The Morphy Period

    When we think of Paul Morphy we think of a great tactical genius, but it was Morphy who introduced positional ideas that ended the age where playing brilliant sacrifices was the goal. Before Morphy sacrifices were made with great abandon, often without regard for their soundness. 

    Morphy changed the game because he was the first to understand and demonstrate strategic principles rather than premature attacks just for the sake of attacking. Nevertheless, he often conducted spectacular attacks and his games are full of brilliant sacrifices. 

    Morphy's first serious test in international play was his match against Johann Jacob Lowenthal (1810-1876) of Hungary. Between 1842 and1862 he was a member of the elite and he was capable of defeating the best players of his day. It’s interesting to see Frotz 19’s tactical analysis evaluation chart of this game. Ut shows that even Morphy was not perfect. He was outplayed positionally, but unfortunately for Lowenthal he couldn't put his opponent away and Morphy’s reputation of invincibility remained in tact for another game. See the Fritz 19 tactical analysis chart.  

 

    Chessmetrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been 2616 in 1859 and his best world rank to have been #2 on several occasions in 1858 and 1859. Morphy was rated over 100 points ahead of him. 

    By the way, it is important to note that these ratings do not equate to the equivalent rating of today. Ratings measure results, not ability. Naturally the strongest players have the best results, but a case in point was the infamous Claude F. Bloodgood III who, in 1996 as a prisoner in the Virginia State Penitentiary, manipulated his rating to over 2700 by holding rated tournaments containing a small pool of prison players. 

    On the rating list for 1858, Chess metrics assigns Lowenthal a rating of 2597 placing him at #2 in the world behind Morphy. In their match Morph scored a decisive victory with a score of +9 -3 =2. 

 

 

[Event "Match, London"] [Site ""] [Date "1858.07.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Paul Morphy"] [Black "Johann Loewenthal"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C30"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1858.07.19"] [Source "(London) Field, "] {C30: King's Gambit Declined} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 {This is the classical way to decline the gambit.} 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 Bg4 5. Bc4 Bxf3 {This unprovoked exchange has little to recommend it. Developing with 5...Nc6 is more logical.} 6. Qxf3 Nf6 (6... Nc6 7. b4 Bb6 8. b5 Na5 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7 10. fxe5+ Ke8 11. Rf1 Qe7 12. d4 g6 $4 13. Bg5 Qg7 14. Qh3 Ne7 15. Bf6 Qg8 16. e6 h5 17. Bxh8 Qxh8 18. Rf7 Bxd4 19. cxd4 Qxd4 20. Nc3 Nc4 21. Rd1 {1-0 Kosmac,B (2149)-Malnar,A (1918) Kranj op 1st 2004}) 7. b4 (7. d4 {leads to complications unfavorable to black after} exd4 8. e5 dxe5 9. fxe5 Qe7 10. Kd1 Nfd7 11. e6 fxe6 12. Qxb7 O-O 13. Qe4 {os equal/} (13. Qxa8 Nb6 14. Qe4 Nxc4 {with compensation for the exchange} )) (7. fxe5 dxe5 8. d3 O-O 9. Nd2 {with a solid position.}) 7... Bb6 8. d3 Nbd7 {White should now consider 9.Be3 eliminatiin that annoying B that is preventing him from playing O-O} 9. f5 {With this move white's center becomes immobile and, as a resukt, black is able to lainch a counterattack against it with ...d5. Also, as a result of the advance of the f-Pawn white can no longer open the f-file which would have given him attacking possibilities..} Qe7 10. g4 {With careful defense the coming Pawn advance on the K-side has no danger to black because of the aforementioned possinility of a counter in the center with ...d5} h6 (10... d5 {at once was also possible.} 11. Bb3 (11. exd5 { os forcefull met by} e4 {with a huge advantage.}) 11... h6 12. h4 O-O-O { White's advance on the K-side has come to nothing and hid K is not comfortable in the center.}) 11. Ke2 {This is just bad move because it leaves his K precariously y positioned.} (11. g5 {was worth a try, but after} hxg5 12. Bxg5 c6 13. Nd2 d5 {black has excellent play.}) 11... c6 {This is unnecessary preparation..} (11... d5 12. Bxd5 (12. exd5 {results in serious consequences after} e4) 12... Nxd5 13. exd5 {Now black cannot play ...e4 because the N on f6 has disappeared.} Nf6 14. Nd2 a5 (14... O-O {is too risky!} 15. g5 hxg5 16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 f6 {Black is OK, but he is still facing an attack against his K.}) 15. bxa5 Rxa5 {Black has switched operations to the Q-side and white can only play defensively.}) (11... a5 {White an immediate central advance does not accomplish much, this excellent move swutching attention to the Q-side keeps black's initiative going.} 12. bxa5 Bxa5 13. h4 d5 14. Bxd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Nf6 {is differnt than in the previous analysi because white can;t play Nd2} 16. Nd2 (16. g5 e4 17. dxe4 hxg5 18. Bxg5 Qxe4+ 19. Qxe4+ Nxe4 { with a distinct advantage.}) 16... Bxc3 17. Rb1 Rxa2) 12. g5 {Somewhat better would have been 12.h4} hxg5 13. Bxg5 d5 {[%mdl 512] Black now has a sizeable advantage and he can be optomistic about the future.} 14. Bb3 Qd6 15. Nd2 a5 { Excellent!} 16. bxa5 Rxa5 17. h4 Nh5 {[%mdl 32]} 18. Nf1 {This do nothing move is an indication that Morphy has been outplayed positionally.What's odd is that this N will meander back home to b1 and win the game!} Nc5 19. Bc2 Rb5 ( 19... Ra3 $142 {attacking the c-Pawn was even better. 20.Bd2 Ba5 White is positionally lost.} 20. Bd2 Ba5 {White is positionally lost.}) 20. Bc1 dxe4 ( 20... Ba5 {was even better.} 21. Bd2 Nf4+ 22. Ke1 Rb2 23. Kd1 dxe4 24. dxe4 b5 {White is about to get torn apart.}) 21. dxe4 {This is a critical position. After 21...Bf4 white can't leave the N there so has to exvhange it and that allows the R to go to b2 which should be enough to score the point.} Rb2 { [Loewenthal has played excellently until now, but this overzealous move allows white to turn the tables and now black lost.} (21... Nf4+ {would win.} 22. Ke1 (22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Nd2 Rb2 24. Rac1 Rxa2) 22... Ncd3+ {White has no hope.}) 22. Bxb2 Nf4+ 23. Ke1 {[%mdl 32]} Ncd3+ 24. Bxd3 Nxd3+ 25. Kd2 Nxb2+ 26. Kc2 { The N has to skedaddle if black wants to play on, so he should try 26...Nc4} Qa3 {Loewenthal has cpmpletely his way.} 27. Nd2 Bc7 28. Nb1 {[%mdl 64] Black resigned. After the Q retreat white picks up the N with 29. Kxb2} 1-0

Bogoljubow – Trott, a Rare Finish

 

    The annual Agnes Stevenson Memorial, an open event, was played in the 1950s and 1960s with Southsea being the venue from 1949 to 1952. Mrs. Stevenson was a British Ladies Champion who met an untimely end in 1935 when she accidentally walked into an airplane propeller. 

    The 1950 tournament was Arthur Bisguier's first international success in Europe and Jonathan Penrose created a sensation by defeating both Tartakower and Bogoljubow. His loss to Bisguier in the eighth round knocked him out of first into a tie for third place. 

    There's also an interesting anecdote concerning Tartakower that relates to a Wesley So incident when he was forfeited in the 2015 US Championship for writing noted on his scoresheet. I think things have gotten ridiculous; it’s not like So was analyzing on his scoresheet. Back in the old days players used to write down their move before making it; now, thanks to the nitpickers, it’s considered taking notes. 

    In TChess Masters on Winning Chess by Fred Reinfeld he wrote, “Tartakower had a fluent pen; he wrote voluminously, often annotating a game for a newspaper or magazine while he was playing it.” 

    Leonard Barden wrote that he witnessed Tartakower making notes during at least one game, at one or more of the Southsea tournaments of 1949, 1950 and 1951. Barden related that in Tartakower's game against Ravn at Southsea, 1951 he (Barden) was curious to see what Tartakower was writing and so crept up behind him and found there were copious notes in small writing on his scoresheet. He went on to say that apparently Tartakower had trouble reading his own notes because he pushed his glasses back on his forehead, squinted and peered closely at what he had written. Nobody objected though; Tartakower was a legend and besides, it wasn't considered consulting written material in those days. That would come many years later. 

 

 

    Bogoljubow's opponent in this game is A.H. Trott. Not a lot is available on Trott. He is referred to in an article in keverelchess. He was an alumni of the Alleyn School in London. The June, 1947 issue of the school magazine mentions that he was playing for the school's chess team. The July, 1951 wrote, “A.H. Trott (tn 1945-47-note: this is apparently a reference to the years he attended) has won the Southern Counties' Chess Championship by finishing first out of the British players in the recent Southsea Tournament. Both The Times and the Observer made favourable comments on his play.” This game where he was defeated by Bogoljubow has a rare finish. Trott's last move was a check and Bogoljubow replied with a move that delivered mate.

 

[Event "Southsea"] [Site ""] [Date "1950.04.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Efim Bogoljubov"] [Black "Arthur H. Trott"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {[%evp 17,78,-50,-39,-89,-98,-110,-56,-54,-10,-126,-18,-26,-27,-52,-48,-58,-34, -59,-64,-69,-73,-79,-62,-66,-62,-47,-65,-64,87,84,82,33,80,79,110,98,126,132, 149,64,118,109,128,113,113,103,174,174,164,178,149,180,319,287,691,663,778,762, 29993,29991,29995,29996,29999] B25: Closed Sicilian} 1. e4 c5 2. Ne2 Nc6 3. Nbc3 d6 4. g3 {In the Closed Sicilian white expands on the K-side without opening the center. Black has little difficulty in equalizing, yet white often gets attacking chances against an unwary opponent. Vasily Smyslov and Boris Spassky both contributed to the theory on this variation. Spassky’s treatment was more aggressive, very often playing with an early f4 followed by Nf3, while Smyslov was more cautious and preferred to develop his pieces with Be3 and Qd2 followed by Nge2. The Closed Variation has pretty much disappeared from the high level competition even though it is a solid line and it leads to a complicated and positional game. Still, at lower levels it is seen occasionally and it’s a good choice for white because most Sicilian players spend a lot of time trying to learn the main lines, but very little on sidelines.} g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. d3 e6 7. Nf4 {Very rare. White almost always castles or plays 7.Be3 here.} Nge7 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 {Another rare move. Moves like 9.h4, 9.h3, 9.Bd2 and 9.Nce2 have all been tried here. White can also try the precautionary 9.a3 to hinder a potential advance by black’s b-Pawn.} Rb8 {A reasonable idea, planning to expand on the Q-side.} 10. Nce2 b5 {White has not accomplished much out of the opening whereas black's Q-side play is underway.} 11. c3 Qa5 {This is unnecessary and the immediate 11...b4 was preferable.} 12. a3 b4 13. Bd2 {This withdrawal is a waste of time. It would have been better to play 13.cxb4 and after 13...cxb4 counter in the center with 14.d4} bxa3 {This is the wrong capture; taking the c-Pawn leaves white with two weak Ps.} 14. Rxa3 Qb6 15. Bc1 Bd7 16. Ra2 Rfc8 17. g4 Na5 18. h3 Nb3 19. Be3 e5 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 f5 {At the moment black can make no further progress on the Q-side, so he advances on the other side. However, he has no pieces on the K-side with which to support this advance and so in the end this advance is not likely to lead to much of anything even though it forces white to weaken his K-side. For his part, white’s pieces are not especially well placed to initiate K-side operations.} 22. gxf5 Bxf5 $2 {Better was 22...gxf5. Now white gets the initiative on the K-side.} (22... gxf5 23. f4 Kh8 {with some prospects on the g-file.}) 23. Ng3 Rf8 {After this black’s position begins a gradual slide downhill, but other moves seem no better.} 24. Kh2 Rb7 25. Rg1 Kh8 26. Ra3 Bd7 27. Ne4 {There is a storm brewing against black's K.} a5 28. Bf3 {The advance of his h-Pawn must have been in the back of Bogoljubow’s mind when he played this, but the straightforward advance of the h-Pawn would have been even stronger.} Be8 {Suddenly black has to shore up his K-side in view of the potential advance of the h-Pawn.} 29. Rg2 h6 30. Be2 {White pulls his B back because he wants to use the Q for something besides defending it.} a4 31. Qg1 Nd4 {This sacrifice ps not quite sound as black does not get nearly enough compensation in the form of play on the Q-side for it. At the same time, it’s hard to suggest a reasonable plan.} 32. cxd4 Qxb2 33. dxc5 Qxa3 34. Nxd6 Rb8 {Trott’s desire to save his R is understandable, but this leaves him clearly lost. What a pity because despite his difficult position Bogoljubow’s win is not a forgone conclusion.} (34... Qb2 {is trappy!} 35. Nxb7 a3 {White is forced to deal with the a-Pawn.} 36. Qc1 Qxe2 { and black has equalized.}) (34... Qb2 35. c6 {This is the correct response.} Bxc6 36. dxc6 Rc7) 35. Nxe8 Rfxe8 {As is often the case...wrong R! Taking with the other R was, accoring to engines, only half as bad, but still losing.} 36. Rxg6 Rg8 37. Qg4 e4 38. Qh5 Rge8 39. Bxh6 Be5+ 40. Bf4# {An unusual finish.} 1-0

Alekhine Shows No Mercy

    In 1915, World War One was going on and on the Western Front it was a war of attrition with both sides entrenched in what was a bew form if warfare...trench warfare. Along with it came another development, the German Army’s prolific us if poison gases such as chlorine, mustard, bromine and phosgene. 

    Chlorine gas can cause effects from mild irritation to severe and it can even be fatal.  Symptoms include eye, nose and throat irritation, cough, breathing problems, chest pain and lung damage. 

    Mustard gas is a blistering agent that causes severe burns and damage to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. It can lead to temporary or permanent blindness and in large concentrations it can cause death. 

    Bromine gas causes upper respiratory effects, cough, headache, central nervous system effects, skin loss and discoloration. 

    The immediate effect of phosgene is watering of the eyes. Subsequently, it causes a build up of fluid in the lungs that leads to death. It's estimated that 85% of the 91,000 gas deaths in WWI were a result of phosgene or a derivative. 

    As a kid there was an elderly hardware store owner who wasn’t quite right in the head and my mother said it was because he was gasses in WWI. Bromine gas’s effect on the central nervous system include extreme drowsiness, a strong desire for sleep or the tendency to fall asleep, seizures, the quick onset of confusion, disorientation, and difficulty focusing, thinking clearly, and remembering recent events. It can also cause a person's thinking, perception and behavior to be severely altered, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and what is not real. It's often characterized by hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thoughts and speech. 

    In 1915, Alexander Alekhine was confined prim agaarily to playing chess in Moscow and it was the year when he “played” his famous Five Queens Game against Nikolai Grigoriev. The game was actually composed, but Alejhine presented it as real. 

    The following game featuring a merciless attack by Alekhine was played in a First Category tournament in Moscow. In the Soviet Union players were classified using a system of categories rather than a numerical rating. It’s difficult to define exactly what a First Category player was, but a First Category player seems to have been what was also called a Candidate Master, or according to the USCF rating system an Expert which is one rank below Master (Elo 2200). 

 

[Event "1st Category tournament, Moscow"] [Site ""] [Date "1915.10.??"] [Round "?"] [White "G I Rabinovich"] [Black "Alexander Alekhine"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "James Massie"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "1915.??.??"] {C44: Ponziani Opening} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 {This ancient opening dates back to around the time Columbus landed in America. In 1904, Marshall wrote that there is no point in white's third move unless black plays badly and today it's rarely used except as a surprise. Black's main responses are 3... Nf6, leading to quiet play or 3...d5 leading to sharp play.} d5 4. Qa4 { This peculiar move breaks the rule about bringing the Q out early, but it's actually the Main Line. White indirectly threatens the P on e5 by pinning the N. Black must defend the P by 4...f6 or sacrifice a P by either 4...Bd7 (this is probably his best choice) or 4...Nf6} Nf6 (4... dxe4 {This is often seen, but it does not work out well for black/} 5. Nxe5 Qd5 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bc4 { White is better.}) 5. Nxe5 Bd6 6. exd5 {A poor choice, Better is 6.Nxc6 and 7. d4} Bxe5 7. dxc6 O-O 8. Be2 (8. d4 Bd6 9. Be3 Ng4 10. Nd2 Nxe3 11. fxe3 Qh4+ 12. Kd1 {Black is better.. Savchenko,B (2589) -Jakovenko,D (2720) Odessa 2008}) 8... Re8 9. d4 Bd6 10. Bg5 bxc6 (10... Qe7 11. Qd1 bxc6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. O-O Rb8 {wuth equal chances. Castellano Egea,E (2186)-Pinsach Gelabert,A (2138) Barcelona ESP 2014}) (10... h6 {This move assures black of a considerable advantage after} 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Qd1 Bg4 {and white is in serious trouble.}) 11. Nd2 Qe7 {Better was 11...Bg4 forcing white to play the weakening 12.f3} 12. Qc4 {Allowing the pin to continue was not a good idea. Blocking the e-file with 12.Be3 would have been much better.} a5 {[%mdl 1024] Threatening 13...Ba6} 13. Qd3 Bf5 {[%mdl 640] After this sockdolager white is in trouble.} 14. Qf3 ( 14. Qxf5 Qxe2#) 14... Qd7 {Another blow threatening 15...Bg4} 15. h3 Ne4 { Bringing the N into the action.} 16. Be3 (16. Nxe4 {is out od the question.} Bxe4 17. Qh5 g6 18. Qh6 Bxg2 19. Rg1 Bf3 {and black is winning}) 16... Nxd2 17. Kxd2 Rab8 {Even better would have been 17...Be4} 18. b3 c5 {Same as before.} 19. Bc4 cxd4 20. cxd4 c5 {This move, played with the idea of opening up the position, is not at all effective.} (20... Be4 21. Qg4 Bb4+ 22. Ke2 Bf5 23. Qf3 Rb6 {adding the R ti the action. Black is clearly better, but white can, at least, hope to defend himself.}) 21. d5 {This is an odd situation...normally keeping the position closed with a move like this would be a reasonable idea, but here opening up the position with 21. dac5 would actually jave been safer.} (21. dxc5 Bxc5+ 22. Ke2 Be4 23. Qf4 Bxg2 24. Rad1 {This is why opening up the position is white;s best defense; his R gets into play.} Qa7 25. Rhg1 {Black has ti be careful!} Bxe3 (25... Bc6 26. Rxg7+ Kxg7 27. Qg5+ Kh8 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Rg1+ {and it's white who is winning.}) 26. fxe3 {and white has managed tio achieve equality because by opening up the position his pieces have obtainsed considerable scope.}) 21... Be4 22. Qg4 {This loses quickly. SOmwhat better would have been 22.Qh5} (22. Qh5 Re5 23. Qh4 Rbe8 {All white can do is wait for the end.}) 22... f5 23. Qh4 Qb7 {It wonl't take long to dig out white's K.} 24. Bf4 ({and white gets hounded without mercy.} 24. Rad1 Qb4+ 25. Ke2 f4 26. Bxf4 Bxg2+ 27. Be3 Re4 28. Qg5 Bxh1 29. Rxh1 Rxc4 30. bxc4 Qxc4+ 31. Kf3 Rf8+ 32. Kg2 Qe4+ 33. Kg1 Rf6 34. Qh5 Rg6+ 35. Bg5 Qe1+ 36. Kg2 Qe4+ 37. Kg1 Qxd5) 24... Qb4+ 25. Kd1 Qc3 26. Rc1 Qd4+ {White resigned} (26... Qd4+ 27. Bd2 Bf3+ { wins the Q}) 0-1

A Surprising Knight Move

  

    Today the preferred term seem to be “tactics”, but in my day they were referred to as “combinations”. Whatever you call them we all love games in which the outcome is decided by them. 

    Sometimes a tactical shot is the result of deep calculation and other times they appear almost by accident. In either case they can come as a complete surprise to one of the players who is suddenly faced with an unforeseen possibility. In the following game a surprising Knight move to an out of the way square by Kotov immediately decides the outcome, but not before Donner tried a little trick of his own. 

    The winner of this game, Soviet GM Alexander Kotov (1913-1981) was a two-time world title Candidate and a prolific chess author. His writing were often filled with praise for rhe Soviet political system. He is probably best remembered for his trilogy Think Like a Grandmaster, Play Like a Grandmaster and Train Like a Grand master. 

 

    His opponent was the GM Jam Hein Dinner (1927-1988) who was also an author who was Dutch champion in 1954, 1957 and 1958. In 1983, at the age of 56, he suffered a stroke and went to live in what he described as a kind of nursing-home. He was unable to walk, but had learned to type with one finger and wrote for a Dutch magazine. 

[Event "Venice"] [Site ""] [Date "1950.10.??"] [Round "10"] [White "Jan Donner"] [Black "Alexander Kotov"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D44"] [Annotator "Kotov/Stockfosh 17.1"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {D44: Semi-Slav: Botvinnik System} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 dxc4 {This variation was introduced into tournament practice by Botvinnik and so is known as the Botvinnik Syaten, The other often seen move is 5...h6} 6. a4 {The main line is 6.e4, but the text has the point of preventing 6...b5 and the creation of a Pawn mass on the Q-side.} (6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 { and now great complications arise after} 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5) 6... Bb4 7. e4 Bxc3+ {While often played, Kotov thought it questionable, but because he wanted to avoid Donner's home preparation he chose this move which he considered risky because after this exchange his dark squares are very weak and white's pieces might be able to attack on them.} (7... b5 {is also frequently played, but it's not so good. B;ack's best is probably 6...h6} 8. e5 h6 9. exf6 hxg5 10. fxg7 {wuth a good game.}) 8. bxc3 Qa5 9. e5 Ne4 10. Bd2 { Kotov harshly criticized this move calling it an incomprehensible retreat, but that seems unfair and there is not much difference between it and the "natiral" move 10.Rc1 after which black has a wide choice of playable moves.} Qd5 {Certainly 10...Nxd2 was worth considering.} 11. Qc2 c5 {Black must react with vigor or risk getting a passive position.} 12. Be3 Nc6 {This is a major error, but luckily for Kotov, Donner missed the refutation!} (12... cxd4 { is correct.} 13. cxd4 {Black should now play 13...Bd7 when white is slightly better.} Qa5+ 14. Nd2 Nxd2 15. Bxd2 {Ivanchuk,V (2779)-Smeets,J (2601) Wijk aan Zee 2009. White is better, but he misplayed the game and later lsot.}) 13. Be2 {After this the position is equal.} (13. O-O-O cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nc5 {He should have castled.} 15. Nb5 Nb3+ 16. Kb2 Qxe5 17. Nd6+ Ke7 18. Nxc4 {1-0 Danielian,O (2440)-Ceteras,M (2335) Vejen DEN 1993}) (13. Rd1 {is by far the strongest move here after whicjh black's position is very difficult.} cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nc5 15. Nb5 Nd3+ 16. Bxd3 cxd3 17. Nc7+ {followed by 18.Rxd3 with a decisive advantage.}) 13... cxd4 {There are other reasonable moves, but black's resoning here is that this move weakens white's d-Pawn.} 14. cxd4 { Donner has missed the point of his opponent's last move.} (14. Nxd4 {was correct.} Nxe5 (14... Nxd4 15. cxd4 Qa5+ {White is slightly better.} 16. Kf1) 15. O-O Bd7 16. Rfd1 {with equal chances.}) 14... Nb4 15. Qc1 (15. Qxc4 { is not good...} Qxc4 16. Bxc4 Nc2+) {While wgite's position id hardly critical, his} 15... c3 {[%mdl 2048] Donner's minuscule slip last move has allowed black to seize the initiative.} 16. O-O Bd7 17. Ne1 {The plan is to play f3 and after ...Nd2+ and then after the exchange on d2 he can play Qg5 after which he can launch an attackm vut there is a fly in the ointment.} Rc8 (17... a5 { is better.} 18. f3 Nd2 19. Bxd2 cxd2 20. Qxd2 Rd8 21. Qg5 (21. f4 Bc6 22. Nf3 { The need to defend his d-Pawn has prevented him from launching a K-side attack and ;eft b;acl with the better position/}) 21... Qxd4+ {wins the R on a1.}) 18. f3 {Completely missing an important point.} (18. Nc2 {was must play after which he has chances of holding the position. Now ...Nd2 would lose, so} a5 ( 18... Nd2 19. Nxb4 Qe4 20. Bd3 Qh4 21. Bxd2 cxd2 22. Qxd2) 19. Nxb4 axb4 20. f3 Ng5 (20... Nd2 21. Bxd2 cxd2 22. Qxd2 {is equal.}) 21. Bxg5 h6 22. Be3 O-O { A very sharp position where black's two passed Ps are plenty of compensation.}) 18... Nd2 {[%mdl 512]} (18... Ng5 {doesn't work now.} 19. Bxg5 Qxd4+ 20. Be3 Qd5 21. Bxa7 {with a decisive advantage.}) 19. Bxd2 {Now, of course, Donner was expecting ...cxd2 as in the previous variations} Na2 {Bang!} 20. Rxa2 { Donner realized he was losing and so decided to sacrifice the exchange and at the same time set a cunning trap.} (20. Qd1 {was worth a try.} Qxd4+ 21. Kh1 Qxd2 22. Qxd2 cxd2 23. Rxa2 dxe1=N 24. Rxe1 Rc5 {But, here it's doubtful white can save the game.}) 20... Qxa2 21. Bg5 {Hoping Kotov will fall for taking the N on e2.} h6 {Sends the B packing and white can't play Qa3+} (21... Qxe2 22. Qa3 {Threatening mate on e7. Black can avoid it, but the cost is too high.} f6 23. exf6 gxf6 24. Bxf6) 22. Bd3 {Other moves are just as hopeless.} (22. Bh4 Qxe2 23. Qa3 Qe3+ 24. Kh1 g5 {ends it.}) 22... hxg5 23. Qxg5 Qd2 24. f4 (24. Qxg7 {is easily met by} Qe3+ 25. Kh1 Qh6) 24... Bc6 {A nify little tactical point...white can't take the g-Pawn.} 25. Qg3 (25. Qxg7 Qe3+ 26. Kh1 Qh3 27. Kg1 Qxh2+ 28. Kf2 Qxf4+ 29. Nf3 Ke7 {wins easily.}) 25... g6 {White resigned. Short, sharp and even the loser manages some clever play.} 0-1

The Tournament That Never Was

    In mid-1941, Chess metrics estimates the best players in the world to have been Mikhail Botvinnik (2786), Reuben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky (2748), Paul Keres (2737) and Max Euwe (2723). World Champion Alekhine was #6 at 2718 and former Champion Capablanca was #12 at 2677. 

    In early 1941, Capablanca was in New York and was interviewed by George Sturgis (ISCF President), L Walter Stephens (Vice-President) and chess journalist Hermann Helms about the possibility of holding a world championship tournament in the United States. 

    Capablanca informed them that he did not favor the idea of holding a round-robin tournament to decide the championship and stated that he would refuse to play in such a tournament because it wouldn't be a “fair test of the real caliber of the competitors.” He called attention to AVRO 1938, as highlighting the inadequacy of this type of competition. Sounds like sour grapes’ Capablanca finished next to last with a minus score. 

    Capablanca wanted the USCF to help fund a match between Alekhine and, of course, himself and he even told them how to go about it. They should form a committee of three and draw up regulations and make plans for the match. He also suggested hat the USCF use its influence to persuade Alekhine to play for a purse of $10,000 (over $218,000 today) in American money. Alekhine wanted a guaranteed purse of $10,000 in gold, which would have been the equivalent of about $17,000 in 1941 US dollars (abut $371,000 in today’s dollars). 

     USCF officials decided to take no action on Capablanca’s suggestions but to hold the matter in abeyance. If Alekhine showed up in the United States they would discuss it with him. 

    Stephens told Capablanca that he thought a match between Alekhine and Reshevsky would be more interesting to American and he (Stephens) would prefer to raise money for that match if a tournament could not be arranged. 

    What was Capablanca’s reaction to Stephens declaration? In the discussion that followed Capablanca recommended that American chess authorities should take a firmer hold in tournaments “in order to raise the dignity and decorum of such events to a higher level.” Stephens agreed with him. 

    In 1941, the United States was hesitant about getting involved in the war and initially maintained a policy of neutrality. However, President Roosevelt recognized the growing threat posed by Nazi Germany and sought ways to support Allied nations. Then on December 7th the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan changed everything. 

    On a side note, on January 11, 1941, Emanuel Lasker, holder of the World Championship from 1894 to 1921 died in New York at the age of 72. One tournament that was held in 1941 was the one held in Ventnor City, New Jersey. It had an exciting finish when 36-year old lawyer Jacob Levin, of Philadelphia, upset all expectations by winning first prize. 

 

 

    In the final round, Levin quickly won his game against Robert Durkin, making it necessary for Anthony Santasiere to win from Milton Hanauer in order to tie, but he ended up losing. Fred Reinfeld slipped into second when he won his last round game against Weaver Adams. 

     Of the following game Pinkus wrote, “While not an example of perfect chess, this game is certainly one of the most interesting produced in the past few years.” He was right about it not being perfect and it is kind of interesting. Nor was it the one sided drubbing that Pinkus made it ouy to be. Durkin’s only really nig mistake came on move 22 which list instantly. Of course, these days any Patzer with an engine can criticize. Let’s take a look. 

 

[Event "Ventnor City"] [Site ""] [Date "1941.07.06"] [Round "?"] [White "Albert Pinkus"] [Black "Robert Durkin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [Annotator "Pinkus/Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1941.??.??"] {C13: French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 {A rather inisual move that Tarrasch dismissed as theoretically unsound because he believed black will be unable to break up white's center. He appears to have been right; in my database white scores twice as many wins as black.} 4. Nxe4 Nd7 {Black avoids the immediate 4...Nf6 because of 5.Nxf6+ when he hs to either accept doubled Ps of bring his Q out too early.} 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 b6 {In a brief annotation I saw this move was, perhaps unfairly, slapped with a question mark. Theoretically it's just OK, but in practice it has not worked out well at all. White wins 53% of the database games; black 22%. But then the usual 6...c5 and 6...Nxe4 don't do any better!} 7. Bg5 {While this move is frequently seen, the exchanges that result from it only favor black. Hence, 7.Qe2 seems preferable.} Bb7 8. Qe2 Be7 {White has played at least a half dozen different moves here. Again, the position is equal, ober the long haul black's lack of any real counterplay tells agaist him.} 9. Bxf6 {There was no reason to play this unprovoked exchange as black now is equal.} (9. h4 {is white's most interesting try.} Nxe4 {The exchanges only help black.} (9... h6 10. Nxf6+ Nxf6 11. Bf4 Nd5 12. Bd2 Nb4 13. Bb5+ c6 14. Ba4 {is equal.}) 10. Bxe4 Bxe4 11. Qxe4 O-O (11... Bxg5 12. hxg5 g6 13. O-O-O {White gas a nearly won position.}) 12. O-O-O {with equal chances.}) 9... Nxf6 10. O-O O-O 11. c4 {What are the plans for both sides? White has control of the center and he can either play for the endgame using his Q-side P-majority or he can try to build up a K-side attack. For his part, black, who has a cramped but solid position anf the twi Bs, must at the moment attempt to get rid of white's d-Pawn and so needs to think about playing ...c5 which he should play at once.} Qc8 {The purpose of this odd looking move is to make d8 available for the R. It's not a bad move, but Durkin is playing very passively. The correct plan, as mentioned, was to play 11...c5} 12. Rad1 Rd8 13. Ng3 {This, too, is rather passive. 13.Ne5 suggests itself.} Bf8 {Of course he couldn't take the d-Pawn. In spite of the fact that black's position looks gead, it's solid and should prove a tough nut to crack!} 14. Ne5 c5 {Finally!} 15. Nh5 {White threatens Nxf6+ and mate.} Ne8 {This meets the threat, but it puts one too many pieces on the back rank!} (15... a6 {A pass to demonstrate the threat.} 16. Nxf6+ gxf6 {White has a forced mate.} 17. Bxh7+ Kh8 18. Qh5 Bh6 19. Qxh6 Rd7 20. Bc2+ Kg8 21. Rd3 Bf3 22. Rxf3 Rxd4 23. Qh7+ Kf8 24. Qxf7#) (15... Qc7 {Eliminates the threat.} 16. Nxf6+ gxf6 17. Bxh7+ Kxh7 18. Qh5+ Kg8 (18... Bh6 19. Nxf7 {wins}) 19. Rd3 fxe5 20. Rh3 Bg7 21. Qh7+ Kf8 22. Rg3 exd4 23. Qxg7+ Ke7 24. Qg5+ Kd7 {The K has given white the slip and black is left with a winning position.}) (15... Qc7 16. d5 Nxh5 17. Bxh7+ (17. Qxh5 g6 {Black is better.}) 17... Kxh7 18. Qxh5+ Kg8 19. dxe6 fxe6 {Surprisingly, white can't seem to make any headway in this position and so black has equalized.}) 16. Nf4 {This is not the most energetic, but Pinkus is relying on what he described as a trap.} (16. Bxh7+ Kxh7 17. Nxf7 {leaves black with no good reply.} Rd7 18. Ng5+ Kg8 (18... Kh8 19. Nf4 {Here, too, white is winning.}) 19. Qxe6+) 16... g6 17. dxc5 {Durkin's next move is what Pinkus was relying on. While it's not a gross blunder, it is not the strongest move. Instead of retaking with the B which is helping to defend his K. Durlin makes the logical decision to retake with the Q.} Qxc5 {Pinkus gave this a ??, but it's not that bad!} (17... Bxc5 {White still has the N sacrifice, but it leads to no more than equality.} 18. Nxf7 Kxf7 {And now white has only one way to continue and that is to play another sacrifice.} 19. Bxg6+ hxg6 {Taking with the K leaves it badly exposed after 29.Nxe6. After the text the e-Pawn is protected because the Q is on c8.} 20. Rxd8 {Removing the e-Pawn's protection.} Qxd8 21. Qxe6+ Kf8 22. Nxg6+ Kg7 {White is able to hold his own in this materially unblanced position, but he must find the one move that accomplishes the task (22.Ne5). Here is a sample line...} 23. Ne5 Nd6 24. Qg4+ Kf6 25. Nd7+ Ke7 26. Qg7+ Ke6 27. Qg4+ Kf7 28. Re1 Ne4 {and white has to take the perpetual check.}) 18. Nxf7 {The crusher according to Pinkus, but while it is the best move and it leaves black at a disadvantage, he might be able to find a satisfactory defens. For his part white must now find moves that keep up the pressure.} Kxf7 19. Bxg6+ {[%mdl 512]} (19. Nxe6 {is just a bit less effective. } Qe7 20. Nxd8+ Rxd8 {White is only slightly better.}) 19... hxg6 20. Qxe6+ Kg7 21. Qxg6+ Kh8 {It's amazing, but this position is evaluated at being completely equal which is not the same as being drawn. As usual, being on the defensive puts a lot of pressure on black.} 22. Qf7 {[%mdl 1024]} Be4 {[%mdl 8192] This unfortunate move loses instantly. Pinkus wrote, "Where thetre are no good moves, bad ones will be found." While that may be true, here there is a relatively good move; ,but Durkin didn't play it.} (22... Bg7 {Returning some plastic; the best white has is to take on b7} 23. Qxb7 Qxc4 24. g3 Qc7 25. Qf3 Qf7 {with a crazy position, but one in which 5 Shootouts were drawn.}) 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Ne6 Nd6 {Even the better 24,,,Qe7 would not have saved the game.} 25. Qf6+ {Black resigned.} 1-0

The 1941 Reshevsky – Horowitz Match

 

    In 1941, US Champion Samuel Reshevsky defeated I.A. Horowitz in a match for the US Championship by a score of +3 -0 =13. 

    In February 1940, Horowitz had been on an exhibition tour along with a close friend, a Master named Harold Morton, when one night they were traveling by car when they were involved in an accident in which Morton was killed and Horowitz seriously injured. It took a few months, but he fully recovered. 

    In 1940, the next US Championship was two years in the future, so Horowitz decided to challenge Reshevsky to a mtch for the title, Reshevsky was the favorite, but Horowitz had beaten him in the 1936 Championship in what was one of the few games Reshevsky had lost to an American in five years. Also, a healthy prize fund sweetened the pot AND there was a rumor going around that a Reshevsky-Alekhine match might be possible, so Horowitz would be a good warm up. 

    The Reshevsky-Horowitz match was to be a grueling 16 games played in seven venues over the course of three weeks. The schedule was so tight that Reshevsky said it became a matter of endurance rather than chess. This game, the 6th, played on May 13th, 1941 in Philadelphia, was probably the most exciting of the match. 

 

[Event "uS Champ Match, Philadelphia"] [Site "Philadelphia, PA USA"] [Date "1941.05.13"] [Round "6"] [White "I. A. Horowitz"] [Black "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C99"] [Annotator "Stockfish/Reuben Fine"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "1941.??.??"] {C99: Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense} 1. e4 {Except for the 14th game, Horowitz played this every time and succeeded in getting a good game out of the opening. } e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 {Black has two main systems here: this and the Open Defense (5...Nxe4).} 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 Qc7 11. h3 O-O 12. Nbd2 cxd4 {So far the players have been following what was considered the main line, but now instead of the then popular 12...Nf6, Reshevdsky plays what ha become the main line today.} 13. cxd4 Nc6 14. d5 Nb4 15. Bb1 a5 16. a3 Na6 17. b3 Nc5 18. Nf1 Bd7 19. Ra2 { This rather odd looking move has a point - it gets the R into play.} Rac8 { Threatening 20...Ncxe4} 20. Ng3 (20. Kh1 {A pass to show the thrat.} Ncxe4 21. Bxe4 Nxe4 22. Rxe4 Qxc1 {winning a piece.}) 20... Rfd8 {Just as a reminder of the tremendous amount of theory there is on the Ruy Lopez, this has all been played before! Reuben Fine was of the opinion that this move is proof of the inferiority of black's game and commented that the R serves no useful purpose on d8 and black is just marking time because he is unable to undertake anything constructive. Fine is correct concerning 20...Rfd8, but in a game he may not have been familiar with (thankfully we have huge databases today) Kashdan had found the more active 20...Qa7 in a game played in New York in 1930.} (20... Qb7 {is an alternative.} 21. Kh2 Ne8 22. Ng1 Bh4 23. Nf5 Bxf5 24. exf5 Nc7 {with equal chances. Steiner,Lajos-Kashdan,Isaac New York 1930}) 21. Bg5 h6 22. Be3 Qb7 23. Rc2 {The point of his 19th move shows up.} Qb8 {He cannot acceot the offered e-Pawn.} (23... Nfxe4 24. Nxe4 Nxe4 25. Rxc8 { Unmasking the B.} Rxc8 26. Bxe4 {White has won a piece.}) 24. Rc1 Bf8 25. Re2 a4 {This and his next move lead to the loss of a P. There is no reason for this sacrifice, so Reshevsky probably played it because he did not want to be reduced to complete passivity. The sound option was 25...Rc7 and doubling Rs on the c-file which would have left white with only a minimal advantage.} 26. b4 Nb3 {Fine gave this moive a ? and suggested 26...Na6 which he thought was good for a draw. Actually, 26...Na6 is slightly inferior to the text which, at least, gives black some play.} 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Ba2 Rc3 29. Rb2 {The N is stuck here and a P will soon be lost.} Qa8 {The point of this wily move will be seen if white plays the immediate 30.Bxb3} 30. Qb1 {Fine gave this move a ? and claimed it would have been better to have won the P at once, but there is little difference in the move played and winning the P immediately.} (30. Bxb3 axb3 31. Rxb3 Qa4 {White is on the defensive and has to find the right moves or see his slight edhe disappear.} 32. Nd2 h5 33. Qb1 Rxb3 34. Qxb3 Qxb3 35. Nxb3 h4 36. Ne2 Nxe4) 30... Qc8 31. Bxb3 axb3 32. Rxb3 Rc2 {Fine notes that now white must constantly be on guard against a possible sacrifice on h3. It's not clear what he had in mind because I tried out several "neutral" moves and the sacrifice never even came close to working. In fact, the Q has to stay on the c-file else the R on c2 is hanging. I think Fine (and othe contemporary annotators) completely misjudged the position based on the fact that it was the invincible Reshevsky who was playing black because engines give Horowitz at least a one P advantage here!} 33. Qd1 g6 34. Qd3 Nh7 35. Bd2 {Horowitz wants to get rid of that annoying R by playing Rc3.} Rc4 36. Rc3 f5 {Black's only chance lies in a counterattack.} 37. Nh4 {This small slip allows black to equalize. Ir was necessary to simplify.} (37. exf5 Rxc3 38. Bxc3 Qc4 39. Qxc4 bxc4 40. fxg6 {with the advantage.}) 37... f4 (37... fxe4 38. Rxc4 bxc4 39. Qxe4 {+is winning for white.}) 38. Ne2 Be7 39. Nf3 Nf6 {Storm clouds appear to be gathering towards white's K.} 40. Rxc4 bxc4 41. Qc2 {Draw Agreed. Reuben Fine wondered about this. He stated that first he was amazed to find "such a complicated position called a draw." He then went on to explain that his subsequent analysis confirmed his first impression that black had enough for his P and white cannot win. He was absolutely correct as engine evaluation is 0.00!} (41. Qc3 Nxe4 42. Qc1 Qa6 43. Be1 Bf5 44. Nd2 Nxd2 45. Bxd2 Qa4 46. Nc3 Qb3 47. Kh2 h5 48. Be1 Bd3 49. b5 Bd8 50. a4 Kf7 51. Qa1 Ba5 52. Ne2 Bxe1 53. Qxe1 Bxe2 54. Qxe2 Qxa4 55. b6 Qb5 56. Qc2 Qxb6 57. Qxc4 Qc5 58. Qa2 Qc7 59. f3 g5 60. Qa8 g4 61. hxg4 hxg4 62. fxg4 Qd7 {This drawn position was reached by Stockfish after about 15 minutes of analysis.}) 1/2-1/2

1963, End of the Line for Botvinnik

 

    After World War II, Alekhine was not invited to tournaments except in Spain and Portugal because of his affiliation with the Nazis. However, a World Championship match between him and Botvinnik was planned, but when Alekhine was found dead at the age of 53 in his hotel room in Estoril, Portugal on March 24, 1946 the match was off. 

    The cause of his death is still open to debate...heart attack, choking on a piece of meat or was he was murdered by a French "death squad? Alekhine's son, Alexander, Jr., said that "the hand of Moscow reached his father.” Canadian GMKevin Spraggett, who lives in Portugal, investigated the case and believes the manipulation of the crime scene and the autopsy by the Portuguese secret police indicates that Alekhune was murdered, probably by the Russians, outside his hotel room. 

     With the death of Alekhine FIDE seized the opportunity to invited six players to a tournament to determine the championship; Botvinnik won it and hekd the tutle from 1948 to 1963 with the exception of a couple of interruptions...by Smyslov (1957-58) and Tal (1960-61). The end of the line came in 1963 when he lost to Petrosian. 

     Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995, 83 years old), condisered the Patriarch of Soviet Chess, won the first of his 6 USSR Championships in 1931. Tirgan Petrosian (1929-1984, 55 years old) earned his GM title by finishing in 5th place in the 1953 Zurich Candidates tournament. 

    In this 1963 match there was no provision for a return match which meant that it was the end of the line for Botvinnik’s World Championship reign. Concerning the match, Botvinnik related how it was really hard to play Petrosian because “he had a somewhat different understanding of positional play. He went deeper into it than usual, and myself, a universal player, did not completely understand Tigran's way and depth of judgment, although I was judging all positions well.” 

    Botvinnik’s brother, Igor, believed that one of the reasons for Botvinnik's defeat was his poor realization of advantages. In a number of games, after having obtained an advantage in the opening, he couldn’t put Petrosian away.

 

 

     After the first game of the match it seemed certain that Botvinnik would sweep the match because handled Petrosian so easily.. Botvinnik not only scored an easy win, but it looked like it was a mismatch. The experts were wrong and Petrosian went on to score a decisive victory. 

[Event "World Championship Match, Moscow"] [Site "Moscow URS"] [Date "1963.03.23"] [Round "1"] [White "Tigran Petrosian"] [Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E34"] [Annotator "Stockfosh/Botvinnik"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "1963.??.??"] {E35: Nimzo-Indian} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 {This continuation was popular in the 1 9 30s, but then went out of fashion. It offers White a guarantee against any sur prises, but it is hard for him to count on achieving anything real} d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 {It's not surprising that Petrosin avoids the complications that arise after 6.Bh4} Qxf6 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 c6 10. e3 O-O 11. Ne2 {Instead of the far more popular 11.Nf3. With the text move white intends ot place his N on f4 from where it can go to d3, then develop the B to e2, play O-O and then begin a minority attack on the Q-side. Neither Botvinnik nor Keres thought much of the whole idea necause the N is misplaced on f4.} Re8 {This prevents the N from going to f4 and thereby upsetting white's plan.} 12. Ng3 {The N needs to make way for the B.} (12. Nc1 {seems to be a viable way of carrying out the above mentioned plan.} h5 13. Nd3 h4 14. Be2 {with equal chances.}) 12... g6 {An energetic continuation that intends to advance the h-Pawn which, as Botvinnik pointed out, putd white in a difficult situation. Any other move would allow whie to complete his development unhindered.} (12... Nd7 13. Bd3 c5 14. O-O cxd4 15. Qxd4 Qxd4 16. exd4 Nf8 17. Rac1 {was soon drawn. Golod,V (2590)-Filippov, A (2598) Tashkent UZB 2010}) 13. f3 {Played after 20 minutes thought, this move makes sense if white intends to castle Q-side, in which case the P on f2 needs defending. However, castling Q-side turns out not be a good idea and, as a result, the text wastes time and weakens the K-side.} (13. Bd3 {is equal after} h5 14. Qc2 Nd7 15. h3 Nf8 16. O-O h4 17. Ne2 Ne6 18. b4 {Setting up the Minority Attack.} a6 19. a4 {and a draw was soon arrived at in Beliavsky,A (2570)-Balashov,Y (2540) Minsk 1983}) 13... h5 14. Be2 Nd7 {Black does not hurry with the advance of his h-Pawn. White's problem is that if he castles his N only has the horrible h1 as a retreat square. Consequently, Petrosian decides to abandon castling and uses his K to defend the P on e3 and f1 available as a retreat square for the N. Black is now beginning to show just a bit of an advantage.} 15. Kf2 {This plan turns out to be faulty. For better oir for worse he had to try to hold up black with 15.h5} (15. h4 Nb6 16. Kf2 Bf5 17. Nxf5 Qxf5 18. Bd3 {equals}) 15... h4 {This drives the N to a square from which its prospect of finding purpose is zero.} 16. Nf1 Nf8 17. Nd2 {It's obvious that white must bring his R on h1 into play. For his part, black wants to double Rs on the e-file.} Re7 18. Rhe1 Bf5 19. h3 {Obviously white wants to prevent any possibility of ...h3, a possibility he would have to consider at every move. At the sa,e time though the move weakens g3.It would have been safer to eliminate a black attacker with 19.Bd3} Rae8 20. Nf1 {The poor N has to return to defend e3.} (20. Bd3 {would allow him to put up a manly defense.} Bd7 (20... Bxd3 21. Qxd3 Ne6 22. b4 {with a slight advantage for black.}) 21. Nf1 Ne6 22. Nh2 Qg5 23. Kg1 {Black is better, but proving he has a win will be challenging.}) 20... Ne6 {Adding the N to the attack.} 21. Qd2 {Petrosian is sticking to waiting strategy, but again 21.Bd3 was bettetr.} Ng7 {The N retreats when an advance was in order. Botvinnik spent a long time looking 21.. .Ng5 followed by a sacrifice on h3, but he miscalculated the sequence not only duting the game, but in his post game analysis.} (21... Ng5 22. Kg1 (22. Bd3 Bxh3 23. gxh3 Qxf3+ 24. Kg1 Nxh3+ 25. Kh2 Nf2 26. Kg1 Re4 {The addition of the R to the attack wraps it up.}) 22... Bxh3 {Ckearky taking the B would be bad, so...} 23. Bd3 Bf5 24. Bxf5 Qxf5 25. Rad1 h3 26. Ng3 Qf6 27. f4 Ne4 28. Nxe4 Rxe4 29. g3 Qe7 30. Kf2 Qe6 {Black will advance the g-Pawn and meanwhile white can't do anything constructive.}) 22. Rad1 Nh5 23. Rc1 Qd6 24. Rc3 Ng3 25. Kg1 Nh5 26. Bd1 Re6 27. Qf2 {Petrosian's waiting strategy has managed to keep his disadvantage at a minimum and it would probably have worn out a lesser adversary, but not the resolute Botvinnik!} Qe7 {Black has completed preparations for an advance of his K-side Ps as a prelude to digging out white's K. Wite's position is hardly hopeless, but the defense will eveltually take its toll.} 28. Bb3 g5 {Consistent, but perhaps a bit too passive.} 29. Bd1 (29. e4 {This vigorous counterattack in the center offers a much better chance. } Nf4 30. Ne3 Bg6 31. Qd2 {Black will find making headway difficult. In fact, 5 Shootouts from this position were drawn.}) 29... Bg6 {After 30.b4! black is better, but exactly how he can make progress is not clear. Additionally, at some point in the future white has the posibility of finally launching his Q-side Minority Attack.} (29... Nf4 {as in the game comes to nothing because the h-Pawn is defended.} 30. Qd2 {Black has no forceful reply.}) 30. g4 { [%mdl 8192] Petrosin finally cracks. Botvinnik observed that it's interesting that, just at the moment when nothing was threatened, Petrosian, who has conducted the entire game using waiting strategy, suddenly launches into complications. It may have been a purely psychological ploy as Botvinnik was in some time pressure.} hxg3 31. Nxg3 Nf4 {[%mdl 512]} 32. Qh2 c5 {[%mdl 512]} (32... Nd3 {packs a wallop...} 33. Re2 Rxe3 34. Rxe3 Qxe3+ 35. Kh1 Qe1+ 36. Qg1 Qxg1+ 37. Kxg1 Re1+ {wins}) 33. Qd2 c4 34. Ba4 b5 35. Bc2 Nxh3+ 36. Kf1 Qf6 37. Kg2 Nf4+ {[%mdl 512] The N's returns to f4 is even stronger that before.} 38. exf4 Rxe1 39. fxg5 Qe6 40. f4 Re2+ {White resigned.} 0-1

Asleep At the Board

    Several 1.e4 e5 openings have the same tactical motifs, but at higher levels they are rarely seen because the players are quite aware of them. In this game we see one of those unique instances where a strong player wasn’t paying attention and got caught napping. 

    Jacek Bednarski (1939-2008) was a Polish politician and an IM who won the Polish Chess Championship in 1963. Bednarski became interested in chess at the age of eleven. He studied under a professional chess trainer while studying physics at Moscow State University. After returning to Poland, Bednarski quickly became one of the country’s leading players. You know who Robert J. Fischer (1943-2008) was.

 

 

 

 

[Event "Havana Olympiad, Qialifier"] [Site ""] [Date "1966.10.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Robert Fischer"] [Black "Jacek Bednarski"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [Annotator "Stockfosj 17.1"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "1966.??.??"] {B86: Sicilian Najdorf} 1. e4 c5 (1... e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. d3 {The usual move here is 5...Nxc3} Qh4+ {This is generally considered inferior, but it it is quite playable.} 6. g3 Nxg3 {Compare this maneuver to the position after white's 12th move in the game.} 7. Nf3 {After 7...Qh5 the position is equal.}) 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Nbd7 8. f4 Nc5 {In addition to Fischer's next move, white has a wide choice here: 9.e5, 9.O-O and 9.Qf3} 9. f5 Nfxe4 {Black incorrectly thinks ... Qh4+ is a threat, but in this position it is not!} (9... Be7 {Although black has tried a variety of moves here, this is the Main Line and it is the best.} 10. Qf3 O-O 11. O-O Bd7 {with equal chanxes.}) (9... exf5 {At the time it was considered to be too risky for black to accept the this P offer and its acceptance does not appear in my database. However, it appears that black can safely accept the offer.} 10. exf5 Qe7+ 11. Nde2 Nxb3 12. axb3 Bxf5 13. Bg5 Qe5 {and the position is fully equal.}) 10. fxe6 Qh4+ {Unlike in the above noted Virenna, here this move is very bad.} (10... Nxc3 {isn't any better.} 11. exf7+ Kd7 12. bxc3 Nxb3 13. cxb3 {White is clearly better. Hari,V-Virnik,E (2154) Patras 1999}) (10... Bxe6 {This is his best move, but after} 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. O-O (13. Nxe6 {loses to} Qh4+ 14. g3 Nxg3 {Here white doesn;t have Nf3 available.} 15. Rg1 Ne4+ 16. Ke2 Qe7 {and black is winning.}) 13... Qb6 14. Qf3 {White is better.}) 11. g3 Nxg3 {Black is lost here, but Befnarski has overlooked white's reply. However, even the better 11...Nxc3 was not that much better!} (11... Nxc3 12. gxh4 Nxd1 13. exf7+ Kd8 14. Bd5 Nxb2 15. Bxb2 { Black has a miserable position and is probably lost.}) 12. Nf3 {As noted in the beginning this reply is known from the Vienna.} Qh5 13. exf7+ Kd8 14. Rg1 ( 14. Bg5+ {is also a good move.} Kc7 15. Rg1 h6 16. Be3 Nxb3 17. Nd5+ Kb8 18. axb3 Ne4 {and nobody would want to be playing black.} 19. Qd3) 14... Nf5 { Black's attack has failed and now Fischer blows him off the board.} 15. Nd5 Qxf7 16. Bg5+ Ke8 17. Qe2+ Be6 18. Nf4 Kd7 19. O-O-O Qe8 20. Bxe6+ Nxe6 21. Qe4 g6 22. Nxe6 {Black resigned. Amazingly, The analysis with Fritz and the Stockfish engine assigns Fischer an Accuracy rating of 100%. Poor Bednarsky only got 12%.} (22. Nxe6 Kc8 (22... Qxe6 23. Qxb7+ Ke8 24. Rge1) 23. Nfd4 Nxd4 24. Rxd4 Be7 25. Bf4 Rf8 26. Bxd6 Bxd6 27. Rxd6 Qe7 28. Rgd1 {etc.}) 1-0

Where's the Game?

    Clara Peller (1902-1987) was a manicurist and television personality. Born in Russia, she was one of eight or nine children. She spent most of her early life in Chicago after her father left Russia in 1906 when he was being drafted for the second time. 

    At age 20, she married a local jeweler, William Peller. They later divorced and she never remarried. She worked for 35 years as a manicurist at a Chicago beauty salon, and later moved to the suburban North Shore area to be near her daughter. 

    At age 80, Peller was hired as a temporary manicurist for a television commercial set in a Chicago barbershop. Impressed by her no-nonsense manners and unique voice she appeared in a number of TV spot advertisements, first as a comical cleaning lady in an advertisement for a Massachusetts State Lottery game and in 1984, in Wendy’s national commercials. 

    The Wendy's commercial portrayed a fictional fast-food competitor named Big Bun, where three elderly ladies were served an enormous hamburger bun containing a minuscule hamburger. Two of the women were commenting on the size of the bun, they were interrupted by an irascible Peller, who looked around in vain for customer assistance while asking, "Where's the beef?" Peller died on August 11, 1987, in Chicago, one week after her 85th birthday, from congestive heart failure. 

    Peller's "Where's the beef?" line became a catchphrase across the United States and Canada as a way to express a lack of substance or quality in anything. I recently received an e-mail from a reader who, to paraphrase Peller, asked, “Where’s the game?!” in an old post. 

    For many years the games in this Blog were published using a few different online sites which are now defunct and, as a result, the games do not appear. The ogn and notes to the games are on the Blog post, but they don't show up. When I copy the pgn and paste it into the chess program I use (Fritz) it will not work because of some embedded “symbols” which are difficult to remove because there are so many of them. 

    Some time in 2021, I began posting games using the Aquarium program and all was well, but at some point the games began showing up in the posts with the moves and notes, etc., but no board. Unfortunately, copying the game and pasting it into a chess program does not work. 

    In February of 2022, I began using Fritz 17 to publish games. This program generates HTML which can be pasted directly into the Blog. It also has the option of creating an interactive board that is stored on the ChessBase site which is why I prefer not to use it. If, for any reason, ChessBase would no longer supports this feature then all the games anybody has ever published using this feature would be lost. 

A Group of Pieces on the King Side

    In 1956, Congress passed the Interstate Highway Bill. Before that if you drove anywhere you traveled country roads and navigated through city streets to get wherever it was you were going. While driving you could listen to Elvis Presley crooning Don’t Be Cruel and wail Hound Dog. 

    Minimum wage was $1.00 per hour...almost $12 today and a movie cost 50 cents. Life expectancy for en was a scant 66.7 years, but women did a lot better...72.9 years. Today it’s almost 79 for men and 86 for women.

    Meanwhile, in, Dresden, East Germany they were still grappling with the aftermath of the devastating World War II bombings and grappling with life under communist rule. 

    That was the backdrop fir the chess tournament that was held in Dresden in 1956, but the big chess news stories that year were The Game of the Century when13-year-old Bobby Fischer beat Donald Byrne in the Rosenwald Memorial tournament in New York City and Vasily Smyslov’s victory in the Amsterdam Candidates tournament. 

    In the following game from Dresden, Soviet GM Yuri Averbakh (1922-2022, 100 (!) years old) defeats East Berman Master (later IM) Reinhart Fuchs (1934 – 2017).

 

 

    Averbakh may not be a familiar name to amny readers, but he played in the 1953 Zurich Candidates tournament and won the USSR Championship in 1954 and tied for first in 1956, but lost in the playoff. He was a a highly respected theoretician, author and chess historian. He was also renowned as an opening and endgame theorist. 

    The game is instructive because, as everyone knows, Pawn Majorities make a flank attack possible; however, a piece concentration can do the same thing if they are directed towards a particular area. An important requirement for the use of piece superiority in a particular area is the opening of lines and the goal will always be the the attainment of such superiority in piece strength that the opponent is left powerless to defend himself. 

 

[Event "Dresden"] [Site ""] [Date "1956.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Yuri Averbakh"] [Black "Reinhart Fuchs"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E75"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1956.??.??"] {E75: King's Indian: Averbakh Variation} 1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. d4 Nf6 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 {This came to be known as the Averbakh Variation; it prevents the immediate 6...e5. Black can challenge the B with 6...h6 with the option of a later ...g5, though in practice this is a weakening move.} c5 (6... e5 {is not recommended.} 7. dxe5 dxe5 8. Qxd8 Rxd8 9. Nd5 {with a good position.}) 7. d5 a6 8. a4 e6 9. Qd2 Qa5 {So far the game has proceeded along what could be considered the Main Line. White's most popular move is now 10. Nf3, but Averbakh's next move is a sly one.} 10. Ra3 {This move is more than a defense to the threat 10...b5 which can now be answered by 11 11.axb5. The clever thing is that the move also serves another purpose in that white, who cannot launch a successful attack in the center or on the Q-sid will eventually play this R to the K-side and obtain superiority there.} exd5 11. exd5 Nbd7 {This move interferes with black's development and so better would have been 11...Re8 followed by ...Bg4} (11... Re8 12. Nf3 Bg4 13. O-O Nbd7 14. h3 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 Qb4 {equals. Kachiani Gersinska,K (2374)-Seps,M (2265) Dresden 2007}) 12. Nf3 Nb6 13. O-O Bg4 {Black's previous maneuvering was probably intended as the prelude to 13...Qb4, but now he realizes it could be answered in a way that would force him to find a way to extricate his Queen from a dangerous situation.} (13... Qb4 14. Qc1 Nbd7 15. a5 Ne4 16. Bh4 Nxc3 ( 16... b5 17. Nxe4 Bxb2 18. Qh6 Bg7 19. Qe3 Re8 20. Rb3 Qxa5 21. Qf4 {Black is facing some serious difficulties.}) 17. bxc3 {Black has trapped jis Q.}) 14. Qf4 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Nfd7 {It was necessary to play the other N to d7 so as to let the Q have an escape route and allow to the potential advance of the b-Pawn. Instead black persists with his ill conceived version of a Q-side attack and as a result weakens his K-side.} 16. Ne4 {[%mdl 32] All of a sudden White has two threats: 17.Bd2 trapping the Q and 17.Nxd6. Black's reply is forced, but white already has a decisive advantage.} Nc8 {This defends the d-Pawn and gives the Q an escape route, but white quickly builds upo a crushing attack.} 17. Qh3 Qc7 18. Qh4 Re8 19. Rh3 {Very pleasing! Note that all of white's pieces, apart from the B on e2, are poised for the decisive attack on black's insufficiently defended K. Even the B on e2 is ready to join the attack by sacrificing itself on h5. All Averbakh has to do is figure out the details of the attack.} h5 20. Ng3 {The B sacrifice at once was possible, but he prefers to add an extra piece before doing so.} (20. Bxh5 Rxe4 (20... gxh5 21. Qxh5 Rxe4 22. Qh7+ {wins}) 21. Qxe4 Nf8 22. Bd1 {White}) 20... Nf8 21. Bxh5 {[%mdl 512]} Bxb2 (21... gxh5 22. Nxh5 f5 23. Bf6 {is copletely hopeless for black.}) 22. Nf5 {[%mdl 512]} gxh5 (22... gxf5 23. Bf6 {and a fatal Q check on the g-file can't be prevented.}) (22... Nh7 {is his best defense. but he is still lost after} 23. Bc1 Bf6 24. Qg3 Ne7 25. Nxd6 Red8 26. Bf4 b5 27. Nxf7 Kxf7 28. Bxg6+ Nxg6 29. Rxh7+ Bg7 30. Bxc7) 23. Bf6 Ng6 24. Qg5 Nce7 25. Nh6+ Kf8 26. Bxb2 {Black resigned.} 1-0

Wild Nezhmetdinov Game

    Do people still buy chess books? If so, and you like attacking chess, then Super Nezh, Rashid Nezhmetdinov, Chess Assassan by Alex Pishkin is a book worth having, but not at the $40-50 I saw it advertised for on the Internet! I bought my copy years ago for a fraction of that price. 

    The Greatest Attacker in Chess: The Enigmatic Rashid Nezhmetdino by Cyrus Lakdawala is available for half that price, but I have not seen it reviewed. 

    Rashid Nezhmetdinov (December 15, 1912–June 3, 1974) was a Soviet player whoe hold the IM title and writer as well as a checker champion. Nezhmetdinov was a fierce, imaginative, attacking player, capable of beating anyone in the world. 

    Nezhmetdinov probably should have had the GM title, but unfortunately the only time he played outside the Soviet Union was at Bucharest in 1954 where he finished 2nd behind Korchnoi. He had a lifetime plus score against Tahl and Spassky but his weakness was that given a position where there were few attacking chances he would often try and complicate in the hopes of attacking even if it was not justified. He served as Tahl’s trainer in the latter’s championship matches against Botvinnik. 

 

      

 

    Vladas Mikėnas (1910 - 1992) was a Lithuanian International Master, an Honorary Grandmaster, and journalist. He was one of the most outstanding players from the Baltic's prior to World War II. After Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940, he continued to play in many Soviet Championships as well. 

    He played for Lithuania at first board in five official and one unofficial Chess Olympiad. In 1930, he won the Estonian Championship and in 1931 tied for 2nd-5th place in the Baltic Championship. In the same year Mikenas emigrated from Estonia to Lithuania. In 1948 he drew a match against Nezhmetdinov with a 7-7 score. The game below was played in that match. I would suggest playing over this game on an actual board so you can better visualize the lines of attack and defense.

 

[Event "Match for Soviet Master Title"] [Site "Kazan URS"] [Date "1948.03.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Rashid Nezhmetdino"] [Black "Vladas Mikenas"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B02"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "1948.??.??"] {B02: Alekhine's Defense} 1. e4 Nf6 {A Mikenas specialty.} 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 {An interesting alternative to the usual 4.d4} Nd5 5. Bc4 e6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Nxd5 (7. Qb3 {Theis was the move Mikenas feared, but after} Nxc3 8. dxc3 dxe5 9. Be3 Nd7 {Black has asatisfactory, if somewaht passive, positiom.}) 7... exd5 8. Bxd5 c6 {This move was Mikenas’ invention because he thought 8...exd5 was bad.} (8... dxe5 9. Qb3 {Black should now play 9...Bxc5} Qf6 10. Bxb7 Bxb7 11. Qxb7 Qc6 12. Qc8+ Ke7 {White is better. Roeder,F (2275)-Ruehrig,V (2300) Germany 1982}) 9. Bxf7+ {At the time this game was played this sacrifice was unexpected; today it is the norm.} Kxf7 10. cxd6 Qe8 {In an earlier game in the match 10...B36 was played. Mikenas avoided it here because in the post-game analysis, Nezhmetdinov came up with) 11. Nh3 and obtained the advantage.} 11. Qe2 (11. Qf3+ {is equally good.} Kg8 12. Qe3 Be6 {White is only very slightly better}) 11... c5 12. Nf3 Bxd6 {Excellent! Nezhmetdinov wrote, "A timely sacrifice which can’t be accepted." Actually, it can, but doing so allows black easy euqality.} 13. Ng5+ (13. exd6 Qxe2+ 14. Kxe2 Re8+ 15. Kd1 Bg4 16. d4 Bxf3+ 17. gxf3 cxd4 18. Bf4) 13... Kg6 {Black's K is surprisingly safe here. 13...Kg8 would only gum up his development.} (13... Kg8 14. exd6 Qxe2+ 15. Kxe2 {and white is considerably better.}) 14. Qd3+ {[%mdl 8192] This check is very alluring, but white doesn't have enough attacking pieces left and so the King is surprisingly safe wat out on g4.} (14. f4 Be7 15. e6 Bxg5 16. Qe4+ Kf6 17. fxg5+ Ke7 {This is the only move that avoids mate, but it leaves his K safe plus he has a material advantage.} (17... Kxg5 18. d4+ Kf6 19. O-O+ Ke7 20. Bg5+ Kd6 21. Qe5+ Kc6 22. Qxc5#)) 14... Kxg5 {It looks like the Black K is going on a dangerous journey, but in fact, this move is the best and it is black who has a significant advantage!} 15. Qxd6 Qd8 { This offer to trade Qs is correct, but it's too passive. The more aggressive 15...Qc6 attacking the g-Pawn was much better.} (15... Qc6 16. d4+ Kh5 { It's remaekable, but there is no way white can take advantage of the K's position.} 17. Be3 Qxd6 18. exd6 cxd4 19. Bxd4 Re8+ {Black has a decisive advantage.}) 16. d4+ {A critical position. To what square should the K retreat? There is only one move that avoids loss.} Kf5 {[%mdl 8192] and this is not it!} (16... Kh5 17. Qxc5 Be6 18. O-O Nc6 19. Be3 Ne7 20. f4 Nf5 { The engine's yop three moves (21.Qc3, 21.Bf2 and 21.Qa3 all are evaluated at 0. 00.}) (16... Kh5 17. g4+ {as in the game fails to} Bxg4 18. Qxc5 Qf8 {Black is winning.}) 17. g4+ {[%mdl 512] This wins because with the K on f5 he cannot play ...Bxg4} Ke4 (17... Kxg4 18. Qxc5 Nc6 19. Rg1+ Kf5 20. Qc4 Rf8 21. Rg5+ Ke4 22. f3+ {If 22...Kxf3 then 23.Qe2#} Rxf3 23. Qe2+ Kxd4 24. Qxf3 {Black will get mated.}) 18. Qxc5 Rf8 19. O-O Kf3 20. h3 {White mates.} b6 21. Qc3+ Ke4 22. Qc4 {Black resigned . Mate is unavoidable.} (22. Qc4 Bxg4 23. hxg4 Rxf2 24. Re1+ Kf3 25. Qd3+ Kxg4 26. Qe4+ Kh5 27. Qxh7+ Kg4 28. Re4+ Kg3 29. Qxg7+ Qg5 30. Qxg5+ Kh3 31. Qg4#) 1-0

Blunderfest!

    Today’s game is somewhat akin to the Znosko_Borovsky vs. Euwe game in the previous post. The game has so many mistakes that it’s simply insane! It’s hard to believe that the two players were really quite strong! 

    Pindar got a won position in which the engine assigned him a near 5 Pawn advantage, but he blew it and a seesaw of blunders ensued. At the end, he still had an advantage, albeit a much smaller one of a Pawn and in the final position it was probably not enough to win. Like Znosko-Borovsky, Pindar appears to have also lost on time. 

    Hardman Philips (Phil) Montgomery (September 25,1834 – January 22,1870, 35 years old) was the youngest son of the Postmaster of Phildelphia. After entering the University of Pennsylvania as a Sophomore in 1851, Montgomery's talent for chess and mathematics was soon spotted by one of the professors.

    From 1852 onward, Montgomery quickly rose among the ranks of players at the local chess club. His play was described as brilliant, but nervous and fast. He was a member of the successful Philadelphia team beating New York in two correspondence games in 1855-1856. Montgomery was the sole Philadelphia representative in the 1st American Chess Congress (1857) in New York, beating William S Allison before succumbing to Louis Paulsen. After having lost two games to Paulsen, Montgomery was summoned to Philadelphia, before he could finish the match. 

    When the Philadelphia Chess Club was founded Montgomery was its first president. In 1861, Montgomery lost a match to New York's Theodore Lichtenhein by a score of +2 -7 =1. After that he practically retired from serious chess. After retiring from play, Montgomery practiced law in Philadelphia and New York before moving to Marysville, California where he died. He was stricken with paralysis first on Christmas day and then a second stroke proved fatal. 

    His opponent in this game was Edward Pindar (1828-1892, 63 years old) appears to have been something of a vagabond. He was born in Russia, grew up in what is now Estonia and returned there in later life. 

    A strong, but not very well known player, from 1856, Pindar was a force in the Manchester Chess Club where won the club's championship in 1861, defeating Bernhard Horwitz 3.5-1.5. 

    It's not clear at what time he was living in New York/ Pindar was not very well known but he was a strong player who was active in the mid 19th century. Pindar was a language teacher and in 1877, while acting in that capacity, he attacked and seriously injured a female student who rebuffed his offer of marriage. He was sentenced to five years, and upon release faded into obscurity. 

 

[Event "possibly Philadelphia"] [Site "USA"] [Date "1854.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Edward Pindar"] [Black "H. Philips Montgomery"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C01"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "1854.??.??"] [Source "The Chess Handbo"] {C10: French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 {The Exchange Variation makes no effort to achieve more than equality and is sometimes played with the hopes of obtaining an early draw. Black usually prefers the more solid 3...exd5, but the text, while riskier, is not as drawish.} Qxd5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bd3 c5 {This is risky; 6...b6 is usual.} (6... b6 7. O-O Bxc3 8. bxc3 O-O 9. Re1 Nbd7 10. Bg5 Bb7 {Ziatdinov,R (2460)-Rogers,I (2565) Biel 1992. White is only very slightly better.}) 7. Bd2 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 c4 9. Be2 Ne4 10. O-O Nxc3 11. bxc3 Nd7 12. Nd2 Nb6 13. a4 a5 14. Rb1 {White can claim a modest advantage here owing to black's weakened c-Pawm and his difficulty in getting his remaining pieces into play as well as his bad B.} Qc6 15. Bf3 Qc7 16. Ne4 {This P offer is not bad because white gets active piece play. There is no harm in black's taking it. but 14...O_o was probably more prudent.} Nxa4 17. Qd2 O-O 18. Rb5 f5 19. Ng3 Rb8 {In returning the a-Pawn, black hopes to generate play on the b-file by the advance of his b-Pawn.} 20. d5 Qd7 21. Rxa5 b5 {This is understandable as it isolates the R, but it allowsd white a free hand to generate play on the K-side/} (21... b6 {keeps things equal.} 22. Rb1 bxa5 23. Rxb8 Bb7 24. Rxf8+ Kxf8) 22. Qf4 Qb7 {[%mdl 8192] Placing his Q on the B's diagonal is an obvious mistake. 22...Rb6 was est.} 23. dxe6 Qb6 24. e7 { White has a huge advantage, even winning according to Stockfiss, but it's not so simple for humans.} Re8 25. Re1 Be6 26. Rxa4 {There was absolutely no reason to play this as it loses all of his advantage.} (26. Nxf5 Bxf5 27. Bd5+ Kh8 28. Qxf5 {is winning. Black has to play 28...Qf6, but not} Qxa5 29. Be4 Kg8 (29... g6 30. Qf6+ Kg8 31. Bd5#) 30. Qxh7+ Kf7 31. Qg6+ Kxe7 32. Bc6+ Kd8 ( 32... Kf8 33. Rxe8+ Rxe8 34. Qxe8#) 33. Qd6+ Kc8 34. Qd7#) 26... Rxe7 {[%mdl 8192] A huge counter-blunder! The P is not worth more than the R!} (26... bxa4 {leads to a draw after} 27. Kf1 (27. Nxf5 Bxf5 28. Qxf5 Rxe7 {favors black.}) 27... a3 28. Nxf5 Bxf5 29. Qxf5 a2 30. Be4 Rxe7 (30... Qh6 {avoids the draw and offers equal chances after} 31. Qa5 Qxh2 32. Qxa2) 31. Qxh7+ Kf8 32. Qh8+ Kf7 33. Qh5+ {draws}) 27. Nxf5 Rf7 {This pin in the N looks powerful, but white can establish a wimnning position if he funds 28.Rxe8 or 28.Ra6 or even 28.Qxb8} 28. Nd6 {[%mdl 8192] A gross blunder that hands black the win.} (28. Ra6 Qc7 (28... Qxa6 29. Qxb8+ Rf8 30. Ne7+ Kf7 31. Qc7 {White is winning.}) 29. Qxc7 Rxc7 30. Raxe6) (28. Rxe6 Qd8 (28... Qc7 29. Ra8 Qxf4 30. Re8+ Rf8 31. Bd5+ Kh8 32. Rxf8+ Rxf8 33. Rxf8#) 29. Bd5 Kh8 30. Qxb8 Qxb8 31. Ra8) (28. Qxb8+ Qxb8 29. Ra8) 28... Rf6 {...but black didn't find it and now it's back to equal chances!} (28... Rxf4 {What kind of hallucination caused black (and probably white) to miss this?!} 29. Nxb5 Qxb5 30. Rb4 Rxf3 31. Rxb5 (31. gxf3 Qg5+) 31... Rxb5 32. gxf3 Rg5+ 33. Kh1 Bh3 {is hopeless for white.}) 29. Ne4 { [%mdl 8192] What? Again? Both players have missed that ...Rxf4 wins.} Rf5 { The only possible explanations for both players missing ...Rxf4 is severe time pressure ot some kind of he idée fixe that it can't be played.} 30. Qg3 { Yet another bad move!} (30. Qxb8+ Qxb8 31. Ra8 Qxa8 32. Nf6+ Rxf6 33. Bxa8 { equals}) 30... Rd8 {[%mdl 8192] Guess what? This is a game losing blunder.} ( 30... bxa4 31. Nd6 Rf6 {and white simply does not have any compensation so black should win.}) 31. Ng5 {Very weak...retreating the R to any safe square keeps the win in hand.} Bd5 {Slap a question mark on this move, too. 21...Rxg5 probably would not save the game, but it was better that the text.} (31... Rxg5 32. Ra6 (32. Qxg5 {gives black some play after} bxa4 33. h4 Bf7 34. Re7 Re8) 32... Qxa6 33. Qxg5 Rf8 34. h4 {with a strong initiative.}) 32. Bxd5+ Rdxd5 33. Ne6 {Question mark!} (33. Ra8+ Rd8 34. Re8+ {AS familiar pattern, see the note to move 28} Rf8 35. Qf3 Rdxe8 36. Rxe8 Qf6 37. Qd5+ Kh8 38. Nf7+ Qxf7 39. Qxf7) 33... Qxe6 {[%mdl 32768] Loss on time!?} (33... Qxe6 34. Ra8+ Rf8 35. Rxf8+ Kxf8 36. Qf3+ Qf5 {It;s unlikely that white's extra P will be enough to win/}) 0-1