Santasiere Attacks Without Queens

Santasiere

     Robert Willman won the 1950 New York State championship in one of the strongest fields ever to have competed for the title up to that time. 

     One point behind and tied for second and third places were Anthony Santasiere and Jack Soudakof. Fourth place went to Dr. Walter Cruz, champion of Brazil in 1940 and 1938, who was in the U.S. doing medical research work at a hospital in Rochester, New York. 

     Almost nothing is known about Robert Willman except that prior to winning this tournament he had tied for first place with with Abraham Kupchik in the 1932 Manhattan Chess Club Championship, but lost the playoff. He won the club championship outright the following year. Also in 1933, he played a match against Albert C. Simonson and won by a score of 5.5-4.5. Willman was one of the reserve players for the US in their 1945 radio match against the USSR. 

     A Chess Review article on the tournament stated that Willman was born in New York City, was resident all his life, and made his living as an insurance claim agent. He held two college degrees: an A.B, from the City College of New York and an A.M. from Columbia University. 

     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. 

     The following game, which was played in the Championship which held at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York between Blumin and Santasiere, is an example of carrying out a deadly attack without Queens. 

 

     Boris Blumin (January 11, 1908 - February 16, 1998), a Canadian-American master. Born in Russia, he emigrated to Canada, where he played in several Canadian championships. He was Canadian champion twice, winning at Toronto 1936 and Quebec 1937. He was a five-time winner of the Montreal City Championship (1933–1939). In August 1939, he moved to New York City. 

     Anthony E.Santasiere (December 9,1904 - January 13, 1977) was a master and chess writer, who also wrote extensively on non-chess topics. He won the 1945 U.S. Open, four New York State championships, and six Marshall Chess Club championships. He also competed in four U.S. Championships, with his best finish being a tie for third in 1946. 

     Santasiere was born and raised in New York City, the 12th of 13 children, and grew up in extreme poverty. He graduated from City College with a degree in mathematics. His studies there were financed by Alrick Man, a wealthy chess enthusiast who had served as president of the Marshall Chess Club. Following graduation, beginning in 1927, Santasiere taught mathematics at the Angelo Patri Middle School in the Bronx, and held that position until he retired to south Florida in 1965.

Boris Blumin - Anthony Santasiere

Result: 0-1

Site: NY State Champ., Hamilton

Date: 1940

Gruenfeld Defense

[...] 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 g6 3.♘c3 d5 4.♕b3 Santasiere was critical of this move thinking it to be premature. In my database it is rarely played, but white wins 40 percent of the games while black scores about 25 percent of the time. 4...dxc4 5.♕xc4 ♗e6 6.♕a4+ Usual is 6.Qb5+ 6...♕d7 Trading Qs instead of playing 6...Bd7 or 6...c6. In the 1970s, Santasiere got into a written feud with Larry Evans after Evans showed disdain for Santasiere's hypocrisy for "talking like a tiger and playing like a Tigran (Petrosian)" But, Evans did admit Santasiere had the heart of a Romantic even if he didn't have the games to back it up. Still, Santasiere had a lot of tournament success, so he must have done something right. Here, trading Qs is typical of his style...hardly Romantic, but watch what follows!

6...♗d7 7.♕b3 c5 8.d5 b5 9.♘xb5 ♗xb5 10.♕xb5+ ♘bd7 is equal. Nakamura,H (2814)-Caruana,F (2808)/US Chp, Saint Louis 2015

7.♕xd7+ ♘bxd7 8.e4 Black has a cramped position 8...♘b6

8...c6 9.♗f4 ♗g7 10.♗d3 O-O 11.♘ge2 ♖fd8 12.♖d1 a5 13.O-O b5 14.d5 cxd5 15.exd5 ♗xd5 16.♗xb5 e6 is about equal and the game was soon agreed drawn. Stark,M-Santasiere,A/Ventnor City 1945

9.♗f4

9.f4 is an intersting alternative. 9...♗g7 10.♘f3 O-O 11.h3 with a good game.

9...c6 10.♘f3 So far Santasiere has played quite passively and Blumin is completing his development and building up a stong center so Santasiere decides to launch an immediate, if somewhat unconventional, counterattack. 10...♘h5 Black threatens to win material: Nh5xf4 11.♗e5 f6 12.♗c7 White traps black's K in the center, but he is unable to take advantage of it. 12...♗h6 13.♗e2 Now it's white's turn to get a tad passive and as a result black gets the initiative.

13.d5 is better. After 13...cxd5 14.♗xb6 axb6 15.exd5 white is slightly better.

13...♘f4 14.♗xf4 ♗xf4 Now white should try either 15.O-O or 15.b4 and black's advantage would be minimal. 15.b3 This stops the annoying ...Nc4, but Santasiere was critical of it because 15.b3 creates a target by weakening the Q-side, the consequences of which are worse than if he had allowed ...Nc4

15.O-O Black should probably now play 15...O-O-O, but let's take a look at the ...Nc4 idea. 15...♗c4

15...♘c4 is very bad for black. To wit... 16.d5 cxd5 17.exd5 ♗g4 18.♗xc4 winning the N.

16.♗xc4 ♘xc4 17.g3 ♘d2 18.♘xd2 ♗xd2 19.♖fd1 ♗xc3 20.bxc3 is equal.

15...♔f7 16.O-O ♖hd8 17.♖ad1 Sanatsiere was highly critical of Blumin's plan to advance the f-Pawn (which is why he preferred keeping a R on f1) claiming the plan was too slow. 17.Rab1 planning the advance of the b-Pawn was a better idea although black still retains the initiative. 17...a5 Intending on weakening white's Q-side Ps. 18.♘e1 ♗c7 19.f4 a4 20.f5 This idea has proven insufficient as black now stands better. Santasiere was correct. 20...gxf5 21.exf5 ♗d5 22.♘xd5 This plausible move is wrong because now black gets an even larger advantage.

22.b4 closing the Q-side keeps black's advantage to a minimum. 22...e5 23.fxe6+ ♗xe6 24.♗h5+ ♔g7 with a minimal advantage.

22...♘xd5 23.♖f3 Santasiere wrote that Blumin was under the impression that he had the initiative. Actually, black's position is much better.

23.♗c4 was what Santasiere expected, but after his intended 23...b5 black retains the much better chances. 23...b5 24.♗xd5+ ♖xd5 25.♘c2 ♖ad8 with the better ending.

23...axb3 24.axb3 ♖a2 Now the consequences of white's faulty 15.b3 are clear. Black has invaded on the Q-side and has established a practically won position. 25.♖f2 Threatening Bh5+ picking off the R, but it leads to a quick end. He could have avoided immediate disaster with 25.Bd3, but black still has the much better position. 25...♔g7 26.♗c4 Plausible, but a gross blunder.

26.♖d3 This is better, but it would not save the game 26...♗f4 27.♗d1 ♖xf2 28.♔xf2 ♘b4 29.♖c3 ♖xd4 with a won ending.

26.♖d3 otherwise it's curtains at once 26...♗f4 27.♗d1 ♗xh2+ 28.♔f1 ♖xf2+ 29.♔xf2−⁠+

26...♗xh2+ Winning immediately, so Blumin ends his misery. 27.♔f1 ♘e3# Impressive play by Santasiere.

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