50 Years Back

    Major world events of 1976 included the Mars Landing that sent back the first color photographs of the Martian surface. The supersonic Concorde launched its first scheduled commercial passenger flights and Apple Computer was founded. 

     In the United States 1976 was defined by the Bicentennial celebrations. Sylvester Stallone burst into superstardom in the smash-hit sports drama Rocky. Hit television shows were Charlie’s Angels, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Bionic Woman and Welcome Back, Kotter. American figure skater Dorothy Hamill won Olympic gold.

    Few people were aware of it, but Americans Robert Byrne, Lubomir Kavale, Larry Evans, James Tarjan, William Lombardy and Kim Commons also won gold. They won it at the 22nd Chess Olympiad in Haifa, Israel. This Olympiad was marred by a massive boycott by teams from the Soviet Union, Eastern Bloc and Arab nations because it was held in Israel. 

    Chess was dominated by World Champion Anatoly Karpov who had one of the most boring styles ever. A U.S. player won the World Junior Championship in 1976. He was Mark Diesen (1957-2008), whose father Carl Diesen was a well known tournament/correspondence player, earned the iM title for his accomplishment. During his broef career he won the Louisiana State Champion in 1986, 1987 and 1988. He grew up in Potomac, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, D.C.), where he become a student of GM Lubosh Kavalek, who was one of the strongest players in the world at that time. 

    Even though Kavalek was noted for his tactical style, Diesen developed a positional style that made him a difficult opponent and he scored victories over GMs like Larry Evans, Borislav Ivkov, John Nunn and Eugenio Torre. Diesen played in only one U.S. Championship (in 1980), but had to withdraw after three rounds after injuring himself in a fall. 

    He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in chemical engineering and except for some local coaching abandoned chess and began a career as a reservoir engineer for Shell Oil, Pennzoil and Noble Energy. He died in Conroe, Texas of unspecified causes on December 9, 2008; he was 51 years old.

    Here is a good example of his precise positional play. The tournament was a 12-round Swiss with 54 players. Diesen finished first with 10 points. He was followed by Lubomir Ftacnik (9.5) and Nir Grinberg (9.0). 

 

[Event "World Junior Champ., Groningen"] [Site ""] [Date "1976.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Mark Diesen"] [Black "Peter Van Egmond"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C91"] [Annotator "Stockfish 19"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "1976.12.21"] {C91: Closed Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {[%mdl 32]} a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d4 {Diesen expected that Van Edmond would play his favorite Marshall Counterattack and although he knew some good lines against it he chooses to avoid it,} (8. c3 {is the most common here an the Marshall is} d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 {This is the main line and is most likely to leaf to a draw with best play.}) 8... d6 9. c3 Bg4 10. Be3 exd4 11. cxd4 Na5 12. Bc2 c5 13. Nbd2 cxd4 14. Bxd4 Nc6 15. Be3 d5 {This is the main line and the chances are equal.} 16. h3 Bh5 17. g4 (17. Rc1 {is the main alternative.} Nb4 18. Bb1 dxe4 19. Nxe4 Qxd1 20. Rcxd1 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Nbd5 22. Nxf6+ Nxf6 23. f4 {and Pridorozhni,A (2533)-Bykov,E (2419) Moscow 2022 is completely equal and was eventually drawn.}) 17... dxe4 {The simplest way of equalizing.} (17... d4 {is also equal, but a bit more complicated.} 18. Bg5 d3 19. Bb3 Bg6 20. Rc1 Nd4 {with an active position.}) 18. gxh5 exf3 19. Qxf3 Nb4 {While this is not bad 19,,,Nd4 was more precise because it would have gained the two Bs.} 20. Bb3 {The B is now on an active diagonal.} Nbd5 {More active would have been 20...a5 and 21...Nd3} 21. Bg5 {Worth considering was 21.Nf1 and if 21...Nxe3 22.Nxe3 the N has a potential outpost on f5.} h6 22. Bh4 Re8 $2 {[%mdl 8192] This innocent looking move is tactically faulty.} (22... Ra7 23. Rad1 {The point of the last move, Black is now equal.} Rd7) 23. Rad1 {White has completed his development and black is completely tied up.} Ra7 {Too late!} 24. Ne4 {[%mdl 32] Headed for f5} Rd7 25. Ng3 Nc7 26. Nf5 {White's pieces are poised for the kill. and apparently Van Egmond doesn't suscpect a thing. Of course even if he pays another move that 26...Bb4 he is still lost.} Bb4 {White to play and win.} 27. Nxh6+ $1 {[%mdl 512] Black resigned.} (27. Nxh6+ {White gets a won position in all variations.} Kf8 (27... gxh6 28. Bxf6) 28. Rxe8+ Kxe8 (28... Qxe8 29. Rxd7 Qxd7 30. Nxf7) 29. Rxd7 Qxd7 (29... gxh6) (29... Kxd7 30. Nxf7 Qf8 31. h6 gxh6 32. Qf5+ Kc6 33. Bxf6) 30. Nf5 Nfd5 31. Nxg7+ Kf8 32. Nf5 {White is winning.}) 1-0

Reshevsky at Leeds

 

    Today’s game was played by the eight year old prodigy Samual Reshevsky in his historic appearance at Leeds, England on August 31, 1920. Before moving to the U.S. later that year, Reshevsky toured major European cities, including Paris (where he scored 20-0) and London, giving simultaneous exhibitions. 

    During his stop in Yorkshire, he visited the Leeds Chess Club. It’s interesting that as an adult he regarded his play in those old simultaneous displays as quite meritorious. Edward Winter has an interesting post on Reshevsky as a prodigy HERE. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Event "15 bd Simul, Leeds. Eng"] [Site ""] [Date "1920.08.31"] [Round "?"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "George W. Beaumont"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C34"] [Annotator "Stockfish 19"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "1920.??.??"] {C34: King's Gambit Accepted} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 Be6 5. Bxe6 fxe6 6. d4 g5 {This is questionable. Black's best move is 6...Qf6} (6... Qf6 7. O-O e5 8. Nc3 c6 {with equality.}) 7. O-O {It would be more advantageous to white to play 7.h4!} h6 8. Qe2 {This is too passive. For white to have any hope of gaining an advantage he has to play 8.g3} (8. g3 fxg3 9. hxg3 {and now either 10.Nc3 or 10.d5 would be about equal.} Bg7) 8... a6 {This is a waste of time. Simply 8...Bg7 was correct.} (8... Bg7 9. g3 Qd7 10. gxf4 g4 11. Nh4 Bxd4+ {followed by 12...Nc6 leaves black with an excellent position/}) 9. Ne1 {Likewise, Reshevsky wastes time, but his plan of breaking up black's K-side Ps remains.} Qe7 10. g3 e5 11. Nc3 Nf6 (11... exd4 {is a bad tactical error.} 12. Nd5 Qd7 13. Bxf4 gxf4 14. Rxf4 Be7 15. Qh5+ Kd8 16. Qg6 {and the R invades on f7 with decisive results.}) 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Nd3 Nc6 14. Nd5 {This innocent looking move has set up a critival position that black fails to appreciate.} Nxd5 {This is an error that lets his advantage slip. He should have delayed this capture a move and played 14...Qg7} (14... Qg7 {Black intends to castle Q-side and will remain a solid P up and have K-side attacking potential} 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Qh5+ Qf7 17. Qxf7+ Kxf7 {Black is much better.}) 15. exd5 Nd4 16. Qh5+ Kd8 {White has now achieved equality.} (16... Qf7 17. Qxf7+ Kxf7 18. Nxe5+ {White has equalized.}) 17. Bd2 {Black must now continue aggressively with ...e4 and ...Bg7} Qf6 {Now Reshevsky could secure a solid positional advantahe with 18.Rae1 and 19.Bc3. Instead he plays an unsound tactical move.} 18. Nxe5 {Strictly speaking this is not a blunder nor is it really unsound, but it loses the advantage and results in equality. Fortunately for Reshevsky, his opponent falls for the bluff, but he can hardly be blamed because the way to equalizing is quite difficult to see!} Rh7 $2 {[%mdl 8192] This loses quickly.} (18... Qxe5 19. Rae1 {The game saver is the problem-like...} Ne2+ $3 20. Rxe2 Bc5+ 21. Kg2 Qxd5+ 22. Rf3 {with fully equal chances.}) 19. Rae1 {White has brought his last piece into play and is now ready to launch a decisive attack.} Bd6 (19... Bc5 {presents no danger to white.} 20. Kh1 Re7 21. gxf4 {with an easy win.}) {]} 20. gxf4 {[%mdl 32]} (20. Nc6+ {Threatening 21.Qe8# was a cute little trap. Black can avoid it with} Kd7 21. gxf4 gxf4 (21... bxc6 22. fxg5 Qg7 23. Qg4+ {is decisive.}) 22. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 23. Kh1 Rf8 24. Bc3 Qc5 25. Bf6 {Material is equal, vut black's poeces are too disorganized to offer any serious resistance.}) 20... Bc5 21. Kh1 c6 22. fxg5 {White quickly wins a lot of material.} Qd6 23. Nf7+ Rxf7 24. Qxf7 Qxd5+ 25. Qxd5+ cxd5 26. gxh6 Kc7 27. h7 Rh8 28. Rf7+ Kb8 29. Bf4+ Ka7 30. Be5 {Black resigned. All in all not a bad performance by an 8-year old playing a simul and having only a few seconds per move.} 1-0

Lasker’s Greatest Game?!

    Bobby Fischer held a very low opinion of Emanuel Lasker dismissing him as a "weak player" who lacked a deep understanding of modern openings and positional play. On the other hand, Garry Kasparov (who I think was a much better player than Fischer) viewed Emanuel Lasker as a towering genius who relied heavily on a practical, flexible, and deeply psychological approach. 

    In any case, is there something we amateutr can e learned from playing over Lasker’s games? He famously tailored his moves to exploit opponent's psychological weaknesses. He was willinn to enter objectively inferior, but complicated, positions if he thought his opponent would struggle more to navigate them than he would. And, he was is legendary for turning lost or passive positions around by finding hidden defensive resources. All moot points for amateurs!  

 

    Nevertheless, his games are enjoyable to play over and he considered the following game to be one of one of his best and he wasn’t alone. So did Amos Burn and Frank Marshall. They were all wrong! Check out the Fritz/Stockfish 19 Blunder Category Chart: 

 

[Event "St. Petersburg Quadrangular 1895/96"] [Site ""] [Date "1896.01.04"] [Round "?"] [White "Harry N. Pillsbury"] [Black "Emanuel Lasker"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D50"] [Annotator "Stockfish 19"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "1895.12.13"] {D50: Queen's Gambit Declined} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. Bg5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 Nc6 7. Qh4 {This is not the best continuation. 7.Bxf6 as Pillsbury, himself, concluded after thoroughly analyzing the position.} (7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. Qh4 dxc4 {and both 9.Rd1 and 9.e3 result in an equal position.}) 7... Be7 8. O-O-O {While this is sound, it is not totally without risks.} Qa5 9. e3 Bd7 10. Kb1 h6 $1 {Clever; the Q is stuck on h4 until the B is exchanged.} 11. cxd5 (11. Bd3 {would be a mistake.} Rc8 12. e4 d4 13. Ne2 e5 14. Bd2 Qa6 {and black is much better.}) 11... exd5 12. Nd4 O-O 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Qh5 {Pillsbury's K-side attack is, in reality, nothing more than a gesture, but there isn't a really good plam available.} Nxd4 15. exd4 $17 Be6 {The calm before the storm.} 16. f4 {Played with the intention of initiating a P-storm on the K-side, but while Lasker's next move looks innocent enough, it turns out to be extremely crafty.} Rac8 17. f5 {No doubt Pillsbury was expecting 17...Bd7} Rxc3 {An unexpected surprise. Contemporary player Amos Byrn called it, "One of the finest (combinations) ever made." That's an exaggeration because in reality the move is neither better nor worse than the prosaic 17...Bd7} 18. fxe6 (18. bxc3 {is out of the question.} Rc8 19. Rc1 Bd7 {and white's exposed K is doomed. For example...} 20. Qf3 Bxd4 21. cxd4 Bxf5+ 22. Bd3 Qb4+ 23. Ka1 Qxd4+ 24. Kb1 Bxd3+) 18... Ra3 $1 {White's position is bad, but not lost if he finds the right defense.} 19. exf7+ $2 {[%mdl 8192] Whicj he does not and now his position is completely lost/} (19. bxa3 $3 {As far as I know none of the old time commentators even considered this unlikely looking defense because it just lookd bad! Engines play it instantly and now black's advantage os far from a winning one.} Qb6+ (19... Qxa3 $4 {loses} 20. exf7+ Rxf7 21. Qxd5 {White is a R up.}) 20. Bb5 Qxb5+ 21. Ka1 fxe6 22. Qh3 Qe2 23. Kb1 Qe4+ 24. Qd3 Qxg2 {White has a R vs, B+2Ps and black's advantage is not so great.}) 19... Rxf7 20. bxa3 Qb6+ 21. Bb5 {This is pretty much forced} Qxb5+ 22. Ka1 {White is dead lost, but as far as I know nobody has ever recognized black’s next movre as a blunder that should have tossed away the win.} Rc7 $2 (22... Qc5 23. Qg4 Re7 24. Rd3 Re4 25. Qd1 Rxd4 26. Rxd4 {An amazing position! Capturing the R lets white escape.} Qb6 $3 (26... Bxd4+ 27. Kb1 Qc3 28. Qc1 Qa1+ {Draw!}) 27. Qb3 Qxd4+ 28. Kb1 Qa1+ {wins the R.}) 23. Rd2 {A draw would be the proper outcome of this position.} Rc4 {[%mdl 128] White needs to defend precisely and that means playing only 24.Re1} 24. Rhd1 $4 {[%mdl 8192]} (24. Re1 Qa5 25. Re8+ Kh7 26. Qf5+ g6 27. Re7+ Bg7 28. Rxg7+ Kxg7 29. Qe5+ Kh7 30. Qe7+ {Draw}) 24... Rc3 $2 (24... Qc6 {The only winning move, but it requires intricate play. Practically speaking a draw would not be a surprising outcome} 25. Kb1 Bg5 26. Re2 (26. Qe2 Bxd2 27. Qxd2 Qg6+ 28. Kb2 Qb6+ 29. Ka1 Qc7 30. Rf1 Rc2 31. Qd3 {Black is winning.}) 26... Rc1+ {Mate next move.}) 25. Qf5 {White is the exchange up. but making any real progress wi;; be difficult.} Qc4 26. Kb2 $4 {The annotator has now run ouit of question marks! It's now black to play and win!} (26. Kb1 $1 {keeps the advantage. After} Qc6 27. Rc2 {White has defended against any mate threats and is the exchange up.}) 26... Rxa3 $3 {[%mdl 512] Nice!} 27. Qe6+ (27. Kxa3 {gets mated.} Qc3+ 28. Ka4 b5+ 29. Kxb5 Qc4+ 30. Ka5 Bd8#) 27... Kh7 28. Kxa3 Qc3+ 29. Ka4 b5+ 30. Kxb5 Qc4+ {White resigned.} 0-1

An Instructive Game by Lipnitsky

    The name and games of the Ukrainian player Isaac Lipmitsky (1923-1959, 35 years old) are not well know, but they should be. Invitations to international tournaments were controlled by the USSR Chess Federation and he never got the chance to compete internationally so never had the chance to earn a title, but he was certainly at the GM level. 

    Chessmetric estimates his highest ever ratting to have been 2700 at the end of 1950, placing him at #12 in the world. His rating then began falling rapidly and by the end of 1955, he had dropped 200 points. He dies in Kiev in 1959 of polycythemia, a rare, slow growing blood cancer. 

    With polycythemia the bone marrow produces too many red blood cells, thickening the blood and disrupting its normal flow. Many people do not experience any symptoms initially. When symptoms do occur they can vary. Fatigue and weakness with persistent lack of energy and general tiredness, frequent headaches, dizziness, feeling faint, double or blurred vision, ringing in the ears and shortness of breath. particularly when lying down, are all symptoms. Tiday there is still no cure, but it can be treated. 

    Lipnitsky was a two-time Ukrainian champion (1949, 1956). He was a childhood companion and rival of David Bronstein. During World War II Lipnitsky served in the Soviet Red Army, fought in the Battle of Stalingrad,and was decorated four times. After the War he had some good results, but in later years,his play was affected by poor health. 

 

 

 

    Lipinsky was the author of the highly influential biik Questions of Modern Chess Theory. It was originally published in Russian in the Soviet Union in 1956. An updated English translated was published in 2008. It’s still worth reading today! 

 

[Event "USSR Champ Final, Moscow"] [Site ""] [Date "1950.12.11"] [Round ""] [White "Isaac Lipnitsky"] [Black "Efim Geller"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E71"] [Annotator "Stockfish/Lipnitsky"] [PlyCount "141"] [EventDate "1950.11.12"] [EventType ""] [EventRounds ""] [EventCountry "URS"] [SourceTitle "URS-ch"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceQuality "1"] {E71: King's Indian} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. Be3 d6 6. h3 e5 {At the time this game was played the Soviet players were just beginning to experiment with the King's Indian. White's main options are 7.d5 and 7.Nf3.} 7. d5 {In answer to this black generally plays 7...a5 and then ...Nbd7-c5. Here, instead, black plays to open the c-file which is to white's advantage.} c6 8. Bd3 Na6 9. Nge2 cxd5 10. cxd5 Nc5 {White is slightly better.} 11. Bc2 Nh5 (11... a5 {is more accurate.} 12. O-O Bd7 13. a3 a4 14. Ng3 b5 {with equal chances. Moroni,L (2560)-Prokofiev,V (2464) Prague 2026}) 12. O-O {More precise was 12.Qd2, preventing a later ...Qh4} (12. Qd2 Qh4 $2 13. Bg5) 12... h6 {This is weakening. 12...Bd7 followed by ...f5 would have given him active play.} (12... Qh4 {is premature because after} 13. Qd2 {The Q has to retreat.} Qe7 14. g4 Nf6 15. b4 {White has the advantage.}) 13. Rc1 {White's plan is to take the initiative on the Q-side where he has an advantage in space, but this is a wasted move because later the R will have to return to a1. His best move was still Qd2.} a5 14. Kh2 Bd7 15. a4 {To prevent ...b5} (15. Bxc5 {was his best move. After} dxc5 16. Ba4 c4 17. Bxd7 Qxd7 18. a4 {White is clearly better.}) 15... Kh7 {Probably th best move is 15...Rc8/ The move played practically eliminates any chance of playing ...f5 because of the B on c2.} (15... f5 {It should probably be pointed out that in such positions black frequently plays this advance, but here the advance would favor white and so Geller has not played it.} 16. Bxc5 dxc5 17. Ng1 Qf6 18. Qe2 {followed by Qc4 with the better game.}) 16. Qd2 Rc8 17. Ra1 {White has two pieces tied to the defense of his a4-pawn. By returning his rook to al he not only over-protects this pawn but also prepares to bring the rook into the action via the third rank.} Qh4 18. Ra3 {A clever move that will prove quite useful! In Lipnitsky's celebrated Sovier classic Questions of Modern Chess Theory he explains, "Up to now both sides have been strengthening their positions without undertaking any resolute action, but soon the first clash Will inevitably occur, and then the placing of the rook on a3 will prove very much to the point. Incidentally this move stops the knight on c5 from forking on 133, which would be possible in some lines."} b6 19. Ng1 {"White wants to drive the black Q away with g2-g3, and to do this he must defend h3. In addition, by freeing the e2 square, he is thinking of playing Bc2-d1-e2-b5 to exchange the light-squared Bs. This would enable him to begin gradually conquering the key points on the Q-side and attacking the Ps on b6 and d6...while black has been having difficulty forming a convenient plan that would not involve ...f5, white's play on the Q-side is clear. It does not suit Geller's temperament to wait patiently while his opponent gets on with his plans, so he resorts to the move f7-f5 from which he has been refraining for so long." Lipnitsky} f5 $1 {Lipnitsky's comments notwithstanding, now is the time to play this as it results in black gaining full equality.} 20. g3 Qe7 21. exf5 Bxf5 (21... gxf5 {is also playable.} 22. Qe2 Qe8 23. Nf3 e4 24. Nd2 Be5 {with equal chances.}) 22. Nge2 Bxc2 {According yo Lipnitsky, "Black need not have hurried to make this exchange, as it only helps white to gain control of the light squares." However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Geller's move and the chances are equa;ll.} 23. Qxc2 Nf6 {"It was here that black should have tried to exploit the weakness of d3 and f3 by playing 23...e4, because with his next move white takes measures against that thrust." Lipnitsky. Again, Geller's move is perfevtly acceptable/} (23... e4 24. Bxc5 Rxc5 25. Qxe4 Qxe4 26. Nxe4 Rxd5 {has simplified into equality which may be why Geller did not go for it...his style was to keep things complicated.}) 24. f3 Qf7 {"Black diverts the white Q from the b1-h7 diagonal. Once again, some highly intricate play would result from 24...e4...It should be noted that black was already in time trouble." Lipnitsky} (24... e4 25. Bxc5 Rxc5 26. Nf4 Rc4 27. Ne6 {anf both 27...Nxd5 and 27...Rf7 yield equal chances.}) 25. Qd2 g5 26. g4 {"An important juncture. White manages to seize the e4-square, which opens up the prospect of later reaching a favourable endgame with a N on e4 versus the B on g7." Lipnitsky} Ng8 {Black is transferring thr N to g6, but in the process misses the move that maintains the balance.} (26... e4 $1 27. f4 Nfd7 28. Ng3 gxf4 29. Bxf4 Qg6 30. Nf5 Ne5 {with complications galore.}) 27. Ng3 Ne7 28. Bxc5 bxc5 29. Nge4 Rb8 {Black is not afraid Of 30,Nxd5} 30. Rf2 {Now capturing on d6 is a threat.} (30. Nxd6 Qf4+ 31. Qxf4 Rxb2+ 32. Rf2 Rxf2+ 33. Kg3 exf4+ 34. Kxf2 Rb8 {with equal chances.}) 30... Rfd8 31. Ra1 Qf4+ 32. Qxf4 {"In view of black's potential maneuver ...Ne7-g6-h4, white cannot avoid this capture which opens the diagonal of the black B." Lipnitsky} exf4 33. Re1 {Now the position is one of complete equality and bith players begin jockeying fot posotion.} Ng6 34. Nb5 $1 Ne5 35. Rd1 Rb6 36. b3 Kg6 37. Kg2 Bf8 {"In acute time trouble Geller probably could not work out all the variations following the 37...c4." Lipnitsky} (37... c4 38. bxc4 Nxc4 39. Rc1 Ne3+ {with equal chances.}) 38. Rc2 Bg7 $2 {After this Geller should have found himself in serious trouble.} (38... Re8 39. Rdd2 Nd7 40. Re2 Re5 {Neither side seems to be able to make progress.}) 39. Kf2 $2 {Missing a winning tactical shot. Funny thing...Lipnitsky was silent hereabouts!} (39. Nexd6 Rdxd6 40. Nxd6 Rxd6 41. Rxc5 {and the passed d-Pawn yields a win.}) 39... Bf8 {Correcting his mistake.} 40. Kg2 Re8 41. Rc3 {"An advantage for white has taken shape, based on the weakness of black Ps on a5 and d6, and also the bad black B. If two Rs and a N could be removed from each player's army, black would have a completely lost endgame. In many variations a march by the white K from d3, along one of the routes d3-c4-b5 or d3-e4-f5, would be decisive." Lipmitsky. Stockfish disagrees evaluating the position at 0.00 which does not mean the position is drawn only that the chances are equal. However, as someone once said, some pigs are more equal than others, and the same thing can be said of chess positions.} Nf7 42. Rd2 {"If black were now to sacrifice the exchange on e4, so as to fortify himself by bringing the B to e5, white would win after carrying out a K-side brcakthrough with h3-h4." Lipmitsky} Ne5 (42... Rxe4 $3 {Again, Stockfish disagrees.} 43. fxe4 Bg7 44. Rf3 h5 45. gxh5+ Kxh5 {and there is no breakthrough possible.}) 43. Re2 Nf7 $1 {"Black is extremely restricted in his maneuvres. He not only has to look after his P on d6, he also needs to guard against a potential sacrifice on that square followed by a capture on e5 (should the black rook have moved away from c8). He must also prevent Qc4-d2-c4!." Lipmitsky} 44. Rcc2 Bg7 45. Kf1 Re5 {"Black is unable to avoid a R exchange after the Non e4 moves away." Lipnitsky} 46. Nec3 Rxe2 47. Nxe2 {[%mdl 32]} Rb7 48. Nc1 Re7 {After this black is is real danger.} (48... Bd4 {won't allop white to male any progress as he cannot safely take the B.} 49. Nxd4 cxd4 50. Rd2 Ne5 51. Rxd4 Nxf3 52. Rd3 Ne5 {and black is winning.}) 49. Re2 Ne5 {"Of course another R exchange would only hasten black's defeat. But then the game was no longer to be saved anyway." Lipnitsky} (49... Rxe2 50. Kxe2 Bf6 51. Nd3 Be7 52. Na7 Bd8 53. Nc6 Kf6 54. Nb2 Bc7 55. Nc4 {wins}) 50. Re4 $2 {"Clearly 50.Nxd6 would allow black counterplay." Lipnitsky} (50. Nxd6 Rd7 51. Nf5 Kf6 52. d6 Bf8 {and black has equalized.}) (50. Nd3 {results in a winning ending for white after} Kf6 51. Nxe5 dxe5 52. Nd6 Bf8 53. Rd2 Ra7 54. Nc4 Rd7 55. Nxa5) 50... Rd7 51. Ke2 Bf6 $2 {Black can hold his position after 51...Rd8} 52. Nd3 $18 h5 53. Nxe5+ Bxe5 {[%mdl 4096] As Lipnitsky will demonstrate, this ending is won for white.} 54. Kd3 hxg4 55. hxg4 Re7 56. Re2 Rd7 57. Rh2 {"As white wants to transfer his Nto c4, he now needs to stop the black R froin seizing the h-file." Lipnitsky} Rb7 58. Kc2 Re7 59. Na3 Bd4 60. Nc4 Re1 61. Nxd6 Re3 62. Ne4 Rxf3 63. d6 {[%mdl 32]} c4 64. bxc4 {[%mdl 32]} Re3 65. d7 Bb6 66. c5 Bc7 67. Nd6 Re7 68. Rh6+ $3 $146 {[%mdl 512]} Kxh6 69. Nf5+ Kg6 70. Nxe7+ Kf7 71. Nc6 {Black resigned. A very instructive game by Lipnitsky.} 1-0

An Amazing Game, Mutesi vs. Miladi

   In 2010, Silent Images made a short documentary film about Phiona Mutesi. In 2012, a book was published about her titled The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess, and One Extraordinary Girl's Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster. Then in 2016, The Walt Disney Company made a film about her, the Queen of Katwe. 

    I don't mean to take anything away from Ms Mutesi's accomplishments who grew up in a difficult background and discovered chess as a way out of her situation. Nor do I fault Disney for making a feel good movie about her, and the massive awareness campaign that, hopefully, helped to solve some of her and her family's problems. But… 

    ...chess-wise, the whole thing was Hollywood hype. She was hardly a prodigy and being awarded the Woman Candidate Master title by FIDE was an affront to thousands of female players who are far better players. In 2012, FIDE awarded Mutesi the lowest-ranked title following her performance in the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul. The title requires that recipients reach, at least once, a rating of 2000. At the time, she was rated 1686, won only one game, against a Korean rated 1542. She also drew three games and lost three. This hardly seems good enough to be worthy of a title. 

    I am aware of the argument that one reason for her low rating might be the fact that players in her country don't get a lot of chances to play against FIDE rated opponents and when they do, they are usually paired either against much stronger or equally low rated opponents so it's hard to raise their ratings. Hence, ratings are inconclusive as indicators of their actual strength. If that's valid reasoning, why doesn't FIDE give every player who is in a similar situation a title? 

    According to a number of GMs, who are qualified to judge, her performance was no better than an average club player. One GM said, “Let me not mince words: by a purely objective standard, Phiona is not a strong chess player; she is equivalent to a weak-to-average club player (class C or B in the US).” 

    Mutesi was born in Uganda in1996. Her rating is listed as being1774 and her last tournament appears to have been at the Women’s Olympiad that was held in Batumi, Georgia in 2018. She graduated from college in 2021, with a bachelor's degree in business administration and management. According to Google’s AI report she is living ans working in Canada. 

    Her opponent in the following exciting game was Amein Milani (born 1996), a Women’s Candidate Master from Tunisia. She does not have a standard raring, but her rapid rating is 1705. While not especially well played, the game was interesting and it did have its moments of brilliance. 

 

[Event "Olympiad (Women), Baku"] [Site "New York"] [Date "2016.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Phiona Mutesi"] [Black "Amen Miladi"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Stockfish 19"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "1622"] [BlackElo "1491"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "79"] [GameId "2360085585621079"] [EventDate "1893.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.09.29"] {B23: Closed Sicilian: Lines without g3} 1. e4 c5 2. f4 {the Grand Prix Attack.} e6 {According to many experts black's best reply is 2...d5 and if 3.exd5 Nf6 (the Tal Gambit) with good play for black. As a result, white started playing 2.Nc3 first. Miladi's move is a less common option that dates back to the days of La Bourdonnais in the 1830s.} 3. d3 (3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb5 {is the main line.}) 3... d5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bd2 (6. g3 Be7 7. Bg2 b5 8. O-O {Manhardt,T (2240)-Petschar,K (2266) Feffernitz AUT 2015. Black has more play.}) 6... a6 (6... b6 7. e5 Ng8 8. g3 Nge7 9. Bg2 Nf5 10. O-O h5 {Black's position is the more active. Hartoch,R (2390)-Van der Wiel,J (2520) Amsterdam 1982}) (6... Be7 {This is the most often seen move.} 7. g3 a6 8. e5 Nd7 9. Bg2 b5 {equals. Hort,V (2575)-Wirthensohn,H (2420) Biel 1981}) 7. e5 {This is not bad, but 7.g3 with a Closed Sicilian is more usual.} Nd7 8. Be2 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Rb1 {Evidently she intended to stymie black’s Q-side advance with the followup a3 and b4. The position of the B on d2 hinders white from any forceful action. The only other reasonable move is 10.Qe1 hoping to support the advance of the e-Pawn.} b5 11. a3 Qb6 {Preventing white’s planned b4.} 12. Kh1 a5 {Black plans ...b4} 13. Qe1 b4 14. axb4 axb4 15. Nd1 {[%mdl 32]} Ba6 {This move is designed to help support the advance of the c-Pawn. It’s clear that black has come out of the opening well because her Q-side P-structure and active pieces give her good prospects. This does not mean she is in no danger because her K-side lacks support by her pieces as can be seen when her position soon deteriorates.} 16. Nf2 Bb5 {This move is by no means bad, but perhaps countering in the center with 16...f6 would have proved better in the long run.} 17. Ng4 {After this once the Q reaches g3 white has some threats against black’s K. A better plan was bringing thje N over to the K-side via e7 and so 17...Bd8 was good.} h5 {This takes measures against Qg3, but this creates a weakening of black’s K-side which she will shortly regret.} 18. Nf2 Ra2 19. Nh3 $16 c4 20. Nfg5 cxd3 21. cxd3 {Black should now play 21...Qd4 attacking the b-Pawn. Instead she walks into a pin.} Nd4 22. Be3 Bc5 {This breaks the pin, but at this point black is lost.} 23. Qh4 $1 {It's clear that black is in serious difficulty; there are no pieces available with which she can defend her K.} g6 (23... Nxe2 $2 {is met by} 24. Qxh5 {Threatening mate on h7} Rc8 25. Qxf7+ Kh8 26. Bxc5 Nxc5 27. f5 Ra7 28. Qh5+ Kg8 29. Qh7+ Kf8 30. Qh8+ {White is winning.}) 24. Bxd4 Bxd4 {[%mdl 32]} 25. Bxh5 $1 {[%mdl 512]} Kg7 26. Qg3 Rh8 (26... gxh5 27. Nxe6+ Kh8 28. Qg7#) 27. Be2 {Missing the win and allowing black to equalize.} (27. Nxf7 {results in a winning position after} Rxh5 28. Nd6 {Black has a small material advantage, but white's pieces are in dominating positions. It's hartd to fault Mutesi for not going into this line because it's hard to evaluate and there is no forced win. The best continuation is} Ra8 29. Rbe1 Rah8 30. f5 exf5 31. e6 Nf6 32. Nxb5 Bc5 33. Rc1 Qxb5 34. Qc7+ Kh6 35. Rxc5 Qxd3 36. Qf4+ g5 37. Qxf5 Qxf5 38. Rxf5 Kg6 39. Re5 Ra8 40. Rc1 Re8 41. Rc6 Re7 42. Rb6 d4 43. Kg1 d3 44. Rd6 Ng4 45. Red5 {White is winning, but nobody is going to calculate all of this!}) 27... Bxb2 {This position is dead equal, but the complications are enormous! White has two good continuatuions.} 28. Qg4 {This should have allowed black to gain the advantage with the unlikely looking 28...Bc3!} (28. Bd1 {A non-human move!} Qd4 29. Nxf7 Qxd3 30. Bf3 Kxf7 31. Ng5+ Ke7 32. Nxe6 Qf5 33. Ng7 Qf7 34. Rfd1 Bc4 35. e6 Qxg7 36. exd7 Bd4 37. Rxb4 Rd8 38. Bxd5 Bxd5 39. Qg5+ Kd6 40. Rb6+ Bxb6 41. Qxd5+ Kc7 42. Qxa2 Rxd7 43. Rxd7+ Qxd7 44. Qc4+ {This is a draw.}) (28. Bg4 Bc3 29. f5 Bxe5 30. f6+ Bxf6 31. Bxe6 Ra3 32. Nf4 Bxd3 33. Nxd3 fxe6 34. Rxf6 Kxf6 35. Qf4+ Ke7 36. Qf7+ Kd8 37. Qxg6 Kc8 38. Nxb4 Qc7 39. h3 Rc3 40. Nd3 Qg3 41. Qg7 Rxh3+ 42. gxh3 Qxd3 43. Ra1 Qe3 44. h4 Rc1+ 45. Rxc1+ Qxc1+ 46. Kh2 Qf4+ {Draw!}) 28... Qa6 (28... Bc3 {White's attack has reached a standstill and now it's black's piece that are in dominating positions.} 29. Rbc1 Rd2 30. Rfd1 (30. Nf2 Ra2 31. Nd1 Bd2 32. Rb1 Nc5 {White's attack has been beaten off and black has established a winning position.}) 30... Rxd1+ 31. Rxd1 b3 {This passer decides the game in black's favor.}) 29. Rfd1 $2 {Mutesi has overestimated the strength of her opponent's threat.} (29. f5 $1 {was the only good move.} exf5 30. Rxf5 Nxe5 31. Rxf7+ Nxf7 32. Ne6+ Kf6 33. Rf1+ Ke7 34. Nhf4 Kd6 $1 {The only good move.} 35. Nxg6 {The complications are unfathomable!}) 29... Nc5 30. Qf3 $2 {This should have lost!} (30. f5 exf5 31. Qxb4 Ba3 32. Qxb5 Qxb5 33. Rxb5 Rxe2 {is fully equal.}) 30... Bc3 $1 {The threat is 31...Rxe2 followed by ...Bxd3 forking the Q and R} 31. Ng1 Ra8 32. Qh3 Rh8 33. Qe3 d4 34. Qg3 Ba4 (34... Rxe2 {secures the win.} 35. Nxe2 Bxd3 36. Rxd3 Qxd3 37. Qxd3 Nxd3 {and black's passed Ps are a winning advantage.}) 35. Rf1 {[%mdl 32] Milandi now fails to realize the grave danger she is in.} Bc2 $4 {[%mdl 8192]} (35... Kf8 36. h3 (36. f5 {This is no longer a threat.} gxf5 $3 {Much better than 36...gxf5} 37. h3 Bc2 {Black is winning/}) 36... b3 {is winning for black.}) 36. f5 $3 {Crushing.} Bxb1 37. fxe6 {Not that ot matters. but 37.Fxg6 leads to a mate in 12.} Nxe6 38. Rxf7+ Kg8 39. Rf6 Rxe2 40. Nxe6 {Black resigned. A very difficult game for both sides.} 1-0

John Stapfer

    According to his death notice John (originally Hans) Stapfer, or as he was also known, John Staffer, was born in Switzerland in 1877, or it could have been 1872, and died in 1961 from “complications”, whatever that is. He lived at 2589 Fulton Street in Brooklyn which today is a vacant lot. He was a retired supervisor in a silk mill, 

    Stapfer came to the US in 1881 with his parents. Since he was a boy he was in the silk manufacturing business in New York City. When his original employer went out of business in 1906, he accepted a position as bookkeeper for the weaving department of Schwarzenbach Huber & Co.'s branch mill in Altoona, Pennsylvania. 

    At the age of 15 his father taught him to play chess. In 1893, he had his initial experience in tournament play in the annual handicap of the Hoboken (New Jersey) Chess Club, where he won first prize. After that he rapidly improved.

    In 1895, he won the New Jersey championship and in 1898, tied for first and won the playoff. In correspondence play in 1908, he won the 1905 Pillsbury Correspondence Association's 9th annual tournament, in 1946, he won the 1943 Victory Tournament, and in 1956, when he was in n his late 70s (or early 80s and playing under the name of John Staffer) he won the 1951 Golden Knights Postal Championship with an undefeated score. 

 

[Event "New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1923.??.??"] [Round ""] [White "John Stapfer"] [Black "Harry P. Kline"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D46"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "1944.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.09.25"] {D46: Semi-Slav} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Bg5 c6 {Black is threatening to capture the P c4 and hold it with ...b5.} 6. e3 {In this heavily analyzed variation both sides have played every reasonable move available.} Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 Qc7 {The two most common moves here are countering in the center with either 9...b5 and 9...e5, both of which are better than the somewhat passive text.} 10. Rc1 a6 11. e4 e5 12. d5 $1 {Well played as the P cannot be safely taken. While black has not made any errors his position is now pretty much devoid of counterplay and he begins to pay the price.} Nb6 13. Bb3 Bg4 {Defending the N with 13...Be7 would have been more circumspect.} 14. h3 (14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. dxc6 bxc6 (15... Qxc6 16. Nd5 {is winning for white.}) 16. h3 Be6 17. Nh4 {followed by either 18.Qh5 or 18.Qf3 is not a position black woild want to play}) 14... Bd7 (14... Bxf3 {was not very attractive.} 15. Qxf3 Nfd7 16. dxc6 bxc6 17. Qg4 {There is no forced winning line, but all the chances belong to white.}) 15. Qd2 Ne8 16. dxc6 bxc6 (16... Bxc6 {White cannot be allowed to play Nd5} 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 {wins a piece.}) 17. Rfd1 Kh8 {Played because he had to male a move and this is as good as any.} 18. g4 {This is not an engine top choice, but ot does no harm and even turns out ot be valuable later.} Qb7 19. Na4 {Instructive strategy. With nothing to be done on the K-side for the moment white turns his attention to the other side.} Nxa4 20. Bxa4 f6 21. Be3 Rc8 22. Rc2 Rf7 23. Rdc1 {Black’s position is a passive one and all he can really di is make make a move that does not damage his position. Say, 23...Re7 or 23...c5 or 23...a5. Instead he plays a horrible move that seriously weakens kis K’s position and the move us even worse because black’s chance of counterattacking on the K-side are zero as he gas ni pieces statione there.} h5 $2 24. Bb3 Re7 25. Nh4 Kh7 26. Nf5 Bxf5 (26... Be6 $142 {loses a piece.} 27. Nxd6 Nxd6 28. Qxd6) 27. gxf5 g5 28. Qe2 (28. fxg6+ {is even stronger.} Kxg6 29. Kh2 {and black can only wait for he end.} Rg7 30. Rg1+ Kh7 31. Qd1 Rg5 (31... Rcc7 32. Qxh5#) 32. Bxg5 {is decisive.}) 28... Ng7 29. Kh2 Ree8 {Black has managed to block up the K-side, but white can carry out successful operations on the other side.} 30. Ba4 Qf7 31. Bxc6 Qxa2 (31... Red8 {is met by} 32. Bb6 Rf8 33. Bd5 Rxc2 34. Rxc2 Qe8 35. Rc6 {and wins}) 32. Bxe8 Rxe8 33. Rc6 {[%mdl 32]} Be7 34. Rxa6 Qb3 35. Ra7 Kh6 36. Rcc7 Qb4 37. Rab7 Qxe4 38. Bxg5+ {Black resigned.} 1-0

Rothman - Denker...a Real Rip-snorter

    Today through the weekend finds me stuck in a hotel room in Niagara Falls, New York, but there will be no sight seeing because the wife is attending a women’s conference where she is a speaker and beside, the temperature is too cold to get soaked on a Maid of the Mist boat ride. I noticed that the price has skyrocketed from what we paid to ride it 35 years ago! 

    There is also a balloon ride available; the price to go up in it is $135.60 for two people. The balloon is visible from our room and it’s bigger than I thought. The basket of the tethered balloon holds 35 people and it ascents to about 400 feet. Hanburgers cost $25 and I paid $5 for a small cup of coffee. 

    One interesting phenomenon is that even though the day is bright and sunny the chill in the air causes a cloud to for a couple of hundred feet above the falls. 

    While walking around this morning I was challenged to a chess game by a guy standing by one of those big sets that sit on the sidewalk; I lost. The problem was that he was playing by rules that were unfamiliar to me. For example, he played ...Bf8xf4 and moved his King like a Queen. At one point when I played Qd4xh8+ he captured my Q by playing Ke8xh8. Later in the game he escaped mate by playing ...Kh3-d7.  That’s when I admitted defeat and congratulated him on a good game. 

    Once when Samuel Reshevsky was asked why Reuben Fine never won the US Championship his reply was, “Because I was playing.” Because Reshevsky wasn’t playing in the 1944 championship it should have been Fine’s year, but he lost one game...to the undefeated Arnold Denker and so had to settle for second place.

 

    After Fine’s loss to Denker there were still ten rounds to go and several moderately strong players for Denker to face. In the next round he faced Weaver Adams and got a very bad position and offered a draw several times. Adams was unable to find a win and ended up blundering away the game. 

    After that close call Denker reeled off nine straight wins before drawing with George Shainswit. Denker had a close call in the 12th round against one of the lucky qualifiers who was from The Bronx, New York, an amateur named Aron Rothman. Rothman had been massacred in an earlier game by Fine in 15 moves. It was so bad Rothman said the game reminded him of a recent gangland assassination of a mob boss that had taken place in the same hotel. Rothman got a great game against Denker, but had one of those positions with so many good moves he ended up playing none of them and lost. 

     Leading US lady playefr Mary Bain opened her Chess Studio at 145 West 42nd Street in New York City that was sometimes used for tournaments and she eventually sold it to Larry Evans and Rothman. 

    Aaron Rothman (924-961) was active in the mid-1900s and is best remembered, if at all, for his extraordinary memory feat of memorizing the entire opening manual, Modern Chess Openings (MCO). He played in two US Championships, 1944 and the 1946 championship, a Zonal), in which he tied for 13th–16th place with a +5 -9 =3 score. 

 

[Event "US Champ, New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1944.04.30"] [Round "12"] [White "Aaron Rothman"] [Black "Arnold Denker"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B50"] [Annotator "Stockfish 19"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "1944.??.??"] {B50: Sicilian: Wing Gambit Delayed} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. b4 {The Wing Gambit is usually played on move two. The idea is to deflect the black P fom c5 in order to gain control of d4. Alekhine recommended playing the delayed variation. He, along with players like Marshall and Spielmann, used to play the Wing Gambit It's a gutsy move by Rothman against a tactician like Denker and it’s bound to lead to some excitement.} cxb4 4. d4 {4. a3 has been tried here, but the text is generally played.} d5 {Black gets better results with 4...Nf6} 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. c4 bxc3 7. Nxc3 Qd8 {Denker has not played the opening especially well and as a result Rothman has obtained a substantial lead in development for his P/} 8. Bc4 (8. Bb5+ {This is an equally good alternative.} Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nxd7 10. O-O e6 {White is better. Petrekanovic,M (2179)-Lazic,E (2041) 23rd ch-EUR Indiv 2023 Vrnjacka Banja SRB}) 8... Nf6 9. O-O {For his P white has a huge lead in development.} e6 10. d5 exd5 {This is a serious mistake that gives white what should amount to a winning advantage.} (10... Be7 {is best, but after} 11. Qb3 O-O (11... Qb6 12. Bb5+ {White scored a quick win in Adamski,A (2410)-Boensch,U (2455) Bucharest Int 1981}) 12. dxe6 Bxe6 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Qxe6+ {white still has the advantage.}) 11. Re1+ $2 {With such a great position Rothman has too many good moves and chooses the least effective! While this move is not a bad one (white still has the edge), it allows Denker some breathing room. From here Rothman’s play now goes quickly downhill.} (11. Nxd5 {and White stays clearly on top.} Be6 12. Re1 Be7 13. Nxf6+ Bxf6 14. Qb3) 11... Be7 12. Ba3 {He should still play 12.Nxd5 but his position is not nearly as good as it would have been had he played Nxd5 on the previous move. Now Denker is able to get his pieces developed and at the same time blocks the e-file.} (12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Bxd5 O-O 14. Ne5 Nc6 15. Nxf7 Rxf7 16. Bxf7+ Kxf7 17. Qb3+ Kf8 18. Bb2) 12... Nc6 $2 {Missing ther equalizer and allowing Rothman to stay in the driver's seat.} (12... Be6 {and Black has nothing to worry.}) 13. Qe2 $2 {[%mdl 8192] Rothman baits a trap into which Denker falls. Nevertheless, 13.Qe2 is not nearly as effective as 13.Nd4} (13. Nd4 Be6 (13... dxc4 14. Nxc6 Qxd1 15. Raxd1 bxc6 16. Rxe7+ Kf8 17. Rd8+ Ne8 18. Rexe8#) 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Rxe6 O-O 17. Bxd5 Kh8 18. Bxe7 {with a decisive advantage.}) 13... dxc4 $4 {[%mdl 8192] This allows Rothman to keep the upper hand. Castling to safety would have left him with the better game.} 14. Rad1 Bd7 15. Bxe7 $2 {This loses the game!} (15. Ne5 {keeps the pressure on.} O-O 16. Nxc6 bxc6 17. Bxe7 Qa5 {White has two good lines. Taking the R would be good, but even better uis} 18. Bxf6 (18. Bxf8 Qxc3 19. Be7 Be6 {White is better, but black has hope of surviving.}) 18... gxf6 19. Ne4 Be6 20. Nxf6+ Kg7 21. Nh5+ Kg8 22. Qf3 Qf5 23. Nf6+ Kg7 24. Nh5+ Kh8 25. Qc3+ {There is no direct winning attack, but white ha a N vs two Ps and a decisive positional advantage.}) 15... Qxe7 16. Qxc4 Be6 {Now black is up a B and a P so should have no trouble scoring the point. Rothman’s next move is desperation.} 17. Rxe6 fxe6 {Not17... Qxe6 after which black will have a hard time scoring the point.} (17... Qxe6 18. Re1 Qxe1+ 19. Nxe1 O-O {with a Q vs. 2Rs and a P.}) 18. Re1 O-O 19. Rxe6 {White is now a whole R down.} Na5 20. Qe2 Qc5 21. Re7 Rae8 {White resigned.} 0-1

A Lucky Win for Pechan

    In 1950, Czechoslovakia was rapidly transforming into a rigid, totalitarian Stalinist satellite state under the strict control of the Communist Party and the heavy influence of the Soviet Union. 

    Following the 1948 coup, President Klement Gottwald led a regime that dismantled democratic institutions, purged non-communists and turned the parliament into a rubber stamp. 

    The year marked the escalation of violent political persecution and prominent former politicians were convicted in a fabricated show trial and executed. Surveillance by the secret police grew intense and anyone suspected of pro-Western or anti-state sympathies faced imprisonment or rxecution. 

    The Roman Catholic Church and other religious groups also faced severe persecution. The government forcibly closed monasteries, jailed monks, nuns and priests and seized church property to bring religious life under complete state control. Marxism-Leninism became mandatory in schools which were placed under strict state control. Media, arts and public life were heavily censored.     

    Those were the conditions in Czechoslovakia when the tournament was played in Chosen, a small railway junction town that today has a population of about 8.700. 

 

    The lucky winner of tjos game was 18-year old Zdenek Pechan (1933-2017, 83 years old). He first appeared on the chess scene as a higj school student in 1947 at the Duras Chess Club in Beni. In 1950, he tied for first in the Czech Junior A-Championship, and lost the playoff. He won the Junior Championship outright in the following year. 

    From the late 1950s onward, he gradually stopped playing competitive chess and focused on his academic and scientific career in biochemistry and biophysics. 

 

[Event "Chocen, Czech"] [Site ""] [Date "1950.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Miroslav Herink"] [Black "Zednek Pechan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C77"] [Annotator "Stockfish 19"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {C77: Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 {[%mdl 32]} 5. d3 {The Anderssen Variation. White avoids the heavily analyzed main lines. White threatens 6.Bxc6 to winnimg the e-Pawn. Black has a choice of either 6...d6 or 6...b5.} d6 6. c3 {This meets the threat of 6...Na5 gaining the B pair.} g6 7. Nbd2 Bg7 8. Nf1 O-O 9. Ng3 Nd7 (9... d5 {is an aggressive alternative.} 10. Qe2 Re8 11. O-O b5 12. Bc2 a5 {equals. Kovalev,A (2566)-Mikhalevski,V (2632) Israel 2008}) 10. h4 (10. O-O {is a safe continuation.} Nc5 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. d4 {with equak chances. Shahaliyev,I (2421)-Atakishiyev,E (2267) Baku 2019}) 10... Nc5 11. Bc2 d5 {A good alternative is 11...Bg4} 12. Qe2 b5 13. h5 Bg4 14. hxg6 fxg6 $2 {This opens up the f-file, but it's the wrong recapture.} (14... hxg6 15. exd5 Qxd5 16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 {white is only slightyly better.}) 15. exd5 $1 Qxd5 {Threatening ...Rxf3} 16. Ne4 {Black cannot play 16...Nxe4 because his Q and K are on the same diagonal and white has Bb3.} Kh8 {[%mdl 8192] This gets the K off the diagonal, but both sides have missed white’s riposte. Black had a few other moves that were better, but not by much!} 17. Be3 $2 (17. Rxh7+ {wins.} Kxh7 18. Nfg5+ Kg8 19. Qxg4 Rf5 (19... Nxe4 20. dxe4 Qc5 21. Bb3+ {soon mates.}) 20. Nxc5 Qxc5 21. Bb3+ Kf8 22. Ne6+) (17. Rxh7+ Kg8 18. Rh4 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Ne7 20. Nxc5 Qxc5 21. Bb3+ Nd5 22. Qe4 {White has a winning attack.}) 17... Nxe4 18. Bb3 {White has missed his chance and now things are back to being equal.} Qd7 (18... Bxf3 {falls short after} 19. gxf3 Qd6 20. fxe4 {and black's K is exposed to a dangerous attack.}) 19. dxe4 Na5 $2 {[%mdl 8192] It's odd, but now 19...Bxf3! equalizes because the Q are no longer on the q2-g8 diagonal and blacj does not have a N on e4.} 20. Rd1 {Thanks to black's miscue white has regained his winning advantage.} Qc8 21. Qc2 {Weak.} (21. Ng5 $1 {presses home the attack.} h6 22. f3 Nxb3 23. fxg4 Na5 24. Bc5 Rf6 {There's no safe place for therR.} 25. Be7 Rf4 26. g3 {White is winning.}) 21... Nxb3 22. Qxb3 {Another weak move. He had a better chance of equalizing with 22.Ng5} Rxf3 {The pendulum has swung back into black's favor/]} 23. gxf3 Bxf3 24. Rh2 {A final colossal blunder. 24.Rg1 offers a glimmer of hope of defensing himself.} Qg4 25. Qd5 Qg1+ {White resigned. It's mate next move.} 0-1

The Obscure Edward Tenenwurzel

    By winning his game against Leon Rosen, the reigning champion, Edward Tenenwurzel became the 1910 champion of of the Rice Chess Club in New York. His win assured him of the championship and even though there were two rounds left he couldn’t be caught. 

    The new 27-year old champion was a native of Warsaw, Poland which at the time was part of the Russian Empire, but he learned to play chess after arriving in the US. Born on September 5, 1867. Tenenwurzel passed away at the early age of 45 on October 16, 1921.Chessmetrics assigned him a high rating of 2476 in 1911. 

    Not much information is available on him, but his name appears in the New York newspapers of the day hundreds of times with variations in the spelling of his last name and sometimes with the initial of his first name as “I.” 

    According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of Tuesday, November 21, 1922, page 27, several members of the Rice club attended the dedication of a memorial om his grave. The article gives his name as “Edward Tennen” adding that he was better known as Edward Tenenwurzel.The burial site was the Riverside Cemetery, Rochelle Park, New Jersey. A search in the cemetery’s website did not turn up any information. 

     His opponent was Leon Rosen (1865-1942, 73 years old) Born inPoland, he was an insurance broker who was a leading member of the Manhattan Chess Club for 38 years. While completing jis education in Paris he won the city championship. He took up residence in New York in 1904. 

 

[Event "Rice CC Chp, New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1910.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Leon Rosen"] [Black "Edward Tenenwurzel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 19"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "1910.??.??"] [Source "American Chess B"] {A00: Polish Openings} 1. b4 {This innocuous opening is known as the Polish Opening, the Sokolsky Opening or the Orangutan. It's only advantage is its psychological surprise value.} e6 {The most popular move is by far 1.e5 with 1.d5 a distant second.} 2. Bb2 Nf6 {How is white to defend the b-Pawn? Neither 3.a3 nor 3.b5 accomplish anything positive,} 3. a3 c5 {White usually plays 3...d5, but the text makes a valid point. White's next move is pretty much forced so black is able to develop his B to its most active square.} 4. bxc5 Bxc5 5. e3 d5 6. d4 Bd6 7. Nd2 (7. Nf3 Nc6 8. Ne5 Bd7 9. Bd3 Qc7 10. f4 Ne4 11. Nd2 {is equal. Anantharam,R (1782)-Prasad,A Commonwealth-ch Nagpur 2008}) 7... Nc6 8. Ngf3 O-O 9. Bd3 Qe7 {Hoping to play ...e5} (9... Qc7 10. c4 Bd7 11. O-O Rac8 12. c5 Be7 {is equal. Dergatschova Daus,A (2220)-Kovalevskaya,E (2390) RUS-ch (Women) Elista 1998}) 10. Ne5 Nd7 11. Ndf3 f6 12. Nxd7 Bxd7 13. c4 dxc4 14. Bxc4 {Black can now play the solid 14...Rfc8. Instead he plays a bluff that works.} Bb4+ 15. Kf1 {This is not a serious mistake, but ot hands over the initiative.} (15. axb4 Qxb4+ 16. Nd2 Qxb2 17. Rb1 {[%mdl 64]} Qc3 18. Rb3 (18. Rxb7 Na5) 18... Qa5 19. Rxb7 {White is slightly better. Black's a-Pawn is a potential target. In Shootouts white scored _3 -1 =1.}) 15... Na5 16. Bd3 Bd6 17. h4 {[%mdl 32] Ratherthan sit passively by Rosen correctly elects to play aggressively.} Rac8 18. h5 Nc4 {This crafty move offers the a-Pawn as bait.} 19. Bc1 f5 (19... Nxa3 20. Qb3 {snags the N. Black's best is} Rxc1+ 21. Rxc1 b5 22. e4 {and white's advantage should prove decisive.}) 20. h6 g6 {White's demonstration has turned out to be harmless, but he his positionhas suffered no damage ans the chances for both sides are equal.} 21. Nd2 Nxd2+ (21... Nxa3 {is now playable. After} 22. Bxa3 Bxa3 23. Nc4 Bb4 24. Rxa7 Bc6 {The chances are equl.}) 22. Qxd2 e5 23. Bb2 e4 {Black has taken command with a K-side attack, but if white plays 24.Bc2! the B keeps an eye on the K-side and white should be able to hold the position. Instead, he retreats the B to a passive swuare.} 24. Be2 {White does not recover from this. It's hard to believe how quickly black's attack develops.} f4 {Launching a decisive attack.} 25. d5 {This opens up the diagonal for the B, but nothing comes of it.} fxe3 26. Qd4 {Rosen recognizes that he cannot take the P.} (26. Qxe3 Rf7 27. Rd1 Rcf8 28. Ke1 Rxf2 29. Qxf2 Rxf2 30. Kxf2 Qf8+ 31. Kg1 Bc5+ 32. Bd4 Bxd4+ 33. Rxd4 Qc5 {wins}) 26... Rxf2+ 27. Ke1 {Now comes the final onslaught.} Rxe2+ $1 28. Kxe2 Bg4+ {Not that ot matters, but black missed a mate in 11.} (28... Bb5+ 29. Kd1 e2+ 30. Ke1 Bg3+ 31. Kd2 Qg5+ 32. Qe3 Bf4 33. Bc3 Bxe3+ 34. Kc2 Qe5 35. Rad1 Qxc3+ 36. Kb1 Qb3+ 37. Ka1 Rc2 {mate next move.}) 29. Kf1 e2+ 30. Ke1 Bg3+ 31. Kd2 Qg5+ {White resigned.} 0-1

The Critical Bradley Beach Game

 

    The previous post featured Alekhine’s Brilliancy Prize win over Herman Steiner at Bradley Beach, 1929, but this game against Lajos Steiner was the critical one. Curiously, Alekhine’s book of his best games does not identify which Steiner the Brilliancy Prize game was played against. 

    This game (which does not appear in the book) is his 9th round win over Lajos Steiner. Going into the round Alekhine had a half point lead over Steiner so the game was crucial. 

    Alekhine succeeded in trapping Steiner’s B and as one observer noted, that while Steiner was a strong player, the game shows that when playing the World Champion even the slightest mistake is fatal. 

    Chessmetrics estimates Striner’s highest ever rating to have been 2654 in 1938, placing him #12 in the world. In 1929, his estimated rating was around 2550 while Alekhine was ranked #1 at about 2800. 

 

[Event "Bradley Beach"] [Site ""] [Date "1929.06.11"] [Round "9"] [White "Lajos Steiner"] [Black "Alexander Alekhine"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C13"] [Annotator "Stockfish 19"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "1929.06.03"] {C13: French: Classical} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. Bd3 c5 9. dxc5 {Black can play 8...Nxc5 or 8...Bxb2; either move is good.} Nxc5 10. Bb5+ Ke7 {This looks a bit odd, but it is perfectly safe as is 10...Bd7} (10... Nd7 {is a bit better for white after} 11. Nxf6+ Qxf6 12. Qd6 Qe7 13. Qf4 O-O 14. O-O-O {Technically this position is equal, but black is cramped and so it requires careful defense on his part. Xu,X (2587)-Nagare Kaivalya Sandip (2217) Titled Tue chess.com INT 2023}) 11. Qxd8+ (11. Nxf6 Qxd1+ 12. Rxd1 {This position is completely equal after 12...gxf6. Actually, black should also be able to get away with 12...Kxf6 because white has no effective way of taking advantage of the K's position.}) 11... Rxd8 12. Nxf6 Kxf6 {As in the note, the K is perfectly safe here. This position was known to Alekhhine...he had reached it in a game a few years earlier.} 13. Ke2 {This lools reasonable, but ot is just a bit inferior to Alekhine's 13/Rdq which resulted in simplifying exchamges.} (13. Rd1 Bd7 14. Bxd7 Rxd7 15. Rxd7 Nxd7 16. Ke2 {and the game was soon drawn. Alekhine,A-Aurbach,A Bern 1925}) 13... e5 14. Rhd1 Be6 {Black's advantage (pressure on the Q-side Ps) is ever so slight, but watch how Alekhine manages to use it.} 15. Ke3 (15. Rxd8 Rxd8 {does't solve white's problem. The pressure remains and black occupies the d-file.}) 15... a6 16. Be2 Na4 17. Nd2 {A wily move.} Ke7 $1 {Alekhine doesn't take the bait.} (17... Nxb2 18. Rdb1 Na4 19. Rxb7 {and black's advantage has disappeared.}) 18. Nf3 f6 {Things are getting difficult for white} (18... Nxb2 {is still wrong. After} 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. Nxe5 Rc8 21. Kd2 Kd6 22. Nd3 {Black's pieces are more active. but with careful play white should be able to hold his position.}) 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 {This is the critical position! Now the threat ...Nxb2 is very real so white should simply play 19.b3. Instead, he embarks on a plan the ends up with him getting his B trapped.} 20. Bd3 $2 Nxb2 21. Bxh7 Nc4+ 22. Ke2 f5 {Cutting off the B and effectively ending the game.} 23. Rd1 {Trading Rs is the same thing as resigning. It;s a forlorn hope, but 23.Rb1 hoping for some play was worth trying/} Rxd1 {Black is clearly winning.} 24. Kxd1 {[%mdl 4096]} Kf6 {Dodges Ng5} 25. Nh4 g5 26. Nf3 Nd6 27. a3 Bd5 28. c4 {Here 28.Resigns made more sense.} Nxc4 29. Nd2 Nxd2 30. Kxd2 g4 31. h3 gxh3 32. gxh3 Be6 33. h4 Kg7 {White resigned. Steiner's play was not at all bad, but kudos to Alekhine for his nearly flawless play!} 0-1

Bradley Beach, 1929

Brilliancy Prize winner

    Bradley Beach is a town on the Atlantic shore of New Jersey with a population today of about 4,200. In 1929, it was a popular bustling resort town. 

    To manage crowds and restrict outside visitors from overcrowding the beaches the town erected fences, utilized police enforcement and introduced the country's very first beach access system by issuing engraved metal or tin badges stamped with the year. Residents and hotel guests received these badges for free. Outsiders had to pay a fee. In 1930, the fee was extended to everybody. 

    Today the 1929 Bradley Beach International Chess Tournament is mentioned in the town’s historical records, but it is largely forgotten not only by the residents, but also by chess players. The physical venue of the tournament, the majestic Hotel La Reine, no longer exists, having burned down in a 1974. Today, only La Reine Avenue remains as a reminder of the hotel. 

    The hotel had been the site of the National Chess Federation championship in 1928 and had been considered as a possible site for a 1929 rematch between Alekhine and Capablanca for the World Championship. The organizers had considered an invitation to Vera Menchik which would have made her the first woman participant in an international men's tournament. For unknown reasons she did not play in Bradley Beach although she played in Carlsbad later that year where she finished last out of 22.

    Bradley Beach was Alekhine's first tournament after winning his world championship match with Capablanca. Runner up Lajos Steiner was born in a city that at the time was in Hungary, but now is in Romania; he emigrated to Australia in 1939.

    Abraham Kupchik, who was born in Russia, had been living in the United States since 1903 when, as a child, his family had immigrated. Kupchick, known for his horribly boring style, confined his play mostly to local events around New York. He played for the US in one Olympiad, in Warsaw in 1935 where he won the bronze medal on board 3. The US team won the gold medal that year. He also played in the 1945 USA-USSR radio match, losing one game and drawing one against Makogonov.

    Isaac Turover, born in Belgium, settled in the Washington, DC area after moving to the US and became a chess patron known for funding brilliancy prizes. Maurice Fox was born in the Ukraine, grew up in England and moved to Canada in 1923. He won the Canadian championship numerous times. 

 

    By the time this tournament was played, Frank Marshall’s future was behind him and he did not do well. Alex Kevitz, a local master, was Manhattan Chess Club champion numerous times. The Hungarian-born Herman Steiner had arrived in the US at an early age. A few years after Bradley Beach he moved to Los Angeles, wrote the chess column for the LA Times and founded a chess club attended by various movie stars. 

    Rafael Cintron was champion of Puerto Rico, and in this tournament earned the distinction of being the first Puerto Rican to play in an international masters tournament.Horace Bigelow, originally from Switzerland, moved to the US in the early 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Manhattan Chess Club and was one of the organizers of the famous New York 1927 tournament that was won by Lasker ahead of Capablanca. For many years Bigelow edited a chess column in the New York Evening Post and for Liberty magazine. 

    While his opponent’s play in the following game left a lot to be desired, Alekhine’s play earned him the Brilliancy Prize. 

 

[Event "Bradley Beach"] [Site ""] [Date "1929.06.10"] [Round "8"] [White "Alexander Alekhine"] [Black "Herman Steiner"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D28"] [Annotator "Stockdish 19"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1929.06.03"] {D28: Queen's Gambit Accepted} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 {Can black safely hold on to the extra P with 4...b5? The general opinion seems to be no, but neither statistics nor Stockfish agree. My database shows that after 4...b5 white scores +34% -29% =37%. After the far more popular 4...36 black's win percentage falls to 19%. Stockfish's evaluation between the two moves is not significant.} e6 (4... b5 5. a4 c6 6. axb5 cxb5 7. b3 e6 8. bxc4 bxc4 9. Bxc4 Bd6 {Neither side can demonstrate any advantage.}) 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. Qe2 Nbd7 {At the time 7...Nc6 was considered best, but it has been supplanted by 7...b5. White has a wide choice of moves, but usually plays 8.Bd3} 8. Nc3 Qc7 {More thematic is 8...b5. Steiner's omission of this move results in his soon getting into trouble.} 9. d5 exd5 10. Bxd5 {Black’s usual counterpay with ...b5 is stifled by the B on d5 and if black exchanges the B white will recapture with tthe gain of a tempo.} Bd6 11. e4 O-O 12. Bg5 Ng4 {This is a reasonable looking move. The N establishes itself on e5 which looks to be a good square, but Alekhine soon demonstrates that it is badly exposed there. Much safer would have been 12...Re8} 13. h3 Nge5 {In view of what now happern 13...Nh2 was worth a try.} (13... Nh2 {The main advantage to this is that it eliminates the N on f3 whicj is now destined to become a dangerous attacking piece.} 14. Nxh2 Bxh2+ 15. Kh1 Be5 16. f4 Bxc3 {and black has some hope of surviving.}) 14. Nh4 $1 {Because black is already cramped white naturally wants to avoid exchanges. Additionally, tht text aims to play f4.} Nb6 15. f4 {[%mdl 32]} Nc6 16. f5 {Alekhine claimed the natural advance 16.e5 would have left white an insig nificant positional advantage, but, in fact, it gets a considerably higher centipawn evaluation that the text.} (16. e5 Be7 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Qh5 Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Qd8 20. Nc3 {White has a significant positional advantage.}) 16... Ne5 $2 {This move, adding the N to the defense, looks logical, but it allows white to mount a winning attack.} (16... Nb4 {eliminates the dangerous B on d5 and gives black a fighting chance.} 17. f6 (17. Bb3 c4) 17... g6 18. Qd2 N4xd5 19. exd5 Nc4 20. Qe2 b5 {White is better, but there is no knockout punch.}) 17. Qh5 Re8 {Played in order to meet 18.f6 with ...g6 and ...Bf8.} 18. Rf4 {Stockfish offers analysis demonstrating that 18.Rad1 was considerably better, but the reasin is quite obscure. Alekhine's move (a direct attacking move) is also very strong.} Be7 {This meets with a pretty tactical refutation, bit there was not anything available that was much better.} (18... Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Qc6 20. Nf6+ {wins} gxf6 21. Bxf6 Ng6 22. fxg6 fxg6 23. Nxg6 Bxf4 24. Nxf4 Qxf6 25. Qxe8+ Qf8 26. Qe5 b6 27. Nd5 {White is only a P up, but he is winning because his pieces dominate the posiytion.}) (18... Be6 19. fxe6 fxe6 20. Bb3 c4 21. Bc2 h6 22. Bxh6 gxh6 23. Nd5 exd5 24. Rf6 {Leaves black helpless.}) 19. f6 {There is no defense to this.} Bf8 {This allows white to open the f-file and the attack on f7 secures the win.} (19... g6 {allos an elegant finish.} 20. Nxg6 hxg6 21. Bxf7+ Kxf7 22. fxe7+ Bf5 23. Qh7+ Ke6 24. Rd1 {wins easily.}) 20. fxg7 Bxg7 21. Raf1 {All that remains is for Alekhine to mop up.} Be6 22. Nf5 Bxd5 23. Nxg7 Ng6 24. Nxe8 Rxe8 25. Nxd5 {Black resigned. He is a R down. White took control after the opening nd never let up.} (25. Nxd5 Nxd5 26. Rxf7 Qxf7 27. Rxf7 Kxf7 28. Qxh7+ Ke6 29. Qxg6+ Kd7 30. exd5 Re1+ 31. Kf2 Re5 32. Qf7+ Kd6 33. Bf4 c4 34. Qe6+ Kc5 35. Qxe5 a5 36. Be3+ Kb5 37. Qc7 b6 38. Qc6+ Kb4 39. Bd2+ c3 40. Bxc3#) 1-0