Francisco Lupi

     If anybody remembers the name of the Portuguese master Francisco Lupi (March 6, 1920 – January 14, 1954) it's probably because of his games against Alekhine.  

     In January 1940, Lupi lost a game to Alekhine in Estoril when Alekhine played a blindfold simultaneous against eight of the best Portuguese players. The following month he drew a simultaneous display game with Alekhine, also in Estoril. 

     Speaking of Portugal, from October to November 1964, I was taking part in Operation Steel Pike, the largest peacetime amphibious landing exercise in history, conducted by the US Navy and Marine Corps that took place on the coast of Spain. 

     I remember making an amphibious landing off the USS York County in an AmTrac and landing on a beach in Spain. We spent about a week conducting training exercises and I remember a young barber arriving on a motor scooter at our site one afternoon and, armed with only a comb and a pair of scissors, offering to cut hair for a very reasonable price. 

     We completed our exercise on a farmer's land and that evening he butchered a lamb and invited the officers and senior NCOs to a cookout (I was not included...we ate C-rations)

     That brings me to the point that at some time during the Operation we visited Oporto, Portugal and it was the most charming of all the ports we visited on the operation. But, I have digressed. 

     The city of Estoril is one of the most expensive places to live in Portugal. It is home to a sizable foreign community. It is famous as a major international luxury tourist destination and is known for its luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. Famed for having been home to numerous royal families and famous personalities, the town is also known for hosting numerous notable events, such as the Estoril Open and the Estoril Film Festival. 

     By 1944 Alekhine's game had collapsed and he barely defeated Spanish master, Ramon Rey Ardid, in a match and the following year he was often unable to hold his own against obscure Spanish and Portuguese masters. 

     In 1945-46, during the last couple years of his life, Alekhine was destitute and living in Portugal and during that time Lupi was practically supporting him. 

     In January 1946, Lupi lost a match to Alekhine (+1 –2 =1) in Estoril. He later told an interviewer that he had agreed to the match because it was financially beneficial to Alekhine. After he won the second game Lupi claimed he regretted having agreed to the match because he realized that Alekhine was sick and disillusioned to the point that he (Lupi) actually had a chance to win. He added that fortunately the match went otherwise when Alekhine won the next two games. 

     When the interviewer asked if he would not have liked to have defeated Alekhine in the match, Lupi replied, "Of course, but that would have been an irony of destiny, a cruelty, and I have always been a conscientious man and chess player." 

     Lupi was active mostly during the 1940s and 1950s playing in tournaments and giving many simultaneous exhibitions in Spain. In the spring of 1945, he lost a match against Ramon Rey Ardid (+1 –5 =0). 

     Lupi's health began declining in 1951 and he was confined to a sanitarium with a heart condition, finally dying in Madrid on January 14, 1954. 

     In January 1946, the newspaper Sunday Chronicle sponsored a Victory Tournament in London to celebrate the end of the war. There were a couple of disappointments. The Russians, especially Mikhail Botvinnik, were not going to show up and the participation of the World Champion Alekhine was protested against by Max Euwe, the Dutch Chess Federation, Arnold Denker and the USCF because of Alekhine's Nazi sympathies. As a result, Alekhine's invitation was canceled. 

     At the tournament a partition was circulated condemning Alekhine for his war time anti-Semitic articles that had appeared in the German press. US Champion Arnold Denker later wrote about how he had signed the petition, but afterwards regretted it because he remembered that in earlier years Alekhine had been very kind to him. 

     At the time the petition was being circulated, Tartakower pleaded on Alekhine's behalf and took up a collection to help Alekhine out financially. 

 

Two Alekhine Interviews (1941) 

Was Alekhine a Nazi? 

 

     As for the tournament, there were actually two. The players were divided into two groups, A and B. that were supposed to be equally strong, but a look at the participants shows that was not the case. 

     The A-group was made up of Herman Steiner, California champion and the 1942 US Open winner, 62-year-old Ossip Bernstein who had "retired" from chess in 1907, Savielly Tartakower, nearly 60 years old and recent Hastings winner, Karel Opocensky, the Czech champion, Lodewijk Prins, the pre-war Dutch champion, Paul List, a UK immigrant from Russia whho was almost 60 years old. Scottish champion, R.J. Broadbent, the soon to be British champion Harry Golombek, minor British master Joseph Stone and a minor master from Czechoslovakia named Otto Friedmann. Of real interest was Alekhine's pupil, 14-year-old Arturo Pomar. 

     The A event was won by Steiner who finished a point ahead of Bernstein who defeated him in their individual game. Bernstein, like Steiner, lost one game, to Broadbent, but had too many draws. Pomar finished tied for places 6-7 with 5.5 points. 

     The B event was won by Dutch champion and former World Champion Max Euwe with the Swiss Champ Martin Christoffel a distant second. 

 

     Besides them and Arnold Denker, the other players were 64-year-old former British champion Sir George Thomas, Gerald Abrahams, a strong British amateur and Imre Konig, a professional player from Yugoslavia who had immigrated to the UK in 1938. He eventually ended up living in California. Antonio Medina was the 1938 Spanish Champion, Paul Devos was the Belgian champion, William Winter was a former British champion (1935 & 1936), Gabriel Wood was the London city champion and Richard Newman was the British Army champion. 

     For Lupi the tournament was hardly a success, but his defeat of Thomas was well played and showed that he was capable of playing some strong chess. Chessmetrics retro-ratings assigns Lupi a high rating of 2508 on its June, 1946 list placing him at number 92 in the world.

ChessBase

Sir George Thomas–Francisco Lupi0–1C86London BLondon ENG18.01.1946Stockfish 15

Ruy Lopez: Worrall Attack 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.b5 a6 4.a4 f6 5.e2 The Worrall Attack has the advantage of avoiding the tremendous amount of theory from the mainlines. The idea is that white will use the Q to support the e-Pawn, leaving the R free to move to d1 to support the advance of the d-Pawn. However, white may not have time to achieve this goal. Paul Keres played the line in the past and in recent times Sergei Tiviakov has played it. b5 6.b3 e7 7.0-0 0-0 8.c3 d5 This is the disadvantage to the Worrall; white is unable to play Rd1 and d4. 8...d6 After this white can carry out the strategy noted in the comment at move 5. 9.d1 a5 10.c2 c5 11.d4 9.d3 The only move seen in practical play. 9.d1 dxe4 10.e1 g4 11.f3 exf3 12.gxf3 h5 and black has a strategically won position. 9.exd5 In Marshall Gambit fashion. xd5 10.xe5 xe5 11.xe5 f6 12.d4 d6 13.e2 e8 14.d1 g4 15.f3 h5 16.d2 c5 Is technically equal (according to engines), but it's doubtful anybody would enjoy playing white's position. 9...d4 10.g5 10.d1 g4 11.h3 xf3 12.xf3 is equal. Tiviakov,S (2648)-Short,N (2683) Montreal 2007 10...e6 10...b7 is a better line. 11.c1 dxc3 12.xc3 d4 13.xd4 exd4 14.xf6 xf6 with an equal position. Safarli,E (2681)-Santos Ruiz,M (2554) Moscow 2019 11.bd2 11.xf6 gives white a slight advantage after xf6 12.xe6 fxe6 13.bd2 11...h5 12.xe7 12.xe6 fxe6 More exact would have been 12... Bxg5 13.xe7 f4 14.d1 xe7 15.cxd4 xd4 16.xd4 exd4 and after 17.a4 the position would have been equal. Yagupov,I (2466)-Golovchenko,G (2308) St Petersburg 2002 12...xe7 12...f4 Equalizes after 13.xd8 xe2+ 14.h1 axd8 15.xe6 fxe6 16.cxd4 exd4 17.ac1 13.xd4 Not the best. 13.cxd4 exd4 14.g3 Preventing ... Nf5 g4 15.d5 15.e5 This is a good alternative. ae8 16.fe1 f6 17.ac1 d7 18.c5 and white is better. 15...e5 16.xa8 xa8 17.h3 xf3+ 18.xf3 xh3 19.fc1 favors white. 13...f4 This N has an ephemeral future. 14.f3 h3+ 15.gxh3 exd4 16.g3 ad8 This inhibits Bd5. 16...f5 leads to interesting play after 17.exf5 xb3 18.axb3 xf5 17.f4 This move initiates a K-side attack, but because it ignores black's plans in the center and on the Q-side it results in black gaining the advantage. 17.c4 bxc4 18.xc4 f5 Counterattacking in the center. 19.xe6+ xe6 20.f4 fxe4 21.dxe4 d3 22.f2 d6 23.af1 d4 24.b3 with equal chances. 17...dxc3 18.bxc3 c5+ 19.h1 xc3 20.f5 After this black has a significant advantage. 20.xe6 was better. fxe6 21.ac1 xd2 22.xc6 xd3 23.xd3 xd3 24.xe6 And white can at least put up stiff resistance. 20...xd3 21.g5 h6 22.f4 xb3 22...xd2 Is inferior as white has an equal position after 23.fxe6 g5 24.exf7+ g7 25.g3 23.xb3 e5 24.g4 e3 25.ac1 xe4 26.g3 xg3 27.hxg3 b4 28.xc7 xa2 29.c5 e3 30.g2 d8 Otherwise white plays Rd1 and doubles Rs on the 7th rank. 31.xa6 dd3 Black is clearly winning, but some technique is still required because double R endings can be tricky. Both sides have to be careful not to walk into a mate! The defender should avoid trading either of his Rs because keeping both Rs on the board will create complications that the defender needs. 32.f4 xg3+ 33.f2 xh3 Threatens to win with ...Nc3. 34.f6 h2+ 35.g1 b2 36.f1 dd2 37.e1 gxf6 White abandoned all hope and resigned. 0–1

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Memorial Day

     In the United States, today is Memorial Day, a federal holiday that was established for mourning the US military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces. So, today I would like to remember three special friends who died in Vietnam. 

     Lance Corporal Lawrence Walton (10/21/46 – 1/7/68, 21 years old) , US Marine Corps, was killed in action in Thua Thien province on Sunday January 7, 1968. Larry was a Mortarman with the 1st Marine Division, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, H&S Company. Semper Fi, Larry. 

     Corporal Thomas Gopp (3/15/47 – 8/3/67, 20 years old), US Marine Corps, was serving as a Crew Chief on a Sea Knight Cargo Helicopter with the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164, Marine Air Group 16, 1st Marine Air Wing. On Thursday, August 3, 1967, while rescuing a Marine patrol from the A Shau Valley, South Vietnam, his aircraft was shot down. His remains were not recovered until June 8, 1994 and not identified until July 10, 2001. Semper Fi, Tom. 

     Hospitalman Joseph C. Wiltsie (11/5/44 – 5/31/69, 23 years old), US Navy, who was attached to 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, BLT 1, 26th Marines. On Saturday. May 31, 1969, he was killed by small arms fire in Quang Nam Province. Among the medals Joe received was the Vietnam Gallantry Cross which was awarded to him for heroic conduct while coming to the aid of a fallen Marine. Semper Fi, Doc.

Charles Blake

     Charles Blake (June 12, 1880 - May 18, 1961) was born in London and emigrated to Canada in 1903 where he became a prominent lawyer. He began practicing in Winnipeg in 1909 and in 1912 started his own practice in Brandon, Manitoba before moving to Ontario in 1925. 

     At the beginning of World War I, Blake joined the 99th Manitoba Rangers and served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France beginning in August of 1914. He soon rose to the rank of Major. 

     Blake learned the game in 1897 and after arriving in Winnipeg he was strong enough to be the only competition for Magnus Smith (1869 - 1934). 

     Smith was originally from Iceland and at one time lived Winnipeg. He was Canadian Champion in 1899, 1904 and 1906. At some point Smith moved to Brooklyn, New York where he won the Brooklyn Chess Club championship (1907) and Manhattan Chess Club championship (1912, 1913). He passed away in Titusville, Pennsylvania. 

     From 1907 and 1910 Blake was the champion of Western Canada and the Winnipeg Chess Club Champion. He won the Western Chess Association championship (the precursor to the US Open) in 1911. He was runner up in the Canadian Championship in 1909 and 1913 and in the 1920s he won two Northwest Championships in Canada. 

     Blake played in several Canadian championships in the 1920s, generally finishing in the middle of the field. His last championship tournament was in 1931. After moving to White Rock, British Columbia he played in the British Columbia vs. Washington matches in 1949, 1950, and 1951. Blake is in the Manitoba Chess Hall of Fame and Museum. 

 

     His opponent in this game was Edward P. Elliott (1873-1955, 82 years old) from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Elliott was Western Chess Association champion in 1908 and 1912.

ChessBase

Charles W Blake–Edward P Elliott1–0C61Western Championship, Excelsior8Excelsior, MN23.08.1905Stockfish 15

Ruy Lopez: Bird's Defense 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.b5 d4 Bird's Defense is uncommon because it's believed that white can gain the advantage. Analysis on 3...Nd4 was first published in 1843 in von Bilguer's Handbuch des Schachspiels, but it was not widely used until the late 19th century when British master Henry Bird used it with some success. Since then no strong master has played it other than as a surprise weapon. 4.c4 4.xd4 is the best line. exd4 5.0-0 c5 6.d3 and white is slightly better. 4...xf3+ 4...d6 5.xd4 exd4 6.c3 f6 7.d3 dxc3 8.xc3 e7 9.0-0 0-0 Gavrikov,V (2550)-Tukmakov,V (2575) Minsk 1987 is equal. 5.xf3 f6 5...f6 was tried in Barlov,D (2454)-Larino Nieto,D (2508) Las Palmas 2013 6.e2 c5 7.d3 e7 8.e3 b6 with equality. 6.b3 6.d4 d6 7.b3 e7 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.0-0 c6 White has a good game. Lasker,E-Bird,H Newcastle on Tyne 1892 6.d3 c5 7.d2 c6 8.f1 Black gets a good game after this. Better was 8.O-O. d5 9.exd5 cxd5 10.b3 Black is slightly better. Klinger,J (2490)-Agdestein,S (2565) Baguio City 1987 6...e7 7.c3 b6 8.b5 d8 An odd choice relinquishing the right to castle. 8...d6 was correct. 9.d3 g4 An empty threat and so a waste of time. 9...c6 10.xa7 xa7 11.xb6+ c7 is good for black. 9...c6 10.c3 is not much better, but it's trickier. b5 11.xf7 b4 12.e3 Setting a trap! 12.e2 d5 and the B is trapped. 12...d6 Giving the K an escape square. 12...bxc3 13.b6+ axb6 14.xb6# 13.b5 cxb5 14.0-0 a5 Black is better. 10.e3 10.xf7 and the position is equal after c6 11.c3 h4 12.g3 f6 13.0-0 10.h3 Driving back the N is correct. Then after f6 11.c3 c6 12.a4 White stands well. 10...xe3 11.fxe3 g5 12.0-0-0 xe3+ 13.b1 f6 14.he1 f2 15.d4 White has the initiative. a6 16.e2 Missing a nice tactical shot that would have gained the advantage. 16.d5 c6 17.xc6 dxc6 18.dxe5+ e7 19.d4 Black is caught in a web where he has no saving move. Just one example... e8 19...d7 20.f1 h4 21.f5+ 20.xb6 f7 21.xc6 b8 22.f1 xg2 23.exf6 g5 24.c7+ 16...h4 17.g3 h5 18.c3 In spite of his lead in development white can't claim anything more than equality for his P because black's position is quite solid. d6 19.dxe5 xe5 20.f7 Keeps the Q cut off. f3 21.ed2 xc3 21...d6 was better. 22.d3 g4 23.d5 a7 with a fully equal position. 22.bxc3 Not bad. 22.d3 was even better. xe4 23.xc3 a7 24.e1 a4 25.d4 a5 26.b4 b5 27.e3 with a winning attack. 22...a7 23.d5 Intending Bc6 which would be very powerful. d6 This allows white a nice tactical shot, but his position was already very poor. 23...e3 This allows white to carry out his intended move, but is is actually the lesser evil. 24.c6 d6 25.f7 xc3 26.xd6+ cxd6 27.xd6+ d7 28.xd7+ c8 29.xa7 xc6 White's grip on the 7th rank assures him of the win. 24.e5 Going after the K in the center. e3 25.exd6 c5 26.dxc7+ This looks reasonable, but it should have allowed black to put up a much stronger defense. 26.d7 is even stronger. b7 White has a mate in 15! 27.e1 xd5 28.xd5 f2 29.dd1 xe1 30.xe1 c6 31.xb6+ c7 32.d1 h5 33.b8+ e7 34.xh8 b7+ 35.c1 b8 36.xb8 e6 37.d8 f5 38.d3+ g4 39.c8+ g5 40.h4+ h6 41.h8# 26...xc7 27.c4 g4 After this the game is over. 27...b5 offers far better chances. 28.e6 e8 29.xc8 xc8 30.e6 b8 31.d7 xd7 32.xd7 g1+ 33.b2 c5 White will have to work for the point. 28.e2 xe2 As is often the case the game is not yet quite over. White can still make a serious mistake and allow black right back in the game. 29.f7+ 29.xe2 would be a terrible mistake. b7 White's attack is over and black has at least equal chances. 29...c6 29...b8 is met by 30.d8+ c8 31.xc8+ xc8 32.d7 with a won ending. 30.xa7 b5+ After this white has a mate in 7, but the game could not be saved in any case. 31.c1 g5 32.d7+ c5 33.d6+ b5 34.a4+ It's mate next move so black resigned. A forceful game by Blake. 1–0

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A Tartakower Brilliancy Prize

     Despite the absence of world champion Capablanca, former champion Lasker, future champions Alekhine and Euwe, future challenger Bogoljubow, as well as two leading players, Vidmar and Nimzovich, the 1922 Teplitz international tournament was made up of the top players of the day. Bogoljubov had agreed to play, but was a late withdrawal and was replaced by Saemisch.

     One of the most interesting, and controversial, games from the tournament was Maroczy vs. Tartakower. The judges awarded the game the third brilliancy prize although the majority of them declared such sacrifices are incalculable and therefore "they deserve no encouragement." 

     Tartakower's Rook sacrifice at move 22 also created some controversy among observers on Chessgames.com 10-12 years ago. Among the comments were such as it wasn't spectacular, it was a poor game, it was Tartakower's greatest brilliancy, it was a fascinating game, it should be better known and, "Engine analysis leaves too many questions unanswered to really help us to understand what is going on." 

     At the time of those comments 10-12 years ago, engines were not at the level they are today. As an experiment I used Fritz 5.32 (which was released in late 1998) to analyze the position after 17.Nd2 and it considered the position almost dead even. In fact, it's evaluation of the top ten moves ranged from 0.06 to 0.12.

     After Tartakower's Rook sac (17...Rxh2) it indicated that white's (NOT black's) advantage was just over 3/4 a Pawn. Stockfish 15's evaluation reverses that and favors black by about 3/4 of a P, but it indicates that Tartakower had stronger non-sacrificial continuations. 

     Unless one is a chess purist who loves perfection, I think we can all agree that Tartakower's sacrificial way was the most pleasing. 

     Years ago I possessed Tartakower's My Best Games (in two volumes), but they disappeared somewhere. Today the books have been republished in a single volume. All 440 pages are jam-packed with fascinating games. GM Andy Soltis was correct when he wrote, "This book was meant to do what all great annotations do: instruct, explain, and entertain. And it succeeds spectacularly." 

     In the featured game Maroczy's opening play was somewhat passive and as a result Tartakower managed to obtain a much more active position. What makes his sacrifice on move 17 unusual is that it is more of a positional nature than tactical. Also, I forgot to mention, Tartakower made a second Rook sacrifice on move 28!

 

 

ChessBase

Geza Maroczy–Savielly Tartakower0–1A85Teplitz-SchönauTeplice-Sanov CSR05.10.1922Stockfish 15

Dutch Defense 1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 At the time this game was played the Dutch was not popular and was considered offbeat. 3.c3 The modern way of meeting the Dutch is to fianchetto the King's B which puts pressure on e4 and d5 and, also, helps in the defense of the K against any coming K-side attack. f6 4.a3 A rare side line the idea of which is to prevent ...Bb4 followed by ... Bxc3. The point being that it in this line black eliminates the N and is thereby aided in controlling e4. More often seen nowadays is 4.Nf3, but there are other ways for white to equalize. 4.g3 b4 5.d2 0-0 6.g2 d6 7.f3 bd7 8.0-0 with equality. Flohr, S-Botvinnik,M Leningrad 1933 4.e3 b4 5.d3 xc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.e2 b6 8.0-0 with equality. Rodriguez Vargas,O (2445) -Gil Gonzalez,J (2360) Terrassa 1989 4.f3 b4 5.b3 e7 6.d2 xc3 7.xc3 d6 8.g3 bd7 9.g2 e4 10.0-0 Wang Yue (2704)-Agdestein,S (2583) Amsterdam 2008 4...e7 5.e3 0-0 6.d3 Classical development. White is hoping to play e4, but black can prevent this. d5 An additional grip on e4. 7.f3 More flexibility is offered by 7.Nge2 c6 Black wants to play ...Ne4, but before he can to that he must strengthen his center. 7...e4 8.cxd5 exd5 9.b3 and black must play ...Nxc3 or else... c6 10.xe4 fxe4 11.xe4 winning a P and leaving black tied up because of the threat to his b-Pawn. 8.0-0 e4 9.c2 All of white's pieces are aimed at e4, but there is no satisfactory way to dislodge the N. 9.e5 With the idea of forcing the N from e4 with f3 would favor black. d7 10.f3 10.f4 is correct. Then the position is equal. 10...xe5 11.dxe5 xc3 12.bxc3 dxc4 13.xc4 Black is better. 9...d6 Note how black's pieces make a slow march to the K-side. White's problem is that his position is passive and there is not much he can do to launch any kind of attack himself. Instead he is reduced to guarding against a coming attack by black. 10.b3 d7 11.b2 Hoping to exchange off the dark squared B by 11.a4 and Ba3 is met by 11...Qe2. This position is dead equal, but as befitting his optimistic attitude he wrote - Full of confidence in the scientific basis of his play, white treats the game from a purely positional point of view, whereas black regards the given position as a vast problem: Mate in 25 moves f6 The R prepares to join in the looming attack. 12.fe1 Maroczy plans to fianchetto his B, but his plan turns out to be too slow and after the text black gets the upper hand. 12.e2 bringing the N to the defense of the K was better. h6 13.e5 xe5 14.dxe5 h4 15.h3 g5 16.f4 xh3+ 17.gxh3 xh3 18.f2 h4+ 19.g3 This shows the importance of playing the N to e2 c5 20.h1 xf4+ 21.g2 xe3 22.af1 g5 23.xh6 xh6 24.cxd5 cxd5 In this complicated and unbalanced position five Shootout games were drawn. 12...h6 13.g3 13.b4 With black's R on h6 the B sac on h2 works even with the N on f3. xh2+ 14.xh2 h4 wins 13...f6 14.f1 Possibly a better way to defend against black's attack was to play 14.h4, but psychologically advancing another P in front of the K is hard to do. 14.h4 Temporarily preventing ...g5 g6 15.e2 h5 16.e5 g5 And now this is now as effective as white has sufficient defensive resources. 17.g2 gxh4 18.f4 g5 19.h1 hxg3 How does white meet this? 20.xe4 h2+ 21.xh2 gxh2+ 22.xh2 h6+ 23.h3 dxe4 24.g1+ with equal chances. 14...g5 15.ad1 This routine move is quite pointless as it does nothing to meet black's approaching K-side attack. 15.g2 is logical continuation allows black supremacy as follows... g4 16.d2 g6 16...xf2 leaves white better after 17.xf2 xh2 and there is no way for black to continue the attack. 18.e2 with equal chances. 17.f4 gxf3 18.xf3 df6 Black has only a nominal advantage. 15...g4 16.xe4 16.d2 runs into xf2 17.xf2 xh2+ 18.g1 xg3 black has a decisive advantage. 16...fxe4 17.d2 Better would have been 17.Ne5 because it would have made the sacrifice on h2 impossible because black no longer has the check ...Qxf2+ available. Black would however have had a considerable advantage. 17.h4 leads to a lost position after xh4 18.gxh4 xh4 19.f3 exf3 20.e4 g3 21.hxg3 xg3+ 22.g2 f6 23.f2 h2+ 24.f1 fxg2+ 25.xg2+ xg2+ 26.xg2 xe4 17...xh2 After 10 minutes Stockfish evaluated the position at almost one Pawn in black's favor, but the R sacrifice was not its first choice. It preferred 17... Qf7 which was evaluated at 2.5 Pawns in black's favor. One thing is clear. White's K is only defended by the B on f1, whereas all the other pieces are only spectators. On the other hand, black's Q-side pieces are not participating in the attack. That's why, explained Tartakower, he decided to try and pillage white's K-side with this R sacrifice. 17...f7 This was Stockfish 15's preferred move. 18.g2 f6 19.a4 g6 20.a5 d7 21.a1 a6 22.a3 xa3 23.xa3 f8 24.b1 h6 25.d2 h5 and here, with a 2.5 P advantage according to Stockfish, the Fritz comment is black is clearly better. 18.xh2 Not forced, but accdording to the engines by far best. Still, white's defense is going to prove to be extreme;y difficult. 18.xe4 Given white's fate in this game one wonders if this may have been the better choice because it presents black with an opportunity to go wrong. h6 18...dxe4 19.xh2 g6 20.g2 f6 21.h1 d7 22.g1 Black's attack has run out of gas and now it's white who is on the road to a win. 19.g2 dxe4 Playable, but less clear is 19...Rxg2+ 20.xe4 f6 21.d3 e7 22.e4 e5 23.dxe5 d7 24.e6 f8 25.d4 xe6 Black is much better. 18...xf2+ 19.h1 f6 Tartakower explains - The first point of the sacrifice. Since white's whole second rank remains paralyzed, black has just sufficient time to bring his reserve troops into action. 19...xg3 is much less dangerous to white. 20.e2 Now that his N isn't pinned white has time to guard his second rank. f6 21.c5 c7 22.c4 dxc4 23.bxc4 h4+ 24.g1 g3 25.d5 This counter in the center is very effective! exd5 26.cxd5 cxd5 27.c3 f7 28.xd5 e6 28...xd5 29.g7+ e8 30.d2 d7 30...e7 31.h8+ f7 32.c4+ g6 33.g7+ f5 34.f7+ g4 35.e2+ h3 36.f1+ g2 37.xg2# 31.h8+ e7 32.g7+ draws! 29.d1 g8 30.xf6+ xf6 31.xf6 xf6 32.b2 with equal chances. 20.e2 Now at least the N is unpinned. xg3 21.b1 This allows the Q to join the defense, but here instead of defending white should have counterattacked. 21.c5 with the same idea as in the previously given line of offering to sacrifice the N on c4 if the black retreat the B. c7 22.c4 h4+ 23.h2 xh2+ 24.xh2 xh2 25.xh2 dxc4 26.bxc4 and white can still put up a manly defense. 21...h5 22.d2 d7 So as to activate the other R. White is so cramped that there is not a lot he can do. 23.f2 Only slightly better would have been 23.Qe1 h4+ 24.g1 g3 Other good moves were 24...g3 or 24...Ng3 25.c3 Giving up the exchange is questionable. 25.h2 was far better. g5 25...xh2+ 26.xh2 xh2+ 27.xh2 and the chances would be equal. 26.g2 Black is clearly better, but there is no forced win and so black must resign himself to a rather tedious exploitation of his advantage. In Shootouts white scored +0 -2 =3 25...xf2+ 26.xf2 It's possible Maroczy was hoping that the elimination of the dark squared B would lessen the effect of black's attack, but the Q, N and P still prove too much for white's defenses to handle. However, in this position black must find the one move that keeps his advantage. g3 Which he does. 26...g3 27.h2 xh2+ 28.xh2 f5 29.d2 with equal chances. 27.g2 f8 28.e1 xf1+ The engine recommends other solutions, but Tartakower's second R sacrifice is both pretty and incisive. The idea behind the sacrifice is to gain time to bring his B into play. 29.xf1 e5 Adding the B into play. 30.g1 30.xg3 xg3+ 31.e1 g4 32.d2 h1+ 33.f1 exd4 34.xd4 g3+ 35.e1 f5+ 36.d2 xd4 and black has a won ending. 30...g4 31.xg3 xg3 32.e1 f5 33.f2 g5 aiming for ...Bf3+. 34.dxe5 f3+ 35.f1 g3+ White resigned. 35...g3+ 36.xg3 xg3 37.e2 h3+ 38.e1 h1+ 39.d2 xb1 40.c3 xe2 41.cxd5 c5 42.b4 c1+ 43.b3 c4+ 44.a4 b5+ 45.a5 xa3# 0–1

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Smashing Fritz 4

     In 1999, GM Alex Yermolinsky published The Road To Chess Improvement which, as he explained, was essentially a collection of his games and analysis made in the course of his everyday work. In it he shows you how he studied his games and the reader is encouraged to emulate him in the study of their own games. I think the book should be a classic. 

     In any case, at the end of the book he gives four games he played against Fritz 4 in 1997 and made some observations about the program's play. At the time he was convinced that offering Fritz some small material gain in order to get the initiative was the most plausible strategy. He added that in five or ten years humans may become helpless against chess playing programs. 

     Fritz, a German program, was originally developed for Chessbase by Frans Morsch based on his Quest program, ported to DOS, and then Windows by Mathias Feist. 

     In 1991, ChessBase approached the Dutch chess programmer Frans Morsch about writing a chess engine to add to the database program which they sold. Morsch adapted his program and ChessBase and it was released it for sale that year in the US as Knightstalker and Fritz throughout the rest of the world. 

     In 1995, Fritz 3 won the World Computer Chess Championship in Hong Kong by beating an early version of Deep Blue. This was the first time that a program running on a consumer level microcomputer defeated the mainframes that had previously dominated this event. 

     In 1998, Fritz 5 was released and it included a Friend mode which in which the engine attempted to adjust its strength over the course of a game to match that of its opponent. Fritz 5.32 was released soon after replacing the 16 bit with a 32 bit one. 

     In 2002, in Bahrain Deep Fritz drew a match against Vladimir Kramnik 4–4. Fritz 7, which was released that year, included the ability to play on the Playchess server. In November 2003, X3D Fritz, a version of Deep Fritz with a 3D interface, drew a four-game match against Garry Kasparov. 

     Over the years Fritz continued to improve with new releases. Fritz 15 was released on November 25, 2015 with new features, including switching to Vasik Rajlich's famous Rybka engine. 

     On March 30, 2022, Fritz 18 was released with a neural network engine. In July 2021, the developers of the open source Stockfish engine filed a lawsuit against Chessbase alleging that Fat Fritz 2.0 is a derivative of Stockfish. 

     So, what about that Fritz 4 program that Yermolinsky played? The program was advertised as combining "world-class playing strength with world-class training facilities...the only top playing program actually designed to help you learn to play chess." It was a "playing program, a partner, advisor, teacher and annotator, your own personal grandmaster to help you appreciate and understand the game." 

     By the way, it required a CD-ROM drive which was not available on all home computers at that time. 

     This fantastic program also boasted a standardized Windows interface with icons. drop down menus and buttons. It could be fully integrated with your other Windows or Macintosh programs like Word, Pagemaker and the ChessBase training software programs. 

     Fritz 4 also had a brilliant 3D virtual reality board, new coaching functions, automatic analysis in plain English, full database capabilities in ChessBase or PGN format. It had multiple chess engine options, increased speed and strength plus a knowledge of certain five piece endings. 

     In 1997 an upgrade from Fritz 3 costs $70 while Fritz 4 could be had from the USCF for $140 (that's about $260 in today's dollars), so it was pretty pricey. In 1997 that $140 would buy you 120 loaves of bread, 133 pounds of chicken fryers, 115 gallons of gas or 74 gallons of milk.

ChessBase

Alex Yermolinsky–Fritz 41–0Offhand 10 minute game1997Stockfish 15

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c3 b4 4.e5 e7 5.a3 xc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.h4 bc6 8.h5 cxd4 9.cxd4 a5+ 10.d2 a4 11.f3 xd4 12.d3 ec6 13.f1 f5 14.h6 This is all book. White has a lot of play for the sacrificed and the position is far from clear. g6 This move, surrendering the dark squares, is "a deadly sin in such positions" as it was put by Yermolinsky. 15.g5 0-0 16.f6 f4 This places the Q in grave danger, but it's loss was beyond the engine's horizon. Stockfish 15 instantly recognized it as a bad move slapping it with an evaluation of minus 6.5 Ps. 17.xf5 xf5 18.h4 b6 19.d2 a6+ 20.g1 ac8 Yermolinksy noted that Fritz 4 was looking at a repetition with 21.Rf4 Qh5 22.Rh4 and evaluated the position at 0.00. Yermolinksy, like Stockfisdh, realized that was totally wrong, but added that white doesn't have a lot of time on the clock to work things out. 21.g7 Objectively not the best, but due to time considerations he decided to capture the f-Pawn. White still has a huge advantage though. fe8 22.f4 h5 23.g4 h3 24.g5 h4 25.xf7 c7 26.d6 b8 27.e3 g5 28.f3 a5 29.g3 b7 The move Yermolinsky expected as the logical continuation of black's last move was 29...Nc4. He gave some analysis involving inferior moves the engine could have played that would have made his task more difficult in the few minutes remaining, but engines don't play that way! Psychology is not part of their thinking process. 30.f3 d4 31.xb7 c3 32.g2 xb7 33.xc3 dxc3 34.d1 c5 35.d4 Yermolinsky called this a typical human move with no particular purpose! Immediately after he played it he saw a better plan. Interestingly, Stockfish spots a mate in 16, so the move played is not bad by any means. 35.f3 was Yeromlinky's suggestion. Then Kg2 and Rh1 would force immeduate resignation. After this plan Stockfish points out a mate in 13 moves. Stockfish 15: c8 36.d4 e8 37.c6 f7 38.g2 a5 39.xb6 d3 40.cxd3 c2 41.b7+ g6 42.f3 h1+ 43.xh1 c1+ 44.h2 f4+ 45.xf4 gxf4 46.xf4 f8 47.xf8 a4 48.f6# Compare this position to the one at the end of the game. 35...a6 36.f3 e8 37.g2 Faced with mate 13 Fritz began shedding material. 37.g2 Stockfish 15: c8 38.f6 e8 39.h8 xh6 40.xh6 xh8 41.f6+ g8 42.xg5+ h8 43.f6+ g8 44.f4 d7 45.f7+ h8 46.xe8+ g7 47.xd7+ h6 48.e7 g6 49.f6# The same mate as in the note to white's 35th move. 1–0

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A Big Open Tournament In Burlingame

     Burlingame, California is a city with a population of over 31,000 that's located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. 

     It's also home of Cafe Figaro, a long-running stop for homestyle Italian dishes and an extensive wine list in a warm, cozy setting. Over the course of three weekends a Swiss tournament, the Cafe Figaro Open, was held there back in June, 1970. 

     The event wasn't a small one...there were 97 players and a lot of them were pretty good. The winner, William Addison, had earned his IM title in 1967 and James Tarjan would go on to win his IM title in 1974 and the GM title in 1976. 

    The tournament was directed by none other than GM Isaac Kashdan and there were 8 Masters and 24 Experts (2000-2199) entered. Way down in 34th place was a 2230 rated National Master named John Grefe who got his IM title in 1975. He also tied for first with GM Lubomir Kavalek in the 1973 US Championship. Grefe passed away of liver cancer at the age of 66 in 2013. Also, among the top 20 or so finishers a significant number went on to become National Masters. 

     Addison won a trophy and $500, Tarjan won $300 and the four players sharing 3rd place got $50. That $500 Addison won would be worth over $3,700 today. Back in those days the median income of all families was about $9,870 compared to last year's median of over $51,000. It was a nice payday for Addison. 

     In the following game Andrew Sacks crushes Earl Pruner. Sacks, then an Expert, went on to become a National Master and an English professor at Cal State. He served as one of the wall-boys for the 1963 Piatigorsky Cup. In 1964 he was one of three players to defeat Bobby Fischer in 50-board simul against members of the Steiner Juniors section of the Herman Steiner Chess Club. 

     Earl Pruner (1930-2019, 88 years old) was the best Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club (San Francisco) player to emerge after World War Two. A native of San Francisco, he graduated from UC Berkeley and came to prominence when he finished fourth in the 1949 US Junior Open in Fort Worth behind Arthur Bisguier, James Cross and Larry Evans. He defeated Bisguier in their individual game. After serving in the Army, Pruner developed into a 2300 rated Master by the 1950s

ChessBase

Andrew Sacks–Earl Pruner1–0B43Cafe Figaro Open, Burlingame CA1970Stockfish 15

Sicilian: Kan Variation 1.e4 c5 2.f3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 a6 This move is a common themes in many Sicilian variations, but in the Kan black plays early. This allows him to be very flexible. The critical square for black to control early is e5 because he does not want to allow white to play e4-e5. This is usually accomplished by playing ...Qc7 and ...Nc6. Of course these are normal development moves but in the Kan they are played before black develops his K-side pieces. 5.c3 c7 6.g3 By far the most popular move here is 5. Bd3. 6.d3 f6 7.0-0 c5 8.b3 e7 9.f4 d6 is the main line today. 6...b5 7.g2 b7 8.0-0 f6 8...e7 9.e1 d6 10.a4 bxa4 11.xa4 d7 Carlsen,M (2646)-Van Wely,L (2655) Schagen 2006. Whits has the better chances. 9.a3 9.e1 Intending the thematic advance e5 is better. h6 10.e5 xg2 11.xg2 h7 12.f3 with a good game. Stepovaia,T (2378)-Dzagnidze,N (2443) Kocaeli 2008 9...c6 10.xc6 10.de2 did not turn out well for white in Vasiukov,E-Tal,M Tbilisi 1959 e7 11.b3 0-0 12.b2 fd8 13.h3 ac8 14.h2 d5 15.exd5 e5 16.d4 g6 17.ad1 exd5 black is better. 10...xc6 Taking with the Q was actually better, but understandably black was reluctant to place his Q on the diagonal of the B. 11.e2 Missing a tactical shot that would have secured the advantage. 11.d5 exd5 12.exd5 xd5 13.xd5 e7 13...xd5 14.xd5 c6 15.e1+ e7 16.g5 f6 17.xf6 gxf6 Strategically white has a won position. 14.e1 d6 15.g5 xd5 16.xe7+ f8 17.xd5 xd5 18.xd7 White is better, but Bs of opposite color offer black some hope. 11...b7 12.f4 d6 This yields the advantage to white. Black needs to get castled by ...Be7 and ...O-O 13.fd1 0-0-0 Even though this defends the d-Pawn the K is dangerously exposed on this side. 13...d8 14.d5 e7 15.xf6+ gxf6 15...xf6 16.xd6 wins the P anyway and white is clearly better. 16.c4 bxc4 17.ac1 a4 18.d2 e5 19.h6 White is better. 13...c8 This gives up the P, but it is his best chance. 14.xd6 xd6 15.xd6 0-0 16.ad1 a5 with some chance of defending himself. 14.d3 e5 This only makes matters worse. 14...d7 15.ad1 h6 16.d2 16.xd6 xd6 17.xd6 e5 Black's defense has been eased. 16...c5 17.d4 d7 18.xd6 xd6 19.xd6 hd8 20.f4 c7 21.e5 with an excellent position. 15.g5 e7 16.xf6 xf6 17.d5 xd5 18.xd5 b6 Black's position is lost, but somewhat better was 18...Kd7 as the text allows white a very strong reply. 19.a4 Which he misses, not that it really matters. Black's fate is already sealed. 19.h3+ b7 20.c4 g5 21.cxb5 a5 22.a4 Black is helpless against the coming advance b4. 19...b7 20.axb5 a8 21.a3 a5 22.h3 d8 23.c3 c7 24.c6 a7 25.c4 b8 Mate is in the air. 26.b6 xb6 27.xb6+ xb6 28.b5+ It's mate in 3 so Pruner resigned. Forceful play by Sacks. 28.b5+ Stockfish 15: a7 29.xa5+ b6 30.b5+ a6 31.a4# 1–0

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Play the Englund Gambit!?

     When black plays the quirky Englund Gambit (1. d4 e5) his idea is to avoid the closed d-Pawn openings and create an open game with tactical chances at the cost of a Pawn. 

     The gambit is considered unsound and Israeli GM Boris Avrukh wrote that to him it was the worst possible reply to 1.d4. Most agree which is why it's only occasionally seen even in amateur games although the Swiss Master Heni Grob sometimes played it using the 3...Qe7 line. But, then Grob also played the Grob Attack, 1.g4.

 

After 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 black has numerous ways to continue:  

* 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 d6 

Black offers to exchange his d-Pawn for white's e-Pawn. The idea is that if white plays 3.exd6 then 3...Bxd6 gives black a lead in development as compensation. This sounds like a pretty weak argument. This line is known as the Charlick Gambit after Henry Charlick (1845–1916) who introduced the 2...d6 line in the early 1890s. It is also sometimes called Blackburne–Hartlaub Gambit 

 

* 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 

If 3.Nf3 black can go after the white P on e5 with 3...Qe7, intending to meet 4.Bf4 with the 4...Qb4+. In that case, the only way white can maintain the extra P on e4 is to expose his Q with 4.Qd5 where it can prove to be awkwardly placed. 

 

* 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 f6 

The Soller Gambit. White can play either 4.exf6 or return the P (as recommended by IM Gary Lane) with 4.e4 

 

* 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bc5  

The Felbecker Gambit, intending to follow up with ...f6, with similar play to the Blackmar–Diemer Gambit except that black is a tempo behind. 

 

* 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3  

The Zilbermets Gambit. Black intends 4...Ng6 in an effort to regain the P, but this requires extra time. 

 

* 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 

This the Main Line today which has considerable analysis available. 

 

     Because the gambit is considered unsound that means with careful play white should be able to obtain a significant advantage. However, white may prefer to decline the gambit and in that case he can play 2.e4 transposing to the ancient Center Game which was abandoned by 1900 because no advantage could be demonstrated for White. 

     White can also play 2.c3 transposing to the rare Saragossa Opening. The Saragossa is likely to transpose into many solid systems, including a reversed Caro-Kann, a Slav Defense with an extra tempo for white, or the Exchange Variation of the QGD. 

     Or, white can decline the gambit with 2.d4, but then black gets a satisfactory game with 2...Bc5. 

     White can play 2.e3 when after 2...exd4 3.exd4 d5 the opening has transposed into the Exchange Variation of the French Defense.. 

     Lastly, 2.c4 d6 results in what is known as the Rat Defense. 

 

     The following miniature played by Charlick back in 1894 is good for a chuckle.

ChessBase

Henry W. Apperly–Henry Charlick0–1A40Adelaide-Unley matchAdelaide AUS10.12.1894Stockfish 15

Englund Gambit 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 d6 The Blackburne–Hartlaub Gambit. Everybody knows who Blackburne was, but Hartlaub was Carl Hartlaub (1869-1929), a lawyer from Bremen, Germany. Emanuel Lasker called him a player of extraordinary imagination. In more modern time GM Robert Huebner said he had a "fine sense for early, rapid and surprising attacks." 3.f4 c6 4.exd6 f6 5.c1 What was white thinking? There was no reason to retreat the B. 5.c1 This is white's best move. After xd6 6.xd6 xd6 7.d2 White is a clear P up and black has no compensation. 5.e3 is met by xb2 6.d2 xd6 7.xd6 cxd6 8.b1 and white has no more than equality. 5...xd6 6.c3 White's play is incredibly passive. f5 7.e3 Apparently white never heard of the term development. Obviously he should play 7.Nf3 compelling black to deal with the coming Bg5 attacking his Q. 7.f3 e7 7...h6 8.g3 and white has a reasonably good, if passive, position. 8.g5 f6 9.e3 The position is equal, black's P minus being compensated for as a result of his lead in development and white's cramped position. 7...0-0-0 8.d2 g6 9.h3 One passive move too many. Now black gets a clear advantage. Correct was 9.Ngf3 f6 Way back I read a book on the middlegame by Znosko-Borovsky in which he broke the middlegame down in to Space, Time and Force. Here black has a huge advantage in space and he has six pieces in play compared to white's one. This seems like a lot more compensation than Komodo 14's 3/4 of a P in black's favor. Stockfish 15's evaluation of a little over 3 Ps seems more appropriate. 10.gf3 he8 11.a4 White is lost no matter what he plays, but this only makes matters worse, if that's possible. 11.h4 was relatively best, but black has a nifty answer. xe3+ 12.e2 12.fxe3 g3+ 13.e2 d3+ 14.f3 e5# 12...h5 13.xf5 xf5 14.fxe3 14.c4 xc3 15.bxc3 c5 wins the Q 14...g3# 11...c2 12.b3 e4 13.h4 This allows a truly stunning finish. g3 Let's not quibble over the fact that Stockfish points out a mate in 23 moves after 13... Bg3 14.fxg3 Why not allow the mate? 14.xe4 avoids the mate. xe4 15.f3 g6 and white is totally without hope, 14...xg3+ 15.e2 d1# A fun little game. 0–1

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Otto Benkner

     Few people, if any, have probably ever heard of the German player Otto Benkner (April 5, 1909 – January 26, 1996). 

     Benkner won the Frankfurt City Championship in1930, the Rhine Chess Congress in 1934 and was a bronze medalist in the German Team Championship.

     Few people today have have probably ever heard of Saarland, also called Saar, which is located in southwestern Germany. The capital is Saarbrucken. 

     After World War I, Saar’s coal mines were awarded to France and Saarland was placed under the administration of the League of Nations for 15 years, at the end of which time the inhabitants could choose (in a plebiscite) between being part of France or Germany and on January 13, 1935, more than 90 percent of the inhabitants voted to return to Germany. 

     In 1945, following World War II, French military forces occupied Saarland and two years later the first Saar state parliament adopted a constitution that called for an autonomous Saar in an economic union with France. 

     By 1954, however, West Germany’s renewed prosperity was looking good to residents and France and West Germany agreed to give Saar’s autonomy under a European commissioner, but voters rejected the proposal. In 1956 the French agreed to return Saar to West Germany, and on January 1, 1957. 

     From 1938, Benkner lived in Saarbrucken and he was the champion of the Saar 11 times, the last time being in 1966. He served as head of the press service of the Saar Chess Federation. From 1948 to 1990 Benkner was the chess solumnists for the newspaper Saarbrucker Zeitung. 

     Benkner played for Saar in two Olympiads: Helsinki 1952, at second board (+6, =6, -2) and Moscow 1954, at first board (+8, =4, -4). 

     In the Second World War Benkner fought on the Eastern Front and in 1943 he was seriously wounded by a grenade fragment and lost his left arm. Due to problems with his own health and a serious illness of his wife, he retired from tournament play in 1967.

     Chessmetrics retro-rating site assigns Benkner a high rating of 2527 on its November 1954 rating list which placed him at number 128 in the world. Smyslov, Botvinnik, Resjevsky, Keres and Bronstein topped the list. 

     In the following game Benkner conjures up a smashing attack against Canadian GM Abe Yanofsky. It was played in the Final B group (won by Switzerland) with Canada (Yanofsky, Anderson, Vaitonis, Bohatyrchuk, Fox, Divinsky) finishing second (out of 13 teams). Saar (Benkner, Lorson, Morena, Kastel, Weichselbaumer, Haas) finished tenth.

ChessBase

Otto Benkner–Abe Yanofsky1–0E80Amsterdam ol (Men) fin-BAmsterdam NED1954Stockfish 15

King's Indian: Saemisch 1.d4 f6 2.c4 g6 3.c3 g7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 The Saemisch used to be a critical challenge to the King's Indian, but today, statistically it scores no better than other popular moves. A favorite of Botvinnik, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Karpov and Kasparov the Saemisch gave Fischer so much trouble that he came to avoid the K-Indian if he believed he would face the Saemisch. It wasn't until his 1992 match with Spassky that he figured out how to handle it.. 0-0 6.g5 c5 Positionally this, white's most popular reply, is black's most natural break because it attacks the center with a wing P and it leaves the a1–h8 diagonal open. However, statistically black does better Robert Byrne's flexible approach using ...c6 and ...a6 in order to prepare the push ...b5. Black's direct counter in the center is postponed so that the Q-side advance can proceed quickly. 7.d5 h6 Much better is 7...e6 8.e3 h7 Black should still play ...e6 8...e8 9.d2 h7 10.ge2 bd7 11.g3 f8 12.e2 a6 13.a4 e5 and white has the much more active position. Strikovic,A (2559)-AlHuwar,J (2285) Paris 2012 8...bd7 9.d2 h7 10.h3 e5 11.f2 e6 12.e2 exd5 13.cxd5 e8 White's position is more promising. Pakhomov,A (2356)-Potapov,A (2390) Sochi 2015 8...e6 9.d2 exd5 10.cxd5 e8 11.ge2 bd7 12.c1 a6 Black stands quite well. Carlsen,M (2881)-Inarkiev,E (2682) Dubai 2014 9.d2 a6 Yanofsky's Q-side operations turn out to be too time consuming. 9...a6 10.e2 a5 11.g4 e8 12.h3 b5 White has a slight edge, but at least black has launched his counterplay. Sagalchik,O (2155)-Epstein,E (2255) Modesto 1995 10.g4 g8 A poor retreat. Going to d7 was better. 11.h4 Clearly a storm is brewing on the K-side and in the meantime black's Q-side counterplay is lagging behind. c7 11...e5 Trying to stem the tide would nit have been any better. 12.ge2 d7 13.g3 c7 and here, too, white has a promising attack while black must tend to defending against it rather than developing counterplay. 12.h3 a6 A better try was 12...Kh8 to get out of the range of the N. 12...h8 was worth a try. 13.g5 e6 14.dxe6 xe6 15.b5 White has a commanding position. 13.a4 This is by no means bad, but he could have played the N to g5 with even greater effect. 13.g5+ h8 14.h5 e5 15.0-0-0 b5 16.d3 Black's Q-side play has come to slowly and white has a near decisive attack on the K-side. 13...d7 14.a5 b8 15.d3 b5 16.g5+ Even better was 16...axb6 first. h8 17.h5 bxc4 18.b1 Obviously white wanted to keep his B on its present diagonal from which it attacks g6, but it is a subtle mistake because it shuts out his R on a1 which would be very handy in the K-side attack. Additionally, it offers black an opportunity to defend his K. 18.xc4 is not bad. Although here is no real need to recapture the P immediately this looks like the best line in practical play, engine suggestions notwithstanding. b4 19.hxg6 fxg6 19...xc4 20.gxf7 f6 21.e6 is winning for white. 20.b3 b5 and although white is better black at least has some counterplay. 18.hxg6 This is the move of choice of engines because it keeps the pressure on, but the resulting positions are tricky. fxg6 19.xc4 b4 20.b3 b5 21.xb5 xb3 Pushing on with his attack! 21...xb5 22.e6 21...axb5 22.a3 White is better. 22.e5 xe5 23.ge4 xf3 24.e2 f7 25.c2 b8 26.b1 A difficult position. White has a N vs two Ps and the better game, but the position would be hard to play. 18...b3 18...hxg5 would lose quickly... 19.hxg6+ h6 20.xg5 fxg6 21.xh6 etc. 18...e6 puts the shoe on the other foot. Suddenly it's black that has the advantage though it must be admitted that things get really messy. For example... 19.f4 exd5 20.xd6 d4 21.e5 21.xf8 xf8 22.e2 d3 23.c3 e6 24.xe6 xe6 and it's black that is winning. 21...dxc3 22.bxc3 xg5 23.xg5 hxg5 24.xc7 be8 25.hxg6+ h6 26.d6 fxg6 27.xf8 xf8 28.xg6 xe5+ 29.e4 In OTB play this position is certainly unclear. 19.e5 e8 19...hxg5 lose quickly after 20.hxg6+ h6 21.xg5 xb2 22.xh6+ g8 22...xh6 23.f6+ g8 24.xh6 mates 23.xb2 White has a winning position. 19...e6 As in the past this excellent move is best. The ensuing complications are enormous and anything could go go wrong for either player. In the end though the chances should be equal...assuming correct play by both sides! 20.hxg6 fxg6 21.dxe6 xe6 22.xe6 xe6 23.e4 d5 24.xd5 xd5 25.xh6 xh6 26.xh6+ g7 27.xg6+ f7 28.0-0-0 xe4 29.f4+ xg6 30.xe4+ 20.xf7+ Technically 20. Ba2 or first 20.hxg6 was "correct" but the text sets a nice trap into which Yanofsky falls. xf7 This earns two question marks. 20...xf7 results in equality after 21.hxg6 xd5 22.xh6 xh6 23.xh6+ g8 24.h8+ xh8 25.h6 xf3 26.h7+ f8 27.xh8+ g8 28.h6+ e8 29.e4 The only move to avoid incurring a disadvantage. d5 Ditto! 30.xf3 b8 with equal chances. 21.hxg6 xf3 22.xh6 xh6 23.xh6+ g8 24.h2 e3+ Stockfish gleefully points out this allows mate in 14 and the old standby by 24...e6 was better. No matter...it loses, too. 24...e6 25.h8+ xh8 26.h7+ f8 27.xh8+ e7 28.h7+ f7 29.e4 e3+ 30.f2 g8 31.exd6+ xd6 32.xf7 and wins 25.d1 xg6 White could still go wrong here. 26.xg6 26.xg6 hands over the advantage to black. f8 and it's white who is in serious trouble. 27.f5 xe5 White is down only P, but black is much better. For example... 28.g5 f6 29.h7+ f8 30.xe5 might be worth a try. 30.xe5 xe5 31.xe5 xe5 Black is much better. 30...xe5 30...dxe5 31.f5 31.xe5 xe5 with the better ending. 26...d3+ 27.c1 Alertly played as capturing the R results in black getting right back in the game. 27.xd3 cxd3 27...xh6 But not this! 28.xc4 xc3 29.bxc3 g7 and white is winning. 28.h5 b8 29.d2 c4 30.g5 xb2 31.xg7+ xg7 32.g5+ f8 33.h6+ e8 34.h8+ d7 35.xb8 xb8 36.a4 dxe5 37.xc4 b2 Black is slightly better. 27...dxc3+ He gets mated in 9 after 27...Bxh6+ 28.bxc3 xc3+ 29.d1 d3+ 30.e2 Another alert move. Yanofsky resigned. His position is hopeless; white has a mate in 11. 30.xd3 is a blunder. After cxd3 31.g6 b8 32.exd6 exd6 33.xd6 b3+ 34.e1 c3+ 35.f2 xa1 36.xc7 b2+ black achieves a draw. 30.e2 xh6 31.xh6 e3+ 32.xe3 xd5+ 33.d2 xa5+ 34.xa5 c3+ 35.e1 f6 36.exf6 exf6 37.h7+ f8 38.f7# 1–0

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Lynch Wins 1951 New Zealand Championship

     Down in New Zealand tragedy struck in January of 1951 when 20 yachts left Wellington bound for Lyttelton, a distance of about 250 miles, in a race to celebrate Canterbury’s centenary. It was expected that the fastest yachts would complete the journey in one and a half days, the slowest in five days. 

     The race started on January 23rd and things got off to a bad start shortly thereafter when one of the favorites, Restless, lost its mast and had to withdraw. The other 19 yachts sailed in fair weather, but later that afternoon a yacht named Joy withdrew from the race. Its skipper, an experienced seaman named George Brasell, later said that he felt there was something wrong and he got out before it happened. 

     Brasell's premonition turned out to be right. That evening the wind shifted and by the following evening a severe storm with gale force winds and heavy seas had developed. Most of the yachts either returned to Wellington, found shelter along the coast or rode out the storm at sea. 

     Only one yacht finished the race, the Tawhiri, which arrived in Lyttelton at 6:55 a.m. on January 26th, three days after the start of the race. Two yachts, Husky and Argo, were lost along with their 10 crew members. 

     An inquiry found that Argo had collided with another yacht early in the race and that may have affected its seaworthiness and it probably foundered on the evening of January 23rd or the following day. A similar time period was suggested for Husky's loss. 

     In other big news, the 1951 waterfront dispute was the biggest industrial confrontation in New Zealand’s history when it lasted 151 days, from February to July. At its peak 22,000 waterside workers (known as wharfies) and other unionists were involved. 

     The waterfront was important in New Zealand’s economy and had long been a flashpoint for conflict. The government backed the employers and sent troops onto the Auckland and Wellington wharves to load and unload ships. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, the opposing sides denounced each other as Nazis, Commies, traitors and terrorists. 

     The year ended with the New Zealand Chess Championship opening on Tuesday, December 26, at 10:30 a.m. by the mayor of Christchurch, R. M. McFarlane. 

     The winner was David I. Lynch (April 20, 1910 - September 26, 2002, 92 years old). Lynch was born and lived in Hastings, New Zealand and was New Zealand North Island Champion in 1949 and won the New Zealand Championship in 1951. He was also the country's Correspondence champion on three occasions in the 1940's and 1950's. 

     The following year in the 1952 championship Lynch was the player who stopped Ortvin Sarapu, who was playing in his first NZ championship, from getting a perfect 11-0 score when they drew in the last round. In the the early 1980's GMs Eduard Gufeld and Murray Chandler both played simultaneous displays in New Zealand and Lynch, then in his 70s drew with both. 

     In this championship the level of play apparently was not especially high. Ortvin Sarapu had just moved to New Zealand from Estonia and at the end of the tournament he played a simultaneous and scored +19 -2 =2. His opponents included six from the championship: Turner, Fletcher, Scott, Whitlock, Crawford (who managed a win) and Lang plus 10 from the Major Open! Of the championship participants only Crawford managed to score. Sarapu would go on to win or share the New Zealand Championship 20 times between 1952, when he won his first championship with 10.5 points out of 11 games, and 1990, when he tied for first.

     Another interesting side note was the fact that several entrants failed to show for the Congress because of a railway strike. Five players from Auckland got within 90 miles of Christchurch and then managed to take a taxi to the event! 

     Playing in the Major Open was a player named Warne Pearse who tied for places 11-12 (out of 18) with a score of 5.5-5.5. In his younger years Pearse had been a notable figure in New Zealand tennis. His tennis career was interrupted by WWI in which he was wounded while serving in the military. In 1922, he and his tennis partner, Miss McLaren, managed to defeat the national mixed doubles champions.

     Pearse's brother, Richard William Pearse, was a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering aviation experiments. Witnesses interviewed many years afterward described observing Pearse flying and landing a powered heavier-than-air machine on March 31, 1903, nine months before the Wright brothers flew.

ChessBase

David I. Lynch–R.O. Scott1–0A00New Zealand Champ, Christchurch1951Stockfish 15

Semi-Slav: Botvinnik System 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.c3 f6 4.f3 e6 Black is threatening to capture on c4 and hold it with ...b7–b5. White can avoid this in a number of ways. Most games continue 5.Bg5 or 5.e3. 5.g5 This involves a sharp P-sacrifice, while 5.e3 restricts the dark-squared B from its natural development to g5. dxc4 6.e5 This is questionable, the most popular, and best move being the sharp 6.e4 6.g3 is a more modern variation. bd7 7.g2 e7 8.0-0 0-0 9.c2 d5 10.xe7 xe7 11.e5 xe5 12.dxe5 with black having a slight advantage. Hebden,M (2520)-Kaidanov,G (2500) Hastings 1989 6...b4 More effecient was the standard 6...b5 6...b5 7.a4 b4 8.g3 h6 9.d2 xd4 10.f3 b6 and black is better. Lukjanovas,V (1902)-Tommasini,E (2171) Hammelburg 2009 7.e3 This is questionable. Better was 7.Bxf6 7.xf6 xf6 8.xc4 c5 9.b3 equals. 7...a5 The threat is 8...Ne4. 7...b5 also results in black obtaining a slight advantage after 8.e2 c7 9.0-0 0-0 8.xf6 8.xc4 is not quite sufficient. For example... e4 9.0-0 xg5 10.h5 xc3 11.bxc3 0-0 12.xg5 f6 13.h5 fxe5 14.f4 White does not have enough compensation for his piece. 8...gxf6 This is the wrong capture. Better was 8...Bxc3+ 8...xc3+ 9.bxc3 xc3+ 10.e2 gxf6 11.c1 b4 12.xc4 0-0 and black is slightly better. 9.xc4 xc3+ 10.bxc3 xc3+ 11.d2 a5 12.d3 White is a P down, but black has lost so much time with Q moves that white can be considered to have sufficient compensation for the P minus. c3 This move doesn't accomplish anything even though white has to move his B again because back has also moved his Q several times. Black's problem is that he has no good squares for his pieces and his K-side is compromised, so it is difficult to suggest any move that is completely satisfactory. 12...e7 13.0-0 b6 14.f4 a6 15.xa6 xa6 16.f5 d5 is the Stockfish way and white is better. 13.e2 a5 14.0-0 d7 15.c4 The N lands on a good square with a gain of time by attacking the Q. c7 16.e4 b5 17.e3 b6 18.c1 Threatening Bxb5 d6 Black's position has gradually been drifting downhill with the result that by this point white's position is considerably better. 19.g4 Regaining his P. e5 The decisive mistake as it loses a couple of Ps. 19...d7 20.d5 exd5 21.exd5 xd5 22.c2 0-0 23.fd1 Although white is two Ps down the exposed position of black's Q and K give white devastating attack. Just as an example.. . e6 24.d3 f5 25.e3 g6 26.g3 h8 27.d3 d6 28.xf5 e5 29.xe5 xe5 30.xh7 with a winning attack. 20.dxe5 xd1 The exchange of Qs avoids a direct attack, but he is still left with a very poor position. 21.xf6+ e7 22.fxd1 c4 22...b7 runs into 23.xb5 23.xc4 bxc4 24.xc4 e6 25.xc6 The rest is a formality. xa2 26.d5+ f8 27.f4 b3 28.d3 b8 29.f6 e6 30.f5 b1+ 31.f2 b2+ 32.f3 b3 White has a forced mate after this. Avoiding it by 32...Kg7 was possible, but it would only prolong the game. 33.d8+ e7 34.xh8 d1+ 35.e3 Black resigned. 35.e3 e2+ 36.d3 c2+ 37.xe2 d1+ 38.e3 a5 39.e8# 1–0

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Marvin C. Palmer, et al

Marvin Palmer

     Cedar Point is a 364-acre amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, which is located about 60 miles west of Cleveland. 

     In the 1860s during the Civil War, a housing for a battery of four field artillery pieces was constructed at the tip of the peninsula. Its purpose was to defend a prison for Confederate soldiers on nearby Johnson's Island. Louis Zistel, a German immigrant, built two boats to transport the prisoners. 

     After the war, in 1870, he charged 25 cents per person to ferry locals to the Cedar Point peninsula, which had opened as a public bathing beach. Zistel opened a bathhouse on the north shore of the peninsula and the same year built a beer garden with a small dance floor. That was the beginning. 

     Cedar Point is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. and it is home to 70 rides. The park is known as "America's Roller Coast" because it features 16 roller coasters, fourth-most in the world. A single day admission ticket costs $45. 

     When the Western Open was played in Cedar Point in 1925, the park had an assortment of rides including three roller coasters, but the owner's priority was not on the amusement park. Instead it was marketed primarily as a bathing resort complete with shows, exhibits, motion pictures and other forms of entertainment. 

     The tournament was held at the Hotel Breakers, a large historic Lake Erie resort that opened in 1905. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 but was altered significantly in 1999 with the demolition of several historic wings. As a result it's landmark status was revoked. Today you can book a room in one of its 669 guest rooms and suites with prices starting at $174 per night.

     Carlos Torre was planning to defend his title, but instead chose to return to Mexico for a series of exhibitions. The 1925 tournament had some historic significance because it was the first time New York players were welcomed. That was because the Western Chess Association was beginning to evolve into a national organization. 

     In 1939, the United States of America Chess Federation was created in Illinois through the merger of the American Chess Federation (formerly known as the Western Chess Federation) and the National Chess Federation. The American Chess Federation had held an annual open championship since 1900 which became the U.S. Open after the merger. 

     The battle for the title turned out to be between two New York players, Abraham Kupchik and Charles Jaffe and the long time Western Chess Federation champion Samuel Factor of Chicago. Kupchik took the title by virtue of defeating both Jaffe and Factor and finishing up with seven straight wins. 

     The early surprise leader of the tournament though was Marvin C. Palmer of Detroit who had played in the event several times since 1913 with lackluster results. This time he scored 7.5 points in the first 8 rounds which included a win over Kupchik. Then his luck ran out, mostly because in the later rounds he met the other top players including Factor and Jaffe both of whom defeated him. As a result Palmer dropped to fourth place. 

     Marvin C. Palmer (1897 - 1985, 87 years old) was born near Cedar Rapids, Iowa and at the age of about 11 he learned chess from his father. Palmer won the Iowa State Championship in Des Moines in 1917. 

     After serving in World War I and in the occupation of the Rhineland, he returned home in 1919. He won the Missouri State Championship 1922. After moving to Detroit, Palmer won the Michigan State Championship six times (1933, 1934, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943). 

     He was also Chess Review's 1944 Golden Knights correspondence champion. In that event he tallied 18 straight victories in three regular rounds of play, then won a four game sweep in a play-off for first place. His prize was check for $150 which is the equivalent of $2,464 today. 

     Palmer worked as printer for the Detroit News. Other than chess he enjoyed landscape gardening and music. His wife was a pianist and his daughter a violinist. 

     His opponent in the following game was Marshall J. Maxfield (1897 - 1935, 37 years old), Brooklyn Chess Club champion in 1925. Maxfield was an electrical engineer who was born in California and educated at the University of Southern California and Penn State College. 

     For a while he was employed in the statistical department of the New York Light and Power Company. At the time of his death he was a teacher in the Haaren Co-operative High School In Manhattan and formerly had been a member of the faculty of Pratt Institute, a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn. 

     Besides being a member of the Brooklyn Chess Club he was also a member of the Long Island Bridge League, Kings Highway Democratic Club, Andrew Jackson Club and the New York High School Teachers Association. Maxfield died February 10, 1935 of pneumonia at his home after a short illness. He was survived by his wife Macedonia and the funeral was held from his home. 

     Maxfield was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Famous people buried there include baseball player Gil Hodges, gangster Frankie Yale, organized crime figure and supervisor of Murder, Inc, Louis Capone (no relation to Al Capone) and Frank Hayes. 

     Jockey Frank Hayes' story is especially tragic. The 22-year-old Hayes had never won a horse race before because by profession he was a horse trainer and stableman. But, on June 4, 1923, at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, New York, Hayes was the jockey on a horse named Sweet Kiss, a 20 to 1 outsider, that was owned by Miss A. M. Frayling. 

     Sweet Kiss crossed the finish line, winning by a head, and when Miss Frayling and race officials came to congratulate him shortly after the race they discovered Hayes dead in the saddle! The result of the race was declared official without the post-race formality of Hayes having to weigh in. It was suggested that the fatal heart attack may have been brought on by his extreme efforts to meet the weight requirements; he had slimmed down from 142 pounds to 130 pounds in a very short time. Hayes was buried three days later, dressed in his racing silks at Holy Cross Cemetery. 

     The horse never raced again, and it's claimed that Sweet Kiss was nicknamed "Sweet Kiss of Death" for the rest of her life.

ChessBase

Marshall Maxfield–Marvin Palmer0–1C30Western Championship7Cedar Point, OH30.08.1925Stockfish 15

King's Gambit Declined 1.e4 e5 2.f4 c5 If one wants to avoid the complications of accepting the gambit or wants to avoid prepared lines then declining the gambit is probably the safest. Many players of white are often unprepared for it. The B prevents white from castling and he will often play Na4 to eliminate it. It also contains an opening trap that beginners (or the careless!) may fall into. 3.f3 3.fxe5 h4+ 4.g3 xe4+ 3...d6 4.c3 Often played these days is 4.c3 f6 5.c4 c6 6.d3 g4 6...g4 is not so good. There would follow... 7.g5 f2+ 7...f2 8.h5 f6 9.f1 g6 10.d5 g7 11.h4 White is winning. 8.f1 d4 9.xf7+ Whit is better. 7.h3 Not bad, but white neglects to play Na4 at some point and will come to regret it. xf3 8.xf3 d4 9.g3 e7 Better was 0...O-O. White could now get slightly the better of it with 10.exf4 10.f1 White has played both 10.Kd1 and 10.Bb3 here, but the best move is 10. fxe5 which keeps the pressure on black. 10.fxe5 xc2+ 11.d1 h5 11...xa1 12.exf6 and white is winning. 12.g4 xa1 13.f1 0-0 14.xh5 White has a decisive advantage. 10...exf4 Well played. 10...xc2+ is inferior. 11.d1 xa1 12.fxe5 dxe5 13.xg7 g8 14.xf6 xf6 15.xf6 xg2 16.xf7+ d8 Black has the advantage. 11.xf4 xc2+ 12.d1 12.d2 xa1 13.g5 c6 14.xf6 gxf6 15.xa1 Black is winning, but in Khamroev,R (2181)-Sowray,P (2327) Coulsdon 2008 he managed to go astray and ended up losing. 12...xa1 13.e5 h5 14.g4 xf4 15.xf4 0-0 16.d5 xe5 17.f6+ h8 18.d4 White is quite lost, but Palmer finishes him off in great style. xd4 19.f5 Strongly threatening Nxh7. 19.xd4 xf6 20.c1 fe8 21.d1 f2 22.d3 e1 wraps it up. 19...xf6 20.xf6 xf6 21.c1 ae8 22.e2 e5 23.d1 b5 White resigned. His Q and B are hopelessly lost against black's pieces and 3 extra Ps. 0–1

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