Who was F. R. Chevalier?

    He was a Harvard, class of 1929, graduate who won the precedent, setting Harvard, Yale, Princeton and West Point College Chess League’s first organized individual championship tournament in the history of college chess in the United States. The game were played in the Manhattan Chess Club on April 8, 9 and 10, 1929. 

    Chevalier of Harvard demonstrated a clear superiority over all of his rivals by defeating them in five consecutive rounds and emerging with a perfect 5-0 score., thereby earning him the earned the distinction of being the first American college champion. His efforts earned him a silver cup donated by W. M. Vance of Princeton and a gold medal, the gift of L. Walter Stephens, also of a Princeton graduate and director of the tournament. 

    Competition for second place was exceedingly close and in the end resulted in a triple tie between Sherman and Vance of Yale and Kimm of West Point. Both of the Princeton players were off form and fifth and sixth places were their portion.

 

    But, who was F. R. Chevalier? What happened to him and where are his games? Who knows?! In fact, the same could be said of all the participants who seemed to have disappeared from the chess world. 

    In 1925, Chevalier drew a game in a simultaneous exhibition in Boston by the then rising Mexican star Carlos Torre. The only other mention I discovered on Chevalier was that he played for Boston in a 1934 team match they lost to Philadelphia. Chevalier’s name was mentioned with Boston stalwarts John F. Barry, Harold Morton and Weaver Adams. 

    The only game I could find from this historic event is the one below which also happens to be the only game of Chevalier that I could find and it was full of complications and a lucky escape for him! The only thing known about T.H. Vance is that at the time he played second board on Yale’s chess team behind another unknown, J.M. Miller, Jr. who had been expected to play in this event, but was unable to make it.

ChessBase

T.H. Vance–F.R. Chevalier0–1D66Intercollegiat Champ, New York1929Stockfish 16

D66: Queen's Gambit Declined: Classical: Main Line 1.d4 f6 2.c4 e6 3.f3 d5 4.c3 c6 5.g5 bd7 6.e3 e7 7.c1 0-0 8.d3 a6 9.0-0 dxc4 10.xc4 b5 11.d3 b7 12.b1 c5 13.dxc5 xc5 Both players are well booked, but white's next move is not the expected 14.Qc2 aiming at h7. 14.e2 14.c2 ce4 15.fd1 b6 White keeps things equal with 16.Bxe4. Instead he makes a losing blunder. 16.d7 xd7 17.xe7 fc8 18.d1 df6 19.d4 g6 20.d3 xc3 21.bxc3 d5 22.a3 xc3 White resigned. Kovalenko,V (2198)-Rjanzin,M (1877) Saratov 2008 14.xd8 doesn't offer much. fxd8 15.fd1 h6 16.f4 xd1+ 17.xd1 d8 18.xd8+ xd8 Boring. Burgess,E-Sandagsuren,G Dos Hermanas 2004 14...c8 14...b4 was a good possibility. 15.xf6 xf6 16.b5 e7 16...axb5 17.xc5 is equal. 17.bd4 ac8 15.fd1 b6 16.b4 16.e4 Things quickly fizzle out after this. h6 17.e3 g4 18.d4 b4 19.a4 a5 20.xc5 xc5 21.xc5 xc5 22.xc5 xc5 16...a4 17.xa4 bxa4 18.e4 Probably played to fd8 Black has a wide choice of moves here, but 18... h6 to be followed by ...Qxb4 looks to be the best. 19.e5 Strongly threatening Rxc8. xd1+ 20.xd1 d5 White must now prevent ...Nc3. 21.xe7 xe7 21...c3 22.d3 xb1 22...xd1 23.xh7# 23.c5 c7 24.xb1 and white has won a piece. 22.g5 White's attack on the K-side doesn't amount to anything if black defends stoutly...which he doesn't. h6 23.e4 23.h7+ would lose! f8 24.e4 c6 25.e3 c2 26.f1 xe4 27.xe4 xa2 with an excellent ending. 23...c6 The hidden mate threat on g2 is easily defended against. Removing the annoying N with 23...Bxe4 was correct. 24.g4 Nd6 is the strong threat. f5 25.f6+ This fails to accomplish anything. 25.h4 Black has to defend carefully, but he can keep things pretty much equal as follows... c7 26.c5 c6 27.xf5 exf5 28.xf5 e8 29.d6 b5 30.e4 c4 25...h8 26.h5 g6 Safer was 26...Rg8 27.f4 g7 Only an engine would choose the slightly better 27...g5 28.h4 b6 This should lose! 28...h8 holds without much trouble. 29.h5 29.xf5 gxf5 30.h5 g7 White cannot break through. 29...g5 30.d5 b5 31.f6 xe5 32.d7 f4 A complicated position with equal chances. 29.h5 g5 Now ...Ne3 is a threat. 30.xf5 30.a3 A pass to demonstrate the consequences of allowing ...Ne3 e3 31.fxe3 xe3+ 32.h2 xe5 33.g3 e3 34.g2 f2 35.d4+ xd4 36.xd4 c1 White is in trouble. 37.g6 c6 38.d3 d1 30...exf5 31.xf5 The threat is to play the killer Rd7 gxf4 32.d6 Prevents Qc6. 32.d7 is now weaker, but still winning... d5 33.xd5 e6 34.xe6 fxe6 35.a5 c1+ 36.h2 e1 37.f3 e2 38.a3 e3 39.xa6 xa3 40.xe6 b3 41.g6+ f7 42.b6 a3 43.xh6 xb4 44.a6 b3 White wins the ending. 32...b5 White is winning, but his next move throws it away and allows black to equalize. 33.f6+ 33.xf4 e8 33...h8 34.f6+ g8 35.d8+ mates 34.xh6+ g8 35.g5+ f8 36.h6 xe5 37.xe5 xe5 38.d8+ e7 39.h7 e1+ 40.h2 xd8 41.h8+ wins for white. 33...g8 34.e6 This looks crushing, but it has a tactical flaw. 34.xf4 This is still the correct move, but unlike in the previous note black is able to wiggle out. e8 The difference here is that his K is on g8 and not g7 so white cannot gain time with a check on h6. 35.g3+ 35.xh6 xe5 36.d8+ e8 37.xe8+ xe8 Theoretically this position favors black, but in practice who knows? 35...f8 36.f4 e6 37.d8+ e8 and a draw would be a reasonable outcome. 34.f3 blocking the Bs diagonal would also have resulted in a likely draw. e8 35.e6 The only move as is black's next. 35.xf4 Unlike in previous variations this loses. xe5 36.xe5 36.xh6 e1+ 37.h2 h4+ 38.g1 e1# 36...xe5 37.xh6 b5 38.a3 g7 39.d6 xh5 is winning for black. 35...xe6 36.xe6 fxe6 37.xe6+ g7 38.g6+ and white can draw. 34...c1+ 35.h2 h1+ Here is the difference between this and the previous variations. Black's P is still on f4 cutting off the K's escape and, also, the B is attacking the vulnerable g2 square. 36.xh1 f1+ 37.h2 xg2# A lucky escape for Chevalier! 0–1

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