Kramer Conks Willman

     The 1950-51 Manhattan Chess Club Championship was won by former US Champion and the defending club co-champion Arnold Denker who went undefeated scoring 7 wins and 6 draws. The mark of Denker's play in this tournament was that he did not display his usual recklessness. 

     The outcome wasn't decided until the last round in a showdown between Arthur Bisguier, who was a half point behind, and Denker. Bisguier was unable to break through his opponent's defenses and had to settle for a draw which left him tied for second with George Kramer. The two-time Manhattan club champion and current US Open champion Bisguier won more games than anybody else, but he got off to a rocky start losing to Edward Schwartz and Max Pavey in the first four rounds. 

 

     Because of personal reasons (he got married) Kramer played all but one of his games in advance and as a result everybody knew that to win the tournament they had to beat his 8.5-3.5 score. 

     The biggest surprise was probably the showing of George Shainswit who was, along with Denker, the previous year's co-champion. Usually a hard player to defeat, in this tournament Shainswit lost four games and scored only a single win for one of his worst performances in years. Another disappointment was the showing of Boris Siff who had to forfeit several games as a result of his moving to Boston. 

     In the following game, winner Kramer tried a new idea against the King's Indian that at the time was thought to possibly be a line worthy of serious consideration. His opponent, Robert Willman, overlooked a tactical shot and lost quickly to a whirlwind attack by Kramer. 

George Kramer

     After World War Two, Kramer (born 15 May 1929) was one of the most promising new players in the United States. In 1945, at the age of sixteen, he won the New York State Championship and in 1946, he debuted in US Championship where finished in 9th place. He won the Olympiad individual bronze medal winner in 1950 and in 1952 he won Manhattan Chess Club Championship. He also participated in the US Championships in 1957 and 1961-62, but finished at the bottom. He won the New Jersey Championship in 1964, 1967, 1969. 

     Besides chess, Kramer has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Scientists for dedication, achievements, and leadership. Kramer studied at Queen’s College, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1951. He continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Master of Science in 1955 and a PhD in 1957, and started working for Exxon (now Mobil) in research and engineering. Dr. Kramer spent more than 35 years with the company, rising to the rank of senior research associate and research chemist before his retirement in 1994. 

     In his career as a scientist, he authored several published works, including “Mechanism of Acid-Catalyzed Reactions” and “Synthesis of Volatile Uranyl Compounds.” 

     Almost nothing is known about Robert Willman except that he was Manhattan Chess Club champion in 1933 and New York state champion in 1940. He was also one of the reserve players for the US in their 1945 radio match against the USSR. He was born on January 3, 1908 and according to chess historian Jeremy Gaige, Willman changed his name to Williams and died on December 30, 1978.

George Kramer - Robert Willman

Result: 1-0

Site: Manhattan CC Championship, New York

Date: 1951

King's Indian Defense, Hungarian Attack

[...] 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 g6 3.♘c3 ♗g7 4.e4 d6 5.♘ge2 O-O 6.♘g3 At the time this was the new idea. It had been played about a year previously in the game Jack Soudakoff vs, Max Pavey, but had received no attention until this game. It's an aggressive and little-known system, the main idea being that the N on g3 controls e4 and f5 which hinders black's K-side play and at the same time support the advance of the h-Pawn. It was popular with Hungarian players in the 1960s and in 2000 Gyozo Forintos and Ervin Haag published Easy Guide to the Nge2 King's Indian. The variation is also sometimes known as the Kramer Attack. 6...♘bd7

6...e5 7.d5 a5 8.♗e2 ♘a6 9.h4 c6 10.h5 cxd5 11.cxd5 ♘c5 12.♗e3 ♕b6 with equal chances as in Korchnoi,V (2585)-Nunn,J (2615)/Wijk aan Zee 1992

6...c5 7.d5 e6 8.♗e2 exd5 9.cxd5 h5 10.O-O a6 11.a4 ♘bd7 12.f4 h4 with good chances. Li,D (2538)-Khanin,S (2503)/Shanghai 2019

7.♗e2 e5 8.d5 a5 9.h4 The disadvantage of black allowing further advance of the h-Pawn are obvious so his next move was his best move. 9...h5

9...♘e8 was recommended , but after 10.h5 ♘c5 11.♗e3 h6

11...f5 fails to accomplish anything as after 12.hxg6 hxg6 13.exf5 gxf5 14.♕c2 black's K is in danger.

12.♕d2 g5 13.O-O-O white is better.

10.♗g5 After 10...Qe8 he would be subjected to a dangerous attack. His best try is likely 10...Re8 10...♘c5 After this routine move his position quickly collapses...the pin on the N causes him a severe headache.

10...♕e8 11.♘b5 ♕d8 12.♗xh5 gxh5 13.♘xh5 ♘c5 14.♘c3 ♔h8 15.♘xg7 ♔xg7 16.h5 black's defense is difficult.

10...♖e8 11.♕c2 ♘c5 with a solid position in which it is difficult to suggest a good way to continue for white.

11.♗xh5 This move is the hidden point of the system initiated by white's 6th move...he has this possibility plus the pin on the N is now more than black can handle. 11...gxh5 12.♘xh5 Black's position is critical, but after is seems that after 12...Kh8 he can probably fend off white's attack. 12...♔h7

12...♘cd7 is insufficient. 13.♕f3 ♘xh5 Losing outright. 14.♗xd8 ♖xd8 15.♕xh5 ♘f6 16.♕e2 ♗d7 17.O-O-O ♗h6+ 18.♔b1 ♔h8 19.♕f3 ♗f4 20.♖dg1 ♖g8 21.g3 ♗g4 22.♕d3 ♗h6 23.f3 ♗d7 24.g4 ♗f8 25.♕d2 ♔h7 26.♘e2 ♗e7 27.♘g3 b6 28.g5 and black soon succumbed. Neher,M-Elsland,F/Germany 1992

12...♔h8 13.♕f3 ♗g4 14.♕xf6

14.♗xf6 met with disaster in this game... 14...♗xf3 15.♗xg7+ ♔h7 16.gxf3 ♖g8 17.♖g1 ♕xh4 White resigned. Mindt,O-Mammen,H/Dortmund 1987

14...♗xh5 15.♕xd8 ♖axd8 16.♗xd8 ♖xd8 17.f3 f5 with equal chances though white soon misplayed his position and lost. Ward,C (2423)-Storey,C (2245)/Coventry ENG 2015

12...♗h8 worked out poorly for black. 13.♕f3 ♘cd7 14.♖h3 ♖e8 15.♘d1 c6 16.♘e3 ♔h7 17.♖g3 ♖g8 18.♘xf6+ Black resigned. Kekelidze,M (2396)-Hakobyan,H (2220)/Poti GEO 2017

13.♕f3 ♔g6 14.♘xg7 This is the strongest move.

14.♖g1 ♖h8

14...♘d3+ 15.♕xd3 ♔xh5 16.g4+ ♔g6 17.h5+ ♔h7 18.♕f3 and black is in a heap of trouble.

15.♘xg7 ♔xg7 16.h5 with a strong attack.

14...♔xg7

14...♗g4 might be best if for no other reason than the resulting exchanges would simplify his defensive task. 15.♗xf6 ♗xf3 16.♗xd8 ♖axd8 17.gxf3 ♔xg7 18.♔e2 but even here white has a winning endgame.

15.h5 ♖h8 16.h6+ ♔g6 There is no safe place for the K.

16...♔h7 17.♗xf6 ♗g4 18.♗xd8 ♗xf3 19.♗xc7 ♗xe4 20.♗xd6 ♗xg2 21.♖g1 ♘e4 22.♖xg2 ♘xd6 23.c5 and white is winning.

17.h7 If white does not find this clever finish black can equalize!

17.♗h4 ♖xh6 18.♕g3+ ♗g4 19.f3 ♕d7 20.O-O-O ♖ah8 21.♖df1 ♘h5 22.♕xg4+ ♕xg4 23.fxg4 ♘g3 Now 24.Bxg3 loses 24.♖f6+ ♔g7 25.♖xh6 ♖xh6 26.♖h3 ♘gxe4 27.♘xe4 ♘xe4 equals

17...♗g4

17...♖xh7 18.♖xh7 ♔xh7 19.O-O-O This is even stronger than 19.Bxf6. White wins.

18.♖h6+ The only move.

18.♗xf6 ♗xf3 19.♗xd8 ♗xg2 20.♖g1 ♖axd8 21.♖xg2+ ♔f6 and white's advantage is minimal. (21...♔xh7 22.♔e2 and black gets mated next move.)

18...♔g7 19.♗xf6+ ♔xh6 20.♕e3+ ♔xh7 21.♗xd8 ♖axd8 22.♔d2 ♗h5 23.♕g5 Black's rapid downfall was astonishing thanks to Kramer's aggressive and alert play.

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