Nightmare Game

     The 1938 New York State Championship was held in Cazenovia, a small village located on the shore of Cazenovia Lake about 23 miles southeast of Syracuse. The venue was the Cazenovia Seminary Junior College.    

     Losing only one game and drawing one, 24-year-old member of the Manhattan Chess Club Arnold Denker carried off first prize. Denker's loss was to Anthony Santasiere of the Marshall Chess Club, the second place finisher. Santasiere was the only player to have been undefeated, but four draws prevented him from taking the championship.   

     Third place was captured by another Manhattan CC player, Donald MacMurray who played some brilliant games, but stumbled when he played a weak ending against Denker. 

     MacMurray is almost unknown today. According to Denker, MacMurray possessed the highest IQ ever recorded up to the early 1930s, earned a BA degree from the University of Chicago in eight and a half months and a law degree from Columbia in one year. He was well known in New York chess circles and was an expert in languages He learned to speak Yiddish so he could frequent the Yiddish Theater. 

     During this tournament MacMurray began experiencing nausea and stomach pains that were especially noticeable when he was laughing. At one point he was having dinner with Denker and the pain was so bad he had to leave the table. At Denker’s request Dr. Joseph Platz examined MacMurray and discovered a cancer in his stomach the size of a grapefruit. Just three months later on December 2, 1938, MacMurray died. 

     For Brooklyn champion and Hawthorne Chess Club founder, 25-year-old John W. Collins, it was a case of either win or lose. 

     Collins' chess club was an early hangout of Bobby Fischer, William Lombardy, Raymond Weinstein, Robert and Donald Byrne. The myth is that Collins was their early teacher, but that's all it is...a myth. His apartment was the "club" and by the time that group started hanging out there, they had far surpassed Collins' ability to teach them anything. 

     According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle the following game between Erich W. Marchand and John Collins was over enthusiastically called a "nightmare game" because of the "weird use Collins made of his Knights." The paper also described Collins Queen sacrifice as "neat." 

 

     Dr. Marchand (July 07, 1914 - August 29, 1999, age 85) was a professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Rochester and a pioneer in gradient index research...something to do with the optical effects of materials and is important in the production of things like photocopiers. Sounds boring. He was a USCF Life Master and amassed so many titles it's impossible list them all. He was the first inductee in the New York State Chess Hall of Fame and an annual tournament was named after him in New York. It's unusual, but this tournament was begun in his honor before his death so he had the privilege of actually playing in it. 

 

[Event "New York State Champ, Cazenovia"] [Site "?"] [Date "1938.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Erich W. Marchand"] [Black "John W.Collins"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D15"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "54"] {Slav Defense} 1. d4 d5 {[%mdl 32]} 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e3 b5 6. a4 Qb6 {The main alternative is 8...b4 although sometimes 6...Nd5 is seen. Collins' move also seems reasonable.} 7. axb5 cxb5 8. b3 e6 9. bxc4 bxc4 10. Bxc4 Bb4 11. Bd2 O-O 12. O-O Nc6 {After this white gains the initiative.} ( 12... a5 {served black well in Arizmendi Martinez,J (2524)-Martinez Martin,D (2415) Burguillos 2008} 13. Qe2 Ba6 14. Na4 Bxc4 15. Qxc4 Qc6 16. Rfc1 Qxc4 17. Rxc4 Bxd2 18. Nxd2 Nbd7 {and the game was eventually drawn.}) (12... Bxc3 { is less good.} 13. Bxc3 Bb7 14. Qe2 Nbd7 15. Ba5 Qc6 16. Rfc1 Rfc8 {White is better. Romanishin,O (2537)-Zucchelli,M (2149) Arco ITA 2011}) 13. Na4 Qc7 14. Bxb4 Nxb4 15. Ne5 (15. Rc1 Qd6 16. Nc5 a5 17. e4 {equals. Hurelbaatar,C (2300) -Tovsanaa,N (2280) Erdenet 1994}) 15... Bb7 16. Nc5 {[%mdl 2048] Black is under strong pressure and the threat is 17.Bxe6} Bd5 (16... Kh8 {A pass for demonstration purposes.} 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. Nxe6 Qe7 19. Nxf8 Qxf8 {White's R+2Ps vs B+N give him the advantage.}) 17. Bxd5 Nfxd5 18. Qd2 a5 {Challenging the N on e5 with 18...Nc6 was a better idea.} 19. Rfc1 {White clearly has the initiative, but in the end a draw seems like it would be a reasonable result.} Qe7 20. Nc4 Qc7 21. Nb3 Rfb8 22. Nbxa5 Rb5 {It's hard to imagine this game being anything but a draw.} 23. Na3 {But not after this move which is a gross blunder!} (23. Nb3 Rxa1 24. Rxa1 h6 25. Rc1 Nc6 {and it's hard to imagine this position being anything other than a draw.}) 23... Qxa5 {Not an unexpected reply, but Marchand obviously missed the correct followup.} 24. Nxb5 Qxa1 ( 24... Qd8 {This may be what Marchand expected and after} 25. Rxa8 Qxa8 { White the exchange and a P up.}) 25. e4 Nd3 26. Rf1 N5f4 {The threat is ... Qxf1+ and ...Ra1+ leading to mate.} 27. g3 {This allows a mate in three, but the game was lost no matter what.} Qxf1+ {[%mdl 512] Whie resigned in face of . ..Ra1+ and mate next move.} 0-1