Friday, July 2, 2021

A Strong Finale By Milton Otteson

     The Minnesota State Chess Association has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1894. 
     In 1900 the MSCA organized and conducted the Northwestern Open Chess Championship which later came to be called the Western Open. In 1939 the Western Chess Association merged with the American Chess Federation to form the United States Chess Federation and the Western Open was renamed to the US Open. The most famous members of the Minnesota Chess Hall of Fame are Louis Uedemann and Curt Brasket. 
     One well known Minnesota master was Milton Otteson who is best remembered for his 1957 victory over Bobby Fischer. His son Walter Otteson was a member of the University of Minnesota team that won the Midwestern InterCollegiate Tournament at Iowa City in 1962. 
     The 1949 Minnesota championship was held in Minneapolis and was won by the 16-year Milton Otteson in tiebreaks over Dr. Giles Koelsche, a former state champion. 
 
Leading scores: 
1-2) M. Otteson and G. Koelsche 5.5 
3-5) William Jones, W. Kaiser and George Barnes 4.5 
6-8) Carl E. Diesen, L. Narveson and R.R. Gueydan 4.0 
 
     Giles Koelsche shared the prize for the best performance by a player aged 60 or over at the 1972 American Open in Santa Monica, California. A medical doctor, Koelsche of Rochester, Minnesota, was a past President of the American College of Allergists. He contributed to and wrote many articles on asthma allergies in medical journals from the late 1940's up to the early 1970's. 
     The following game between Otteson and Koelsche is presented for no other reason than it has a strong finale by Otteson.

Dr. Giles Koelsche - Milton Otteson

Result: 1-0

Site: Minnesota State Championship

Date: 1949

English Opening

[...] 1.♘f3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.b3 ♗f5 4.♗b2 e6 5.g3 ♘f6 6.♗g2 ♘bd7 7.O-O ♗d6 8.d3 h6 9.♘bd2 O-O
9...♗h7 10.e4 dxe4 11.♘xe4 ♗e7 12.♕e2 O-O Zalkind,K (2185)-Sole Pijuan,F (2306)/Escaldes AND 2018 is equal.
10.cxd5
10.♕c2 ♗h7 11.a3 a5 12.♖fe1 ♕e7 13.e4 dxe4 14.dxe4 Black has equalized. Cekro,E (2443)-Maenhout,T (2304)/Belgium 2007
10...cxd5
10...exd5 11.e4 ♗g4 12.h3 ♗xf3 13.♘xf3 ♖e8 White is slightly better. Bogoljubow,E-Staehelin,A/Bern 1932
11.e4 ♗g4 12.♖e1 ♘e5 13.♕b1 ♘xf3+ 14.♘xf3 dxe4 15.dxe4 ♗c5 16.♕c2 ♖c8 17.♕e2 ♕e7 18.h3 ♗h5 19.g4 ♗g6 20.♘e5 ♘d7 21.♘d3 ♗b6 22.a4 ♘c5 23.♗a3 ♕h4 Are you bored with all this positional maneuvering...I know I am. Now all white has to do to keep the boredom going is capture on c5. Instead he makes a tactical mistake. 24.♘e5 After this black's pieces explode to life. 24...♘xe4 25.♗xe4
25.♘xg6 fxg6 26.♗xf8 ♗xf2+ 27.♔h2 ♖c3 28.♗d6 Preventing the Q check on g3 (28.♗b4 allowed mate in 3 28...♖xh3+ 29.♗xh3 ♕g3+ 30.♔h1 ♕xh3#) 28...♘xd6 29.♕f1 (29.♕xe6+ ♔h7 30.♕xd6 ♗g3+ wins) 29...♗xe1 30.♕xe1 ♕xe1 31.♖xe1 ♔f7 black wins the ending.
25...♗xe4 26.♖a2 (26.♕xe4 ♕xf2+ 27.♔h1 ♖c2 is fatal for white.) 26...f5 Missing a mate in two, but he is still winning after this. (26...♕g3+ 27.♔f1 ♕g2#) 27.♔h2 ♖c3 Mates abound in this position! 28.♕f1
28.♘d3 ♖xd3 29.♕xd3 ♗xd3 30.♗xf8 fxg4 31.♗d6 ♗xf2 32.♔g2 ♗xe1 33.♔g1 ♗c3 34.♖g2 ♗d4+ 35.♔h1 ♗e4 36.♗g3 ♕xh3+ 37.♗h2 ♗xg2#
28...fxg4 29.♘xg4 (29.♖e3 ♖xe3 30.f3 ♖exf3 31.♘xf3 ♖xf3 32.♕xf3 ♗xf3 33.♗c5 ♗xc5 34.a5 ♕xh3#) 29...♖ff3 (29...♖xf2+ 30.♔g1 ♕g3+ 31.♕g2 ♕xg2#) 30.♖xe4
30.♘f6+ ♕xf6 31.♖xe4 ♗xf2 32.♗d6 ♗g1+ 33.♔g2 ♖xf1 34.♖f4 ♖xf4 35.♗xf4 ♕xf4 36.♔xg1 ♕g3+ 37.♔f1 ♖f3+ 38.♔e2 ♕g2+ 39.♔d1 ♖f1#
30...♖xh3+ 31.♔g2 (31.♕xh3 ♕xh3+ 32.♔g1 ♖g3#) 31...♕g3+ White resigned
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6 comments:

  1. It would make more sense - given the dates - that the Ottesons you mention were the same person

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  2. Indeed, I got the Ottesons a bit mixed up! According to Australian player and chess historian, Graham Clayton, Milton was Walter’s son. On the 1962 USCF rating list Milton’s rating was 2189 and Walter’s was only 1541.

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  3. Milton was my first cousin (the son of my father's twin) and before he died played with my six year old daughter over the phone. Milton's daughter relates that Fischer was rude (making fun of his name) and underestimated him. Milton was indeed Walter's son.

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    Replies
    1. I knew Milton Otteson during the 1990s. He lived in the San Diego area and had changed his name to Alexander London. He ran the non-USCF-affiliated La Jolla Chess Club. Lost touch with him about 20 years ago or so. I thought he was a very nice man, and I am sorry to learn that he has passed away. I hope you can share more details with me.

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  4. Milton was my first cousin (the son of my father's sister). He told his daughter that Fischer was extremely rude and made fun of his name. Fischer also underestimated him and was surprised by the defeat. Milton played by six year old daughter over the phone shortly before he died.

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  5. David - can you shed any light on 'Alexander London' ?

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