On July 1st, 1956, Elvis had appeared on the Steve Allen Show, which aired opposite The Ed Sullivan Show. Due to the backlash from Elvis’s second (and last) performance on The Milton Berle Show, Allen dressed Elvis in a tuxedo and had him sing “Hound Dog” to a basset hound. Elvis personally hated it, but his teen fans loved it.
The Steve Allen Show crushed Sullivan in that week’s ratings, but following the show Sullivan sent Allen a telegram saying, in effect, that Elvis stunk. Eventually Sullivan caved in and booked Elvis. Later, Sullivan endorsed Elvis and publicly stated that after having met Elvis, he found him to be a very nice guy and that really launched Elvis' career. You can watch Elvis performing on that first Ed Sullivan show HERE
While Americans were all aghast over Elvis' hip gyrations. a book titled Peyton Place stirred up controversy. too. It dealt with the then unspeakable subjects of rape, murder, incest, abortion, promiscuity, and adultery. Readers, while publicly shocked, were secretly titillated by the subjects. 
In other titillating news, Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) reputedly coined the phrase, “I cried all the way to the bank.”
Known as just "Liberace", he was a child prodigy born in Wisconsin and was a pianist, singer and actor with a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordings, television, motion pictures and endorsements.
In 1956 in the UK, an article in the Daily Mirror strongly suggested that Liberace was homosexual. He sued the newspaper for libel and won the equivalent of $208,200 in today's dollars which led him to tell reporters: "I cried all the way to the bank!"
He settled a similar case in the US, but in n 1982, his former chauffeur and alleged live-in lover sued him for $113 million in palimony after Liberace fired him. The case was settled out of court in 1986 with the driver receiving $75,000 in cash plus three cars and three pet dogs.
In a 2011 interview, legendary actress and close friend Betty White (January 17, 1922 – December 31, 2021) confirmed that Liberace was indeed gay and that she was often used by his managers to counter public rumors of his homosexuality. At the age of 67 Liberace died of AIDS the morning of February 4, 1987 at his retreat home in Palm Springs, California.
The year 1956 saw the chess world lose a number of players. Edith Price (1872-1956), five-time British Ladies Champion (1922, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1948)died in England. Veniamin Sozin (1896-2956) master, author and theoretician died in Leningrad.
Savielly Tartakower (1887-1956) died in Paris. Julius du Mont (1881-1956), journalist, editor and writer died in Hastings. Czech champion Karel Hromadka (1887-1956) died in Prague. Dr. Walter Romaine Lovegrove (1869-1956) died in San Francisco. He was one of the strongest players in California in the 19th and early 20th century and won the first California championship in 1891. Hungarian champion Lajos Asztalos (1889-1956) died in Budapest.
On December 15, 1956, Adolf Fink (1890-1956) died in San Francisco at the age of 66. He was California State Champion in 1922, 1928 and 1929 and co-champion, with Herman Steiner, in 1945.
The Candidate tournaments of old were some truly great events. As a result of his draw against Botvinnik in the 1954 World Championship match Smyslov was seeded directly into the 1956 Candidates while the others qualified from the 1955 Gothenburg Interzonal. Smyslov's only loss was to an upcoming Boris Spassky.
In the following instructive Spassky vs. Geller game we see a characteristic feature of the play against an Isolated d-Pawn: defense and active counterplay. Pachman used this game as an example in his book Modern Chess Strategy, but while his presentation was very instructive, lacking Stockfish for his analysis he missed some things.
The game actually featured complications galore.
Also, it's important to note that as baseball's legendary Yogi Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) once observed, "It ain't over 'til it's over." On move 28 the wrong move by Geller would have tossed away his decisive advantage. You must be alert until your opponent resigns.
[Event "Amsterdam Candidates"]
[Site ""]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Boris Spassky"]
[Black "Efim Geller"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D32"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "1956.03.27"]
{D40: Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch with e3} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3
c5 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. a3 cxd4 7. exd4 Be7 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. O-O
a6 11. Bg5 (11. Ba2 {was recommended by Pachman with the continuation} b5 12.
d5 exd5 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxd5 Bb7 {resulting in equality, but such a tame
continuation would not be to Spassky's liking.}) 11... b5 12. Ba2 Bb7 13. Rc1 (
13. Qd3 b4 14. Na4 Qa5 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Bb3 Qh5 17. Rfc1 Qg6 18. Qxg6+ hxg6
19. Nc5 bxa3 20. Rxa3 Rfc8 21. Bc4 Nxd4 22. Nxb7 Bxa3 23. bxa3 Nxf3+ 24. gxf3
Rc7 25. Nd6 Rd8 26. Nxf7 Rd4 27. Ne5 Kg7 {Mortensen,E (2450)-Berg,K (2420)
Kerteminde 1991 0-1 (93)}) 13... b4 14. axb4 Nxb4 15. Bb1 {As a result of his
clever maneuvering on the Q-side Geller has gained control of d5 leaving
white's d-Pawn a liability. On the other hand Spassky has more space on the
K-side and where his actively placed pieces have the potential for a dangerous
K-side attack. Clearly, a sharp fight is looming.} (15. Bxf6 {is not good
because after} Bxf6) 15... Qa5 (15... Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Qxd4 17. Rfd1 Qe5 18. Bxf6
Qxf6 19. Qe2 Rfd8 {Being a P up black has a promising position. Privara,I
(2271)-Ruckschloss,K (2176) Bratislava SVK 2014}) (15... h6 {is less ambitious.
} 16. Bf4 Nbd5 17. Be5 Re8 {but black has a solid position. Pinheiro,J (2255)
-Frois,A (2350) Lisbon 1997}) 16. Ne5 Rac8 17. Re1 Nbd5 {Both sides have
positioned their pieces in a manner typical of the isolated d-Pawn position.
White now commences a danerous attack on his opponent's K.} 18. Qd3 g6 19. Qh3
{The advance of the h-Pawn may appear to be a more robust way of continuing
the attack, but it does not lead to anything positive.} (19. h4 Nh5 20. Bxe7
Nxe7 21. Qe3 Nd5 22. Qd2 Qd8 23. g3 f6 24. Nxd5 fxe5 25. Rxc8 Bxc8 26. Nb4 Qxd4
27. Qxd4 exd4 28. Nc6 {The position is equal.}) 19... Qb4 {This adds extra
protection to his B on e7 and at the same time it puts pressure on the d-Pawn.}
(19... Ra8 {This is a "pass" in order to show just how dangerous white's
attack could become.} 20. Bh6 Rfc8 21. Nxf7 Kxf7 22. Qxe6+ Ke8 23. Ba2 Qb6 24.
Bxd5 Qxe6 25. Bxe6 {White has a winning position.}) 20. Bh6 Rfd8 {This turns
out to be a serious mistake. Black had two reasonable continuations.} (20...
Qxd4 {remains equal.} 21. Bxf8 Rxf8 22. Nxd5 Qxd5 23. Bd3 Bb4 24. Bc4 Qd6 {
and black has adequate compensation for the exchange.} 25. Re2) (20... Qxb2 {
Looks risky, but it also gives black adequate defensive resources after} 21.
Bxf8 Rxf8 22. Nc4 Qb4 {and the advance of the a-Pawn can become a threat
requiring white's attention.}) 21. Ba2 {After the game an exhaustive analysis
lead to the conclusion that black could withstand the storm after 21.Nxf2. In
those days the players did not have the same resources that we do today, so
naturally, analysis with Stockfish is a must!} (21. Nxf7 {This turns out to be
unclear.} Kxf7 22. Qxe6+ Ke8 23. Bg5 Qd6 {Stockfish assigns white a slight
advantage here, but couldn't prove it in Shootouts...white scored +1 -1 =3})
21... Rd6 {An important defensive move that prevents the now very real threat
of a N sacrifice on f7!} (21... Qxd4 22. Nxf7 Re8 (22... Kxf7 {[%emt 0:00:07]
After this white has a mate in} 23. Qxe6+ Ke8 24. Nxd5 Nxd5 25. Bxd5 Qe3 26.
Qf7+ Kd7 27. Be6+ Qxe6 28. Qxe6+ Ke8 29. Qxe7#) 23. Ne5 {and white has an
excellent position.}) (21... Qxb2 {This is plausible as white cannot play 22,
Nxf7, but he still comes out with the better game.} 22. Nxd5 (22. Nxf7 Rxc3 (
22... Kxf7 23. Qxe6+ {leads to mate}) 23. Rxc3 Qxc3 {only results in equality.}
) 22... Bxd5 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Bxd5 Nxd5 {And now white can safely snatch the
f-Pawn. Of course the N cannot be taken.} 25. Nxf7 Qb6 {Defending the e-Pawn.}
(25... Kxf7 26. Qxe6+ Ke8 27. Qxc8+ {white has a mate in 9. Stockfish 15.1:}
Kf7 28. Qe6+ Ke8 29. Qc6+ Kd8 30. Qxd5+ Kc8 31. Qc6+ Kd8 32. Bf4 Qc3 33. Qxc3
Ke8 34. Qc7 Kf7 35. Rxe7+ Kf8 36. Qd8#) 26. Ne5 {White's advantage is minimal.}
) 22. Bg5 {This threatens to win with Bxd5.} Qxd4 23. Rcd1 (23. Bxf6 {leads to
unclear complications.} Bxf6 24. Nxd5 Rxd5 25. Rxc8+ Bxc8 26. Bxd5 Bxe5 27. Qc3
Qxc3 28. bxc3 Bxc3 29. Rc1 exd5 30. Rxc3 Be6 {After white captures the a-Pawn
Shootouts resulted in long, difficult endings where white scored +2 -0 =3.})
23... Nf4 24. Bxf4 Qxf4 {The position has reached a critical stage!} 25. Rxd6 {
After this black gets the initiative.} (25. Nxf7 {This is not only playable
again, it's the only move that allows white to keep the chances equal.} Rxd1
26. Rxd1 Bc5 27. Bxe6 Qxf2+ 28. Kh1 Rc7 29. Ng5+ Kg7 {It's a messy position,
but the chances would be equal.}) 25... Bxd6 26. Nxf7 {Now this move is
unsatisfactory! Spassky has overlooked Geller's fine tactical resource.} (26.
Bxe6 {This surprising offer comes up a bit short, too.} Rc7 (26... fxe6 27.
Qxe6+ Kh8 28. Qxd6 {is, of course, quite ba for black.}) 27. Nxf7 {It would
actually be somewaht better to play 27.g3 first.} Rxf7 28. Rd1 Qe5 29. Bxf7+
Kxf7 {Black is better, but could he win? Some very arduous endings took place,
but black scored 4 wins and a draw.}) 26... Rxc3 {[%mdl 128] Very nice! This
gives black control over the important square e4} 27. Nh6+ (27. bxc3 {is the
only way for White.} Ne4 28. Nh6+ Kg7 29. Ng4) 27... Kg7 28. bxc3 Bc5 {After
this black has a decisive advantage.} (28... Qxh6 {This only results in
equality and so it's inferior to the text.} 29. Qxh6+ Kxh6 30. Rxe6) 29. Qg3 (
29. Rf1 {was a better defense.} Ne4 30. Ng4 h5 {and the attack on f2 is
decisive.} 31. Ne3 Nxf2 32. Qxe6 Qxe3 33. Qxe3 Bxe3 34. Rxf2 a5 (34... Bxf2+ {
would be a horrible mistake allowing white to equalize.} 35. Kxf2 {draws.}) 35.
Kf1 Bxf2 36. Kxf2 a4 37. g3 Kf6 38. Ke3 Ke5 {Black's distant passed P and
superior K position translates to a winning position.}) 29... Qxg3 30. hxg3
Kxh6 31. Bxe6 {While black has a won ending it will still require some
technique.} Ne4 32. Re2 Nxc3 33. Rb2 Bc6 34. Kh2 Bb5 35. f3 Kg7 36. Rb3 Bd4 37.
Bc8 a5 {[%mdl 32]} 38. Ra3 a4 39. g4 g5 40. g3 Kf6 41. f4 Bc6 42. Bf5 h6 {
White resigned. The ending is hopelessly lost as the following analysis shows.}
(42... h6 43. Kh3 Ke7 44. Bc2 Kd6 45. Ra1 Kc5 46. Kh2 Kb4 47. Bxa4 Bxa4 48. Re1
Nd5 49. Rc1 Bb3 50. Kh3 Bc4 51. Kg2 Nc3 52. Kh2 Bd5 53. fxg5 hxg5 54. Rf1 Kc4
55. Re1 Kd3 56. Re8 Be3 57. Rf8 Ke2 58. Rc8 Bd4 59. Rf8 Bf3 60. Rf5 Be3 61. Ra5
Kf2 62. Ra6 Ne4 63. Ra2+ Nd2 64. Rc2 Bd5 65. Kh3 Bg2+ 66. Kh2 Kf3 67. Rc1 Nf1+
68. Rxf1+ Bxf1 69. Kh1 Kxg4 70. Kh2 Bd4 71. Kh1 Kh3 72. g4 Bg2#) 0-1
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