Moore Mauled by Newlander

     There used to be and still are many players who prefer to avoid or are unable to play in over the board tournaments. 

     For some correspondence chess is just enjoyable or it may be that they are theorists who enjoy searching for objective truth no matter where it leads. Finding the right move in the allotted time of over-the-board play can be difficult and it may spoil the enjoyment of their quest for perfection. A few have excelled in both OTB and correspondence play though. 

     According to Harry Golombek in his Encyclopedia of Chess, the earliest correspondence game was reputedly played between Henry I of England and Louis VI of France. He also lists Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Voltaire as other famous correspondence players. However, the earliest correspondence games for which the moves were recorded took place in 1804 and were between F. W. de Mauvillion of Breda and an officer at The Hague. 

     In correspondence play assistance including books, databases and sometimes chess programs are often allowed. Books and databases are almost universally acceptable, but organizations (and players!) vary as to whether chess engine use is acceptable..

     Most OTB players have never taken correspondence players very seriously. I remember one incident in pre-engine days in which free entry into an OTB tournament was offered to masters and when a correspondence master tried to enter he was denied the free entry. The tournament director's opinion, correct I think even before engines, was that an OTB master and a correspondence master are not the same thing. 

     And, some time in the late 1960s I had a correspondence game published in Chess Review that was annotated by John W. Collins. Ego deflation came when I went to the chess club and only one guy out of about 40 had seen it. "Nice game," he said. 

      I started postal play in the Correspondence Chess League of America, but eventually switched to Al Horowitz' Chess Review. It's amusing how Horowitz posted the results of the tournaments in the magazine. In Chess Review's reporting of postal game results players didn't just win, lose or draw or get a coldblooded 1, 0 or 1/2. No, players got beat, topped, hit, downed, halted, jolted, felled, ripped, licked, mauled, overcome, etc. Often the result rhymed with one of the players' names. 

     Here's a sharp postal game from a Chess Review tournament that was played back in 1952. When looking over those old games it must be remembered that most of them were played by non-masters and the only assistance available in the early days was Reuben Fine's Practical Chess Openings and later Modern Chess Openings. These books were so popular that almost all the published games had the PCO or MCO page, column and note reference listed at the beginning of the game. In the following game enjoy watching Moore get mauled by Newlander.

 

[Event "Chess Review Postal Tmt"] [Site "?"] [Date "1952.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Robert Moore"] [Black "Roger Newlander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C55"] [Annotator "Stockfish 14.1 "] [PlyCount "34"] [EventDate "1952.??.??"] {Two Knights Defense} 1. e4 {Chess Review noted that this opening line was given in Fine's Practical Chess Openings on page 456, column 39, note j.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 {Inviting white to attack f7 with 4.Ng5. If white accepts the offer, the game quickly takes on a tactical character:} 4. O-O {4.Ng5 leads to more interesting play.} Nxe4 {While not as popular as the much more common 4...Bc5 this move has result in considerably more success for black. Also playable is the somewhat drawish 4...Be7} 5. Re1 {The main book line is 5. Nc3, but the best move is 5.Bd5. The logical looking move played is inferior.} (5. Bd5 {is better.} Nf6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Nxe5 {with equal chances.}) 5... d5 6. Bb5 Bc5 7. d4 exd4 8. Nxd4 O-O {This has all been played many times and black is, according to the engines, winning by a wide margin. Even so, white's next move is very bad.} 9. Bxc6 {Unlike in checkers, in chess capture are not obligatory.} (9. c3 {was his best move, but black gets a terrific position after} Qh4 10. Rf1 Bd6 11. g3 Qh3 12. Be2 Nf6 13. Nd2 Ng4 14. Bxg4 Bxg4 15. f3 Bd7 {White, in addition to being a P down, has a very passive position.}) 9... Nxf2 {Collins comment sums it up - Real sharp! It wins.} 10. Qd2 (10. Kxf2 { is refuted by} Qf6+ {Equally good was 10...Qh5+} 11. Kg1 Qxd4+ (11... Bxd4+ 12. Kh1 bxc6 13. Rf1 Bg4 14. Qd3 Qe5 {Here, too, black has a won position, but it's not quite so good as capturing with the Q.}) 12. Qxd4 Bxd4+ 13. Kh1 bxc6 14. Nd2 Bf5 15. c3 Bb6 {Black has a strategically won position.}) 10... Ne4 11. Qd3 (11. Rxe4 {Sacrificing the exchange won't do.} dxe4 12. c3 bxc6 {Black is winning.}) 11... Qh4 {This is even stronger than taking the B.} 12. g3 (12. Rf1 {This isn't really any better.} bxc6 13. Be3 Bd6 14. Nf3 Qh5 15. Nc3 Re8 { and here, too, black has a strategically won position.}) 12... Nxg3 {Of course! } 13. Bxd5 (13. Qxg3 Qxg3+ 14. hxg3 Bxd4+ 15. Be3 Bxb2 {wraps it up.}) (13. hxg3 Bxd4+ 14. Be3 Qxg3+ 15. Kf1 Qf3+ 16. Kg1 Bh3 17. Qd2 Rfe8 18. Bxe8 Rxe8 19. Qf2 Qg4+ 20. Kh1 Bg2+ 21. Qxg2 Qh4+ 22. Qh2 Qxe1+ {wins. It's mate in 16!}) 13... Bxd4+ 14. Be3 (14. Kg2 Bh3+ 15. Kf3 Qg4#) 14... Nf5 {Threatening ... Qxe1+ and the B on e3. White has no hope.} 15. Nc3 Nxe3 16. Rxe3 Qg4+ 17. Kh1 ( 17. Kf2 Qf4+ {also wins.}) 17... Bxe3 {White resigned. Black's R and 2 Ps are just too much to fight against. Moore got mauled.} 0-1