Reshevsky Crushes Bisguier

     Writing about the Budapest GM Robert Byrne said, “There are openings that the great players have looked down their noses at…a typical one is the Budapest. Kasparov thought so little of this opening that in his Batsford Chess Openings it appeared under the rubric of Miscellaneous Openings. But I recommend that every young player should give it a try in the course of his development. If you come up with a clear refutation…I’ll be willing to vote you a medal.” 

     The Budapest might be worth a try, but you certainly do not want to play the Fajarowicz Variation as Bisguier did in the following game. Reshevsky refuted it on move 4 (!) when he played a simple move nobody had previously thought about playing. 

     If you are interested in giving the Budapest a try, check out Yasser Seirawan's entertaining video HERE. 

     The game was played in the first Rosenwald tournament. Julius Rosenwald was a wealthy chess enthusiast who donated money to support American chess. He sponsored the U.S. Championships in the 1950s and was a co-founder of the American Chess Foundation. 

     The first of a series of invitational tournaments sponsored Rosenwald was held in 1954. The goal was to provide young US masters strong competition at home with the long-term aim of improving US performance in international events. 

     In the first Rosenwald in 1954/55 Reuben Fine was invited, but he was out of chess and declined. Robert Byrne was also invited but decided because of his graduate studies. James Sherwin took Byrne's place. 

     The players met each other twice. The first half was held at the Manhattan Chess Club, Hans Kmoch directing. The second half was held at the Marshall Chess Club and was directed by Al Horowitz. 

     Reshevsky jumped out to a comfortable lead in the first half by scoring 4.5-0.5. The featured game given below was significant because it was Reshevsky’s first loss to an American player since 1951. Despite this loss Reshevsky held the lead and won the event easily. Bisguier finished third on the strength of an impressive 4.5 – 0.5 in the second half. 

 

 

ChessBase

Samuel Reshevsky–Arthur BisguierA511st Rosenwald, New York1954Stockfish 15

1.d4 f6 2.c4 e5 At the time this was a favorite of Bisguier's and he had a lot of success with it against lesser competition, but Reshevsky was not one to play it against. 3.dxe5 e4 The Fajarowicz Variation is a dubious continuation. Best is 3...Ng4, but the best black can hope for is to regain the P. 4.a3 White can play other moves here, but there is little incentive to do so because the text, played naturally by Reshevsky, is by far the best. At the time the book line was 4.Qc2 which leads to lines that are not really clear. The text move allows white to avoid the annoying ...Bb4+ and prepares Qc2 to undermine black's N. c6 4...d6 is worth considering, but after 5.c2 c5 5...f5 6.c3 xc3 7.xf5 a4 White stands much better. 6.exd6 xd6 7.c3 0-0 8.f3 f6 9.e4 g4 10.d5 White is better as black has no real compensation for his P minus. 5.f3 d6 5...c5 is met by 6.e3 g5 6...0-0 7.d5 is winning. 7.b4 xf3+ 8.gxf3 e7 9.b2 with an excellent position. 6.c2 This is the refutation of black's setup. 6.exd6 xd6 7.c2 f5 and black can claim some compensation for the P. 6...f5 This looks better than it is. White still has a huge advantage. 6...c5 7.b4 d7 8.exd6 xd6 9.c5 is pretty ugly for black! 6...d5 as suggested by Larry Evans is no better. 7.e3 f5 8.c3 g6 9.cxd5 xc3 10.xc3 xd5 11.c4 d7 12.e6 wins 7.c3 xf2 Pure desperation, but it's neither better nor worse than alternatives. 8.xf5 xh1 9.e6 fxe6 10.xe6+ e7 11.d5 h6 12.g3 g5 13.g2 xg3 14.hxg3 g7 15.h3 e5 16.d2 g4 17.xg4 h5 18.f5 c6 19.e4 d8 20.g5 f6 21.e6+ c8 22.0-0-0 b8 23.f4 b6 24.b1 Bisguier, who was unrecognizable in this game, resigned. He made up for it in defeating Reshevsky in their second game in this tournament. It was Reshevsky's only loss and his first loss to an American master since 1951!

Download PGN