May 6, 1937 saw the Hindenburg disaster when the German airship burst into flame when mooring in Lakehurst, New Jersey. On May 27 the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco opened to pedestrian traffic. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, D.C. and opened the bridge up for vehicle traffic. Then, as bad as things were, there was a labor strike at US Steel in Chicago.
May was also the month the Marshall Chess Club held its championship which was won by Marshall himself. Additionally, the club's women's champion was Adele Rivero followed by Mary Bain while Mrs. B.W. McCready and Mrs. William Slater tied for 3rd and 4th.
The Marshall, in Greenwich Village in New York City, was formed in 1915 by a group of players led by Frank Marshall. Over the years the club had as members many of the country's best players: Arthur Dake, Larry Evans, Reuben Fine, Bobby Fischer and Fred Reinfeld, to name a few from a bygone era.
It has also had artist Marcel Duchamp and film director, screenwriter and producer Stanley Kubrick as members. In more recent times "shock jock" Howard Stern, a radio and television personality gas been a member.
The '37 club championship had Dr. Harold Sussman (1911-2004) playing. He was from Brooklyn and had the distinction of being Bobby Fischer's dentist. Sussman said Fischer originally had a great set of teeth, but in the early 1980s they were full of fillings which he had removed because the KGB could bug them or use the metal to send damaging rays into his brain.
Was Fischer crazy? Can you really hear radio broadcasts in your fillings? Yes, it is scientifically possible to hear radio broadcasts through metal dental fillings, though it is rare. Metallic fillings (especially older amalgams) can act as a rudimentary crystal radio receiver, picking up strong AM radio signals which then vibrate the jawbone to produce sound. Actress Lucille Ball reportedly heard radio music and Morse code through her dental work. Read more...
Another interesting participant in the championship was Kenneth O. Mott-Smith (1902 – 1960) who was a writer and cryptographer. There is a trophy bearing his name that is awarded at the American Contract Bridge League’s Championship. Mott-Smith was on the Laws Commission, editor of their Bulletin and a contributor to The Bridge World magazine.
During World War II he was chief instructor for the OSS in the training of cryptographers and analysts. He wrote or co-wrote more than 29 books on games and served as games consultant for the Association of American Playing Card Manufacturers.
The following game was an important result in determining the standings.
In this game Fred Reinfeld, who was one of the strongest players in the country from the early 1930s to the early 1940s, went down in defeat to Milton Hanauer. In the 1930s Reinfeld was the only American player who posted a plus score against Reshevsky with a score of +2 -0 =3.
[Event "Marshall CC Championship"]
[Site "New York, NY"]
[Date "1937.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fred Reinfeld"]
[Black "Milton Hanauer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A22"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 18"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "1937.??.??"]
{A29: English Opening: Four Knights Variation with 4 g3} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3.
g3 {Typical of Reinfeld's rock solid Hypermodern opening play. He was known
for squeezing out wins with precise positional play.} d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2
Nb6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. d3 Be6 9. Be3 O-O 10. Ne4 Nd5 {More ambitious was
10...f5, but such a move was not in keeping with Hanauer's style which was
characterized by in classical principles with am emphasis on clear, logical,
and technically sound moves.} 11. Bc5 {A fine move; on e3 the B was blocking
his position.} h6 12. Rc1 Bd6 13. Nxd6 cxd6 14. Ba3 Nde7 (14... Qd7 15. e4 Nc7
16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. Qxd4 Nb5 {is about as equal as it can get. In
Abasov,N (2210)-Meneses Gonzalez,K Herceg Novi 2005 white squeezed out a win
in a long game.}) 15. e4 f5 16. exf5 {This does not turn out too good for
white as black gets the initiative. Continued boring play with 16.b3 was
better.} Nxf5 17. Nd2 Rf7 {Hanauer wisely avoids snatcjing the a-Pawn. This
defends the b-Pawn.} (17... Bxa2 18. b3 Qa5 19. Bb2 d5 20. Ra1 {and black is
in trouble.}) 18. Nc4 Ncd4 19. f4 {The advance of the f-Pawn was good for
black, but it's not good for white. Again, 19.b3 was better.} Bxc4 (19... Rc8 {
was even better. After} 20. b3 Rfc7 {followed by ...b5}) 20. dxc4 {White has
straightened his Ps out but...} Ne3 {Now what?} 21. Qh5 {Setting a trap that
backfires. Now things get tactical.} (21. Qd3 Nxf1 22. Bd5 Nd2 23. Qxd2 Kh8 {
White can't take the R} 24. Kg2 (24. Bxf7 {wins the Q} Nf3+) 24... Rc7 25. Rf1
{Black is up the exchange, but white's position is going to be tough to crack.}
) 21... Rf5 {A nasty surprise for Reinfeld,} 22. Qg6 Rf6 {[%mdl 2048]} 23. Qe4
Nxf1 24. Rxf1 Nc6 {Unlike in the note to move 21.Qd3 while white is the
exchange down here, too, he is losing. A major factor is the position of
white's Q which turns out to be exposed allowing black time to build up his
attack.} 25. Rd1 (25. Qd5+ {was worth a try.} Kh8 26. b3 Qc7 {White's position
is solid, but then black still has the exchange.} 27. Bb2) 25... exf4 26. gxf4
Qa5 27. Rxd6 Rxd6 28. Bxd6 Qd2 {A hiccup that allows white to equalize.
Whereas a while back capturing the a-Pawn would have been bad, now it would
have been good.} (28... Qxa2 29. b4 Rd8 30. c5 a6 {and white's b-Pawn is a
serious weakness.}) 29. Qe6+ (29. Qd5+ {forcing the exchange of Qs was the
only way to keep the balance.} Qxd5 30. Bxd5+ Kh8 31. b4 {Black is still the
exchange up but here white's Bs are in a strong position plus white has a P
majority on the Q-side.}) 29... Kh8 30. Bxc6 bxc6 {[%mdl 4096]} 31. Be5 {
The situation has really changed since 28...Qd2. Black may be up the exchange,
but white's Q and B are well placed in the center, so black is facing extreme
difficulty making progress if that's even possible.} Qe1+ 32. Kg2 {Black is
facing a mate threat with Qxh6+.} Qe4+ 33. Kh3 {The pendulum has swung back to
black's favor after this! Much better would have been 33.Kf2. In that case
black might even have considered repeating moves.} Kh7 {Eliminationg the
immediate mate threat and, at the same time, hoping to uystilize his slight
material advantage.} 34. f5 {Threatening ate again with 35.Qg6+. Can black
escape?} Qe3+ 35. Kg2 Qg5+ {So, g6 is covered, but cab blck make any progress?}
36. Kf3 Qh5+ 37. Ke4 Re8 {Now it's natural for white to want to keeo Qs on
because he can ise hus to generate threat against black's cornered K. However,
it's a mistake. Reinfeld would have been able to prolong the game even though
he would be the exchange down.} 38. Qd6 $2 (38. Qg6+ Qxg6 39. fxg6+ Kxg6 40. b4
{Black has some technical difficulties to overcome, but he should eventually
win.}) 38... Qe2+ 39. Kd4 {Note that Qg6+ and mate is still a threat!} Qxb2+ {
Grabbing an extra P, but it wasn;t necessary.} 40. Ke4 Qe2+ 41. Kd4 Rd8 $1 {
[%mdl 512] White resigned. His Q is skewered.} (41... Rd8 42. Qxd8 Qd2+ 43. Ke4
Qxd8) 0-1
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