1950/51 New Zealand Championship

David Lynch

    The New Zealand Congress officially opened at 10am on Tuesday, December 26, 1950 in Christchurch. The Championship was won by David Lynch (April 20, 1901 – September 26, 2002, 92 years old). 

    In addition to being an OTB champion, Lynch was also New Zealand Correspondence Champion on three occasions in the 1940's and 1950's. 

    In the early 1980's Eduard Gufeld and Murray Chandler both played simultaneous displays New Zealand and Lynch, then in his 70's, drew with both.

    One of the country’s greatest players, he passed away peacefully in the Hawke's Bay Regional Hospital in 2002. 

    Lynch was active in a great many organizations and charities and was also a local Bridge champion. In his younger years, he played hockey, tennis, golf and tramping. In In New Zealand, long distance walking or hiking for at least one overnight stay is known as tramping. He also cycled around Europe in the 1930's and was just manages to get out of Europe when World War II broke out and closed off the ports. He served in the New Zealand military during the war. 

    Lynch's chess career started in the 1930's with his first New Zealand Championship in 1937. 1949 saw him win the North Island Championship. Then in 1951 he won NZ title again. 

    Altogether Lynch played in 17 New Zealand Championships between 1937 and 1963. Besides his win in 1951, he finished second four times (and third once. 

    He was also a very strong correspondence player after starting to play in 1939. He won the country’s correspondence title on three occasions in the 1940s and 1950s. He served as the President of the NZ correspondence organization from 1979 to 1998. 

    After his days on the national chess scene Lynch continued to be active in Hawke's Bay, a region on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, where he promote the game. In his mid-eighties he was still able to win the local club championship. 

 

    His opponent in this game was Robert O. Scott who won the New Zealand correspondence championship in 1933. Scott, who was deaf, was an experienced player from Wellington. 

[Event "New Zealand Chp, Christchurch"] [Site "?"] [Date "1950.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "David Lynch"] [Black "Robert O. Scott"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D44"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {D44: Semi-Slav: Botvinnik System} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. Ne5 (6. e4 {is white's best continuation.} b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. exf6 {This is all book.}) 6... Bb4 {Another good alternative is 6...b5} 7. e3 Qa5 8. Bxf6 {Played to prevent 8...Ne4 which Lynch stated (without any supporting analysis) would win for black, but that was not a correct assumption. Black's advantage would be minimal at the most. That said, things get pretty complicated, so in the end Lynch's decision was a practical one.} (8. Bxc4 Ne4 9. O-O (9. Bf4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3+) 9... Nxg5 10. Qh5 Bxc3 (10... O-O 11. f4 Nd7 12. Qxg5 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qxc3 14. Bb3 Qxe3+ 15. Kh1 Nxe5 16. dxe5 h6 {Black is only marginally better because white is still able to whip up some attacking chances after} 17. Qh4 b6 18. Rf3 Qc5 19. Rg3 Kh7 20. Rd1 a5 {[%eval 0,0] The threat is 21...a4 winning the B.} 21. Rd2 Qc1+ 22. Rd1 Qc5 23. Rd2 {Black has to repeat moves because if} a4 24. Bc2+ Kh8 25. Qg4 g6 26. Qh4 h5 27. Qf6+ Kh7 28. Bxg6+ fxg6 29. Qxg6+ Kh8 30. Qg7#) 11. bxc3 O-O (11... Qxc3 12. Qxg5 O-O {White has a slight advantage after} 13. Qe7 Qa5 14. Rfb1 {Black is a P up but has a hard time developing his pieces.}) 12. Bd3 (12. Qxg5 f6) 12... g6 {with equality.}) 8... gxf6 {Lynch gave this move a ? and noted that it's the wrong way to exchange because 9...Bxc3+ would have weakened the white K.} (8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qxc3+ 10. Ke2 gxf6 11. Rc1 Qb4 12. Nxc4 O-O {White lost 5 Shootout games from this position.}) 9. Nxc4 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxc3+ 11. Nd2 Qa5 12. Bd3 {[%mdl 1024] Black has development problems so white has enough compensation for his P. It's interesting to note how black's position gradually slides downhill even though he makes no obvious mistakes.} Qc3 13. Be2 Qa5 14. O-O Nd7 15. Nc4 Qc7 16. e4 b5 (16... Nb6 {was a somewhat better defense. The best line runs...} 17. Ne3 f5 18. e5 O-O 19. Re1 Qe7 20. a4 Nd5 21. Nc4 b5 22. Nd6 {White is better.}) 17. Ne3 {[%mdl 32]} Nb6 18. Rc1 { Threatening 19.Bxb5} Qd6 19. Ng4 e5 {Opening up the position results in a quick loss.} (19... Nd7 {was a bit better, but after} 20. d5 exd5 21. exd5 Qxd5 22. Qc2 O-O 23. Rfd1 {Black's position is unenviable.}) 20. dxe5 Qxd1 21. Nxf6+ Ke7 22. Rfxd1 Nc4 23. Bxc4 bxc4 24. Rxc4 {Black is positionally lost and the rest is a matter of technique.} Be6 25. Rxc6 Bxa2 26. Nd5+ Kf8 27. f4 {[%mdl 32]} Bb3 28. Rd3 Rb8 29. Nf6 Be6 30. f5 Rb1+ 31. Kf2 Rb2+ 32. Kf3 Bb3 {White has a mate in 6.} 33. Rd8+ Ke7 34. Rxh8 Bd1+ 35. Ke3 {He mates a move sooner with 35.Kg3. Black resigned.} (35. Ke3 Re2+ 36. Kd3 Bc2+ 37. Kxe2 Bd3+ 38. Kxd3 a5 39. Rc7#) 1-0