During the war Hastings suffered 85 bombing missions by the Luftwaffe, from the first air raid on July 26, 1940 to the end of the war in 1945, during which 550 HE bombs and 16 V1 flying bombs (or doodlebugs as they were called) fell on the town causing the loss of 154 lives and nearly 700 injured.
Many people of the town had been progressively evacuated and by 1943 only 10,500 remained of the pre-war population of 65,000. Many British and Canadian troops were billeted in the Hastings up to D-Day and the Normandy Landings.
There was widespread damage to houses in the town, with 463 houses and buildings being damaged beyond saving or completely demolished.
The most devastating raid occurred on Sunday, May 23, 1943 where many shops and buildings were destroyed. That day 17 military personnel and 14 civilians lost their lives and 85 people were injured. In addition, many people’s homes had been damaged or destroyed and their belongings and keepsakes wiped out.
After the War, the chess club at Hastings reorganized their year-end congress to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hastings (1895). The master section was also intended as a warm-up for the 1946 London A and London B Victory tournaments.
The invited Russian players did not show up and World Champion Alexander Alekhine was not invited because of his Nazi sympathies and the Czechoslovak champion Karel Opocensky arrived two days late. For further reading see William Winter's Was Alekhine A Nazi?
Euwe's 6th and 7th round games were rescheduled so he could return to Holland to visit his sister who was coming home after four years as a prisoner in a Japanese internment camp in Java. The Japanese had occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945.
Chess Review reported that 57 people had made donations totaling $949 toward the expenses of Arnold Denker and Herman Steiner so they could play at Hastings.
The January 1946 edition of Chess Review had a letter from Denker asking, "What has happened to American chess?" He lamented the fact that the country, which had not long before been trounced in a match by the Russians, hadn't produced any great players in recent years because professional chess required a player's full time attention and yet it didn't assure them anywhere near an adequate income. Leading masters were forced to take full time jobs and as a result when they did play, they lacked time to properly prepare. He finished his letter by reiterating his point that professional chess was a full time job and, "The sooner the American chess public realizes this, the sooner we will regain our prestige as the leading nation In the world of chess."
Denker didn't offer a solution to the problem and he certainly realized that with only a couple of thousand USCF members the USCF was unable to offer much support and unlike the Socialist government in the Soviet Union, the US Government wasn't about to pay chess players. Unlike sports fans, we chess players have never been willing to pay $100 for a hoodie, sweatshirt, cap, T-shirt, coffee mug, key chain, folding chair or a hundred other items with our favorite player's name emblazoned on them.
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| Ekstrom |
Ekstrom was an IM at both OTB and postal play. He won the Swedish Championship in 1947 and 1948, the Swedish Correspondence Championship in 1941, 1964, and 1971 and the European Correspondence Championship V, 1967–1971.
Ekstrom was active in Swedish and international OTB play during a short period of just over five years in the 1940s and had some very impressive results. In the late 1940s, he chose to pursue a civil career rather than become a chess professional and concentrated on postal chess.
In the following game Ekstrom demolishes US Champion Arnold Denker.
Arnold Denker - Folke Ekstrom
Result: 0-1
Site: Hastings
Date: 1945.12.28
QGD Semi-Slav
[...] 1.d4 d5 2.♘f3 ♘f6 3.c4 e6 4.♘c3 c6 This is the Semi-Slav which may be reached by a number of different move orders. Black is threatening to capture on c4 and hold the P with ...b7-b5. White can avoid this in a number of ways, usually with 5.e3. 5.e3 ♘bd7 The main line. Other moves are rarely seen. 6.b3 This rather slow move produces a lot of draws. 6.Bd3 or 6.Qc2 are usual. 6...♗b4 7.♗d2 O-O 8.a3
8.♕c2 ♕e7 9.♗e2 b6 10.O-O ♗b7 11.♖fc1 is equal. Hayrapetyan,H (2474)-Pashikian,A (2594)/Tsaghkadzor ARM 2017
8...♗d6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.♗e2 It's rather hard to explain the reason for this passive move as certainly 10.Bd3 seems logical.
10.♕c2 didn't work out well for white in Svana,P (2274)-Dmitrenko,V (2361)/Frydek Mistek CZE 2012. 10...♖e8 11.♗d3 ♕e7 12.b4 ♘e4 13.♗xe4 Better was 13.O-O followed by the advance of the b-Pawn. Now black got a significant advantage after 13...dxe4 14.♘g1 ♕g5
10.♗d3 ♖e8 11.♕c2 White is trying to hinder ... Ne4. 11...♕e7 Black insists on playing it. 12.♗c1 ♘e4 and black has a slight advantage.
10...♘e4 11.O-O a5 No Q-side play for white! 12.♕c2 f5 13.♗c1 White is reduced to passive play because the N can't go to e5, obviously the K-side belongs ot black and white has difficulties playing on the Q-side with b3-b4. Technically the position is equal, but you have to prefer black's chances. 13...♖f6
13...g5 is an interesting idea. 14.g3 ♕e7 15.♗b2 h5 with a promising attack.
14.♗b2 ♕e7 15.♗d3 Now that the R on a1 is defended he could have at least tried for some counteplay with 15.b4. 15...♖h6 16.g3 g5 The storm is brewing! 17.♖fe1
17.b4 Seems to offer white better chances as after 17...g4 18.♘d2 ♘df6 19.♘cxe4 fxe4 20.♗e2 a4 21.b5 White has sufficient play.
17...g4 18.♗xe4
18.♘d2 is met by 18...♘xf2 19.♗xf5 (19.♔xf2 loses to 19...♖xh2+ 20.♔f1 ♗xg3 21.♖e2 ♖h5) 19...♘h3+ and black stands well.
18...fxe4 19.♘d2 ♘f8 All that remains is for black to add this N to the attack. 20.b4 Too little, too late. 20...♘e6 21.♘cxe4 Desperation. 21...dxe4 22.♕xe4 ♘g5 23.♕c2 Obviously trading Qs and entering into a lost ending a piece down cannot be good. 23...♕f7 24.d5
24.e4 was also insufficient. 24...♗e6 25.♕c3 ♖xh2 26.♔xh2 ♕xf2+ 27.♔h1 ♗xg3 wins.
24...♖xh2 The finishing touch to a powerful attack. 25.♘e4 (25.♔xh2 ♕xf2+ 26.♔h1 ♗xg3 is hopeless.) 25...♘xe4
25...♗f5 was even better. 26.♘f6+ ♕xf6 27.♗xf6 ♘f3+ 28.♔f1 ♗xc2 and wins.
26.♔xh2 ♗f5 27.♔g1 ♕h5 28.dxc6 ♘g5 29.cxb7 ♖b8
29...♖e8 was crushing. 30.♕c3 ♗e5 31.♕c4+ ♗e6 32.♕c6 ♘f3+ 33.♔f1 ♕h1+ 34.♔e2 ♘g1+
30.♕c4+ ♗e6 31.♕c6 ♘f3+
31...♕h3 32.♕g2 ♘f3+ 33.♔f1 ♗c4+ 34.♖e2 ♗xe2+ 35.♔xe2 ♕xg2 36.♖c1 ♖xb7 37.♖c4 ♘g1+ 38.♔e1 ♕f3 39.♖c8+ ♔f7 40.♔d2 ♕e2+ 41.♔c1 axb4 42.axb4 ♗xb4 43.♔b1 ♕d3+ 44.♔a1 ♖a7+ 45.♗a3 ♖xa3+ 46.♔b2 ♖b3+ 47.♔a1 ♕b1#
32.♔f1 ♕h1+ 33.♔e2 ♘d4+ 34.♗xd4 ♕xc6 Denker resigned. Powered by Aquarium
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