The 1935 Marshall Chess Club Championship

     Well, we made it through the massive winter storm without too much snow...7.5 inches. Initially the storm was predicted to just graze us and deposit a half inch of snow, but Sunday morning the revised forecast put the "graze line" 40 miles to our west which turned out to be accurate.Thanks to the city snow plows it has meant three trips outside to blow snow and ice the plows keep piling up across the driveway and set the garbage bin upright because they keep knocking it down. We finally got an automated phone call advising us that the trash pickup will be delayed one day because it's too nasty outside. Some days you just wish you lived in Key West, Florida where at the moment it's 73 degrees and sunny.

     Fred Reinfeld wrote over 100 chess books as well as books on geology, history, numismatics, checkers and astronomy. Born in New York on January 27, 1910, he passed away reportedly from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm at the age of 54 in East Meadow, New York, on May 29, 1964. 

     His other chess roles included managing the US Olympic team and serving as a consultant to the World Book Encyclopedia and the Random House College Dictionary. He also taught private students and extra-mural courses at two colleges in the 1930s and 1950s. 

     Reinfeld's early chess books were very good. In 1950, he said that in those early days he played and wrote seriously, but earned nothing, but when he "(poured) out the mass-produced trash, the royalties come in.” It was that mass produced trash that allowed him to earn a living and abandon tournament chess and the writing of serious chess books. 

     Few today realize that Reinfeld was also a strong master and was among the top American players from the early 1930s to the early 1940s. On the first USCF rating list published in 1950 the top players were classed as either active or inactive.

     The top players were: Reuben Fine (active, 2817), Samuel Reshevsky (inactive, 2770), Alex Kevitz (active, 2610), Arthur Dake (active, 2598), Alebert Simonson (inactive, 2596), Fred Reinfeld (inactive, 2593), Arnold Denker (active, 2575) and Isaac Kashdan (active, 2574). Chessmetrics ranks him as the 70th best player in the world on its May 1942 list with a rating of 2532. 

     Although he did not possess an international title, which were awarded by FIDE in 1950, there seems little doubt that Reinfeld was probably of International Master strength. 

     Reinfeld learned chess in his early teens and while in high school he played postal chess. He joined the Marshall Chess Club in 1926. While studying accounting at New York University and the College of the City of New York, he won the U.S. Intercollegiate championship in 1929. 

     Despite the withdrawal of Samuel Reshevsky in the first round, the 1935 Marshall Chess Club Championship got off to an interesting start when David Polland took an early lead, but was soon overtaken by Milton Hanauer, a former state champion, who established what appeared to be a commanding lead. 

     But then Reinfeld, also a former state champion, who was two points behind Hanauer at the halfway mark caught fire and gradually worked up to a tie in the penultimate round. 

     The play in the final round was extremely exciting even though Hanauer and Reinteld were assured of the first two places because the next four places were in doubt. 

     In the last round Hanauer outplayed Erling Tholfsen, but overlooked a mate in three! Reinfeld had a difficult game against Anthony, but managed to secure a perpetual check. after the dust settled, there was a quadruple tie for third place between Enequist, Santasiere, Schlesinger, and Tholfsen. 

 

     Here is Reinfeld's win over Matthew Green (1916-2006, 90 years old). Green was born in Cleveland, Ohio and was most active in the period 1935-1945 as a member of the Marshall Chess Club. He played in the U.S. Championships of 1940 and 1942 and won the New Jersey Championship in 1957. He died in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Fred Reinfeld - Matthew Green

Result: 1-0

Site: Marshall CC Chp, New York

Date: 1935

Colle System

[...] 1.d4 ♘f6 2.♘f3 b6 3.e3 e6 4.♗d3 ♗b7 5.♘bd2 c5 6.O-O ♘c6 7.c3 ♕c7 8.♕e2 d6

8...cxd4 9.exd4 ♗e7 10.♖e1 ♖c8 11.♘f1 O-O resulted in a short draw in Colle,E-Saemisch,F/Berlin 1926

8...♗e7 This is most often seen. 9.dxc5 Also good is 9.Re1 or 9.Ba6 9...bxc5 10.e4 d5 11.♖e1 dxe4 12.♘xe4 O-O 13.♘fg5 White has a good game. Colle,E-Thomas,G/Scarborough 1930

8...d5 is also playable. 9.♖e1 ♗e7 10.a3 O-O 11.e4 cxd4 12.cxd4 dxe4 13.♘xe4 ♖fd8 with equal chances. Heimsoth,H (2171)-Becker,M (2332)/Essen 2003

9.e4 e5 This is bad because it allows white to close the center after which he gets an advantage on both wings. 9...Be7 was the best try. 10.d5 ♘e7 Somewhat better was ...Nb8-d7 11.♘e1 g5 This is suicidal. His best try was 11...Bc8 followed by ...Ng6 12.♗b5+ ♔d8 This is pretty much forced.

12...♘d7 13.♘c4 h6 14.f4 gxf4 15.♗xf4 exf4 16.e5 ♗xd5 17.♘xd6+ is winning for white.

13.c4 ♘g6 14.g3 ♗c8 15.♘g2 ♗h3 16.f3 ♖g8 17.♖f2 White enjoys an excellent position and all he has to do is find a way to break through. 17...♗xg2

17...h5 was well worth a try, but though the ramifications of the move are impossible to calculate OTB, it appears that eventually white will win. 18.♘f1 ♘f4 A promising sacrifice that introduces a lot of complications that in the end appears to be good for white. 19.gxf4 gxf4 20.b4 h4 21.bxc5 dxc5 22.a4 ♘h5 23.a5 ♖b8 24.axb6 axb6 25.♔h1 ♘g3+ 26.hxg3 hxg3 27.d6 ♗xd6 28.♘xg3 fxg3 29.♖f1 ♔e7 30.♔g1 ♖h8 31.♗g5+ ♔f8 32.♖a3 ♖h7 33.♖d3 ♗e7 34.f4 ♖d8 35.♖xg3 ♕d6 36.♕f2 ♗xg2 37.♖xg2 ♗f6 38.♖h2 ♖xh2 39.♔xh2 White remains a piece up.

18.♖xg2 ♕c8

18...h5 is far less good than it was last move. 19.♘f1 ♘f4 This completely fails now. 20.gxf4 gxf4 21.♖xg8 ♘xg8

19.♘f1 h6 20.♘e3 ♘e7 21.♗d2 ♘e8 22.♖f1 f5 His game was probably too far gone to save, but at this point Green only helps his opponent to breakthrough into black's position! 23.f4 gxf4 24.gxf4 ♖xg2+ 25.♔xg2 exf4 26.♘xf5 ♘xf5 27.exf5 ♘f6 28.♗c6 ♖b8 29.♗c3 ♘d7 30.♖xf4 ♘e5 31.♗xe5 Black resigned.

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