Postal Chess Before Engines

    A while back I did exactly what I said I wouldn’t do...I played a couple of correspondence games. Ny opponent for the two game match holds the ICCF Senior International Master title. As white I played a sharp line against the Sicilian and as black, my opponent played 3.e4 against my Queen’s Gambit Accepted. Both games fizzled out into uneventful draw. It just proves the futility of correspondence chess these days unless one possess a heavy duty laptop and infinite patience. Even them decisive results are rare. 

     It wasn’t always that way. Before engines the only “help” we had was opening books and almost everybody used Modern Chess Openings. 

    In 1962 the top rated “Postalites” at Al Horowitz’ popular Chess Review were 1) Postal Master Hams Berliner who was rated far ahead of Postal Master Candidates Lionel Joyner and Gerald Gross. Possessing the Air Mail Postalite title were Jack Buck, Robert Steinmeyer, R.E.A. Doe, C. Kalenian, E. W. Buerger, G. Katz, John Curdo and J. W. Harper. They were followed by 34 First Class Postalites. 

     The following game between a couple of Class A Postalites is filled with tactics, some sound, some not.

 

[Event "Chess Review Postal Tournament"] [Site "?"] [Date "1962.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "E.L. Walrath"] [Black "B. Davidson"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E88"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "1962.??.??"] {E88: King's Indian: Saemisch Variation} 1. d4 {As was the custom of the day, we are informed that the opening was found in Modern Chess Openings, 9th edition, page 314m column 37.} Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 {The Saemisch Variation often leads to castling on opposides and ,ot can lead to weighty positional struggles.} O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 {The main option is 7.Neg2. Either way, white seems to do well.} c6 8. Qd2 cxd5 9. cxd5 a6 10. a4 {This is rather weakening in view of the fact that white intends to castle Q-side. More to the point was 10.g4} Ne8 {Normally black plays 10...Nbd7. With the text move it seems as if black is preparing ...f5, but he has another maneuver in mind..} 11. g4 (11. Bd3 f5 12. Nge2 f4 13. Bf2 Nd7 14. O-O {os equal. Carol Querol,S-Movsziszian,K (2501) Castellar 1999}) 11... Bf6 {The thematic is 11... f5 is no better though.} (11... f5 12. gxf5 gxf5 13. Nh3 Qh4+ 14. Qf2 Qh5 15. exf5 Bxf5 16. Ng5 {White is better.}) 12. Nge2 (12. h4 {is an interesting temporary P sacrifice. The idea is to get the Q to the h-file with a gain of time.} Bxh4+ 13. Kd1 Nd7 14. Qh2 g5 15. Bxg5 Qxg5 16. Qxh4 Qxh4 17. Rxh4 { White is better.}) 12... Bh4+ 13. Ng3 f5 {Ultimately this does not work out well for black as all he is doing i opening lines of attack for white. 13... Nd7 was better. It seems as if the whole maneuver initiated by 10...Ne8 is suspect.} 14. gxf5 gxf5 15. exf5 Bxf5 16. O-O-O Bg6 17. Bh6 {Better would have been 17.Bd3 because as will be seen, black's light squared B is very well placed.} Nd7 {Black is relying on a cheap tactical trick which works to his disadvantage.} (17... Bxg3 {Eliminating a piece which has good attacking potential.} 18. hxg3 Rxf3 {and white has only a modest advantage.}) 18. Nge4 ( 18. Bxf8 {loses immediately.} Nc5 {and there is no good way to meet the threat of ...Nb3+ Note how strong the B on g3 is.}) 18... Rxf3 {While this wins a P, it eventually results in white getting a file for an attack. However, passive play with something like 18...Ng7 does not lool very appetizing.} 19. Be2 { More promising would have been 19.Rg1 and Bd3. Black noiw has an ingenious reply.} (19. Rg1 Rxc3+ {doesn't wirk in this situation.} 20. bxc3 Nef6 21. Bd3 Qc7 22. Nxf6+ Bxf6 23. Bxg6 {and white wins.}) 19... Rxc3+ {[%mdl 512] Correctly sacrificing the exchange. Adopting a defensive posture by retreating the R would be much less effective.} 20. Nxc3 Nc5 {Threatening 21...Nb3#} 21. Bc4 {This covers b3, but it also opens up the b1–h7 diagonal with disastrous consequences. Correct was 21.Rdf1! wich gives the K an escape square and, at the same tome, occupies an open file. In that case the chances would have been equal.} Rc8 (21... b5 {[%mdl 512] is even harder for white to meet.} 22. b4 Nxa4 23. Nxa4 Rc8 24. Nc5 dxc5 {and white's position is pretty much hopeless.}) 22. Rdf1 {Placing the R opposite black's K with 22.Rdg1 would have been considerably better. The R has no prospects on f1 even though it's on an open file.} Bf6 (22... Ng7 23. Rhg1 b5 24. Ba2 b4 {and white has no good reply.} 25. Rxg6 hxg6 26. Qg2 Kh7 27. Bb1 e4 28. Bxg7 Kxg7 {and black's attack on the c-file wins.}) 23. Rhg1 b5 24. axb5 axb5 25. Rxg6+ {Returning the exchange is necessary because the B is just too dangerous to white's K.} hxg6 26. Qg2 { [%mdl 2048] White has some pressure.} Kh7 {Very good...black gets his K out of harms way.} (26... bxc4 27. Qxg6+ Bg7 28. Bxg7 Nxg7 29. Rf7 {wins.}) 27. Rg1 g5 28. Qh3 Kg6 29. Bxb5 {Over the last several moves a state of equality has been reached. Black's next move opens the diagonal for his B.} e4 30. Kb1 {Black's K is still in some damger and so 30...Ng7 would help insure its safety/} Rb8 31. Bxg5 Bxg5 32. Qg2 Ng7 33. h4 {The situation has completely changed over the last few moves and it is now white who has a lot of pressure on his opponent's K. The position is razor sharp and black must defend carefully.} Nf5 {...which he does not!} (33... Qe7 {was necessary.} 34. hxg5 Nf5 35. Rh1 Qxg5 36. Qh3 e3 37. Bd3 Qf4 {with about equal chances.}) 34. Qh2 {This is much stronger that exchanging Qs.} ({Inferior is} 34. Nxe4 Nxh4 35. Qxg5+ Qxg5 { with equal chances.}) 34... Nxh4 35. Qxh4 {Material is now equal, but white has a decisive attack.} Qf6 36. b4 {[%mdl 32] Well played! Attention is suddenly dicerted away from the K-side. This move looks risky, but it actually secures the win.} Qf5 37. bxc5 {Hint...this P is going to win the game.} Qf1+ ( 37... dxc5 38. Kc2 Rg8 39. Be2 Rg7 40. Qh5+ Kf6 41. Qe8 {Black can't safely evade the threat of Rf1}) 38. Rxf1 {White threatens Rg1 and mate.} Bxh4 39. c6 e3 40. Kc2 Bd8 41. Rf8 Bc7 42. Rxb8 Bxb8 43. Bd3+ Kf6 44. Nb5 {Black resigned/} 1-0