Sherwin Slaughters Kramer

    The 1954-55 Lessing J. Rosenwald Tournament was the first of a series of strong year-end invitational tournaments sponsored in part by Lessing J. Rosenwald of Sears Roebuck Company. 

     One goal was to provide young US masters strong competition at home with the long-term aim of improving US performance in international events. The initial plan was to have the Rosenwald Trophy rotate each year until a player had won it three times. 

    The fourth Rosenwald tournament doubled as the US championship and ot was Bobby Fischer’s first entry into a US championship and also his first of his eight US championships. 

    In the 1954-55 event Reuben Fine was originally invited, but declined. Robert Byrne was also invited, but decided against playing because of his graduate studies. James Sherwin was selected as Byrne's replacement. 

 

    Samuel Reshevsky had dominated US championship tournaments from its inception in 1936 until Fischer took over in 1957. Reshevsky won every championship he entered with the exception of the 1951 event, which was won by Larry Evans.

    Evans won the Marshall Chess Club championship at age 15, played in his first US championship at age 16 and his first Olympiad at 18. 

    Arthur Bisguier won the US Championship in 1954. Donald Byrne won the 1953 US Open and would lose to Fischer in the Game of the Century in the third Rosenwald tournament in 1956. 

    James T. Sherwin was the New York State Champion in 1951 and won the US Speed Championship several times. He would go on to play in a number of US Championships. 

    George Kramer played in a number of US Championships and was a reserve for the US team at the 1950 Olympiad, winning an individual bronze medal. 

    In this event Reshevsky jumped out to a comfortable lead in the first half of the tournament with with a point and a half lead over Evans and Sherwin who were tied for second. Despite losing to Bisguier in round 8, Reshevsky was able to hold his lead and win the tournament as Evans was only able to gain a half point on him. Sherwin lost every game in the second half! Bisguier was able to finish third on the strength of an impressive +4 -0 =1 in the second half. 

    One of the more interesting games was Sherwin’s defeat of Kramer in the second round when Kramer played a variation with which he had scored many successes even though he knew that by the time this game was played it had been refuted. The wild game followed Kramer’s analysis up until move 14 when Sherwin punched a hole in the analysis and followed it up with a series of hard hitting blows. Time pressure resulted in some inaccurate play, but that only added to the excitement.

 

[Event "1954/55 Rosenwald, New York"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1954.12.20"] [Round "?"] [White "James T Sherwin"] [Black "George Kramer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D29"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "1954.12.19"] {D28: Queen's Gambit Accepted} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. Qe2 b5 8. Bb3 Bb7 9. Nc3 Qc7 {The main line is 9...Nbd7} 10. Rd1 Nc6 {Kramer is playing a variation which he had successfully used for many years, but which had been refuted when this game was played. Kramer was well aware of that and in this game he was attempting to rehabilitate the line. Kramer is playing a variation which he had successfully used for many years, but which had been refuted when this game was played. Kramer was well aware of that and in this gane he was attempting to rehabilitate the line.} 11. d5 { This sharp move leaves white with an advantage. Note that after 19....Nbd7 it would not have been possible.} exd5 12. e4 {Another sharp move. This one is the real key that refutes black's setup...his K is exposed.} d4 {Black is pretty much committed to playing this as 12...dxe4 is bad news.} (12... dxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4+ Qe7 15. Qf4 {White's advantage is decisive.}) (12... O-O-O {is also dangerous because after is also dangerous vecause after} 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxd5 Nb4 15. Bf4 {white stands well.}) 13. Nd5 {Another excellent move.} (13. e5 {us inferior. It was played in Xiong,J (2672)-Zierk,S (2510) chess.com INT 2019 and black is now equal and in the game scored a quicj win.} O-O-O 14. exf6 dxc3 15. Bg5 c4 16. Bc2 cxb2 17. Rxd8+ Nxd8 18. Rd1 {White's advantage is decisive.}) 13... Qd8 14. Bf4 {The obvious threat is Nc7+ } Rc8 {So far this was Kramer's analysis and he thought the position was favorable for black. It's actually favors white as Sherwin demonstrates with several deft blows.} 15. a4 {Another fine move that weakens black's position on the Q-side and center.} bxa4 {This is black's best move. It's surprising that this position was to be reached many years later.} (15... c4 {was played in Drozdovskij,Y (2624)-Ivanov,J (2422) Balaguer ESP 2010 which continued...} 16. axb5 d3 17. bxc6 dxe2 18. Nxf6+ Qxf6 19. cxb7 exd1=Q+ 20. Rxd1 Qc6 21. Ba4 {Black resigned. He is facing mate in 9 moves:} Ke7 22. Bxc6 Rb8 23. Bxb8 Kf6 24. Be5+ Kg6 25. b8=Q h5 26. Nh4+ Kh7 27. Qe8 Bc5 28. Qxf7 Bxf2+ 29. Kf1 Bxh4 30. Qxg7#) 16. Rxa4 Be7 17. Ng5 {[%mdl 2048] White is coming at his opponent from every which way!} O-O {With his next move Sherwin demonstrates the whole point of his tactics. With his next move Sherwin demonstrates the whole point of his tactics.} (17... Nxd5 {was no better than the text.} 18. exd5 Nb4 19. d6 {and white is clearly winning.}) 18. Nxf6+ {After this white has a decisive advantage, but time presssure results in some inaccurate play by both sides.} Bxf6 19. Nxh7 {Threatens to win with Qh5.} (19. Qh5 {allows black to save himself.} Bxg5 20. Qxg5 Nb4 {and it's actually black who now stands a bit better.}) 19... g6 {Prevents Qh5.} (19... Kxh7 20. Qh5+ Kg8 21. Rd3 {This R-luft gives white a winning attack.}) 20. Nxf8 Qxf8 21. Qg4 Ne7 22. Bd6 Rc6 23. e5 Qc8 24. Qg3 {White is still winning after this, but he missed the knockout punch.} (24. Qxc8+ Rxc8 25. exf6 Nf5 26. Bf4 {White is a R up with an easy win; without Qs on black has no play.}) 24... c4 25. exf6 Nf5 26. Qh3 { After his excellent play to this point SHerwin makes a slip that should have allowed Kramer to equalize.} (26. Qf4 {had to be played. Then after} cxb3 ( 26... Nxd6 27. Bxc4 Nxc4 28. b3 {White has a decisive advantage.}) 27. Be5 Rc2 28. Raxd4 (28. Bxd4 Qc6 29. f3 Qxa4 30. Qb8+ Rc8 31. Qxb7 {Black wins}) 28... Nxd4 29. Bxd4 Qc6 30. f3 {White's advantage should prove decisive.}) 26... cxb3 {Missing the opportunity to equalize.} (26... Nxd6 27. Qxc8+ Bxc8 28. Rc1 Be6 { with complete equality.}) 27. Bf4 Rc2 28. Ra5 {Not the strongest, but not the worst either!} (28. Qxb3 {loses to} Qc6 29. f3 Rxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Ne3+ 31. Bxe3 Qxf3+ 32. Kg1 Qg2#) (28. Rb4 {keeps the win in hand.} Rxb2 29. Re1 Qe6 { a nifty trap.} 30. Kf1 (30. Rxe6 Rb1+ 31. Bc1 Rxc1+ 32. Re1 Rxe1#) 30... Ne3+ 31. Bxe3 Qxh3 32. gxh3 dxe3 33. Rxb7 {In spite of the P situation white's extra R should win.}) 28... Qe6 {[%mdl 8192]} (28... Re2 {was much better. Then after} 29. Qxb3 Qc6 30. Qh3 (30. f3 Rxg2+ 31. Kxg2 Ne3+ 32. Kg1 Qxf3 33. Rg5 Qh1+ 34. Kf2 Qf3+ {draws.}) 30... Qxf6 {White's advantage is not nearly so great as before.}) 29. Re5 Qc8 30. Rde1 Bc6 {Inhibits Re8+.} 31. Qxb3 Bb5 32. Qh3 d3 33. Rd5 {Again missing the strongest move, but in time pressure the winning line would be impossible to calculate.} (33. g4 {drives the defending N away and after} Nd6 34. Qh6 Qf8 35. Qxf8+ Kxf8 36. Rxb5 {This is a hard move to see abd calculate.} Nxb5 37. Bh6+ Kg8 38. Re8+ Kh7 39. Bg7 {black cannot prevent Rh8#}) 33... Rxb2 (33... Re2 {offered much stouter resistance.} 34. Rf1 (34. Rd1 Qe8 {and the chances are equal.}) 34... Bc4 35. Re5 Rxe5 36. Bxe5 d2 { and white has but ine move that keeps the advantage and at the same time avoids defeat!} 37. Qc3 Nh4 38. Qxd2 (38. Rd1 Qg4 {wins}) 38... Bxf1 39. Kxf1 Qc4+ 40. Qe2 Qc1+ 41. Qe1 Qc4+ 42. Kg1 {and at least black can olay in.}) 34. g4 {[%mdl 32] Now things are back on track for white.} Bc4 35. Rde5 Bb5 { Prevents Re8+.} 36. gxf5 d2 37. Bxd2 {White has a mate in 7 at the most.} Rxd2 38. Qh6 Qf8 39. Qxd2 {Black resigned. A wild game!} 1-0

Warner Whips Fischer

    The 1955 U. S. Junior Championship in Lin co l n, Nebraska drew 25 players and was won by Charles Kalme with a 9-1 score. Second was Larry Remlinger and Henry Gross, who handed Kalme his only defeat, finished third. Tied for places 11-21 and finishing in 20th place on tiebreaks was Robert Fischer who scored +2 -2 =6. 

    Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) was bom in Chicago and learned the chess moves early in 1949 from his sister, Joan, who was 11-years old. She often bought different games at a local candy store to keep Bobby amused. For the next year or so he occasionally played against the boys in the neighborhood whom he had taught the game. 

    By 1950, the family was living in Brooklyn, New York and in November his mother sent a postcard to the chess columnist of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Hermann Helms, asking if he knew any boys Bobby's age that he could play chess with. Helms suggested Bobby go to a chess exhibition held on January 17, 1951, where he played in a simultaneous exhibition given by Max Pavey. 

    Bobby lost quickly, but Carmine Nigro, President of the Brooklyn Chess Club was watching and invited him to join the club. The rest is history. 

    Although Fischer started his tournament career in 1953, his earliest known games games only date back to the summer of 1955 when he played in the U.S. Junior Open in Lincoln. Few games from that event are extant and it seems that Chess Review gave it no coverage while the coverage in Chess Life was more about the local organizers than the players. 

    In the following game, Fischer got defeated by Kenneth Warner, who also finished with a 5-5 score and took 12th place on tiebreaks. The 17-year old Warner has slipped through the cracks of chess history. All that is known of him is that he was the Bakersfield, California High School champion in 1954 and 1955. He tied for 36th-38th place in the 1954 U.S. Junior championship in Long Beach, California. And, he won the Fresno, California Junior Championship in 1955.

    During the event some of the players, including Fischer, were staying at the homce of one of the organizers, Alexander Liepnieks and Fischer was on the receiving end of taunts by a couple of the other players. You can read an excellent account in the Nebraska State Chess Archives HERE. The article also has some rare photos

.

[Event "US Junior Open, Lincoln, Nebraska"] [Site "Lincoln, NE USA"] [Date "1955.07.15"] [Round "1"] [White "Robert Fischer"] [Black "Kenneth Warner"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B58"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "1955.??.??"] {B76: Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. f3 O-O 9. Qd2 a6 {The best way for black to equalize here is with the sharp 9...d5} 10. O-O-O Qa5 (10... d5 {is still the best move.} 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 cxd5 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Qxd5 Qc7 { Here, too, white is better, but Korchagina,V (2176)-Solovjov,S (2419) St Petersburg 2008 ended in a draw.}) 11. Kb1 {This safety precaution covering the a-Pawn is better than the immediate 11/g4} Rd8 12. g4 (12. Bc4 {was a good option. Then after} Nxd4 13. Bxd4 b5 14. Qe3 {Threatening Bb6} Rb8 15. Bb3 { white stands slightly better.}) 12... Nxd4 {A good nove. Black wants to place his B on the more active square e6.} 13. Bxd4 Be6 $1 14. Qe3 Nd7 {This prevents 15.Bb6, but a better way of neutralizing the threat.} (14... Rdc8 { This sets a trap.} 15. Bb6 Rxc3 {Watch this...} 16. bxc3 Nxg4 {Threatening ... Qxa2#} 17. Bxa5 Nxe3 18. Rde1 Rc8 {with the advantage.}) (14... Rdc8 15. g5 { This is the best reply. Now after} Nh5 16. Bxg7 Nxg7 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 Rc5 {The chances are equal.}) 15. f4 {[%mdl 32] White's chances on the K-side are more promising than black’s on the Q-side.} Bxd4 {15....Rdc8 was still a promising alternative.} 16. Qxd4 {aiming for f5.} Nf6 {This move is a poor one that should have resulted in Fischer gsaing a decisive advantage.} (16... f6 {This unlikely looking move had to be played, but white still comes out on top.} 17. Bc4 {Much stringer than 17.f5} (17. f5 Bf7 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. exd5 { White is clearly better.}) 17... Bf7 18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. h4 Rdc8 20. h5 { and white should win.}) 17. f5 Bd7 18. h4 {White is still better after this, but 18.g5 was even better.} (18. g5 Ne8 19. Nd5 {and there is no way to defend e7.}) 18... Bb5 19. Bf3 {It was still preferable to play 19.g5} Rac8 20. Nxb5 { The following moves involve some imprecise play by both sides, but it must be remembered that at the time both players were non-Masters so it's hard to be too critical. Also, some of the moves required a Stockfish level of abilty to go deep into the position to find the best moves.} axb5 {Black is unaware of any danger and plays to open the a-file for an attack, but a better plan would have been 20...Qxb5 and then ...Qc5 hoping to exchange Qs} 21. h5 {This is the wrong P push and it allows black right back into the game. However, after Stockfish's top choice of 21.g5 which lead to an eventual win, the position gets very complicated and precise play would be required.} Rc4 22. Qe3 Ra8 23. a3 {Black should now play 23...b4 and the chances would then be equal. Instead, his next move gives Fischer a chance to regain the advantage.} Qa4 24. c3 (24. Qc1 {Fischer could hardly be faulted for not seeing this unlikely retreat!} gxf5 25. exf5 h6 26. Rhg1 {and black's position is quite precarious.}) 24... Nxe4 {[%mdl 8192] Obvious...and bad.} (24... Qb3 {keeps the upper hand.} 25. Rd4 Rxa3 26. Rxc4 bxc4 27. hxg6 Qa2+ 28. Kc2 Qb3+ 29. Kb1 Ra2 30. Qe2 Qa4 31. Kc1 {with a slight advantage.}) 25. Bxe4 {He should have played 25.Rc1 when the threat of hxg6 would lead to a winnning position.} Rxe4 26. Qh6 (26. Qd2 { stays on course, but that's hard to see!} Rxg4 27. hxg6 Qe4+ 28. Ka1 Qxf5 29. gxh7+ Kh8 30. Rhf1 Qg5 31. Rxf7 {is equal.}) 26... Re2 27. Rd2 {[%mdl 8192] This was no doubt played to prevent ...Qc2+, but it's a losing blunder.} (27. Qc1 {is the only good defense.} Qe4+ 28. Ka1 b4 {and white can hang on with} 29. hxg6 bxa3 30. gxf7+ Kxf7 31. b4 {Black has a slight advantage, but probably not enough to win.}) 27... Rxd2 28. Qxd2 Qe4+ {White resigned because the R is lost.} 0-1

The Goldsmith Defense, an Opening Secret

    Many lower rated players concentrate their study on openings, but the late National Master James Schroeder advised against studying openings until you are at least an Expert (2000-2199). 

    He also advised not to use opening encyclopedias; they are nothing more than selective data. These days databases have taken over books, but the idea is the same. 

    According to Schroeder, only after you become completely knowledgeable of how to checkmate and thoroughly understand the endgame and have played through at least a thousand master games are you are ready to study the openings. 

    Openings based on cheap traps are appealing, but you are wasting your time because if you cannot refute a bad move over the board you will never be a good player, said Schroeder. 

    The late Senior Master Kenneth Smith gave the same advice. He emphasized tactics, making the point that tactics will overcome a bad opening, a poor middlegame and lack of endgame knowledge. Smith's advice was similar to Schroeder's: only when you reach Expert can you stop devouring everything on tactics. 

     The following Blitz game is proof of their advice. I played the horrible 1...h5 and won against a player that appears to have been of at least average (say 1600) strength. It just emphasizes the point that for we non-Masters openings don't matter. 

    The Goldsmith Defense (1...h4) is a weak response to whatever first move white plays. It’s a rather useless move that does nothing to control the center and it does not aid in development. It also seriously weakens the K-side. Also. bringing the R into play via h6 is pointless and weakening. 

 

[Event "Chess Hotel"] [Site "?"] [Date "2024.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Guest"] [Black "Tartajubow"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] {Goldsmith Defense} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} h5 {This is the dubious Golsmith Defense. } 2. Bc4 Rh6 {Let's call this the Tartajubow Variation.} (2... d6 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. O-O {White has no more than hig usual opening advantahe here.} g5 7. d3 Nd7 8. Qg3 Bh6 9. f4 h4 10. Qf2 Rh7 11. fxg5 Bxg5 12. Bxg5 Qxg5 13. Nc3 a6 14. d4 Rg7 15. Ne2 Ne7 16. Nf4 Ng6 {Now, after 17.Nxg6 the game would be even. Instead white makes an unsound sacrifice.} 17. Nxe6 {Black has a decisive advantage. Horina,M-Srebro,M Bjelovar 2008}) 3. d4 Rf6 {Giving up a P, but there is more to come.} 4. Qxh5 Rxf2 {This is a losing move, but it sometimes gains psychological and time advantages, especially in blitz games where white often uses extra time looking for an immediate win.} 5. Kxf2 e6 6. e5 {My first thought was that this is a waste of time and he should have played a developing move. But...surprise! It's Stockfish's top choice.} d5 7. Bb5+ {[%mdl 32] Better was 7.Bd3} c6 8. Ba4 {Not really bad, but d3 was still a better square for the B.} b5 9. Bb3 a5 10. c3 c5 {Hoping to open up a file on the Q-side.} 11. Bg5 {A better plan might have been Nh3-g5, but after this white still has what should amount to a winning advantage.} Qb6 12. Nf3 Nc6 13. Rd1 {White has successfully defended the attack on d4 and there is little that black can do now, but a move must be made, so...} Bb7 14. Qh8 {After this white is still winning,m but the engine found a clever continuation.} ({ A surprising move.} 14. Bxd5 exd5 15. e6 {The K will escape the clutches of white's pieces, but black will still be a R down with nothing to show for it.} Nh6 16. Bxh6 O-O-O (16... gxh6 17. Qxf7+ Kd8 18. Qd7#) 17. Bf4 fxe6) 14... cxd4 15. cxd4 (15. Qxg8 {also works.} dxc3+ 16. Be3 Qxe3+ 17. Kxe3 cxb2 18. Nc3 bxa1=Q 19. Rxa1 {White is a Q ahead.}) 15... Nge7 16. Bxe7 Nxe7 17. Nc3 a4 18. Bc2 a3 19. b3 Rc8 {White can ignore this attack on his N and win in a couyple of ways, but with little time to think he played a natural move defending the attacked N and B. That said, inbly an engine can calculate the alternatives quickly and accurately, so white is not to be faulted for playing 20.Rd3} 20. Rd3 (20. Ng5 Rxc3 21. Bh7 Qd8 22. h4 Nc6 23. Bg8 Ke7 24. Kg1 Qb6 25. Qh5 Nd8 26. Bxf7 Kd7 27. Qh8 Bb4 28. Qe8+ Kc7 29. Nxe6+ Nxe6 30. Bxe6) (20. Bh7 Rxc3 21. Ng5 Qd8 22. h4 Nc6 23. Bg8 Kd7 24. Bxf7 Be7 25. Bxe6+ Kc7 26. Qxd8+ Nxd8 27. Bf5 Kb6 28. Rac1 b4 29. Nf3 Nc6 30. g4 Ka5 31. h5 Bf8 32. e6 {White is winning.}) 20... b4 {Black regains a piece.} 21. Na4 {This move puts the N out of play and must be considered a blunder because now black equalizes. 21.Rad1 keeps the advantage.} Rxc2+ 22. Ke3 {[%mdl 8192] White probably thought the K was safe here plus on e3 it defends the d-Pawn, but now it's white who is lost. Correct was 22.Kg1 after which the chances would have been equal.} Nf5+ 23. Kf4 {Suddenly white's K has become fatally exposed.} Qb5 24. Rad1 Rxa2 {This is mot nearly as good as 24...Rxg2, but only an engine can thread its way through the complications. White now started using precious time trying to get out of his jam.} 25. Nc5 Rxg2 26. Qh3 Rb2 27. Nxb7 Qxb7 28. Qf1 g6 {Brings the B into play.} 29. Rb1 Bh6+ 30. Ng5 Bxg5+ 31. Kxg5 Qe7+ 32. Kf4 Qh4+ 33. Kf3 {White resigned before black could play 33...Qe4#} 0-1

Q Sac by Falkbeer

    Ernst K. Falkbeer (June 27, 1819 – December 14, 1885) was an Austrian master and journalist. He was born in Brunn in the Austrian Empire; today known as Brno and it’s in the in the Czech Republic. He moved to Vienna to study law, but ended up becoming a journalist. During the European Revolutions of 1848, he fled Vienna for Germany. 

    In 1853, Falkbeer was allowed to return to Vienna. Two years later, in January 1855, he started the first Austrian chess magazine, Wiener Schachzeitung, which lasted only a few months. 

    He went to London where he played two matches against Henry Bird. Falkbeer lost the 1856 match (+1 −2), but won the 1856/7 match (+5 −4 =4). At the Birmingham 1858 knockout tournament he beat Saint-Amant in round two, but lost in the round four final to Johann Lowenthal to finish second. Falkbeer edited a chess column for The Sunday Times from April 1857 to November 1859. He resided in England for about 34 years before returning to Vienna in 1864, later writing a chess column in Neue Illustrierte Zeitung from 1877 to 1885. 

    He died in Vienna on December 14, 1885. Falkbeer is more famous for his contributions to chess theory than for his play. He introduced the Falkbeer Countergambit in the King's Gambit Declined. Siegbert Tarrasch believed that it refuted the King's Gambit. 

    Falkbeer played very rapidly and had an original daring and imaginative. He could play sound chess when he liked, but he delighted in fireworks and liked the admiration of spectators. Here’s a Falkbeer game featuring a nice finish with a Queen sacrifice. It was played in the London 1855 knockout tournament.

[Event "London"] [Site "London"] [Date "1855.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Ernst Falkbeer"] [Black "Robert Brien"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C01"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "1855.??.??"] {C01: French: Exchange Variation} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 {With this exchange the position becomes simpler. If white wants to create winning chances he will often play c2–c4 at some stage. Black can give white an isolated d-Pawn, but in doing so he gives white attacking chances and in exchange black gets the better endgame prospects.} exd5 4. Be3 Bd6 5. c4 dxc4 6. Bxc4 Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. h3 c6 9. Nf3 Nbd7 10. O-O Nb6 11. Bb3 Nfd5 12. Ne4 f5 {Black will soon regret having played this weakening move. Instead 12...Re8 keeps things even.} 13. Nxd6 Qxd6 14. Re1 Bd7 15. Ne5 f4 16. Bd2 Kh8 {The advance of the f-Pawn has not lead to anything and black is already finding it difficult to come up with a reasonable plan.} 17. Qh5 {Hoping for Nf7+.} Be8 18. Qf3 Qd8 19. Re4 Qh4 20. g4 g5 21. Kg2 Kg7 22. Rae1 {Instead of black, it's white who is attacking on the K-side and with this move he has set a nifty trap.} Nf6 {Instead of this black should have played 22...a5 although even then he still has a miverable position. The text is suppoded to drives back the R.} 23. Bb4 {But it doesn't drive it back; instead activates white;s B.} Rh8 (23... Nxe4 24. Bxf8+ Kxf8 25. Qxe4 {leaves black quite lost.} Qh6 26. Nd7+ Kg7 27. Qe5+ {mate next move.}) (23... Nbd5 24. Bxd5 cxd5 25. Bxf8+ Kxf8 26. Qa3+ Kg8 27. Nf3 {and white is winning.}) 24. Nd3 Nxe4 {There was nothing better.} 25. Qxe4 Bg6 26. Qe7+ Kh6 27. Nxf4 {[%mdl 512]} Rae8 {White now has a pretty finish.} 28. Nxg6 hxg6 (28... Rxe7 $18 29. Nxh8 Kg7 (29... Rxe1 30. Bf8# ) 30. Rxe7+ Kxh8 31. Re8+ Kg7 32. Bf8+ Kg6 (32... Kf6 33. Be7+ Kg6 34. Rg8+ Kh6 35. Bf8#) 33. Be7 Qh6 34. Rg8+ Qg7 35. Rxg7+ Kxg7 {and white wins.}) 29. Qxe8 { This wins in a grandiose fashion, but there was a forced mate.} (29. Qf7 Nd5 30. Bxd5 Reg8 31. Re6 c5 32. Be4 Qh5 33. gxh5 Kxh5 34. Bxg6+ Rxg6 35. Qxg6+ Kh4 36. Re4+ g4 37. Qxg4#) 29... Rxe8 30. Rxe8 Kh7 31. Bd6 {Black resigned. Stockfish is indicating a mate in 29 moves.} (31. Bd6 Qh6 (31... Nd5 32. Bxd5 cxd5 33. Be5 {mates with Rh8}) 32. Be5 Qg7 33. Bxg7 {etc.}) 1-0

Sylvan Beach 1904

    The chances are that you’ve never heard of Sylvan Beach, New York. It’s a very small village in the central part of the state. In the 2010 census, the population was 897. 

    The village is home to a mile long beach, a bandstand, a wide variety of restaurants and shops, a casino, hotel-style villas for rent, an amusement park, camping facilities and marinas that are all situated on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake. 

    The village attracts many boaters and fishing enthusiasts. The summer is best time for visitors with many different events going on and many places to eat. 

    The village also hosted a chess tournament in 1904 in which the the star participant was Frank Marshall. 

    The other participants are pretty much unknown. Kenneth S. Howard (1882 – 1972, 90 years old) was a chess problem composer who wrote several books about chess composition. 

    Otto Roething (1865 – 1915, 49 years old) was born in Germany and died in New York. He was the 1903 New York State champion and 1909 Manhattan Chess Club champion. And, that’s about all that is known about him. 

    No information seems to be available on the tailender Rudolph J. Guckemus (1874 – 1935, 60 years old) except that he was from Utica, New York. 

    In the late 1800s and early 1900s the New York State Chess Association held two major tournaments, the State Championship and a summer Congress at some resort city. In August of 1904, Sylvan Beach was the site of summer Congress. There were two main events, a general tournament and a major event for the Rice Trophy, sponsored by chess benefactor Professor Isaac L. Rice. 

 

[Event "Sylvan Beach, New York"] [Site "Sylvan Beach, NY USA"] [Date "1904.??.??"] [Round "5"] [White "Kenneth S. Howard"] [Black "Frank Marshall"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "1904.08.16"] {[%evp 9,58,-100,-98,-92,-92,-95,-91,-114,-98,-140,-136,-200,-197,-198,-194, -194,-195,-293,-296,-276,-288,-291,-291,-297,-291,-321,-323,-322,-317,-395, -400,-394,-384,-441,-422,-467,-398,-413,-414,-512,-507,-833,-794,-813,-827, -29998,-567,-615,-550,-29994,-29995] Uruson Gambit} 1. e4 ({Here is a Marshall miniature to enjoy.} 1. e3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. b3 d4 5. Bb2 Nc6 6. d3 e5 7. Na3 f5 8. Qc2 Nf6 9. Rd1 e4 10. Ng1 a6 11. Ne2 Nb4 12. Qb1 Nxd3+ 13. Rxd3 exd3 14. Qxd3 Ne4 15. exd4 cxd4 {Rudolph J, Guckemus-Frank Marshall Sylvan Beach, NY 1904. White resigned because if...} 16. Qxd4 Bb4+ 17. Kd1 Nxf2+) 1... e5 {The Bishop's Opening is one of the oldest openings to be analyzed. In the 1950s Weaver Adams in his White to Play and Win claimed that it wins. When he couldn’t prove it he abandoned it in favor of the Vienna Game. In recent times Bent Larson was one of the few GMs to play it often, after first using it at the 1964 Interzonal. It’s also been used on occasion by Kasparov and Leko.} 2. Bc4 Nf6 {The Berlin Defense; it is probably black's best reply. This is the Urusov Gambit} 3. d4 {The main lines are either 3.d3 or 3.Nc3. The text transposes into the Urusov Gambit, a great way to get a strongt attacking position and it's easy for black to go wrong. However, it was probably the wrong choice to play against a tactical genius like Marshall.} exd4 4. e5 { Mote the best. 4.Nf3 is the main line.} d5 5. Qxd4 dxc4 6. Qxd8+ {This may have been the reason white chose this line thinking that the exchange of Qs keeps the position simpler. However, black ends up with a significant advantage.} Kxd8 7. exf6 gxf6 {[%mdl 32] Black is a P to the good and white doesn't have anything to show for it except he has weakened black's K-sidem but the weakness is pretty much insignificant.} 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. Be3 {Why not 8. Bf4 which at least keeps an eye on c7?} Bf5 10. c3 Ne5 11. Nxe5 {This straightend out black's Ps, but there really was nothing better. White's position is already very difficult.} (11. Nd4 Be4 12. f3 Nd3+ {with an excellent position.}) 11... fxe5 12. Nd2 Bd3 13. Bg5+ Kd7 14. O-O-O Bd6 15. g3 Rhg8 16. Be3 Rae8 17. f3 f5 {There's a bit of a discrepancy here. Ome dtatbases give black's move as 17...f6, but it does not have any effect on the further course game as the remaining moves are identical. I give this move because it is the engine's top choice.} 18. Rde1 b5 {[%mdl 32]} 19. Nb1 (19. Bxa7 {opens the a-file which black can use ti further his attack.} Ra8 20. Be3 Rxa2 21. Nb1 Ra1 22. Kd2 Rga8) 19... a5 20. Rhg1 {White is completely helpless and can only aimlessly shift pieces.} b4 21. Bd2 Rb8 22. Rg2 c5 23. Rf2 a4 24. Rg2 a3 25. Rf2 (25. bxa3 bxa3 26. Nxa3 {is met by} Ra8 27. Nb1 Rxa2 28. Kd1 Rb8 {and white loses his N.}) 25... axb2+ 26. Kxb2 bxc3+ 27. Kxc3 Bxb1 28. Bc1 Bd3 29. Bb2 Bc7 {White resigned.} (29... Bc7 30. Ba3 Ba5+ 31. Bb4 Rxb4 32. Kd2 Rb1+ 33. Ke3 Rxe1+ 34. Re2 Rxe2#) 0-1

Manhattan CC vs. Franklin CC, 1904

    In 1904 the Manhattan Chess club met the Franklin Chess Club of Philadelphia in an over then board match that was played in the Manhattan Chess Club in Carnegie Hall at corner Seventh Avenue and Fifty-Sixth Street, New York. 

    Luster was lent to the match because Frank Marshall, who just ten days earlier had taken first prize in the great Cambridge Springs, and the U.S. Champion Harry N. Pillsbury who was able to obtain some partial revenge for some of his recent losses to Marshall. 

    During supper at the Hotel Savoy Marshall was presented an expensive gold watch and chain in recognition of his wonderful success at Cambridge Springs that year. 

    Why these two giants were playing on second board is not known, but presumably it was because Fox and Bampton were the champions of their clubs.

    This was the first time that Pillsbury, who had moved to Philadelphia, had entered the Manhattan Chess Club since an incident that had taken place several years previously when he resigned his membership in a huff because someone had stolen his umbrella.

 

[Event "Manhattan CC - Franklin CC, New York"] [Site "Manhattan CC, New York, NY USA"] [Date "1904.05.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Harry N. Pillsbury (Franklin)"] [Black "Frank Marshall (Manhattan)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "1904.??.??"] {D02: QP Opening} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. dxc5 e6 4. e4 Bxc5 (4... dxe4 {is a mistake. After} 5. Qxd8+ Kxd8 6. Ng5 Ke8 7. Nxe4 {black has an unfavorable position.}) 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. O-O a6 7. Ba4 Nge7 8. Nc3 (8. Ne5 O-O 9. Nd3 Ba7 10. Nc3 b5 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. Bb3 {Pezelj,N (2276)-Benkovic,P (2433) Mataruska Banja 2007, The position is equal.}) 8... d4 9. Ne2 O-O 10. a3 e5 11. b4 Ba7 12. Ng3 Be6 13. b5 axb5 14. Bxb5 h6 {thus prevents Ng5.} 15. Rb1 Bc5 { White should now play 16.a4 with equal chances. Instead Pillsbury chooses a risky continuation.} 16. Bxc6 Nxc6 $17 (16... bxc6 17. Nxe5 Bxa3 {is only equal.}) 17. Rxb7 Bb6 {The R is trapped.} 18. Nh4 Na5 (18... Qxh4 {would result in equality after} 19. Rxb6 Rfc8) 19. Rxb6 Qxb6 20. Qh5 {White has what appears to be a dangerous attack, but black has sufficient defensive resources. ]} Nc4 (20... Bd7 {allowing the Q to defend h6 kept the advantage. Now Marshall's best move is} 21. Qxe5 Rfe8 22. Qh5 Nc4 23. Nhf5 Bxf5 24. Nxf5 { Here he can play it safe with 24...Qg6 or he can take up the challenge and capture the e-Pawn.} Rxe4 25. Nxh6+ gxh6 26. Qd5 Rae8 27. Qxc4 Re1 28. Bd2 { A difficult position which slightly favors black. In Shootouts using Stockfish white scored +0 -4 =1}) 21. Bxh6 gxh6 22. Qxh6 Bf5 {Brilliant...but also the only defense.} (22... f6 23. Nh5 Ra7 24. Qg6+ Kh8 25. Nxf6 Rxf6 (25... Bg8 26. Qh6+ Rh7 27. Ng6#) 26. Qxf6+ Kh7 27. Qg6+ Kh8 28. Qh6+ Kg8 29. Ng6 Bc8 30. Qf8+ Kh7 31. Qxc8 Qxg6 32. Qxc4 {white is winning.}) 23. Qg5+ Bg6 {Materially white has only 3 Ps vs. a R, but the chances are equal.} 24. Nh5 {[%mdl 128] Black needs to defend precisely.} Rfb8 {[%mdl 8192] ...which he does not and with this move he loses the game.} (24... Rfd8 $1 $11 {and black stays safe.} 25. Nf6+ Kf8 26. Qh6+ Ke7 {and now white cannot continue as in the game with} 27. Nd5+ Rxd5 28. exd5 Bxc2 {with a decisive advantage, but it require a lot of nursing to score the point as the following possible continuation shows.} 29. d6+ Nxd6 30. Qg7 Ra5 31. Nf3 Ne8 32. Qg5+ f6 33. Qg8 Qe6 34. Qh8 d3 35. h4 Nd6 36. Nd2 Ra4 37. h5 Rh4 38. f3 Nf7 39. Qb8 Rd4 40. g4 Ng5 41. Kh2 Rd8 42. Qa7+ Rd7 43. Qc5+ Kf7 44. Kg3 Kg7 45. Ra1 Re7 46. Re1 Qd7 47. Ra1 Ba4 48. Rc1 e4 49. h6+ Kh7 50. Re1 Bc6 51. f4 e3 52. Rxe3 Ne4+ 53. Nxe4 Bxe4 54. Qb4 d2 55. Rxe4 Rxe4 56. Qxe4+ f5 {and wins.}) 25. Nf6+ Kf8 (25... Kg7 {leads to mate.} 26. Nf5+ Kh8 27. Qh6+ Bh7 28. Qxh7#) 26. Qh6+ Ke7 27. Nd5+ Kd7 28. Nxb6+ Rxb6 29. Qg7 Ke7 30. f4 {[%mdl 32]} Rf6 31. f5 Bh5 32. Rb1 {Threatening mate with Rb7+.} Ra7 33. Rb8 {White wants to mate with Qf8+.} Rfa6 34. Qh8 Kd6 35. Qf8+ Kc6 36. Qc8+ Kd6 37. Qxc4 Rxa3 38. Rb6+ Kd7 39. Qc6+ {Black resigned. It's mate in 2. According to Stockfish Pillsbiry's play was nearly flawless.} 1-0

Play the Cornstalk Defense

    GM Alexander Khalifman wrote "The moves 1...h5 and 1...a5 hardly deserve any serious attention, since they do not contribute at all to black's development and he is not fighting for the center either. After 2.d4 White has a clear advantage, because no matter what popular scheme black might try to employ his first move will definitely be premature...” 

    That’s a strong GMs opinion and who is going to argue with him? Even we amateurs know it’s a bad move. Still, there is no direct refutation to this stupid looking defense and, for what it’s worth, it will take your opponent out of any preparation he might have. One thing I have discovered is that sometimes it morphs into a pattern that resembles a ‘real’ opening. 

    The thing is, even though we amateurs know it’s a bad move, we aren’t likely to know how to utilize whatever opening advantage we get. 

    Most everybody knows the opening guidelines: control the center. develop your pieces, etc., but lesser understood seems to be a basic understanding of what to do with things like a lead in development, center control, a space advantage and the initiative. 

    Note that after 1...a5 white does not have a license to violate sound opening principles and attack like a wild man, often playing unsound sacrifices, just because 1...a5 is a very poor first move. 

    When I first started studying middlegame books most all of them pounded it into our heads that you had to control the center by occupying it, etc, etc. When it came to openings they discussed the value of a tempo...lose a move and your opponent has an advantage. Lose two and you were on the verge of defeat. Lose three and you might as well resign. You'd read about one side having the initiative, but it was never explained exactly what the initiative was. 

    When speaking of the initiative, in his book Technique in Chess Gerald Abrahams noted that what is important is that the attacker have a “feeling” that he has some advantage of tempo, a greater degree of mobility than his opponent. He also observed that awareness cannot be taught; it’s experience that makes us more sensitive to the possibilities in a position. Pattern recognition is also very important. Read a post on it HERE.

    The point is simply that while 1...a5 may be a horrible move to strong masters and Grand master, at the level at which most of us play the loss of a tempo and the fact that the move contributes nothing to anything doesn’t matter a whole lot because most of us don’t know how to take advantage of it. So. 1...a5 is probably as good as anything. 

    Of course, if you’re serious about chess and still trying to improve then, of course, 1...a5 should be avoided. However, if the improvement ship has sailed and you are just looking to have some fun, why not give it a try? In this game the victory, as it usually does, went to the stronger player and the opening didn’t matter. 

[Event "NED-ch sf"] [Site "Enschede"] [Date "1996.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "C. Dommisse"] [Black "Mark Van Schaardenburg"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B00"] [BlackElo "2295"] [Annotator "Komodo Dragon 3"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "1996.11.26"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "NED"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2004.01.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {B00: Cornstalk Defense} 1. e4 a5 2. d4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O (5. Qe2 Nc6 6. c3 Nce7 $6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 {White is better. Sihite,C (2245) -Brodowski,P (2451) chess.com INT 2022}) 5... h6 (5... Ne7 6. h3 (6. Qe2 Ng6 7. Nc3 f6 8. Bd2 Be7 9. Rfe1 O-O {White is better. Pahlevanzadeh,M-Bancod,R (2171) ICC INT 2009}) 6... Ng6 7. Nc3 Be7 8. Nh2 c5 {Whte is better. Buleandra, L-Bancod,R (2171) ICC INT 2009}) 6. c4 g6 7. Nc3 Bg7 8. Bf4 {White is clearly better.} g5 9. Be3 Nc6 10. e5 d6 11. exd6 Qxd6 12. d5 Nb4 13. Bd4 (13. c5 { This tactical shot is even better than the text.} bxc5 14. Bb5+ Kf8 (14... c6 { loses quickly...} 15. dxc6 {wins a piece.}) 15. dxe6 {White's advantage should prove decisive.}) 13... Bxd4 14. Nxd4 O-O-O (14... exd5 {might work better.} 15. Ncb5 Qd8 16. f4 {but even here black's position is on the verge of crumbling.}) 15. a3 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 exd5 17. cxd5 {With this questionable move white loses most pf his advantage.} (17. Ncb5 Qd7 18. Rac1 {leaves black feeling some serious pressure.} dxc4 19. Rxc4 c5 20. b4 {with a game winning attack.}) 17... Ne7 18. Rac1 {White does not have time to make further preparations. He has now allowed black to get back to equality.} (18. Ncb5 { Though not quite as strong as before this was still the correct move.} Qxd5 19. Qg3 Rd7 20. Rac1 {leaves black under pressure, but white cannot claim to have a winning advantage. Black has a number of reasonable moves here: 20...Kb8, 20. ..Nc6, 20...Bc6 and 20...Qxg7+}) 18... Kb8 (18... Nxd5 {was even better.} 19. Ndb5 Qe7 20. Rfe1 Nf4 21. Rxe7 Nxd3 22. Rxc7+ Kb8 23. Rd1 {with complete equality.}) 19. Ndb5 {Finally, but it's the wrong N. The other N opens the c-file and attacks c7.} Qd7 20. Rfd1 Nxd5 21. Nxd5 {It's seems nearly impossible to tell, but this is the losing move! Black coming piece activity is going to be the deciding factor.} (21. Qf1 {was necessary.} Qf5 22. Nxd5 Rxd5 23. Rxd5 Qxd5 {Black has the advantage.}) 21... Qxd5 $19 22. Qxd5 Rxd5 ( 22... Bxd5 {is difficult to see, but it is much better.} 23. Rxc7 Bc4 24. Rc1 Bxb5 25. Rxf7 Rc8 {and black should win.}) 23. Rxd5 $15 Bxd5 24. Rxc7 {[%mdl 4096] The ending looks pretty drawish.} Rd8 25. Kf1 {[%mdl 8192] It's perfectly logical to bring the K towards the center and at the same time eliminate a mate threat on the firt rank, but this seemingly logical move is actually where white loses the fame. The undefended N which is guarding the attacked R is going to be white's undoing.} (25. f3 Bxf3 26. Rxf7 (26. gxf3 Rd1+ 27. Kg2 Rd2+ 28. Kg3 Rxb2 29. Rc6 Rxb5 30. Rxh6 Ka7 31. Rf6 a4 32. Rxf7+ Ka6 {This ending is won for black.}) 26... Bc6 27. Rf6 Rd1+ 28. Kf2 Rd2+ 29. Ke1 Rxb2 30. Rxc6 Rxb5 31. Rxh6 {This ending, unlike the one where white played 26.gxf3 should be drawn.}) 25... Bb3 26. Rc6 {He could gave put up a stiffer fight with 26.Rc1} (26. Rc1 Rd5 27. Nc3 Rd2 28. Rb1 Bc4+ 29. Kg1 (29. Ke1 Rc2 {and white is running out of moves. Still, the road to victory is going to require care on black's part.}) 29... Rc2 30. g3 Bd3 31. Nd1 Rd2 32. Rc1 Be2 33. Nc3 Rxb2 34. Nxe2 Rxe2 35. Rc3 Ra2 36. h4 Kb7 37. Rf3 f5 38. h5 a4 39. Kg2 g4 40. Rxf5 Rxa3 41. Rf6 b5 42. Rxh6 Rc3 (42... b4 {would lose!} 43. Rg6 b3 44. Rxg4 {Black has trapped his own R!}) 43. Rh7+ Kb6 44. Rh8 Rc7 45. h6 Ra7 46. h7 Ka5 {and wuns}) 26... Kb7 27. Rc7+ Ka6 28. Nc3 Rd2 29. Ne4 Rxb2 { Black is clearly winning.} 30. Nd6 Ra2 31. Rc8 (31. Nxf7 Bxf7 32. Rxf7 Rxa3 { Black has a win ending.}) 31... Bd5 {This prevents Ra8+ and so white resigned.} 0-1

Bain vs. Hoover

    Internationally in 1938 the Nazis were beginning to make their move in Europe. In the U.S. the Great New England Hurricane happened on September 21, 1938; it was one of the most destructive and powerful hurricanes in history. 

    It struck Long Island and moved up the Eastern Seaboard at a speed of 47 mph. Maximum wind gust were 186 mph with 50 foot high waves. It came at a time when Americans were slowly digging their way out of the Great Depression, but even so the unemployment rate jumped significantly. 

    It was also the year Orson Welles broadcasted his adaptation of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds on the radio and it creatied a nationwide panic when some listeners believe that aliens had actually landed in New Jersey. 

    In chess news, Samuel Reshesky went undefeated and won the US Championship a half point ahead of Reuben Fine who lost two games. I.A. Horowitz and Isaac Kashdan tied for the U.S. Open Championship. 

    On the international scene the AVRO tournament that was held in the Netherlands was a double round-robin between the eight strongest players in the world. Paul Keres amd Reuben Fine tied for first ahead of Botvinnik, Euwe, Reshevsky and Alekhine, Capablanca, Flohr. 

    The South American Championship took place in Montevideo, Uruguay. Alekhine finished first a point and a half ahead of Carlos Guimard. 

    Hungarian born Mary Bain (1904-1972, 68 years old) scores a nice win in the following game. One rainy night in 1938 while driving home in the rain from the A.F.C. Congress (the forerunner of the U.S. Open) in Boston, Bain, Mrs. Raphael McCready and Miss Edith Weart, were involved in an accident in which they struck a telephone pole. 

    Mrs. McCready suffered minor injuries, Miss Weart was pinned under the car and sustained a fractured shoulder and Bain fractured a vertebra. She was in a cast for eight months and was bedridden for much of the time and occupied her time playing correspondence chess. 

     Bain was Women's World Championship Challenger in 1937 and 1952 and was awarded the WIM title in 1952. She was the first American woman to represent the U.S. in an organized competition. She was also the U.S. Women's Champion from 1951 to 1953, losing the title to Mona May Karff. 

    This game is a very nice win over Zenas Leslie Hoover 1876 – 1963) who was Secretary and later President of the Correspondence Chess League of America (CCLA). He held a patent for one of the first versions of a flashing traffic signal. He died of heart attack in Montoursville, Pennsylvania. Hoover got a passive position and his poorly defended King went down to a pretty sacrificial attack by Bain. 

[Event "US Continental Jubilee corr"] [Site "USA"] [Date "1938.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Mary Bain"] [Black "Leslie Hoover"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [Annotator "Komodo Dragon 3"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1938.??.??"] {E04: Open Catalan} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 c6 5. Bg2 dxc4 6. Ne5 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nd5 8. Bd2 Nb6 9. e3 (9. Ne4 a5 10. e3 O-O 11. Qc2 N8d7 12. Nxc4 Nxc4 13. Qxc4 Bxd2+ 14. Nxd2 e5 {½-½ Rotstein,A (2533)-Korneev,O (2559) Arco ITA 2003}) 9... O-O (9... N8d7 10. Ne4 Be7 11. Qc2 O-O 12. Nxc4 Nxc4 13. Qxc4 e5 {equals. Gaehwiler,G (2408)-Livaic,L (2572) Katowice POL 2022}) 10. Qe2 N8d7 (10... Bd6 11. Nxc4 Nxc4 12. Qxc4 b6 13. b4 Bb7 {½-½ De la Fuente Gonzalez,F (2190)-Barria Zuniga,D (2423) Villa de Aranjuez 2009}) (10... a5 11. Nxc4 Nxc4 12. Qxc4 b6 13. a3 Ba6 {equals. Kravanja,A (2028)-Titan,M (2117) Graz AUT 2010} ) 11. Nxc4 Nd5 12. O-O Nxc3 13. bxc3 Be7 14. e4 {Although black has no weaknesses on his K-side white's greater space and black's cramped position hints at what is coming.} b5 15. Ne3 {[%mdl 2048]} a5 16. Rfd1 Ba6 17. e5 b4 18. c4 Rc8 19. Ng4 {White is ignoring black's Q-side activity and this move should have allowed black to fully equalize. Bets was 19.a3} Nb6 20. Rac1 { At this point white's advantage is minimal, but black now misses an equalizing tactical shot.} Qc7 {After this passive move white gins the advantage.} (20... Nxc4 21. Rxc4 Bxc4 22. Qxc4 {White has a B+N vs R+P but her pieces are the more active and black's c-Pawn is a greater liability than white's d-Pawn.}) 21. Be4 Rcd8 {The losing move. Black is in dire straits after 21...Rfd8 but at least it would have given his K an escape route.} (21... Rfd8) 22. Nf6+ { [%mdl 512] ...and wins!} Bxf6 {Taking with the P would have been even worse.} ( 22... gxf6 23. Qg4+ Kh8 24. exf6 Rg8 (24... Bxf6 25. Qh5) 25. Qh4 Rg6 26. fxe7 Re8 27. Bxg6 fxg6 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Qxe6+ Kh8 30. Bg5 {mops up/}) 23. Bxh7+ $1 { [%mdl 512]} Kxh7 24. Qh5+ $1 Kg8 25. exf6 {Black could safely resign at any time.} Nd7 26. fxg7 f6 27. Qh8+ Kf7 28. Qh5+ Kg8 29. gxf8=Q+ Nxf8 30. Bf4 Qb6 31. d5 {Opening up the position even more.} cxd5 32. cxd5 e5 33. Bh6 f5 34. Rc6 Qb5 35. Qg5+ {Black resigned. It's mate in 3. A nearly flawless game by Bain.} 1-0

Short and Sweet

 

    The year 1927 saw Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic in their first solo flight. The price of a man's racoon coat was $295 - $395. That’s the equivalent of $5,295 to over $7,000 in today’s purchasing power. Twenty-seven to thirty raccoons had to give up their lives to make one of these fur coats which were actually quite warm. 

     A man named Edwin Perkins invented Fruit Smack...we know it as Kool-Aid. You don’t see them much today, but they are still being used, the foot-measuring tool called the Brannock Device was invented by Charles Brannock. When it comes to measuring the feet for shoes it’s the gold standard device...it has a 96 percent accuracy. 

    The German Fritz Lang's silent film "Metropolis" opened to widely negative reviews, including one that accused it of portraying "foolishness, cliche, platitude, and muddlement about mechanical progress and progress in general." It was a science-fiction film about a futuristic city where a beautiful and cultured utopia existed above a bleak underworld populated by mistreated workers. 

    In 1927, the International Correspondence Chess Association was founded; it was replaced in 1946 by the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF). 

    Efim Bogoljubov (1889-1952) was banned from the USSR because of his “bourgeois vice of putting his pocket book above his principles." He got the boot when he expressed his desire to give up his Soviet citizenship in order to be able to attend the tournament from which today’s game is taken On January 15, 1927, David Janowsky (1868-1927) died in France of tuberculosis..

    On March 14, 1927, Max Weis (1857-1927) died in Vienna. He had given up chess to pursue his banking career. Jose Capablanca won the New York International; Alekhine took second. They agreed to play a match in Buenos Aires for the world title which Alekhune won with a +6 -3 =25 score. 

    The first chess Olympiad was held in London. There were 16 teams and Hungary took 1st. The first women's world championship was held London and the winner was 21-year-old Vera Menchik. 

    Bogoljubow didn’t get to plat in Merano which was won by Edgard Colle of Ghent, Belgium. Colle had participated in international events for several years with no special success until this tournament. He was tied for first place after the semi-final round with Prepiorka of Poland, but the latter lost his last game to Gruenfeld while Colle drew with Sacconi.

 

 

    The players in the following game were Stefano Rosselli del Turco, Marquis (18770 - 1947) who was the Italian champion five times and Poloish champion David Przepiorka (1880 – 1940). The Gestapo raided his apartment where some players were neeting and they were all arrested. The non-Jewish players were released, but Przepiorka and the other Jewish players weren’t and were subsequently executed.

 

[Event "Merano"] [Site "Meran ITA"] [Date "1926.12.18"] [Round "?"] [White "Stefano Rosselli del Turco"] [Black "David Przepiorka"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B13"] [Annotator "Komodo Dragon 3"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1926.??.??"] {B13: Caro-Kann: Exchange Variation} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 {The Exchange Variation.} cxd5 {In recent times Vladimir Kramnik has developed some 9nteresting ideas in this line.} 4. Bd3 {The Panov-Botvinnik Attack (4.c4) is the main alternative. It usually leads to typical isolated d-Pawn positions. White obtaining rapid development, a grip on e5 and K-side attacking chances. With 4.Bd3 white takes control of f5 so black can't play ...Bf5.} Nc6 {This is the main continuation.} 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 {White develops his Bs first. by delaying Nf3 he avoids than annoying pin ...Bg4.} Bg4 7. Qb3 Qd7 {At Beograd in 1970, Petrosian played the less effective 7...Na5 against Fischer.} 8. h3 Bh5 9. Nd2 Bg6 (9... e6 10. Ngf3 Bd6 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. O-O O-O {equals. Hambleton,A (2420)-Hajiyev,K (2183) chess.com INT 2023}) 10. Bxg6 hxg6 11. Ngf3 e6 12. O-O-O {In more modern times white has played 12.Ne5 and 12.O-O. Castling on opposite sides leads to a dog fight.} Na5 (12... Bd6 {is an interesting alternative.} 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Qxb7 Rb8 15. Qa6 O-O 16. Rhe1 Rb6 { and black has slightly the better of it.}) 13. Qc2 b5 14. Ne5 Qb7 15. Kb1 Nc4 16. Rhe1 (16. g4 {has a greater impact.} Be7 17. Ndxc4 dxc4 18. Bg5 {hoping to get in h4.}) 16... Ba3 {[%mdl 8192] This is a simple miscalculation. Black probably expected 17.b3, but even then white would stand better. Correct was 16...Nxe5 and no matter how white recaptures the chances would be equal.} 17. Ndxc4 dxc4 (17... bxc4 {opening the b-file is met by} 18. Qa4+ Nd7 {White can capture either on d7 or a3. In either case there is nothing black can accomplish on the b-file because of white's B.}) 18. bxa3 Qxg2 19. f3 Qxh3 { Black has snagged a couple of Ps for the B, but they don't mean anything. White now crashes through against black's K in the center.} 20. d5 {Of course.. .white finishes with a flair.} Nxd5 21. Rxd5 {[%mdl 512] The only followup that wins outright. Other moves leaves white with the advantage, but not more.} exd5 22. Nxg6+ Kd7 23. Re7+ Kd8 24. Bc7+ Kc8 25. Nxh8 {Black resigned. Near perfect play by Rosselli del Tirco.} (25. Nxh8 Qxh8 26. Qf5+ Kb7 27. Qxd5+ { mate next move.}) 1-0

Martin C. Stark

    Martin C. Stark was born on December 20, 1912 and passed away comfortably in his sleep at the age of 98 on Thursday, February 17, 2011, surrounded by his family. 

    He lived in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania and formerly had lived in Bethesda, Maryland and New York City. 

    Stark was a 1933 graduate of Harvard University with a degree in civil engineering. He worked in Washington, D.C., for the Capital Transit Company as a traffic engineer and project manager, overseeing and implementing the facilitation of traffic flow along the city’s major roadways. In 1956, he went to work for the National Bureau of Standards in Washington as an operations research analyst; a position he held until he retired in 1973. 

    While at Harvard he was a member of the chess team during his four years there and after graduation he won the Maryland and Virginia state championships. He was also the many time winner of the Washington D.C. championship. The USCF awarded him the Life Master title in 1984. His other interests included playing the piano and duplicate tournament bridge.

Stark in 1943

    In 1943, the Ventnor City, New Jersey tournament was won by the then Marshall CC Champion Anthony Santasiere who although he was known for his sacrificial play achieved success by avoiding losses rather than by w inning games; his score was +2 -0 =5. Shainswit's loss to Santasiere cost him undisputed first place.

     In the following game Adams used the Albin Counter Gambit which was one of his longstanding defenses. Black has a central wedge at d4 and gets some chances for an attack, but it’s generally considered to be unsound This game was awarded the Best Played Game prize.

 

    At the time, Adams was renowned for his expert acquaintance with the defense and when Stark played a relatively unknown line and very quickly established a superior position. After that Adams never knew what hit him. 

[Event "Ventnor City"] [Site "Ventnor City, NJ USA"] [Date "1943.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Martin C. Stark"] [Black "Weaver W. Adams"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D09"] [Annotator "Komofo Dragon 3"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "1943.??.??"] {D09: Albin Counter Gambit} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 {There are already a few plausible moves white should avoid: 4.a3, 4.e4, 4.Bd3, 4.e3 and 4.Bf4} Nc6 {Black would like to defend his Om which is the foundation of his pkay with the c-Pawn, but that is not a good idea because it shuts in his B.} ( 4... c5 5. e3 Nc6 6. Bd3 {and black has difficulty developing his K-side.}) ( 4... Bc5 5. Nbd2 Nc6 6. Nb3 {is also unsatisfactory for black.}) 5. g3 { With this move white concentrates on development and on Q-side play. If he loses the e-Pawn the better placement of his pieces would be sufficient compensation.} Bc5 6. Bf4 {Rather unusual at this point, but Reuben Fine observed that there is no reason why the move should be considered inferior to the usual 6.a3 or 6.Bg2} Nge7 7. Bg2 Ng6 8. Nbd2 {Well played as it leaves black with a difficult choice. Adams decided to offer a P in orfer to gain some play.} f6 {Practically speaking this is probably his best try.} (8... O-O 9. Nb3 Qe7 (9... Bb6 10. c5 Ba5+ 11. Nxa5 Nxa5 {White is much better.} 12. Qxd4 ) 10. Bg5 Bb4+ 11. Kf1 Qe8 12. Nfxd4 {White has an advantage.}) (8... Nxf4 9. gxf4 O-O 10. Nb3 Qe7 11. O-O Bg4 12. Ng5 h6 13. Ne4 {Here, too, white is much better.}) 9. exf6 Nxf4 10. f7+ {Another well played move as it disrupts black's position.} (10. gxf4 {followed by ...Qxf4 would leave black with an equal position.} Qxf6) 10... Kxf7 11. gxf4 h6 {Black wants to prevent Ng5+ but it would have been better to play 11...Rf8 and then ...Kg8} 12. Nb3 Qd6 13. Ne5+ {This move results in a nice win, but only because Adams does not findf the best defense. Technically white's best plan of action would have been the positional approach of 13.a3.} Nxe5 $16 14. fxe5 Qb6 {An ill fated move!} ( 14... Bb4+ $16 15. Kf1 Qxe5 16. Qxd4 Qxd4 17. Nxd4 Rd8 {and white can't claim much of an advantage in spite of having an extra P.}) 15. Bd5+ Ke7 16. Qd3 { Hindering ...Bf5} Rf8 (16... c6 {Hoping to drive back the B looks reasonable, but white can simply sacrifice it and black's pieces simply cannot het into plsy and white just builds up his position.} 17. Rg1 cxd5 18. cxd5 Bb4+ 19. Kf1 g5 20. Rg3 Bd7 21. d6+ Kd8 22. Qg6 Re8 23. Qxh6 Qb5 24. Qxg5+ Kc8 25. Rc1+ Kb8 26. Qg7 Rd8 27. Nxd4 Qd5 {The ps are simply too strong for black to handle.} 28. e6) 17. Rg1 Bf5 {This meets a quicj end, but all 12...Bb4+ would do is drive thw K to f1 where it's just as safe as it is on e1 and black would still not be able to find a reasonable move.} 18. Rxg7+ Ke8 19. Be4 Bxe4 20. Qxe4 d3 21. O-O-O Bxf2 {It only looks like black has some play! In fact, he is lost.} 22. Kb1 {Not really necessary.} Rd8 23. e6 {Black resigned.} (23. e6 Rf6 24. e7 Qe6 25. Qh7 Kd7 26. Rxd3+ Bd4 27. Rxd4+ Kc6 28. e8=Q+ Rd7 29. Qxe6+ Rxe6 30. Qf5 Re5 31. Qxd7+ Kb6 32. Qxc7+ Ka6 33. Qxb7#) 1-0

Watch Woskoff’s Rook Lift

    The Mechanics’ Institute in San Francisco, California was founded in 1854 and is one of the oldest institutions on the West Coast of the United States. In 1921, 11 players took part in the annual “major tournament.” The winner was E. W. Gruer who went undefeated with an excellent +17 -0 =3 score. 

    The two brilliancy prizes were won by C. Woskoff and J. F. Smyth. It’s odd, but Woskoff won the First Brilliancy Prize for his win over J.E. Ford, but Woskoff himself was the victim in Smyth’s Second Bvrilliancy prize. 

    No information seems to be available on J.E. Ford and all that is known of Charles Woskoff (August 8, 1879 – May 12, 1870, 90 years old) is that he was born in Russia and in his day he was considered one of the giants of California chess. 

 

    I am not sure how brilliant the game is, but Woskoff’s attack using a Rook lift is instructive. In a Rook lift a Rook is actively placed in front of its own Pawns to attack the opponent’s King and in this game Woskoff uses it to perfection. 

[Event "Mechanics Institute, San Francisco"] [Site "?"] [Date "1921.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Charles Woskoff"] [Black "J.E. Ford"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [Annotator "Komodo Dragon 3"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1921.??.??"] {This game won First Brilliancy Prize C10: French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bd3 {Ab unusual reoky which has brought white some success. Usuak is 4.Bn5 or sometimes 4.e5} dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nf3 Be7 7. O-O c6 (7... c5 8. Nxc5 Nxc5 9. dxc5 Qa5 10. c6 bxc6 {White stands slightly better, but eventually lost. Kortschnoj,V (2645) -Gurevich,D (2535) Bern 1996}) 8. c3 O-O 9. Re1 Re8 {A better idea was 9...c5 challenging white in the center. As played black drifts into a passive position.} 10. Bf4 Nf8 11. Ne5 Nd5 12. Bd2 { [%mdl 2048]} Qc7 13. c4 Nb6 {After this white gets a very menacing position. A better try was to challenge white with 13...f6} (13... f6 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Nxc6 bxc6 16. Nc5 {But here, too, white has the superior position.}) 14. Qh5 Ng6 {A better defense was 14...g6, but in either case black is facing serious difficulties.} 15. Bf4 Qd8 {White now begins a very strong attack using a common tactic in these type of positions...a Rook lift.} 16. Re3 Nd7 { Realizing the N had no future on b6, black returns it to the defense.} 17. Rh3 Nf6 {A very instructive position has arisen. It appears that with all the pices surrounding his K that they make an impregnable defensive wall. That's not the case; watch how quickly the defense crumbles!} 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6 19. Qxh7+ Kf8 20. Bxg6 Qxd4 21. Bxf7 {Black's K has been stripped of all its defenders.} Qxf4 (21... Bxe5 {is no help at all; there is a mate in} 22. Qg8+ Ke7 23. Qxe8+ Kd6 24. Bxe5+ Qxe5 25. Qd8+ Bd7 26. Rd1+ Qd5 27. c5+ Kxc5 28. Rxd5+ exd5 29. Qxd7 Re8 30. Bxe8 Kd4 31. Rc3 Ke5 32. Qe7+ Kf4 33. Rf3+ Kg4 34. h3#) 22. Qg8+ Ke7 {The K has no safe haven and mate is inevitable.} 23. Qxe8+ Kd6 24. Rd1+ Kc7 25. Ng6 {Not to nit pick, but after this white's advantage has shrunk to 12 Ps.} (25. Bxe6 Qxe5 26. Qf7+ Kb6 27. Rb3+ {mates in}) 25... Qxc4 26. Ne7 Bxe7 {This puts white back on track for a forced mate in 11 moves...not that it ,atters because his position was hopeless no matter what he played.} 27. Qxe7+ Kb6 {For the next few moves resigning would be a plausible option.} 28. Rb3+ Ka5 29. Qa3+ Qa4 30. Qc5+ b5 31. Ra3 Qxa3 32. bxa3 Bb7 33. Bxe6 Re8 34. Qxa7+ {Black resigned} 1-0

An Epic Battle

    Back on March 18th I posted on the 1939 Ventnor City tournament and included the Santasiere vs. Hanauer game, bu a couple of days ago while browsing Epic Battle os the Chessboard by R.N. Coles I discovered I had missed an “epic battle,” one that was included in the book. 

    The book is interesting in that Coles wasn’t looking for brilliant, well played games by the greats of the chess world. He was looking for hard fought games that were simply enjoyable to play over. The game between Olaf Ulvesatd and Fred Reinfeld from that tournament fits the bill. Both players were awarded a special prize for a game that was the “showpiece of the tournament and for the originality, resourcefulness and the will to dare” on both their parts. 

    Olaf Ulvestad (1912-2000) was an original player who Chess metrics estimated to have a high rating of 2533 in 1956. Fred Reinfeld (1910-1964) is estimated to have had a high rating of 2532 in 1942. 

[Event "Ventnor City"] [Site "Ventnor City, NJ USA"] [Date "1939.07.14"] [Round "?"] [White "Olaf Ulvestad"] [Black "Fred Reinfeld"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A13"] [Annotator "Komodo Dragon 3"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "1939.??.??"] {A13: English Opening} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. b3 d5 4. Bb2 e6 5. e3 Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 {Reinfeld execute some Pawn exchanges in order to leave white with hanging Ps which could prove a weakness, but they also gives white attacking potential.} 7. exd4 {The other alternative is the immediate 7...Bb4+} dxc4 8. Bxc4 {A new move. White always plays bxd4 with hanfinf Ps.} Bb4+ {Now one would expect white to play 9.Nc3 followed by castles.} 9. Ke2 {A real Ulvestad move! Rather than interpose a piece which could result in simplification he prefers to take a chance that his K won't get into trouble in the center... risky business!} (9. Nc3 Ne4 10. Rc1 Qa5 11. Qd3 Nxc3 12. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. Rxc3 {This position might suit the staid Reinfeld, but not the plucky Ulvestad.}) 9... Nd5 10. Qc1 {An odd place fpr the Q, but je wants to bring the R to d1, Placing the Q on c2 would accomplish the same thing.} O-O 11. Rd1 Bd7 12. a3 Bd6 {...Rc8 is a strong threat.} 13. Nc3 {Ulvestaf quickly gets into trouble after this. Safer was 13.Kf1} (13. Kf1 {Even gere black is in good shape after} Rc8 14. Nbd2 b5 15. Bxb5 Na5 16. Bc4 Bb5 17. Qc2 Nb6 18. Kg1 Nbxc4 19. bxc4 Nxc4 20. Nxc4 Bxc4 {Positionally nlack is better.}) 13... Rc8 {Reinfeld has set a sly trap, but Ulvestad avoids it.} 14. Ne4 (14. Nxd5 exd5 15. Bxd5 Ne7 16. Bc4 b5 17. Kf1 (17. Bxf7+ Rxf7 18. Qd2 Bf4 19. Qd3 Bf5 20. Qxb5 Rc2+ {and black is winning.}) 17... bxc4 18. bxc4 {Black has pocked up a B for two Ps}) 14... Bf4 15. Qb1 f5 {With this black's advantage disappears.} (15... Na5 {keeps up the pressure. but calculating the possibilities is not so easy!} 16. Nc5 Bc6 17. Bd3 b6 18. b4 bxc5 19. dxc5 Ba4 20. Bxh7+ Kh8 21. Bc2 Bb5+ 22. Ke1 Nc4 {with the advantage.}) 16. Nc5 Na5 { It would have been interesting to see what would have happened after the equally good 16...g5} 17. g3 Bd6 (17... Bc6 {Now white has to play 18.Kf1 with about equal chances, but he must not play} 18. gxf4 Nxf4+ 19. Kf1 Nxc4 20. bxc4 Bxf3 {and black is winning.} 21. Bc1 (21. Rd2 Qg5 {wins}) 21... Be2+ 22. Ke1 Bxd1 23. Bxf4 Qxd4 {and wins.}) 18. Qd3 {Black should now play 18...Bc6 and be satisfied with a slight advantage. Instead be makes a rash attempt to continue the attack.} b5 19. Bxd5 exd5 20. Rac1 f4 {The idea is to open the f-file and then pin the N with ...Bg4} 21. Nxd7 {Now the pin is not possible.} Qxd7 22. Ne5 Bxe5 {He wants to be able to play ...Qg4+, but 22...Rce8 serves the same purpose and strengthens the attack.} 23. dxe5 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 fxg3 25. hxg3 { The multiple exchanges have left black in a position where he has to defend his d-Pawn with the passive 25...Qf7. Instead he mistakenly tries to attack.} Qg4+ 26. f3 Qxg3 $16 27. Qxd5+ Kh8 28. Qf7 {This threatens mate and Ulvestad must hve been very optomistic because Reinfeld had 13 only a matter of seconds to reach the time xontrol at move 40!} Qg2+ (28... Rxf7 29. Rc8+ Rf8 30. Rxf8#) 29. Ke3 {Playing for a win, white must bring his K out in the onen.} Qg5+ 30. Kf2 {[%mdl 8192] This should have lost, but in his time scramble Reinfeld missed the win.} (30. Ke2 {would draw after} Qg2+ 31. Ke3 Qg5+ 32. Ke2 (32. Ke4 Qd8 33. Qd5 Qh4+ 34. Ke3 Qf4+ 35. Kd3 Nxb3 {and black wins.} 36. Qxb3 Qxf3+ 37. Kc2 Qe4+ 38. Qd3 Rf2+ 39. Kc3 Rf3) 32... Qg2+ {Threefold repitition.}) 30... Qd2+ (30... Qd8 {Hard to see in terrible time pressure! Black is winning. For example...} 31. Qh5 (31. e6 Rxf7 32. exf7 Qf8) 31... Qd2+ 32. Kg3 Qxb2) 31. Kg3 Qg5+ 32. Kh3 {There is no perpetual, but the fraw is still there.} Qd8 { Found it!} 33. Rd1 Qc8+ 34. Qd7 Rxf3+ 35. Kg4 Qf8 {Black has managed to obtain enough counterplay for a draw.} 36. Qd8 Rf4+ 37. Kh5 Rf5+ 38. Kg4 Rf4+ 39. Kh5 Rf5+ 40. Kg4 h5+ {After having reached the time control, instead of taking the draw Reinfeldm being a P ahead, decided to play on. Even so, his game is difficult because his N is unfer attack and white's passed e-Pawn needs watching.} 41. Kh4 {There is no longer a perpetual check and Reinfeld still has some problems to solve.} Kg8 {This moveholds everything. The threat against black's N turns out to be no threat at all.} (41... Rf4+ {is a dead end.} 42. Kxh5 Rf5+ (42... Kg8 {This must be played anyway and a draw is stil probably.}) 43. Kg6 {and white wins.}) 42. e6 (42. Qxa5 {loses.} Rf4+ 43. Kh3 Qf5+ 44. Kh2 Rh4+ 45. Kg3 Rg4+ 46. Kh3 Qf3+ 47. Kh2 Qg2#) 42... Nc6 {With the centralization of black's N and K and this move which prevents the advance of the e-Pawn white can make no progress.} (42... Nxb3 {would lose.} 43. e7 Nc5 44. exf8=Q+ Rxf8 45. Qe7 Rf4+ 46. Kxh5 g6+ 47. Kh6 Rh4+ 48. Qxh4 Ne6 49. Qf6 { mate in 2.}) 43. Qxf8+ Kxf8 44. Rd7 Ke8 45. Rxg7 Nd8 46. Rxa7 Nxe6 {Draw agreed.} (46... Nxe6 {Here is Komodo Dragon 3's continuation.} 47. Bc3 Nf4 48. Bb4 Ng6+ 49. Kg3 Ne5 50. Rh7 Nd3 51. Bc3 Nc5 52. Kh4 Nxb3 53. Rxh5 Rxh5+ 54. Kxh5 Kd7 55. Kg6 Kd6 56. Kf5 Kd5 57. Bf6 Nd4+ 58. Bxd4 Kxd4 59. Ke6 Kc3 60. Kd5 Kb3 61. Kc5 Kxa3 62. Kxb5) 1/2-1/2