Captain William Evans

    Captain William Davies Evans (1790-1872) served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars from 1804 to 1815. He joined at the age of 14, serving through the end of the war, after which he transferred to the postal department, later becoming a captain of a sailing packet in 1819. 

    Life in the Royal Navy when Evans served were the days of wooden ships and iron men. Life was a harsh, crowded a and highly disciplined existence. Sailors endured long, monotonous blockade duties, strict discipline often enforced with a whip. 

    The food was poor. They subsisted on a monotonous, high calorie diet designed for long term storage, primarily consisting of hardtack biscuits, salt-preserved beef or pork, oatmeal, dried peas and rum (aka grog). They also dined on food boiled in large cauldrons that producing staples like peas pudding and lob scouse, a stew of meat, biscuits and onions. On the plus side their pat was usually better thanthe Army’s. 

    This game was played in 1845, and it illustrates the style of the day which was characterized by the Romantic style, emphasizing quick, tactical, and attacking play rather than long term strategy. 

    Major highlights of the year 1845 included the first US chess championship match, the emergence of early American chess media, and publication of European chess analysis, including Howard Staunton’s The Chess Player's Chronicle. 

    Evans, best known today for the Evans Gambit, was born in Wales and learned to play chess in 1818 from a naval officer who first gave him Rook odds, but soon they were on equal terms. 

    Besides chess, Evans invented the tri-colored lighting on naval vessels to prevent collisions at night. For this invention, the British government awarded him financially and gave him a gold chronometer The Czar of Russia also awarded him financially. 

    His opponent in the following game was Pierre de Saint-Amamt (1800-1872) who was a regular player at the Cafe de la Regence and who had studied under Alexandre Deschapelles and Wilhelm Schlumberger. He served as editor of the editor of the chess periodical Le Palamede.

 

[Event "Casual game, London"] [Site ""] [Date "1843.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Captain William D. Evans"] [Black "Pierre Saint Amant"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B22"] [Annotator "Reckless"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "1843.??.??"] {B22: Sicilian} 1. e4 e5 2. c3 c5 {This transposes into what later became known as the Alapin Variation of the Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.c3) that is named after the Russian player Semyon Alapin (1856-1923) who introduced it at the end of the 19th century. It was a sideline, but was revived in the late 1960s by Evgeny Sveshnikov and Evgeny Vasiukov. The transposition, however, (1.e4 c5 2.c3 e5?!) is one that is rarely seen in the Alapin and it is of questionable worth.} 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Ng5 (6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 exd4 8. Nxd4 Nxe4 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 {is equal. Manukian,A (2196)-Gatterer,F (2167) Titled Tue 2nd Aug Late chess.com INT 2022 (5)}) 6... d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Nxf7 { [%mdl 64] Played in the true Romantic style. There are a number of games in the database, but games with this move is not one of them. It is, however, an engine favorite!} (8. Qb3 Be6 9. Nxe6 fxe6 10. Qxb7 {Black is equal afyer 10... Rc8. In Scerbin,D (2356)-Tersinsev,A (2011) Nalchik RUS, IPCA Ch 2014 he got an inferior position and lost quickly after} Qc8 11. Ba6 Nde7 12. Qxc8+ Rxc8 13. Bxc8 Nxc8 14. Nd2 {and white is up the exchange.}) 8... Kxf7 9. Qf3+ { Now on any move except the one played white regains the piece so Saint Amant defends the N with his K.} Ke6 {Well played! The K is safe here and the chances are quite equal.} 10. O-O {It would have been a bit better to make an escape for the B with either 7,a4 or 7.a3} Na5 {Black is now slightly better, but Evans has a clever retort.} 11. Bg5 {[%mdl 64] An attempt to divert the Q from defending the N.} Qd6 (11... Qxg5 $2 {loses.} 12. Qxd5+ Ke7 13. Qxa5 Kf6 ( 13... Bd7 14. Re1 Kf6 15. Qd5 Qf5 (15... Rb8 16. Qf7#) (15... Bc6 16. Qe6#) 16. Qf7+ Kg5 {White is clearly better here, too.}) 14. h4 Qxh4 15. Qd5 Qf4 16. Nd2 Qf5 17. f4 {White is winning.}) (11... Qd7 $15 12. Bd3 Kd6 13. cxd4 Qe8) 12. g4 {[%mdl 8192] This is a gross blunder! The threat of 13.Qf5 is easily met.} Qd7 {But this is not the best way to do it.} (12... Qc6 {is much stronger.} 13. Bd3 Nf6 {Black is up a piece and his K is in no danger.}) 13. Bd3 Qf7 14. Bf5+ Kd6 15. cxd4 Bxf5 (15... exd4 {This careless move would lose...} 16. Qg3+ Kc6 17. Rc1+ Bc5 (17... Kb6 18. Bd8+ Ka6 19. Bd3+ b5 20. Bxb5+ Kxb5 (20... Kb7) 21. Qd3+ Kb4 22. Qa3+ Kb5 23. Qxa5#) 18. Be4 b6 19. b4 {wins}) 16. dxe5+ (16. gxf5 {was oly a bit better.} Nc6 17. dxe5+ Nxe5 {Black is a oiece up and with careful play his K can elude all danger. Foe example...} 18. Bf4 Qxf5 19. Rd1 Ke7 20. Qxd5 Qxf4 21. Re1 Kf6) 16... Kxe5 {[%mdl 8192] A fatal error that leaves his K exposed. He should have used the e-Pawn as a shield for his K and played 16...Ke6. In that case he would have had a winning advantage.} 17. gxf5 {Evans has a clear win and finishes up with a relentless assault on black's exposed K.} Nc6 {[%cal Oc6d4]} 18. Re1+ {[%mdl 32]} Kd6 {[%mdl 32]} 19. Re6+ Kc5 {Defending the B, but keeping the extra piece offers no salvation either.} (19... Kc7 20. Qxd5 Qd7 21. Nc3 Qxd5 22. Nxd5+ Kd7 23. Rd1 {White is winning. The threat is Nb6+} Re8 24. Ne7+ Kc7 25. Bf4+ Kb6 26. Nd5+ {wins the R.}) 20. Be3+ Nxe3 21. Qxe3+ Kb5 22. Qd3+ Kb6 23. Qb3+ Kc7 {Black's Q is hanging.} 24. Rxc6+ {[%mdl 576] Black resigned} 1-0

An Immortal Game?

    A hundred years after Howard Staunton organized the first international tournament in London it was commemorated by the Staunton Centenary International Tournament. The event opened in Cheltenham then moved to Leamington and finifhed up in Birmingham. 

    Winner Svetozar Gligoric of Yugoslavia got off to a bad start that involved a draw in the first round and a loss to Alexander in the second. Alexander and Matanovic led the field up to the halfway point. At that point Alexander began to fade while Matanovic lost in the eighth round against Bogoljubow who was just beginning to amass a few points. 

    It wasn’t until the eighth round that Gligoric succeeded in catching up with the leaders. After that he retained the lead until the end and was finally helped by Bogoljubow who smashed Trifunovic in the penultimate round.

 

 

    The following game, played between Yugoslav (Serbian) GM Aleksandar Matanovic and then French GM Nicolas Rossolimo made a great impression on Dr. Max Euwe who called it an Immortal Game. 

    The name Nicolas Rossolimo (1910-1975) is probably familiar, but his opponent probably is not. Aleksandar Matanovic (1930-2023) was junior champion of Yugoslavia in 1948 and Yugoslav national champion in 1962 (joint), 1969. 

    He is probably most famous for being the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Chess Informant which was first published in 1966. The Informants contained, among sections on openings, tactics and endings, several hundred games, most of which were annotated with the then new system of codes for the classification of openings and its system of symbols such as = and +/=, etc. 

    Concerning the following game, Euwe asked, "How close is the bond between practical chess and problem chess?" and "Can I improve my game by devoting myself systematically to problem solving?" 

    In answer, Euwe pointed out that while a problem uses the same sort of material as in OTB play, the goal is not quite the same. In problems the objective is to force mate in a specified number of moves. 

    Still, in problems and OTB, they have one thing in common...they call for the deployment of the pieces at their maximum power. For this reason there are times in practical play when there is a close resemblance to problems and such was the case in this game. 

    Euwe wrote, "Rarely have I seen such a succession of problem moves not restricted to one side (as in problems) with one side having all the chances against a powerless adversary." He described the game as a sharp duel with each player "striving ingeniously to compose a problem of unique freshness and subtlety." 

    I'm not so sure you can actually call this game an "Immortal", but it had it's brilliant moments, even on the loser's part. As author R.N. Coles put it, “Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this thrilling struggle was Rossolimo's wizardry in maneuvering his Knights.” 

    The sad thing is that when Rossolimo once tried to publsh a book of his best games publishers weren’t interested, telling him nobody would be interested in his games.

 

[Event "Staunton centenary, England"] [Site ""] [Date "1951.06.22"] [Round "15"] [White "Aleksandar Matanovic"] [Black "Nicolas Rossolimo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C84"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "138"] [EventDate "1951.05.28"] [Source "BCM, August 1951"] {C90: Closed Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 Bg4 {This move, which is made with the idea of exerting indirect pressure on the center, is frowned upon by theory. White can counter it by avoiding d4 and playing Nd2 which leaves black's B rather ineffectual and usually it has to retreat to either d7 or g6.} 9. h3 {The most theoretical way to counter black's last move is 9.d3 followed by Nd2-f1 eventually forcing a decision on the black B after black has castled. The disadvantage of the text is that it requires white to play g4 which slightly weakens his K-side which invites black to attack.} Bh5 {Taking the N has worked very poorly for black in practice. My database shows white winning half the games while black wins only one out of ten.} 10. d3 h6 {Rossolime intends to exploit white's 9th move by advancing his g- and h-Pawns, but Matanovic defends accurately} (10... O-O 11. Nbd2 Na5 12. Bc2 c5 {is the main line.}) 11. g4 {Euwe wrote that this move is more or less forced as black was threatening the advance ...g5-g4 thereby exploiting the weakening 9.h3. Euwe's evaluation is nowhere near correct because 11.g4 is hardly forved.} (11. Nbd2 g5 12. Nf1 g4 13. hxg4 Bxg4 14. Ne3 {White is better and soon won in Onischuk,V (2349)-Kornilov,P (2079) Minsk 2005}) 11... Bg6 12. Nh4 Qd7 13. Qf3 Na5 14. Bc2 Nh7 {Preparing his attack.} 15. Nf5 {A strong square for the N. Capturing the B would only open the f-file to blacl's benefit.} Bf6 16. Nd2 h5 {Well timed becaise white cannot keep the K-side closed ny playing g5/} 17. Nf1 hxg4 18. Qxg4 { Surprising but good strategy. White cannot tolerate black's occupying g5 and the text gives white a much more active game than if he plays 18.hxg4} Nc6 19. N1g3 Nf8 {Change in plans. The N is heading for e6 now that occupying the square g5 is not feasible.} 20. a4 Rb8 21. axb5 axb5 {White has succeeded neutralizing black's K-side attack and now the opening of the a-file assures him of at least equality.} 22. Ra6 {The R on the pen a-file plays an important role in positions ;pke tjos/} Ne6 23. b4 Kf8 24. Bb3 Ncd8 25. d4 {With his pieces actively positioned white sacrifices a couple of Ps in order to exploit their superior mobility. At this point the chances are equal.} exd4 26. f4 dxc3 27. e5 (27. Bxe6 {looks good at first glance, but after} Qxe6 28. e5 Bxf5 29. Nxf5 g6 {White's attack has been beaten off and black is simply two Ps up.}) 27... dxe5 {It would have been safer to eliminate the N with 27...Bxf5} 28. fxe5 Be7 29. Rd1 Qe8 30. Rf1 {Black's position is cramped and so is difficult to play.} Rb6 {In their annotations neither Euwe nor Coles commented on this move, but it is a serious error.} (30... Kg8 31. h4 Bxf5 32. Nxf5 Bf8 {The reason for the last move.} 33. h5 Rb6 34. Ra2 Rh7 {Black is a P up and he has covered the squares critical to the defense of his K, but he remains badly cramped and so it is white who has all the chances.}) 31. Rxb6 {White returns the favor. Pinning the N woth 31.Ra8 makes black's position even more difficult.} Bxf5 32. Nxf5 cxb6 {The situation on the Q-side is irrelevant, all the action is on the other side.} 33. Rf3 {This is wrong. Correct was 33.Be3 after which black has no really useful moves and about all he can do is shuffle his pieces back and forth.} (33. Be3 Kg8 34. h4 Bf8 35. Nd6 Bxd6 36. exd6 {and the position is completely equal!}) 33... Qc6 34. Rg3 g6 35. Nxe7 Kxe7 36. Bg5+ Ke8 37. Bf6 Rh5 38. Qd1 Rf5 39. Rd3 Qc7 40. Qc1 {[%mdl 8192] It's quite possible that the time control was approaching and that white was in time pressure. This move is a losing blunder because it gives black an opportunity to obtain a measure of freedom in his rather constricted position. And, while it's true that the text threatens Qh6, black can easily parry the threat. 40.Qc2 was correct because black must give up the exchange with either 40...Rxe5 or 40...Rxf6. After 40...Rxe5 a draw is likely. Capturing 40...Rxf6 still leaves black in a difficult position.} (40. Qc2 Rxe5 41. Bxe5 Qxe5 42. Bxe6 Qe1+ 43. Kh2 Nxe6 44. Qxc3 Qf2+ 45. Kh1 Qf1+ {draws.}) 40... Nf4 { Rossolimo immediately shows what was wrong with white's last move.} 41. Re3 Nde6 42. Bc2 Nd4 {Black's Ns are starting to swarm. The threat is ...Nfe2+ and his Q and R would be on hand to cooperate in the attack} 43. Qa1 {Euwe gave a magnificent drawing ling starting with 43.Qa3, but his analysis was dad;y f; awd.} Nfe2+ (43... Nxc2 {would be a serious mistake.} 44. Qa8+ Kd7 45. Rd3+ Nxd3 46. Qd5+ Kc8 47. Qa8+ {repeats noves and draws as does} Qb8 48. Qc6+ Qc7 49. Qa8+) 44. Kg2 Qb7+ {Rossolimo sidesteps a trap by covering a8 and what follows is shear brilliance of the type Rossolimo was famous for.} ({Less strong is} 44... Nf4+ 45. Kh2 $15) 45. Be4 Nc2 46. Bxb7 {Now if you are expecting him to regain the Q you would be wrong because then white would stand a bit better.} Nxe3+ {Astonishing!} (46... Nxa1 {loses} 47. Bc6+ Kf8 48. Rxe2 c2 49. e6 Rxf6 50. e7+ Kg7 51. Rxc2 Nxc2 (51... Re6 52. Ra2 Nb3 53. e8=Q) 52. e8=Q) 47. Kh1 Rf1+ 48. Qxf1 Nxf1 {[%mdl 4096] ->lthough it will be a bit time consuming, the ending is won for black.} 49. Bc6+ Kf8 50. Bxb5 c2 { The remainder of the game is comparatively easy for a GM.} 51. Bg5 Nfg3+ 52. Kg2 Ne4 53. Bh6+ Ke7 {The threat is ...g5 blocking the B.} 54. Bd3 c1=Q 55. Bxc1 Nxc1 56. Bxe4 {The material is equal and white has a B vs N, but it's deceptive because white's Ps are isolated and weak.} Na2 {This, however, is a serious lapse that should have allowed white back in the game. Correct was centralizing his K woth 56...Ke3} 57. b5 Nc3 58. Bc6 {[%mdl 8192] After this white's B is inactive and he is back in a lost position.} (58. Bd3 Ke6 59. Bc4+ Nd5 60. Kf3 Kxe5 61. h4 f6 62. Ba2 {and in this case the mobile B will be able to hold the draw agaimst the N.}) 58... Ke6 59. Kf3 Kxe5 60. Be8 Ke6 {A curious situation...in order to make progress black's K has to retreat while white centralizes his.} 61. Kf4 Nd5+ 62. Kg5 Nc7 63. Bc6 Ke5 64. h4 Ne6+ 65. Kg4 Nd4 66. Be8 Ke6 {The B is trapped.} 67. Kf4 Ke7 {The B is traooed... remember white's 58th move.} 68. Ke4 (68. Bc6 Nxc6 69. bxc6 Kd6 {wins easily.}) 68... Kxe8 69. Kxd4 f6 {White resigned. His K will give way. Somehow it seems that Matanovic's play deserved more than a zero. Rossolimo once suggested a scoring system using a panel of judges in which points were assigned based on who played the most beautiful moves. He added in such a system it might be possible for the loser to receive more points than the winner if he played the most beautiful moves!!} 0-1

Adolf Schwarz

 

    The name Adolf Schwarz (1836-1910) is unfamiliar to most of us, but it should be better know because according to Chess metrics, in the early 1880s he was one of the best players in the world. The site estimated his highest ever rating to have been 2657 in 1882 and his best world ranking was #3 in the same year. 

    Schwarz was born in Galszecs, Hungary which is the former Hungarian name for the town of Secovce, located in southeastern Slovakia. He died in Vienna, Austria. He was active in European tournaments n the mid to late 1800s, but beyond that little is known of him. There was a book on him, Adolf Schwarz: Dedicated to His Seventieth Birthday, July 15, 1916, by Friends and Students, that was published in Germany in 1917. 

 His opponent in the following game was Wilfried Paulsen (1828-1901, 72 years old), the elder brother of Louis Paulsen. Wilfried was a farmer and a renowned potato breeder. Potato breeding is a 10- to 12-year, multi-stage process of crossing potato plants to develop new, improved potatoes and focuses on cultivars, traits like disease resistance, high yield, and superior taste. 

 Chessmetrics puts his highest ever rating at 2520 (Lpios was 2710 in 1862) and in 1870-71 he was ranked #12 in the woeld...not bad! Louis was ranked #1 on 39 different months between the April, 1862 and the July, 1878. 

[Event "Wiesbaden"] [Site ""] [Date "1880.??.??"] [Round ""] [White "Wilfried Paulsen"] [Black "Adolf Schwarz"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "46"] [TimeControl "240+1"] {French Defense, Advance Variation} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {This Advance Variation is more ambitious than it looks. White seizes space amd hopes to launch a quick attack on black's K.} c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 {Black has two main approaches here. The modern 5...Bd7 or 5...Qb6 piling up pressure om d4.]} f6 { This rarely played move has a poor reputation, but it can lead to double-edged positions.} 6. Bd3 Bd7 7. a3 {This serves little purpose. Simply 7.O-O was reasonable.} Qc7 8. Bf4 Qb6 {An attempt to take advantage of white's last move. } (8... c4 {is more appropriate.} 9. Bc2 Qb6 10. exf6 gxf6 11. Qc1 O-O-O 12. O-O {with a sharp position that offers equal chance.}) 9. Qc2 (9. b4 {is advantageous for white.} c4 10. Bc2 {Black can try 10...g5, 10...g5 or} O-O-O 11. h4 Nh6 12. a4 a5 13. b5 {White has the advantage in the center and on both flanks. In the game Luetke,J (2299)-Wolf,A (2262) Germany 2003 white eventually won.}) 9... cxd4 {This opening up the Q-side is to white's advantage.} (9... g5 {leaves black with a strong initiative after} 10. Bg3 g4 11. Nh4 {and now is the time to play} cxd4 {Black is a P up and after} 12. exf6 Nxf6 {Black is clearly better.}) 10. Bxh7 {This capture of a P is ill advised.. .it opens a file on the K-side. The bland 10.h3 is about all white has.} Nge7 { Better was 10...O-O-O} 11. Bg6+ Kd8 12. Bd3 Rc8 {White's situation is difficult. His K is not safe anywhere.} 13. Qe2 g5 14. Bg3 Bg7 (14... Nf5 { would have really kept the pressure on white. For examle, if} 15. Bxf5 exf5 16. h3 (16. exf6 f4 {Black is winning.}) 16... f4 17. Bh2 g4 {Black's attack will prove decisive}) 15. b4 {White does not sense the lurking danger.} (15. exf6 { This may look bad because it opens up lines on the K-side, but white has sufficient pieces available to defend his K.} Bxf6 16. O-O Nf5 17. Be5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5) 15... dxc3 16. exf6 Bxf6 {Unlike the position afte 16...Bxf6 in the above variation black has access to the d4 square which makes a huge difference.} 17. Ne5 Nd4 {Black's domination of the board is overwhelming.} 18. Qg4 c2 19. O-O c1=Q 20. Nf7+ (20. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 21. Bf1 Bb5 {wraps it up.}) 20... Ke8 21. Nxh8 Bb5 22. Nc3 Qxc3 23. Bxb5+ Qxb5 {White resigned.} 0-1

Pet Peeves With Fritz 20

 

    I have been a fan of ChessBase ever since I picked up Fritz 12 years ago at Staple office supply for $20 which was a fraction of what it was selling for everywhere else. Since then I have had a few other chess programs, but they all sat unused on my laptop and eventually got deleted. 

    Currently I have ChessBase 16, Fritz 12,17, 19 and 20 on my laptop, but almost all analysis and posting on this Blog is done with Fritz 17. The other day I decided to try Fritz 20 after I realized the new menu style has a collapsed menu bar at the top of the screen which means the board is quite a bit larger. 

    I knew that when posting games on Blogger a string of numbers appear in the game window. These numbers appear to have no purpose and can simply be deleted. It’s just a minor annoyance.

 

 

    Quite a bit more annoying is the inability to edit the game information in database games insert into the auto-analysis. You can cut off the moves at any point (say delete all moves after 10...O-O), but you cannot access the player’s names, etc. to edit anything. 

 

    My main pet peeve is that if a game is saved in CBH format and you try to open it with any previous version of Fritz you get the following error message. 

 

        

    I find it especially annoying that the current CBH format is incompatible with previous versions. This is nit picking, but because I do not use any of the training or “fun” features of Fritz 20, I will continue using Fritz 17, the bigger board offered by Fritz 20 notwithstanding. These pet peeves aside, ChessBase products are, in my opinion, simply the best.

41,573

    The number 41,573 refers to the LEGO Mixels Sweepz Building Kit available on Amazon for about $69. Or, it could refer to a 41573-84 Harley-Davidson OEM Rear Axle Adjuster for 1984–1996 FLT model motorcycles. You can get one for about $25 on e-bay. Or, it could refer to game number 41,573 in my games database. You can get it here and it’s free. 

    For the past few days I have been cleaning up the hard drive on my laptop because it was running out of space. The process involved deleting old files and programs and transferring files to a hard drive salvaged from an old laptop. 

    In the process ChessBase 16 came in handy for combining several databases into one, especially since some of them were in pgn format. ChessBase's proprietary CBH (ChessBase Header) files are significantly more efficient than pgn (Portable Game Notation) files because they use a lot less space. For example, a 1GB pgn database file could possibly be reduced to under 150-200MB. CBH files also allow faster searches and they support embedded multimedia (e.g. sounds, videos, colored arrows, training questions) that pgn can’t. 

    The game number was selected because when I checked the Blog there had been 6,042,573 visitors. The game was played in the Olympiad that took place in Moscow in 1956. It was won by the Soviet team (Botvinnik, Smyslov, Keres, Bronstein, Taimanov and Geller) ahead of Yugoslavia and Hungary.. The US did not send a team, 

    Toivo Salo (1909-1981) was a hree-time FinnisChampion (1938, 1949 and 1956). From the late 1930s to the early 1960s he was one of Finland's leading players. Ingi Johannsson (1936-2010) won the championship of Iceland four times (1956, 1958, 1959 and1963). From the mid-1950s to mid-1980s he was also one of the leading Icelandic players. 

    Salo was doing pretty good conducting a K-side attack, but misplayed it and allowed Johannsson to equalized. But then on move 28 Johannsson made a huge tactical blunder and it was all over.

     

Simple Chess

    Samuel Reshevsky (1911-1992) was my favorite player because his games always seemed so simple and clear cut with easy to understand moves. His win against Palmer in the following game is a case in point. 

     Marvin C. Palmer (1897-1985) won the Iowa State Championship in 1917, the Missouri State Championship in 1922 and the Michigan State Champion six times (1933, 1934, 1937, 1940, 1942 and 1943). He was also Chess Review’s 1944 Golden Knights Champion in correspondence play. The games was played in 1927 in Ka;amazoo, Michigane in the first annual Congress of the National Chess Federation. 

  

[Event "Nat'l Chess Fed. Congress, Kalamazoo"] [Site ""] [Date "1927.08.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "Marvin C. Palmer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D46"] [Annotator "Reckless"] [PlyCount "37"] [EventDate "1927.??.??"] {[%evp 15,37,34,36,34,32,0,29,15,151,77,151,169,420,420,424,416,418,417,422, 425,506,504,572,579] D46: Semi-Slav} 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 c6 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 (7. g4 {is an interesting try. Black can, depending on his mood, take the P or not.} Nxg4 {Or 7...h6} 8. Rg1 {Black has tried a half dozen different moves here. but in the long run they all seem to favor whiye. 8...Qf6 is probably the nest, but one interesting try is} Nxh2 9. Nxh2 Bxh2 10. Rxg7 {with about equal chances.}) 7... dxc4 8. Bxc4 {White's development has been simple and straightforward.} b5 {This move is almost always played, but some players consider the it to be of doubtful value. 8... e5 has been recommended, but the simple, safe move is 8...O-O} (8... e5 { Now 9.dxe5 leads to simplification and easy equality for black so white almost always castles to keep the tension.} 9. O-O O-O {Of course 9...exd4 is perfectly playable. White has played every reason move here, but the result is black can equalize.}) 9. Bd3 a6 10. Bd2 c5 {This move has been questioned, but there is nothing horribly wrong with it.} (10... Bb7 11. Ne4 Nxe4 12. Bxe4 { is completely equal.}) 11. a4 {Reshevsky thought this created problems for black, but it doesm't.} cxd4 {This is the source of black's problems because it allows the N to spring into action with great effect.} (11... b4 {leads to equality after} 12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 Rb8 14. O-O a5) 12. Nxd4 {A nit picker would say 12.Ne4 is even better, but that's Stockfish for you/} b4 {It's with this move that black's problems really start.} (12... Nc5 {Eliminating the dangerous light squared B and preventing Ne4. As far as I know this move has not been suggested, but with all of the annotations that appeared prior to engines and so all the comlexitis of the position were not known.} 13. axb5 Nxd3+ 14. Qxd3 O-O 15. bxa6 Qb6 {White has two extra Ps, but after} 16. Qb5 Rxa6 17. Rxa6 Qxa6 18. O-O {White has one extra P, but black has equak play and five Shootouts from this position were all drawn.}) 13. Ne4 {Seizing the advantage.} Ne5 {His best defense was the unpalatable 13...Bf8. but even that is mot much better.} (13... Bf8 14. Qc6 Nxe4 (14... Ra7 15. Nd6+ Bxd6 16. Qxd6 Qc7 (16... Qe7 17. Qxe7+ Kxe7 18. Nc6+ {and wins.}) 17. Bxb4) 15. Qxa8 { White has won the exchange.}) 14. Nc6 Qc7 {Material is equal, but black is destitute.} 15. Nxd6+ Qxd6 16. Nxe5 Bb7 (16... Qxe5 17. Qc6+ Nd7 18. Qxa8 O-O 19. Bxb4 {and white wins.}) 17. Nc4 Qd5 18. e4 Qd4 19. Be3 {Black resigned.} ( 19. Be3 Qd8 (19... Qd7 20. Nb6) 20. e5 Nd5 21. Nd6+) 1-0

Examining a Classic

  

    In the historic New York tournament of 1924 Lasker scored a remarkable 16-4 against a world-class field ahead of Capablanca (14.5), Alekhine, Marshall and Retu (all with 10.5). 

    The following game between the Hypermodern Reti and the Classical Bogoljubow was awarded First Brilliancy Prize. It's still a great masterpiece of strategy that also features a clever finish. One interesting observation is the engines evaluate white's opening play as being very mear;y equal (+/=/ or a bit more than half a Pawn), but my database statistics confirm Alekhine's claim that black's opening play was strategically losing. 

  

[Event "New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1924.04.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Richard Reti"] [Black "Efim Bogoljubov"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E01"] [Annotator "Alekhine.Golombek, Stockfish et al"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1924.03.16"] {E01: Catalan} 1. Nf3 {This was a novelty in 1924 as almost all game began with 1.e4 or 2.d4} Nf6 2. c4 e6 {See the note to white's 8th move!} 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bd6 {The idea of this move is to play ...e5 at the proper time, but that moment never arrives, so Harry Golo,bek thought 4...Be7 was better. Actually, black does eventually play ...e5, but it's a defensive move and not part of his openung strategy.} 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 Re8 {This is part of his plan to play . ..e5 which is a good option that he could have played at once. Another gpod option was 6...dxc4} 7. Bb2 Nbd7 8. d4 {Alekhine thought this move was a clear positional refutation of 2...e6 because black has no good way of getting his light squared B into play. It's hard to argue with Alekhine, but no engine gives white more that a +/= advantahe which is his starting advanthae from the beginning. On the other hand, in my database white scores an impressive +30 -15 =31, so he is probably correct after a;;/} c6 9. Nbd2 {Besides this move white has played 9.Nc3 and 9.Qc2 with excellent results.} Ne4 {This leads to several exchanges, but black's position remains cramped. Black's entire arrangement of his game was faulty. For the simple continuation 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Bxe5 13.Bxe5 Rxe5} (9... e5 {was recommended by Rubinstein and Alekhine considered it to be the best.} 10. cxd5 {The capture 10.dxe5 has been played, but it tends to be drawish.} cxd5 {The only good recapture.} (10... Nxd5 $2 {10...cxd5 0.67} 11. Nc4 Bc7 12. e4 N5b6 13. Nfxe5 { White is winning.}) 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. Bxe5 Rxe5 14. Nc4 Re8 15. Ne3 {In practice black's d-Pawn has been a weakness and he has drawing chances at best.}) 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Ne5 {Black has two ways of defending the P: 11... Nf6 and 11...Nf5. Which is better?} f5 {Alekhine wrote this is "obviously forced.Golombek didn't like it because it allows white to open up tje position and profit from his btter development. However, it is black's best choice. White is slightly better.} 12. f3 {According to Alekhine this is the proper strategy. Je explaons, “After black has weakened his position in the center, white forthwith must aim to change the closed game into an open one in order to make as much as possible out of that weakness.”} exf3 13. Bxf3 {Equally good was 13.Rxf3} (13. exf3 {13.Bxf3 would be wrong because "the e-Pawn must be used as a battering ram." (Alekhine)} Nxe5 (13... c5 14. f4 cxd4 15. Bxd4 Nxe5 16. Bxe5 Bxe5 17. Qxd8 Rxd8 18. fxe5 {Altshul,R (2174)-Stepanov,A (2012) St Petersburg 2014. White is slightly better, but the game was eventually drawn.}) 14. dxe5 Bc5+ {and black has equalized.}) 13... Qc7 {[%cal Rd7e5]} 14. Nxd7 Bxd7 15. e4 {The threat is e5.} e5 {Black has finally gotten in the advance of his e-Pawn, but not in the way he had hoped back when he played 6... Re8. Here he simply cannot allow white to play 14.e5} 16. c5 Bf8 17. Qc2 { This attacks both of black's Ps.} exd4 {The solid 17...g6 supporting his center would have been better. After the text opening up the position blak's position begins to slowly deteriorate/} 18. exf5 Rad8 $2 {This looks like the right T because it brings the R into play, but it's...the wrong one because now the R on r8 doesn't have a good square to move to if it's attacked.} (18... Red8 {was called for.} 19. Rad1 (19. Bxd4 Be6 $16) 19... Be8) 19. Bh5 { Alekhine praised this move as, "The initial move in an exactly calculated, decisive maneuver the end of which will worthily crown white’s model play." Golommbek called it, "A fine move that fastens in to black's weak point on f7 and looks forward to the final combination." Actually, while white is clearly better, everybody missed a much better move.} (19. Bxd4 {and play might go something like this...} Bc8 20. Qc4+ Kh8 21. Bh5 Re7 22. f6 Red7 23. Bc3 Rd3 ( 23... Rd5 $142 24. Rae1 Bf5) 24. fxg7+ Bxg7 25. Qxd3 {and white has won a R.}) 19... Re5 20. Bxd4 Rxf5 {This loses at once. Golombek pointed out that 20... Rd5 was a better defense. In the end though it would nit have changed the result.} (20... Rd5 21. Qc4 Kh8 {White's best defense of his f-Pawn is not the awkward 22.Bg4, but rather} 22. Bf3 $1 {[%cal Rf3d5]} Rxf5 23. Be4 Rg5 24. Rf7 {and white has a decisive attack.}) 21. Rxf5 Bxf5 22. Qxf5 Rxd4 23. Rf1 Rd8 { It looks like black has successfully defended against mate on f8, but Reti has planned a captivating finish.} 24. Bf7+ Kh8 {Now comes the point...there is a mate after all and f8 is the key square.} 25. Be8 {[%mdl 512] Black resigned. White has a forced mat in 9 moves at most.} (25. Be8 h5 26. Qxf8+ Kh7 27. Qf5+ Kg8 28. Qe6+ Kh7 29. Bg6+ Kh8 30. Qe2 Kg8 31. Qxh5 Qf4 32. Rxf4 Rd1+ 33. Qxd1 { mate next move.}) 1-0

Comparing Evaluations

 

    My curiosity has been piqued by the Weighted Error Value and Blunder Category in the Tactical Analysis summery in Fritz 19 and 20. I have been unable to locate any information on the Blunder Category so have no idea what constitutes the difference between the categories. 

    The Weighted Error Value measures a player's accuracy by comparing the moves played to the engine’s moves and it’s claimed to be a more accurate way of measuring performance. 

    The value represents the average amount of centipawns lost per move compared to the engine's top choice. The WEV ignores moves like forced recaptures, moving out of check and moves played in the opening. This prevents those moves from inflating a player's accuracy. That makes sense. If a move is forced, for example, you shouldn’t get credit for making a move you had to play. Also, WEV weighs errors so that a single massive blunder (like losing a Queen) is reflected as more significant than several minor inaccuracies. The lower the WEV, the more accurate the player’s moves were. Thus, 0.00 means the player’s moves matched the engine’s. 

    In order to see how this WEV and Blunder Category work out in actual analysis I tested six engines, three of the top engines and three lower rated ones. I expected to see lower WEVs with the weaker engines thinking that a player’s moves would have a better chance of matching those of the weaker engines. I also added a category that I designated Good Moves less Bad Moves. 

    I am not sure what to make of this little experiment except that as beautiful as this game is to we humans engine evaluations of Anderssen’s play isn’t that impressive! 

    Further, there doesn’t seem to be that much difference in the WEV of all the engines. And, as for the Blunder Categories, they are all over the place and seem to be of little practical value. 

    The evaluations spit out by the old Deep Fritz 14 engine (released in late 2013) was just plain wacky; it makes it look like Kieseritsly played better except for the two missed wins. 

 

    The game I selected is the Immortal Game between Anderssen and Kieseritsky from the 1851 London tournament. Anderssen sacrifices all of his heavy pieces and more to deliver mate. The above charts show the WEV and the Blunder scores and you can draw your own conclusion as to how valuable they might be. 

How Bad Was It?

    After reading some of the readers’ comments on the following game that were highly critical of Atkins’ play I had to see if it was really true. Henry Atkins (1872-1955) is virtually unknown today, but Chessmetrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2702 in 1903 and he appears ranked #4 in the world four different months in late 1902 and early 1903. 

    Atkins was a British master best known for his unparalleled record of winning the British Championship nine times in eleven attempts (every year from 1905 to 1911, and again in 1924 and 1925). The following game was his only loss and it was to tailender Ignatz von Popiel (1853-1941) who, according to Chess metrics wasn’t as good, but his highest ever rating of 2559 in 1899 and his appearance at #29 in the world twice between 1899 and 1904 is commendable. The game was played in the German Chess Association hr;d at Hanover.

 

 

    How did the players really perform? Analysis with Fritz and the Stockfish engine is revealing. The Weighted Error Value measures the average quality of the moves, representing how many centipawns a player lost per move compared to the engine’s top choice. A score of 0.00 is perfect and 0.00-o.20 is nearly flawless. Between 0.21-0.50 is pretty solid while over 0.51 indicated significant mistakes.  In this game the WEV for von Popiel was a "Precise" 0.26 while Atkins' was 0.59. 

 

 

[Event "Hanover"] [Site "] [Date "1902.07.23"] [Round "?"] [White "Ignatz von Popiel"] [Black "Henry Atkins"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B45"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18/Reckless"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "1902.07.21"] {B45: Sicilian Four Knights} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 {The Four Knights Variation is safe and can lead to lively piece play.} 6. Be3 {White jas played just about every reasonable move there is here (16 in my opening book), but 6.Nxc6 is the modern way.} Bb4 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bd2 Be7 (10... Rb8 {has seldom been played, but it has been very successful.} 11. O-O O-O 12. Re1 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Bd6 14. Qh5 g6 15. Qh6 Re8 16. Bg5 Bf8 {Holmsten,A (2205)-Rublevsky,S (2535) Helsinki op 1992 was soon drawn.} ) 11. O-O O-O 12. Rb1 f5 $146 {A risky move to say the least.} (12... Qc7 { is a solid move that was played in Marjanovic,D (2032)-Kaphle,S (2152) World Youth Ch U14 (b) Antalya TUR 2009} 13. Ne2 e5 14. c4 Nb4 15. Bxb4 Bxb4 { Black has an active position.}) 13. f4 (13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Re1 {is quite interesting. Will black's P-center prove weak or strong? Shootouts using Stockfish resulted in 5 long, hard fought draws.}) 13... Bc5+ 14. Kh1 Rf6 { With the clear intention of whipping up a K-side attack. 14...Be6 was a safer alternative.} 15. Rf3 (15. Na4 Bd6 16. c4 Nb6 17. c5 Nxa4 18. cxd6 Qxd6 19. Qxa4 Qxd3 20. Bc3 {For the moment black has an extra P, but white has plenty of compensation in the form of piece activity.}) 15... Rh6 {This more a gesture than a real attack.} 16. Qe2 {The 16.Na4 idea still works.} Bd7 17. Rbf1 Be8 18. Rg3 Qd7 19. Bc4 Bf7 20. Nd1 Re8 {Putting pressure on the f-Pawn with 20...Bd6 was a good option.} 21. Nf2 Bxf2 22. Rxf2 Nf6 (22... e5 {is a clever idea, but after} 23. fxe5 Rh4 24. Qd3 Re4 25. h3 g6 (25... R8xe5 26. Bc3 {is winning for white.}) 26. Bf4 {Black can't det the P back ad white stands quite well.}) 23. Rf1 {[%mdl 128]} Ne4 24. Rd3 Qc7 25. Be1 {The maneuvering by both sides for the last several moves has not accomplished much and now after 25...e5 the chances would be equal. Instead, Atkins embarks in a risky plan that leaves his K-side badly weakened.} g5 26. Bg3 g4 27. Re3 {An excellent move preparing to eliminate the N after which black's position collapses.} Qe7 (27... Nxg3+ 28. Rxg3 Rg6 29. Re3 h5 {This line offers black a better chance of defending his position, but his e-Pawn is clearly a problem for him.}) 28. Rxe4 fxe4 29. Qxe4 {Black is weak on the dark squares} Qd7 30. Be1 {The plan is to reposition the B to an active diagonal.} Bg6 {[%mdl 8192] Evidently played to prevent 41.f5, but it doesn't. Instead it costs black the game.} ( 30... Rf6 {had to be played. Then after} 31. Bh4 Rf5 32. Bd3 Bg6 33. Qe2 Qg7 34. Bxf5 exf5 35. Qc4+ Bf7 {the chances are equal.}) 31. f5 {von Popiel finishes off his opponent with great verve.} Qd6 {White has a couple of ways of meeting this feeble threat of mate, but he picks the best one} 32. g3 Bf7 33. Qxg4+ Kf8 34. fxe6 Rexe6 35. Bxe6 {It doesn't matter which way b;acl recaptures.} Rxe6 (35... Qxe6 36. Bb4+ Ke8 37. Re1) 36. Bb4 {[%mdl 64]} c5 37. Bxc5 {[%mdl 576] Black resigned...something he could have done a few moves sooner.} 1-0

Who’s Winning?

    When I saw this game it reminded me of the old Abbot and Costello comedy skit pf Who’s On First? Reuben Fine emerged from the opening with an advantage and when things got tactical Grossman went astray and Fine was left with a decisive advantage. Then a few moves later it was Fine’s turn to err. The difference was that Grossman’s error was a losing one while Fine’s only let the win slip into a draw. 

    The funny things is that when Fine annotated the game for Chess Review he was oblivious to his error or even the fact that he had been winning and let it slip away. Instead, he lauded his tactical play that should have resulted in a draw. The game wasn’t drawn though because Grossman had one more blunder up his sleeve. 

 

[Event "Marshall CC Champ., New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1933.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Reuben Fine"] [Black "Nathan Grossman"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D50"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1933.??.??"] {D50: Queen's Gambit Declined} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e3 { Nowadays white usually plays 5.Nf3, but at the time this was a popular alternative to the common 5.Qa4+. In addition, Fine played the text to any prepared analysis.} c6 {Fine was critical of this move, but it has a higher success rate than the more common 5...Nbd7.} 6. Qb3 Bxc3+ (6... Qa5 {is frequently played, but it seems unsatisfactory after} 7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. Rc1 Nd7 9. cxd5 Bxc3+ {½-½ (48)} 10. Rxc3 {and white is a bit better.}) 7. bxc3 Nbd7 8. cxd5 {This is the best move, but Fine played it to avoid the exchange of Qs his somewhat questionable analysis showed would happen after 8.Bd3 dxc4 and eventually ...Qd5} (8. Nf3 h6 9. Bf4 Qb6 10. Bd3 Qxb3 11. axb3 O-O 12. c5 { favors white. Berezka,A (2184)-Ugolkov,A Alushta 2008}) 8... cxd5 {This is not the best recapture. In similar situations it's a good recapture because it allows black to challenge white on the open c-file or to avoid the Minority Attack (where white has Ps on the a- and b-files and can advance b4–b5 giving black a backward c-Pawn after bxc6). Here, however, none of that is an issue and so 8...exd5 freeing the B is theoretically a bit better.} 9. Bd3 O-O 10. Ne2 {White is preparing the advance of his e-Pawn and so avoids the routine 10.Nf3} Qa5 {This move is often played earlier the QGD, but here it's not so good. Black should play ...e5, but now that the Q no longer defends the N and so ...e5 allows Bxf6 after which white is better.} (10... h6 {This is his best response.} 11. Bh4 e5 {White is a bit better, but at least black has active play.}) 11. f3 b6 {Too passive and it cuts the Q off, 11...e5 was still his best try.} (11... e5 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 (12... gxf6 13. Qc2 {White is clearly better.}) 13. dxe5 {White is up a P.}) 12. O-O {Interesting! Several engines disapprove of this move and want to play 12.Qb4 trading Qs and giving white a significanr positional advantage for the ending.} Ba6 {Black has managed to eliminate his bad B and has play against white's c-Pawn and so gas managed to equalize after all mostly thanks to white's failure to exchange Qs last move!} 13. Qc2 Bxd3 14. Qxd3 Rfc8 15. Bh4 b5 16. e4 {Finally.} Rc4 {Just a tiny bit better would have been 16...Qb6 getting the Q back into play.} 17. e5 Ne8 { The only move, but a good one.} (17... Nh5 {loses.} 18. g4 g5 19. Bxg5 Ng7 20. Qd2 {and black's shattered K-side will prove fatal.}) 18. f4 g6 (18... f5 { is the proper way to stymie white's attack.} 19. g4 g6 20. gxf5 exf5 {White is better, but he no longer has a dangerous K-side attack.}) 19. g4 Qb6 20. Kh1 { Anticipating the opening of the g-file.} Ng7 (20... f5 {Still offers him reasonable defensive chances.} 21. exf6 Nexf6 22. f5 Ne4 23. fxg6 hxg6 24. Qe3 Kg7 {and with careful defense black will be OK.}) 21. f5 exf5 $16 22. gxf5 Nxe5 (22... Nxf5 {[%mdl 8192] meets with disaster} 23. Rxf5 gxf5 24. Rg1+ Kf8 25. Qxf5 Qh6 26. Qxd7 Qxh4 27. Qd6+ Qe7 28. Rg8+) 23. Qh3 {Excellent! White takes advantage of the weak dark squares.} (23. dxe5 {allows black to equalize with} Rxh4 24. fxg6 Qxg6 {equals.} (24... hxg6 25. Rxf7 {Fancy, but still equal.} Kxf7 26. Qxd5+ Qe6 27. Qb7+ Qe7 28. Qd5+ {draws} (28. Qxa8 Qxe5 29. Qxa7+ Kg8 30. Qa8+ Kh7 31. Qg2 {and the position is still drawn.}))) 23... Nc6 {[%mdl 8192] Here is where black loses. This square belongs to the Q, not the N.} ( 23... Qc6 $18 {was called for.} 24. dxe5 d4+ 25. Qf3 Qxf3+ 26. Rxf3 dxc3 27. Bf6 c2 {The twi Ps are nit quite enough compensation for the B, but black is still in the game.}) 24. Bf6 {Black must now prevent Qh6, but the cost is way too high.} Nh5 25. fxg6 hxg6 26. Nf4 Nxf6 27. Nxg6 {[%mdl 512] A nice sacrificial finish.} Kg7 (27... fxg6 28. Qe6+ Kg7 29. Qxf6+ Kh7 30. Rf3 { ends the game.}) 28. Rg1 {[%mdl 128] This completely ruins the finish because it allows black to draw.} (28. Nf4 {gives white a winning attack.} Ne7 29. Rae1 Ne4 30. Rxe4 dxe4 31. Nh5+ Kg8 (31... Kf8 32. Nf6 Ng6 33. Qh6+ Ke7 34. Nd5+) 32. Nf6+ {wins}) 28... fxg6 {After this white has no way of forcing a win.} 29. Rxg6+ {[%mdl 512] Forced. Otherwise white is just two Ns down.} Kxg6 {Now Fime comes up with am extraordinary drawing move.} 30. Qe6 {Amazing! Black is up a lot of plastice, but the position is drawn after 30...Ne5!!} (30. Rg1+ { This only leaves white with a lost game. For example...} Kf7 31. Rf1 Nxd4 32. Qd7+ Kf8 33. cxd4 Rc1 34. Rxc1 Nxd7) 30... Nxd4 {[%mdl 8192] Black self-mates.} (30... Ne5 31. Rg1+ Kh6 32. Qxe5 Rg8 33. Qe3+ Kh7 34. Qh3+ Nh5 {[%mdl 512]} 35. Qxh5+ Qh6 36. Qxh6+ (36. Qf7+ Rg7 37. Qf5+ Kg8 38. Qxd5+ Kh8 {also ends up drawn.}) 36... Kxh6 37. Rxg8 Rxc3 38. Rd8 {with a likely draw.}) 31. Rg1+ { White mates in 4.} Kh6 32. Qe3+ Kh7 33. Qe7+ Kh6 34. Qg7+ {Black resigned.} 1-0

Euwe Dodges a Bullet

    The Ruy Lopez, Open Defense (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4) is an active, counterattacking response for black in which he immediately challenges white for control of the center. 

    It’s very active, forces white to play precisely immediately, avoids the long, maneuvering, positional battles of the Closed Variation. On the minus side black's King can be temporarily exposed in the center, and if he is not careful, black can be overwhelmed by white's faster development and tactical tricks in the center. 

    A couple of recent posts featured Bobby Fischer playing the Ruy Lopez, so maybe it’s time to take a look at the Open Variation, a favorite of Max Euwe. In this game, after a not very good opening innovation, Euwe found himself defending a lost position, but managed to dodge a bullet when his opponent misplayed it. 

    His opponent was English maser Francis Edward Kitto (1915-1964). Chess metrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2357 on 1940. He was born in London, attended King's College in Cambridge and around 1937-38 he was considered a very promising player. His play was described by words like hair raising, brutal and savage.

 

    Kitto was something of an oddball...he was a stocky figure with a ruddy complexion and dark curly hair, seemed unaffected by cold weather, rarely wore socks and never an overcoat. 

    After the war he became a psychologist who took in and looked after disturbed children. One writer described visiting Kitto's ramshackle home to find a hobo sitting in the hallway. Kitto was famous for arriving late for club team matches so he had to rush his play and almost always had to borrow a pencil to record his games which he never kept. The game was played at Bournemouth on 1939. Because it was close to WWII the British Championship wasn’t held and many players were competing in the Buenos Aires Olympiad amd as a result Bournemouth was played instead. 

 

[Event "Bournemouth"] [Site ""] [Date "1939.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Francis Kitto"] [Black "Max Euwe"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C83"] [Annotator "Stockfoah 16"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "1939.??.??"] {C83: Open Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 { The Open Defense gives black active piece play and prepares to activate pieces quickly. It often leads to rapid development and, if white is not well prepared, significant pressure. Black often ends up with a 3-2 Q-side Pawn majority which can be an advantage in the ending. Statistically the results are almost identical to the more common 5...Be7.} 6. d4 {This is white’s main reply immediately challenging the center.} b5 {Black has two main alternatives: 6... exd4 which often leads to a quick simplification or tactical skirmish and 6...Be7 which leads to tension in the cemter. Statistics don't show that there os much difference in the game's outcome.} 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 {This is rhe main line; black establishes a solid, active center. Any other move is inferior.} 9. c3 Be7 10. Be3 O-O 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 {The more popular 11...Qd7 is a bit more drawish.} 12. Qxd2 Na5 13. Nd4 Qd7 {An innovation at the time, but not a very good one. Today black has played 13...Nc4 and 13...Nc4 } 14. Bc2 $16 c5 15. Qd3 g6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bh6 Rf7 18. Rae1 Nc6 19. f4 Bf8 20. Bg5 Be7 21. Bh6 Bf8 22. Bg5 {Hoping Euwe will be satisfied with the draw.} Ne7 {If Euwe wanted to avoid the draw he should have done so with 22...c4 with equal chances. The text allows Kitto to build up a K-side attack.} (22... Be7 { Drawn by threefoled repitition.} 23. Bh6 {Drawn by threefold repetition.}) 23. g4 Re8 24. h4 d4 25. cxd4 c4 (25... cxd4 26. Bb3 {and the B is on a very strong diagonal and after he plays h5 he would have a winning attack.}) 26. Qe4 h5 {This move fatally weakens his K-side and is an amazing lapse of judgment on the part of the former world champion. His best defense was 26...Nc6, but white would still have excellent attacking possibilities.} 27. gxh5 gxh5 28. Bxe7 Qxe7 29. f5 {This looks better than it is. A much stronger plan would have been to take action on the g-file.} (29. Re2 Rg7+ 30. Rg2 Qxh4 31. Rff2 Rd8 (31... Kh8 32. Rxg7 {mates on h7}) 32. Qh7+ Kf7 33. Rxg7+ Bxg7 34. Qg6+ Kf8 35. Bd1 {with a winning attack. For ezample...} Kg8 36. Qxe6+ Kh8 37. Qg6 Bf8 38. Bxh5) 29... Rg7+ {Suddenly black has fully equal chances.} 30. Kf2 { Black has to tend to the threat of f6,} exf5 31. Qd5+ Kh8 {Now it is Kitto's turn to misjudge the position. Apparently he believe he was still on the attack and plays what is a losing move. He had to go on the defensive with 32. Ke2 when the chances would remain equal. There is also a fancier way to maintain equality, but it's too risky for practical play!} 32. Qf3 {[%mdl 8192] } (32. Ke2 Qxh4 33. Rxf5 (33. Bxf5 Qg5 $11)) (32. Bxf5 Qxh4+ 33. Ke2 Rd8 34. Rh1 (34. Qc6 Rg3 35. Be4 Qg5 {with complications that theoretically should even out.}) 34... Qxe1+ 35. Kxe1 Bb4+ 36. Ke2 Rxd5 37. Rxh5+ Kg8 38. Be6+ Kf8 39. Bxd5 Rg4 {The ending with Bs of opposite color is likely to bre drawn.}) 32... Qxh4+ {White's K is now subjecy to a winning attack.} 33. Ke2 Qxd4 34. Rg1 (34. Qxh5+ Rh7 35. Qxe8 Rh2+ 36. Kf3 Rh3+ 37. Ke2 Re3+ {and mate follows.}) 34... Rxe5+ {White resigned, It;s mate in 7 at the most. Kitto's sudden and complete collapse was unfortunate.} (34... Rxe5+ 35. Be4 Rxe4+ 36. Qxe4 Qxe4+ 37. Kd1 Rd7+ 38. Kc1 Bh6+ 39. Rg5 Bxg5+ 40. Re3 Bxe3#) 0-1

Attacking On Open Files

 

    One of my first books on strategy was Modern Chess Strategy by Pachman and it is the one from which I learned the most. As with all those pre-engine books the game commentary is often wrong, but you can still learn from them. 

    Pachman gives the following game as an example of exploiting an open file and how it is a perfect example of the common strategy used in such attacks. It is, but Pachman gives the impression that his opponent never had a chance after an error late in the opening. The truth is Runza’s play was not that bad and, in fact, right when Pachman began lauding his K-side attacking strategy it was black who stood slightly better! 

    As often is the case being on the defensive is harder than attacking because one slip can prove fatal and that’s what happened to Runza here. Does that mean this game is a bad example of conducting an attack on open file? I remember an old high school coach pointing out to us that after a game the first question people ask is, “Who won?” and only then, if at all, “How?” This game is instructive because it illustrates the idea and, even if it was not perfectly played, white’s strategy paid off.

    GM Ludek Pachman (1924-2003) won the 1946 Czechoslovak Championship which was held in Ostrava. It was his first of seven national titles. Om Chessgames.com reader GrahamClayton informs us that Josef Runza was a Prague-based minor aster who was active in Czech chess from the 1930's up to the early 1950's. 

[Event "Czech Championship, Ostrava"] [Site ""] [Date "1946.08.25"] [Round "?"] [White "Ludek Pachman"] [Black "Josef Runza"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C84"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "1946.??.??"] {C90: Closed Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 e5 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 Qc7 11. h3 {Now black should castle.} Nc6 (11... O-O 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. Nf1 {Black's main choices are 13... Mc4 or 13...cxd4}) 12. Nbd2 (12. d5 {leads to a whole different type of game.} Nd8 13. a4 bxa4 14. Bxa4+ Nd7 15. Nbd2 O-O 16. Nc4 {White is better. Ernst,T (2409)-Barkhagen,J (2449) Stockholm 2001}) (12. dxc5 {is also a reaonable try.} dxc5 13. Nbd2 Be6 14. Nh4 g6 15. Nf1 Nd7 16. Nf3 {equal. Mecking,H (2540) -Pilnik,H (2420) Mar del Plata 1971}) 12... Bd7 {Pachman was critical of this move calling it weak because it loses time. After this black has a difficult time getting his pieces into active positions. Black usually castles herem but a better moves is 12...cxd4} (12... cxd4 13. cxd4 O-O 14. Nb3 a5 {Black has at least equality.}) 13. dxc5 (13. d5 {is more promising.} Nd8 14. Nf1 O-O 15. g4 Ne8 16. Ne3 {with a potentially dangerous K-side attack. Szabo,L-Gereben,E Budapest 1936}) 13... dxc5 14. Nf1 {[%mdl 32]} Rd8 15. Qe2 h6 {Black wants to play ...Be6 without being bothered by white playing his N to g5 and so makes this preventative move which is not really necessay. 15...O-O was best.} (15... O-O 16. Ne3 Be6 17. Ng5 c4 {Black does not have to be concerned about Nxe6 because even though he has doubled Ps after ...fxe6 he controls the important d5 and f5 squares.} 18. Nd5 (18. Nxe6 fxe6 {White has little maneuvering space. }) 18... Bxd5 19. exd5 Na7 20. Qxe5 Qxe5 21. Rxe5 Nc8 {with about equal chamces.}) 16. Ne3 Be6 17. a4 c4 {White could play 17.Nf5 at oncem but Pachman felt 17... Bc4 would be annoying.} 18. axb5 axb5 19. Nf5 O-O 20. g4 {Beginning a characteristic attack. White wants to open the g-file. For his part, black tries to prevent this by trying to control the g5 square, but the idea allows the opening of the h-file which is no less dangerous. Black can successfully dend off the attack, bit to do so will require precise defense...something that often proves impossible.} Nh7 21. h4 Ra8 22. Rb1 {He could also have exchanged Rs, but Pachman wanted to keep both Rs for a possible attack on black's K. As it turns out though this R plays no part in the game. Chances remain equal after 22,Be3. After the text black, theoretically at least, has a minuscule advantage.} Rfd8 23. Kg2 {Preparing to open the h-file. Pachman incorrectly wrote that black's counterattack comes too late. What white should have done is play 23.g5! immediately.} (23. g5 h5 24. Ne3 Bc5 25. Nd5 Qa7 26. Be3 Nf8 27. Bxc5 Qxc5 28. b4 cxb3 29. Rxb3 Rdb8 30. Bd3 Bg4 31. Qe3 Qxe3 32. Rxe3 Ng6 33. Bxb5 Bxf3 34. Rxf3 Nxh4 {This position is completely equal. However, with the preceeding moves there were plenty of opportunities for both side to go astray.}) 23... b4 24. g5 {Pachman commented that this comes at the right time because black is burdened with a weak c-Pawn. It appears that he misjudged the position! Engine analysis indicated that after 24...h5! black is slightly better. Even after 24...hxg5 hos position is theoretically not worse, but by opening up the position. he finds himself facing a dangerous attack.} hxg5 {Pachman assigns this a ? commenting that it loses quickly.} ({Better is} 24... h5 {leaves white's attack at a standstill.} 25. Be3 Nf8 26. Rbd1 Ng6 27. Rxd8+ Qxd8 28. Rd1 Qa5 29. cxb4 Qxb4 {and it's white who is in a difficult position after 30.Ne1} 30. Nh2 {This attempt to attack the h-Pawn is fruitless. } Nd4 {is winning for back.}) 25. Nxg5 {Pachman wrote that this is stronger than retaking with the P because now his Q is able to join the attach.} Nxg5 { It's this move whicj Pachman didn't comment on that costs black the game. He needed to tale with the B and either way white recaptures black has the better chances.} (25... Bxg5 26. Bxg5 {Best} (26. hxg5 {is tempting because it opens the h-file, but black has the better of it after} g6 27. Nh6+ Kg7 28. Nf5+ gxf5 29. exf5 Bd5+ 30. f3 Rh8 31. Rh1 Ne7 32. f6+ Nxf6 33. gxf6+ Kxf6 {with an excellent game.}) 26... f6 27. Be3 b3 28. Bd1 Kh8 29. h5 Bxf5 30. exf5 Ne7 { Black is only very slightly better.}) 26. hxg5 b3 {Not that it would have helped much, but 26...f6 preventing white's next move was a bit better.} 27. Qh5 {White makes immediate use of the open file. The game is over.} g6 (27... bxc2 28. Rh1 f6 29. Qh8+ Kf7 30. g6+ Kxg6 31. Qxg7#) 28. Qh4 f6 (28... gxf5 29. Rh1 f6 30. Qh8+ Kf7 31. Rh7+ Kg6 32. Qg7#) 29. Bd1 {The purpose of this move is to prevent the K from slipping away via 29...Kf7} gxf5 (29... fxg5 30. Nxe7+ Qxe7 31. Bxg5 Qg7 32. Bxd8 Nxd8) (29... Kf7 {Fleeong is not possible.} 30. Qh7+ Ke8 {Now comes some nifty tactics.} 31. Ng7+ Kf7 32. Bh5 gxh5 33. g6+ Kf8 34. Nxe6+) 30. Rh1 $1 Kf7 31. Bh5+ {White mates.} Kf8 32. Bg6 Bc5 33. gxf6 { Black resigned. Not a perfect game, but instructive re using open files.} 1-0

Amateur vs. Master

    Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur by Max Euwe and Walter Meiden was originally published in 1963 and has since been reprinted by Dover. Amazon reviewers give it 4.2 out of 5 stars. The book was intended to be instructional in that it uses games played by amateurs against Masters to show how to improve by studying the mistakes amateurs made and watching how Masters exploit them. I bought the book when it first came out, but it didn’t work for me. The following game fits the category...a strong Master beats a fairly good amateur. 

    The year the game was played,1967, was a watershed year for me. One morning in July at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina I got to walk around Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment drawing envious stares from many of my comrades. That was because the large white envelope marked Official Documents that was tucked under my arm contained my discharge papers. 

    We didn’t read newspapers and rarely watched television and when we did it was never the news, so with one exception we didn’t know what was going on in the world. That one exception was the war in Vietnam. 

    At that time the war's escalation, the Six-Day Arab–Israeli war, major riots in the US and the Summer of Love, a social phenomenon where roughly 100,000 young people converged on San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district creating a peak in the 1960s counterculture. The counterculture was characterized by anti-war sentiment, interest in hallucinogenic drugs and a bohemian life stye. Participants rejected conventional, materialistic society in favor of communal living and sexual promiscuity. 

    In the chess world Bobby Fischer dominated tournaments in Monaco and Skopje, but shocked everybody when he got in a snit over playing conditions and scheduling and walked out of the Sousse Interzonal while leading. 

    The 1967 US Open in Atlanta, Georgia drew 168 players and was won by Pal Benko ahead of Dr. Anthony Saidy (2nd)and Robert Byrne (3rd). Herbert Avram tied for places 4-12 with an 8.5-3.5 score while Greta -Olsson finished in places 71-98 with a 6-6 score. 

    Herbert Avram (1913-2006) was a well known New York City Master known for his dogged defense although he was also quite capable of launching sparkling attacks. His opponent, Greta Olsson (1929-2016) from California was a many time competitor in the US Women’s Championship. The game features a nice sacrifiial finish by Avram. 

 

[Event "US Open, Atlanta"] [Site ""] [Date "1967.08.13"] [Round "1"] [White "Greta Olsson"] [Black "Herbert Avram"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D25"] [WhiteElo "1747"] [BlackElo "2288"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "1967.08.13"] {D25: Queen's Gambit Accepted} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 { The main line is 4...e6. This is the Janowsky-Larsen Variation in which blacl seeks active development.} 5. Bxc4 e6 6. Nc3 Nbd7 7. O-O Be7 {White has two main choices here: the defensive 8.h3 or the aggressive 8.e4. Instead she plays a move to support the advance of the Q-side Ps. Though it may not look like it now, in the long run her idea turns out to be feasible.} 8. Rb1 O-O $11 9. h3 Bh5 10. b4 Nb6 11. Be2 Nfd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Bd2 Bg6 14. Rb2 Bd6 15. a4 Be4 16. Be1 {She wants to exchange the B on e4. 17.Qb3 keeps more tension in the position, but her strategy is simplification.} Qf6 17. Bd3 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 a6 19. Bd2 Qd8 {A safety precaution against white playing e4 and e5 forking the Q and B.} 20. Rfb1 {This move is part of her plan to expand on the Q-side. Her play has been passive, but her position contains no weaknesses and black’s cramped position has yielded him no advantage. However, if white wanted to play with some gumption she could have tried 20.e4 and to that end her Rs would have been better doubled on the c-file.} (20. e4 Nf4 21. Qc4 Ng6 22. Rc1 Rc8 23. Rbc2 c6 24. b5 axb5 25. axb5 {The chances are equal.}) 20... Nb6 21. Qb3 c6 22. e4 Qd7 23. a5 Nc8 24. Be3 Ne7 {So far white has played passively, but black has been unable to make any progress and his position remains cramped.} 25. e5 {Engines evaluate this position as dead equal, but the move doesn't look right! It blocks the position, leaves her B bad and leaves her with a weak d-Pawn. However, owing to his cramped position there does not seem to be any way black can take advantage of it.} (25. Ne5 Qc7 (25... Bxe5 26. dxe5 Ng6 27. Rd1 Qc7 28. Bc5 Rfd8 29. Bd6 {and white is in good shape.}) 26. Nd3 {and at least white has an active position while black remains cramped.}) 25... Bc7 26. Qc2 (26. Ng5 {After approximately 45 minutes this is the line that the Reckless engine came up with.} h6 27. Ne4 Qd5 28. Nc5 b6 29. axb6 Bxb6 30. Ra1 Bxc5 31. bxc5 Qe4 32. Qc2 Qd5 33. Rb7 Nf5 34. Qb3 Qe4 35. Qb1 Qd5 { Evaluation: 0.00}) 26... f5 27. exf6 gxf6 28. Qe4 Rae8 29. Bh6 Rf7 30. Rb3 Qd5 31. Qg4+ {Here it is! As is almost always the case, sooner or later the amateur makes a serious mistake. White has misjudged the position and thinks she has gained an advantage on the K-side and makes an attacking gesture. In fact, black will use the g-file to his advantage. By exchanging Qs white would have kept the position equal. As it is black now has real attacking chances.} Kh8 32. h4 {[%mdl 8192] The bane of the amateur...a tactical error after which she is lost. The best try was 32.Ne1 defending g2. At least then black would have some work to do to show that he has a win.} (32. Ne1 Rg8 33. Qf3 Qxd4 { with a clear advantage.}) 32... Rg8 33. Qh3 Nf5 34. Be3 Rfg7 {The game is over except for mopping up...or rather it should be!} 35. Ne1 Rg4 {Both sides have missed white's equalizing defense after this move.} (35... Qe4 {leaves white helpless.} 36. Kh1 Nxe3 37. fxe3 (37. Qxe3 Rxg2 {cannot be answered.} 38. Qxe4 Rh2#) 37... Rg3 38. Qh2 R3g4 {wins}) 36. h5 {[%mdl 8192] This does nothing to meet black's threats.} (36. Bg5 {[%mdl 512] This double attack on the P and R give white just enough time to organize a defense.} h5 (36... fxg5 37. Qxg4) 37. Bxf6+ Kh7 38. Qf3 Nxh4 39. Bxh4 Rxh4 40. Rd1 {and black's advantage is minima;.}) 36... Qc4 37. Qf3 Rh4 {Black now wraps things up efficiently.} 38. g3 Bxg3 {[%mdl 512] Obvious!} 39. Rd3 (39. fxg3 Rxg3+ {wins the Q.}) 39... Bf4+ 40. Kf1 Bxe3 41. fxe3 Rg3 42. Qe2 Rh1+ 43. Kf2 Rh2+ {White resigned.} 0-1