Friday, May 22, 2015

Reshevsky vs. Vasconcellos

Reshevsky in 1945
     For reasons I don't know, the Santasiere game in the previous post got me to wondering about a well-known game by Reshevsky...in the 1944 U.S. Open he went into the last round with first place already assured and when he sat down to play his opponent he said it was with the firm intention of enjoying himself. 
     The result was Reshevsky unleashed as uncharacteristic sacrificial attack that left his opponent overwhelmed. But...was it sound?! In The World's a Chessboard Reuben Fine handed black four question marks and Reshevsky got three exclamation marks; one wonders just how deserved all those marks for both sides were. 
     But, before we look at the game, I found some information on Vasconcellos at Chessgamesdotcom. There was some debate over exactly who Reshevsky's opponent in this game was. Was it Arnaldo or Fernando, two different guys? Or were they the same guy?! One poster said they were the same player but another poster said Arnaldo was born in 1912 while Fernando was born in 1919.  Writing in a Chessbase article Dennis Monokroussos says Reshevsky's opponent was a "young Brazilian" named Fernando.  The sources I checked indicate that it was Arnoldo. A search of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle has an article dated August 7, 1944 that confirms it was Arnoldo.




     There was also an article dated August 31st where a note in a game between Cass and Goldwater confirmed that Reshevsky's opponent was the Brazilian diplomat Arnoldo Vasconcellos.
 

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