Real Sacrifices

    In 1932, in Semmering, Austria, a match between two leading masters, the Russian born German Efim Bogoljubow (1889-1952) and the Austrian Rudolf Spielmann (1883-1942) took place. 

    The two had met the previous year in the strong double-rounded tournament Bled (then in Yugoslavia) and Spielmann had won their individual encounters by a score of 1.5-0.5. Bogoljubow had finished second with 15 points, 5.5 (!) behind behind Alekhine. Spielmann had finished tied for places 9-10 (out of 14) with 12.5 points. 

    A Latvian businessman named William D. Zimidin headed a group that was reviving Semmering which at one time had been a popular resort, but had seen better days. The match was part of the revitalization. 

    At the time Bogoljubow was was Alekhine’s challenger and the German champion. He was a very strong player, but at times he, as author Neil MacDonald put it, “he could exhibit an almost ridiculous lack of attention to his games.”

    Spielmann was a master tactician and his games often contain unexpected and exciting attacks. In the following game, probably the most interesting og the match, he demonstrates his attacking skill using what he described as a Real Sacrifice. 

    He described the “faculty, upon occasion, of converting energy into matter and matter into energy, constitutes one of the most wonderful characteristics of chess, and reveals, perhaps, the innermost secret of its fascination.” 

    His poetic mumbo jumbo aside, he explained that the transformation of matter into energy is the sacrifice of material for the sake of dynamic advantages. The sacrifice in this game illustrates the point . It’s what he called a Real Sacrifice where one speculates and takes a chance.

 

[Event "Match, Semmering"] [Site ""] [Date "1932.01.13"] [Round "5"] [White "Rudolf Spielmann"] [Black "Efim Bogoljubov"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C77"] [Annotator "Stockfiah 18"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "1932.01.08"] {C86: Closed Ruy Lopez: Worrall Attack} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 {This is the Worrall Attack. White places his Q rather than a R on the e-file. The idea is that the Q will support the e-Pawn leaving the R free to move to d1 to support the advance of the d-Pawn.} (5. O-O Be7 6. Qe2 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. Rd1 {is the usual way of reaching the Worrall Attcck.}) 5... Be7 6. c3 d6 7. d4 Bd7 8. O-O O-O {The threat is 9...Nxd4 which he could not play immediately.} (8... Nxd4 $4 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 10. cxd4 {and white has won a piece.}) 9. Bc2 (9. Rd1 Nxd4 10. cxd4 Bxa4 {and black has won a P.}) 9... Re8 (9... Bg4 {is the main alternative.} 10. Rd1 Nd7 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Bg5 { Bisguier,A (2455)-Biyiasas,P (2485) Lone Pine 1980/ White is very slightly better.}) 10. d5 $16 Nb8 11. h3 {Equally good was 11.c4} c6 12. dxc6 {Here black has three possible ways to recapture and Spielmann thoght 12...Bxc6 was the best. Amother great player, Rubinstein, always recaptured with the N. There's really not much difference between the three.} Bxc6 13. c4 Nbd7 { This is likely the reason Bogoljubow played 12...Bxc6; it made room for the N maneuver to c5, but Spielmann though he had overestimated its efficiency. Spielmann was correct, but it's hard to suggest anthing better. Both Stockfish and Reckless reccommend sacrificing a P with 13...b5, but that does not appear to be a move humans would want to play!} 14. Nc3 Nc5 {Spielmann was correct. The N is not especially well placed here and he should have played 14...b5} ( 14... b5 15. cxb5 axb5 16. Nxb5 d5 17. exd5 Nxd5 {And white is, according to the engines, slightly better after 18/Rd1, but he must avoid} 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. Qxe5 Bxb5 20. Rd1 Bc6 {Bkacj has a N for two Ps and a winning position. The best line is} 21. Qe4 g6 22. Qd4 Bf6 23. Qc4 Qc7 24. Bb3 Nb6 25. Bf4 Nxc4 26. Bxc7 Rec8 27. Rac1 Rxc7 28. Rxc4 Rac8 {Kngines gove b;ack about a 5 Pawn advantage with the comment that he is clearly winning.}) 15. b4 Ne6 16. Be3 Bf8 17. Rfd1 Qc7 18. Rac1 b5 {This bid to abtain some active play is probably black's best practical option} 19. Nd5 {Much better than 19.cxb5} (19. cxb5 { Spielmann made the comment that capturing twice on b6 was not good because white loses his a-Pawn. It's amusing that it's the comment that is a blunder!} axb5 20. Nxb5 {The first capture.} Bxb5 21. Qxb5 {The second capture.} Reb8 { This is the correct move.} (21... Rxa2 {Winning the a-Pawn but losing at once.} 22. Bb3 {picks up the R.}) 22. Qd3 Rxb4 23. Bb3 {White is slightly better.}) 19... Qb7 (19... Bxd5 {Eliminating the well placed N is worse.} 20. cxd5 Nd4 21. Nxd4 exd4 22. Bxd4 {White has won a P.}) 20. Nh4 {Spielmann wrote that this is stronger than 20.Nxf6+ because the N on d5 is too strong to exchange nor can black exchange without incurring a disadvantage. On the other hand Stockfish and Reckless slap a question mark on the move and change their evaluation to nearly equal.} (20. Nxf6+ {This is, in fact, the best move by far.} gxf6 21. Nh4 {Now is the time for this.} bxc4 22. Qg4+ Kh8 23. Nf5 { White is "clearly better", but there is no forced win. White scored 5-0 in Shootouts, but the games went another 25 moves or so.}) 20... Nd7 {This move leaves black with a vastly inferior position.} (20... Bxd5 {Eliminating the well placed N is the way to equality.} 21. cxd5 Nd4 22. Bxd4 exd4 {and black has equalized.}) 21. cxb5 Qxb5 22. Bd3 {He could also have won by exchanging Qs, but Spielmann was an attacker, so he is going for a mating attack/} Qb7 23. Bc4 $1 Ba4 24. Re1 g6 25. Qg4 Rac8 26. Nf5 h5 {Spielmann correctly observed that with this move black has weakened his K's position even further, yet the move cannot be called a mistake because no better continuation is available.} 27. Qf3 {Spielmann incorrectly gave this a "!" and gave a lengthy explanation about how it involves a N sacrifice that cannot be calculated, but intuition says it must be correct...in other words, it's a Real Sacrifice. He is correct in that black cannot safely take the N, but white had an even stronger move. However, it must be noted that engine analysis of this position shows that it is extremely complicated and many of the engine moves may appear obscure. All of this points to the fact that Spielmann's observations on what makes a Real Sacrifice are correct!} (27. Qg3 Rxc4 {This is about the best he has.} (27... Kh7 28. Qf3 Kh8 (28... Kg8 29. Nde7+ {That well placef N finally does some damage.}) 29. Nxd6 Bxd6 30. Qxf7 {White has a cedisive advantage.}) 28. Rxc4 Bc6 29. Rd1 Bb5 30. Rcc1 Ba4 31. Re1 Bc6 {and now white is set to move in for the kill.} 32. Bh6 Bxh6 33. Rxc6 Bf4 (33... Qxc6 34. Nfe7+) 34. Qf3 gxf5 35. Rxd6 Nd4 36. Qd1 Re6 37. Rxe6 Nxe6 38. exf5 Nef8 39. Nxf4 exf4 40. Qd6 { White has a cecisive advantage.}) 27... Rc6 {The acceptance of the sacrifice was not a good idea, but after 27...gxf5 there is no forced win and the position remains very complicated. No doubt black, like white, was relying on his intuition that accepting the sacrifice could not be good.} (27... gxf5 28. exf5 Bc6 29. fxe6 fxe6 30. Nf6+ Nxf6 31. Qxf6 Bd5 32. Bxd5 exd5 33. Rxc8 Rxc8 34. Qg6+ Bg7 35. Bh6 Rf8 36. Bxg7 Qxg7 37. Qxd6 Qf7 38. Re2 Re8 39. Qxa6 { White shpuld win the ending.}) 28. Nh6+ {This check, made possible by the offer of the Knight, secures White the advantage of the two Bishops.} Bxh6 29. Bxh6 Nd4 {After this mistake, black's game collapses at once. However, there was no longer a really good defense.} 30. Nf6+ Kh8 {[%mdl 32]} 31. Bg7+ { Bogoljubow had overlooked this move in his calculations.} Kxg7 32. Nxe8+ Kh6 33. Qxf7 {Black resigned, In its tactical analysus Fritz gives Spielmann kudos for "precise" play.} 1-0

The King Is a Star Player

    John F. Hurt Jr. (1914-1993, 78 years old), a prominent West Virginia player, moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1960. From then on, he became known as the "Godfather of Chess" because of his work as President of the Memphis Chess Club, setting up a High School Chess League through the Optimist Club, and organizing large weekend tournaments. 

    Hurt notched up many victories in local events during his tournament career which began circa 1934. He was an eleven time Memphis City Champion and won the West Virginia State Championship in 1939, 1948, 1952 and 1955, the Mississippi State Championship in 1962 and the Tennessee State Champion 1965 and 1973. 

    He retired from the Pitney-Bowes Company, a technology company most known for its postage meters and other mailing equipment and passed away om February 7, 1992 after a long illness. 

    His opponent in this games was L. Hunter Weaks, (1925-1973, 48 years old). He won the Mississippi Open Champion in 1967. like his opponent, Weaks was a major figure in in Memphis from the mid 1950's. 

    Weaks learned to play chess when he was ten years old. He attended one of Tennessee’s finest prep schools of the time and left Vanderbilt University in the middle of World War II to serve in the Army. 

    After leaving the Army, chess and poetry and philosophy became his interests. His apartment in Memphis and later his home became the local chess meeting places. This game illustrates Nimzovich’s observation, “In the middlegame, the king is merely an extra, but in the endgame, he is one of the star actors." 

 

[Event "Memphis City Championship"] [Site "] [Date "1961.05.02"] [Round "?"] [White "L. Hunter Weaks"] [Black "John F.Hurt, Jr."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D06"] [WhiteElo "2033"] [BlackElo "1961"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "1961.??.??"] [Source "Tennessee Chess "] {D06:QGD} 1. d4 d5 {In my opening database white wins almost half the games while black does poorly only sscoring 20%.} 2. c4 c5 {The Symmetrical Defense, or Austrian Defense. Most opening theoreticians believe that white should gain the advantage and at best black is playing for a draw.[1]} 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bg4 {As is often the case this move does not serve black well. Best is 4...e6} 5. Be2 dxc4 6. Na3 {[%mdl 32]} cxd4 7. exd4 e6 8. Nxc4 Nc6 9. O-O Be7 10. Be3 Qd5 11. Nce5 Bd6 {It's hard to call this a tactical miscue because of black's reply, but oy does lead to interesting complications that favor white/} (11... Nxe5 {was a bit better.} 12. dxe5 (12. Nxe5 Bxe2 13. Qxe2 O-O {White has few attacking chances and black has the better long range prespects in the ending.} ) 12... Qxd1 13. Raxd1 Nd5 {with complere equality.}) 12. Nxf7 Bxh2+ {A clever reply.} (12... Kxf7 13. Ng5+ Ke7 14. Bxg4 h6 15. Nh3 Nxg4 16. Qxg4 Kf7 { Black is far from lost, but white is better.}) 13. Nxh2 (13. Kxh2 Qh5+ 14. Kg1 Qxf7 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Bxe2 17. Qxe2 Nd5 {The position has fizzled out to equality.}) 13... Bxe2 $11 14. Qxe2 Kxf7 15. Nf3 {This position is evaluated as equal, yet it seems as though the long term prospects are in black's favore. } Rhf8 16. Rfc1 h6 17. Rc5 Qe4 18. Ne5+ (18. Qb5 {would have presented black with more problems.} Rab8 19. Re1 Qg4 20. Ne5+ Nxe5 21. Rxe5 Rfd8 22. Qb3 { with an active position.}) 18... Nxe5 19. dxe5 {With this move white has eliminated his weak d-Pawn, but at the same time he has shielded black's weak e-Pawn and black's Q anf N are actively positioned. White would have had a more active position had he taken with the R.} Nd5 20. Qf3+ {Otherwise he loses the e-Pawn, but that was his best option because going going into the ending offers black even better chances.} (20. Rc4 Qxe5 21. Re1 Rac8 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Qd1 Qd6) 20... Qxf3 21. gxf3 b6 22. Rc4 Rac8 23. Rac1 Rxc4 24. Rxc4 { [%mdl 4096] The exchanges have left black with a much better endgame.} g5 { Black should have activated his K immediately with 24.Kg6!} (24... Kg6 25. Kg2 Kf5 26. Kg3 g5 {with an excellent position.} (26... Kxe5 27. f4+ (27. Bd4+ Kf5 28. Bxg7 Rg8) 27... Kf5 28. Kf3 e5 29. fxe5 Kxe5+ 30. Ke2 Nxe3 {Black has good winning chances in this ending/ In Shootouts black scored 5-0.})) 25. Ra4 a5 26. Rc4 Kg6 27. Rc6 Kf5 28. Bxb6 Kxe5 29. Bxa5 Rxf3 30. b4 {White has manages to regain his P and kos Q-side Ps look very dangerous. Black's active K is the equalizing factor.} Ra3 31. Rc2 Kf4 {After this his pieces are tied up and black gets a free hand on the K-side.} 32. Rb2 (32. Bc7+ Nxc7 33. Rxc7 Rxa2 { with what should be a drawn R+P ending.}) 32... h5 $17 33. Bd8 Ra8 34. Ba5 h4 35. Rc2 Kf3 {White should now try to get his Q-side Ps moving with 36.Rb2 Instead he wastes a move placing his K out of play.} 36. Kh2 g4 37. Rb2 { It's a move too late for this to be any help.} Rc8 38. b5 {White apparently lost on time, but black is winning in any case.} (38. b5 g3+ 39. Kh3 gxf2 40. Rb1 Rg8 41. Kh2 Rg2+ 42. Kh1 Rg3 43. Bc7 Rh3+ 44. Bh2 Nc3 45. Rf1 Ne2 46. b6 Ng3#) 0-1

Kramer vs. Soudakoff, Complications Galore

    The 1948 US Championship was held in South Fallsburg, New York which is located in the Catskill Mountains in SE New York. 

    The country’s top players, Samuel Reshevsky and Reuben Fine, did mot participate. Reshevsky demanded financial stipulations which the tournament committee simply could not meet. Negotiations with Fine met a similar fate. Another top player, Arnold Denker, was participating in Mar del Plata in Argentina, That event was won by Erich Elisjases while Denker finished tied for places 16-17 out of 18 with a +2 -7 =8 score.  Also missing were Albert Pinkus and I.A. Horowirz. 

    With the exception of Isaac Kashdan and Olaf Ulvestad who were seeded as last minute replacements, the players had to qualify from preliminary events held throughout the country. In the finals Herman Steiner took first a half point ahead og Kashdan. The following game was played at the Marshall Chess Club in what was the qualifier fpr what was termed Area 7. The top 7 finishers qualified, They were Anthony Sanatasiere, George Shainswit, Larry Evans, Irving Heitner, George Kramer, Dr. Joseph Platz and L. Walter Stephens. 

    George Kramer (1929-2024, 94 years old) won the 1945 New York State Championship, the 1951-52 Manhattan Chess Club Championship and the 1964, 1967 and 1969 New Jersey State Championships. Not a lot is known of New York Master Jack Soudakoff. His obituary states that he passed away peacefully at the age of 87 on November 19, 2005 and that he was a WWII veteran and a long time N.Y. Subway systems analyst. 

    What makes the game interesting and difficult is the unusual material imbalance. A Queens can dominate against multiple pieces, especially in open positions. It is usually superior to a Rook and minor piece, but two Rooks or three well coordinated minor pieces can hold their own or sometimes even out perform the Queen. In this game white’s pieces beat the Queen. Plus. there are some passed Pawns thrown in just to complicate things. 

 

[Event "US-ch Preliminary, New York City"] [Site ""] [Date "1948.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "George Kramer"] [Black "Jack Soudakoff"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C88"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "1948.??.??"] [Source "Chess Life, 20 M"] {C88: Closed Ruy Lopez: Anti-Marshall Systems} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d4 {White usually plays 8.c3. The text is designed to prevent the Marshall Attack. For many years, 8.a4 was the most common owing to Garry Kasparov's victory over Nigel Short in the 1993 World Chess Championship. Recently, however, the viability of 8... b4 in response to 8. a4 has led to increased use of 8. h3 insted.} (8. c3 d5 { is the once feared Marsahll Attack which today results in a lot of draws.}) 8... exd4 9. e5 Ne8 10. Bd5 Rb8 11. Nxd4 {White does better with 11.Bxc6 or he can try the interesting P gambit 11.c3} Nxd4 12. Qxd4 {Not bad, but he loses time with his Q so 12.Bf4 was slightly better.} d6 13. Nc3 dxe5 14. Qxe5 Bd6 ( 14... Bf6 {It's difficult for humans to evaluate, but this is more precise according to engines.} 15. Qe2 b4 16. Rd1 bxc3 17. Bxf7+ Kxf7 18. Rxd8 Bxd8 { White has a Q+P vs. R+B+N}) 15. Bg5 Qd7 16. Qe4 {[%mdl 2048]} Qf5 {Here the safest move fpr white is 17.Qxf5. Instead, he takes the plunge into complications.} 17. Qxe8 {Qe3 is the strong threat.} Qxg5 (17... Rxe8 18. Rxe8+ Bf8 19. Be7 g6 20. Bxf8 Be6 21. Rxb8 h6 22. Bc5+ Kg7 23. Bd4+ f6 24. Re8 Bxd5 25. Nxd5 Qxd5 26. Re7+ Kf8 27. Rae1 Qd6 28. R7e6 {wins}) 18. Bxf7+ Kh8 19. Ne4 Qg4 (19... Qe5 {results in head whirling complications...} 20. Qxe5 Bxe5 21. c3 (21. Bb3 Bxb2 22. Rad1 Bf5 23. Nc5 {is equal}) 21... Rxf7 {with equal chances.} ) 20. Nxd6 Bb7 {Threatening 21...Qxg2#} 21. Qxf8+ Rxf8 22. Nxb7 {White has a R+B+N vs, a Q. Who is better and by how much? Wngines favor white. Stockfish (2.18), Reckless (1.39), PlentyChess (1.20) and Fritz 20 (1.91). Even the more human-like Lc0 prefers white by a score of 1.41.} Qd7 {Stronger was 22...Qf5 eyeing white's f-Pawn.} 23. Be6 (23. Bh5 {was much more powerful.} Qd4 24. Bf3 Qxb2 25. Nc5 Qxc2 26. Nd7 Rg8 27. h4 c5 28. Bd5 Rd8 29. Re7 Qd2 30. Rae1 Qxd5 31. Re8+ Rxe8 32. Rxe8+ Qg8 33. Rxg8+ Kxg8 {but calculating this line is beyond human capability.}) 23... Qc6 24. Na5 Qxc2 25. b4 Qxf2+ {Doubling pieces on the 2nd rank with 25...Rxf2 was a smidgen better.} 26. Kh1 c5 27. a3 c4 28. Nb7 {White s plan is to go after the Q-side Ps.} h6 {This goves his K a flight square, but to that end a dark square with 28...g6 would have been a bit better.} 29. Bd7 ({White should try} 29. Nc5) 29... Qd2 30. Nc5 a5 (30... c3 {would give white payse for thought and so was a better defense.} 31. Rad1 Qa2 32. Ra1 Qd2 {White can take the draw by repeating moves or go for the win with 33.Be6} 33. Be6 Re8 34. Rad1 Qb2 35. Nd3 Qxa3 36. Ra1 Qxa1 37. Rxa1 Rxe6 38. Rc1 Rc6 {Theoretically white is winning, but it's going to take time.}) 31. Rad1 Qc3 32. Ne6 Rf2 33. Bc6 (33. Bxb5 {would be wrong.} Rd2 34. Rc1 Rc2 35. Rb1 Rb2 {and white can make no progress.}) (33. bxa5 $18 {Black must now prevent a6.} Qxa5 34. Bc6) 33... Rd2 34. bxa5 Qe5 {Of course white is not going to fall for 35,Re5 so black should have ca[tured on a5. Now black's position is no lomger bad, it's lost.} 35. Nd8 {Make that should have been lost! After this the chances are equal.} (35. a6 {leaves black helpless.} Rxd1 36. Rxd1 Qxe6 37. a7 Qxc6 38. Rd8+ Kh7 39. a8=Q) 35... Kh7 (35... Rxd1 { keeps things equal.} 36. Rxd1 Qe7 37. Bxb5 c3 38. Ba4 Qe4 39. Bb3 Qe2 {and with careful play white should draw.}) 36. a6 (36. Rxe5 Rxd1+ 37. Re1 Rxe1#) 36... c3 {[%mdl 8192] Black has over estimated the strength of this P and underestimated the strength of white's a-Pawn.} (36... Qe3 {holds up the a-Pawn's advance.} 37. Ra1 Ra2 38. Rab1 Rb2 {White has to take the draw.}) 37. Rc1 (37. Rxe5 {gets mated.} Rxd1+ 38. Re1 Rxe1#) (37. a7 {does not work.} c2 38. Rc1 Qxe1+ 39. Rxe1 Rd1 40. Be4+ g6 41. g3 Rxe1+ 42. Kg2 c1=Q 43. a8=Q { with a likely draw.}) 37... Qc5 38. Be4+ g6 39. Nc6 Qxa3 40. a7 b4 {White's problem now is how to get the ( to a8.} 41. Na5 {[%mdl 512]} Rd8 42. Ra1 Qb2 43. a8=Q Rxa8 44. Bxa8 c2 {An amazing position, but Kramer has everything under control.} 45. Nc4 Qd4 46. Ne3 b3 47. Nxc2 bxc2 48. Be4 Qd2 49. Bxc2 { Of course the B cannot be taken because black would get mated.} h5 {A picturesque position. White now executes a problem-like finish.} 50. Rac1 Kh6 51. Red1 Qe3 52. Bb1 h4 53. Rc6 h3 {The last hope: ...hxg2+} 54. Rxg6+ { Black resigned. Kidos to both platers for an exciting game.} (54. Rxg6+ Kh7 55. Rd7+ Kh8 56. Rd8+ Kh7 57. Rg3+) 1-0

Stumbling at the Finish Line

    In October of 1967, U.S. news headlines were dominated by intense Vietnam War protests, including the 1000,000 person march on the Pentagon, the execution of Che Guevara in Bolivia, the first probe to land on Venus by the Soviets and the release of Disney’s The Jungle Book. 

    It was virtually unnoticed when history was made when a milestone occurred in U.S. chess in Santa Monica, California. In October the first international tournament organized in the space of two weeks was played. 

    An American Master using the nom de plume of Antonio Fortuna had the idea that whenever an international tournament was held in the hemisphere the GM participants should be invited to go on tour and play in tournaments around the country. The idea was to give U.S. Masters the opportunity to gain experience and titles. 

    As a result, several organizers put together a tournament in Santa Monica, but it fulfilled neither that dream or FIDE requirement to be rated and gain title norms. It did produce some interesting games though. 

 

    The following game has a fantastic finish. Most American players will be familiar with Dr. Anthony Saidy, but not his opponent. Laszlo Binet twice participated in the Hungarian Championship (1954 and 1955). He fled Hungary after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, and finally became a Venezuelan citizen. He won the Venezuelan Championship six times (1964, 1966, 1971, 1983, 1990 and 1995). At the end of the 1990s, he moved to the United States where he played in the New York State championships a couple of times. In this game he was winning until he suddenly suffered a total collapse.

 

[Event "Santa Monica"] [Site ""] [Date "1967.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Anthony Saidy"] [Black "Laszlo Binet"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D08"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "1967.??.??"] [Source "Chess Life, Janu"] {D08: Albin Counter Gambit} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 {Black sacrifices a P to disrupt white’s development and establish a restrictive Pawn wedge on d4. It is considered theoretically risky.} 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Nge7 {Today this is considered best and is the most popular move, but when this game was played it was believed to be a new move because it did not appear in Modern Chess Openingd, the major source of opening theory in the day.} 6. Nb3 Nf5 7. a3 Be6 8. Qd3 Be7 (8... a5 {Presents white with more pronlems.} 9. Bf4 (9. a4 Nb4 {followed by ...Bxc4}) 9... a4 {and white's advantage is minimal.}) 9. g3 a5 (9... h5 {is premature.} 10. h4 Qd7 11. Bf4 a5 12. O-O-O O-O-O 13. Bg2 a4 14. Na1 Na5 15. e4 {White is better. Benkirane,A-Poulain,A (1854) La Fere 2007} ) 10. Bg2 a4 11. g4 {Aggressive play. 11.Nbd7 leads to a cramped and passive position.} g6 {Excellent!} 12. Nbd2 (12. gxf5 Bxf5 13. e4 dxe3 14. Qxe3 axb3 15. Qxb3 Qd3 16. Qxd3 Bxd3 17. Bg5 (17. b3 Bb4+ 18. Bd2 Bxa3 {Black has a very good position.}) 17... Bxc4 {and white has manages to equalize.}) 12... Ng7 13. h3 h5 14. Qe4 {A bit passive. 14.b4 was better.} Qd7 {[%mdl 1024]} 15. g5 { He could still have tried 15.b4} Ra5 $17 16. Qf4 Bf5 17. h4 O-O 18. O-O Ne6 19. Qg3 Nc5 {Here Saidy made the observation that white's position is unenviable necause "most of his pieces a re still in the corral" and his extra P will soon disappear. Consequently, "it is time for desperado tactics."} 20. Ne1 Nxe5 {[%mdl 512]} 21. b4 (21. Qxe5 {is met by} Nb3) 21... axb3 22. Qxe5 Bd6 23. Qf6 Ra6 24. Nef3 Bh2+ 25. Kxh2 Rxf6 26. gxf6 {Now after 26...Re8 the game would be close to being over and black would score the point. Instead, Binet's next move allows his opponent to weasel out of hos predicament.} d3 $2 (26... Re8 27. Re1 Bc2 28. a4 Ne4 29. Nxe4 Rxe4 {White can't undertake anything constructive.}) 27. e3 Qd6+ 28. Kg1 Qxf6 {White's R+B+N are enough compensation for his Q that the chances can be considered equal.} 29. Rb1 Ra8 30. Nd4 (30. Nxb3 {was a bit better.} Ne4 (30... Nxb3 31. Rxb3 {with equal chances.}) 31. Bb2 Qe6 32. Nfd4 {equals.}) 30... Bg4 31. N2xb3 Na4 32. Bd2 Qxh4 33. Nf3 Qf6 34. Nh2 Be2 35. Rfc1 h4 36. Nd4 Qg5 37. Kh1 Rd8 $17 38. Rb5 Nc5 { [%mdl 128]} 39. Nb3 b6 {[%cal Bb7b6,Bb6c5][%mdl 32]} 40. Nxc5 bxc5 {The gane was adjourned here and white sealed his next move. The battle that has been going on since move 28 has been back and forth, but here black threatens to win bt advancinf his K-side Ps.} 41. Rcb1 Kh7 {Unnecessary, Better was 41... Qf5 threatening ...h3} 42. a4 Qf5 43. f4 h3 44. Bb7 Rd6 45. e4 {[%mdl 8192] This is a bad tactical blunder.} (45. Nf3 {was the crucial defense.} f6 46. Kh2 Qh5 47. Ng1 c6 48. R5b2 {Black has what should be a decisive advantage, but at least white is hanging on.}) 45... Qd7 46. e5 (46. Rxc5 {is much weaker.} Rb6 47. Rxb6 cxb6 48. Bc6 Qd6 49. Rb5 Qxc6 50. Kg1 Qxe4 {Black us winning/}) 46... Rb6 {Black has completely lost the thread of the game. After 46.Rcv5 this was good, but not here. After the text the chances are back to equal.} (46... c6 47. exd6 {Here it's easy to see why black missed the last move.} Qe8 {This difficult to spot backward Q move threatens to win with ...Qe4+} (47... cxb5 48. Rxb5 Qxd6 49. Bd5 {with fully equal chances.}) 48. Kg1 Qe4 49. Kf2 Qg2+ 50. Ke1 Bf1 51. Kd1 Qxh2 {is decisive.}) 47. Bd5 {Now after 47...Rxb5 the chances would be equal, but black makes another serious mistale that turns the tables.} c6 48. e6 {This zwischenzug is an important part of white's plan.} Rxb5 { (Hoping thar Saidy grabs the Q.} (48... Qe7 49. Rxb6 cxd5) 49. axb5 (49. exd7 Rxb1+ 50. Nf1 Rb8 51. Bxf7 Bxf1 52. Kh2 Kg7 53. Be8 {and neither side can make any progtrss.}) (49. exd7 Rxb1+ 50. Nf1 cxd5 51. d8=Q Rxf1+ 52. Kh2 Rf2+ { This line also leads to a draw because white's K can't evade the checks.}) 49... fxe6 50. bxc6 Qc8 51. Rb7+ Kh6 52. f5+ $1 g5 53. fxe6 {Threatening mate with Be4.} Qa8 54. Rb1 {No Q checks for black!} Qa2 55. Rg1 Qxd2 56. c7 { Black resigned.} (56. c7 Qe3 57. c8=Q d2 58. Qf8+ Kg6 59. Qf7+ Kh6 60. Qf6+ Kh7 61. e7 Qxg1+ 62. Kxg1 d1=Q+ 63. Kf2 Qd4+ 64. Qxd4 cxd4 65. e8=Q g4 66. Qg8+ Kh6 67. Kxe2 g3 68. Bf7 d3+ 69. Kxd3 gxh2 70. Qg6#) 1-0

Reckless, a Challenger to Stockfish?

 

    While visiting the CCLR engine rating site I noticed something interesting. Stockfish 168is still the #1 rated engine, but the #2 engine, 52 points below it, is Reckless. The interesting thing is that in their games against each other Stockfish 18 has scored +1 -0 =29 against Reckless 0.09.0. Against Reckless 8.8.0 it has scored +0 -0 =30. There is, apparently, a Reckless 0.10,o dev version out as of late March, but U have not located a download for it. 

    Stockfish is known for its precise tactical play. The primary advantage of using Reckless is its sharp strategic insights that often lead to highly aggressive, often speculative, sacrifices. 

    Like other strong neural network (NN) engines Reckless can generate new ideas and strategic principles that go beyond traditional engine analysis. Thus it can be useful in discover subtle positional ideas and less conventional moves that might be overlooked by human players or older engines. 

    I decided to play a Reckless vs. Syockfish match on my old laptop with a time limit of 4 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. The result was Stockfish won +3 -1 =8.

    Below is Reckless'  sole win. As a further test, I let Reckless analyze the position after 10...Nxb3 in the Ivlov-Donner game given in the last post. After about 10 minutes its top choice was the “normal” 11.axb3 although Ivkov’s 11.cxb3 (Reckless’ second choice) was evaluated only a few Centipawns below it. Below is Reckless’ only win in my match and I’ll let Reckless itslef explain how it pulled ofr the win and you can compare its analysis with the ChessBase engine. 

    You can download Reckless HERE. Go to the bottom of the page and select your version. However, at this I still see no reason to use any engine than Stockfish for analysis. 

 

Ivkov Wins a Chess Set

Borislav Ivkov

    Borislav Ivkov (1933-2022, 88 years old) was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia and was awarded the IM title in 1954 and the GM title in 1955. On August 24, 1983, he suffered a stroke, after which he was confined to a nursing home. He died on November 27, 1988. His opponent was GM J.H. Donner (1922-1988m 66 years old) who was a three-time Dutch Champion (1954, 1957 and 1958). 

    The game was played in the 4th Capablanca Memorial which was held in Havana in 1965. Itwas funded by Che Guevara (1928-1967) an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, politician and military theorist. He was a major figure of the Cuban Revolution. He helped Fidel Castro overthrow the Batista regime after which he served in several high ranking government roles. 

    Seeking to spread revolutions elsewhere, he left Cuba for the Congo and later went to Bolivia, where he attempted to lead a guerrilla insurgency against the government. He was captured by the CIA-backed Bolivian army and executed on October 9, 1967, at the age of 39. 

    At the time Guevara was the director of the Cuban National Bank and Minister of Industry and he guaranteed a $3, 000 (about $39,00 today) for first prize with more than $4,500 (about $46,500 today) to be dispersed among the next five finishers.

    The event was significant because it was the first international tournament in which Bobby Fischer participating since the Curacao Candidates tournament in 1962. 

    He had agreed to attend for a $3,000 appearance fee, but when the U.S. State Department refused him a visa and he ended up laying by telex from the Marshall Chess Club. It cost the Marshall over $10,00 (over $100,00 today)! 

     Ivkov was leading for most of the tournament, but collapsed at the end. In the penultimate round, with a won game against the tailender Garcia, he blundered and lost. Then in the last round he played for a win against Robatsch and lost again. 

    In his game against Donner, Ivkov tried a new idea in the opening and xonxluded with a spectacular attack.. The game earned his a chess set that was awarded by Nicolas Rossolimo who at the time had a chess studio in Greenwich Village in New York. 

 

 

    It was in 1965, or maybe 1966, that I played an offhand game against Rossolimo in his studio. I thought I had a pretty good position out of the opening when he walked over to a display case and got a board that looked like it was made out of blue butterfly wings under glass and set it at the end of the table where the sun was shining. He then started grabbing the pieces off our board and setting them up one the new one saying, “I want to play on this board.” Of course, I lost and I’m blaming it on that hideous board sitting in the sun. 

 

[Event "Havana"] [Site ""] [Date "1965.09.13"] [Round "13"] [White "Borislav Ivkov"] [Black "Jan Hein Donner"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C81"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "1965.08.25"] {C81: Open Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 { The open Ruy Lopez, wbich was a favorite of Max Euwe had been deeply analyzed by Dutch players.} 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 9. Qe2 { Usual is 9.Nbd2} Nc5 10. Rd1 Nxb3 11. cxb3 {This goes against the axiom that captures should be made towards the center with 11.axb3. Ivkov’s new idea in this well analyzed position is to control the weak dark squares on the Q-side and center. Rossolimo thought black should now play 11...Nb8, but6 Donner’s move is actually the best reply.} Be7 {GM Nicolas Rossolimo thought black should play 11...Nb8} (11... Qd7 {as played in Ambartsumian,T (2325)-Lysyj,I (2574) Goris ARM 2025 also seems satisfactory.} 12. Nc3 Bb4 13. Bf4 O-O {equals }) (11... Nb8 {as suggested by Rossolimo is unsatisfactory.} 12. Nc3 c6 13. Nd4 Qc8 14. Bg5 Bc5 {White is better.} 15. Rac1) 12. Nc3 {[%mdl 32] This N is headed for f5} O-O 13. Be3 (13. Bf4 Qd7 14. Rd2 Rad8 15. Rad1 Qc8 16. Qe3 { is about equal. Jarmula,L (2477)-Muzychuk,M (2560) Germany 2019}) 13... Na5 { In view of his next move Donner's purpose for this move is unclear.} (13... Qd7 14. Rd2 Rad8 15. Rad1 Qc8 16. h3 h6 17. a3 d4 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. Rxd4 Bxb3 20. Nd5 Rxd5 21. Rxd5 Qe6 {Black has completely equalized. Shyam,S (2502)-Girya,O (2402) chess.com INT 2023}) 14. Rac1 Nb7 {Whatever the purpose of this movr it gets no further.} (14... c5 {is the logical reply.} 15. Ne4 c4 16. bxc4 Nxc4 17. Bf4 {White's advantage is minimal.}) 15. Ne4 {[%mdl 2048]} Bg4 (15... Rc8 { Hoping to play ...c5 is met by} 16. Nc5 Bxc5 17. Bxc5 Nxc5 18. Rxc5 {leaves black with a bad B and a weak c-Pawn.}) 16. h3 Bxf3 17. Qxf3 {The threat is 18. Rxd5 nd the R cannot be takes because if 19.Nf6+ winning the Q.} c6 {What could be more natural than this? Unfortunately is allows white to obtain a game winning advantage.} (17... dxe4 {This surprising riposte nearly equalizes. } 18. Rxd8 exf3 19. Rxa8 Rxa8 20. Rxc7 Nd6 21. Rxe7 Nf5 {and the N on b7 has found employment.}) 18. Ng3 Rc8 19. Nf5 g6 {Of course he doesn't want the N to remain on f5, but even another reply would not have been any better.} 20. Rxd5 {[%mdl 512] An astonishing reply!} Qe8 (20... cxd5 21. Rxc8 gxf5 (21... Qxc8 22. Nxe7+ Kh8 23. Qf6#) 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Qxf5 {White has a winning advantage.} ) 21. Bh6 {Black resigned.} 1-0

A Game by Another Fischer

    Felix Fischer's dates of birth and death are unknown. Chessmetrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2391 which came in 1926, but in the following game he conducts the attack like Bobby. 

    Not much is known about Felix except that he was from Austria and he played in at least one significant tournament of his era: the Carl Schlechter Memorial (Vienna, 1923, won by Tartakower) where he tied for 9th place out of 12 with a 3-11 score. 

    His opponent in this game, Vlainir Vukovic (1898-1975) is known for writing two excellent books, The Art of Attack in Chess (1965) and The Chess Sacrifice (1968). Chess metrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2559 which came in 1925.

 

[Event "Team Match, Vienna"] [Site ""] [Date "1922.01.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Felix Fischer"] [Black "Vladimir Vukovic"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A47"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "1922.??.??"] {A47: QP Opening} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 c5 5. e3 d6 6. c4 g6 7. b3 Bg7 8. Bb2 O-O 9. O-O Qc7 (9... Nbd7 10. d5 b5 11. Nbd2 Rb8 12. Qc2 Ba6 13. Rfc1 {Puric,N (2200)-Velimirovic,D (2484) Bijeljina YUG 2001 is equal.}) 10. Nbd2 Nfd7 11. Qc2 Nc6 {After a boring opening things begin to pick up a bit. Black's problem is developing his b8N. but it's hard toi suggest a better plan. White could have taken advantage of the text with 12.d5.} ({Black should try} 11... cxd4 $14 12. exd4 Nc6) 12. Rad1 Rad8 {This was his last chance to play .. .cxd4 and then follow it up with ...e6} 13. d5 $16 Nce5 14. Ng5 Bc8 {About all black can do is shift pieces and go on the defensive.} 15. f4 Ng4 16. Rde1 Bxb2 17. Qxb2 {Black has been left with weak dark squares around his K and Fischer proceeds to take advantage of them.} h6 18. Nh3 Ndf6 19. e4 Ne8 {More shifting and waiting. Taking some action with 21...e5 looks risky though/} (19... e5 20. dxe6 fxe6 21. Nf3 e5 22. Nh4 Qg7 23. f5 gxf5 {Not 23...g5 on account of 24.Ng6} 24. Nxf5 Bxf5 25. Rxf5 {White stands well.}) 20. Nf2 Nxf2 21. Rxf2 Ng7 { He could still have taken a chance with ...e5} 22. Nf1 {[%mdl 32] Keep an eye on this N.} Bd7 {As mentioned a couple of times ...e5 was a possibility...both here and on the next move.} 23. a4 a6 24. Ne3 Ne8 25. f5 g5 {Black wants to keep the K-side closed, but as Fischer demonstrates all this accomplishes is to further weaken his position.} (25... Nf6 {was called for.} 26. h4 h5 27. g4 {White must force open the K-side, but black can put up tough resistance.} hxg4 28. Rf4 Kh7 29. Nxg4 Nxg4 30. Rxg4 Rg8 31. Qe2 b5 32. axb5 axb5 33. Rg3 Rdf8 34. Bh3 bxc4 35. bxc4 Be8 {and black has some faint hopes of hanging on although in Sgootouts qhite scored +4 -0 =1}) 26. Ng4 Kh7 27. h4 f6 28. Bf3 h5 29. hxg5 {White has more than enough compensation for yhe N. All of his pieces are participating in the attack whilr most of black's are bystanders in the defense.} hxg4 (29... Kg7 30. Ne3 Rh8 31. Rh2 {opens the h-file much to white's advantage.}) 30. Rh2+ Kg8 31. g6 Bxf5 {This allows a forced mate, but even after any other moe he will not last long.} 32. exf5 {This also leads to mate, but it just takes a few more moves.} (32. Rh8+ Kg7 33. Rh7+ Kg8 34. exf5 gxf3 35. Qh2 f2+ 36. Kxf2 Rf7 37. Rxf7 Qb8 38. Qh7#) 32... e5 33. dxe6 d5 34. Rh8+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} Kxh8 35. Qh2+ Kg8 36. e7 {Black resigned. A strong finale by Fischer.} 1-0

Lucas Chess

Some readers may find Lucas Chess helpful and it’s free!  

 

Pyotr Dubinin

    Pyotr Dubinin (1909 – 1983, 74 years old) was warded the IM title in 1950 and the Correspondence GM title in 1962. He was joint USSR Correspondence Champion in 1957. In the 3rd World Correspondence Chess Championship (1959-1962), he finished 2nd behind Alberic O'Kelly. 

    In 1952 he was awarded the Soviet Union's Honored Master of Sport. Introduced in 1934 by the Central Executive Committee, it was awarded by the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sport to athletes, including chess players, for outstanding performance. 

    Recipients received a badge and certificate. It was conferred for life, but Alla Kushnir and Viktor Korchnoi had theirs revoked when they defected from the Soviet Union and Mark Taimanov's was revoked in 1971 following his crushing defeat at the hands of Bobby Fischer, but it was restored in 1991.   

    The Russian Civil War was fought from 1917 to 1922. It was a multi-party war in the former Russian Empire immediately after the two Russian Revolutions of 1917, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. 

    Life in Russia and, also, chess was in turmoil during that time and disease was rampant and food scarce. Vasily Panov recalled how one day during the hunger of 1918 and 1919 his mother brought home dog meat for dinner: it was selling for one third of the price of horse meat. 

    In Nizhny Novgorod, one of the largest Russian cities east of Moscow, Dubinin found himself, at age 14, having to feed his family after his father died of hunger and exhaustion in 1921. 

    It was a bad time in the Soviet Union and the 22-year old Dubinin found himself building a bridge across the Oka River in Gorky. From 1932 to 1990, it was known as Gorky after the writer Maxim Gorky, who was born there. Today it is known as Nizhny Novgorod. 

    In the evenings workers met at their club to read and play chess and there Dubinin was known as “our Botvinnik.” Dubinin, who had a second category rating, studied for hours studying theory and playing over master games. A second category rating was roughly equal to the USCF Class A (1800-2000 Elo) rating. \In 1932, Dubinin was drafted into the Army. 

    In 1938, he was to write in an article a load of political propaganda in which he stated “Our Army provides men with all the conditions for developing their abilities in every direction.” He added that he had the opportunity to participate in five major tournaments of Army players and improved to reached a First Category rating (USCF Expert, 200-2199 Elo). 

    During that time he carried a chess book in his backpack as he fought all over the Western front. Apparently, Dubinin was a good soldier. He earned decorations for personally capturing German soldiers and other valorous actions. He also suffered frostbite of both legs. 

    One of his successes came in 1934 when he finished second behind Belavenets in the Russian Federation Championship. The same year he participated in the USSR Championship in Leningrad, but did not do especially well, scoring only 7-12. The only highlights were his wins over Ragozin, Ilya Rabinovich and Alexander Ilyin-Zhenevsky. By 1938 he had achieved the Soviet Master title as a result of his success in the semi-finals of the USSR Championship. 

    Just as his battalion was about to seize the Baltic port of Koenigsberg in February, 1945, he received an invitation to play in the Soviet Championship semi-finals which he refused. In the fighting he suffered heavy shell shock (today known as post-traumatic stress disorder) and was finally demobilized with the rank of deputy battalion commander. 

    After the War he returned to Gorky where he popularized chess and worked on the theory of various openings. Dubinin was a big man who weighed up around 300 pounds and took part in weight lifting competitions. At one time in a Moscow railway station a thief stole his luggage which contained many of his chess notes and as a result, he developed a distrust of people and a virulent hatred of thieves.  

 

[Event "RSFSR 1st Category, Rostov-On-Don"] [Site ""] [Date "1936.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Pyotr Dubinin"] [Black "D. Petrov"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1936.??.??"] {C10: French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Ng3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Bd3 Qb6 (8... O-O 9. O-O Qc7 (9... b6 10. Qe2 Bb7 11. c3 Qc7 12. Bc2 {Black is a bit better. Mestrovic,Z (2466)-Kosic,D (2523) Budapest HUN 1999}) 10. Qe2 b6 11. a3 Bb7 12. b4 Be7 13. Bb2 a5 14. bxa5 bxa5 15. Rab1 { ½-½ Hartikainen,M (2255)-Kekki,J (2270) Finland Tch 1995}) 9. O-O O-O 10. Qe2 Re8 11. c3 Nf8 12. Ne5 Ng6 13. Bxg6 hxg6 14. h4 Qc7 15. h5 gxh5 {This move, opening up the K-side. vindicates white's strategy. Better was 15...Bd6} (15... Bd6 16. f4 Bd7 17. hxg6 fxg6 {Both Ks are exposed and the chances are equal.}) 16. Nxh5 Nh7 {[%mdl 8192] After this black is lost. He should have eliminated the dangerous N with 15...Nxh5} 17. Nxg7 {[%mdl 512]} Kxg7 18. Qh5 {Hoping for Bh6+.} Bf8 {Meeting the threat.} 19. Re1 {This prepates a R lift adding it to the attack. Black's position can not be defended.} (19. Bh6+ Kg8 20. Qg4+ Kh8 { Black can resist.}) 19... Kg8 20. Re3 {The first R lift.} Re7 {Now if black can play ...f6 he can defend himself, but Dubinin won't allow it.} 21. Rg3+ Bg7 {White now finishes up with another sacrifice.} (21... Kh8 {allows a forced mate.} 22. Bf4 Bg7 23. Rh3 Kg8 24. Qxh7+ Kf8 25. Bh6 Re8 26. Bxg7+ Ke7 27. Qh4+ f6 28. Bxf6+ Kd6 29. Qd4#) 22. Rxg7+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} Kxg7 23. Bh6+ Kh8 { Black couldstill defend himself if only he could get in ...f6, but there is no time.} 24. Rd1 Nf6 {White is not dome sacrificing.} (24... f6 25. Ng6+ Kg8 26. Nxe7+ Qxe7 27. Qg6+ Kh8 28. Rd8+ Nf8 29. Bxf8 Qxd8 30. Qg7#) 25. Bg7+ {[%mdl 512]} Kxg7 26. Qg5+ Kh8 27. Qxf6+ Kg8 28. Rd3 {Black resigned. This second R lift wraps it up. A complete rout of his opponent by Dubinin.} (28. Rd3 Qxe5 ( 28... Bd7 29. Rg3+ Kf8 30. Qh8#) 29. Rd8+ Re8 30. Rxe8+ Kh7 31. Rh8#) 1-0

A Crazy Game by Moshe Czerniak

    Moshe Czerniak was born in 1910 in Warsaw and died in Tel Aviv in 1984. He emigrated to Palestine in 1934, where he became national champion in 1936 and 1938. He represented the Palestinian League Mandate at the 1935 chess Olympics in Warsaw and in Buenos Aires in 1939. 

    When the Second World War broke out during the 1939 Olympics, Czerniak remained in Argentina until 1950 where he participated in numerous international tournaments. In 1950, he moved to the newly founded nation of Israel where he became the country’s top player and many time national champion. He wrote several chess books and newspaper chess columns. 

    His opponent in the following crazy game was Victor Winz who was born in Germany in 1901. He emigrated to Palestine (then under the British Mandate) in the early 1930s. Like Czeniak, Winz played for the Palestine team in the chess Olympics at Warsaw and Buenos Aires and when WWII broke out he also remained in Argentina and after the war he decided to stay permanently in Argentina. His last known tournament was the 1957 Berlin championship. After that he seems to have vanished.

 

[Event "Lasker Chess Club Champ, Tel Aviv"] [Site "Tel Aviv ISR"] [Date "1939.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Victor Winz"] [Black "Moshe Czerniak"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D70"] [Annotator "James Massie"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "1939.??.??"] {D70: Gruenfeld Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. f4 Nc6 9. d5 Nb8 10. a4 e5 (10... a5 11. Nf3 Na6 12. Bxb6 cxb6 13. Bxa6 bxa6 {with full equality. Richter,M (2470)-Aabling-Thomsen, J (2365) Copenhagen 2014}) (10... c6 11. a5 N6d7 12. d6 Re8 13. Nf3 exd6 14. Qxd6 Bxc3+ 15. bxc3 Rxe4 {The position is equal. Gajewski,G (2594)-Bobras,P (2581) Lublin 2008}) 11. a5 (11. f5 {gains the initiative after} gxf5 12. a5 N6d7 13. exf5 e4 14. Nge2 {with an active position. Foisor,O (2420)-Stohl,I (2465) Leipzig 1986} Ne5 15. Ng3 Qh4 16. Be2 Bxf5 17. O-O Bg6 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. Rxf5 Qe7 20. Ra4 Nbd7 21. Rxe4 Rae8 22. Bb5 a6 23. Bxd7 Qxd7 24. Qh5 Ng6) (11. fxe5 N6d7 12. Nf3 Nxe5 13. Be2 Nbd7 14. O-O Nxf3+ 15. Bxf3 {is equal. Dziuba,M (2570)-Panocki,A (2338) Warsaw 2008}) 11... exf4 12. axb6 {Apparently white, like some commentators, was under the impression that this move which leads to what appears to be his clever looking next move was a good one. It's not!} (12. Bxf4 {stays on course.} N6d7 13. Nf3 {and white is a bit better.}) 12... fxe3 { This P is destined to be a bone in white's throat for the rest of the game.} 13. Rxa7 {At least one commentator thought this wins and gave Czerniak credit for not resigning. It does look like Czerniak is going to have lose a R, but there is a way out of his predicament. For all that, 13.Exa7 is the best move white has, both theoretically and practically.} Qh4+ {This avoids the disaster of 13...Rxa7, but misses the win after 13...Bg4. In other words, the chances are equal after the text.} (13... Rxa7 14. bxa7 Nc6 15. a8=Q {is obviously unsatisfactory.} Qh4+ 16. g3 Qf6 17. Nf3 Bg4 18. Qxb7 Bxf3 19. Qxc6 Qxc6 20. dxc6 Bxd1 21. Nxd1 {and white is a piece up, not a Q.}) (13... Bg4 {This is the refutation to white's last move.} 14. Nf3 (14. Qa1 {loses outright.} Qh4+ 15. g3 Qf6 16. Nge2 Qf2+ 17. Kd1 Na6 18. Rxa8 Rxa8 19. Qa3 Bf3) 14... Nd7 { The R is now defended.} 15. Rxa8 Qxa8 16. bxc7 Bxc3+ 17. bxc3 Qa3 {Black is a P ip and the c-Pawns are goners.} 18. Qc2 Rc8 {etc.}) 14. g3 Bxc3+ 15. bxc3 Qxe4 16. Nf3 Bg4 {Although unlike 13...Bg4 this does not win, but it is still a critical move that black must play.} 17. Rxa8 Bxf3 18. Qd3 Qe5 19. bxc7 { White is still enamored with his Q-side plans, but defensive measures were more appropriate.]} (19. Rg1 cxb6 20. Bg2 Bg4 {In this unbalanced material situation (R vs N+2Ps) the chances are about equal; 5 Shootouts from this position were drawn.}) 19... Qxc7 20. Rg1 Qb6 (20... Bxd5 {is harder to meet and contains a trap.} 21. Be2 (21. Qxd5 Qxc3+ 22. Kd1 Rc8 23. Ke2 Kg7 24. Qd1 Qb2+ 25. Kxe3 Qb6+ 26. Qd4+ Qxd4+ 27. Kxd4 Nc6+ {with a decisive advantage.}) 21... Bc6 22. Rf1 Re8 {with equal chances.}) 21. g4 {It;s understandable that white wants to free his R, but a better way would have been 21.Be2.} Rd8 22. Rg3 Rxd5 {[%mdl 128] The beginning of a relentless attack.} 23. Rxb8+ Kg7 24. Rxf3 (24. Qc2 {is a self mate.} Qb2 $1 {[%mdl 512]} 25. Rxf3 Qxc2 26. Bd3 Rxd3 27. Rxf7+ Kh6 28. g5+ Kxg5 29. Rf5+ Kh6 30. Rh5+ gxh5 31. Rxb7 Qf2#) 24... Rxd3 25. Bxd3 {Materially speaking white's 2Rs+B are roughly equal to black's Q+2Ps, but in this situation black has, as Czerniak adroitly demonstrates, has a decisive advantage.} Qc7 26. Re8 Qxc3+ 27. Kf1 Qxd3+ {[%mdl 4096]} 28. Kg2 Qd2+ 29. Kg3 e2 {It'd ilear that white should have eliminated this P way back on move 12!} 30. Rfe3 Qe1+ 31. Kh3 Qf1+ 32. Kg3 Qg1+ 33. Kh3 Qf2 {White can't capture the P because of ...Qf3+ so black's task now is to drive the R away from defending f3.} 34. R8e5 (34. Rxe2 Qf3+ 35. Kh4 g5+ 36. Kh5 (36. Kxg5 Qf6+ 37. Kh5 Qh6#) 36... Qf6 {mates}) 34... b5 {[%mdl 32]} 35. g5 h5 (35... b4 36. Rxe2 Qf3+ 37. Kh4 h6 38. R2e3 hxg5+ 39. Kxg5 f6+) 36. R5e4 b4 37. Rxe2 { The P is finally eliminated, but the b-Pawn has taken its place.} Qf3+ 38. Kh4 b3 39. R2e3 Qf2+ 40. Kh3 b2 41. Re8 {Very cunning!} Qxe3+ {White resigned} ( 41... b1=Q {would be a tragedy.} 42. Rg8+ Kxg8 43. Re8+ Kg7 44. Rg8+ Kxg8 { Stalenate!}) 0-1

A Brilliancy Prize for Euwe

 

    As often happened in the old days before engines games were annotated based on the result and every move of the winner was praised and every move of the loser was criticized. Also, there were very few Masters and we ordinary players never questioned them. Today with engines even we amateurs can do a credible job of analyzing even if we don’t always understand why an engine’s move is better. 

    When this game appeared in print the annotations left a lot to be desired, but the game is interesting. After playing the opening poorly (unusual for an opening expert like Euwe) and after some weak early middlegame play by Tartakower, Euwe turned in a wonderful performance in the form of a desperate counterattack against his opponent’s King. Euwe finished up in a fashion worthy of a composed study so the brilliancy prize was well deserved.

 

 

[Event "Venice"] [Site "Venice ITA"] [Date "1948.10.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Savielly Tartakower"] [Black "Max Euwe"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C53"] [Annotator "Stockfiah 18"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "1948.10.03"] {C53: Giuoco Piano} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Bb6 5. d4 Qe7 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Nf6 8. Re1 O-O 9. Na3 {The usual move is 9.a4, but at the time this game was played Tartakower was experimenting with a new way of handle this position. Although 9.Na3 results in white having to waste time moving the B again so as to vacate c4 for the N there seems to be no way for black to take advantage of it.} Nd8 {Besides this time consuming maneuver black has also played 9...h6 which seems better.} (9... h6 10. d5 Nb8 11. Bf1 c6 12. Nc4 Bc7 13. a4 Nbd7 {White has more space and black has limited counterattacking resources.}) 10. Bf1 {White wanted to make c4 availavle to the N and thought retreating the B to any other square would hamper the activity of either the Q or R. That is not the case though because 10.Bd3, as used by Rossolimo, is perfectly logical and good.} (10. Bd3 c6 11. Nc4 Bc7 12. b3 b5 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Ba3 c5 15. Ne3 Ba5 16. Qc2 Bb7 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. exd5 Bc7 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. f4 b4 21. Rxe5 Qd6 22. Bb2 bxc3 23. Bxc3 h6 24. Rf1 Nb7 {Rossolimo,N-Muhring,W Hastings 1948. White soon won.}) 10... Ne8 {The idea of this move is to keep the e-Pawn protected, but it's a serious mistake that has tacical consequences. } (10... exd4 $16 {might work better.} 11. Nxd4 Re8 12. Nc4 Bxd4 13. cxd4 d5 { and white has the advantage after either 14.e5 or 14.Bg5. Still, this is black's best choice.}) 11. Nc4 f6 12. a4 {White often plays this in the Giuoco Piano, but here is is even stronger than usual} c6 {Played to meet the threat of 13.a5.} 13. Nxb6 axb6 14. Qb3+ Ne6 15. Qxb6 {As a result of his faulty plan initiated with his 10th move black has lost a P and his position is seriously compromised.} g5 {With his position strategically lost Euwe seeks counterplay on the K-side by bringing a N to f4 andm at the same time, maybe opening a file to get at white's K. Will it work?} 16. Bc4 {Not a bad move by any means, but it indicates that Tartakower is barking up the wrong tree as he is attempting to foil black's attack by direct means. All he succeeds in doiung is aiding black by opening up lines against his own K. A better plan was to make advances on the Q-side.} (16. Be3 Kh8 17. b4 Nf4 18. b5 Ng7 19. Nh2 cxb5 20. axb5 Rxa1 21. Rxa1 exd4 22. Bxf4 gxf4 23. Qxd4 {White is safe on the K-side and his central and Q-side superioity should prevail.}) 16... h6 17. h4 {White insists on opening files that weaken his K's position. A Q-side advance is still indicated.} Kh7 18. hxg5 hxg5 19. dxe5 dxe5 $14 20. Be3 {In spite of his play over the last few moves white hasn't ruined his position, but his advantage has been considerably reduced.} Rh8 21. g3 Kg6 {Clearing the file for the Q and R.} 22. Kg2 {It;s likely that Tartakower saw the coming sacrifice, but misjudged its effectiveness believing he could successfully challenge on the h-file.} (22. Bf1 {This brings the B to the defense of the K.} Nf4 {is now ineffective.} 23. Nh4+ Rxh4 24. gxh4 Bg4 25. Bg2 gxh4 26. f3 h3 27. Bxf4 exf4 28. Qf2 hxg2 29. Qxg2 {Technically white's R+P are superior to black's N+B and, in fact, white scored 5-0 in Shootouts.}) 22... Nf4+ {At this point the chances are equal, but only if white does not capture the N!} 23. gxf4 {[%mdl 8192] A move worthy of double question marks because it loses.} ( 23. Bxf4 {This nearly equalizes after} Bh3+ 24. Kg1 Nd6 (24... exf4 25. e5 f5 26. e6 Nf6 27. Rad1 {with a huge advantage.}) (24... gxf4 25. Rad1 {is equal.}) 25. Be2 gxf4 26. Qb4 {and black's advantage is minimal.}) 23... Bh3+ 24. Kg3 { There was nothing better.} (24. Kg1 gxf4 25. Bf1 Qe6 {wins}) 24... exf4+ 25. Bxf4 Qd7 {This is an important part of black's attack.} (25... Nd6 {allows white to turn the tables.} 26. Bd5 (26. Bxd6 Qxd6+ 27. e5 Qd7 28. Qd4 Qxd4 29. Nxd4 {and white has won material.}) 26... cxd5 27. Qxd6 Qxd6 28. Bxd6 dxe4 29. Rxe4 {White is uo a N and P.}) 26. Nh2 {White no longer has a viable defense.} gxf4+ 27. Kxf4 {There can be little doubt that white's exposed K will not survive long.} Rh4+ 28. Ke3 Bg2 {Attacking the e-Pawn.} 29. Nf3 {Euwe now ends the game with a brilliant sacrifice that initiates a successful King hunt.} Rxe4+ {[%mdl 512] Very nice.} 30. Kxe4 Nd6+ 31. Kd3 Qf5+ 32. Kd4 Qf4+ 33. Kd3 { Is the K getting away? It it does white is a R and P up.} Qxc4+ 34. Kc2 { Now if white could only play 35.Nd2 he would be safe.} Bxf3 35. b3 {[%emt 0:00: 03]} (35. Qd4 {is equally hopeless.} Qxd4 36. cxd4 Nf5 37. Kc3 Rh8 38. b4 Rh3 39. b5 Bd5+ 40. Kb4 Nxd4 {Black has a decisive endgame advantage.}) 35... Be4+ 36. Kb2 Qd3 {[%mdl 2048]} 37. Rg1+ Kf7 38. Rac1 Qd2+ 39. Ka3 Nc4+ $1 {[%mdl 512] Totally destroying white's defense.} 40. bxc4 {Black's last move was only the precursor to his next nive.} Rxa4+ {[%mdl 512] Without this move white would be winning.} 41. Kxa4 Qa2+ 42. Kb4 Qb2+ {White resigned.} 0-1

A Miniature by Karpinski

Karpinski

    The 1900 annual New York State Chess Association meeting in Clayton, New York commanded the attention of the chess public during the entire week ot was in session. Besides the usual bussiness there were three tournaments, including a Master event that was won by Frank Marshall who won the handsome sum of $40, or about $1,550 in today’s purchasing power. All the players were required to bring their own sets and boards. 

    The winner of this game was the strong amateur Louis C. Karpinski (1878-1956) who was born in Rochester, New York. His father was from Warsaw, Poland and his mother from France.[ 

    He earned his Bachelor of Arts at Cornell University in 1901 and his Ph.D. at the University of Strasbourg, a public research university located in Strasbourg, France. 

    At Columbia University, Karpinski became a fellow (a designated researcher, scholar, or student receiving funding and support for specialized work, typically lasting one to four years) and a university extension lecturer. He taught at Berea College and at the Normal School in Oswego, New York, now SUNY Oswego. He then accepted a position at the University of Michigan where he became a full professor of mathematics by 1919. He also authored several books on mathematics.

 

 

 

 

[Event "NY State Master Tmt, Clayton, NY"] [Site ""] [Date "1900.07.18"] [Round "?"] [White "Dunham W. Waller"] [Black "Louis C. Karpinski"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A80"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "40"] [EventDate "1900.07.17"] [Source "(New York) Sun, "] {[%evp 9,39,45,45,31,29,33,44,16,70,39,35,-31,-24,-31,-17,-52,5,-53,28,-99, -113,-176,-116,-211,-206,-543,-518,-29997,-29998,-29998,-29999,-29999] A80: Dutch Defense} 1. d4 f5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. h3 e6 4. e3 b6 5. Nf3 Bb7 6. Bd3 Bd6 { This is unusual, but not bad because black's mass of center Ps offers adequate compensation for the doubled Ps. Usual is 6...Be7} 7. Bxd6 cxd6 8. Nbd2 Ne4 { This is premature. He should play either 8...O-O or 8....Nc6} 9. c3 O-O 10. Nc4 Qe7 11. O-O Nc6 12. Qc2 Nd8 13. Kh2 Rf6 {An imaginative R lift. The other option was 13...g4} 14. Qb3 {After this things get interesting as Karpinski starts turning his promising position into a strong attack. 14.Ncd2 jept things even.} Rh6 15. Rad1 {After this white gets destroyed. His only hope was eliminating the N on e4} (15. Bxe4 fxe4 16. Ng1 d5 17. Ne5 Ba6 18. Rfd1 Nc6 { White's position is difficult, but he is still in the game. In Shootouts white scored +0 -2 =3.}) 15... Nf7 {After this black still has an advantage, but he missed the best move.} (15... Nxc3 16. Qxc3 Bxf3 17. Rh1 {Black has rwo ways to win: 17...Qh4 or 17...Bxd1} (17. gxf3 Qh4 {mates in 3.} 18. Bxf5 exf5 19. Kg1 Qxh3 {mate next move.})) 16. Ne1 Nfg5 {...Nxh3 is the strong threat.} 17. f3 {This leads to an instant loss, but the better 17.Bxr5 would not have saved the game.} Nxh3 {[%mdl 512] Absolutrly crushing.} 18. gxh3 (18. fxe4 fxe4 19. Be2 Nf4+ 20. Kg1 Rh1+ 21. Kxh1 Qh4+ 22. Kg1 Nxe2#) 18... Qh4 19. fxe4 Qxh3+ 20. Kg1 Qh2# {A fine attacking game by Karpinski/} 0-1

Postal Chess in the 1950s

    Yesterday (Tue. 3-17) was an exciting day in this part of the country! Around 8am there was a loud window rattling boom that left people all a-twitter. It reminded me of the sonic booms I heard as a kid whenever fighters from a nearby military base broke the sound barrier. It turned out I was correct. 

    The American Meteor Society received more than 100 reports from several states including Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York and others. 

    According to NASA, a 6-foot diameter 7-ton asteroid was first spotted about 50 miles above Lake Erie moving at over 40,000 miles per hour. The meteor traveled about 34 miles through the atmosphere before fragmenting 30 miles high over Valley City, Ohio, a small community about 30 miles SW of Cleveland. NASA said the meteor unleashed an\\rhe energy of 250 tons of TNT when it fragmented, causing a boom that was loud enough to even shake houses. 

    Correspondence chess isn’t what it used to be. Before computers postal play involved post cards (you could buy them pre-printed), or if you were playing international chess, airmail sheets. The latter were ultra-lightweight blue paper sheets designed to keep international postage costs low by minimizing weight. They were folded to form their own envelope. 

    You also needed rubber diagram stamps, lots of postage stamps, a notebook, blank score sheets, postal recorder albums (known as Glichers), knowledge of the ICCF Numeric Notation Grid for international play, books and magazines for researching openings. 

    You often had positions jotted down on scraps of paper and stuck in your pocket so you could analyze when you had a few spare minutes. I remember finishing up 2 or 3 correspondence games while in boot camp by drawing diagrams in the notebook we were required to carry to take notes about “military stuff” we were taught in class. 

    After mailing your move you had to wait a week or two for an opponent’s reply or even longer if you were playing international CC. Most games took a year or more. That was correspondence chess at its best. Engines, databases and computer programs have destroyed a lot of the magic. 

    In the following game, played in 1955, white mishandled the opening and soon got a lost position. Black’s play was aggressive and impressive. The game appeared in print with superficial notes which were based more on the result of the game than on accurate analysis...a common fault in those days. Both players were what Chess Review called Class A postalites...about 1800-1999 Elo, or perhaps a bit higher. 

 

[Event "Chess Review Postal Tmt."] [Site "?"] [Date "1955.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "G. Williams"] [Black "M.H. Cha"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D85"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "1955.??.??"] {D85: Exchange Gruenfeld} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Be3 {[%emt 0:00:07] While this move is not really a mistake it has not served white well. Either 7.Nf3 or 7.Bc4 are better.} Bg7 8. f4 { This is too weakening. 8.Bc4 was better.} Qa5 {Black gets the advantage after 8...Nc6, but black is determined to play aggressively.} 9. Kf2 {One would expect 9.Qd2 which offers equal chances, but, oddly, this move is also equal because there is no way for black to take advantage of the K's position.} Nd7 ( 9... Qxc3 {Black wisely avoids this Pawn grab.} 10. Rc1 Qb2+ 11. Rc2 Qb6 12. Nf3 O-O 13. d5 {White regains the P and has a space advantage and is better developed.}) 10. Qb3 O-O 11. h3 {This is way too passive.} (11. e5 {results in equal chances after} cxd4 12. cxd4 Nb6 13. Nf3) 11... g5 {Highly unusual, but not at all bad! Clearly black intends to attack at all costs.} 12. fxg5 { Risky play exposing his own K. Safer was 12.g3} e5 {Not as accurate as 12... dxc4 because the text allows black to close the center cutting down on blck's attacking chances.} 13. d5 f5 {Black continues his aggressive play, but a commentator of the day described this move which opens a file as being much stronger than it is. In fact, the position offers equal chances.} 14. d6+ Kh8 15. exf5 {White is on the road to losing after this move which opens up his K's position. Safer qa 15.Rd} Rxf5+ 16. Kg3 (16. Ke1 e4 17. Rc1 Nb6 18. Ne2 Nd5 {Black has a decisive advantage.}) 16... e4 {The same commentator described this as a door opener for black's pieces. That's a good description.} 17. Ne2 { With his K exposed am.i his development lagging white has no adequate defense, but after 17.Kh2 he could have held out and hoped for a miracle.} Be5+ 18. Bf4 Rxf4 {[%mdl 512]} 19. Nxf4 Qd8 {The addition of the Q to the attack finishes off white.} 20. h4 Qf8 21. Kf2 Qxf4+ 22. Ke2 c4 {Making room for the N to join the attack.} 23. Qc2 Nc5 24. Kd1 Be6 25. Be2 Rd8 26. Rf1 Rxd6+ {Beginning a King hunt.} 27. Ke1 Qg3+ (27... Qxh4+ {forces mate.} 28. Rf2 e3 29. Bh5 Nd3+ 30. Kd1 exf2 31. Qe2 Ne1+ 32. Qd3 f1=Q 33. Qd4 Qxd4+ 34. cxd4 Qd3+ 35. Kxe1 Bg3#) 28. Rf2 e3 {[%mdl 64] Pin} 29. Bf1 Rd2 30. Qxd2 exd2+ 31. Ke2 Qd3+ 32. Kd1 Bg4+ 33. Be2 Ne4 {White resigned. It's mate in 4. Aggressive play by black. } (33... Ne4 34. Rf8+ Kg7 35. Rf7+ Kxf7 36. g6+ hxg6 {Mate next move.}) 0-1

A Lesson On the Initiative

Belavenets

    The Russians Play Chess by Irving Chermev is a collection of 50 great attacking games from the years 1925-1945 (in my 2nd edition there are 6 games additional games by Bronstein, Smyslov, Tal and Petrosian, from 1951-60). 

    Most of the games are short sacrificial affairs and many are by lesser-known, or long forgotten, players of a bygone era. The real problem is that Chernev was not a Master and his motes are superficial at best. Another annoying habit, like his contemporary author Fred Reinfeld, is that the events and dates are not given. For example, in today’s game the event and location were not given, but I was able to locate that information. Unfortunately all of the games and the final standings are not available. 

    There is a diagram every few moves, so you can read it without a board. This means you could use the book for an unsystematic book on tactics, but the best thing is just playing over he games for enjoyment. 

    Although his analysis is frequently wrong, Chernev makes frequent comments so you aren't left in the dark about what's going on for long stretches of the game. Chernev tends to focus on threats more than anything else which helps in making it a good way to study tactics. 

     One review complained that the games are not of the same quality as those of better players, say Alekhine, Tal or Fischer. Maybe not, but that's the beauty of them! We see the mistakes, sometimes crude ones, that we will run into or make ourselves. 

    Here is one game I especially enjoyed. The winner, Sergey Belavenets (1910-942) was a Soviet master, theoretician, and chess journalist. He was born in Smolensk to a noble family. He and Mikhail Yudovich, known as the Smolensk twins, had been close friends since meeting in a school match in 1925. 

    Over the next few years they studied with Belavenets's uncle, Konstantin Vygodchikov, a master who enjoyed success in many very strong local Soviet tournaments. He was awarded the Soviet Master title in 1929 after tying with Botvinnik in the preliminary round of the USSR Championship. 

    Belavenets was in the Soviet Army and was killed in action while fighting at Staraya in 1942. His daughter Liudmila (born 1940) held the title of women's world correspondence champion from 1984 to 1992. 

    In this game white chose an opening line that allowed black to seize the initiative. Defining the initiative is sometimes a little slippery. It's usually defined as an advantage belonging to the player who can make threats that cannot be ignored.   

    Having the initiative puts the opponent in the position of having to use his moves to respond to threats rather than executing his own plans. The one who possesses the initiative can maneuver his pieces into more and more aggressive positions which will ultimately result in a strong attack. 

    Evgeny Zagoryansky (1910-1961) was born in Yerevan, Armenia. He frequently competed in the Moscow Championships. He authored The Story of Morphy, the life and fate of a chess genius. 

 

[Event "Trade Union Champ, Moscow"] [Site "?"] [Date "1936.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Evgeny Zagoryansky"] [Black "Sergey Belavenets"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D81"] [Annotator "Stockfish 18"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "1936.??.??"] { D81: Gruenfeld Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Qb3 {At one time this move, known as the Accelerated Russian System, was very popular, but it has all but disappeared today. It's a solid, positional approach for aimed at challenging black’s center immediately. It often leads to complex, forcing lines.} c6 {At one time this was very popular, but it has all but disappeared today in favor of 4... dxc4} 5. Bg5 {This looks aggressive, but as will soon be seen, it allows black to get an advantage. Best ws 5.Nf3} dxc4 6. Qxc4 b5 {Well played! White now loses time with his Q.} 7. Qd3 Bf5 {Black has easily equalized. This develops with a gain of time by forcing white to move his Q again. White also has the option of playing 8.e4 which gives black an esy game.} 8. Qd1 {This is white's least favorable move. Black now gains even more time by attacking the N.} (8. e4 Nxe4 9. Nxe4 Qd5 10. f3 Bxe4 {This is the only good move black has.} 11. fxe4 Qxg5 12. h4 {with equal chances.}) 8... b4 9. Na4 {Retreating to b1 is no better.} Ne4 {Another good move.} 10. Nf3 {He can't afford to lose more time retreating to h} Bg7 { [%mdl 2048]} 11. Bd2 Qa5 (11... c5 $142 12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. dxc5 Bxb2) (11... Bxd4 12. Nxd4 Qxd4 13. Be3 Qxd1+ 14. Rxd1 {White has sufficient compensation because of black's backward c-Pawn.}) 12. e3 c5 {Another forceful move. It should be pointed out that white's position gas no real weaknesses and black's only advanbtage is in the form of the initiative. After this white's position rapidly deteriorates.} 13. a3 (13. Rc1 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Bd7 15. Qc2 Nxd2 16. Qxd2 Bxd4 17. Qxd4 O-O 18. Nc5 {and white has all but equalized.}) 13... Nxd2 14. Nxd2 cxd4 {As a result of his inferior 13th move whiye is now in difficulty and this is the critical position.} 15. Qf3 {After this white loses quickly. The attacl on black's R is immaterial. His best chance was 15.axb4} (15. exd4 Nc6 16. Nc4 Qc7 {Black picks up the d-Pawn.} 17. Bd3) (15. axb4 Qxb4 16. Qb3 Qxb3 17. Nxb3 dxe3 {Black maintains a promising position.}) 15... dxe3 { [%mdl 512]} (15... Qxa4 16. Qxa8 O-O 17. e4 d3 18. exf5 Nc6 19. Qb7 Rb8 20. Qc7 Be5 {and even after the best nove} 21. b3 Qb5 22. Qd7 Bxa1 {Black is winning.}) 16. Nc4 (16. Qxa8 exd2+ 17. Kxd2 O-O 18. Bc4 bxa3+ 19. Ke2 axb2 20. Nxb2 Qe5+ 21. Kf1 Qxb2 22. Qxa7 Qxa1+ 23. Qxa1 Bxa1 {Black will eventually win.}) 16... exf2+ 17. Kxf2 Bd4+ 18. Ke1 Qxa4 19. Qxa8 O-O 20. Qf3 bxa3 21. Rxa3 Qb4+ 22. Kd1 Rd8 23. Nd2 Bxb2 {White resigned. A good lesson on the advantage of the initiative.} 0-1