Vergilio Fenoglio

    The major news stories in 1943 were Churchill and Roosevelt held the Casablanca Conference in January. They pledged that the war would end only with the unconditional surrender of the Axis countries. And, following the Allied invasion of Sicily in July Italian dictator Mussolini was deposed and put under arrest; Italy then signed an armistice of with the Allies in September. Mussolini was summarily executed on April 28, 1945.

    In the U.S. President Roosevelt froze prices, salaries and wages to prevent inflation. Withholding tax on wages was introduced. Construction of the Pentagon was completed making it the largest office building in the world. The Chinese Exclusion Acts of 1882 and 1902 were repealed permitting immigration and naturalization of Chinese. 

    Of course chess was still being played and today’s game was played in the 1943 Mar del Plata tournament. I’m guessing that most readers never heard of the 12th place finisher, Vergilio Fenoglio (February 20, 1902 - March 15, 1990, 88 years old). In his day he was one of the most solid masters in Argentine chess and the winner of 37 tournaments. 

    He was a journalist by profession ad worked for the newspaper “Critica” and along with Juan Iliesco he edited the magazine “Jaque Mate.” For ten years he contributed to the magazine “Ajedrez” on ending and fantasy chess. He was an internationally known problem composer who also published his own problems. In his last years he served as president of “Pena del Mate de Ayuda”. 

    He played in the Argentine Championship 13 times in the period 1928–1959. He died in Buenos Aires. 

    His opponent was the 13th place finisher, Arturo Liebstein (sometimes listed as Isaac Liebstei, a virtually unknown Uruguayan master who won the Uruguayan Championship in 1940, 1942 and 1943. 

    After the 8th Chess Olympiad at Buenos Aires in1939, many participants decided to stay in Argentina due to outbreak of World War II. As a result the 1943 Mar del Plata tournament included eleven refugees from Europe and two from Palestine.

 

ChessBase

Arturo Liebstein–Virgilio Fenoglio0–1B18Mar del PlataMar del Plata ARG24.03.1943Stockfish 16

B18: Classical Caro-Kann 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.c3 dxe4 4.xe4 f5 This has been long considered to represent best play. 4...Nd7 is the main alternative, White can then play 5.Ng5, 5.Nf3 or 5.Bc4 5.g3 g6 6.f3 d7 7.e2 e6 8.0-0 d6 9.b3 gf6 10.c4 c7 11.b2 0-0 12.h4 fe8 13.xg6 hxg6 14.c1 14.c2 ad8 15.ad1 b6 16.c5 f4 17.cxb6 xb6 18.fe1 is equal. Polgar,J (2630)-Rogers,I (2595) Biel 1993 14...e5 15.c5 f8 16.dxe5 xe5 17.b4 d5 18.d4 ad8 19.f4 This is a bit too weakening. Something like 19.a3 awaiting developments would have been safer. f6 20.c3 eg4 White the NB on g4 does not look especially menacing white would now have done better to reduce the number of pieces black has available for attack by playing 21.Bxg4. However, sometimes one is reluctant to exchange a B for a N 21.c4 On the surface this attack on f7 looks like it may have some potential, but Fenoglio quickly demonstrates that not to be the case. e3 22.f3 fd5 23.b3 xc4 24.xc4 24.xc4 b5 25.cxb6 axb6 26.a3 d6 and it's still black who stands better, 24...e1+ 25.f2 ee8 25...de8 26.e5 Cuts off the R on e1 8xe5 27.fxe5 xe5 28.d3 and it will prove difficult for black to make any real progrss. 26.e5 d7 27.e4 f6 28.d6 f5 28...xd6 This would not be sucj a good idea. 29.xd6 and the well placed N assures white of equality. e7 30.f5 and white has his share of the play. 28...e6 would cause white the most problems. For example... 29.g1 29.xf8 f5 30.d6 30.d6 e1# 30...fxe4 31.g3 e3+ 32.e2 f6 33.e5 xe5 34.fxe5 f2+ 35.d3 d2+ 36.e4 e2 wins 29...f5 30.g3 xd6 31.cxd6 xd6 Blacs what should amount to a decisive advantage, but scoring the point might prove tedious. 29.g5 Rh3 is the strong threat. xd6 30.h3 White threatens Rh8+! and mate. f8 30...xf4 31.h8+ xh8 32.h3+ g8 33.h7+ f8 34.h8+ e7 35.xg7# Proving the point that even when you are winning yo must be alert to tactical threats! 31.c2 This loses quickly. 31.h8+ would liekly draw. e7 32.b2 xh8 33.xg7+ e8 34.xg6+ f8 35.cxd6 Now black is in difficulty...there is only one move that does not lose. e8 Now it's white's turn to find the only move. 36.d4 xh2 37.xd5 This secures the draw. White could, if he desired, play on with the equalizing 37.a3 cxd5 38.f6+ g8 39.g6+ f8 39...h8 40.f7+ xf7 41.xf7 followed by d7 and white wins. 40.f6+ etc. 31...xf4 32.h8+ This now longer works because white's N, a vital piece, is threatened with elimination. e7 Watch black's King walk! 33.e2+ 33.b2 Unlike in the previous variation, this does not work... xg5 34.xg7+ e6 35.xg6+ f6 36.xe8+ 36.xg5 e4+ 37.f3 d1+ 38.e2 d3+ 39.f4 f1+ 40.f2 xf2# 36...xe8 37.e2+ A winning King walk is in progress. d5 38.xg5 g4+ 39.e1 xe2+ 40.xe2 e4 Black is winning. 33...f6 34.b2+ xg5 35.h4+ g4 36.b3 xe2+ 37.xe2 e6+ 38.f1 e3+ Facing mate in 6 white resigned. 38...e3+ 39.e2 c4+ 40.f1 d2+ 41.f2 xb3 42.g3 d2+ 43.f1 e2+ 44.g1 e1# 0–1

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Louis Levy

    The following brilliant game was played in the 1941 Marshall Chess Club Championship. The winner was Louis Levy (1921-2011, 90 years old). He was a FIDE Master in chess and a Life Master in bridge. He is the only person known to have played Frank Marshall, Bobby Fischer and Gata Kamsky. Originally from New Jersey, he passed away in Los Angeles. 

    Anthony Santasiere (1904-1977) is better known. He was a Master and chess writer, who also wrote extensively on non-chess topics. Santasiere was a middle school math teacher by profession. He won the 1945 US Open Championship, four New York State championships and six Marshall Chess Club championships. 

    The Orangutan (1.b4) has never been popular at the top level, though a number of prominent players have employed it on occasion. In 1963, Alexey Sokolsky (1908–1969) wrote a monograph on it and so it’s sometimes called the Solkolsy Opening. 

    In the Tartakower vs. Maroczy game played in the New York 1924 tournament the players had visited the Bronx Zoo the previous day and Tartakower noted that the climbing movement of the Pawn to b5 reminded him of the orangutan. Alekhine said that the problem is that 1.b4 reveals white's intentions before he knows what black's intentions are. Santasiere modified the Orangutan by playing 1.Nf3 first and he, himself, named it Santasiere’s Folly. 

    Santasiere was an original thinker, but he was often dogmatic and exaggerated the value of novelties and sometimes insisted that it took bizarre moves in the opening in order to play “Romantic” chess. At one point, in the 1970s I believe it was, Santasiere got into a written feud with Larry Evans after Evans showed disdain for Santasiere's hypocrisy for “talking like a tiger and playing like a Tigran (Petrosian).” But, Evans did admit Santasiere had the heart of a Romantic even if he didn't have the games to back it up. 

    Writing in his Game of the Month column in the January 1942 issue of Chess Review, Reuben Fine presented the below game as a complete refutation of Santasiere’s Folly and, at the same time, poked fun at the opening. It’s quite possible it was sour grapes on Fine’s part owing to the fact that in the 1938 US Championship Samuel Reshevsky finished first with an undefeated 13.0 while Fine was second with 12.5 (their individual game was drawn). Fine lost one game to, guess who? That’s right...Santasiere, who finished tied with George Treysman for tenth (out of 17) with a score of 7.0. 

     Note regarding Levy’s 2...f6. In his notes in Chess Review, Fine attached two !! to the move. Later in Chess Marches On he upped it to three! Fine wrote that it's a "a natural reply which nobody seems to have thought of before.” Earlier in the tournament Harry Fajans had played 2...f6 with the same result. Even earlier Santasiere had lost a game in the NY State Championship against the move.

    Playing over this game using a board and pieces instead of just clicking through the moves on the computer screen gives a whole different perspective to the game. Seeing the game unfold as the players did gives a better appreciation for the complexities that Levy had to thread his way through!

 

ChessBase

Anthony Santasiere–Louis Levy0–1A06Marshall CC Championship3New York, NY USA14.12.1941Stockfish 16

A00: Irregular Openings 1.f3 d5 2.b4 Reuben Fine admitted that while Santasiere had a lot of success with this opening, it was, nevertheless, a waste of time. Fine wrote that while this move is useful in certain variations of the Reti Opening in most cases it amounts to nothing more than a loss of time, adding that at any rate, sometimes it does lead to unusual positions. Fine snidely commented Santasiere had applied for a copyright on the move. In his book on the opening Santasiere called it the Futuristic Chess Opening f6 Ordinarily the early advance of the f-Pawn is bad because it deprives the N of its best square, but here it is very much to the point because black can build a strong Pawn phalanx in the center. (Fine) Today 2... f6 is long forgotten and it;s very rarely played. 3.d4 3.e3 h6 4.c4 e6 5.b3 a5 6.b5 d7 White is better. Zurek,M (2405)-Sikora-Lerch,J (2380) CSR 1991 3...e5 3...a5 While not exactly bad, this move does not challenge white's setup. 4.b5 c6 5.e3 d7 6.a4 e6 White is better. Elkin,A (2195)-Samborskiy,V (2052) Ulyanovsk RUS 2013 4.a3 According to FIne this is a routine reply, after which black secures an overwhelming position. Black is better, but overwhelming is a bit of an exaggeration. 4.dxe5 This keeps things even. fxe5 5.xe5 xb4+ 6.c3 After the B retreats to safety ob any reasonable square it's an odd position. Does the weakness of black's K offset his basically sounder P formation? 4...e4 5.fd2 d6 5...f5 6.c4 f6 7.c5 f4 8.b3 e3 9.fxe3 fxe3 with equal chances. Chandler,P (2265) -Krenz,V (2287) Bad Vilbel GER 2010 6.e3 f5 We now have, with colors reversed, a variation of the French Defense which is highly favorable to the attacker (here black) and which is particularly strong because white has made two wholly useless moves on the Q-side (b4 and a3). No more complete refutation of white's faulty opening strategy could be thought of. (Fine) Again. Fine exaggerates. Three different engines evaluate this position as equal. 7.c4 c6 8.c3 f6 9.b3 According to Fine this move illustrates white's dilemma because castling K-side is too dangerous. Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration! White could also play 9.Be2 or 9.b5 with a satisfactory position. e6 10.cxd5 Fine said this move, clarifying the situation in the center, only helps black, but white has no constructive plan. In that he is correct, but 10.b5 would have kept things about even. After the text black is slightly better. cxd5 11.e2 bd7 Black has so strong an initiative that normal development creates a positional threat: the occupation of c5 by a N. White manages to prevent this, but at a terrific cost. (Fine) 12.a4 c8 13.a5 White's position is cramped, but it looks safe enough. A bomb explodes his serenity. Of course, while Black retains the better of it with the simple ...Qe7 and ...f4, the line chosen is far more forceful. xh2 This gets a ! from Fine with the comment, that it's obvious and strong. According to the engines castling was equally goo. 14.g3 This not quite as good as capturing the B, but neither continuation is quite satisfactory. 14.xh2 c7 15.h1 xc3 16.xc3 xc3 Black's control of the c-file gives him the advantage. 14...xg3 Black gets three Ps for the B and a strong attack. 15.fxg3 c7 16.d1 Too passive, One of the first principles of defense is that one must be as active as possible, else the pieces become meaningless. Fine recommended 16.Bb2. Black's attack now keeps getting stronger. 16.b2 (Fine) xg3+ 17.d1 0-0 Black has the advantage. 18.a6 b5 This sets a clever trap. White cannot afford to grab the P, but rather he must try and defend his K with 19.f1 g2 20.h2 g1 21.d2 g4 22.xg4 fxg4 23.e2 f2 24.xf2 and black's gob of Ps on the two files will prove decisive. xf2 In Shootouts white scored +0 -4 =1, but securing the point was a long and tedious process. Here is a sample continuation. 25.fg3 b6 26.f1 g2 27.g1 f3 28.c1 c4+ 29.d1 f8 30.c3 f7 31.e1 e8 32.f1 f3 33.g1 c8 34.xf3 gxf3 35.f2 g4 36.h2 h5 37.e1 e5 38.dxe5 xc1+ 39.f2 d2+ 40.g1 xe3+ 41.f2 f4 42.e1 xe5 43.h1 h7 44.e3 e6 45.e1 e7 46.g1 xb4 47.f1 e7 48.e3 e6 49.c2 f6 50.h1 f7 51.b1 xa6 52.a1 f6 53.xa7 e8 54.a2 f4 55.h2 c1+ 56.g1 d2 57.g3 b4 58.a7 g6 59.a6 c1+ 60.e1 f5 61.a7 g4 62.xg7+ xg7 63.e5+ f7 64.xd5+ e6 65.xe4 f2 66.f3+ e8 67.xf2 b3 68.e2 e7 69.f2 b2 70.h4+ d7 71.d4+ e7 72.h4+ d7 73.d4+ c8 74.e4 b1 and wins. 16...xg3+ 17.f2 g4! 18.xg4 fxg4 19.dxe4 Justifiable suicide. (Fine) The truth is there was nothing better. g2 After this the thrust ...g3 is a killer no matter what white does. (Fine) 20.d6+ d8 21.e4 aiming for Bf4. 21.xc8 is met by g3 22.f1 f8 23.a2 h3 24.d3 Everything is defended, but after xf2 25.fxf2 gxf2+ 26.xf2 g1+ 27.e2 g4+ picks up the R 28.f3 28.d2 xf2+ 29.c3 xc8 28...xc8 29.c2+ d8 30.b5 30.xh7 g2+ 31.d1 xf3+ 30...g2+ 31.d3 xf3 21.xb7+ is met by c7 22.c5 xc5 23.bxc5 g3 24.a2 hf8 25.f1 h3 21...g3 22.g5+? 22.xb7+? e7 23.f1 23.g5+? f6-+ 23...gxf2+ 24.xf2 h1+ 25.d2 hf8-+ 22.f1 was forced. f8 23.g5+ c7 24.xc8 gxf2+ 25.d2 xg5+ 26.e3 22...f6 23.xf6+ gxf6 24.f1 gxf2+ 25.xf2 h1+ In view of the exposed white K the rest is simple. Levy repeats moves at several points, doubtless to gain time on his clock. 26.f1 h4+ 27.f2 h1+ 28.f1 h4+ 29.f2 g8 30.e2 g4+ 31.e1 e6 32.e2 g3 33.a4 g4+ 34.d2 h6+ White resigned; it's mate in 2/ 0–1

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Sicilian, Wing Gambit

    It was exactly 2two years ago that I took a look at the Wing Gambit against the Sicilian Defense and in that post it was concluded that it was worth a try. See the post HERE

    The Remote Chess Academy has a great video by GM Igor Smirnov on it HERE that’s worth checking out. He describes it as being tricky and having a lot of deadly traps for white, adding that in almost all the lines white has quick development and an early, powerful attack against the black’s King. Even somebody of mediocre talent and no book knowledge of the opening can play it like I did in the following game. 

 

ChessBase

Tartajubow–Anonymous1–0B20Chess Hotel blitz game2024Stockfish 16

B20: Sicilian Defense, Wing Gambit 1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.c4 The standard book line is 3.a3 although 3.Nf3 has been tried. Engines evaluate them as leading to fairly equal positions. The text looks reasonable, but the engines frown on it giving black slightly over a one Pawn advantage. 3.d4 has also been played, but it, like the text is not is not quite satisfactory. d6 Of course this is not bad, but it's too routine. 3...f6 This already presents a problem for white...what to do about the e-Pawn? White would like to play d2-d4, but that's out if he defends the P with 3.d3 and 3.e5 is not entirely satisfactory. 4.e5 d5 5.b5+ d7 6.e2 Bach,M (2303)-Ochsner,B (2165) Copenhagen DEN 2010. Now after 6...Ne4 black stands slightly better. 4.c3 bxc3 5.xc3 a6 6.b3 This looked like a reasonable try to me. Black has to defend f7 and it hinders the development of his B on c8, or so I thought. 6.d4 is a better move though. e6 7.f3 c6 This highlights the flaw in my 6th move...the threat of ...Na5 is unpleasant. 8.e2 Black is better. f6 9.d4 d7 Routine development, but it's too passive. Best is 8... d5 when white has a choice of several moves, but black keeps a slight advantage in any case. Still, the text baits a noce trap! 10.g5 10.xb7 b8 11.xa6 b4 followed by the fork ...Nc2+ 10.d5 This equalizes. a5 10...exd5 11.exd5 a5 12.b4 is also equal. 11.b4 e7 12.0-0 c8 10...e7 11.0-0 h6 12.f4 b5 Somewhat better would have been 12...Na5 and 13...Rc8 13.a3 Missing the chance to equalize. 13.e5 dxe5 14.dxe5 d5 15.xd5 exd5 16.xd5 b4 17.d2 with equal chances. 13...0-0 14.fc1 13.e5 was still a good option. c8 15.d1 I was thinking about doubling Rs on the c-file and did not want the Q cut off after 15.Rc2. Pretty vague reasoning! a5 16.h3 The was no real reason for this, but I had to make a move...it actually is OK according to the engine! c6 17.d2 17.d5 turns out to be no better than the passive text. exd5 18.exd5 b7 19.d2 This miserable retreta is the best white has. 19.c2 doesn't wotk now. After xc3 20.xc3 xd5 black's advantage is decisive. 19...c4 Black is clearly better. 17...b6 Pointless, but also rather harmless. 17...d5 was a good alternative. 18.e3 d8 White has gained a move, but the position still favors black by about a P. 19.d3 h7 This is too passive. 19...Qd7 would have stymied by Q-side counterplay. 20.a4 All early dreams of a K-side attack are gone and any advance in the center is not feasible so white has only this option, but it's good enough because now black's has no more than a slight advantage. b4 21.a2 b3 This and my next move have no logical explanation! Black shoulf have played 21...d5 22.c3 Of course taking the P fully equalizes. Instead I made a gross oversight. b2+- ...and wins. But as a famous baseball player (Yogi Berra) once said, it ain't over 'til it's over. That's especially true in a Blitz game. 23.xa6 a8 24.d3 g5 Not bad...the fork is not going to disappear. 25.f4 e7 26.c2 bxc1+ 27.xc1 c8 28.d5 Of course he cannot play 28... exd5 because of the hidden attack on the N after 29.exd5 a8 29.e5 [With time getting short this was simply an attempt to complicate. In reality black has a decisive advantage. g6 30.dxe6 e8 Black used precious seconds here trying to figure out all the cao\ptures. Actually, he could have played 30... fxe6 or 30...dxe5 (actually the best) and he would still have stood better. 31.exf7+ xf7 32.xg6 g7 33.e4 xc3 An hallucination?! Now it's white who is winning. Not only does white get the exchange the N on a5 is left hanging. 33...xe4 34.dxe4 dxe5 and being a R up he has an easy win. 34.xc3 xe4 35.xe4 d5 Marginally better would have been 35...dxe5 35...b7 36.b3+ Picks up the N 36.xa5 dxe4 37.d5+ f7 38.xe4 Materially white has 4Ps vs a N, and he also has a significant time advantage. In any case, the game is a technical win for white. In practice, assuming time was not a factor, things might not be easy! b3 39.a5 a3 40.c7 xa5 40...f7 41.b6 f8 42.c4 with an easy win. 41.g6+ h8 42.xe7 Black resigned. 1–0

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The Sad Story of Roy Ervin

    Roy Ervin (1951-2001) was an FM with orn IM norm when he passed away at the age of 50 in Red Bluff, California, the city where his mother lived. His story is heartbreaking. By all accounts of those who knew him, he was a kind and gentle soul who had a great talent for the game and who, if not for his unfortunate fate, might have been a Grand master. 

    Ervin learned to play from his sister at the age of 4, but took a real interest in it at age 7. He was born in Los Angeles and attended school in Van Nuys until he entered high xchool in Sherman Oaks. After graduation he enrolled in Occidental College in Los Angeles in a program for science and math that was associated with Cal Tech in Pasadena, but he left mid-term and moved to Santa Monica because there was more chess action and there he played for money on the beach. 

    He played in the famous Lone Pine tournaments in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978. In 1974, he represented the US in the World Student Team Olympiad. After the Student Olympiad he toured through France and Germany before ending up in Amsterdam. 

    While in Amsterdam he got involved in drugs and began suffering from schizophrenia, a chronic brain disorder that when it is active can include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, trouble with thinking and lack of motivation. While there he was hospitalized for six months, then returned home to California. 

    Ervin refused treatment for his condition claiming that it made him "stupid". Schizophrenia is initially treated with drugs that work by blocking the effect of the chemical dopamine, or other chemicals inn the brain. 

    In spite of his schizophrenia he continued to play chess. At one of the Lone Pine tournaments after he lost to Yugoslav GM SvetozarGligoric, Ervin tried to commit suicide by slitting his wrists. Then in 1977, after a loss in the US Open in Columbus, Ohio, he again slit his wrists. At another time he tried to cut off his nose with a pair of scissors. 

    At one point he was homeless and lived on the beach in Santa Monica. Also, at one point he was briefly committed to a mental hospital in Chico, California. Ervin smoked 2 to 3 packs of cigarettes a day and died of lung cancer at the age of 50. 

    The 1971 US Open was held in Ventira, California and was won by Walter Browne. Ervin places 29-52 with a score of +7 4 =2; his opponent finished with a 65 score. There were 398 players. In the game Chism’s King is harassed, but safe until he grabs a Pawn a move too soon at move 24. The conclusion of Fritz’ analysis with Stockfish is that Ervin’s play was “flawless”. 

 

ChessBase

Olin Chism–Roy Ervin0–1C04US Open, Ventura, CaliforniaVentura, CA USA11.08.1971Stocjfish 16

C04: French Defense, Tarrasch Variation 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.d2 c6 This move became popular during the 1970s and early 80s when Anatoly Karpov begab successfully using it. Although it is not especially aggressive, it is quite safe. 4.gf3 f6 Black hopes to close the center by enticing white to play 5.e5 5.e5 5.d3 While hardly bad, this allws black easy equality after b4 6.0-0 6.b5+ c6 and the B must return to d3 7.d3 xd3+ 8.cxd3 b6 equals 5...d7 6.c3 f6 He must challenge white in the center. Anything else favors white. 7.exf6 xf6 8.d3 d6! 9.0-0 0-0 10.h3 10.e1 e5 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.b3 e6 13.e2 g5 14.h3 h5 Black is winning. Kochiev,I (2053)-Duda,J (2724) chess.com INT 2023 10...h8 11.e2 e5 White has a very passive position and as a result, black is in the process of developing a string initiative. 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.xe5 13.h2 is not much better. f5 14.b3 e7 Better was 14...Rae8 with the advantage. 15.d4 d7 16.g4 xg4 17.xg4 7g6 18.e6 is about equal. Bakalarz,L (2137) -Strzemiecki,Z (2333) Krakow POL 2009 13...xe5 14.f4 xf4 15.f3 xf3 This is really the only good move, but with careful play whiter should be able to offer an adequate defense. 16.xf3 h2+ 17.f2 e5 18.f4 Returning the exchange is the best course of action. 18.e3 e6 19.g1 f8+ 20.f3 xf3 21.xh2 xh2+ 22.e2 d7 Black should eventually be victorious. 18...c5+ 19.e3 19.e1 xf3+ 20.xf3 xf4 and black has won a piece. 19...xf3 20.xc5 h4 20...e5 was just a bit better. After 21.g1 f4+ 22.e1 f5 23.f2 e4 Black is only very slightly better as white has no real attacking prospects. 21.xd5 Thanks to black's last somewhat passive move thanks to his centralized Q and two Bs white has now achieved equality. Ervin's mext move is the best way of keeping his attack goind although white should be able to defend himself. xh3 22.f3 xf3 23.xf3 e6 24.xb7 A fatal mistake. Black now activates his R the the threat of ...Bd5 attacking the Q and g-Oawn prove fatal. 24.e1 xa2 25.xb7 d8 26.e4 d2+ 26...d5 is met by 27.xd5 and black has lost a piece and with it the game. 27.e1 Black is threatened with mate, so... d8 28.f2 a5 29.d4 g8 with complete equality. 24...d8 25.d4 25.f1 d5 26.b5 xg2+ 27.e1 c4 28.f8+ xf8 29.xc4 e8+ 30.d1 xb2 31.d4 b1+ 32.d2 e1+ 33.c2 e2+ wins 25...d5 The attack on g2 ends the game. 26.xa7 xg2+ It's mate in 5 27.e3 e8+ 28.f4 e4+ It's mate next move. Ervin's play was evaluated as "flawless" by the engines. 0–1

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Boris Baczynskyj

    Boris Baczynskyj (October 14, 1945 – January 16, 2008, 62 years old) was an FIDE Master, popular local chess instructor and journalist who was also once the editor of Chess Life magazine who died suddenly on Wednesday, January 16, 2008. 

    Baczynskyj was born in Vienna, Austria and was a long time resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his youth, Baczynskyj was a member of the Ukrainian Scouting Organization, Plast, and was a member of its Burlaky fraternity. He was active in Ukrainian-American chess life, belonging to the USCAK Chess Club and participated in Ukrainian-American tournaments, winning championships several times. 

    After graduating from high school he earn a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University. After graduation from Yale he served with the Peace Corps in Thailand and later remained in Cambodia where he worked as a freelance journalist for UPI, Far Eastern Economic Review and other publications. 

    After Cambodia was overrun by the Khmer Rouge in April of 1975, Baczynskyj returned to the US and became a chess professional and popular instructor. 

    At one time he was the third ranked chess player in the US. He also served as an advisor for Fidelity International. the world's largest manufacturer of computer chess products. He co-authored Computer Chess II, a book describing advances in computer chess programming techniques with over one 150 games. He also wrote theoretical and instructional articles on chess and computer chess. 

    As a chess instructor, he taught especially young children in private and public schools. He also gave many simultaneous chess exhibitions in schools, shopping malls and public fairs. 

    During the early years of Ukrainian independence (starting in 1991) Baczynskyj worked as a journalist for a few years in Kyiv, Ukraine and his articles were published there. 

    After returning to to Philadelphia he continued teaching, writing, lecturing and promoting chess and was a member of the Franklin Mercantile Chess Club.

    Baczynskyj had a life-long desire to promote civil rights. During his college days, he participated in several protests supporting racial integration and was once even caught up in a mass arrest during a protest march in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

    He promoted the concept of equal rights for all by translating the song We Shall Overcome into Ukrainian and it became the theme song at the Scout's East Chatham Plast camp that summer. 

    His anti-Vietnam war convictions led him to organize a march on the American Embassy in Thailand to protest President Richard Nixon's secret bombing of Cambodia. 

    In the following game he scored a powerful win over Weinberger in the 1976 Lone Pine tournament. Tibor Weinberger was born in Hungary in 1932 and in the mid-1950s he played in five Hungarian championships. He came to the US in 1957 and eventually settled in California; he is a USCF Senior Mater. 

    The 7 round Swiss 1976 Lone Pine event (the 6th) had 57 players and was won by Tigran Petrosian with 5.5 points. There was a massive tie foe second a half point behind: Larry Christiansen, Vasily Smyslov, Oscar Panno, Miguel Najdorf, Miguel Quinteros, Anthony Miles, Kenneth Rogoff, Walter Browne and Gyozo Forintos. 

    Baczynskyj tied for places 42-47 with a +2 -4 =1 score. Weinberger finished tied for places 52-54 with +0 -4 =2. Neither player had a good result due to the fact that the rating requirements for this tournament had been lowered to a USCF rating of 2300 and so both players were among the lower rated.

 

ChessBase

Tibor Weinberger–Boris Baczynskyj0–1B30Lone PineLone Pine, CA USA10.03.1976Stockfish 16

B30: Sicilian 1.e4 c5 2.f3 c6 3.b5 This is the Rossolimo Variation which can also be played against 2...d6. Here white looks to take the N and double black's c-Pawns and then solidify his P-chain with d3 and then continue his development. It's a good alternative to the usual 3.d4 f6 4.c3 White has tried both 5. d3 and 5.e5, but mostly the game is now in uncharted waters. 4.xc6 is the thematic move. After dxc6 5.d3 5.e5 d5 5.d4 xe4 5...g4 6.bd2 with equal chances, but the pin is annoying. 4...d4 This is rarely seen. Usual is either 4.Qc7 or 4...g6 5.c4 5.xd4 favors black after cxd4 6.e2 a6 7.c4 xe4 8.xd4 d5 5...e6 6.e5 A more solid move was 6.d3. After the text black gets an active position. d5 7.exd6 xd6 8.d3 a6 9.a4 d7 10.g5 This is a reasonable looking move, but it turns out poorly 10.xd4 eliminates the well placed N and it is quite satisfactory. cxd4 11.e4 xe4 12.dxe4 b4+ 13.d2 a5 is eual and the game Padurariu,I (2188)-Levushkina,E (2327) Dresden 2007 was eventually drawn. 10...c6 11.e4 e7 12.xf6 12.xd4 is a better defense. xd4 13.c3 d7 14.xf6+ gxf6 15.e3 and black is only very slightly better 12...gxf6 Well played! He avoids the simplification that takes place after 13. ..Bxf6 13.xd4 xd4 14.c3 e5 15.0-0 There was really nothing better. White's position is very passive and now Baczynskyj launces a strong attack. Weinberger defends stoutly, but his position is probablt already strategically lost. f5 16.h5 g7 17.g3 f4 18.e4 g8 The attack is building up and there is not much white can do except wait and hope his defense will hold. 19.g3 0-0-0 20.fe1 b8 21.b4 It's understandable that white wants to try and counterattack, but this feeble attempt falls way short. Instead a defensive move like 12.Kf1 preparing to f; lee would have offered better chances of survival. cxb4 22.ab1 f5 23.xe6 fxe4 24.xg8 Winning the exchange is meaningless because black's pieces are so well coordinated, but there was nothing better. xg8 25.cxb4 e3 Tearing the K's position apart. 26.fxe3 fxg3 27.h3 c3 28.b5 axb5 29.axb5 g5 30.xh7 This allows a mate in 9 30.f7 c2! 31.f4+ c8 32.bxc6 h2+ 33.f1 g2+ 34.e2 g1+ 35.xh2 xh2+ wins 30.e2-+ is his best defense. xb5 31.ed1 e5 32.g2 e6 33.e4 d7 34.h1 f5 35.bf1 a5 White is strategically lost. Black scored 5 -0 in Shootouts. Here is an example of the play... 36.c1 d6 37.c2 a3 38.e3 h6 39.h4 e5 40.f1 c3 41.b2 h3+ 42.g1 d6 43.fb1 c6 44.d2 g2 45.xg2 c5+ 46.f2 xd3 47.e1 c2 48.ef1 xe4 49.xe4 xe4 50.h2 xf2 with an easy win. 30...c2! 31.h8+ c7 32.b2 32.b6 would have held out a couple of moves longer. h2+ White resigned 32...h2+ 33.xh2 gxh2+ 34.f1 34.xh2 d6+ 35.e5 xe5# 34...h1+ 35.e2 g2+ 36.d1 f3+ 37.c1 xe1# 0–1

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The Fish vs. the Dragon

    There is a lot of debate on engine use when it comes to studying and I am only offering these resources in case some readers are not aware of what’s available.

    Stockfish (currently version 16.1) is the world’s strongest engine. On the CCLR rating list an experimental version (Stockfish 20230613 64-bit 4CPU) is ranked first and Dragon by Komodo 3.3 64-bit 4CPU is third. 

    The current version of Dragon can be downloaded for $74.98, but you can download free older versions of Komodo and Dragon from the site HERE. 

    Late in 2020, Komodo Chess released Dragon, which was derived from Komoso and it featured the use of neural networks in its evaluation function. My limited understanding is that a neural network is a method that teaches computers to process data in a way that is inspired by the human brain. The claim is that Dragon plays in a more human-like style because it relies on learning what actually works in games rather than just on pre-assigned values for eval terms. Read more 

    The Komodo site also offers a free download of Komodo 14. Besides the “regular” version it has different “personalities": Active, Aggressive, Beginner, Defensive, Endgame, Human, Monte Carlo, and Positional. 

    I ran a 4 minute + 2 seconds per move match and Stockfish 16.1 defeated the free Dragon by Komodo by a score of +3 -0 =9. Using the same time limit Stockfish scored +3 -0 =0 in s short match agsinst the Human version of Komodo 14.

 

Pearsall Paralyzes Schlotz

    Chula Vista, which is located just south of San Diego in southern California, looks like a nice place to live. The weather forecast for this week is sunny and warm with highs in the low 80s. 

     It was home to Allen G. Pearsall (October 17, 1880 – January 1, 1948) who, at the time of his death in an automobile accident, was one of the oldest members of the Correspondence Chess League of America and the San Diego Chess Club. 

    The accident occurred at 9:00pm on New Year's day as he was returning home from an evening at the San Diego Chess Club. The cheerful and well liked Peasrsall had been the best player in the San Diego area for more than 15 years and he was nationally known as one of the leading correspondence players in the country. 

    He was known to have played a large number of games at one time; a report in a 1916 issue of the American Chess Bulletin reported that at the time he had, "only the small number of sixty-five in the various correspondence clubs with which he is connected." 

    Pearsall started playing chess at the age of ten and first stated correspondence play in 1910 in a tournament in which he finished second. At the time of the ACB article he had finished 175 games and won about 131 of them. 

    The article noted that he had recently issued a challenge to other players on the Pacific coast to play correspondence games, but nobody would accept the challenge. 

    His opponent in the following game was Dr. Moses Scholtz (1875-1942) who was born in Russia. He was the 1932 Los Angeles. According to chess historian Graham Clayton, Scholtz graduated from Moscow University in 1900. He was a clinical instructor in dermatology syphilogy at the University of Cincinnati. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he was a member of the Los Angeles Dermatological Society. The game ends with Schlotz completely out of useful moves.

 

ChessBase

Allen G. Pearsall–Moses Scholtz1–0C45CorrespondenceUSA1936Stockfish 16

C45: Scotch Game 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.d4 By 1900 the Scotch had lost its popularity because it was thought to release the central tension too early and allow black to equalize without difficulty. In modern times Garry Kasparov and Jan Timman used it as a surprise weapon. It's a solid and strategic opeing that might be a good choice for player who prefers slow-paced games. exd4 The books claim this is is the only reasonable move because the passive 3...d6 allows white to establish control of the center and gain a lot of space. 3...d6 Looking at some continuations with Stockfish and Komodo Dragen seem to indicate that blacks position is solid and white gets only a minimal advantage. For players below the GM level black's position is probably quite playable. 4.d5 4.b5 is often played, but it does not lead to any advantage. d7 5.c3 f6 6.0-0 e7 7.e1 is the main line, but black has a solid position and the results have been abour even between wins loses and draws. 4...ce7 5.c4 g6 6.c3 g7 White is slightly better and most players would probably play something like 7.Bd3, but both Stockfish and Komodo Dragon give white's best move as 7.c5 f6 7...dxc5 8.e3 b6 9.h4 followed by h5 with a promising position. 8.b5+ d7 9.cxd6 cxd6 10.e3 White is slightly better. 4.xd4 Interesting is 4 Bc4!?, the Scotch Gambit in which white refrains from recapturing the P and even allows his opponent to protect it, in the interest of rapid development c5 The Classical Variation in which black develops a piece and prepares to castle. White's main choices are 5.Be3 and 5. Nxc6/ 5.e3 5.xc6 is best met by f6 and white must either block his B with 6.Qd2 or play 6.Qf3 when black can, if he wishes, exchange Qs, but usually he doesnot and plays 6...bxc6 5...f6 6.c3 ge7 7.b5 This is unusual. The B usually stops a square sooner and lands on c4. xd4 Black usually plays 7...O-O here although 7...Bb6 has often been played first, Black's move is also quite playable. 8.cxd4 This is preferable to playing 8. Bxd4 and exchanging Bs which only eases black's defense. b6 9.c3 c6 10.a4 Apparently the idea of this move is to prevent 10...d5. Also good was 10.Bc4 d6 If black plays 10...d5 he ends up a P down with an isolated c-Pawn vs white's isolated d-Pawn. Theoretically the position would be equal, but practically it's a situation black wanted to avoid. 11.d2 d7 12.0-0-0 h6 Black's position has no rea; weaknesses, but his somewhat passive play has resulted in white getting more play. 13.e5 g6 14.g4 14.exd6 is quite strong. xd6 Somewhat better would bre 14...Nd5 15.f4 g6 16.he1 e6 17.d5 with a strong attack. 14...0-0-0 14...xg4 Black can play this and survive, but he must play precisely so his avoidance of it was probably a good idea. 15.dg1 h5 16.exd6 f5 17.f4 0-0-0 with complications that should favor black. 15.h3 d5 This looks reasonable, but it allows white too much play. 15...dxe5 This, on the other hand, looks risky, bur white has onlt one good option! 16.c2 The only good move. 16.dxe5 loses. xg4 17.c2 xe3+ 18.fxe3 xd1 19.xd1 d5 Black is winning. 16...f5 with head whirling complications. 16.c2+- e6 17.a4 f5 17...c5 was a stronger defense. 18.xc5 xc5 19.c3 b8 20.xc5 a8 White is better, but black can hope to defend himself. 18.hg1 Here Pearson missed the strongest continuation. 18.exf6 xf6 19.xb6+ axb6 20.f4 g6 21.g3 hf8 22.xg6 xg6 23.b4 Black is in serious trouble. 18...g5 19.b4 f4 19...c5 is risky, but it was worth a try. 20.xc5 xc5 21.xc5+ b8 with good defensive possibilities. 20.d2 c7 He still should have tried 20...c5, but in any case his defense is difficult. 21.c3 21.d6+ When on the attack one does not usually consider moves that allow the exchange of Qs, but here black can hardly make the trade c8 21...xd6 22.exd6+ xd6 23.b4+ leaves white with a won game. e6 23...c7 24.xe7 24.ge1+ f6 25.xe7+ 22.xb6+ axb6 23.a3 b8 24.b4 Black has no good continuation. 21...c8 While white has no forced win, it's clear that black is being pushed back and he will soon run out of decent moves. 22.c5 e7 22...xc5 23.dxc5 e7 24.d4 b8 What else" 25.d3 e8 26.b3 d7 27.d3 g6 28.a6 c8 29.a4 Sooner or later black's defense will crack. 23.e6 e8 24.a4 b8 25.a5 White is clearly winning. xc5 26.dxc5 f8 27.a6 b6 28.ge1 b5 29.a5 Facing a heavy material loss, black resigned. 29.a5 a8 30.e5 xc5 31.c7 b6 32.g7 wins a piece. g6 33.xg6 g8 34.h7 xa6 35.f6 is hopeless for black. 1–0

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Pushing the f-Pawn

    In 1957 I was learning to play chess, but there were more important things going on. President Dwight Eisenhower was sworn in for a second term. 

     That year the US slipped into a recession and inflation was rampant, but it had no effect on our family because my father held onto his job as a section foreman with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 

    Under executive orders from President Eisenhower, troops from the 101st Airborne Division were deployed to ensure that black children (the Little Rock Nine) were allowed to attend classes at the previously segregated Little Rock (Arkansas) Central High School. 

    In a war that was to affect me many years later, US Army Special Forces Captain Harry Cramer became America's first combat death in Vietnam. Between 1955 and 1975, there were 211,454 US casualties in Vietnam. All of then were in vain because on March 29, 1973, the last US military unit fled Vietnam in what was a complete debacle. 

    Leroy Burner, the US Surgeon General, issued a report on the evils of smoking that linked cigarettes and lung cancer. It was the year the words Asian flu, clip art, computerize, disco, doggie bag, fanny pack, happy camper, kooky, launchpad, loungewear, mainframe, opioid, RAM, refried beans, sin tax, Sputnik, and townhome all appeared in print for the first time. 

    Trolley service in both New York City and Kansas City ended. The Soviet Union inaugurated the Space Age by launching Sputnik I, the world's first artificial satellite. 

    In the year 1957, bubble wrap, Purina dog chow, Dream Whip, Formula 409 cleaner, Sweet’n Low, Tang (an orange drink mix), styrofoam coolers and Burger King’s Whopper all appeared on the market for the first time. 

    In the chess world on April 27, 1957, Vasily Smyslov defeated Mikhail Botvinnik to become the world champion. 

     Correspondence GrandmasterHarald Malmgren (1904-1957) died in Uppsula, Sweden at the age of 52. Analyst Hans Haberditz (1901-1957) died in Vienna at the age of 56. Max Pavey (1918-1957) died of leukemia in New York at the age of 39. 

    At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology a chess program fo an IBM computer eass writtem It could execute 42,000 instructions per second. It did a 4-ply (2 moves) search in 8 minutes. 

    Nobel Prize winner in economics and leader in AI and cognitive psychologist Herbert Simon said that within 10 years a computer would be the world champion. It took 40 years (1997) before a computer (Deep Blue) could defeat a world champion (Kasparov).      

    Samuel Reshevsky played Donald Byrne in a match in New York. The match struck a snag in the first game. Reshevsky, who had failed to notice that Byrne’s flag had fallen, offered a draw which Byrne accepted and the result stood. In the second game Byrne’s flag fell again and guess what? Reshevsky did not notice it. Then Reshevsky's flag fell, but Byrne failed to notice it! 

    Reshvsky’s wife was sitting in the audience claimed the win for her husband! Byrne pointed out that only the player on the move could claim a time forfeit. Since it was now Byrne’s move, he claimed the win on time even though his flag was also down. 

    An appeals committee was organized to settle the dispute, but Byrne objected. The committee declared that the game was drawn and Byrne then walked out. He later returned and lost decisively by a score of 7-3. 

    Bobby Fischer played two games against former world champion Max Euwe at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York, drawing one and losing one. Euwe was paid $65 (a little over $600 today) and Fischer was paid $35 (not quite $400 today). 

    The 14-year old Fischer tied for 1st-2nd (scoring 10-12) with Arthur Bisguier at the 58th US Open in Cleveland, Ohio. He won on tie-break, making him the youngest US Open Champion ever. 

    The World Junior championship was held in Toronto and William Lombardy took 1st place with a perfect score. Finally, the first women's chess Olympiad was held in Emmen, Netherlands. It was no surprise that the USSR took first place.

 

 

    Ludek Pacjman won the Czech Championship and the theme of the following game for both sides is the advance of the f-Pawn. After the partial blockade of the Q-side it was clear that the K-side was going to be the main theater of battle. Both sides were striving for the advance of their f-Pawn, a tactical motif often seen in the K-Indian. 

ChessBase

Ludek Pachman–Jiri Kopriva1–0E94Czech Championship, Prague1957Stockfish 16

E94: King's Indian Defense 1.d4 f6 2.c4 g6 3.c3 g7 4.e4 d6 5.e2 0-0 6.f3 e5 7.0-0 c6 8.e1 Black's main choices are now 8...Na6 and 8...Nbd7 e7 9.f1 An odd looking move, but white anticipates the possibility of playing d4-d5 and ...cxd5 after which he will recapture cxd5 and black can then play ...Nc5 attacking the e-Pawn. So, white chooses to overprotect his e-Pawn now. g4 10.d5 c5 Not the best. Closing the center allows white to exploit the position of black's B on g4. 10...Nbd7 was good. 11.h3 d7 12.a3 12.g3 e8 13.a3 a6 14.a2 h8 15.b3 f5 16.g2 ac7 17.a4 is equal. Nikolaidis,K (2354)-Banikas,H (2531) Patras 2001 12...a5 13.d2 a6 14.b1 b6 15.g3 After the partial blockade of the Q-side it's clear that the K-side will become the main theater of battle. Here both sides must strive to advance their f-Pawn. However, for black it is very difficult to force its advance. h6 Part of black's plan to play ..f5 16.h4 h7 17.h2 g8 Black has cleared to way for his f-Pawn, but as will be seen, he cannot yet play it. For his part, Pachman thought for him 18.f4 would be premature. 18.d3 18.f4 exf4 19.xf4 e5 20.f3 f6 White is better, but black's position is quite solid. 18...f6 With this move black makes it considerably easier for white to carry out the advance f4. Black's best try was to hunker down and play the N maneuver ...Nc7-e8-f3 and hope to defend. 18...f5 is tactically faulty. 19.xg6 xg6 20.exf5+ xf5 21.g4+ h7 22.xf5+ h8 23.g6 and white is winning. 19.f4 d8 Played in order to avoid losing the exchange after 21.Ng6 20.f5 g5 21.g6 f7 Black is counting on being able to capture the N after ...Be8 and then moving the R, but in the meantime white opens up the h-file and gets a strong attack. 22.h4 e8 23.h1 b7 24.g2 24.h5 is playable, but it's not quite as effective. It also results in some complicated play where it might be easy to go wrongs. e7 25.hxg5 xg6 26.g1 f4 27.g6+ xg6 28.fxg6+ xg6 29.h4 e7 30.xh6 g8 Technically white is winning, but there is no forced win. 24...xg6 25.fxg6+ xg6 26.hxg5 fxg5 27.e2 A surprising move that blocks the Q's path to h5. The idea is that after the continuation in the game white's B comes into play and the position of the black K will become untenable in spite of the extra Pawn. 27.h5+ Pachman thought this was not playable, but it actually is slightly better that his 27.Be2...and a bit more complicated. h7 28.e2 This has to be played anyway. f6 29.bf1 e8 30.h3 g6 31.h5 g7 White should win this, but he is going to have to bring the N into play with Nd1-e3 etc. and figure out a way to break through. 27...h7 28.g4 c7 Now the other N rushes to the defense of the K, but thanks to the excellent coordination of all his pieces white has no difficulty in building up his attack on the open h-file. 29.f5+ Vindicating his 27th move. h8 30.h5 e8 31.h2 31.xg5 ef6 32.h4 e7 33.bf1 f8 Black has successfully defended his K and now white has to switch gears and find another way to win. 31...f6 32.g6 g7 33.xh6+ xh6 34.xh6+ g8 35.e6+ Just a reminder... white's 27th move was a good one! f8 36.f1 The pin decides matters immediately. aa7 36...e7 This attempt to flee runs into 37.xf6 d7 38.xg5 d8 39.xd7 xd7 40.f8 d8 41.xe8 xe8 42.xg7+ e7 43.xe7+ c8 44.a7 a4 45.xb6 d7 46.d8# 37.xg5 af7 38.b5 It would have been pointless to take the exchange because now black does not have a single reasonable move at his disposal. 38.xf7 xf7 39.xf6 xf6 40.b5 This has to be played anyway. g6 41.h7+ g7 42.f5 g6 43.e6+ g7 44.xd6 c7 44...d7 45.xd7+ xd7 46.f7+ 45.xf6 xf6 46.e8+ 38...e7 39.xf6 Black resigned. Nearly flawless play by Pachman. 39.xf6 xf6 40.xf6+ xf6 41.xg7+ e8 42.c7+ 1–0

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Sherwin Slaughters Kramer

    The 1954-55 Lessing J. Rosenwald Tournament was the first of a series of strong year-end invitational tournaments sponsored in part by Lessing J. Rosenwald of Sears Roebuck Company. 

     One goal was to provide young US masters strong competition at home with the long-term aim of improving US performance in international events. The initial plan was to have the Rosenwald Trophy rotate each year until a player had won it three times. 

    The fourth Rosenwald tournament doubled as the US championship and ot was Bobby Fischer’s first entry into a US championship and also his first of his eight US championships. 

    In the 1954-55 event Reuben Fine was originally invited, but declined. Robert Byrne was also invited, but decided against playing because of his graduate studies. James Sherwin was selected as Byrne's replacement. 

 

    Samuel Reshevsky had dominated US championship tournaments from its inception in 1936 until Fischer took over in 1957. Reshevsky won every championship he entered with the exception of the 1951 event, which was won by Larry Evans.

    Evans won the Marshall Chess Club championship at age 15, played in his first US championship at age 16 and his first Olympiad at 18. 

    Arthur Bisguier won the US Championship in 1954. Donald Byrne won the 1953 US Open and would lose to Fischer in the Game of the Century in the third Rosenwald tournament in 1956. 

    James T. Sherwin was the New York State Champion in 1951 and won the US Speed Championship several times. He would go on to play in a number of US Championships. 

    George Kramer played in a number of US Championships and was a reserve for the US team at the 1950 Olympiad, winning an individual bronze medal. 

    In this event Reshevsky jumped out to a comfortable lead in the first half of the tournament with with a point and a half lead over Evans and Sherwin who were tied for second. Despite losing to Bisguier in round 8, Reshevsky was able to hold his lead and win the tournament as Evans was only able to gain a half point on him. Sherwin lost every game in the second half! Bisguier was able to finish third on the strength of an impressive +4 -0 =1 in the second half. 

    One of the more interesting games was Sherwin’s defeat of Kramer in the second round when Kramer played a variation with which he had scored many successes even though he knew that by the time this game was played it had been refuted. The wild game followed Kramer’s analysis up until move 14 when Sherwin punched a hole in the analysis and followed it up with a series of hard hitting blows. Time pressure resulted in some inaccurate play, but that only added to the excitement.

 

ChessBase

James T Sherwin–George Kramer1–0D291954/55 Rosenwald, New YorkNew York, NY USA20.12.1954Stockfish 16

D28: Queen's Gambit Accepted 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.f3 f6 4.e3 e6 5.xc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.e2 b5 8.b3 b7 9.c3 c7 The main line is 9...Nbd7 10.d1 c6 Kramer is playing a variation which he had successfully used for many years, but which had been refuted when this game was played. Kramer was well aware of that and in this game he was attempting to rehabilitate the line. Kramer is playing a variation which he had successfully used for many years, but which had been refuted when this game was played. Kramer was well aware of that and in this gane he was attempting to rehabilitate the line. 11.d5 This sharp move leaves white with an advantage. Note that after 19....Nbd7 it would not have been possible. exd5 12.e4 Another sharp move. This one is the real key that refutes black's setup...his K is exposed. d4 Black is pretty much committed to playing this as 12...dxe4 is bad news. 12...dxe4 13.xe4 xe4 14.xe4+ e7 15.f4 White's advantage is decisive. 12...0-0-0 is also dangerous because after is also dangerous vecause after 13.xd5 xd5 14.xd5 b4 15.f4 white stands well. 13.d5 Another excellent move. 13.e5 us inferior. It was played in Xiong,J (2672)-Zierk,S (2510) chess.com INT 2019 and black is now equal and in the game scored a quicj win. 0-0-0 14.exf6 dxc3 15.g5 c4 16.c2 cxb2 17.xd8+ xd8 18.d1 White's advantage is decisive. 13...d8 14.f4 The obvious threat is Nc7+ c8 So far this was Kramer's analysis and he thought the position was favorable for black. It's actually favors white as Sherwin demonstrates with several deft blows. 15.a4 Another fine move that weakens black's position on the Q-side and center. bxa4 This is black's best move. It's surprising that this position was to be reached many years later. 15...c4 was played in Drozdovskij,Y (2624)-Ivanov,J (2422) Balaguer ESP 2010 which continued... 16.axb5 d3 17.bxc6 dxe2 18.xf6+ xf6 19.cxb7 exd1+ 20.xd1 c6 21.a4 Black resigned. He is facing mate in 9 moves: e7 22.xc6 b8 23.xb8 f6 24.e5+ g6 25.b8 h5 26.h4+ h7 27.e8 c5 28.xf7 xf2+ 29.f1 xh4 30.xg7# 16.xa4 e7 17.g5 White is coming at his opponent from every which way! 0-0 With his next move Sherwin demonstrates the whole point of his tactics. With his next move Sherwin demonstrates the whole point of his tactics. 17...xd5 was no better than the text. 18.exd5 b4 19.d6 and white is clearly winning. 18.xf6+ After this white has a decisive advantage, but time presssure results in some inaccurate play by both sides. xf6 19.xh7 Threatens to win with Qh5. 19.h5 allows black to save himself. xg5 20.xg5 b4 and it's actually black who now stands a bit better. 19...g6 Prevents Qh5. 19...xh7 20.h5+ g8 21.d3 This R-luft gives white a winning attack. 20.xf8 xf8 21.g4 e7 22.d6 c6 23.e5 c8 24.g3 White is still winning after this, but he missed the knockout punch. 24.xc8+ xc8 25.exf6 f5 26.f4 White is a R up with an easy win; without Qs on black has no play. 24...c4 25.exf6 f5 26.h3 After his excellent play to this point SHerwin makes a slip that should have allowed Kramer to equalize. 26.f4 had to be played. Then after cxb3 26...xd6 27.xc4 xc4 28.b3 White has a decisive advantage. 27.e5 c2 28.axd4 28.xd4 c6 29.f3 xa4 30.b8+ c8 31.xb7 Black wins 28...xd4 29.xd4 c6 30.f3 White's advantage should prove decisive. 26...cxb3 Missing the opportunity to equalize. 26...xd6 27.xc8+ xc8 28.c1 e6 with complete equality. 27.f4 c2 28.a5 Not the strongest, but not the worst either! 28.xb3 loses to c6 29.f3 xg2+ 30.xg2 e3+ 31.xe3 xf3+ 32.g1 g2# 28.b4 keeps the win in hand. xb2 29.e1 e6 a nifty trap. 30.f1 30.xe6 b1+ 31.c1 xc1+ 32.e1 xe1# 30...e3+ 31.xe3 xh3 32.gxh3 dxe3 33.xb7 In spite of the P situation white's extra R should win. 28...e6 28...e2 was much better. Then after 29.xb3 c6 30.h3 30.f3 xg2+ 31.xg2 e3+ 32.g1 xf3 33.g5 h1+ 34.f2 f3+ draws. 30...xf6 White's advantage is not nearly so great as before. 29.e5 c8 30.de1 c6 Inhibits Re8+. 31.xb3 b5 32.h3 d3 33.d5 Again missing the strongest move, but in time pressure the winning line would be impossible to calculate. 33.g4 drives the defending N away and after d6 34.h6 f8 35.xf8+ xf8 36.xb5 This is a hard move to see abd calculate. xb5 37.h6+ g8 38.e8+ h7 39.g7 black cannot prevent Rh8# 33...xb2 33...e2 offered much stouter resistance. 34.f1 34.d1 e8 and the chances are equal. 34...c4 35.e5 xe5 36.xe5 d2 and white has but ine move that keeps the advantage and at the same time avoids defeat! 37.c3 h4 38.xd2 38.d1 g4 wins 38...xf1 39.xf1 c4+ 40.e2 c1+ 41.e1 c4+ 42.g1 and at least black can olay in. 34.g4 Now things are back on track for white. c4 35.de5 b5 Prevents Re8+. 36.gxf5 d2 37.xd2 White has a mate in 7 at the most. xd2 38.h6 f8 39.xd2 Black resigned. A wild game! 1–0

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Warner Whips Fischer

    The 1955 U. S. Junior Championship in Lin co l n, Nebraska drew 25 players and was won by Charles Kalme with a 9-1 score. Second was Larry Remlinger and Henry Gross, who handed Kalme his only defeat, finished third. Tied for places 11-21 and finishing in 20th place on tiebreaks was Robert Fischer who scored +2 -2 =6. 

    Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) was bom in Chicago and learned the chess moves early in 1949 from his sister, Joan, who was 11-years old. She often bought different games at a local candy store to keep Bobby amused. For the next year or so he occasionally played against the boys in the neighborhood whom he had taught the game. 

    By 1950, the family was living in Brooklyn, New York and in November his mother sent a postcard to the chess columnist of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Hermann Helms, asking if he knew any boys Bobby's age that he could play chess with. Helms suggested Bobby go to a chess exhibition held on January 17, 1951, where he played in a simultaneous exhibition given by Max Pavey. 

    Bobby lost quickly, but Carmine Nigro, President of the Brooklyn Chess Club was watching and invited him to join the club. The rest is history. 

    Although Fischer started his tournament career in 1953, his earliest known games games only date back to the summer of 1955 when he played in the U.S. Junior Open in Lincoln. Few games from that event are extant and it seems that Chess Review gave it no coverage while the coverage in Chess Life was more about the local organizers than the players. 

    In the following game, Fischer got defeated by Kenneth Warner, who also finished with a 5-5 score and took 12th place on tiebreaks. The 17-year old Warner has slipped through the cracks of chess history. All that is known of him is that he was the Bakersfield, California High School champion in 1954 and 1955. He tied for 36th-38th place in the 1954 U.S. Junior championship in Long Beach, California. And, he won the Fresno, California Junior Championship in 1955.

    During the event some of the players, including Fischer, were staying at the homce of one of the organizers, Alexander Liepnieks and Fischer was on the receiving end of taunts by a couple of the other players. You can read an excellent account in the Nebraska State Chess Archives HERE. The article also has some rare photos

.

ChessBase

Robert Fischer–Kenneth Warner0–1B58US Junior Open, Lincoln, Nebraska1Lincoln, NE USA15.07.1955Stockfish 16

B76: Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack 1.e4 c5 2.f3 c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 d6 6.e2 g6 7.e3 g7 8.f3 0-0 9.d2 a6 The best way for black to equalize here is with the sharp 9...d5 10.0-0-0 a5 10...d5 is still the best move. 11.xc6 bxc6 12.exd5 cxd5 13.xd5 xd5 14.xd5 c7 Here, too, white is better, but Korchagina,V (2176)-Solovjov,S (2419) St Petersburg 2008 ended in a draw. 11.b1 This safety precaution covering the a-Pawn is better than the immediate 11/g4 d8 12.g4 12.c4 was a good option. Then after xd4 13.xd4 b5 14.e3 Threatening Bb6 b8 15.b3 white stands slightly better. 12...xd4 A good nove. Black wants to place his B on the more active square e6. 13.xd4 e6! 14.e3 d7 This prevents 15.Bb6, but a better way of neutralizing the threat. 14...dc8 This sets a trap. 15.b6 xc3 Watch this... 16.bxc3 xg4 Threatening ... Qxa2# 17.xa5 xe3 18.de1 c8 with the advantage. 14...dc8 15.g5 This is the best reply. Now after h5 16.xg7 xg7 17.d5 xd5 18.xd5 c5 The chances are equal. 15.f4 White's chances on the K-side are more promising than black’s on the Q-side. xd4 15....Rdc8 was still a promising alternative. 16.xd4 aiming for f5. f6 This move is a poor one that should have resulted in Fischer gsaing a decisive advantage. 16...f6 This unlikely looking move had to be played, but white still comes out on top. 17.c4 Much stringer than 17.f5 17.f5 f7 18.d5 xd5 19.exd5 White is clearly better. 17...f7 18.xf7+ xf7 19.h4 dc8 20.h5 and white should win. 17.f5 d7 18.h4 White is still better after this, but 18.g5 was even better. 18.g5 e8 19.d5 and there is no way to defend e7. 18...b5 19.f3 It was still preferable to play 19.g5 ac8 20.xb5 The following moves involve some imprecise play by both sides, but it must be remembered that at the time both players were non-Masters so it's hard to be too critical. Also, some of the moves required a Stockfish level of abilty to go deep into the position to find the best moves. axb5 Black is unaware of any danger and plays to open the a-file for an attack, but a better plan would have been 20...Qxb5 and then ...Qc5 hoping to exchange Qs 21.h5 This is the wrong P push and it allows black right back into the game. However, after Stockfish's top choice of 21.g5 which lead to an eventual win, the position gets very complicated and precise play would be required. c4 22.e3 a8 23.a3 Black should now play 23...b4 and the chances would then be equal. Instead, his next move gives Fischer a chance to regain the advantage. a4 24.c3 24.c1 Fischer could hardly be faulted for not seeing this unlikely retreat! gxf5 25.exf5 h6 26.hg1 and black's position is quite precarious. 24...xe4 Obvious...and bad. 24...b3 keeps the upper hand. 25.d4 xa3 26.xc4 bxc4 27.hxg6 a2+ 28.c2 b3+ 29.b1 a2 30.e2 a4 31.c1 with a slight advantage. 25.xe4 He should have played 25.Rc1 when the threat of hxg6 would lead to a winnning position. xe4 26.h6 26.d2 stays on course, but that's hard to see! xg4 27.hxg6 e4+ 28.a1 xf5 29.gxh7+ h8 30.hf1 g5 31.xf7 is equal. 26...e2 27.d2 This was no doubt played to prevent ...Qc2+, but it's a losing blunder. 27.c1 is the only good defense. e4+ 28.a1 b4 and white can hang on with 29.hxg6 bxa3 30.gxf7+ xf7 31.b4 Black has a slight advantage, but probably not enough to win. 27...xd2 28.xd2 e4+ White resigned because the R is lost. 0–1

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The Goldsmith Defense, an Opening Secret

    Many lower rated players concentrate their study on openings, but the late National Master James Schroeder advised against studying openings until you are at least an Expert (2000-2199). 

    He also advised not to use opening encyclopedias; they are nothing more than selective data. These days databases have taken over books, but the idea is the same. 

    According to Schroeder, only after you become completely knowledgeable of how to checkmate and thoroughly understand the endgame and have played through at least a thousand master games are you are ready to study the openings. 

    Openings based on cheap traps are appealing, but you are wasting your time because if you cannot refute a bad move over the board you will never be a good player, said Schroeder. 

    The late Senior Master Kenneth Smith gave the same advice. He emphasized tactics, making the point that tactics will overcome a bad opening, a poor middlegame and lack of endgame knowledge. Smith's advice was similar to Schroeder's: only when you reach Expert can you stop devouring everything on tactics. 

     The following Blitz game is proof of their advice. I played the horrible 1...h5 and won against a player that appears to have been of at least average (say 1600) strength. It just emphasizes the point that for we non-Masters openings don't matter. 

    The Goldsmith Defense (1...h4) is a weak response to whatever first move white plays. It’s a rather useless move that does nothing to control the center and it does not aid in development. It also seriously weakens the K-side. Also. bringing the R into play via h6 is pointless and weakening. 

 

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Guest–Tartajubow0–1B00Chess Hotel2024Stockfish 16

Goldsmith Defense 1.e4 h5 This is the dubious Golsmith Defense. 2.c4 h6 Let's call this the Tartajubow Variation. 2...d6 3.f3 g4 4.h3 xf3 5.xf3 e6 6.0-0 White has no more than hig usual opening advantahe here. g5 7.d3 d7 8.g3 h6 9.f4 h4 10.f2 h7 11.fxg5 xg5 12.xg5 xg5 13.c3 a6 14.d4 g7 15.e2 e7 16.f4 g6 Now, after 17.Nxg6 the game would be even. Instead white makes an unsound sacrifice. 17.xe6 Black has a decisive advantage. Horina,M-Srebro,M Bjelovar 2008 3.d4 f6 Giving up a P, but there is more to come. 4.xh5 xf2 This is a losing move, but it sometimes gains psychological and time advantages, especially in blitz games where white often uses extra time looking for an immediate win. 5.xf2 e6 6.e5 My first thought was that this is a waste of time and he should have played a developing move. But...surprise! It's Stockfish's top choice. d5 7.b5+ Better was 7.Bd3 c6 8.a4 Not really bad, but d3 was still a better square for the B. b5 9.b3 a5 10.c3 c5 Hoping to open up a file on the Q-side. 11.g5 A better plan might have been Nh3-g5, but after this white still has what should amount to a winning advantage. b6 12.f3 c6 13.d1 White has successfully defended the attack on d4 and there is little that black can do now, but a move must be made, so... b7 14.h8 After this white is still winning,m but the engine found a clever continuation. A surprising move. 14.xd5 exd5 15.e6 The K will escape the clutches of white's pieces, but black will still be a R down with nothing to show for it. h6 16.xh6 0-0-0 16...gxh6 17.xf7+ d8 18.d7# 17.f4 fxe6 14...cxd4 15.cxd4 15.xg8 also works. dxc3+ 16.e3 xe3+ 17.xe3 cxb2 18.c3 bxa1 19.xa1 White is a Q ahead. 15...ge7 16.xe7 xe7 17.c3 a4 18.c2 a3 19.b3 c8 White can ignore this attack on his N and win in a couyple of ways, but with little time to think he played a natural move defending the attacked N and B. That said, inbly an engine can calculate the alternatives quickly and accurately, so white is not to be faulted for playing 20.Rd3 20.d3 20.g5 xc3 21.h7 d8 22.h4 c6 23.g8 e7 24.g1 b6 25.h5 d8 26.xf7 d7 27.h8 b4 28.e8+ c7 29.xe6+ xe6 30.xe6 20.h7 xc3 21.g5 d8 22.h4 c6 23.g8 d7 24.xf7 e7 25.xe6+ c7 26.xd8+ xd8 27.f5 b6 28.ac1 b4 29.f3 c6 30.g4 a5 31.h5 f8 32.e6 White is winning. 20...b4 Black regains a piece. 21.a4 This move puts the N out of play and must be considered a blunder because now black equalizes. 21.Rad1 keeps the advantage. xc2+ 22.e3 White probably thought the K was safe here plus on e3 it defends the d-Pawn, but now it's white who is lost. Correct was 22.Kg1 after which the chances would have been equal. f5+ 23.f4 Suddenly white's K has become fatally exposed. b5 24.ad1 xa2 This is mot nearly as good as 24...Rxg2, but only an engine can thread its way through the complications. White now started using precious time trying to get out of his jam. 25.c5 xg2 26.h3 b2 27.xb7 xb7 28.f1 g6 Brings the B into play. 29.b1 h6+ 30.g5 xg5+ 31.xg5 e7+ 32.f4 h4+ 33.f3 White resigned before black could play 33...Qe4# 0–1

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