Friday, September 27, 2024

Chessbase Products

 
    
The other day I was searching for something and stumbled across some excellent Youtube videos on Chessbase products which I consider the gold standard of chess software. 
    If you are thinking about purchasing one of them the videos listed below will be a big help in deciding which one you should purchase. Or, if you already have one of them the instructional videos show how to use most of the features. 
    I have a number of chess programs on my laptop: the ancient Master Chess 8000, SCID vs PC, Chess OK Aquarium, Aquarium 2020, Chess Assistant 18, Fritz 12, Ftitz 17 and Chessbase 16. 
    Back in the old days when I was a serious correspondence player and was seriously trying to top the 2200 barrier, had these programs been available Chessbase would have been my choice. But, those days are just a dim memory and so Fritz 17 fits my needs perfectly. 
    Should you buy Chessbase? Here is an honest analysis of the program. I do not use my Chessbase 16 simply because it has a lot more features than I am interested in. HERE 
    If pricing is an issue then a good alternative is Fritz. Although Fritz 19 is the current version, this video discusses Fritz 17 (the program I use), but it is still a good overview of the program HERE.
 
Sidebar... 
 
    While I am at it, you might be interested in downloading a free database of 5.5 million games at Caissabase. The game dates ranger from 1610 to 2024. Note: the download is fairly large, so give it some time. 
    There is one snag...the database can only be opened using SCID vs. PC format, so if you are not a SCID vs. PC user you will need to download that program which you can so HERE. These two downloads are an excellent choice if you are looking for free. 
 
NOTE
    Apparently there is a glitch in e-mailing me. I recently received an e-mail from a reader of this post who had a question, but it did not show up on the post itself.
    Basically the reader wanted to know about how modern correspondence players attempt to outsmart opponents who rely strictly on an engine. Unfortunately, I am not qualified to address that issue because I am not very knowledgeable about how engines work. Also, when I was active in correspondence play before engines my rating hovered around 2100...hardly championship level! 
    I was not implying that I would like to have used an engine in correspondence play, only that in those days programs like ChessBase and Fritz would have been great for organizing games and studying all phases of the game.

Thursday, September 26, 2024

Pillsbury Hit by a Marble

    
Murray Marble (February17, 1885 – February 17, 1919, 34 years old) of Worcester, Massachusetts is virtually unknown and when he passed away the American Chess Bulletin stated that they were greatly disturbed and noted that they had not received any news about him in recent years. 
    The writer of the article stated that he had once spent an enjoyable day at a beach resort in company with Marble, he knew very little of Marble’s family or private life beyond that he was obviously of “gentle” family and possessed a quiet and refined both in tastes and demeanor. And, he added that Marble spoke or wrote little concerning himself. 
     Marble was the youngest of four brothers, all of whom predeceased him in death. According to the writer the family occupied a rather palatial if old fashioned family homestead in Worcester. Marble possessed an exquisite chess den at his home. 
    The writer first heard of Marble in 1900, when the chess editor of the Literary Digest chess column, wrote of a two-mover contributed to the periodical by the 15 year old Marble who had just entered the world of problem composing. In 1906, and for a period thereafter Marble was a regular contributor to the American Chess Bulletin. By the early part of 1909, Marble was really making a name for him self. Sample problem
    Only two of his games seem to have survived; one offhand game against an unknown player and the following nice win over Pillsbury in a simultaneous that was held in Worcester.

 

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Rzeschewski at the 1922 New York Toy Show

    
In the early 1900s all the chess sets sold in the United States were manufactured in Europe. When World War I broke out in 1914, the supply of chess sets to the U.S. ceased. That’s where William F. Drueke comes in.
    Established in 1914, Drueke’s Grand Rapids, Michigan company was known as a high quality game manufacturer in the United States because they used nothing but the finest walnut, maple and aspen for their products. 
    Besides chess pieces Drueke also made wooden chess boards, chess tables, cribbage boards, poker chip racks, backgammon sets, dominoes, checkers, card boxes, and other wooden accessories. Around 1949 they began manufacturing plastic pieces. In my day their Player’s Choice set was very popular. Drueke's name and product lines were assumed by The Carrom Company of Ludington, Michigan in 1991. 
     In 1922, there was an annul toy fair at the Hotel Breslin in New York City and Sammy Rzeschewski, the child prodigy, gave a simultaneous exhibition that was sponsored bu Drueke. 
     Rzeschewski scored 18 wins. Play stopped at 11:30pm after having been in progress for nearly two and a half hours. There were three games unfinished. US Champion Frank Marshall had bee present, but he had left so two of the remaining games were declared drawn by the acting referee, Samuel Katz, secretary of the Manhattan Chess Club. Rzeschewski was awarded the win in the other game after which he was lustily cheered by the large audience. 
    In the following game, after only 20 minutes of play, M. A. Goldsmith of Cleveland. Ohio resigned after only 23 moves. Goldsmith, a leading Ohio expert, was considered to be one of the best players Rzeschewski would be facing in the exhibition. After their game was finished Goldsmith showed everyone a published score of a game, also a Goring Gambit, that he had won from Frank Marshall in an exhibition on Cleveland the previous year.

  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Simul, New York"] [Site "?"] [Date "1922.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Sammy Rzeschewski"] [Black "M. A. Goldsmith"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "1922.??.??"] {C44: Goring Gambut} 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 {Named after German player Carl Goring, in this gambit white offers to sacrifice a P. ot sometimes two, in order to open up lines for his pieces and to accelerate his development.} dxc3 4. Bc4 Nc6 {This is not the best reply. If black does not want to risk taking another P with 4...cxb2 then he should play 4...Nf6} (4... Nf6 {Better is 5. Nxc3 equals.} 5. e5 c2 6. Qxc2 d5 {and after either 7.Bb5+, 7.Bb3 or 7.exd6 black stands well.} 7. exf6 {This obvious move is white's least desirable continuation/} dxc4 8. fxg7 Bxg7 9. Qxc4 Be6 10. Qc2 Qe7 {Black has a comfortable lead in development.}) 5. Nf3 Qf6 (5... cxb2 {is still a reasonable try.} 6. Bxb2 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nf6) (5... Qe7 {turned out badly in the following game.} 6. O-O Nh6 7. Nxc3 Qd6 8. Nd5 Ng4 9. Bf4 Nce5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Qh5 Rb8 12. Bxe5 Qc5 13. Bxc7 Qd4 14. Qe5+ {Black resigned. Zhang Pengxiang (2583)-Chen Xueshen Wuxi 2005}) 6. Nxc3 Bb4 7. Bd2 (7. O-O Bxc3 8. bxc3 d6 9. Qb3 Nge7 10. Bg5 {with equal chances. Angarov,D-Ginzburg,A (2021) Irkutsk 2009 was eventually drawn.}) 7... Bxc3 8. Bxc3 Qg6 9. O-O {[%mdl 1024]} Nge7 10. e5 (10. Nh4 {is not as good as it might look at first glance. After} Qxe4 11. Bxf7+ Kxf7 12. Qh5+ g6 13. Qh6 Rg8 {There is no really effective way of continuimg the attack.} 14. Rae1 Qd5 {Note that} 15. Qxh7+ {is not dangerous to black because afer} Ke8 16. Nf3 Qf7 {In Shootouts from this position white scored +0 -2 =3}) 10... O-O 11. Bd3 Qh5 12. Qc2 {Here the game deviates from the sinul game Marshall-Goldsmith that was played the previous year in Cleveland.} (12. Re1 d5 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Re4 Bg4 15. Be2 d5 16. Rf4 Ng6 17. Ra4 Nge5 18. Bxe5 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Bxe2 20. Qxd5 Rad8 21. Qe4 Rfe8 22. Re1 Qxe5 23. Qxb7 Rd1 24. Rxd1 Bxd1 25. h3 Bxa4 26. g3 Qe1+ 27. Kg2 Qe4+ 28. Qxe4 Rxe4 29. h4 Re2 30. b3 Bc6+ 31. Kh3 Rxf2 {0-1 Fran Marshall-M A Goldsmith Simul, Cleveland, Ohio, 1921}) 12... d5 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Rfe1 Bf5 15. Rad1 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Rad8 17. Re4 f5 {This give white a minuscule advantage. Instead, 17...d5 keeps things even.} 18. Rh4 Qg6 19. Rh3 {Black must now prevent Rg3.} Ne5 {[%mdl 8192] Goldsnith has played an excellent game up to this point, but this move is a onumental tactical blunder.} (19... f4 {and Black has nothing to worry about. For example...} 20. Qxg6 Nxg6 21. Ng5 Rf5 22. Ne6 (22. Nxh7 Nce5 {Black is better because white's N and R are out play.}) 22... Rd7 23. Rhd3 Nf8 24. Rxd6 Rxd6 25. Rxd6 Nxe6 26. Rxe6 {The position is completely equal.}) 20. Bxe5 {Probably spotted instantly by the prodigy!} dxe5 21. Qxd8 Rxd8 22. Rxd8+ Kf7 (22... Qe8 23. Rxe8+ Kf7 24. Rxe7+ Kxe7) 23. Nxe5+ {Black resigned} 1-0

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

A Great Game by Paul Michel


    
One of the books in my collection is 107 Great Chess Battles, 1939-1945 by Alekhine. The games, almost all of them played by others, were selected and annotated by him. Because Alekhine selected the games you know they have to be good. 
    The games are organized by openings, open, semi-open and closed. In my opinion the book is something of a potboiler with not very deep annotations and they are lacking instructional content, but then it’s games themselves that are interesting. 
    The winner, Paul Michel (1905-1977) of Germany, was awarded the IM title in 1956. He was 2nd= in the German Championships of 1935 and 1938 and was a member of the German Olympiad team of 1939. He remained in Argentina after the Second World War. 
    His opponent was Swedish player Erik Lundin (1904-1088). One of the country;s top players, he was warded the International Master title in 1950, and the Honorary Grandmaster title in 1983. He continued to participate in chess tournaments in his 80's and over the course of his career he defeated many of the world;s best players. Chess metrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been w771 and his best world ranking to have been #18 on December 1946 and January 1947. 

  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Buenos Aires Olympiad fin-A"] [Site "Buenos Aires ARG"] [Date "1939.09.16"] [Round "14"] [White "Erik Lundin (Sweden)"] [Black "Paul Michel (Germany)"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C48"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16/Alekhine"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "1939.09.01"] {C48: Four Knights Game, Rubinstein Mariation} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 {The solid Rubinstein Variation. At the time this game was played the German team would have been satisfied with a draw.} 5. Nxe5 {Lundin wants to avoid the drawish 5.Nxf4 and so Iplayed this rather dubious line. He would have done better playing the standard 5.Ba4. Note that the text does not win a P.} Qe7 6. f4 Nxb5 7. Nxb5 d6 8. Nf3 Qxe4+ 9. Kf2 {The position of white's K has been disturbed in this line and this move is better that 9.Qe2 Qxe2+ 10. Kxe2 because now at least white threatens 10.Re1} Ng4+ (9... Qxf4 {would be a horrible mistake.} 10. d3 Qf5 11. Nxc7+) 10. Kg3 {Alekhinme wrote that this K excursion is artificial and appears erroneous and he added that one could not understand what it was that lead white to play such a risky move. Possibly Lundin wanted to avois shutting his R in with 10.Kg1 although that move would have been preferrable.} Qg6 {Threatening 11...Ne3+.} 11. Nh4 Qh5 (11... Qf6 { is also good.} 12. h3 g5 13. Qe2+ Ne5 14. d4 gxf4+ 15. Kh2 Qxh4 16. dxe5 Qg3+ 17. Kg1 {Popov,I (2613)-Svidler,P (2730) Aix-les-Bains FRA 2011. Now after 17.. .Kd8 black would have had the advantage.}) 12. h3 {Best; this was known at the time.} (12. Nxc7+ {leaves black with the advantage after} Kd8 13. h3 (13. Nxa8 g5 14. fxg5 Qxg5 15. Nf3 Qg7 {The threat of ...Ne3+ cannot be met in any satisfactory way.} 16. Qe2 Ne3+ 17. Kf2 Qxg2+ 18. Kxe3 Bh6+ 19. Kd3 Bf5+ 20. Kc3 Qxe2) 13... Nf6 14. Nxa8 Qxh4+ 15. Kxh4 Ne4 16. Qh5 Be7+ 17. Qg5 Bxg5+) 12... Qxb5 {It was Alekhine's opinion that this simple move forces a series of moves which are dangerous for White's position.} (12... Nf6 {This move was known at the time the game was played and it was the move recompensed by theory. It still is.} 13. Nxc7+ {Trading Qs would have kept black's advantage at a minimum.} Kd8 14. Nxa8 {Kadric,D (2561)-Gelbenegger,P (2260) Austria AUT 2022. Black is better, but only if he finds the correct continuation which is.. .} Qxh4+ 15. Kxh4 Ne4 16. Qg4 Be7+ 17. Qg5 Bxg5+ 18. fxg5 h6 19. g6 fxg6 20. Rf1 {Black is clearly better, but white has a fighting chance.}) 13. hxg4 { This is no good because it exposes his K.} (13. a4 {and white has equalized but the position has a lot of complications!} Qd5 14. hxg4 g6 15. Qe2+ Be6 16. f5 gxf5 17. gxf5 Rg8+ 18. Kh3 Be7 19. fxe6 Bxh4 20. exf7+ Kxf7 {with a slight advantage.}) (13. a4 Ne3 {This also leads to complications.} 14. dxe3 Qc6 15. e4 Be7 16. Re1 O-O 17. Nf3 Bf6) 13... g5 {After this white's game begins to deteriorate.} 14. fxg5 Qe5+ 15. Kf2 Qd4+ 16. Kg3 Qe5+ 17. Kh3 {Michel refutes this swiftly and in masterly fashion.} (17. Kf2 {would have made black's task much more difficult.} Qxg5 18. d3 Qxg4 19. Re1+ Be7 20. Qxg4 Bxg4 21. Bg5 Be6 22. Bxe7 Kxe7 {with on;y sa modest advantage.}) 17... Qxg5 {Threatens to win with ...Rg8.} 18. d4 Qh5 {This fine move emphasizes the disadvantageous position of the K.} 19. g3 (19. Kg3 {is met by} Rg8 20. g5 Qxd1 21. Rxd1 h6 22. Nf3 Be7 23. Re1 hxg5 24. c4 (24. Bxg5 f6) 24... Bf5 {and black can expect to squeeze out the win.}) 19... Rg8 20. Kh2 Bxg4 {After achieving a material advantage the win is a matter of technique, but, as Alekhine pointed out, the speed of the method used produces a very favorable impression.} 21. Re1+ Be7 22. Qd2 Kd7 23. Qh6 Qd5 {Black avoids tthe exchange of Qs inorder to exploit the frail position of white's K.} 24. Be3 Rae8 25. Bf2 Bg5 {Giving back the extra P to force the opening of the h-file with the plan of a diret attack on the K - Alekhhine} 26. Qxh7 Rh8 27. Qd3 Reg8 28. c4 Qf3 {Now simplification assists black's victory since the Q is the only piece protecting white's position.} 29. Qxf3 Bxf3 30. Rg1 {Forced owing th the threat of ...Bxh4} f5 { [%mdl 32]} 31. a4 Rh7 32. Ra3 Be4 33. Raa1 f4 34. Kh3 fxg3 {White resigned. Very precise play by Michel according to Stockfish.} 0-1

Friday, September 20, 2024

A Finish Too Gruesome to Contemplate

    
In the 1958-59 US Championship Bobby Fischer was not only a Grandmaster, but also an international star and the talk of world chess. He had won the previous championship with an undefeated 8 wins and 5 draws, finishing a full 2 points ahead of Reshevsky. 
    Nobody had repeated as as champion in the previous six tournaments and in this tournament virtually all of top scorers of the previous year were back plus Robert and Donald Byrne and Pal Benko were in the line up. 
    Born in France to Hungarian parents, Benko had become one of the leading European juniors during the mid-50s and was making a name for himself. Benko had been involved in the 1956 Hungarian revolt, but was later permitted to play first board on Hungary's team in the 1957 Student Olympiad in Iceland where he promptly defected. He originally landed in Cleveland Ohio, but not for long. He got into a snit because Cleveland players would not support him financially, so he moved on to greener pastures. 
 

 

   
Most invitees were chosen because of their rating or because they held the Grandmaster title, but in the 1958-59 tournament the USCF also invited the U.S. Junior Champion 17-year-old Raymond Weinstein, Bisguier's couson. 
    In the end, Fischer was again successful, taking an undefeated first with +6 -0 =5 while Reshevsky again had to settle for second and his loss to Fischer was a real debacle! Fischer played a new, but untested, line on the white side of the Sicilian that he had used earlier in the year to defeat Bent Larsen at the interzonal at Portoroz. In the same tournament against Oscar Panno, it hadn't been so successful, but Fischer had done his homework; Reshevsky hadn't. 
Weinstein
    As usual, Reshevsky wasn't up on theory and relied on his instinct. Also, the line had been analyzed in depth in a recent Russian magazine which, of course, Fischer was familiar with. Reshevsky wasn't and ended up losing miserably.
    Benko, who everybody thought might be a serious contender, failed badly finishing in 8th place with a +1 -4 =6 score. Weinstein shared last place with Edmar Mednis, scoring +0 -5 =6. Here is an interesting game from the tournament.

  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "1958/59 US Champ, New York"] [Site "New York"] [Date "1958.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Raymond Weinstein"] [Black "Samueal Reshevsky"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E64"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "1958.??.??"] {E64: King's Indian: Fianchetto Variation} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nf3 c5 {A Reshevsky favorite. Most common by far is 5...d6} 6. d5 d6 7. Nc3 Na6 {Again, a Reshevsky favorite. He liked to put the N on c7 then play ... Rb8 and prepare the advance ...b5.} 8. O-O Nc7 9. Bf4 {The B is in a rather vulnerable place on f4. Thos move was popular at the time, but has since been pretty much abandoned in favor of 9.a4 to prevent black's Q-side expansion.} a6 10. a4 Rb8 11. a5 b5 12. axb6 Rxb6 13. b3 Nh5 {This move gains time, opens the diagonal for his B and makes room for the advance of his f-Pawn..} (13... Bd7 14. Qc2 Qb8 15. Ra3 Qb7 16. Nd2 Rb8 17. Na4 Bxa4 18. Rxa4 Qc8 {equals. Panno, O-Ramirez,A Santa Fe 1957}) 14. Bd2 e6 15. dxe6 Bxe6 16. Ng5 {This move does not accomplish much and so continuing his Q-side play with 16.Ra2 and 17.Baw wpuld have been better.} Bd7 17. Na4 Rb8 (17... Bxa1 18. Nxb6 Be5 19. Ba5 { and white is well off.}) 18. Ra3 h6 {Reshevsky begins an attack by driving back the N with a gain of time.} 19. Ne4 {Perhaps 19.Nf3 would have been better. As played white loses time with the N.} f5 20. Nec3 Be6 21. e4 f4 { Reshevsky is going after him. Theoretically with accurate play white should be OK, but as is usually the case, one slip on the part of the defender can be costly.} 22. g4 {As Reshevsky put it, "Closing his eyes to the lurking danger. " This move loses quickly.} (22. Nd5 fxg3 23. hxg3 Nxd5 {and now capturing with either Pawn keeps things fairly equal.} 24. cxd5 {This at least does not give the B a good square on f5.} Bd7 25. Bc3 Bxc3 26. Nxc3 {The chances are equal.}) (22. e5 {This sharp counterattack is probably his best option.} Bxe5 23. Ne4 {Here black has no really powerful attacking moves. Komodo Human suggests the following line...} Qe7 24. Bc3 Bxc3 25. Naxc3 Rbd8 26. Re1 Ng7 27. Qc1 Kh7 28. gxf4 Nf5 29. Ng3 Nd4 30. Nd5 Qf7 31. Nxc7 Qxc7 {and neither side can claim an advantage.}) 22... f3 23. Bxf3 (23. Bh1 Qh4 {leaves white helpless...} 24. Bxf3 (24. Nd5 Qxg4+ 25. Bg2 Qxg2#) 24... Be5 25. Bf4 Bxf4 26. Re1 Bxh2+ 27. Kf1 Qh3+ 28. Ke2 Qxf3+ 29. Kd2 Qf4+ 30. Kc2 Bxg4 31. Qd2 Qxd2+ 32. Kxd2 Rxf2+ 33. Re2 Bf4+ 34. Ke1 Rxe2+ 35. Nxe2 Bxe2 36. Kxe2) 23... Qh4 24. Kg2 Nf4+ 25. Bxf4 Rxf4 26. Be2 Be5 27. h3 Rbf8 {0-1 White resigned. The sequel is too gruesome to contemplate.} (27... Rbf8 28. Bf3 Rxf3 29. Qxf3 Rxf3 30. Kxf3 Qxh3+ 31. Ke2 Bxg4+ 32. Kd2 Qxf1) 0-1

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Philip Physick Randolph

    
While on the subject of forgotten Philadelphia players, today’s post features another one from long ago, Philip Physick Randolph (October 26, 1824 – May 5, 1869) who at the time of his unexpected death was considered one of the country’s most distinguished players. 
    It was in 1846 that the 22-year old Randolph, after having just finished his collegiate studies, became known. At that time he played against Charles Vezin, the subject of the previous post.
    Randolph was known for his positional play characterized by patient and thorough analysis. 
    In 1847, along with another Philadelphia player of renown, Benjamin Tilghman, he organized the correspondence match against Boston in which the previous post’s game was played. 
    In 1856 he participated in a correspondence match against New York which was won by Philadelphia. Then in the fall of 1858 he took an active part in a telegraph match against New York. After this match Randolph stopped playing competitive chess, probably for health reasons, but continued to follow the game.
    At the time of his death the London Times claimed that Randolph was one of the three greatest players in the world. How and why they made that statement is unknown. There is little information available on Randolph and I could locate only two of his games. 
    Randolph was not only a recognized master player, but a well regarded member of Philadelphia society who was known for his intelligence, gentle manner and modest character. 
    He was the grandson of the “father of American surgery” Dr. Philip S. Physick, and son of Dr. Physick’s daughter Sally and her husband Dr. Jacob Randolph. 
    Dr. Philip S. Physick purchased Laurel Hill Mansion in Pgiladelphia in 1828 to use as a summer retreat and later bequeathed the house to his daughter Sally Randolph in 1837, when it became known as the Randolph Mansion. 
    The chessplayer Philip Randolph, who died in the mansion, was its last resident. He never married and was buried at Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia. The newspaper death notice stated that relatives and male friends were invited to attend the funeral at his mother’s residence. 
    After he died his widowed mother, Sally, sold the mansion to the city of Philadelphia. In 1870, the city demolished its barn, outbuildings, and farmhouse, yet the mansion now known as Laurel Hill Mansion still stands. 
 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Philadelphia"] [Site "Philadelphia, PA USA"] [Date "1847.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Philip Randolph"] [Black "Charles Vezin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C39"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1847.??.??"] {C39: King's Gambit Accepted} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 { This is the most popular, the main alternative being 3.Bc4. Black had two main approaches:1) attempt to hold the P with ...g5 and 2) return the P in order to facilitate his development.} g5 {[%mdl 32] The Classical Variation arises after 3.Nf3 g5. White's main choices are 4.h4 and 4.Bc4} (3... Nf6 4. Bc4 d5 5. exd5 Bd6 6. d4 Nh5 7. O-O Qh4 8. Qe1+ Qxe1 9. Rxe1+) 4. h4 (4. Bc4 g4 {An alternative is 4...Bg7} 5. O-O gxf3 6. Qxf3 Qf6 {Here white usually plays 7... e5 although 7.d3 is super-solid.}) 4... g4 5. Ne5 {5.Ng5 (the Allgaier Gambit) intending 5...h6 6.Nxf7 id very rsky amd is considered risky and unsound. The text is the Kieseritzky Gambit which is considered the main line; it was popularized by Lionel Kieseritzky in the 1840s and used by Wilhelm Steinitz and much later Spassky used it to beat Fischer.} h5 {The main alternative is 5. ..Nf6, but the text is satisfactory.} 6. Bc4 Nh6 {Black can satisfactorily defend the P with 6...Rh7, but the text move is also good.} 7. d4 d6 {White should now simply retreat with 8.Nd3 which results in equal chances. Instead, he embarks on a risky and unsoumd sacrifice, but one which also has some potential.} 8. Nxf7 Nxf7 9. Bxf7+ (9. Bxf4 {is about as good.} Qe7 {White has two playable moves: 10.Bxf7+ followed bu O-O and 10.Nc3 followed by Nd5. In either case black holds the advantage.}) 9... Kxf7 10. Bxf4 Bh6 11. O-O { Black's K is exposed, but white does not have anu way of getting at it, so black has the better position.} Kg7 {He could also have exchanged the Bs first. } 12. Nc3 {Perhaps defending the h-Pawn with 12.Qe1 would have been just a bit safer.} Be6 (12... Qxh4 {There was no reason to have avoided this. After} 13. g3 Qd8 {black has simply picked up a free P.}) 13. d5 Bf7 (13... Bxf4 {allows white to equalize after} 14. Rxf4 Bf7 15. Qd4+ Kg8 16. e5 dxe5 {He must play this.} 17. Qxe5 Nd7 18. Qf5 {with equal chances that could lead to a draw if the players are willing...} Qe7 19. Re4 Qd8 20. Rf4 Qe7 {with a repitition.}) 14. Qd4+ Kg8 15. e5 {This position contains a trap if black is careless.} dxe5 (15... Qxh4 16. Bxh6 Rxh6 17. Qf4 Rh7 18. e6 {If the B moves white mates on f8} Qe7 19. Ne4 (19. exf7+ {is less effective.} Rxf7 20. Qh6 Rh7 21. Qe6+ Qxe6 22. dxe6 Nc6 23. Nd5 {White is clearly better, but 19.Ne4 is even stronger.}) 19... Bg6 20. Nf6+ Kh8 21. Qg5 Qg7 22. Rae1 {and white is winning.}) 16. Bxe5 Rh7 17. Ne4 {This threatens to win with Nf6+.} Bg7 {[%mdl 8192] This is a blunder that should have lost at once.} (17... Nd7 {is the correct defense after which black holds on to his advantage. For example...} 18. Rae1 Bg6 {White has no effective continuation.}) 18. Ng5 {After this white has equalized, but he has missed a golden opportunity.} (18. Bxg7 Rxg7 19. Nf6+ Kh8 20. Qf4 Rg6 21. Qe5 Qf8 22. Rf5 {Black has no option but to play} Rxf6 23. Qxf6+ Qg7 24. Qxf7 Qxf7 25. Rxf7 {and white is winning.}) 18... Bxe5 {[%mdl 8192] ...and loses.} (18... Qxd5 {is a completely different story; the position is completely equal.} 19. Qf2 {Better than trading Qs} Bxe5 {Threatening ...Bd4} 20. Rad1 {Black is now compelled to surrender his Q, but after} Nc6 (20... Qxa2 21. Qf5 Kf8 22. Qxh7 Bg7 23. Qxh5 {mates in 4} Ke8 24. Rfe1+ Be5 25. Rxe5+ Kf8 26. Qh8+ Bg8 27. Qh6# ) 21. Rxd5 Bxd5 22. Nxh7 Bd4 23. Nf6+ Kg7 24. Nxd5 Bxf2+ 25. Rxf2 Re8 26. Nxc7 Re7 27. Nd5 g3 28. Rf5 Re1+ 29. Rf1 Re4 {a draw would be a reasonable conclusion.}) 19. Qe4 Rg7 20. Rxf7 Rxf7 21. Nxf7 Kxf7 {White is down two pieces, but black's extra material is useless.} 22. Qh7+ {Taking the B would also win.} Ke8 {The K has no hiding place and all his pieces are just bystanders.} 23. Qg8+ Ke7 24. Qe6+ Kf8 25. Rf1+ Kg7 26. Rf7+ {Black resigned. It's mate in 2} 1-0

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Stockfish 17 is out

    On September 6th Stockfish 17 was released. You can download it HERE in the GUI of your choice. I am not sure what improvements have been made, but you can check out its rating on CCLR’s Complete Rating List HERE

    As of this writing it has only played 224 games and against a developmental version of Stockfish (the one I have been using for analysis) version 17 has a score of +0 – 0 =10.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Charles Vezin

    
Charles Vezin (1781 – April 18,1853, 71 years old) was born in Osnabruech, a city in northern Germany, but is remembered as the founder and father of chess in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
    In 1802, at the age of 21, he went to live in Bordeaux in the SW of France where he he worked as a clerk for ten years and by frugal living saved up fifteen hundred francs and resolved to come to the United States. 
    On June 18th, The War of 1812 began between the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom and its allies. Even though the Atlantic was swarmed with British warships, Vezin booked passage on an American vessel and subsequently found himself a prisoner at sea and suffered three weeks' confinement in an English ship's brig. He was then exchanged and finally landed in Baltimore, Maryland penniless. 
    From there he went to Philadelphia to make a new start in life, and gradually accumulated enough money to enable him to engage in the importation of German, Belgian and French goods. He continued in this import business until his death im 1853. 
    Vezin's arrival in Philadelphia would eventually lead to the popularization of chess in the city. He found players there of about his own strength. He played a lot, but didn’t improve much. In 1835, an exhibition in Boston under the showman Johann Nepomuk Maelzel included the Juvenile Artist automaton, a chessplayine machine. The Juvenile Artist automaton also traveled to Philadelphia in an exhibition at the American Museum. The announcement for the event mentioned the success of Maelzel's exhibition in Boston and its arrival generated a large interest in chess. As a result of the visit Verzin played a lot of games with a Mr. Schlumberger, the director of the automaton and because of those games that he soon improved to become the best player in Philadelphia. 
    He was described as a player of great native talent, combined with cool, steady nerve and judgment. His play was equally excellent in all phases of the game and though a cautious player, he could, when occasion required, launch brilliant sacrificial attacks. 
    In the following game Vezin wipes Charles Stanley (1819-1901) off the board with a fierce attack. Stavley was born in Middlesex, England. In 1841, he played Howard Staunton, receiving odds of Pawn and two moves.on by a score of +3 -2 =1. Stanley emigrated to New York in 1842 and eventually worked at the British Consulate. 
    He was regarded as the best player in New York from 1842 to 1857. In 1845, he started America's first chess column in the New York Spirit of the Times; the column contained the first chess problem published in the country. The chess column ran until October, 1848. An an alcoholic he spent his last 20 years in institutions in New York on Ward's Island and in the Bronx. 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Correspondence Match"] [Site "Philadelphia, PA / New York, N"] [Date "1845.03.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Charles Vezin (Philadelphhia)"] [Black "Charles H. Stanley (New York)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C34"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "1845.??.??"] {C39: King's Gambit Accepted} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 {[%mdl 32]} 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 Be7 {A poor move that allows white a successful attack in f7} (5... Nf6 6. Bc4 d5 {This is not possible after 5...Be7} 7. exd5 Bd6 {with a good game.}) 6. Bc4 (6. Qxg4 {favors black after} d6 7. Qg7 Bxh4+ 8. Kd1 dxe5 9. Qxh8 Bg4+ 10. Be2 Qg5) (6. Nxg4 {is also unsatisfactory.} Bxh4+ 7. Nf2 Bg3 8. d4 Nc6 {with the slightly better position.}) 6... Nh6 7. d4 {Wisely ignoring the P on g4.} (7. Nxg4 Nxg4 8. Qxg4 d5 {with a decisive advantage.}) 7... d6 8. Nd3 Bxh4+ 9. Kf1 {Even though this game was played 180 years ago, this position has been reached in recent years.} f5 {But the move played was bo better!} (9... O-O 10. g3 fxg3 11. Bxh6 Qf6+ 12. Bf4 Qxd4 13. Rxh4 Qxc4 14. Bh6 g2+ 15. Kxg2 Qxe4+ 16. Kg3 Re8 17. Nc3 Qg6 18. Nf4 Qf5 19. Rh5 Qd7 20. Ncd5 Re6 21. Rg5+ Kh8 22. Qd4+ {Black resigned because it's mate in 4. Manescu, T-Tronenkovs,V St Lorenzo 1995}) (9... Nc6 {is black's best. After} 10. Nc3 Na5 11. Bb5+ c6 12. Bxf4 {white still stands better, but at ;east black's position us not lost.}) 10. e5 {This blow is already decisive as it opens up lines to black's K.} dxe5 11. Nxe5 Bg5 12. Qe1 {[%mdl 2048] This looks scary, but developing with 12.Nc3 was even stronger.} Kf8 (12... Qxd4 {loses quickly.} 13. Nf3+ Qe4 14. Nxg5 Qxe1+ 15. Kxe1) 13. c3 {This is not necessary and should have allowed black to equalize.} (13. Nc3 {brings another piece into play and keeps the upper hand. Black shpu;d npw develop with 13...Nc5, but he must not play} Qxd4 14. Nb5 Qe4 15. Qxe4 fxe4 16. Rh5 Bf6 17. Bxf4 Nf7 18. Nxf7 { and wins.}) 13... Qf6 (13... b5 {Black's move is not bad, but this clever move is aimed at deflecting the B frpm attacking f7/} 14. Bb3 (14. Bxb5 Nf7 { is equal.}) 14... a5 15. a3 a4 16. Ba2 Nd7 {The idea of this is to fprce the N away from the attack on f7. White is better, but there is no forced win.}) 14. Rh5 Bd7 {A much better defense was 14...Nd7 forcing the N to abandon its outpost on e5} 15. Nxd7+ {Voluntarily eliminating his N and bring out black's N to help defend his K is the wrpng choice. As a result black has an equal position.} (15. g3 {keeps up the pressure.} Ng8 16. Kg1 (16. Nf7 {is not as good as it looks!} h6 17. Nxh8 Be8 18. Rxg5 (18. Rh1 Qc6) 18... hxg5 {and white's advantage has disappeared.}) 16... Bh6 17. Nf7 Nc6 18. Nxh6 Re8 19. Qf2 Nxh6 20. Bxf4 {White is better, but here, too, there is no forced win and black has chances of defending himself.}) 15... Nxd7 $18 16. Qe6 {This position is tricky...black has only one good move!} Qg6 {[%mdl 8192] And this is not it.} (16... Qxe6 {Surprisingly, trading Qs should not help. That said, the resulting positions feature positions with unbalanced material that theoretically favor white. Practice might ne another matter.} 17. Bxe6 Nf6 18. Rxg5 Ne4 19. Bxf4 (19. Rh5 Ng3+ {wins for black.}) 19... Nxg5 20. Bxg5 Nf7 21. Bf6 Rg8 22. Bxf5 {Engines say white isd winning, but can he do it OTB?!}) ( 16... b5 {A brilliant resource.} 17. Qxd7 bxc4 18. Qxc7 Qg6 19. Rxg5 {Best.} ( 19. Rh1 Nf7 20. Bxf4 Re8 21. Be5 Nxe5 22. dxe5 f4 {Suddenly it's black ho is on the attack.}) 19... Qxg5 20. Bxf4 Qh4 {with equal chances.}) 17. Rxg5 { [%mdl 512] The only way to keep his attacl going.} Qxg5 18. Qxd7 Qh5 19. Bxf4 Qh1+ 20. Kf2 {[%mdl 32]} g3+ {A crafty trap which Vezin avoids.} 21. Kf3 (21. Kxg3 Qe1+ 22. Kh3 Qh1+ {draws}) (21. Bxg3 Re8 {Threatening ...Qe1 and ...Qe3#, so} 22. Nd2 Ng4+ 23. Kf3 Re3+ 24. Kf4 Qh6+ 25. Kxf5 Qg6+ 26. Kf4 Qh6+ {draws.}) 21... Qh5+ 22. Ke3 Re8+ 23. Kd2 Nf7 24. Qxf7+ Qxf7 25. Bxf7 Kxf7 26. Bxc7 { The tactics are over and white is left with a theoretical win, but can he pull it off?} Re7 27. Be5 Rxe5 {One assumes that Stanley realized he was lost and so decided to placve his hopes on his K-side Ps, but his chances were probably better if he had simply moved the R on h8.} 28. dxe5 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRN-KR} Ke6 29. Ke2 h5 30. Nd2 Kxe5 31. Nf3+ Kf4 32. Rh1 {Now it's clear that with the Ps held up white will have no problems scoring the point.} Re8+ 33. Kf1 Rh8 34. Rh4+ Ke3 35. Rd4 {White threatens Ne1 and Nc2 and mate.} Re8 (35... f4 36. Ne1 h4 37. Nc2#) 36. Ne1 Re4 37. Nc2+ Kf4 38. Rd7 h4 39. Rxb7 Kg5 40. Nd4 h3 41. gxh3 {Black resigned} (41. gxh3 {A continuation might be...} f4 { The Ps are not a threat at all.} 42. Rxa7 Re3 43. Ra5+ Kg6 44. Rf5 {etc.}) 1-0

Monday, September 16, 2024

Old Chess Books

    
My chess book collection consists mostly of old books. i.e. they are in descriptive notation and, of course, are pre-engine. The question is, can they be trusted? 
    The answer is, I suppose, it depends. In the case of opening books, the ideas may not have changed, but engines will sometimes alter the evaluation of individual moves. In practice though I don’t think it matters much. Below the Master level (or perhaps even the VERY strong Master level) the players don’t follow published analysis very far anyway...sometimes only 5-6 moves.
    Also, for non-Masters even a huge opening plus can be frittered away. Also, some popular openings of today were unknown way back when and many once popular openings are now obsolete. Consequently, in the old books comments on the openings must generally be looked at with a jaundiced eye. 
    Many books on middlegame strategy hold up better and are still useful. Tactics are another matter because they can be iffy. Often those old books were cranked out out without a lot of analytic effort and they didn’t have the benefit of an all-seeing engine. Also, in may cases the games were annotated based on the result. Everything the winner did was praised and everything the loser did was criticized.
Spielmann

    
However, for non-Masters and those of us for whom the improvement ship has sailed, the games in those old books are a source of enjoyment. The following game is one such. 
    It was played in 1934 in a tournament in Sopron, a city in Hungary on the Austrian border. The tournament itself has been long forgotten and few games survive. The event was won by Rudolf Spielmann and Erno Gereben finished second. The other players were Pal Rethy, I. Csath, Antonio Sacconi, Arpad Vajda, Laszlo Szabo, Immo Fuss, Kornel Havasi and Ernst Gruenfeld, but I was unable to locate the final standings. 
    The game appears in Spielmann’s book, The Art of Sacrifice in Chess. Rudolf Spielmann (1883-1942, 59 years old) was born in Vienna, Austria. His chess persona was the exact opposite of his personality away from the board. He loved complex positions and tactics. 
    Being Jewish, he fled Nazi Germany and in 1939 went to Sweden. His death is something of a mystery. According to his close relatives he locked himself in his room and was later found starved to death. 
Gereben

    Another version says that he suffered from am illness similar to Parkinson's disease which rapidly became worse at the end of his life. Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement. It often starts with a tremor in one hand. Other symptoms are slow movement, stiffness, and loss of balance. There are, however, several other conditions that can mimic Parkinson’s.
    Another source stated that he was admitted to the hospital and he died there. The source adds that the official cause of death was high blood pressure and a condition in which the heart muscle becomes fibrous. 
    His opponent was Erno Gereben (1908-1988), a Hungarian-Swiss Master whose career extended from the mid-1920s to the late 1970s. He was born in Sopron, where this tournament was played. Due to the Hungarian revolution in 1956, Gereben emigrated to Switzerland. He was awarded the IM title in 1950. 
    As for the game itself, like the game in the preceding post, it represents the evils of having not castled in an open position. Spielmann’s sacrifice lead to an attack against the exposed King whose defending pieces were largely undeveloped and somewhat scattered left him with excellent attacking chances. As is often the case, the defender was not up to the task of defending which is often harder than attacking. As for Spielmann’s notes in the book, let’s just say he didn’t have Stockfish and leave it at that. 
    Shootouts are mentioned in the analysis. As a reminder, this is a feature in the Fritz program in which an engine play out the rest of the game. It’s useful to test different engines by letting them play out a tactical, strategic or endgame position at different depths, but it’s also useful for analysis purposes to see what the potential outcome might be. 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Sopron"] [Site "Sopron HUN"] [Date "1934.09.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Erno Gereben"] [Black "Rudolf Spielmann"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D94"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "1934.??.??"] {D95: Gruenfeld Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 {Although played as far back as 1855, this defense only became popular after Ernst Gruenfeld began playing it in 1922.} 4. e3 {White has the possibility of 4.cxd5 which gives him an imposing Pawn center which black will try to attack. The move played is usually a quiet backwater variation.} Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd2 c6 7. Qb3 b6 { At the time this game was played black usually played 7...dxc4, but Spielmann thought this move was probably better, Today black usually plays 7...e6. There is not much difference between any of the moves.} 8. cxd5 cxd5 9. Rc1 {Simpler 9 B-K2 and 10 0-0} Bb7 10. Ne5 Nfd7 11. Nxd7 {Spielmann was critical of this move because it gives away two tempi and his recommendation was 11.f4. He wrote that because black has gained two tempi, it is not far fetched for him to think of sacrificing his d-Pawn in order to gain still more tempi. He reminded reader that in open positions, three tempi are approximately worth a Pawn. What does Stockfish say? The text results in equality, but 11.f4 gives white a slight advantage.} (11. f4 Nxe5 12. fxe5 f6 13. exf6 Bxf6 14. Bb5 Nc6 15. Qxd5+ Qxd5 16. Nxd5 {with a slight advantage.}) 11... Nxd7 {Playable was 11...Qxd7. Instead, black offers a P for development, Spielmann wrote that either acceptance of the sacrifice, or its refusal by an indifferent move, was too dangerous for White. And this was the basis of the subsequent sacrifice which was already under consideration when he played 11...Nxd7} 12. f4 { A defensive Pawn move, when his development is backward-. According to Spielmann this means the loss of another tempo, so black has already gained three tempi. This advantage, it is true, cannot be utilized in what is at present a close position. The following preventive sacrifice, however, opens up all lines at one stroke. Stockfish's suggested move is 12.f4 and its evaluation is 0.00.} e5 {This gets a ? from Stockfish which recommends either 12...Nf6 or 12...Rc8 with equality. After the text black is technically just a P down.} 13. fxe5 Nxe5 {This violent P breakthrough is the idea behind the P sacrifice! Since black is already at a disadvantage this sacrifice is probably the best practical choice.} 14. dxe5 d4 {With this move black creates oopen lines for his attack. Spielmann wrote the following: "The sacrifice of the N cannot be vindicated by analysis and it would possibly hav3 been refuted in a correspondence game. But in a contest over the board and with a time limit of eighteen moves an hour, it would nearly always win through." In that he is quite correct because a mistake by a defender is often more serious than a mistake by the attacker. Technically white's advantage is about two Ps. Black could play 14...Bxe5, but he must play ...d4 anyway now is the best time to play it.} 15. Nd1 {After this most of white's advantage disappears.} (15. exd4 {keeps a clear advantage.} Qxd4 16. Ne2 Qxe5 17. Bc3 {Materially white has a N vs.a P and there is no way for black to take advantage of the position of white's K in the center.}) 15... Bxe5 16. e4 {In order to close at least one of the center files. But this costs a P, so that black will already have two Ps for his piece and his attack remains just as strong. As correctly stated by Spielmann.} Bxe4 17. Nf2 Bd5 18. Qh3 {According to Spielmann white guards his g-Pawn in order to be able to develop his B. Unfortunately it further lessens white's advantage.} (18. Bc4 {develops a piece and keeps a slight advantage. Practically though calculating the best line and evaluationg the position OTB seems nearly impossible.} Bxg2 19. Rg1 Bb7 20. Kd1 Qf6 21. Ng4 Bf3+ 22. Be2 Bxg4 23. Rxg4 Bxh2 24. Qh3 Be5 25. Bd3 Qe6 26. Bc4 Qf5 27. Rh4 Qxh3 28. Rxh3 { According to Fritz and Stockfish white is clearly better...clearly?!}) 18... Qe7 {Naturally much stronger than capturing the a-Pawn.} (18... Bxa2 19. Bd3 Rc8 20. O-O Rxc1 21. Rxc1 {White is better.}) 19. Be2 {Spielmann called this the decisive mistake, but it actually results in equalit, He was correct in that the best defense is 19.Kd1 and white maintains only a slight advantage.} d3 {A sacrifice that gains space and after black's next move white is prevented from castling.} 20. Nxd3 Rfe8 21. Kf1 {[%mdl 8192] White is in a difficult position, but after this his position can be considered lost.} (21. O-O Bd4+ 22. Kh1 Qxe2 {is obviously bad.}) (21. Qe3 {looks ;ike a dangerous place to put the Q, but it's the best defense.} Qh4+ 22. g3 Bxg3+ 23. Qxg3 Qxg3+ 24. hxg3 Bxh1 25. Kf2 {with unclear complications. In Shootouts from this position white scored +1 -0 =4}) 21... Bxb2 {[%mdl 512] This is the best by far.} (21... Rad8 22. Qe3 Qb7 23. Nxe5 Bxg2+ 24. Kg1 Bxh1 25. Bf3 Bxf3 26. Qxf3 Qxf3 27. Nxf3 {Again, the position us unclear, vut in Shootouts white scored +0 -3 =2}) 22. Re1 Qf6+ 23. Nf2 {There is hardly anything else.} Bd4 24. Qg3 Re4 {[%mdl 128] This is a mistake that went unnoticed in Spielmann's book. Against the correct defense black's advantage would be minimal/} (24... Rxe2 { There is no need to get fancy.} 25. Kxe2 Bxf2 26. Qf4 Qxf4 27. Bxf4 Bxe1 28. Rxe1) (24... Re5 {keeps a winning position. After} 25. Bc3 (25. Rc1 Bxf2 {wins} 26. Qxf2 Rf5) 25... Bxc3 26. Qxc3 Rae8 27. Qc2 b5 28. h4 Bc4 29. g4 Rxe2 30. Rxe2 Rxe2 {and wins}) 25. h4 {[%mdl 8192]} (25. Rc1 $17 {was the crucial defense.} Rae8 26. Bf3 R4e7 27. h4 Be3 28. Bxe3 Rxe3 29. Ng4 Qb2 30. Nxe3 Qxc1+ 31. Nd1 Bxf3 32. Qxf3 Rd8 33. Kf2 {and in practical play white might be able to draw. In Shootouts white scored +0 -3 =2}) 25... Rae8 26. Bb5 Rxe1+ 27. Bxe1 Re3 {Best. He could also have won with 27...Rxe1+, but this winds up the game, too.} (27... Rxe1+ 28. Kxe1 Bxf2+ 29. Qxf2 Qa1+ 30. Kd2 Qxh1 {with a long ending in view.}) 28. Qg5 Rxe1+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} 29. Kxe1 Qxf2+ 30. Kd1 Bxg2 31. Re1 Bf3+ 32. Be2 Bc3 33. Bxf3 Qxf3+ 34. Kc2 Bxe1 35. Qd8+ Kg7 {White resigned} 0-1

Friday, September 13, 2024

A Pleasing Miniature by Gromer

    
Aristide Gromer (April 11, 1908 i0 July 6, 1964) was a rather obscure Master who won the Frencj Championship in 1933, 1937 and 1938. When WWII broke out in September of 1939, along with many other participants of the Chess Olympiad, he decided to stay permanently in Argentina. Most of what is known about Gromer is due to the efforts of chess historian Edward Winter and you can read his excellent post on Gromer HERE.
    The following entertaining miniature win was played against Franciszek Sulik (1908-1977) who was born in Gliniany, Austria-Hungary, later Lwow, Poland and now Ukraine. He played as a reserve on the Polish team at the the 8th Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires in 1939. The team (Tartakower, Najdorf, Frydman, Regedzinski and Sulik) won the silver medal. 
    In September 1939, when WWII broke out, he also decided to stay in Argentina. In 1940 he moved to Australia where he won the South Australian Championship in 1954, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978. 

  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Buenos Aires"] [Site "Buenos Aires"] [Date "1940.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Aristide Gromer"] [Black "Franciszek Sulik"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C48"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "1940.??.??"] {C48: Four Knights Game} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 {Even when this game was played in 1940 the Four Knights Game was a throwback to they days before World War One when it was popular. Though there are some sharp variations, it usually leads to quiet positional play. Not in this game though.} Nc6 4. Bb5 ( 4. Nxe5 {This is the dubious Halloween Gambit in which white tries to seize the center with his Ps and drive the Ns back to their home squares.} Nxe5 5. d4 Ng6 (5... Nc6 6. d5 Bb4 7. dxc6 Nxe4 8. Qd4 Qe7 {According to GM Larry Kaufman this reutes the gambit, but black's advantage is only minimal.}) 6. e5 Ng8 7. Bc4 d5 8. Bxd5 N8e7 9. Bg5 c6 10. Bb3 h6 11. Be3 Nf5 {is the engine refutation. }) 4... Bc5 5. Nxe5 {White usually castkesm, but here this move is, inlike last move, quite playable because of black's B on c5.} Bxf2+ {But this move, which has been unsuccessfully played several times, is unsoubd as black doies not have enough pieces in play to take advantage of the position od white's displaced K.} (5... Nxe5 6. d4 {Unlike in the previous variation this attacks two pieces so that after} a6 7. Be2 Bd6 8. dxe5 Bxe5 {the position is equal.}) 6. Kxf2 {[%mdl 32]} Nxe5 7. d4 Neg4+ {Safer would have been 7...Ng6} 8. Kg1 { One can see the appeal of black's strategy: white's R is hemmed in by his K and with his next move black drives back the B. The situation is only temporary as white already has a decisive advantahe. How? Gromer will demonstrate.} c6 9. Be2 d6 10. h3 Nh6 {Now black's N is awkwardly placed.} 11. Kh2 {Brilliant! This is even better than capturing the N.} (11. Bxh6 gxh6 12. Qd2 Qe7 13. Qf4 d5 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Kh2 {Here, too, white's advantage proved decisive. Barbosa,E (2446)-Ayala Pena,E (2190) Katowice POL 2014}) 11... Nhg8 (11... Qe7 {proved no better in Reichardt,H-Mayer,F Dresden 2001 which continued} 12. Qd3 Be6 13. Re1 O-O-O 14. b4 Nfg4+ 15. Kg1 {and white soon won.}) 12. Rf1 {So, the R is in play and white's K is safe after all.} h5 {A futile attempt to get the N safely back in play, but there was really nothing that is much better.} (12... d5 13. e5 Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Bc4 {and with his J in the center the attack on f7 is too much for black to handle. }) 13. Kh1 {The reason for this is umclear, but his position is so good that it does no harm.} Nh6 14. Bg5 Qa5 15. Qd2 Nhg8 {Clearly the idea behind 12... h5 didn't work!} (15... Be6 {does not work out well after} 16. Rxf6 gxf6 17. Bxh6 O-O-O 18. Bf4 Rhg8 19. d5 cxd5 20. Nxd5 Qxd2 21. Bxd2 Bxd5 22. exd5 { and white's two Bs for the R coupled with black's weak Ps are sufficient to secure the win.}) 16. b4 {A nice sacrifice of a P to clear the way for the advance of his e-Pawn.} Qxb4 17. e5 {Ripping the guts out of black's position.} Nh7 (17... dxe5 18. dxe5 Nd7 19. Rab1 Qa3 20. Bc4 f6 21. exf6 gxf6 22. Rbe1+ Kd8 23. Bxf6+ Ngxf6 24. Rxf6 {White has a winning attack. A sanmple line...} Qc5 25. Bf7 Rf8 26. Ne4 Qe7 27. Rh6 Rxf7 28. Nd6 Qxe1+ 29. Qxe1 Rf8 30. Rh7 Kc7 31. Ne8+ Rxe8 32. Qxe8) 18. Ne4 Qxd2 {This allows mate in 4, not that it matters.} (18... Nxg5 19. Qxg5 Be6 20. Qxg7 O-O-O 21. Nxd6+ Kb8 22. Rab1 Qa3 23. Rxf7 Bxf7 24. Qxf7 {wins}) 19. Nxd6+ Kd7 20. Rxf7+ {Black resigned.} (20. Rxf7+ Ne7 21. Rxe7+ Kd8 22. Nf7#) 1-0

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

King in the Center

    
Irving Chernev once warned his readers that if you delay castling and your King remains in the center, you can be sure that files will open up against it, Bishops will slash at it, eventually Rooks will dominate the seventh rank and Pawns will turn into Queens. 
    This situation arises when a player simply neglects or de;ays castling or the King is either no longer able to castle or has been driven by the opponent away from the castling area. When that happens,im general, problem involved are identical. 
    Of course there are exceptions and a King has lost the right to castle does not always justify undertaking a mating attack. For a mating attack to be feasible, the loss of castling must also involve the exposure of a King that is vulnerable. 
    In the case of an uncastled King other problems can also arise, e.g. communication between the Rooks is more difficult. In that case the struggle for control of an open file is made more difficult.
 
 
    Who was Tartaower’s opponent? Robert Frentz was sometimes listed as Maurice Frentz which may have been his middle name. Beyond that there seems to be no information on him. He was French and appears in a group photo at the bottom of the page HERE
    The following game is included in Chernev’s book, The Most Instructive Games Ever Played, and a good choice it is...Tartakower packs a lot of instruction into the game. 

  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Paris"] [Site "?"] [Date "1933.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Savielly Tartakower"] [Black "Robert Frentz"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A18"] [Annotator "Massie,Jasmes"] [PlyCount "69"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.09.10"] {A18: English Opening} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. e5 d4 { This line is relatively unexplored and black has an interesting option in 5... Ne4.} 6. exf6 dxc3 7. fxg7 cxd2+ 8. Bxd2 Bxg7 9. Qc2 (9. Bc4 {This is a viable option. The position of black's K looks shaky, but his defensive resources are sufficient so it may be said the chances are equal.} O-O 10. Ne2 Nc6 11. O-O Ne5 12. Bb3 {Krysa,L (2538)-Zacarias,M (2182) Asuncion PAR 2023/ After 12... Bg4 the position would be equal.}) (9. Bb5+ {is another good option. After} c6 10. Qe2+ Be6 11. Bc4 Qe7 12. Bxe6 Qxe6 13. Qxe6+ fxe6 14. O-O-O {Neither side can claim any advantage. Batsiashvili,N (2477)-Antolak,J (2387) Bydgoszcz POL 2022}) 9... Nc6 {Other reasonable moves have been tried here: 9...Qe7+, 9... O-O and 9...B36. All of them are good for equality as is the text.} 10. Nf3 Bg4 {Black is neglecting the safety of his K. Chernev recommended 10...Bd7 intending to castle Q-side, but that does not seem to work out too well.} ( 10... Bd7 11. O-O-O Qe7 12. Re1 Be6 13. Ba6 {with slightly the better of it.}) (10... Be6 11. Ba6 bxa6 {Best} 12. Qxc6+ Bd7 13. Qc5 {Here, too, white is better.}) (10... Qe7+ {This is black's best as chances are fairly equal after} 11. Be2 O-O) 11. O-O-O Bxf3 {Correct was 11...Qf6! after which there are numerous possibilities, but all seem to lead to equality. Here is a line suggested by Komodo Human...} (11... Qf6 12. Bg5 Bh6 13. h4 Bxf3 14. gxf3 Bxg5+ 15. hxg5 Qxg5+ 16. Kb1 Kf8 17. Bh3 Rd8 {with equal chances.}) 12. gxf3 { White now has a distinct advantage.} Nd4 {Chernev claimed this attacking move is unjustified in view of the dangers facing his exposed K. However, it is the best black has.} 13. Qe4+ Qe7 14. Qxe7+ Kxe7 {Even after the exchange of Qs white remains with a strong initiative and black's K in the center is still in danger.} 15. Bb4+ Ke8 {This move is as good as any.} 16. Bb5+ {[%mdl 512]} c6 17. Rhe1+ {Every one of white's pieces are involved in the attack!} Ne6 (17... Kd8 {would have allowed black to keep fighting, but OTB the ramifications would be hard to calculate.} 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Bc5 Re8 20. Rxe8+ Kxe8 21. Bxd4 Bxd4 22. Rxd4) 18. Bc4 Rd8 19. Bxe6 {Very nice! Tartakower does not hold on to the two Bs. There is no mating attack, so he transposes into a won endgame.} Rxd1+ 20. Kxd1 fxe6 21. Rxe6+ {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRB-KRB} Kd8 22. Re7 { White has a R on the 7thg rank, black's K in confined to the 8th rank and his R is pretty much useless. White's advantage is decisive.} Bxb2 23. Rxb7 Bd4 { An interesting position. Chernev sums up the situation very well when he pointed out that black's B protects the a-Pawn and the R protects the h-Pawn, so Tartakower solves the prblem with a problem-like move.} 24. Bc5 {[%mdl 512] A pretty move which wins the a-Pawn. It's obvious the B cannot be taken because of Rb8+ winning the R.} Kc8 (24... Be5 25. Rxa7 {Of course the h-Pawn is immune, so...} Bb8 26. Bd4 Rg8 27. Rxh7 {White wins. Note that black cannot move his R off the 8th rank...} Rg2 28. Rh8+ Kc7 29. Be5+) 25. Rxa7 (25. Bxd4 { is less effective, but it would still win.} Rd8 26. Rb4 c5 27. Rc4 Kb7 28. Rxc5 Rxd4+ 29. Ke2 Rh4 30. Ke3 Rxh2 31. f4 h5 32. f5 h4 33. f6 h3 34. f7) 25... Kb8 26. Bxd4 {Black will win the B back, but in the meantime white picks up the h-Pawn.} Rd8 27. Rxh7 Rxd4+ {There can be little doubt that this is an easy win for white and so black could resign in good conscience.} 28. Ke2 Ra4 29. h4 {[%mdl 32]} Rxa2+ 30. Ke3 Kc8 {The K is headed for the K-side in a futle effort to hold up the white Ps.} (30... c5 {is an equally useless try.} 31. h5 c4 32. h6 c3 (32... Ra6 33. Rh8+ Ka7 34. h7 Rh6 35. Kd4 Rh4+ 36. Kc3 Rh3 37. Kxc4 Rxf3 38. Rg8) 33. Rg7 c2 34. Kd2) 31. h5 Kd8 32. h6 Ke8 33. Rc7 Kf8 34. h7 Ra3+ 35. Kf4 {Black resigned} 1-0

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Decisive Games

    
Vacation is over and now it’s back to the routine. Roanoke, Virginia is a nice place, but the trip back home was marred by a truck throwing a stone into my windshield, cracking it and causing it to have to be replaced. 
    Chess is not only about finding the best moves, but is is also a war of nerves. At the uooer levels especially being a fighter is often more important that always finding the best moves. 
    Back in the old days Emanuel Lasker was familiar with this fact and it was his great fighting spirit that explains how he managed to hold the World Championship for a quarter of a century. 
    In the early rounds of the great St. Petersburg 1914 tournament it was Capablanca who had the lead as he toppled one player after another. As a result the mighty Capablanca soon had what seemed like an insurmountable lead. Lasker was playing well, but he was trailing Capablanca until near the end when the two finally met. 

    Capablanca was content with a draw while Lasker had to win, so the natural course would have been to seek complications and take risks. Instead Lasker's approach was a subtle psychological one. He played for the early exchange of Queens and no doubt Capablanca must have relieved. But, then Lasker started to offer his opponent difficult choices. At first Capablanca’s choices only seem bad, but eventually they are bad. 
    

 Concerning the following game Lasker wrote: “The spectators followed the final moves breathlessly….(when) Capablanca turned over his King...(from) the several hundred spectators, there came such applause as I have never experienced in all my lite as a chess player. It was like the wholly spontaneous applause which thunders forth in the theater, of which the individual is almost unconscious."

  A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "St. Petersburg"] [Site "St. Petersburg RUE"] [Date "1914.05.18"] [Round "?"] [White "Emanuel Lasker"] [Black "Jose Capablanca"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C68"] [Annotator "Stockfiah 16"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "1914.04.21"] {[%evp 15,83,-12,-9,-43,-18,-43,-46,-77,-21,-24,-24,-24,11,14,16,18,76,75,66, 68,95,62,96,106,127,131,140,114,163,118,177,177,204,168,228,223,212,224,227, 193,242,223,252,227,231,254,457,436,500,492,527,517,516,510,609,603,678,669, 662,644,836,813,784,760,1549,1273,29980,29981,29979,29980] C68: Ruy Lopez: Exchange Variation} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 {In the Exchange Variation white's long term plan is to play d4. exchange all the pieces and win the pure Pawn ending. Lasker and Fischer used it with success.} dxc6 { Capturing with the c-Pawn gives white the advantage in the center.} 5. d4 exd4 6. Qxd4 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 Bd6 8. Nc3 Ne7 9. O-O {The main alternative is 9.Be3} O-O {Despite the exchange of Qs, the is plenty oof tension. Black's Q-side P=majority is practically worthless because of the doubled Ps, but he ahgs the two Bs. As a result, Lasker has the psychological situation he wanted...a position full of tension.} 10. f4 Re8 11. Nb3 {Prevents Bc5+.} f6 {In the old pre-engine days it was believed that this move created a weakness at e6 which later became disasterous. While it's true that later e6 is a weakness, at this time there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.} 12. f5 {Well played! True it leaves white with a backward e-Pawn, but more importantly, it leaves black with some developmental difficulties. Even so, the position is still quite equal.} b6 13. Bf4 Bb7 14. Bxd6 cxd6 {Old annotators considered that from this point the game may be considered lost for black because his Q-side Ps are weak and his pieces are in each other's way. In fact, the position is dead even.} 15. Nd4 Rad8 {The first tiny slip. 15....Bc8 keeps the N out of e6} 16. Ne6 Rd7 17. Rad1 {White has just a smidgen of an advantage.} Nc8 18. Rf2 b5 {The start of a bad plan. Best was 18...d5} 19. Rfd2 {[%mdl 32]} Rde7 {Lasker now has the advantage and it is very instructive to see how he builds up a won game. Black can undertake very little.} 20. b4 {A preparation for the ultimate opening of the a-file.} Kf7 21. a3 {[%mdl 32]} Ba8 {An indication that black is short of ideas!} 22. Kf2 Ra7 23. g4 $18 h6 24. Rd3 a5 25. h4 axb4 26. axb4 Rae7 { Because black has no mobility, the open file is useless to him.} 27. Kf3 Rg8 28. Kf4 g6 29. Rg3 g5+ 30. Kf3 Nb6 {At this point black is theoretically lost, but this move sets a little trap which Lasker ignores.} 31. hxg5 (31. Rxd6 Nc4 32. Rd8 Rxd8 33. Nxd8+ Kg8 {White is better, but at least black has a bit of play.}) 31... hxg5 32. Rh3 {The decisive invasion of black's position.} Rd7 33. Kg3 {Preparing for his 35th move, when his King must be off the diagonal.} Ke8 34. Rdh1 Bb7 {He is helpless about what is coming invasion.} 35. e5 {After this the stored up energy of white's position explodes with terrific effect.} dxe5 36. Ne4 Nd5 37. N6c5 Bc8 {A good alternative was 37...Resigns} 38. Nxd7 Bxd7 39. Rh7 Rf8 40. Ra1 Kd8 41. Ra8+ Bc8 42. Nc5 {Black resigned. Nearly flawless play by Lasker.} 1-0

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Surprise Attack

    
International Master, author and publisher Al Horowitz wrote that in chess a surprise is, “nothing but logic that packs a wallop." However, when it comes to playing over games for enjoyment as opposed to actually studying them, we chess enthusiasts are more interested in the wallop than the logic. 
    Some surprise moves come early, some late. But, whenever they emerge it’s when they do so in an unlikely scenario that makes them really entertaining. That’s what we see in this game where a dull Caro-Kann opening suddenly erupts into an attack involving a series of sparkling threats. 
    Reuben fine is well known, but his opponent, Mario Monticelli (1902-1995, 93 years old), is pretty much forgotten. He was born in Venice and passed away in Milan. He was awarded the International Master (IM) title in 1950 and the Honory Grandmaster title in 1985. 
    The featured game was played in the 1934 Syracuse, New York International. The tournament that was organized as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the New York State Chess Association and it was played in the Hotel Onondaga; the hotel was demolished in 1970 to make way for a new office building. 
    The time control was 36 moves in two hours, followed by 18 moves in one hour. The games were begun at 7:00 P.M. with adjournments scheduled to be played the next day. To fit 15 rounds into a 13 day schedule, extra afternoon rounds were added. Originally the tournament had 16 players, but Isador Turover withdrew after losing to Arthur Dake in the first round and the game was canceled. 
    Besides Monticelli, the foreign players invited were Captain J. J. Araiza of Mexico and Robert E. Martin of Canada. It had been hoped that Alekhine or Capablanca would play, but they were unavailable. 
    Robert E. Martin (1910-1978) is virtually unknown today. He won the Canadian championship in 1933 and was the Canadian Correspondence champion in 1946 and Jose Joaquin Araiza Munoz (1900-1971) was Mexico's leading player until the arrival of Carlos Torre. His best tournament was 3rd place at Mexico 1932 behind Alekhine and Kashdan. He was Mexican Champion in 1957.
 
 
    Early on Abraham Kupchik kept within a striking distance of Reshevsky, but after his only loss, to Horowitz, his play weakened and he only managed to take fifth prize. By winning the tournament, which followed closely on the heels of his triumph in the Western Chess Association Tournament in Chicago, Reshevsky pretty much asserted himself as the leading American player. 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Syracuse"] [Site "?"] [Date "1034.09.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Mario Montecelli"] [Black "Reuben Fine"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B18"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "42"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.09.02"] {B18: Caro-Kann} 1. e4 c6 {Watch how quickly a rather dull opening turns into a livelt attacking game.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 e6 7. Bc4 {Although frequently played, the B is not very useful here.} (7. h4 h6 8. Ne5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 {is more avtive, but even here the position holds little promise for either side.}) 7... Nf6 8. Qe2 Nbd7 9. Ne5 (9. Bb3 a5 10. a4 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Nh4 Qb6 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. Be3 {is completely equal. Akopian,G (2235)-Ivanchuk,V (2705) Yerevan 2004}) (9. c3 Be7 10. Nh4 Nd5 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Ne4 {equals. Nezar,M (2417)-Feller,S (2478) Differdange 2007}) 9... Nxe5 10. dxe5 Nd7 (10... Nd5 11. O-O Be7 12. Bb3 Qc7 13. c4 Nb4 14. Rd1 Rd8 {lead to a quick draw in Yin Hao-Berescu,A Bratislava 1993}) 11. f4 Bc5 12. Bb3 {This move appears quite natural, but it results in black gaining a slight advantage on the Q-side. White should have played 12.Bd2 with a completely equal position.} a5 {With this move, which is difficult to meet satisfactorily, black establishes a slight plus.} 13. a4 {It would have been sonewhat better to establish a way for the B to retreat to the b1-h7 diagonal with either 13. c3 or 13. Bc4. As it is the B has no future on its current diagonsl.} Qb6 14. Bd2 O-O-O 15. Nf1 {[%mdl 8192] This move is harmless and shuts in the R. 15. O-O-O would have left black wih no more than the initiative. Instead, now black unleashes a powerful attack.} Bb4 {It may ne surprising, but after this black is winning!} 16. O-O-O (16. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 17. Qd2 (17. Nd2 Nc5 18. O-O-O Qxf4 19. Ba2 Qxa4) 17... Qb6 18. Qe3 Nc5 19. Ng3 Qb4+ 20. Qc3 Nxb3 21. Qxb4 axb4 22. cxb3 Rd3 {Black has a winning position.}) 16... Nc5 {[%mdl 32]} 17. Qf3 Rd3 {Surprise!} 18. cxd3 Nxb3+ 19. Kc2 (19. Kb1 Rd8 20. Bxb4 Qxb4 21. Ng3 Rxd3 {with a clear win.}) 19... Bc5 (19... Nd4+ {Of course, this was even better.} 20. Kb1 Nxf3 21. gxf3 Bxd3+) 20. Qh3 Nd4+ 21. Kc1 Qb3 {White resigned. . It's mate in 8.} (21... Qb3 22. Kb1 Qxd1+ 23. Bc1 Qc2+ 24. Ka2 Qb3+ 25. Ka1 Nc2+ 26. Kb1 Nb4 27. Qxe6+ fxe6 28. Bd2 Bxd3+ 29. Kc1 Qc2#) 0-1