Roos Smashes Gresser, Ties 1955 US Women's Championship

     Roos' play seems not to have been affected by the fact that she had not fully recovered from an automobile accident in July and was frequently in pain. The two games which clinched Roos' share or the title, were her wins against the two U. S. Women's Champions, Mae Karff and Gisela Gresser. 

     The game against Karff was decided in dramatic fashion when Karff made an unprecedented oversight on move 31 that left spectators stunned. Karff suffered her loss gracefully and Roos begged Chess Life columnist Willa Owens not to publish the game. Here is the position after 31.Qc7. 

     Black is winning easily and all she has to do is play 31...R4d7 or 31...Qd7 which would have left her with a routine win. Instead, Karff decided to threaten mate on g2 or force the exchange of Qs with 31...Qc6?? and mate in two was unavoidable after 32.Qxf7+ 

     In the following game both players indulge in boring maneuvering until Gresser errs with 26...h6 and from then on is subjected to a relentless attack by Roos.

Nancy Roos - Gisela Gresser

Site: US Women's Championship New Yoek

Date:

Polish Opening

[...] 1.b4 A favorite of Roos. It has never been popular at the top level, though a number of prominent players have employed it on occasion. The opening is largely based on tactics on the Q-side or the f6 and g7 squares. 1...e6 Black can respond in a variety of ways and this move usually followed by ...d5, ...Nf6 and eventually ...c5. 2.♗b2 ♘f6 3.a3 d5 4.e3 a5 5.b5 c5

5...♘bd7 black avoided ...c5 in Prasannaa,S (2159)-Murshed,N (2444)/New Delhi 2017 and after 6.♘f3 ♗d6 7.d4 ♘b6 8.a4 ♘e4 9.♗d3 f5 10.O-O O-O the position was about equal.

6.c4 ♘bd7 7.cxd5 this premature release of central tension is questionable.

7.♘f3 ♘b6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.d4 c4 10.♘c3 ♗d6 11.♗e2 O-O 12.O-O ♕e7 13.♘d2 ♗f5 and a draw was agrees in Christensen,T (2280)-Hansen,C (2310)/Gausdal 1990

7...exd5 8.a4 ♗e7 9.♘f3 O-O 10.♗e2 ♘b6 11.O-O ♗f5 12.d3 ♖c8 13.♘bd2 ♘fd7 14.♖c1 ♗f6 15.♗a3 ♖e8 16.h3 ♘a8 This move is rather passive and in a few moves the N returns to b6, so ...g6 and ...Bg7 followed by ...Be6 consolidating her position was better. 17.♕b3 d4 18.e4 ♗e6 19.♘c4 ♘ab6 20.♕d1 ♘xc4 21.dxc4 ♕c7 22.♗d3 b6 23.♖c2 ♘f8 24.♗c1 Now with 24...Ng6 black would have a rock solid position and we could look for more maneuvering such as we have been witnessing for many moves now. 24...h6 As it turns out, this move creates a fatal weakening of the K-side. 25.♘e1 ♖cd8 26.f4 Roos begins a strong attack. 26...♗c8 27.♕h5 This move carries no immediate threat, but you just know it has to be good. 27...♗b7 28.e5 ♗e7 29.♖e2 ♖c8 All Gresser can do is wait.

29...♘h7 leads to some interesting play, but white is in control. 30.e6 Thsi si the most interesting, but not the only good move. 30...fxe6 31.♖xe6 ♘f8 32.f5 ♘xe6 33.fxe6 ♗f6 34.♖xf6 gxf6 35.♗f4 ♕g7 36.♗xh6 and mate in inevitable.

30.f5 ♗g5

30...♘h7 allows a gut punch... 31.f6 After this there are a lot of possibilities, but just as example... 31...♘xf6 32.exf6 ♗xf6 33.♖xf6 ♖xe2 34.♕xe2 gxf6 35.♕g4 ♔f8 36.♗xh6 ♔e7 37.♗f4+⁠−37...♕d7 38.♗f5 ♕e8 39.♕g3 ♔d8 40.♕h4 ♔e7 41.♘d3 ♕h8 42.♕e1 with a decisive attack.

31.♗xg5 hxg5 32.f6 Well played! There is no way out for black. 32...gxf6 33.♖xf6 33.exf6 forces mate in 7. 33...♘e6 34.♕h7 34. Ref2 forces mate in 8 34...♔f8 35.♖ef2 35.Bg6 is a mate in 9 35...♘d8 There is no escape. 35...Ke7 36.Rxe6+ leads to a mating attack. 36.♕h6 Mates in 8. There is a mate in 4 with 36.Bg6. 36...♔e7 37.♕xg5 ♔f8 38.♖g6 ♕xe5 39.♖g8# A great finale by Roos!

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