Nice Win by Frank K. Perkins

 

     Frank Kendall Perkins (October 6, 1891 - February, 1971) was born in Brooklyn and first came to the notice of the chess playing public as a member of the Cornell University Chess Club when he became its champion. 

     After obtaining his degree in civil engineering in 1912, he became a junior engineer in the New York subway construction. 

     Before the outbreak of World War I, Perkins applied for Army commission in March of 1917 and after his training he was assigned to the 303rd Engineers at Camp Dix, New Jersey. 

     He sailed for France in May of 1918 and was engaged in combat near Ypres where he helped prepare the defense for an anticipated attack. He also fought at Chateau Thierry. In September of 1918. Perkins was gassed, but recovered.

     Perkins faced some pretty tough conditions and wrote that this time seemed like a nightmare. He was so weak he could hardly sit on his horse and they worked under shell fire day and night with no chance to get proper rations, just hard tack and bully-beef when they were lucky. 

     Soldiers were often given tins of beef along with hard tack, a rigid biscuit that looks like a large cracker that is made from flour, water, and sometimes a pinch of salt. It is known not only for its portability and shelf life but also its ability to chip teeth. Bully beef (corned beef) was often spread on the hard tack or eaten straight from the can. 

     Perkins was gassed a second time, but this time it was not serious enough to require hospital admission, but it was bad enough that it affected his stomach. When his outfit was ordered to march to the rear he was sent to the hospital where he was admitted and was in the hospital when the armistice was signed.

     Few of Perkins’ games survive and in the mid-1930s he gave up chess for bridge. He wrote at least one book on it titled Vital Tricks at Contract Bridge which was published in 1953. He also published numerous articles on the game and was the founder of New England Bridge League. 

     A September, 1937 issue of Games Digest magazine article says: “Frank Perkins, another of our contributors on chess, directs his article to the attention of the average player. But Perkins is far above the average class. While he has retired from active competition, Frank was not so many years ago considered this country’s leading amateur chessplayer. His retirement, by the way, was not caused by old age, but by the fact that he now devotes most of his attention to contract bridge, at which he is an equally famous star. A native New Yorker, Frank is now settled in Boston.”

     In the following game he handily defeats Abraham Kupchik (1892-1980) who was born in the Russian Empire in what is now now Belarus. His family emigrated to the US in 1903. A strong Master with a super-solid style, he won the Manhattan Chess Club Championship 10 times outright and once shared it with Isaac Kashdan (in 1935).

 

[Event "Metropolitan Chess League Match"] [Site "New York, NY"] [Date "1919.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Frank Perkins"] [Black "Abraham Kupchik"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B40"] [Annotator "Stockfish/Komodo"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "1919.??.??"] {Sicilian} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 {Unlike the 2...d6 variations, black keeps the a3-f8 diagonal open for the B on f8. The move ...Bb4 is often an option and ... Bc5 is sometimes possible.} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 {Thus move usually leads to one of the variations after the more usual 4...Nc6 or 4...a6 variation, but it contains a trap white must avoid.} 5. Nc3 (5. e5 Qa5+ 6. Nc3 Qxe5+ {and black has won a P.}) 5... Bb4 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. O-O d5 9. e5 Bxc3 {Although this doubles white's Ps it was a better idea not to part with the B.} 10. bxc3 $16 Nd7 11. Qg4 {White clearly has the more active position.} g6 12. Qg3 (12. Re1 {was lso good.} Qa5 13. Qf4 Rb8 14. Bd2 {Coutinho,S (2106)-Domingos,J (2041) Brasilia 2012}) 12... Nc5 13. Ba3 {[%mdl 32]} Nxd3 14. cxd3 {[%mdl 32] Strategically black's game is lost owing to h\\the poor position of his K and the weak dark squares all around it. Perkins now begins a process of placing his pieces in their oprimal positions.} Qa5 15. Bb4 Qc7 16. Bd6 Qa5 17. d4 Ba6 18. Rfe1 Bc4 {Both players have gotten their Bs outside the P-chain, but notice how much more effective white's is.} 19. a3 (19. Qg5 {was also effective.} Qd8 20. Qh6 Bd3 21. Qg7 Kd7 22. Qxf7+ {It's clear that white is winning.}) 19... Qd8 {The Q retreats to defend the dark squares.} 20. Re3 { The R is going to be added to the assault.} h5 21. h3 a6 22. Rf3 Ra7 23. Rf6 { A small inaccuracy that should have alklowed black to stay ion the game.} (23. Rb1 {was even more effetive.} h4 24. Qf4 {There is no good answer to the threat of Rb8}) 23... Qd7 (23... Rb7 {would have allowed him to keep fighting. The best line would then be} 24. Kh2 h4 25. Qg5 Rb2 26. Kg1 a5 27. Re1 Bd3 28. Qf4 Bf5 29. Rc1 Qd7 30. Qe3 Qb7 31. c4 dxc4 32. Rxc4 Rb3 33. Qd2 {An intertesting position! It would appear thar white has not made any real progress, but both Komodo and Stockfish give him a winning advantage of 2.5 to 4.0 Ps. Howevern in a Shootout usinf Stockfish white scored +3 -1 =1, so in practical play let's just say the position is unclear!}) 24. Rb1 {Now that black has been neutralized on the b-file all is well for white.} Ra8 (24... Rb7 {allow a clever finish...} 25. Rxe6+ fxe6 26. Qxg6+ Qf7 27. Qxf7+ Kxf7 28. Rxb7+ Kg8 29. f3 (29. Rb8+ Kg7 30. Rxh8 Kxh8 {may not win for white.}) 29... Rh7 30. Rb8+ Kg7 31. Kf2 {and the Ks entry into the action will decide the ending in white's favor.}) 25. Re1 {Now 25.Rxe6 just loses a R.} Rh7 {This move, leaving f8 unguarded, loses instantly.} (25... h4 26. Qg5 Bd3 27. Qe3 Be4 {and black can still resist.}) 26. Qxg6 $1 {[%mdl 512]} Rh8 {Prevents Qg8+.} ( 26... fxg6 27. Rf8#) 27. Qg7 {Black resigned because mate is unavoidable.} 1-0