Today is such a day and I could not believe the phone call we got from our nephew who us a senior in high school. School was canceled today owing to the nasty weather, but he needs a ride because his basketball coach wants the players to come to school for practice! How does he expect 15-17- year olds, most of whom ride a school bus, to get to practice?! There is something wrong with the man!
I’m done with the rant.
As a teenager I played in the Correspondence Chess League of America and remember seeing the name William N. Woodbury (February14-1886 – April 11,1979, 93 years old) in the Chess Correspondent.
In the early 1900’s he was president and champion of the National Correspondence Chess Association.
Woodbury was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and learned to play chess from his father, with whom he progressed gradually from accepting the odds of a Queen to giving his father Rook odds.
He only took up chess seriously when he entered Yale in 1904 and he was chess team’s captain in 1905 and 1906. Woodbury gave credit for much of his improvement during that time to Rev. Edward B. Adams (1878-1972) who had been once been the Yale chess champion before ending up in San Diego, California.
Adams was born in Westport, Connecticut died in Pasadena, California. He was a member of the Marshall Chess Club in the 1920s and 1930s. He was the President of the Brooklyn Institute Chess Club in the 1930s. Adams frequently competed in the New York State Championship.
Woodbury had considerable success as a correspondence player. His first experience in was with the Pillsbury National Correspondence Chess Association and he won their 11th tournament shortly before that organization ceased to exist. After that he played in several other correspondence tournaments sponsored by other organizations.
Woodbury never played a very large number of correspondence games simultaneously and never aspired to match the achievements of some of the dyed-in-the-wool enthusiasts who played 60 or 70 games at a time!
W.R. Pratt–William Woodbury0–1C59Correspindence Tournament1915Stockfisj 17
C59: Two Knights Defense 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.c4 f6 4.g5 d5 5.exd5 a5 5...b5 was played in the famous game Yakov Estrin-Hans Berliner, ICCF, 1965 6.f1 d4 7.c3 xd5 8.e4 h4 9.g3 g4 10.f3 e4 11.cxd4 d6 12.xb5+ d8 hite is better, but Berliner went on to win a sensational game. 6.b5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.e2 h6 9.f3 e4 10.e5 d6 11.d4 0-0 After the game Woodbury wrote that 11...Qc7 was stronger because it leaves white uncertain as to how to continue. However, both the text and 11...exd3 are equally good. 12.c3 12.0-0 is usual. c7 13.d2 e6 14.a3 xe5 15.dxe5 xe5 White is better. Nguyen Anh Dung (2496)-Yu Shaoteng (2535) Budapest 2000 12...c7 A critical position. Woodbury was expecting 13.b4 12...c5 is an equally good alternative. 13.0-0 e6 14.a4 c7 equals. Sigfusson,S (2284)-Sipos,I (2254) Budapest 2001 13.f4 This is a serious mistake because it allows black develop a crushing attack against whit's K which finds itself stuck in the center. 13.b4 This was the move Woodbury was expecting; it results in equality after b7 14.c4 e8 15.xd6 xd6 16.0-0 13.0-0 is, of course, quite safe. c5 14.a3 a6 equals. 15.f4 13...exf3 14.xf3 g4 14...g4 is considerably more potent. 15.f1 15.h3 g3+ 16.f1 f2 15.0-0 xh2+ 16.h1 g3 is just awful for white. 15...e8 16.b4 b7 and white is facing a serious problem on account of the attack on h2. 15.bd2 Woodbury commented that from here on black's attack looks very string, but white defends so well that it requires "great delicacy" to win. Actually, this move is a losing one. Now that black's N can't go to g4 the attack on h2 is not as formidable and so white's best defense is to castle. 15.0-0 This is the only chance. fe8 16.h3 h5 17.bd2 c5 18.b5 e6 19.e1 Black's attack is at a standstill and so white has managed to equalize. 15...ae8 16.f1 e7 17.f2 c5 18.e3 d8 19.a4 cxd4 20.cxd4 f4 Black could win a P with ...Bxf3 and ...Bxh2. Instead Woodbury hits upom this clever move. 21.e1 There is no satisfactory answer to black's last move. 21.xg4 xg4+ 22.f1 xc1 B;ack is winning, 21.b5 runs into b8 22.e1 22.e5 xe5 22...xe5 23.dxe5 xe5 24.xa5 xe3+ 25.xe3 xb2+ 26.g3 e5+ 27.f2 e4+ 28.g1 xa1+ wins 23.dxe5 xe5 attacking two pieces. 22...xf3 23.xf3 g5 24.d5 xd5 25.xg5 hxg5 Whote has lost a piece. 21...xe3 22.xe3 e4+ 23.f1 xe3 24.d3 d2+ 24...g3 Offers the Q and looks like a clever sacrifice, but it would be a serious mistake because whiye does not have to take the Q. 25.e2 Now black's really is threatened and there is no effective followup so white has equalized. 25.hxg3? xg3# 25...f4 26.xe4 xe4 27.xa5 xf3 28.xd8+ h7 29.xe3 xe3 30.gxf3 xf3+ and the outcome is uncertain! 25.e2 f4 Threatening ...Bxf3 26.d1 ac4 This adds a N to the attack; not that it matters, but black had a forced mate with 26...Nxf3 26...xf3 27.gxf3 xf3+ 28.e2 h1+ 29.c2 c8+ 30.c4 xc4+ 31.xc4 c6 32.b3 xe2 33.d5 g6+ 34.c3 f6+ 35.c2 xa1 36.xe2 c1+ 37.d3 f5 38.f3 d2# 27.c2 c8 28.a6 Woodbury finishes the game with a nice problem-like move. xb2+ 29.xb2 xd4+ White resigned. it's mate in 3 29...xd4+ 30.xd4 xd4+ 31.a3 c3+ 32.b2 b4# 0–1
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