Win, Lose, Win, the Swinging Pendulum

     Boris Verlinsky (January, 1888 8 - October 30, 1950, 62 years old) was a Soviet player, who was awarded the IM title in 1950. He was one of the top Soviet players in the 1920s, and was Soviet champion in 1929. 

     Although he played in the international tournament in Moscow in 1925 Verlinsky never got a chance to compete outside the Soviet Union. Chessmetrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2627 on the May, 1926 rating list ranking him number 16 in the world. Lasker, Alekhine, Bogoljubow, Capablanca and Nimzovich were at the top with ratings in the 2700s. 

     Born in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Wikipedia says he was deaf as a result of meningitis as a youngster, but an article on him entitled First Russian Grandmaster of Chess in the August 1998 issue of Deaf History Journal (published by the British Deaf History Society says that he was deaf from birth and learned to speak in his teens.

Verlinsky

     After World War I, Verlinsky moved from Ukraine to Russia. His best result was,no doubt, in 1925, when he tied for 12th-14th in Moscow. Although his finish was not so high, he scored several beautiful wins, including one over Capablanca.

     In 1929, Verlinsky won the 6th Soviet Championship in Odessa, at the time earning the title of grandmaster. The title was rescinded in 1931, supposedly in order to make Mikhail Botvinnik the first Soviet grandmaster. Verlinsky's last major tournament was the 1945 Moscow Championship, where he scored 5-11.

     The Moscow tournament was organized by Nikolai Krylenko, head of the Soviet Chess Association, in an effort to popularize chess in the Soviet Union. Before the start of the tournament it was expected that it would be a race between Capablanca and Lasker, but the surprise winner turned out to be Bogoljubow. He left the Soviet Union permanently a year later and eventually became a German citizen. 

     The following Verlinsky game is from the USSR Championship in 1925. This tournament offered some extra incentive because a good finish would procure an invitation to Moscow. 

 

 

     Bogoljubow started well with a 12-2 score to take a two-point lead over Levenfish, who had started with losses in the first two rounds. However, Bogoljubov then lost to Vilner and Verlinsky in successive rounds which allowed Levenfish to draw within a half-point. In the critical round 17 Levenfish lost to A. Rabinovich which left Bogoljubow leading by a full point and he then won his remaining games. 

     The following game would never make it into a best played game collection, but the seesaw ending was entertaining. And, as C.J.S. Purdy was always pointing out in his writings, you simply MUST look for tactical possibilities at EVERY move. In this game both players took turns at missing them and as a result, the outcome of the game swung back and forth and, as Tartakower observed, the game was won by the player making the next to the last mistake.

[Event "USSR Championship, Leningrad"] [Site ""] [Date "1925.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Boris Verlinsky"] [Black "Ilya Rabinovich"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B02"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "1925.??.??"] {Alekhine's Defense} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. Nc3 e6 4. d4 d6 5. Nf3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Nd7 7. Bf4 dxe5 8. Nxe5 Bd6 (8... c5 {A mistake that went unpunished in Sluka,R (2363)-Palkovi,J (2451) CZE 1999} 9. Bb5 (9. Bc4 { The move played by Sluka.} cxd4 10. cxd4 Nxe5 11. Bxe5 Bb4+ 12. Kf1 {black is slightly better.}) 9... cxd4 (9... Bd6 {is met by} 10. Nxf7 Kxf7 11. Bxd6 { with a substantial advantage.}) 10. Rb1 Be7 11. Qxd4 Bf6 12. Bxd7+ Qxd7 13. Qxd7+ Bxd7 14. Nxd7 Kxd7 15. Rxb7+ {with a decisive advantage.}) 9. Bg3 Bxe5 10. dxe5 Qe7 11. Qd2 Qc5 12. Rb1 a6 13. f4 b6 14. Rd1 Qc6 15. Bd3 Bb7 16. O-O { Better would have been 16.Bh4 to hinder ...O-O-O} O-O-O {The threat is ...Nc5.} 17. Bh4 f6 18. Qe2 {Preferable was 18.exf6} g5 {Opening lines against white's K. While difficult, white's position is not yet lost.} 19. Bg3 gxf4 20. Bxf4 ( 20. Rxf4 {was correct.} f5 (20... fxe5 21. Rc4 {equalizes.}) 21. Bxa6 Nc5 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. Bb5 {and white is still in the game.}) 20... fxe5 21. Bg3 b5 ( 21... Qxc3 {allows black to equalize after} 22. Bxa6 Nc5 23. Bxe5) 22. Rde1 Qxc3 23. a4 {This attempt at loosening up the position of black's K is reasonable, but it allows black to gain a decisve advantage. He could have made black's task much harder with 23.Bxe5!} (23. Bxe5 Qc5+ 24. Qf2 Qxf2+ 25. Rxf2 Nxe5 26. Rxe5 Bd5 27. a4 c6 28. axb5 axb5 {Black has the better chances.}) 23... Qd4+ {This is much better than 23...bxa4 because black picks off the a-Pawn while keeping his own Q-side Ps together.} 24. Kh1 Qxa4 {Black now has a decisive advantage, but ruins it on his next move!} 25. c4 Nc5 {[%mdl 8192] This unfortunate move leaving the e-Pawn undefended allows white a decisive attack.} (25... b4 {and black's Q-side Ps will prove decisive.} 26. Be4 Rhf8 27. h3 (27. Bxb7+ Kxb7 28. Bxe5 Nxe5 29. Qxe5 Rxf1+ 30. Rxf1 Rd1) 27... a5 28. Ra1 Rxf1+ 29. Qxf1 Qb3 30. Bxb7+ Kxb7 {and wins}) 26. Qxe5 Qa5 27. Qxc5 (27. Rf7 {was even stronger.} Nd7 28. Rxd7 Rxd7 29. Qxh8+ Rd8 30. Qxh7 b4 31. Be5 { Black con up up only token resistance.}) 27... Rxd3 28. cxb5 {[%mdl 128] With this move white let the advantage get away.} (28. Rf7 {was a must} Rxg3 { After this in order to keep the advantage white must play accurately.} 29. Rf8+ Rxf8 30. Qxf8+ Kd7 31. Qf7+ Kd8 {Best} 32. Rd1+ Rd3 33. Qg8+ (33. Rxd3+ Bd5 { White cannot win and could possibly lose.}) 33... Kd7 34. Qxh7+ Kc8 35. Qxd3 { in this difficult position white has winning chances because of his K-side Ps. Shootouts resulted in five wins for white, but the games were long and the endingx extremely complicated.}) 28... Rhd8 {[%mdl 8192] In his turn black fails to take advantage of white's slip.} (28... axb5 {and Black stays safe.} 29. Rf7 Rxg3 30. Rf8+ Rxf8 31. Qxf8+ Kd7 32. Qf7+ Kd8 {Here white probably should take the draw.}) 29. Rc1 R3d7 30. Rfe1 {After this the position is again (!) back to offering equal chances.} (30. Rf8 Rxf8 31. Qxf8+ Rd8 32. Qe7 Rd7 33. Qe8+ Rd8 34. Qxe6+ Kb8 35. b6 Qd2 36. bxc7+ Ka7 {Mate on g2 is threatened.} 37. Rg1 Rf8 38. h3 Rf1 {Obviously the R cannot be takes and 39. Kh2 would result in a draw, but white has a clever win by underpromotion...} 39. c8=N+ Ka8 40. Nb6+ Ka7 41. Bb8+ Kxb8 42. Qg8+ Ka7 43. Rxf1 Kxb6 {and white should (theoretically, at least, win.}) 30... axb5 31. Rxe6 Qd2 {[%mdl 8192] Again, missing the best move and leaving himself with a lost game.} (31... Qa2 {is a self mate...in 13 moves!} 32. Qxc7+ {[%mdl 512]} Rxc7 33. Rxc7+ Kb8 34. Rc2+ Ka8 35. Rxa2+ Ba6 36. Raxa6+ Kb7 37. Reb6+ {mates in 7.}) (31... Bxg2+ { This holds the game.} 32. Kxg2 Qa2+ 33. Rc2 Qxe6 {Here white must play the stunning...} 34. Qxc7+ Rxc7 35. Rxc7+ Kb8 36. Re7+ Qd6 37. Bxd6+ Rxd6 38. Rxh7 {with a draw.}) 32. Qxc7+ {[%mdl 512] Unlike in the variation where black played 31...Bxg2+ this move is now the haymaker.} Rxc7 33. Rxc7+ Kb8 34. Rc1+ Ka7 35. Ra1+ Ba6 36. Raxa6+ Kb7 37. Reb6+ Kc8 38. Ra8+ Kd7 39. Rxd8+ {Black resigned. A gripping finish!} 1-0