A Trap That Backfired

    Games that are filled with traps, ambushes and swindles seem to be rare in these days of sophisticated chess, but while they may not always be correct games containing traps, ambushes and swindles are always fun to play over. 

    In the following game played in the 1920 championship of Scotland, black succeeds in trapping and winning his opponent's Queen, but the price was too high. The winner was William Gibson (1873-1932, 58 years old). Gibson won the Scottish Champion nine times between 1907 and 1931. He was a solicitor in Glasgow and joined the Glasgow CC in 1901. 

    Apart from his successes in Scottish chess, Gibson also played in several other tournaments and British Championships and was always a dangerous opponent. He was also an organizer and administrator, having held at one time or another almost every position in the Glasgow CC and the Scottish Chess Association, as well as being a member of the Council of the British Chess Federation. 

    His wife Margaret was the successful owner of Miss Buick's Tea Room in Glasgow. She would later open a second tea room and they were used by Glasgow chessplayers and clubs over the years. 

    Francis P. Wenman (1891-1972, 80 years old) was born in Croydon, England and was Scottish Champion in 1920 and passed away in Cardiff, Wales. He was associated with chess in Scotland after arriving from London in 1911 and joining the Glasgow Chess Club. 

    During his time there he played several matches against leading club players, including his opponent in this game whom hr defeated by a score of +7 -5 =5. Later, he would also be associated with the Edinburgh and Dundee Clubs, winning the championship of the latter in 1916. 

    Wenman authored or edited some 21 chess books, a number of them being on chess problems, but he was not highly regarded as an author. As a problem composer he was accused of plagiarism in his problem books. 

    I have one of his books, 175 Chess Brilliancies, which was published in 1947. In the introduction he wrote that the book had examples of most of the leading players of the world, but it was unlikely that the average player would have seen most of them. 

     Wenman wrote, “Many very brilliant games and endings from both ancient and modern records are presented to the reader, and it is hoped they will satisfy the desire of even the most ardent admirer of gambits and enterprising play.” One such game was his loss to Gibson; he won Gibson's Queen, but lost the game.