Random Posts

  • Imre Konig
  • Tal Smashes Mora
  • Saint Susan On Chicken Chess
  • The 1959-60 US Championship
  • Larsen at Wageningen 1957
  • A Thriller From the 1945 Mexican Championship
  • Reshevsky – Gligorich Match 1952
  • Andre Muffang, Attacker
  • A Slugfest In Palestine
  • The Russians Cheated
  • Wednesday, November 1, 2023

    Players Ignore the Heat and Mosquitoes

        You have probably never heard of Charles Moehle (1859-1898). He was an American master and a strong on at that. Chess metrics estimates the 20-yer old Moehle’s rating in 1880 to have been 2592 which placed him at number 10 on the rating list. 
         Unfortunately not much is known of Charles Adolphus Moehle, the eldest son of Adolph Moehle who acted as Zukertort's umpire and second during the New York portion of the Steinitz - Zukertort World Championship Match in1886.
         Charles operated one of the touring Ajeeb automatons of the 1880s, most famously at the Cincinnati Centennial of 1888. 
         He was born in Hoboken, New Jersey on November 26, 1859 and began to play chess at the age of 16. He soon became master and distinguished himself in a number of tournaments. 
         Considered the best blindfold player in this country, in 1888 he played at the St. Paul (Minnesota) Chess, Checker and Whist Club ten games simultaneous blindfold games, winning eight and losing two. On occasion he played a game of chess, a game of checkers and a game of cards simultaneously. 
         He finished 3rd in the American Chess Congress at New York in 1880 and shared second in the American Chess Association Tournament at Cincinnati in 1888. Moehle played several matches. 
         In 1879 he won two matches. He defeated David G. Baird by a score of 6.5–4.5 and Nicolai Gedalia by a score of 5-1. 
         The virtually unknown Nicolai Gedalia of Denmark was a tragic figure. On the morning of November 13, 1880, his brother heard a gunshot and rushed to find him dead. 
         It was believed that he had not committed suicide because he had purchased a pistol for protection against burglars. It was claimed that he was planning on taking the gun to a gunsmith that day and he was possibly examine it when he accidentally shot himself. 
         David G. Baird (1854-1913) was an American master whose brother, John W. Baird, was also a master. 
         Then in 1890, Moehle lost a match to William H.K. Pollock by a score of 6-7, the single draw not counting. He passed away in Cincinnati, Ohio at the age of 38 on March 27, 1890 shortly after his match with Pollock.
         William H. K. Pollock (1859-1896, 37 years old), the Irish Champion in 1885. He died of what in those days was called consumption, now known as tuberculosis. 
         The match was played in Cincinnati, Ohio, in June of 1890. The winner was the first to win 7 games and draws not counting and the games were “to be played at the rate of not less than two games a day.” 
     
         Cincinnati is at the southern limit of the humid continental climate zone , bordering the humid subtropical climate zone. Summers are hot and humid with significant rainfall in the summer and highs reaching 90 degrees F (32 degrees C) or above on 21 days per year, often with high humidity. 
         It was hot in Cincinnati during the match..some days the temperature was 100 degrees and the room over Katntnaron's saloon was not air conditioned...it wasn't until 1914 that the first residential air conditioner was installed. This groundbreaking unit was an enormous 20 feet long and 7 feet high. It cost half a million dollars in today's money. In 1931, a comparatively more affordable option was introduced in the form of a window unit. 
         Besides being hot, mosquitoes were a problem. Players had to remove their coats and vests and they were provided with ice water and melons. Under the circumstances let’s not be too critical of their moves! 

    A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

    William H.K. PollockCharles Moehle0–1A00Match, Cincinnati1890Stockfish 16
    C59: Two Knights Defense 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.c4 f6 4.g5 d5 5.exd5 a5 This remains the most common move in the Two Knights. 5...b5 was played in the famous Yakov Estrin-Hans Berliner ICCF 1965 6.f1 d4 7.c3 xd5 8.e4 h4 9.g3 g4 10.f3 e4 11.cxd4 d6 White is better, but black went on to win. 6.b5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.e2 h6 9.h3 xh3 9...e7 10.d3 0-0 11.c3 b8 is equal. Sermek,D (2590)-Romanishin,O (2562) Solin/Spilt 2002 10.gxh3 d5 The Q is not well placed here. 10...c5 is more precise. 11.d3 0-0 Black has also tried 11...Rb8 and 11...Qb6 12.0-0 c7 with equal chances. Krupa,M (2219)-Galojan,L (2326) Ohrid MKD 2009 11.f3 e4 Much better would have been 11...Qe6 12.g2 12.c3 secures a significant advantage after e6 13.0-0 xh3 14.xe4 xe4 15.xe4 Black's psoition has too many weaknesses. 12...e5 13.e2 d6 14.c3 0-0 15.b3 Weaker is 15.xe4 xe4 16.xe4 xe4+ 17.xe4 ae8 with a decisive advantage. 15.d3! remains equal. fe8 16.xe4 xe4 17.dxe4 15...d5 16.b2 f4 17.f1 f5 18.0-0-0 e7 19.g1 a3 20.a6 c5 20...b4 was better. 21.b1 xb2 22.xb2 ab8 23.a3 c5 24.a2 b6 25.b4 xa6 26.bxc5 c4 and black is clearly better. 21.f1 21.a4 was the only way to keep the balance. xb2+ 22.xb2 e5+ 23.b1 with equal chances. 21...fb8 22.a4 e5 Better was 22...Bxb2+ 23.c3 23.d4 was a healthy choice.. xb2+ 24.xb2 c7 25.c5 with a satisfactory position. 23...xb2+ 24.xb2 d5 25.c4 This move leaves his K wide open. 25.b4 was correct. d3+ 26.xd3 exd3 27.a1 c4 with equal chances. Oddly, there is no way for black to take advantage of the seemingly precarious position of white's Q. 25...e5+ 26.a3 26.b1 runs into a pretty attack... xb3 27.axb3 xb3+ 28.a2 ab8 29.c3 b2+ 30.a1 and now... xd2 31.c1 c5 32.a4 xf2 Black is mopping up. 26...e6 27.c5 This position is not quite so clear cut as it may look...black has only one move that keeps the advantage. d4 The threat os ...Nc2# 27...xc5 loses outright after 28.xa5 d7 29.xe5 xe5 28.c1 b5+! 29.xb5 xb5 30.b4 d4 31.xa5 Resigns was more precise. xa5 32.bxa5 b8 33.b1 b5 34.a6 a5 35.b4 xd2 36.b8+ h7 Black resigned. A strong finish by Miehle. 0–1

    No comments:

    Post a Comment