The Amazing Donald MacMurray

    Donald MacMurray was born on November 14, 1914. His father was an alcoholic who drowned after falling off a pier. His mother was a cleaning lady who lived in the slums of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City. Despite the odds of such a background MacMurray possessed the highest IQ ever recorded up to the early 1930s, earned a BA degree from the University of Chicago in eight and a half months, and a law degree from Columbia University in one year. He was also a strong chess master.

    “Meckele” as he was generally known in New York chess circles was also an expert in languages and learned to speak Yiddish so he could frequent the Yiddish Theater. In 1935 to 1936 MacMurray completed his degrees and returned to New York and was married to his childhood girlfriend. 

    During the mid-1930s he played in several Manhattan chess club championships, always scoring well. Among his victims were Isaac Kashdan and Arnold Denker. Before leaving for Chicago to participate in the 1932 Western Chess Association tournament Denker and MacMurray played a short warm-up match that was drawn. Other well-known master who went down in defeat against MacMurray were Weaver Adams and I.A. Horowitz. 

    In the US Open Championship of 1937 he shared third place with George Treysman and then in 1938 he scored a remarkable 10.5 out of 11 in the Consolation Master’s section of the US Open after having narrowly missed qualifying for the finals. 

    In late summer in 1938, MacMurray was playing in the New York State Championship in Cazenovia when he began experiencing a worsening of nausea and stomach pains that were especially noticeable when he was laughing. At one point MacMurray was having dinner with Arnold Denker and the pain was so bad he had to leave the table and at Denker’s request. Another tournament participant, long time master Dr. Joseph Platz, examined MacMurray and discovered a cancer in his stomach that was the size of q grapefruit. Just three months later on December 2, 1938, MacMurray died at age 24. 

    In this game MacMurray easily defeats veteran master Harold Morton of Providence, Rhode Island. Morton was born on January 19, 1906 and won the championship of New England many times. He won the Massachusetts Championship in 1933, 1934, and 1935 and played in the 1936 US Championship. On February 17, 1940, he was killed in a car accident in Iowa when he hit a truck. His passenger, I.A. Horowitz, survived. The two were giving simultaneous exhibitions throughout the country. 

 

[Event "Chicago"] [Site ""] [Date "1937.09.04"] [Round ""] [White "Donald MacMurray"] [Black "Harold Morton"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C49"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "1937.??.??"] {C49: Four Knights Game} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 {The Rubinstein Variation 4...Nd4 is an attempt to unbalance the position, but it also fizzles out to boring equality.} 5. O-O O-O 6. Bxc6 bxc6 7. Nxe5 Re8 8. d4 Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nxe4 10. Re1 Nd6 {This looks rather awkward, but it is best and there is no way for whi.e to take advantage of it} (10... d5 {is more common.} 11. f3 Nxc3 12. Qd2 Nb5 13. Nxc6 Rxe1+ 14. Qxe1 Qd7 {looks drawish.}) 11. Qg4 Qf6 12. Ba3 {[%mdl 2048]} Rd8 {The idea is apparently to guard the d-Pawn so the B can be developed. It does not speak well for black’s position to have to waste time using his R to guard the P.} (12... Re6 13. c4 Ba6 {and black has full equality.}) 13. Re3 {This R-lift is a handy idea worth remembering.} Nf5 {Walking into a pin can’t be good, but black wants to free his game with ...d5.} 14. Rf3 d5 {This defends the c-Pawn and exposes white's Q to a discovered attack, but now white gets a strong attack Black's best chance was to sactifice a P in order to dislodge white's N.} (14... d6 15. Nxc6 Re8 16. d5 Bd7 {and black has finally gotten developed and his position is organically sound/}) 15. Qh5 {Excellent, Black is threatened with 16.g4 and is at a loss for a decent move.} g6 {This results in a fatal weakening of the K's position ans MacMurry forcfully demonstrates.} (15... Qe6 {removes the Q fron danger and after} 16. g4 Nd6 17. Re3 Re8 18. Rae1 Qf6 19. Nxc6 Rxe3 20. Rxe3 Be6 { White is clearly better, but black ha avoided immediate disaster.}) 16. Ng4 Qh8 {It’s hard to believe this loses immediately! Other moves would not have saved the game though.} (16... Qe6 17. Qg5 Re8 18. Nf6+ {wins}) (16... gxh5 17. Nxf6+ Kg7 18. Nxh5+ Kh8 19. Re1 {White is winning.}) ({This is black's best try.} 16... Kh8 17. Nxf6 gxh5 18. Re1 h4 19. Re5 {Material is equal, but black's position is lost. He will sacrifice a R for two pieces leaving him with great piece activity while black's position remains very passive.}) 17. Qg5 Be6 18. Rxf5 {[%mdl 512] Black resigned. Why?!} (18. Rxf5 Bxf5 19. Nh6+ Kg7 20. Be7 {Technically this is not as strong as the immediate 20.Nf5+, but it is the most practical. The threat is Bf6+} (20. Nxf5+ Kg8 21. Ne7+ Kg7 22. Qe5+ f6 (22... Kh6 23. Bc1+ g5 24. Qxg5#) 23. Qxc7 {and all that remains is for white to bring his R into play with Re12 and black is helpless.}) 20... Rd6 21. Nxf5+ Kg8 22. Bxd6 cxd6 23. Re1 {White is a piece up.}) 1-0

Kramer vs. Soudakoff, Complications Galore

    The 1948 US Championship was held in South Fallsburg, New York which is located in the Catskill Mountains in SE New York. 

    The country’s top players, Samuel Reshevsky and Reuben Fine, did mot participate. Reshevsky demanded financial stipulations which the tournament committee simply could not meet. Negotiations with Fine met a similar fate. Another top player, Arnold Denker, was participating in Mar del Plata in Argentina, That event was won by Erich Elisjases while Denker finished tied for places 16-17 out of 18 with a +2 -7 =8 score.  Also missing were Albert Pinkus and I.A. Horowirz. 

    With the exception of Isaac Kashdan and Olaf Ulvestad who were seeded as last minute replacements, the players had to qualify from preliminary events held throughout the country. In the finals Herman Steiner took first a half point ahead og Kashdan. The following game was played at the Marshall Chess Club in what was the qualifier fpr what was termed Area 7. The top 7 finishers qualified, They were Anthony Sanatasiere, George Shainswit, Larry Evans, Irving Heitner, George Kramer, Dr. Joseph Platz and L. Walter Stephens. 

    George Kramer (1929-2024, 94 years old) won the 1945 New York State Championship, the 1951-52 Manhattan Chess Club Championship and the 1964, 1967 and 1969 New Jersey State Championships. Not a lot is known of New York Master Jack Soudakoff. His obituary states that he passed away peacefully at the age of 87 on November 19, 2005 and that he was a WWII veteran and a long time N.Y. Subway systems analyst. 

    What makes the game interesting and difficult is the unusual material imbalance. A Queens can dominate against multiple pieces, especially in open positions. It is usually superior to a Rook and minor piece, but two Rooks or three well coordinated minor pieces can hold their own or sometimes even out perform the Queen. In this game white’s pieces beat the Queen. Plus. there are some passed Pawns thrown in just to complicate things. 

 

[Event "US-ch Preliminary, New York City"] [Site ""] [Date "1948.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "George Kramer"] [Black "Jack Soudakoff"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C88"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "1948.??.??"] [Source "Chess Life, 20 M"] {C88: Closed Ruy Lopez: Anti-Marshall Systems} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d4 {White usually plays 8.c3. The text is designed to prevent the Marshall Attack. For many years, 8.a4 was the most common owing to Garry Kasparov's victory over Nigel Short in the 1993 World Chess Championship. Recently, however, the viability of 8... b4 in response to 8. a4 has led to increased use of 8. h3 insted.} (8. c3 d5 { is the once feared Marsahll Attack which today results in a lot of draws.}) 8... exd4 9. e5 Ne8 10. Bd5 Rb8 11. Nxd4 {White does better with 11.Bxc6 or he can try the interesting P gambit 11.c3} Nxd4 12. Qxd4 {Not bad, but he loses time with his Q so 12.Bf4 was slightly better.} d6 13. Nc3 dxe5 14. Qxe5 Bd6 ( 14... Bf6 {It's difficult for humans to evaluate, but this is more precise according to engines.} 15. Qe2 b4 16. Rd1 bxc3 17. Bxf7+ Kxf7 18. Rxd8 Bxd8 { White has a Q+P vs. R+B+N}) 15. Bg5 Qd7 16. Qe4 {[%mdl 2048]} Qf5 {Here the safest move fpr white is 17.Qxf5. Instead, he takes the plunge into complications.} 17. Qxe8 {Qe3 is the strong threat.} Qxg5 (17... Rxe8 18. Rxe8+ Bf8 19. Be7 g6 20. Bxf8 Be6 21. Rxb8 h6 22. Bc5+ Kg7 23. Bd4+ f6 24. Re8 Bxd5 25. Nxd5 Qxd5 26. Re7+ Kf8 27. Rae1 Qd6 28. R7e6 {wins}) 18. Bxf7+ Kh8 19. Ne4 Qg4 (19... Qe5 {results in head whirling complications...} 20. Qxe5 Bxe5 21. c3 (21. Bb3 Bxb2 22. Rad1 Bf5 23. Nc5 {is equal}) 21... Rxf7 {with equal chances.} ) 20. Nxd6 Bb7 {Threatening 21...Qxg2#} 21. Qxf8+ Rxf8 22. Nxb7 {White has a R+B+N vs, a Q. Who is better and by how much? Wngines favor white. Stockfish (2.18), Reckless (1.39), PlentyChess (1.20) and Fritz 20 (1.91). Even the more human-like Lc0 prefers white by a score of 1.41.} Qd7 {Stronger was 22...Qf5 eyeing white's f-Pawn.} 23. Be6 (23. Bh5 {was much more powerful.} Qd4 24. Bf3 Qxb2 25. Nc5 Qxc2 26. Nd7 Rg8 27. h4 c5 28. Bd5 Rd8 29. Re7 Qd2 30. Rae1 Qxd5 31. Re8+ Rxe8 32. Rxe8+ Qg8 33. Rxg8+ Kxg8 {but calculating this line is beyond human capability.}) 23... Qc6 24. Na5 Qxc2 25. b4 Qxf2+ {Doubling pieces on the 2nd rank with 25...Rxf2 was a smidgen better.} 26. Kh1 c5 27. a3 c4 28. Nb7 {White s plan is to go after the Q-side Ps.} h6 {This goves his K a flight square, but to that end a dark square with 28...g6 would have been a bit better.} 29. Bd7 ({White should try} 29. Nc5) 29... Qd2 30. Nc5 a5 (30... c3 {would give white payse for thought and so was a better defense.} 31. Rad1 Qa2 32. Ra1 Qd2 {White can take the draw by repeating moves or go for the win with 33.Be6} 33. Be6 Re8 34. Rad1 Qb2 35. Nd3 Qxa3 36. Ra1 Qxa1 37. Rxa1 Rxe6 38. Rc1 Rc6 {Theoretically white is winning, but it's going to take time.}) 31. Rad1 Qc3 32. Ne6 Rf2 33. Bc6 (33. Bxb5 {would be wrong.} Rd2 34. Rc1 Rc2 35. Rb1 Rb2 {and white can make no progress.}) (33. bxa5 $18 {Black must now prevent a6.} Qxa5 34. Bc6) 33... Rd2 34. bxa5 Qe5 {Of course white is not going to fall for 35,Re5 so black should have ca[tured on a5. Now black's position is no lomger bad, it's lost.} 35. Nd8 {Make that should have been lost! After this the chances are equal.} (35. a6 {leaves black helpless.} Rxd1 36. Rxd1 Qxe6 37. a7 Qxc6 38. Rd8+ Kh7 39. a8=Q) 35... Kh7 (35... Rxd1 { keeps things equal.} 36. Rxd1 Qe7 37. Bxb5 c3 38. Ba4 Qe4 39. Bb3 Qe2 {and with careful play white should draw.}) 36. a6 (36. Rxe5 Rxd1+ 37. Re1 Rxe1#) 36... c3 {[%mdl 8192] Black has over estimated the strength of this P and underestimated the strength of white's a-Pawn.} (36... Qe3 {holds up the a-Pawn's advance.} 37. Ra1 Ra2 38. Rab1 Rb2 {White has to take the draw.}) 37. Rc1 (37. Rxe5 {gets mated.} Rxd1+ 38. Re1 Rxe1#) (37. a7 {does not work.} c2 38. Rc1 Qxe1+ 39. Rxe1 Rd1 40. Be4+ g6 41. g3 Rxe1+ 42. Kg2 c1=Q 43. a8=Q { with a likely draw.}) 37... Qc5 38. Be4+ g6 39. Nc6 Qxa3 40. a7 b4 {White's problem now is how to get the ( to a8.} 41. Na5 {[%mdl 512]} Rd8 42. Ra1 Qb2 43. a8=Q Rxa8 44. Bxa8 c2 {An amazing position, but Kramer has everything under control.} 45. Nc4 Qd4 46. Ne3 b3 47. Nxc2 bxc2 48. Be4 Qd2 49. Bxc2 { Of course the B cannot be taken because black would get mated.} h5 {A picturesque position. White now executes a problem-like finish.} 50. Rac1 Kh6 51. Red1 Qe3 52. Bb1 h4 53. Rc6 h3 {The last hope: ...hxg2+} 54. Rxg6+ { Black resigned. Kidos to both platers for an exciting game.} (54. Rxg6+ Kh7 55. Rd7+ Kh8 56. Rd8+ Kh7 57. Rg3+) 1-0

Vintage Kashdan

     In 1927, in the United States it was the dawn of the "talkies" which was what my mother called the movies. That’s what they called them as opposed to the old silent films of her childhood. 

    The dance craze was the Lindy Hop. Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees baseball team hit a record breaking 60 home runs, a record that stood until 1961. Or did it? Roger Maris, also of the Yankees, tied the record in 1961 when he hit his 60th home run in the 158th game. He hit his 61st in the final 162nd game of that season. It took Babe Ruth151 games in a 164 game season to hit 60. Also in sports the famous basketball Harlem Globetrotters began. 

    Charles Lindbergh became a national hero after completing the first solo, non-stop transatlantic flight and Philo T. Farnsworth transmitted the first electronic television image. 

    To add to the excitement of 1927, finishing with a score of 7-3, Albert S. Pinkus of the Manhattan Chess Club captured first in the last round of the Junior Masters tournament played at the Manhattan Chess Club on. 

    The winner of the following game, Isaac Kashdan (1905-1985) was, according to Chess metrics, the world’s second ranked player 20 different months between the November 1932 rating list and the June 1934 rating list. Alekhine named him one of the most likely players to succeed him as World Champion. Kashdan could not make a career out of chess and for financial reasons did not play seriously. His mover to California for his son’s health also distanced him from the country;s center of chess activity in New York. Albert Pinkus (1903-184) was a fascinating man. Read my post on him HERE. 

 

    Nowadays when we think of young masters we think of players in their teens, sometimes 13 or 14 yer olds. In this tournament in 1927, Pinkus was 24, Kashdan 22, Santasiere 23, Tholfsen 23, at age 37 Smirka was hardly young and Bornholz 25. Perhaps the “Junior Master” was used instead of the term “Minor Master.” 

[Event "Junior Masters Tmt., New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1927.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Erling Tholfsen"] [Black "Isaac Kashdan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D48"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "1927.??.??"] [Source "Brooklyn Daily E"] {D48: Semi-Slav: Meran System} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 a6 9. Qe2 c5 10. O-O Bb7 11. Rd1 Qb6 12. a4 {[%cal Ra4b5]} c4 13. Bb1 b4 14. Na2 {This is a poor place for the N. White has to play `14.a5} (14. a5 $18 Qc6 15. Na4 Rc8 16. e4 Nxe4 17. d5 exd5 18. Nd4 {equals. Paszek,A (2275)-Hoffmann,J Germany 1995}) 14... Rc8 15. e4 Be7 16. Bg5 O-O 17. d5 exd5 (17... Bc5 {was much better.} 18. a5 (18. e5 Nxd5 {leaves whote poised for a decisive attack.}) 18... Qxa5 19. d6 Ng4 20. Bh4 {White must defend f2} (20. e5 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Nxf2) 20... b3 21. e5 bxa2 {Black has won a N.}) 18. e5 Qe6 {On principle 18...Rfe6 placing the R opposite the Q was better.} 19. Bf4 {[%mdl 8192] This is a tactical mistake, Simplt improving the position of his N with 19.Nc1 keeps things equal.} Nh5 20. Bg5 (20. Bg3 { This looks reasonable, but after} Nxg3 21. hxg3 g6 22. Re1 Bc5 23. Qd2 f6 24. exf6 Qxf6 {white is strategically lost. Even capturing the b-Pawn doesn't help. ..} 25. Nxb4 Qd6 26. Nxd5 Qxd5 27. Qxd5+ Bxd5 28. Be4 {Hoping to simplify jis defemse by exchanges.} Bxe4 29. Rxe4 Nf6 30. Re2 Ng4 31. Rf1 Rb8 {Black is winning.}) 20... Bc5 21. Nd4 Bxd4 22. Bxh7+ {At first glance it appears that white has a stong atytack, but black can defend himself and he still has a decisive advantage,} Kxh7 23. Qxh5+ Kg8 24. Rxd4 f6 25. exf6 Nxf6 26. Qg6 Rce8 {...a mate threat with ...Qe1+} 27. f3 a5 28. Rad1 {Material is equal and white is attacking the d-Pawn plus black has a bad B. All black appears to have is control of the e-file, so how can he be winning. Kashdan will demonstrate how.} Nd7 29. Qh5 Qf7 30. Qh4 Re2 {Here is the key...control of the 2nd rank. Note white's attack on the d-Pawn is pointless and there is no K-side attack.} 31. Nc1 Rxb2 32. Rg4 {This is just aa gesture, but there is nothing better.} Ne5 {A solid move that keeps the win in hamd, but he has missed a nice tactical shot.} (32... Rxg2+ 33. Rxg2 Ne5 {Threatening a fork on the Q and K.} 34. Qf4 Nxf3+ 35. Kf1 Qe6 36. Qg3 Nxh2+ 37. Kg1 Nf3+ 38. Kf1 Nxg5+ {and black is winning.}) 33. Rg3 {Just a bit better would have been 33. Rf4} d4 {[%mdl 512] A solid winning mov, but the old ...Rxg2+ trick was more spectacular.} (33... Rxg2+ 34. Kxg2 Nxf3 35. Qg4 d4 {White has no defense... everything he can try loses.} 36. Rf1 Ne5+) 34. Qxd4 {Kashdan finishes up smartly.} Rxg2+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} 35. Kxg2 Nxf3 36. Qe3 Ne1+ {White resigned. This solid performance by Kashdan shows why he was called der Kleine Capablanca.} 0-1

Reuben Fine's Luck

    It seems if it wasn't for bad luck Reuben Fine (1914-1983) wouldn't have had any luck at all. Fine was one of the strongest players in the world from the mid-1930s into the early 1950s, but he was never able to win the US Championship. Once when asked why that was so, Samuel Reshevsky said, “It was because I was playing.” 

 In the first modern US Championship in 1936, the 21-year old Fine was, along with Reshevsky and Kashdan, the elite of US chess. That tournament didn't go well for Fine. His 7 wins and 7 draws showed his play was too timid and his loss to Albert Simonson, who was playing incredibly well, meant that Fine could do no better than tie George Treysman for third behind Reshevsky and Simonson. 

    Simonson, the youngest player in the tournament, was an unknown and was recognized as one of the better bridge and backgammon players. His only previous claim to fame had been his mediocre performance on one of the US Olympiad teams, but he made a remarkable late surge to finish a half point behind Reshevsky. 

    Treysman, at 55 was an old man, who had never played in a tournament before but was a professional coffeehouse player, earning dimes at speed and offhand games at some of the seedy clubs around New York. 

    In the 1938 Championship Fine finished second behind Reshevsky by a half point. He might have won, but losses to Anthony Santasiere (who tied Treysman for places 10-11) and Milton Hanauer (tied for places 12-14 with S. Cohen and Fred Reinfeld) proved disastrous. 

    Then again in 1940, Fine finished a half point behind Reshevsky. This time it was a loss to the super-solid Abraham Kupchik who finished tied with Arnold Denker for sixth place. Fine sat out the 1942 event but in the 1944 Championship Reshevsky wasn't playing, so it looked like this was Fine's chance. 

    This time he lost one game. When he met Denker in the seventh round it was Denker who prevailed. This was the tournament of Denker's life as he scored an amazing +14 -0 =3 and finished ahead of Fine who's score was almost as good, +13 -1 =3. 

 Fine did much better in the US Open though. At 17, he won his first of seven US Open Championships (then known as the Western Open) at Minneapolis in 1932 where he finished a half point ahead of Reshevsky. 

 Against high class opposition Fine often played brilliantly, but in domestic tournaments he often made tactical errors against lesser opposition. Who knows why? 

    The following game is from the US Open held in Dallas, Texas in 1940. In those days Dallas was out of the way, there was a war going on which made travel difficult, plus the New York State Chess Association championship was being held. As a result, the turnout was a dismal 27 entrants.  

     The field was split into three preliminary sections, with pre-tournament favorites Fine, Herman Steiner, and Weaver Adams seeded into different groups with the top three from each preliminary qualifying for the finals. 

    As expected Adams was undefeated in his section, finishing ahead of Erich Marchand. Steiner was also undefeated in his section, finishing ahead of Harold Burge. Fine was also undefeated, but J.C. Thompson tied him for first. 

    Fine's opponent in this game was the unheralded Albert Roddy from Oklahoma. Arnold Denker called Roddy a “non-master”, but I don't think that is necessarily the case.

 

    In the 1947 Southwest Open held in Fort Worth, Texas, Roddy tied for first with J.C. Thompson, Robert G. Wade and Blake W. Stevens. At the time Wade was touring the United States and Canada by Greyhound bus and playing in a number of tournaments. Blake Stevens (1927 – 1993) was from San Antonio, Texas and won the city championship several times. On the 1955 USCF rating list he was rated 2140. J.C. Thompson was a Master long before there was an official rating list. 

     I attempted to discover more information on Albert Roddy, but was unable to do so. There was an Albert Roddy (1900-1966) who is listed as registering for the draft in the September 26, 1918 issue of the Ada (Oklahoma) Weekly News. There was also an Army Second Lieutenant Albert H. Roddy during World War II who was captured by the Nazis while serving in Germany and was sent to Stalag Luft 3 near Sagan, Germany. He was freed in 1945. 

    Whomever this Albert Roddy was, this game was his 15 minutes of fame. The game was played in the preliminary section of the 1940 US Open held in Dallas, Texas. Fine went on to score 8-0 in the finals while Roddy tied for places 3-5 with a 4-3 score in the consolation tournament. 

 

[Event "US Open. Prelim 2, Dallas"] [Site "Dallas, TX USA"] [Date "1940.08.20"] [Round "3"] [White "Albert Roddy"] [Black "Reuben Fine"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [Annotator "Stocjfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "1940.??.??"] {D38: Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Variation} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {This sharp defense looks like a mixture of the QGD and the Nimzo-Indian and was introduced into practice by Soviet GM Viacheslav Ragozin.} 5. Qb3 {White has many choices here: 5.Qa4, 5.Qc2, 5.e3, 5. a3, 5.Bg5 and 5. cxd5.} c5 {Black blocks the c-Pawn after 5...Nc6, but it’s also a good move that results in lots of piece play.} 6. Bg5 Nc6 7. dxc5 O-O 8. e3 h6 9. Bh4 { This move does not seem to be inferior to 9.Bxf6 which has also been played.} g5 10. Bg3 Ne4 11. Be2 Qf6 {11... Nxg3 cannot be recommended because black’s K has been weakened by the advance of the Ps, plus the open h-file would be too dangerous for him.} (11... Nxg3 12. hxg3 Qf6 13. cxd5 exd5 {and after 14. O-O white has the advantage, but not} 14. Qxd5 Bxc3+ {and black wins.}) 12. Rc1 h5 {Risky. Fine is taking liberties against his unknown opponent. 11... Nxg3 cannot be recommended because black’s K has been weakened by the advance of the Ps, plus the open h-file would be too dangerous for him.n Simply 12... Nxc4 with equal chances is correct.} 13. h4 {This is not a good choice as it weakens his K's position. White has a good position after 13.cxd5} g4 {[%mdl 2048] 13... Nxg3 looks good, but appearances are deceptive.} (13... Nxg3 14. hxg5 Qg6 15. fxg3 Rd8 16. Rd1 Bxc5 17. Bd3 Qg7 18. Rxh5 {and white has a very strong attack.}) 14. Nd4 {White is faced with a difficult decision. Play this or 14.cxd5.} (14. cxd5 Nxc5 15. Qd1 gxf3 16. gxf3 Rd8 {Black is better.}) 14... Nxd4 {14... Nxg3 is a little better, but because the move wasn’t good last move, he probably rejected it without much thought.} (14... Nxg3 15. fxg3 Bxc5 {This was previously unavaliable.} 16. cxd5 Nxd4 17. exd4 Bxd4 {with n excellent position.}) 15. Qxb4 Nxg3 16. fxg3 {At this point Fine's advantage is only marginal} Nf5 17. cxd5 Nxg3 18. Rg1 exd5 19. Nxd5 Qxh4 20. Qf4 Be6 21. Ne7+ {[%mdl 8192] After this black is winning. It was better to leaving the N where it is and play 19.Bc4 or even 19,Rd1.} Kh7 22. Bd3+ f5 23. Kd2 Rae8 { One square too far. Black is still better after this, but on d8 he would be winning.} (23... Rad8 24. Rgd1 Ne4+ 25. Ke2 Qxe7 26. Bxe4 fxe4 27. Qxe4+ Kg7 { Black has won a piece.}) 24. Rh1 {Roddy has a brilliant concept in mind.} Nxh1 {Apparently Fine is unaware of what is about to happen. He would have been slightly better after 24...Qxe7} 25. Rxh1 {[%mdl 512]} Qxh1 26. Qg5 {This forces black to take the draw. The threat is Qg6 and Qh6 mate} Qxg2+ 27. Kc3 Rxe7 {[%mdl 512]} 28. Qxe7+ Rf7 29. Qxe6 Kg7 30. Bc4 Rf6 {Draw agreed.} (30... Rf6 31. Qg8+ Kh6 32. Qh8+ Kg5 33. Qg7+ Rg6 34. Qe7+ Kh6 35. Qf8+ {etc.}) 1/2-1/2

Staggering Endgame Complications

    Everybody loves to study openings and tactics and as much as they love to study those they hate to study endings. In the days of yesteryear I had Fine’s Basic Chess Endings, an endgame book by Euwe in German and what was probably the most helpful, The Endings in Modern Theory and Practice by R.C. Griffiths. I spent a lot of time studying K+P and R+P endings. It was pretty much a waste of time because few of my blunderfests ever got to that point. For the record there is an Endgame Frequency Table that appears on thechessworl site. 

    Endings are hard as the following game shows. At one time Isaac Kashdan was one of the best players in the world and he knew endgames. So did Al Horowitz who, himself, was at one time a world class player. Yet the complications of this ending were too much for Kashdan and in his annotation Horowitz missed a lot. The ending was something only Stockfish can calculate; it just couldn’t be done over the board. You have to feel sorry for Lasker; he really didn’t deserve to lose this game! 

 

 

    The game was played in the 1944 New York Metropolitan Chgess League which was won by the Manhattan Chess Club. When all adjourned games were finished, the final score was an overwhelming 62.5-5.5 score for Manhattan. 

    The individual match between long time rivals, Manhattan and Marshall, was much closer than anticipated. On paper Manhattan should have won by a large margin as their team was much stronger, particularly on the lower boards. 

 

[Event "Metropolitan League Match, New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1944.03.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Edward Lasker (Marshall CC)"] [Black "Isaac Kashdan (Manhattan CC)"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D19"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "1944.??.??"] [Source "Chess Review, Ma"] {D18: Slav Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 {Rgusm the Slav, isoreferred by some because it does not shut in the light squared B.} 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 { This move constrains black;s Q-side Ps and is by far the most popularm bur it's not the only option...white has played just about every plausible move.} Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Ne5 {At the time the "Chessplayer's Bible" (i.e. Modern Chess Openings) recommended 9.Qe2, but it has been supplanted by the text becuse it affords white better attacking chances.} Nbd7 10. f4 (10. Nxd7 Qxd7 11. f3 Rfd8 12. Qb3 a5 13. Rd1 Bg6 14. e4 {with equal chances. Pashikian,A (2614)-Mikaelyan,A (2350) Yerevan 2015}) 10... Nb6 { Also good was 10...c5} 11. Bd3 {On one hand this move eliminates black's well placed B, but on the other hand ot violates a general principle that when you want to attack you should avoid the exchange of pieces. 11.Be2 also supports his intended g4 and so is preferable.} Nbd5 {Black is not comcerned about doubled f-Pawns becsuse they would constrain white's activity.} (11... Bxd3 12. Nxd3 Be7 13. Kh1 Nbd5 14. Re1 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Ne4 {with a solid position. Colpe, M (1962)-Schubert,S (1788) Willingen 2005}) 12. g4 {Aggressive play!} Bxd3 13. Qxd3 c5 14. Na2 {Also good was 14.g5 going all out for an attack, but Lasker apparently changes his mind and takes a different course.} a5 15. e4 {This is actually better than advancing the g-Pawn. Lasker avoided playing g5 because he believed that 15.e4 would yield better results. Afyer the game he thoughtm as did Al Horowitz, that 15.g5 was better. It's not.} (15. g5 Nd7 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 17. e4 {White still needs to play this.} Ne7 {and there is no K-side attack and the position offers equal chances.}) 15... Nb6 16. Nxb4 axb4 17. dxc5 Qxd3 $1 18. Nxd3 Nxa4 19. Re1 Rfd8 {There was no reason to avoid 19...Nxg4. The text allows a surprising response.} 20. c6 bxc6 (20... Rxd3 21. cxb7 Rb8 22. Rxa4 Nxg4 23. Ra8 Rdd8 24. Rxb8 Rxb8 25. Rd1 Kf8 26. Rd7 {White's position looks much more dangerous than it is; the R on the 7th rank, usually a potent weapon. turn out to be impotent here.} Nf6 27. Rc7 Ne8 28. Rd7 Nf6 {etc. If the R leaves the 7th rank the position is drawn.}) 21. Nxb4 Nc5 {[%mdl 2048]} 22. Rxa8 Rxa8 23. Nxc6 Nxg4 24. b4 {Fortunately for Kashdanm he has enough resources to cope with this passed P.} Nd3 25. Rd1 Ngf2 26. Rd2 {[%mdl 8192] This is a tactical error that loses the f-Pawn and gives black what turns out to be a winning P-majority on the K-side. White's passed b-Pawn can be dealt with.} (26. Rf1 {also costs a P, but after} Nxe4 27. b5 Ndc5 {there is just no way to make any progress against black's Ns.}) 26... Nh3+ 27. Kg2 Nhxf4+ 28. Kf3 Ra1 (28... g5 {Mobilizing his Ps should win, but the road to victory is much too complicated to visualize over the board! For example...} 29. b5 Nxc1 30. b6 Ra3+ 31. Kg4 f6 32. Rd8+ Kg7 33. Rd7+ Kh6 34. b7 Ncd3 35. Kf3 (35. b8=Q Nf2#) 35... Ne5+ 36. Kf2 Nxd7 {wins easily.}) 29. Bb2 Rb1 30. Ne5 {[%mdl 8192] Thus ius a losing move...or it should have been.} (30. b5 {This leads to enormous complications with n uncertain outcome. Perfect play would likely lead to a draw. With less than perfect play the game could go either way.} g5 ( 30... Nxb2 31. Rd8#) (30... Rxb2 31. Rxb2 Nxb2 32. b6 {wins}) 31. b6 Nxb2 32. Rd8+ Kg7 33. b7 Nc4 34. b8=Q Rxb8 35. Rxb8 Nd2+ 36. Ke3 Nf1+ 37. Kf2 Nxh2 38. Kg3 Nf1+ 39. Kf2 Nd2 {The position is equal, but if anybody has winning chances it's black.}) 30... Rxb2 31. Rxb2 {This position is amazing, astonishing, incredible and sensational! Who wouldn't play Kashdan's next move?!} Nxb2 {...probably everybody, but taking the R throws away the win.} ( 31... Nxe5+ 32. Kg3 (32. Kxf4 Nd3+) 32... Nh5+ 33. Kg2 Nf6 34. b5 Nc4 35. Rb4 Nb6 {Analysis demonstrated the win which too nearly a hundred moves.}) 32. Kxf4 {[%mdl 4096] Needless to say the ending favors black, but that's not to say that white is lost. There is a lot of play in the position, but it's white who has the harder task.} f6 33. Nc6 Kf7 34. Ke3 {Somewhat better would have been 34.e4} e5 35. Na5 Ke6 36. Kd2 Na4 37. Nc4 Kd7 38. Kc2 Kc6 39. Kb3 $2 {This reasonable looking move should have lost.} (39. Ne3 Nb6 40. Kc3 Kb5 41. Nf5 g6 42. Nd6+ Kc6 43. Ne8 Nd7 44. Kc4 Nb6+ 45. Kc3 Nd7 {Neither side can maker any progress.}) 39... Nb6 40. Na5+ Kb5 41. Nb7 g6 {This one last bit of preparation before the final phase shou;d have allowed white to eqalize.} ( 41... Nc4 {Threatens to win the e-Pawn with ...Nd2+, so...} 42. Nc5 Nd6 43. Kc3 h5 {The idea is to get a passed P in the K-side.} 44. h3 g5 {Now white's K must hurry to the K-sdie ans his P falls.} 45. Kd2 Kxb4 46. Nd3+ Kb3 47. Ke3 Kc4 48. Nf2 Kc3 49. Nd3 Nc4+ 50. Ke2 Kd4 {wins}) 42. Nd6+ {Excellent! Black has to withdraw to defend his Ps.} Kc6 43. Ne8 $1 Nd7 44. Kc4 f5 45. exf5 gxf5 {This ending is now a draw.} 46. b5+ Kb6 {aiming for ...f4.} 47. Nd6 f4 48. Kd5 {[%mdl 8192] This gives black bew chances. Correct was 48.Ne4} (48. Ne4 Ka5 49. Nd2 Ka4 50. Ne4) 48... f3 {Now white loses his one asset...the b-Pawn.} 49. Nc4+ Kxb5 50. Ne3 f2 51. Ke4 Kc5 52. Nf1 Kc4 {Black's f-Pawn is dooned, but white is in no hurry to capture it. Instead, he tries to maintain the good position of his K.} 53. Ne3+ Kb3 54. Kf3 Kc3 55. Kxf2 Kd3 56. Nd5 {Lasker must have thought he had a draw here because he called this the decisive mistake. He believed the correct procedure would have been to go after the h-Pawn with his K and sacrifice his N for the e-Pawn.} (56. Kf3 e4+ {is much stronger.} ( 56... Nf6 {Lasker and Horowitz} 57. Nf5 e4+ 58. Kf4 h6 {To keep white's K from approaching. Horowitz ended his analysis here, but black is winning.} 59. Ke5 Ng4+ 60. Kf4 e3 61. Nxe3 Nxe3 {This ending is a win for black/}) 57. Kf4 Ne5 58. Ng2 Ng6+ 59. Kf5 e3 60. Kf6 e2 61. Kg5 Kd2 62. h4 Ne7 63. Kh6 (63. h5 Nd5 64. Nh4 Ke3 65. Ng2+ Kf2 66. Kh6 Kxg2 67. Kxh7 Nf6+) 63... Nf5+ 64. Kxh7 Ne3 { and the P queens}) 56... e4 {The rest is, as they say, a matter of technique... for the big boys. For the rest of us , well...} 57. Ke1 Kd4 58. Nf4 Ke3 59. Ng2+ Kf3 60. Kf1 Ne5 61. Nh4+ Ke3 62. Nf5+ Kd3 63. h3 e3 64. Ng3 Nf3 65. Ne2 Kd2 66. Nf4 h5 {[%mdl 512]} 67. Ng2 h4 68. Nf4 Ng5 69. Ng2 e2+ 70. Kg1 Nxh3+ 71. Kh2 Ng5 {White resigned, It's mate in 8} (71... Ng5 72. Kh1 h3 73. Ne1 Kxe1 74. Kg1 h2+ 75. Kg2 h1=Q+ 76. Kxh1 Kf2 77. Kh2 {Don't play 77...e1Q Stalemate!} Kf3 78. Kh1 Kg3 (78... e1=Q+ 79. Kh2 Qg3+ 80. Kh1 Qg2#) 79. Kg1 e1=R#) 0-1

Kashdan Grinds Out a Win

    Fidel Castro's forces entered Havana and officially took control of Cuba on January 8, 1959. Five years later I was with Weapons Platoon, G Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines and we were sitting on the flight deck of the USS Boxer just off the coast of Cuba. 

    We had been issued ammunition and the helicopters were running as we waited for Castro to invade the US Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay as part of his fifth anniversary. Of course, the invasion never came. 

    In 1940, things were different. Cuba adopted a new constitution and Fulgencio Batista, a military figure, won the presidential election that year. Cuba also entered World War II on the side of the Allies. US-Cuba relations were generally good and the US provided military aid to Cuba, and both nations worked together on economic and financial matters.

    At the end of January, 1940, a small and long forgotten tournament was held in Havana, but it aroused great enthusiasm among Cuban chessplayers. It was held in one of the most beautiful buildings in Havana, the Centro Asturiano, a mutual aid society and cultural institution. The only American entry was Isaac Kashdan as George Koltanowski didn’t immigrate to the United States until 1944. 

 

    The winner of this game, Isaac Kashdan (1905-1985) was known as “der Kleine Capablanca” in Europe because of his ability to extract victories from seemingly even positions. Alekhine named him as one of the most likely players to succeed him as World Champion. Unfortunately, Kashdan was never able to he heavily involved in chess for financial reasons as his peak chess years coincided with the Great Depression. 

    Style-wise, although he was a strong tactician he preferred positional play and his real strength was in the endgame. He was particularly noted for his fondness for and his ability in handling the two Bishops. 

    Kashdan annotated one of his games from Havana, his win over Paz, and it was a boring game in which he milked a win out of the ending . The following game is more interesting. Jis opponent comes out of the opening with a passive position and Kashdan puts the squeeze on him and never lets up. His opponent hangs on grimly until move 31 when a miscalculation costs him a piece. 

 

[Event "Havana International"] [Site ""] [Date "1940.01.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Isaac Kashdan"] [Black "Jose R. Florido"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1940.??.??"] [Source "Laude's Kashdan "] {[%evp 9,67,11,21,14,203,200,200,178,195,172,197,188,218,155,243,144,299,272, 316,291,326,248,272,182,231,216,216,218,201,152,226,179,193,164,182,153,165, 145,202,202,202,80,114,72,102,106,154,110,102,52,192,192,166,176,385,376,441, 422,755,759] B44: Sicilian Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. c4 {For several decades the Maroczy Bind was considered extremely dangerous to black. Today, while black does get a passive position, his defenses are adequate and so the Bond has become just another variation available to white.} c5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bc5 6. Nb3 Nf6 {With this move black has already misplayed the opening. Correct is 6...Bb4 with equality.} 7. Nxc5 {No doubt having the two Bs so early pleased Kashdan.} Qa5+ {Black recovers the piece, but he loses a lot of time with his Q.} 8. Nc3 Qxc5 9. Be3 Qa5 10. Qd2 O-O 11. Be2 a6 {Black could have tried to free his position with 11...d5, but that would not have worked out too well either.} (11... d5 12. cxd5 exd5 13. exd5 Rd8 14. Bg5 Be6 15. O-O Bxd5 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Qh6 {White is clearly better.}) 12. O-O Re8 {This mysterious move seems to have little point. 12...b5 was correct.} 13. a3 Qc7 14. b4 b6 15. f4 d6 16. Bf3 Bb7 17. Rfd1 {Putting pressure on the d-Pawn; black is going to counter with pressure on the c-Pawn. The position is rife with tactical possibilities.} Ne7 18. Rac1 {This fine move indirectly defends the P.} Rad8 (18... Qxc4 19. Qb2 (19. Nd5 exd5 20. Rxc4 dxc4 {Black almost, but not quite, has enough compensation for the Q.}) (19. Qa2 Qxa2 20. Nxa2 Bxe4 21. Be2 b5 {To free up the R on a8.} 22. Rxd6 {is a trap that loses after} Nf5 23. Rdd1 Nxe3 24. Rd4 Nxg2 {and wins.}) 19... d5 20. Bd4 Nd7 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Nxd5+ {wins the Q}) 19. Qc2 Nc8 20. Qe2 Qb8 {Indirectly defending the b-Pawn.} 21. Bf2 Bc6 22. Rd2 Ne7 23. Rcd1 Ng6 {A He would have gotten more activity with 23...b5, but the initiative would still be in white's hands.} 24. Qe3 b5 25. cxb5 axb5 26. Qb6 {Typical Kashdan,,,he enters the ending in possession of the two Bs.} Qxb6 27. Bxb6 Rc8 28. g3 Bd7 29. Rd3 Rc6 30. Bf2 Rc4 31. Be1 { Black's best idea is to double Rs on the c-file. Instead he makes a move that quickly leads to a lost position.} Bc6 {Black's idea is to exchange his weak d-Pawn for white's e-Pawn, but he has overlooked something. He can cintinue his dogged defense with 3...Rec8} (31... Rec8 32. Re3 e5 33. f5 Ne7 34. Rxd6 { The d-Pawn finally disappears and white is left with a significant advantage, but black is abel to play on.}) 32. Rxd6 Bxe4 {Black may have expected multiple exchanges on e4 with a likely draw, but he still would have been lost because of the weak b-Pawn. Kashdan's next move wins material.} 33. Be2 { Chasing one of the Bs defender away.} (33. Nxe4 Nxe4 34. Bxe4 Rxe4 35. Bf2 { Now Rb6 picks uo the P.} Ne7 36. Rd8 (36. Rb6 Nc8 37. Rxb5 {is also sufficient. }) 36... Kf8 37. R1d7 f5 38. Bc5 Rxd8 39. Rxd8+ Kf7 40. Rd7 {wins}) 33... Rc6 ( 33... Bd5 34. Nxd5 exd5 35. Bxc4 dxc4 36. Rd8 Kf8 37. a4 {and white is winning. }) 34. Nxe4 {Black resigned.} (34. Nxe4 Rxd6 35. Nxd6 Ra8 36. Nxb5 {with an easy win.}) 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

Al Bisno

    The year 1951 was the first year Nielsen television ratings came out and the most watched series was Texaco Star Theater, comedy and variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. Milton Berle, a silly, not so funny comedian and Lady: Lucille Ball of whom the same could be said were the two most popular personalities on television. 

    People were going to the movies to see The African Queen, Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), The Day The Earth Stood Still, Kon Tiki, A Streetcar Named Desire and Show Boat. 

    The there was a conspiracy theory going around that J.D. Salinger did not write Catcher in the Rye, a coming of age novel narrated by the disillusioned 16-year-old boy who, after being expelled from prep school, explores New York City and grappling with the "phoniness" of the adult world and his own feelings of alienation and loss. It was controversial because of its profanity and sexual content. 

    If Salinger wasn’t the author, who was? According to the theory it was a CIA brainwashing program using neurolinguistic passages. The fact that Salinger, who was rafted into the Army in 1942, served as a counterintelligence agent probably feuled the theory/ Neurolinguistics is a field of study that explores the connection between the brain and language, examining how the brain processes and represents language. Neuro-linguistic programming is a pseudo-science claiming to improve communication and achieve desired outcomes. There are also theories that assassination codes are buried deep in Salinger’s book. 

     Alexander (Al) Bisno was bon in Chicago on January15, 1897 and died at the age of 90 in Los Angeles on July 13,1987. A real estate investor, in the chess world he was a patron and benefactor who also played a significant role in other areas of the game such as serving as President of the Manhattan Chess Club (1951) and the non-playing captain of the US team for the USA-USSR team match (1954). He was a negotiator in the 1952 match between Reshevsky and Kashdan. He also served as an official of both the USCF and the American Chess Foundation. Curious fact: Bisno's son was named Paul Morphy Bisno. 

    Almost none of his games are available, but I ran across the below miniature in which he defeated a National Master. The game was superficially annotated by Al Horowitz in the January 1952 issue of Chess Review so it was probably played in 1951, perhaps at the Manhattan Chess Club. Horowitz had the annoying habit of not giving the date or the event in which games were played. 

 

[Event "New York"] [Site "?"] [Date "1951.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Harold M. Phillips"] [Black "Al Bisno"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "34"] {[%evp 11,34,48,52,48,63,51,62,12,20,9,-11,-1,16,14,21,-152,-135,-140,-211, -237,-210,-316,-379,-476,-12800] C41: Philidor Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 { Considered a second rate defense today, this defense is still playable except at the GM level.} 3. d4 {This is about the only move you will ever see played here because black is compelled to exchage ...exd4 which gives white a dominating center position.} Nd7 {The beginning of the defensive setup known as the Hanham Variation, the idea of which is that black wantsto make the P on e4 a strongpoint. One disadvantahe is that the N interferes with the B's development, but that's not really important because there is no way for white to take advantage of ot. Dpending on how the game goes, black will find a good fquare for the N later.} 4. Bc4 {Aiming at the weak f7 and hoping at some point to take advantage of it.} c6 {Only 4 moves in and the position requires precise play on black's part! Aside from avoiding the disaster given in the note, 4...c3 opens a diagonal for the Q.} (4... Ngf6 {What could be more natural looking than this?} 5. dxe5 Nxe5 (5... dxe5 6. Ng5 {and black is lost.} ) 6. Nxe5 dxe5 7. Bxf7+ Ke7 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. f3 {with the advantage.}) 5. c3 { This move, the idea of which is to maintain a strong P center in the event of . ..exd4, is not witout merit, but white usually plays 5.O-O and if ...exd4 white can retake with his Q leaving him with a dominating center.} Be7 { This gets slapped with a couple of question marks. The idea of the move is to avoid any danger from Ng5, but it allows something even worse.} 6. O-O { White miises his opportunity and he doesn't get a second chance!} (6. Qb3 { Adding pressure to f7. Black doesn't have a really good way to defend it.} d5 7. exd5 b5 8. Bd3 cxd5 9. Bxb5 Ngf6 {This looks reasonable, but after} 10. dxe5 Ng4 11. h3 {Black's best try is} Nxf2 12. Kxf2 Rb8 13. Qxd5 {and whiye should win.}) 6... Ngf6 7. Re1 Qc7 {Black usually castles here, but he did not, as Horowitz claimed, fail to capitalize on white's last move with 7...Nxe4} (7... Nxe4 8. Rxe4 d5 9. Nxe5 {A surprise move that Horowitz missed.} Nxe5 (9... dxe4 10. Nxf7 {is obviously good for white.}) 10. Bxd5 cxd5 11. Rxe5 {White is a P to the good plus black has an isolated d-Pawn. Blackls two Bs are not enough compensation. In Shootouts white scored +4 -0 =1}) 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Nf1 {The idea is to reposition the N to the K-side, but the problem is that now ...Nxe4 is a good move. Guarding the e-Pawn with 9.Be3 was better.} Nxe4 10. dxe5 (10. Rxe4 {is also layable, but it does not have the same force as in the similar situation nebtioned in the note to move 7.} d5 11. Nxe5 dxe4 12. Nxf7 {Black could offer the draw with 12..Nb6 13.Nh6+ Kh8 14.Nf7+ or 12...Nf6 13.Ng5+ etc.} Rxf7 {would be losing after} 13. Qh5 {Taking the strongly favors black.} Nf6 14. Qxf7+ Kh8 15. Bf4 Qxf4 16. Qxe7 Bf5 17. Ne3 {White has good expectations of eventually winning which he did in 5 Shootouts.}) 10... d5 11. Bd3 f5 { A good move solidifying control over e4. Horowitz comments that white's K is insufficiently guarded, but that comment was apparently based on the game's outcome. Engines )Stockfish, Dragone by Komodo, Berserk and Lc0 all assess the position as sompletely equal.} 12. exf6 {Necessary. Otherwise white's e-Pawn falls.} Ndxf6 {Black has somewhat better development, more active poeces and the f-file on which to operate, but white's position has no exploitable weaknesses, so the position is equal.} 13. Ng5 {But, not after this! This aggressive looking move is a losing mistake.} (13. Bxe4 Nxe4 14. Ng3 {White wants to eliminate the aggressive, and dangerous Ns.} Bf5 (14... Nxf2 {is completely wrong now. AFter} 15. Kxf2 Bg4 16. Qd4 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Bf6 18. Qg4 { Black has lost material and there has no attack to show for it.}) 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Ng5 {Now this is OK.} Bf5 17. Ne6 Bxe6 18. Rxe6 {with a completely equal position.}) 13... Nxf2 {[%mdl 512] Alertly playec. Black now has a decisive advantage.} 14. Kxf2 {There is nothimg any better.} (14. Qc2 Nxd3 15. Qxd3 Bd6 16. h3 h6 17. Nf3 Qf7 {Threatening ...Bxh3; white is lost.}) 14... Ng4+ {Best/} (14... Bc5+ {isn't quite so good.} 15. Ke2 Qe5+ {wins a piece.}) 15. Kg1 Bc5+ 16. Be3 Bxe3+ 17. Rxe3 {Has white survived? No. It's black to play and win.} Rxf1+ $1 {[%mdl 512] White resigned} (17... Rxf1+ 18. Kxf1 (18. Bxf1 Qxh2#) 18... Nxe3+ {wins the Q}) 0-1

David Polland

    David Polland of Brooklyn, New York appeared on the first USCF rating list on November 20, 1950 with a rating of 2521 making him one of the top dozen players in the country. While the ratings on that first list are not exactly comparable to the ratings of today it put him on a par with players like Dake, Denker, Kashdan, Horowitz and Reinfeld. 

    Polland’s name appears frequently in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle chess columns of the 1930s as having been particularly successful in speed tournaments in New York City. His major success was probably his first place in the US Open in Chicago in 1937.     

    Beyond that little is known. Two birth dates are given. Wikipedia says he was born in 1915 while on chessgamesdotcom his birthday is listed as being June 24, 1908. I believe the 1908 date is likely correct because there was an article in the January 25, 1926 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle stating he was attending City College of New York, so the 1908 birth date would have made him 18 years old at the time. He was also a member of the I.L. Rice Progressive Chess Club of Manhattan. 

    An interesting post appeared in the Actuarial Outpost forums in 2008 by someone who told of playing an "elderly gentleman" (whom the poster said was, by 2008, long deceased) back in the 1960s who was taking on all comers in the park outside his parents apartment building. 

    The poster stated that over the next two years he played about 20 games against the old gentleman and only beat him once. The man was David Polland. The poster went on to say that Polland demonstrated a King-Bishop-Knight mate blindfolded without knowledge of opponents exact King move (just whether it was a check or not). Also, according to the poster, Polland was once the 3rd ranked checker player in the world, but I was unable to verify this. 

    Polland's favorite opening was the English and as mentioned, he shined in rapid play; in one first place finish in a Marshall Chess Club rapid tournament he even defeated Reshevsky, himself a powerful blitz player. On another occasion he held Reshevsky to a draw in a simultaneous. 

 

 

    In following game from the 1940 US Championship Pollard's handling of the opening was weird, but it worked and he was awarded a brilliancy prize for his efforts. Hanauer found his pieces on the Q-side undeveloped and when his pieces in the center were driven off it allowed Polland to begin a sacrificial K-side attack. The attack should not have been decisive, but it was when Hanauer accepted the piece. 

[Event "US Championship, New York"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1940.05.06"] [Round "?"] [White "Milton Hanauer"] [Black "David Polland"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C78"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "1940.??.??"] {C78: Ruy Lopez: Archangelsk} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 {The Archangel Defense. It was invented by Soviet theoreticians in the city of Arkhangelsk and often leads to sharp positions in which black wagers that the fianchettoed Bs influence on the center and K-side will offset his delay in castling.} 6. Bb3 d6 {Black has several options here. In order of popularity they are: 6...Be7, 6...Bc5 and 6...Bb7. Polland’s move is rare, but by no means inferior.} (6... Bb7 {This move Is quite interesting. Black defines the position of this B early in order to exert pressure against the opponent's center, in particular the e4 square. White must decide whether he protects the P with 7.d3 or goes for the unfathomable complications after 7.c3 Nxe4.} 7. c3 Nxe4 8. d4 exd4 9. Re1 d5 10. Ng5 {with equal chances.}) 7. Ng5 { White’s other options are to attempt to build an ideal P-center with c3 and d4 or to defend the e-Pawn with Re1. The defense chosen by Polland is tactically justified by the ability to meet this move with 7... d5 and white will be unable to demonstrate any advantage.} d5 (7... Bg4 {Thus move is disaterous to black.} 8. Bxf7+ Ke7 9. f3 Bd7 10. Bb3 {with a huge advantage.}) 8. exd5 Nd4 9. Re1 Bc5 (9... Bd6 10. d3 Bg4 11. f3 Bh5 12. c4 O-O 13. Be3 Nd7 14. Ne4 {White is slightly better. Shankovsky,A (2327)-Durnev,V (2077) Lvov UKR 2010}) 10. Rxe5+ Kf8 {Even though he cannot castle and his R is hemmed in black's position is preferable because of the activity of his pieces.} 11. h3 { White wants to guard g4, but this move allows his opponent to gain a significant advantage.} (11. c3 {is probably his best chance. After} Nxb3 12. Qxb3 Bxf2+ 13. Kh1 (13. Kxf2 Ng4+ {with a decisive advabtage.}) 13... Ng4 { both sides have their chances in the complications.}) 11... Nd7 12. Ne4 (12. Nxf7 {turns out to be no better.} Qf6 13. Re3 Qxf7 14. c3 Nxb3 15. Rf3 Nf6 16. axb3 Qxd5 {Black is nuch better. Deshmukh,A (2335)-Peng Xiaomin (2624) Calcutta 2000}) 12... Nxb3 {Polland has made a serious miscalculation. He is attacki g two Rs, but white gets away unscathed.} (12... Nxe5 {wins!} 13. d3 Be7 14. Be3 Nxb3 15. axb3 f5 {Black is a R up.}) 13. axb3 Nxe5 14. Nxc5 { his is the move Polland missed; white has suffucuent compensation for the R.} Qxd5 {White must now prevent ...Bxh3.} 15. d4 Bxh3 {Best, but only for the purpose of keeping the chances equal!} 16. gxh3 {[%mdl 8192] Hanauer falls head first into a lost position.} (16. f3 {leaves black without any way of gaining an advantage,} Bf5 17. Nc3 Qc6 18. b4 Ng6) 16... Nf3+ 17. Kf1 Nxd4 { Threatening ...Qh1#} 18. f3 Qxc5 19. Be3 Qf5 (19... Rd8 {would have decided the game at once. For example...} 20. Rxa6 Qxc2 21. Qxc2 Nxc2 {and white is lost.}) 20. Bxd4 Qxh3+ 21. Kg1 (21. Kf2 {loses} Qh2+ 22. Kf1 (22. Ke3 Re8+ 23. Kd3 Rd8 24. Ke3 Qh6+ 25. Ke2 Qd6 26. c3 c5) 22... Qh1+ 23. Bg1 h5) 21... Qg3+ 22. Kf1 Qh3+ 23. Kg1 h5 24. Be3 {[%mdl 8192] A gross blunder which his opponent fails to take advantage of.} (24. Qf1 {The Q comes to the K's defense and makes it much more difficult for black to make progress.} Qg3+ 25. Qg2 Qe1+ 26. Qf1 Re8 27. Nc3 Qg3+ 28. Qg2 Re1+ 29. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 30. Qf1 Qxf1+ 31. Kxf1 { and even though black is better the win is not a sure thing.}) 24... Kg8 25. Nd2 Re8 26. Bf4 Re6 {Adding the R to the attack looks good, but as often happens, when we have an idea in mind we fail to notice anything else. In this case Hanauer’s last move gave black the chance to win a piece.} (26... Qh4 { Attacking the B.} 27. Bh2 Rh6 {Finally getting the R into play} 28. Nf1 Rg6+ 29. Kh1 Qh3 {Threatening ...Rg2} 30. Ng3 Rxg3 31. Qf1 Rxf3) 27. Ne4 {Suddenly white has gotten sufficient defensive resources and black;s advantage has all but disappeared} Rg6+ 28. Kf2 $1 Rg2+ 29. Ke3 Qe6 {[%mdl 2048] Threatening ... f5, but white's K is safe enough.} 30. Qd8+ {well, it would have been had white played 20.Qh1! which appears to be a rather odd place for the Q, so it's easy to see how Hanauer missed it!} (30. Qh1 Rxc2 31. Rd1 {Black has to guard his h-Pawn.} g6 (31... Rxb2 32. Rd8+ Kh7 33. Qxh5+ Qh6 34. Ng5#) 32. Rd5 f5 33. Qh4 Kf7 {uddenly it's black who is fending off threats.} (33... fxe4 34. Qd8+ Kf7 35. Rd7+ {and white wins.}) 34. Be5 {Black only has one move that avoids loss...} fxe4 35. Rd7+ Qxd7 (35... Kf8 36. Qd8+ {mates}) 36. Qf6+ Ke8 37. Qxh8+ Ke7 38. Qf6+ {draws}) 30... Kh7 31. Qxc7 f5 {White doesn;t get any more chances as Polland finishes him off in an efficient fashion.} 32. Rh1 Re8 33. Rxh5+ Kg6 34. Rh2 Rxh2 35. Bxh2 fxe4 {[%mdl 4096] Black now has a prosaic win.} 36. Qg3+ Kh5 37. Qxg7 exf3+ 38. Kf4 Qe3+ {Black mates in 4} 39. Kg3 f2+ 40. Kg2 Qf3+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} 41. Kxf3 f1=Q+ 42. Kg3 Re3# {An imaginative game by Polland.} 0-1

A Spirited Euwe - Bisguier Tussle

 

    In the winter of 1948/49, the Manhattan Chess Club sponsored an international tournament featuring former World Champion Max Euwe, the leading American player Reuben Fine, the great Argentinian Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf and his compatriot Herman Pilnik. 

    The prize fund was a substantial $5,800 which is the equivalent of over $76,000 today. At that time a new car cost $1,650 and gas was 26 cents a gallon. A loaf of bread cost 14 cents and a gallon of milk 84 cent. Minimum wag was 40 cents an hour and the average salary was #3.600 a year. The average price of a new house was $14,500. So the prize fund was pretty substantial as was Fine’s first prize of $1,000 (over $13,000 in today’s dollars). 

    The tournament had a difficult schedule. It was played from December 23rd, 1948 to January 2nd, 1949, with only only two rest days, neither of which were holidaysm meaning they played on Christmas and New Years Day. I don’t know how many of the players were Jewish, but for them playing on Christmas would not have been a big deal. For those unfamiliar with Jewish customs on Christmas many Jews spend time with their family, eat Chinese food and go to the movies.

 

 

    Fine’s finish was no surprise, but the American debut of Najdorf was a fiasco! He scored 5.5 in the first six rounds, but then disaster struck; he lost to Fine and drew with Euwe and Horowitz 

    Both Euwe and Pilnk suffered their only defeats in the first round, but had too many draws to be contenders. Other than Fine, the American players, with perhaps the exception of 18-year old George Kramer were disappointing. 

    Veteran Isaac Kashdan suffered mainly because opening theory had left him in the dust. An out of practice Arnold Denker didn’t want to play in the event, but only agreed when Samuel Reshevsky was unavailable. Herman Steiner simply played well below par. 

    Arthur Bisguier, the most brilliant of the younger American masters, played an exciting game against Euwe in which both players played imaginative chess.

 

[Event "New York 1948/49"] [Site ""] [Date "1948.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Max Euwe"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D30"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "1948.??.??"] {D43: Semi-Slav} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 e6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 { The alternative, 6.Bh4, gives white slightly better winning chances. In surrendering the B pair, white hopes to get compensation in the form of more space. Black, on the other hand, hopes he will be able to break out of his cramped position and ise his two Bs.} Qxf6 7. Qb3 Nd7 8. e4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 Qf4 10. Bd3 Nf6 11. Nxf6+ gxf6 {This weakens his Ps andd leaves his K insecure, but an always optomistic Bisguier hopes to use the open g-file for attacking purposes.} 12. O-O Rg8 {White is better.} 13. Be2 b6 {The N is aimed at the K-side. but this is questionable.} (13... Bd6 {came to nothing in Kharlov,A (2614)-Malakhov,V (2664) Moscow 2005 which continued.} 14. g3 h5 15. Kh1 Qg4 16. Qe3 Bd7 17. d5 {and white is better.}) (13... Qg4 {is black's best chance and white woulf be only slightly better after} 14. g3 h5 15. Rad1 h4 {and with careful play white should be able to withstand black's ttack. Here's a sample continuation...} 16. d5 hxg3 17. fxg3 Bc5+ 18. Kh1 Rh8 19. dxe6 Qxg3 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Bd3 {With a double edged position where both sides have chances.}) 14. Rfe1 Bb7 15. c5 Qc7 16. Bc4 {Black's K is in real danger and Bxe6 is threatened.} Be7 (16... a6 {A "pass" to demonstrate the threat.} 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. Qxe6+ Qe7 (18... Be7 {also meets with disaster...} 19. Qxg8+ Kd7 20. Rxe7+ Kxe7 21. Re1+ Kd7 22. Qe6+ Kd8 23. Qe8#) 19. Qxg8 O-O-O 20. Rxe7 Bxe7 21. Qe6+) 17. cxb6 {Euwe misses the best line and lets Bisguier back into the game o an equal footing.} (17. Bxe6 {doesn't accomplish anything now.} fxe6 18. Qxe6 Kf8 19. Ne5 fxe5 20. Qxh6+ Rg7 21. Rxe5 {with an unclear position.}) (17. Qe3 O-O-O 18. b4 h5 19. a4 {In this line white maintains a promising position. In Shootouts white scored +3 -1 =1}) 17... axb6 18. Rac1 {Intending 19.d5 which black's next move prevents.} Qd8 (18... Rc8 {Th demonstrate the threat of 19.d5 } 19. d5 exd5 20. Bxd5 Rg7 21. Nh4 Kf8 22. Nf5 {and white is winning.}) 19. Qe3 Rh8 20. Bxe6 {Enterprising, but blacl is not without resources.} fxe6 $11 21. Qxe6 Kf8 {He has to do something about the menace of Nh4-f5} 22. Nh4 {The threat is Ng6+} Rg8 23. Nf5 {Oddly, this is no longer dangerous to black and so white needed to find a better continuation.} (23. Qf5 {This sees to be his most promising continuation.} Ra5 24. Ng6+ Rxg6 (24... Ke8 25. Qxf6 {wins}) 25. Qxg6 Rg5 26. Qxh6+ Kg8 {A messy situation where white has a R+3Ps vs.2Bs. Five Shootouts with Stockfish were drawn while a couple of Shootouts using older, weaker engines showed white winning. It is likely that with humane white has the better chances.}) 23... Bb4 24. Nxh6 Rg7 25. Re3 {After having missed the best continuation at move 23 white's position is now considered lost by Stockfish. However, in practical play from this point the play is particularly tense.} Bd2 {This natural move is not the best and black loses musch of his advantage.} (25... Qxd4 {would lose after} 26. Nf5 Rxg2+ 27. Kxg2 Qd5+ 28. Qxd5 cxd5 29. Rh3) (25... Bc8 26. Qxc6 Bd7 27. Qd5 Ra5 28. Qb3 Bd2 {Now is the time to play this.} 29. Rcc3 Bxe3 30. Rxe3 Rag5 {and black is winning.}) 26. Rf3 { A fine counterattacking move.} Bg5 27. Nf5 {[%mdl 512] Now Rh3 is a strong threat.} Bxc1 {This is just an OK move, but there is a much simpler defense in 27...Rh7!} (27... Rh7 28. Nd6 Qe7 29. Re1 Bc8 30. Nxc8 Qxe6 31. Rxe6 Rxc8 { Another unclear position where the result is not predictable!}) 28. Rh3 { [%mdl 128] Black has to be careful...mate is a real possibility.} Rxg2+ { Well played. With a R and B ahead, black can afford, in fact, must play this sacrifice. Note that the R must be captured:} (28... Rg8 {gets him mated.} 29. Rh7 Rxg2+ 30. Kh1 Rxh2+ 31. Kxh2 Qd6+ 32. Qxd6+ Kg8 33. Qe6+ Kxh7 34. Qf7+ Kh8 35. Qg7#) (28... Rc8 29. Rh8+ Rg8 30. Rxg8#) 29. Kxg2 (29. Kf1 Rg8 30. Rc3 Ba6+ 31. Rc4 (31. Ke1 Rg1#) 31... Bxc4+ 32. Qxc4 Qd5 {with a winning advantage.}) ( 29. Kh1 c5 30. Nd6 Qe7 31. d5 Qxe6 32. dxe6 Rg3+ 33. Nxb7 Rxh3 {wins}) 29... Qd5+ 30. Qxd5 cxd5 31. Rh7 {One annotator claimed black is now forced to return the extra piece, but that's not the case.} Rxa2 {After this white is clearly better.} (31... Bc8 32. Rh8+ Kf7 33. Rxc8 Rxc8 34. Nd6+ Ke6 35. Nxc8 Bxb2 {with a likely draw.}) 32. Rxb7 Rxb2 {[%mdl 4096] How should this endgame be assessed?! Engines evaluate it as white is clearly better which was confirmed when white scored 5-0 in Shootouts.} 33. h4 {At this point the game is decided in white's favor.} Bd2 34. Kf1 Rb1+ 35. Ke2 Bc3 36. h5 b5 {This loses quickly, but there was nothing to be done against the advance of the h-Pawn.} 37. h6 {White is clearly winning.} Kg8 {and the idea .. .Kh8 leaves Black hopeful.} 38. Ne7+ Kh7 39. Nxd5+ Kxh6 40. Nxc3 {Black resigned. Spirited play by both players. Paradoxically, the tactical analysis with Ftockfish declares that Bisguier played better than Euwe! Perhaps, but Bisguier's play in the final stages was not up to par.} 1-0

Chess In the Marines Corps

    It was 1967, a significant year for pop culture with many notable events taking place. Hot cars were Ford Mustangs and Pontiac GTOs. I knew a Navy Dental Technician at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina who owned a GTO that he raced at the drag strip in Holly Ridge which is located several miles south of the base. 

    A couple of us were sitting in front of the barracks one night watching him laying rubber up and down the street. It ended when the transmission blew sending shrapnel our way. I don’t know what GTO really stood for, but he used to say it was Gas, Tires and Oil. 

    Besides the Beatles, bell bottom pants were all the rage; I never got into either. On a sad mote, astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were killed when a fire broke out in their Apollo spacecraft during a launch pad test.

    Opposition to the Vietnam War was growing and large-scale anti-war protests took place throughout the year in places like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC. 

    I was discharged in July and during that month and August race riots erupted in over 150 US cities. Race was not an issue in the Marine Corps. There was, however, a big fight in the NCO Club on the base that resulted in the Base Commander shutting the club down for a week or so. It had nothing to do with race, just some drunk Corporals and Sergeants getting into a fight. Fortunately, I wasn’t there that night. I might have been playing chess. 

    Until I reached “short-timer” status chess was the furthest thing from my mind. There was a chess club on the base, but the players weren’t very good. 

    In my final few months I was assigned to Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines and was watching television one night when a guy showed up who was with one of the grunt companies (infantry, I think the Army calls them) from down the street and he heard I played chess. We used to get together a couple nights a week and play. That was several weeks before I got discharged.

    I don’t know what ever happened to him, but at least he didn’t get his name on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. A Google search of his name turned up dozens of people with the same name so tracking him down was impossible Only four of our games have survived and this is the best one. 

 

[Event "Camp Lejeune, North Carolina"] [Site "CAMP LEJEUNE"] [Date "1967.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Opponent"] [Black "Tartajubow"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D94"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1967.??.??"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "ENG"] {D94: Gruenfeld Defense} 1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e3 {Solid, but passive.} O-O 5. Nf3 d5 {At the time I was greatly influenced by Botvinnik and Reshevsky and Reshevsky had written that he liked this defense because of its fighting qualities.} 6. Bd3 c5 {I vaguely remembered having seen this in (I think) having been played by Kashdan in a similar position. The usual move is 6...c6, but Stockfish likes the text.} 7. O-O Nc6 8. cxd5 (8. h3 Nb4 9. cxd5 Nxd3 10. Qxd3 Nxd5 11. Rd1 cxd4 12. exd4 Bf5 {is equal. Michalek,M (2158)-Rachela,M (2351) Banska Stiavnica 2006}) 8... Nxd5 9. Nxd5 {Again, this is Stockfish's first choice.} (9. Qb3 Nb6 10. dxc5 {½-½ Simecek,A (2138)-Oresky,J (2191) Prague CZE 2014}) 9... Qxd5 10. e4 Qd8 {In other games black has tried different Q moves, but all of them lead to equality. While there is nothing wrong with the text, undeveloping the Q makes little sense.} 11. d5 {Well played. After 11...Nd5 or even 11.Ne5 the chances would be equal/} Nb4 {...but not after this because white could have gotten a bit of an advantage.} 12. Qb3 (12. Bc4 Bg4 13. Be3 Bxf3 14. gxf3 {This is perfectly safe because vlack has no K-side attacking prospects.} Qd7 15. a3 {with a good game.}) 12... Nxd3 13. Qxd3 Bg4 14. Nd2 Rb8 15. Nc4 b5 16. Ne3 {Somewhat netter would hve been 16.Qg3} Bd7 17. Rb1 {Thanks to white's passivity the last couple of moves black can now undertake a counterattack on white's center.} f5 18. b4 {Better would have been 19.b3 hindering the advance of black's c0Pawn.} cxb4 {While hardly bad, instead of getting a P-majority on the Q-side getting a protected passed P with 18...c4 was better.} 19. Rxb4 a5 20. Rb3 fxe4 {This gives white an isolated d-Pawn, but also gives him equality because I now have a weak e-Pawn. It's hard to believe, but there is a clever tactical shot here that I mossed.} (20... b4 {Threatening a pin on the Q and R with ...Bb5} 21. Re1 Bb5 22. Qd2 Ba4 23. Bb2 (23. Rb1 Bc3 {wins.}) 23... Bxb3 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. axb3 {Black has won the exchange.}) 21. Qxe4 Bf5 {Better was 21...Qb6} 22. Nxf5 Rxf5 23. Rd1 Qd7 {White's next move is an imprecise one because the exchange of Qs shields my e-Pawn. 34.Bb2 was good enough to keep things equal.} 24. Qe6+ Qxe6 25. dxe6 Rbf8 {\This attack on the f-Pawn is irrelevant. Getting the Q-side Ps moving with ...a4!, ...Bc3 etc. was the correct strategy.} 26. Rf3 {Surrendering a P, while not fatal, was a poor idea. 26.Be3 was a perfectly good move,} Rxf3 {Harder for white to meey was 26...Re5, but even then b;ack's advantage would br minima;.} 27. gxf3 Rxf3 {[%mdl 4096] This ending is equal.} 28. Bg5 Rf8 {Although this ending is still a draw, white's e-Pawn now had me concerned/} 29. Bxe7 Re8 30. Rd8 {[%mdl 8192] Give this move a ?? It's obvious to me now that this loses and that 30/R8 holds the draw, but at the time it wasn't.} (30. Rd7 Bf8 31. Bxf8 Kxf8 32. Rb7 b4 33. Rf7+ Kg8 34. Ra7 Rxe6 35. Rxa5 {is a simple draw.}) 30... Rxd8 {Black wins...or should have.} 31. Bxd8 Kf8 {Now we are back to a draw. The e-Pawn is no threat.} (31... a4 {would win! However, the winning process was, no doubt, beyond the capabilities of a couple of amateurs!} 32. Ba5 (32. e7 {simply loses the e-Pawn.} Kf7 33. Ba5 Kxe7) 32... Kf8 33. Kf1 Ke7 34. Ke2 Kxe6 35. Kd3 Kd5 36. f3 Be5 37. h3 Bd6 38. Bd8 b4 39. Bg5 Be5 40. Be7 b3 41. axb3 axb3 42. Bb4 Ke6 43. f4 Bf6 44. Bc5 h5 45. Bb6 Kf5 46. Bc7 b2 47. Kc2 Ke4 48. Bb8 Bd4 49. Bc7 Be3 50. Kxb2 Bxf4 51. Bd8 Kf3 52. Kc3 Kg3 53. h4 Kh3 54. Kc4 Bg3 {[%eval -433,30]}) 32. Bxa5 {The position is equal.} Ke7 33. Kf1 Kxe6 34. Ke2 Kd5 35. Kd3 {Draw agreed. After this black's K cannot penetrate white's position. Weighted Error Value: White=0.74/Black=0.57} 1/2-1/2