A Spirited Euwe - Bisguier Tussle

 

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

No Respect for h-Pawns

    The late National Master James R. Schroeder (1927-2017) could be bombastic at times, but at heart he was a kind soul who was always willing to impart some chess wisdom to the rating challenged. By the way, calling him Mr. Sch-rO-der with a long O was a good way to upset him. It was Mr. Sch-rA-der with a long A. 

    Many lower rated players concentrate their study on openings, but Schroeder emphatically stated that that the best moves are not in the books and he advised against reading opening books or articles until you are at least an Expert (2000-2199). 

    In those pre-computer days he advised not to use books like Modern Chess Openings or Encyclopedia of Openings because they are compilations of selective data and contain thousands of mistakes in analysis and their positional evaluations are often wrong. I suppose the same thing could be said of modern databases and that engine analysis is critical to get at the truth. On the other hand, unless you are playing correspondence chess your opponent is human and playing what you are familiar with is a factor. 

    In any case, my observation is the below the Grandmaster level most players won't follow the “book” lines more that a very few moves which makes memorizing reams of analysis pointless. I remember one time when doing a post-mortem my young opponent was highly critical of one of my opening moves because it wasn’t what Bobby Fischer played. He could not answer my question why, if it was so bad, could he not refute it.

    According to Schroeder, only after you 1) become completely knowledgeable of:

    1) how to checkmate 

    2) thoroughly understand the endgame 

    3) know all the possible types of tactics (we used to call them “combinations”)

    4) have played through at least a thousand master games 

 are you are ready to study the openings. By that time you will be a Master. 

    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 online game is proof of their advice. Sometime when encountering a lower rated opponent I will play 1.h4 just for fun. Generally known as the Desprez Opening named after the French player Marcel Desprez, I have also seen it called the Hawaiian Orangutan Attack and the Kadas Opening, after Gabor Kadas, a fairly strong Hungarian master who has picked up a few GM scalps using 1.h4. 

    The Desprez is a horrible opening for several reasons: 1) It does furthered the development of any pieces, 2) white has not claimed a share of the center, 3) white has handed over the initiative and 4) it weakened the King's castled position. 

 

[Event "Chess Hotel"] [Site "?"] [Date "2025.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Guest"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] {A00: Desprez Opening} 1. h4 e6 {I have never seen this befor as black customarily plays 1...e5 or 1...d5} 2. Rh3 {Because my opponent was fairly low rated I playe this as a way of giving him odds...the plan is to sacrifice the R on f7.} d6 3. Rf3 Qxh4 {Black will end up losing time with this P grab, but there's nothing wrong with it. White's best continuation is now Nc3 and Nge2 etc. Obviously the R is horribly placed on the 3rd rank and castling is a long way off.} 4. Rxf7 {Giving R odds. I have played this sacrifice several times against low rated opponents and they often overreact to perceived threat like Ne5+ or Ng5+ or Bc4+ or Qh5+} Kxf7 5. Nf3 Qe7 6. d4 h6 {Overreacting.} (6... Nf6 7. Ng5+ Ke8 8. Nc3 Nc6 9. e4 h6 {Now this gains time by forcing the N to retreat.} 10. Nf3 {White is simply a R down.}) 7. e4 a6 {Way too cautious. 3... Nc6 is better. Even so, white is still a R down and black has a solid position. } 8. Bc4 b5 9. Bd3 {I chose this over 9,Bb3 because there is a glimmer of hope of utilizing the weakness of g6} Bb7 10. a4 b4 11. e5 {Hoping he will play ... dxe5 so I can get a N on e5.} d5 {Refusing to bite. Now that the position is closed I have little choice but to play "normally" and develop and hope black somehow blunders and throws away his advantage.} (11... dxe5 12. Nxe5+ Ke8 13. Qh5+ Kd8 14. Nf7+ {and white has not only equlized, he is actually a bit better.}) 12. Nbd2 a5 13. c3 Ba6 14. c4 {I need to keepo the B because g6 is still a square of interest.} c6 (14... dxc4 15. Be4 Ra7 16. Nxc4 {Baiting a trap!} Bxc4 17. Nd2 Ba6 (17... g6 {is a must. Now after} 18. Nxc4 {I am still a R down.}) 18. Qh5+ g6 19. Qxg6#) 15. Ng1 {A surprising move that came to my attention only at the last second. The threat, which is really no threat at all, is to play Qh5+} Ke8 {Heading for safety.} 16. Bg6+ {This is a little better than Qh5+ because it prevents a possible black expansion on the K-side by advancing his g-Pawn.} Kd7 17. Qf3 dxc4 18. Ne2 Kc7 19. Nf4 Nd7 20. Ne4 { My pieces are well placed, but there is no way to attack and I am still a R down and the well placed pieces are not enough compensation.} b3 {Finally! Black blunders and allws me to equalize. He still has to complete his development so 20...Ngf6 was called for.} 21. Bd2 Bb7 22. Nd6 {A good square for the N!} Qh4 {[%mdl 8192] This is an outright blunder that not only costs a P, but allows my pieces to swarm his K. 22...Ngf6 is about equal. Unfortunately for black he saw the threat of ...Qh1+ winning the R and went for it without further investigation.} 23. Nxe6+ Kb6 24. Nxc4+ {[%mdl 32]} Ka7 25. Nxa5 Qh1+ {It's too late to save the game, but apparently black still didn't suspect anything because he played this instantly.} 26. Ke2 Qxa1 27. Nxc6+ Kb6 28. Qxb3+ Ka6 29. Bd3# 1-0

A Neat Win by Nico Cortlever

    Dutch IM Nico Cortlever (1919-1995, 79 years old) first came to notice in 1938 when he finished 2nd behind Euwe in the Dutch Championship. A good endgame study composer, he was very actine in tournaments in Holland, both local and international, with varying results. By the 1970s he had given up active play, but served as the non-playing captain of the Dutch Olympiad teams. 

    His opponent in the following game was IM Dr. Max Ujtelky (1915-1979, 64 years old) a Slovak master and theoretician who was a direct descendant of famous Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, and Ujtelky tied with Jiri Fichtl in the Czechoslovak Championship at Ostrava in 1960, but lost a tiebreak match. He played for Czechoslovakia in the Olympiads in 954, 1960 and 1966.

    The game was actually horribly played by Ujtelky who launched a premature and badly planned "attack", but it's still entertaining to watch the way Cortlever refuted it. 

 

[Event "Hoogovens-B"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "1969.02.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Max Ujtelky"] [Black "Nico Cortlever"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A12"] [Annotator "James Massie"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "1969.??.??"] {A12: English Opening} 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. b3 g6 4. Bb2 d5 5. h3 {White usually plays 5.g3 or 5.e3. You might think the idea of the text is to limit the scope of black's B which seems rather pointless at this stage. Bit, that's not the case.} Bg7 6. g4 {While hardly losing, this move is far too risky!} h6 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O {Theoretically the position is equal, but most GMs would probaby frown on white's setup.} Nbd7 9. Qc2 Re8 10. d4 h5 {The assault on white's weakened K-side begins.} 11. g5 Ne4 {A critical position has been reached, White's next move, which he apparently played as part of a plan to step up the pressure on the K-side is a losing blunder because it allows black to strike a blow in the center and get a winning K-side attack himself.} 12. Nh4 {This loses the game. After the simple developing move 12.Nc3 black's advantage would be nominal because the blocked posutuin on the K-side would make it difficult for black to achieve a brealthrough.} e5 {Een better than tking the P.} (12... Nxg5 {This is probably what Ujtelky expected, but the position is still very strongly in black's favor after} 13. f4 Ne4 14. Nf3 Ndf6 {The threat is ...Nf6 and white is at a loss for a good continuation.}) 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Nd2 Qxg5 {This keeps the advantage, but the Q opposite the K is not as dangerous as it looks.} (14... Nxg5 {Almost as good was 14...exd4} 15. Nxg6 {This may have been along the line Ujtelky was imagining, but it's still insufficient.} fxg6 16. Qxg6 Nf8 17. Qxh5 Re6 {White has 2Ps for the N, but no attack and so black's position is a winning one.}) 15. Nhf3 Qf5 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. Nd4 Qg5 {White should now take the opportunity to simplify a bit and eliminate one of black's attackers with 18.Nxe4. Instead he continues with his non-existent attack and further weakens his position.} 18. f4 Qg3 19. Nxe4 { This comes too late to stop black;s rampaging pieces.} dxe4 20. Qxe4 $2 Bxh3 21. fxe5 Bxe5 22. Nf5 {Pointless. Black could take thw N and still have an easy win.} Qh2+ 23. Kf2 Bxg2 {White resigned. A complete debacle.} 0-1

Fifty Years Back

    For many readers half a century back may be more than a lifetime, for others it will seem like it was not so long ago. 

    Sadly, we lost a number of players that year. In April, IM Lajos Steiner (1903-1975), twice Hungarian champion and 4-time Australian champion died in Sydney. 

    In May, the nefarious auto thief, insurance fraudster, swindler, confidence man, drug smuggler and child molester, IM Norman T. Whitaker (1890-1975) died in Phoenix City, Alabama. 

    I met Whitaker once in the 60s in North Carolina and it was easy to see how he accomplished some of his dirty deeds because he came across as quite a likable fellow. He had a box of chess books, 365 Selected Endgames, that he co-authored and was selling with the solemn promise that if you learned everything in it you would be a master. Of course, I bought one, but didn’t learn everything in it so I don’t know if he was telling the truth or if I got conned. 

    In June the legendary Estonian GM Paul Keres (1916-1975) died of a heart attack in Helsinki at the age of 59. Also in June GM Nicolas Rossolimo (1910-1975) fell down two flights of stairs in Greenwich Village, New York late one night at his chess studio downstairs. In the mid-1960s I was one liberty from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and visited the Rpsslimo Chess Studio and lost an offhand game to him. 

    In August, GM Friedrich Saemisch (1896-1975) died in Berlin; he was Austrian champion in 1921. In November IM Karel Opocensky (1892-1975) died in Czechoslovakia. And, in December former Swiss champion IM Hans Johner (1889-1975) died in Switzerland. 

    Walter Browne was the reigning US champion, Pan-American champion and German Open champion. I got to attend every round of the US Championship (also an Interzonal qualifier) that year. I also got to attend every round of an international tournament that was won by Hungarian GM Istvan Csom that was held in Cleveland. Pretty thrilling stuff! 

    The big news in 1975 was that in January the Philippines offered to put up $5 million (that is the equivalent of over $30 million today) to for Bobby Fischer to play Anatoly Karpov in the Philippines. The winner would have received $3.5 million ($21 million) , and the loser $1.5 million ($9 million). 

    At the time Fischer was living in an apartment in Pasadena, California that was owned by the Worldwide Church of God, a church founded in 1933 by Herbert W. Armstrong, a newspaper advertising designer who believed he was a modern day prophet. 

    The church was involved in several scandals including sexual misconduct allegations against the founder's son who became involved in a power struggle over church leadership that ended up with him becoming excommunicated. In 1979. Fischer public ally denounced the church. In 1979 some members defected over a doctrinal issues. In 2009, the changed its name to Grace Communion Internationa 

     In April, 1975, Fischer shocked everybody when he forfeited his World Champion title because he disagreed with the match conditions. When his demands were not met he refused to play and Anatoly Karpov was declared Champion.

    These days few people appreciate Walter Browne who tragically passed away in his sleep at the age of 66 on June 24, 2015. At the time he was staying in Las Vegas and had spent the week playing poler and chess. 

`Browne was born in Sydney to an American father and an Australian mother and had dual citizenship until he was 21. His family moved to the New York area when he was 3 years old and he moved to California in 1973. 

    He won the 1969 Australian Championship and was a six-time US Champion. On the December 1975 USCF rating list Browne was the top ranked player followed by Robert Byrne, Lubomor Kavalek, Larry Evans, William Lombardy, Samuel Rershevsky, Kenneth Rogoff James Tarjan, Pal Benko anf Milan Vukcevich.

 

 

    Browne’s opponent in the following game was Kenneth Frey (born in 1950). He received his IM title in 1975 and was Mexican champion in 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1986. In later years he was active in correspondence chess and was awarded the Correspondence Grandmaster title in 2004. Browne;s sharp play was nearly perfect. 

[Event "Pan American, Winnipeg"] [Site "Winnipeg CAN"] [Date "1974.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Kenneth Frey"] [Black "Walter Browne"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D94"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "1974.??.??"] {D94: Gruenfeld} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bg7 {Browne plays the unusual, for him, Gruenfeld.because he had noticed that in the first round Frey had played poorly against it.} 5. e3 O-O 6. Be2 dxc4 7. Bxc4 c5 8. O-O cxd4 9. Nxd4 a6 10. Qe2 b5 11. Bb3 e5 {As usual, Browne was not content with just equality so he trys to grab the initiative with this bold move.} (11... Bb7 12. Rd1 Qb6 13. Bd2 Nc6 14. Nxc6 Qxc6 15. f3 {equals. Limp,E (2415) -Matsuura,E (2405) Campeonato Paulista 1998}) 12. Nc2 {Black has an edge.} e4 13. Rd1 {Browne thought this was too passive, but in relity there is nothing wrong with it.} (13. Nb4 {This move, activating the N was Browne;s suggestion. After} Nbd7 {Simpler would be 13...Bg4} 14. Rd1 Qe7 {Things get a bit tactical. } (14... Qe8) 15. Ncd5 (15. Bd5 Nxd5 16. Nbxd5 Qe5 17. b4 {with complete equality.}) 15... Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Ne5 17. Bxa8 Bg4 18. f3 Nxf3+ 19. gxf3 Bxf3 20. Qe1 Bxd1 21. Qxd1 Qxb4 22. Bc6 {equals}) 13... Qe7 14. h3 {Somewhat better was 14.Nd5} Bb7 15. Bd2 {Frey's play, while not really bad, has resulted in a passive position... not a good situation to be in against a very aggressive opponent like Browne.} Nbd7 {[%mdl 32]} 16. Nd4 {White is resigned to waiting, but it won't be for long.} Ne5 17. Bc2 Rac8 {[%mdl 32] Watch where this R ends up!} 18. Be1 Rc5 19. b4 {A very poor move. As bad as white's position looks, 19.Nxe4 give him a fighting chance.} (19. Nxe4 {was his best try.} Nxe4 20. Bxe4 Bxe4 21. Bb4 Rfc8 22. Rac1 Nd3 23. Bxc5 Rxc5 24. Rxc5 Nxc5 {While the material is about even black has a winning position. Although Stootout games were rather long (70-80 move) black scored 5-0.}) 19... Nf3+ {[%mdl 512] A nice tactical shot. It doesn’t matter how white recaptures, he is hopelessly lost.} 20. gxf3 Rg5+ 21. Kh2 exf3 22. Nxf3 Qc7+ {This nifty maneuver wraps it up.} 23. Kh1 Qc8 24. Kh2 {Browne has one more little tactical shot up his sleeve.} Ng4+ {[%mdl 512]} 25. Kg1 (25. hxg4 Qxg4 {mates in 3} 26. Qf1 Rh5+ 27. Nh4 Rxh4+ 28. Qh3 Rxh3#) 25... Bxf3 {Make that two little tactical shots!} 26. Qxf3 Ne5+ {White resigned.} (26... Ne5+ 27. Qg3 Nf3+ 28. Kg2 Rxg3+ 29. fxg3 Nxe1+ 30. Rxe1 Bxc3) 0-1

A Sparkling Play by Weaver Adams

    It was Tarrasch who said, "It is not enough to be a good chess player; one must also play well." Akin to that statement is one by Reuben Fine that we amateurs might well remember, “...it is not enough to get a good opening; one must also continue well.” 

    The following game from the 1942 Manhattan Chess Club Championship illustrates the point. White emerged from the opening with a decent position, but he didn't play well and lost. 

    The winner, Weaver Adams (1901-1963), is most famous for his controversial claim that 1.e4 confers a winning advantage upon White. He advocated this in books and magazine articles amd in his games. Of course, he was never successful, but at least in 1999 World Correspondence Champion (1965-68) Hans Berliner (1929-2017) published a book titled The System in which he expressed his admiration for Adams and claimed that 1,d4 gives white a large, and possibly decisive, advantage. Like Adams, he didn’t proved it. 

    Adams’ results suffered because he published his analysis for all to see and then stuck to it in his play. Consequently, his opponents were well prepared because the new what he was going to play. 

    In this game he essayed the Albin Counter Gambit against his opponent’s 1.d4. Boris Blumin (1908-1998) who was in born in St. Petersburg, Russia. At one point he lived in in Canada and won the Canadian Championship twice before moving to the United States. 

 

    Adans would, of course, dispute that his opening was inferior, but Fine, like Berliner, said, “..we should all be thankful to Mr. Adams for his sponsorship of so many out-of-the-way opening lines which invariably lead to sparkling and interesting play.” Take a gander at this game.

 

[Event "Mamhattan CC Champ, New York"] [Site "?"] [Date "1942.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Boris Blumin"] [Black "Weaver Adams"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D09"] [Annotator "Stockfosh 17"] [PlyCount "64"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.07"] {D09: Albin Counter Gambit} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 {This gambit is based on the idea of sacrificing a P in order to secure a strong P wedge on d4 along with free and easy development. It is true that black usually develops well, but he has to damage his position to regain the P.} 3. dxe5 {The only move that offers white any chance of obtaining an advantage.} d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. a3 {The main alternative to this move is 5.g3, but I remember seeing a game in which Reshecvsky played 5.a3 and he gave it an explanation mark. Fine was of the opion that the value of this then fashionable move may be questioned. He explained that white's strategie objectives are to keep the black d-Pawn under guard and to secure play against blacj's Q-side and neither of these objectives are furthered by 5.a3. In my database the only significant difference is that the percentage of draws goes up when white plays 5.a3, so Fine may very well be correct.} a5 {According to FIne this move is forced, but it gives black an excellent P position on the Q-side. That is not the case though because ay least at this point the move is hardly forced and the position is actually slightly in white's favor. That said, as will be noticed a bit later black will need to play ...a5 anyway. So, should he do it now or wait? It seems waiting is the beter alternative.} (5... Nge7 {This is the move that gives black the best winning chances.} 6. b4 Ng6 7. Bb2 {and now...} a5 {An interesting position. Stockfish evaluates the positionas slightly in white's favor, bot humans don't play like engines and my database has only 11 games with this position and black scored +5 -2 =4.}) 6. Nbd2 Bg4 (6... a4 {is a plausible alternative.} 7. b4 axb3 8. Nxb3 Be6 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 11. Nxd4 Bxc4 {White is better. Dyachkov,S (2549)-Kanep,M (2476) Moscow RUS 2005}) 7. g3 {This is hardly bad, but the more direct 7.h3 was worth considering.} (7. h3 Be6 {Better than 7...Bh5} 8. g3 Qd7 9. Bg2 {Pachman,L-Plachetka,J Luhacovice 1968. White stands well.}) (7. Nb3 {This is also a reasonable move.} Qe7 8. Nbxd4 O-O-O 9. e3 {White has the advantage. Jankovic,A (2446)-Zaja,I (2466) Omis 2005}) 7... Bc5 8. Bg2 Nge7 9. O-O O-O {Black is still a long way from regaining his P and white is well developed. Fine wrote that the simplest plan for white is now to concentrate on the exposed P on d4, but the line he plays is not bad at all. Fine did not give any indication as to how white could play against the d-Pawn and there really seems to be no clear way of how to do it.} 10. b3 {Here and on the next nove he could also play h3} Ng6 11. Bb2 Qe7 {White;s advantage is very small.} 12. h3 Bxf3 {Not the best, Black should keep his B and retreat to f5.} 13. Nxf3 {What could be more logical than this recapture? However, after 13.Nxf3 his position is no more that equal. To gain the advantahe he must play 13.exf3!} (13. exf3 {aiming for f4 solidly guarding the e-Pawn.} Ngxe5 14. Re1 Qd7 15. Ne4 Be7 16. f4 Ng6 17. h4 {with a ptomising position.}) 13... Rad8 {Overprotecting the vital d-Pawn.} 14. Qd2 b6 {A precaution in that ot removes the P from any attack by the B at g2. Adams is now ready to capture the e-Pawn.} 15. Kh2 {Fine adds that this is quite beside the point except for the fact that it prepares a blunder! White's K is in no danger and the best course was to attack black's d-Pawn. The psychologist Fine observed that this move indicates a situation in which white "seems to have been overcome by one of those strange compulsions which lead a player to carry out a preconceived idea even though he realizes ot is bad."} (15. Qc2 {Fine's suggestion, but after} Ngxe5 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Rad1 Rfe8 18. b4 (18. Rd2 h5 19. Rfd1 h4 20. g4 d3 {the chances are equal.}) 18... axb4 19. axb4 Bxb4 20. Rxd4 Rxd4 21. Bxd4 {the position is equal.}) (15. e6 {This surorising move keeps the iniative.} f5 (15... Qxe6 16. Ng5 Qd7 17. Rad1 {White is slightly better.}) 16. h4 h6 17. h5 Nge5 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. Qf4 {followed by Bd5 with a good position.}) 15... Ncxe5 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 {[%mdl 32]} 17. f4 Nd7 18. Rfd1 {Fine was wrongly super-critical of this stating that In spite of all his previous inaccuracies, white could still have secured a playable position by 18.Bxd4. First, Blumin's previous play was not riddled with inaccuracies and second, while 18.Bxd4 was better than the text because it results in an equal position, 18.Rfd1 is not a gross blunder by any means. Black now has no more than equality.} Nf6 {Here Fine praised Adams for playing consistently and intelligently and he now presses his advantage home with great vigor. The only arguable point is that black has no clear advantage and the position is evaluated as equal. Stockfish 0.15 and Berserk, an aggressive attacking engine, 0.15.} 19. Qd3 Rfe8 20. Bf3 {Fine did not commented on this move, but it is a critical mistake that gives black a considerable advantage. Counterattacking on the Q-side with 20.keeps the chances equal.} (20. b4 axb4 21. axb4 Bxb4 22. Bxd4 Ne4 (22... c5 23. Bxf6) 23. Qe3) (20. b4 axb4 21. axb4 Qxe2 22. Qxe2 Rxe2 23. bxc5 Rxb2 24. Rxd4 Re8 25. cxb6 Rxb6 {with equality.}) 20... Ne4 {Threatening ...Nf2} 21. Kg2 {Against Nf2} f5 22. Bh5 {A loss of time, but white is reduced to passivity owing to his 20th move.} g6 23. Bf3 g5 {Adams has completed all his preparations and now unleashes a violent attack. However, white does not yet need to give up hope!} 24. Rg1 {Probably played to discourage 24...gxf4 opening the g-file, but it doesn't work.} (24. Bh5 {Again, but it makes black work to prove he can win.} Rf8 25. Qf3 Nf6 {and white plays26.Bc1 adding the B to the defense and intending fxg4. In this case black would still be better, but he would also still have a lot of work to do.}) 24... gxf4 {White's K will be exposed to great danger on the g-file...blavk's will not.} 25. gxf4 Qh4 {An excellent move.} 26. Raf1 (26. Bxe4 {eliminates the well placed N, but runs into} fxe4 27. Kf1+ Kf7 28. Qg3 Qxg3 29. Rxg3 {and black's centralized Ts and Ps on d4 and e4 give him a huge advantage.}) 26... Kf7 {Also very strong was 26...Qxf4} 27. Kh2 Rd6 {A nice surprise! The immediate threat is mate beginning with ...Qxh3+} (27... Qxf4+ 28. Kh1 Kf6 29. e3 Ng3+ 30. Rxg3 Qxg3 31. Bg4 $15) 28. Bg2 ({To demonstrate the mate threat.} 28. b4 Qxh3+ 29. Kxh3 Rh6+ 30. Kg2 Rg8+ 31. Bg4 Rxg4+ 32. Kf3 Rh3+ 33. Rg3 Rhxg3#) 28... Rg6 29. Rf3 Bd6 30. Qxd4 {Desperation.} (30. Bc1 {was the only try. Stockfish goves black a winning advantage, but in practice things might not have been so simple! Here is a sample lien...} Rd8 31. a4 Bc5 32. Bb2 Ke7 33. Kh1 Bb4 34. c5 Bxc5 35. b4 axb4 36. a5 bxa5 37. Qb5 Qf6 38. Qxa5 Qb6 39. Qa1 Rdg8 40. Qe1 Qe6 41. Qc1 Kf7 42. Qc2 c6 43. Rd3 Nf2+ 44. Kh2 Nxd3 45. exd3 Bd6 46. Bc1 c5 47. Qf2 b3 48. Qf1 Kg7 49. Bc6 Rxg1 50. Qxg1+ Kh8 51. Qf2 Rg6 52. Bf3 Rg7 53. Bd1 Bf8 54. Ba3 h6 55. Qb2 Kh7 56. Qf2 Qe3 57. Qxe3 dxe3 58. Bc1 {Of course black is winning, but some technique is required.} Bd6 59. Bb2 Bxf4+ 60. Kh1 Re7 61. Be2 Be5 62. Bc1 Rg7 63. Bf3 b2 {Obviously this line has many other possibilities, but it 1llustrates the point that white missed his nest chance when he missed 30.Bc1}) 30... Bxf4+ {The position is a bit messy, but black is clearly winning.} 31. Kh1 Rd8 32. Rxf4 {The game is not yet quite over! Black could carelessly play a check which would be a colossal blunder.} Qxf4 {lack resigned. Great play bt Adams!} (32... Ng3+ 33. Kh2 {and black has his Q and a R under attack, so...} Nf1+ 34. Bxf1 Rxd4 35. Rxh4 Rxh4 36. Bg2 {and white's two Bs vs, the R cinfer the advantage on him. Like to analysis after 30.Bc1 the win is very long and very complicated the only difference being that the shoe is on the other foot.}) (32... Qxf4 33. Qxe4 (33. Qxd8 Nf2#) 33... fxe4 {wins easily} 34. Rf1 Qxf1+ 35. Bxf1 Rd1 {etc.}) 0-1

Fischer Borrows an Idea from Steinitz

    Robert J. Fischer (March 9, 1943 - January 17, 2008, age 64) was the World Champion from 1972 to 1975. These days his name is seldom mentioned, but there was a time when he was considered the ultimate authority. His play was brilliant, creative, daring, surprising, ingenious, eye-opening and revolutionary. 

    In the 1963 New York State Open held in Poughkeepsie over the Labor Day weekend Fischer, then the US Champion, scored a clean 7-0 sweep. It was the second time in recent months that Fischer had played in a weekend Swiss; the other was the Western Open in Bay City, Michigan which he also won.

    At Poughkeepsie, Arthur Bisguier, James Sherwin, Joseph Richman and Matthew Green tied for second in the 58-player field with scores of 5.5-1.5. 

    The opening of the Fischer vs. Bisguier game was a surprise; Fischer abandoned his usual Ruy Lopez and pulled out an old Wilhelm Steinitz ideas. Some of Steinitz' ideas on positional play were stigmatized as bizarre. In this game we see Fischer essay what was one of Steinitz’ most bizarre moves and it worked. 

    When this game first appeared the annotators made their comments based on the result and praised Fischer’s play as if it had been faultless. While his play was innovative and clever, it was not perfect and it could not be claimed that Bisguier was outplayed! He held his own, but unfortunately the final part of the game was spoiled when he blundered. Still. GM Blunders are, if not always instructive, entertaining. Also, Fischer dud deserve credit for resurrecting Steinitz’ old suggestion. 

[Event "New York State Open, Poughkeepsie"] [Site "Poughkeepsie, NY USA"] [Date "1963.09.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Robert Fischer"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C59"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "1963.??.??"] {C59: Two Knights Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {Surprise! Uo until this game Fischer had always played the Ruy Lopez.} Nf6 {Bisguier loved sharp play, so this was what he usually played and Fischer was prepared for it.} 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 {So far normal stuff; this could be considered the Main Line.} 9. Nh3 {Another surprise! This odd-looking move was recommended by Steinitz who introduced it in a telegraph match against Chigorin back in 1891. Steinitz lost ans as a result right up to thus game nobody thought it was any good except the Dutch player Salo Landau who was gassed by the Nazis at Auschwitz in 1944. Today Stockfish indicates that Steinitz was not wrong...the position is dead equal.} Bc5 10. O-O {Steinitz-Chigorin continued 10.d3 which is just fine, but Chigorin obtained a strong attack which gradually became decisive. Steinitz still claimed that white opening strategy was OK and he can successfully retain his extra Pawn. Fischer doesn't care about the Pawn. Instead, he is playing for the advanatge of the two Bishops.} O-O 11. d3 Bxh3 {The problem for black is how to get an attack going as compensation for the P. At the time 11...Nd5 was comsidered best, but it was assumed that Fischer had investigated yje position and found an improvement. Actually, black has tried several different moves here, including 11...Bxh3, and all seem to lead to a playable position,.Engine evaluation if 11...Bxh3 is that the game is dead even.} (11... Nd5 12. c4 Bxh3 13. cxd5 Bf5 14. Be3 Qxd5 15. Nc3 Qd6 {with roughly equal chances. Socko,M (2462)-Batsiashvili,N (2417) Plovdiv BUL 2014}) 12. gxh3 Qd7 13. Bf3 {Fischer's idea is to return the P in exchange for a position in which he has the two Bs and a sound Q-side majority.} (13. Kg2 Nd5 14. Nc3 Rad8 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. f4 {equals. Socko,B (2643)-Pavasovic,D (2590) Austria 2009}) 13... Qxh3 {The position is equal.} 14. Nd2 Rad8 15. Bg2 Qf5 16. Qe1 {This idea behind this odd looking move is that the Q is positioned to threaten to win a P after Nf3 and it can also go to the Q-side. A good alternative was 16.Qf3} (16. Rb1 {As far as I know this move, found by the engine, has been overlooked. White threatens a P fork on the B and N and gains the initiative.} Bb6 17. b4 Nb7 18. Qf3 Nd6 19. c4 {Threatening another P fork. White has gotten his Q-side Ps moving with a gain of time.} Bc7 {With the advantage. He has more space, the two Bs and black's c-Pawn is a target.} 20. c5) 16... Rfe8 17. Ne4 Bb6 18. Nxf6+ Qxf6 19. Kh1 {To make way for the R on the g-file.} c5 20. Qc3 {\Somewhat better would have been 20.Qe4 keeping the Q centralized.} Nc6 21. f4 Nd4 22. Qc4 Qg6 23. c3 Nf5 {When this game was played annotators gave Fischer undue credit claiming his position is superior. However, that is not the case. Bisguier has defended well and the chances are equal after the text. In fact, Bisguier could even have gotten the advantage with 23///Nc2!} (23... Nc2 {This unexpected move, plunging the N into white's territory, would have actualy left black woth a slight advantage!} 24. Rb1 exf4 25. Be4 Qe6 26. Qxe6 Rxe6 27. Bxf4 c4 {and black has the initiative.}) 24. fxe5 Rxe5 25. Bf4 Re2 26. Be4 {This move was incorrectly praised because Fischer has set up a dangerous pin. That's true, but 26.Be4 gives black the opportunity to gain a significant advantage. me} (26. Bf3 {was in order. After} Rxb2 27. Rae1 (27. Be5 {as in the game is met by} Ne3 {winning}) 27... Qf6 {with equal chances.}) 26... Rxb2 {[%mdl 8192] What a shame! This capture is a gross blunder. At first glance it looks good though. With a R on the 2md rank and his Q and N menacing white's K-side black appears to have a dangerous position. Bu,t Fischer's two Bs aew poised to strike.} (26... Re8 {keeps the upper hand.} 27. Bf3 Ne3 28. Bxe3 R8xe3 29. Rg1 (29. Bxe2 Rxe2 30. Qxf7+ (30. Rg1 Qc6+ {wins outright.}) 30... Qxf7 31. Rxf7 Kxf7) 29... Rxh2+ 30. Kxh2 Bc7+ 31. Kh1 Qd6 32. Rg2 Rxf3 33. Qe4 Qf6 34. Kg1 Rf5 {It's doubtful that black can win. Five Shootouts were drawn.}) 27. Be5 {This simply wins the N} Re8 28. Rxf5 Rxe5 29. Rxe5 {Black resigned.} 1-0

William N. Woodbury

  

    The past few days here have been atrocious weather-wise. It’s been windy, cold and snowy with whiteout conditions making driving even on city streets hazardous. 

    Today is such a day and I could not believe the phone call we got from our nephew who us a senior in high school. School was canceled today owing to the nasty weather, but he needs a ride because his basketball coach wants the players to come to school for practice! How does he expect 15-17- year olds, most of whom ride a school bus, to get to practice?! There is something wrong with the man! I’m done with the rant. 

    As a teenager I played in the Correspondence Chess League of America and remember seeing the name William N. Woodbury (February14-1886 – April 11,1979, 93 years old) in the Chess Correspondent. 

    In the early 1900’s he was president and champion of the National Correspondence Chess Association. 

    Woodbury was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and learned to play chess from his father, with whom he progressed gradually from accepting the odds of a Queen to giving his father Rook odds. 

    He only took up chess seriously when he entered Yale in 1904 and he was chess team’s captain in 1905 and 1906. Woodbury gave credit for much of his improvement during that time to Rev. Edward B. Adams (1878-1972) who had been once been the Yale chess champion before ending up in San Diego, California. 

    Adams was born in Westport, Connecticut died in Pasadena, California. He was a member of the Marshall Chess Club in the 1920s and 1930s. He was the President of the Brooklyn Institute Chess Club in the 1930s. Adams frequently competed in the New York State Championship. 

    Woodbury had considerable success as a correspondence player. His first experience in was with the Pillsbury National Correspondence Chess Association and he won their 11th tournament shortly before that organization ceased to exist. After that he played in several other correspondence tournaments sponsored by other organizations. 

 

    Woodbury never played a very large number of correspondence games simultaneously and never aspired to match the achievements of some of the dyed-in-the-wool enthusiasts who played 60 or 70 games at a time! 

[Event "Correspindence Tournament"] [Site "?"] [Date "1915.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "W.R. Pratt"] [Black "William Woodbury"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C59"] [Annotator "Stockfisj 17"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "1915.??.??"] {C59: Two Knights Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 (5... b5 {was played in the famous game Yakov Estrin-Hans Berliner, ICCF, 1965} 6. Bf1 Nd4 7. c3 Nxd5 8. Ne4 Qh4 9. Ng3 Bg4 10. f3 e4 11. cxd4 Bd6 12. Bxb5+ Kd8 {hite is better, but Berliner went on to win a sensational game.}) 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Bd6 11. d4 O-O {After the game Woodbury wrote that 11...Qc7 was stronger because it leaves white uncertain as to how to continue. However, both the text and 11...exd3 are equally good.} 12. c3 (12. O-O {is usual.} Qc7 13. Bd2 Be6 14. Na3 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Qxe5 {White is better. Nguyen Anh Dung (2496)-Yu Shaoteng (2535) Budapest 2000}) 12... Qc7 {A critical position. Woodbury was expecting 13.b4} (12... c5 {is an equally good alternative.} 13. O-O Be6 14. Qa4 Qc7 {equals. Sigfusson,S (2284)-Sipos,I (2254) Budapest 2001}) 13. f4 {[%mdl 8192] This is a serious mistake because it allows black develop a crushing attack against whit's K which finds itself stuck in the center.} (13. b4 {This was the move Woodbury was expecting; it results in equality after} Nb7 14. Nc4 Re8 15. Nxd6 Nxd6 16. O-O) (13. O-O {is, of course, quite safe.} c5 14. Na3 a6 {equals.} 15. Bf4) 13... exf3 14. Nxf3 Bg4 (14... Ng4 {is considerably more potent.} 15. Kf1 (15. h3 Bg3+ 16. Kf1 Nf2) (15. O-O Bxh2+ 16. Kh1 Bg3 {is just awful for white.}) 15... Re8 16. b4 Nb7 {and white is facing a serious problem on account of the attack on h2.}) 15. Nbd2 {[%mdl 8192] Woodbury commented that from here on black's attack looks very string, but white defends so well that it requires "great delicacy" to win. Actually, this move is a losing one. Now that black's N can't go to g4 the attack on h2 is not as formidable and so white's best defense is to castle.} (15. O-O {This is the only chance.} Rfe8 16. h3 Bh5 17. Nbd2 c5 18. Bb5 Re6 19. Re1 {Black's attack is at a standstill and so white has managed to equalize.}) 15... Rae8 16. Nf1 Re7 17. Kf2 c5 18. Ne3 Rd8 19. Qa4 cxd4 20. cxd4 Bf4 {Black could win a P with ...Bxf3 and ...Bxh2. Instead Woodbury hits upom this clever move.} 21. Re1 {There is no satisfactory answer to black's last move.} (21. Nxg4 Nxg4+ 22. Kf1 Bxc1 {B;ack is winning,}) (21. Bb5 {runs into} Rb8 22. Re1 (22. Ne5 Bxe5 (22... Rxe5 23. dxe5 Qxe5 24. Qxa5 Bxe3+ 25. Bxe3 Qxb2+ 26. Kg3 Qe5+ 27. Kf2 Ne4+ 28. Kg1 Qxa1+ {wins}) 23. dxe5 Qxe5 {attacking two pieces.}) 22... Bxf3 23. Kxf3 Bg5 24. Nd5 Nxd5 25. Bxg5 hxg5 {Whote has lost a piece.}) 21... Rxe3 {[%mdl 512]} 22. Bxe3 Ne4+ 23. Kf1 Bxe3 24. Bd3 Nd2+ (24... Qg3 {Offers the Q and looks like a clever sacrifice, but it would be a serious mistake because whiye does not have to take the Q.} 25. Re2 {Now black's  really is threatened and there is no effective followup so white has equalized.} (25. hxg3 $2 Nxg3#) 25... Qf4 26. Bxe4 Qxe4 27. Qxa5 Bxf3 28. Qxd8+ Kh7 29. Rxe3 Qxe3 30. gxf3 Qxf3+ {and the outcome is uncertain!}) 25. Ke2 Qf4 {Threatening ...Bxf3} 26. Kd1 Nac4 {[%mdl 512] This adds a N to the attack; not that it matters, but black had a forced mate with 26...Nxf3} (26... Nxf3 27. gxf3 Qxf3+ 28. Re2 Qh1+ 29. Kc2 Rc8+ 30. Qc4 Rxc4+ 31. Bxc4 Qc6 32. b3 Bxe2 33. d5 Qg6+ 34. Kc3 Qf6+ 35. Kc2 Qxa1 36. Bxe2 Qc1+ 37. Kd3 f5 38. Bf3 Qd2#) 27. Kc2 Rc8 28. Qa6 {Woodbury finishes the game with a nice problem-like move.} Nxb2+ {[%mdl 512]} 29. Kxb2 Bxd4+ {White resigned. it's mate in 3} (29... Bxd4+ 30. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 31. Ka3 Rc3+ 32. Kb2 Qb4#) 0-1

Chess In the Marines Corps

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Another h-file Attack

    While browsing the other day I stumbled across the following game which also contains an attack along the h-file. The winner was. Guillermo Vassaux (June,1909 – May, 2006) od Guatemala; he was a player, chess teacher and writer who won the Guatemalan Championship fourteen-times between 1934 and 1973. 

    Vassaux was one of the founders of the Guatemalan National Chess Federation in 1939. In 1953, he was called one of the three great Guatemalan chess figures of the time. The other two were Enrique Hidalgo and Carlos Enrique Salazar. Vassaux won the Guatemalan Chess Championship fourteen times from 1934 to 1973. 

    He participated in the Chess Olympiad once, representing Guatemala at first board in the 8th Chess Olympiad in 1939 in Buenos Aires, scoring +5 -8 =2.

    Vassaux authored three chess books and wrote a regular chess column in the Prensa Libre from 1974 to 1991. During that time he also ran a chess program Ajedrez bajo los arboles (Chess under the trees) a park in Guatemala City. His students included three future Guatemalan champions. He was awarded a Medal of Honor by the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Presidential Medal shortly before his death. 

    His opponent was John Morrison (1889-1975). Born in Toronto, e was Canadian Champion in 1910, 1913, 1922, 1924, 1926 and 1931.

[Event "Olympiad Final B, Buenos Aires"] [Site "?"] [Date "1939.09.06"] [Round "?"] [White "Guillermo Vassaux"] [Black "John S. Morrison"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C02"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1939.08.24"] [Source "Olimpbase"] {[%evp 16,67,49,49,70,-20,0,0,67,65,56,64,82,79,72,73,89,86,128,117,115,70,120,104,160,158,167,153,210,208,278,289,262,273,254,235,379,234,248,106,473,496,1083,1065,972,863,29992,29993,29993,29994,29994,29995,29995,29996] C02: French: Advance Variation} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} c5 2. c3 e6 3. d4 d5 4. e5 {The opening has transposed into the Advance Variation of the French. White’s idea is to gain space in the center. By blocking black’s Pawns on light squares, the B on c8 will have a hard time getting into the game. Although mot popular the Advance Variation us a solid, yet ambitious, option.} Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 Bd7 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. O-O a5 9. Qe2 Nge7 10. Bf4 Ng6 11. Bg3 Nce7 12. Nbd2 {[%mdl 32] So far this has all been seen before, but this is Stockfish's first choice.} Nf5 (12... Qxb2 {As is often the case this is a risky move.} 13. Rab1 Qxa2 14. Bb5 (14. Rxb7 {would allow black to equalize after} Bc6 15. Rbb1 O-O) 14... Bc6 15. Qd3 Rc8 16. Bxc6+ Rxc6 17. Ra1 Qb2 18. Rfb1 {The Q is not trapped because after} Qxc3 19. Qxc3 {black has} Bxf2+ 20. Bxf2 Rxc3 21. Rxb7 O-O 22. Bb6 Ra8 23. Bxa5 {The material imbalance (B vs 2Ps) favors white. It's still a very difficult position though! In Shootouts white scored +3 -0 =2, but the winning process was tedious, so ITB the outcome is not guaranteed.}) 13. Nb3 Nxg3 {It's really hard to call this an error, but looking ahead the opening of the h-file is going to be disastrous for black...something that cannot be foreseen at this point! Perhaps he should have just castled.} 14. hxg3 Be7 15. Nbd4 O-O 16. Rfe1 Rae8 {It's hard to say what black had in mind with this rather pointless move. 16...Bc5 seems reasonable. While black has mot made any obvious errors one gets the feeling that white's position has a lot more potential.} 17. Rab1 Rc8 18. Kh2 {What?!} Rfe8 19. Kg1 {It's hard to explain the last couple of moves!} Nf8 20. g4 {[%mdl 32] The aggression starts.} Bc5 21. g5 Ng6 {After this black's position will be almost impossible to defend.} (21... Bxd4 {This reduces the pieces white has available for ab attack a bit.} 22. Nxd4 {It's better to have the N here than a P.} Qc5 23. Qg4 b5 24. Re3 {The plan is to double heavy pieces on the h-file. White clearly has the better chances, but there is no forced win.}) 22. g3 {[%mdl 32]} Ne7 23. Kg2 Nf5 24. Rh1 g6 25. Rh3 {Looking back at black's 13th move it's hard to believe the consequences of opening the h-file for white!} Kg7 26. g4 {Offering a P, but driving away a defender.} Nxd4 27. cxd4 {Hardly bad, but taking with the N was more accurate.} Bxd4 {[%mdl 8192] Taking the P results in disaster. Hunkering down and trying to defend himself with ...Be7 and ...Rh8 was his best chance.} 28. Qd2 {White wants to reposition the Q to f4} Bc5 29. Qf4 {Threatening mate with Rxh7+!} Rh8 (29... a4 {A pass to demonstrate white's threat.} 30. Rxh7+ Kxh7 31. Qxf7+ Kh8 32. Rh1#) 30. Rbh1 {Intending Rxh7+ and mate...there is no preventing it.} Be7 {White to mate in 8 moves.} 31. Rxh7+ {[%mdl 512] White mates.} Rxh7 32. Rxh7+ Kxh7 33. Qxf7+ Kh8 34. Bxg6 {Black resigned, A great attacking game by Vassaux.} (34. Bxg6 Qxf2+ 35. Kxf2 Rc2+ 36. Bxc2 Bc5+ 37. Kg2 {mate next move.}) 0-1

Attacking on the h-file

    The formation with Rook on h1 and Pawn on h4 is an important one to be familiar with. If an opponent’s Pawn captures a piece and the h-file is opened up for the Rook a battery can be formed by placing another Rook or the Queen on the file. Sometimes, too, an attacking piece can be placed on the square covered by the Pawn, creating threats which induce or force the opponent to take it. 

    There are a couple of other ways of exploiting the formation of the Rook and Pawn. One is to simply advance the Pawn and the other involves switching the Rook on to another file using a Rook lift. The following game is a classic example of the first method. 

    The winner was Vladimir Vukoviv (1898-1975), a Yugoslav IM (title awarded in 1951) ans an International Arbiter (1952). He was also a chess writer and journalist who is best known as the author of The Art of Attack in Chess published in "965)and The Chess Sacrifice published in1968. As is often the case today, engines have rendered some of his analysis erroneous both books are worth reading. 

    His opponent was Arpad Vajda (1896-1962), a Hungarian IM (1950) who was Hungarian Champion in 1928. He served as police chief in Budapest and passed away in that city. 

 

 

    The game was played in the Debrecen, Hungary tournament in 1925. It was was probably Hans Kmoch’s (1874-1974) greatest success. Originally an Austrian-Dutch IM, IA and chess journalist and author, he eventually ended up in New York City and for many years his annotations appeared in Chess Review magazine

 

[Event "Debrecen"] [Site ""] [Date "1925.08.12"] [Round "?"] [White "Vladimir Vukovic"] [Black "Arpad Vajda"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D64"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1925.??.??"] {D64: Queen's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Rc1 c6 8. a3 a6 9. Qc2 dxc4 {Black should delay this until after white has developed his B with Bd3. Usual is 9...Re8} 10. Bxc4 b5 11. Ba2 {White plays the B here because of the potential of setting up a B+Q battery after Bb1} c5 12. Rd1 (12. O-O Bb7 13. dxc5 Nxc5 14. Rfd1 Qb6 15. Bb1 {Black should now block the diagonal with 15...Nce5. Instead he plays what looks like a more natural move..} g6 {Very bad!} 16. b4 Nce4 17. Nxe4 Bxe4 18. Qb2 {This is what black overlooked.} Bxb1 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. Qxf6 Bf5 21. Ne5 {Threatening a fork on e7.} Ra7 22. Nd7 Qd8 23. Qxd8 Rxd8 24. Nf6+ {There is a nice finish...} Kg7 25. Nh5+ gxh5 26. Rxd8 {1-0 Bitkinin,L (2128)-Yaksin,O (2322) Kazan 2008}) 12... c4 {A small, but important, point is that this is not a very good move because it removes the pressure on white's center. As will be seen in a few moves, this gives him no counterplay and white has a free hand on the K-side. Hitting hte N with 12...b4 was better.} 13. Bb1 {Black should not touch anything on the K-side and play 13...Bb7 with approximate equality. Instead he fatally weakens his K-side.} h6 {How should white handle this attack on his B?} (13... g6 {While this does not lose outright it gives white excellent attacking prospects after} 14. h4 Bb7 15. h5 Nxh5 {This loses outright.. 15...Ng4 offers better prospects of defending himself.} 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. Rxh5 gxh5 18. Qxh7#) 14. h4 {This is not a real sacrifice because if black takes the B after 15.hxg5 white regains the piece because if the threat of Qh7#. After white regains the piece with gxf6 he would have excellent attacking chances on the h-file.} Re8 (14... hxg5 15. hxg5 g6 16. Ne5 {Stronger than the immediate recapture.} (16. gxf6 Bxf6 17. Qe4 Rb8 18. Qf4 {Threatening Qh6} Bg7 19. Ng5 Qf6 20. Qh4 Rd8 {Black has managed to organize a defense, dut white's advantage is still a decisive one.}) 16... Nxe5 17. dxe5 Nd7 18. Qe4 Bxg5 19. Qxa8 Kg7 20. f4 Be7 21. Qf3 Rh8 22. Kf2 {White is winning/}) 15. Ne5 Bb7 {Black is wise to consistently refuse offered N. He hopes that eventually tjr B will retreat. However, in any case he has a poor position.} 16. Rh3 {This is a maneuver designed to bring the Rs into the game as quickly; it's characteristic formation with a R on hl and P on h4.} Nf8 {Black lacks a good defense. Now it's white to play and win.} (16... hxg5 17. hxg5 {Nate is threatened (Qg7#) so the N is lost and after} Nf8 18. gxf6 Bxf6 19. Rh8+ Kxh8 20. Nxf7+) 17. Bxh6 {[%mdl 512] This piece offer cannot be accepted either.} Nh5 (17... gxh6 18. Rg3+ Ng6 19. Nxf7 {Another offer that nust be refused. Even so black is dead lsot no matter what he plays.} Kxf7 20. Qxg6+ Kf8 21. Qg7#) 18. Qe2 g6 19. g4 Ng7 20. h5 {Ripping apart black's K-side.} Bf6 {Black gives up a second pawn, but he can do nothing to save his position.} 21. hxg6 Bxe5 22. gxf7+ Kxf7 23. dxe5 Qa5 {All that remains is for white to mop up.} 24. e4 (24. Bxg7 {is even more ruthless.} Kxg7 25. g5 Rad8 26. Rxd8 Rxd8 27. Qh5 {mate is looming after h6.}) 24... Re7 25. Bg5 Rd7 26. Qf3+ Kg8 27. Bf6 {Black must now prevent Rxd7.} b4 28. axb4 Qxb4 29. Rxd7 Nxd7 30. Qe3 Qf8 31. Qg5 Nc5 32. Qg6 Ra7 33. Rh7 Bc6 34. Qh6 {Black resigned.} (34. Qh6 Nd3+ 35. Bxd3 cxd3 36. Rh8+ Kf7 37. Rxf8+ Kxf8 38. Qh8+ Kf7 39. Qxg7+ Ke8 40. Qg8+ Kd7 41. Qd8#) 1-0

Sometimes It’s Wrong to Resign

    The other day I was playing over some of my old OTB games from 1976 and in one tournament one of my wins came when my opponent overstepped the time limit in an ending where I had a R+B+2Ps vs. R+B+P, but my extra P was a useless a-Pawn and the Bs were opposite color. It was a dead draw. 

    Another win came when my opponent resigning in a position that was also drawn! How lucky can you get? 

    FM Dennis Monokroussos said there may be nothing worse than resigning in a winning position and Tim Krabbe once discovered 35 examples where it happened.

    Monokroussos also added that resigning in a drawn position, as my opponent did in this game, doesn't feel very good either. He wisely added that it isn't always obvious that the position ought to be drawn, so vigilance is needed to the very end.

    At Dos Hermanas in 1999 Peter Svidler took a draw against Anand when he had a forced win. And, in his match against Deep Blue in 1997 Kasparov first resigned a game he could have drawn, then later in a tournament took a draw against Joel Lautier in a position that he could have won. At least my opponent in the following game was not alone. 

[Event "Cincinnati"] [Site "?"] [Date "1976.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Opponent"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C12"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "1976.??.??"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "ENG"] {C12: French: Classical System: McCutcheon Variation} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} e6 {When this game was played Botvinnik's 100 Selected Games was ny constant companion and so I was happy to see this because as black I usually played the French myself.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 {The Classical Variation. White's main options are 4.e5 and 4.Bg5} 4. Bg5 {The threat is 5.e5, attacking the pinned N. Black has a number of ways to meet this threat.} Bb4 {The McCutcheon Variation in which black sharpens the play very early and indicates his wish to win. Black ignores white’s threat and prefers to threaten white’s center himself. This interesting and sharp strategy gave Viktor Korchnoi a number of fine victories.} 5. e5 h6 6. exf6 {The main line used to be 6.Bd2, but nowadays 6.Be3 is preferred. The text doesn’t work out very well in practice.} hxg5 7. fxg7 Rg8 8. Qh5 {A better move would have been 8.h4} Qf6 9. Nf3 {There was no time to retreat. After this black is better.} (9. Qh7 {keeps things equal.} Rxg7 10. Qh8+ Bf8 11. h4 g4 12. h5) 9... Qxg7 10. h4 g4 (10... gxh4 11. Qxh4 Bd7 12. O-O-O Nc6 {and black gas only equality.}) 11. Ne5 Nd7 12. Nxd7 {12.Bd3 was worth a try.} Bxd7 13. O-O-O Bxc3 $146 {After this any advantage black may have had has disappeared. He would have done better to attack my Q with 13...Rh8} (13... Rh8 14. Qe5 Qxe5 15. dxe5 Bc5 {ow white’s e-and f-Pawns are hard to defend.}) 14. bxc3 Rh8 15. Qe5 Qxe5 16. dxe5 c5 {Against Rd4} 17. Be2 Rg8 18. f3 g3 {He should have played 18...gxf3. Black was hoping to keep by B limited and at the same time attack the h-Pawn.} 19. f4 Ke7 20. Rh3 {The idea is to play both Rs to the third rank and attack the g-Pawn before advancing my h-Pawn.} Rg7 21. Rd3 {This allows black the opportunity to get the advantage which he does immediately. Advancing the h-Pawn would have been more effective.} Bb5 {Eliminating his bad B.} 22. Rd2 Bxe2 23. Rxe2 {[%mdl 4096]} Rg4 24. Re3 Rxf4 25. Rexg3 {I thought I was winning here, but the engines give black a small advantage. Apparently the discombobulated g-and h-Pawns aren’t going anywhere and all my other Ps are weak as kittens.} Rh8 26. h5 {[%mdl 32]} Rf5 {There goes a P.} 27. h6 Rxe5 28. Rg7 Re1+ {After this black’s advantage ceases to exist.} (28... Kf6 {keeps the upper hand.} 29. Rg4 Rg5 30. Rf3+ Rf5 31. Rh3 Ke7 {Of course black does not want to repeat moves.} 32. a4 Rf1+ {Black has some winning chances because of white's weak Ps. Practically speaking though double R endings are difficult. In Shootouts white scored +0 -2 =3}) 29. Kb2 {This keeps black's R from attacking the a-Pawm, but 29.Kd2 was equallyplayable.} Rf1 30. h7 {[%mdl 32768] Now after a couple of minutes thought black, seeing no way to stop 31.Rg8, resigned. Somehow he missed the obvious 30...Kf8. Ot's interesting that a tactical analysis using Stockfish gives white a Weighted Error valie of ).25 (precise and black 0.31!} (30. h7 Kf8 31. Rhg3 (31. Rgg3 {Black can mobilize his Ps to create winning chances.}) 31... Ke7 {And there is no way for either side to make progress.}) 1-0

Bisguier Suffers Shingles – Slaughtered by Szabo

    The 1955 Buenos Aires tournament, held at the Argentina Chess Club, was another in a string of successes for the twenty-two year old Borislav Ivkov. All he needed was a draw in the last round to clinch first which he duly obtained. 

    Fellow Yugoslav Svetozar Gligoric came a close second while third place finisher Herman Pilnik of Argentina was in remarkably good form. He started by defeating U.S. Champion Arthur Bisguier in the first round and stayed near or at the top all the way. 

    A youthful Oscar Panno, age 20, must have been disappointed, though he did make a plus score. Panno had won the World Junior Championship in 1953, finishing ahead of such future strong GMs as Borislav Ivkov, Bent Larsen and Fridrik Olafsson. He also won the championship of Argentina in 1953. 

 

 

    Bisguier’s showing was disappointing, but he had come down with a case of shingles. The rash itched horribly and made it impossible for him to sleep at night. His first round loss was indicative of what was to come. In the first half of the tournament he didn't win a single game, but he did pull up from a three point deficit to finish with a respectable score by defeating Gligorich in round 8, Sanguinetti in round 11, Reinhardt in round 13 and Donner in round 14. 

    Szabo's defeat of Bisguier was an instructive game. Bisguier repeated the passive defense that he had played earlier against Trifunovic. In that game, true to his style, Trifunovic also played passively resukting in a quick draw. Bisguier repeated the same line against Szabo who was not as peaceably inclined as Trifunovic had been. The result was a quick, smashing attack that sent Bisguier down in just a few more moves. 

[Event "Buenos Aires"] [Site ""] [Date "1955.05.03"] [Round "?"] [White "Laszlo Szabo"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D46"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "1955.04.18"] {D46: Semi-Slav} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 {When black plays this without developing his B it’s the Semi-Slav. Black is threatening to capture the white pawn on c4, and hold it with b7-b5, but white can avoid this in many ways.} 5. e3 Nbd7 {Both 5...Bd6 and 5...Be7 are seldom seen, as masters realized early on that at e7, the B was passively placed and does nothing to further one of black’s aims, the freeing move ...e5.} 6. Bd3 Bd6 {The main variation of the Semi-Slav is the Meran Variation, 6... dxc4.} 7. e4 {Seldom seen, this aggressive move has given white good results in practice.} dxe4 8. Nxe4 Nxe4 9. Bxe4 {Here, as on the previous moves, both sides have had many alternatives.)} Nf6 10. Bc2 Bb4+ 11. Bd2 Bxd2+ 12. Qxd2 {This position has been reached many times and the outcomes have not been very favorable for black; his position is simply too passive.} O-O {At first glance it may not look like it, but this position is very much in white’s favor because he is superior in the center and his B has excellent prospects. On the other had, black’s B has almost no immediate prospects.} 13. Ne5 {Szabo will castle Q-side and launch a K-side P-storm.} (13. O-O {was played in Petar Trifunovic-Arthur Bisguier Buenos Aires, 1955} Qc7 14. Qe3 b6 15. Qe5 Qb8 16. Ng5 Ba6 17. b3 c5 {with a quick draw.}) 13... Qc7 $16 14. O-O-O c5 15. Qe3 b6 {This is too passive. Black must play vigorously wuth 15...b5 although white would still habe the better prospects.} 16. dxc5 bxc5 {Now that the situation in the enter has been clarifies Szabo launches what quickly becomes an irresistible attack on Bisguier's K.} 17. g4 {[%mdl 32] Practically ending the game.} Rb8 18. Rhg1 Qb6 19. b3 Rb7 (19... g6 {prevents white's next move, but white maintains a winning position.} 20. h4 Qc7 21. g5 Nh5 22. Rd2 Re8 23. Rgd1 {White will play f4 and black is at a loss for any reasonable continuation.}) 20. g5 Ne8 21. Bxh7+ {[%mdl 512] Bisguier, an excellent tactician, must have been ill because otherwise there is no way he could have missed this conclusion!} Kxh7 22. Qh3+ Kg8 23. Rg4 {Mate is looming so black resigned.} (23. Rg4 Qa5 24. Rh4 Qa3+ 25. Kb1 Rxb3+ 26. axb3 Qxb3+ 27. Qxb3 Bb7 28. Qh3 Be4+ 29. Kc1 Bh7 30. Rxh7 g6 31. Rh8+ Kg7 32. Qh6#) 1-0