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

Rossolimo's Most Brilliant Games

    Most players beyond the beginner stage are familiar with the concept of control of the center and the idea that pieces must be developed quickly and actively. Pawns also play their part and in the opening Pawn moves can be good or bad. Pawn moves delay the development of the pieces can have dire consequences. 

 I occasionally play online and often see lower rated players wasting time with Pawn moves like a3, ...a6, h3 and ...h6 in the belief that they are preventing possible attacks by Bishops and Knights reaching b4 or b5 and g4 or g5. However, such Pawn moves should not be played unless there is a specific reason for doing so. 

 Most players are also familiar with the concept of the Classic Pawn Center (Pawns on d4 and e4) and the following game is a good example, plus the opening, the Giuoco Piano which is a favorite of many non-Masters, was used. 

    The Giuoco Piano was a favorite of GM Nicolas Rossolimo (1910-1975) who was born in Kiev in the Ukraine, but eventually made his way to New York City by way of Paris. 

    The game, which was awarded a Brilliancy Prize, was played in the 1967 Puerto Rico Open that was held in San Juan. Robert Byrne scored 6.5-0.5 to take first place and Bernard Zuckerman, who drew with Byrne and Dr. Erich Marchand, finish second with 6-1. The sixteen-year-old Puerto Rican Champion Julio Kaplan and Rossolimo headed a group with 5.5-1.5. 

    Besides being a good example of opening play, Rossolimo’s Queen sacrifice is reminiscent of the one Marshall played against Leviysky at Breslau in1912. See the game HERE. As far as I know, Rossolimo’s game received no mention in the tournament reports.  

 

[Event "Puerto Rico Open, San Juan"] [Site ""] [Date "1967.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Nicolas Rossolimo"] [Black "Paul Reissmann"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "1967.??.??"] {C54: Giuoco Piano} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 (3. c3 {Speaking of the Classic Pawn Center (Ps on d4 and e4), why can't white prepare to play d4 with this, the Ponziani Opening, so as to recapture cxxd4 after ...exd4? The amswer is that it allows black easy equality. For example...} Nf6 {Already white must react to black's threats. Equally goo is 4...d5} 4. d4 Nxe4 5. Bd3 (5. dxe5 Bc5 {White has a bad position.}) 5... d5 6. Nxe5 {Black has completely equalized.}) 3... Bc5 4. c3 {A logicmove here because a later d2-d4 will gain a tempo by attacking the B.} Nf6 {White's last move did not help his development, so black takes advantage of it ny attacking the e-Pawn while developing his N.} 5. d4 {White could also play the slow but solid 4.d3} exd4 (5... Nxe4 {would be a serious mistake. After} 6. dxc5 Nxc5 7. Ng5 O-O 8. Qh5 {White has a winning attack.} h6 9. Nxf7) 6. cxd4 {The Classic Pawn Center} Bb4+ (6... Bb6 {Black should not play this. It results in captures galore, but if white sees his way through them he will have a decisive advantage.} 7. e5 Ne4 8. Qe2 d5 9. exd6 Bf5 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Nxe4 Re8 12. Nfg5 Nxd4 13. Bxf7+ Kf8 14. Qd3 Qxd6 15. Bxe8 Rxe8 16. O-O {White is a R up.}) (6... Bb6 7. d5 {This is much leass complicated than 7.e5} Ne7 8. e5 Ne4 9. O-O d6 10. Qe2 f5 11. Nc3 O-O 12. e6 { White is better. Bote that capturing on f2 is, as is usually yhe case, not good.} Bxf2+ 13. Rxf2 Nxf2 14. Qxf2 {Black's R+P are not enough compensation for the B+N so it is rarely a good idea to make such an exchange.}) 7. Bd2 Bxd2+ {This is solid, but there is nothing wrong with 7...Nxe4 except that things cam then gey tricky!} (7... Nxe4 8. Bxb4 Nxb4 9. Bxf7+ {This is almost always seen, but equally playable is 9.Qb3 d5!} Kxf7 10. Qb3+ Kf8 11. Qxb4+ Qe7 {with equal chances.}) 8. Nbxd2 {White has now achieved the strong Pawn cen he was aiming for, but in this case its strength is an illusion.} d5 {This is the most accurate counterattack,} (8... Nxe4 9. Nxe4 d5 10. Bd3 dxe4 11. Bxe4 { The position is equal, but black's position is not very active.}) 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Qb3 {Taking stock of this position note that white has an isolated d-Pawn which could be a serious liability if the game reaches the ending. However, in the middlegame it gives white attacking possibilities. In order to utilize those possibilities white must seek active positions for his pieces. It's instructive to see how Rossolimo accomplishes it.} Nce7 11. O-O c6 12. Rfe1 O-O 13. a4 {[%mdl 32] This position has been reached many times and black has played a wide variety of moves, but the most accourate is probably 13...a5 to prevent the advance of white's a-Pawn} b6 {Opening theoretician Ludek Pachman felt this was a bad idea, but his verdict was based on the fact that black developed his B on b7. It's important that black maintains control of d5 and 13...c6 supports that square.} 14. Ne5 Bb7 {This is, indeed, faulty.} (14... Be6 {is correct and gives black full equality.} 15. Rac1 Rc8 16. Ndf3 h6 { with equal chances.}) 15. a5 Rc8 16. Ne4 {White's pieces are well paced and can now think about attacking. Even though at this point all black can to is hunker down and try to defend his position it is hardly lost. The problem is that when you get into situations like this defending is difficult because a small slip can very easily prove fatal. The attacker has much more leeway.} Qc7 {Black is in serious trouble after this.} (16... Rc7 {Vacating c8 for the B is the best try. White's advantage is kept to a minimum.} 17. Nc3 (17. a6 Bc8 { Control of the c8-h3 diagonal allows black to defend himself on the K[side.}) 17... bxa5 18. Rxa5 Bc8 19. Qa3 Be6 20. Rxa7 Ng6) 17. a6 Ba8 18. Qh3 {With the Q-side secure and his domination of the center white can now launch a decisive K-side attack. Note that id black had his B on c8 this ,ove would not have been possible.} Nf4 19. Qg4 Ned5 20. Ra3 {This clever R lift allows it to join in the battle. At the time it was played it was given a "!" but engines claim to have found an even better move which in some ways is unfortunate because it eliminates the Q sacrifice and practically speaking the win seems much less clear..} (20. Ng5 c5 21. Ngxf7 h5 22. Qg5 Rxf7 23. Nxf7 Qxf7 24. Re7 Qf6 25. Qxf6 gxf6 26. Rxa7 cxd4 27. g3 b5 28. Bxb5 Nh3+ 29. Kf1 Nb6 30. Rb7 Bxb7 31. axb7 Rb8 32. Bc6 {White has a B+2Ps vs 2Ns, but dominates the position which is evaluated at 5 Pawns in his favor. While that may be true, Rossolimo's way is much more pleasing.}) 20... Ne6 {This allows Rossolimo to execute a brilliant finsh. Black could have avoide it by playing something else, but thankfuilly he didn't.} (20... c5 21. Rg3 g6 22. Nf6+ Nxf6 23. Qxf4 Nd5 24. Bxd5 Bxd5 25. h4 {White should probably win, but the game would have lost its luster.}) 21. Bxd5 cxd5 22. Nf6+ Kh8 {Niow comes the sockdolager!} 23. Qg6 $1 { [%mdl 512] This surprising move reminds one of the finish in the famous Levitsky-

Lady Brutally Beaten By Reuben Fine

     In 1941 the war was raging in Europe and later in the year, on December 7th, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. 

     A lot of players were lost that year: Polish maters, Isaak Appel, Jakub Kolski, Leo Kremer, Ignatz von Popiel and Izaak Towbin died. Polish/French master Joseph Cukierman committed suicide. Latvian master Fricis Apsenieks died of tuberculosis in Riga. Charles Jaffe died in New York. Former Estonian Champion Ilmar Raud died in Buenos. 

     Alexander Ilyin-Genevsky died during the siege of Leningrad by the Germans. Former Cuban Champion Juan Corzo y Principe died in Havana. Czech master Karel Treybal was executed in Prague when he was charged with illegal possession of a firearm. British chess functionary Frederick Hamilton-Russell died in England.

     Viktor Korchnoi's father was killed in battle east of Leningrad. The strong mster Vsevolod Rauzer also died in Leningrad as did mathematician and master Boris Koyalovich. 

     Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941) died of a kidney uremic poisoning. Uremia is a buildup of toxins in the blood that occurs when the kidneys stop filtering toxins out through the urine. Uremia is often a sign of end-stage kidney disease. Treatments today include medication, dialysis and kidney transplants. 

     It was during March of 1941, that six anti-Semitic articles written by Alekhine were published in which he claimed that Jews played cowardly and for money whereas Aryans played aggressively and bravely. 

     In US chess news, in 1941, Louis Persinger (1887-1966), a pianist, professor of violin and strong amateur player won the first USCF Open postal championship. Mona Karff defeated Adele Rivero to win the US Women's Championship. Samuel Reshevsky defeated I.A. Horowitz to retain his US Championship. 

     In July, 1941, Reuben Fine successfully defended his championship title in the Annual Open Tournament of the United States Chess Federation, held St. Louis, Missouri.

     The tournament was again a one man show as Fine stood head and shoulders above the competitors as he barely exerted himself as hr costed to first. In the finals Fine quickly dispatched Adams and Steiner, his main rivals, then coasted home while yielding two draws, but they had effect on the final outcome. 

     The runner up, Herman Steiner, did well. He played his usual tricky, trappy chess and took some unnecessary chances against weaker opponents. 

     Weaver Adams, at the time advocating the Bishop’s Opening as the way to play and win, did better than might have been expected based one his recent performances. Adams played three games with the Bishop’s Opening and won all three! As black, he used his favorite Albin Counter Gambit with success against Marchand. 

     In the following game from the preliminaries, Fine administers a brutal defeat to the unknown lady player Dorothy Williams. The only information on her that I could locate was that she played in the 1960 US Open which was also held in St. Louis. There she scored 4-8 and tied for places 152-159 out of 176 players. Her USCF rating was 1800 (Class A). She was listed as being from Webster Groves, Missouri which is a suburb of St. Louis. 

 

[Event "US Open (Prelim) St. Louis"] [Site "St. Louis, MO USA"] [Date "1941.07.17"] [Round "1"] [White "Reuben Fine"] [Black "Dorothy Williams"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D50"] [Annotator "Massie,Jasmes"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "1941.??.??"] {D07: Queen's Gambit: Chigorin Defense} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nc6 {Normally one expects to see 4...Ne7 or 4...Nbd7 here. Instead, black transposes into an old favorite of mine, the chancy, unorthodox Chigorinf Defense which is better than it reputation.} 5. Nf3 h5 {Clearly this is pointless. Back has tried 5...h6 and 5...Be7 here, but the thematic move is 5.. .dxc4} (5... dxc4 6. e4 {Or the equally good 6.e3} Bb4 7. Bxc4 {White is slightly better.}) 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3 Bd7 {Black has developed her pieces solidly, but they have no scope and her K-side has been weakened by ...h5, none of which bi=odes well, especially against one of the world's best players! } (7... Nb4 $16 {is the best move available. Then after...} 8. Be2 c5 {black at least has some play, but that P on h5 and the weakened K-side are a concern. }) 8. Bxf6 {White is clearly better.} Bxf6 9. cxd5 Nb4 10. dxe6 Nxd3+ 11. Qxd3 Bxe6 12. O-O {To the eye of an amateur it looks like Fine's exchanges have left black with two Bs vs. two Ns and a halfway decent position because it looks like white has no way of whipping up a serious attack. However, that's wrong! Black's K-side is seriously weakened and white's P-center will soon mobilize with devastating consequences. Stockfish 16 thinks white is better by 1.5 Ps. Komodo is a bit more conservative putting white's advantage at just over a P. In either case, it's more than enough for Fine (or any GM, for that matter) to beat an amateur. Also, we can expect black (or any amateur, for that matter) to make tactical mistakes.} c6 {This guards against Qb5} (12... O-O 13. e4 g6 14. e5 Bg7 15. Qe3 Qe7 16. Ng5 Bc4 17. Rfe1 {Danger is looming on the horizon for black owing to the weakened K-side.}) 13. e4 {[%mdl 32] The expansion begins.} h4 {Kudos to black for trying to attack! Unfortunately, there just isn't anything there owing to white's mobile P-center.} 14. d5 { The slaughter begins.} Bxc3 (14... cxd5 15. exd5 Bxc3 16. Qxc3 Qxd5 17. Rfd1 Qh5 18. Qxg7 {with a clear advantage.}) 15. Qxc3 cxd5 16. Qxg7 Rf8 17. Rad1 h3 {As good as anything.} 18. exd5 {Black's K is in a hopeless situation.} hxg2 { There was nothing better. There's a mate in 19!} 19. Rfe1 Qe7 20. dxe6 f6 ( 20... fxe6 {Holds out for a while.} 21. Qg6+ Rf7 22. Rxe6 Kf8 23. Ne5 Qxe6 24. Qxe6 Re7 25. Ng6+ {mates in 4} Kg7 26. Nxe7 Kf8 27. Rd7 Kg7 28. Qg6+ Kh8 29. Qh6#) 21. Qg6+ {Black resigned. She never had a chances against Fine's precise play.} 1-0

A Defensive Lesson By Dr. Marchand

     In 1956 the highest rated US player was Samuel Reshevsky (2663), who was in a class (Grandmaster) by himself. He was followed by Senior Masters Larry Evans, Robert Byrne, Arthur Bisguier, Isaac Kashdan, Donald Byrne, Nicolas Rossolimo, Max Pavey, Alex Kevitz, James Sherwin, Herbert Seidman, I.A. Horowitz, Arthur Dake, Arnold Denker and George Kramer. 

     The great Dr. Savielly Tartakower (born February 1887) passed away on February 4, 1956, and in Detroit, Michigan a Tartakower Memorial Tournament was held from August 31 to September 3 at Wayne (State) University, a public research university. It was an 8 round Swiss and first prize was a staggering $500, which had the buying power of nearly $5,500 today. Back in those days the average yearly salary was $4,450. A new Ford car cost between $1,748-$3,151 and gas to put in it cost $0.23 a gallon. 

     The entry fee was a little stiff, $8.00 which was about a week's pay if you were making the average salary. Second prize was $175 ($1,900 today) and third prize was $75 ($800 today). There were also prizes for Classes A, B and C, unrated players and Juniors. 

     No mention was made of a prize for women, but in those days very few women played chess. The top female player was Lucille Kellner of Lima, Ohio, who finished with 5-3 (+4 -2 +2); she was rated 1782 placing her 9th on the women's rating list. 

     Eva Aronson of Chicago, had returned to play after a two year layoff due to illness and finished with +3 -3 =2. She was not rated because she had not played before the rating list was published. 

     The tournament was a strong one and Donald Byrne tallied 7-4 to win the event, drawing with runner-up Arthur Bisguier who tied for second with National Master Povilas Tautvaisas. Fourth to sixth with 6-2 scores were Stephan Popel, Walter Shipman and Dr. Ariel Mengarini. Seventh to ninth with 5.5-2.5 scores were Dr. Erich Marchand, Kazys Skema and Kazimieras Jakstas. 

     Obviously, in the opening black has to be much more careful than white because white, having the first move, has a slight but definite advantage. Black usually finds himself on the defensive in the opening and sometimes he even has to continue playing a defensive game into the middlegame or even the ending.

     Defensive play requires nerves of steel and one of white's advantages is that in the opening his superior center can cause black problems in developing his pieces. Consequently, black must be alert for every opportunity to seize his share of the center or, at least, to control as much of it as he can. 

     Another opening advantage white has is the "initiative" so he can generally play whatever type of middlegame plan that looks the most promising. 

     Generally black has two basic plans: 1) He can try for complications, hoping to wrest the initiative or cause white to go astray...a difficult and risky option! Or, 2) play simple chess, close the position, exchanges pieces and avoid the opening attacking lines. The idea is to meet each threat as it arises and by gradual positional means build up a strong position and maybe even develop an attack.

     The following game by US Master Dr. Erich Marchand, who at he time was rated a class below Master at Expert, illustrates some of these defensive procedures.

     His opponent was given as "K. Pleskacz", but I believe that is incorrect. I found an obituary for Bazyli Pleskacz (February 12, 1916 - March 17, 2006) who was originally from Belarus and after many hardships and adventures ended up in Detroit in 1950. The obituary added that he was an accomplished chess player and the May 1957 issue of Chess Life's rating list had a "B. Pleskacz" from Detroit who was rated 1887. I also discovered an obituary for his son, Peter Victor Pleskacz (1948-2021), and it mentioned that he had enjoyed playing bridge and chess with his father. 

[Event "Tartakower Memorial, Detroit"] [Site "?"] [Date "1956.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Bazyli Pleskacz"] [Black "Dr. Erich Marchand"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B40"] [Annotator "Komodo 14"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "1956.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.03.28"] {Sicilian Defense} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 {Marchand purposely avoided the Dragon Variation which was extremely popular at the time.} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 {This move is somewhat risky to play early because of the possible reply 6.e5 which can lead to unclear complications.} 6. Bd3 (6. e5 Nd5 7. Bd2 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Be7 9. Qg4 {and already white has a dangerous attack and black must proceed with caution.}) 6... e5 {Again somewhat risky, but Marchand played it thinking that Pleskacz would not know the best reply. Actually, Marchand was mistaken about what is the best reply!} 7. Nb3 {Certainly not bad, but at the time the star move was thought to be 7.Nf5} (7. Nf5 d5 {This move loses, but it does show the practical advantage of 7.Nf5} 8. Nxg7+ Kf8 9. Bh6 Kg8 10. Nf5 Bxf5 11. exf5 Bf8 12. Bg5 Nbd7 13. Nxd5 Qa5+ 14. Nc3 e4 15. Bb5 h6 16. Bh4 Bb4 {White has a decisive advantage, but managed to throw it away and ended up drawing in the ending. Jablonski,N (2266)-Shirazi,K (2401) Paris 2007} ) (7. Nf5 {is correctly met by} O-O 8. O-O {and black can try either 6...Bxc3 ot 6...d6}) (7. Nde2 {This is the most solid move after which the position is even after} O-O 8. a3 Be7 9. O-O) 7... d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 {Here Marchand avoided 8...Bxc3+ and 9...Qxd5 doubling white's Ps because he thought that in the resulting open position white's teo Bs could end up being quite powerful. Beside, the figured he could double the Ps without yielding the two Bs.} 9. Bd2 {Castling at once was also worth considering.} Nc6 {This developing move cannot be bad, but 9... Bxc3 was more precise.} (9... Bxc3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. O-O Nc6 12. Qh5 f5 {Shleimovitch,V-Lelumees,B (2110) Tallinn 2001 with equal chances.}) (9... Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bd6 11. Qh5 {He could also castle.} g6 12. Qh6 Bf8 13. Qe3 Bg7 14. Qc5 {Cirkovic,R-Meister,Y (2503) Berlin 2005 with equal chances.}) 10. O-O Nxc3 11. bxc3 Be7 {More exact was 11...Bd6 rendering white's next move totally harmless.} 12. f4 exf4 {Played to prevent white from gaining space with 13.f5. White's weakness is his doubled Ps, but as compensation he has a lead in development because black still needs to castle and develop his other B. One important factor to take inot consideration though is that white has opened a disgonal toward his own K and this is something black needs to keep in mind.} 13. Bxf4 Be6 14. Kh1 {White plays with caution...he yields a tempo in order to get his K off the diagonal. The alternative was 14.Qf3 and then Rad1.} O-O 15. Nd4 {Both sides having completed their development and the position is quite equal. White intends to bring his N into play and invite white to undoubling the c-Pawns and, this is important, he is setting a trap for black's Q,} Nxd4 {While undoubling the Ps may appear surprising, it's actually the best move. The idea is to exchange one small advantage for another. White now gets a weak c-Pawn, but more importantly black exchanges off white's pieces before they can be used to launch a full scale attack.} 16. cxd4 Bf6 {Avoiding the trap. With this move black slows down his opponent's attack. Note that black is still on the defensive because white has control of the center and the semi-open f-file might prove handy. Black must continue to be cautious.} (16... Qxd4 17. Bxh7+ { wins easily.,}) 17. c3 (17. Qh5 {There is nothing to be gained by this seemingly aggressive move because after} g6 18. Qf3 Bxd4 {black has the upper hand.}) 17... Rc8 {Development combined with a threat, thus keeping the balance. Practically speaking it seems that black is gradually taking over the initiative without white having made any mistakes.} 18. Bd2 Bc4 {Forcing the exchange of one of white's Bs.} 19. Bxc4 Rxc4 20. Rf3 Bg5 {Forcing the exchange of the other B or else white has to make a time losing and pointless retreat} 21. Bxg5 Qxg5 22. Qe2 Rc6 {Black has a number of reasonable alternatives, but Marchand felt that the coming action on the e- and f-files was going to play an important role and from c6 his R can defend his K by going to g6 or h6.} 23. Raf1 Qd5 (23... Qd8 {Would have avoided the possibility of white taking on f7, but not safer.} 24. c4 (24. Rxf7 {is, of course, no longer a possibility.} Rxf7 25. Rxf7 Kxf7) 24... Re8 25. Qd3 { Technically the position is equal, but practically black is clearly going to be defending.}) 24. Rf5 (24. Rxf7 {leads to tricky play after} Qxf7 (24... Rxf7 25. Qe8+ Rf8 26. Qxf8#) 25. Rxf7 Rxf7 26. c4 {Theoretically the chances would be equal, but this is one of those position where the win is likely going to go to the stronger player. In any case, the ending is going to be a tough one!} ) 24... Qc4 25. Qxc4 (25. Rxf7 {Again, this was playable.} Qxf7 26. Rxf7 Rxf7 27. c4 {as noted before.}) 25... Rxc4 26. R5f3 (26. Re5 {was an interesting possibility, but after} Rxc3 27. Re7 Ra3 28. Rxb7 Rxa2 29. h3 h6 30. d5 Rd2 31. Rxa7 Rxd5 {it's a draw}) 26... f6 27. Re1 {Marchand mistakenly called this an error. It's not at all; in fact the position is dead equal.} (27. Rd1 { Marchanbd. It ties up white's pieces after} Rfc8 28. Rdd3 Ra4 29. Rd2 Ra3 30. Rc2 {It's unlikely that black could win this, but it is he who has all the play.}) 27... Rfc8 28. Ree3 {This move. leaving his first rank undefended, is the fatal mistake.} (28. Re7 Rxd4 29. h3 Rdc4 30. Rxb7 {with a draw.}) (28. Kg1 {was also quite playable as after} R8c7 29. Rb1 Ra4 30. Rb2 {it's not likely that either side can squeeze out an advantage.}) 28... Rxd4 {Pleskacz has made an elemenrary mistake! With R's and Q's on the board one must protect the 1st or 8th rank or give the K an escape square for escaping checks on the rank!} 29. Rd3 {[%mdl 8192] This allows a cute finish.} (29. h3 {would have made black's task more difficult.} Rdc4 30. Rd3 R8c7 31. Kg1 Kf7 32. Kf2 b5 33. Ke2 Ra4 34. Rd2 a6 35. Rfd3 Ra3 36. Rc2 Rc4 {and with white's pieces tied up black can patiently turn his attention to using hsi K-side P-majority.}) (29. Kg1 { was also a reasonable try.} Rdc4 30. Re7 R8c7 31. Rxc7 Rxc7 {with care black should be able to squeeze out the win.}) 29... Rxc3 {[%mdl 512] White resigned. He has to give up a R to avoid mate. A fine defensive example by Marchand.} 0-1

Who Was Albert Roddy, Jr.?

  

     The year was 1940. WWII had started in September of 1939, but the US didn't enter it until December of 1941. In England they had been enduring the German Blitzkreig which had started on September 7, 1940 and lasted until May 21, 1941

     On the US chess scene Adele Rivero won the women's championship, Samuel Reshevsky the men's and Reuben Fine the US Open. Al Horowitz was seriously injured and New England champion Harold Morton died in Iowa after a car wreck when Morton collided with a truck. The strong Boston amateur John F. Barry died at the age of 66. 

     In Russia Igor Bondarevsky and Andor Lilienthal tied for first in the USSR Championship. 

     The 59-year old Polish champion David Przepiorka was present at a forbidden meeting of the Warsaw Chess Circle when the Germans arrested everyone there. As a result, he was executed by the Nazis in part of what became known as the Palmiry massacre, a series of mass executions carried out near the village of Palmiry in the Kampinos Forest northwest of Warsaw. 

     Alexander Alekhine's whereabouts at the time was not known, but in September the New York Times reported that both Alekhine and Capablanca were in Buenos Aires and Alekhine was hoping they could play a match. 

     Capablanca had said that two other players were worthy of consideration: Paul Keres and Mikhail Botvinnik. Fred Reinfeld wrote that he suspected they were mentioned only because they were not available ...they were in Russia and the war was going on. Reinfeld also mentioned that he was baffled by the snootiness of their ignoring Samuel Reshevsky and Reuben Fine. 

     As mentioned, Reuben Fine won the US Open that was held in Dallas, Texas when he scored 8-0 in the finals ahead of Herman Steiner, Weaver Adams, Erich Marchand, W.N. Kendall, J.C. Thompson, Arpad Elo, Howard Ohman and Harold Burge. 

     In one of the preliminary qualifying sections Fine finished ahead of Thompson, Elo, Albert Roddy, Jr., Joseph Rauch, Edgar Hartsfield, R.S. Underwood and R.D. Allentharp In that section Fine and Thompson scored 6.5-1.5 and Elo scored 6-2.

     Albert Roddy, Jr., who was living in Tulsa, Oklahoma just missed qualifying, but in the process he created a stir with a sensational draw against Fine. 

     Almost nothing is known about Roddy, but I discovered an Albert Roddy (1900-1966) who is listed as registering for the WWI draft in the September 26, 1918 issue of the Ada (Oklahoma) Weekly News. 

     There was also an Albert H. Roddy (1919-1999) who lived in Tulsa for a while and registered for military service in 1942. He died at the age of 79 on February 6, 1999, in Dallas, Texas. This may have been Junior and the Army Second Lieutenant that I discovered 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. 

     I searched the first USCF rating list in 1950 and the list for 1951 and did not find a Roddy listed. Only three of Roddy's games seem to be known and they are from the 1940 US Open. Did he ever play any tournament chess again?! One wonders how good he really was. Here's one of his games from that 1940 US Open. 

[Event "US Open. Prelims, Dallas"] [Site ""] [Date "1940.08.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Arpad Elo"] [Black "Albert Roddy"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B58"] [Annotator "Stockfiah 15.1"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "1940.??.??"] {Sicilian Dragon} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 g6 {In his 1953 autobiography, the Russian master and amateur astronomer Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky claimed that he coined the name Dragon Variation in 1901, after the fancied resemblance between black's K-side P-structure and the constellation Draco.} 7. O-O Bg7 8. Nb3 O-O 9. f3 Be6 10. Nd5 Rc8 (10... b5 { was played in Euwe,M-Landau,S Netherlands 1939 which continued...} 11. a4 bxa4 12. Rxa4 Bxd5 13. exd5 Qb6+ 14. Kh1 Nb4 {with equal chances.}) 11. c4 {More solid would have been 11.c3} b5 (11... Ne5 {would have challenged white's last move. After} 12. Nd2 {This N wanted to go to d4, but now it's needed to defend the c-Pawn.} (12. Nd4 {works out in black's favor after} Nxc4 13. Nxe6 fxe6 14. Nf4 d5 {and now} 15. Nxe6 {would lose to} Qb6+) 12... h5 {This hinders any white advances on the k-side. here black can claim to have at least equalized.} ) 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 13. cxb5 Qb6+ 14. Kh1 Nb4 15. Bd2 Nc2 16. Rb1 Ne3 17. Bxe3 Qxe3 {Here white must figure out how to avoid getting his Q-side Ps wrecked by ...Bxb3} 18. Nc1 {But this isn't the way to do it.} (18. Na5 Bxa2 19. Ra1 Be6 20. Nc6 {is completely equal.}) 18... Rc7 19. Re1 Qb6 {Certainly not bad, but he had an even stronger continuation.} (19... Qh6 {This strongly threatens ... Be5} 20. g3 {and black has two promising continuations: 20...Rfc8 and 20...d5}) 20. b3 Rfc8 {[%mdl 3072] Black has good piece activity for the P.} (20... d5 { was also quite good according the engines, but no human could see the long sequence that leads to the advantage. In fact, at the end it's not likely that black, a P up with all Ps on the same side, could win.} 21. exd5 Rd7 22. Bc4 Bxd5 23. Bxd5 e6 24. a4 Rxd5 {Black is actually better here. A sample line...} 25. Qc2 Rfd8 26. b4 Be7 27. Rf1 Rd2 28. Qc4 R2d4 29. Qc6 Qb8 30. Ne2 Rd2 31. Ng3 Rc8 32. Qe4 Ra2 33. Ra1 Rcc2 34. Rxa2 Rxa2 35. Qc6 Qd8 36. Ne4 Rxa4 37. b6 Ra6 38. Qb7 Rxb6 39. Qxa7 Rxb4) 21. Bd3 Qf2 22. Ne2 Qh4 {This prevents Nf4, but 22...Qe3 was a better way to do it.} 23. g3 Qh6 24. Rc1 {[%mdl 8192] This is a tactical blunder!} (24. Nf4 {does not work out too well against} Be5 25. Ne2 d5 26. exd5 Bxd5 {and white's position is unenviable.}) (24. Kg1 {This move would have allowed white to claim he had equalized because black no longer has any forcing continuation.} Bh3 (24... Be5 25. f4 {leads nowhere for black.}) 25. Nf4 Bc3 26. Re2 Bd4+ 27. Kh1 {White's K is quite safe and black can't make any use of the c-file.}) 24... Rxc1 25. Nxc1 Bc3 26. Rf1 Bh3 27. Rf2 {This not only gets out of the line of fire of the B on h3, but it will, white thinks, prevent ...Bb2} (27. f4 {was the best try he had, but after} Bb2 { From the human point of view this is better than winning the exchange at once.} (27... Bxf1 28. Bxf1 {and black has winning chances.}) 28. Ne2 Qh5 {and white has to surrender the exchange anyway.} 29. f5 (29. Rg1 Qf3+ {mate next move.}) (29. Rf2 Rc1) 29... Bxf1 30. Qxf1 Qg4 31. fxg6 hxg6 {Black is clearly better.}) 27... Bb2 {[%mdl 512] There is absolutely no way to meet this.} 28. Ne2 Qe3 29. Ng1 {This allows a nifty finish. Technically 29.Qg1 was no better, but it would have made black work for the point.} (29. Qg1 e5 30. Bc4 Rxc4 31. bxc4 Ba3 32. g4 Bc5 33. Nc1 Qxf2 34. Qxf2 Bxf2 35. Nd3 Bb6 36. a4 Bf1 37. Nb4 Bxc4 38. Nc6 {is Stockfish's line.}) 29... Qxf2 30. Nxh3 {Black still has his work cut out to score the point!} Qd4 31. Qe2 Ba3 32. Bc4 e6 33. Nf4 Kg7 34. Kg2 g5 35. Bxe6 Rc3 (35... fxe6 {Of course this is not playable.} 36. Nxe6+) (35... Rc1 {was a bit better.} 36. Nh5+ Kg6 37. Bg4 Qc3 {and white is in even more serious trouble}) 36. Nh5+ Kg6 37. Bf5+ Kxh5 {[%mdl 32]} 38. f4+ Kh6 39. fxg5+ Kg7 40. Qh5 {Threatening mate with Qh6+, but the fun is over!} Rc2+ 41. Kh3 { A most interesting situation has arisen! Black has only one move that secures the win!} Kf8 {Very nice. White resigned. A fine attacking game by Roddy.} ( 41... Qg1 42. Qh6+ Kg8 43. Bxh7+ {mates in 3}) (41... Qf2 42. Qxh7+ Kf8 43. Qh6+ Ke8 44. Qh8+ Ke7 45. Qf6+ {draws}) (41... Qf2 42. Qh6+ Kg8 43. Bxh7+ Kh8 44. Bg6+ {draws}) (41... Kf8 {The only move to avoid the draw.} 42. Qh6+ { and black can play either 42...Qg7 or 42...Ke8 and white will be helpless.}) 0-1

Nightmare Game

     The 1938 New York State Championship was held in Cazenovia, a small village located on the shore of Cazenovia Lake about 23 miles southeast of Syracuse. The venue was the Cazenovia Seminary Junior College.    

     Losing only one game and drawing one, 24-year-old member of the Manhattan Chess Club Arnold Denker carried off first prize. Denker's loss was to Anthony Santasiere of the Marshall Chess Club, the second place finisher. Santasiere was the only player to have been undefeated, but four draws prevented him from taking the championship.   

     Third place was captured by another Manhattan CC player, Donald MacMurray who played some brilliant games, but stumbled when he played a weak ending against Denker. 

     MacMurray is almost unknown today. According to Denker, 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 in one year. He was well known in New York chess circles and was an expert in languages He learned to speak Yiddish so he could frequent the Yiddish Theater. 

     During this tournament MacMurray began experiencing nausea and stomach pains that were especially noticeable when he was laughing. At one point he was having dinner with Denker and the pain was so bad he had to leave the table. At Denker’s request Dr. Joseph Platz examined MacMurray and discovered a cancer in his stomach the size of a grapefruit. Just three months later on December 2, 1938, MacMurray died. 

     For Brooklyn champion and Hawthorne Chess Club founder, 25-year-old John W. Collins, it was a case of either win or lose. 

     Collins' chess club was an early hangout of Bobby Fischer, William Lombardy, Raymond Weinstein, Robert and Donald Byrne. The myth is that Collins was their early teacher, but that's all it is...a myth. His apartment was the "club" and by the time that group started hanging out there, they had far surpassed Collins' ability to teach them anything. 

     According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle the following game between Erich W. Marchand and John Collins was over enthusiastically called a "nightmare game" because of the "weird use Collins made of his Knights." The paper also described Collins Queen sacrifice as "neat." 

 

     Dr. Marchand (July 07, 1914 - August 29, 1999, age 85) was a professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Rochester and a pioneer in gradient index research...something to do with the optical effects of materials and is important in the production of things like photocopiers. Sounds boring. He was a USCF Life Master and amassed so many titles it's impossible list them all. He was the first inductee in the New York State Chess Hall of Fame and an annual tournament was named after him in New York. It's unusual, but this tournament was begun in his honor before his death so he had the privilege of actually playing in it. 

 

[Event "New York State Champ, Cazenovia"] [Site "?"] [Date "1938.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Erich W. Marchand"] [Black "John W.Collins"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D15"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "54"] {Slav Defense} 1. d4 d5 {[%mdl 32]} 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e3 b5 6. a4 Qb6 {The main alternative is 8...b4 although sometimes 6...Nd5 is seen. Collins' move also seems reasonable.} 7. axb5 cxb5 8. b3 e6 9. bxc4 bxc4 10. Bxc4 Bb4 11. Bd2 O-O 12. O-O Nc6 {After this white gains the initiative.} ( 12... a5 {served black well in Arizmendi Martinez,J (2524)-Martinez Martin,D (2415) Burguillos 2008} 13. Qe2 Ba6 14. Na4 Bxc4 15. Qxc4 Qc6 16. Rfc1 Qxc4 17. Rxc4 Bxd2 18. Nxd2 Nbd7 {and the game was eventually drawn.}) (12... Bxc3 { is less good.} 13. Bxc3 Bb7 14. Qe2 Nbd7 15. Ba5 Qc6 16. Rfc1 Rfc8 {White is better. Romanishin,O (2537)-Zucchelli,M (2149) Arco ITA 2011}) 13. Na4 Qc7 14. Bxb4 Nxb4 15. Ne5 (15. Rc1 Qd6 16. Nc5 a5 17. e4 {equals. Hurelbaatar,C (2300) -Tovsanaa,N (2280) Erdenet 1994}) 15... Bb7 16. Nc5 {[%mdl 2048] Black is under strong pressure and the threat is 17.Bxe6} Bd5 (16... Kh8 {A pass for demonstration purposes.} 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. Nxe6 Qe7 19. Nxf8 Qxf8 {White's R+2Ps vs B+N give him the advantage.}) 17. Bxd5 Nfxd5 18. Qd2 a5 {Challenging the N on e5 with 18...Nc6 was a better idea.} 19. Rfc1 {White clearly has the initiative, but in the end a draw seems like it would be a reasonable result.} Qe7 20. Nc4 Qc7 21. Nb3 Rfb8 22. Nbxa5 Rb5 {It's hard to imagine this game being anything but a draw.} 23. Na3 {But not after this move which is a gross blunder!} (23. Nb3 Rxa1 24. Rxa1 h6 25. Rc1 Nc6 {and it's hard to imagine this position being anything other than a draw.}) 23... Qxa5 {Not an unexpected reply, but Marchand obviously missed the correct followup.} 24. Nxb5 Qxa1 ( 24... Qd8 {This may be what Marchand expected and after} 25. Rxa8 Qxa8 { White the exchange and a P up.}) 25. e4 Nd3 26. Rf1 N5f4 {The threat is ... Qxf1+ and ...Ra1+ leading to mate.} 27. g3 {This allows a mate in three, but the game was lost no matter what.} Qxf1+ {[%mdl 512] Whie resigned in face of . ..Ra1+ and mate next move.} 0-1

Odds and Ends from 1959

     The fear and uncertainty surrounding today’s coronavirus is strangely familiar to those who lived through the polio epidemics throughout the first half of the last century. 
     Every summer the polio virus arrived and struck without warning. No one knew how polio was transmitted or what caused it. There were wild theories that it spread from imported bananas or stray cats. Worse, there was no cure or vaccine. 
     For forty years swimming pools and movie theaters closed during polio season out fear and parents stopped sending their children to playgrounds or birthday parties for fear they would “catch” polio. 
     Polio is a viral disease that affects the nervous system, causing paralysis. It spreads through direct contact with people who have the infection. The first major polio epidemic in the United States occurred in 1916 and reached its peak in 1952. Of the 57,628 reported cases, there were 3,145 deaths. Polio caused more than 15,000 cases of paralysis a year in the US, making it a feared disease. 
     Polio spreads by person-to-person contact; the virus lives in the throat and in the intestines and is spread through contact with the feces (fecal-oral spread) or by droplet spread in a sneeze or cough. It can also be spread by an infected person who has contaminated food or fluids by touching or tasting them. Like the coronavirus, a person can be infectious and transmit the virus even before they develop any symptoms. 
     There was an outbreak in 1916 that caused health workers in New York City to remove children from homes or playgrounds if they suspected they might be infected. Kids, who seemed to be targeted by the disease, were taken from their families and isolated in sanitariums. 
     Little was known about the mysterious disease that paralyzed and sometimes killed young children. Those who survived could end up with some form of paralysis, forcing them to use crutches, wheelchairs or to be put into an iron lung, a large tank respirator that would pull air in and out of the lungs, allowing them to breathe. Thankfully polio was mostly eradicated in 1955 by a vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk and his team at the University of Pittsburgh. 
     Why this discussion on polio? Because I ran across a couple of photos from 1959 showing a 15-year old Bobby Fischer playing chess at the March of Dimes supported Goldwater Memorial Hospital’s respiratory center on Welfare Island, New York. Below is a picture of Fischer playing 22-year old Roger Duell Of Astoria, New York, while Bruce Campbell, 17, of Manhattan, watches in the mirror on top of his iron lung. 

     Fischer made the moves for both of his opponents and, naturally, won both games, but he was a huge hit at the hospital. 
     On January 4, 1959, Fischer again won the US Championship and pocketed $1,000. He was followed by Robert Byrne, Reshevsky, Benko, Bisguier, Weinstein, Seidman, Sherwin, Mednos, Bernstein, Denker and Ault. 
     Robin Ault (1941-1994), the US Junior Champion, played in the 1959-1960 US championship, but lost all 11 games. After that, the junior champion was not allowed to automatically play in the US championship. Ault was the first person to win the US Junior championship three times (1959, 1960 and 1961). He dropped out of chess and went on to a successful career in other fields. 
     The USCF had a campaign, Operation M, where they were trying to reach 5,000 members by July, 1960. 
     I can’t resist this photo of an 8-year old Sal Matera playing in the 1959 US Amateur! Frank Street won the tournament. Street was the first African-American to win a national chess championship.

     Also in 1959, Walter Harris became the first African-American chess master after his performance at the US Junior Championship. That same year he was unable to get a hotel room where the US Open was being held in Omaha, Nebraska, because he was black. 
     In September, 1959, the three highest rated players on the USCF rating list were Reshevsky (2693), Fischer (2636) and Donald Byrne (2514). 
     National Master Dr. Erich W. Marchand (July 7, 1914 - August 29, 1999, age of 85) was a mathematician, from Rochester, New York who was a pioneer in gradient index research. This has something to do with the optical effects of materials and is important in the production of things like photocopiers. 
     A USCF Life Master, with so many titles it's impossible to list them all, he was also involved in developing the USCF’s rating system and was a columnist for Chess Life magazine for many years. At one time he was also involved in correspondence chess and was president of Correspondence Chess League of America. 
    A tireless promoter of chess, when he died he bequeathed his body to Anatomical Gift Program and requested in lieu of memorial service, that friends play chess games in his memory. 
    In the following game he shows how easily a Master can defeat even a strong amateur. One small opening slip and black was left with a fatal dark square weakness and his K was caught in the center.

Play Online Chess

[Event "Rochester (NY) City Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Erich W. Marchand"]
[Black "J. Solomon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{B57: Classical Sicilian: Sozin with 6...Qb6} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 {At the time this gam,e was played this move had
long been out of favor. Marchand stated that after 6...e6 black gets a
satisfactory game and so 6.Be2 is preferable.} 6... g6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. e5
{White is prepared to meet 8...dxe6?? with 9.Bxf7+ winning the Q.} 8... Nd7
9. exd6 exd6 10. O-O {Of course black can't play 10...Bg7 11.Re1+ Ne5 12.f4.}
10... Be7 {This move indicates that black's opening strategy has been
incorrect...he omitted ...e6. As a result he has a fatal weakness of the dark
squares on the K-side.} 11. Bh6 {Leaving black's K trapped in the center.}
11... Ne5 12. Bg7 Rg8 13. Bxe5 dxe5 14. Qf3 {Winning a P because of the
simultaneous attck on the two Bishop Ps...a direct result of black's poor
opening.} 14... Rg7 {Believe it or not this line was repeated in
Shah,J-Ozgur,T/Kallithea 2008. Black played 14...Rb8 which is no improvement
and he, too, had to resign in a handful of moves.} 15. Bb5 {White gets too
fancy. The straightforward 15.Qxc6+ was even better.} 15... Kf8 16. Qxc6 {
Black can't play 16...Rb8 17.Rfe2 winning a pice after 17...Bd7 18.Rxd7. But
not 17...Qb6 18.Qe8 mate} 16... Be6 17. Rad1 Qc8 18. Qxc8+ Rxc8 19. Bd7 {
Eliminating black's two Bs which could become active and at the same time
establishing a R on the 7th rank.} 19... Bxd7 20. Rxd7 Bc5 21. Rfd1 f5 22.
Rxg7 Kxg7 23. Rd7+ Kh8 24. Nd5 Bb6 25. Nf6 Rc7 26. Rd8+ Kg7 27. Ne8+ Kh6 28.
Nxc7 Bxc7 29. Rd7 Bb6 30. b4 a5 31. a3 axb4 32. axb4 Bd4 {Some people just
won't resign.} 33. c4 Bc3 34. b5 Bd4 35. Rxd4 exd4 36. b6 d3 37. Kf1 {Black
resigned.} 1-0

Browsing Chess Review January 1944

     On January 1st, Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, a rhythm and blues and jazz dance band, hit No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts with their song Ration Blues although I can’t figure out why!

 

     Some things were hard to get because of the war. New cars for example, but 8-10 year old used cars could be had for $50-150. Men’s Nunn-Bush shoes cost, $10.00-13.50 a pair and Van Heusen shirts cost $2.50 each. 
     Kellog’s Corn Flakes cost 8 cents for an 11 ounce box and hot dogs were 37 cents a pound. Coke was a nickle a bottle. A 9 gallon metal garbage can cost $0.98 and Ex Lax, the laxative, cost 19 cents for a package of 18. 
     A year’s subscription to Chess Review cost $3.00 per year. Lest one think that the subscription price was cheap, the median civilian wages and salaries of primary families was about $2,697 a year and the minimum wage was $0.30 an hour, or about the equivalent to $4.45 in 2020 dollars. So, to get a subscription you’d have to work about 10 hours. 
     There was a big debate going on in the Letters to the Editor column in which players were voicing their opinion on whether Kt (preferred by most readers!) or N should be used for Knight. You’d be surprised how passionate some people were about the issue! 
     One fellow wrote, “I view the proposed change with distinct horror. It is not only a change which contradicts the actual spelling...but is quite useless because of the established state on the Kt abbreviation.” Another wrote, “I would like to say N is for Nuts to this idea.” 
     Robert Willman and Arnold Denker tied with a score of 8-1 for the Manhattan Chess Club Championship. Reuben Fine announced that he would be playing in the upcoming US championship to be held in April. Isaac Kashdan announced he would not be playing and it remained to be seen if Samuel Reshevsky, who also claimed he wouldn’t be playing, could be coaxed into playing or if he really meant it. 
     As it turned out Reshevsky really meant it and Denker played the tournament of his life when he went undefeated and beat Fine in their individual game. It was Fine’s only loss and he finished second. 
     A few players mentioned were in the military. Private First Class Herbert Seidman, an Army Military Policeman, was leading the Marshall Chess Club Championship with a 7.5-0.5 score. Tied for second were Anthony Santasiere and Albert Pinkus. 
     Private Olaf Ulvestad was stationed in North Africa. While there he gave a couple of simultaneous exhibitions that had over a hundred spectators against 25 opponents each. Spectators were quite impressed that he was able to play a blindfold game at 5 seconds per move. 
     Corporal Roger Johnson of Pennsylvania scored an impressive 9.5-0.5 to win the championship of the Washington D.C. Chess Divan ahead of Martin Stark and Oscar Shapiro. Also in the military was Lieutenant Nat Halper who was, or eventually became, a Master. 
     One of the features of the magazine was that it published readers’ games “with annotations by Chessmaster I.A. Horowitz.” Any subscriber was welcome to submit games for consideration to Chess Review at 250 West 57th Street, New York 19, New York. Today both Horowitz and Chess Review are gone and all you’ll find at that address is a Starbucks. 
     In my day the games were annotated by John W. Collins and when I once sent in a postal game involving a positional Queens sacrifice and it got published it was pretty exciting. That is until I got to the chess club and nobody saw the game. OK, so they were not “postalites.” But, out of the dozen or so postal opponents I had at the time only one saw it and all he said was, “Nice game.” What I learned from that was nobody really cares about games played by mail...they want OTB games. 

     Be that as it may, here’s postal game from one of Chess Review’s Victory tournaments. They were 7-man tournaments and the top three players got credit for entry fees in additional tournaments. 
     This game is an object lesson that illustrates the evils of neglecting development by moving the same piece twice in the opening without a very good reason. W. Wagner’s rating was 1180 (Class B) and William Nyman’s was 950 (Class C). 
     Chess Review had its own rating system and the ratings did not compare to the current Elo system. Looking through the rating list I spied some familiar names in the highest class, Class A: master and a member of the Canadian chess Hall of Fame Frank Yerhoff (1280), New York masters, Lieutenant Harold Sussman (1202), Lieutenant Nat Halper (1216) and California master Irving Revise (1208). Also in Class A was Edna Horowitz, Al Horowitz’ wife 
     In Class B with a rating of 1100 was a 15-year old Arthur Bisguier, master Dr. Erich Marchand (1100), the 1946 Ohio Champion John Hoy (1174) and 16-year old future master John A. Hudson.

Play Online Chess

[Event "Correspondence "]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1943.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "W. Wagner"]
[Black "William Nyman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{Nimzo-Indian: Classical Variation} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 {
Black has a number of alternatives here (4...O-O, 4...d5 and 4...c5). His
choice is mostly based on the P-structure he prefers.} 4... d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5
{White could now play 6.a3 forcing 6...Bxc3; black considers giving up the two
Bs compensation for the dominating position of his Q.} 6. e3 Ne4 {This
inferior move serves no useful purpose and so can be considered a loss of
time. Correct was 6...c5 or 6...O-O.} 7. Bd3 {A good developing move with a
bit of a trap.} 7... Nxc3 8. bxc3 {Black realizes that he can't gab the g-Pawn
immediately: 8...Qxg2 9.Be4 Bxc3+ 10.Ke2 Qg4+ 11.Bf3 winning a piece.} 8...
Bxc3+ {With this little tactic black deflects the support of e4. Relatively
best was 8...Be7.} 9. Qxc3 Qxg2 10. Qxc7 O-O 11. Qg3 {In annotating this game
Horowitz gave black's next move a "?" and said the position might be salvaged
by playing 11.. .Qxg3, but even in that case white is clearly superior, adding
that black either overlooked or under estimated white's resources. Actually,
even after 11...Qxg3 black is just a piece down with absolutely no
compensation.} 11... Qxh1 12. e4 {Black has to do something drastic because
his Q is in danger of being trapped. If 12...Nc6 13.Bh6 g6 14.Bxf8 Kxf8
15.O-O-O} 12... f5 13. Bh6 Rf7 14. O-O-O f4 {Desperate, but there is no way to
save the game.} 15. Bxf4 Rxf4 16. Qxf4 Qg2 {Black appears to have extricated
his Q, but the game is lost.} 17. Nf3 { There's no salvation in 17...Qg6 18.e5
Qf7 19.Bxh7+} 17... Nc6 {Amusing. Black finally gives attention to completing
his development but it turns out his Q is trapped anyway.} 18. Ng5 {If 18...h6
19.Qf7+ and 20.Qe8 mate} 18... Bd7 19. Bf1 Qg1 20. Bh3 Rf8 {White still has to
be careful. 21.Rxg1 Rxf4 22.Bxe6+ Bxe6 23. Nxe6 Rxe4 24.Rxg7+ Kh8 25.Rxh7+and
black has drawing chances.} 21. Qh4 1-0

Just A Master Game

     I have posted on the 1950 US Open and one of the players in this game, the colorful Albert Pinkus, before. 
     The other player, John Ragan (October 29, 1930 – December 12, 1991) of St. Louis, Missouri, was a Master who won the Missouri State Championship a record 12 times: 1948, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1977. 
     On the 1950 USCF rating list Pinkus was listed as a Master with a rating of 2422 which put him number 11 on the list and Ragan was an Expert at 2195.
     The rating classification in those early days were a little different than they are today:
Grandmaster 2700+ 
Senior Master 2500-2699 
Master 2300+2499 
Expert 2100-2299 
Class A 1900-2099 
Class B 1700-1899 
Class C 1500-1699 
Class D Below 1500 

     There were only two GMs, Reuben Fine (2817) and Samuel Reshevsky (2734) and two SMs, Arthur Dake (2598) and I.A. Horowitz (2558). 
     The Master list was made up of 29 players and included Isaac Kashdan, Larry Evans, Herbert Seidman, Max Pavey, George Shainswit, Arnold Denker, Albert Pinkus, Arthur Bisguier, George Kramer, Donald Byrne, Weaver Adams, Herman Steiner and Robert Byrne. Most of the remaining players were lesser known with the exception of Edward Lasker who was rated 2336. 

     Among the Experts were many names who would later be prominent Masters at the State level. 

     Larry Evans ran an ad in Chess Life advertising a couple of his books. James R. Schroeder was later given permission to sell a typed version of the book. According to Schroeder, Evans recognized that Bronstein was a great player and Bronstein later was the best player in the world for many years. He said Evans was not yet a master (he was) and added the analysis is enthusiastic but not always correct and that he was an atrocious writer. Schroeder was selling the booklet for $20. 

Americans’ Lack Of A Proper Education 
     Appearing in the June 5th, 1951 edition of Chess Life was an editorial by Montgomery Major about whom I have previously posted. Major was replying to a supposedly anonymous letter that was critical of a previous Major editorial comment. 
     In criticizing his critic Major asked the question, “...does it indicate the failure of our educational system in not teaching modern youth how to think?” He went on to add that “so many Americans have been misdirected by the lack of proper education. They believe the preposterous because they have never been taught how to distinguish between the false and the true syllogism, and they become ready prey to the attractive glitter of pseudo-ideas that would not withstand the test of logical analysis.” Of his critic, Major wrote, “Those who failed to train him in how to think clearly and logically are the veritable culprits!” 

Play Online Chess

[Event "US Open Detroit"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1950.7.20"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Albert Pinkus"]
[Black "John Ragan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2422"]
[BlackELO "2195"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{E94: King's Indian: Classical Variation} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4.
Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Qc2 c6 10. Rd1 Qe7 11.
b3 Nh5 {Intending to go to f4 and preparing ...f5. At the time this game was
played US Master Erich Marchand questioned it pointing out that white was
better developed and has open lines which gives him a strong initiative. He
added that the old advice about moving a piece twice in the opening still
applied. Nowadays it's considered a satisfactory move.} 12. g3 {White prefers
o not allow the N to land on f4.} 12... f5 {But not this. Having provoked
12.g3 black should either retreat the N or play 12...Re8.} 13. exf5 gxf5 14.
Nh4 { With his next move black defends both the N and the f-Pawn but quickly
gets into trouble. His best chance was to take a shot at complications with
14... Nf4?! sacrificing a P and after 15.Nxf4 Nxe2+ 16.Nxe4 Qf7 17.g4!? e4 and
things aren't so clear.} 14... Qf7 {It's hard to believe how quickly black's
game disintegrates after this move.} 15. Ba3 c5 16. Nb5 {Marchand highly
praised this move and commented that its strength will become apparent and it
takes real talent to see it before hand. Equally good though was 16.Nd5}
16... e4 17. Nd6 Qe6 18. Rab1 Be5 19. Nxc8 Ng7 {Not 19...Raxc8 20.Bxh5 wins a
piece.} 20. Nd6 Bxd6 21. Qd2 {White will regain the piece.} 21... Rf6 22. Bb2
{Pinkus has in mind a nifty little tactical finish.} 22... Rh6 23. Bxg7 Kxg7
24. Qxd6 {After black takes the Q there is a fork on the Q and K with
25.Nxf5+} 1-0

The First Lone Pine

     "I am Louis D Statham, Millionaire. I own a mansion and a yacht. But what I really want is a chess tournament!" 
     Stathham's wish began a series of tournaments that were held annually until 1981. After an inauspicious start they eventually included some of the world's most prominent players: Svetozar Gligoric, Laszlo Szabo, Anthony Miles, Arthur Bisguier, Pal Benko, Florian Gheorghui, Oscar Panno, Miguel Quinteros, Tigran Petrosian, Migule Najdorf, Oscar Panno, Bent Larsen, Vastimil Hort, Yasser Seirawan and Viktor Korchnoi. 
     The first Louis D. Statham tournament (or Lone Pine as the were commonly known) initially was open to all USCF masters (rated over 2200) and Experts (rated 2000–2199) and had but 33 entrants. It was played in Lone Pine, California from March 14th to the 20th in 1971. 
     The inaugural Lone Pine tournament had almost no publicity. At the end of the National Open in Reno, Nevada the TD (Isaac Kashdan) announced there would be a players' meeting in Lone Pine the next day! Thirty-three players either made the 250 mile drive from Reno to Lone Pine or they were transported by volunteers for $10 a head. The time limit was 45 moves in 2-1/2 hours, followed by 16 moves per hours. Games were played from 1:00-6:00 in the afternoon, with adjournments following a two-hour break. 

    Shown is the Dow Villa Motel located in the heart of downtown and in easy walking to a grocery story, coffee house and several restaurants. John Wayne was a special guest and...Wi-Fi is provided in the main lobby. YouTube has an interesting video tour of some of the ghost towns near Lone Pine HERE. 
    One benefit of playing in Lone Pine was that it offered a chance for lower rated, unknown players to meet strong masters and grandmasters. The point was made in the first round when the seven time Washington State champ, 35 year old James McCormick, bumped off Larry Evans. 
     GM James Tarjan took the early lead when he won five straight, including a win over Walter Browne, but then his hopes faded when he drew with Gligoric and lost to Evans in the last round. 
     Gligoric was certainly a big favorite, but in round 4 he was held to a draw by the legendary Wisconsin champ William Martz. A draw with Tarjan in round six set up the last round pairings: 

Tarjan (5.5) against Evans (5.0) 
Browne (5.0) against Gligoric (5.0) 
Martz (4.5) against Bills (4.0) 

   Evans scored his sixth win in a row to finish first and $1,000 in prize money. Final standings, tied players in order of tiebreaks. 

1) Larry Evans 6.0-1.0 
2-5) Walter Browne, James Tarjan, Svetozar Gligoric and William Martz 5.5-1.5
6) John Grefe 5.0-2.0 
7) Ross Stoutenborough 4.5-2.5 
8-15) Eugene Martinovsky, Andrew Karklins, Dennis Waterman, Julius Loftsson, Ronald Gross, Ariel Mengarini, William Bills, Daniel Fischheimer 4.0-3.0 
16-20) Roy Ervin, Bill Jones, Robert Newbold, James McCormick and William Abbott 3.5-3.5 
21-24) Erich Marchand, Greg Fulkerson, Gary Simms and Robert Anderson 3.0-4.0 
25-29) Craig Barnes, Richard Brent, Donald Dean, Robert Avery and Paul Shuey 2.5-4.5 
30-32) Harry Mayer, Robert Klein and Gary Forman 2.0-5.0 
33) Sidney Rubin 1.5-5.5 

     The following game was played by one of the more exciting players of the day, Jim Tarjan (born February 22, 1952, in Pomona, California) who played for the American team at five straight chess Olympiads, scored first place at Subotica 1975, Vancouver 1976, and first equal at Vrsac 1983. 
     Other good finishes included tied for third at Chicago 1973, tied for fifth at Venice 1974 and tied second at Bogota 1979. 
     Tarjan played in several U.S. Championships during the 1970s and 1980s with his best result being in the 1978, which was a Zonal qualifier, when he tied for second. In the 1979 Riga Interzonal he scored 50 percent and did not advance. 
      In 1984, he gave up chess to become a librarian after the U.S. Championship where he finished tied for third. After retirement in 2014 he returned to chess and played in the U.S. Open where he finished half a point behind a six-way tie for first place. 
     There followed an international open tournament on the Isle of Man in October 2014 where he tied for places 20th to 22nd. More recently he played in the very strong 2017 Isle of Man open and finished in a massive tie for places 25th to 47th, but defeated former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. For the complete story see the great post on Chess.com HERE. 
     Also in 2017, he won the Oregon Open. This year he tied for 7th place in the U.S. Open and won the 2018 Seattle Chess Classic. His current FIDE rating is 2402 and his current USCF rating is 2495.
     His opponent, William Martz (March 21, 1945 – January 17, 1983), was one of the country's leading players for more than a decade.