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).

 

[Event "US Open, Cleveland"] [Site ""] [Date "1957.08.08"] [Round "?"] [White "Henry Gross"] [Black "Igor Garais"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B75"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "1957.08.05"] {Sicilian Dragon} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Be2 O-O 9. g4 e5 (9... d5 {is a better way to counter white's last move.} 10. g5 Ne8 11. exd5 (11. Nxd5 {leads to not much of anything after} Nxd4 12. Bxd4 e6 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. Nc3) 11... Nb4 12. Bc4 Nc7 {is equal.}) ( 9... Nxd4 10. Bxd4 {Black has tried 1-...Bh6 and 10...35 both of which equalize.}) 10. Ndb5 Ne8 11. Nd5 Be6 12. Qd2 Bxd5 {A poor choice that allows white to gain the advantage.} (12... a6 13. Nbc3 b5 14. a3 Nd4 {with complete equality.}) 13. exd5 Ne7 {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... Nd4 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. Bxd4 Bxd4 16. Qxd4 {and white is slightly better.}) 14. Bxa7 {White could have stayed on course with 14.O-O-O. Instead he makes a costly tactical error.} (14. Nxa7 {was not quite so bad, but black still comes out on top, at least theoretically, after} Rxa7 15. Bxa7 b6 16. a4 Qc7 17. Bxb6 Qxb6 {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. O-O-O Nc8 {[%mdl 32]} 16. Bxb6 ( 16. h4 {For what it was worth white should have ignored the situation on the Q-side and launched this desperate try...} Nc7 17. h5 Nxb5 18. Bxb5 Rxa7 19. Kb1 Qf6 20. g5 Qf4 21. Bd3 Qxd2 22. Rxd2 Ne7 23. Be4 Nf5 24. Rdh2 Ng3 25. hxg6 Nxh1 26. gxh7+ Kh8 27. Rxh1 {Black has a decisive advantage.}) {Bxb5 Bc3} 16... Qxb6 17. Kb1 Nc7 18. Nxc7 Qxc7 19. c4 {How good will white's Ps be at making life difficult for black? Not very as it turns out!} Nb6 20. Rc1 Qa7 21. a3 Na4 22. Bd1 {Black finishes off the game neatly.} Nxb2 {[%mdl 512]} 23. Kxb2 e4+ { White resigned. It's mate in 5...an abrupt end.} (23... e4+ 24. Rc3 Qxa3+ 25. Kc2 Qa2+ {No need to take the R.} (25... Bxc3 26. Qxc3 Qa2+ 27. Qb2 Qxc4+ 28. Kd2 exf3 29. Qc3 Ra2+ 30. Bc2 Qxg4 {mates in 11}) 26. Kc1 Qa1+ 27. Kc2 Ra2+ 28. Kb3 Rb8#) 0-1