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| Kim Commons in 1976 |
But, how do masters really play in games that are played in the normal course of a tournament and never get to see the light of day?
The following game was played in Lone Pine, 1976. First place was taken by Tigran Petrosian. There was a log jam for second place: Vasily Smyslov, Walter Browne, Larry Christiansen, Kenneth Rogoff, Gyozo Forintos, Oscar Panno, Miquel Najdorf, Anthony Miles and Miguel Quinteros.
This game, just picked at random, was won by Kim Commons who scored +3 -2 =2 to finish tied for places 17-23. Also included in that group was Pal Benko. Commons’ opponent finished +2 -4 =1 and was in a group tied for places 42-47. There were 57 players but 3 withdrew early in the event.
Kim Commons (July 23, 1951 - June 23, 2015), originally from California, was one of the most promising players in the US in the 1970’s and was good enough to be invited to participate in the US Championship. He was awarded the IM title in 1976.
Commons gave up chess because he desired to, as he put it, “become a Grandmaster in real estate.” To that end he became a real estate broker in California and later a successful businessman in Arizona.
For the second half of his life he lived in Arizona, first in Tempe before moving to Mesa where in 2005 he was the founder and owner of Club Red, a music club. The club was a haven for metal and hip-hop shows. The club closed in 2021. No reason was given for its closure, but at that time music venues across the country closed down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commons passed away at the age of 63 on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, after suffering a major stroke two days earlier. He was remembered by his associates at the club as "a very intelligent person...always brimming with ideas and constantly tapping into people's insight on how to make our old venue, as well as our new one, the best possible experience for everyone involved.... He was constantly working on improving the venue and making sure that we could be the best at what we do."
Commons was also praised for his business acumen and, also, for his modest life style...profits went back into the club, he never “cashed out, took huge trips or bought anything lavish for himself.... “
He was also described as being, kind, honest, selfless and as have never developed a large ego or ever took advantage of bands or anyone else.
His opponent was Boris Baczynskyj (1945-2008) who was a Philadelphia chess legend and popular coach. Baczynskyj was known as a very aggressive player. He was Ukrainian by nationality, born in Vienna and raised in Philadelphia.
Before he became a full time chess coach (among his students was Philadelphia 76ers (a pro-basketball team) owner Pat Croce) he worked as a stringer for Associated Press in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime, a Communist highly autocratic, totalitarian and repressive government that was responsible for many deaths. They fell in January of 1979 when Vietnamese troops seize the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh and toppled the brutal regime of Pol Pot.
A game that I liked (Fritz 17)
Kim Commons–Boris Baczynskyj1–0E14Lone Pine09.03.1976Stockfish 16
E14: Queen's Indian 1.d4 f6 2.c4 e6 3.f3 b6 The Q-Indian is a solid
defense with the aim of increases black's control over e4. A rars sideline.
Far more usual is 4.g6 4.e3 b7 5.d3 b4+ 6.bd2 0-0 7.0-0 d5 8.a3 e7 9.b4 bd7 10.c5 g6 Evidently played to avoid potential sacrifices on h7 but
he soon wishes he hadn’t played it. 10...a5 11.b2 c6 12.e2 c7 13.b3 axb4 14.axb4 xa1 15.xa1 a8 is about equal. Jovanic,O (2520)-Tratar,M
(2479) Nova Gorica SLO 2014 10...bxc5 11.bxc5 e5 11...c6 12.c2 b8
is slightly in white's favor. Grachev,B (2661)-Fedoseev,V (2662) Vladivostok
2014 12.xe5 xe5 13.dxe5 d7 14.c2 xe5 15.xh7+ h8 White is better.
Szilagyi,G-Csom,I Hungary 1966 11.c2± c6 12.b2 h5 This is in
keeping with Bacynskyj’s reputation as an aggressive player, but he is
making the basic mistake of playing on the wrong side of the board. 12...a5 13.c3 a6 14.xa6 xa6 with equal chances. 13.e5 f6 Weakening his
K’s position. 13..Nxe5 was better. 14.xd7 xd7 15.f4 Making room for a
Rook lift using the f3 square. This is basic strategy often seen in openings
like the Stonewall Attack and the Torre Attack. ae8 Defending the g-Pawn
with 15...Qe8 would have been better. 16.xg6 hxg6 17.xg6+
Black's position is critical and it's doubtful that he can hold it. g7 18.f3 Adding the R to the attack. d8 Passive defense is doomed
to fail so the aggressive 18...e5 was his best try. 18...e5 19.g3 f7 20.dxe5 fxe5 21.xe5 h4 22.h3 e6 23.d3 The attack has temporarily been
beaten off and perhaps black can organize a defense. 19.h3 f7 20.f1 f8 21.ff3 A slip that should have allowed black to equalize! Adding the N to
the attack with 21.Nf3 was the right way to continue. 21.f3 c7 22.e4 dxe4 23.g5 Sacrificing the N so the B can join the attack. fxg5 24.d5 cxd5 25.xg7+ e7 26.f6+ wins. 21...f5 Missing a golden
opportunity to equalize. 21...e7 and surprisingly there is no way to get
at black's K! 22.h7 g8 23.h4 c7 24.h5 e8 25.g3 25.h6 would
actually lose... f5 26.xf7+ xf7 27.xf7+ xf7 Black is winning as the
h-Pawn presents no danger. 25...xh5 26.xf7+ xf7 27.xg8 xg3 28.xg3 h7 and black is pretty much out of the woods. 22.e4 Now it's all over
and Commons concludes the game with hammer blows. dxe4 Not that it really
matters, but 22...Rg7 was a better defense. 23.xe4 d5 24.h8+ e7 25.h7 ef8 26.xf6 a2 Now that the Q has been forced from d5 white can add the B
to his attack or, if black captures it, the P will become an attacker. 27.d5 The crusher. cxd5 27...xb2 28.xf7+ xf7 29.d6+ Black can only delay
mate by jettisoning material. 28.g8+ e8 29.xe6+ e7 29...e7 was a
stouter defense, but after 30.xe7 b1+ 31.f1 e4 32.xe4 dxe4 33.xf7 xf7 34.f5 There is no doubt about the outcome. 30.c6 Simply
threatening 31.Qd7# b1+ 31.f1 xf1+ Black is playing like an engine by
sacrificing everything to hold off mate. Here I suspect Commons may have been
in time trouble which would explain why Bacynskyj is prolonging the game. 32.xf1 a6+ 33.g1 xh7 34.d7+ f7 35.xf5+ In this hopeless position black
resigned. 35.xf5+ e8 36.d7+ f7 37.xe7+ g6 38.e6+ h5 39.f6+ g6 40.e4+ f6 41.xf6+ h5 42.g5# 1–0
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