Breaking News From Iceland...Bobby Fischer Has Been Arrested!

     Early one morning in Iceland back in July of 2010 a team of men went out to exhume the body of Bobby Fischer with the intention of getting a DNA sample, but there was no body in the casket. The rumor circulated that Fischer had faked his death in order to free himself, but nobody believed the story and it was chalked up to a rumor on a par with Elvis sightings.
     Now a story has come out of the small fishing town of Breiodalsvik located on the east coast of Iceland. Earlier this week, an elderly, homeless, white-bearded man was arrested outside the Kaupfielagrid Art and Craft Cafe when he was begging for money. 
     According to police chief Asbjorn Steinbergur, when questioned by police on the scene the man refused to answer any questions and when police attempted to to search him for identification, he refused. A scuffle broke out and one police office was bitten on the arm. The wound was severe enough that the officer had to be transported to the Medical Center of East Iceland in Lagaras for treatment. 
      Once the homeless man had been transported to the local jail and searched, it was discovered he was not carrying any identification and the only items in his possession were a small folding leather chess set and a book of Boris Spassky's chess games. 
     The subject was fingerprinted and the prints faxed to Reykjavik. When the results came back a few hours later the prints were those of Robert James Fischer. Steinbergur recognized the name and when he personally questioned Fischer, he refused to answer any questions and repeatedly complained about how the police had brutally handcuffed him, swore at him and accused him of committing a recent bank robbery. He also complained that he was insulted, choked and tortured while being held stark naked in a “horror cell” and that he had been refused the right to make any phone calls. Fischer repeatedly referred to the police by the derogatory term “filthy Jews.” 
     Upon learning his prisoner was the former world chess champion, Chief Steinbergur contacted journalist Haukur Gunnleifursson who attempted to interview Fischer.   According to Gunnleifursson, Fischer asked for $10,000 before he would speak to him.  Fischer stated, "I'm broke, you know.  The Jews stole all my money."
     Gunnleifursson says that Fischer is nearly toothless, appears to be suffering from various health problems and most certainly has “mental health issues.” 
     Fischer remains in jail and if convicted faces up to six months in jail. For more information go HERE.

Classic Botvinnik...Watch and Learn

     In the two Botvinnik – Tal matches we expected to see Botvinnik playing classical positional chess and Tal playing his brand of tactical chess and while there were games that followed the pattern, we also saw them bashing away at each other by all means...at times Botvinnik played tactical chess and Tal payed endings. 
     In 1960, Tal breathed new life into the game, but his reign was short. He overran everybody until he met Botvinnik in their return match. In that match Botvinnik was true to form as he sought closed positions and endgames and scored a +10 -5 =6 rout.  Botvinnik was a different player in the return match. He made a careful study of Tal's games and opening repertoire and succeeded in steering the games into favorable positions for himself and only entered Tal's territory if he was positive the results were favorable. 
     Tal's health, exacerbated no doubt by his life style, was considered one reason for his defeat, but Tal himself made no excuses. He wrote, "I think that I lost to him, because he beat me! He was very well-prepared for the second match. Botvinnik knew my play better than I knew his." 
     The following game has been published many times with excellent notes, but I am especially attracted to it because of Botvinnik's superb endgame play. The late National Master Jim Schroeder used to advise that one never quit studying the endgame. 
     In this game Tal fell victim to a mistake we all make...he wrote, “It is difficult to explain by anything but demoralization my decision to play the Slav Defense, for almost the first time in my life, almost imploring my opponent to exchange on d5 and, with a lead of three points, let me off with a draw.” As is often the case, playing for a draw can land one in trouble. In this case soon after the opening the game transposed into an ending highly favorable for Botvinnik. 
     Another mistake related to this is Tal chose a symmetrical defense which can lead to boring draws, but it can also be deadly, especially for black. And, that's what happened here; the dangers of symmetrical play lured Tal into a bad position.
 

Winning Streaks by Steinitz and Fischer

 

    Older readers will remember and younger ones will have read about Bobby Fischer's incredible 20-game winning streak. It began on December 2, 1970 when he defeated Jorge Rubinetti at Palma de Mallorca. After that he mowed down Uhlmann, Taimanov, Suttles, Mecking, Gligoric and Panno. Then there followed matches where he defeated Taimanov six straight, then six more wins over Larsen and one more, on Setptember 30, 1971 over Petrosian. Fischer's streak finally came to an end on October 5, 1971 when Petrosian defeated him in game two of their Candidates Match in Buenos Aires.
     But, before him came Steinitz who had a winning streak of 25 games. Admittedly it's not as impressive as Fischer's because Steinitz' was over a nine year period! It started on August 5, 1873 when he defeated Rosenthal at Vienna. In that event he beat Rosenthal a second time, Paulsen, Anderssen, Schwartz, Gelbfuhs, Bird, Blackburne and Heral twice. Then at London in 1876, he scored seven straight wins over Blackburne in a match before defeating him again on May 10, 1882, again in Vienna. His last win in the streak was over Noa, also at Vienna, on May 11, 1882. His streak was finally ended by Preston Ware in a marathon 113-move game. 
    Although he doesn't get much press these days, we owe a lot to Wilhelm Steinitz (May 17, 1836 – August 12, 1900), the Austrian and later American player who was the first undisputed World Chess Champion, from 1886 to 1894. He was also a highly influential writer and chess theoretician and even Bobby Fischer found something of value in his play.
     Steinitz was the first occurrence of a scientific theory. For example, he wrote, “In fact it is now conceded by all experts that by proper play on both sides the legitimate issue of a game ought to be a draw, and that the right of making the first move might secure that issue, but is not worth the value of a Pawn.”
    According to Steinitz it is the loser that determined the outcome by committing an error. He wrote, “Brilliant sacrificing combinations can only occur when either side has committed some grave error of judgment in the disposition of his forces.”
     Early on Steinitz had a sharp style filled with aggressive play and plenty of sacrifices, but after he developed his principles based on scientific theory he opted for defensive play. Some of his principles were:

1. The point of any opening is to develop the pieces and at the same time prevent your opponent from doing so. If your opponent is behind in development, it is essential to harass him by creating threats. You need to attack as quickly as possible on the side of the board where he is the most vulnerable.
2. You also need to take care of your King’s safety.
3. Pay attention to the center. Occupy the center with either Pawns or the pieces. Strong pawn center will provide space and give an opportunity for attack.
4. Exercise care in moving Pawns because their unnecessary advance will weaken position of you own King.
5. When developing pieces you have to have an exact plan and what role each piece will play and where it should be positioned. The master develops with a specific purpose while a beginner develops them just for a sake of developing.
6. The side who possesses an advantage must attack, otherwise risk losing it. You should identify a weakness in opponent’s position and to exploit it.
7. If defending you must know what your opponent is about, deflect the threats, predict his moves and look for a possibility of a counterattack.
8. If a position is nearly equal, then maneuver to achieve some sort of an advantage then attack. With correct defense the game should remain equal and be drawn.
9. An advantage may consist of one big advantage or several smaller ones. There are two types of advantages: permanent and temporary.

    Permanent advantages consist of material, weak squares, passed Ps, weak Ps, open files and diagonals and the B pair. If you have these advantages take your time, don't rush and with a careful play you will win.
    Temporary advantages are a lead in development, position of pieces, control of the center and space. These advantages require you to attack as soon as possible since it is possible for your opponent to recover if you don’t act quickly enough.
    How many books have been written expounding Steinitz' ideas? The first one I had was Znosko-Borovsky's The Middle Game in Chess in which he demonstrated how to win games using the basic elements of space, time and force. I enjoyed the book, but honestly have to say it didn't help much because chess isn't quite that simple. 
     A little later I picked up Larry Evans' New Ideas in Chess only to discover the ideas weren't so new...he wrote about P-structures and, you guessed it, space time and force. Evans' book didn't help much either for the same reason Znosko-Borovsky's book didn't... chess isn't quite that simple.
     I can't say that these books, or any chess book for that matter, were totally useless because I did learn something by reading them...just not enough to break the 2200 barrier; close maybe, but not quite. Close doesn't count in chess. If you want to score points for coming close, play horseshoes.
     Let's take a look at a Steinitz win and he how simple he made chess look. His opponent, Alexander Sellman (January 15, 1856) died at the early age of 32 on October 7, 1888. Sellman authored Games of the Vienna (1882) tournament, a selection of the best and most brilliant games, with critical analysis by Alex. G. Sellman, together with a short account of the Tournament. He also served as the chess editor of the Baltimore News American between 1880 and 1886 and later for the Baltimore Sunday Herald for 1886 and 1887.

Margaret Gorman

     Over the Labor Day weekend (a US holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September) in 1921, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, some businessmen of the city organized a small beauty contest in which seven cities of the Northeast US participated and each city sent a “beauty maid” to represent the city in the contest. This contest took place September 7-8. 
     The winner was sixteen year-old Margaret Gorman, who represented Washington, D.C. Her prize was a golden mermaid statue and the title of Miss America. 
     Margaret Gorman (August 18, 1905 – October 1, 1995) was the first Miss America. She was a junior at Western High School in Washington, D.C. when her photo was entered into a popularity contest run by the Washington Herald and she was chosen as "Miss District of Columbia" in 1921 at age 16 on account of her athletic ability, past accomplishments, and outgoing personality. As a result, she was invited to join the Second Annual Atlantic City Pageant held on September 8, 1921, as an honored guest. 

     Once there she was invited to join a new event: the Inter-City Beauty Contest. She won the titles "Inter-City Beauty, Amateur" and "The Most Beautiful Bathing Girl in America" after competing in the Bather's Revue. She won the grand prize, the Golden Mermaid trophy and was crowned Miss America. Gorman later said she never cared to be Miss America and it wasn't her idea. She added, “I am so bored by it all. I really want to forget the whole thing." So she said, but I don't believe she meant it because she also competed in 1922, also in Atlantic City, where she was a crowd favorite, but finished runner up to Mary Katherine Campbell. 

     A few years later, Gorman married Victor Cahill and was happily married until he died in 1957. She lived all her life in Washington, D.C. where she became somewhat a socialite and enjoyed traveling. She died on October 1, 1995, age 90. 
     But, before the beauty contest there had been a chess tournament. Although Los Angeles, St. Paul, Memphis and even Toronto, Puerto Rico and even Cuba were heard from, it was decided to hold the Eighth American Chess Congress in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Million Dollar Pier from July 6 to July 20, 1921. 
     Under the direction of the officers of the Good Companion Chess Problem Club provisions were made to cater to all classes of players. In addition to problem solving tournaments there was to be a banquet after the event. 
     During the solving tournament Charles Willing would be playing the Paul Morphy Waltz which had been composed by Morphy's niece, Mrs. Voitier of New Orleans. John F. Barry, president of the Boston Chess Club would be speaking and Walter Penn Shipley, president of the Franklin Chess Club, would be recounting his experiences during his visit to the home towns of Capablanca and other Latin American players and composers. Leonard B. Mayer would be giving a talk about chess in New York city and special guest was US Champion Frank Marshall. Problemist Alain C. White would also be in attendance and there would be speeches by other prominent officials. In addition, there would be discussions about forming a US Chess Association and affiliation with the International Chess Federation which was soon due to be formed. 
     The problem solving tournament consisted of 12 two-movers with a two hour time limit in which to solve them. In addition to trophies and book, prizes were $60, $36, $24 and $12 along with six honorable mentions and $6. Also, photographs that would appear in several chess magazines would be taken. 
     The various tournaments were: Open Masters (first prize not less that $100), First Class Amateur, Minor A, Minor B, Minor C, Women's, problem solving, problem composition and a simultaneous exhibition. 
     Among the recognized master who were expected to take part were Frank Marshall and Davis Janowsky and it was hoped that little Sammy Rzeschewski would participate. 
     In the area of problems a fellow named Charles Promislo (1898-1983) was said to have very nearly solved everything before him and he was called a second Sam Loyd. Promislo of Philadelphia was a problem wizard and member of the Good Companion Chess Club. His first problem was published in 1913. 
     In the problem solving competition he carried of first prize by solving 12 problems in 32 minutes to finish ahead of John F. Berry who took 47 minutes and I.S. Turover who took 58 minutes. 
     Born in Kiev, Russia on April 25, 1898, he and his mother came to the US when he was three years old. After graduating from from college as a pharmacist he owned a pharmacy in the Germantown area of Philadelphia. 
     The amateur tournament was won by Charles Norwood of Boston when he defeated J.H. Adams of Baltimore in a playoff after they both had skunked the other eight players and drew with each other. 
     In the main event Samuel Factor of Chicago started off with great promise by scoring 2.5 points in the first three rounds, but then he faded. Charles Jaffe was leading up to the 8th round despite having lost to Marshall in round 2. But then he lost to Stasch Mlotkowsk, Janowsky and Vladimir Sournin all in a row and was out of the running. 
     Another player off to a promising start was the relatively obscure M.D. Hago of New York who was undefeated until the sixth round. Frank Marshall, one of the favorites, lost to Janowsky in the 4th round and then to Norman T. Whitaker and Sydney Sharp in rounds 7 and 8 to finish with a disappointing plus 1 score.

1) David Janowsky 8.5 
2) Norman T. Whitaker 8.0 
3) Charles Jaffe 7.0 
4) M.D. Hago 6.5 
5-7) Samuel Factor, Frank Marshall and Vladimir Sournin 6.0 
8-9) Sydney Sharp and Isidor Turover 5.5 
10) Stasch Mlotkowski 5.0 
11-12) Captain John Harvey and Edward S. Jackson, Jr. 1.0 
    
     Captain John Harvey from Montreal, Quebec tied for 1st in the 1920 Canadian Championship and was Champion of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1913. During World War I, as a member of the Royal Air Force, he was shot down by the Germans and was a prisoner of war for 19 months.   In this event Capt. Harvey defeated Jackson in their individual game while Jackson scored his point by drawing with Sournin and Turover. 
     Janowsky's opponent in the following game is Sydney Thomas Sharp (June 17, 1885 – September 28, 1953). Sharp was Pennsylvania state champion 10 times: 1908, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1930, 1932 and 1937. He was a former president of the Mercantile Library Chess Association, former vice president of the Eastern Chess Federation and an officer of the Franklin Chess Club. He learned the game at age 15 from his father. The game is quite complicated and was a lot of fun to analyze. 
 

Enjoy Some Clogging

The white-haired man in the center is the well known buck dancer Paul Shelnutt. 

Who was Esteban Canal?

 

Canal and his wife in 1938

    Writing in a 1937 edition of Chess Review, Lajos Steiner, who knew Canal when they were living in Budapest, said that Canal never reached the heights his talent deserved. He was awarded the IM title in 1950 and received the honorary GM title in 1977.
     Not much is known about his life and what little is known is wrapped in a cloud of mystery. Canal himself claimed to have been a cabin boy on a cargo ship carrying wheat from Australia, but it has proven to be impossible to verify dates.  It is known that he had an extensive nautical knowledge and sailors.
     In 1955 the South African player Wolfgang Heindenfed, writing in his book Chess Springbok, An Account of a South African Chess Player's Experiences Overseas wrote of Canal, “The grand old man of Italian chess is Esteban Canal, originally of Peru, who at the age of 57 won the 1953 Venice tournament to which I had the good luck of being invited. He is one of the most interesting and amusing of all chess personalities. Formerly a roving reporter, he speaks six or seven languages and still treasures mementos of such VIPs as Kemal Pasha and Abd el Krim. He is an inexhaustible raconteur of chess stories.” 

Canal later in life

     Kemal Pasha was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and founder of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President from 1923 until his death in 1938. Abd el-Krim (1882–1963) was a political and military leader who along with his brother led a large-scale revolt by a coalition of Berber-speaking Rif tribes against French and Spanish colonization of the Rif, an area of northern Morocco. The rebels established the short-lived Republic of the Rif. His guerrilla tactics influenced Ho Chi Minh, Chairman Mao Zedong, and Che Guevara. How Canal was involved with them is unknown.
     Sources widely disagree on Canal's date and place of birth. His tombstone says he was born in 1893, historian Jeremy Gaige gives his birth as April 19, 1896 in Chiclayo, Peru and his birth certificate says he was born April 19, 1897 in Chielago, Peru while his biographer. Alvise Zichichi writing in Esteban Canal says that Canal said in private that he was born before 1896 in Santander, Spain of a Spanish mother and a Peruvian father. Another version of his birth says he was born April 19, 1896 on a ship in the Pacific Ocean when his parents were on the way from Spain to Peru.
     In the mid-1930s Canal was living in Budapest and had been having modest success in international tournaments, but had expressed a desire to return to Peru where he wanted to start a Latin drive to help Capablanca regain the World Championship. As a result, several Peruvian players began efforts to obtain official support in order to finance his return. But, after several months the support had not materialized and so an impatient Canal traveled on his own, along with his wife Anna Klupacs. 
 

    He arrived in Peru aboard the steamer San Pedro on June 20, 1935 and immediately visited the Lima Chess Club. Things did not work out well for Canal because a professional player was something unheard of in Lima, so when he proposed that he be paid a fee for a simul, his proposal was met with disdain. A few players agreed, but many did not and for the most part Canal was ignored and he found such an environment not to his liking.
     Then he was invited to the Mar del Plata International Tournament in 1936. Official assistance was then arranged to cover his and his wife's travel expenses, but there was serious opposition because they did not have a religious marriage. As a result, no financial assistance was forthcoming. An indignant Canal packed up and left for Spain. The irony is that shortly after the Canals left, tickets for Argentina arrived from Roberto Grau, a prominent Argentine player who had learned of the situation.
     The son of a wealthy industrialist from Chiclayo, the capital of the Lambayeca region of Peru, Canal traveled, at the age of 13, to study in Europe, first in Spain and two years later in France. As a student he spent some time in Belgium and lived in Germany in 1914 to study medicine and that's where he learned to play chess.
     According to the magazine Wiener Schachzeitung, in 1916 he won a tournament in Leipzig, defeating e several local masters in the process. Another claim is that he won the championship of Saxony.  In 1917 he happened to be in Switzerland,where it played several games with Richard Teichmann and Hans Johner.
    He settled in Italy around 1923 and in Turin, Italy Alekhine, who was on tour, was greatly impressed with Canal as a result of their drawn game. It was Alekhine who recommended that Canal be invited to a number of tournaments. Thus, in 1923, he suddenly emerged to the chess world by playing in the international tournament of Trieste where his second place finish caused a sensation. It was in this tournament that he defeated the winner Paul Johner in a famous gambit in the Two Knights Defense.
     Canal tied for second at Merano 1926, tenth at Budapest 1929, tied for tenth out of 22 at Carlsbad 1929, tied for seventh at Rohitsch-Sauerbrunn 1929, second at Budapest 1932, tied for fourth at Bad Sliac, first at Budapest 1933, fifth at Mährisch-Ostrau 1933, and tied for first at Reus 1936. After World War II, he tied for second at Venice 1947, tied for sixth at Bad Gastein 1948, tied for second at Venice 1948, and won at Venice 1953. Canal played in one Olympiad, representing Peru on board 1 in 1950 at Dubrovnik.
     Canal, the last of the Romantic players, died in Varese, Italy on February 14, 1981 at the age of 84.

Janowsky at Marienbad 1925

     The Czech Republic's proudest natural resource is its healing water and Marienbad (Marianske Lazne) is home to hundreds of cold, curative springs. In 1907 English King Edward VII said of it, “I have traveled through the whole of India, Ceylon, all the spa places in Europe, but nowhere was I so spellbound by the poetry of beautiful nature as here in Marianske Lezne.” 
     Many spa towns have hosted chess tournaments and Marienbad has a great history. Beginning in 1925 the town hosted a strong international tournament organized by Isidor Gunsberg, who was also the tournament director. Tournaments held there were: 

1925: Marienbad was the host of an international tournament from May 20th to June 8th in 1925 and it featured Sixteen chess masters in a round robin event. Among them were former and current World Champion challengers Frank Marshall, Akiba Rubinstein, David Janowski and Aron Nimzovich. Rubinstein jumped off to an early lead but eventually he was neck and neck with Nimzovich, with whom he eventually shared first place. While the quality of games was poor, it was an important victory for both Nimzovich and Rubinstein as they were later regarded as top players of the 1920s. 
1948: A tournament of West Bohemia Spa Towns was organized, the first half was held in Carlsbad and the second in Marienbad. It included the likes of Lajos Steiner, Vidmar, Barcza, Janowsky, Pirc, Stoltz, Foltys, Opocensky, Tartakover who was 61-years old at the time. A strong finish of 5.5 point out of 6 games allowed Jan Foltys to capture first ahead of Barcza, Steiner, Pirc and Stoltz. 
1951: The FIDE Zonal Tournament was held there with the exception of the two last rounds, which were played in Prague. The tournament was won by Ludek Pachman, who was undefeated, scoring 13-3. Other top finishers were Szabo, Barcza, Stoltz, Foltys and Benko.
1954: This was the second Zonal Tournament was played in Marienbad. Sadly, this time it was the Jan Foltys Memorial. Foltys had died of leukemia in March, 1952 at the age of 43. Marienbad hosted rounds 7-14; the rest of the tournament was played in Prague. The winner was Pachman who finished a half point ahead of Szabo who beat Pachman in their individual game. They were followed by Sliwa, Filip, Stahlberg and Olafsson. 
1956: This tournament was partly organized by Prague and was the Steinitz Memorial. It was won by Miroslav Filip who was followed by Ragozin, Flohr, Pachman and Stahlberg.
1959: Polugaievsky won ahead of Szabo followed by Kozma and Ujtelky. 1961: Was another zonal tournament which was to rake place in Berg en Dal in the Netherlands, but political pressure of the cold war resulted in a visa refusal to Wolfgang Uhlmann, who was sent from the Amsterdam airport back to Germany. In protest, the Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Yugoslav players refused to take part at the tournament. As a result Olafsson finished first with 7.5-1.5. But with so few players, the results were annulled and a new tournament was played in Marienbad. Undaunted, Olafsson won this tournament, too. He was followed by Filip, Uhlmann, Johannssen, Ghitescu, Ciric and Bobotssov. 
1962: Not all the participants of in the Student Team Championship which was to held in Great Britain could obtain visas so instead the tournament was moved to Marienbad. The organizers managed to prepare the tournament in less than two months.The head of the committee of organizers was Jaroslav Sajtar, the main referee of the tournament was Karel Opocensky and one of the other referees was Igor Bondarevsky. Eighteen teams played in the tournament and the winner was the Soviet Union. The team consisted of Boris Spassky, Eduard Gufeld, Vladimir Bagirov and Vladimir Savon. There was also an international tournament. Mark Taimanov won ahead of Tringov, Djurasevic, Ciric, Sliwa, Hort and Ghitescu. 
1965: Ths event was won by Keres who was followed by Hort, Shamkovich, Uhlmann,Filip, Pachman and Stahlberg.  
1978: Marienbad hosted the Czech Championship which was won by Eduard Prandstetter who edged out Jan Smejkal by a half point. 
2008: A two-round Scheveningen match was held with veteran GMs facing team of young femae GMs. The veterans Karpov, Hort, Olafsson and Uhlmann outscored Viktorija Cmilyte, Anna Ushenina, Katerina Nemcova and Jana Jackova. 
2009: There was another double-round Scheveningen match in Marianske Lazne this year. The team of Korchnoi, Timman, Hort and Huebner lost by one point to lady players Humpy Koneru, Anna Muzychuk, Katarina Lahno and Jana Jackova. 
2010: In this year's tournament the top finishers were Hort, Portisch, Velimirovic and Uhlmann 

Janowsky

     Most players do not realize just how strong Janowsky (June 1868-January 1927) really was, but he was probably in the world's top 50 for several decades. His problem was he hated endings and was notorious for becoming impatient and throwing games when the ending was reached. Chessmetrics ranks him at number 1 in the world in 1904 with a rating of 2776. By the time of this tournament the 56-year old Janowsky's rating had sunk to 2501 placing him number 47 in the world. By that time the best players in the world were Emanuel Lasker, Jose Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Aron Nimzovich and Efim Bogoljubow. 
     In the 1928 Marienbad event he scored but three wins: Saemisch, Michell and Haida and lost all the rest. Final results were:

1-2) Nimzovich and Rubinstein 11.0 
3-4) Marshall and Torre 10.0 
5-6) Tartakower and Reti 9.5 
7) Spielmann 8.5 
8) Gruenfeld 8.0 
9) Yates 7.0 
10) Opocensky 6.5 
11-12) Przepiorka and Thomas 6.0 
13-14) Saemisch and Janowsky 5.5 
15) Michell 3.5 
16) Haida 2.5 

     Few players won more brilliancy prizes than Janowsky and the following game demonstrates his genius. As Irving Chernev wrote in 1000 Best Short Games of Chess, "Even in the twilight of his career, Janowsky could make electrifying moves." 

Saemisch

     Friedrich (Fritz) Saemisch (September 20, 1896 – August 16, 1975) was a German GM whose most famous game is his loss to Nimzovich at Copenhagen 1923 in the Immortal Zugzwang Game. He is also famous for playing in tournament in Linkoping, Sweden in 1959 and losing all 13 games on time. He followed that up at the age of 73 losing all 15 games on time. Saemisch is also remembered for his game against Capablanca at Carlsbad 1929, when the former World Champion lost a piece in the opening but refused to resign. 
     During World War II Saemisch was appointed as Betreuer (Supervisor) for the troops and his job was to give chess demonstrations and play simultaneous exhibitions for German soldiers all over Europe. 
     In 1944 when he arrived in Spain he made a proposal to the British ambassador that he would play a simul for the British troops in Gibraltar, but his offer was refused. Then Saemisch criticized Hitler at the closing banquet of the Madrid tournament in summer 1944. Upon returning to the German border, he was arrested and sent to a concentration camp. This was not his first transgression, since he had previously said loudly in the Luxor coffee house in Prague, “Isn't Hitler a fool? He thinks he can win the war with Russians!” According to Ludek Pachman Prague was full of Gestapo, and Saemisch had to be overheard at least at the next few tables. Pachman asked him to speak quietly, but Saemisch replied, “You don't agree that Hitler is a fool?” 
     It may sound like Saemisch wasn't a great player, but Alekhine had this to say of him: “Of all the modern masters that I have had occasion to observe playing blindfold chess, it is Saemisch who interests me the most; his great technique, his speed and precision have always made a profound impression on me.” Coming from one of the most greatest exponents of blindfold play, that is quite a compliment! And in 1929 Chessmetrics puts him in the top 10 in the world with a rating of 2665 and he had performance ratings of over 2700 at Baden-Baden 1925 and Dortmand in 1928. 
     In the following game just when it looks like Janowsky's attack has fizzled out he comes up with a brilliant Q offer.