Lengyel Romps Over Rosino

     The year 1969 was a landmark year in history. The first humans landed on the moon under the Apollo space program. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first astronauts to set foot on the moon while Michael Collins stayed in lunar orbit in the command and service module. Some people still believe the landing was a fake. In fact, I met one just last week. 

     Then there was the incident at Chappaquiddick, an island in Massachusetts, in which Ted Kennedy escaped the clutches of the law after accidentally driving his car off a bridge and Mry Jo Kopechne, his 28-year-old passenger, was trapped inside and drowned. 

     The accident happened some time between about 11:30pm Friday and 1am Saturday and Kennedy left the scene without reporting it. Shortly after after 8am Saturday morning a man and boy, who were going fishing, saw Kennedy's submerged car and notified the residents of a nearby cottage and they called the police. 

     Not long after the police arrived a diver discovered Kopechne's body in the back seat and it was discovered that it was Kennedy's car. Kennedy did not report the accident to police until after 10am Saturday. 

     In 1970 at an inquest it was concluded that Kennedy was not taking Kopechne back to the ferry as he claimed, but intentionally turned toward the bridge and was operating his car negligently, if not recklessly, at too high a speed. 

     Ultimately a judge recommended no charges be filed against Kennedy and a grand jury returned no indictments. Kennedy did get driver's license suspended for sixteen months though. 

     Chess saw Boris Spassky defeat Tigran Petrosian by the score of 12.5 to 10.5 to become new world champion. Nona Gaprindashvili, retained her world title and Anatoly Karpov won the World Junior Championship. 

     Major international tournaments included: Hastings 1969-70 (Portisch), Amsterdam (Portisch), Beverwijk (Botvinnik and Geller), Ljubljana (Planinc),Palma de Mallorca (Larsen), Malaga (Benko and Ivkov), Monaco (Smyslov and Portisch), Netanya (Reshevsky), San Juan (Spassky), Skopje (Hort and Matulovic) and Tallinn (Stein). 

     Also, in 1969, over in Venice, Vlastimil Hort, a 25-year-old Czech GM, romped through the tournament undefeated. Hort started out with four straight wins and had 7 points after 8 rounds and then coasted into first place. 

    

      There was a mammoth tie for places two through seven. One of those in the group was the untitled US player Anthony Saidy. Venice was an important event for him because he got enough points to earn the IM title. At the same time, in the last round Saidy dashed the hopes of the Italian Stefano Tatai by handing him a defeat that meant Tatai missed obtaining the 10.5 points he needed for the GM title. Tatai never did get the GM title although he probably should have. 

     Soviet GM Mark Taimanov was unbeatable, but drew too many games. One of the world's foremost players in the mid-1950s, by the time of this tournament his style had become more positional than ever. In 1971, Taimanov was famously skunked by Bobby Fischer 6-0 in the Candidates Quarterfinal match. 

     The following sharp game from the tournament was played between the Italian FM Antonio Rosino, who is also an FIDE Trainer, and Levente Lengyel (1933-2014), a Hungarian GM. 

[Event "Venice"] [Site ""] [Date "1969.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Antonio Rosino"] [Black "Levente Lengyel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B61"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "1969.03.05"] {Sicilian: Richter-Rauzer Attack} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 {The Richter–Rauzer Attack. It threatens to double black's Ps with Bxf6 and forestalls the Dragon.} Bd7 7. Qd2 Rc8 8. Be2 a6 9. f4 e6 10. O-O-O Be7 11. Nf3 (11. Bf3 Qc7 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Qxd6 Qxd6 15. Rxd6 Bxc3 16. bxc3 {fizzled out to a draw in Kavalek,L (2550)-Kunsztowicz,U (2460) Germany 1981}) (11. Kb1 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Bc6 13. Bf3 Qc7 14. Rhe1 {offered equal chances in Muratoglu,S (2114)-Arkhangelsky,B (2300) Rogaska Slatina 2009} ) 11... b5 {[%mdl 32]} (11... Qa5 {was another option.} 12. Kb1 b5 13. Bd3 O-O 14. e5 b4 {with equal chances. Izumikawa,B (2395)-Margulis,I (2270) San Francisco 1997}) 12. e5 {Also playable was 12.Bxf6} b4 13. Na4 {After this black seizes the initiative.} (13. exd6 bxc3 14. Qxc3 Bf8 15. Bxa6 {with unclear complications. In Shootouts 5 games were drawn.}) 13... Ne4 14. Bxe7 Qa5 (14... Nxe7 {was more accurate.} 15. Qxb4 d5 16. Bd3 Nf2 {with a slight advantage.}) 15. Qe3 {With this move white equalizes.} Nxe7 16. Nb6 {This is the purpose behind white's last move, but he should have delayed it for a move. After the text black can force an abrupt end.} (16. exd6 {and black's advantage would be minimal after} Nxd6 17. Nb6 Nef5 18. Qg1 {Not an attractive move, but a necessary one to avoid the pin one the B} (18. Qf2 {allows black a decisive attack with} b3 19. a3 (19. axb3 Qa1+ 20. Kd2 Ne4+) 19... Rxc2+) 18... b3 19. axb3 {with the Q on g1 this is playable.} Qa1+ 20. Kd2 Ne4+ 21. Ke1 Qa5+ 22. c3 Nxc3 23. bxc3 Rxc3 24. Nxd7 Rxf3+ 25. b4 Qxb4+ 26. Rd2 Re3 {With a lot of luck white may be able to survive.}) 16... b3 {Decisive!} 17. Qxb3 (17. Qxe4 bxa2 {and the P queens.}) (17. axb3 Qa1#) 17... Nc5 {[%mdl 32]} 18. Qa3 (18. Qc3 Qxb6 {wins}) 18... Qxb6 19. Rxd6 Qc7 20. Nd4 O-O {Black is up a piece and white has no compensation so he could safely resign.} 21. b4 {Not that it matters but 21.Bf3 would have been better.} Ne4 22. Rxa6 Rfd8 23. Qb3 Be8 24. Rd1 Nc3 {White resigned.} (24... Nc3 25. Rd2 {is met by} Rxd4 26. Rxd4 Nxe2+ { followed by 27...Nxd4}) 0-1

Just A Fun Miniature

 

 

     The following miniature game was played Igor Garais (November 9, 1922 - January 16-, 017, 94 years old) who was born in Germany, but his family later moved to Latvia.

     In 1941, Garais graduated from the 1st gymnasium of the city of Riga, then entered the University of Latvia, where he studied mathematics. During the World War II he represented the sports association Universitates sports and was considered one of the most promising young Latvian players. 

     In December 1943, he took part in the Latvian championship, where he finished in 8th place in strong competition. In 1944 he fled Latvia and eventually ended up in Eastlake, Ohio, a community on the far east side of Cleveland. 

     After that he only made rare appearances in tournament play. In 1954 he won the Cleveland Open and in 1957 he participated in the US Open Championship where he scored 6.5-5.5 and finished in 54th place. In the process he lost to Bobby Fischer in the 7th round. 

     Garais actively promoted the chess life of Latvian exiles in the US and was one of the organizers of the 1959 Latvian Chess Congress,and shared first place in the 1961-1962 correspondence tournament of Latvian chess players. In later years, he devoted more time to work and family matters. 

     His opponent was Henry Gross (January 16, 1907 - February, 1987), a lawyer by profession, and the 1952 California State Champion. In 1928, he tied for 1st place in the State Championship, but lost the playoff to A.J. Fink. He also served as president of the California State Chess Federation. AT the time this game was played Garais' USCF rating was 2015 (Expert) and Gross' was 2122 (Expert).

 

[Event "US Open, Cleveland"] [Site ""] [Date "1957.08.08"] [Round "?"] [White "Henry Gross"] [Black "Igor Garais"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B75"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "1957.08.05"] {Sicilian Dragon} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Be2 O-O 9. g4 e5 (9... d5 {is a better way to counter white's last move.} 10. g5 Ne8 11. exd5 (11. Nxd5 {leads to not much of anything after} Nxd4 12. Bxd4 e6 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. Nc3) 11... Nb4 12. Bc4 Nc7 {is equal.}) ( 9... Nxd4 10. Bxd4 {Black has tried 1-...Bh6 and 10...35 both of which equalize.}) 10. Ndb5 Ne8 11. Nd5 Be6 12. Qd2 Bxd5 {A poor choice that allows white to gain the advantage.} (12... a6 13. Nbc3 b5 14. a3 Nd4 {with complete equality.}) 13. exd5 Ne7 {By playing 13...Nd4 he could have kept white's advantage at a minimum. However, practically speaking, the text is a good try.. .it sets a trap and Gross falls into it.} (13... Nd4 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. Bxd4 Bxd4 16. Qxd4 {and white is slightly better.}) 14. Bxa7 {White could have stayed on course with 14.O-O-O. Instead he makes a costly tactical error.} (14. Nxa7 {was not quite so bad, but black still comes out on top, at least theoretically, after} Rxa7 15. Bxa7 b6 16. a4 Qc7 17. Bxb6 Qxb6 {Engines may give white the edge here, but practically speaking things aren't so clear! The material situation is unbalanced (R+2Ps vs. 2Ns) and over the board the position looks quite muddled.}) 14... b6 15. O-O-O Nc8 {[%mdl 32]} 16. Bxb6 ( 16. h4 {For what it was worth white should have ignored the situation on the Q-side and launched this desperate try...} Nc7 17. h5 Nxb5 18. Bxb5 Rxa7 19. Kb1 Qf6 20. g5 Qf4 21. Bd3 Qxd2 22. Rxd2 Ne7 23. Be4 Nf5 24. Rdh2 Ng3 25. hxg6 Nxh1 26. gxh7+ Kh8 27. Rxh1 {Black has a decisive advantage.}) {Bxb5 Bc3} 16... Qxb6 17. Kb1 Nc7 18. Nxc7 Qxc7 19. c4 {How good will white's Ps be at making life difficult for black? Not very as it turns out!} Nb6 20. Rc1 Qa7 21. a3 Na4 22. Bd1 {Black finishes off the game neatly.} Nxb2 {[%mdl 512]} 23. Kxb2 e4+ { White resigned. It's mate in 5...an abrupt end.} (23... e4+ 24. Rc3 Qxa3+ 25. Kc2 Qa2+ {No need to take the R.} (25... Bxc3 26. Qxc3 Qa2+ 27. Qb2 Qxc4+ 28. Kd2 exf3 29. Qc3 Ra2+ 30. Bc2 Qxg4 {mates in 11}) 26. Kc1 Qa1+ 27. Kc2 Ra2+ 28. Kb3 Rb8#) 0-1

Another Case of the Wrong Player Winning

 

     This is another post about the wrong player winning! But, before we get to that, in the previous post I mentioned some baseball games that went awry and the year this game was played, in 1940, baseball witnessed its nastiest and ugliest bit of history...the bean ball war in which pitchers deliberately threw at the batter's head. 

     It all started when there were bad feelings between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Dodgers that had developed as a result of a mid-season trade that sent future Hall of Fame outfielder Joe Medwick to Brooklyn. 

     Six days after the trade, on June 18, the two teams met at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. It happened that Medwick and Dodgers' manager Leo Durocher were staying at the same hotel as St. Louis’ starting pitcher, Bob Bowman. The three happened to meet in an elevator. Durocher and Medwick taunted Bowman, who responded by screaming that he would take care of both of them. 

     In the bottom of the first inning Bowman’s first pitch hit Medwick in the head. Medwick collapsed and the Dodgers' dugout, lead by Durocher, emptied as all the players went after Bowman. 

     The Dodger team owner, Larry MacPhail, seeing his new player unconscious in the dirt, raced onto the field and challenged the whole Cardinals team to fight him. There was a huge brawl and the police ended up escorting Bowman out of the ballpark. 

     MacPhail demanded that Bowman be banned from baseball for life and he also took the case to the Brooklyn District Attorney urging him to prosecute Bowman, but nothing came of either demand. 

      As a result, the Brooklyn Dodgers inserted protective liners into their caps as a safety precaution, but they were unpopular and that year several players suffered serious injury and hospitalization. 

     All players are familiar with the famous tournament of 1938 that was sponsored by the Dutch broadcasting company AVRO which is short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep (General Association of Radio Broadcasting). In another bit of ugly business, on May 21, AVRO Chairman, Willem Vogt fired all Jewish employees. 

     I posted about the 1940 US Championship HERE. It was the event in which the following intensely interesting game and complicated games was played. In this game, another one in which the wrong player won, the players should not be criticized too harshly for the oversights.

[Event "US Championship, New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1940.04.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Weaver Adams"] [Black "Albert Simonson"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C24"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.3 (10s)"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "1940.??.??"] {Bishop's Opening} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} e5 2. Bc4 {Adams was an odd character... he published opening variations that he believe were the best and then followed them move for move, despite the advantage that gave his opponents. One such opening was the Bishop's Opening which he advocated for years before switching to the Vienna in 1943.} Nf6 {The Berlin Defense in black's most popular move because it forces ahite to decide how to defend the e-Pawn.} 3. d3 {This, too, is the most popular reply.} c6 4. f4 {White transposes into a kind of King's Gambit Declined. Better is 4.Nf3.} d5 (4... exf4 5. Bxf4 d5 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. Qf3 Be6 8. Nd2 Be7 9. Ne2 O-O {Katapodis,A (2050)-Lengyel,B (2258) Budapest 2011 is equal.}) 5. exd5 {This move, turning the game into a kind of Falkbeer Countergambit, is the best move. Less effective is 5.fxe5} (5. fxe5 Nxe4 6. dxe4 Qh4+) 5... e4 (5... cxd5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. fxe5 Bxb5 8. exf6 Qxf6 9. Nc3 Bb4 10. Bd2 Bxc3 11. Bxc3 d4 12. Bd2 {Now black should play 12...Qh4+ then castle and he would then stand slightly better. Kristensen,K (2295)-Jorgensen, P (2310) Taastrup DEN 1994}) (5... exf4 {is black's best even though it helps white develop a piece.} 6. Bxf4 Nxd5 {with equal chances.}) 6. dxe4 Nxe4 { The only good move.} (6... cxd5 7. Bxd5 Nxd5 8. Qxd5 Qxd5 9. exd5 {is good for white.}) 7. Nf3 (7. Qe2 {This move was tried in Koehler,A (1886)-Narings,N (2263) Amsterdam 2005, but against correct play (7...cxd5) it should yield no more than equality.} cxd5 {Now white needs to play 8.Nd2 with equal chances. Instead he quickly fell into serious trouble.} 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. Nf3 Bc5 10. Be3 Qb6 {with the advantage.}) 7... Bc5 {This assault on f2 looks far more dangerous than it is!} 8. Nbd2 Bf5 (8... Nf2 {favors white after} 9. Qe2+ Qe7 10. Qxe7+ Kxe7 11. Rf1 cxd5 12. Bxd5 {with much the better of it.}) (8... Bf2+ 9. Kf1 Nxd2+ 10. Bxd2 Bc5 11. Qe2+ {followed by Re1 and white is practically winning.}) 9. Qe2 {Adams characteristically prefers to play for the initiative. } (9. Nxe4 Bxe4 10. Ng5 Bxd5 11. Qe2+ Qe7 12. Bxd5 cxd5 {is equal.}) (9. dxc6 Nxc6 10. Nxe4 Bxe4 11. Qxd8+ Rxd8 {and white should play 12.Bd2 with equal chances, but he must avoid} 12. Ng5 Bxg2 13. Nxf7 Rd4 14. Bb3 Rf8 {and black is winning. For example...} 15. Ng5 (15. Rg1 Re4+ {wins.}) 15... Bxh1 {etc.}) 9... cxd5 10. Nxe4 {Well played.} (10. Ng5 {is met by} O-O 11. Ndxe4 dxc4 12. Nxc5 Qa5+ 13. Kf2 Qxc5+ 14. Be3 {with equal chances.}) 10... Bxe4 (10... dxe4 { is an error.} 11. Ng5 O-O 12. Bxf7+ Kh8 13. g4 {with a strong attack.}) 11. Be3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 O-O {The only correct move.} (12... Bxe3 13. Qxe3+ Qe7 14. Qxe7+ Kxe7 15. Bxd5 {and white stands very well.}) 13. O-O-O (13. Bxc5 {gives black the advantage.} Re8 14. Be3 dxc4 {white is in an awkward situation on the e-file.}) 13... d4 {An inaccuracy.} (13... Bxe3+ {is also unsatisfactory because after} 14. Qxe3 Nc6 15. Rxd5 {white has a significant advantage.}) ( 13... Re8 {keeps the chances equal after} 14. Rxd5 Nd7 15. Rhd1 Bxe3+ 16. Kb1 Bxf4) 14. c3 {Very aggressive. More accurate was 14.Kb1. The text exposes his K, but at the same time gives him active play in the center.} Nc6 15. cxd4 { [%mdl 32]} Bd6 {A tame retreat from an aggressive player!} (15... Nxd4 { remains equal.} 16. Bxd4 Bxd4 17. Qe4 Qc7 18. Rxd4 b5) 16. Kb1 Qf6 17. d5 Nb4 { In this complicated and tricky position both sides begin making inferior moves and the advantage seesaws.} 18. Rhg1 (18. Bd4 {would have given white a decisive advantage. viz...} Qxf4 19. a3 Rfe8 20. Qg2 Be5 {with complications galore although in the end with accurate play white's advantage should prove decisive. For example...} 21. Bxe5 Rxe5 22. Qg4 Qxg4 23. fxg4 Na6 24. d6 Kf8 25. Rhe1 Rxe1 26. Rxe1 Re8 27. Rf1 f6 28. g5 Nc5 29. gxf6 Ne4 30. fxg7+ Kxg7 31. Rf7+ Kg6 32. Rc7 Nxd6 33. Bd5 {The fireworks have fizzled out and white is left with a decisive positional advantage in the ending.} Re2 34. Rd7 Nf5 35. Rxb7 Rxh2 36. Rxa7) 18... Rfe8 {[%mdl 8192]} (18... Qf5+ {equalizes.} 19. Bd3 Nxd3 20. Qxd3 Qxd3+ 21. Rxd3) 19. Bd4 {...and wins...or should have!} Qf5+ 20. Bd3 Qxd5 {This allows a mate in 9, but after the better 20...Qxd3+ he would still be, theoretically at least, positionally lost, but there is still a lot of play in the position.} (20... Qxd3+ 21. Qxd3 Nxd3 22. Rxg7+ Kf8 23. Rxd3 Re1+ 24. Kc2 Re2+ 25. Kb3 Rxh2 26. Rg5) 21. Bxh7+ {[%mdl 8192] A phantasam!} ( 21. Bc4 {this is a promising looking move, but it only results in equality after} Qf5+ 22. Bd3 Nxd3 23. Rxg7+ Kf8 24. Qxd3 Qxd3+ 25. Rxd3 Re1+ {This position is identical to the position afetr 23...Re1+ in the note to black's last move, but with the big difference that here whire does not have a P on d5. }) (21. Rxg7+ {This forces mate.} Kf8 22. Rg8+ Kxg8 23. Rg1+ Kf8 24. Bg7+ Kg8 25. Bf6+ Kf8 26. Rg8+ Kxg8 27. Qg2+ Qg5 28. Qxg5+ Kf8 29. Qg7#) 21... Kxh7 ( 21... Kh8 {Perhaps this is the move Adams had reckoned on black playing. In that case he would have had a fantastic finish.} 22. Bxg7+ Kxh7 23. Rxd5 f5 24. Qg2 Re1+ 25. Rxe1 Nxd5 26. Bd4 Be5 27. Bxe5 Rg8 28. Qh3+ Kg6 29. Rg1+ Kf7 30. Qxf5+ Ke7 31. Rxg8 Nc3+ 32. bxc3 a6 33. Qf6+ Kd7 34. Rd8#) 22. Rxg7+ Kh6 { Adams resigned. There is no defense against 23...Qxa2. In fact, black has a mate in 14.} (22... Kh6 23. Be5 Qxa2+ 24. Kc1 Rac8+ 25. Kd2 Rc2+ 26. Ke1 Rxe2+ 27. Kxe2 Bxe5 28. fxe5 Qxb2+ 29. Kf1 Kxg7 30. Re1 Nd3 31. Re2 Qc1+ 32. Kg2 Nf4+ 33. Kg3 Nxe2+ 34. Kf2 Rxe5 35. Kg2 Qg1+ 36. Kh3 Rh5#) 0-1

Losing A Won Game

     Failing to win a won games happens in all sports. In football (American), in December 17, 2022 the Indianapolis Colts–Minnesota Vikings game that was played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Vikings overcame a 33–0 halftime deficit to defeat the visiting Colts 39–36 in overtime and complete the largest comeback in National Football League history. 

     In baseball, on April 17, 1976, the Chicago Cubs blew a 13-run lead against the Philadelphia Phillies in Wrigley Field in Chicago. On August 5, 2001, the Cleveland Indians rallied from 14-2 down to beat the Seattle mariners, marking the largest blown lead in the history of the National League. 

     And, probably the worst blown game lead in in Major League Baseball happened on September 28, 2019, when the Houston Astros were leading the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 6-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Astros were one out away from winning the game when the Rays scored three runs to tie the game. The Astros then went on to lose the game in the 10th inning by a score of 7-6. 

     It happens in chess, too. Most players resign when their position is utterly hopeless, but some have made the worst blunder you can make when they resigned in a won position! That's what happened in the following game played in a tournament in Berdiansk, a port city in south-eastern Ukraine. It starts out boring, but the surprising turn of events are quite amusing!

     Igor Smarin (1956-2014) was an International Correspondence Grandmaster. His opponent, Vladimir Antoshin (1929-1994) earned the GM title in 1964. As a young player hr was a high achiever, but in the 1950s chose to play correspondence chess, culminating in his winning the USSR Correspondence Championship of 1960. He was a noted opening theorist. Antoshin became a tournament organizer and trainer to the USSR Olympiad team, maintained a second career as a technical designer. According to Mark Taimanov he also had strong ties to the KGB. 

 

[Event "Berdiansk"] [Site ""] [Date "1985"] [Round "?"] [White "Igor Samarin"] [Black "Vladimir Antoshin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D11"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "1985"] {Catalan} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 c6 3. c4 e6 4. Qc2 Nd7 5. g3 {The Catalan is a sort of mix between the Queen’s Gambit and a Reti and can arise from a number of move orders. White basically plays d4 and c4 and then fianchettoes the B on g2. It avoids several attacking ideas by black and instead focuses on development.} Ngf6 6. Bg2 Ne4 7. O-O Bd6 8. Bf4 {Very unusual, but, oddly, not a bad idea. There is no way for black to get at white's K.} (8. Ne1 f5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Nd3 Qb6 11. Be3 O-O 12. Nc3 {Equals. Miles,A (2550)-Arencibia,W (2560) Cienfuegos 1997}) 8... Bxf4 9. gxf4 Nf8 {The main alternatives are 9...O-O and 9....f5} 10. Nbd2 Nxd2 11. Qxd2 {Now there comes a period of slow maneuvering typical of the boring Catalan.} Ng6 12. Rac1 Qf6 13. e3 O-O 14. Kh1 Qe7 15. b4 dxc4 16. Rxc4 f6 17. Qb2 Bd7 18. Rc5 b6 19. Rc2 Rac8 20. Rfc1 Qd6 21. a3 Ne7 22. Nd2 Nf5 23. Be4 Nh4 24. Qb3 Kh8 25. Qd3 f5 26. Bg2 Nxg2 (26... e5 {is an interesting alternative is the P sacrifice...} 27. fxe5 Qh6 28. f3 Nxg2 29. Kxg2 g5 { with some play.}) 27. Kxg2 g5 28. fxg5 e5 29. Qc3 f4 30. dxe5 Qe6 31. f3 c5 { Black has managed to work up sufficient counterplay and now white should play 32.bxc5 instead of closing the center and giving black free reign.} 32. e4 { [%mdl 8192]} (32. bxc5 {would have resulted in approximate equality.} Rxc5 33. Qd4 fxe3 34. Qxe3 Qxe5) 32... Rg8 33. Kh1 Rxg5 34. Qc4 {This should have lost almost immediately.} (34. Nc4 cxb4 35. Qxb4 Qh6 36. Nd6 Rxc2 37. Rxc2 {and white is only slightly better.}) 34... Qh3 (34... Qg6 {was also quite good...} 35. Qf1 Rg8 {and black is winning. Just one line...} 36. e6 Bxe6 37. Nc4 Qh5 38. Nd6 Rg1+ 39. Qxg1 Rxg1+ 40. Rxg1 Qxf3+ 41. Rcg2 c4) 35. Qf1 {Black's next move is a gross blunder in a winning position. 35...Qh5 would have kept the win in hand.} (35. Qf1 {Kxh2} Qxh2+ {[%mdl 8192]} 36. Kxh2 $18 Rcg8 {[%mdl 32768] Weighted Error Value: White=0.53/Black=0.19 (very precise) . Loss on time!?} (36... Rcg8 37. e6 Rh5+ 38. Qh3 Rxh3+ 39. Kxh3 Bxe6+ 40. Kh2)) 35... Qxh2+ (35... Qh5 36. Qf2 Bh3 37. Rg1 Rxg1+ 38. Kxg1 Rg8+ 39. Kh1 Qxe5 40. Nb3 ( 40. bxc5 Qa1+ {mates}) 40... Bg2+ {wins}) 36. Kxh2 Rcg8 {Believing he could not prevent ...Rh5+, white resigned, but it was a gross blunder...he has a win. OTB it was, clearly, difficult to find the only winning line.} (36... Rcg8 37. e6 Bxe6 {Here there is only one winning move.} (37... Rh5+ 38. Qh3 Rxh3+ 39. Kxh3 Bxe6+ 40. Kh2 {with a clear win!}) 38. Rxc5 bxc5 39. Rxc5 Rg3 40. Rh5 { and white is winning.}) 0-1

Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop

     This rather quaint saying means waiting for something to happen that is believed to be inevitable. 

     The saying came about from noisy New York City neighbors, a common experience of tenement living during the manufacturing boom of the late 19th and early 20th century. 

     Tenements were built similar in design with one bedroom under another. Thus, it was normal to hear a neighbor removing shoes and hearing them hit the floor above. As one shoe made a sound hitting the floor, the expectation for the other shoe to make a similar sound was created. At least that's where "they" say the expression came from. 

     That's what we were doing with the weather last week. Mid-week saw partly sunny skies and a high of 43 on Thursday, but the forecast was for rain in the afternoon followed by a dangerous winter storm in the form of an arctic blast and a bomb cyclone...a rapidly intensifying storm that can happen when atmospheric pressure drops significantly, which is usually the result of warm and cold air masses overlapping. 

     That's what happened...rain, and we found ourselves waiting for the other shoe to drop which it did late Thursday night just as forecast. Friday saw a rapid and drastic temperature drop to below 0 degrees, flash freezing of everything that was wet (which, after the rain, was everything), high winds with gusts of near 60 miles per hour, power outages and snow...3-6 inches. No records were set, but it was real ugly. 

     In the 1963 World Championship match, one shoe dropped on Botvinnik after the 15th game; the other shoe dropped after game 17. According to Botvinnik it was hard to play Petrosian because "...he had a somewhat different understanding of positional play. He went deeper into it than usual..." and Botvinnik, who described himself as a "universal" player, admitted that he did not "completely understand Petrosian's way and depth of judgment."

   

     The match, unlike Botvinnik's previous world championship matches against Tal, didn't have an exciting start even though Botvinnik won the first game. Petrosian leveled the score in game 5 and after 14 games the score was tied, but by that time the match had cost Botvinnik too much energy as he tried to deal with Petrosian's unique and sly defensive play and his reserves of strength were exhausted. 

     As a result the 15th game proved decisive when Petrosian won in subtle positional style. After a couple of draws the other shoe dropped when Botvinnik lost two more games and the match was over, the last three games being just a formality. Botvinnik knew it and that explained the quick draws to finish the match. 

     Game 7 was a heavy defeat for Botvinnik because he played the opening poorly and Petrosian quickly obtained a winning position which he duly converted to victory without particular difficulty without Botvinnik being able to put up any real opposition. It was a typical Petrosian game.

 

[Event "World Championship Match, Game 7"] [Site "Moscow URS"] [Date "1963.04.06"] [Round "?"] [White "Tigran Petrosian"] [Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A21"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "1963.??.??"] {English Opening} 1. c4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. Nc3 e5 4. g3 Ne7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 Nbc6 8. Nxc6 Nxc6 {A surprising positional error by Botvinnik. In the position that now results, white's chances are superior, mainly because he controls the strategically important square d5. For that reason, he should have played 8...bxc6} (8... dxc6 9. Bg5 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxd1+ 11. Rxd1 f6 12. Bf4 Be6 {equals. Duda,J (2730)-Nabaty,T (2658) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2019}) 9. O-O d6 10. Bd2 (10. Qd2 {ia aslo good.} Bg4 11. h3 Be6 12. b3 {White is better. Toledo Lopez,F-Banegas Gomez,R Spain 1993}) (10. Be3 {is less precise,.} Ne5 11. b3 Nxc4 12. bxc4 Bxc3 {Black stands well. Toothill,J (2174)-Freeman,R (2088) England 2005}) 10... Bg4 {This move appears to gain a tempo, but the gain is illusory. That said even after 10...Be6 black will find it difficult to maintain equality.} 11. h3 Be6 12. b3 Qd7 {The supposed tempo gain as white is forced to play 13.Kh2} 13. Kh2 Rae8 14. Rc1 f5 15. Nd5 Kh8 {A better plan would have been 15...Nd8 then 16...c6 driving the N from d5} 16. Be3 {Black's position is extremely unpleasant and Petrosian simply keeps finding ways to improve the position of his pieces, while black can hardly do anything useful. That was a good way to fall into a lost position against Petrosian.} Bg8 17. Qd2 Nd8 18. Rfd1 (18. Bxa7 {is a mistake that allows black to equalize.} b6 19. Nxb6 cxb6 20. Bxb6 {with an unclear position.}) 18... Ne6 19. Nf4 {Now that there is no longer a N on c6, black has trouble defending his Q-side.} Nxf4 20. Bxf4 Qc8 21. h4 {This and the following move are typical of Petrosian's careful play...before undertaking decisive action, he improves the position of his pieces still further.} Re7 22. Bf3 Bf7 {Slightly better was 22...b6 although even then white just keeps increasing the pressure.} 23. Qa5 Be8 { Feeble play. The only way to avoid avoid immediate catastrophe 23...Qb8. After the text move white wins after the simple 24.Qxa7} 24. c5 (24. Qxa7 {and black is helpless.} Re4 (24... b6 25. Rxd6) 25. Bxe4 fxe4 26. Qe3 {White is winning.} ) 24... d5 {Desperation or oversight? In either case, there was nothing that was really better. White has a number of ways he can win.} 25. Bd6 {[%mdl 512] Petrosian gets tactical!} (25. Rxd5 {is also good.} Bc6 26. Rd3 {etc}) 25... Qd7 {For all practical purposes this is the end of the game even though Botvinnik prefers to drag things out.} (25... cxd6 26. cxd6 Qd7 27. dxe7 Qxe7 28. Qxd5 {and white is winning.}) 26. Bxe7 Qxe7 27. Rxd5 f4 28. Qd2 Bc6 29. Rd3 Bb5 {Now black wins back the exchange, but the resulting endgame, a Pawn down, is hopeless.} 30. Rd4 fxg3+ 31. fxg3 Bxd4 32. Qxd4+ Qg7 33. Qxg7+ Kxg7 { [%mdl 4096] The ensuing endgame only requires technique which was something Petrosian possessed in abundance.} 34. Rc2 (34. Bxb7 {would be wrong because it would allow black to activate his R.} Rf2+ 35. Kg1 Rxe2 $14) 34... Re8 35. Kg2 Kf6 36. Kf2 Bc6 37. Bxc6 bxc6 38. Rc4 Ke5 39. Ra4 Ra8 40. Ra6 Kd5 41. b4 Kc4 42. a3 Kb5 43. Ra5+ Kc4 44. Ke3 a6 45. Kf4 Kd5 46. Kg5 Re8 47. Rxa6 Rxe2 48. Ra7 Re5+ 49. Kf4 Re7 50. Rb7 Ke6 51. a4 Kd7 52. Rb8 {Finally! Botvinnik resigned.} 1-0

Merry Christmas!

No posts until after Christmas. In the meantime, have a great holiday and, hopefully, the weather is better where you live.

 

Cook and Jackson Slug It Out at the 1926 Rhode Island Championship

     Chancellor Chess or The New Game of Chess was published in 1889 by Ben R. Foster of St. Louis, Missouri. It was "dedicated to all liberal minded chess players throughout the world. In the forward Foster stated that he believed and knew that he was advancing the cause of chess in the introduction of a new piece, the Chancellor, and in the enlargement of the board to 81 squares. You can read the book on Google Books HERE. 

     The year 1926 began with a bang...literally. On January 2, 1926, Foster (1850-1926), who had been chess editor of the St. Louis Globe Democrat for 37 years, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. Chess historian Bill Wall also informs us that later in the year, on Saturday, September 4th, Labor Day weekend, a player named W. B. Victor, age 55, shot and killed himself in the New Orleans Chess Club. 

     On a lighter note, 1926 was the year the ingenious Brannock Device was patented by Charles Brannock (May 16, 1903 - November 22, 1992). Everybody has seen these devices, but few know there name. 

     Brannock was born into the shoe business...in 1906 his father, Otis, formed a partnership with ith Ernest Parks and founded the Park-Brannock Shoe Complany in Syracuse, New York. 

     While a Syracuse University student Charles wanted to find the best way to measure the foot and after a couple of years of experimenting he built a prototype using an erector set. 

     By the way, an erector set was the best toy ever! One year I got two for Christmas. I didn't get to play with them for a few days though because my dad spent Christmas morning building a huge Ferris wheel. 

     Before the Brannock Device was invented, feet were measured using a marked block of wood. The Brannock Device improved the accuracy of a foot measurement to a staggering 95-96 percent! On the device, men's sizes start at size 1 (7-2/3 inches long) and each size is 1/3 of an inch longer. Each width is 3/16 of an inch and in the U.S. there are nine widths: AAA, AA, A, B, C, D, E, EE and EEE. 

    Presidents' Day, also called Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served as president. Since 1879, has been the federal holiday honoring George Washington. 

     In 1926, the 40th annual Washington's Birthday celebration of the Rhode Island chess society, which was founded in 1886 by Ex-Governor Henry Howard, took place by invitation in the rooms of the Providence Chess Club. 

     About a hundred players and spectators were on hand for the annual meeting and to witness the start of the tournaments. In addition to the championship event a minor tournament was held in which the junior championship and a few other prizes were up for grabs. 

     T. J. Jackson, who had made rapid improvement during the past year, finished second and it was the game between him and Joseph Cook that determined the outcome. 

     S.L. Thompson, a noted postal player, finished third. The third place finisher, Herman G. Bonat, a past holder of the state title, had a rather erratic score, being the only one to defeat Cook and he drew draw with the second and third prize-winners, but lost to the tailenders. The problem was likely that he had not been very active in chess during the past year or so. 

[Event "1926 Rhode Island Champ, Providence"] [Site "?"] [Date "1926"] [Round "?"] [White "Joseph C. Cook"] [Black "T.J. Jackson"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "1926.??.??"] {Scotch Gambit} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 Bg4 7. b4 {White should play 7.Qb3} Bb6 $15 8. Bb2 (8. Qb3 Bxf3 9. Bxf7+ Kf8 10. Bxg8 Rxg8 11. gxf3 Qf6 {Also playable is 11...g5} 12. c4 d3 13. c5 dxc5 14. bxc5 Bxc5 15. Qxb7 {Black is better. Harari,Z (2074)-Salomon,J (2343) London 2014}) 8... Ne5 {Well played. Any other move minimizes black's advantage.} 9. Nbd2 Bxf3 {Black has a decisive advantage.} 10. gxf3 d3 {Even more potent was 10...Qg5+ first.} 11. f4 Ng6 (11... Nxc4 {allows white to equalize.} 12. Nxc4 Qf6 13. Qxd3 Qxf4 14. a4) 12. Nf3 Nxf4 13. Bxd3 Qd7 14. Kh1 Qh3 15. Ne1 (15. Rg1 Nf6 16. Rg3 Qe6 17. Ng5 Qe7 {would have allowed white to put up more resistance.}) 15... Nf6 16. Qd2 g5 17. c4 {[%mdl 32] this is a critical position and Jackson quickly goes astray.} Ng4 {[%mdl 512] Not bad, but according to Stockfish this is only about 1/3 as good as 17...Nxe4!} (17... Nxe4 {Instead of playing 17...Ng4 which threatens mate, had black played this move attacking white's Q a very complicated position would have arisen, but one in which black has a winning advantage. Back in 1926 they didn't have engines and so one annotator wrote that after 17...Nxe4, "one of the most interesting and one of the most complicated situations would have arisen that have ever occurred on the chess board with the variations too numerous to correctly analyze in the twenty-move to the hour time limit..."} 18. Qc2 Bxf2 19. Qxf2 (19. Rxf2 Ng3+ 20. Kg1 Qg2+ 21. Rxg2 Nh3#) 19... Nxf2+ 20. Rxf2 Nxd3 21. Nxd3 O-O-O {and wins.} (21... Qxd3 {complicates the issue.} 22. Re1+ Kd7 23. Rxf7+ Kc6 24. Bxh8 Rxh8 {Black should still win.})) 18. f3 Nh5 {[%mdl 8192] A fatal error that results in the loss of the game.} (18... Be3 19. Qc2 Ne5 20. Ng2 Nxg2 21. Qxg2 Qxg2+ 22. Kxg2 a5 {Positionally black has a superior position, but practically he is going to have to prove that he can nurse it to a win.}) 19. Qg2 Qxg2+ 20. Nxg2 Ne5 21. Bxe5 dxe5 {With the exchange of pieces black's attack has disappeared and he is facing a loss of material.} 22. c5 O-O-O 23. Rad1 {White has to be careful.} (23. cxb6 {would lose the advantage after} Rxd3 24. bxa7 Ra3 {and black is even a little better.}) 23... Rd4 24. a3 Rhd8 25. Bc2 (25. Ne1 {likely loses...} Nf4 26. cxb6 axb6 27. Rd2 Nxd3 28. Nc2 R4d7 29. Ne3 Nf4 {Black should win the ending.}) 25... c6 26. cxb6 axb6 27. Rxd4 exd4 {A piece down, black's position is hopeless, but in practice he has a chance that his Ps can hold out against white's B. However, Cook plays the ending quite well.} 28. Bd3 f6 29. f4 Nxf4 30. Nxf4 gxf4 31. Rxf4 {[%mdl 4096]} Rd6 32. Rh4 c5 33. bxc5 bxc5 34. Rh5 {Excellent!} (34. Rxh7 {is very tempting.. .it picks up a P and confines black's K to the last rank. It also result is disaster!} b5 {Threatening to get the c- and d-Pawns moving.} 35. Bxb5 d3 36. Rh5 d2 37. Rxc5+ Kd8 38. Ba4 d1=Q+ 39. Bxd1 Rxd1+ {This ending is drawn.} 40. Kg2 Rd2+ 41. Kg3 Rd3+ 42. Kg4 Rxa3 43. Kf5 Rh3 44. Rc2 Ke7) 34... b6 35. Kg2 { The K must be brought into play.} Kc7 36. Kf2 Rc6 37. Rxh7+ Kd6 38. Bb5 c4 ( 38... Rc7 {is equally hopeless.} 39. Rxc7 Kxc7 40. h4 {wraps it up.} Kd8 41. h5 Ke7 42. Bc4 Kf8 43. h6 {and black's Ps will fall.}) 39. Bxc6 Kxc6 40. Rh5 b5 41. Ke2 Kb6 42. Rd5 d3+ 43. Kd2 Ka5 44. Kc3 {Black resigned.} 1-0

Fine Out Guns the Utahns

     According to the United States Government Printing Office, Utahn is the official designation for a resident of Utah. 

     Utah became a state in 1896 and in the summer of 1940 the US was finally beginning to pull itself out of the Great Depression. Only four years earlier the Farm Security Administration had sent photographers across the country to take pictures that had become representative of the ravages of poverty and economic depression. When one of them returned in 1940, he found the economy in Utah much improved. 

     The isn't much history available about Utah chess in those days. Visiting the state's chess site shows a history of their state champions dating back only to 1991. 

     The 1940 state championship was held in Salt Lake City, but you won't find much on it. It was just the fourth annual Congress of the Utah Chess Federation and it was unusual in that it was won by Reuben Fine who toted a gun way too big for the Utah players to handle. 

Family dinner - Utah 1940

     According to a report in Chess Review, Fine added the title of Utah champion to his long string of laurels, but that report was incorrect. An article in the September 5th edition of the Salt Lake City Tribune stated that Fine, who was on tour and had given several exhibitions in town, had been invited to play in the tournament as a guest. 

     The outstanding Utah players who participated were Richard Durham, champion in 1938 and 1939, L. N. Page, the 1937 titleholder, and Dale L Morgan, champion of Salt Lake City. Besides Fine, other non-residents who participated were Douglas Graham of Bozeman, Montana and George F. Girard of Pocatello, Idaho. 

     As the top Utah finishers, Dale Morgan and Richard Durham, also from Salt Lake City, decided the championship in a playoff that was won by Morgan. 

     The Major tournament was won by 14 year old Philip Neff of Salt Lake City who was playing in his first important tournament. He went on to become a well known figure in western chess circles. 

     In the following game, Morgan indulges in positional maneuvering and when he finds his pieces offside on the Q-side, Fine unleashes a deadly attack against Morgan's King. 

[Event "Utah State Champ, Salt Lake City"] [Site "?"] [Date "1940.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Dale L. Morgan"] [Black "Reuben Fine"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A30"] [Annotator "Massie,Jasmes"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "1940.??.??"] {English Opening} 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. O-O e5 7. d3 {Once upon a time when I was under the influence of Botvinnik this was ny favorite setup with white. Unlike Botvinnik, I was never very successful with it and like Morgan here, became victim of a K-side attack more than once. I eventually gave it up as too passive.} Be7 8. Nbd2 O-O (8... Be6 9. Re1 O-O 10. a3 Qd7 11. b3 f6 12. Bb2 Rfd8 13. Rc1 Rac8 {Karlsson,L (2405) -Tal,M (2705) Skara 1980. While black's advantage is not huge, white eventually got crushed.}) 9. Nc4 f6 10. b3 {GM Alex Yermolinsky (I think it was) wrote unfavorably of the double fianchetto.} (10. Be3 Be6 11. a4 Qd7 12. Qd2 b6 13. Rfc1 Rac8 14. Qd1 Kh8 15. Bd2 Rfd8 16. Qb3 {Black is better. Lisitsin,G-Botvinnik,M Leningrad 1932}) (10. Qb3 Kh8 11. Bd2 Rb8 12. Rfc1 Be6 13. Qd1 Qd7 14. a3 Rfc8 15. Rab1 Nd4 16. Ra1 Nc6 {Black is a little better, but the players agreed to a draw. Coenen,M (2433)-Niedermeier,T (2262) Deizisau 2015}) (10. a3 Be6 11. Ncd2 f5 12. Bh3 Nc7 13. Qc2 {Black's position is the more promising. Salas Rasillas,C-Saez Gabikagogeaskoa,O Fuengirola 2005} ) 10... Be6 11. Bb2 Qd7 12. Qd2 Rac8 13. Rac1 Nd4 14. Ne3 (14. e3 {driving the N back seems plausible, but white ultimately ends up with a backward d-Pawn which is bound to be a problem in the long run.} Nc6 15. Rfd1 Bg4 16. e4 Ndb4 17. a3 Na6 18. Ne3 Bh5 19. Nd5 Nc7 20. Nxe7+ Qxe7 {Black is better.}) (14. Nxd4 {Eliminates one well placed N, but the remaining N is also well placed and black ahs a spatial advantage after} cxd4 15. a3 b5 16. Na5 b4) 14... Nb4 15. Bc3 Nbc6 16. Nc4 Rfd8 17. Qb2 Bd5 18. Nxd4 exd4 {White's best hope for prolonging the game is now to play 19.Bxd4+ although in that case also his K is dangerously denuded of defenders.} 19. Bd2 {After this move engines are already informing us that white's position has deteriorated to the point of no return against a GM} Re8 20. Rc2 {It was still worth a try to play 20.Bxd5+} Bxg2 21. Kxg2 b5 22. Na3 a6 23. Bf4 Bf8 24. Re1 Nb4 25. Rcc1 Nd5 {Fine wants to drive the B back so he can use the e5 square.} 26. Bd2 {Not 26.Qd2 g4 trapping the B} Re5 27. Rc2 {White is quite helpless.} (27. Nc2 $142 Rh5 28. Rh1 Qh3+ 29. Kg1 f5 {results in a slaughter...white cannot allow ...f4, so} 30. f4 Re8 31. Re1 Rh6 32. e3 dxe3 33. Bxe3 Rhe6 34. Qc1 c4 35. bxc4 Nxe3 36. Rxe3 Bc5) 27... Rce8 28. Bc1 Rh5 {White is about to go down in flames, but there is nothing he can do.} 29. h4 Rxh4 {[%mdl 512] Morgan realized he was dead lost here, but decided to let Fine have some fun.} 30. gxh4 (30. Rh1 {results in mate.} Rxh1 31. Kxh1 Qh3+ 32. Kg1 Re5 33. Qxd4 cxd4 34. g4 Qxg4+ 35. Kf1 Rh5 36. f4 Qg3 37. e4 Rh1+ 38. Ke2 Qg2#) 30... Qg4+ {Black mates here, too.} 31. Kf1 Qh3+ 32. Kg1 Re3 {[%mdl 512] Sacrificing another R. It wasn't the only way to win, but it was actually the quickest.} 33. Bxe3 (33. fxe3 Qg3+ 34. Kf1 dxe3 {mates on f2}) 33... Nxe3 34. fxe3 Qg3+ {White resigned.} (34... Qg3+ 35. Kf1 dxe3 {mates on f2.}) 0-1

Southard Slaughters Medinus

     On February 15, 1898, there was a mysterious explosion on the battleship Maine which was anchored in the Havana harbor. The explosion sank the ship and killed some 300 Marines. It was the turning point for the United States to start war operations against Spain. 

     An official Naval Court of Inquiry ruled in March that the Maine was blown up by a mine, but the court did not directly place the blame on Spain. Nevertheless, many in Congress and most of the American public expressed little doubt that Spain was responsible and called for a declaration of war. As a result, on April 21st President William McKinley formally requested Congress to declare war on Spain. The Spanish-American War lasted until December 10, 1898. 

     It wasn't until 1976 that a team of American naval investigators concluded that the Maine explosion was likely caused by a fire that ignited its ammunition stocks, not by a Spanish mine or act of sabotage. 

     May 30, 1898, was Decoration Day or, as it is called today, Memorial Day, and the war was still in progress and on that day, while the parades and memorials to those who died in wars was going on, a telegraph match was held between the Boston Chess Club and the Chicago Chess and Checker Club. The final score favored Chicago, but neither club had its best players in the lineup. 

    The following was one of the more interesting games from the match. Elmer Southard (July 28, 1876 - February 8, 1920) was born in Boston, he lived there for nearly his entire life.

     A promising player who distinguished himself while in college, he was a strong amateur who enjoyed the game throughout his life. 

     After briefly studying in Germany, he returned to the United States as a pathologist at Danvers State Hospital (also known as the Danvers Lunatic Asylum). It was a psychiatric hospital located in Danvers, Massachusetts. 

     Later, Southard headed the Boston Psychopathic Hospital when it opened in 1912, pioneering the study of brain pathology with particular interests in shell shock and schizophrenia. Southard published several books, including Shell Shock and Other Neuropsychiatric Problems. 

     He was president of the American Medico-Psychological Association and the Boston Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, and held advisory positions with the U.S. Chemical Warfare Service and the Eugenics Record Office. 

     It was Southard introduced, among others, Karl Menninger to psychiatry, and Menninger later helped establish the foundation which bears his family name. 

     At the age of 43, Southard died of pneumonia in 1920 during a trip to New York City to deliver lectures to two medical societies. 

     His opponent was Carl Medinus (August 4, 1873 - December 6, 1941, 68 years old). When Frank Marshall visited the Chicago Chess and Checker Club in December 1899 and January 1900 to play a match against Sidney Johnston (whom he only narrowly defeated +7 -6 =2), he was then challenged to a five-game match byMedinus but Marshall declined, pleading lack of time. 

     Marshall returned to Chicago later in the month and played Medinus a match in which the winner was the first to win four games. Marshall won by a score of +4 -2 =0. 

[Event "Team Match"] [Site "?"] [Date "1898.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Elmer Southard (Boston)"] [Black "Carl Medinus (Chicago)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "1898.??.??"] {French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 {Originally introduced by Steinitz at Vienna in 1875, this move was eventually discarded in favor of 5.f4} c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. f4 cxd4 {Generally, black prefers 7...Qb6} ( 7... Qb6 8. Nf3 f6 9. a3 Be7 10. h4 O-O {White has tried both 11.Rh3 and 11.b4 with equal chances in both cases.}) 8. Nxd4 (8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Qb6 10. Nf3 O-O 11. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 12. Qd2 {is equal. Tarrasch,S-Noa,J Hamburg 1885}) 8... Nxd4 9. cxd4 Be7 10. Bd3 Nb8 11. Qg4 Bb4+ {This move, squandering time, serves little purpose because white's K is not badly placed on f3. The correct move was 11...g6 with full equality.} 12. Kf2 O-O {Black castles into a very dangerous attack. 12...g6 was still the correct move.} (12... g6 13. a3 Be7 14. Be3 Qb6 15. Ne2 Bd7 (15... Qxb2 16. Rhb1 {wins the Q}) 16. Rhc1 O-O {with a slight advantage for white.}) 13. Nf3 {Hoping black will let him play 14.Bxh7+} f5 (13... Nc6 14. Bxh7+ Kxh7 15. Ng5+ Kg8 16. Qh4 Re8 17. Be3 (17. Qh7+ Kf8 { should also end up as a victory for white.}) 17... Qb6 18. Qh5 Nd8 19. a3 { There is no immediate mate, but after this black has no reasonable move.} Be7 { This takes away the Ks escape square.} (19... Bxa3 20. Qh7+ Kf8 21. bxa3 Qb2+ 22. Kf3 Nc6 23. Rhc1 Bd7 24. Qh5 Ke7 25. Qxf7+ Kd8 26. Rab1 Qxa3 27. Rxb7 Qe7 28. Rxc6 Bxc6 29. Nxe6+ Kc8 30. Rc7+ Kb8 31. Rxe7 Rxe7 32. Qxe7 Bd7 33. Qxd7 { mate next move.}) 20. Qh7+ Kf8 21. Qh8#) 14. Qh3 {The threat is Ng5} Be7 15. g4 g6 (15... Qb6 {puts up a tougher defense.} 16. Rg1 Bd7 17. Bd2 Nc6 18. Bc3 g6) 16. Rg1 {[%mdl 128]} Kh8 {[%mdl 8192] After this black cannot hold the game. He had to play either 16...Qb6 or 16...Nc6 to have any chance of defending his position.} 17. Bd2 {Good enough. Better, but more difficult to calculate and therefore not as clear would have been 17.gxf5 exf5 18.Rxg6} Qe8 18. Rg3 Rg8 19. Rag1 Bd7 (19... Nc6 {was only marginally better.} 20. gxf5 exf5 21. Nh4 Bxh4 22. Qxh4 Qf7 23. Qh6 Bd7 24. h4 {with a very strong attack.}) 20. gxf5 exf5 21. e6 Bxe6 22. Ne5 Bf6 23. Rxg6 (23. Nxg6+ {was also good.} Rxg6 24. Rxg6 Bxd4+ 25. Kf1 Bxg1 26. Rxg1 {White wants to mate with Bc3+.} d4 27. Qh4 Nd7 28. Qf2 {and 29.Qxd4+ leaves white with a won position.}) 23... Bxe5 24. Rxg8+ Bxg8 25. fxe5 Qa4 {Practically resigning, but there was no defense.} (25... Be6 26. Bh6 Qf7 27. Qh4 {Threatening Qd8+} (27. Bg7+ {isn't bad either.} Qxg7 28. Rxg7 Kxg7) 27... Nd7 28. Rg7 Qe8 29. Qg5 Qf8 (29... Nb6 30. Rxh7+ Kxh7 31. Qg7#) 30. Re7 {mates in 7 at most.} Qxe7 31. Qxe7 Rg8 32. Qxe6 Rg6 33. Qe8+ Rg8 34. Qxd7 b6 35. Bxf5 Rg6 36. Bxg6 {mate next move.}) 26. Qh4 {White has a mate in 7.} Nd7 27. Bh6 (27. Bxf5 {was a bit quicker.} Qc6 28. Bh6 Qg6 29. Rxg6 hxg6 30. Bxd7 g5 31. Qxg5 Rf8+ 32. Bxf8 Bh7 33. Qg7#) 27... Bf7 {It's still mate in 8. 27...Be6 would have held out 2 moves longer.} 28. Bg7+ {Both 28.e6 and 26.Bxf5 mate a move sooner, but it does not really matter, does it?} Kg8 29. Bxf5 Bg6 30. Bxg6 {After this white is still winning but there is no linger a forced mate.} (30. Bf6 Nf8 31. e6 Qe8 32. Qh6 Qe7 33. Bxe7 Re8 34. Bxg6 hxg6 35. Rxg6+ Nxg6 36. Qxg6+ Kh8 37. Bf6#) 30... hxg6 31. Qh8+ Kf7 32. e6+ {This had to be played because any other move and the win has evaporated.} (32. Qxa8 {and white cannot escape the coming Q checks so black draws.} Qxd4+ 33. Kg2 Qg4+ 34. Kh1 Qf3+ 35. Rg2 Qd1+) (32. Qh7 Qxd4+ {Here, too, there is no escaping the Q checks.} 33. Kg2 Qe4+ 34. Kg3 Qd3+) 32... Kxe6 {White must still avoid falling into the grabbing the R trap.} 33. Re1+ (33. Qxa8 Qc2+ 34. Ke3 Qe4+ 35. Kd2 Qf4+ 36. Kc3 Qe3+ (36... Qf3+ 37. Kb4 {White has escaped.}) 37. Kb4 Qd2+ (37... Qxg1 {would be fatal after} 38. Qe8+ Kf5 (38... Kd6 39. Be5+ Nxe5 40. dxe5+ Kc7 41. Qe7+ Kc8 42. Qc5+ {with a won ending.}) 39. Qxd7+ Kf4 40. Qd6+ Ke4 41. Qe5+ ) 38. Ka3 Qe3+ 39. b3 Qxg1 {Now this is safe. After} 40. Qe8+ Kd6 41. Be5+ Nxe5 42. dxe5+ Kc7 {and in this line white does not have Qc5+ forcing the exchange of Qs and so the Q+P ending is likely drawn.}) 33... Kf7 34. Qh7 {Threatening mate with Bh8+.} Nf8 35. Bxf8+ Kxf8 36. Qe7+ Kg8 37. Qe6+ Kh7 38. Qf7+ Kh8 39. Qf6+ {Black resigned.} (39. Qf6+ Kg8 40. Qxg6+ Kh8 41. Qf6+ Kg8 42. Rg1+ Kh7 43. Qh4#) 1-0

Ralph Betza Knocks Off A GM

     In 1965 I was assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. On June 1st, we boarded the USS Fremont in Morehead City, North Carolina for a training cruise in the Mediterranean from which we returned on November 1st. 

     I don't think any of us were aware that the US economy continued into its fifth consecutive year of expansion as part of the longest boom since the end of World War II.    

     It was the year that crude and vulgar lout occupying the White House, Lyndon B. Johnson, signed the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 into law. The bill required printed health warnings on cigarette packages about the harmful effects of smoking.

     We didn't know it at the time at Camp Lejeune, but 1965 was the year Johnson began the escalation of the war in Vietnam when nearly 5,000 men from the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade arrived in South Vietnam to defend the airbase at Da Nang from Viet Cong attacks. By the end of the year over 58,000 Marines were in Vietnam. 

     The conflict eventually became known as “Johnson’s War” because he pretty much ran the war in a haphazard manner using Executive Orders. By 1968 it was clear that Johnson was not capable of running the country and he declined to seek reelection. The country missed him not being in office about like one would miss no longer having a hemorrhoid. 

     Of course I was totally unaware of the US Open that was held in San Juan where there was a major upset in the first round. 

 

     Unless you are into chess variants you have probably never heard of Ralph Betza. Although he has not been active for decades he is an FM (FIDE 2330) who, without a doubt, is the most productive inventor of that type of chess. You can read an interview with him HERE. 

     Back in 1965, Betza, who was born on April 16, 1945, was the 33rd place finisher in the US Open with a score of 7-5. His USCF rating was 1955 (Class A). In the first round he defeated GM Robert Byrne who's USCF rating was 2546. 

[Event "US Open, San Juan"] [Site ""] [Date "1965.??.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Ralph Betza"] [Black "Robert Byrne"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A02"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1965.07.26"] {Bird's Opening} {White's strategy involves control of e5 and the Bird offers good attacking chances at the expense of slightly weakening the K-side.} 1. f4 Nf6 {Byrne chooses this flexible defense instead of the more popular 1...d5} 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 c5 {After this the opening is already in remotely explored territory. Usual is 4...d5.} 5. Nc3 {This looks rather awkward. 5.O-O is a good alternative.} d5 {[%mdl 32]} 6. d3 d4 {Black has already gained a slight advantage.} 7. Ne4 Nd5 {There was nothing wrong with 7...Nxe4. In fact, it was probably slightly better than the text.} 8. Bd2 Qb6 {Well played as it gives white something to think about. Should he allow ...Qxb2 or not?} 9. c4 ( 9. O-O Qxb2 {won't work. Instead, black should simply castle.} 10. Rb1 Qa3 ( 10... Qxa2 11. Ne5 Bxe5 12. fxe5 O-O 13. Qc1 {White has what should amount to a winning attack.}) 11. Rb3 Qxa2 12. Nxc5 {White is better.}) 9... Ne3 (9... dxc3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Rb1 {would leave white with a decent position.}) 10. Bxe3 dxe3 {Obviously black can't maintain the P on e3, but it temporarily has a cramping effect on white's position.} 11. Rb1 (11. O-O Qxb2 12. Nxc5 O-O 13. d4 Nc6 14. Nd3 Qa3 15. Nde5 {is equal.}) 11... Qa5+ 12. Kf1 Nc6 13. a3 {It looks like black has made some serious progress in gaining the advantage, but, oddly, Stockfish evaluates the position as quite equal as does Komodo 14!} f5 (13... Nd4 {is another alternative.} 14. Qc1 Nb3 15. Qxe3 {with equal chances.}) 14. Neg5 {Better was 14.Nc3 as the N now gets chased to a poor square.} h6 15. Nh3 O-O 16. Qc1 Qa4 {Rather odd in that it allows white to take the e-Pawn and thereby get a slight edge. Instead, black had two reasonable alternatives.} ( 16... Bd4 17. Nxd4 cxd4 18. b4 Qc7 19. b5 Nd8 {Technically this position is evaluated at nearly equal, but practically black looks to have all the chances. }) (16... e5 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. fxe5 f4 {is interesting, but it appears white manages to survive after} 19. Nxf4 g5 20. Bxc6 {A nice trap is set with this move.} bxc6 (20... gxf4 21. Bd5+ Kh8 22. Kg2 Qc7 (22... fxg3 23. Qxe3 {wins quickly.}) 23. e6 Rf6 24. Qc3 Qg7 25. Rhf1 Bxe6 26. Bxe6 Rxe6 27. Rxf4 { with a decisive advantage.})) 17. Qxe3 Qc2 {Byrne has misjudged bot only the amount of play he gets on the Q-side, but the strength of white's counterplay.} 18. Kf2 {[%mdl 32]} Bxb2 19. Qxc5 e5 {Correct was 19...Be6. Now white's Q and N crete havoc.} 20. Qd6 Kg7 21. Nxe5 {This look natural, but it should have allowed black to equalize.} (21. Rxb2 Qxb2 {and only now that black's Q has been drawn away from e3 should white capture on e5.} 22. Nxe5 Nxe5 23. fxe5 { and white is better.}) 21... Bd4+ 22. Kf3 Nxe5+ {[%mdl 8192] This eliminates the dangerous N, but, ironically, loses the game.} (22... Qd2 23. Qxg6+ Kh8 24. Qxh6+ {and now because he is threatened with mate on e3, white must take the draw by repeating moves.}) 23. fxe5 {White is clearly winning; he just has to be careful. Practically, for a lowly class player to find himself in this position against one of the country's best players had to be nerve-racking. Kudos to Betza for not falling apart!} b6 (23... Bb6 {saves the B, but it's met by} 24. Rxb6 {With the B gone all of black's hope disappears.} axb6 25. Nf4 Qc3 26. Qxg6+ Kh8 27. Qxh6+ Kg8 28. Ng6 {wins.} Re8 29. Qh8+ Kf7 30. Qh7+ Ke6 31. Rb1 Bd7 32. Nf4+ Kxe5 33. Qxd7 Qxc4 34. dxc4 Rxa3+ 35. Kf2 Rf3+ 36. exf3 Kf6 37. Rxb6+ Re6 38. Rxe6+ Kg5 39. h4#) 24. Qxd4 {In case you have not noticed, white is up a N and two Ps and has a winning advantage, but with a 591 point rating advantage the Grandmaster is not going to resign so quickly.} Bb7+ 25. Kf2 Bxg2 26. Kxg2 Qxe2+ 27. Nf2 Rad8 28. Qb2 Qh5 29. e6+ {[%mdl 32]} Rf6 30. e7 Re8 31. Rhe1 Kf7 32. Qb5 g5 33. Qd5+ Kg7 34. Re6 Qf7 35. Rbe1 { After this black can only make meaningless moves and so he resigned. An impressive performance by Betza.} (35. Rbe1 h5 36. Qd4 Kg6 37. Qd7 a6 38. Nh3 f4 39. R6e5 f3+ 40. Kf1 g4 41. Ng5 Qg8 42. Ne4 f2 (42... Rf7 43. Rg5+) 43. Re2 Qf7 44. Nxf6 Kxf6 45. Rxf2+) 1-0

Schlecter's Flawed Gem

     While preparing this post I came across mention of the Clydesdale horse’s strength which is legendary and is the main reason why they flourished in the pre-industrial period.

     How much weight these massive horses can pull? Pulling strength is determined by the distance a loaded sled (or a dynamometer is moved) and a pair of Clydesdale can pull approximately 18,000-pounds. Actually, most large draft breeds pull similar weight. Just thought you'd like to know. 

     A few years ago I posted about how much I still liked an old book titled The Golden Treasury of Chess by Al Horowitz that he first published in 1943. It's printed in descriptive notation, most games have no or very light notes and only a few have diagrams. 

     As I mentioned in the post the collection was originally published by Francis J. Wellmuth in 1943 and it was revised and printed many times by Horowitz and the latest 2009 edition has been further revised and printed by Sam Sloan. 

     The size of the book and the games appearing in it have changed over the years. The book's history has been covered by Edward Winter in an article titled The Horowitz-Wellmuth Affair. 

     Once again I found myself browsing through the book's Modern Chess section...that section begins with a game played by Joseph H. Blackburne in 1980 and ends with a miniature played by two unknowns in Chicago in "about 1905."

     According to the book, Modern Chess "is the age of the great Lasker and Tarrasch, of Schlechter and Maroczy, of the attacking geniuses Pillsbury and Marshall and Janowski. 

     Horowitz (or maybe it was Wellmuth, I'm not sure) observed that as the number of GMs increased, it became more difficult to score tactical wins and so positional play became preeminent. The author also lamented the fact that the immortal and beautiful games of Pillsbury were not appreciated in the "Modern Era." 

     One of the games that caught my attention was the following "sparkling gem" that's been called "Schlechter's Immortal." It was played in Vienna in 1893 against Bernhard Fleissig (1853, Hungary - March 7, 1931, Vienna) who was a minor master and the younger brother of Max Fleissig, another minor master of that era. The game was apparently just an offhand game, but it's still entertaining. 

     Carl Schlechter (March 2, 1874 - December 27, 1918) was a leading Austro-Hungarian master and theoretician at the turn of the 20th century. Few realize it, but in 1910 Schlechter came within a hair's breadth of becoming the world champion when he drew a match with Emanuel Lasker. 

     Schlechter was leading by one point going into the tenth and final game of the match. In the tenth game he achieved a won game, but blundered into a clearly drawn position and then blundered again and lost. Schlechter died of pneumonia and starvation and was buried in Budapest. 

     As for the game, I don't have to tell you that Stockfish picked it apart like a buzzard on roadkill and it's not really an "Immortal" or a "sparkling gem." It's like a flawed diamond. Diamond flaws are common and few natural diamonds are perfect; most of them have inclusions or imperfections, but some people actually prefer imperfect diamonds which can be raw, speckled with shades of gray or colored with hues like brown or pink, etc. So it is with chess games. 

[Event "Offhand game, Vienna"] [Site "Vienna AUH"] [Date "1893.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Bernhard Fleissig"] [Black "Carl Schlechter"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "1893.??.??"] {Polish Opening} 1. b4 {Also known as the Sokolsky and the Orangutan. White gains Q-side space and plays Bb2 in hopes of launching a long-range attack. While it flies in the face of theory which says white must strive for control of the center, it's never been refuted. In my database the results are evenly divided between wins, losses and draws.} e6 {Black has several replies, with 1. ..d5 and 1...e5 being the most natural and popular as they grab control of the center and allow for easy development.} 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. a3 c5 4. b5 (4. c3 d5 5. e3 Bd6 6. f4 {Correct was 6.bxc5} c4 7. Nf3 b5 8. a4 bxa4 9. Rxa4 {is vavorable to black. Cebolla Moll,R (2040)-Cantero,A (2262) Benidorm ESP 2013}) 4... d5 {Wuensche,P (2140)-Gross,D (2360) Berlin 1996 black played 4...b6 which is just OK.} 5. d4 {After this white's position is in a shambles.} (5. c4 {as in Valenta,V (2183)-Mandak,M (2069) Tatranske Zruby 2005 is correct.} Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. e3 Nbd7 8. d3 Ne8 9. Nc3 Bf6 10. Qc2 Nc7 11. Be2 Qe7 12. O-O { with equal chances.}) 5... Qa5+ 6. Nc3 Ne4 7. Qd3 {His only chance was 7.e7. Now white loses time with his Q and weakens f2.} (7. e3 {was the only chance.}) 7... cxd4 8. Qxd4 Bc5 9. Qxg7 Bxf2+ {Very natural, but in a sequence only and engine would see 9...Rf8 was even more potent.} (9... Rf8 10. e3 (10. f3 Nf2 11. Nh3 Nxh1 {is also winning.}) 10... Be7 11. Qd4 Bf6 12. Qb4 Qxb4 13. axb4 Bxc3+ 14. Bxc3 Nxc3) 10. Kd1 d4 {[%mdl 512]} 11. Qxh8+ Ke7 {Enticing white to grab more material.} (11... Kd7 {is unacceptable.} 12. e3 Nxc3+ (12... dxc3 13. Bc1 {Black is the exchange down and white's position is much better.}) 13. Bxc3 Qxc3 14. Qxd4+ Qxd4+ 15. exd4 Bxd4 {White is better.}) 12. Qxc8 {[%mdl 8192] A fatal error.} (12. Nh3 {This move would have left white with reasonable chances of defending himself.} Nxc3+ 13. Bxc3 Qxc3 14. Nxf2 Qxa1+ 15. Kd2 Qc3+ 16. Kd1 {Here it's unlikely that black would be satisfied with taking a draw with 16...Qa1+, etc., so...} Nd7 17. Qxh7 {and white can put up a serious fight.}) 12... dxc3 13. Bc1 Nd7 {[%mdl 128] Flashy, but nearly as good as the prosaic 13...Qxb5} (13... Qxb5 14. Bg5+ Qxg5 15. Qxb7+ Nd7 16. Nf3 (16. Qxa8 Qd2#) 16... Qe3 17. Qxa8 Ng5 {mates in 6} 18. Qb7 Nxf3 19. Qb4+ Nc5 20. Qxc5+ Qxc5 21. Kc1 Be3+ 22. Kb1 Qb5+ 23. Ka2 Qb2#) (13... Nd7 14. Qxa8 Qxb5 15. Nf3 Qd5+ 16. Bd2 Be3 {White cannot avoid mate...} 17. a4 cxd2 18. c4 Nf2+ 19. Kc2 Qxc4+ 20. Kb2 d1=N+ 21. Rxd1 Nxd1+ 22. Ka1 Qc1+ 23. Ka2 Qb2#) 14. Qxa8 { Suicide. Black has a mate in 22...but only if he finds the right move.} (14. Qxb7 {This hardly saves the game, but it does not result in instant defeat.} Rd8 15. Qxe4 Nf6+ 16. Qd3 Rxd3+ 17. exd3 {White has more than enough material for his Q, but black must find the only road to victory and it's a narrow one!} Bxg1 18. Rxg1 Qb6 19. Rh1 Ng4 {the only move that avoids turning the advantage over to white.} 20. Rb1 (20. a4 Nf2+ 21. Ke2 Nxh1 22. Bg5+ f6 23. Be3 {and black should be able to win.}) 20... Qc5 {A clever plan...shifting the Q to a2 thereby winning the R.} (20... Nf2+ 21. Ke2 Nxh1 {and black should win.}) 21. d4 Qd5 22. Ke1 Qa2 {etc.}) 14... Qxb5 (14... Qb6 {intending ...Bxg1 would be awful.} 15. e3 Bxe3 16. Qc8 Bxg1 17. Bd3 Nf2+ 18. Ke2 Nxh1 19. a4 Qf2+ 20. Kd1 {Materially there is a crazy material imbalance where white has a R+B vs 2Ns+P and the chances are evaluated at 0.00 (NOT a draw, but it's anybody's game).}) 15. Bf4 Qd5+ {Black has a mate.} 16. Kc1 Be3+ {[%mdl 512]} 17. Bxe3 Nf2 { [%mdl 512]} 18. Bxf2 Qd2+ {White resigned.} 0-1

A Game Just For Enjoyment

     Most chess players probably didn't care even if they knew about it, but in 1980 the US Olympic ice hockey team made history at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in New York when the team, composed of mostly college-level players, defeated the four-time gold medal winning team from the Soviet Union in a great upset. They went on to win again against Finland to take the gold medal. 

     Former Beatles member John Lennon was shot and killed by an obsessed fan outside of Lennon’s apartment in Manhattan. It was also the year Mount St. Helens in Washington state erupted, killing 57. One of my all time favorite items, Post-It notes, were officially introduced to US stores during April of 1980. The Rubik’s Cube debuted in January at a toy fair in London and by 1981 it was a worldwide craze. 

     The average income was $19,000 a year and the average cost of new house $68,700. A new car cost $7,200.00 and to put gas in it cost $1.19 a gallon. If you played chess, USCF membership was $20 a year, chess books cost $8-12, a nice 3.75 inch heavily weighted rosewood and boxwood set was available for $49, the great Drueke Player's Choice plastic set was $20 and the Cavalier Deluxe also cost $20. Somewhere stored away in a bookcase I have the latter set which was purchased when I returned home from a tournament and discovered a couple of pieces from my Player's Choice set were missing! 

 

     As advertised in the June 1980 issue of Chess Life, the Sargon 2.5 Modular Game System was said to be able to solve a given mate in 3 in 3.5 minutes which was 20 times faster than any competitor. The cost? You had to mail in a clip out coupon and they would sent you a FREE price list, brochure and a detailed report comparing Sargon to other home chess computers. Later, in December, Boris/Sargon 2.5 was on sale for $295 (that amounts to about $905 today).

     Sometimes you come across a game that is just fun to play over and the following game by USCF Expert James L. Harkins (1929-2017, 88 years old) in which he was defeated by USCF Master Tom Ward (born 1961) is such a game. He tied for 1st in the 1954 Ohio Championship, but lost on tiebreaks and won the title in 1964, 1968 and 1973. I remember seeing Harkins at tournaments; he was a man of quiet demeanor, sported a crew cut and a bow tie. His obituary can be read on the USCF site HERE. 

 

[Event "Ohio Champ Qualifier"] [Site "Cleveland, OH USA"] [Date "1980.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "James L Harkins"] [Black "Tom Ward"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "1980.??.??"] {Scotch Gambit} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. c3 {This gambit is an off-shoot from the Scotch Game in which white sacrifices a P, sometimes two, to open up lines and to accelerate his development.} dxc3 {Black needs to think carefully whether or not to accept the sacrifice; safer is 4...d5} 5. Bc4 {The alternative 5.Nxc3 has proven to be less effective.} cxb2 {By accepting the second P black must exercise care that he doesn't allow white dangerous attacking chances.} 6. Bxb2 d6 {A viable alternative is 6...Bb4+ and 5...Nf6} 7. Nc3 (7. O-O Be6 8. Bxe6 fxe6 9. Qb3 Qd7 {Mastrovasilis,D (2562)-Michos,T (2264) Athens 2006 is equal after 10.Nbd2. In the game white speculated with 10.Ng5?!}) 7... Be6 8. Bxe6 (8. Nd5 {remains equal.} Nge7 9. Ng5 Ng6 {Now the correct move is 10.Nxe6. Stukalov,A (2164)-Kutepov,A (2083) Vladimir RUS 2004}) 8... fxe6 9. Qb3 {Black is better.} Qd7 {This sets a little trap, but only a beginner would fall for it. In any case, white has no real compensation for the two sacrificed Ps.} 10. O-O-O {This move, which leaves his K wide open, is nearly fatal.} (10. Qxb7 Rb8 {and the B is lost.}) (10. Ng5 {is insufficient.} Nd4 11. Qxb7 Rd8 12. O-O c5 {Here, too, white has nothing to show for the two Ps.}) (10. O-O {is safest, but black still has the advantage.} Na5 {and after the Q retreats black simply continues his development.}) 10... O-O-O {White must now prevent ...Nf6.} 11. Ng5 Re8 12. f4 h6 13. Nf3 Nge7 {[%mdl 32]} 14. Na4 {Now with 14...Na5 and 15...Nec6 black has a very promising game.} Nd8 { [%mdl 8192] Give this move two question marks because it should have lost.} 15. Kb1 {[%mdl 8192] Give this move two question marks because it misses the win.} (15. Ne5 {wins the Q!} dxe5 16. Rxd7 Kxd7 17. Rd1+ Kc8 18. Qd3 {and white is winning.}) 15... Nec6 16. Rd2 Na5 17. Qb4 Ndc6 18. Qb5 a6 19. Qe2 Na7 20. Nc3 Kb8 {Black still had to be careful!} (20... Be7 {continuing his development is met by} 21. Ne5 Qd8 22. Nf7 Qd7 {and white can draw by repeating moves with 23. Ne5. If} 23. Nxh8 Rxh8 24. Rc1 {the position is unclear as both sides have chances.}) 21. Rc1 (21. Ne5 Qc8 22. Nf7 Rh7 {and white hasn't really accomplished anything.}) 21... Be7 {Opening up the position with 21...g5 was more aggressive, but the text is quite solid.} 22. h4 Rc8 23. g4 b5 24. Nd1 Rhg8 25. Ne3 g5 {Black should have tried opening up lines against white' K with 25...c5 even though white would then get some play. The text allows white to nearly equalize.} (25... c5 26. f5 Qb7 27. fxe6 Qxe4+ 28. Rcc2 Qxe6 29. Nf5 Qxe2 30. Rxe2 Bf8 31. Re6) 26. hxg5 hxg5 27. f5 exf5 28. gxf5 {Wrong recapture! } (28. exf5 N7c6 29. Qd3 {and for all practical purposes white is equal.}) 28... g4 {The passed P causes white grief.} 29. Nxg4 {This may look like desperation in a time of panic, but it sets a trap.} (29. Nd4 Bg5 30. Rdd1 g3 { and black is clearly better.}) (29. Ne5 {This is the move!} Qe8 30. N5xg4 Bg5 31. Qf3 N7c6 32. f6 {Black will have to defend carefully in order to keep his advantage.}) 29... Nc4 {Excellent!} (29... Rxg4 30. Ne5 Qd8 31. Nxg4 Bg5 { and suddenly the chances are back to equal.}) 30. Rdc2 (30. Rxc4 {was better. After} bxc4 31. Ne3 Bg5 32. Nxg5 Rxg5 33. Qxc4 Qc6 {Black is up the exchange, but white has some practical chances owing to his active pieces and the P on f5.}) 30... Nxb2 31. Rxb2 Rxg4 {White resigned. At first glance it might look a bit premature, but black has the win in hand.} (31... Rxg4 32. Ne5 dxe5 33. Qxg4 Ba3 34. Qd1 Qe7 35. Qb3 Bxb2 36. Kxb2 {and black is a piece and P up... it's not worth playing on against a Master under such circumstances.}) 0-1