Ruth Herstein, Mystery Lady

 

     Ruth Herstein (April 12, 1932 - September 13, 1999, age 67) was born in Heerlen, The Netherlands and was was one of the leading female chess players in the United States in the 1970s. Even so, you won't find much about her. 

     She never had a minus score in the US Women's Championships and her best results were in 1975 and 1976, when she tied for 2nd-3rd. 

     She also played in the Women's Olympiads in 1974, 1976, and 1978: Second board in 1974 in Medellín (+7 -2 =2), third board in 1976 in Haifa (+3 -2 =3) and third board in 1978 in Buenos Aires (+4 -6 =0). 

     A high school science teacher by profession, she was married to US Master Kenneth Fitzgerald from 1969 to 1973. She passed away in Santa Monica, California. 

     In the 1975 US Women's Championship she finished in a tie for second place with Ruth Haring Orton of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The prize money was split equally, but because the championship was a FIDE Zonal from which only the first and second finishers could advance, a playoff was held later to determine who would accompany Diane Savereide; Orton won the playoff. 

     The following topsy-turvy game was played in the first round of the 1975 Women's Championship and was the only game Savereide lost when she became too intent on her own plan of giving mate and ended up falling to a mate by Herstein even though a draw was available. 

 

ChessBase

Ruth Herstein–Diane Savereide1–0E62US Womens Champ, MilwaukeeMilwaukee, WI USA1975Stockfish 15.1

King's Indian 1.f3 g6 2.g3 g7 3.g2 d6 4.d4 f6 5.c4 0-0 6.c3 c6 7.0-0 e5 8.e3 This move is needlessly tame. 8.d5 followed by 9.e4 would have allowed white to press for an advantage. d7 8...f5 is good option. 9.b3 exd4 10.exd4 e4 equals. Gagunashvili,M (2591)-Livshits,G (2406) Rishon Le Ziyyon 2006 9.a3 9.d5 b6 10.xb6 axb6 11.d5 e7 12.d2 h6 13.a4 is completely even. Glud,J (2456)-Pina Vega,S (2279) Havana 2008 9.b3 is a slow option that does not lead to much. f5 10.dxe5 in Roca Rojas,A (2242)-Amaro Alfonso,R (2021) Havana 2015 black continued with 10...Ndxe5 and got a poor game. Instead 10...dxe5 is equal. 9...a5 10.b3 f5 As a result of white's passive play Savereide has had no trouble getting an active, but not necessarily better, position. 11.d5 e7 Quite good was 11...e5 and 12.. .Nf6 12.g5 One annotator called this move rather pointless, but the fact is that it's not at all bad. 12.dxe5 was equally good. dxe5 13.e4 c6 White can either retreat the N to c3 or capture on e7; either move is equally good. 12...f6 13.xe7+ 13.dxe5 is more precise. After dxe5 14.b2 h6 15.xf6+ xf6 16.f3 chances are even. 13...xe7 14.b2 e4 15.d5 g4 15...h6 was also quite good as after 16.e6 xe6 17.dxe6 xe6 black is a solid P up. 16.xg7 xg7 17.b4 c3 Black chooses to ignore the stranded N tand exercises the option of seeking active play on the Q-side. 17...f6 18.h3 g5 19.c5 h6 with a solid positional advantage. 17...h6 18.e6 xe6 19.dxe6 e5 20.bxa5 xe6 21.b1 fb8 black is slightly better. 18.c1 18.d4 would have also forced the trade of Qs but it would have made her defense easier because it leads to a more active P-formation. xd4 19.exd4 18...axb4 19.xc3 This is the wrong capture because it leaves the a-Pawn weak. 19.axb4 Qxc1 20.Rfc1 was correct. Black's advantage would then be minimal. bxc3 20.fc1 a4 21.xc3 e5 Technically black has the advantage after this move, but it leads to obscure complications. It would have been better to fix white's c-Pawn with 21...b6! 22.c5 h6 23.h3 23.e6 xe6 24.dxe6 d5 leaves black clearly better. 23...a5 24.cxd6 cxd6 25.f4 d7 25...c5 gets tricky, but it's the only way to try and keep the advantage. 26.xc5 26.cc1 g5 27.e2 xd5 28.d4 c5 26...dxc5 27.b1 d8 26.c7 This active R on the 7th means white has managed to equalize. fa8 With this move Savereide tosses away all of her advantage and allows Herstein to gain the clearly better position. 26...f7 and Black stays safe. 27.xb7 g5 28.e6 xe6 29.b8+ f8 30.xf8+ xf8 31.dxe6 e7 with equal chances. 27.xb7 A logical followup to her last move, but she has missed a promising tactical shot! 27.xg6 xg6 28.xd7 xd5 29.xb7 with the better chances. 27...xa3 28.xa3 xa3 29.f1 29.xg6 Things get tricky after this, but now it only leads to equality. a1+ 30.f1 f4 31.xf4 31.xe5 h3 32.b8+ g7 33.b7+ f6 34.g4+ f5 35.f7+ xg4 and wins 31...f3+ 32.g2 e1+ 33.h1 g4 equal. 29...g5 30.h5 f7 31.b5 a1+ 32.g2 With best play by both sides this position is probably drawn, but only IF black finds the right 32nd move! f3 Which she does! 32...e7 33.xd7 xd7 34.g7 f4 35.gxf4 gxf4 36.exf4 and the ending is favorable to white. 33.xd7+ 33.xd7 would not be so good... g1+ 34.h3 g4# 33...g6 This is a gross blunder. Retreating to the 8th rank was the only feasible defense. 33...f8 34.d8+ 34.xd6 is a self mate. g1+ 35.h3 g4# 34...f7 35.e8+ She can never play Rxd6 because the mate is still there. e7 36.d7+ xe8 37.f6+ f8 38.h7+ g8 39.f6+ f8 40.h7+ g8 41.f6+ f8 42.h7+ Draw by threefold repetition. 33...g8 34.f6+ f8 Noiw white can take the d-Pawn, but it does no good. 35.xd6 g1+ 36.h3 h1 36...g4+ and white escapes by 37.xg4 fxg4+ 38.xg4 37.g4 and wins. 34.g7+ Black resigned. 34.g7+ xh5 35.e8+ g4 36.h3# 1–0

Download PGN