What Software to use?

     A couple of days ago a reader contacted me asking for a recommendation, Fritz or ChessBase? 

     I have on my laptop Fritz 12, Fritz 17, ChessBase 16, Chess Assistant 18, ChessOK Aquarium and Aquarium 2020. 

     Back in January I posted that I had been spending some time fiddling around with ChessBase 16 and it wasn't until February that I figured out how to publish games using the program. 

     At the time I mentioned that one reader had asked about downloading a pgn of the posted game, but at that time it wasn't possible. I was using two different programs (Fritz 12 to analyze and ChessOK Aquarium to post) and downloading a game from the blog was not an option. Later I discovered that Fritz 17 and ChessBase 16 both make publishing games very easy and they can be downloaded so I have been using Fritz 17.

     When it comes to Fritz and ChessBase there is some overlap of functionality, but each has a specific focus on what they are used for. Fritz focuses on playing against it, giving you hints and, if you can tolerate it, talking to you and playing music. Fortunately, you can silence it. 

     Fritz will do a complete analysis of your game and will let you add your own annotations. The full analysis inserts opening variations based on the games it finds in whatever database you instruct it to look into and it will find tactics that you missed. You can search databases for exact positions, players and a number of other criteria. 

     ChessBase is very similar to Fritz in many respects, but its emphasis is on database management, opening preparation and training. If you are a pro or a serious player wanting to improve then ChessBase would probably be your best choice. 

     If the improvement ship has sailed for you then Fritz is the best choice. If you want to publish games in a blog then either program works very well. 

     The only problem I have with ChessBase is that when posting a game in Blogger it has some weird numbers at the beginning of the post. I have ho idea what they are, but noticed a similar thing when posting games using Aquarium; the solution was simple, just delete them in Blogger as they seem to have zero purpose and they they do not effect the output. 

     Pricewise, the ChessBase Starter edition costs $199.95 and the Premium edition $469.95. Depending on where you purchase it, Fritz 18 (the latest edition) cost about $90.

    On the other hand, Chess Aquarium 2022 only costs $44.95. Needless to say, you can download and use the latest Stockfish engine. 

     I was primarily interested in Aquarium because of its Interactive Deep Analysis (IDeA) feature. This feature is similar to the Infinite Analysis feature found in all the programs. IDeA stores the analysis in an analysis tree. The tree is saved and you can browse it even while the analysis is in progress. Interesting lines are analyzed deeply but weak moves are only considered briefly or not at all. In the Infinite Analysis mode, once you stop it, that's it...the analysis disappears. Personally, for my purposes the IDeA analysis feature did not turn out to be something in which I was interested. 

     One significant disadvantage that precluded my using using Aquarium 2020 instead of ChessOK Aquarium to publish games was that the with former the game moves appeared using weird characters. While that had no effect on playing through the game, it looked odd. 

     There were a couple of times I contacted Aquarium for help when installing the program (user error it turned out!) and their response was quick and helpful. However, when I inquired about the weird characters in the game score they never responded. 

     What about Chess Assistant? It's up to version 22 which sells for $94.95. It, too, is a program to manage games and play online, but it is primarily for managing databases. 

     Personally, I do not care for the appearance of its GUI and I find using it a bit klutzy, but that may be because I am a long time Fritz user. 

     In closing, for most average players who want to play, analyze or do basic database operations (create and search) Fritz will fill the bill at a reasonable cost. For those on a budget, Aquarium will also work very well. 

     For those who have a serious interest in analyzing, studying, building an opening repertoire and working with databases then ChessBase is the best, but I can recommend Chess Assistant if you are on a budget.

A King Hunt By Falkbeer

     The other day I was browsing The Golden Treasury of Chess by I.A. Horowitz. The book was first published in 1943 and reprinted several times. I received my copy as part of a birthday present from my brother in 1957. I no longer have that copy, but an updated edition that has 322 games up to 1966. 

     It's fun to dip into it once in awhile and the other day I discovered a game featuring an awesome King hunt. It was new to me, but it's well known to lots of other enthusiasts, but if you haven't seen it before be prepared to be awestruck. 

     I couldn't find out much about the loser or the circumstances under which it was played, but it was apparently an offhand club game played back in 1853. That was the year presidency of Millard Fillmore ended and Franklin Pierce was sworn in on March 4th. As far as I know, both are about as obscure as the loser in today's game! On April 18th Pierce's Vice President, William R. King, died of tuberculosis in Selma, Alabama, without having carried out any duties of the office. 

     Levi Strauss and Company was founded in San Francisco, piano maker Steinway and Sons was founded in Manhattan and an outbreak of yellow fever killed almost 7,800 people in New Orleans. Yellow fever is spread through mosquito bites and symptoms include fever, chills, headache, backache, and muscle aches. About 15 percent of people who get yellow fever develop serious illness that can lead to bleeding, shock, organ failure, and sometimes death. 

     In other bad news, on May 6, 1853, in Norwalk, Connecticut 48 people were killed when a train traveling at 50 mph plunged into the Norwalk Harbor off of an open swing bridge. On approaching the bridge, the engineer neglected to check the signal and only became aware that the bridge was open when within about 400 feet of it. He applied the brakes and reversed the engine, but was unable to stop in time. He and the fireman jumped clear before the crash and escaped serious injury. 

     The engine itself flew across the 60-foot gap, striking the opposite abutment some 8 feet below the level of the track and sinking into 12 feet of water. The baggage cars came to rest atop the locomotive; the front of the first passenger car was crushed against the baggage cars and then submerged as the second passenger car came to rest on top of it. The third passenger car broke in two; the front half hanging down over the edge of the abutment; the rear remaining on the track. 

     Most of the 48 dead and 30 injured were in the first passenger car. A further eight people were reported missing. Many doctors were on the train as they were returning from an annual meeting of the American Medical Association in New York; seven of them were killed. 

     As a result of the accident the state legislature passed a law requiring trains to come to a dead halt before crossing any opening bridge. The engineer was charged with gross negligence and held primarily responsible for the disaster. 

     It wasn't all bad news that year! On August 24 in Saratoga Springs, New York it's traditionally been said that potato chips were invented by George Crum (born George Speck, 1824–1914), a renowned African American chef who worked at Moon’s Lake House, a high-end restaurant that catered to wealthy Manhattan families, in Saratoga Springs during the mid-1800s. 

     According to the legend Crum sliced an order of french fries extra thin to spite a demanding customer. r. The story has since been debunked as a myth, but Crum achieved success when he opened Crum's, a popular restaurant in Malta, New York. 

     1853 was an important year in chess. Howard Staunton traveled to Brussels to meet with Tassilo von der Lasa, the German leading chess authority, to standardize the rules of chess. Staunton also lost a match (+4 -5 =3) to von der Lasa; the match was cut short when Staunton started having heart palpitations and had to return home. 

     On May 18, 1853, Lionel Kieseritzky died in Paris at the age of 47. And, in 1853, Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier painted “The game of chess.” 

     The featured game was played in Vienna. White was an obscure player named Josef Matschego (1800-1858) About all that is known of him is that he studied law and joined the civil service, where he got ahead in the foreign ministry. And, he was a frequent visitor of the chess cafes of Vienna and a member of the Wiener Schachgesellschaft (Vienna Chess Society). 

     The winner, Ernst Falkbeer (June 27, 1819 - December 14, 1885) was born in Brno. He founded Austria's first chess magazine Wiener Schach-Zeitung in 1855. A few months later he went to London and played two matches with Henry Bird, losing in 1856 and winning in 1856-57. He then played in a knock-out tournament in Birmingham (1858), getting knocked out in the 4th round by Lowenthal. He returned to Vienna and where he edited a chess column for the Neue Illustrierte Zeitung from 1877 to 1885.

[Event "Vienna"] [Site "Vienna"] [Date "1853.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Josef Matschego"] [Black "Ernst Falkbeer"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C39"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "1853.??.??"] {King's Gambit Accepted} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 {What?! No Falkbeer Countergambit which he had played in an 1851 game against Adolf Anderssen.} 3. Nf3 g5 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 (5. Ng5 {is not good.} h6 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. d4 d5 8. Bxf4 Nf6 9. Nc3 { and White does not have enough compensation for the sacrificed N.}) 5... Nf6 6. Nc3 {A natural developing move, but it's a bad move. He should have played 6. Nxg4 first.} (6. Nxg4 Nxe4 {This is one alternative.} 7. d3 Ng3 8. Bxf4 { Black can now choose between either 8...Qe7+ and 9...Rg8 or 8.Nxh1. In either case the chances would be equal.}) (6. Nxg4 d5 {This second alternative is also quite playable.} 7. Nxf6+ Qxf6 8. Nc3 {again, the chances are equal.}) 6... d6 {After this white's position is evaluated as lost!} 7. Nc4 Be7 (7... Nh5 {is even stronger.} 8. Be2 Ng3 9. Rh2 h5 10. d4 Bh6 11. Nd5 c6 12. Nxf4 b5 {white's position is simply horrible.} 13. Na3 Qf6 14. Qd2 Nxe2 15. Kxe2 g3 16. Rh1 Bg4+ {etc.}) 8. d4 Nh5 9. Be2 Bxh4+ 10. Kd2 {The K is on the run.} Qg5 ( 10... Ng3 11. Rh2 b5 {and white has no reasonable move.}) 11. Kd3 (11. Nd5 { was the only alternative, but after} Nf6 12. Nxc7+ Kd7 13. Nxa8 Nxe4+ 14. Kd3 Nf2+ {white has no reason to continue the game.}) 11... Nc6 {Threatening ... Nb4+} 12. a3 Bf2 (12... f5 13. e5 dxe5 14. Nb5 O-O 15. c3 Rd8 16. Kc2 {and white will soon be annihilated.}) 13. Nd5 {The there is little chance that he will get to play Rxh5 and Nf6+} Bxd4 14. Nxc7+ {Quite natural, but white should have been thinking of defending, not grabbing material.} (14. c3 { Squashes black's murderous attack and in spite of the precarious position of white's K black's attack can be survived! It's important to note that after c3 the square c2 is available to white's K.} Be5 15. Nxc7+ Kd8 16. Nxa8 Ng3 17. Kc2 Qg6 18. Bd3 Nxh1 19. Qxh1 Be6 20. Qf1 f5 21. Bxf4 fxe4 22. Be2 e3+ 23. Kd1 {With careful play white might be able to survive.}) 14... Kd8 15. Nd5 { Apparently white had second thoughts about grabbing the R and instead returns the N to it's outpost in hopes of helping with the defense.} (15. Nxa8 { was actually better.} d5 (15... f5 16. c3 fxe4+ 17. Kc2 e3 18. Nxd6 { Threatening Nf7+ forking the K, Q and R!} Ke7 19. cxd4 Kxd6 20. d5 Bf5+ 21. Kb3 Na5+ 22. Ka2 {White's K has reached a safe haven and he can even claim the advantage!}) 16. c3 dxc4+ 17. Kc2 {with a miserable position, but at least it's not as bad as after the text.}) (15. c3 {is no good now because of} Kxc7 16. cxd4 Ng3 17. Rg1 Re8 {and white must defend e4 so...} 18. e5 (18. Kc2 Nxe2 19. Qxe2 Nxd4+) 18... dxe5 19. d5 Nd4 20. d6+ Kd8 21. Bf1 Bf5+ 22. Kc3 Ne4+ 23. Kb4 {...and black wins.}) 15... f5 16. Nxd6 (16. c3 {This is not effective here because the N on d5 is hanging after} fxe4+ 17. Kc2 Qxd5) 16... fxe4+ { The difference here and the positions in the previous note is that white has not played c3 and so his K cannot escape via c2. Instead, it is forced into the open.} 17. Kc4 (17. Nxe4 Qxd5 18. c4 Ne5+ {followed by the capture of the N.}) 17... Qxd5+ {Beautiful. It's mate in 8} (17... Be6 {also wins, but it's not as nice, or as effective.} 18. Kb3 Qxd5+ 19. c4 Qxd6 20. Rxh5 {Black wins, but there is no immediate mate.}) 18. Kxd5 Nf6+ 19. Kc4 Be6+ 20. Kb5 a6+ 21. Ka4 b5+ 22. Nxb5 axb5+ 23. Kxb5 Ra5+ 24. Kxc6 Bd5+ 25. Kd6 Ne8# {A great game.} 0-1

Percivale Bolland Mines Gold

     Weston-super-Mare, also known as Weston, is a seaside town in SW England that lies on the Bristol Channel about 120 miles west of London. 

     The 1924 tournament continued the success of the one held there two years previously with the best English players of the day except F.D. Yates who was playing in the famous tournament in New York, plus two foreign masters, the young Euwe from Holland and the French-Russian master Znosko-Borovsky. 

     The event featured a simul by Znosko-Borovsky who scored +20 =6 -2, a lightning tournament that was won by Chris Sullivan and a quick p tournament that was won by Cyril Duffiled. In addition, there was an Open event that was won by Richard Lean plus three class tournaments consisting of two sections each. 

     In the main event, going into the last round Euwe and Thomas were tied and Euwe took first when he defeated Edmund Specer while Thomas drew with Znosko-Borovsky. 

 

     Today's game is a fine example of attacking play by Percivale Bolland (1888 - March 31, 1950, 61 years old). He was born in Worcestershire, the 7th of 8 children, of clergyman William Ernest Bolland (1848-1919) from New Plymouth, New Zealand; his mother was from India. 

     In 1911, Bolland was a bank clerk and in 1916 he married an American woman who had moved to England in 1892; her name was Cicily Maud Butt; she passed away in 1961. The same year he was married found him fighting in WWI as a second lieutenant in the UK Army's Welsh Regiment. In 1917 he was promoted to captain and he was wounded the following year.

      Cyril Cuffield 1894-1968) was a local player from nearby Bristol.

[Event "Weston-Super-Mare"] [Site "Weston-super-Mare ENG"] [Date "1924.04.19"] [Round "?"] [White "Percivale Bolland"] [Black "Cyril Duffield"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C56"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "1924.04.19"] {Max Lange Attack} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d4 {This is the rarely seen Urusov Gambit in which white gets a great attacking position where it's easy for black to go wrong. The gambit was popular among attacking players for nearly 150 years. Adopted by greats like Schlechter, Tartakower, Caro and Mieses, the opening claimed victims among the best defenders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including Steinitz and Lasker. By 1924 there was enough interest in the line that a thematic tournament was organized in New York featuring Marshall, Torre, and Santasiere. More recently, correspondence players have explored the opening's many forcing lines and Yakov Estrin (World Correspondence Champion from 1975 to 1980) published several monographs that carried the analysis into the middlegame. Estrin's analysis revealed, however, a possible equalizing method for Black (with Panov's 4....d5) and suggested that some of the deepest lines might end in equality with best play. I have used it 14 times in correspondence tournaments and scored +5 -0 =9. As black I have faced it 6 times scoring +1 -2 =3. Black has a number of ways of responding.} exd4 4. Nf3 (4. e5 {This immediate thrust is less promising as after} d5 5. Qxd4 dxc4 6. Qxd8+ Kxd8 7. exf6 gxf6 {His shattered K-side Ps notwithstanding, black is a solid P up.}) 4... Bc5 {I have met this move only once and because 5.O-O allows black to transpose into the Max Lange Attack with 5...Nc6 white may try to force matters with the immediate 5.e5 even though in actual practice it has not worked out well.} 5. O-O (5. e5 d5 6. exf6 dxc4 7. Qe2+ Be6 8. fxg7 Rg8 {is about even.}) 5... Nc6 (5... d6 {Now 6.c3 is Seirawan's choice in Winning Chess Openings. In a correspondence game back in 2018 I continued} 6. c3 dxc3 7. e5 cxb2 8. Bxb2 dxe5 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Nxe5 Re8 11. Rd1+ Bd7 12. Nd2 Bxf2+ 13. Kxf2 Rxe5 14. Bxe5 Ng4+ 15. Kg1 Nxe5 { A crazy position. White has a R vs a N+3Ps, but the position is equal and eventually drawn.}) 6. e5 {The opening has transposed into the Max Lange Attack.} d5 7. exf6 dxc4 8. Re1+ Be6 9. Ng5 (9. fxg7 {is rarely seen, but it appears to be satisfactory.} Rg8 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Nxd4 Rd8 13. c3 {with equal chances.}) 9... Qd5 10. Nc3 {[%mdl 32]} Qf5 11. Nce4 {All this has been seen before, but the position requires precise play by black.} Bf8 { This very fine move is Stockfish's first choice even though white is slightly better after it.} (11... gxf6 {black must not play this.} 12. g4 Qg6 13. Nxe6 fxe6 14. Nxc5 {The position favors white.}) (11... O-O-O 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. g4 Qe5 14. fxg7 Rhg8 15. Bh6 d3 16. c3 Bd6 (16... Be7 17. Qf3 Qd5 18. Qf4 (18. Qf7 Rde8 19. Re3 Ne5 20. Qf4 Ng6 21. Qf7 Ne5 22. Qf4 Ng6 23. Qf7 Ne5 24. Qf4 Ng6 { 1/2-1/2 (24) Marshall,F-Capablanca,J New York 1910}) 18... Ne5 19. Nd2 Bd6 20. Re4 Rd7 {This complicated position is equal, but in Marshall,F-Capablanca,J New York 1910 white went on to win.}) 17. f4 Qd5 18. Qf3 Be7 19. g5 Qf5 20. Ng3 {White is better. Marshall,F-Tarrasch,S Hamburg 1910}) 12. Nxf7 {[%mdl 512] There's not much difference between this and 12.Nxe6} (12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Bg5 O-O-O 14. fxg7 Bxg7 15. Bxd8 Rxd8 {A messy position that offers about equal chances.}) 12... Kxf7 {Obviously not 12...Bxf7 13.Nd6+ winning the Q} 13. Ng5+ Kg8 14. Nxe6 (14. fxg7 Bxg7 15. Nxe6 Re8 {is even.}) 14... Qxf6 15. Qe2 Re8 ( 15... d3 {would have fizzled out to equality, but it was black's safest line.} 16. cxd3 Re8 17. Bg5 cxd3 18. Qxd3 Ne5 19. Qd5 Qxe6 20. Rxe5 Qxd5 21. Rxd5 Bd6) 16. Qxc4 {Threatening mate with Ng5+.} Qf7 17. f4 {White has the initiative, but black has adequate defensive resources.} g6 {This prevents 18.f5 and so now black really does threaten to win with ...Nd8} (17... Nd8 18. f5 h6 19. Bf4 c6 20. Re4 {white has a decisive advantage.}) 18. g4 {Renewing the threat of f5.} Na5 (18... Nd8 19. f5 gxf5 20. gxf5 h6 {This position is, despite appearances, only very slightly in white's favor. But, it's not a position that black would enjoy defending.}) 19. Qd5 {White still wants to play f5.} Bb4 {[%mdl 8192] What a pity! After this black is lost.} (19... c6 20. Qxa5 (20. Qe5 Nc4 21. Qe4 Nd6 22. Qe2 h5 {With his N centralized and defending his position, with this move black has actually manage to launch a promising counterattack.}) 20... Rxe6 {and black is out of the woods and even has a bit of a counterattack himself.} 21. Bd2 h5 {with equal chances.}) 20. Re2 c6 21. Qe4 {[%mdl 128] The problem with black's 19th move is now evident...two of his pieces are offside. White now moves in for the kill.} Nc4 {[%mdl 8192]} 22. f5 {Finally!} Bc5 {...d3+ is the strong threat.} 23. Qd3 Bb6 24. Ng5 Rxe2 (24... Qd7 {saves the Q but does not avoid the slaughter.} 25. Rxe8+ Qxe8 26. Qxc4+) 25. Nxf7 Rxc2 26. fxg6 h5 27. Nxh8 Ne5 28. Qf5 {White has a mate in 9.} d3+ 29. Kh1 Re2 30. Bh6 Rxh2+ 31. Kxh2 Nxg4+ 32. Kg2 {Black Resigned. A nice attacking game by Bolland.} (32. Qxg4 {is a move quicker.} hxg4 33. Re1 Be3 34. Rxe3 g3+ 35. Kxg3 Kxh8 36. Re8#) (32. Kg2 Nxh6 33. Qc8+ Kg7 34. Rf1 Nf5 35. Qxf5 Bc5 36. Qxc5 Kh6 37. Qf8+ Kg5 38. Qf4#) 1-0

Bobotsov Gets Squashed Like A Grape

     The following game was played in the World Student Olympiad in Varna, Bulgaria in 1958. Tal won the gold medal on 1st board, with +7 -0 =3. 

     Prior to the start of the Olympiad it was assumed that no team would represent the United States because the U.S. did not maintain diplomatic relations with Bulgaria and American passports were not valid for travel there. 

     The Intercollegiate Chess League of America had been in correspondence with the State Department for nearly a year, but the results were not encouraging then suddenly the State Department agreed to validate the passports so a team could travel to Bulgaria. 

     Max Pavey's wife was chairman of the USCF International Affairs Committee and she took immediate steps to assemble a team while ICLA Vice-President Anthony Saidy acted as chairman of the organizing committee. Naturally, there was the usual problem of financing and USCF members were asked to donate money to the cause. 

     Eventually a team (William Lombardy, Edmar Mednis, Anthony Saidy, Arthur Feuerstein and Martin Sobell) was put together and sent to Varna. The team started out with great success...they swept through the qualifying matches defeating Albania, Iceland, and Bulgaria, to enter the finals. 

     In the finals the USSR finished 1st ahead of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, USA, Argentina and East Germany. At the end, the team finished rather poorly, taking 6th place out of 16 teams. According to Lombardy, "The chess was good, but the nerves and luck were bad." 

     In the following game Tal crushes Bulgarian Milko Bobotsov (1931-2000, 68 years old). Bobotsov was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and was Bulgarian champion in 1958 and was awarded the IM title in 1960 and the GM title in 1961, thus becoming Bulgaria's first GM. After suffering a stroke in 1972 his international play was somewhat curtailed. He was married to WGM Antonia Ivanova.

 

 

[Event "Finals World Student Olympiad, Varna"] [Site "Varna BUL"] [Date "1958.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Milko Bobotsov"] [Black "Mikhail Tal"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E81"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "1958.??.??"] {King's Indian: Saemisch Attack} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Nge2 {White hopes to solidify the center, castle Q-side and play g4–g5 and h2-h4 with a K-side attack. The disadvantage is the P on f3 deprives this N of its most natural square, f3} (6. Bd3 {Playing this first seems to make more sense, but for whatever reason, it's almost never seen.} c5 7. d5 e6 8. Nge2 a6 9. a4 Qc7 10. O-O exd5 11. cxd5 {Equals. Granda Zuniga,J (2525)-Barlov,D (2555) Zagreb 1987}) 6... c5 {Black can challenge the center with this or ...e5 after which white needs to decide whether to close the center with d4-d5 or let it remain fluid.} 7. Be3 (7. d5 e6 8. Ng3 exd5 9. cxd5 h5 {is the main alternative.}) 7... Nbd7 8. Qd2 a6 9. O-O-O Qa5 10. Kb1 b5 11. Nd5 {The opening was played at blitz speed as Bobotsov was curious to find out what had Tal prepared. This risky move had been played in some blitz games the previous day and when Bobotsov played it the spectators gasped when Tal, without a flinch, sacrificed his Q just as happened in the blitz games.} (11. dxc5 {was tried in Alterman,B (2585)-Nunn,J (2590) Pardubice 1993} dxc5 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. cxd5 Qxd2 14. Rxd2 f5 15. Nf4 {with equal chances.}) 11... Nxd5 { This is the correct move as any engine will tell you, but black's advantage is not great.} 12. Qxa5 {White pretty much has to take the Q as other moves are inferior.} (12. cxd5 Qxd2 13. Rxd2 f5 {Best. In Sarno,S (2425)-Timoscenko,G (2533) Lido Estensi 2003 black played 13...Nb6 with equality.} 14. dxc5 { Favoring black is 14.exf5} Nxc5 15. Bxc5 dxc5 16. Nc3 {Black is considerably better. Spulber,C (2365)-Itkis,B (2430) Odorheiu Secuiesc 1993}) 12... Nxe3 13. Rc1 (13. Rd3 {is more appropriate.} Nxc4 14. Qe1 cxd4 15. Nxd4 {with roughly equal chances.}) 13... Nxc4 14. Rxc4 bxc4 15. Nc1 {Wrong direction! The N needs to go to f4 hoping to eventually land on d5} Rb8 {White's prospects are grim. Black has open lines against his K, his Q is misplaced on the Q-side and he has zero prospects of a K-side attack.} 16. Bxc4 Nb6 17. Bb3 Bxd4 18. Qd2 { [%mdl 8192] This loses quickly.} (18. Ne2 {To eliminate the B offers a glimmer of hope.} Bxb2 19. Kc2 (19. Kxb2 Nc4+ {wins outright.}) 19... Bf6 20. Rb1 e6 { Keeps the status quo...black has the initiative, but white can hope to defend himself. In 5 Shootouts (long and fascinating) white managed 4 draws and a loss.}) 18... Bg7 19. Ne2 c4 {[%mdl 32] Gutting the position of white's K.} 20. Bc2 c3 21. Qd3 cxb2 22. Nd4 Bd7 {Prevents Nc6.} 23. Rd1 Rfc8 24. Bb3 (24. Qxa6 {is met by} Nc4 25. Bb3 Be6 26. Qa4 Ra8 27. Qb4 Rcb8 28. Qc3 Na3+ 29. Kxb2 Nb5 30. Qe3 Nxd4 31. Rxd4 Bxb3 32. axb3 Ra4 {and wins}) 24... Na4 25. Bxa4 Bxa4 26. Nb3 Rc3 27. Qxa6 Bxb3 28. axb3 Rbc8 29. Qa3 Rc1+ 30. Rxc1 Rxc1+ {A delightful slaughter!} 0-1

Play the Sicilian Wing Gambit?!

     Last post took a brief look at the Staunton Gambit; in this one we will take a brief look at the Sicilian Wing Gambit. It's not very popular and in my database it was played only 36 times, but white scored a whopping +27 - 6 =3!!! 

     One advantage of the gambit is you don't have to worry about black rattling off a long string of book theory! 

     Besides taking you opponent out of the book, luring black's c-Pawn away allows white to occupy the center with d2-d4 which hopefully will work to his advantage. Additionally, white gets speedy development which should be sufficient compensation. Of course, black can decline the gambit, but almost nobody ever does. 

     Kamran Shirazi (born November 21, 1952) is an IM who was born in Tehran and won the 1972 Iranian Championship. He moved to the United States in 1979 and quickly became one of the most active players in the country. He was a fixture on the NY chess scene in the 1980s and was known as a dashing, enigmatic, figure. 

     Thanks to his success in U.S. events plus the fact that the 1980s were a time of rating inflation, his rating rose rapidly and he became one of the highest rated players country. However, when he qualified for he 1984 U.S. Championship based on his results in the 1983 Church's Fried Chicken Grand Prix he finished dead last with a lone draw (against GM Roman Dzindzichashvili) out of 17 games. In that tournament he also achieved the dubious distinction of losing the shortest decisive game in the history of the Championship. Oddly, in that gane he played the Wing Gambit, one of his specialties, which we're looking at today! He earned $37.50 for his efforts. 

     When asked to explain the debacle Shirazi only said, “I was very restless at the time and I hadn’t been sleeping.” Asked what he had been doing, he said he had been playing games and added that for him that was a "form of partying."

     Robert Byrne wrote that Shirazi could "produce a novel and original way of looking at a position, and quite often he plays with a certain freshness, but his eccentricities work against him as well as for him." Byrne added, "He can think of a new way of going wrong every time he sits down and plays a game." 

     Shirazi made an appearance in the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer where he was introduced as Grandmaster Shirazi. In 2006, he moved to France and changed his FIDE federation from the US to France. 

     Known for playing strange and unorthodox openings, Shirazi is known for his flamboyant and innovative style of play as well as Byrne's previously mentioned amazing ability to somehow lose. Byrne wrote of the necessity of making use of fantasy if you want to be a greta player, but he cautioned that "you have to have control over it. You can’t be fantastic every time the itch gets to you.” 

     Shirazi was one of the best Blitz players in the U.S. and in today's game we'll take a look at how he demolished a GM playing one of his favorite lines against the Sicilian, the Wing Gambit. 

     It was played in a Game 20 in a strong rapid tournament in Livry-Gargan, near Paris, back in 2009. The tournament was won by GM Murtas Kazhgakeyev of Kazakhstan. Shirazi and his opponent, GM Pavel Tregubov of Russia, tied for places 25-30 (342 players).

 

[Event "Livry Gargan (France) Open (Game 20)"] [Site "Livry Gargan"] [Date "2009.05.10"] [Round "6"] [White "Kamran Shirazi"] [Black "Pavel Tregubov"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B20"] [WhiteElo "2404"] [BlackElo "2628"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2009.05.10"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "2009.07.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Sicilian Wing Gambit} 1. e4 c5 2. b4 cxb4 (2... e6 3. bxc5 Bxc5 4. d4 { is seldom seen. Black can retreat the B or play ...Bb4+, but he has no more than equality.}) 3. a3 (3. c4 e5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb2 d6 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 Nf6 8. Nd2 Be7 9. Bd3 O-O 10. O-O {Hector,J (2500)-Kudrin,S (2570) Palma de Mallorca 1989. Black is a solid P up and went on to win.}) (3. Bb2 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bc4 Nb6 7. Bb3 e6 8. O-O Be7 9. c4 Na5 10. Qc2 Nxb3 11. axb3 O-O 12. Rc1 a5 13. d4 f5 {Black gets into serious trouble after this. Correct was either 13...d4 or 13...d6} 14. d5 exd5 15. c5 Ra6 16. cxb6 Qxb6 17. Nd4 Qg6 {Rogers,I (2545)-Douven,R (2405) Groningen 1991 1-0}) 3... d5 {This along with 3...bxa3 and 3...e6 are the most popular replies. All are of about equal value.} (3... e6 4. axb4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7 6. d4 d6 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. Be3 {Black has a solid position and went on to win. Marshall,F-Tarrasch,S San Sebastian 1912}) (3... bxa3 4. d4 d6 5. f4 g6 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. h3 Nc6 8. Nc3 Nf6 9. e5 {Better was 9.Bd3} dxe5 10. fxe5 Nd5 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. c4 Qa5+ 13. Bd2 Qb6 14. c5 Qb2 15. Rb1 Bf5 16. Rxb2 axb2 17. Bh6 b1=Q {0-1 Savchenko,B (2567)-Yeletsky,I (2438) Voronezh 2019}) 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Nf3 (5. axb4 Qe5+ {0-1 Shirazi-John Peters, US Championship, 1984.}) 5... e5 6. c4 Qe6 7. d4 exd4+ (7... e4 {was a reasonable alternative.} 8. Ng5 Qg6 {A strange position. Stockfish 15 suggests either 9. c5 or 9.h4 as equalizing.}) 8. Be2 d3 {Returning the P for no reason seems a strange decision. 8...Qg6 and black is slightly better.} 9. Qxd3 Nf6 10. O-O Nc6 11. Re1 Be7 12. axb4 {This looks reasonable, but the advantage swings in black's favor.} (12. Bd1 Qf5 13. Qxf5 Bxf5 14. axb4 Nxb4 15. Ba4+ {The point of move 12. White will play Ba3 next move and the chances will be about equal.} ) 12... Nxb4 {It seems odd, but taking with the B was actually better.} (12... Bxb4 {There is no way for white to utilize the fact that black's Q is standing between the R and K.} 13. Bd2 O-O {leaves black slightly better.}) 13. Qd2 O-O {[%mdl 8192]} 14. Bf1 (14. Bd3 {was better} Qd6 15. Rxe7 Qxe7 16. Ba3 {wins the N and white has what should be a winning advantage.} Ne4 17. Qxb4 Qxb4 18. Bxb4 Re8 19. Nc3 Nxc3 20. Bxc3 {Stockfish evaluates this position as winning for white, but I didn't believe it so ran a Shootout and white did score +4 - 0 =1, so it's true. However, the dames were very long, 100 moves or more, so in human play a draw seems like a likely outcome.}) 14... Qd6 {[%mdl 8192] The losing move.} (14... Ne4 {This saves the game and even leaves black slightly better, but who is going to voluntarily walk into a pin when moving the Q out of danger looks so logical?} 15. Qb2 {There is just no way to take advantage of the pinned N on e4.} (15. Qd4 Bf6 {wins}) (15. Qf4 f5) 15... f5 16. Nc3 a5 17. Be3 Bf6 18. Bd4 Rd8 {and things fizzle out to equality after} 19. Nxe4 fxe4 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Qxf6 gxf6 22. Rxe4) 15. Rxe7 {[%mdl 512] Decisive.} Qxe7 16. Ba3 Rd8 17. Qb2 {This can be considered the decisive move because the logical looking 17.Qxb4 allows black to equalize.} (17. Qxb4 Qxb4 18. Bxb4 Rd1 {paralyzing white's pieces. Chances are equal.}) (17. Bxb4 {is much worse. After} Rxd2 18. Bxe7 Rd1 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Nfd2 Bf5 {black has a winning position.}) 17... Rd1 {And now ...Nd3 would win.} 18. Bxb4 Qd8 19. Qc2 Rd7 ( 19... Bg4 {is tougher.} 20. Bd2 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Qd4 22. Qxd1 Qxa1 {Technically the position favors white, but in practical play it's quite unclear. In Shootouts white scored +3 -0 =2, but the games were long, one going over 150 moves!}) 20. Nc3 {[%mdl 32] White has established a winning position and Shirazi plays the rest of the game with great precision.} b6 21. Nb5 Bb7 (21... Rb7 22. Ne5 Be6 23. Rd1 Qb8 {When compared to white's, black's pieces have little in the way of prospects. In Shootouts from this position white scored five wins as all black could do was sit passively while white ground him down to a winning ending. Still, this seems like black's best option.}) 22. Ne5 { Black's R comes under relentless fire.} Be4 23. Qc1 Rb7 24. Nd6 Re7 25. Nxe4 Rxe5 {So, black has saved his R, but white is winning.} 26. Nxf6+ gxf6 27. Bc3 Re6 28. Qf4 Qd6 29. Qg4+ Kf8 30. Rd1 {[%mdl 32]} Qa3 31. Qh3 Ke8 32. Rd3 Qc5 33. Qxh7 Ke7 34. Rd5 Qa3 35. Qh3 {Black resigned. It looks like there is plenty of play left in the position, but Stockfish puts white's advantage at over 9 Ps.} (35. Qh3 {Not being a Grandmaster I don't see a clear way of winning here, so here is Stockfish 15's continuation.} Qa4 (35... Re5 { Practically speaking this may be black's best chance.} 36. Rd7+ (36. Bxe5 Qxh3 37. gxh3 fxe5 38. Rxe5+ {would win, but it's more difficult.}) 36... Ke8 37. Rc7 Re6 38. c5 {There's no really good answer to Qh8+} Kd8 39. Re7 Rxe7 40. Qh8+ Kd7 41. Qxa8 Qxc3 42. Qd5+ Ke8 43. Bb5+ Kf8 44. Qd8+ Kg7 45. Qxe7 bxc5 { Engines give white the win here, but with humans who knows?!}) 36. Bb2 Rc8 37. Ba3+ Rc5 38. Qc3 Qe8 39. h4 f5 40. Rxf5 a5 41. Rd5 f6 42. Bxc5+ bxc5 43. Qxa5 Kf7 44. Qxc5 Re1 45. Qc7+ Re7 46. Qg3 Qg8 47. Qf3 Qg6 48. g3 Re1 49. Kg2 Qc2 50. Qh5+ {and wins.}) 1-0

Play the Staunton Gambit?!

     The Staunton Gambit (1. d4 f5 2. e4) was once a feared weapon for white, but it is rarely played today because theory has shown how to neutralize it. In my database white scores 35 percent while black scores 50 percent and who wants to play an opening where you have a 50 percent chance of losing? 

     The idea behind the opening is that white sacrifices a Pawn for quick development in the hopes of launching an attack against back's King. Black can decline the gambit with 2...d6, transposing to the Balogh Defense, but accepting the pawn with 2...fxe4 is considered stronger. 

     The database of my games has 10 games in which the Staunton Gambit was played. I was white in 4 of them and scored three wins and a draw; playing black, I scored 3 wins, a loss and a draw. Thus, in the ten Staunton Gambits that I was involved in white scored +4 -3 =2. That's not the statistical results of the games in the 8-million game database, but then these games were played by average players, so maybe the Staunton Gambit is worth a try if you are an average player! It also suggests that you should not expect a lot of draws. 

 

     In 1908 Frank Marshal and Rudolf Spielmann met three times in tournaments: Prague (Marshall won), Vienna (Spielmann won) and at Dusseldorf where Marshall handed Spielmann a quick defeat using the Staunon Gambit. 

 

 

[Event "16th DSB Congress, Dusseldorf"] [Site "?"] [Date "1908.10.08"] [Round "?"] [White "Frank Marshall"] [Black "Rudolf Spielmann"] [Result "*"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2022.07.21"] {Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit} 1. d4 f5 2. e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 (3. f3 {This is a rarely played, and risky, sideline.} d5 4. fxe4 dxe4 5. Bc4 Nf6 6. Bg5 Nc6 7. d5 Bg4 8. Ne2 Na5 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Nbc3 Bxb5 11. Nxb5 c6 12. dxc6 Nxc6 13. Nec3 {After this white's position deteriorates.} a6 14. Na3 b5 15. Bxf6 exf6 16. Nd5 Bxa3 17. bxa3 Qa5+ 18. Kf2 O-O 19. Rf1 Rad8 20. Qh5 Qd2+ {0-1 Anon-Tartajubow, Correspondence 2009}) 3... Nf6 4. Bg5 c6 (4... g6 {Seldom played but it turns out to be the favorite of no less a player than Stockfish! My opponent was years ahead of his time.} 5. f3 exf3 6. Nxf3 d5 7. Bd3 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 c6 {White should have started operations on the K-side with 9.h4} 10. O-O-O Bg7 11. Rde1 Nbd7 12. Rhf1 O-O {The position is equal, but white eventually won in Tartajubow-Anon, 1967}) 5. f3 exf3 6. Nxf3 e6 (6... d5 7. Bd3 g6 8. Ne5 Qb6 9. Qe2 Qxb2 {Bad...very bad. He should have played 9...Bg7} 10. O-O Qxc3 11. Bxf6 {and white soon won. Lalic,B (2590) -Kovacevic,V (2520) Slavonski Brod 1995}) 7. Bd3 {[%mdl 1024]} Be7 {At this time this position was known from Lasker, E-Pillsbury,H Paris 1900. Lasker won with 9.Ne5, but Marshall's move is equally good. Stockfish already gives white a winning advantage! Where did black go wrong?!} 8. O-O {White has a decisive advantage.} (8. Ne5 O-O 9. Bxf6 Rxf6 10. Qh5 g6 11. Nxg6 Qe8 12. Nxe7+ Qxe7 13. O-O-O {White has a decisive advantage, but it took Lasker 80 moves to demonstrate it. Lasker, E-Pillsbury, H Paris 1900}) (8. Qe2 {This is less effective.} O-O 9. O-O c5 10. Ne4 { White is much better, but in Zavadil,M (2138)-Macicek,J (2056) Frydek Mistek 2007, he managed to lose the game. It demonstrates how slippery a slope the Staunton is for the non-master.}) 8... d6 {No N on e5 for white!} 9. Qe2 Na6 10. a3 {Prevents Nb4 and leaves the N misplaced.} Nc7 11. Rae1 {In his book, My Fifty Years of Chess, Marshall wrote that he believed Spielmann was simply "afraid to castle", adding that it was the only good move as he is preparing Nh4 followed by Bxf6 and Qh5+.} b6 {Sad to say, this is probably as good a move as any.} (11... O-O {is, however, very little help.} 12. Qf2 Bd7 13. Qh4 Rf7 14. Ne2 g6 15. Bh6 Nh5 16. Ng5 {Black is facing a very dangerous attack. One possibility...} Rxf1+ 17. Rxf1 e5 18. Rf7 e4 19. Bxe4 Qe8 20. Rxh7 { with a decisive advantage.}) 12. Nh4 Kd7 {This is the worst possible move, but he had to make a move.} (12... O-O 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Rxf1+ 15. Rxf1 g6 16. Nxg6 Bxg5 17. Ne5 Qe7 18. Nf7 {and there is no satisfactory way to meet the threat of Qxh7+}) (12... Bd7 {is refuted by} 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Qh5+ Kf8 { White has two winning lines: 15.Ne4 (objectively the strongest) and 15.Rxf6+ (the prettiest).} 15. Rxf6+ gxf6 16. Bxh7 Qe7 (16... e5 17. Qh6+ Kf7 18. Ne4 Be6 19. Qg6+ Ke7 20. Qg7+ Bf7 21. Ng6+ Ke6 22. Nf4+ Ke7 (22... exf4 23. Nxf6#) 23. dxe5 fxe5 24. Ng6+ Kd7 25. Nxh8 {and wins}) 17. Ng6+) 13. Nf5 {[%mdl 512]} Qf8 (13... exf5 14. Bxf5+ Ke8 15. Bxc8 Rxc8 16. Rxf6 gxf6 17. Bxf6 Rf8 18. Bxe7 Qd7 (18... Qxe7 19. Qxe7#) 19. Qh5+ Rf7 20. Bxd6+ Ne6 21. Qe5 Kd8 22. Ne4 Nf8 23. Nf6 Qe6 24. Qxe6 Nxe6 25. Rxe6 {Black can only avoid Re8# by giving up the exchange.}) 14. Nxe7 Qxe7 15. Ne4 Rf8 16. Nxf6+ gxf6 17. Qf3 {This has a surprising tactical flaw.} (17. Qf2 {was correct.} Qf7 {Getting away from white's R} (17... Ne8 18. Rxe6 Qxe6 19. Bf5) 18. Bh6 {was very strong.} Ba6) 17... Ne8 {[%mdl 8192] After this black's hopes of saving the game drop to zero.} (17... Ba6 {This at least would have allowed black to continue playing.} 18. Bh6 (18. Bxf6 Bxd3 19. Bxe7 Rxf3 20. Rxf3 Bxc2 {white is only slightly better.}) 18... Rf7 19. c4 Rg8 {White is better, but there is no forced win and so black can continue to put up a fight.}) 18. Rxe6 {Easy ti see, but nice anyway. It's hard to believe Spielmann missed this...or perhaps he just decided to end it, but then why not resign?} Qf7 (18... Qxe6 19. Bf5) 19. Re4 { [%mdl 32] The h-Pawn is the next target.} Bb7 20. Rh4 Ng7 21. Rxh7 Rh8 22. Qh3+ {Black gave up} (22. Qh3+ Kc7 23. Rxf6 Qe7 24. Rg6 Rxh7 25. Qxh7 {and there is nothing black can do.}) *

Dr. Robert B. Griffith

     In 1937, aviation made the news in a big way. Amelia Earhart mysteriously disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during a flight and Howard Hughes broke his own transcontinental speed record in a flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey. Also, the German airship Hindenburg burst into flames while attempting to moor at Lakehurst, New Jersey. 

     In Chicago, The Memorial Day Massacre took place when ten union demonstrators were killed when police open fire on them. U.S. Steel had signed a union contract but smaller steel manufacturers refused to do so and a strike was called. 

     On Memorial Day, some 1,500-2,500 unionists, their families and sympathizers gathered and had an outdoor picnic lunch with music and speakers. 

     The crowd began to march towards the Republic Steel mill to picket, but were met by a line of roughly 300 Chicago policemen. The protesters argued their right to continue and the police opened fired. As the crowd fled, police murdered ten people, four dying that day and six others later. Nine people were permanently disabled and 28 had serious head injuries after they were beaten with clubs by the police. No police were ever prosecuted. 

     In San Francisco the Golden Gate Bridge officially opened in May. The Looney Tunes cartoon character Daffy Duck appeared in April. The duck was voiced by Mel Blanc who also voiced Porky Pig and later Bugs Bunny. 

     In 1937, 60-year-old Dr. Robert B. Griffith, a doctor for the Hollywood film industry was killed in a car crash. Dr. Griffith was the physician for, among many other Hollywood stars, Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin. 

     He was the target of at least three malpractice lawsuits. In 1924, Minnie Chaplin, wife of film start Syd Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin's half brother), in a lawsuit for $100,000, claimed her nose job performed by Dr. Griffith left her not only disfigured but permanently marred. Griffith countered that it was due to her refusal to follow instructions and not to his carelessness and negligence. Curiously, Minnie was diagnosed with breast cancer and died in France in September 1936 following surgery for the illness. 

     I was unable to determine the outcome of that lawsuit, but in 1927, in another $100,000 suit for a nose job gone wrong, Dr. Griffith was sued by silent screen actor William H. Scott, who claimed his nose had been mangled so bad that he was no longer able to get film work. A judge ruled there was no evidence of negligence. 

     Then in 1929, Dorothy Higgins, a New York stage actress, filed suit for $5,000 against Dr. Griffith alleging an operation he performed on her nose to make it photograph well caused it to increase in size and made her voice sound like she had a cold. Again, the results of the lawsuit are unavailable. 

     The October 1921 issue of Caduceus, a publication of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, carried a lengthy article on the exploits of Dr. Griffith that was as glowing as anything that ever came out of Hollywood. 

     Under the title, Chess, Recreation of Film Star's Physician, it was said that, "For Brother Griffith it is who sustains in the actors and actresses of Los Angeles film colony the good health and pep required in screen productions. They bring all their troubles, from a broken heart to a broken limb, to the doctor for repairs."

     The article pointed out that were were drawbacks though. For example, Dr. Griffith had to keep up his professional dignity while being photographed with his famous patients. The article observed that, "He treats them all; and well, evidently, for he has been retained as the Pickford family physician for a number of years." 

     Described as  being a genial, affable gentleman, hearty and frank person and one of the most popular men on the Coast, he was for a long time also the physician for the Los Angeles Athletic Club. 

     According to the article, whenever a chess expert visited Los Angeles, "Dr. Griffith is trotted to the front" and proceeded to show the newcomer who was the boss.

     In his earlier days Dr. Griffith used to play considerable chess, but that was before his medical work took up all of his time. Back in his college days he was intercollegiate champion. 

     The article informed readers that after college Griffith was "a billiard shark." Shortly after his graduation the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. hired him to travel for them as a salesman. The Chicago-based company was the largest billiard equipment operation in the world and later expanded their business to include bar equipment. 

     On May 30, 1937, Herman Steiner was on his way back to Hollywood from California's annual North-South chess match where he had played on board 1 and Dr. Griffith on board 2. Steiner hit another car head-on killing Dr. Griffith and the driver in the other car was critically injured. 

     In his book Reshevsky on Chess, Reshevsky (or the ghost writer who is believed to have been Fred Reinfeld) thought this game was one the best he played as a child. A short time after this game a single game was played between the two and it ended in a draw.

[Event "Exhibition game, Los Angeles"] [Site "Los Angeles, CA USA"] [Date "1921.07.06"] [Round "?"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "Dr. Robert B Griffith"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "126"] [EventDate "1921.??.??"] {Giuoco Piano} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O d6 {This move is too passive to give black any real counterplay and as a result he gets a very passive position.} 6. Nxd4 Be7 7. Nc3 Bd7 8. h3 O-O {As a result of his 5th move black's position is unpleasantly passive.} 9. f4 {[%mdl 32]} (9. Be3 Re8 10. f4 Bf8 11. Nf3 h6 12. e5 {This is unsound.} (12. Bf2 a6 {White is better.} (12... Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Rxe4 14. Bxf7+ Kxf7 15. Qd5+ {wins})) 12... dxe5 13. fxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Rxe5 15. Bd4 {White has nothing to show for the P. Stavrev,N (2245)-Spasov,V (2540) Bulgaria 1994}) 9... b6 {Best was 9...Nxd4 followed by 10...Bc6} (9... Re8 10. Nf3 h6 11. e5 dxe5 12. Ng5 hxg5 13. fxg5 Be6 14. Bxe6 Bc5+ 15. Kh1 Rxe6 16. gxf6 Rxf6 {lead to a loss for black in Kalashnikov,K (2399)-Grachev,J (2352) Novosibirsk 2001)}) 10. Be3 Re8 {Again he should have exchanges on d4} 11. e5 {this impetuous advance allows black to equalize. Best was the simple 11.Nf3} dxe5 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. fxe5 Bd6 {An excellent move that results in complications that Reshevsky does not handle well.} 14. exf6 {Or 14.exd6. Either move is satisfactory for equality.} (14. Rxf6 {This is also playable. After} gxf6 15. exd6 Rxe3 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. Bxd5 Rc8 18. Qg4+ Kh8 19. d7 Rb8 20. Bxf7 Qe7 21. Be8 {the position is unclear.}) 14... Rxe3 15. Qg4 {[%mdl 8192]} (15. Bd5 {is a loser...} Rxc3 16. Bxf7+ Kxf7 17. Qh5+ Kg8 18. bxc3 gxf6 {and black is winning as evidenced by scoring 5 wins in Shootouts.}) (15. fxg7 {is correct. Then after} Bc5 16. Kh2 Qh4 17. Qg4 {the position is equal.}) 15... g6 16. Qh4 (16. Bxf7+ {fails after} Kxf7 17. Qc4+ Re6 18. Rae1 Qd7) 16... Bc5 17. Kh1 Qd7 (17... Qd2 {isn't as good as it looks.} 18. Bd5 $1 Bxd5 19. Nxd5 Qxd5 20. Qh6 Rxh3+ 21. Qxh3) 18. Kh2 {White is losing after this. A must was 18.Bd5} Qd6+ (18... Qd2 {was much better.} 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. Bxd5 Qxd5 21. Rad1 Qe5+ {and black's extra piece is a winning advantage.}) 19. Kh1 {Better was 19.Rf4 and 20.Raf1} Qd7 20. Kh2 Qd6+ 21. Kh1 Qd7 {In a winning position this is a mistake because it allows white to draw by threefold repetition with 22.Kh2} (21... Qe5 22. Nd5 Re4 23. Qh6 Bf8 24. Ne7+ Qxe7 25. fxe7 Bxh6 {wins}) 22. Nd5 {[%mdl 8192] Unwisely disdaining the draw.} Rae8 {Even better than taking the N!} 23. Rad1 {Avoiding a trap.} (23. Nxe3 Rxe3 24. Kh2 (24. Qh6 Qxh3+ 25. Qxh3 Rxh3#) 24... Re4 25. Qh6 Bf8) 23... R8e4 {[%emt 0:00:23] Wrong R! After this black remains with the superior game, but it was not the best move. That said, after the better 23...R3e4 the complications are enormous, so perhaps practically speaking this is the best move after all!} (23... R3e4 {Right R!} 24. Nf4 Rxf4 25. Bxf7+ (25. Qxf4 Qxh3+ {mate next move.}) 25... Qxf7 26. Qxf4 h5 {black is better.}) (23... R3e4 24. Qh6 Bf8 25. Ne7+ R8xe7 26. Rxd7 Rxd7 27. Bxf7+ Rxf7 28. Qd2 {Here, too, black is better.}) 24. Qh6 Rxh3+ {[%mdl 512]} 25. Qxh3 Qxh3+ 26. gxh3 Rxc4 {Black has simplified, to an ending in which he has a P for the exchange and soon he will win another P. It's going to take Reshevsky a great deal of ingenuity to avoid the loss.} 27. c3 Re4 28. Rd2 Re5 $19 29. Rfd1 Rf5 30. b4 Bd6 31. Kg1 { Threatening 32.Ne7+} Bxd5 32. Rxd5 Rxf6 {[%mdl 4096]} 33. a3 Kg7 34. c4 Rf3 35. R1d3 Rxd3 36. Rxd3 {In the ending black will have two united passed Ps and white's only chance is to get open files for his R, which he does. From this point, barring a serious error, the position is a draw.} Kf6 37. Kg2 Ke6 38. Re3+ Be5 39. a4 g5 40. Rd3 Ke7 41. Rd5 f6 42. Kf3 h5 43. a5 Bf4 44. axb6 axb6 45. b5 Be5 46. Ke4 Ke6 (46... g4 47. hxg4 hxg4 48. Kf5 g3 49. Rd2 {is a draw.}) 47. Rd8 f5+ 48. Ke3 g4 49. hxg4 {This makes white's task much harder.} (49. Re8+ Kd6 50. h4 f4+ 51. Ke4 Bf6 52. Kxf4 Bxh4 53. Rh8 Bf2 54. Rxh5 {is a draw}) 49... hxg4 {The correct recapture.} (49... fxg4 50. Ke4 g3 51. Kf3 h4 52. Kg2 { and black can make no progress.}) 50. Re8+ Kf6 51. Rg8 Bd6 52. Rh8 {[%mdl 8192] As a result of his 49th mvoe white's defense was again very difficult, but this should have lost.} (52. Kf2 {is a stouter defense.} Bf4 53. Rf8+ Ke5 54. Re8+ Kd4 55. Rg8 Kxc4 56. Rf8 g3+ 57. Kf3 Bd6 58. Rxf5 Kb4 59. Kg2 {is a draw}) 52... Bc5+ (52... Kg5 {was even better.} 53. Rg8+ Kh4 54. Kf2 f4 55. Rh8+ Kg5 56. Rg8+ Kf5 57. Rg7 f3 58. Rf7+ Ke5 {wins}) 53. Kf4 Bd6+ 54. Ke3 Kg5 55. Rh7 { An interesting position. Whoever annotated this game for Reshevsky's book (him or Reinfeld) completely misjudged the position. The note to this move claims that white waits until his opponent decides to advance one of the Ps which is less dangerous than it seems. Sooner or later, one of them will occupy a black square and will not be able to advance. Stockfish puts black's advantage at an overwhelming 12 Ps while Komodo 15 puts is at only two PS which is also significant.} f4+ 56. Ke4 f3 57. Rh1 Bc5 58. Rh7 f2 {See the previous note. After this black's K cannot enter play and so the game can now be considered a draw. However, Stockfish quickly found the winning way.} (58... Bg1 {This is the correct move, but considering the complexity of it all, it is not difficult to understand why the annotators did not find the winning line.} 59. Rg7+ Kh4 60. Kf5 Kh3 61. Rxg4 Bh2 62. Rd4 f2 63. Rd1 Kg2 64. Rd2 Kg1 65. Ke6 f1=Q 66. Kd7 Qxc4 67. Kc8 Qxb5 68. Kb8 Qc4 69. Kc8 Bd6 70. Rb2 Bf4 71. Kb7 Qe4+ 72. Kb8 b5 73. Ra2 c5+ 74. Ka7 Qe7+ 75. Ka6 {[%eval -1512,27]} Qe6+ 76. Kxb5 Qxa2 77. Kxc5 Qd2 78. Kc4 Qd6 79. Kc3 Qd5 80. Kb4 Bd2+ 81. Ka3 Qb5 82. Ka2 Bc1 83. Ka1 Qb2#) 59. Rh1 Bd6 60. Rf1 Bg3 61. Ke3 Kf5 62. Rh1 Kg5 63. Rf1 Kf5 { The game was drawn 9 moves later, but the moves are not known.} 1/2-1/2

Never Relax

     Won games don't win themselves. When you have one, it's important to remember that your opponent can still cause trouble and you must always be on the alert for their seizing an opportunity for counterplay. 

     In The Middle Game in Chess, Znosko-Borovsky broke the game down into three elements: space, time and force. In his book New Ideas In Chess, Larry Evans repeated the same thing except he added Pawn structure. 

     Emanuel Lasker's Law, which was based on Steinitz' tenets, said that no combinations are possible without a considerable advantage. All of that is true...sometimes. In his writings Purdy aptly pointed out that it is possible to have an advantage in all those elements and still lose the game. Why? Because sometimes even if a player has an advantage he can still fall victim to a tactic because of some anomaly in the position. Therefore you should always look for tactics first.

     In the following game by move 24 Tal had a promising position, but rather than sit back and wait and see, Petrosian uncovered a tactical solution; he sacrificed the exchange to gain counterplay and Tal's position slowly deteriorated.

     The game, a very complicated one, has been annotated by the players, Kasparov and Jeremy Silman used a fragment of the game in his book How To Reassess Your Chess for illustrative purposes. 

     All of these great players produced their analysis before today's powerful engines which, while they may make concrete evaluations, they do not take human frailties into consideration. Anyway, it's precisely those human frailties that make the comments of those esteemed players valuable to those of us who are not esteemed. 

     In annotating this game I relied heavily on notes by the above mentioned players, but since the days when they annotated the game, Stockfish and Komodo have changed some evaluations. As Kasparov noted concerning Petrosian's 60th move "higher computer geometry" has changed things. 

     In several positions the results were quite clear to the engines, but not to me (no surprise there). In those cases I ran Shootouts to clarify things. For those unfamiliar with Shootouts, they are simply games the engine plays against itself from a give position. You can specify either a time limit or a ply depth.

 

 

[Event "USSR Championship, Riga"] [Site ""] [Date "1958.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Mikhail Tal"] [Black "Tigran Petrosian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C97"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "145"] [EventDate "1958.??.??"] {Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. Nf1 Nc4 14. Ne3 {The often played 14.b3 is a harmless alternative.} Nxe3 15. Bxe3 Be6 { A better alternative is probably 15...h6} 16. Nd2 (16. Ng5 {was an alternative, but essentially it drives the B to a more aggressive position.} Bc8 {Intending to transfer the B to th long diagonal.} 17. f4 exd4 18. cxd4 h6 19. Nf3 Bb7 20. d5 {etc.}) 16... Rfe8 17. f4 Rad8 18. fxe5 dxe5 (18... cxd4 {is more accurate.} 19. cxd4 (19. exf6 dxe3 20. fxe7 exd2 21. Qxd2 Rxe7 {is no more than equal.}) 19... dxe5 20. d5 Rc8 21. Rc1 Bd7 22. Nb3 {white is slightly better.}) 19. d5 Bd7 20. c4 Rb8 21. a4 b4 22. a5 Rf8 23. Ba4 Bxa4 24. Rxa4 {Tal has built up a considerable positional advantage. 1) he has a protected passed P on d5 which could play a decisive role in the ending, 2) he has an advantage in space, 3) he has pressure against black's c-Pawn and 4) good prospects of a K-side attack.} Rbd8 25. Qf3 Rd6 {Placing the R on the 6th rank is the beginning of a brilliant plan. A passive wait and see move would have been 25...Nd8 giving white a free hand.} 26. Nb3 {Putting pressure on the c-Pawn. Kasparov makes an instructive observation here in pointing out that up to here individual moves did not play a decisive role and mainly they were merely aimed at implementing the plan in general form. But now concrete calculation is required. And, as Kasparov pointed out, there is coming a sudden change in events that unsettled Tal and put him on the defensive, a situation he did not like to be in.} Nd7 27. Raa1 {Obviously the R has no future on a4 so has to return.} Rg6 28. Rf1 Bd6 {Black has managed to place his R in a good position and Tal now attempts to drive it away by advancing his h-Pawn. As a result he weakens his K's position, but with correct play that should not be a factor.} 29. h4 (29. Qe2 Be7 30. Nd2 Qd6 31. Rf5 {maintains an aggressive position without any danger.}) 29... Qd8 30. h5 {Driving the R where it wants to go, but this is still the best move.} Rf6 31. Qg4 {White would now like to exchange the R after which Tal correctly wrote that he considered his position to be won. Stockfish would agree, assigning white a two P advantage while Fritz 17 is less generous, giving white a one P advantage. Tal has prepared an attack on the K-side while, at the same time, black is lacking any play and s defending a weak c-Pawn.} Rf4 {A brilliant move! Petrosian sacrifices the exchange and for a small material investment he gets active piece play. The cold-blooded Stockfish still puts white's advantage at two Ps, but it does not take into account human emotions. 31...h6 is, according to Stockfish, a better defense, but only by about a quarter of a P which is meaningless to humans.} 32. Bxf4 {According to Kasparov this move leads to the activation of both the bad B at d6 (it now eyes the h2-square) and the N at d7 which lands on an excellent outpost on e5. Additionally, the white's Ps on c4 and e4 are weak. And, if that isn't enough, it transpires that the h-Pawn has advanced too far and that the white K is a potential target. In short, a complete change of scene. Again, that's from the human perspective, but Stockfish is still giving white a two P advantage. No matter...humans are playing the game and Kasparov believed that if Tal had realized what the winning of the exchange woud lead to he would have been satisfied with the win of a P instead.} (32. Rxf4 exf4 33. Bxf4 {The material-grubbing engine does not like this quite as well as winning the exchange, evaluating the position at about a quarter of a P less.}) 32... exf4 33. Nd2 Ne5 {White must now play accurately and this change in the situation has a psychological effect. Kasparov observed that up to here individual moves did not play a decisive role and mainly they were merely aimed at implementing the plan in a general form. But, now concrete calculation is required and thus sharp turn of events unsettled Tal. Also, now Tal finds himself defending which was a situation he did not like being in. By the way, the nit-picking engine likes 33...Be5 a little better.} 34. Qxf4 {Kasparov called this a mistake, but engines disagree and prefer Tal's move.} Nxc4 35. e5 {Excellent! As always, the aggressive Tal plays a P sacrifice to open a file for his R and give his N an outpost on e4.} Nxe5 {Retaining a strongly posted N in the center.} 36. Ne4 h6 37. Rae1 {This is where Tall really goes wrong and as a result black now gets an equal position.} (37. Nxd6 {eliminates the dangerous B, but after} Qxd6 38. b3 Qxd5 39. Rad1 Qe6 {black is in no way worse off.}) ( 37. b3 {was essential. After} Kh8 38. Rad1 Qc7 39. Rfe1 Nc4 40. Qf3 Nxa5 41. Nxd6 Qxd6 42. Re4 Nb7 43. Qe3 {And white is better. It's a tough row to hoe, but in Shootouts white managed to score +4 -0 =1 with the passed d-Pawn, as mentioned in the note to move 24, playing an important role.}) 37... Bb8 { [%mdl 1024] Keeping his important B. Note the threat of a fork at d3} 38. Rd1 ( 38. Nxc5 Qxd5 39. Nxa6 Nd3 $1 $19 40. Qg4 Nxe1 41. Rxe1 Ba7+ {and black wins.}) 38... c4 {This activates his Q-side P-majority and threatens ...Ba7+ and ... Bd3 with a mating attack. Technically, the position is equal, but practically black is better and white's K is in danger.} 39. d6 Nd3 {[%mdl 32] Both players were in time pressure.} 40. Qg4 {This last move before the time control turns out to be a bad one.} (40. Qe3 Qd7 41. Rxd3 {Returning the exchange is the safest course.} cxd3 42. Qxd3 Ba7+ 43. Kh2 Qg4 44. g3 Qxh5+ 45. Kg2 Qxa5 46. d7 Bb6 47. Nd6 Qc5 48. Nc8 {White's d-Pawn keeps black tied up and so compensates for his two Ps minus.} Bd8 49. Re1 g6 50. Qd6 (50. Re8 { is a blunder} Qc6+ 51. Re4 Bf6 52. Kh2 Rd8 53. Rd4 b3 (53... Bxd4 54. Ne7+) 54. Rd5 Qc2+ 55. Qxc2 bxc2 56. Rc5 Rxd7 57. Rxc2 Rb7 {black wins.}) 50... Qc2+ 51. Kf1 Qc4+ 52. Kf2 Bc7 53. Qd5 Qg4 54. Re8 Qxg3+ 55. Ke2 Qg4+ {draws thanks to white's exposed K.}) 40... Ba7+ {The B comes to life on the diagonal.} (40... Nxb2 {This hasty move loses after} 41. Rd5 c3 (41... b3 42. Ng3 c3 43. Nf5 Qg5 44. Ne7+ Kh8 45. Ng6+) 42. Nf6+ Kh8 43. Qxb4) 41. Kh1 (41. Kh2 {is met by} f5 42. Qh3 Qxa5 (42... fxe4 43. Qe6+ Kh8 44. Rxf8+ Qxf8 45. d7 Qf4+ 46. g3 Qf2+ 47. Kh3 Nf4+ 48. gxf4 Qf3+ {draws}) 43. d7 Qe5+ 44. Ng3 f4 {and black is winning.}) 41... f5 {Petrosian keeps the attack going. As before ...Nxb2 would end up losing the game.} 42. Nf6+ Kh8 43. Qxc4 Nxb2 44. Qxa6 {Take the N or the R?} Nxd1 {This is the correct decision.} (44... Qxf6 45. Qxa7 Nxd1 46. Rxd1 Qg5 {and the position is equal. White can't make progress because of his exposed K.}) (44... Rxf6 {would lose:} 45. Rc1 Kh7 46. Qxa7 Rxd6 47. Qf2 Rd2 48. Qxf5+ Kh8 49. Rc8 {wins}) 45. Qxa7 Qxd6 {In My Great Predecessors Kasparov assigned this move a ? and gave 45...Nc3 a ! He also gave a lot of analysis that appears to have be engine generated (the book was published in 2004). Stockfish 15 takes the exact opposite view and gives 45... Qd6 the ! (evaluation 5.75) and 45...Nc3 a ? (evaluation -0.32).} (45... Nc3 46. Qe7 gxf6 47. Rxf5 Qxe7 48. dxe7 Re8 49. Rxf6 Rxe7 {This position is extremely complicated! In Shooutout analysis black scored 3 wns at 10, 11 and 13 plies, but draws at 15 and 17 plies.}) 46. Qd7 {[%mdl 36864] Kasparov called this a very strong reply that enabled Tal to draw, but he added that (at the time of publication) nobody had seriously analyzed this part of the game. These days using Stockfish, his analysis appears flawed because after the text black's advantage is over 6.5 Ps.} Qxf6 (46... Rd8 47. Qxd6 Rxd6 48. a6 gxf6 49. a7 Rd8 50. Rxf5 Ra8 51. Rxf6 Rxa7 52. Rb6 Nf2+ 53. Kg1 Ng4 54. Kf1 (54. Rxb4 Ra1+ 55. Rb1 Rxb1#) 54... Rf7+ 55. Ke2 Rf4 {In Shootouts using modern endgame tablebases black scored 5 wins.}) 47. Qxd1 Rb8 (47... Qa6 {Much better (Stockfish); bad (Kasparov).} 48. Qa1 f4 49. Rf3 Rf5 {black is winning.}) 48. Rf3 (48. Qd3 {Kasparov was correct in claiming this move is much better.} b3 49. a6 {This position is a draw as demonstrated in Shootouts.}) 48... Ra8 { With this move black loses his advantage.} (48... Rb5 49. Qe1 Qf7 50. a6 Kh7 51. Qf1 Ra5 52. Rh3 Qf6 53. Rb3 Rxa6 54. Rxb4 Ra1 55. Rb1 {It was a herculean task, but in Shootouts black scored 5 wins.}) 49. Qe1 Rxa5 50. Qxb4 Re5 51. Qf4 Kh7 52. Kh2 Rd5 53. Rf1 Qg5 54. Qf3 Re5 55. Kg1 Rc5 56. Qf2 Re5 57. Qf3 Ra5 58. Kh2 Kh8 59. Kg1 Ra2 60. Qd5 {Then position was dead even, but this is a very serious lapse because it leaves e3 undefended. Both 60.Kh2 an 60.Rf2 hold the draw.} Rc2 {Missing his chance. Kasparov commented that when this game was played the winning move was discovered by the Junior and Fritz engines, adding that this knowledge required "higher computer geometry which was then unknown." } (60... Qe3+ 61. Kh2 Ra4 62. Rf3 Rh4+ 63. Rh3 Rxh3+ 64. gxh3 Qe2+ 65. Kg1 Qxh5 {with a won ending.}) 61. Qa8+ Kh7 62. Qf3 Rc1 63. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 64. Kh2 Qc7+ 65. Kh3 Qe5 66. g4 fxg4+ 67. Kxg4 Qg5+ 68. Kh3 Qf6 69. Qe4+ Kg8 70. Qe8+ Qf8 71. Qxf8+ Kxf8 72. Kg4 Kf7 73. Kf5 {Draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2

Eugene Antoniadi

     Never heard of him? Me either. It turns out that Eugene Michel Antoniadi (March 1, 1870 - February 10, 1944) was a Greek-French astronomer and an important one at that. 

     Antoniadi was born in Istanbul (then Constantinople) but spent most of his adult life in France, after being invited there by Camille Flammarion who was another important astronomer. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science fiction novels, and works on psychical research and related topics. He also maintained a private observatory in France. 

     Flammarion hired Antoniadi to work as an assistant astronomer in his private observatory in 1893 and he worked there for nine years. In 1902, he resigned to yake another position. 

     Antoniadi was one of the founding members of the British Astronomical Association. In 1892, he joined the BAA's Mars Section and became that section's Director in 1896. 

     He became a highly respected observer of Mars, and at first supported the notion of famous Martian canals. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was believed that there were canals on Mars. They were a network of long straight lines in the equatorial regions that were observed by astronomers using early telescopes. 

     The canals were first described by an Italian astronomer in 1877 and later confirmed by other observers. The Italian name given to them meant channels, but wrongly translated into English as canals. 

     An Irish astronomer made some of the earliest drawings of straight-line features on Mars, although his drawings did not match those of the canals' discoverer. 

     Around the turn of the century there was speculation that they were engineering works, irrigation canals constructed by a civilization of intelligent aliens indigenous to Mars. By the early 1900s improved telescopes revealed the canals to be an optical illusion. In 1909, using a large 32.7 inch telescope in Paris, Antoniadi came to the same conclusion. 

     Antoniadi also made the first map of Mercury, but his maps were flawed by his incorrect assumption that Mercury had synchronous rotation with the Sun.

     Synchronous rotation is a result of tidal friction. The Moon has tidal bulges similar to those on Earth. It is thought that the Moon once rotated much faster than it does today. The friction created by the stretching and squeezing of the Moon caused the Moon’s rate of rotation to slow down until its rotational period was the same as its orbital period. At this point there is no more tidal friction, the rate of rotation stabilizes and the Moon is locked in synchronous rotation with Earth. 

     Antoniadi is also famous for his scale of seeing which is commonly used by amateur astronomers, 1 being hopeless and 10 being perfect. 

     But enough about astronomy! Antoniadi was also a very strong amateur player. His best result, and as far as I know only tournament result, was equal first with Frank Marshall in a small tournament at the Cafe de la Regence in Paris in 1907. 

     Marshall had played a world championship match against Lasker earlier the same year. And, between tournaments at Ostend and Carlsbad, Marshall visited Paris and while there was invited, together with Tartakower, to meet a few of the leading Parisian players. 

     In the tournament Antoniadi tied Marshall for first, scoring +6 –1 =0, his only loss being to de Villeneuve. Besides his win over Marshall, he also defeated Tartakower. In a three game playoff, Marshall won the first game and the other two were drawn. 

     Up until this tournament Antoniadi had few opportunities to face top rank players, but wrote that he had studied a great deal. The two books he mentioned were ABC des Echecs by Jean Preti and then books by Tarrasch whom he considered one of the best annotators of his time. 

     Below is his tournament victory over Marshall. What a surprise when both Marshall and Tartakower were beaten by Antoniadi, who was living in Paris. He died there on February 10, 1944, not quite 74 years old. 

 

 

[Event "Cafe de la Regence Tmt, Paris"] [Site "Paris FRA"] [Date "1907.07.07"] [Round "?"] [White "Frank Marshall"] [Black "Eugene Antoniadi"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "1907.??.??"] [Source "La Strategie (24"] {Queen's Gambit Declined} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 Ne4 { This is an old defense which Lasker had recently adopted with success in his match against Marshall. Later it was discovered that it was better to delay the N move until after 5...0-0 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 and now 7...Ne4.} 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. cxd5 Nxc3 8. bxc3 exd5 9. Bd3 (9. Qb3 c6 10. Bd3 O-O 11. Ne2 Nd7 12. O-O Nf6 13. c4 {Korchnoy. V (2650)-Pfleger,H (2520) Bath 1973 is equal.}) 9... Nd7 ( 9... O-O 10. Nf3 c6 11. Qc2 h6 12. O-O Nd7 13. Rae1 c5 {equal. Luik, H-Rozhdestvensky,V Minsk 1957}) 10. Nf3 O-O 11. O-O Re8 (11... Nf6 {was slightly more accurate.} 12. c4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 c5) 12. c4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 Nb6 14. Qc2 {This is hardly bad, but white might have done better to preserve his B with either 14.Bb3 or 14.Bd3.} Bf5 {As Antoniadi himself commented this developing move weakens black's Q-side somewhat, but he was relying on the N to defend it.} (14... Nxc4 {is simple and good. After} 15. Qxc4 Bg4 {the position is completely equal.}) 15. Qxf5 Nxc4 16. Rfc1 Nd6 {In spite of black's Q-side P-majority white is slightly better because of his more active pieces.} 17. Qc5 c6 18. Rab1 {Logical, but a slight inaccuracy,} (18. Ne5 { was preferable because it leaves black very passive and it's difficult to suggest an active plan.} Qd8 19. Nd3 {White will, after preparation. attack the a- and b-Pawns with his Rs and his N can go to c5 or back to e5 as appropriate.}) 18... Ne4 19. Qc2 (19. Qb4 {offering to trade Qs was an alternative, but not to Marshall's taste.} Qxb4 20. Rxb4 Re7 {Black should be able to defend himself.}) 19... Rad8 {A slight inaccuracy.} (19... c5 {keeps the balance.} 20. dxc5 Rec8 21. Qb2 Rxc5 22. Rxc5 Nxc5 {with complete equality. }) 20. Ne5 Nd6 {[%mdl 32]} 21. Qa4 {Black need not worry about his a-Pawn because ...Ra8 would win white's a-Pawn.} Nb5 {This baits a trap into which Marshall inadvertently falls! He can keep just a smidgen of an advantage with 22.Rc5 or even 22.Qb4} 22. Rxc6 {[%mdl 8192] Marshall considered this sacrifice for 25 minutes, but missed black's obvious reply.} Nxd4 {[%mdl 512] The refutation.} (22... bxc6 {This is the move Marshall expected but after} 23. Nxc6 Qe4 24. Qxb5 Rd5 {he has no more than equality. Five Shootouts were drawn. }) 23. exd4 bxc6 24. h3 {Making an escape square for the K.} (24. Nxc6 { is out of the question.} Qe1+ 25. Rxe1 Rxe1#) 24... Rd6 {Also playable was 24.. .c5, but Antoniadi is going for the K. Oddly, white's position is no longer tenable; the Q and R are unable to defend the K.} 25. Nxc6 (25. Rc1 {was not much help.} h6 26. Qb4 Qf6 27. Rc4 Rxe5 28. dxe5 Rd1+ 29. Kh2 Qxf2 30. Rf4 Qg1+ 31. Kg3 Qe3+ 32. Rf3 Qxe5+ 33. Qf4 Qxf4+ 34. Rxf4 {with a won ending.}) 25... Qe4 26. Rc1 Rg6 27. g4 {There is nothing better.} (27. g3 Rxg3+ 28. fxg3 Qe3+) 27... h5 {[%mdl 32]} 28. Qc2 Qf3 29. Qb3 {It is evident that it would not br good strategy for black to exchange Qs because in this position he has a very decisive attack going.} Qf4 (29... Qxb3 30. axb3 hxg4 31. hxg4 Rxg4+ 32. Kf1 { and black is still winning, but this line only makes it harder on himself.}) 30. Qc3 hxg4 31. Ne5 gxh3+ {Offering the exchange which white cannot accept.} 32. Kh1 (32. Nxg6 Qg5+ 33. Qg3 Qxc1+) 32... Qg5 {White resigned.} (32... Qg5 33. Qg3 Qxc1+ 34. Kh2 Rxg3 35. Kxg3 Qg5+ 36. Kxh3 Re6 {mate in 5 at most.}) 0-1