Thursday, May 16, 2024

William Eno at Skaneateles

    
I know you are dying to know where Skaneateles is and who William Eno was. Skaneateles is in upstate New York not far from Lake Ontario. It’s a small town of a little over 7,000 people. It gets its name from the adjacent Skaneateles Lake.
    William Eno (1843 – 1922, 78 years old) was born in Manchester, England and passed away in South Nyack, New York, a hamlet about 30 miles north of New York City. In his day, Eno was a gentleman who required no introduction to players of the area because he had been so prominently identified, both as a player and as an official with the rise of chess clubs in Brooklyn starting in the 1880s. 
    In his early years Eno was a contemporary with Bernhard Horwitz and Josef Kling who authored an important book on endgames. At 16 he was a spectator at Blackburn's first blindfold performance. The 19-year-old Blackburn played twelve games without seeing the boards. 
    After Eno came to the United States (probably somewhere between 1868 and 1872) earning a living to support his family took precedence over chess and until his mid to late thirties he played very little. 
    When a new chess club (the Danites Chess Club in New York) opened he came out of “retirement” and when the club was absorbed by the Brooklyn Chess Club he became more active than ever in furthering chess interests in New York. Eno was champion of the Danites C. C. and was the Brooklyn C. C. Champion in 1887 and again in1890. 
    Eno's style of play was described as “moderately slow, every move thoroughly considered, and yet in simple positions as rapid as could be desired; very sound in combinations, and frequently brilliant in conceptions.” His Edo Historical Rating is a little over 2100, placing him in the modern day USCF Expert category. 
    His opponent in the following game was William Scripture (1843 – 1933, 89-years-old). 

A game that I liked (Fritz 17)

[Event "Skaneateles, New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1891.07.21"] [Round "?"] [White "William F. Eno"] [Black "William E. Scripture"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "Stockfidh 16"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "1891.??.??"] [Source "Chessbase"] {C66: Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defence} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 {This game starts out as a Ponziani Opening, but soon tranposes into the Ruy Lopez.} Nf6 { This, the Jaenisch Variation, is considered black's safest course in the Ponziani.} 4. d4 d6 (4... Nxe4 {The main alternative.} 5. d5 Nb8 6. Bd3 Nc5 7. Nxe5 Nxd3+ 8. Nxd3 {is equal.}) 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. O-O Be7 7. Bxc6 {White has played several different moves here. This unprovoked exchange of a B for a N seems wrong on principle, but it is not actually a mistake.} Bxc6 $11 8. dxe5 Nxe4 (8... dxe5 9. Nxe5 (9. Qxd8+ Rxd8 10. Nxe5 Bxe4) 9... Bxe4 {looks quite boring.}) 9. exd6 cxd6 {Like white's 7th move, this is not really a mistake, but it just doesn't look right. Taking with either the Q or B seems more natural.} 10. Be3 O-O 11. Bd4 f5 {It;s odd that while black has not made any moves that could be called a mistake and the position is evaluated at dead equal, somehoe black's position looks loose and unstable.} 12. Re1 {[%mdl 32]} Bh4 {This attack in f2 is quite harmless.} (12... Qe8 {deserves consideration. After} 13. Qb3+ d5 {the position is completely equal.}) 13. Nbd2 (13. Nxh4 { looks logical, but even then the position is devoid of any tension after} Qxh4 14. f3 Ng5 15. Nd2 {and a good word to describe this position is "bland."}) 13... Bf6 14. Re2 Ng5 15. Nxg5 Bxg5 16. Qb3+ Kh8 17. Rae1 Bxd2 18. Rxd2 Qg5 { A double attack on g2 and the R.} 19. f4 {The only move.} Qg6 {After this black finds himself with increasing trouble.} (19... Qxf4 {There was no reason to avoid this capture.} 20. Re7 {It's white's turn to attack the g-Pawn.} Rg8 21. Qf7 {Black is forced to guard g7.} Qxd2 (21... Qg5 22. h4 Qg4 23. Rde2 f4 24. h5 Raf8 25. Qe6 Qxe6 26. R2xe6 Rd8 {The double R ending with Bs of opposite color make a draw a likely outcome.}) 22. Bxg7+ Rxg7 23. Qxg7#) 20. Re7 {[%mdl 128] Now whit's attack looks to be gaining considerable force.} Rg8 21. Re6 {But not after this.} (21. Qf7 Qxf7 22. Rxf7 Be4 23. Re2 h5 (23... h6 { is much worse...watch...} 24. Re3 Kh7 25. Rg3 {with a triple attack on g7/}) 24. Re3 Kh7 25. Rh3 (25. Rg3 {is less effective.} h4 26. Rgxg7+ Rxg7 27. Rxg7+ Kh6) 25... Kg6 26. Rc7 h4 27. Rxh4 {with a promising position.}) 21... Qg4 22. Qc4 (22. Rxd6 Qxf4 {and black is OK}) 22... Be4 {Surrendering the d-Pawn is a mistake.} (22... Rge8 $11 {and Black has nothing to worry.} 23. Rxd6 {loses as follows...} Re1+ 24. Kf2 Rae8 {is fatal for white.} 25. Bxg7+ (25. g3 Qf3#) 25... Kxg7 26. Qd4+ Kf7 27. Qf6+ Kg8 28. Qg5+ Qxg5 29. fxg5 {Blac has the superior ending.}) 23. Rxd6 Rae8 {Black has managed toi drift into a lost position.} (23... Qxf4 {is a self mate.} 24. Bxg7+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} Kxg7 25. Qd4+ Qe5 26. Qxe5+ Kf8 27. Qf6+ Ke8 28. Re6#) (23... Rac8 {was worth a try.} 24. Qe6 Rce8 25. Qf7 Bc6 26. Be5 Rxe5 27. fxe5 Qe4 {Neither side can maker any progress.}) 24. Be5 (24. Bxa7 {throws away his advantage.} Qxf4 25. Qd4 Qg4 { Oddly, in spite of his extra P, Q-side P-majority and triple heavy pieces on the d-file plus black's tied down R on g8 white can make absolutely no progress. Opposite color Bs and black's attack on g2 are adequate compensation. }) 24... Qh4 25. Qe2 a6 26. c4 Rc8 27. g3 Qe7 {It's hard to see, but the Q lands in difficulties on the 7th rank...so much so that this must be considered the losing movve.} (27... Qh3 {Offered much stout resistance.} 28. Rd7 h5 29. R2d4 Qg4 {In Shootouts white scored +3 -0 =2 in long (100+ moves) and difficult endins.}) 28. b4 (28. Qh5 {Threatening mate with Rh6 was stronger.} Rc6 29. b4 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 Qe8 31. Bxg7+ {The finishing touch.} Kxg7 32. Qh6+ Kh8 33. Qf6+ Rg7 34. Rd8) 28... Qf7 (28... Rgd8 {offered a manly defense.} 29. Qd1 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 Bc6 31. Qh5 Kg8 32. Qxf5 Rd8 33. c5 Rf8 { and white is going to have to work hard for the win...white scored 5-0 in Shootouts.}) 29. Rd7 {[%mdl 32]} Qxc4 {Scripture clearly hoped the exchange of Qs would ease his defense, but in this case it walks into a mate in 9! Either 29...Qe8 or 29...Qg6 would have held out longer.} 30. Qxc4 Rxc4 31. Rxg7 { [%mdl 512]} Rc1+ 32. Kf2 Re8 (32... Bd5 {prolongs things a bit.} 33. Rxd5 Rc2+ 34. Kf3 h5 35. Rc7+ Rg7 36. Rd8+ Kh7 37. Rxg7+ Kh6 38. Rh8#) 33. Rg5+ {It's mate in 2 so black resigned.} (33. Rg5+ Rxe5 34. Rd8+ Re8 35. Rxe8#) 1-0

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