England vs. Holland, 1912

  

     In February 1912 the Piltdown Man was the a paleoanthropological to date. Charles Dawson discovered the so called missing link between ape and man. He contacted Arthur Smith Woodward, Keeper of Geology at the Natural History Museum in London stating he had found a section of a human-like skull in gravel beds near Piltdown in East Sussex in England. 

     That summer the two purportedly discovered more bones and artifacts at the site and their finds included a jawbone, skull fragments and a set of teeth. The bone fragments were presented as the fossilized remains of a previously unknown early human. 

     Although there were doubts about its authenticity from the beginning, the discovery was widely accepted for many years. It was, of course, a hoax, but it wasn’t until 1953 that it was definitively proven. 

     It was found that the “evidence” consisted of an altered mandible of a and some teeth of an orangutan deliberately combined with the cranium of a fully developed, though small-brained, modern human. 

     In 1912, he first edition of Modern Chess Openings (which came to be known as “the chessplayer’s Bible,” was published. 

     Louis Uedemann (1854 – November 22, 1912) died in Chicago at the age of 58 of Bright’s disease, an archaic term for what is now referred to as nephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys/ It’s caused by toxins, infection or autoimmune conditions. He won the Western Chess Association championship (predecessor of the US Open) in 1900 and 1902. He was the chess editor for the Chicago Tribune and created a notation code for telegraphs for cable matches. 

     Charles Amedee de Maurian (1838 - December1912) died in Paris at the age of 74. From 1858 to 1860, he edited the chess column in the New Orleans Delta. From 1883 to 1890, he co-edited the chess column in the New Orleans Times-Democrat. He was Paul Morphy’s closest friend. 

     A match between England and Holland was played on Friday and Saturday, April 12, 1912. Play began at 5 p.m. Friday evening with the British players having white on all the boards.. Of eight games Great Britain won four and Holland two, one was drawn and one is not yet finished. 

     There was an unusual incident on board 3 where an unaccountable oversight by Hoilland’s Dr. Laussen blundered his Queen quite early in the game and resigned immediately. The English players later countered on board 7 when Sergeant made a blunder which lost him a piece with no compensation and he was compelled to resign. 

     The second round was contested on Saturday with the games beginning at 11 a.m. with Holland having white on all boards. Holland redeemed themselves and thoroughly trounced England thereby winning the match. 

 

     Today’s game was played in that match and it was won by Reginald P. Michell (1873-1938). His best performance was probably his first place finish in the Brighton Congress of 1904 where he finished ahead oo F.J. Lee, P.S. Leonhardt and George Thomas. 

     Mitchell was a civil servant and strictly an amateur who very rarely played abroad, but was a frequent competitor in London events and the British Championships. A steady player, he described his style as being sound, consistent and with no “fireworks.” 

     His opponent was Jan Willem te Kolste (1874-1936). He participated many times in unofficial and official Dutch championships and participated with moderate success in many events in Holland. The game was fairly even with chances going back and forth until te Kolste overlooked a neat tactical shot for his Michell and the game came to an abrupt end.

 

[Event "Englad-Holland Match, London"] [Site "London"] [Date "1912.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Reginald Michell"] [Black "Jan Te Kolste"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E91"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1912.04.12"] [EventType "team-match"] [EventRounds "2"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [Source "John Saunders"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.05.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GBR"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] {E91: King's Indian: Classical} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Nbd7 {Much more usual is 6...e5, but the text is quite playable.} 7. h3 e5 8. Be3 exd4 9. Nxd4 Re8 (9... Nc5 10. Qc2 Re8 11. Bf3 Qe7 12. O-O Ncxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Nb5 c6 {Black has a comfortable game. Agababean,N (2353) -Socko,M (2354) Bled SLO 2002}) 10. f3 Nh5 11. O-O f5 {[%mdl 32]} 12. Qd2 (12. Bf2 Nf4 13. Nd5 Nxe2+ 14. Qxe2 fxe4 15. fxe4 c6 16. Nc3 {Even with the isolated P the position is equal. Schmidt,H-Kurevic,R Germany 1995}) 12... f4 13. Bf2 Ne5 {Black has managed to obtain a very active position.} 14. Nd5 Rf8 15. Rfd1 a6 {Guarding against Nb5} 16. Rac1 g5 {This is a mistake because it cuts off the Qs access to the K-side from where it would strengthen the attack. Now white succeeds in getting the upper hand. Instead of the text black should have taken a moment to drive the N on d5 back and then play ...Qh4 completely tying white up.} (16... c6 17. Nc3 Ng3 {followed by ,,,Qg4 with a dangerous attack, White must avoid taking the N...} 18. Bxg3 fxg3 19. Na4 Qh4 20. Bf1 c5 21. Ne2 Bxh3 {and wins for if} 22. Qxd6 (22. gxh3 Nxf3+) 22... Bd7 23. Nxg3 Qxg3 24. Qd5+ Kh8 25. Rc3 Bxa4) 17. c5 {Initiating a strong counterattack.} dxc5 18. Rxc5 c6 19. Nb4 {It's hard to believe that this is the best square for this N...there is a sacrifice on c6 looming!} Qe7 {Black is oblivious to the danger he is in.} (19... Ng3 {is the best response. White's advantage would then be minimal..} 20. Nd3 Ng6 {Black needs to avoid simplification and keep as many pieces on the board as he can.} 21. Nb3 Be6 22. Qc2 Qe7 23. Nd4 { with only a slight advantage.}) 20. Rcc1 {White should play 20.Ndxc6 immediately.} (20. Ndxc6 bxc6 21. Nxc6 Nxc6 22. Rxc6 Be6 23. Bc4 Bxc4 24. Rxc4 Rad8 25. Qc2 Rxd1+ 26. Qxd1 Rd8 27. Qb3 Kh8 28. Qc2 {With black's N out of play white has more than enough compensation.}) 20... Rd8 {[%mdl 8192] Black, still oblivious to the sacrifice, walks right into a losing position.} (20... g4 {renews his K-side threats and white;s sacrifice on c6 lacks the same vigor. } 21. Ndxc6 bxc6 22. Nxc6 Nxc6 23. Rxc6 Be6 24. Bc5 Qe8 25. Rxa6 Rxa6 26. Bxa6 gxh3 27. Bxf8 Bxf8 28. gxh3 Bc5+ 29. Kh1 {This outcome of this wild position is not at all clear, but 5 Stockfish Shootouts all ended in draws.}) 21. Ndxc6 {[%mdl 512] Whereas earlier this only resulted in white getting the better of it, at this point it wins.} Rxd2 22. Nxe7+ Kf7 23. Rxd2 Kxe7 24. Rc7+ Ke6 25. Rd8 {Black resigned. A sudden end.} (25. Rd8 Nd7 26. Bc4+ Ke7 27. Rdxc8 Rxc8 28. Rxc8 {White is a R up.}) 1-0