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.
[Event "US Championship, New York"]
[Site ""]
[Date "1940.04.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Weaver Adams"]
[Black "Albert Simonson"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C24"]
[Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.3 (10s)"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "1940.??.??"]
{Bishop's Opening} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} e5 2. Bc4 {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.} Nf6 {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. Bxf4 d5 6. exd5
Nxd5 7. Qf3 Be6 8. Nd2 Be7 9. Ne2 O-O {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
Nxe4 6. dxe4 Qh4+) 5... e4 (5... cxd5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. fxe5 Bxb5 8. exf6 Qxf6 9.
Nc3 Bb4 10. Bd2 Bxc3 11. Bxc3 d4 12. Bd2 {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. Bxf4 Nxd5 {with equal chances.}) 6. dxe4 Nxe4 {
The only good move.} (6... cxd5 7. Bxd5 Nxd5 8. Qxd5 Qxd5 9. exd5 {is good for
white.}) 7. Nf3 (7. Qe2 {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. Bb5+ Nc6 9. Nf3 Bc5 10. Be3
Qb6 {with the advantage.}) 7... Bc5 {This assault on f2 looks far more
dangerous than it is!} 8. Nbd2 Bf5 (8... Nf2 {favors white after} 9. Qe2+ Qe7
10. Qxe7+ Kxe7 11. Rf1 cxd5 12. Bxd5 {with much the better of it.}) (8... Bf2+
9. Kf1 Nxd2+ 10. Bxd2 Bc5 11. Qe2+ {followed by Re1 and white is practically
winning.}) 9. Qe2 {Adams characteristically prefers to play for the initiative.
} (9. Nxe4 Bxe4 10. Ng5 Bxd5 11. Qe2+ Qe7 12. Bxd5 cxd5 {is equal.}) (9. dxc6
Nxc6 10. Nxe4 Bxe4 11. Qxd8+ Rxd8 {and white should play 12.Bd2 with equal
chances, but he must avoid} 12. Ng5 Bxg2 13. Nxf7 Rd4 14. Bb3 Rf8 {and black
is winning. For example...} 15. Ng5 (15. Rg1 Re4+ {wins.}) 15... Bxh1 {etc.})
9... cxd5 10. Nxe4 {Well played.} (10. Ng5 {is met by} O-O 11. Ndxe4 dxc4 12.
Nxc5 Qa5+ 13. Kf2 Qxc5+ 14. Be3 {with equal chances.}) 10... Bxe4 (10... dxe4 {
is an error.} 11. Ng5 O-O 12. Bxf7+ Kh8 13. g4 {with a strong attack.}) 11. Be3
Bxf3 12. gxf3 O-O {The only correct move.} (12... Bxe3 13. Qxe3+ Qe7 14. Qxe7+
Kxe7 15. Bxd5 {and white stands very well.}) 13. O-O-O (13. Bxc5 {gives black
the advantage.} Re8 14. Be3 dxc4 {white is in an awkward situation on the
e-file.}) 13... d4 {An inaccuracy.} (13... Bxe3+ {is also unsatisfactory
because after} 14. Qxe3 Nc6 15. Rxd5 {white has a significant advantage.}) (
13... Re8 {keeps the chances equal after} 14. Rxd5 Nd7 15. Rhd1 Bxe3+ 16. Kb1
Bxf4) 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.} Nc6 15. cxd4 {
[%mdl 32]} Bd6 {A tame retreat from an aggressive player!} (15... Nxd4 {
remains equal.} 16. Bxd4 Bxd4 17. Qe4 Qc7 18. Rxd4 b5) 16. Kb1 Qf6 17. d5 Nb4 {
In this complicated and tricky position both sides begin making inferior moves
and the advantage seesaws.} 18. Rhg1 (18. Bd4 {would have given white a
decisive advantage. viz...} Qxf4 19. a3 Rfe8 20. Qg2 Be5 {with complications
galore although in the end with accurate play white's advantage should prove
decisive. For example...} 21. Bxe5 Rxe5 22. Qg4 Qxg4 23. fxg4 Na6 24. d6 Kf8
25. Rhe1 Rxe1 26. Rxe1 Re8 27. Rf1 f6 28. g5 Nc5 29. gxf6 Ne4 30. fxg7+ Kxg7
31. Rf7+ Kg6 32. Rc7 Nxd6 33. Bd5 {The fireworks have fizzled out and white is
left with a decisive positional advantage in the ending.} Re2 34. Rd7 Nf5 35.
Rxb7 Rxh2 36. Rxa7) 18... Rfe8 {[%mdl 8192]} (18... Qf5+ {equalizes.} 19. Bd3
Nxd3 20. Qxd3 Qxd3+ 21. Rxd3) 19. Bd4 {...and wins...or should have!} Qf5+ 20.
Bd3 Qxd5 {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... Qxd3+ 21. Qxd3 Nxd3 22. Rxg7+ Kf8 23. Rxd3
Re1+ 24. Kc2 Re2+ 25. Kb3 Rxh2 26. Rg5) 21. Bxh7+ {[%mdl 8192] A phantasam!} (
21. Bc4 {this is a promising looking move, but it only results in equality
after} Qf5+ 22. Bd3 Nxd3 23. Rxg7+ Kf8 24. Qxd3 Qxd3+ 25. Rxd3 Re1+ {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. Rxg7+ {This forces mate.} Kf8 22. Rg8+ Kxg8 23. Rg1+ Kf8 24. Bg7+ Kg8
25. Bf6+ Kf8 26. Rg8+ Kxg8 27. Qg2+ Qg5 28. Qxg5+ Kf8 29. Qg7#) 21... Kxh7 (
21... Kh8 {Perhaps this is the move Adams had reckoned on black playing. In
that case he would have had a fantastic finish.} 22. Bxg7+ Kxh7 23. Rxd5 f5 24.
Qg2 Re1+ 25. Rxe1 Nxd5 26. Bd4 Be5 27. Bxe5 Rg8 28. Qh3+ Kg6 29. Rg1+ Kf7 30.
Qxf5+ Ke7 31. Rxg8 Nc3+ 32. bxc3 a6 33. Qf6+ Kd7 34. Rd8#) 22. Rxg7+ Kh6 {
Adams resigned. There is no defense against 23...Qxa2. In fact, black has a
mate in 14.} (22... Kh6 23. Be5 Qxa2+ 24. Kc1 Rac8+ 25. Kd2 Rc2+ 26. Ke1 Rxe2+
27. Kxe2 Bxe5 28. fxe5 Qxb2+ 29. Kf1 Kxg7 30. Re1 Nd3 31. Re2 Qc1+ 32. Kg2 Nf4+
33. Kg3 Nxe2+ 34. Kf2 Rxe5 35. Kg2 Qg1+ 36. Kh3 Rh5#) 0-1
No comments:
Post a Comment