1924 Western Championship

     A dollar in 1924 was worth $17.25 today. A gallon of milk cost 28 cents which amounts to $4.84 today, not a great difference. Cars are a different matter though. In 1924, a car cost $109 to $264 which amounts to about $1,900 to $4,600 today, but of course today’s cars are a lot more reliable and have a lot more bells and whistles. 

     In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was appointed as the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a job he held for 37 years until his death in 1972. 

     In an historical first, President Jimmy Carter was born at the Wise Clinic in Plains, Georgia on October 1, 1924. That made him the first president to be born in a hospital. 

     Philip Morris of cigarette fame died back in 1873, but his widow and his brother continued the business and the Marlboro brand was launched in 1924 as a woman’s cigarette. 

     Marketing for the new brand had a red filter that promised to deliver a smooth smoking experience while hiding lipstick stains. The slogan Mild as May was adopted and actress Mae West was featured in the commercials. 

Marlboro Man in 1958

     It wasn’t until 1954 that Marlboro became a man’s cigarette and featured the cowboy character, the Marlboro Man. The real Marlboro man was Darrell Winfield, who modeled for the brand from 1968 to 1989. Prior to him there were dozens of Marlboro men, typically actors and professional models, but Winfield was the real deal… a cowboy who continued working on ranches even after becoming the Marlboro Man. Winfield died in Riverton, Wyoming, on January 12, 2015, at the age of 85. That same year he was inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame. 

     The 25th Western Championship was held in Detroit, Michigan from August 23rd to September 2nd, 1924. A 19-year old Mexican by name name of Carlos Torre Repetto swept through the tournament undefeated and ended up with a 2.5 points lead over the field. 

 

     The race was for second place and it was an exciting one! Going into the last round Samuel Reshevsky had 11.0 points while Norman T. Whitaker, Samuel Factor and Harold Hahlbohm had 10.5. 

     In the last round Hahlbohm won on a forfeit over Goerlich, Factor defeated Kalman Erdeky and Reshevsky lost to Whitaker. 

     After the dust settled, Factor, Hahlbohm and Whitaker tied for second. Just a half-point behind was 12-year-old Reshevsky. 

     Two players withdrew. Lewis J. Isaacs played four games before withdrawing due to illness. He lost to Mlotkowski, Margolis,Banks and Palmer and his score was canceled. On the other hand, Robert Goerlich lost to Factor, Whitaker, Erdecky, Reshevsky and Ruth, but his remaining games were scored as wins for his opponents. There is no known explanation for the reason why Ruth’s name was removed from the crosstable, but Goerlich is shown as having lost all 16 games.

     Starting in round 5 after Isaacs’s withdrawal Jenkines, Spero, Torre , Winter, Scrivener, Stolzenberg, Hahlbohm, Reshevsky, Factor, Whitaker, Erdeky and Ruth all received byes. 

     In the following game, in a routine position, Reshevsky makes a routine move (12...Re8) and immediately comes under a vicious attack on that vulnerable square everybody knows to keep an eye on, f7. 

[Event "Western Championship, Detroit"] [Site ""] [Date "1924.08.31"] [Round "?"] [White "Samuel D Factor"] [Black "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D46"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "1924.??.??"] {Semi-Slav} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Qc7 {Better was 9...c5} 10. Bd2 (10. h3 e5 11. e4 exd4 12. Nxd4 Ne5 13. Be2 Ng6 14. Rd1 {with equal chances. Portisch,F (2400) -Vuckovic,A (2345) Neuwied 1993}) (10. Be2 e5 11. e4 exd4 12. Nxd4 Nc5 13. h3 { also equals. Gavilan Diaz,M (2280)-Garcia Rodriguez,V (2090) Malaga 2009}) (10. e4 {This move has not been played before, but it's worth investigating.} e5 11. h3 exd4 12. Nb5 Qb8 (12... cxb5 13. Bxf7+ {wins the Q}) 13. Nbxd4) 10... e5 { In this position back has played 10...Rd8 and 10...h6, oth of which result in no more that equality. Reshevsky's move is hardly bad, but a better way of counterattacking in the center would have been 10...c5} (10... c5 11. d5 exd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Bxd5 Nf6 {Black has fully equalized.}) 11. Rac1 (11. dxe5 { allows black easy equality after} Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Ne2 Bf5) 11... Bd6 { Black has a potential threat against the h-Pawn.} 12. h3 {This sets a nifty trap into which the young Reshevsky falls.} (12. dxe5 {is a different story this time because now it's white who benefits from the exchange on e5.} Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. f4 Bd6 15. h3 Be6 16. Bd3 Rad8 17. e4 {and white has an aggressive position.}) 12... Re8 {[%mdl 8192] This exposes f7 to attack and results in the quick collapse of black's position.} (12... exd4 {is obvious and allows white only a nominal advantage after} 13. exd4 Nb6) 13. Ng5 Re7 ( 13... Rf8 14. Bxf7+ Rxf7 15. Qb3 Nc5 (15... Nb6 16. Nb5 Qe7 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 18. Qxf7+ {wins}) 16. dxc5 Bf8 17. Na4 {White is winning.}) 14. Qb3 (14. Bxf7+ { as in the previous note also wins...} Rxf7 15. Qb3 Nc5 16. dxc5 Bf8 17. Na4 { is hopeless for black.}) 14... Qb6 {As in the previous otes relatively best, but still totally insufficient is 14...Nc5} 15. Bxf7+ Kf8 16. Nce4 Bc7 17. Bb4 {Black could safely resign.} Bd8 18. Nd6 (18. Bxe7+ {leads to a forced mate after} Bxe7 (18... Kxe7 19. Qe6+ Kf8 20. Nxh7+ Nxh7 21. Qe8#) 19. Ne6+ Kxf7 20. N6g5+ Kg6 21. Qf7+ Kh6 22. Ne6 Bf8 23. g4 Nxg4 24. hxg4 g6 25. N4g5 Be7 26. Qxh7#) 18... c5 {As good a move as any.} 19. dxc5 Qc6 20. Ne6+ Rxe6 21. Bxe6 e4 22. Bxd7 {Black finally resigned. The threat is Qf7# and preventing it will cost gobs of material} (22. Bxd7 Qxd6 23. Bxc8 {What a great move!} (23. cxd6 Bxd7 {wins of course, but it's not as eloquent.}) 23... Qd5 24. c6+ Kf7 25. Qxd5+ Nxd5 26. cxb7 Rb8 27. Bd6 Rxb7 28. Bxb7 {Black is two Rs down.}) 1-0