Reshevsky Wins 1943 Metropolitan Speed Championship

     The weather was cool with occasional rain in New York City on Sunday, September 5th, 1943. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page headline read that Allied troops had seized 140 miles of Italian coast and the Italian Army troops had hightailed it into the mountains. 

     Hawks were creating problems in Brooklyn. A ten year old boy was hospitalized when he climbed a ladder carrying a .22 caliber rifle and accidentally shot himself in the foot; his nine year old brother on the ladder behind him was uninjured. The boys were going up onto the roof of their home to shoot hawks that had been killing pigeons on the roof. In another hawk related incident, a 22-year-old was given a suspended sentence for firing gun in the city. He had shot at a hawk that had been killing his father's chickens. 

     Frank D. March, the city's Salvage Director, announced that 1,185 women had responded to the waste fats day the previous week at Playland in Rockaway Beach, admission to which was a pound of fat. During World War II, the US government urged Americans to save excess fat rendered from cooking and donate it to the Army to produce explosives. 

     It was also announced that the Brooklyn Navy Yard and factories producing war related products would be ignoring the upcoming Monday Labor Day holiday and workers would not be given the day off. 

     There was plenty of work available in the city, mostly because of the war. The Pickwick Company in Brooklyn ran the following ad: 

 

BOYS OR MEN 

Essential war industry: 60 cents per hour 

plus plenty of overtime at time and a half. 

Apply Tuesday between 10 and 4 ready for work. 

Pickwick Co, 585 Dean St., Brooklyn. 

 

     I don't know what the company produced or the nature of the work, but 60 cents per was worth $9.97 today. Another ad asking for boys and men age 17-45 to perform light factory work was only paying 45 cents per hour, but they promised rapid advancement. Also, as long as she was not over 35 years old an experienced female file clerk could make 58 cents an hour. They did not have any equal opportunity laws in those days! 

     At the home of L. Walter Stephens on that Sunday, U.S. Champ Samuel Reshevsky won the Metropolitan Speed Championship ahead of a galaxy of stars. Playing with poise and equanimity, only Weaver Adams, Isaac Kashdan and Al Horowitz were able to nick him for draws. 

     The event was a double round robin and the moves were played at the sound of a gong which was struck every ten seconds. Play began at two o'clock in the afternoon and continued until the intermission at 7 p.m.; at eight o'clock play resumed and at midnight Reshevsky pocketed the $40 first prize which amounts to the princely sum of $664.75 in today's dollars. Prizes were also awarded to Kashdan, Horowitz, Shainswit and Adams. 

 

 

     Because the war was going on some entrants were in the Army: PFC George Shainswit, Sgt. Jack Soudakoff and PFC Stanley Weinstein. 

     Tartakower was right when he wrote that victory goes to the player making the next to last mistake. In the following see-saw battle Adams got swindled. At the time Al Horowitz was the National Open title holder and the New York State Champion.

[Event "Metropolitan Speed Champ, New York City"] [Site "?"] [Date "1943.09.05"] [Round "?"] [White "Weaver W. Adams"] [Black "I.A. Horowitz"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "1943.??.??"] {Vienna Game} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 {In 1939, Adams wrote White to Play and Win in which he advocated the Bishop’s Opening, but later gave up it and advocated the Vienna instead. Adams always played his published analysis which gave his opponents the advantage of knowing what he was going to play.} Nf6 3. Bc4 Nc6 ( 3... Nxe4 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. d4 {is the Adams Gambit. The idea was to sacrifice another P for open lines and quick development.}) 4. d3 Na5 5. Qf3 Nxc4 6. dxc4 c6 (6... d6 7. Nge2 Bg4 8. Qg3 Bxe2 9. Kxe2 Be7 10. Rd1 O-O { is equal. Rogers,I (2575)-Beliavsky,A (2620) Polanica Zdroj 1996}) 7. Nge2 d6 8. h3 Be6 9. b3 d5 {This turns out to be premature.} (9... Be7 {remains equal.} 10. O-O h5 11. Rd1 Nd7 12. Ng3 g6 13. Nf5 Nc5 14. Ba3 gxf5 15. Bxc5 f4 { Rogers,I (2576) -Howell,D (2416) England 2005}) (9... a6 10. a4 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rd1 b5 13. axb5 axb5 14. Rxa8 Qxa8 15. cxb5 cxb5 {equals. Rogers, I (2569) -Hector,J (2570) Wijk aan Zee 2003}) (9... Nd7 10. O-O f6 11. Rd1 Qc7 12. a4 Be7 13. Ng3 O-O {White is slightly better. Jackson,S (2108)-Okhai,S (2090) St Clement Bay JCI 2018}) 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Bg5 (11. exd5 {stays on course.} Nxd5 12. O-O Nxc3 13. Nxc3 {and white is slightly better.}) 11... dxe4 (11... d4 { gaining space was better.} 12. Nd1 h6 13. Bd2 Qd7 14. c3 (14. O-O {is a mistake.} Qc6 {attacking two Ps}) 14... d3 15. Nc1 Be7 16. Nxd3 Rd8 17. N1b2 Qc6 {and black is better.}) 12. Nxe4 Be7 (12... Qa5+ 13. Bd2 Qd5 {with equal chances.}) 13. Bxf6 gxf6 {Black has two Bs and probably hoped to use the g-file to his advantage, but white's position is preferable.} 14. N4g3 { Adams wants to play a N to f5, but this is the wrong one!} (14. N2g3 {keeps the pressure on.} Qa5+ 15. c3 O-O-O 16. Nf5 {with a slight advantage.}) 14... Qa5+ 15. c3 O-O-O {[%cal Oe6b3]} (15... Bxb3 16. O-O Bd5 17. Qg4 {with equal chances mainly due to black's exposed K.}) 16. O-O (16. Nf5 Ba3 17. Nh6 (17. O-O e4 18. Qe3 Qxf5 {and wins.}) 17... e4 18. Qxf6 Qa6 19. Ng4 Bb2 20. Rb1 Qd3 21. O-O Qxe2 {Black is clearly better.}) 16... Rhg8 (16... Qd5 {[%cal Rd5f3] was better. After} 17. Qh5 Qd3 18. c4 Ba3 19. Rad1 Qc2 20. Nc1 f5 {Black is clearly better.}) 17. Nf5 {This gains white enough time to equalize.} Bf8 18. c4 {[%mdl 8192] This is a blunder because it leaves the N undefended after 18.. .e4, but Horowitz missed it.} (18. Neg3 {keeps the chances even after} Qd5 19. Qxd5 Rxd5 20. Rfd1) 18... Bc5 {Correct was 18...e4 attacking the Q and exposes the N on f5 to a double attack.} 19. Nfg3 Bd4 {After the quiet 19...Kb8 the position would have been equal. Now it's white who gets the advantage.} 20. Nxd4 Rxd4 21. Qxf6 Qc5 {Black is practically losing after this! But, at 10 seconds a move it's tricky.} (21... Rg6 {put up a tougher defense.} 22. Qf3 Rd8 23. Rae1 f6) 22. Rae1 {Here black's e-Pawn is doomed after which white would be left with a winning position. Horowitz' next move is a try at a swindle that should not have been successful.} Rxg3 23. Rxe5 {The refutation of black's attack.} (23. fxg3 Rf4+ 24. Kh2 Rxf6 25. Rxf6 {and black should win.}) 23... Qb6 {Unfortunately for Adams the refutation of Horowitz' attack initiated by 23.Rxe5 has only one continuation that doesn't lose and Adams missed it!} 24. c5 {[%mdl 8192] What a tragedy for Adams, but a triumph for Horowitz!} (24. fxg3 Rxc4+ (24... Rf4+ {fails to win the Q because of the riposte} 25. c5 Rxf6 26. cxb6 Rxf1+ 27. Kxf1 axb6 {and white has a won ending.} ) 25. Kh2 Rc2 26. Qh8+ Qd8 27. Qxh7 {Here, too, white should be able to win the ending.}) 24... Rxg2+ {[%mdl 512] Any other move leaves black with a lost game.} 25. Kh1 Qc6 26. f3 Rdd2 27. Qh8+ Kc7 {A see-saw battle.} (27... Kd7 $142 28. Qg8 Rxg8 29. h4 Bh3 30. Rg5 Rxg5 31. hxg5 Bxf1 32. Kg1 Qxc5+ 33. Kh1 Qxg5 34. b4 Qg2#) 0-1

Asa Hoffmann, Games Master

     In 1965 your Blogmeister was out of touch with the chess world because I was an FMF Corpsman with Weapons Platoon, G Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and in June, we embarked aboard the USS Fremont in Morehead City, North Carolina to begin a Mediterranean training cruise that lasted until November during which time we practiced amphibious landings and participated in field exercises 

     By the time I found out that 13-year-old Henrique Mecking had created a sensation by winning the Brazilian championship it was old news. Nor did I know that one of my favorite players, Mikhail Botvinnik, had been seeded into the 1965 Candidates tournament, but declined to participate because he was resentful that FIDE no longer allowed a return match for defeated world champions. 

     I did not know that IM Vitaly Chekhover (1908-1965) died in Leningrad at the age of 56. Or, WIM Sonja Graf-Stevenson (1908-1965) died of a liver ailment in New York at the age of 56. Or, E. Forry Laucks (1898-1965) died of a heart attack in San Juan, Puerto Rico during the US Open at the age of 67. Or, that IM Fyodar Dus-Chotimirsky (1879-1965) died in Moscow at the age of 86. 

     And, while I was away, Bobby Fischer participated in the Capablanca Memorial in Cuba playing by teletype at the Marshall Chess Club in New York. He tied for 2nd-4th with +12 -3 =6. The US did not have diplomatic relations with Cuba and the State Department would not allow Fischer to travel to Havana. 

      The Eastern Open which had been been held annually since 1960 was played in Washington DC and was won by Pal Benko who scored 7.5 points out of 8. He won his first five games, but was nicked for a draw in round six by Larry Gilden. New York masters Paul Brandts and Asa Hoffmann finished a half point behind. A total of 176 players competed.

     FM Asa Hoffmann (born February 25, 1943) is a chess teacher and author known as "the sparring partner of champions". His peak regular USCF rating was 2471, a Senior Master. He won the New York City junior championship in 1962 and the First Army Championship in 1966. 

     Possessed with a good positional understanding, he is primarily a tactician which made him a dangerous opponent even to top players. As of April 2016, Hoffmann was the top ranked senior blitz player in the US. 

     A colorful figure on the New York City chess scene, Hoffmann is the son of two attorneys who had hopes he would become an attorney also, but after a year at Columbia he dropped out to play chess full time. He made a living playing blitz for money in the clubs and parks of New York City and was good friends with Bobby Fischer. He also started taking on students around the same time. 

     Yasser Seirawan described Hoffmann as "a near legendary figure in the New York City chess world." He has published a memoir with a collection of his games titled The Chess Gladiator. 

     Hoffmann describes himself as a Games Master. Besides chess he also plays backgammon, bridge, scrabble and poker. He was portrayed in the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer by actor Austin Pendleton; Hoffmann declined to participate in the movie, unhappy with the depiction of himself as socially inept and obsessive. 

     His opponent in the following game was Sergei Goregliad (born 1941), a Pennsylvania master who also holds the FM title. At the time the game was played Hoffmann was described in Chess Review as another talented young player. In the game he carries out a sharp attack that is characteristic of his style with the utmost efficacy.

[Event "Eastern Open, Washington DC"] [Site "?"] [Date "1965.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Asa Hoffmann"] [Black "Sergei Goregliad"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "43"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.04.27"] {Sicilian: Sozin Attack} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. f4 {The main move today is 9.Qe2} Na5 { A move of doubtful value because it gives white a free hand in the center. The famous Fischer-Geller game from the Curacao Candidates in 1962 continued 9... Nxd4 10.Bxd4 b5 with fascinating complications; Geller eventually won.} (9... d5 {didn't lead anywhere in Manea,A (2399)-Lupulescu,C (2631) Baile Govora ROU 2017} 10. e5 Nd7 11. O-O Nc5 12. Qe1 f6 13. exf6 Rxf6 {with equal chances.}) 10. Qf3 b6 11. g4 (11. e5 {At the time it was believed this was a promising continuation. Analysis went...} Bb7 12. exf6 Bxf3 13. fxe7 Qxe7 14. Nxf3 Nxb3 15. axb3 {White probably has enough compensation for his Q, but practically speaking it was thought he may have difficulty proving it.}) 11... Bb7 { This is a logical looking move in that it puts pressure on the e-Pawn and the B is on line with white's Q and R. However, it's not quite forceful enough to stop white from seizing the initiative and begin a very strong attack.} (11... d5 12. e5 Ne4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Qh3 Nxb3 15. axb3 Qc7) 12. g5 Nxb3 13. axb3 Nd7 14. h4 {[%cal Bh2h4,Bh4h5][%mdl 32] Notice that black has no pieces poised to defend his K against the brewing attack.} Re8 15. h5 (15. g6 {was suggested at the time the game was played, but it is less promising and, also, more complicated.} fxg6 16. O-O-O Nf6 {Black has shored up the position of his K in this line and so white's attack has fewer chances of success.} 17. h5 Nxh5 18. Rxh5 gxh5 19. Nxe6 Qd7 20. Nxg7 Kxg7 21. Qxh5 Bf6 22. e5 {A fascinating position in which both sides would have had chances. In Shootouts five games were drawn.}) 15... e5 {This allows white's N to reach f5 with disastrous consequences, but black's position was already untenable.} (15... Rc8 {Trying to complicate things and hoping white takes the a-Pawn instead of continuing his attack with 16.g6 was better.} 16. Rxa7 Rxc3 17. bxc3 Qb8 18. Rxb7 (18. Ra1 Nc5 19. O-O Nxe4 20. Qg4 Qc8 {and white's advantage is minimal.}) 18... Qxb7 19. O-O {White is better.}) 16. Nf5 {[%cal Bd4f5,Bf5h6,Bh6f7][%mdl 32]} exf4 17. Qxf4 Nf8 {This is a major mistake, but there really was no way of saving the game.} (17... Bf8 18. O-O-O Ne5 19. Kb1 Rc8 20. Bd4 {and black can only wait for the end.}) 18. Rf1 {[%cal Of5h6] After this black has no good defense against the threat of Nh6+} Qd7 {Allowing a crushing finish, but at best he could have only made things somewhat more difficult for white with 18...Bxg5} ( 18... Bxg5 {was his best chance.} 19. Qxg5 Qxg5 20. Bxg5 h6 21. Bh4 Bxe4 22. Ne7+ Rxe7 23. Bxe7 Bxc2 24. Bxf8 Kxf8 25. b4 {and white wins, but it will require some technique.}) 19. Nh6+ {[%mdl 512]} Kh8 20. Qxf7 {[%csl Gh6][%cal Rf7g8]} (20. Nxf7+ {also wins} Kg8 21. Nh6+ Kh8 22. Bd4 Ne6 23. Qf7 Bxg5 24. Bxg7+ Nxg7 25. Qxd7 Bxh6 26. Qxb7) 20... Ne6 {Losing instantly.} (20... Qe6 21. Rxa7 (21. Qxe6 Nxe6 22. Nf7+ Kg8 23. O-O-O Nc5 {and black can put up some resistance.}) 21... Qxf7 22. Nxf7+ Kg8 23. Rxb7 {and wins}) 21. Qg8+ {[%mdl 512]} Rxg8 22. Nf7# {Very forceful and precise play by Hoffmann.} 1-0

40 Years Back

     In 1982 the cost of gas was 91 cents a gallon and a Commodore Vic 20 computer, one of the best sellers, was $299.95, but in the summer it was replaced by the Commodore 64 which sold for about $200. Before getting too nostalgic over those prices, gas in today's dollars was $2.95 a gallon...not bad. But that Commodore 64 had a memory of 64 kB RAM, 20 kB ROM and cost about $600 in today's dollars. 

     The early 1980s recession was a severe economic recession that affected much of the world between approximately the start of 1980 and early 1983. It was the deepest economic downturn since World War II. In the United States most Americans were very unhappy with the state of the economy. Fifty-four percent blamed President Ronald Reagan’s policies for making their personal financial situation worse. 

     1982 was also the year of the Chicago Tylenol murders when Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide killed 7 people in Chicago and several more deaths resulted in subsequent copycat crimes. One result was the pharmaceutical, food and consumer product industries developed tamper-resistant packaging and product tampering was made a federal crime. 

     A number of chess players were lost in 1982. Ed Edmondson (1920-1982) UCF president from 1963 to 1966 and Executive Director from 1966 to 1975 died in Honolulu, Hawaii while playing chess at the beach. IM o fchess compositions Alexander Herbstmann, IM Lev Aronin, the 1965 Moscow champion, and IM Johan Barendregt died in the Netherlands. 

     A professor of psychology, Barendregt was the victim of IM Raymond Weinstein's attack. After the attack Weinstein was arrested and deported to the United States where he was detained in a half-way house and killed his 83-year-old roommate with a razor after an argument. Deemed incapable of standing trial, Weinstein was remanded to the Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center on Manhattan's Wards Island. 

     Also passing in 1982 were British player 17-year-old Ian Duncan Wells (1964-1982) who drowned on a beach in Rio de Janeiro the day after he finished an international junior tournament. IM Paulino Frydman (1905-1982) died in Buenos Aires and IM William Fairhurst died in New Zealand. He was British champion in 1937 and won the Scottish championship 11 times. 

     British chess authr Richard N. Coles died in West Clandon, England. Finally, British-American chess composer Joseph Edmund Peckover (1896-1982) died.

     1982 was the year Florencio Campomanes (1927-2010), a Filipino political scientist, chess player, and chess organizer was elected to the FIDE presidency. He was a controversial figure. According to the book The KGB Plays Chess, while serving as Vice-President of FIDE Campomanes was recruited as an asset by the KGB. As FIDE President he was accused of helping Karpov retain the world title at all costs. 

     Then in February of 2003, the Philippine anti-graft court convicted Campomanes for failure to account for the Philippine Sports Commission government funds and he was sentenced to one year and 10 months imprisonment, but it was later reduced to a fine. The charges were overturned based upon a technicality...Campomanes was not a government official to whom the anti-graft laws applied and so he had no duty to render an accounting of the missing funds. 

     In early February 2007, Campomanes suffered injuries in a car accident in Antalya, Turkey which resulted in time in an intensive care unit. He died on May 3, 2010, in the Philippines. 

     In 1982, there was no US championship due to lack of funds and Walter Browne and Yasser Seirawan remained co-champions. The tournament resumed in 1983 and was won by Walter Browne, Larry Christiansen and Roman Dzindzichashvili. 

     Also in 1982, National Master Robert M. Snyder started the first regular television show on chess in the United States titled Chess With Robert Snyder; it was aired on cablevision in Orange, California. Snyder became infamous when he was arrested and convicted for multiple sexual assaults involving children dating back to 1983. He was featured on America's Most Wanted after fleeing Colorado while still on supervised probation in 2008. He was found in Belize and on March 30, 2010, after pleading guilty, was given an open (up to life) sentence. 

     On the plus side, GM Lev Alburt lead a contingent of American players in his victory at the Reykjavik International Open. The event was open to foreign players with FIDE ratings of 2300 and above and to Icelandic players over 2200.

     The event was, as it turned out, very much like a miniature Lone Pine. Fifty-four players from 12 countries participated, including 12 grandmasters. 

     Nine Americans made the trip. Lev Alburt (8.5 points), Dmitry Gurevich (7.5), Robert Byrne and Nick De Firmian (7.0), Boris Kogan (6.5), Edmar Mednis, Dr. Karl Burger, Vitaly Zaltsman (all three with 6.0), and Allan Savage (4.0). Also, finishing was with 7.0 points was Leonid Shamkovich who left the Soviet Union in 1975, moving first to Israel, then Canada, and ultimately to the United States. 

     In the following game Alburt defeated one of the early leaders, Helgi Olafsson who came armed with a prepared line, but it was to no avail against Alburt.

[Event "Reykjavik International Open"] [Site "Reykjavik ISL"] [Date "1982.02.15"] [Round "?"] [White "Lev Alburt"] [Black "Helgi Olafsson"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A62"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1982.??.??"] {Modern Benoni: Fianchetto Variation} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 {Alburt is fond of the Catalan which would arise if black plays 3...d5} c5 {Olafsson is an aggressive tactician who has no desire to play the positional Catalan; he prefers the intricacies of the Modern Benoni.} 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bg2 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. O-O a6 10. a4 Nbd7 11. h3 {White usually plays 11.Bf4, or sometimes 11.Nd2 here. The text move prevents a possible ...Ng4 or ...Bg4} Re8 {This is a typical Benoni middlegame. White will try to exploit his space advantage and central P-majority by preparing e2-e4-e5. Black will attempt to hold back the central thrust by controlling e5 and, at at the time mobilize his Q-side with ...b7-b5} 12. Nd2 {[%cal Bf3d2,Bd2c4,Bc4a3,Ba3b5,Bb5a7,Ba7c6] [%mdl 32]} Rb8 13. Nc4 Ne5 14. Na3 {This hinders ...b5 and at the same time avoids exchanges that would ease black's position.} Nh5 {Common today, at the time this was considered a risky plan. Black's Q-side advance is stalled and so he prepares to meet white's central expansion head on hoping to exploit the resulting weaknesses on white's K-side. Note that 15.g4 has been rendered risky.} 15. e4 (15. g4 {Black can play it safe with wither 15...Nf6 or he can play either of two promising tactical lines.} Bxg4 (15... Qh4 16. Ne4 (16. gxh5 Bxh3 {is good for black.}) 16... h6 17. Qe1 f5 {with an unclear position.}) 16. hxg4 Nxg4 17. Qd3 Bxc3 18. Qh3 Nxf2 19. Rxf2 Bd4 {with complications.}) 15... Rf8 {Although 15...f5 had been played here, black had prepared some home analysis; he was following a recent, little-known game of one of his countrymen. However, his best move was probably 15...Bd7} 16. Kh2 f5 {It would have been better to omit this and play 16...d5 at once.} 17. f4 b5 18. axb5 ( 18. fxe5 {allows black at least equal chances after} Bxe5 19. Ne2 Nxg3 20. Nxg3 f4 {Again, the complications are unclear.}) 18... axb5 19. Naxb5 (19. fxe5 { this was played in Birnboim-Arnason (Randers Zonal 1982) which lead to a quick win for black, but in reality the chances are equal after} Nxg3 20. Kxg3 Bxe5+ 21. Kf2) 19... fxe4 20. Na7 (20. fxe5 {When the game was played it was thought that 20 fxe5 Bxe5 gave black a good attack, but, in fact, the position favors white after} Bxe5 21. Rxf8+ Qxf8 22. Nxe4 Rxb5 23. Ra8 {and black has to be very careful.}) 20... e3 {The text attempts to keep white swimming in a murky complications, but he would have done better playing 20...Nf3+} (20... Nf3+ 21. Bxf3 exf3 22. Nc6 Qd7 23. g4 (23. Nxb8 {should be avoided because of} Qxh3+ { mate next move!}) 23... Rb7 24. Rxf3 {White is better.}) 21. Qe2 {This is more clear than the positionally stronger 21.Nc6} Nxg3 22. Kxg3 {Black has a number of candidate moves, but none that are entirely satisfactory.} g5 {This is best because he threatens ...gxf4+ It's also very good because Alburt does not find the best move and lets Olafsson off the hook.} 23. f5 (23. Qxe3 {This si the only move that keeps the advantage.} gxf4+ 24. Rxf4 Rxf4 25. Qxf4 {and white is winning.}) 23... Bxf5 24. Qxe3 Qd7 {[%mdl 8192] This is a game losing mistake. At this point Alburt was in time pressure and the text move is not forceful enough so Alburt is able to consolidate with little trouble.Engines want to play 24...Kh8 followed by 25...g4, but analyst and post-game analysis suggested the immediate 24...g4 which while technically noit the best would have been reasonable considering the fact that Alburt's flag was near falling and it would have been very difficult for him to thread through all of the variations while in accute time pressure.} (24... g4 25. Rxf5 Rxf5 26. Nc6 Qf8 27. hxg4 Nxc6 28. gxf5 Nd4 {White has a winning advantage.}) 25. Nc6 {There is a descrepancy in online databases...they give white's next move as 25.Qxg5 with Olafsson resigning on move 32, but that is incorrect. Ths game was published in the June 1982 edition of Chess Life with notes by Allan Savage and Eric Schiller and the game was taken from the tournament book.} Rbe8 26. Qxg5 (26. Ra7 {would be a serious mistake.} Nxc6 $1 27. Rxd7 Rxe3+ 28. Kh2 Be5+ {and not only is black back in the game, he stands better.}) 26... h6 27. Qh5 Bg6 28. Rxf8+ Rxf8 29. Qe2 Bd3 30. Qe3 Nxc6 31. dxc6 {Alburt sidesteps another pitfall.} (31. Qxd3 Be5+ {and black wins after} 32. Kh4 Ne7 33. Be4 c4 34. Qc2 Rf5 35. Bxh6 (35. Bxf5 Nxf5+ {White has to surrender the Q to delay mate.}) 35... Ng6+ 36. Kg4 Rf4+ 37. Kg3 Rf6+ 38. Kg2 Nh4+ 39. Kg1 Bd4+ 40. Kh2 Rxh6 41. Ra8+ Kg7 42. Qe2 Be5+ 43. Kg1 Qxh3 44. Ra7+ Kf6 45. Qf1+ Nf3+) 31... Qf5 32. Kh2 Be5+ 33. Kh1 Bd4 34. Bd5+ {Olafsson resigned. It's interesting that white's Q and R never moved.It's also interesting that despite his time pressure according to Fritz 17's analysis with Stockfish Alburt's Weighted Error Value of 0.23 is labelled as precise! Black's was 0.83} 1-0

Gandalf Beats the Dean

     The 1979 Lone Pine tournament was the ninth in the series of annual events that were held in Lone Pine, California, and it was a tough one! It attracted 27 Grandmasters and 22 International Masters from 18 countries. 

     Just take a look at the some of the players scoring 5 points: DiFirmian, Biyiasis, Miles, Sigurjonsson, Helgi Olafsson, Brown and Benko. Or, some of the four-and-a-half-pointers: Fedorowicz, Murray Chandler, van Sterren, Quinterois, Ostojic, Christiansen, Janosevic and Norman Weinstein. 

     Even the bottom had some pretty strong players: Lawrence Day (4.0), John Watson (4,0), Kamran Shirazi (3.5), Arnold Denker (3.0) and Rosendo Balinas (2.5). 

 

     Soviet GMs Oleg Romanishin and Vitaly Tseshkovsky were supposed to play, but when Soviet authorities discovered Viktor Korchnoi would be playing, Viktor Baturinsky, Secretary of the USSR Chess Federation, sent a telegram to TD Isaac Kashdan advising him that no Soviet players would be participating. Likewise, World Correspondence Champion Yakov Estrin had previously written to Kashdan stating that he wished to play, but would not be able to do so if Korchnoi would be entered. 

     Prior to Lone Pine, there had been a very strong ten-player double round tournament in Montreal that included Soviet players Karpov, Tal and Spassky and Kashdan stated that it was fairly obvious that Korchnoi was the object of a Soviet boycott and he had not been invited to the Montreal tournament even though organizers had boasted about the inclusion of the world's best players. 

     It was noted that Korchnoi did not look well when he arrived in Lone Pine and he seemed not to have fully recovered from his grueling 1978 world championship match against Karpov that took place in Baguio, Philippines from July 18 to October 18, 1978. Additionally, Korchnoi had been playing in other tournaments and giving simultaneous exhibitions since then. 

     The lead changed hands a number of times, but in the end four players; Liberzon, Gheorghiu, Gligoric and Hort shared top honors, each receiving $8,875 which amounts to $35,145.98 in today's dollars. The prize fund was $45,000 (that's $178,204.96 today) of which $2,700 ($10,692.30 today) was set aside for special game prizes of $200 (792.02 today) and $100 ($396.01 today) in each round, which were awarded to the winners of the "most interesting games (or equally divided between the players if a drawn game was chosen). 

     Below is the winner from the first round. The free-spirited John Grefe was born in Hoboken, New Jersey on September 6, 1947, and passed away from cancer at the age of 66 on December 22, 2013. 

     Grefe was an IM (title award in 1975) and in the 1973 US Championship he tied for first with GM Lubomir Kavalek in the 1973 U.S. Championship. Grefe and Stuart Rachels are the only players since 1948 to have won or shared the US Championship without already having, or later achieving, the GM title. 

     Grefe, who lived in Berkeley, California, and was a follower of the Guru Maharaj Ji and because of his hippie-like appearance he was often called "Gandalf." IM Jeremy Silman has an interesting article on Grefe on Chess.com HERE. 

     The accomplishments of Arnold Denker (February 21, 1914 – January 2, 2005), the Dean of American and US Chess Hall of Fame are too numerous to mention.

[Event "Lone Pine"] [Site "Lone Pine, CA USA"] [Date "1979.03.25"] [Round "?"] [White "John Grefe"] [Black "Arnold Denker"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B10"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "1979.03.25"] {Caro-Kann} 1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Qc7 {An unusual, but interesting move instead of the usual 3...e5.} 4. f4 {Already at move 4 Grefe has taken the game into uncharted waters.} (4. g3 Nf6 5. Ngf3 dxe4 (5... Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 e6 8. Qe2 Nbd7 9. Bg2 Bc5 10. Nb3 Bb6 11. Bf4 e5 12. Bd2 O-O 13. O-O dxe4 14. dxe4 Nc5 15. Nxc5 Bxc5 16. b4 Bb6 17. Bg5 Qe7 18. Rab1 h6 {Draw agreed. Ciocaltea,V (2460)-Meduna,E (2490) Baile Herculane 1982}) 6. dxe4 e5 7. Bg2 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 {with equal chances. Ciocaltea,V (2445)-Marovic,D (2445) Malaga 1981 0-1 (35)}) (4. Ngf3 Bg4 5. c3 e6 6. Qa4 Bh5 7. Be2 Nf6 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Ne4 {Black is slightly better. Kristiansen,J (2445)-Miles,A (2565) Esbjerg 1984}) (4. exd5 cxd5 5. d4 Nf6 6. Ngf3 Bg4 7. Bd3 e6 8. O-O {Blick is only very slightly better. Hegarty,S (1892)-Pafura,G (2105) Hastings 2006}) 4... Qxf4 {Obviously black is going to have to lose time retreating the Q, but he has a P and white's compensation is vague.} 5. Ngf3 Nf6 6. Nb3 Qc7 7. e5 { Black can't be allowed to play ...e5} Ng4 {More solid would have been 7...Nfd7, but in that case black's pieces would be in each other's way.} 8. d4 {White is better here...he is getting ahead of black in development and we can already anticipate a K-side attack.} Bf5 9. Nh4 Bd7 {After this black's game goes downhill...fast!} (9... Bg6 {would be a disaster.} 10. Nxg6 {and white wins a piece.}) (9... g6 {is unsightly, but it offers the best defense.} 10. Nxf5 gxf5 11. h3 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Qxe5+ {with three Ps for a B and an unclear position.}) 10. Be2 Nh6 (10... Nxe5 11. dxe5 Qxe5 {Here black has 5 Ps for a N, but his position is lost. In Shootouts white scored +5 -0 =0. While white's advantage may not be readily apparent to the untrained eye, white won those five games because of better development and the fact that black's was caught in the center. The result was white had a vigorous attack.}) 11. Bxh6 gxh6 12. O-O { This may look dangerous because of a potential black attack down the g-file, but Grefe has rightly concluded there is no danger.} Na6 {Both of black's Ns have ended up facing the same fate. How odd!} 13. Bxa6 bxa6 14. Nc5 e6 15. Qh5 {White's attention is now focused on f7.} Bc8 (15... O-O-O {looks safer than it is.} 16. b4 Be8 17. Rab1 Rg8 18. Qe2 {Headed for the Q-side.} Qb6 19. Nf3 { There's no future on h4 so the N seeks more verdant pastures.} Qb5 20. Qe3 Kb8 21. Nd2 Rc8 {Black is reduced to just shifting pieces.} 22. a4 Qb6 23. Ndb3 { White is slowly building up a winning attack.}) 16. Rf6 Bxc5 17. dxc5 Rb8 18. Raf1 {[%cal Rf6f7]} Rf8 19. Qxh6 Qxe5 20. Qxh7 {[%cal Rf6f7]} Rxb2 21. Rxf7 Rxf7 22. Qg8+ {Facing mate in 2, Denker resigned. In this game Grefe played like Denker did in the old days! What did Stockfish think of Grefe's play? Weighted Error Value: White=0.08 (flawless) /Black=1.00} 1-0

O'Kelly Hammers Heidenfeld

     If you lived in Ireland in 1956, one headline making story was in February when pacifist, feminists and socialist Owen Sheehy-Skeffington, a university lecturer and member of the Irish Senate who was praised as a defender of civil liberty, Democracy, separation of Church and State, freedom of speech, women's rights and minority rights, introduced a motion calling for the prohibition of all corporal punishment for girls in Irish national schools. 

     Today the claim is that corporal punishment is the most widespread form of violence against children. It is defined as any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort. It is, it is claimed, a violation of children's rights, the respect for human dignity and physical integrity. Corporal punishment is a term my father never heard of. 

     In Ireland, starting in July, there was a polio epidemic. Polio, once the most feared of diseases, was terrifying because people didn’t understand why children were falling ill even if they had not been in contact with any other sufferers.

     In many communities certain groups of people, usually immigrants, were the scapegoats, but not always. In New York City in 1916 animals were suspected of spreading the disease and 8,000 dogs and 72,000 cats were killed. Many cities tried to quarantine themselves. Towns in Long Island and New Jersey sent out deputy sheriffs armed with shotguns to guard the roads and turn back cars containing children under the age of 16. 

     By the time of the Irish epidemic in 1956, knowledge about polio had increased, but it wasn’t widely shared. As a result, in August the Gaelic Athletic Association postponed the All-Ireland Hurling and Football Finals due to the outbreak. 

     At the end of November it was announced that gas rationing would be introduced because of the Suez Canal Crisis. In December, at the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Ronnie Delany won Ireland's first gold medal for 24 years. 

     On December 12th, the Irish Republican Army launched an attack in Northern Ireland with the bombing of a BBC relay transmitter, the burning of a courthouse, the burning of an Ulster Special Constabulary post and the blowing up of a half-built British Army barracks. And, a raid on a British Army barracks was repulsed after a brief exchange of fire. 

     Also in 1956, in mid-May, a small international chess tournament was held in Dublin. It was sponsored jointly by the Irish Chess Union and An Bord Failte. An Tostal, meaning The Pageant, was the name for a series of festivals held in Ireland that were inaugurated in 1953 as a celebration of Irish life and it continued on until 1958 when it died out in most cities. The original purpose of the festival was a celebration of Irish culture, with an emphasis upon drawing tourists into the country during the Easter off-season. It was marked by a series of regional parades, arts and sporting events. Many towns also began a clean-up plan. 

     Chess competitions were held as part of An Tostal by the Irish Chess Union from 1954 to 1957. The 1956 Dublin international tournament was the strongest tournament to date to have been played in Ireland. 

 

     The tournament was won by Albrec O'Kelly (May 17, 1911 - October 3, 1980, 69 years old) of Belgium who at the time was an IM; he was awarded the GM title in 1956 shortly after this tournament. As a youth, he took lessons from Akiba Rubinstein and won the Belgian championship thirteen times between 1937 and 1959. O'Kelly was also an International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster (1962) and the third ICCF World Correspondence Champion (1959–1962), chess writer and International Arbiter (1962). 

     His opponent, Wolfgamg Heidenfeld (May 29, 1911 - August 3, 1981, 70 years old), was born in Germany. He was Irish Champion in 1958, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968 and 1972 and South African Champion in 1939, 1945-46 (jointly), 1947 (jointly), 1949, 1951, 1955, 1957 and 1959 (jointly).

[Event "Dublin"] [Site "Dublin"] [Date "1956.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Alberic O'Kelly"] [Black "Wolfgang Heidenfeld"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A52"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "1956.??.??"] {Budapest Gambit} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 {The Budapest Gambit made its debut in 1896, but it received attention from leading players only after Vidmar used it to defeat Rubinstein in 1918. After a brief rise in popularity in the early 1920s it faded from master practice. Back in my tournament playing days I used it occasionally, but with little success. Even if black gets the P back he does not have much to show for it. Recently I tried it a few times in online blitz games and nothing has changed!} 3. dxe5 Ng4 (3... Ne4 {This is the seldom played Fajarowicz Variation in which black aims for rapid development. This is the variation I usually play in blitz. Against the usual 3...Ng5 natural moves by white are pretty easy to find. Against the Fajarowicz this does not seem to be the case.} 4. a3 {Not a bad idea...it prevents the annoying ...Bb4+} b6 {This was my idea, but it was no great improvement.} (4... Qh4 {Caveman chess threatening ...Qxf7 mate} 5. g3 Qh5 6. Bg2 Qxe5 7. Qc2 Nf6 8. Nf3 Qh5 9. Nc3 {While black has been moving his N and Q white has establiched a huge lead in development.}) 5. Nf3 Bb7 6. Nbd2 Qe7 7. Nxe4 Bxe4 8. Qd4 {After this black eqalizes. Annoying (and good for the advantage) were either 8.Bf4 or 8.Bg5} Bxf3 9. gxf3 Nc6 10. Qd5 Qxe5 11. Qxe5+ Nxe5 { Anonymous-Tartajubow Instant Chess 2014}) 4. Bf4 (4. e4 d6 5. Be2 Nxe5 6. f4 Ng4 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. O-O Bd7 9. Nc3 Be7 10. h3 Nf6 11. e5 dxe5 12. fxe5 Ng8 13. Be3 f6 14. Bd3 fxe5 15. Ng5 Nf6 16. Rxf6 Bxf6 17. Qh5+ g6 18. Bxg6+ hxg6 19. Qxg6+ Ke7 20. Bc5# {Samuel Reshevsky-Arnold Denker Syracuse, 1934}) 4... Bb4+ ( 4... g5 {is more enterprising and actually gives black better results!} 5. Bg3 Bg7 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. h4 Ngxe5 8. hxg5 Nxf3+ 9. gxf3 Bxb2 10. Nd2 Qxg5 11. Bxc7 d6 {White is better, but black managed top draw in Shimanov,A (2633)-Durarbayli,V (2608) Merida MEX 2016}) 5. Nc3 Nc6 {Equally good was 5...Bxc3+} 6. Nf3 Qe7 7. Qd5 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Qa3 {The Q ends up misplaced here and so he should have tried the immediate 8...f6, but white remains with the better position.} 9. Rc1 f6 10. exf6 Nxf6 11. Qd2 d6 12. Nd4 (12. g3 O-O 13. Bg2 Qc5 14. Nd4 Ne5 15. O-O Nxc4 16. Qd3 {White is better. Turov,M (2587) -Kristensen, K (2134) Tromso 2013 }) (12. Qc2 O-O 13. Rb1 a6 14. e3 Qc5 15. Bd3 Ne5 16. Bxe5 dxe5 17. Ng5 h6 18. Ne4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 c6 20. Bh7+ {White is slightly better. Savic,D (2082) -Cetkovic,M (2195) Belgrade 2016}) 12... O-O 13. f3 {This white's best move here.} (13. Nb5 Qa5 14. Nxc7 Qxc7 15. Bxd6 {Black is slightly better after 15.. .Qf7. Kowalski,D (1600)-Jordake,M (1571) Erlensee 2007}) (13. e3 {This was played in the game that caused a surge in popularity for the Budapest.} Nxd4 14. cxd4 Ne4 15. Qc2 Qa5+ 16. Ke2 Rxf4 17. exf4 Bf5 18. Qb2 Re8 19. Kf3 Nd2+ 20. Kg3 Ne4+ 21. Kh4 Re6 22. Be2 Rh6+ 23. Bh5 Rxh5+ 24. Kxh5 Bg6+ {0-1 Rubinstein,A-Vidmar,M Berlin 1918}) 13... Ne5 14. e4 (14. Nb5 {is met by} Qa5 15. e4 Be6 16. Nd4 Nxc4 {black is slightly better.}) 14... Qc5 15. Nb3 Qc6 { [%cal Of6e4] White must now prevent ...Nxe4} 16. Bxe5 (16. a3 {...to demonstrate the threat.} Nxe4 17. fxe4 Qxe4+ 18. Be3 Ng4 19. Qd5+ Qxd5 20. cxd5 Nxe3) 16... dxe5 17. Qg5 Re8 18. Be2 h6 19. Qe3 b6 20. g4 {Aggressive play by O'Kelly, but also very dangerous. Fortunately for him Heidenfeld missed the best reply. Either 20.O-O or 20.c5 would have been better and in that case white would have stood a little better.} Be6 21. g5 {Also worth a try was 21. c5, but O'Kelly is going all out for a K-side attack.} hxg5 {This falls in with his opponent's plans. He could have maintained a slight edge with 21...Nh5 } (21... Nh5 22. gxh6 Nf4 {Threatening a nasty fork on g2} 23. Rg1 g6 24. Nd4 Qc5 {and black's position is preferrable.}) 22. Qxg5 Nh7 23. Qxe5 Bxc4 24. Bxc4+ {[%mdl 128]} Qxc4 25. Qd4 Qf7 {Black must keep the Qs on.} (25... Qxd4 { This leads to a lost position.} 26. cxd4 Ng5 27. Ke2 {White has a strategically won ending/}) 26. O-O Rad8 {[%mdl 1024]} 27. Qe3 Rd6 28. Rcd1 Rg6+ {After this logical looking check white gets the advantage.} (28... Rxd1 { keeps the chances equal.} 29. Rxd1 Nf8 30. Kf2 Ne6 31. Rg1 Qh5) 29. Kh1 { Now black should have played 29...c5 to prevent the N from going to d4 and then played ...Nf6 and he would still be in the game.} Ng5 {An ill fated idea!} 30. Rg1 Rf8 31. Nd4 Nxf3 {[%mdl 8192] This is a losing blunder!} (31... Ne6 { was his best chance after which his position, while poor, was at least defensible.} 32. Rxg6 Qxg6 33. Rg1 Qf7 34. Nf5 {White is better.}) 32. Rxg6 { [%cal Od4f5]} Nxd4 (32... Qxg6 33. Nxf3 {simply wins a piece.}) 33. Rxg7+ { [%mdl 512] A nice coup de grace.} Kxg7 34. Rg1+ Kh8 {Black resigned without waiting to get mated in 3 moves.} (34... Kh8 35. Qh6+ Qh7 36. Qxf8+ Qg8 37. Qxg8#) 1-0

Ruth Haring

 

Ruth Haring

     The last post was from 1977 which was also the year that two US women were among a total of twelve women who were awarded the Woman's International Master title; they were Diane Savereide and Ruth Orton. 

     I immediately recognized the name Diane Savereide (born November 25, 1954) who was five-time winner of the US Women's Championship (1975, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1984). But, Ruth Orton didn't ring a bell. However, a quick search revealed that she was better known as Ruth Haring, one of the top US women players in the 1970s and ’80s. 

     Haring played for the national women’s team in five consecutive Olympiads. She was elected to the USCF executive board in 2009 as Vice President and in 2011 was elected President. She served in that position until 2015 and then was on the Board of Directors in 2016. In 2018, she ran as general secretary on Nigel Short's FIDE president ticket. 

     Haring was born January 23, 1955, on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, or was it on an Air Force base in Maine? It depends upon the source, but I am guessing that Maine is correct. That's because Cape Cod is home to Otis Air National Guard Base, but Loring Air Force was a US Air Force installation in northeastern Maine and she later lived in Fairbanks, Alaska which is home to Eielson Air Force Base located approximately 26 miles southeast of Fairbanks. 

     She began playing tournament chess in 1969 while in Fairbanks, and joined the USCF at the age of 14 and first played competitively in when attending college in Fayetteville, Arkansas. After earning her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Arkansas she studied computer science at San Jose State University in California. 

     Her first husband was Bill Orton, who was rated a high Expert or low Master. You can read his comments about Ruth at Chessgames.com HERE.

     After divorcing Orton, she married Peter Biyiasas in 1978, had three children, then divorced again in 2005. During the time she was married to Biyiasis she worked for IBM and later Lockheed, TRW and eBay. I assume that Haring was her maiden name which she used after divorcing Biyiasas. 

     Haring passed away at the age of 63 in Chico, California on Thursday, November 29, 2018, after having gone to the hospital a day earlier with symptoms of pneumonia.

     The 1974 US Women's Championship was held in St, Petersburg, Florida and had the country's eleven highest-rated players who accepted their invitations. The lineup included defending Co-champion Eva Aronson, nine-time Champion Gisela Gresser and five-time Champion Mona Karff, all veterans and holders of the WIM title.

     Also in the lineup were US Women's Open Champions Mabel Burlingame and Kathryn Slater and US Women's Amateur Champion Greta Olsson. The rest of the players were promising young women. 

     Grim determination to play in this event was shown by Judith Rippeth...she endured a 36 hour long non-stop bus ride from West Layfayette, Indiana in order to play! And, Greta Olsson, a school teacher from Los Angeles, California, had to plead her case all the way to her school's superintendent for permission to take time off from her teaching schedule. 

     The tournament was won by US Chess Hall of Fame member Mona Karff who had come out of a short retirement to play and her reentry into competition was a success as her 8-2 score with no losses attests. 

 

     The real surprise of the tournament though was the outstanding performance of the 19-year old Arkansas State College freshman Ruth Haring. She set the pace for most of the tournament without suffering a loss. Going into the final round Haring (7.0 points) and Karff (7.5) points were paired and by taking a draw against her redoubtable opponent, she assured herself of second place. 

     In the the following game Haring's opponent is Joan K. Schmidt. who passed away at the age of 81 in Amherst, Massachusetts on Tuesday, February 1st this year.

Joan K. Schmidt

     Schmidt was born on October 3, 1940 and grew up in the Bronx, New York where she was a gifted student who also had a passion for outdoor activities such as sailing. After graduating from Hunter College in New York City and after draduating from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California she worked for NASA in the early days of the space program before moving back to the East Coast where she met her husband Bernard Schmidt. They raised their family in Florida and South Carolina before settling in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

     Schmidt was an avid chess player and was one of the top 20 US Women players in the early 1970s. She won the Brilliancy Prize at the 1972 US Women’s Championship while finishing 6th in the tournament. She was also the first woman to win a North Carolina tournament. 

     She worked as a lab technician at North Carolina State University and enjoyed, besides chess, gardening, gymnastics and ballroom dancing. She also studied martial arts and earned a black belt in Kempo. After retirement she took a dog-sledding trip for her 70th birthday.

[Event "U.S Womens Champ, St. Petersburg, FL"] [Site "?"] [Date "1974.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Ruth Inez Haring"] [Black "Joan K. Schmidt"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1974.??.??"] {Pirc Defense} 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 Nf6 5. Nbd2 Nbd7 6. Bd3 e5 7. dxe5 Nxe5 8. Nxe5 dxe5 9. Nc4 Qe7 10. O-O O-O 11. a4 {[%cal Ba2a4,Ba4a5][%mdl 32]} c6 {Black has a number of options here.} (11... a5 {Black had no difficulty equalizing after this.} 12. b3 Rd8 13. Ba3 Qe8 14. Qe2 b6 15. Rfd1 Bb7 {Taimanov,M (2425)-Davies,N (2505) Wrexham 1997}) (11... Nh5 {was also good for equality in Fontaine,R (2546)-Nakamura,H (2701) Pori Le Marly FRA 2009 } 12. Re1 Nf4 13. Bxf4 exf4 14. e5 Be6) (11... Rd8 12. f3 Nh5 13. g3 Bf6 14. Be3 a5 15. Qe2 Be6 {equals. Ankudinova,Y (2096)-Utegaliyev,A (2517) Almaty KAZ 2018}) (11... b6 12. b3 Rd8 13. Qc2 Bb7 14. Re1 Rxd3 15. Qxd3 Nxe4 {White is better, but a draw was agreed to in Ribli,Z (2595)-Sax,G (2565) Budapest 1977}) 12. a5 Nh5 13. Re1 Be6 14. Qc2 Bxc4 (14... Nf4 {was a promising continuation.} 15. Bf1 {Keeping the two Bs} Qg5 16. Ra4 Rfd8) 15. Bxc4 b5 16. axb6 axb6 17. Be3 {White has the more active position, but black position is basically solid. } b5 18. Bf1 Nf4 19. b4 {Threatening Bc5.} Qc7 20. Ra2 Qb7 {Black is unaware of the hidden danger on the a-file or she would have exchanged Rs.} (20... Rxa2 21. Qxa2 Qd7 22. Ra1 Bf6 23. Qa7 Qxa7 24. Rxa7 Ne6 {White is slightly better, but owing to the reduced material black should be able yo defend herself.}) 21. Rea1 Rxa2 22. Qxa2 Ne6 23. g3 Rb8 24. Bh3 {Attacking the N on e6...black has no satisfactory defense.} Nc7 25. Qd2 {While there is no forced win, all of white's pieces are very active.} Ne8 (25... Na6 {Prevents white's next move, but it would not have saved the game.} 26. Qd7 Qxd7 27. Bxd7 Nc7 28. Bxc6 { with an easy win.}) 26. Ra7 {The final straw. Black resigned because her Q is trapped. Weighted Error Value: White=0.11 (very precise) /Black=0.60} 1-0

1977 Group Health Incorporated International

     From December 3-22, 1977, the largest (18 players) round-robin international held in the US for 88 years was played, the Group Health Incorporated in New York City. It was sponsored by the American Chess Foundation and conducted by the Continental Chess Association because at that time the United States had many promising masters, but few had opportunities to make the norms required to earn international titles. 

     For Curt Brasket, Larry D. Evans, Ron Henley, Mike Valvo and John Watson this tournament was their first international event. 

     For 13-year old Joel Benjamin, 19-year old John Fedorowicz, 20-year old IM Mark Diesen and 18-year old IM Michael Rohde, they had some previous international experience, but needed more opportunities. 

     Other titled Americans were GM Anatoly Lein and IMs Edmar Mednis and Andy Soltis. Both Mednis and Soltis had one of the two required norms for the GM title.

     It was an especially important tournament for Mednis because his previous norm result (Houston 1974) was about to expire and a couple of months previously he had narrowly missed his second GM norm at a tournament in Yugoslavia. As a result, if he didn't get his second GM norm in this tournament he would remain an IM. 

     Biyiasas had one GM norm, Helgi Olafsson and Roberto Kaimo each an IM norm, so they were hoping to achieve their titles, too. 

     The winner, Anatoly Lein, finally broke out of a long slump and Edmar Mednis scored one of his best results ever, but only came close to his goal of getting the GM title which he was finally awarded in 1980. 

     Anatoly Lein (March 28, 1931 – March 1, 2018) was a Soviet-born American player who was awarded the GM title in 1968. In 1976 Lein, who was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2005, emigrated to the United States, finishing equal first with Leonid Shamkovich in the US Open and equal first with Bernard Zuckerman in the World Open that year. He also played on the US team in the 1978 Olympiad. 

     After arriving in the US, he originally lived in New Jersey before moving to Beechwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Obituary 

     Tied for third place were Gudmendur Sigurjonsson and Vitaly Zaltsman. The 36-year old Zaltsman made the most of his opportunity and gained his first IM norm. 

     Finnish GM Heikki Westerinen "saved" the tournament whose last minute addition made the GM norms possible. Unfortunately, he was also the culprit when he defeated Mednis and ended Mednis' chance at getting the required second norm. He had to wait until 1980 before he was awarded the GM title. 

     Ron Henley, a 21-years old, did surprisingly well after a slow start, but missed the IM norm by one point. He was later awarded the IM title in 1980 and became a GM in 1982. 

 

      In the the following feisty little game, Peter Biyiasas (born November 19, 1950) defeats Filipino Master Roberto Kaimo. Biyiasas was born in Athens, Greece and was awarded the IM title in 1972 and the GM title in 1978. He won the British Columbia championship 4 times between 1968-69 and 1971-72 and was Canadian Champion in 1972 and 1975. He played in two interzonals in 1973 and 1976 and was on the Canadian Olympiad team in 1972, 1974, 1976 and 1978. 

     He immigrated to the US in 1979, working in San Jose, California as an IBM programmer. He played in the US Championship in 1980. Biyiasas retired from competitive play in the mid-1980s. 

     Roberto Kaimo (1943-2016) of the Philippines was a National Master. He was born in Surigao City, Philippines and graduated from F.E.U. in Manila with a Bachelors Degree in Commerce. After graduation he worked for a paint company in the Philippines. 

     He quit his job in order to play in the 1974 Philippine Championship and was among the leaders for much of the tournament, but ended up in 7th place with a score of 11-9. As a result, he was just a half a point short of making the country’s Olympic team. Soon after this tournament he moved to the US where he worked for a chemical company in Newark, New Jersey as an Inventory Manager; he retired in 2006. 

     He passed away at the age of 72 on July 28, 2016 in South Plainfield, New Jersey. He was last active as a player in the year 2000. Kaimo also enjoyed bowling, singing, dancing, and was known as the life of the party.

[Event "New York GHI"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1977.12.??"] [Round "7"] [White "Peter Biyiasas"] [Black "Roberto Kaimo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E17"] [Annotator "Stockfish 14.1"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "1977.??.??"] {Queen's Indian} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 {By playing this white avoids the Nimzo-Indian (3.Nc3 Bb4), but in both openings black's aim is to hinder white's efforts to gain full control of the center by playing e2–e4.} b6 { With this move black increases his control over the center squares e4 and d5.} 4. g3 {This is the Main Line in which white contests the long diagonal.} Bb7 { This was the usual response back in the 1970s, but 4...Ba6 has since supplanted it. Less usual is 4...Bb4+ with which black aims to exchange his less useful dark-squared B.} 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 d6 8. b3 Nbd7 9. Bb2 Ne4 10. Qc2 Nxc3 11. Bxc3 {[%cal Of3g5]} f5 {An aggressive move that's part of the plan to control e4. 11...Nf6 was safe and solid.} 12. d5 {Biyiasas responds sharply. Instead, he could have played the thematic 12.Ne1 with the idea of exchanging off the light squared Bs.} e5 {After this white seizes the initiative. 12...Bf6 would have equalized.} 13. Bh3 (13. Nd2 {as played in Petrukhina,O (2166)-Klichev,M (2227) Korolyov 2019 proved to be ineffective in that it allowed black to proceed unhindered.} Bc8 14. b4 Qe8 15. Nb3 Nf6 16. a4 Qh5 17. f3 f4 {with the initiative and a slight advantage.}) 13... g6 14. e4 fxe4 (14... f4 15. b4 Bc8 16. Be6+ Kg7 17. g4 h6 18. h3 Nf6 19. Bxc8 Qxc8 20. Kh2 Nxg4+ 21. hxg4 Qxg4 {and a draw was agreed to in Zhou,J (2635)-Wang,Y (2723) Shenzhen CHN 2016}) 15. Nd2 {Best as the Q would be exposed after 15. Qxe4} (15. Qxe4 Nc5 16. Qe3 Bc8 {The B no longer has any future on b7.} 17. Bxc8 Qxc8 {and black's Q is in position to try and drum up play on the K-side.} ) 15... Nf6 {[%cal Oe4e3]} 16. Nxe4 {Also good was Be6+} Bc8 17. Bxc8 Qxc8 18. f4 {[%cal Bf2f4,Bf4e5,Be5e6][%mdl 32]} Ng4 (18... Nxe4 {getting rid of the dangerous N on e4 was a better try.} 19. Qxe4 Qg4) 19. fxe5 Rxf1+ {[%mdl 8192] This move looks quite natural, but it turns out to be a deadly mistake that weakens black irreparably on the f-file.} (19... Nxe5 {is a better defense.}) 20. Rxf1 Ne3 {This fork that wins the exchange turns out to be of no use.} ( 20... Nxe5 {was better, but not by much. After} 21. c5 bxc5 22. Bxe5 dxe5 23. Qc4 Bd6 (23... Kh8 24. Rf7 Qe8 25. d6 cxd6 26. Qe6 Bh4 27. Nf6 {Black has no good move.}) 24. Nf6+ Kh8 25. Qh4 {White wins.}) 21. Qf2 {White threatens Qf7+ and mate.} Nxf1 {This eliminates the threat of Qf7+, but allows white a mate in 7} (21... Nf5 {doesn't save the game either.} 22. e6 h5 {He can only delay, not prevent, g4.} 23. h3 Qf8 24. g4 hxg4 25. hxg4 Nh6 26. Qd4 {wins}) 22. e6 { Black resigned. Flawless play by Biyiasas! Weighted Error Value: White=0.07 (flawless) /Black=1.06} (22. e6 Qxe6 23. dxe6 Rf8 24. Qd4 Bf6 25. Nxf6+ Kh8 26. Nd5+ Rf6 27. Qxf6+ Kg8 28. Qg7#) 1-0

Reshevsky Traps Najdorf

     The 10th Olympiad took place between August 9 and August 31, 1952, in Helsinki, Finland. It was especially notable because it was the debut of the Soviet team, who won the gold medal and went on to dominate the Olympiads for the next forty years. 

     Twenty-five teams were entered and were divided into three preliminary groups of eight or nine teams with the top three from each group advancing to the Final A. Fourth-sixth places played in the Final B and the rest in the Final C. 

     The Olympiad was a collection impressive talent that included nearly two dozen GMs, which was a lot in those days. Even without World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik who was missing due to illness, the Soviet team (Paul Keres, Vasily Smyslov, David Bronstein, Yefim Geller, Isaac Boleslavsky andf Alexander Kotov) dominated the event.

     The USA team (Samuel Reshevsky, Larry Evans, Robert Byrne, Arthur Bisguier, George Koltanowski and Hans Berliner) had no illusions about the nature of their task. 

     They got off to a promising by downing Argentina. Then in the second round they met the Russians. Byrne turned back Bronstein. Reshevsky (vs. Keres) and Bisguier (vs. Geller) drew and Evans lost (to Smyslov) and so the match was tied.

     The next two rounds (against Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia) were drawn. Thus, as far as the United States was concerned, it had met its strongest rivals and had every reason to be satisfied with the result. 

     The team's play in the later rounds was steady, but they started a slow slide as a result of missing a vital point here and there and gradually allowed other teams pass them in the standings. 

 

     The hero of the American team was Robert Byrne who scored +5 -0 =3. Reshevsky also did reasonably well scoring +3 -1 =3. Unfortunately, the play of Evans and Bisguier was not up to their usual standard especially when they were bumped up to a higher board. 

     Miguel Najdorf of Argentina finished with the best score on board one, so he clearly was in excellent form and yet in a routine position he fell into an obvious and elementary trap against Reshevsky.

[Event "Olympiad Final A, Helsinki"] [Site "Helsinki FIN"] [Date "1952.08.21"] [Round "?"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "Miguel Najdorf"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E95"] [Annotator "Stockfish 14"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "1952.08.21"] {King's Indian Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nbd7 {[%cal Bb8d7,Bd7c5,Bc5e6][%mdl 32]} 8. Re1 c6 9. Bf1 Re8 10. Rb1 {This move, which received extensive testing at Helsinki, was Reshevsky's improvement over 10.d5 which was common at the time. Today it is the only move played in this line. The advantage of 10.Rb1 is that it maintains the tension in the center. Additionally, the R move lessens the effect of black's flanchettoed B and may also serve as a preparation for b2-b4 expanding on the Q-side.} exd4 11. Nxd4 Nc5 12. f3 a5 13. Be3 Nfd7 14. Qd2 a4 15. Nc2 (15. b4 { The standard move today.} axb3 16. axb3 Ne6 17. Nxe6 Rxe6 18. Na4 Qc7 19. Red1 {with an excellent position. Zakharevich,I (2463)-Andreikin,D (2532) Sochi 2007 }) 15... Be5 16. Bd4 (16. Ne2 {Was played earlier in Barcza,G-Eliskases,E Saltsjobaden 1952 which continued} Qc7 17. Nf4 Nf8 18. Nb4 Qa5 19. Nbd3 Qxd2 20. Bxd2 Nxd3 21. Nxd3 {with an equal position.}) 16... Ne6 17. Bf2 Qf6 18. Ne2 {The position is equal and the purpose of this move is to support repositioning the N on c2 to d4. The fact that it also contains a trap that Najdorf falls into is an unexpected bonus!} Bxb2 {[%mdl 8192] This loses. After either 18...Ndc5 or 18...Nf4 the position is equal,} 19. Rxb2 {[%mdl 512]} Qxb2 20. Nc3 {Trapping the Q. There is no defense to the threat of 21.Rb1 and so the game is over, but Najdorf plays a few more moves to avoid having been victim of a miniature.} a3 21. Rb1 Ndc5 22. Rxb2 axb2 23. Nb4 {[%cal Bc2b4,Bb4d3,Bd3b2][%mdl 32]} Na4 {Played with the forlorn hope that white plays 24.Nxa4 or allows ...Nxc3 either of which remove the coverage from b1 so the P can queen.} 24. Nb1 Bd7 25. Nd3 b5 26. cxb5 cxb5 27. Nxb2 {Black resigned.} 1-0

1948 New Zealand Championship

     Quick! Name five New Zealand chess players. I could only come up with two: Robert G. Wade (1921-2008) and Ortvin Sarapu (1924-1999), known as "Mr. Chess" to New Zealanders. 

     Thanks to a couple of books by C.J.S. Purdy I had heard of the name Saul Goldsmirh (1911-1988), an importer and merchant from Wellington, New Zealand who was also involved in the country's politics. I did not know it, but the English player Murray Chandler (born 1960) was born in Wellington, New Zealand. William A. Fairhurst (1905-1982) was born in England, but business interests caused him to move to New Zealand around 1970 and he retired there. 

     Back issues of magazines of the New Zealand Chess Federation was a gold mine containing the names of many unheard of players and their games. 

     The first chess club in New Zealand was formed in September 1863 in Dunedin. The New Zealand Chess Association came into being in the 1870s. The association, re-founded in 1892, conducts the annual championship. New Zealand was one of the earliest countries to make use of the telegraph to play interclub matches in 1866. 

     In 1938, writing in the New Zealand Chess Gazette, R.O. Scott, the champion of Wanganui, wrote that it was not possible to compare the New Zealand chess standards favorably with that of other countries because of the country's isolated position, but things were changing because there existed a greater number of first class chess books than were formerly available to New Zealand players. 

     The 1948 New Zealand Championship saw introduction of the Swiss System in five preliminary rounds as a means of selecting the Championship finalist and determining the players in the other sections. 

     In Dunedin, the summers are cool, the winters are short and very cold and it is windy and partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 39°F to 64°F and is rarely below 34°F or above 72°F. In 1948 the tournament started on December 26th and players arrived in town expecting the typical cool weather for the summer with its share of hail, rain and wind, but instead they were surprised to be greeted by such fine weather that many players shed themselves of ties, coats and pullovers. That was a time when men often wore suits in public. Many made do with older suits from the 1930s. Suit vests fell out of favor as an excess use of fabric. New suits were made with a wool-rayon blend instead of wool and often with patterned (especially striped) fabric. 

 

     In the following game played in the fifth round, Lang, made a solid bid to take a point from Wade who was leading. Lang came out of the opening with a very promising position, but mishandled the postion and in the end allowed Wade to win a game he shouldn't have. Lang was the joint New Zealand champion in 1954. He was also prominent in the country's correspondence chess organization.

[Event "New Zealand Championship, Dunedin"] [Site "?"] [Date "1948.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "J.F. Lang"] [Black "Robert Wade"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Stockfish 14.1"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "1948.??.??"] {QP Opening} 1. d4 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Bd3 c5 4. c3 Qc7 5. Nd2 {Wade believed that Lang was intending to play the Stonewall with 6.f4 which explains his next move.} (5. f4 Nc6 (5... g6 {The fianchetto is a safe, solid way to meet both the Stonewall and the Colle Attack.} 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. O-O Bf5 8. Bxf5 gxf5 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 {Equals. Herzog,A (2350) -Petschar,K (2325) Austria 1994}) 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. O-O e6 8. h3 Bf5 9. Bb5 Bd6 {black is better. Jovicic,R (2184) -Zmijanac,D (2127) Belgrade 2016}) 5... e5 {Unusual, but not bad. Normally black would play 5...Bg4 or 5...g6} 6. dxe5 Qxe5 7. Ngf3 Qc7 {A tempo has been the cost of preventing white from playing the Stonewall, but now he has the advance of the e-Pawn available as in the Colle.} 8. e4 {Even after this advance white has no more than equality.} Nc6 9. O-O (9. e5 {was tempting.} Nd7 10. O-O {Black wins the e-Pawn, but it gains him nothing because after} Ndxe5 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Re1 Be7 13. Bb5+ Nc6 14. Qh5 {equals.}) 9... Bg4 {This turns out to be a not so good idea.} (9... Be6 10. exd5 Bxd5 11. Re1+ Be7 12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 Bxe4 14. Rxe4 Rd8 15. Qe2 O-O {with about an even position.}) 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Re1+ ( 11. Qa4 {was a promising alternative.} Be6 (11... Bd7 12. Qe4+ Nce7 13. Bc4 Bf5 14. Bb5+ Kd8 15. Qe2 Nf4 16. Qe1 Kc8 17. Nc4 Nd3 18. Qe3 {white is better.}) 12. Ng5 O-O-O 13. Nxe6 fxe6 14. Bb5 Bd6 15. Bxc6 Qxc6 16. Qxc6+ bxc6 17. Ne4 { white is better.}) 11... Be7 12. Ne4 {The move 12.Qa4 was still good.} O-O-O { Even though white's pieces are aimed at the K-side this is not as good as 12... O-O as Lang now shows.} (12... O-O 13. Neg5 Nf6 14. Qc2 h6 {and white has no more than equality because black 's defensive resources are adequate.}) 13. Ng3 h6 (13... Nf4 {Wade believed this led to white getting the better game. However, after} 14. Bxf4 Qxf4 15. Re3 h5 {white does not have anything... neither does black.}) 14. h3 Be6 {[%cal Od5c3]} 15. Qc2 {[%mdl 8192] Wade thought this was a good move because the square f5 is a vital square to exchange off black's pieces, hinder black from launching a K-side P-storm and at the same time attack black's K. He was correct about it being a vital square, but white's taking time to add the Qs support to f5 was incorrect.} ( 15. Bf5 {At once is correct.} Nxc3 16. Qc2 Nd5 (16... Bxf5 17. Qxf5+ Qd7 18. Qxd7+ Rxd7 19. bxc3 {White has a decisive advantage.}) 17. Bxe6+ fxe6 18. Nh5 Bd6 19. Qg6 Rhg8 20. Rxe6 {with complications in which both sides have chances. }) 15... Nf4 {Wade was willing to allow a weakening of his K-side Ps in order to obtain some rather vague attacking chances. Unfortunately for him, he missed an excellent opportunity to gain a solid advantage.} (15... Ncb4 { [%mdl 512] After this life is good for black.} 16. cxb4 (16. Qe2 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Nxd3 {Black is better.}) 16... Nxb4 17. Qe2 Nxd3 {Here, too, black has an excellent game.}) 16. Bf5 g5 17. Qe4 {Wade was happy to see this as he feared 17.Bxf4, but 17.Qe4 is hardly a mistake.} (17. Bxf4 gxf4 18. Nh5 Bd6 19. Rad1 Bxf5 20. Qxf5+ Kb8 21. Qe4 {White stands well thanks to black's weak Ps.}) 17... Kb8 18. Bxf4 {Equally good was 18.Bxe6} gxf4 19. Nh5 Bd5 20. Qxf4 { White might have done better by keeping the Qs on and playing 20.Qe2} Bd6 { One gets the feeling that Wade believed he was attacking, but the fact is that the position favors white after this move. It would have been to black's advantage to trade Qs and go into an ending.} (20... Qxf4 21. Nxf4 Bxf3 22. gxf3 Bg5 {with an equal position.}) 21. Qe3 Rhe8 {Speaking of white's next move Wade commented, "Perhaps 22.Qxe8 was best," Indeed, white would have been vastly superior. A safer move for black would have been 21...Ne7, but at the same time this move sets a little trap.} 22. Qd3 (22. Qxh6 {This is inadequate. } Rh8 23. Qe3 Rxh5 {with a piece for two Ps.}) (22. Qxe8 {There is no good way to meet this move because black's Q is unable to cope with the activity of the Rs.} Rxe8 (22... Be7 23. Qxd8+ Bxd8 24. Rad1 Bxf3 25. gxf3 {White won all five Shootouts.}) 23. Rxe8+ Nd8 24. Nf6 Bc6 25. Rd1 {White's pieces are beginning to swarm all over black.} a6 26. Ne5 Ka7 {Has black gained some breathing room? } 27. Nxc6+ Nxc6 28. Be4 {In this position, too, white scored five Shootout victories.}) 22... c4 23. Qc2 (23. Qxd5 {is an obvious blunder.} Bh2+ 24. Nxh2 Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Rxd5 26. Ng3) 23... Bxf3 24. gxf3 {It would have been safer to eliminate one of the Rs first with 24.Rxe8+} Rg8+ 25. Bg4 {White is lost, but in the long run it would have been better to get out of the pin with 25.Kf1} Ne5 26. Kf1 Nd3 {Not only is the N on a strong square, white's Q is shut out of the game. White must now prevent ...Bc5. Black is clearly winning.} 27. Re4 Bc5 28. Rxc4 f5 {Black is trying to get his Q to h2 deciding the game.} 29. Nf4 {Giving up a piece, but it is his best move. That being the case, you know white's position is really bad!} Nxf4 30. Qxf5 Nd3 {In order to play . ..Qh2} 31. Kg2 {Prevents Qh2+.} b5 32. b4 bxc4 33. bxc5 Qxc5 34. Rb1+ Ka8 35. Qxc5 Nxc5 36. f4 {Giving up and why not? He is a R down.} h5 {White resigned.} 0-1