Adams Hoodwinked By Horowitz

     There was a light rain falling when ten players gathered at the home of L. Walter Stephens in Brooklyn on Sunday, September 5, 1943 to play the New York Metropolitan Speed Championship. Samuel Reshevsky won the double round event with an unbeaten score of 16.5-1.5. At ten seconds a move, only Weaver Adams, Isaac Kashdan and Al Horowitz managed to nick him for a draw. 

     They began playing at two in the afternoon and at took a break at 7pm. Play resumed an hour later and at midnight Reshevsky pocketed the princely sum of $40.00, or a little over $600 in today's dollars! In 1943 the average wage was $2,000 a year.

 

     One of the more exciting games was Al Horowitz' crush of Weaver Adams. The game was far from perfect. It's an old story and we can sympathize  Adams who had his redoubtable opponent on the ropes, but lost his way in the tactical melee and ended up losing. There were no Elo ratings in those days, but Chessmetrics retroactively rates Horowitz at 2680 in January, 1943, which places him number 10 in the world. The complications were too much for Adams, a garden variety master, to handle at 10 seconds per move.

Weaver W. Adams - I.A. Horowitz

Result: 0-1

Site: NY Metropolitan Speed Championship

Date: 1943

Vienna Game

[...] 1.e4 White has a theoretical winning advantage according to Adams. World Correspondence Champion Hans Berliner wrote that Adams made an impression on him, but took a slightly different view...he argued in his 1999 book The System that 1.d4 may win by force for white 1...e5 2.♘c3 In 1939 Adams advocated the Bishop's Opening as the best, but soon gave up on it and espoused the Vienna which he claimed should give white a winning game. 2...♘c6 White has four main options against this move: 3.Bc4, 3.f4 and 3.g3. Note that 3.Nf3 transposes to either the Three Knights Game, or if 3...Nf6, the Four Knights Game.

2...♘f6 3.♗c4 ♘xe4 4.♕h5 ♘d6 5.♗b3 ♘c6 6.♘b5 This sharp line has come to be known as the Frankenstein–Dracula Variation and it was Adams' preferred choice, but when he was unsuccessful with it he switched to what he called the Adams Gambit. He explained his repudiation of 6.Nb5 as being anti-positional because it moves a developed piece a second time and masters have long given it up as hopeless.

2...♘f6 3.♗c4 ♘xe4 4.♕h5 ♘d6 5.♗b3 ♘c6 6.d4 The Adams Gambit which he began advocating in 1962

3.♗c4 ♘f6 4.d3 ♘a5 5.♕f3 ♘xc4 6.dxc4 c6 7.♘ge2 d6 8.h3 ♗e6 9.b3 This position is quite equal but with his next move Horowitz spices things up a bit. 9...d5

9...♗e7 10.O-O h5 11.♖d1 ♘d7 12.♘g3 g6 13.♘f5 With equality. In the game Rogers,I (2576)-Howell,D (2416)/England 2005 black continued with 13...Nc5 and eventually drew. He could have safely taken the N though. 13...gxf5 14.exf5 d5 15.fxe6 fxe6 wiht equal chances.

9...a6 10.a4 ♗e7 11.O-O O-O 12.♖d1 b5 13.axb5 axb5 14.♖xa8 ♕xa8 15.cxb5 cxb5 Rogers,I (2569)-Hector,J (2570)/Wijk aan Zee 2003. Here, too, the chances are equal.

10.cxd5 Playing it safe. (10.exd5 cxd5 11.O-O dxc4 12.♕xb7 is to white's advantage.) 10...cxd5 11.♗g5

11.exd5 would have left white with a slight edge after 11...♗xd5 12.♕g3 (12.♘xd5 ♕xd5 13.♕xd5 ♘xd5 14.c4 ♘b4 15.O-O ♘c2 16.♖b1 O-O-O is unclear.) 12...♗c6 13.♕xe5+

11...dxe4

11...d4 would have been more advantageous for black. 12.♘d1 h6 13.♗xf6 ♕xf6 14.♕xf6 gxf6

12.♘xe4 ♗e7 After this white is able to secure a slight advantage. Better was 12...Qa5+ 13.♗xf6 gxf6 14.♘2g3 ♕a5+ 15.c3 O-O-O 16.O-O ♖hg8 Very logical, but the attack turns out to be easily defended against.

16...♕b5 17.♖ad1 ♕c6 18.♘f5 ♗xf5 19.♕xf5+ ♕e6 Here white has a slight positional advantage.

17.♘f5 ♗f8 18.c4 As will soon be apparent, white, though he still stands better after this move, will come to regret not opposing black on the d-file with 18.Rad1 18...♗c5 19.♘eg3 ♗d4 Horowitz' attack is unsound and technically opting for a trade of Qs with ...Qd2-f4 would have been better. 20.♘xd4 This is hard to explain. Was Adams starting to see goblins?

20.♘e7+ was logical and good. 20...♔b8 21.♘xg8 ♖xg8 22.♖ad1 ♕xa2 23.♘e4 f5 24.♘d6 ♕a6 25.♘xf5 ♗xf5 26.♕xf5 ♕g6 27.♕xg6 hxg6 and white is the exchange up, but he must still find a way to win. Here is how Stockfish did it at 17 plies. 28.h4 ♔c7 29.g3 ♔c6 30.♔g2 ♔c5 31.f4 e4 32.♖h1 ♖h8 33.g4 ♖h6 34.h5 a5 35.♔f1 a4 36.bxa4 ♔xc4 37.♔e2 gxh5 38.♖c1+ ♔b3 39.♖c7 ♖f6 40.♖d1 ♗c3 41.♖c1 hxg4 42.♖1xc3+ ♔b4 43.♖c1 ♔a5 44.♖b1 g3 45.♖cxb7 ♔a6 46.♖b8 ♔a7 47.♔e3 ♖g6 48.f5 ♖f6 49.♔xe4 g2 50.♖8b5 and wins after capturing the g-Pawn.

20...♖xd4 21.♕xf6 ♕c5 He could have offered stiffer resistance with ...Rg6 22.♖ae1 ♖xg3 This is unsound, but since he is already strategically lost there is little to lose in taking a chance, especially at 10 seconds a move. Adams gets hoodwinked. 23.♖xe5 (23.fxg3 would lose after 23...♖f4+ 24.♔h1 ♖xf6) 23...♕b6 Now it's safe to take the R, but with only 10 seconds to decide on a move taking it and allowing a discovered check looks too risky. 24.c5 blocking the diagonal the Q is sitting on looks good because after the Q moves he can safely play fxg3.

24.fxg3 Wins after 24...♖f4+ 25.c5 ♖xf6 26.cxb6 ♖xf1+ 27.♔xf1 axb6 With a winning endgame.

24...♖xg2+ This surprise move wins in all variations. 25.♔h1

25.♔xg2 And black has an easy win...the move elegant being 25...♗xh3+ 26.♔xh3 ♕xf6

25...♕c6 26.f3 ♖dd2 Doubled Rs on the 2nd rank...a chance consequence of not having opposed black on the d-file when he had the opportunity. 27.♕h8+ ♔c7 Facing mate Adams resigned. A quick turnaround.

27...♔c7 28.♖g5 ♖xg5 29.♕f6 ♕d5 30.♕e7+ ♔c6 31.♕e8+ ♔xc5 32.♕f8+ ♔b5 33.a4+ ♔a6 34.♕c5 ♕xc5 35.b4 ♖h2+ 36.♔xh2 ♕c2+ 37.♖f2 ♕xf2+ 38.♔h1 ♕g2#

27...♔d7 28.♕g8 ♖xg8 29.b4 ♗xh3 30.♖f2 ♖xf2 31.♖e4 ♗g2+ 32.♔h2 ♕h6+ 33.♖h4 ♕xh4+ 34.♔g1 ♗xf3#

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