A Delicate Touch by Salas Romo

    Back in 1951, unemployment was low as was the inflation rateand the average household income was $3,510 a little over $41,000 in today’s dollars. By comparison the average household income in the United States last year was a little over $67,500. Are we any better off? 

    In any case, in 1951, Americans were buying houses in the suburbs, television, refrigerators and new cars which average $1,500, a cheap $17.600 today. Gas was 10 cents a gallon, $2.23 in today’s dollars which made it cheap even in 1951.

    On January 27, nuclear testing officially began at the Nevada Test Site. Between 1951 and 1992, the US government conducted a total of 1,021 nuclear tests there. I started school in 1951 during the Cold War and remember the “Duck and Cover” precautions were were to take in the event of a nuclear attack. We were taught to hide under a desk or against a wall and cover our neck and face; It would keep us safe. Teachers emphasized that the nearest lage ciyt, some 60 miles away, was targeted by the Russians, so it was very important that we pay attention to the training films we had to watch. You can watch one HERE.

    American citizens Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted and sentenced to for conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. Eventually, on June 19, 1953, Julius died in the electric chair on the first jolt. Ethel's execution wasn’t as smooth. She was given the normal three shocks and the equipment was shut down. However, a doctor determined that she was still alive so she was hooked up again and zapped twice more. Smoke rose from her head and she was pronounced dead.. 

    The chess year of 1951 started off with West Germany’s Wolfgang Unzicker winning at Hastings. 1951 was the year the title of International Arbiter was created and the International Braille Chess Association was founded. 

    Also in January a seven year old Bobby Fischer played Senior Master and US Speed Chess Champion Max Pavey in a simultaneous exhibition. Fischer blundered his Queen 15 minutes into the game. A 14-yea3 old future GM, Edmar Mednis was also playing Pavey and managed a draw. 

    Milton Hanauer won the 1950-51 Marshall Chess Club championship. and Arnold Denker won the Manhattan Chess Club championship. Seventeen year old James Sherwin won the New York state championship. Mary Bain was the women's champion. 

    In Connecticut a 22-year old future strong master named James Bolton was the first person in the state to get arrested for draft evasion case under the new Selective Service Act after the outbreak of the Korean War. His defense was that the law was unconstitutional. It wasn’t and he spent one year and a day in jail.

    Problemist Alain C. White, Alain (born in 1880) died in Sumerville, South Carolina on On April 23, 1951. Geza Maroczy (1870-1951) died in Budapest at age 81. 

    In Moscow, Mikhail Botvinnik drew a match with David Bronstein to retain his world championship. Paul Keres won the 19th USSR Championship in Moscow The Staunton Centenary tournament in England was won by Svetozar Gligoric. Yugoslavia’s Boris Ivkov, age 17, won the first World Junior championship, held in Birmingham, England. 

    Samuel Reshevsky won the Wertheim Memorial in New York. Larry Evans won the US Championship, also held in New York. Evans also won the US Open, held in Fort Worth, Texas. 

    Not many of the world’s chess players noticed, but down in Chile Rene Letelier (1915-2006) won the championship of Chile. He was awarded the iM title in 1960.

 

 

    In the following game Julio Salas Romo (1913 – 1996) defeats his opponent, about whom I could find no information, with a N+B and a passed Pawn which proved too much for his opponent’s Rook. It’s also amusing top watch the wandering of his opponent’s King. From the late 1930s to the early 1960s, Salas Romo was one of Chile's leading chess players. In 1937, he won his Chile Championship and n repeated in 1954, 1955, and 1962.

[Event "Chile Championship, Santiago"] [Site "?"] [Date "1951.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Julio Salas Romo"] [Black "Hugo Zamora"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B50"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "97"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.04.24"] {B50: Sicilian Defense} 1. e4 c5 2. b3 Nc6 3. Bb2 d6 4. Nf3 e6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nf6 {White gets a better P-formation after this, so 6...Bd7 might e a better idea.} 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. e5 dxe5 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {Watch the King...it's going to mosey up to e5.} 10. Bxe5 Ng4 (10... Bb4+ 11. c3 Bc5 12. Be2 Ke7 13. Bf3 Bd7 14. Nd2 Rhc8 {White is better. Varga,Z (2534)-Pogorelov,R (2449) Balaguer 2003}) 11. Bb2 Bc5 12. Be2 {Very nice! This takes advantage of the undefended N.} Nf6 (12... Bxf2+ $2 13. Kf1 $18 {and black must lose a piece.}) (12... Nxf2 {does not work either.} 13. Rf1 $16 (13. Bxg7 Rg8 $17) 13... Ne4 14. Rxf7 Bb4+ 15. c3 Bd6 16. Rxg7 Bxh2 17. c4 e5 18. Nc3 Bg3+ 19. Kd1 Nf2+ 20. Kd2 Bf4+ 21. Ke1 Be3 22. Rf7 Ng4 23. Ne4 Nh6 24. Rd1+ Bd4 25. Bxd4 {1-0 Krejci, J (2530)-Fuchs,M (2206) Aschach AUT 2014}) 13. O-O Ke7 $16 14. Nc3 Rd8 15. Na4 Bd6 16. Rad1 Bb7 17. Bf3 Rac8 18. Bd4 {Black's weak Q-side Ps are a cause for concern.} Ba6 19. c4 {White would like to be able to play Nc5.} c5 (19... h6 20. Nc5 Bxc5 21. Bxc5+ Ke8 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. Rd1+ Kc7 24. Bxa7 {and white would be winning.}) 20. Bc3 {Keeping the pressure on the v-Pawn with 20.Be3 would have been more accurate.} Rd7 21. Rfe1 Bb7 {This repositioning of the B males sense, but it's a tactical mistake as white alertly demonstrates. Black had to stay passive and defend with 20...Ne8} 22. Rxd6 {[%mdl 512]} Kxd6 (22... Rxd6 23. Bxb7 Rc7 24. Bf3 Rc8 {The endings were ratjer tedious, but white prevailed in 5 Shootouts as the black R was no match for the two Bs.} 25. h3) 23. Rd1+ Nd5 (23... Kc7 24. Be5+ Kd8 25. Rxd7+ Nxd7 26. Bxb7 Nxe5 27. Bxc8 Kxc8 28. Nxc5 {with a won N+P ending.}) 24. cxd5 Bxd5 25. Bxd5 exd5 26. Bxg7 Re7 27. Bb2 d4 28. Ba3 Kd5 29. Kf1 {Safety first...he eliminates any possibility of a first rank mate plus it brings the K closer th the blacks Ps...a handy thing in a few moves. He is now ready to add the R to the attack on che c-Pawn.} Re6 30. Rc1 c4 {Blacj is defending very well...his Ps offer him some play.} 31. Nb2 {Very well played!} (31. bxc4+ {not only makes white task more difficult, but it allows the advantage to swing over to black.} Rxc4 32. Rxc4 Kxc4 33. Nc5 Rh6 34. h3 Rg6 35. g3 d3 36. Ke1 Rg5 37. Kd1 Re5 38. Nb7 Re2 {and black is better.} ) 31... c3 32. Nd3 Re4 33. f3 Re3 $16 34. Nb4+ Ke6 35. Re1 {Black's R is too well placed to leave it on the board.} (35. Nc2 Rd3 36. Re1+ Kd7 37. Bc1 { And noe black has a magic move that equalizes!} Rd2 38. Bxd2 (38. Nb4 a5 39. Nd5 Kd6 40. Nf4 Rxa2) 38... cxd2 39. Rd1 Rxc2 40. Ke2 Rxa2 {White has to be caresult that he doesn;t lose by playing 41.Rxd2} 41. Kd3 (41. Rxd2 Rxd2+ 42. Kxd2 Kc6 43. Kd3 Kb5 44. Kxd4 Kb4 {and wins.}) 41... Rb2 42. Kxd4 Rxb3 43. Rxd2 Rb5 44. Ra2 a5 45. Kc4 Kc6 {This position is drawn.}) 35... Rxe1+ 36. Kxe1 Rc5 37. Ke2 {A tiny slip that allows black to equalize!} (37. Bc1 {leaves black tied up...However, the possibilities are enfless!} a5 38. Nd3 Rc8 39. Kd1 Rg8 ( 39... h5 40. Nf4+ Kd6 41. Nxh5 Rh8 42. g4 d3 43. Bf4+ Kd5) 40. Nf4+ Ke5 41. Ke2 h6 42. Kd3 Rd8 43. g3 Rd7 44. Ne2 h5 45. Bf4+ Kd5 46. Nxd4) 37... Ra5 {[%mdl 8192] A subtle error...this is the wrong Rook file!} (37... Rh5 38. h3 Rg5 39. g4 Re5+ 40. Kd3 Re3+ 41. Kxd4 Rxf3 42. Nd3 c2 43. Bc1 Rg3 44. Bd2 f6 45. Kc3 Rxh3 46. Kxc2 {with a likely draw.}) 38. Nc2 Kd5 39. Kd3 f5 40. Bf8 {White is clearly winning.} a6 41. a4 Ke6 42. Bb4 (42. Bg7 {is not quite as precise/} Rd5 43. Nxd4+ Kf7 44. Bh6 c2 45. Kc4 Rd7 46. Nxc2) 42... Rd5 43. Nxd4+ Kf6 44. Bxc3 Rd8 45. b4 Ke5 46. b5 axb5 47. axb5 f4 48. Kc4 Rg8 49. g4 {Black resigbed. A touchy ending that was played quite well by both players!} 1-0