Euwe Crushes Abrahams

     At the 1939 British Chess Federation Congress at Bournemouth there was a lot of uncertainty because of the looming war plus the fact that the best British players (Golombek, Alexander, Thomas, P.S. Milner-Barry and B.H.Wood) were competing in the Olympiad in Buenos Aires. As a result the British Championship wasn't up for grabs at the congress.

     Instead, the men’s championship was replaced with an international tournament pitting six foreign players against six English players. William Winter, the British champion in 1934, 1935 and 1936 withdrew in the last minute and was replaced by P.N. Wallis. 

     The hoped for exciting last round finish didn't come off. Due to the rumblings of war, he two Dutch players (Euwe and Landau) played their last round game in private the night before (on August 24th) and then departed for home as did the other Dutch players. 

     Euwe’s final score was 9.0 and going into the last round Salo Flohr of the Soviet Union had 8.0 points and so had a chance to tie for first if he could beat Imre Konig. In a game that went 60 moves and featured a time scramble, Konig held on for a draw. While that was going on Ernst Klein beat Francis Kitto in 26 moves and so tied Flohr for 2nd place. 

     Although the British Championship was not at stake there was a Ladies Championship which was won by 13-year-old Miss Elaine Saunders who went through the tournament without defeat and finished a full two points ahead of second place finisher Edith Michell. 

     There were also other events. The Major Open Section A was won by the 1934 Austrian champion, David Podhorzer, who finished 2.5 points ahead of Eugene Znosko-Borovsky. The Major Open Section B was won by Philip C. Hoad, a National Master. There were also five class events consisting of 12 players each. 

 

 

     In the following game Euwe crushes Gerald Abrahams who had a wretched tournament. There is some confusion as to the actual length of the game, some sources giving it as 12 moves and others as 14 moves. 

 

 

 

 

Max Euwe - Gerald Abrahams

Result: 1-0

Site: Bournemouth

Date: 1939

Polish Defense

[...] 1.d4 b5 Abrahams often played off beat openings. Perhaps here it was to avoid Euwe's extensive theoretical knowledge. This move has also sometimes been referred to as the Qs Fianchetto Defense. Judgments of the defense have varied from "entirely valueless" (Horowitz) to "neglects the center, but is not refuted." (Modern Chess Openings 10th edition) 2.e4 ♗b7 3.f3 Somewhat rare. The main alternative are 3.Bd3 and 3.Nd3. Perhaps Euwe was trying to take Abrahams out of his opening preparation! 3...a6 4.c4 Frequently seen is 4.Bd3, but the text pretty much forces black to take on c4 and so white gets his B to a good square without losing a tempo. 4...bxc4 5.♗xc4 e6 6.♘c3 d5

6...♘f6 7.♗g5 ♗e7 8.♕d2 O-O is equal. Spacek,P (2410)-Zurek,M (2457)/Ostrava CZE 2000

7.♕b3 This move practically refutes black's handling of the opening.

7.exd5 is less good. After 7...exd5 8.♗b3 ♗e7 9.♘ge2 ♘f6 10.♗g5 O-O 11.O-O ♘bd7 12.♕d2 c6 13.♖ac1 the position is about even. Lys,J (2138) -Trombik,K (2000)/Ostrava CZE 2016

7...♘c6 What could be wrong with developing a piece and at the same time it tempts white to take the B...which would lose! Actually the move is a gross blunder and he should have taken the B. (7...dxc4 8.♕xb7 ♘d7 9.♘ge2 ♗d6 10.♗e3 and white is quite well off.) 8.exd5

8.♕xb7 would be a bad mistake as after 8...♘a5 both the Q and B are under attack and the Q which has no retreat has to go. However, after 9.♗xd5 ♘xb7 10.♗xb7 ♘f6 This is actually better than saving the R! (10...♖b8 11.♗c6+ ♔e7 Black's advantage is minimal (about one Pawn).) 11.♗xa8 ♕xa8 In Shootouts black had 4 wins and a draw, no losses.

8...♘xd4

8...♘a5 was no better. 9.♕a4+ c6 10.dxe6 fxe6 11.♗xe6 with a won game.

9.♕xb7 ♖b8 10.♕xa6 ♖a8

10...♘c2+ and black still loses after 11.♔d1 ♘xa1 12.♗b5+ ♔e7 13.♘ge2 ♖b6 14.♕a4 ♘f6 15.♗e3 ♖xb5 (15...♖b8 16.♗c5+) 16.♕xb5 ♕d7 17.♔d2 ♕xb5 18.♘xb5 ♘xd5 19.♖xa1 with an easy win.

11.♗b5+ ♔e7 (11...♘xb5 is also hopeless... 12.♕c6+ ♔e7 13.♕xb5) 12.d6+ WIth this move Euwe launches a matying attack. It's not clear if Abrahams resigned here or played a couple of more moves. 12...cxd6 This allows a mate in 3, but there is no move that does not lose. (12...♔f6 13.dxc7 ♕c8 14.♕b6 ♘xb5 15.♕xb5 is clearly winning.) 13.♗g5+ ♘f6 (13...f6 also runs into a mate. 14.♕b7+ ♕c7 15.♕xc7#) 14.♕b7+ In alternate versions of the game this is where black resigned. (14.♕b7+ ♕d7 15.♕xd7#)

Powered by Aquarium