Lengyel Romps Over Rosino

     The year 1969 was a landmark year in history. The first humans landed on the moon under the Apollo space program. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first astronauts to set foot on the moon while Michael Collins stayed in lunar orbit in the command and service module. Some people still believe the landing was a fake. In fact, I met one just last week. 

     Then there was the incident at Chappaquiddick, an island in Massachusetts, in which Ted Kennedy escaped the clutches of the law after accidentally driving his car off a bridge and Mry Jo Kopechne, his 28-year-old passenger, was trapped inside and drowned. 

     The accident happened some time between about 11:30pm Friday and 1am Saturday and Kennedy left the scene without reporting it. Shortly after after 8am Saturday morning a man and boy, who were going fishing, saw Kennedy's submerged car and notified the residents of a nearby cottage and they called the police. 

     Not long after the police arrived a diver discovered Kopechne's body in the back seat and it was discovered that it was Kennedy's car. Kennedy did not report the accident to police until after 10am Saturday. 

     In 1970 at an inquest it was concluded that Kennedy was not taking Kopechne back to the ferry as he claimed, but intentionally turned toward the bridge and was operating his car negligently, if not recklessly, at too high a speed. 

     Ultimately a judge recommended no charges be filed against Kennedy and a grand jury returned no indictments. Kennedy did get driver's license suspended for sixteen months though. 

     Chess saw Boris Spassky defeat Tigran Petrosian by the score of 12.5 to 10.5 to become new world champion. Nona Gaprindashvili, retained her world title and Anatoly Karpov won the World Junior Championship. 

     Major international tournaments included: Hastings 1969-70 (Portisch), Amsterdam (Portisch), Beverwijk (Botvinnik and Geller), Ljubljana (Planinc),Palma de Mallorca (Larsen), Malaga (Benko and Ivkov), Monaco (Smyslov and Portisch), Netanya (Reshevsky), San Juan (Spassky), Skopje (Hort and Matulovic) and Tallinn (Stein). 

     Also, in 1969, over in Venice, Vlastimil Hort, a 25-year-old Czech GM, romped through the tournament undefeated. Hort started out with four straight wins and had 7 points after 8 rounds and then coasted into first place. 

    

      There was a mammoth tie for places two through seven. One of those in the group was the untitled US player Anthony Saidy. Venice was an important event for him because he got enough points to earn the IM title. At the same time, in the last round Saidy dashed the hopes of the Italian Stefano Tatai by handing him a defeat that meant Tatai missed obtaining the 10.5 points he needed for the GM title. Tatai never did get the GM title although he probably should have. 

     Soviet GM Mark Taimanov was unbeatable, but drew too many games. One of the world's foremost players in the mid-1950s, by the time of this tournament his style had become more positional than ever. In 1971, Taimanov was famously skunked by Bobby Fischer 6-0 in the Candidates Quarterfinal match. 

     The following sharp game from the tournament was played between the Italian FM Antonio Rosino, who is also an FIDE Trainer, and Levente Lengyel (1933-2014), a Hungarian GM. 

ChessBase

Antonio Rosino–Levente Lengyel0–1B61Venice1969Stockfish 15.1

Sicilian: Richter-Rauzer Attack 1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 c6 6.g5 The Richter–Rauzer Attack. It threatens to double black's Ps with Bxf6 and forestalls the Dragon. d7 7.d2 c8 8.e2 a6 9.f4 e6 10.0-0-0 e7 11.f3 11.f3 c7 12.xc6 xc6 13.xf6 xf6 14.xd6 xd6 15.xd6 xc3 16.bxc3 fizzled out to a draw in Kavalek,L (2550)-Kunsztowicz,U (2460) Germany 1981 11.b1 xd4 12.xd4 c6 13.f3 c7 14.he1 offered equal chances in Muratoglu,S (2114)-Arkhangelsky,B (2300) Rogaska Slatina 2009 11...b5 11...a5 was another option. 12.b1 b5 13.d3 0-0 14.e5 b4 with equal chances. Izumikawa,B (2395)-Margulis,I (2270) San Francisco 1997 12.e5 Also playable was 12.Bxf6 b4 13.a4 After this black seizes the initiative. 13.exd6 bxc3 14.xc3 f8 15.xa6 with unclear complications. In Shootouts 5 games were drawn. 13...e4 14.xe7 a5 14...xe7 was more accurate. 15.xb4 d5 16.d3 f2 with a slight advantage. 15.e3 With this move white equalizes. xe7 16.b6 This is the purpose behind white's last move, but he should have delayed it for a move. After the text black can force an abrupt end. 16.exd6 and black's advantage would be minimal after xd6 17.b6 ef5 18.g1 Not an attractive move, but a necessary one to avoid the pin one the B 18.f2 allows black a decisive attack with b3 19.a3 19.axb3 a1+ 20.d2 e4+ 19...xc2+ 18...b3 19.axb3 with the Q on g1 this is playable. a1+ 20.d2 e4+ 21.e1 a5+ 22.c3 xc3 23.bxc3 xc3 24.xd7 xf3+ 25.b4 xb4+ 26.d2 e3 With a lot of luck white may be able to survive. 16...b3 Decisive! 17.xb3 17.xe4 bxa2 and the P queens. 17.axb3 a1# 17...c5 18.a3 18.c3 xb6 wins 18...xb6 19.xd6 c7 20.d4 0-0 Black is up a piece and white has no compensation so he could safely resign. 21.b4 Not that it matters but 21.Bf3 would have been better. e4 22.xa6 fd8 23.b3 e8 24.d1 c3 White resigned. 24...c3 25.d2 is met by xd4 26.xd4 xe2+ followed by 27...Nxd4 0–1

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Just A Fun Miniature

 

 

     The following miniature game was played Igor Garais (November 9, 1922 - January 16-, 017, 94 years old) who was born in Germany, but his family later moved to Latvia.

     In 1941, Garais graduated from the 1st gymnasium of the city of Riga, then entered the University of Latvia, where he studied mathematics. During the World War II he represented the sports association Universitates sports and was considered one of the most promising young Latvian players. 

     In December 1943, he took part in the Latvian championship, where he finished in 8th place in strong competition. In 1944 he fled Latvia and eventually ended up in Eastlake, Ohio, a community on the far east side of Cleveland. 

     After that he only made rare appearances in tournament play. In 1954 he won the Cleveland Open and in 1957 he participated in the US Open Championship where he scored 6.5-5.5 and finished in 54th place. In the process he lost to Bobby Fischer in the 7th round. 

     Garais actively promoted the chess life of Latvian exiles in the US and was one of the organizers of the 1959 Latvian Chess Congress,and shared first place in the 1961-1962 correspondence tournament of Latvian chess players. In later years, he devoted more time to work and family matters. 

     His opponent was Henry Gross (January 16, 1907 - February, 1987), a lawyer by profession, and the 1952 California State Champion. In 1928, he tied for 1st place in the State Championship, but lost the playoff to A.J. Fink. He also served as president of the California State Chess Federation. AT the time this game was played Garais' USCF rating was 2015 (Expert) and Gross' was 2122 (Expert).

 

ChessBase

Henry Gross–Igor Garais0–1B75US Open, Cleveland08.08.1957Stockfish 15.1

Sicilian Dragon 1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 g6 6.e3 g7 7.f3 c6 8.e2 0-0 9.g4 e5 9...d5 is a better way to counter white's last move. 10.g5 e8 11.exd5 11.xd5 leads to not much of anything after xd4 12.xd4 e6 13.xg7 xg7 14.c3 11...b4 12.c4 c7 is equal. 9...xd4 10.xd4 Black has tried 1-...Bh6 and 10...35 both of which equalize. 10.db5 e8 11.d5 e6 12.d2 xd5 A poor choice that allows white to gain the advantage. 12...a6 13.bc3 b5 14.a3 d4 with complete equality. 13.exd5 e7 By playing 13...Nd4 he could have kept white's advantage at a minimum. However, practically speaking, the text is a good try.. .it sets a trap and Gross falls into it. 13...d4 14.xd4 exd4 15.xd4 xd4 16.xd4 and white is slightly better. 14.xa7 White could have stayed on course with 14.O-O-O. Instead he makes a costly tactical error. 14.xa7 was not quite so bad, but black still comes out on top, at least theoretically, after xa7 15.xa7 b6 16.a4 c7 17.xb6 xb6 Engines may give white the edge here, but practically speaking things aren't so clear! The material situation is unbalanced (R+2Ps vs. 2Ns) and over the board the position looks quite muddled. 14...b6 15.0-0-0 c8 16.xb6 Bxb5 Bc3 16.h4 For what it was worth white should have ignored the situation on the Q-side and launched this desperate try... c7 17.h5 xb5 18.xb5 xa7 19.b1 f6 20.g5 f4 21.d3 xd2 22.xd2 e7 23.e4 f5 24.dh2 g3 25.hxg6 xh1 26.gxh7+ h8 27.xh1 Black has a decisive advantage. 16...xb6 17.b1 c7 18.xc7 xc7 19.c4 How good will white's Ps be at making life difficult for black? Not very as it turns out! b6 20.c1 a7 21.a3 a4 22.d1 Black finishes off the game neatly. xb2 23.xb2 e4+ White resigned. It's mate in 5...an abrupt end. 23...e4+ 24.c3 xa3+ 25.c2 a2+ No need to take the R. 25...xc3 26.xc3 a2+ 27.b2 xc4+ 28.d2 exf3 29.c3 a2+ 30.c2 xg4 mates in 11 26.c1 a1+ 27.c2 a2+ 28.b3 b8# 0–1

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Another Case of the Wrong Player Winning

 

     This is another post about the wrong player winning! But, before we get to that, in the previous post I mentioned some baseball games that went awry and the year this game was played, in 1940, baseball witnessed its nastiest and ugliest bit of history...the bean ball war in which pitchers deliberately threw at the batter's head. 

     It all started when there were bad feelings between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Dodgers that had developed as a result of a mid-season trade that sent future Hall of Fame outfielder Joe Medwick to Brooklyn. 

     Six days after the trade, on June 18, the two teams met at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. It happened that Medwick and Dodgers' manager Leo Durocher were staying at the same hotel as St. Louis’ starting pitcher, Bob Bowman. The three happened to meet in an elevator. Durocher and Medwick taunted Bowman, who responded by screaming that he would take care of both of them. 

     In the bottom of the first inning Bowman’s first pitch hit Medwick in the head. Medwick collapsed and the Dodgers' dugout, lead by Durocher, emptied as all the players went after Bowman. 

     The Dodger team owner, Larry MacPhail, seeing his new player unconscious in the dirt, raced onto the field and challenged the whole Cardinals team to fight him. There was a huge brawl and the police ended up escorting Bowman out of the ballpark. 

     MacPhail demanded that Bowman be banned from baseball for life and he also took the case to the Brooklyn District Attorney urging him to prosecute Bowman, but nothing came of either demand. 

      As a result, the Brooklyn Dodgers inserted protective liners into their caps as a safety precaution, but they were unpopular and that year several players suffered serious injury and hospitalization. 

     All players are familiar with the famous tournament of 1938 that was sponsored by the Dutch broadcasting company AVRO which is short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep (General Association of Radio Broadcasting). In another bit of ugly business, on May 21, AVRO Chairman, Willem Vogt fired all Jewish employees. 

     I posted about the 1940 US Championship HERE. It was the event in which the following intensely interesting game and complicated games was played. In this game, another one in which the wrong player won, the players should not be criticized too harshly for the oversights.

ChessBase

Weaver Adams–Albert Simonson0–1C24US Championship, New York29.04.1940Tactical Analysis 4.3 (10s)

Bishop's Opening 1.e4 e5 2.c4 Adams was an odd character... he published opening variations that he believe were the best and then followed them move for move, despite the advantage that gave his opponents. One such opening was the Bishop's Opening which he advocated for years before switching to the Vienna in 1943. f6 The Berlin Defense in black's most popular move because it forces ahite to decide how to defend the e-Pawn. 3.d3 This, too, is the most popular reply. c6 4.f4 White transposes into a kind of King's Gambit Declined. Better is 4.Nf3. d5 4...exf4 5.xf4 d5 6.exd5 xd5 7.f3 e6 8.d2 e7 9.e2 0-0 Katapodis,A (2050)-Lengyel,B (2258) Budapest 2011 is equal. 5.exd5 This move, turning the game into a kind of Falkbeer Countergambit, is the best move. Less effective is 5.fxe5 5.fxe5 xe4 6.dxe4 h4+ 5...e4 5...cxd5 6.b5+ d7 7.fxe5 xb5 8.exf6 xf6 9.c3 b4 10.d2 xc3 11.xc3 d4 12.d2 Now black should play 12...Qh4+ then castle and he would then stand slightly better. Kristensen,K (2295)-Jorgensen, P (2310) Taastrup DEN 1994 5...exf4 is black's best even though it helps white develop a piece. 6.xf4 xd5 with equal chances. 6.dxe4 xe4 The only good move. 6...cxd5 7.xd5 xd5 8.xd5 xd5 9.exd5 is good for white. 7.f3 7.e2 This move was tried in Koehler,A (1886)-Narings,N (2263) Amsterdam 2005, but against correct play (7...cxd5) it should yield no more than equality. cxd5 Now white needs to play 8.Nd2 with equal chances. Instead he quickly fell into serious trouble. 8.b5+ c6 9.f3 c5 10.e3 b6 with the advantage. 7...c5 This assault on f2 looks far more dangerous than it is! 8.bd2 f5 8...f2 favors white after 9.e2+ e7 10.xe7+ xe7 11.f1 cxd5 12.xd5 with much the better of it. 8...f2+ 9.f1 xd2+ 10.xd2 c5 11.e2+ followed by Re1 and white is practically winning. 9.e2 Adams characteristically prefers to play for the initiative. 9.xe4 xe4 10.g5 xd5 11.e2+ e7 12.xd5 cxd5 is equal. 9.dxc6 xc6 10.xe4 xe4 11.xd8+ xd8 and white should play 12.Bd2 with equal chances, but he must avoid 12.g5 xg2 13.xf7 d4 14.b3 f8 and black is winning. For example... 15.g5 15.g1 e4+ wins. 15...xh1 etc. 9...cxd5 10.xe4 Well played. 10.g5 is met by 0-0 11.dxe4 dxc4 12.xc5 a5+ 13.f2 xc5+ 14.e3 with equal chances. 10...xe4 10...dxe4 is an error. 11.g5 0-0 12.xf7+ h8 13.g4 with a strong attack. 11.e3 xf3 12.gxf3 0-0 The only correct move. 12...xe3 13.xe3+ e7 14.xe7+ xe7 15.xd5 and white stands very well. 13.0-0-0 13.xc5 gives black the advantage. e8 14.e3 dxc4 white is in an awkward situation on the e-file. 13...d4 An inaccuracy. 13...xe3+ is also unsatisfactory because after 14.xe3 c6 15.xd5 white has a significant advantage. 13...e8 keeps the chances equal after 14.xd5 d7 15.hd1 xe3+ 16.b1 xf4 14.c3 Very aggressive. More accurate was 14.Kb1. The text exposes his K, but at the same time gives him active play in the center. c6 15.cxd4 d6 A tame retreat from an aggressive player! 15...xd4 remains equal. 16.xd4 xd4 17.e4 c7 18.xd4 b5 16.b1 f6 17.d5 b4 In this complicated and tricky position both sides begin making inferior moves and the advantage seesaws. 18.hg1 18.d4 would have given white a decisive advantage. viz... xf4 19.a3 fe8 20.g2 e5 with complications galore although in the end with accurate play white's advantage should prove decisive. For example... 21.xe5 xe5 22.g4 xg4 23.fxg4 a6 24.d6 f8 25.he1 xe1 26.xe1 e8 27.f1 f6 28.g5 c5 29.gxf6 e4 30.fxg7+ xg7 31.f7+ g6 32.c7 xd6 33.d5 The fireworks have fizzled out and white is left with a decisive positional advantage in the ending. e2 34.d7 f5 35.xb7 xh2 36.xa7 18...fe8 18...f5+ equalizes. 19.d3 xd3 20.xd3 xd3+ 21.xd3 19.d4 ...and wins...or should have! f5+ 20.d3 xd5 This allows a mate in 9, but after the better 20...Qxd3+ he would still be, theoretically at least, positionally lost, but there is still a lot of play in the position. 20...xd3+ 21.xd3 xd3 22.xg7+ f8 23.xd3 e1+ 24.c2 e2+ 25.b3 xh2 26.g5 21.xh7+ A phantasam! 21.c4 this is a promising looking move, but it only results in equality after f5+ 22.d3 xd3 23.xg7+ f8 24.xd3 xd3+ 25.xd3 e1+ This position is identical to the position afetr 23...Re1+ in the note to black's last move, but with the big difference that here whire does not have a P on d5. 21.xg7+ This forces mate. f8 22.g8+ xg8 23.g1+ f8 24.g7+ g8 25.f6+ f8 26.g8+ xg8 27.g2+ g5 28.xg5+ f8 29.g7# 21...xh7 21...h8 Perhaps this is the move Adams had reckoned on black playing. In that case he would have had a fantastic finish. 22.xg7+ xh7 23.xd5 f5 24.g2 e1+ 25.xe1 xd5 26.d4 e5 27.xe5 g8 28.h3+ g6 29.g1+ f7 30.xf5+ e7 31.xg8 c3+ 32.bxc3 a6 33.f6+ d7 34.d8# 22.xg7+ h6 Adams resigned. There is no defense against 23...Qxa2. In fact, black has a mate in 14. 22...h6 23.e5 xa2+ 24.c1 ac8+ 25.d2 c2+ 26.e1 xe2+ 27.xe2 xe5 28.fxe5 xb2+ 29.f1 xg7 30.e1 d3 31.e2 c1+ 32.g2 f4+ 33.g3 xe2+ 34.f2 xe5 35.g2 g1+ 36.h3 h5# 0–1

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Losing A Won Game

     Failing to win a won games happens in all sports. In football (American), in December 17, 2022 the Indianapolis Colts–Minnesota Vikings game that was played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Vikings overcame a 33–0 halftime deficit to defeat the visiting Colts 39–36 in overtime and complete the largest comeback in National Football League history. 

     In baseball, on April 17, 1976, the Chicago Cubs blew a 13-run lead against the Philadelphia Phillies in Wrigley Field in Chicago. On August 5, 2001, the Cleveland Indians rallied from 14-2 down to beat the Seattle mariners, marking the largest blown lead in the history of the National League. 

     And, probably the worst blown game lead in in Major League Baseball happened on September 28, 2019, when the Houston Astros were leading the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 6-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Astros were one out away from winning the game when the Rays scored three runs to tie the game. The Astros then went on to lose the game in the 10th inning by a score of 7-6. 

     It happens in chess, too. Most players resign when their position is utterly hopeless, but some have made the worst blunder you can make when they resigned in a won position! That's what happened in the following game played in a tournament in Berdiansk, a port city in south-eastern Ukraine. It starts out boring, but the surprising turn of events are quite amusing!

     Igor Smarin (1956-2014) was an International Correspondence Grandmaster. His opponent, Vladimir Antoshin (1929-1994) earned the GM title in 1964. As a young player hr was a high achiever, but in the 1950s chose to play correspondence chess, culminating in his winning the USSR Correspondence Championship of 1960. He was a noted opening theorist. Antoshin became a tournament organizer and trainer to the USSR Olympiad team, maintained a second career as a technical designer. According to Mark Taimanov he also had strong ties to the KGB. 

 

ChessBase

Igor Samarin–Vladimir Antoshin0–1D11BerdianskStockfish 15

Catalan 1.f3 d5 2.d4 c6 3.c4 e6 4.c2 d7 5.g3 The Catalan is a sort of mix between the Queen’s Gambit and a Reti and can arise from a number of move orders. White basically plays d4 and c4 and then fianchettoes the B on g2. It avoids several attacking ideas by black and instead focuses on development. gf6 6.g2 e4 7.0-0 d6 8.f4 Very unusual, but, oddly, not a bad idea. There is no way for black to get at white's K. 8.e1 f5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.d3 b6 11.e3 0-0 12.c3 Equals. Miles,A (2550)-Arencibia,W (2560) Cienfuegos 1997 8...xf4 9.gxf4 f8 The main alternatives are 9...O-O and 9....f5 10.bd2 xd2 11.xd2 Now there comes a period of slow maneuvering typical of the boring Catalan. g6 12.ac1 f6 13.e3 0-0 14.h1 e7 15.b4 dxc4 16.xc4 f6 17.b2 d7 18.c5 b6 19.c2 ac8 20.fc1 d6 21.a3 e7 22.d2 f5 23.e4 h4 24.b3 h8 25.d3 f5 26.g2 xg2 26...e5 is an interesting alternative is the P sacrifice... 27.fxe5 h6 28.f3 xg2 29.xg2 g5 with some play. 27.xg2 g5 28.fxg5 e5 29.c3 f4 30.dxe5 e6 31.f3 c5 Black has managed to work up sufficient counterplay and now white should play 32.bxc5 instead of closing the center and giving black free reign. 32.e4 32.bxc5 would have resulted in approximate equality. xc5 33.d4 fxe3 34.xe3 xe5 32...g8 33.h1 xg5 34.c4 This should have lost almost immediately. 34.c4 cxb4 35.xb4 h6 36.d6 xc2 37.xc2 and white is only slightly better. 34...h3 34...g6 was also quite good... 35.f1 g8 and black is winning. Just one line... 36.e6 xe6 37.c4 h5 38.d6 g1+ 39.xg1 xg1+ 40.xg1 xf3+ 41.cg2 c4 35.f1 Black's next move is a gross blunder in a winning position. 35...Qh5 would have kept the win in hand. 35.f1 Kxh2 xh2+ 36.xh2+- cg8 Weighted Error Value: White=0.53/Black=0.19 (very precise) . Loss on time!? 36...cg8 37.e6 h5+ 38.h3 xh3+ 39.xh3 xe6+ 40.h2 35...xh2+ 35...h5 36.f2 h3 37.g1 xg1+ 38.xg1 g8+ 39.h1 xe5 40.b3 40.bxc5 a1+ mates 40...g2+ wins 36.xh2 cg8 Believing he could not prevent ...Rh5+, white resigned, but it was a gross blunder...he has a win. OTB it was, clearly, difficult to find the only winning line. 36...cg8 37.e6 xe6 Here there is only one winning move. 37...h5+ 38.h3 xh3+ 39.xh3 xe6+ 40.h2 with a clear win! 38.xc5 bxc5 39.xc5 g3 40.h5 and white is winning. 0–1

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Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop

     This rather quaint saying means waiting for something to happen that is believed to be inevitable. 

     The saying came about from noisy New York City neighbors, a common experience of tenement living during the manufacturing boom of the late 19th and early 20th century. 

     Tenements were built similar in design with one bedroom under another. Thus, it was normal to hear a neighbor removing shoes and hearing them hit the floor above. As one shoe made a sound hitting the floor, the expectation for the other shoe to make a similar sound was created. At least that's where "they" say the expression came from. 

     That's what we were doing with the weather last week. Mid-week saw partly sunny skies and a high of 43 on Thursday, but the forecast was for rain in the afternoon followed by a dangerous winter storm in the form of an arctic blast and a bomb cyclone...a rapidly intensifying storm that can happen when atmospheric pressure drops significantly, which is usually the result of warm and cold air masses overlapping. 

     That's what happened...rain, and we found ourselves waiting for the other shoe to drop which it did late Thursday night just as forecast. Friday saw a rapid and drastic temperature drop to below 0 degrees, flash freezing of everything that was wet (which, after the rain, was everything), high winds with gusts of near 60 miles per hour, power outages and snow...3-6 inches. No records were set, but it was real ugly. 

     In the 1963 World Championship match, one shoe dropped on Botvinnik after the 15th game; the other shoe dropped after game 17. According to Botvinnik it was hard to play Petrosian because "...he had a somewhat different understanding of positional play. He went deeper into it than usual..." and Botvinnik, who described himself as a "universal" player, admitted that he did not "completely understand Petrosian's way and depth of judgment."

   

     The match, unlike Botvinnik's previous world championship matches against Tal, didn't have an exciting start even though Botvinnik won the first game. Petrosian leveled the score in game 5 and after 14 games the score was tied, but by that time the match had cost Botvinnik too much energy as he tried to deal with Petrosian's unique and sly defensive play and his reserves of strength were exhausted. 

     As a result the 15th game proved decisive when Petrosian won in subtle positional style. After a couple of draws the other shoe dropped when Botvinnik lost two more games and the match was over, the last three games being just a formality. Botvinnik knew it and that explained the quick draws to finish the match. 

     Game 7 was a heavy defeat for Botvinnik because he played the opening poorly and Petrosian quickly obtained a winning position which he duly converted to victory without particular difficulty without Botvinnik being able to put up any real opposition. It was a typical Petrosian game.

 

ChessBase

Tigran Petrosian–Mikhail Botvinnik1–0A21World Championship Match, Game 7Moscow URS06.04.1963Stockfish 15

English Opening 1.c4 g6 2.f3 g7 3.c3 e5 4.g3 e7 5.g2 0-0 6.d4 exd4 7.xd4 bc6 8.xc6 xc6 A surprising positional error by Botvinnik. In the position that now results, white's chances are superior, mainly because he controls the strategically important square d5. For that reason, he should have played 8...bxc6 8...dxc6 9.g5 xc3+ 10.bxc3 xd1+ 11.xd1 f6 12.f4 e6 equals. Duda,J (2730)-Nabaty,T (2658) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2019 9.0-0 d6 10.d2 10.d2 ia aslo good. g4 11.h3 e6 12.b3 White is better. Toledo Lopez,F-Banegas Gomez,R Spain 1993 10.e3 is less precise,. e5 11.b3 xc4 12.bxc4 xc3 Black stands well. Toothill,J (2174)-Freeman,R (2088) England 2005 10...g4 This move appears to gain a tempo, but the gain is illusory. That said even after 10...Be6 black will find it difficult to maintain equality. 11.h3 e6 12.b3 d7 The supposed tempo gain as white is forced to play 13.Kh2 13.h2 ae8 14.c1 f5 15.d5 h8 A better plan would have been 15...Nd8 then 16...c6 driving the N from d5 16.e3 Black's position is extremely unpleasant and Petrosian simply keeps finding ways to improve the position of his pieces, while black can hardly do anything useful. That was a good way to fall into a lost position against Petrosian. g8 17.d2 d8 18.fd1 18.xa7 is a mistake that allows black to equalize. b6 19.xb6 cxb6 20.xb6 with an unclear position. 18...e6 19.f4 Now that there is no longer a N on c6, black has trouble defending his Q-side. xf4 20.xf4 c8 21.h4 This and the following move are typical of Petrosian's careful play...before undertaking decisive action, he improves the position of his pieces still further. e7 22.f3 f7 Slightly better was 22...b6 although even then white just keeps increasing the pressure. 23.a5 e8 Feeble play. The only way to avoid avoid immediate catastrophe 23...Qb8. After the text move white wins after the simple 24.Qxa7 24.c5 24.xa7 and black is helpless. e4 24...b6 25.xd6 25.xe4 fxe4 26.e3 White is winning. 24...d5 Desperation or oversight? In either case, there was nothing that was really better. White has a number of ways he can win. 25.d6 Petrosian gets tactical! 25.xd5 is also good. c6 26.d3 etc 25...d7 For all practical purposes this is the end of the game even though Botvinnik prefers to drag things out. 25...cxd6 26.cxd6 d7 27.dxe7 xe7 28.xd5 and white is winning. 26.xe7 xe7 27.xd5 f4 28.d2 c6 29.d3 b5 Now black wins back the exchange, but the resulting endgame, a Pawn down, is hopeless. 30.d4 fxg3+ 31.fxg3 xd4 32.xd4+ g7 33.xg7+ xg7 The ensuing endgame only requires technique which was something Petrosian possessed in abundance. 34.c2 34.xb7 would be wrong because it would allow black to activate his R. f2+ 35.g1 xe2 34...e8 35.g2 f6 36.f2 c6 37.xc6 bxc6 38.c4 e5 39.a4 a8 40.a6 d5 41.b4 c4 42.a3 b5 43.a5+ c4 44.e3 a6 45.f4 d5 46.g5 e8 47.xa6 xe2 48.a7 e5+ 49.f4 e7 50.b7 e6 51.a4 d7 52.b8 Finally! Botvinnik resigned. 1–0

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Merry Christmas!

No posts until after Christmas. In the meantime, have a great holiday and, hopefully, the weather is better where you live.

 

Cook and Jackson Slug It Out at the 1926 Rhode Island Championship

     Chancellor Chess or The New Game of Chess was published in 1889 by Ben R. Foster of St. Louis, Missouri. It was "dedicated to all liberal minded chess players throughout the world. In the forward Foster stated that he believed and knew that he was advancing the cause of chess in the introduction of a new piece, the Chancellor, and in the enlargement of the board to 81 squares. You can read the book on Google Books HERE. 

     The year 1926 began with a bang...literally. On January 2, 1926, Foster (1850-1926), who had been chess editor of the St. Louis Globe Democrat for 37 years, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. Chess historian Bill Wall also informs us that later in the year, on Saturday, September 4th, Labor Day weekend, a player named W. B. Victor, age 55, shot and killed himself in the New Orleans Chess Club. 

     On a lighter note, 1926 was the year the ingenious Brannock Device was patented by Charles Brannock (May 16, 1903 - November 22, 1992). Everybody has seen these devices, but few know there name. 

     Brannock was born into the shoe business...in 1906 his father, Otis, formed a partnership with ith Ernest Parks and founded the Park-Brannock Shoe Complany in Syracuse, New York. 

     While a Syracuse University student Charles wanted to find the best way to measure the foot and after a couple of years of experimenting he built a prototype using an erector set. 

     By the way, an erector set was the best toy ever! One year I got two for Christmas. I didn't get to play with them for a few days though because my dad spent Christmas morning building a huge Ferris wheel. 

     Before the Brannock Device was invented, feet were measured using a marked block of wood. The Brannock Device improved the accuracy of a foot measurement to a staggering 95-96 percent! On the device, men's sizes start at size 1 (7-2/3 inches long) and each size is 1/3 of an inch longer. Each width is 3/16 of an inch and in the U.S. there are nine widths: AAA, AA, A, B, C, D, E, EE and EEE. 

    Presidents' Day, also called Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served as president. Since 1879, has been the federal holiday honoring George Washington. 

     In 1926, the 40th annual Washington's Birthday celebration of the Rhode Island chess society, which was founded in 1886 by Ex-Governor Henry Howard, took place by invitation in the rooms of the Providence Chess Club. 

     About a hundred players and spectators were on hand for the annual meeting and to witness the start of the tournaments. In addition to the championship event a minor tournament was held in which the junior championship and a few other prizes were up for grabs. 

     T. J. Jackson, who had made rapid improvement during the past year, finished second and it was the game between him and Joseph Cook that determined the outcome. 

     S.L. Thompson, a noted postal player, finished third. The third place finisher, Herman G. Bonat, a past holder of the state title, had a rather erratic score, being the only one to defeat Cook and he drew draw with the second and third prize-winners, but lost to the tailenders. The problem was likely that he had not been very active in chess during the past year or so. 

ChessBase

Joseph C. Cook–T.J. Jackson1–0C441926 Rhode Island Champ, ProvidenceStockfish 15

Scotch Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.d4 exd4 4.c4 c5 5.0-0 d6 6.c3 g4 7.b4 White should play 7.Qb3 b6 8.b2 8.b3 xf3 9.xf7+ f8 10.xg8 xg8 11.gxf3 f6 Also playable is 11...g5 12.c4 d3 13.c5 dxc5 14.bxc5 xc5 15.xb7 Black is better. Harari,Z (2074)-Salomon,J (2343) London 2014 8...e5 Well played. Any other move minimizes black's advantage. 9.bd2 xf3 Black has a decisive advantage. 10.gxf3 d3 Even more potent was 10...Qg5+ first. 11.f4 g6 11...xc4 allows white to equalize. 12.xc4 f6 13.xd3 xf4 14.a4 12.f3 xf4 13.xd3 d7 14.h1 h3 15.e1 15.g1 f6 16.g3 e6 17.g5 e7 would have allowed white to put up more resistance. 15...f6 16.d2 g5 17.c4 this is a critical position and Jackson quickly goes astray. g4 Not bad, but according to Stockfish this is only about 1/3 as good as 17...Nxe4! 17...xe4 Instead of playing 17...Ng4 which threatens mate, had black played this move attacking white's Q a very complicated position would have arisen, but one in which black has a winning advantage. Back in 1926 they didn't have engines and so one annotator wrote that after 17...Nxe4, "one of the most interesting and one of the most complicated situations would have arisen that have ever occurred on the chess board with the variations too numerous to correctly analyze in the twenty-move to the hour time limit..." 18.c2 xf2 19.xf2 19.xf2 g3+ 20.g1 g2+ 21.xg2 h3# 19...xf2+ 20.xf2 xd3 21.xd3 0-0-0 and wins. 21...xd3 complicates the issue. 22.e1+ d7 23.xf7+ c6 24.xh8 xh8 Black should still win. 18.f3 h5 A fatal error that results in the loss of the game. 18...e3 19.c2 e5 20.g2 xg2 21.xg2 xg2+ 22.xg2 a5 Positionally black has a superior position, but practically he is going to have to prove that he can nurse it to a win. 19.g2 xg2+ 20.xg2 e5 21.xe5 dxe5 With the exchange of pieces black's attack has disappeared and he is facing a loss of material. 22.c5 0-0-0 23.ad1 White has to be careful. 23.cxb6 would lose the advantage after xd3 24.bxa7 a3 and black is even a little better. 23...d4 24.a3 hd8 25.c2 25.e1 likely loses... f4 26.cxb6 axb6 27.d2 xd3 28.c2 4d7 29.e3 f4 Black should win the ending. 25...c6 26.cxb6 axb6 27.xd4 exd4 A piece down, black's position is hopeless, but in practice he has a chance that his Ps can hold out against white's B. However, Cook plays the ending quite well. 28.d3 f6 29.f4 xf4 30.xf4 gxf4 31.xf4 d6 32.h4 c5 33.bxc5 bxc5 34.h5 Excellent! 34.xh7 is very tempting.. .it picks up a P and confines black's K to the last rank. It also result is disaster! b5 Threatening to get the c- and d-Pawns moving. 35.xb5 d3 36.h5 d2 37.xc5+ d8 38.a4 d1+ 39.xd1 xd1+ This ending is drawn. 40.g2 d2+ 41.g3 d3+ 42.g4 xa3 43.f5 h3 44.c2 e7 34...b6 35.g2 The K must be brought into play. c7 36.f2 c6 37.xh7+ d6 38.b5 c4 38...c7 is equally hopeless. 39.xc7 xc7 40.h4 wraps it up. d8 41.h5 e7 42.c4 f8 43.h6 and black's Ps will fall. 39.xc6 xc6 40.h5 b5 41.e2 b6 42.d5 d3+ 43.d2 a5 44.c3 Black resigned. 1–0

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Fine Out Guns the Utahns

     According to the United States Government Printing Office, Utahn is the official designation for a resident of Utah. 

     Utah became a state in 1896 and in the summer of 1940 the US was finally beginning to pull itself out of the Great Depression. Only four years earlier the Farm Security Administration had sent photographers across the country to take pictures that had become representative of the ravages of poverty and economic depression. When one of them returned in 1940, he found the economy in Utah much improved. 

     The isn't much history available about Utah chess in those days. Visiting the state's chess site shows a history of their state champions dating back only to 1991. 

     The 1940 state championship was held in Salt Lake City, but you won't find much on it. It was just the fourth annual Congress of the Utah Chess Federation and it was unusual in that it was won by Reuben Fine who toted a gun way too big for the Utah players to handle. 

Family dinner - Utah 1940

     According to a report in Chess Review, Fine added the title of Utah champion to his long string of laurels, but that report was incorrect. An article in the September 5th edition of the Salt Lake City Tribune stated that Fine, who was on tour and had given several exhibitions in town, had been invited to play in the tournament as a guest. 

     The outstanding Utah players who participated were Richard Durham, champion in 1938 and 1939, L. N. Page, the 1937 titleholder, and Dale L Morgan, champion of Salt Lake City. Besides Fine, other non-residents who participated were Douglas Graham of Bozeman, Montana and George F. Girard of Pocatello, Idaho. 

     As the top Utah finishers, Dale Morgan and Richard Durham, also from Salt Lake City, decided the championship in a playoff that was won by Morgan. 

     The Major tournament was won by 14 year old Philip Neff of Salt Lake City who was playing in his first important tournament. He went on to become a well known figure in western chess circles. 

     In the following game, Morgan indulges in positional maneuvering and when he finds his pieces offside on the Q-side, Fine unleashes a deadly attack against Morgan's King. 

ChessBase

Dale L. Morgan–Reuben Fine0–1A30Utah State Champ, Salt Lake City1940Massie,Jasmes

English Opening 1.c4 c5 2.f3 f6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 xd5 5.g2 c6 6.0-0 e5 7.d3 Once upon a time when I was under the influence of Botvinnik this was ny favorite setup with white. Unlike Botvinnik, I was never very successful with it and like Morgan here, became victim of a K-side attack more than once. I eventually gave it up as too passive. e7 8.bd2 0-0 8...e6 9.e1 0-0 10.a3 d7 11.b3 f6 12.b2 fd8 13.c1 ac8 Karlsson,L (2405) -Tal,M (2705) Skara 1980. While black's advantage is not huge, white eventually got crushed. 9.c4 f6 10.b3 GM Alex Yermolinsky (I think it was) wrote unfavorably of the double fianchetto. 10.e3 e6 11.a4 d7 12.d2 b6 13.fc1 ac8 14.d1 h8 15.d2 fd8 16.b3 Black is better. Lisitsin,G-Botvinnik,M Leningrad 1932 10.b3 h8 11.d2 b8 12.fc1 e6 13.d1 d7 14.a3 fc8 15.ab1 d4 16.a1 c6 Black is a little better, but the players agreed to a draw. Coenen,M (2433)-Niedermeier,T (2262) Deizisau 2015 10.a3 e6 11.cd2 f5 12.h3 c7 13.c2 Black's position is the more promising. Salas Rasillas,C-Saez Gabikagogeaskoa,O Fuengirola 2005 10...e6 11.b2 d7 12.d2 ac8 13.ac1 d4 14.e3 14.e3 driving the N back seems plausible, but white ultimately ends up with a backward d-Pawn which is bound to be a problem in the long run. c6 15.fd1 g4 16.e4 db4 17.a3 a6 18.e3 h5 19.d5 c7 20.xe7+ xe7 Black is better. 14.xd4 Eliminates one well placed N, but the remaining N is also well placed and black ahs a spatial advantage after cxd4 15.a3 b5 16.a5 b4 14...b4 15.c3 bc6 16.c4 fd8 17.b2 d5 18.xd4 exd4 White's best hope for prolonging the game is now to play 19.Bxd4+ although in that case also his K is dangerously denuded of defenders. 19.d2 After this move engines are already informing us that white's position has deteriorated to the point of no return against a GM e8 20.c2 It was still worth a try to play 20.Bxd5+ xg2 21.xg2 b5 22.a3 a6 23.f4 f8 24.e1 b4 25.cc1 d5 Fine wants to drive the B back so he can use the e5 square. 26.d2 Not 26.Qd2 g4 trapping the B e5 27.c2 White is quite helpless. 27.c2 h5 28.h1 h3+ 29.g1 f5 results in a slaughter...white cannot allow ...f4, so 30.f4 e8 31.e1 h6 32.e3 dxe3 33.xe3 he6 34.c1 c4 35.bxc4 xe3 36.xe3 c5 27...ce8 28.c1 h5 White is about to go down in flames, but there is nothing he can do. 29.h4 xh4 Morgan realized he was dead lost here, but decided to let Fine have some fun. 30.gxh4 30.h1 results in mate. xh1 31.xh1 h3+ 32.g1 e5 33.xd4 cxd4 34.g4 xg4+ 35.f1 h5 36.f4 g3 37.e4 h1+ 38.e2 g2# 30...g4+ Black mates here, too. 31.f1 h3+ 32.g1 e3 Sacrificing another R. It wasn't the only way to win, but it was actually the quickest. 33.xe3 33.fxe3 g3+ 34.f1 dxe3 mates on f2 33...xe3 34.fxe3 g3+ White resigned. 34...g3+ 35.f1 dxe3 mates on f2. 0–1

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Southard Slaughters Medinus

     On February 15, 1898, there was a mysterious explosion on the battleship Maine which was anchored in the Havana harbor. The explosion sank the ship and killed some 300 Marines. It was the turning point for the United States to start war operations against Spain. 

     An official Naval Court of Inquiry ruled in March that the Maine was blown up by a mine, but the court did not directly place the blame on Spain. Nevertheless, many in Congress and most of the American public expressed little doubt that Spain was responsible and called for a declaration of war. As a result, on April 21st President William McKinley formally requested Congress to declare war on Spain. The Spanish-American War lasted until December 10, 1898. 

     It wasn't until 1976 that a team of American naval investigators concluded that the Maine explosion was likely caused by a fire that ignited its ammunition stocks, not by a Spanish mine or act of sabotage. 

     May 30, 1898, was Decoration Day or, as it is called today, Memorial Day, and the war was still in progress and on that day, while the parades and memorials to those who died in wars was going on, a telegraph match was held between the Boston Chess Club and the Chicago Chess and Checker Club. The final score favored Chicago, but neither club had its best players in the lineup. 

    The following was one of the more interesting games from the match. Elmer Southard (July 28, 1876 - February 8, 1920) was born in Boston, he lived there for nearly his entire life.

     A promising player who distinguished himself while in college, he was a strong amateur who enjoyed the game throughout his life. 

     After briefly studying in Germany, he returned to the United States as a pathologist at Danvers State Hospital (also known as the Danvers Lunatic Asylum). It was a psychiatric hospital located in Danvers, Massachusetts. 

     Later, Southard headed the Boston Psychopathic Hospital when it opened in 1912, pioneering the study of brain pathology with particular interests in shell shock and schizophrenia. Southard published several books, including Shell Shock and Other Neuropsychiatric Problems. 

     He was president of the American Medico-Psychological Association and the Boston Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, and held advisory positions with the U.S. Chemical Warfare Service and the Eugenics Record Office. 

     It was Southard introduced, among others, Karl Menninger to psychiatry, and Menninger later helped establish the foundation which bears his family name. 

     At the age of 43, Southard died of pneumonia in 1920 during a trip to New York City to deliver lectures to two medical societies. 

     His opponent was Carl Medinus (August 4, 1873 - December 6, 1941, 68 years old). When Frank Marshall visited the Chicago Chess and Checker Club in December 1899 and January 1900 to play a match against Sidney Johnston (whom he only narrowly defeated +7 -6 =2), he was then challenged to a five-game match byMedinus but Marshall declined, pleading lack of time. 

     Marshall returned to Chicago later in the month and played Medinus a match in which the winner was the first to win four games. Marshall won by a score of +4 -2 =0. 

ChessBase

Elmer Southard (Boston)–Carl Medinus (Chicago)1–0C11Team Match1898Stockfish 15

French Defense 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c3 f6 4.e5 fd7 5.ce2 Originally introduced by Steinitz at Vienna in 1875, this move was eventually discarded in favor of 5.f4 c5 6.c3 c6 7.f4 cxd4 Generally, black prefers 7...Qb6 7...b6 8.f3 f6 9.a3 e7 10.h4 0-0 White has tried both 11.Rh3 and 11.b4 with equal chances in both cases. 8.xd4 8.cxd4 b4+ 9.d2 b6 10.f3 0-0 11.xb4 xb4+ 12.d2 is equal. Tarrasch,S-Noa,J Hamburg 1885 8...xd4 9.cxd4 e7 10.d3 b8 11.g4 b4+ This move, squandering time, serves little purpose because white's K is not badly placed on f3. The correct move was 11...g6 with full equality. 12.f2 0-0 Black castles into a very dangerous attack. 12...g6 was still the correct move. 12...g6 13.a3 e7 14.e3 b6 15.e2 d7 15...xb2 16.hb1 wins the Q 16.hc1 0-0 with a slight advantage for white. 13.f3 Hoping black will let him play 14.Bxh7+ f5 13...c6 14.xh7+ xh7 15.g5+ g8 16.h4 e8 17.e3 17.h7+ f8 should also end up as a victory for white. 17...b6 18.h5 d8 19.a3 There is no immediate mate, but after this black has no reasonable move. e7 This takes away the Ks escape square. 19...xa3 20.h7+ f8 21.bxa3 b2+ 22.f3 c6 23.hc1 d7 24.h5 e7 25.xf7+ d8 26.ab1 xa3 27.xb7 e7 28.xc6 xc6 29.xe6+ c8 30.c7+ b8 31.xe7 xe7 32.xe7 d7 33.xd7 mate next move. 20.h7+ f8 21.h8# 14.h3 The threat is Ng5 e7 15.g4 g6 15...b6 puts up a tougher defense. 16.g1 d7 17.d2 c6 18.c3 g6 16.g1 h8 After this black cannot hold the game. He had to play either 16...Qb6 or 16...Nc6 to have any chance of defending his position. 17.d2 Good enough. Better, but more difficult to calculate and therefore not as clear would have been 17.gxf5 exf5 18.Rxg6 e8 18.g3 g8 19.ag1 d7 19...c6 was only marginally better. 20.gxf5 exf5 21.h4 xh4 22.xh4 f7 23.h6 d7 24.h4 with a very strong attack. 20.gxf5 exf5 21.e6 xe6 22.e5 f6 23.xg6 23.xg6+ was also good. xg6 24.xg6 xd4+ 25.f1 xg1 26.xg1 White wants to mate with Bc3+. d4 27.h4 d7 28.f2 and 29.Qxd4+ leaves white with a won position. 23...xe5 24.xg8+ xg8 25.fxe5 a4 Practically resigning, but there was no defense. 25...e6 26.h6 f7 27.h4 Threatening Qd8+ 27.g7+ isn't bad either. xg7 28.xg7 xg7 27...d7 28.g7 e8 29.g5 f8 29...b6 30.xh7+ xh7 31.g7# 30.e7 mates in 7 at most. xe7 31.xe7 g8 32.xe6 g6 33.e8+ g8 34.xd7 b6 35.xf5 g6 36.xg6 mate next move. 26.h4 White has a mate in 7. d7 27.h6 27.xf5 was a bit quicker. c6 28.h6 g6 29.xg6 hxg6 30.xd7 g5 31.xg5 f8+ 32.xf8 h7 33.g7# 27...f7 It's still mate in 8. 27...Be6 would have held out 2 moves longer. 28.g7+ Both 28.e6 and 26.Bxf5 mate a move sooner, but it does not really matter, does it? g8 29.xf5 g6 30.xg6 After this white is still winning but there is no linger a forced mate. 30.f6 f8 31.e6 e8 32.h6 e7 33.xe7 e8 34.xg6 hxg6 35.xg6+ xg6 36.xg6+ h8 37.f6# 30...hxg6 31.h8+ f7 32.e6+ This had to be played because any other move and the win has evaporated. 32.xa8 and white cannot escape the coming Q checks so black draws. xd4+ 33.g2 g4+ 34.h1 f3+ 35.g2 d1+ 32.h7 xd4+ Here, too, there is no escaping the Q checks. 33.g2 e4+ 34.g3 d3+ 32...xe6 White must still avoid falling into the grabbing the R trap. 33.e1+ 33.xa8 c2+ 34.e3 e4+ 35.d2 f4+ 36.c3 e3+ 36...f3+ 37.b4 White has escaped. 37.b4 d2+ 37...xg1 would be fatal after 38.e8+ f5 38...d6 39.e5+ xe5 40.dxe5+ c7 41.e7+ c8 42.c5+ with a won ending. 39.xd7+ f4 40.d6+ e4 41.e5+ 38.a3 e3+ 39.b3 xg1 Now this is safe. After 40.e8+ d6 41.e5+ xe5 42.dxe5+ c7 and in this line white does not have Qc5+ forcing the exchange of Qs and so the Q+P ending is likely drawn. 33...f7 34.h7 Threatening mate with Bh8+. f8 35.xf8+ xf8 36.e7+ g8 37.e6+ h7 38.f7+ h8 39.f6+ Black resigned. 39.f6+ g8 40.xg6+ h8 41.f6+ g8 42.g1+ h7 43.h4# 1–0

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Ralph Betza Knocks Off A GM

     In 1965 I was assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. On June 1st, we boarded the USS Fremont in Morehead City, North Carolina for a training cruise in the Mediterranean from which we returned on November 1st. 

     I don't think any of us were aware that the US economy continued into its fifth consecutive year of expansion as part of the longest boom since the end of World War II.    

     It was the year that crude and vulgar lout occupying the White House, Lyndon B. Johnson, signed the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 into law. The bill required printed health warnings on cigarette packages about the harmful effects of smoking.

     We didn't know it at the time at Camp Lejeune, but 1965 was the year Johnson began the escalation of the war in Vietnam when nearly 5,000 men from the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade arrived in South Vietnam to defend the airbase at Da Nang from Viet Cong attacks. By the end of the year over 58,000 Marines were in Vietnam. 

     The conflict eventually became known as “Johnson’s War” because he pretty much ran the war in a haphazard manner using Executive Orders. By 1968 it was clear that Johnson was not capable of running the country and he declined to seek reelection. The country missed him not being in office about like one would miss no longer having a hemorrhoid. 

     Of course I was totally unaware of the US Open that was held in San Juan where there was a major upset in the first round. 

 

     Unless you are into chess variants you have probably never heard of Ralph Betza. Although he has not been active for decades he is an FM (FIDE 2330) who, without a doubt, is the most productive inventor of that type of chess. You can read an interview with him HERE. 

     Back in 1965, Betza, who was born on April 16, 1945, was the 33rd place finisher in the US Open with a score of 7-5. His USCF rating was 1955 (Class A). In the first round he defeated GM Robert Byrne who's USCF rating was 2546. 

ChessBase

Ralph Betza–Robert Byrne1–0A02US Open, San Juan1965Stockfish 15

White's strategy involves control of e5 and the Bird offers good attacking chances at the expense of slightly weakening the K-side. 1.f4 f6 Byrne chooses this flexible defense instead of the more popular 1...d5 2.f3 g6 3.g3 g7 4.g2 c5 After this the opening is already in remotely explored territory. Usual is 4...d5. 5.c3 This looks rather awkward. 5.O-O is a good alternative. d5 6.d3 d4 Black has already gained a slight advantage. 7.e4 d5 There was nothing wrong with 7...Nxe4. In fact, it was probably slightly better than the text. 8.d2 b6 Well played as it gives white something to think about. Should he allow ...Qxb2 or not? 9.c4 9.0-0 xb2 won't work. Instead, black should simply castle. 10.b1 a3 10...xa2 11.e5 xe5 12.fxe5 0-0 13.c1 White has what should amount to a winning attack. 11.b3 xa2 12.xc5 White is better. 9...e3 9...dxc3 10.bxc3 0-0 11.b1 would leave white with a decent position. 10.xe3 dxe3 Obviously black can't maintain the P on e3, but it temporarily has a cramping effect on white's position. 11.b1 11.0-0 xb2 12.xc5 0-0 13.d4 c6 14.d3 a3 15.de5 is equal. 11...a5+ 12.f1 c6 13.a3 It looks like black has made some serious progress in gaining the advantage, but, oddly, Stockfish evaluates the position as quite equal as does Komodo 14! f5 13...d4 is another alternative. 14.c1 b3 15.xe3 with equal chances. 14.eg5 Better was 14.Nc3 as the N now gets chased to a poor square. h6 15.h3 0-0 16.c1 a4 Rather odd in that it allows white to take the e-Pawn and thereby get a slight edge. Instead, black had two reasonable alternatives. 16...d4 17.xd4 cxd4 18.b4 c7 19.b5 d8 Technically this position is evaluated at nearly equal, but practically black looks to have all the chances. 16...e5 17.xe5 xe5 18.fxe5 f4 is interesting, but it appears white manages to survive after 19.xf4 g5 20.xc6 A nice trap is set with this move. bxc6 20...gxf4 21.d5+ h8 22.g2 c7 22...fxg3 23.xe3 wins quickly. 23.e6 f6 24.c3 g7 25.hf1 xe6 26.xe6 xe6 27.xf4 with a decisive advantage. 17.xe3 c2 Byrne has misjudged bot only the amount of play he gets on the Q-side, but the strength of white's counterplay. 18.f2 xb2 19.xc5 e5 Correct was 19...Be6. Now white's Q and N crete havoc. 20.d6 g7 21.xe5 This look natural, but it should have allowed black to equalize. 21.xb2 xb2 and only now that black's Q has been drawn away from e3 should white capture on e5. 22.xe5 xe5 23.fxe5 and white is better. 21...d4+ 22.f3 xe5+ This eliminates the dangerous N, but, ironically, loses the game. 22...d2 23.xg6+ h8 24.xh6+ and now because he is threatened with mate on e3, white must take the draw by repeating moves. 23.fxe5 White is clearly winning; he just has to be careful. Practically, for a lowly class player to find himself in this position against one of the country's best players had to be nerve-racking. Kudos to Betza for not falling apart! b6 23...b6 saves the B, but it's met by 24.xb6 With the B gone all of black's hope disappears. axb6 25.f4 c3 26.xg6+ h8 27.xh6+ g8 28.g6 wins. e8 29.h8+ f7 30.h7+ e6 31.b1 d7 32.f4+ xe5 33.xd7 xc4 34.dxc4 xa3+ 35.f2 f3+ 36.exf3 f6 37.xb6+ e6 38.xe6+ g5 39.h4# 24.xd4 In case you have not noticed, white is up a N and two Ps and has a winning advantage, but with a 591 point rating advantage the Grandmaster is not going to resign so quickly. b7+ 25.f2 xg2 26.xg2 xe2+ 27.f2 ad8 28.b2 h5 29.e6+ f6 30.e7 e8 31.he1 f7 32.b5 g5 33.d5+ g7 34.e6 f7 35.be1 After this black can only make meaningless moves and so he resigned. An impressive performance by Betza. 35.be1 h5 36.d4 g6 37.d7 a6 38.h3 f4 39.6e5 f3+ 40.f1 g4 41.g5 g8 42.e4 f2 42...f7 43.g5+ 43.e2 f7 44.xf6 xf6 45.xf2+ 1–0

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Schlecter's Flawed Gem

     While preparing this post I came across mention of the Clydesdale horse’s strength which is legendary and is the main reason why they flourished in the pre-industrial period.

     How much weight these massive horses can pull? Pulling strength is determined by the distance a loaded sled (or a dynamometer is moved) and a pair of Clydesdale can pull approximately 18,000-pounds. Actually, most large draft breeds pull similar weight. Just thought you'd like to know. 

     A few years ago I posted about how much I still liked an old book titled The Golden Treasury of Chess by Al Horowitz that he first published in 1943. It's printed in descriptive notation, most games have no or very light notes and only a few have diagrams. 

     As I mentioned in the post the collection was originally published by Francis J. Wellmuth in 1943 and it was revised and printed many times by Horowitz and the latest 2009 edition has been further revised and printed by Sam Sloan. 

     The size of the book and the games appearing in it have changed over the years. The book's history has been covered by Edward Winter in an article titled The Horowitz-Wellmuth Affair. 

     Once again I found myself browsing through the book's Modern Chess section...that section begins with a game played by Joseph H. Blackburne in 1980 and ends with a miniature played by two unknowns in Chicago in "about 1905."

     According to the book, Modern Chess "is the age of the great Lasker and Tarrasch, of Schlechter and Maroczy, of the attacking geniuses Pillsbury and Marshall and Janowski. 

     Horowitz (or maybe it was Wellmuth, I'm not sure) observed that as the number of GMs increased, it became more difficult to score tactical wins and so positional play became preeminent. The author also lamented the fact that the immortal and beautiful games of Pillsbury were not appreciated in the "Modern Era." 

     One of the games that caught my attention was the following "sparkling gem" that's been called "Schlechter's Immortal." It was played in Vienna in 1893 against Bernhard Fleissig (1853, Hungary - March 7, 1931, Vienna) who was a minor master and the younger brother of Max Fleissig, another minor master of that era. The game was apparently just an offhand game, but it's still entertaining. 

     Carl Schlechter (March 2, 1874 - December 27, 1918) was a leading Austro-Hungarian master and theoretician at the turn of the 20th century. Few realize it, but in 1910 Schlechter came within a hair's breadth of becoming the world champion when he drew a match with Emanuel Lasker. 

     Schlechter was leading by one point going into the tenth and final game of the match. In the tenth game he achieved a won game, but blundered into a clearly drawn position and then blundered again and lost. Schlechter died of pneumonia and starvation and was buried in Budapest. 

     As for the game, I don't have to tell you that Stockfish picked it apart like a buzzard on roadkill and it's not really an "Immortal" or a "sparkling gem." It's like a flawed diamond. Diamond flaws are common and few natural diamonds are perfect; most of them have inclusions or imperfections, but some people actually prefer imperfect diamonds which can be raw, speckled with shades of gray or colored with hues like brown or pink, etc. So it is with chess games. 

ChessBase

Bernhard Fleissig–Carl Schlechter0–1A00Offhand game, ViennaVienna AUH1893Stockfish 15

Polish Opening 1.b4 Also known as the Sokolsky and the Orangutan. White gains Q-side space and plays Bb2 in hopes of launching a long-range attack. While it flies in the face of theory which says white must strive for control of the center, it's never been refuted. In my database the results are evenly divided between wins, losses and draws. e6 Black has several replies, with 1. ..d5 and 1...e5 being the most natural and popular as they grab control of the center and allow for easy development. 2.b2 f6 3.a3 c5 4.b5 4.c3 d5 5.e3 d6 6.f4 Correct was 6.bxc5 c4 7.f3 b5 8.a4 bxa4 9.xa4 is vavorable to black. Cebolla Moll,R (2040)-Cantero,A (2262) Benidorm ESP 2013 4...d5 Wuensche,P (2140)-Gross,D (2360) Berlin 1996 black played 4...b6 which is just OK. 5.d4 After this white's position is in a shambles. 5.c4 as in Valenta,V (2183)-Mandak,M (2069) Tatranske Zruby 2005 is correct. e7 6.f3 0-0 7.e3 bd7 8.d3 e8 9.c3 f6 10.c2 c7 11.e2 e7 12.0-0 with equal chances. 5...a5+ 6.c3 e4 7.d3 His only chance was 7.e7. Now white loses time with his Q and weakens f2. 7.e3 was the only chance. 7...cxd4 8.xd4 c5 9.xg7 xf2+ Very natural, but in a sequence only and engine would see 9...Rf8 was even more potent. 9...f8 10.e3 10.f3 f2 11.h3 xh1 is also winning. 10...e7 11.d4 f6 12.b4 xb4 13.axb4 xc3+ 14.xc3 xc3 10.d1 d4 11.xh8+ e7 Enticing white to grab more material. 11...d7 is unacceptable. 12.e3 xc3+ 12...dxc3 13.c1 Black is the exchange down and white's position is much better. 13.xc3 xc3 14.xd4+ xd4+ 15.exd4 xd4 White is better. 12.xc8 A fatal error. 12.h3 This move would have left white with reasonable chances of defending himself. xc3+ 13.xc3 xc3 14.xf2 xa1+ 15.d2 c3+ 16.d1 Here it's unlikely that black would be satisfied with taking a draw with 16...Qa1+, etc., so... d7 17.xh7 and white can put up a serious fight. 12...dxc3 13.c1 d7 Flashy, but nearly as good as the prosaic 13...Qxb5 13...xb5 14.g5+ xg5 15.xb7+ d7 16.f3 16.xa8 d2# 16...e3 17.xa8 g5 mates in 6 18.b7 xf3 19.b4+ c5 20.xc5+ xc5 21.c1 e3+ 22.b1 b5+ 23.a2 b2# 13...d7 14.xa8 xb5 15.f3 d5+ 16.d2 e3 White cannot avoid mate... 17.a4 cxd2 18.c4 f2+ 19.c2 xc4+ 20.b2 d1+ 21.xd1 xd1+ 22.a1 c1+ 23.a2 b2# 14.xa8 Suicide. Black has a mate in 22...but only if he finds the right move. 14.xb7 This hardly saves the game, but it does not result in instant defeat. d8 15.xe4 f6+ 16.d3 xd3+ 17.exd3 White has more than enough material for his Q, but black must find the only road to victory and it's a narrow one! xg1 18.xg1 b6 19.h1 g4 the only move that avoids turning the advantage over to white. 20.b1 20.a4 f2+ 21.e2 xh1 22.g5+ f6 23.e3 and black should be able to win. 20...c5 A clever plan...shifting the Q to a2 thereby winning the R. 20...f2+ 21.e2 xh1 and black should win. 21.d4 d5 22.e1 a2 etc. 14...xb5 14...b6 intending ...Bxg1 would be awful. 15.e3 xe3 16.c8 xg1 17.d3 f2+ 18.e2 xh1 19.a4 f2+ 20.d1 Materially there is a crazy material imbalance where white has a R+B vs 2Ns+P and the chances are evaluated at 0.00 (NOT a draw, but it's anybody's game). 15.f4 d5+ Black has a mate. 16.c1 e3+ 17.xe3 f2 18.xf2 d2+ White resigned. 0–1

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A Game Just For Enjoyment

     Most chess players probably didn't care even if they knew about it, but in 1980 the US Olympic ice hockey team made history at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in New York when the team, composed of mostly college-level players, defeated the four-time gold medal winning team from the Soviet Union in a great upset. They went on to win again against Finland to take the gold medal. 

     Former Beatles member John Lennon was shot and killed by an obsessed fan outside of Lennon’s apartment in Manhattan. It was also the year Mount St. Helens in Washington state erupted, killing 57. One of my all time favorite items, Post-It notes, were officially introduced to US stores during April of 1980. The Rubik’s Cube debuted in January at a toy fair in London and by 1981 it was a worldwide craze. 

     The average income was $19,000 a year and the average cost of new house $68,700. A new car cost $7,200.00 and to put gas in it cost $1.19 a gallon. If you played chess, USCF membership was $20 a year, chess books cost $8-12, a nice 3.75 inch heavily weighted rosewood and boxwood set was available for $49, the great Drueke Player's Choice plastic set was $20 and the Cavalier Deluxe also cost $20. Somewhere stored away in a bookcase I have the latter set which was purchased when I returned home from a tournament and discovered a couple of pieces from my Player's Choice set were missing! 

 

     As advertised in the June 1980 issue of Chess Life, the Sargon 2.5 Modular Game System was said to be able to solve a given mate in 3 in 3.5 minutes which was 20 times faster than any competitor. The cost? You had to mail in a clip out coupon and they would sent you a FREE price list, brochure and a detailed report comparing Sargon to other home chess computers. Later, in December, Boris/Sargon 2.5 was on sale for $295 (that amounts to about $905 today).

     Sometimes you come across a game that is just fun to play over and the following game by USCF Expert James L. Harkins (1929-2017, 88 years old) in which he was defeated by USCF Master Tom Ward (born 1961) is such a game. He tied for 1st in the 1954 Ohio Championship, but lost on tiebreaks and won the title in 1964, 1968 and 1973. I remember seeing Harkins at tournaments; he was a man of quiet demeanor, sported a crew cut and a bow tie. His obituary can be read on the USCF site HERE. 

 

ChessBase

James L Harkins–Tom Ward0–1C44Ohio Champ QualifierCleveland, OH USA1980Stockfish 15

Scotch Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3 This gambit is an off-shoot from the Scotch Game in which white sacrifices a P, sometimes two, to open up lines and to accelerate his development. dxc3 Black needs to think carefully whether or not to accept the sacrifice; safer is 4...d5 5.c4 The alternative 5.Nxc3 has proven to be less effective. cxb2 By accepting the second P black must exercise care that he doesn't allow white dangerous attacking chances. 6.xb2 d6 A viable alternative is 6...Bb4+ and 5...Nf6 7.c3 7.0-0 e6 8.xe6 fxe6 9.b3 d7 Mastrovasilis,D (2562)-Michos,T (2264) Athens 2006 is equal after 10.Nbd2. In the game white speculated with 10.Ng5?! 7...e6 8.xe6 8.d5 remains equal. ge7 9.g5 g6 Now the correct move is 10.Nxe6. Stukalov,A (2164)-Kutepov,A (2083) Vladimir RUS 2004 8...fxe6 9.b3 Black is better. d7 This sets a little trap, but only a beginner would fall for it. In any case, white has no real compensation for the two sacrificed Ps. 10.0-0-0 This move, which leaves his K wide open, is nearly fatal. 10.xb7 b8 and the B is lost. 10.g5 is insufficient. d4 11.xb7 d8 12.0-0 c5 Here, too, white has nothing to show for the two Ps. 10.0-0 is safest, but black still has the advantage. a5 and after the Q retreats black simply continues his development. 10...0-0-0 White must now prevent ...Nf6. 11.g5 e8 12.f4 h6 13.f3 ge7 14.a4 Now with 14...Na5 and 15...Nec6 black has a very promising game. d8 Give this move two question marks because it should have lost. 15.b1 Give this move two question marks because it misses the win. 15.e5 wins the Q! dxe5 16.xd7 xd7 17.d1+ c8 18.d3 and white is winning. 15...ec6 16.d2 a5 17.b4 dc6 18.b5 a6 19.e2 a7 20.c3 b8 Black still had to be careful! 20...e7 continuing his development is met by 21.e5 d8 22.f7 d7 and white can draw by repeating moves with 23. Ne5. If 23.xh8 xh8 24.c1 the position is unclear as both sides have chances. 21.c1 21.e5 c8 22.f7 h7 and white hasn't really accomplished anything. 21...e7 Opening up the position with 21...g5 was more aggressive, but the text is quite solid. 22.h4 c8 23.g4 b5 24.d1 hg8 25.e3 g5 Black should have tried opening up lines against white' K with 25...c5 even though white would then get some play. The text allows white to nearly equalize. 25...c5 26.f5 b7 27.fxe6 xe4+ 28.cc2 xe6 29.f5 xe2 30.xe2 f8 31.e6 26.hxg5 hxg5 27.f5 exf5 28.gxf5 Wrong recapture! 28.exf5 7c6 29.d3 and for all practical purposes white is equal. 28...g4 The passed P causes white grief. 29.xg4 This may look like desperation in a time of panic, but it sets a trap. 29.d4 g5 30.dd1 g3 and black is clearly better. 29.e5 This is the move! e8 30.5xg4 g5 31.f3 7c6 32.f6 Black will have to defend carefully in order to keep his advantage. 29...c4 Excellent! 29...xg4 30.e5 d8 31.xg4 g5 and suddenly the chances are back to equal. 30.dc2 30.xc4 was better. After bxc4 31.e3 g5 32.xg5 xg5 33.xc4 c6 Black is up the exchange, but white has some practical chances owing to his active pieces and the P on f5. 30...xb2 31.xb2 xg4 White resigned. At first glance it might look a bit premature, but black has the win in hand. 31...xg4 32.e5 dxe5 33.xg4 a3 34.d1 e7 35.b3 xb2 36.xb2 and black is a piece and P up... it's not worth playing on against a Master under such circumstances. 0–1

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