage, sometimes also after serious errors on the opponent's part. In order to find those combinations Spielmann talked about the necessity of having “sound judgment as to the state of development at the time and a practiced eye for the strength or weakness of a position.” Developing those attributes come under the heading of pattern recognition. 

     Spielmann continues..."Inexperienced or overoptimistic players often neglect their development. They rack their brains over some sham sacrifice which promises them a gain in material and as often as not commit themselves to it without taking into account the fact that the combination cannot possibly be sound, owing to the state of development. The consequences are painful and often fatal surprises.” 

     “Superior development, simultaneous attacks on points which can only be protected with difficulty, loose or badly protected hostile units, finally any kind of weakness in the enemy camp those are the crucial points where opportunities for temporary sacrifices can be looked for and where they are frequently found.”

Efim Bogoljubov - Rudolf Spielmann
Result: 0-1
Site: Magdeburg GER
Date: 1927.07.21
Caro-Kann: Two Knights Variation

[...] 1.e4 c6 2.♘c3 d5 3.♘f3 The Two Knights Variation was played by Bobby Fischer in his youth, but has since declined in popularity. White's idea is rapid development and at the same time to retain options regarding his d-Pawn. 3...♘f6 This is not often seen today as black almost always plays 3...Bg4. The move 3...dxe4 is seen occasionally, but black has not done well with it. 4.e5 ♘e4 5.d4 (5.♘xe4 dxe4 6.♘g5 ♕d5 7.d3 exd3 8.♗xd3 ♕xe5 and white has nothing.) 5...♗f5

5...♗g4 and after 6.♘xe4 dxe4 7.h3 exf3 8.hxg4 fxg2 9.♗xg2 e6 in L'Ami,E (2636)-Lai,H (2447)/Dieren NED 2018 white quickly developed a strong attack and black ended up losing a minature.

6.♘h4 This move neglecting his devlopment gets a hand slap from Spielmann.

6.♗e2 e6 7.O-O ♗e7 8.♗e3 h6 9.♘xe4 dxe4 10.♘d2 is equal. Shuvalova,P (2441)-Kabanova,E (2095)/St Petersburg 2018.

6...e6 7.♘xf5 exf5 8.♘xe4 This is the only move to give white any chances at securing attacking chances.

8.♘e2 c5 9.f3 ♘g5 10.dxc5 ♘e6 11.♘f4 as in Szapiro,G-Porat,Y/ Netanya 1961with equality.

8...fxe4 Here, instead of the hyper-aggressive 9.Qg4, white might do better to bolster his center with c3, developing his Bs and castling. 9.♕g4 Hoping to hinder black's castling, but the move does not have the desired effect. 9...♕d7 Spielmann correctly states that the exchange of Qs was better. 10.♕g3 c5 Undermining white's P-center. 11.dxc5

11.c3 doesn't work either. After 11...cxd4 12.cxd4 ♗b4 13.♗d2 ♗xd2 14.♔xd2 O-O black is better.

11...♘c6 12.c3 ♗xc5 Black offers up his g-Pawn for the sake of devlopment, but it would be unwise for white to take it. 13.♗e2

13.♕xg7 O-O-O 14.♗f4 h5 with a promising position. Note that white can't castle Q-side. 15.O-O-O If you wanted to play this give yourself two question marks. Sooner or later the Q gets trapped. For example... 15...♖dg8 16.♕f6 ♗e7 17.♕xf7 ♖f8 18.♕g7 ♖hg8 19.♕h7 ♕g4 20.g3 ♖h8 21.f3 ♕e6 22.♕g7 ♖fg8

13...O-O 14.♗f4 f6 The slight weakening of black's K-side created by this move is of no consequence because white is in no position to take advantage of it. 15.exf6 ♖xf6 White's P-center has disappeared, but at least his position has no structural weaknesses so black can claim no more than a slight advantage. 16.♗e3

16.O-O allows black a sharp attack after 16...♖g6 17.♕h4 ♖f8

16...d4 An excellent move opening up the position and now black's pieces spring to life. 17.cxd4 ♘xd4 18.♗xd4 Better, but not by much was 18.Bc4+

18.♗c4 ♔h8 19.O-O-O

19.O-O would be very bad... 19...♖g6 with a winning position no matter what white does. Just one example if white tries to save his Q... 20.♕f4 ♕h3 21.g3 ♘f3

19...♕a4 and white's K is in greater danger than black's.

18...♕xd4 19.O-O ♕xb2 20.♗c4 ♔h8 White's f2 is under heavy attack. 21.♖ae1 ♖af8 22.♖e2 ♕d4 23.♗b3 The attacker (black) has by far the better game, principally from the positional point of view. The extra Pawn in itself is not a deciding factor, as there are Bishops on opposite colors. But the pressure on White's KB2 allows a decisive blow to be struck, as his King lacks a loophole. The combination is obvious and arises naturally out of the position. (Spielmann) 23...♖xf2 Success! Black has a won position. 24.♖exf2 ♖xf2 25.♕xf2 Forced. (25.♖xf2 ♕a1 mate next move.) 25...♕e5 The point: black wins the Queen; and with Queen and two Pawns against Rook and Bishop he has an overwhelming advantage. The sham sacrifice has paid off handsomely. (Spielmann) 26.g3 h5 27.♖d1 ♗xf2 28.♔xf2 ♕f6 Although white does not have nearly enough compensation for the Q it still requires some technique by Spielmann to bring home the point. 29.♔e3 ♕f3 30.♔d4 e3 31.♖d3 ♕f2 32.♖xe3 ♕xh2 33.♔e4 ♕g2 34.♔d3 ♔h7 35.♔d4 ♔h6 36.♗d5 ♕d2 37.♔e4 b5 38.♖d3 ♕e2 39.♖e3 ♕c2 40.♔e5 a5 41.♔d6 g6 42.g4 hxg4 43.♖e6 b4 White resigned.

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