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.

[Event "Western Championship, Excelsior"] [Site "Excelsior, MN"] [Date "1905.08.23"] [Round "8"] [White "Charles W Blake"] [Black "Edward P Elliott"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C61"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1905.??.??"] {Ruy Lopez: Bird's Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 {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. Bc4 (4. Nxd4 {is the best line.} exd4 5. O-O Bc5 6. d3 {and white is slightly better.}) 4... Nxf3+ (4... d6 5. Nxd4 exd4 6. c3 Nf6 7. d3 dxc3 8. Nxc3 Be7 9. O-O O-O {Gavrikov,V (2550)-Tukmakov,V (2575) Minsk 1987 is equal.}) 5. Qxf3 Nf6 (5... Qf6 {was tried in Barlov,D (2454)-Larino Nieto,D (2508) Las Palmas 2013} 6. Qe2 Bc5 7. d3 Ne7 8. Be3 Bb6 { with equality.}) 6. Qb3 (6. d4 d6 7. Qb3 Qe7 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. O-O c6 {White has a good game. Lasker,E-Bird,H Newcastle on Tyne 1892}) (6. d3 Bc5 7. Nd2 c6 8. Nf1 {Black gets a good game after this. Better was 8.O-O.} d5 9. exd5 cxd5 10. Bb3 {Black is slightly better. Klinger,J (2490)-Agdestein,S (2565) Baguio City 1987}) 6... Qe7 7. Nc3 b6 8. Nb5 Kd8 {An odd choice relinquishing the right to castle. 8...d6 was correct.} 9. d3 Ng4 {[%mdl 8192] An empty threat and so a waste of time.} (9... c6 10. Nxa7 Rxa7 11. Qxb6+ Rc7 {is good for black.}) ( 9... c6 10. Nc3 {is not much better, but it's trickier.} b5 11. Bxf7 b4 12. Be3 {Setting a trap!} (12. Ne2 d5 {and the B is trapped.}) 12... d6 {Giving the K an escape square.} (12... bxc3 13. Bb6+ axb6 14. Qxb6#) 13. Nb5 cxb5 14. O-O a5 {Black is better.}) 10. Be3 (10. Bxf7 {and the position is equal after} c6 11. Nc3 Qh4 12. g3 Qf6 13. O-O) (10. h3 {Driving back the N is correct. Then after} Nf6 11. Nc3 c6 12. a4 {White stands well.}) 10... Nxe3 11. fxe3 Qg5 12. O-O-O Qxe3+ 13. Kb1 f6 14. Rhe1 Qf2 15. d4 {[%mdl 1024] White has the initiative.} a6 16. Re2 {Missing a nice tactical shot that would have gained the advantage.} ( 16. Bd5 c6 17. Bxc6 dxc6 18. dxe5+ Ke7 19. Nd4 {Black is caught in a web where he has no saving move. Just one example...} Ke8 (19... Bd7 20. Rf1 Qh4 21. Nf5+ ) 20. Qxb6 Kf7 21. Qxc6 Rb8 22. Rf1 Qxg2 23. exf6 g5 24. Qc7+) 16... Qh4 17. g3 Qh5 18. Nc3 {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.} Bd6 19. dxe5 Bxe5 20. Bf7 {Keeps the Q cut off.} Qf3 21. Red2 Bxc3 (21... d6 {was better.} 22. Rd3 Qg4 23. Nd5 Ra7 {with a fully equal position.}) 22. bxc3 { [%mdl 128] Not bad.} (22. Rd3 {was even better.} Qxe4 23. Qxc3 Ra7 24. Re1 Qa4 25. Rd4 Qa5 26. b4 Qb5 27. Qe3 {with a winning attack.}) 22... Ra7 23. Bd5 { Intending Bc6 which would be very powerful.} d6 {This allows white a nice tactical shot, but his position was already very poor.} (23... Qe3 {This allows white to carry out his intended move, but is is actually the lesser evil.} 24. Bc6 d6 25. Qf7 Qxc3 26. Rxd6+ cxd6 27. Rxd6+ Bd7 28. Rxd7+ Kc8 29. Rxa7 Qxc6 {White's grip on the 7th rank assures him of the win.}) 24. e5 { Going after the K in the center.} Qe3 25. exd6 Qc5 26. dxc7+ {This looks reasonable, but it should have allowed black to put up a much stronger defense. } (26. d7 {is even stronger.} Bb7 {White has a mate in 15!} 27. Re1 Bxd5 28. Rxd5 Qf2 29. Rdd1 Qxe1 30. Rxe1 c6 31. Qxb6+ Rc7 32. Rd1 h5 33. Qb8+ Ke7 34. Qxh8 Rb7+ 35. Kc1 Rb8 36. Qxb8 Ke6 37. d8=Q Kf5 38. Qd3+ Kg4 39. Qc8+ Kg5 40. h4+ Kh6 41. Qh8#) 26... Kxc7 27. Bc4 Bg4 {After this the game is over.} (27... b5 {offers far better chances.} 28. Be6 Re8 29. Bxc8 Rxc8 30. Qe6 Kb8 31. Rd7 Rxd7 32. Rxd7 Qg1+ 33. Kb2 Qc5 {White will have to work for the point.}) 28. Be2 Bxe2 {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. Qf7+ (29. Rxe2 {would be a terrible mistake.} Rb7 {White's attack is over and black has at least equal chances.}) 29... Kc6 (29... Kb8 {is met by} 30. Rd8+ Qc8 31. Rxc8+ Rxc8 32. Rd7 {with a won ending.}) 30. Qxa7 Qb5+ {After this white has a mate in 7, but the game could not be saved in any case.} 31. Kc1 Qg5 32. Qd7+ Kc5 33. Qd6+ Kb5 34. a4+ {It's mate next move so black resigned. A forceful game by Blake.} 1-0