Way, way back I had a chess book titled Cabbage Heads and Chess Kings by Bruce Hayden. It is a book of witty remarks about unusual chess positions and strange games by famous old masters. Sam Sloan republished it in 2017.
The book says Bruce Hayden is a chess writer of repute, a skilled player and as a commentator he possesses, in addition to considerable learning, a quick sense of the strange and curious.
His articles are not mere comments and exhaustive analysis of famous games, nor are they lessons on how to play chess. They are in the fullest sense of the word chess essay. Certainly they are often concerned with particular games or points of play but they are essentially the reflections and musings of a humorous, intelligent, informed journalist with many years of club and tournament experience.
This is a book for all players and enthusiasts a book to dip into at idle moments an ideal companion for the chess player whether a type (sic) or a master.
Sloan’s bio on Hayden can be read on Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature HERE.
Chess Scotland has more detailed information on him.
The following game against William A. Winser (December 9, 1906 – June 12, 1991) is Hayden’s only known serious game. Winser holds the distinction of winning the Hasting Chess Club Championship 25 times between 1933 and 1978! The Hastings club website has a bio on him HERE.
[Event "Hastings 1947/48 Minor tournament"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1948.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bruce Hayden"]
[Black "William A. Winser"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]
%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
{Santasiere's Folly} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. b4 {The futuristic chess opening:
Santasiere's folly; analysis and games was published by Anthony Santasiere in
1977. Santasiere had great success with this opening, but Reuben Fine
expressed his disdain for it in his Chess Review column, Game of the Month
back in 1942 when he presented a game Santasiere lost in the Marshall Chess
Club Championship to a promising junior player named Louis Levy. Fine wrote
of this move: We are informed by reliable sources that Mr. Santaserie has
requested the government to copyright this move... The advance of the b-Pawn
is useful in certain variations of Reti's Opening, as, e.g. in the famous
encounter Reti-Capablanca, New York 1924, but a mere loss of time in most
cases. While it does not give white any advantage, it has, up to now at any
rate, had the merit of leading to most unusual positions where the player with
the more daring and originality would have the upper hand.} 2... d5 3. Bb2
Bf5 { White has tried every conceivable move here with 4.e3 being most
popular. Some exotic moves are: 4.Ne5, 4.b5 and 4.a4.} 4. g3 {In The Road To
Chess Improvement, GM Yermolinsky has a section on the pros and cons of the
double fianchetto without reaching any conclusion. Sometimes it's good,
sometimes not, I guess.} 4... e6 5. a3 Nbd7 6. Bg2 Bd6 7. O-O c6 8. d3 Qe7 9.
Nbd2 {More flexible than the immediate 9.c4...maybe white is going to play e4
instead.} 9... e5 10. Re1 Nb6 {This turns out poorly. 10...O-O was better.}
11. c4 Bc7 {Black has lost a tempo due to the threat of c5 and now white has a
number of moves that give him a distinct advantage. For the reminder of the
game Winser does not seem to make any obvious mistakes, but white's position
gradually gets better and better until the game culminates in a smashing
attack by white.} 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. e4 dxe4 {With his next move white missed
the win of a P with 14. Nxe4} 14. dxe4 Bd7 15. Rc1 Ba4 16. Qe2 {White also
enjoys slightly the better of it after the sacrifice of the exchange...16.Rxc7
Qxc7 17.Qa1, but there is no need to get fancy.} 16... O-O 17. Bh3 {The
exchange sacrifice followed by Bxe5 was still good.} 17... Rfd8 18. Nh4 g6
{White has the possibility of whipping up a potent K-side attack with 19.f4,
but the complications quickly escalate, so perhaps his move is best.} 19. Ndf3
Bd6 20. Qe3 Bc6 21. Qh6 Bxe4 {Black wins a P but the cost is a wasted move
with his B. That wasted move is going to be missed. Best was probably
22...Nbd7} 22. Ng5 Bc6 23. f4 Qc7 {Winser probably never say Hayden's next
move coming. 23...Qf8 was better, but white still has 24.Nf5. The only
difference is that his attack is not so virulent.} 24. Nf5 Bf8 {Better than
24...gxf5 25.Qxf6, but not by much.} 25. Bxe5 Qd7 {White's attack is so strong
that even exchanging Qs won't slow it down.} 26. Bxf6 Bxh6 27. Nxh6+ Kf8 28.
Nxh7# 1-0
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