William M. de Visser

 

    William M, dr Visser (November 5, 1855 – Secember 4, 1923, 68 years old) was a charter member of the Manhattan Chess Club, player and organizer. He was the 1899 New York State Chess Championship 

    After ailing for six months, de Visser entered eternity at his country residence in Brentwood, Long Island and chess circles in the New York City area lost one of the outstanding figures who for nearly 30 years had been active both as a player and organizer of repute. 

    For the last few years he had been president of the Metropolitan Chess League for several terms. As an active member of the Brooklyn Chess Club he occasionally played on its teams until shortly before his death. He was also elected an honorary member of the Manhattan Chess Club with which he had been associated with in one way or another for nearly forty years. 

    As an organizer de Visser was instrumental in furthering the annual international matches between the Brooklyn Chess Club and the City of London Chess Club.

    In the following game de Visser uses the adventurous Wing Gambit to defeat the redoubtable Walter Penn Shipley (1869-1942), a Philadelphia lawyer, player and organizer in an enjoyable tactics filled game. 

[Event "Manhattan CC - Franklin CC Match"] [Site "New York, NY"] [Date "1900.05.30"] [Round "?"] [White "William de Visser (Manhattan)"] [Black "Walter Shipley (Franklin)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B20"] [Annotator "Stockgiah 16"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "1900.??.??"] [Source "Edward Winter, A"] {B20: Sicilian: Wing Gambit} 1. e4 c5 2. b4 {The deflection of the Pawn is an attempt to gain control; of the center. Although rarely played, in my database which contains 36 Wing Gambit games played by Masters white wins an astonishing 23 games while losing only 6!} cxb4 {Almost always played, but perhaps the safer 2...e6 is advisable.} 3. a3 e5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. axb4 Bxb4 6. Bc4 (6. c3 Be7 7. d4 exd4 8. cxd4 d5 9. e5 Bg4 {Black is better. Tiarks,J (2231) -Jaskolka,T (2238) chess.com INT 2023}) 6... Nf6 7. Qe2 (7. c3 Be7 8. d4 (8. Qb3 O-O 9. Ng5 Qe8 10. O-O {Whute dies nit have enough play to compensate for the P. Gorovykh,E (2447)-Yemelin,V (2571) St Petersburg RUS 2010}) 8... O-O 9. d5 Na5 10. Rxa5 Qxa5 11. d6 {Technically black is better, but in Nanu,C (2325) -Bernat,R (2140) Szeged 1998, white went on to win.}) 7... O-O 8. O-O { Thoreticall white can boast of no compensation for the P. Practice is another matter!} d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 {Now black should not take the N.} Nd4 (10... Nxe5 11. Qxe5 Nf6 12. Ba3 Bxa3 13. Nxa3 {White appears to have sufficient play. }) (10... Nf4 {immediately was his best reply. Then after} 11. Qe4 Qh4 12. d3 Nh3+ 13. gxh3 Qxe4 14. dxe4 Nxe5 {Black is clearly better.}) 11. Qd3 Nf4 12. Qe4 Nfe2+ {[%mdl 8192] This is a tactical error.} (12... Qh4 {is much less effective now.} 13. Kh1 Bd6 14. Nxf7 Be6 15. Bxe6 Rae8 {with head spinning complications. Practically speaking the chances are equal In Shootouts from this position white scored +1 -1 =3}) (12... Be6 {stymies the attack on f7 and after} 13. Bxe6 Nfxe6 {black has just a smidgen of an advantage.} (13... fxe6 { is also playable, but it invites unclear complications after} 14. Bb2 (14. c3 Nb3 15. Qxb4 (15. d4 Nxc1 (15... Nxa1 16. Bxf4 Qd5 17. Qe3 Nc2 18. Qc1 Nxd4 19. cxd4 Qxd4 {Black is winning.}) 16. cxb4 Nfe2+ 17. Kh1 Rf4 18. Qe3 Qxd4 { Black is winning.}) 15... Qd5 {is decisive.}) 14... Qd5 15. Qxd5 exd5 16. Bxd4 Ne2+ 17. Kh1 Nxd4 {with a slight advantage.})) 13. Bxe2 Bf5 14. Qe3 Nxc2 15. Qf4 Nxa1 {The capture of the R has been a distraction that has cost black the game.} 16. Qxf5 (16. Qxb4 {would be quite wrong because after} Nc2 17. Qf4 Nd4 {the chances have swung back ti even.}) 16... Qc7 17. Bb2 (17. Bd3 g6 18. Qe4 Rfe8 19. Qxb4 Nc2 20. Bxc2 Qxc2 21. Ng4 {also wins.}) 17... Nb3 18. Bd3 g6 19. Ng4 {This does not lead to a forced mate as does 19.Qf6, but it's more spectacular!} (19. Qf6 Bc3 20. Bxc3 Qxc3 21. Nxc3 Nxd2 22. Ng4 h5 23. Nd5 Rae8 24. Bxg6 hxg4 25. Bf5 Nf3+ 26. gxf3 Re6 27. Ne7+ Rxe7 28. Qg5+ Kh8 29. Qh6+ Kg8 30. Qh7#) 19... Bc3 (19... gxf5 20. Nh6#) 20. Qf6 {[%mdl 512] A temporary Q sacridice, but it's a spectacular one!} Bxf6 21. Nxf6+ {[%mdl 32]} Kg7 (21... Kh8 22. Ne8+) 22. Ne8+ Kg8 23. Nxc7 Rad8 24. Be4 {Materially white has 2Bs + N vs a R+P which is more than enough compensation.} Nxd2 25. Nxd2 Rxd2 26. Bc3 Re2 27. Nd5 {A nice little move.} f5 (27... Rxe4 28. Nf6+ Kg7 29. Nxe4+) 28. Bd3 Ra2 29. Bc4 Ra4 (29... Rc8 {avoids the mate, but still loses.} 30. Bxa2 { is hopeless for black}) 30. Ne7# {An impressive win by de Visser!} 1-0