The year 1948 saw Indian pacifist and leader Mahatma Gandhi assassinated by Nathuram Godse who approached Gandhai, greeted him, then fired three shots at close range from a small-caliber revolver that he had hidden in his clasped hands. Gandhi was struck in the upper thigh, abdomen and chest. Godse was hanged on November 15, 1949.
In other happenings, Israel became a nation as did the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (aka North Korea). The US and UK began the Berlin Airlift to supply West Berlin with food, water and medicine following the Soviet blockade of the city.
On a lighter note, the first Polaroid camera went on sale at a department store in Boston and long playing records (33-1/3 rpm) made out of vinyl were introduced. Prior to that time nearly all phonograph records for home use were made of a noisy shellac compound.
The big chess news was Mikhail Botvinnik winning The Hague/Moscow match/tournament to become World Champion. Years later, Botvinnik gave an interview in which he stated that Stalin had given orders for Keres and Smyslov to lose to him.
On August 15, 1948, David Bronstein won the first Interzonal at Saltjobaden, Sweden.
One of those many tournaments that slipped into oblivion in 1948 was the Venice tournament. It attracted twelve players from through out Europe and two from South America.
Six contestants from Italy: Vincenzo Castaldi, Mario Monticelli, Eugenio Szabados, Gino Fletzer, Giuseppe Primavera and Alberto Giustolisi.
The foreigners were: Miguel Najdorf (Argentina), Gideon Barcza (Hungary), Max Euwe (The Netherlands), Esteban Canal (Peru), Josef Lokvenc (Austria), Savielly Tartakower (France), Henry Grob (Switzerland), and Karel Opocensky (Czechoslovakia).
After the tough competition in the 20 player Interzonal at Saltjobaden, Sweden, where he finished tied for sixth place with Bondarevsky with a +6 -4 =9 score, Najdorf must have found winning the Venice tournament a breeze.
In a very brief mention of the tournament Chess Review had some snide comments about Najdorf and Euwe.
Of Najdorf the comment was that he “celebrated the absence of any Soviet opposition” which resulted in a “handsome lead” over the opposition.
Former World Champion Dr. Max Euwe was unable to shake off a poor start. His two losses (against Canal and Castaldi) combined with difficulty in defeating the tailenders caused Chess Review to call him “just another chess player.”
Dr. Savielly Tartakover showing was disappointing, but after the war he had begun finding the going much tougher and this tournament was no exception.
In the following game from Venice, Najdorf (1910-1997) scored a neat win over Italy’s Giuseppe Primavera (1917-1998), a many time participant in the Italian championships.
[Event "Venice"]
[Site "Venice ITA"]
[Date "1948.10.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Miguel Najdorf"]
[Black "Giuseppe Primavera"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D45"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 16"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "1948.10.03"]
{Semi-Slav} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 {This position can easily
be reached by a number of different move orders. Black's P-formation resemble
a mixture of the Orthodox QGD Declined (P on e6) and the Slav Defense (P on c6)
. Black is threatening to capture on c4 and then hold it with ...b7–b5.
White can avoid this in a number of ways.} 5. e3 {The other less often seen
alternative is 5.Bg5} Be7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. b3 Nbd7 8. O-O c5 9. Bb2 b6 10. Qe2 Bb7
11. Rad1 cxd4 12. exd4 dxc4 (12... Re8 13. Ne5 Bf8 14. f4 g6 {is nearly equal.
Milov,V (2676)-Vaisser,A (2545) Clichy 2007}) (12... Rc8 {is also playable.}
13. Rfe1 Qc7 14. Ne5 Rfd8 {But not this losing blunder. Correct is 14...a6} 15.
cxd5 {This is a counter-blunder that results in equality.} (15. Nb5 Qb8 16.
Nxf7 {and wins...} Rc6 (16... Kxf7 17. Qxe6+ Kf8 18. Qxe7+) 17. Nxd8 {with a
winning position.}) 15... Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nxd5 {Jiganchine,R (2205)-Omariev,M
(2304) chess.com INT 2022}) 13. bxc4 {Black has now tried several moves here,
but the best seems to be 13...a6} Qc7 {After this seemingly innocent move
black's position starts a downhill slide and before you know it he is lost.} (
13... Re8 {seems a plausible alternative. It defends the B (see the note to
move 14)} 14. Ne5 a6 {preventing b5, The chances are equal.}) 14. d5 {For
anybody who is familiar with these types of positions this move comes as no
surprise. The P cannot be takes because the B on e7 is undefended.} Nc5 15. d6
{The immediate 15.Nb5 was also good.} Bxd6 16. Nb5 Bxf3 (16... Qb8 17. Nxd6
Qxd6 18. Bxh7+ {snags the Q}) 17. Qxf3 Bxh2+ {There is no way of knowing what
black was thinking, but he may very well have been satisfied with his position
after this.} 18. Kh1 Qf4 {Black it seems has every right to be satisfied with
his position: he's two Ps up and white's K's position is weakened plus the
c0Pawn could become a liability.} 19. Bxf6 {[%mdl 128] This uosets the apple
cart. White is clearly better.} Nxd3 (19... gxf6 $16 {is a better defense.} 20.
Qh3 Nxd3 21. Rxd3 Rfd8 22. Rc3 a6 23. Na3 Rd2 24. Qxh2 {Here, too, white has
won a piece.}) (19... Qxf3 20. gxf3 gxf6 21. Kxh2 {and white has won a piece.})
20. Rxd3 {[%mdl 32]} gxf6 21. Qh3 Rad8 {Bets, but even so, white has a
decisive advantage.} (21... Qxc4 22. Kxh2 Qf4+ 23. Kg1 f5 24. Nd6 Qe5 25. Rg3+
Kh8 26. Qh6 {followed by Rh3 wrapping it up.}) (21... Rfd8 22. Rc3 Rac8 23.
Qxh2 Rxc4 24. Qxf4 Rxf4 25. Nxa7 {with a won ending.}) 22. Rf3 (22. Rxd8 {
Shows the necessity of staying alert even with a won position because after}
Rxd8 23. Qxh2 Qxc4 {Black has equalized.}) 22... Qxc4 23. Kxh2 {The threat is
Rg3+ and mate.} Qxf1 {This hasty grab of the R allows a forced mate, but the
game was beyond saving.} (23... Rd5 24. Nd6 Rxd6 25. Rg3+ Kh8 26. Qh6 {Mate is
unavoidable.}) 24. Rg3+ {Black resigned. The way he lost this game almost
imperceptible!} 1-0
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