Reshevsky Butchers Bruckstein

    Samuel Reshevsky (1911-1992) has always been one of my favorite players; the other was Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995). His 100 Selected Games had the cover worn off it from excessive use. I don't know what happened to the book as it got lost somewhere. I do have Mikhail Botvinnik by Andy Soltis though. 

    The same goes for my copy of Reshevsky's Best Games which I think was a republication of Reshevsky On Chess that was published by Chess Review in 1948. Rumor has it that the book was ghost written by Fred Reinfeld. At some point I managed to procure a copy of the book in Spanish...Reshevsky Frente al Tablero that was translated by Enrico Falcon that was published in Buenos Aires in 1954.

    When downloading the following game I discovered there was some confusion concerning it. A reader on the download site pointed out that the original source for the game was the American Chess Bulletin, but noted that the St. Louis Star's newspaper report on the simultaneous listed Reshevsky's opponents and Bruckstein was not one of them. Reshevsky's book doen't help. He simply said that it was played as "part of exhibitions held during my tour of various locations in the United States." 

    However, a check of the American Chess Bulletin clears up the problem. Reshevsky was on the road under the care of his manager and he paid two visits to the city. His game against Bruckstein was played on the second visit. In all, he played 40 games, scoring 38 wins and a loss with one game apparently unfinished. We will take a look at the game he lost in the next post. 

    After his visit a committee of St. Louis citizens made an offer, including special educational advantages for Reshevsky if his family would take up permanent residence in St. Louis. 

    Nothing is known of Reshevsky’s opponent, but I did locate a bit of information on one of those ancestry sites. Max Bruckstein, a baker by profession, was born in 1880, in the Russian Empire. He married Helena Bruckstein on October 27, 1903, in St. Louis, Missouri. They were the parents of at least one son and one daughter. He died in 1946, at the age of 66. In this game Bruckstein butchered the opening and Reshevsky dispacted him with deadly accurate play. 

 

[Event "Simul, St. Louis"] [Site "Nugent's Dept. Store, St Louis"] [Date "1921.08.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "Max Bruckstein"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C34"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "1921.??.??"] {C34: King's Gambit Accepted} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 {While this move is often played, Reshevsky disapproved of it because it hinders black's position by preventing the free development of his pieces. This point quickly becomes evident. He recommended 3...d4, but far more often black plays 3...g5} 4. d4 Bg4 {Another move that drew Reshevsky's disapproval for being pointless. 4...g5 is still preferable.} 5. Bxf4 Qf6 {Yet another bad move, This premature development of the Q can only result in future wasted time.} (5... Be7 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 {White's position is the more active. Zamarreno Cuerda,E (1839)-Palacios Diaz de la Espin,J Madrid 2008}) 6. Bg3 Bxf3 {Another not so good choice because it opens lines for the white pieces and strengthens his center. Developing with 6...Nc6 would have beennbetter.} 7. gxf3 $18 a6 { This pointless move wastes time. Again, 7...Nc6 was the best he had.} (7... Qd8 8. Bc4 c6 9. Nc3 Be7 10. Qe2 Nh6 11. O-O-O O-O 12. Rhg1 Kh8 13. Bf4 Ng8 14. e5 d5 15. Rxg7 Kxg7 16. Qg2+ Kh8 17. Rg1 {1-0 Boege,W-Rosinus,K Badenweiler 1990}) 8. Nc3 {White is clearly better.} Nc6 9. Nd5 Qd8 {The waste of time mentioned at move 5. Because of all his previous inferior moves black's game is now lost. } (9... Qxd4 {loses the exchange.} 10. Nxc7+ Kd8 11. Nxa8) 10. Qd2 Nge7 11. Bc4 b5 (11... Nxd5 12. Bxd5 g6 13. O-O-O Bg7 14. e5 O-O 15. Rhe1 {and at least black is hanginbg on.}) 12. Bb3 a5 13. a4 b4 14. Qd3 Qd7 15. O-O-O Rc8 { Castling was no better.} (15... O-O-O 16. Qa6+ Kb8 17. Nxe7 Nxe7 18. d5 Qc8 19. Qxa5 Qb7 20. Rd4 {with an easy win.}) 16. Qc4 Nxd5 17. Qxd5 g6 {Hoping to get castled, but Reshevsky makes a few hsrd blows that ends the game.} 18. e5 Nd8 19. Rhe1 Ne6 20. Qe4 Ng5 {A pointless attack on the Q.} (20... Be7 {was necessary. White would not have an immediate, forced win, but his position is so strong that the outcome would not be in doubt.} 21. exd6 cxd6 22. Kb1 Kf8 ( 22... O-O 23. d5 Ng7 24. Qxe7) 23. Rd3 Rd8 24. Qd5 Kg7 25. f4 Bf6 26. f5 Nc7 27. Qxa5) 21. exd6+ {A clever finish.} Nxe4 22. Rxe4+ {Maybe 22...Be7 would have presented white more of a challenge.} Qe6 {[%mdl 512]} (22... Be7 23. Rxe7+ Qxe7 24. dxe7 Kxe7 25. Re1+ {Black has a R vs, two Bs, but the game is over.} Kf8 26. Re5 Ra8 27. Rc5 Ra7 28. Bxc7 Ke7 29. Bxa5 Rb8 {White has picked up teo Ps and the win is a matter of technique.}) 23. Rxe6+ Kd7 24. Rf6 { Black resigned} (24. Rf6 Bxd6 25. Be5 Rhf8 26. Bc4 Rb8 27. Bxd6 cxd6 28. Re1 { White's extra piece assures the win.}) 1-0