The year the game was played,1967, was a watershed year for me. One morning in July at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina I got to walk around Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment drawing envious stares from many of my comrades. That was because the large white envelope marked Official Documents that was tucked under my arm contained my discharge papers.
We didn’t read newspapers and rarely watched television and when we did it was never the news, so with one exception we didn’t know what was going on in the world. That one exception was the war in Vietnam.
At that time the war's escalation, the Six-Day Arab–Israeli war, major riots in the US and the Summer of Love, a social phenomenon where roughly 100,000 young people converged on San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district creating a peak in the 1960s counterculture. The counterculture was characterized by anti-war sentiment, interest in hallucinogenic drugs and a bohemian life stye. Participants rejected conventional, materialistic society in favor of communal living and sexual promiscuity.
In the chess world Bobby Fischer dominated tournaments in Monaco and Skopje, but shocked everybody when he got in a snit over playing conditions and scheduling and walked out of the Sousse Interzonal while leading.
The 1967 US Open in Atlanta, Georgia drew 168 players and was won by Pal Benko ahead of Dr. Anthony Saidy (2nd)and Robert Byrne (3rd). Herbert Avram tied for places 4-12 with an 8.5-3.5 score while Greta -Olsson finished in places 71-98 with a 6-6 score.
Herbert Avram (1913-2006) was a well known New York City Master known for his dogged defense although he was also quite capable of launching sparkling attacks. His opponent, Greta Olsson (1929-2016) from California was a many time competitor in the US Women’s Championship. The game features a nice sacrifiial finish by Avram.
[Event "US Open, Atlanta"]
[Site ""]
[Date "1967.08.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Greta Olsson"]
[Black "Herbert Avram"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D25"]
[WhiteElo "1747"]
[BlackElo "2288"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 18"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "1967.08.13"]
{D25: Queen's Gambit Accepted} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 {
The main line is 4...e6. This is the Janowsky-Larsen Variation in which blacl
seeks active development.} 5. Bxc4 e6 6. Nc3 Nbd7 7. O-O Be7 {White has two
main choices here: the defensive 8.h3 or the aggressive 8.e4. Instead she
plays a move to support the advance of the Q-side Ps. Though it may not look
like it now, in the long run her idea turns out to be feasible.} 8. Rb1 O-O $11
9. h3 Bh5 10. b4 Nb6 11. Be2 Nfd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Bd2 Bg6 14. Rb2 Bd6 15. a4
Be4 16. Be1 {She wants to exchange the B on e4. 17.Qb3 keeps more tension in
the position, but her strategy is simplification.} Qf6 17. Bd3 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 a6
19. Bd2 Qd8 {A safety precaution against white playing e4 and e5 forking the Q
and B.} 20. Rfb1 {This move is part of her plan to expand on the Q-side. Her
play has been passive, but her position contains no weaknesses and black’s
cramped position has yielded him no advantage. However, if white wanted to
play with some gumption she could have tried 20.e4 and to that end her Rs
would have been better doubled on the c-file.} (20. e4 Nf4 21. Qc4 Ng6 22. Rc1
Rc8 23. Rbc2 c6 24. b5 axb5 25. axb5 {The chances are equal.}) 20... Nb6 21.
Qb3 c6 22. e4 Qd7 23. a5 Nc8 24. Be3 Ne7 {So far white has played passively,
but black has been unable to make any progress and his position remains
cramped.} 25. e5 {Engines evaluate this position as dead equal, but the move
doesn't look right! It blocks the position, leaves her B bad and leaves her
with a weak d-Pawn. However, owing to his cramped position there does not seem
to be any way black can take advantage of it.} (25. Ne5 Qc7 (25... Bxe5 26.
dxe5 Ng6 27. Rd1 Qc7 28. Bc5 Rfd8 29. Bd6 {and white is in good shape.}) 26.
Nd3 {and at least white has an active position while black remains cramped.})
25... Bc7 26. Qc2 (26. Ng5 {After approximately 45 minutes this is the line
that the Reckless engine came up with.} h6 27. Ne4 Qd5 28. Nc5 b6 29. axb6 Bxb6
30. Ra1 Bxc5 31. bxc5 Qe4 32. Qc2 Qd5 33. Rb7 Nf5 34. Qb3 Qe4 35. Qb1 Qd5 {
Evaluation: 0.00}) 26... f5 27. exf6 gxf6 28. Qe4 Rae8 29. Bh6 Rf7 30. Rb3 Qd5
31. Qg4+ {Here it is! As is almost always the case, sooner or later the
amateur makes a serious mistake. White has misjudged the position and thinks
she has gained an advantage on the K-side and makes an attacking gesture. In
fact, black will use the g-file to his advantage. By exchanging Qs white would
have kept the position equal. As it is black now has real attacking chances.}
Kh8 32. h4 {[%mdl 8192] The bane of the amateur...a tactical error after which
she is lost. The best try was 32.Ne1 defending g2. At least then black would
have some work to do to show that he has a win.} (32. Ne1 Rg8 33. Qf3 Qxd4 {
with a clear advantage.}) 32... Rg8 33. Qh3 Nf5 34. Be3 Rfg7 {The game is over
except for mopping up...or rather it should be!} 35. Ne1 Rg4 {Both sides have
missed white's equalizing defense after this move.} (35... Qe4 {leaves white
helpless.} 36. Kh1 Nxe3 37. fxe3 (37. Qxe3 Rxg2 {cannot be answered.} 38. Qxe4
Rh2#) 37... Rg3 38. Qh2 R3g4 {wins}) 36. h5 {[%mdl 8192] This does nothing to
meet black's threats.} (36. Bg5 {[%mdl 512] This double attack on the P and R
give white just enough time to organize a defense.} h5 (36... fxg5 37. Qxg4)
37. Bxf6+ Kh7 38. Qf3 Nxh4 39. Bxh4 Rxh4 40. Rd1 {and black's advantage is
minima;.}) 36... Qc4 37. Qf3 Rh4 {Black now wraps things up efficiently.} 38.
g3 Bxg3 {[%mdl 512] Obvious!} 39. Rd3 (39. fxg3 Rxg3+ {wins the Q.}) 39... Bf4+
40. Kf1 Bxe3 41. fxe3 Rg3 42. Qe2 Rh1+ 43. Kf2 Rh2+ {White resigned.} 0-1
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