He courteous moved alike to each and all
He never sought with scathing words to sting
Demeanor just the same to great and small
The dignity that's said to hedge a king
Was nature's gift to him, and to his pail
That attribute of our dead friend will cling
How truly these words apply to himself,
and with what melancholy
pathos they are now invested.
Walter Spens (February 1, 1842 - July 13, 1900, 58 years old) wrote those lines in 1891, on the death of the great Scottish player Captain George Mackenzie.
Spens, the 1894 Scottish Champion, was born in Glasgow and passed away in Edinburgh. In 1870, a Glasgow Sheriff who was a strong player and an important figure in Glasgow chess circles, appointed Spens as a Sheriff-Substitute. Spens was known there as the "boy-sheriff" because he was only 28 years old. He wrote a number of important legal works, some of which showed his interest in social conditions, the poor, and the interests of workers.
In Scotland a sheriff is a judge who presides over cases in the sheriff court. Sheriffs handle a variety of cases, including debts, contract disputes, bankruptcy and family matte
In 1882, Spens became chess editor of the Glasgow Weekly
Herald and in his column many of his chess problems were published. In1884, he was mainly instrumental in forming the Scottish Chess Association. He was always a liberal supporter of the game, and in this respect when he passed away editorials claimed that chess in Scotland had lost its life and soul.
It was said Spens loved the game for the pleasure that came as a reward for playing it, but he regarded it as an amusement and a recreation from more serious pursuits. A good attitude, I think.
Although considered a strong player, in gua obituary the British Chess Magazine noted that “he hardly did himself justice as a tournament player (even though) he won several important national prizes.” Chess metrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been 2375 in 1867. While that rating os rather modest it paced him in the world’s top 25 and in a group of better known players of the day such as Eugene Rousseau and James Mortimer.
His style of play was positional, but he was always on the alert for brilliant tactics and pretty endin. However,he was not adverse to taking risks and sometimes losy games a more careful player woulf have won.
The following game was played in a match against a player about whom I could not locate any information. The game, which won Spens a Brilliancy Prize, does not appear in any databases of his games, but it was published in the September 1900 issue of the British Chess Magazine. While hardly brilliant, we get to see the tactical side of Spens’ play and the game is entertaining.
[Event "Match, Dundee, Scotland"] [Site "?"] [Date "1900.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "H.J. Thomas"] [Black "Walter Spens"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "1900.??.??"] {B00: Double Fianchetto Defense} 1. e4 b6 2. d4 g6 {Hypermodern play long before Nimzovich.} 3. c4 (3. h4 {Interesting!} h5 4. Bd3 Bg7 5. c3 Bb7 6. Bg5 d6 7. Nd2 Nd7 8. f4 {is about equal. Bacrot,E (2659)-Sherman,R (2126) chess. com INT 2023}) 3... Bg7 4. Nc3 e5 {Premature. Probably his best was 4...Bb7} ( 4... Bb7 5. Be3 d6 6. Be2 Nd7 7. f3 c6 {White is better. Chan,M (2294)-Wong Meng Leong (2219) Singapore 1999}) 5. d5 {White's [lan is tp keep the position closed and engineer an attack against black's K. but opening up the position was a better idea.} (5. dxe5 Bxe5 6. Qc2 {Black is going to have to waste a tempo returning his B to g7.} Bg7 7. Be3 Bb7 8. O-O-O {with the more active position.}) 5... d6 6. Bd3 Ne7 7. g4 {Very bold!} Nd7 8. b4 {More to the point would have been 8.h4} O-O {Mills correctly thought this was risky and suggested ...a6 and ...b5 followed by ...Nc5} 9. h4 Nf6 (9... f5 {This crazy move is something only an engine would suggest!} 10. gxf5 a5 11. fxg6 axb4 12. gxh7+ Kh8 13. Nb5 Nc5 14. Bg5 Qd7 15. h5 c6 16. dxc6 Nxc6 17. Be2 Nxe4 { And Stockfish informs us that black is clearly better. I will have to take the engine's word for it.}) 10. f3 h5 11. Bg5 c6 12. Qe2 {White could have tried 12.dxc6 and then opening up the g-file with 13/gxh6} a5 13. b5 $16 cxd5 14. exd5 {[%mdl 8192] With this move white inadvertently exposes his own K.} (14. Nxd5 Nexd5 15. cxd5 {and white has only a slight advantage.}) 14... e4 { Very nice! Thus gives black active play on the dark squares and the e-file.} 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bxe7 Bc3+ (16... Qxe7 {was a bit more advantageous/} 17. Rc1 Re8 18. Bxe4 {and now...} f5 19. gxf5 gxf5 20. Qd3 (20. Bd3 Qd8) 20... fxe4 21. fxe4 Qxe4+ 22. Qxe4 Rxe4+ 23. Kf2 Bg4 {with a easy win.}) 17. Kd1 Qxe7 (17... Bxa1 {might be tempting, but white equalizes with} 18. Qxe4 Qc7 19. Bxf8 Kxf8) 18. Rb1 Nf2+ 19. Qxf2 hxg4 20. Kc2 (20. fxg4 Bxg4+ 21. Kc2 Bb4) 20... Qf6 21. Qg3 Be5 22. Qg2 Ba1 {Intending ...Qc3+} 23. Qd2 g3 {As strong as this might look it is actually a mistake that allows white to equalize. Even so, had black played the correct 23///Re8 the complications would have been enormous and beyond calculating over the board.} (23... Re8 {maintains a solid advantage.} 24. Ne2 (24. fxg4 {but not this/} Bxg4 25. Ne2 Rxe2 26. Bxe2 Bf5+ 27. Bd3 Rc8 {Black is winning.} 28. Rxa1 Rxc4+ 29. Kb3 Qd4) 24... Bf5 25. Rxa1 Rac8 26. Bxf5 Rxc4+ 27. Kd3 Rxe2 28. Kxe2 Qxf5 {White's extra R is meaningless! } 29. Qe3 Qc2+ 30. Ke1 gxf3 31. Qxf3 Qb2 32. Rd1 Qe5+ 33. Kd2 Rf4 34. Qe3 Re4 35. Qf3 Qxd5+ 36. Kc2 Qxa2+ 37. Kd3 Qd5+ 38. Kc2 Rc4+ 39. Qc3 Qe4+ 40. Kb2 Rxc3 41. Kxc3 Qb4+ 42. Kc2 a4 {The ending is won for black/}) 24. Ne2 {White may have equalized, but his position is difficult to play.} Be5 {Black's position is not so easy to play either. In fact, the B should have stopped on d4 because with his next move white actually has a bit of an advantage.} 25. f4 g2 {This is an outright error.} (25... Bd4 {keeps fighting.} 26. Nxg3 Bg4 27. h5 { After this it's clear that white's sudden counterattack gives him the initiative.} Rae8 28. hxg6 Re3 29. Qh2 Rc8 30. Qh7+ Kf8 31. Qh6+ Qg7 32. Qxg7+ Bxg7 33. Rbg1 f5 34. Kd2 Rf3 {A very complicated situation that is in black's favor.}) 26. Rh2 Bd4 27. Rxg2 Bc5 28. h5 Bf5 29. Rg5 (29. Bxf5 {was considerably better.} Qxf5+ 30. Qd3 Qxd3+ 31. Kxd3 Kg7 {A very complicated ending. White scored 5-0 in long, tedious Shootouts/}) 29... Bb4 {It would have been better to trade Bs and then play ...Re8} 30. Qd1 Rfc8 31. Kb3 { This results in the advantage changing hands agaun...for the last time.} (31. Bxf5 $11 {and White has nothing to worry.} Rxc4+ 32. Kd3 Rxf4 33. Nxf4 Qxg5 34. Qg4 Qxf5+ 35. Qxf5 gxf5 36. Rg1+ Kh8 37. Rg5) 31... Re8 {[%mdl 128]} 32. Bxf5 { White has totally collapsed.} (32. Rg3 {was the crucial defense.} Rxe2 33. Bxe2 Bxb1 34. Qxb1 Qxf4 35. Rf3 {Here black has only one move that wins!} Qd2 36. Qc2 (36. Bd1 a4#) 36... a4+ 37. Kb2 Ba3+ 38. Kb1 Qb4+ 39. Ka1 Re8 40. hxg6 f5 41. Rxf5 Rxe2 42. Qxe2 Qc3+ 43. Kb1 Qc1#) 32... Rxe2 33. Qd3 a4+ 34. Kxb4 Rb2+ 35. Ka3 Rxb1 36. Qc2 Qd4 $1 {[%mdl 512] White resigned. Ot's mate in 4. This game earned Spens a Brilliancy Prize. While the game may not have been [erfect there are a lot of hidden points that make it interesting.} 0-1
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