1937 Manhattan CC Championship

    In 1937, in aviation new Amelia Mary Earhart mysteriously disappeared over the Pacific Ocean and the German airship Hindenburg burst into flames while attempting to moor at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Howard Hughes breaks his own transcontinental flight speed record when he flies from Los Angeles to Newark. 

    In other news the Memorial Day Massacre took place when union steel workers threw a tree branch at police who open fire on the crowd and use clubs to break up the protest. As a result police bullets kill ten people and injure 30 plus another 28 suffer serious head injuries from police clubbing. As we would expect even today, a Coroner's Jury declared the killings to be justifiable homicide and no police were ever convicted. 

    In US chess news George Koltanowski (1903-2000) played 34 simultaneous blindfold games and scored +24 -0 =10. Adele Rivero won the first US Women’s Championship. The US team (Reshevsky, Fine, Kashdan, Marshall,\ and Horowitz) took first place in the Chess Olympiad was held in Stockholm. The Western Chess Association (US Open) in Chicago was won by David Polland. 

    In New York Isaac Kashdan and Albert Simonson tied for first in the Manhattan Chess Club Championship with a convincing 2.5 point lead ahead of Robert Willman, a former club champion, who had been in the lead in the early rounds, but then suffered losses to both Kashdan and Simonson. As a result of the first place tie for the third successive year, a playoff for the title was necessary. Kashdan scored a win and two draws to take the title.

 

 

    The deciding point occurring in the first game where Simonson had a draw in hand when he made an incredible blunder in a fairly simple endgame position.

    Almost nothing is known of Samuel S. Cohen except that in in the 1930s he was an editor for Chess Review magazine and he participated in the 1938 US Championship (won by Reshevsky) where he finished +4 5 =7 and tied for places 12-14 (out of 17) with Milton Hanauer and Fred Reinfeld. He drew with Reshevsky and defeated Kashdan. His opponent, Albert Simonson (1914-1965), was one of the country’s strongest players in the 1930s. 

 

[Event "Manhattan CC Champ. New York"] [Site "New York"] [Date "1937.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "S.S. Cohen"] [Black "Abraham Kupchik"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B40"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "1937.??.??"] {A34: Symmetrical English} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 {The opening has become a Symmetrical English with Sicilian overtones.. Either player may make an early break in the centre with the d-Pawn.} d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. d4 Nf6 6. Nc3 (6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bb5+ Nc6 8. O-O Be7 9. dxc5 O-O 10. Bc4 {is equal. Kozak,A (2532) -Aggelis,N (2281) chess.com INT 2022}) 6... cxd4 (6... Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bb4 9. Be2 {equals. Rausis,I (2470)-Kirov,N (2445) Cannes 1990}) 7. Nxd4 { [%mdl 32]} a6 {Both 7...Bc5 and 7...Be7 have been played here. Kupchik's move prevents a piece from going to b5 and/or preparing ...b5, but it is not really necessary.} 8. Bg5 dxc4 {This is inaccurate; he had to play 8...Be7 with an equal position.} 9. Bxc4 {White's huge lead in development assures him of the advantage.} Be7 {White is better.} 10. Qa4+ (10. Qb3 {is interesting, bit it's unsound. After} Qxd4 11. Bxf7+ Kf8 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. O-O Qb4 14. Qd5 {Blacks' K is quite safe and there is no way for white to continue the attack.}) 10... Nbd7 (10... Bd7 11. Qb3 {attacks both f7 and b7}) 11. Nf5 {Clearly trouble is brewing for black.} O-O {He has a threat ...Nb6.} 12. Rd1 Bc5 (12... Qe8 { was his best chance, but white remains quite well. Even so, play can get very tricky.} 13. O-O Nb6 14. Nxe7+ Qxe7 15. Qb3 Nxc4 {And noe 156.Qxc4 only results in eqwal chances, but white has...} 16. Nd5 Qe5 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Rfe1 {Now it's black's turn to get clever with} Nd2 19. Qd3 (19. Rxd2 Qxe1#) 19... Qg5 20. Rxd2 Be6 21. Nc7 Rad8 {White onbly has one satisfactory move and that is} 22. Qxd8 Rxd8 23. Rxd8+ Kg7 24. Nxe6+ fxe6 25. Rd6 e5 {Theoretically white is better, but practically thing might turn out differently.}) 13. O-O Qc7 14. Bd3 {A very fine move. Nxg7! is in the atmosphere.} b5 {At first glance it may not look like it, but white has a decisive advantage.} 15. Qh4 Bb7 16. Nxg7 { A stellar finish!} Qc6 17. Nd5 {[%mdl 128] This moce is also pretty nifty! Oc course 17...Qxd5 is met by 18.Bh7+ and if 17...Nxd5 18.Qxh7#} Qxd5 {This loses instantly.} (17... Kxg7 {is a much stouter defense.} 18. Bf5 (18. Bxf6+ Nxf6 19. Qg5+ Kh8 {[%eval 35,19] [%wdl 60,937,3] [%emt 0:00:00]} 20. Qxf6+ Qxf6 21. Nxf6 Bd4 {with equal chances.}) 18... Rg8 {Technically white is winning, but there are still some problems to overcome.} 19. Rd3 {Adding the R to the attack is by far the best way to continue the attack.} Kh8 20. Rg3 Rxg5 21. Qxg5 Rg8 22. Bxd7 Rxg5 23. Bxc6 Rxg3 24. hxg3 Nxd5 25. Bxb7 {with a won ending. }) 18. Bxh7+ Nxh7 19. Rxd5 Bxd5 20. Rd1 {[%mdl 32]} Kxg7 {Resigning was a good alternative.} 21. Rxd5 Rfe8 {With the forlorn hope that white will overlook the mate threat on e1.} 22. h3 Ra7 23. Bd2 Re6 24. Rh5 Nhf8 25. Bc3+ f6 26. Rg5+ Ng6 27. Qg4 Re1+ 28. Kh2 Bd6+ 29. g3 Ndf8 (29... Re7 30. Rxg6+ Kf7 31. Rh6 Rc7 32. Rh7+ Ke8 33. Qh5+ Kd8 34. Rh8+ {finishes it.}) 30. Bxe1 fxg5 31. Qd4+ { Black finally resigned.} 1-0

Favorite chess books

    My favorite chess books have always been game collections. My all time favorites are Botvinnik, One Hundred Selected Games, Reshevsky On Chess (reprinted as Reshevsky’s Best Games), Tartakower’s Best Games (2 volumes), My Fifty Years of Chess (by Frank Marshall),Tarrasch’s Best Games and more recently The Art of Bisguier (2 volumes). Even today any one of these books will provide hours of entertainment. 

    If my memory is correct Frank Marshall’s book, My Fifty Years of Chess, was the first one I had. It was published in 1942, which, of course, was before I was born and it was, I think, republished in paperback by Dover. 

    Frank Marshall (1877-1944) was US Champion for 27 years and his games are still a delight to play over. Best known for his great tactical skill, he was famous for the "Marshall swindle" where a tactical trick would turn a lost game around. It’s not remembered today, but in his day Marshall was also known for his endgame skill. 

    There is no question that the 1904 Cambridge Springs International Chess Congress, the first major international tournament in the United States, was Marshall’s greatest success; he finished first by two full points. 

    Other American players, Jackson W. Showalter, Albert Fox, John Barry, Albert B. Hodges, Eugene Delamr, Max Judd and even the legendary Harry N. Pillsbury were no longer able to compete at Marshall’s level. 

    Marshall’s success at Cambridge Springs even resulted in him being considered as a world championship challenger. Unfortunately, he was never able to repeat the great success of Cambridge Springs, nor was he successful in a run at the world championship. In fact, after Cambridge Springs Marshall’s play was inconsistent and his results were not especially impressive. That may have been due more to his personal nature and style of play more than his ability. 

    The July 2, 1896 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported on the Continuous tournament, one in which the players played 37to 260 (!) games and the final standing were based on the percentage of wins, draws not counting. 

     “F. J. Marshall, the young player who has been making such rapid strides to the front in local chess circles of late, has again captured first prize in the Brooklyn club's continuous tournament with the high percentage of 80 (percent).”

 

 

    Marshall’s overall score was +40 -10. Close on Marshall's heels was G. W. Jones, a former first prize winner, with a score of 77.8 percent (+35 -10). R. P. Dow secured the highest number of wins with 260 and he also had the highest number of losses, 184. 

    Here is Marshall’s win against the runner up., about whom nothing is known. The only other time his name came up (that I found) was in 1897 when the Brooklyn CC defeated the Chicago CC in a correspondence match 6.5-5.5. 

    In that match Jones, playing on board defeated his opponent. William Napier was on first board for Brooklyn followed by Herman Helms and Frank Marshall. 

    In the game Jones was facing some pressure in the form of a K-side attack, but he was holding his own until move 20 when he took the precaution of playing a defensive move. It turned out to be a fatal mistake after which Marshall unleashed a vicious attack against which there was no defense. As far as I know this game does not appear in any books on Marshall. 

[Event "Brooklyn CC Continuous Tournament"] [Site "Brooklyn, NY USA"] [Date "1896.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "G W Jones"] [Black "Frank Marshall"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "1896.??.??"] [Source "Brooklyn Daily E"] {C54: Giuoco Piano} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O d6 5. c3 Bg4 6. d3 Nf6 7. Be3 Bb6 8. Nbd2 Qe7 {The alternative is 8...O-O} 9. b4 Rd8 10. a4 d5 11. exd5 Nxd5 (11... Bxe3 12. dxc6 Bxd2 13. Qxd2 Bxf3 14. gxf3 bxc6 {is a slightly more accurate continuation.}) 12. Bxb6 (12. Bxd5 {would give white the advanyage after} Rxd5 13. c4 Rxd3 14. c5 e4 15. cxb6 exf3 16. Qc2 Nxb4 17. Qc4 Be6 18. bxc7 O-O 19. Bc5 Qxc7 20. Qxb4) 12... axb6 13. Qb3 Nf4 14. Rae1 O-O 15. h3 (15. d4 {was more accurate, but it would allow black to draw.} Bxf3 16. Nxf3 Qd7 17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. Rxe5 Qg4 19. g3 Nh3+ 20. Kg2 {and black can draw by repeating moves.}) 15... Bh5 (15... Bxh3 16. gxh3 Rd6 17. Re4 Nxh3+ 18. Kh1 { Best} (18. Kg2 Nf4+ 19. Rxf4 {otherwise black has a mating attack..} Rg6+ 20. Kh2 exf4 21. Rg1 Rxg1 22. Kxg1 g5 {and black has reason to be optimistic.}) 18... Rh6 19. Nh2 {Here, too, black has a good position, In Shootouts white scored +1 -3 =1}) 16. d4 Rd6 {This is a slight inaccuracy. It would have been better to get the Q off the line of the R with 15...Qf6} 17. Kh2 {This defensive move was unnecessary.} (17. dxe5 {gives black the initiative after} Rg6 18. g3 Nxh3+ 19. Kh1 Rh6 20. Kg2 {but white's defensive resources should prove adequate.}) (17. d5 Nb8 18. Rxe5 {with slightly the better of it.}) 17... Qd7 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. Rxe5 {White has won a P, but black has good attacking prospects and that's all Marshall needs.} Rh6 {[%mdl 32] White must now prevent ...Bg6.} 20. Re3 {[%mdl 8192] This looks like a good defensive move, but there is absolutely no time for such precautions!} (20. Rfe1 {had to be played. Then after} Bg4 21. Kg1 Bxh3 22. g3 {White is completely safe...there is simply no way black can dig out white's K.} (22. Bxf7+ {is a fancy defense.} Qxf7 23. Qxf7+ Rxf7 24. Re8+ (24. gxh3 Nxh3+ 25. Kg2 Rxf2+) 24... Rf8 25. Rxf8+ Kxf8 26. gxh3 Nxh3+ 27. Kg2 {and, theoretically at least, white should be able to draw.})) 20... Bg4 {The attack on h3 is overpowering.} 21. Rh1 Bxh3 { [%mdl 128]} 22. gxh3 (22. Kg1 {allows white to put up a manly defense.} Qc6 23. Ne4 Bxg2 24. Rxh6 Qxh6 25. Ng3 {Clearly black is better, but how does he win?! According to Stockfish the best line is} g6 26. Qb1 Qh4 27. Qe1 Bc6 28. f3 Bxa4 29. Ne4 Qh3 30. Bf1 Qf5 31. c4 Bc2 32. Qf2 Bxe4 33. fxe4 Qg5+ {and black has a decisive advantage because of his passed Ps on the K-side.}) 22... Rxh3+ { Black now has a mate in 8.} 23. Kg1 Qg4+ 24. Rg3 Rxg3+ 25. Kf1 Rxc3 {[%mdl 512] Pretty, but not the most efficient! White resigned} (25... Re8 26. fxg3 Qxg3 27. Bxf7+ Kf8 28. Qe6 Rxe6 29. Bxe6 Qg2+ 30. Ke1 Qe2#) (25... Rxc3 26. Qb1 Qg2+ 27. Ke1 Re8+ 28. Kd1 Qxh1+ 29. Bf1 Re2 30. f3 Rxf3 31. Kc2 Rxd2+ 32. Kxd2 Qh2+ 33. Ke1 Rxf1+ 34. Kxf1 Qe2+ 35. Kg1 Qg2#) 0-1

A Clever Finish by Euwe

    The following game is a bit boring, but it's redeeming point is the clever finish by the former World Champion. The game was played in an international tournament in Gijon, a large coastal city in northern Spain. 

    From between 1944 and 1951, then between 1954 and 1956, and, finally, in 1965, small tournaments with 8 to 12 players were held there. The original purpose was to focus on the recovery of chess in Spain and Europe after World War II. 

    The strength of the tournaments which featured local players and prominent ones varied. They featured the rapid decline of World Champion Alekhine, the rise of Spanish child prodigy Arturo Pomar and such greats as Euwe, Rossolimo, Prins, Medina, Darga, Donner, O’Kelly. And, a young Larsen played in 1956. 

    Today’s game was played in 1951. In the U.S> that was the year I Love Lucy debuted on television and Pabst Blue Ribbon was the first ever television beer commercial. It was also the year the first baseball game was televised in color. It' was between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves. 

    In other happenings, Tupperware was invented, the first direct-dial coast to coast telephone call was made, the first commercial computer, UNIVAC, was put into use at the U.S. Census Bureau. It was also the year the U.S. government began nuclear bomb testing at a test site in Nevada. Also, it was the year that birth control pills were developed. 

    In the chess world problem composer Alain C. White, Alain (1880-1951) died in April in Sumerville, South Carolina. In Budapest Geza Maroczy (1870-1951) died on May 29th. 

    Mary Bain won the US women's championship. Samuel Reshevsky won the Wertheim Memorial in New York, Larry Evans won the US Championship, also held in New York and Larry Evans won the US Open, held in Fort Worth, Texas. 

    A 7-year old kid named Bobby Fischer played one of the boards against in a simultaneous exhibition given by Max Pacey at the Grand Army Plaza Library in Brooklyn. Within 15 minutes Fischer lost his Queen and burst into tears. 14-year old Edmar Mednis also played in the exhibition and he held Pavey to a draw. 

    The big international news was the World Championship match in Moscow. Mikhail Botvinnik retain the title when he drew with David Bronstein. Was Bronstein warned not to win? 

    The World Junior Championship held in Birmingham, England was won Borislav Ivkov, age 17, of Yugoslavia. With the exception of Bent Larsen and Fridrik Olafsson, most of the players seem to have vanished. For example, who was the second place finisher Malcolm Barker? 

    With everything going on in the world in 1951, it’s no surprise that nobody remembers the tournament at Gijon or Euwe’s nice victory over Rossolimo. 

[Event "Gijon"] [Site "Gijon ESP"] [Date "1951.07.19"] [Round "?"] [White "Nicolas Rossolimo"] [Black "Max Euwe"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C53"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "1951.??.??"] {C53: Giuoco Piano} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {Rossolimo was one of the rare proponents of this anciet opening.} Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. d4 Bb6 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Nf6 8. Re1 O-O {This N is headed for e3 where it will have more influence than on c3.} 9. Na3 Kh8 {The purpose of this odd looking move will soon become clear... Euwe intends ...f6; The expected move here is 9...h6} 10. Nc2 Nd8 11. b3 { You might think he is making room for jhis B on b2, but if he was, it never gets there. In fact, the B is not going to move for a long, long time.} Be6 ( 11... Ng8 {This undeveloping move leads to an inferior game.} 12. a4 (12. Ne3 f6 13. a4 {is also possible.}) 12... a6 (12... c6 13. Ba3 c5 14. b4 {and white is clearly better.}) 13. Ne3 Nf6 (13... f5 14. Nd5 Qe8 15. exf5 Bxf5 (15... Nc6 16. Ba3 {and white is much better.}) 16. a5) 14. Ba3 {with the better game. Sperber,G (2200)-Eslon,J (2200) Skelleftea 1972}) 12. Bd3 Ng8 {The fact that black has to play this move anyway is evidence that his position is not so great. It's surprising that Euwe, a great theortician, has gotten himself into this situation.} (12... c6 13. Ba3 {Threatening dxe5, so...} c5 14. Ne3 { and black has a passive position with little prospects of doing anything but defening.}) 13. Ne3 f6 {Clearly black has few prospects of attacking and there is not much else he can do.} 14. Nd5 Qf7 {It's at this point that a couple of less than optimal moves lets Euwe off the hook and it is he who gains the initiative.} 15. c4 (15. Qc2 {forces black to be careful.} Ne7 16. a4 c6 17. Nxe7 Qxe7 18. a5 Bc7 19. b4 {White, who must now switch his attention to the Q-side is better, but not by much.}) 15... Bxd4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. Bc2 c6 18. Nf4 (18. Qd3 g6 (18... cxd5 19. exd5 g6 20. dxe6 Nxe6 21. Bb2 {is ghood for white/}) 19. Bf4 Qd7 (19... cxd5 20. cxd5 Bd7 21. Bxd6 Re8 22. Bc5 Rc8 23. Bxd4 {with the better game.}) 20. Qxd4 cxd5 21. cxd5 g5 22. Bd2 Bxh3 23. gxh3 Qxh3 24. Re3 {A sharp position with chances for both sides/}) 18... c5 19. Qd3 g5 { All of a sudden it's black who is calling the shots.} 20. Nd5 Nc6 21. Qg3 Ne5 22. h4 gxh4 23. Qxh4 Qg6 24. Kh1 Bxd5 25. cxd5 Ne7 {At long last the N is going to join in on the attack.} 26. f4 Rg8 27. Qh3 Ng4 28. Kg1 Nxd5 29. Bd3 ( 29. exd5 Qxc2 30. Qf3 Rg7 {and doubling the Rs on the g-file spells the end of the game.}) 29... Nde3 30. Bd2 {This allows an elegant finish, but eliminating one of the Ns would not have helped.} (30. Bxe3 Nxe3 31. Re2 Qg4 32. Qxg4 Rxg4 33. Rae1 (33. Rb1 Rag8 34. Rbb2 Rxf4 35. Rf2 Rxf2 36. Rxf2 Kg7 {and black has a won ending.}) 33... Rag8) 30... Nf2 {A finish worthy of Rossolimo himself!} 31. Kxf2 Qxg2+ 32. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 33. Kf3 Rag8 34. e5 R8g3+ {White resigned; it's mate next move.} 0-1

A Successful Stonewall and a King Hunt

    The post of Mat 23rd (and a few past posts) was critical of the Stonewall Attack, but here is one that succeeded! It goes way back to the 1800s. 

    In those days it was a rare thing tp find Americana playing in Europe, but Preston Ware participated in Vienna in 1882 (see CROSSTABLE). It was one of the strongest tournaments ever with 18 of the best players of the day meeting in a double round event. 

    It was a bad tournament for the American representative Preston Ware, but he did score a win against the World Champion Wilhem Steinitz and he won the following King Hunt game against Max Weiss of Hungary. 

    Preston Ware Jr. (1821 – 1890, 68 years old) was a leading Boston player . He served as e President of the Boston Chess Club from 1868 to 1873. Ware and as President of the American Chess Foundation in 1872. 

    Ware made few few tournament appearances and they were mot especially successful, due in part to an offbeat opening repertoire. For example, in New York 1880 he played 1...a5 in all nine games with black and 1.a4 in two of his games with white. However, in his one international tournament (Vienna 1882), he defeated Steinitz. In that game Ware, as white, played the same opening as in the game below; it went 113 moves, Ware having a R+B+P vs. Steinitz’ R+P. 

    His opponent in the following game was Max Weiss (1857 – 1927, 69 years old), of Austria who had a short, but brillaint career. Chess metrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been 2727 in 1889 which place him at #4 in the world behind Steinitz, Gunsverg and Chigorin. 

    At New York in 1889 which was held to determine a challenger to Steinitz for the World Championship, Weiss tied for 1st with Mikhail Chigorin. Weiss drew the subsequent play-off match (+0 -0 =4), but then he quit chess for a banking career. In 1895, he did play a match against Georg Marco and won decisively (+5 -1 =1) , =1, -1). Also in 1895, he tied for first with Carl Schlechter in a tournament. 

[Event "Vienna"] [Site "Vienna AUH"] [Date "1882.05.10"] [Round "?"] [White "Preston Ware"] [Black "Max Weiss"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "1882.05.10"] {D00: Stonewall Attack} 1. d4 d5 2. f4 {Thos is a rather inusual way of reaching the Stonewall and Ware used it to win a marathon game against Steinitz in the same tournament.} e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bd6 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. O-O a6 (7... Qc7 8. Ne5 b6 9. Nd2 Bb7 10. Qe2 O-O 11. g4 {Black has sufficient defensive resources against white's attack. The chances are equal. Schwan,W-Przepiorka,D Barmen 1905 ½-½ (41)}) (7... Ne4 8. Ne5 cxd4 9. exd4 O-O 10. Nd2 f5 11. g4 {Black has a very slight advantage. Harriott,T (1892)-Al Tarbosh,W (2283) chess.com INT 2023}) 8. Bd2 {It's strange that with white having 6 Ps on black squares that this bad B which seems to have no prospects actully finds a useful position outside the P-chain. Also, very often in the Stnewall white plays Bbd2 to prevent black from playing ...Ne4, but Ware has an interesting idea in mind.} O-O 9. a3 b6 10. h3 Bb7 11. Be1 Ne4 12. Nbd2 Nxd2 13. Qxd2 Na5 {This is a wasste of time...the threat of ...Nb3 is an empty one.} (13... Ne7 {keeps the N handy for defense and is much more useful. According to Komodo 14 (Human) play might continue...} 14. g4 c4 15. Bc2 Qe8 16. Bg3 f6 17. Rfe1 Bc6 18. a4 Qd7 19. Kg2 g6 20. Qf2 b5 21. axb5 axb5 22. g5 Nf5 { with a completely equal position.}) (13... Ne7 {and Stockfish 16 continues} 14. Rd1 a5 15. g4 Qd7 16. Qc2 Kh8 17. Qe2 f6 18. Rf2 Bc6 19. Rg2 Ba4 20. Rc1 c4 21. Bb1 b5 22. h4 f5 {and white is slightly better.}) 14. Rd1 Nc4 15. Qe2 Na5 16. Bh4 {Finally white has solved the problem of his Dark squared B and he is now prepared to launch a powerful K-side attack. However, Preston and at least one pre-engine annotator mussed an even better move.} (16. Bxh7+ {[%mdl 512] leaves black in dire straits. However, working out the complications OTB would be extremely difficult.} Kxh7 (16... Kh8 17. dxc5 bxc5 18. Ng5 Qf6 19. b4 Nc4 20. Bd3 {and white is winning.}) 17. Ng5+ Kg6 {The K is surprising safe here, but white still has a very strong attack.} 18. e4 f5 19. Nxe6 Qf6 20. exf5+ ( 20. Nxf8+ Rxf8 21. e5 Qe6 {with good defensive possibilities.}) 20... Kh7 21. Qg4 Rf7 22. Ng5+ Kg8 23. Qh5 Qxf5 24. g4 g6 25. Qh4 Qf6 26. Nxf7 Qxf7 27. f5 { with a strong attack.}) 16... Qc7 (16... Qe8 {offers stiffer resistance.} 17. Ng5 (17. Bxh7+ Kxh7 18. Ng5+ Kh6 {White has no effective way to continue the attack and so it is black who stands better.}) 17... f5 (17... h6 18. Nh7) 18. g4 {and black;s defense should hold.}) 17. Ng5 {He could still sacrifice on h7, but the text is superior.} h6 18. Qh5 Nc4 {For all the moves this N has made it has accomplished nothing. Somewhat better would have been 18...Bc8 to defend e6.} 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Qg6 Rf5 21. Qxe6+ Rf7 22. Qg6 $1 {Now the threat is 23 Q-R7ch, K-Bl; 24 Q-R8 mate.} Kf8 23. Qh7 Ke8 {Fleeing for his life in an attempt to avoid mate.} 24. Bg6 {[%mdl 32]} Bf8 {This protects the g-Pawn, but now the white f-Pawn threat­ens to complete the destruction of black's position by moving to the 6th rank. Since the R cannot be saved, black's K continues its flight.} 25. f5 Kd7 26. Bxf7 Nxe3 27. Be6+ Kc6 28. Qg6 Bd6 { Weiss is desperately trying to improvise a shelter for his homeless K.} 29. Rfe1 Nxd1 {The desired effect of his 18th move has finally been achieved, but to no avail.} 30. Rxd1 c4 {Black is only a P down and he has fended off mate and so now he attempts to close up the Q-side.} 31. Bxd5+ {[%mdl 512] Ware continues his relentless King hunt.} Kxd5 (31... Kb5 32. Bxb7 Qxb7 33. Qxd6 a5 34. Qe6 a4 35. d5 {and it's clear that white is winning.}) 32. Qe6+ {White mates in 16!.} Kc6 33. Qxc4+ Kd7 34. Qe6+ Kc6 35. d5+ Kb5 36. Qe2+ Ka4 37. Qc2+ Kb5 38. a4+ {Black resigned} (38. a4+ Ka5 39. b4+ Bxb4 40. cxb4+ Kxb4 41. Rb1+ Ka5 42. Be1+ Qc3 43. Bxc3# {It's paradoxical that the once bad looking B delivers the mate!}) 1-0

The Penguin is Mightier Than the Swordfish

    Who first said, 'The pen is mightier than the sword”? The words were first written by novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, in his historical play Cardinal Richelieu. 

    Who first said, “The penguin is mightier than the swordfish”? I always thought it was a silly pun by the player/author/publisher Al Horowitz, but he wasn't the first. 

    There are a number of children's books with the title, but it apparently is from a children’s poem by Oliver Herford. 

 

 

 

A Penguin Poem 

The Penguin sits up-on the shore 

And loves the little fish to bore; 

He has one enervating joke 

That would a very Saint provoke: 

"The Penguin's mightier than the swordfish";

He tells this daily to the bored fish, 

Until they are so weak, they float 

With-out resistance down his throat. 

 

    Oliver Herford (1860 - 1935) was an Anglo-American writer, artist, and illustrator known for his witty remarks and skewed sense of humor. He was born in Sheffield, England and his family moved to Chicago in 1876 and to Boston in 1882. His sister Beatrice Herford was also a humorist, delivering comic monologues on stage. 

    In any case, I just happened to think about the pun when I came across a game played by Boris Spassky that appeared in Czech GM Ludek Pachman’s classic book Modern Chess Tactics. 

    Pachman devoted a lot of space discussing Restricting the Effectiveness and Co-ordination of the Pieces. He wrote, “Striving to make the effectiveness of one's own pieces as great as possible naturally always involves restricting the effectiveness of the opponent's pieces.” To demonstrate the point he used a lot of examples showing tactical means which can serve to achieve the goal. 

    The following smartly played game by Spassky is an object lesson on pins. Boris Spassky (born 1937) was the tenth World Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. His opponent was a Candidate Master named Sergey Avtonomov. About all that I known of him is that he was born in 1931 and he was educated as a lawyer. In his school years he was part of the youth team of Leningrad. 

 

[Event "Soviet Junior Qualifier"] [Site "Leningrad URS"] [Date "1949.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Boris Spassky"] [Black "Sergey Avtonomov"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D28"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "1949.??.??"] {D28: Queen's Gambit Accepted} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 {Seldom seen, the QGA's success rate is statisticallt is about the same as declining it with either 2.. .e6 or 2...c6. The Queen's Gambit is not a true gambit, because the Pawn is either regained or can only be held in a way that is not favorable to black. By accepting the P black surrenders the center and white will try to seize space and use it to launch an attack. Forid part, black will try to weaken white's center with the hope of gaining an advantage in the ending. This usually involves moves like ..c5 and ...cxd4. White either ends up with an isolated d-Pawn or his will disappear and the position will be one of little promis.} 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 c5 5. Bxc4 e6 6. O-O a6 7. Qe2 Nc6 8. Nc3 b5 9. Bb3 { The standard move.} (9. Ne5 {is wrong because after} Nxe5 10. dxe5 Nd7 11. Bd3 Nxe5 {black has recocered his P and he has the more active position.}) (9. Bd3 c4 10. Bb1 {If (when) black plays ...O-O white can set up a Q+B battery with Qc2 attacking h7. But, even more to the point is white aims for e4.} Be7 11. Rd1 Bb7 12. e4) 9... cxd4 {Apparently black hopes to get play against the isolated d-Pawm...almost always a questionablecdecision.} (9... Bb7 10. Rd1 Qc7 11. d5 {Here black almost always takes 11...exd5, but that's not the correct move.} Nb4 12. dxe6 c4 13. a3 (13. Bc2 fxe6 {is equal.}) 13... fxe6 14. e4 cxb3 15. axb4 Qc4 16. Qe3 Bxb4 17. Qb6 Qc8 18. Nxb5 {is equal. Gowever, it should be noted that there are very few example of this line starting at move 9 and 11...Nb4 would very difficult to spot OTB!}) 10. Rd1 {This first pin has us a tactical element that will have a decisive bearing on the further course of play.} Bb7 (10... Na5 {This is black's best try.} 11. Nxd4 Qc7 12. e4 Bb7 13. Bg5 Nxb3 14. axb3 Bd6 15. Bxf6 gxf6 {with equal chances. Yakovich,Y (2570) -Savchenko,S (2595) Maikop 1998}) (10... e5 {It should be notes that lack cannot defend the d-Pawn with this.} 11. exd4 Qe7 12. dxe5 Ng4 13. h3 Ngxe5 14. Nd5 {and white has a decisive advantahe.}) 11. exd4 Nb4 {From the positional standpoint this move is correct, but at this point it comes too late to blockade the d-Pawn.} (11... Na5 {is the best that black has, but white will still have a clear advantahe after} 12. d5 Nxb3 13. dxe6 Qc8 14. exf7+ Kxf7 15. axb3) 12. d5 {Well plyed by the future Wotrld Champion!. White pins the black pieces in three ways and obtains an irresistible attack. His advantage is alresy decisive/} (12. Ne5 {This was played in Kaluga,S (2227)-Dolsonov,A (2095) Novokuznetsk 2008 and while it yields white a slear adbanatge it is not nearly as good as Spassky's move.} Bd5 13. Nxd5 Nbxd5 14. a4 b4 15. Bg5 Be7 16. Nc6 {with yje better game.}) 12... Nbxd5 13. Bg5 {Pins....1)Black's e-Pawn is pinned by the Q, 2) his N on d5 by the R and 3) his N on f6 by the B. Black's problem is that he cannot get rid of these pins without gravely weakening his Ps.} Be7 14. Bxf6 {Forcing a P weakness.} gxf6 (14... Bxf6 {loses a piece.} 15. Bxd5 Bxd5 16. Nxd5) 15. Nxd5 {Forcing an additional weakness.} Bxd5 (15... exd5 {This is actually a better choice because at least he can use the B to defend the d-Pawn. But after} 16. Nd4 Qd7 17. Rac1 {there is nothing about black's position that would cause one to want to play it.}) 16. Bxd5 exd5 17. Nd4 { Besides weak Ps, black is now unable to complete his development..} Kf8 { Black needs to get out of the pin on the B. but it's too late to repair the damage.} (17... O-O {is out of the question.} 18. Nc6 Qd7 19. Nxe7+) 18. Nf5 h5 {There is no longer an adequate defence for black.} (18... Bc5 19. Rac1 Rc8 20. b4 Bxb4 (20... Bb6 21. Rxc8 Qxc8 22. Qe7+ Kg8 23. Nh6+ Kg7 24. Qxf7+ Kxh6 25. Qxf6+ Kh5 26. Rxd5+ {mates}) 21. Qg4 Rg8 22. Qxb4+ {mates in 3}) 19. Rxd5 $3 { [%mdl 512]} Qxd5 (19... Qe8 20. Qd2 Rd8 21. Re1 {Yet another pin on the B.} Rxd5 22. Qxd5 {and the B is lost.}) (19... Kg8 {[%eval 641,22] [%wdl 1000,0,0] [%emt 0:00:00]}) 20. Qxe7+ Kg8 21. Qxf6 {Facing mate or the loss of his Q black resigned.} (21. Qxf6 Rh7 22. Ne7+) 1-0

An Average Player vs. a Grandmaster

    The 1992 US Open was held in Dearborn, Michigann, a suburb of Detroit. The tournament was won by GM Gregory Kaidanov ahead of John Fedorowicz, Benjamin Finegold, Ray Stone and David J Strauss who were tied for second. 

    The following entertaining game was played in that event and it features a mismatch where a 1775 rated player confidently launched an attack against his 2325 rated opponent, the 78-year old GM Arnold Denker. 

    The opening was the Stonewall Attack, one of those “systems” that was first advocated by Al Horowitz and Fred Reinfeld back in 1971 in their book How to Think Ahead in Chess: The Methods and Techniques of Planning Your Entire Game. The book deals with one opening for white, the Stonewall Attack, and for black the Sicilian Dragon against 1.e4 and Lasker's Defense against the Queen's Gambit. The Dragon has a whole lot more theory than ever presented in the book, but Lasker's Defense is a solid and fairly easy way to meet 1.d4. 

    The Stonewall Attack seems simple enough, but for some reason when you play it black never seems to roll over and died like the examples in the book. 

    Later on, in 1993, Andrew Soltis published The Stonewall Attack in which he proclaimed it to be, “one of the simplest to play and yet it is one of the rarest to be found in tournaments...at least on the master level.” 

    The problem is that in real life your opponents do not obligingly fall in with your plans. You cannot play the Stonewall by simply posting your pawns on c3, d4, e3, and f4 and then deploying your pieces in typical Stonewall fashion with Bd3, Nf3-e5, Nbd2, Qe2 or Qf3, O-O, etc. Even in the Stonewall you have to pay attention to your opponent's plans and act accordingly. 

    in the following game the average player got a reasonably good position, but then like we average players do, he managed to lose. At any level though a 550 point rating difference is just too much to overcome.

 

[Event "US Open, Dearborn"] [Site ""] [Date "1992.08.02"] [Round ""] [White "Azziem Mohammed"] [Black "Arnold Denker"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "1775"] [BlackElo "2325"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "1992.08.02"] {Stonewall Attack} 1. d4 Nf6 2. e3 d5 3. Bd3 e6 (3... Nc6 4. f4 {4.c3 to prevent ...Nb5 would allow 4...e5!} Bg4 (4... Nb4 5. Nf3 {English Master F.J. Lee and Jackson W. Showalter preferred 5.Bd2 with the idea of clearing the c-file for the R at c1 and prepare b2-b4 which restricts black's main break ... c5.} Nxd3+ 6. cxd3 {is an entirely different gane that what white expects when he plays the Stonewall.}) 5. Nf3 Nb4 {is dead level. There is little merit to having the B on g4 because after Nbd2 and h3 white has a good position.} 6. Nbd2 e6 7. O-O a5 {Komodo 8 64-bit: 1)} 8. a3 Nxd3 9. cxd3 { Tartajubow-opponent, Correspondence, 2015. The game was eventually drawn.}) 4. Nd2 {A precaution against the possibility of ...Ne4} (4. f4 Ne4 5. Bxe4 (5. Nf3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Nbd2 f5 {and this is not what white is looking for when he plays the Stonewall.}) 5... dxe4 {and white's plans have been rendered impossible.}) 4... Nbd7 5. f4 c5 6. c3 b6 (6... Bd6 7. Qe2 b6 8. Ngf3 Bb7 9. Ne5 Ne4 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Bb5 Bxe5 12. dxe5 {is equal. Sharbaf,M (2362) -Lavasani,J (2032) Dubai UAE 2006, Note that white did not get the K-side attack as is generally expected when the Stoewall is played.}) (6... a6 7. Ngf3 Be7 8. O-O b5 9. Ne5 Bb7 10. Ndf3 h6 11. f5 exf5 12. Bxf5 O-O 13. Bd2 {Neither side can claim any advanrage. Campagnolo,F (1714) -Guara Neto,A (2060) Florianopolis BRA 2022}) 7. Qf3 (7. Ngf3 Bb7 8. O-O c4 9. Bc2 Be7 10. Ne5 O-O { This is the typical setup that white expects to reach when playing the Stonewall.} 11. Rf3 Ne8 {This should have lost at once!} 12. Rh3 (12. Bxh7+ { Unlike in the game, this scores the point.} Kh8 (12... Kxh7 13. Rh3+ Kg8 14. Qh5 Bh4 15. Rxh4 Qxh4 16. Qxh4 {and white is winning.}) 13. Rh3 Nef6 14. Qc2 g6 15. Bxg6+ Kg8 16. Rg3 {wins for white.}) 12... f5 13. Ndf3 b5 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. Ne5 {White has only slightly better chances. Sushko,V-Kuznetsov,V Kiev 2004}) 7... Bb7 8. Ne2 {In spite of all the glowing promises of those advocating the Stownwall Attack, white has no real prospects of overwhelming blac's solid defensive setyp.} (8. g4 {looks good, but it doesn't lead toi anything.} g6 9. g5 Nh5) (8. Nh3 h6 9. g4 Bd6 10. g5 hxg5 11. Nxg5 Qe7 {followed by ...O-O-O is slightly in black's favor.}) 8... Be7 9. Bc2 {Harmless and rather pointless.} ( 9. g4 {was worth a try, but after} h6 10. h4 h5 11. g5 Ng4 12. Ng3 g6 {This closed position is completely equal.}) 9... Rc8 10. O-O Rc7 11. g4 {[%mdl 32]} Qa8 {A pecular move. The point seems to be to make ...Ne4 possible in the event of 12.g5} 12. Ng3 {Now ...Ne4 loses a P.} (12. g5 Ne4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Qh3 O-O 15. Ng3 {favors black after} f5 16. gxf6 Rxf6 17. Qg2 Rg6 {The e-Pawn is safe and black is better.}) 12... O-O 13. g5 Ne8 {In this position white has equality, but no more. On his next move he confidently sacrifices a B, but unfortunately it's unsound. There is no really promising continuation for white, so he has to just keep amneuverubg and wait. A switch to the Komodo Human engine did not reveal anything special...only maneuvering...} 14. Bxh7+ { [%mdl 8192] Unsound...it's only good if black does not accept it.} Kxh7 $19 ( 14... Kh8 15. Bd3 {Now the threat of Qh5+ and mate on h7 is very real, so...} ( 15. Qh5 {This looks lkogical, but it's nit quite good enough to force the win.} Ndf6 16. gxf6 Nxf6 17. Qe5 Ne8 18. Nf3 Kxh7 19. Qh5+ Kg8 20. Ng5 Bxg5 21. fxg5 Qd8 22. Rf4 g6 23. Qh6 f6 {The defense has succeeded and the chances are equal. }) 15... g6 16. h4 Nd6 17. h5 {with a cery dangerous attack.}) 15. Qh5+ Kg8 16. Nf3 g6 17. Qh6 Ng7 18. Ne5 Nxe5 19. fxe5 {Now id white can get in Rf4 he will have a winning attack.} Qd8 (19... a6 {A pass to show white's threat.} 20. Rf4 Bxg5 (20... Nf5 21. Nxf5 gxf5 22. Rh4 {mate next move.}) 21. Qxg5 Qd8 22. Qh6 { with a decisicve advantage.}) 20. Rf6 Re8 21. Bd2 Bf8 22. Qh3 Ba6 {This prevents white from getting his other R into play... not that Raf1 would actually have caused black any serious problems.} (22... a6 23. Raf1 Bc6 24. R1f4 Nf5 25. Nxf5 exf5 26. Rh4 Bg7 27. Rh7 Re6 28. Qh4 Qf8 {White is a piece down anf there is no way to continue his attack.}) 23. a4 Bd3 24. e4 Bxe4 25. Rf4 Nf5 {White is now quite lsot.} 26. Rxe4 (26. Nxf5 Bxf5 {anf there is no way white can get the R to the h-file.}) 26... Nxg3 (26... dxe4 {wins, but it could get a bit tricky.} 27. Nxe4 Bg7 28. Nf6+ Bxf6 29. gxf6 cxd4 {This P has a great future!} 30. Rf1 dxc3 31. Rxf5 (31. Bxc3 Rxc3 32. bxc3 Qd2 {Prevents the Q from reaching h6.}) 31... cxd2 32. Qh6 d1=Q+ 33. Kg2 Qg4+ 34. Kf2 Rc2+ { mates}) 27. hxg3 (27. Rh4 {was his only chance.} Nh5 28. Rxh5 gxh5 29. Qxh5 { vut even here there is no attack and so after} cxd4 30. Rf1 dxc3 31. bxc3 Bc5+ 32. Kh1 d4 33. g6 fxg6 34. Qxg6+ Rg7 {the game is over.}) 27... dxe4 28. Be3 cxd4 29. cxd4 Rc4 30. Rd1 (30. Rf1 Rxd4 31. Bxd4 Qxd4+ 32. Kh1 Qxe5 {is hopeless for white.}) 30... Bg7 31. Kg2 Rc2+ 32. Bf2 {Black resigned. 32...e3 is next.} 0-1

Celso Golmayo

 

Golmayo

`Celso Golmayo y Zúpide (April 24,1820 - April 1, 1898) was a Spanish born Cu;am player and was the first Cuban player to participate in European tournaments. 

    He was the de facto Cuban champion since his 1862 match defeat of Felix Sicre (1817-1871) who became the first Cuban champion in 1860 and lost the title yo Golmayo in 1862. Sicre lost all games to Paul Morphy, during his two visits in Havana in October 1862 and February 1864. 

    Golmayo participated in the infamous Paris 1867 tournament where he tied for 7th-8th. In matches, he defeated Paul Morphy 3-2 in Havana 1864...Morphy was playing blindfolded gave odds of a Knight. 

    He lost matches to Gustav Neumann (0-3 in Paris in 1867), twice to Wilhelm Steinitz (2-9 in1883 and 0-5 in 1888). 

    In 1887 he defeated Andrés Clemente Vázquez 7-0 and again in 1890 by a score of 7-4. He lost three matches George Mackenzie (3-6 and 0.5-5.5, both in 1887 and 4.5-7.5 in 1888). 

    He lost to J.H. Blackburne (4-6 in 1891 and to Emanuel Lasker (0.5-2.5 in 1893). All these too place in Havana. 

    He is also known as Capablanca’s teacher and his two sons, Celso Golmayo y de la Torriente and Manuel Golmayo y de la Torriente were Spanish Masters.

    Golmayo’s opponent in the following game was Eugen Rousseau (1805-1877), who was born in Saint Denis, France and died in Paris. Rousseau came to the United States in 1841, settling in New Orleans. 

    He played a match against Charles H. Stanley at the Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans for a stake of $1,000, winner-take-all. It was the first organized chess event in the United States and the first chess event held for the purpose of recognizing the best player in the Unites States. 

    The term US Champion did not exist at the time and the match was to be won by the first to win 15 games, draws not counting. There was no time. Rousseau lost the match (+8-15=8). Eight year old Paul Morphy attended the match and as a result he became interested in chess. 

    The tournament in Paris in 1867 was held during the World Fair. Thirteen participants played in a double round-robin tournament. Draws did not count and the time control was ten moves an hour. There were no rounds and players simply agreed to play each other when it was convenient, alternating colors. 

    Golmayo's opponent was Martin From (1828-1895) of Denmark. He is most famous for the From’s Gambit (1.f4 e5) which he first played in 1852. 

    From was an inspector of the penitentiary of Christianshavn, Denmark. He was born at Nakskov in SW Denmark and was saod to have been gifted with a rare intelligence and he made rapid progress in his studies. However, his strongly independent nature resulted in a dispute with his teachers,\ and he left school without passing his University exams. 

    Soon after, of the out break of a war with Germany for the possession of Schleswig, the northernmost state in Germany, he entered the army as a volunteer and saw action in combat. 

From

    At the end of the war he settled at Copenhagen, where he was employed in the Statistical Bureau and eventuall he was emplyed in prison management. From the year 1890 he was inspector of the penitentiary of Christianshavn. 

 While in the Statistical Office From made the acquaintance with the strongest chess player of Copenhagen who taught him the game. It was soon apparent that From possessed considerable talent. 

    Both players have estimated rating by Chess metrics. Golmayos’ highest rating is estimated to have been 2612 in 1894 ranking him #26 in the world. From’s highest ever rating 2427 un 1870 ranking him #18 in the world. 

[Event "Paris"] [Site ""] [Date "1867.06.09"] [Round "?"] [White "Celso Golmayo"] [Black "Martin From"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C45"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "1867.06.04"] {C45: Scotch Game} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 {[%cal Bg1f3,Bf3d4,Bd4b5,Bb5c7,Bc7a8][%mdl 32]} Nc6 3. d4 {This ancient opening dates back to the mid-1700s. By 1900 it had lost favour among top players because it was thought to release the central tension too early and allow Black to equalise without difficulty.} exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 {Normal are either 4...Bc5 or 4...Nf6. The eare text move has a surprising success rate! It was an idea of Steinitz. It wins a P but at the cost of allowing white a lead in development and attacking chances.} 5. Nb5 Qxe4+ 6. Be2 {[%mdl 32] Trading Qs with 6.Qe2 would be in black's favor. White must play aggressively. Black is already facing a question...how to best continue in view of the threat Nxc7+} Qe5 {This is also a poor move.} (6... Qxg2 7. Nxc7+ Kd8 8. Bf3 Qh3 9. Nxa8 {is obviously unsatisfactory.}) (6... Kd8 7. N1c3 Bb4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. Nxc3 Qd4 10. Bd3 Nf6 11. Bg5 {White is better. Vyskocil,N (2318)-Paldus,P (2077) Liberec CZE 2005}) (6... Bb4+ {keeps the damage to a minimum.} 7. N1c3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 {White must accept the doubled Ps or accept equality after 8.Nxc3 Qxg2 which is now safe to play.} (8. Nxc3 Qxg2 9. Qd5 (9. Bf3 Qg6) 9... Qxd5 10. Nxd5 Kd8 11. Rg1 g6 12. b3 h6 13. Bb2 Rh7 14. O-O-O d6 15. c4 {An interesting position. Black has a two P advantage, but he is badly cramped. The chances are about even. In Shootouts white scored +1 -0 =4})) 7. f4 Qe4 (7... Bb4+ $16 8. c3 Qc5 9. Nxc7+ Kd8 10. Nxa8 b6 11. cxb4 Qxb4+ 12. Bd2 Qxb2 13. Bc3 {Black resigned. Kaula,I-Van Steenwinckel,I Szeged 1994}) 8. Nxc7+ Kd8 9. Nxa8 {Curously the N remains here for the rest of the game as black has no time to capture it.} Qxg2 (9... b6 10. Nc3 Qxg2 11. Bf3 Qg6 12. Be3 Bb7 13. Nxb6 axb6 14. Bxb6+ {Blacm is the exchange and a P down.}) 10. Bf3 Qg6 11. Be3 Qe6 12. Qe2 Nf6 13. a3 Bd6 14. Bxc6 {Completing his development with 14. Nc3 was also good.} Re8 (14... bxc6 15. Bxa7 Qxe2+ 16. Kxe2 Ba6+ 17. Kd1 Bxf4 18. Bb6+ {and black is a R down.}) 15. Bf3 Qxe3 16. Qxe3 Rxe3+ 17. Kf2 Bc5 (17... Bxf4 {was worth a try.} 18. Nc3 Re5 19. Rhd1 Rf5 20. Nd5 Be5 21. Kg2 Rg5+ 22. Kh1 Rf5 23. Nxf6 Rxf6 24. Rd3 {Black simply does not have enough compensation for his material deficit, but who knows?}) 18. Kg2 d5 19. h3 Bf5 20. Nc3 {Getting his pieces into play is more important than the P. Golmayo finishe off his opponent in a very efficient mnner.} Bxc2 21. Rac1 Be4 22. Nxe4 dxe4 23. Rhd1+ Ke7 24. Rxc5 {Black resigned. Playing on is futile.} ( 24. Rxc5 exf3+ 25. Kf2 Ne4+ 26. Kxe3 Nxc5 27. Nc7 {Finally! White is a clear R ahead.}) 1-0

John Cochrane

    Few readers have probably ever heard of George Walker (1803-1879), but in the days of long forgotten players like Alexander McDonnell, Labourdonnais, Pierre Charles St. Amant, Josef Szen, Captain Evans, Howard Staunton, Eugene Rousseau, Daniel Harrwitz, Lionel Kierseritsky, William Steinitz and dozens of other, Walker met and played them all. 

    One member of that illustrious group was John Cochrane of whom Walker proclaimed was the “most brilliant player he ever had the honor to look over or confront" and Howard Staunton eulogized Cochrane as “at once the most original and brilliant player of the day" and adding that "no collection of games would he complete without examples of (Cochrane’s) bold and subtle genius." 

    Of Cochrane the Marbh, 1878, American Chess Journal opined that posterity would confirm Walker’s opinion and that “Cochrane's games will remain to be admired (but not imitated)...” 

    John Cochrane (February 4, 1798 – March 2, 1878) was a a member of a distinguished Scottish family, noted chessplayer and lawyer of his day. 

    Cochrane was a midshipman in the Royal Navy and supposedly served aboard HMS Bellerophon when the ship transported Napoleon Bonaparte to Britain in 1815. The downsizing of the Navy after the end of the Napoleonic Wars ended his Naval career. 

    After serving in the Royal Navy, Cochrane became a barrister. While studying law, he became a very strong player and published a chess book that included what is now known as theoretician King's Gambit Accepted: Salvio, Cochrane Gambit (1.e4 es 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4 g4 5. Ne5 Qh4+ 6.Kf1 f3). 

    Around this time he played against the French players Louis-Charles Mahe de La Bourdonnais and Alexandre Deschapelles who were acknowledged to be Europe's strongest players at the time. 

    After a long tour of duty in India, he returned to the UK and beat everyone except Howard Staunton, whom he then helped to prepare for his victorious match against Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant which established Staunton as the world's leading player. 

    After that Cochrane returned to India where he became known as the "father of the Calcutta Bar” which was an association of barristers. While there he was also a leading member of the Calcutta Chess Club. 

    It was the club as well as Cochrane himself that made significant financial contributions to the first international chess tournament, London, 1851, which Staunton organized. It was a knockout tournament that was won by Adolf Anderssen who defeated Staunton in the semifinal rounf and Marmaduke Wyvill in the final round. 

    Cochrane continued to playing and to send games to the UK for publication. It was there that he introduced the Cochrane Gambit against the Petrov Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nxf7).

    When he returned to the UK for good, Cochrane played only casual games, practice law part time and wrote articles and books about law. 

    Here is a casual game he played against Deschapelles that is not especially flashy, nut the opening is a bit tricky as was the double Rook ending. 

    Alexandre Deschapelles (1780-1857) was born in Ville d'Avraym, France. He served under Napolean in the French Republican army. At the age of 14 he was in battle when a swing of a Prussian soldier sword Deschapelles’ right hand. Then defenseless a second blow slashed his face from ear to chin. After he fell to the ground he was trampled by the enemy’s horse. Somehow he survived and recovered. Thesaber wound to his face caused the phrenology enthusiasts of his era to suggest his cranial saber wounds were responsible for his amazing chess skill. 

    By the way, if 14 seems a bit young to be fighting in a military battle, it’s not a record! The 3 feet 1 inch tall John Gates enlisted as a drummer boy in the US Army’s 2nd Infantry at the age of 5!! That was in 1808. He re-enlisted at the age 14 14 in 1813. He got discharged in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1815, perhaps after the Battle of New Orleans. 

    Throughout the American Civil War, approximately 250,000-420,000 males under the age of 18 were involved in both Union and Confederate forces. It is estimated that 100,000 Union soldiers were 15 years of age or younger.

    In more modern times, after Pearl Harbor in 1942, Calvin Graham lied about his age an enlisted in the US Navy at the age of 12. He was discharged after serving brig time for being AWOL not long after. Then after getting married, having a child and getting divorced, he joined the US Marine Corps at the age of 18. He received a medical discharge (back injury) 3 years later. In 1978, he was finall given an honorable discharge. 

    Back to Deschapelles. He was one of the strongest players of the world in the first half of the 19th century. In 1821, he overwhelmingly defeated Cochrane by a score of 6-1 in a match in which Cochrane received odds of a Pawn and two moves! 

[Event "Casual game, Paris"] [Site "Paris"] [Date "1821.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "John Cochrane"] [Black "Alexandre Deschapelles"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Stocjfish 16"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "1821.??.??"] {C44: Scotch Gambit} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 {[%mdl 32]} Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 { With the Scotch Gambit, the scotch gambit white attempts to achieve an attacking game.} Bc5 {Black can transpose into the Two Knights Defense with 4.. .Nf6} 5. Ng5 {Other possible moves are 5.O-O and 5.c3} Ne5 {Black does better to play 5...Nh6 because white's next move give his the advantafge.} 6. Bxf7+ Nxf7 7. Nxf7 Bb4+ (7... Kxf7 {would land black in serious trouble.} 8. Qh5+ g6 9. Qxc5 {with a clear advantage.}) 8. c3 {The only correct move.} (8. Bd2 { and it's white who is in serious trouble!} Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 Kxf7 10. Qxd4 Ne7 { Black is up a piece and hite has no attack.}) (8. Nd2 {is also bad.} Kxf7 9. O-O Bxd2 10. Bxd2 h5 {Here, too, black is up a piece and white has no compensation.}) 8... dxc3 9. bxc3 {White is clearly better, but black can at least make a fight of it if he takes the N.} Bxc3+ (9... Kxf7 $16 10. cxb4 Nf6 11. O-O Re8 12. Nc3 d6 13. Bg5 Be6 {White is perhaps a bit better.. Cochet,C (2071)-Martsynovskaya,M (2235) Val d'Isere 2004}) 10. Nxc3 $18 Kxf7 11. Qd5+ Kf8 12. Ba3+ d6 13. e5 {Black has reason to be concerend. His K is exposed and white has three pieces developed.} Qg5 {The idea is not to discourage white from castling, but to ease the defense by trading Qs after 14.exd6} 14. exd6 { Even after allowing the trade of Qs white's position remains vastly superior.} (14. O-O {is perfectly safe!} Bh3 {This does not work.} 15. Qf3+ Bf5 16. exd6 { and white wins.}) 14... Qxd5 15. dxc7+ Kf7 16. Nxd5 Bd7 17. O-O Rc8 18. Bd6 Ke6 19. Bg3 Bc6 20. Rad1 {He could save the N with 20.Nb4, but the text allows an exchange which brings him closer to victory.} Bxd5 21. Rfe1+ Kf6 22. Rxd5 Nh6 23. Ra5 Nf5 24. Rc5 Nxg3 25. hxg3 {[%mdl 4096] White has a won ending.} Kf7 26. Rd1 $2 (26. Rf5+ $18 {was better.} Kg6 27. g4 Rhf8 28. Rxf8 Rxf8 29. Re7 Rc8 30. f4 Kf6 31. Rd7 {and wins}) 26... Rhe8 {Suddenly with his K cute off white has considerable technical difficulties to overcome especially in a double R ending.} 27. Rd6 Re7 {[%mdl 8192] This looks right since there is no way white can save ti P, but it results in the loss of the game.} (27... Re6 {should draw!} 28. Rd8 (28. Rxe6 Kxe6 {and the P falls.}) 28... Re8 {White simply cannot exchange Rs and win, so...} 29. Rd2 Re7 30. Rdc2 Ke6 31. g4 Kd6 32. f4 Rexc7 33. Rxc7 Rxc7 34. Rxc7 Kxc7 {is a draw. For example...} 35. g5 Kd6 36. g4 b5 37. Kf2 b4 38. Ke3 Kd5 39. f5 a5 40. Kd3 a4 41. Kc2 Ke5 42. Kd3 h5 43. gxh5 Kxf5 44. h6 Kg6 45. hxg7 Kxg7 46. Kc4 b3 47. axb3 axb3 48. Kxb3) 28. Rf5+ { Found it!} Ke8 29. Rd8+ $1 Rxd8 30. Rf8+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} Kxf8 31. cxd8=Q+ { Black resigned. A simple, yet instructive game.} 1-0

The Powerful Queen

    The 1927 Kecskemet, Hungary tournament featured twenty players that were divided into two preliminary sections. Preliminary A was won by Alekhine followed by Aasztalos, Kmoch, Gilg, Takacs, Tartakover, Brinckmann, Yates, Mueller and Sarkozy. 

    Preliminary B was won by Lajos Steiner followed by Nimzovich, Ahues, Vajda, Colle, Gruenfeld, Vukovic, Kullberg, Przepiorka and Szekely. 

    The Final A Group winner was Alexander Alekhine followed by Aron Nimzovich and Lajos Steiner (tied). Final B was won by Savielly Tartakower and Ernst Gruenfeld (tied) followed by Sandor Takacs and F.D. Yates (tied). 

    When the Queen are off the board it completely alters the character of the position. Tactical elements are reduced (not eliminated!) and positional elements take on a greater significance..

    This game between Alekhine and Tartakower from the Preliminary A Group illustrates how the Queen’s way of moving, a combination of the Rook and Bishop, can give rise to similar tactical motifs observed in both of those pieces and it’s a good example of the Queen’s versatility in the conduct of mating operations. Alekhine’s strategy may not have been perfect, but it’s very instructive. 

[Event "Kecskemet (Prelim Group A)"] [Site "?"] [Date "1927.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Alexande Alekhine"] [Black "Savielly Tartakower"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1927.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.05.15"] {B15: Caro-Kann} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Ng3 e5 6. Nf3 { [%mdl 32]} exd4 7. Nxd4 Bc5 8. Qe2+ Be7 (8... Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Bxe7 10. Ndf5 Bf8 11. Bg5 Bxf5 12. Nxf5 Ne4 {White's pieces are more active, but there is little he can undertake. Lomineishvili,M (2345)-Purtseladze,M (2356) Tbilisi GEO 2012} ) (8... Kd7 {avoids the exchanhe of Qs, but loses the game.} 9. Be3 Re8 10. O-O-O Kc7 11. Nb5+ cxb5 12. Rxd8 Bxe3+ 13. fxe3 Rxd8 14. Qxb5 {with a decisive advantage. Owezdurdiyeva,J (2061) -Rose,F (2091) chess.com INT 2023}) 9. Be3 c5 {Besides this black has also tried 9...Qa5+ and 9...Qd5.} 10. Ndf5 O-O { Pachman makes an interesting observation here. With 8.Q2e+ Alekhine blocked his B and now if he wants to castle K-side he is going to lose time which is favorable to black. However, now "by means of a few energetic moves, of admirable simplicity, Alekhine succeeds in making capital out of the mobility of his Q."} 11. Qc4 {Even non-Masters know that Q sorties undertaken before development has been completed are, as a rule, misguided. That's because without the cooperation of the other pieces the Q is subject to time winning attacks on it. With 11.Qc4 Alekhine's idea is that he is attacking the c-Pawn plus he has seen an, as of yet, potential attcak on f7...something even a great player likeTartakower failed to appreciate.} (11. Qd3 {When annotating this game Pachman did not mention the possibility of white's castling Q-side which is also quite reasonable.} Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qc7 13. O-O-O {and white stands well.}) 11... Re8 {Placing the R opposite white's K which at the same time indirectky defends his c-Pawn is quite reasonable, but Tartakower does not suspect the that danger is lurking. His best move was the illogical looking 11. ..Bxf5} (11... Bxf5 12. Nxf5 Nc6 {and the P is immune.} 13. Nxe7+ (13. Bxc5 Bxc5 14. Qxc5 Ne4 {Threatening mate with ...Qd2, so...} 15. Qe3 Re8 16. Be2 ( 16. Bc4 Nf6 {win the Q}) 16... Qa5+ {wins the N}) 13... Nxe7 14. Qxc5 Rc8 15. Qxa7 Rxc2 {with equal chances.}) (11... b6 {This defends the Pawnm bur black faces serious difficulties after} 12. Rd1 Nbd7 13. Qh4 {White has what should amount to a decisive attack.}) 12. Bd3 {This move has, as far as I know, not been commented on by annotators, bit it should have resulted in no more than equality had Tartakower responded correctly.} (12. Nxe7+ Rxe7 (12... Qxe7 13. O-O-O {and white stands well.}) 13. Bd3 {White correctly igmores the c-Pawn.} ( 13. Qxc5 Nc6 14. Bd3 Re5 {This attack on the misplaced Q assures black of equality.}) 13... Be6 14. Qh4 {with the more promising position.}) 12... b6 { This move, too, has escaped the attention of the annotators, but not Stockfish! It's after this that's Alekhine's strategy with his Q is vindicated. } (12... Bf8 {An illogical looking undeveloping move which is actually best as it completely equalizies!} 13. O-O-O {and black has full equality after either 13...Be6 or 13.Qb6.}) 13. O-O-O {At this point Alekhine has a clearly better, if mot decisive, position.} Ba6 {This is quite logical as it develops a piece and at the same time attacks the Q. It's paradoxical that it is also even worse than his last move. White's position is now clearly decisive.} (13... Bxf5 {At least thi removes one of the attackers.} 14. Nxf5 Nbd7 {and now...} 15. Nxg7 Kxg7 16. Bf5 Qc7 17. Bxd7 Nxd7 18. Qg4+ Kh8 19. Rxd7 Qe5 20. Re1 Bf6 21. c3 Rg8 22. Qh3 {White hs a decisive advantage...not seeing how? Here'she best line...}) 14. Nh6+ {[%mdl 512] A beautiful combination, based on the motifs of decoying, diverting and discovered check. Its chief point lies in the eighteenth move, when it turns out that Black is compelled to give up the Q, not for three minor pieces, but two. (Pachman)} gxh6 {Forced.} (14... Kh8 15. Nxf7+ Kg8 16. Nh6+ Kh8 17. Qg8+ Rxg8 18. Nf7#) 15. Bxh7+ {[%mdl 512] Another sactifice and it's the only move that wins.} Nxh7 (15... Kh8 16. Qxf7 { [%eval 462,23] [%wdl 1000,0,0] [%emt 0:00:02] Xxf7}) 16. Qg4+ Kh8 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Qe4 {This Q fork virtually ends the game because Alekhine now obtains a decisive material advantage.} Nc6 19. Qxc6 Bf8 20. Nf5 Bc4 21. Bxh6 {White has a Q+2Ps vs. R+B} Bd5 22. Qc7 Rac8 23. Qf4 Rc6 24. Bxf8 Rxf8 25. Qe5+ Nf6 26. Nd6 {Black resigned. Curiously white's last move has left the B and N forked.} (26. Nd6 Bxa2 27. Qxf6+ Kh7 28. Re1 {mates in 11...} Rxd6 29. Qxd6 Rg8 30. b3 Rg6 31. Qf8 Rg7 32. Re3 c4 33. Qe7 cxb3 34. Rh3+ Kg6 35. Qe4+ Kg5 36. Rg3+ Kf6 37. Rf3+ Kg5 38. Qf5+ Kh4 39. Rh3#) 1-0

William Eno at Skaneateles

    I know you are dying to know where Skaneateles is and who William Eno was. Skaneateles is in upstate New York not far from Lake Ontario. It’s a small town of a little over 7,000 people. It gets its name from the adjacent Skaneateles Lake.

    William Eno (1843 – 1922, 78 years old) was born in Manchester, England and passed away in South Nyack, New York, a hamlet about 30 miles north of New York City. In his day, Eno was a gentleman who required no introduction to players of the area because he had been so prominently identified, both as a player and as an official with the rise of chess clubs in Brooklyn starting in the 1880s. 

    In his early years Eno was a contemporary with Bernhard Horwitz and Josef Kling who authored an important book on endgames. At 16 he was a spectator at Blackburn's first blindfold performance. The 19-year-old Blackburn played twelve games without seeing the boards. 

    After Eno came to the United States (probably somewhere between 1868 and 1872) earning a living to support his family took precedence over chess and until his mid to late thirties he played very little. 

    When a new chess club (the Danites Chess Club in New York) opened he came out of “retirement” and when the club was absorbed by the Brooklyn Chess Club he became more active than ever in furthering chess interests in New York. Eno was champion of the Danites C. C. and was the Brooklyn C. C. Champion in 1887 and again in1890. 

    Eno's style of play was described as “moderately slow, every move thoroughly considered, and yet in simple positions as rapid as could be desired; very sound in combinations, and frequently brilliant in conceptions.” His Edo Historical Rating is a little over 2100, placing him in the modern day USCF Expert category. 

    His opponent in the following game was William Scripture (1843 – 1933, 89-years-old). 

[Event "Skaneateles, New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1891.07.21"] [Round "?"] [White "William F. Eno"] [Black "William E. Scripture"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Stockfidh 16"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "1891.??.??"] [Source "Chessbase"] {C66: Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defence} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 {This game starts out as a Ponziani Opening, but soon tranposes into the Ruy Lopez.} Nf6 { This, the Jaenisch Variation, is considered black's safest course in the Ponziani.} 4. d4 d6 (4... Nxe4 {The main alternative.} 5. d5 Nb8 6. Bd3 Nc5 7. Nxe5 Nxd3+ 8. Nxd3 {is equal.}) 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. O-O Be7 7. Bxc6 {White has played several different moves here. This unprovoked exchange of a B for a N seems wrong on principle, but it is not actually a mistake.} Bxc6 $11 8. dxe5 Nxe4 (8... dxe5 9. Nxe5 (9. Qxd8+ Rxd8 10. Nxe5 Bxe4) 9... Bxe4 {looks quite boring.}) 9. exd6 cxd6 {Like white's 7th move, this is not really a mistake, but it just doesn't look right. Taking with either the Q or B seems more natural.} 10. Be3 O-O 11. Bd4 f5 {It;s odd that while black has not made any moves that could be called a mistake and the position is evaluated at dead equal, somehoe black's position looks loose and unstable.} 12. Re1 {[%mdl 32]} Bh4 {This attack in f2 is quite harmless.} (12... Qe8 {deserves consideration. After} 13. Qb3+ d5 {the position is completely equal.}) 13. Nbd2 (13. Nxh4 { looks logical, but even then the position is devoid of any tension after} Qxh4 14. f3 Ng5 15. Nd2 {and a good word to describe this position is "bland."}) 13... Bf6 14. Re2 Ng5 15. Nxg5 Bxg5 16. Qb3+ Kh8 17. Rae1 Bxd2 18. Rxd2 Qg5 { A double attack on g2 and the R.} 19. f4 {The only move.} Qg6 {After this black finds himself with increasing trouble.} (19... Qxf4 {There was no reason to avoid this capture.} 20. Re7 {It's white's turn to attack the g-Pawn.} Rg8 21. Qf7 {Black is forced to guard g7.} Qxd2 (21... Qg5 22. h4 Qg4 23. Rde2 f4 24. h5 Raf8 25. Qe6 Qxe6 26. R2xe6 Rd8 {The double R ending with Bs of opposite color make a draw a likely outcome.}) 22. Bxg7+ Rxg7 23. Qxg7#) 20. Re7 {[%mdl 128] Now whit's attack looks to be gaining considerable force.} Rg8 21. Re6 {But not after this.} (21. Qf7 Qxf7 22. Rxf7 Be4 23. Re2 h5 (23... h6 { is much worse...watch...} 24. Re3 Kh7 25. Rg3 {with a triple attack on g7/}) 24. Re3 Kh7 25. Rh3 (25. Rg3 {is less effective.} h4 26. Rgxg7+ Rxg7 27. Rxg7+ Kh6) 25... Kg6 26. Rc7 h4 27. Rxh4 {with a promising position.}) 21... Qg4 22. Qc4 (22. Rxd6 Qxf4 {and black is OK}) 22... Be4 {Surrendering the d-Pawn is a mistake.} (22... Rge8 $11 {and Black has nothing to worry.} 23. Rxd6 {loses as follows...} Re1+ 24. Kf2 Rae8 {is fatal for white.} 25. Bxg7+ (25. g3 Qf3#) 25... Kxg7 26. Qd4+ Kf7 27. Qf6+ Kg8 28. Qg5+ Qxg5 29. fxg5 {Blac has the superior ending.}) 23. Rxd6 Rae8 {Black has managed toi drift into a lost position.} (23... Qxf4 {is a self mate.} 24. Bxg7+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} Kxg7 25. Qd4+ Qe5 26. Qxe5+ Kf8 27. Qf6+ Ke8 28. Re6#) (23... Rac8 {was worth a try.} 24. Qe6 Rce8 25. Qf7 Bc6 26. Be5 Rxe5 27. fxe5 Qe4 {Neither side can maker any progress.}) 24. Be5 (24. Bxa7 {throws away his advantage.} Qxf4 25. Qd4 Qg4 { Oddly, in spite of his extra P, Q-side P-majority and triple heavy pieces on the d-file plus black's tied down R on g8 white can make absolutely no progress. Opposite color Bs and black's attack on g2 are adequate compensation. }) 24... Qh4 25. Qe2 a6 26. c4 Rc8 27. g3 Qe7 {It's hard to see, but the Q lands in difficulties on the 7th rank...so much so that this must be considered the losing movve.} (27... Qh3 {Offered much stout resistance.} 28. Rd7 h5 29. R2d4 Qg4 {In Shootouts white scored +3 -0 =2 in long (100+ moves) and difficult endins.}) 28. b4 (28. Qh5 {Threatening mate with Rh6 was stronger.} Rc6 29. b4 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 Qe8 31. Bxg7+ {The finishing touch.} Kxg7 32. Qh6+ Kh8 33. Qf6+ Rg7 34. Rd8) 28... Qf7 (28... Rgd8 {offered a manly defense.} 29. Qd1 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 Bc6 31. Qh5 Kg8 32. Qxf5 Rd8 33. c5 Rf8 { and white is going to have to work hard for the win...white scored 5-0 in Shootouts.}) 29. Rd7 {[%mdl 32]} Qxc4 {Scripture clearly hoped the exchange of Qs would ease his defense, but in this case it walks into a mate in 9! Either 29...Qe8 or 29...Qg6 would have held out longer.} 30. Qxc4 Rxc4 31. Rxg7 { [%mdl 512]} Rc1+ 32. Kf2 Re8 (32... Bd5 {prolongs things a bit.} 33. Rxd5 Rc2+ 34. Kf3 h5 35. Rc7+ Rg7 36. Rd8+ Kh7 37. Rxg7+ Kh6 38. Rh8#) 33. Rg5+ {It's mate in 2 so black resigned.} (33. Rg5+ Rxe5 34. Rd8+ Re8 35. Rxe8#) 1-0

50 Years Ago, Mednis in Italy

    The year 1974 started off with a quarter-final qualifying match for the World Championship being played in San Juan, Puerto Rico between Boris Spassky and Robert Byrne; Spassly won, scoring +3 -0 =5. 

    From December 27, 1973 to January 6, 1974 there was a tournament in Reggio Emilia, Italy (Jurgen Dueball, Leubeb Popov and Gyula Sax tied for first) and from January 8-18, 1974, there was another tournament held in Madonna Di Campiglio, Italy (Sax won). 

    GM Edmar Mednis played in both. At Reggio Emilia he scored +5 -1 =4 and tied for 4th-5th. At Madonna Di Campiglio he scored +3 -1 =6 and tied for 4th-6th.

    The weather in Reggio Emilia was cold, wet and dark and there was a local oil shortage which meant that there was absolutely no heat in the playing hall and the players had to bundle up in overcoats and hats. 

    Madonna di Campiglio, a winter and summer resort in northern Italy that is close to Switzerland and Austria, was different. It was bright and sunny with temperatures hovering around freezing. Mednis was unhappy with the playing conditions though. The spectators were not separated from the players and they (the spectators) “felt free to make as much noise as possible.” 

    If you ever met Edmar Mednis (March 22, 1937 - February13, 2002, 64 years old) you would have found him to be a friendly, pleasant man that was just plain likable. 

    Grandmaster (1980) Mednis was born in Riga, Latvia. Although he was trained as a chemical engineer he worked as a stockbroker, but became best known as a chess player and an excellent author. 

    After moving to the United States Mednis represented his new country in the 1955 World Junior Championship that was held in Antwerp and won by Boris Spassky. Mednis finished second; their individual game was drawn. 

    Mefnis died of complications from pneumonia in 2002 at Woodside, Queens, New York. 

    His opponent in the following game was Guido Cappello (1922-1996) who was born in Pisa and was the 1960 was Italian Champion. 

 

 

    At the time the following game was played Mednis’ score was 4-2 and he was determined to win and so playing the Sicilian seemed to offer the best chance of winning. 

    He was also aware that in earlier rounds Cappello had obtained winning positions against the two Sicilians he had faced. Consequently, Medis, knowing that is opponent was also intent on winning, eschewed the Sicilian and decided upon the French Defense with the the hope that also in his desire to win, Cappello would overreach himself. Cappello’s play was quiet, but solid and he even had a bit of an advantage, but began drifting, got into time trouble and lost.

 

[Event "Reggio Emilia (Italy)"] [Site "Reggio Emilia (Italy)"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Renato Cappello"] [Black "Edmar Mednis"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C04"] [WhiteElo "2310"] [BlackElo "2455"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "54"] {C04: French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 {[%mdl 32]} Nc6 {This is the Guimard Variation, named after GM Carlos Guimads pf Argentina who introduced it into practice in 1946-7. The idea is to put immediate piece pressure on white's center and so prevent a favorable P-formation for white' i.e. a P on f4. The downside is that black's c-Pawn is blocked. It was Mednis' belief that 3...Nc6 gives black more winning chances than other moves. Ny database does not support that belief as it shows white winning four times as many games as black in the Guimard.} 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd7 6. Bb5 {Clearly Cappello is looking for a fight.This is much more forcing than the tamer 6.Nb3.} a6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. Nb3 c5 9. Bg5 {The disadvantage of White's order of moves is that an immediate 9 N-R5 leads to nothing after 9 in N-QR5, must exchange Bishops and it is generally true that all exchanges lighten the defensive task.} ({is not as good as it looks.} 9. Na5 c6 {and the N is serving no purpose on a5 because white cannot play} 10. Nxc6 Qc7 {and the N is trapped.}) 9... Be7 {Best/} (9... f6 10. exf6 gxf6 11. Bh4 c4 12. Nbd2 Be7 13. O-O {Wgite is slightly better. The position of black's K is a bit drafty.}) 10. Na5 {Now this move is good; the threat is Nc6 trapping the Q.} Nb8 {This prevents Nc6, but now white gets a bit of an advantage.} (10... Nxe5 {This surprise is actually obvious when you see it! It's not surprising that Mednis missed it in his notes to the game! } 11. Nxe5 Bxg5 12. dxc5 Qf6 {The chances are equal, but in Bueno,A (2179) -Languidey,S (2416) Florianopolis BRA 2019 white soon erred and lost quickly.}) 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. dxc5 {Even GMs think about such elementary things as the center. Mednis observed that, "Giving up the center is rarely worthwhile and also here black now achieves equality." He recommended 12.c3. Jowever, it must be noted that white's move is, in reality, not a mistake (Stockfish says so!) and the position is quite even.} (12. c3 {...and white is a bit better after... } Bd7 13. O-O O-O 14. Qb3 Nc6 15. Nxc6 Bxc6 16. Qa3 {Black has a bad B pluus his Ps are subjected to annoying pressure by the Q.}) (12. c4 O-O 13. O-O Rd8 14. Rc1 dxc4 15. Rxc4 cxd4 16. Nxd4 {White is better. Zimina,O (2334)-Hou,Y (2578) Plovdiv BUL 2010}) 12... Qxc5 13. Qd2 (13. Nb3 {is less effective.} Qe7 14. Qd4 Nd7 15. Qg4 O-O 16. O-O {Black has the more active position. Kastelfranchi,A (2215)-Gusev,Y (2360) Moscow 1991}) 13... O-O 14. O-O Nd7 { Somewhat better would have been 14...Nc6} 15. b4 {Mednis was critical of this demonstration stating that it leads to nothing, but otherwise black soon gets in ...c5 with a good position. But, it's the very move Stockfish recommends and assigns white a very minimal advsantage.} Qb6 {The Q would have been safer on e7.} 16. c4 dxc4 17. Rac1 (17. Nxc4 {According to Mednis after} Qb5 { Black stands very well, so Cappello tries to keep the Q-side bind. However, Black has sufficient counterplay according to Mednis. A possible continuation si} 18. Rac1 Rb8 19. Nd4 Qxb4 20. Qxb4 Rxb4 21. Nc6 Ra4 22. Ne7+ Kh8 23. Rfd1 { The chances are equal.}) 17... Qb5 18. Rfe1 (18. Nxc4 {is met by} Rb8 19. a3 Bb7 20. Nd4 Qd5 21. f4 Rfd8 {with equality.}) (18. Rxc4 {is more difficult for black to meet.} Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Qxe5 20. Rfc1 {wins the cp(awn and leaves white with the advantage.}) 18... Rb8 {Good defensive play! The idea is not so much to attack the b-Pawn as to allow the development of the Bishop.} 19. Rxc4 Bb7 20. Ng5 {This merited a ? fro Mednis who offered the instructive observation: A type of move which is so often dangerous in open Sicilian type positions, but is not so dangerous in the semi-closed French Defense. During the game I thought that white's best approach here was to sacrifice a P with 20.a4} (20. a4 {As it turns out Mednis was correct...this is the ebst move.} Qxa4 21. Nxb7 Rxb7 22. Rd4 c5 23. bxc5 Qb5 {with equal chances.}) 20... Nxe5 {[%mdl 32] Actually, this position is quite equal if white follows up correctly with 21. Rc5 or 21.Qc2. Instead he starts going astray. Looming time pressure?} 21. Rxc7 {Mednis stated that there was nothing better, but after 21.Rc5 neither side can claim any advantage.} (21. Rc5 Qd3 22. Qc1 Ng6 23. Nxb7 Rxb7 24. a3 Rb5 25. Rxc7 a5 {with complete equality.}) 21... Ba8 {Excellent! Black takes time out to retain his B which has now become quite valuable.} 22. a3 {There has suddenly been a complete turn around in the position. White lacks a decisive continuation so he protects the b-Pawn. AT this point black has a considerable advantage.} Nd3 {Another excellent move. Mednis called it the most difficult move in the game because black voluntarily allows a pin on the d-file, but is is the only way of taking immediate advantage of the misplaced white pieces.} ( 22... Rbd8 {This is obvious, but after} 23. Qc2 Ng6 24. Rc5 Qd3 25. Nc6 { white has sufficient play.}) 23. Rd1 Rbd8 {[%mdl 128]} 24. Rc3 {Time pressure was approaching for Cappello and he played the text move quickly and confidently. However, a fully satis- factory defense does not exis,t but the text move loses quickly. All Mednis must do is to sidestep a diabolical trap!} Nf4 {[%mdl 512] Which he does!} (24... Nxf2 {would allow white to fully equalize.} 25. Qxd8 Qe2 (25... Nxd1 26. Rc8 {and white wins!} (26. Qxd1 Qxg5 { favors black})) 26. Nc6 Bxc6 27. Qd2 Qxd1+ 28. Qxd1 Nxd1 29. Rxc6 {is equal.}) 25. Qxd8 Ne2+ 26. Kh1 Nxc3 27. Rd3 {This is the position Mednis visualized when he played 24...Nf4 he felt sure that 27...Qe5 must win, but now, when this position arose, he started looking for something better.} g6 {After this prosaic move white resigned.} (27... Qe5 28. Nf3 Qe2 29. Ng1 (29. Rxc3 Qf1+ 30. Ng1 Qxg2#) 29... Qxf2 30. Qg5 Ne2 31. Nxe2 Qxe2 32. h3 Qxd3 {wins}) (27... Nd5 {This completes the N's tour and is quite elegant.} 28. Qxf8+ Kxf8 29. Rd1 Nc3 30. Re1 Qxg5 {and the game is over.}) (27... g6 28. Qd4 Qxg5 29. f3 Qc1+ 30. Qg1 {Black can win any number of ways} Qxa3 31. Qe1 Rc8 32. Rd4 Ne2 33. Rd2 Rc1 ) 0-1