Carl Ahues

    The little known German International Master Carl Oscar Ahues (December 26,1883 - December 31, 1968) was the champions of Berlin in 1910 and the German champion in 1929. 

    He was a frequent competitor in international tournaments in his career with his best result probably being Berlin 1926 where he shared 3rd place with Spielmann behind Bogoljubow and Rubinstein. He represented Germany in three Olympiads (1930, 1931 and 1936). 

    Ahues was awarded the IM title in 1950 and after World War II, he lived in Hamburg, West Germany. His son, Herbert Ahues (1922-2015), was a famous chess author composer specializing in two movers. 

    Ahues opponent was Hungarian IM and IA Dr. Lajos Asztalos (1889-1956) who won the country’s championship in 1913. After World War I, he moved to Yugoslavia, representing that country in the 1927 and 1931 Olympiads and the 1936 unofficial Olympiad. He returned to Hungary in 1942. 

    Asztalos became Vice President of the Hungarian Chess Union and Secretary of the FIDE Qualification Committee. Asztalos was a professor of philosophy and a languages teacher. He passed away in Budapest in 1956. The game was played in Kecskemet in1927. 

 

 

    The tournament was made up of 20 players divided into two preliminary sections of ten. The four leaders in each section then engaged in two separate final tournaments. 

[Event "Kecskemet"] [Site "Kecskemet HUN"] [Date "1927.07.10"] [Round "5"] [White "Lajos Asztalos"] [Black "Carl Ahues"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C79"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "1927.06.26"] {C87: Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 d6 7. c3 Bd7 8. d4 O-O {Black's Steinitz-like set up is passive, but very solid.} 9. Nbd2 Be8 10. Nf1 (10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 { ½-½ Szymczak,Z (2390)-Pytel,K (2420) Augustow 1975}) 10... Nd7 (10... exd4 11. cxd4 d5 12. e5 Ne4 13. Bc2 f5 {Neither side can claim an advantage. Artemiev,V (2081)-Zikunov,B (2222) Omsk 2009}) 11. Ng3 Kh8 12. Be3 (12. Qe2 Bf6 13. Be3 g6 14. Rad1 Qe7 15. Bc2 Bg7 16. Ng5 {White's position is more promising. Ilyin Zhenevsky,A-Romanovsky,P Leningrad 1933}) 12... f6 13. Nd2 Nb6 14. Bc2 d5 {This thrust is in white's favor. It would have been slightly better to have played 14...exd4 first.} 15. Nf5 exd4 16. cxd4 Bb4 17. Qg4 { This aggressive looking move is the turning point in the game. Black's position is able to withstand this direct assault and it's just amazing how quickly black's pieces begin swarning all over white. The prosaic 17.a3 woulf have kept the balance.} g6 $1 $17 18. Nh6 (18. Bh6 {was a better defense.} Rg8 19. Ng3 Nxd4 {but even here white has reason to feel glum about his position.}) 18... dxe4 {Seizing his opportunity. Watch black's pieces spring into action!} 19. Qxe4 f5 20. Qe6 Qd5 (20... f4 {Black does not fall for this trick.} 21. Bxf4 Kg7 (21... Rxf4 22. Qg8#) 22. Be3 Nd5 23. Ng4 {Black has equalized.}) 21. Bf4 (21. Qxd5 {is of no help.} Nxd5 22. Bg5 Nxd4 {and black is clearly better.} ) 21... Qxe6 ({Don't blunder} 21... Qxd4 $2 22. Be3 Qxb2 23. Rab1 $19) 22. Rxe6 Nd5 23. Rxc6 {A pointless offer oft the exchange, but a move like 23.Bg5 does not offer much hope either.} Nxf4 {White resigned...why?} (23... Bxc6 24. Be5+ Nf6 25. Nc4 Kg7 26. Nxf5+ gxf5 27. Ne3 {is utterly hopeless.}) (23... bxc6 24. Be5+ Nf6 25. Nf3 Bd7 {is equally hopeless for black.}) (23... Nxf4 24. Rxc7 Bxd2 25. Rxb7 Ne2+ 26. Kf1 Bxh6 27. Kxe2 Bb5+ 28. Ke1 Rfe8+ 29. Kd1 Be2+ 30. Ke1 Bc4+ 31. Kd1 Rad8 {with a clear win}) 0-1