The Nice Bobby

    In 2008, the late National Master James R. Schroeder (1927-2017), a man with an acerbic outward demeanor, but who basically had a good heart, wrote an article on Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) which he concluded with the statement, "Because of severe life-time mental illness it would have been best if Fischer had died after becoming world champion, as he had no other reason to live."

    Schroeder also made the observation, "Because he had achieved his one goal in life, he could not play any more serious chess because he might lose. It’s amazing that a person who was irrational to the point of being insane could be one of the best players of all time." 

    In 1968, people weren't so harsh when they spoke of Fischer. He won tournaments at Netanya, Israel with an undefeated score of 11.5-3.5 and then at Vinkovci, Yugoslavia with a score of 11-2. 

    After that, his only other game was when, as a favor to Arnold Denker, he agreed to play for the Manhattan Chess Club in their Metropolitan League team match against the Marshall Chess Club. To Denker's surprise, he agreed to do it for free. iFischer defeated Dr. Anthony Saidy and after that he stopped playing for 18 months. It was also the year his classic My 60 Memorable Games was published. 

    Vinkovci 1968 was Fischer's fifth consecutive tournament victory and his score was a full two points ahead of the second place finishers Hort and Matulovic. Back in those days no tournament was as interesting as one with Fischer playing and at Vinkovci, a small town near Belgrade, before the start if the tour

 

 

    And, at this tournament Fischer was at his best, not only in his play, but he gave a lot of interviews and signed hundreds of autographs. One Yugoslav journalist said that at Vinkovci Fischer took the time to speak to everyone, he was kind and the people love him. That’s not the Bobby Fischer most people think of!

    In spite of his results Fischer wasn’t satisfied with his play, claiming that if he had played the last games better he could have won by four points! 

    His opponent in the following game was Yugoslav GM Milan Matulovic (1935 - 2013) who was the third strongest Yugoslav player for much of the 1960s and 1970s behind Svetozar Gligorić and Borislav Ivkov. Ten years earlier, in 1958, he played, and lost (+1 -2 =2), a four game training match with Fischer. He was Yugoslav Champion in 1965 and 1967. 

     Matulović was involved in some controversies. He often, as in this game against Fischer, played on in hopeless positions. After the 1970 Interzonal at Palma de Mallorca, he was accused of throwing his game against Mark Taimanov in return for a $400 bribe. As a result, Taimanov advance to the Candidates matches. It didn't do Taimanov any good; he was overwhelmed by Bobby Fischer 6–0. 

    In his game against István Bilek at the Sousse Interzonal in 1967, Matulovic played a losing move, immediately recognized it as such and took it hack claiming he was adjusting his pieces. Bilek complained, but the new move was allowed to stand, earning kim the moniker of "J'adoubovic". Reportedly this taking back of moves happened several times, including in a game against Fischer. 

    Matulovic was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and served nine months in prison for a car accident in which a woman was killed. He had a sharp attacking style as demonstrated in this game against Fischer. 

 

[Event "Vinkovci"] [Site ""] [Date "1968.09.09"] [Round "?"] [White "Milan Matulovic"] [Black "Robert Fischer"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B91"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "1968.09.07"] {[%evp 13,80,16,17,-3,-4,-13,-11,-83,-77,-76,-78,-84,-86,-84,-79,-91,-109,-122, -84,-105,-70,-108,-99,-165,-150,-142,-141,-170,-166,-259,-258,-242,-242,-321, -310,-320,-312,-351,-326,-417,-394,-479,-442,-538,-498,-514,-498,-555,-561, -552,-544,-568,-565,-625,-624,-615,-614,-698,-681,-711,-705,-683,-683,-924, -900,-902,-874,-837,-798] B91: Sicilian} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 {In an earlier tournament, Monaco 1967, Fischer played 6...g6 against Matanovic but ,amaged to get only equal play.} 7. Nde2 {More flexible is 6,Bb3 because the N is in a passive position on e2. The idea behind placing the N on e2 is with the vague hope that it may support the N on c3 in the fight for d5.} Be7 8. Bg5 {Matulovic jad prepared this as a surprise. 7.Bg2 is normal.} Nbd7 {Black has support the N on f6 with this N becaise it keeps an eye on the important square d5.} 9. Bh3 {This is the point of 7.Bg5... white;s Bs create an immediate po sitional threat to make good use of the hole on d5 for his N on d5.} b5 {[%mdl 32] This aggressive move by Fischer is an unpleasant surprise for white.} (9... O-O 10. Bxd7 Bxd7 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nd5 { is the thematic line, but the position is only equal.}) 10. a4 {This move only helps b;ack acgieve an aggressive position. White should continue with his strategy.} (10. Bxd7+ Bxd7 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nd5 {with equal chance.}) (10. Nd5 {at once is also feasible. After} Nxd5 11. Qxd5 Rb8 12. Bxd7+ Bxd7 13. Bxe7 Kxe7 {the chances are also equal.}) 10... b4 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. Qxd5 Rb8 { Thisposition is better for black than the one after 10.Nd5 because black;s P on b4 restricts white's N.} 13. Bxe7 (13. Be3 Bb7 14. Qd3 Nc5 15. Bxc5 dxc5 16. Qxd8+ Rxd8 17. f3 O-O {White's pieces are very passive, especially his N.}) 13... Kxe7 {This is the correct recapture because white's hope was in putting pressure on the d-Pawn, but now with the K defending the d-Pawn andm at the same time, being quite safe on e7 any pressure will not be effective and the poor placement of white's pieces will make defense difficult.} 14. Qd2 (14. Bxd7 Qxd7 15. O-O {is no better because white's pieces still have no activity.} ) 14... Nf6 {[%mdl 2048]} 15. Bg2 {This is a strategic error, White should exchanfe black's strong .} (15. Bxc8 Qxc8 16. f3 {and black's advantage ism at least, jept to a minimum.}) 15... Bb7 16. Qd3 Qb6 {White's position lools defensible because black;s own B is not especially active and he still has to find a favorable set uo his Rs and Q. Howeverm for his part white has few prospects of obtaining any play and must content himself with trying to defend his poosition. The point is that in spite of his less than stellar play, white is far from lost.} 17. O-O {This is a poor move. 17.a5 isolating black's d-Pawn was better.} a5 18. Rfd1 Ba6 19. Qd2 Rhc8 {Very quickly black's pieces have begun to show some signs of life.} 20. h3 h5 21. b3 {Over the last few moves white has managed to develop a condiserable positional disadvantage.21. Rac1 was obviously better.} Bxe2 $19 22. Qxe2 Rc3 23. Rd3 Rbc8 {[%mdl 32]} 24. Rxc3 Rxc3 {White is now strategically lost.} 25. Kh2 Qc5 26. Ra2 {What a miserable place for the R.} (26. Rc1 g6 {White is reduced to shifting pieces.}) 26... g6 27. Bf1 Qd4 28. f3 Re3 29. Qg2 {White could resign here with clear conscience but true to his nature, Matulovic chooses to play on no mstter what. } Qd1 30. Bc4 Qxf3 31. Qxf3 Rxf3 {[%mdl 4096]} 32. Kg2 Re3 33. Bd3 {White is hopeful.of playing 34.Kf2 snaring the R.} Nxe4 34. Bxe4 Rxe4 35. Kf2 d5 { White should resign.} 36. Ra1 d4 37. Rd1 Re3 38. h4 Rc3 39. Rd2 Ke6 40. Kg2 f5 {White resigned. Finally!} 0-1

Is This a Record?

    Back in 2010, I think I set some sort of record. While playing 10 minute games online line three opponents (one rated 1800+ and two rated 1900+) in a row with plenty of tome on their clocks and with decent positions blundered away their Queen. Had to be a record of some kind. 

A few years earlier I managed to make an even worse blunder in a correspondence game with a time limit of 7 days a move when I let a winning position slip into equality then fell into a mate all within two moves. 

    The game was played on an excellent English site, Chessworld, which is still around. This was my favorite site and I had a lot of fun playing there. There was plenty of chess activity and the forum discussions were friendly and lively. Unfortunately, I decided to quit playing there sometime around 2010 because a couple of days after renewing my membership my credit card got a fraudulent charge on it. While returning home from New Jersey we stopped at a hotel to get a room for the night and the card had been locked. A call to the credit card company revealed that it had been used in Germany the previous day to purchase some science fiction video games and some sex toys. 

    In one amusing incident on the site I had an opponent who was absolutely convinced that I was the well known US correspondence player J. Franklin Campbell. I am not sure I was able to convinve him that I am not.

    Here is that horrible game. The loss was even more painful because my opponent was rated much higher rated much lower.

[Event "Correspondence, Chessworld"] [Site "?"] [Date "2006.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Opponent"] [Black "Tartajubow"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B13"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2006.??.??"] {B13: Caro-Kann} 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 {A somewhat rare and unexplored reply.} d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bb5+ (4. Ne5 {is an interesting oddity that contains a hidden danger to black.} Bf5 {Correct is 4...Nc6/ The. 3...Bf5 looks logical enough, but after} 5. Bb5+ Bd7 (5... Nd7 6. Qf3 f6 (6... Bg6 {loses outright to} 7. Bxd7+) 7. Bxd7+ Bxd7 8. Qh5+ g6 9. Nxg6 {and nobody would want to be playing b; ack.}) 6. Qh5 Nh6 7. Nxd7 Nxd7 8. Qxd5 {and white is much better.}) 4... Nc6 5. d4 Bd7 6. O-O (6. c3 Nf6 7. O-O g6 8. Re1 Bg7 9. Bf4 {is equal. Andreikin,D (2712)-Fontaine,R (2563) chess.com INT 2018}) 6... Qc7 7. c4 (7. Nc3 Nf6 8. Re1 e6 9. Bg5 Be7 10. Bxf6 {Now black shpuld have played 10...gzf6 with a slight advantage,, but in Ferreira,A-Karim,A Dubai 1986 he erred with} Bxf6 11. Nxd5 Qa5 12. Nc3 O-O-O 13. a3 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bxd4 15. Qxd4 Bxb5 16. Qc5+ {and won.}) 7... a6 8. cxd5 {Stockfish likes 8.Ba4, but this is more human-like because black gets an unfavorable Pawn formation.} axb5 9. dxc6 bxc6 10. Ne5 Nf6 11. Qf3 {It's pretty clear that the c-Pawn is going to be a problem for black.} e6 12. Nc3 {White had two better moves here.} (12. Bf4 Bd6 13. Rc1 O-O 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. Rxc6 {with a good game.}) (12. Bh6 {IOd course the B cannot be taken on account of 13.Qxf6} Bc8 13. Nc3 Bb7 14. a3 Rd8 15. Bf4 {with an active position.}) 12... b4 13. Bg5 {Unexpected!} (13. Ne4 {This is what I was expecting which fesukts in equality after} Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Bd6 {followed by ... O-O}) 13... bxc3 14. Bxf6 {Upon seeing this move it took me a second to realize the N cannot be taken.} Bc8 {Unpleasant, but it's the only way to defend f7} (14... gxf6 15. Qxf6 {and white wins no matter what black plays.} cxb2 16. Rab1 Rg8 (16... Rxa2 17. Qxf7+ Kd8 18. Qf6+) 17. Qxf7+ Kd8 18. Qxg8) ( 14... cxb2 15. Bxg7 Bxg7 16. Qxf7+ Kd8 17. Qxg7 bxa1=Q 18. Qxh8+ Be8 19. Rxa1 { wins}) 15. Bd8 {Pretty nifty...it hopes to divert the Q from defending f7.} Kxd8 16. Nxf7+ {Now my K is stuck in the center and white gains the exchange.} Ke8 17. Nxh8 {Strongly threatening Rac1.} cxb2 18. Rab1 Rb8 19. Rfe1 g6 20. Re4 {A rather unusual material siruation has arisen. At the moment white has a R+N vs, 2Bs, but the N is trapped and will be lost for a P levaing white with a R+2(s vs. 2Bs which is, materially about equal. Also, black's pieces gain some activity.} Bd6 21. Re2 {Now taking on h2 with check is very tempting.} Qg7 ( 21... Bxh2+ 22. Kh1 Bd6 23. Rbxb2 Rxb2 24. Rxb2 c5 25. Rc2 Bb7 26. Qg4 Bd5 27. dxc5 Be5 (27... Bxc5 {loses to} 28. Qa4+ Ke7 29. Qb5 {and white picks up the B. }) 28. Nxg6 hxg6 29. Qxg6+ {This position is equal according to Stockfish, but even if I did not (wasn;t able to!) reach this position in my analysis, after 23.Rxb2 it seemed that white would be getting way too much play and so 21... Bxh2+ was not worth it.}) 22. Qxc6+ {It doesn't take much analysis to realize the K has to move out of check.} Ke7 {At the same time this sets a littke trap that white falls for.} (22... Qd7 23. Qxd7+ Bxd7 24. Rexb2 Rd8 25. Rb6 Bc8 ( 25... Ke7 26. Rxd6 Kxd6 27. Nf7+) 26. Rc6 Ke7 27. Rbc1 Bd7 28. Rxd6 Kxd6 29. Nf7+) (22... Bd7 23. Qxd6 Rd8 24. Rexb2 {White is winning.}) 23. Qc3 (23. Rbxb2 {is safely met by} Qxd4 {with a complicated and unclear position.}) 23... Bd7 { Just a bit beyyer was 23...Qxh8} 24. Rexb2 $14 Rc8 25. Qe3 Qxh8 26. Rb7 Qf6 27. d5 {The idea is to expose the black K which will be forced to walk a tightrope! } Rc7 28. Rxc7 Bxc7 29. Qh6 {Following up with the idea behind 27.d5 was better. This move, while, hardly bad, takes the Q out of play.} (29. dxe6 Qxe6 30. Qd4 Bc6 31. a4 Be5 32. Qh4+ Kf8 33. Rd1 {Black is forced to watch his step with the K plus white's a-Pawn has to be watched. White may be considered to be better here, but I doubt the win is possible.}) 29... exd5 30. Qxh7+ Kd6 31. h3 d4 {[%mdl 1024] It was my belief that the passed P, two Bs and open lines directed at black's K plus the fact that white had only the Q immediately available for defense would yield an advantage. Actually the position offers equal chances.} 32. a3 {Pointless; there is no time for this.} (32. Qg8 { makes it impossible for black to make any progress.} Be6 33. Qe8 Bd5 34. Rc1 Qf5 35. Re1 Qg5 36. Qf8+ Kd7 37. Qe8+ Kd6 38. Qf8+ {is a draw.}) 32... d3 33. Rd1 Bf5 {Black has made tangible progress...his d-Pawn is a threat and the two Bs shield his K. Additionally, white's K is in some danger.} 34. Rc1 Bb6 35. Qb7 Bxf2+ {...and wins. At least it should.} 36. Kh1 {According ti the Fritz 19 program and Stockfish black has a decisive advantage.} Qh4 {Thinking only of attack. This throws away the advantage and the chances revert to being equal.} (36... Qd8 {a necessary defensive miove. The idea is to follow up with ...Qb6}) 37. Qc7+ {There is now only a single move that escapes the clutches of the white pieces.} Kd5 {...and I found it.} (37... Ke6 38. Rc6+ Kd5 39. Qd6+ Ke4 40. Rc4+ {wins the Q.}) 38. Qc6+ {Once again the K must flee to the e-file} Kd4 {[%mdl 8192] Loses instantly.} ({and Q checks are unavoidable.} 38... Ke5 39. Qc7+ Ke4 40. Qb7+ Ke3 41. Qf3+ Kd2 42. Qd1+ (42. Rd1+ {would require precise play in a position where whote always has but one move that doesn;t lose!} Kc2 43. Ra1 Kb2 44. Rf1 Be1 45. g4 d2 46. gxf5 Qc4 47. Qg2 Qc2 48. Qb7+ Qb3 49. Qg2 {draws}) 42... Ke3 43. Qf3+ {etc.}) 39. Qc5+ {Black resigned.} (39. Qc5+ Ke4 40. Rc4+ Bd4 41. Qxd4#) 1-0

Ludwig Engles

    According to Chessmetrics.com in mid-1938, Mikhail Botvinnik (2768) and Reuben Fine (2752) were the top players in the world. In 19th place at 2639 was an unherald German player named Ludwig Engles (1905-1967). Other more familiar names clustered near him in rating were Laszlo Szabo, E.D Bogoljubow, Viacheslav Ragozin, Andor Lilienthal, I.A. Horowutz and Miguel Najdorf. 

    Engels was born in Duseldorf, Germany and in 1939, he played 3rd board for Germany in the chess Olympiad in Buenos where he won gold medals for the team and his superb individual result of +12 –0 =4. 

    When World War II broke out, Engels along with all other members of the German team (Eliskases, Michel, Becker, Reinhardt) and many other participants elected not to return to Europe. After the war, Engels lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

 

 

    In the following game he sacrifices the exchange to divert the black Queen then sacrifices his own Queen to clear the back rannk so his Pawn can queen. At the time this game was played his opponent, Geza Maroczy (1870-19510) had been semi-retired from chess since 1908 (!) and at the age of 68 was, according to Chessmetrics, still sporting a pretty hefty rating of 2602 placing him at #28 in the world.

 

 

[Event "Dresden"] [Site ""] [Date "1936.06.08"] [Round "?"] [White "Ludwig Engels"] [Black "Geza Maroczy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D61"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "1936.06.07"] {D61: Queen's Gambit Declined} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qc2 c5 8. Rd1 dxc4 {This position has been reached in countless numbers of games and the usual move is 8...cxd4. In order not to lose a tempo Black usually avoids the capture ...dxc4 until white has developed his light squared B.} 9. Bxc4 Qa5 10. O-O h6 11. Bh4 a6 12. Be2 Re8 13. a3 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nf8 15. Bf3 Qc7 16. Bg3 e5 17. Nf5 {This offers a P for which white gets sufficient compensation, but no more.} Bxf5 18. Qxf5 Bxa3 19. Nd5 {[%mdl 2048] White has some pressure.} (19. bxa3 Qxc3 20. Bxb7 {is completely equal.}) 19... Nxd5 20. Bxd5 Bxb2 {[%mdl 8192] Maroczy takes the bait and soon finds himself in serious difficulties. Returning the B to d6 eliminares all difficulties.} 21. Rb1 Rad8 22. e4 (22. Qf3 {would have posed a real problem for black.} Rxd5 23. Qxd5 Rd8 24. Qb3 {and black is in serious trouble. For example...} Bc3 25. Rfc1 Rd3 26. Qxb7 Qd6 27. Qb8 Qe7 28. Qc8 Bd2 29. Rd1 Rd6 30. Qc2 Ba5 31. h3 Bb4 32. Qe4 a5 33. Qxe5 Rxd1+ 34. Rxd1 Qb7 35. Qd5 Qa6 36. Bd6 {with a winning ending.}) 22... g6 23. Qf3 Rxd5 {This well played move is the only one that keeps the balance.} (23... Bd4 24. Rxb7 { and black has to surrender his Q.}) 24. exd5 Qc2 25. Qd1 Rc8 26. d6 (26. f4 { was more forveful as nwither 26...e4 or 26...exf4 are favorable for black.} e4 (26... exf4 27. Bxf4 g5 (27... Kg7 28. Qxc2 Rxc2 29. Rxb2 Rxb2 30. Be5+ {wins}) 28. Bg3 b5 29. Qf3 Bd4+ 30. Kh1 Qg6 31. Rbd1 Rc3 32. Qg4 Bc5 33. d6 {and white has a decisive advantage.}) 27. f5 e3 28. Re1 {with the advantage.}) 26... Nd7 {This fails to take advantage of white's slip and instead allows white an elegant finish.} (26... Qxd1 27. Rfxd1 Bd4 {The d-Pawn is shielded from defense and will be captured.} 28. Kf1 Rd8) 27. Qg4 {As will be seen, the Q will play a vital role from ths square.} Nb6 {Much better was 27...Nf6 chasing the Q away from its powerful position.} (27... Nf6 {is tougher.} 28. Qf3 Kg7 29. Qxb7 Bd4 30. Kh1 (30. Qxa6 Qc6 {practically equalizes.}) 30... Qf5 31. f4 { White is clearly better.}) 28. Rxb2 {[%mdl 512] Deflecting the Q from the defense of the R.} Qxb2 {Black has no choice.} (28... Qc4 29. Qxc4 Nxc4 30. d7 Rd8 31. Rxb7 Kf8 32. Rc7 Nb6 33. Rd1 {with an east win.}) 29. Qxc8+ $1 { [%mdl 512] Clearing the way for the P.} Nxc8 30. d7 {Black resigned. The P queens.} 1-0

Speelman vs, Ree, Interesting

    The following game was considered to be, not the best, but the most interesting that was played in the 3rd round at Lone Pine in 1978. 

     Located in central California, the small town of Lone Pine was the site of very strong international Swiss tournaments from 1971 to 1981. The winner of the 1978 event was Bent Larsen. 

    For this tournament the eligibility requirements were increased, yet again. Entrants needed ti have an IM or GM title plus an FIDE rating of 2350 or higher. Juniors had to be rated at least 2250. 

    As a point of reference, the top players on the 1978 FIDE rating list were Anatolt Karpov (2725), Viktor Korchnoy (2665), Henrique Mecking (2630), Lajos Portisch (2630) and Boris Spassky (2630). 

    The winner, Larsen, was #8 at 2620. The 1978 event had 44 players, 22 of whom were GMs. The winner of this game was England’s Jonathan Speelman (born 1956) wgo was awarded the IM title in 1978 and the GM title in 1980. He was British Champion in 1978, 1985 and 1986. Early in his career he had a problem with his eyesight but when this was resolved his strength increased dramatically. Hans Ree (born in 1944) of Holland has held the GM title since 1980 and was Dutch champion in 1967, 1969, 1971 and 1982. 

 

[Event "Lone Pine"] [Site ""] [Date "1978.04.04"] [Round "?"] [White "Jonathan Speelman"] [Black "Hans Ree"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A21"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1/Speelman"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1978.04.02"] {A21: English Opening} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nf3 f5 4. d4 e4 5. Bg5 Nf6 6. Nd2 Be7 7. e3 O-O 8. h4 {More enterprising than the usual 8.Be2} c6 9. Be2 Na6 10. a3 {Speelman wants to play g4, but first takes time to limit the scope of black's N by preventing ...Nb4} Nc7 11. g4 {Technically the solid 11.Rc1 is the best move, but Speelman plays what he later described as a move he would only play in a blitz game!} d5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Qb3 {Black's main choice are the precautionary 13...Kh8 (best) or 13...h6 pretty much compelling white to part with his B by 14.Bxf6 or he can play 13...fxg4 which gets a bit complicated.} Nxg4 {A clever P offer which white wisely declines.} (13... fxg4 14. Ncxe4 {The resaon why 13...Kh8 comes into consideration.} h5 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 {with complications.}) ({Black should play} 13... Kh8 $17) 14. Bxg4 {An unfortunate choice that give black the advantage.} (14. Bxe7 {Objectively this may be the best move.} Qxe7 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5+ Be6 17. Qxe6+ Qxe6 18. Bc4 Qxc4 19. Nxc4 Rac8 20. Ne5 (20. Nd2 {would be a losing blooper.} Rc2 {followed by ...Rfc8 with a decisive advantage.}) 20... Nxe5 {This simply leads to a transposition.} 21. dxe5 Rc5 {with an active position.}) (14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Qxd5+ Be6 17. Qxe6+ Qxe6 18. Bc4) 14... Bxg5 15. hxg5 fxg4 16. Ndxe4 Be6 17. Ng3 {A safety precaution. From here the N helps defend the K.} Qxg5 18. Qxb7 {Speelman wrote that he believed his position was "quite a lot worse", but the position was unclear enough that draw offer would not be "impolite." Quite the gentleman! Black is better, but only by a tad over a P.} Qe7 19. Qb3 (19. Nb5 {Speelman considered this, but rejected it.} Qf7 20. f4 ( 20. Qxc7 Qxf2+ 21. Kd1 Rac8 {is cutains.}) 20... Nxb5 21. Qxb5 Bf5 {Black will now place his Rs on the b- and c-files as appropriate leaving him with a decisive advantage.}) (19. Rc1 {This prosaic move keeps things fairly even agfter} Rfb8 20. Qc6 Rb6 21. Qc5 Qxc5 22. dxc5 Rxb2 {and black is only slightly better.}) 19... Rab8 20. Qc2 {Black is clearly better here, but there is no immediate way of winning, so he must find moves that keep up the pressure.} g6 21. Rc1 Nb5 {Hoping to exchange Ns leavinbg white with a very weak Q-side; naturally, Speelman is unwilling to make the trade. Stockfish suggested an interesting idea here: 21...Bd8 followed by ...Ba6 placing the B on an active diagona;.} 22. Na4 {A tactical error. 22.Nce2 was correct.} Nxd4 { [%mdl 512] Speelman was not convinced that this was the right move, but it os, in fact, the best and now black is winning.} 23. exd4 {Black must now prevent 0-0.} Bd7+ 24. Kd1 {Nw Ree conceived a flashy finish, but there is a fly in the ointment.} Rxf2 (24... Rf4 25. Ne2 {And now is the time for...} Rxf2 26. Re1 Re8 27. Nac3 g3 {with an easy win.}) 25. Qxf2 {The position is equal.} Bxa4+ {Apparently white has to interpose his Q or R on c2, or if the K goes to d2 then ...Rxb2+} 26. b3 {The fly!} Rxb3 {White's K looks to be in serious trouble. So, the only thing to do is counterattack which in this case is enough to keep things equal.} (26... Bxb3+ 27. Kd2 Bc4 28. Rb1 {and the K has evaded all threats and the chances are now equal.}) 27. Rc8+ Kg7 28. Nf5+ { The only move, but it's a beauty.} gxf5 {Now what. Again, there is only one movem but it, too, is a beauty.} 29. Rxh7+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} Kxh7 30. Qxf5+ { Black has to be careful because if the K goes to h6 he gets nated.} Kg7 { Now white has no choice except to take the draw.} (30... Kh6 31. Rh8+ Kg7 32. Rh7+ Kg8 33. Qg6+ Kf8 34. Rh8#) 31. Qxg4+ Kf6 32. Qf4+ Kg6 33. Qg4+ Kf6 { ( -> ...Rc3+)} 34. Qf4+ {Drawn, It's interesting to note that the Accuracy evaluation that Fritz assigned to the players' moves shows Ree with 76% to have played far better than Speelman (45%) which proves that it only takes one move (here 24...Rxf2) to spoil the game.} 1/2-1/2

Anderssen Jolts Dufresne

    From time to time I like to break out a real chess set and play over some games. The old Golden Treasury of Chess is still a favorite. It contains gems played by unknown, forgotten and dimly remembered players as well as the giants of bygone eras. And, the games were chosen because they were, if not brilliantly played, they are at least interesting. Check out this one, a game that does not appear in Chessgames.com database. 

 The year 1851 marked the beginning of a new era in chess. Instead of analysis, casual games and match play, the first international tournament was held in London. It was a 16 player knockput tournament and Adolph Anderssen of Berlin won it. 

    In 1852, when the following game was played Anderssen was the best player in the world ahead of such players as Tassilo von der Lasa, Henry Buckle. Josef Szen, Elijah William Johann Lowenthal and Howard Staunton. 

 Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (1818-1879, 60 years old) was born in Breslau and was one of the strongest players of his day and was generally considered to be the World Champion after his victory in the London tournament. 

    In 1858 he was defeated by Paul Morphy who the assumed the title. When Morphy retied a year later Anderssen regain his reputation as the world's leading player, a position he held until he lost a match to Steinitz in 1866. 

    As a Romantic, his sacrificial attacks are legendary, but in some games his play was strikingly modern, for example in his handling of the Sicilian Defense as black. His odd Anderssen Opening 1.a3 was designed as a way of reaching the Sicilian with colors reversed (i.e. 1.a3 e5 2.c4). 

    His opponent in this game was Jean Dufresne (1829-1893). a German player and problem composer. He was a student of Anderssen and is probably best remember for losing the Evergreen game to him in 1852. 

 Dufresne was born and died in Berlin and was the son of a wealthy Jewish businessman, He attended law school, but was forced to abandon his studies when his father ran into financial difficulties. He subsequently became a journalist. Dufresne was an unsuccessful novelist under the pseudonym E. S. Freund, but wrote several successful chess books including one on Morphy. 

 

Michell Stomps Blackburne

    In April of 1909, explorer Robert Peary almost reaches the North Pole, a long elusive dream, when he, assistant Matthew Henson and four Inuits reach what they determine to be the North Pole. Decades after Peary’s death, navigational errors in his log indicated that in all probability he was a few miles short of its goal. 

    In 1909, new technologies like the phonograph meant that music like ragtime became popular. Broadway musicals and vaudeville also gaine dpopularity. Formal clothing was the norm, women were wearing corseted dresses and large hats, and men suits. For men suits were the standard. Girls wore dresses with lace and stiff material and boys wore shorts, knickers, and tunics. 

    In the chess world  the St. Petersburg tournament, a highly prestigious event, and the Lasker-Janowsky match took place. Akiba Rubinstein and Lasker tied for first in St. Petersburg. The match against Janowski was an important step in Lasker's career; he crushed Jamowsky +7 -1 =2.

 

    Joseph Blackburne (1841-1924) is pretty well known. He came to be known as "The Black Death" and enjoyed a great deal of success in England. In his later years British players provided pension in the form if an annuity for him. In 1923, he suffered a stroke and the next year he died of a heart attack. 

    Reginald Michell (1873-1938) is not so well known. He was British Amateur Champion in 1902. He died in London in 1938. His wife Edith Michell won the British Women's championship three times and participated in a number of World Women's championships.

 

[Event "British Champ, Scarborough"] [Site ""] [Date "1909.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Reginald P. Michell"] [Black "Joseph H. Blackburne"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "1908.08.09"] [Source ""] {C10: French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 Nxe4 7. Bxe4 Nf6 8. Bd3 Be7 9. Qe2 a6 {So fat the opening moves have been pretty standard, bit now black should probably castle and play ...c5. The fismcheoot line he chooses gets the B into play, but, being somewhat passive, in practice it does not work out too well,} 10. O-O b6 11. Bd2 Bb7 12. c4 O-O 13. Bc3 Bd6 (13... Nd7 14. Rad1 Qc8 15. d5 Nc5 {White's position is very promising, close to being decisive, in fact. Efimenko,Z (2439)-Blatny,P (2547) Ohrid 2001}) 14. Ne5 g6 {This safery precaution shielding h7 is not necessary and only weakens his K-side.} (14... Qe7 15. Rad1 Bb4 {is solid.}) 15. Rad1 Qe7 16. Rfe1 Rad8 17. Qe3 Bxe5 {A surprising blunder from a player of Blackburne's strength. Correct was 17...b5 with Q-side play.} (17... b5 {was worth a try.} 18. b3 b4 19. Bb2 c5 {White is better, but black is still in the game.}) 18. Qxe5 $18 Ng4 19. Qf4 f5 {The dark squares around black;s K are fatally weak as Michell demonstrates.} 20. h3 g5 21. Qg3 Nh6 22. d5 {[%mdl 512] The knockout blow. With both Bs aime at black's weakened K's position the end is near.} f4 23. Qf3 {Heading for e5.} g4 24. Qe4 Rf7 25. Qe5 Kf8 26. hxg4 c5 27. dxe6 { Black resigned. A well played and froceful attack by Michell.} 1-0

George H. Wolbrecht

    The subject of today's post is George H. Wolbrecht (1870 - 1929, 58 years old) who is largely inknown today, but at one time he was recognized as the chess champion of the West by virtue of his victory in the Western Chess Association tournament held in Chicago in the summer of 1906. He is also remembered for the time, during a four month visit to Panama in 1908, for having helped to popularize chess there. 

    Both because of his ability and in order to make the U.S. team truly national, he was chosen by he committee of the Brooklyn Chess Club to play against Great Britain in 1907 in the annual cable match. Playing on Board 8 (out of 10) he drew his game with Harry Holmes as the U.S. squeaked past Great Britain 5.5-4.5.

    Today’s game is taken from his hard earned victory in the 1914 Western Open in Chicago. Wolbrecht demonstrated great staying power in the 19-player round robin in which two games a day were played. He finished in a 4-way tie sor first and in the double round playoff he tied with Brandon Jefferson ahead of Herman Hahlnohm and Edward Schrader.

    Wolbrecht was born in St. Louis, Missouri where he attended the public schools and later studied civil engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He eventually worked for the Government as an engineer on the Mississippi River Commission. From time to time he was in charge of Government steamers, inspecting and repairing the river works between St. Louis and New Orleans.

    Wolbrecht learned to play chess in 1897 or 1898 and had comparatively little time or opportunityfor the practicem but after about 5 ears he was good enough to win the St. Louis city championship even though opposed by such well known players as Max Jidd and E. F. Schrader. In 1903, Wolbrecht played a match for a small stake against Jacques Mieses who was visiting the U.S. Wolbrecht wcored +1 -0 =1. His opponent, Herman Hahlbohm (1886 - 1963, 76 years old). He was one of Chicago's most prominent players in the early 1900s.

[Event "Western Champ (playoff), Memphis"] [Site ""] [Date "1914.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Herman Hahlbohm"] [Black "George Wolbrecht"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D55"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "1914.??.??"] {D61: Queen's Gambit Declined: Classical} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 c6 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. Qc2 h6 9. Bh4 Nh5 {This is not a particularly effective way of meeting the the Q-Gambut. The standard move is 9. ..dxc4} 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. g4 (11. O-O dxc4 12. Bxc4 e5 13. Rac1 exd4 14. exd4 { equals. Sampaio, A-Silva,D (1771) Santos 2008}) (11. Qe2 Nhf6 12. cxd5 exd5 13. O-O Ne4 14. Nd2 f5 15. f3 Nxd2 16. Qxd2 {equals. Khudoshina,V-Bakuta, N Alushta 2005}) 11... Nhf6 12. g5 hxg5 13. Nxg5 {Black is in no particular danger of the Classic Bishop Sacrifice because his N defends h7 and white cannot get his Q into the attack with Qh5. Also, the semi-open g-file poses no real danger to black.} e5 {A well played counter in the center.} 14. dxe5 { A reasonable looking move as it keeps the center open, but it's a mistake because now black's pieces spring into like.} (14. O-O-O {leaves white safe.} e4 {This is why white wanted the center open. After this he has no prospects of attacking h7.} 15. Be2 Nb6 {Now a continued K-side attack by white leads nowhere.} 16. h4 Bf5 17. Rdg1 dxc4 18. Nh3 Nbd5 {Let's try to continue the K-side attack.} 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. Nf4 Rfd8 21. Rg3 Rd6 22. Rhg1 Ne8 23. Rg5 Qd7 24. h5 b5 25. h6 g6 {and black, whose K is now quite safe, stands better.}) 14... Nxe5 15. O-O-O g6 (15... dxc4 {only allows a harmless check.} 16. Bh7+ Kh8 17. Rhg1 {is a bit tricky to calculate!} (17. f4 Nd3+ {with an excellent position.}) 17... g6 18. Bxg6 fxg6 19. f4 Nd3+ {and black is winning.}) 16. f4 Nxd3+ 17. Qxd3 Bf5 {Completing his development, and defending his K-side. White's position quickly deteriorates.} 18. Qd2 Rad8 (18... dxc4 {Capturing this unimportant P is a mistake that lets white back into the game.} 19. e4 Rad8 20. Qg2 Bc8 21. f5 {with some decent counterplay.}) 19. cxd5 cxd5 20. h4 Rc8 21. Qd4 Rc4 22. Qe5 Rxc3+ {[%mdl 512] This stockdolager is the coup de grace.} 23. bxc3 Qa3+ 24. Kd2 Ng4 {White resigned.} (24... Ng4 25. Qd4 Qxa2+ 26. Kc1 Qc2#) 0-1

Classic Bishop Sacrifice

 

    The Classic Bishop Sacrifice (Bxh7+) is simply a “must know” pattern! It may not happen often that you get to play it, but when it does, it’s pretty satisfying to pull it off like I sus in the following 10 minute game. 

    The Classic Bishop Sacrifice is the oldest of all the sacrifices involved in the attack on the castled King and it’s aso a good illustration of h7 and f7 as focal points foer delivering mate. The earliest instance of the sacrifice Bxh7+ followed by Ng5+ dates back to Greco's handbook in 1619, but ot wasn’t systematically categorized until the Swiss master Erwin Voellmy did so in a magazine article in 1911. 

    For the conditions to be ripe for the sacrifice white needs to have a Queen, light squared Bishop and Knight. The Bishp has to be able to sacrifice itself on h7, he Knight should be able to reach g5 and the Queen must be able to reach h5, or in some cases another square on the h-file. From black’s perspective the most important point is that either is Bishop or Queen should be able to safely occupy the b1-h7 diagonal. 

 

 

[Event "Chess Hotelm G/10"] [Site "?"] [Date "2025.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Anonymous"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B00"] [Annotator "Stickfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] {B00: Nimzovich Defense} 1. e4 Nc6 {The Nimzovich defense which allows white to occupy the center after whicj black will try to block or restrain white's centralPs and eventually undermine it. Kasparov and Keene wrote that 2hile not popular, it is sound.} 2. d4 e6 {Black usually plays either 2...d5 or 2...e5, vut this flexible move lools reasonable.} 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f4 {Perhaps a bit risky, but I played it with the intention of launching a K-side attack as quickly as possible.} Bxc3+ {Black should delay this until provoked by a3.} ( 4... Nf6 5. e5 Ne4 6. Qd3 d5 7. Nf3 {Olsen,C (2064)-Kragh,N Copenhagen 1999 with equal chances. Here as in the game black played the inprovoked 7...Bxc3 and soon ended up with an inferior position. Suggested moves are 7...b6, 7... f5 and 7...f6}) 5. bxc3 d6 {This too passive and not in the spirit of this Hypermodern defense. He should play 5,,,Nf6} (5... Nf6 6. e5 {can get crazy! The safe mobe is 6.Bd3} Ne4 7. Nf3 Nxc3 8. Qd3 Nd5 9. c4 Nde7 10. d5 exd5 11. cxd5 Nb4 12. Qd2 Nbxd5 13. f5 c6 14. f6 gxf6 15. exf6 Ng6) 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O {White is clearly better and the Classic Bishop Sacrifice is looming as a possibility.} Re8 {This should have lost immediately, but nothing was entirely satisfactiry.} (8... h6 {preventing Bxh7+ is best. Engines prefer 9.Qe1 for some reason, but I would hane played the nearly as good} 9. e5 { after which white has a great position after 9...Nh7 10.Qe2, 9...Nd5 q0.c4 or 9...Ne8 10.g7}) 9. Bd2 {While not bad this misses an immediate win!} (9. e5 Nd5 10. Bxh7+ Kxh7 11. Ng5+ Kg6 12. Rf3 f6 13. Qd3+ f5 14. Rg3 {White is clearly winning according to the engine, but figuring out exactly how to do it in a 10 minute game is beyond my skill level!}) 9... d5 {I was happy to see this because now the Classic Bishop Sacrifice is possible.} (9... e5 {This prevents the sacrifice and whike white gets a significant advantage, black is far from lost.} 10. d5 Nb8 11. fxe5 dxe5 {White has a multitude of reasonable moves, but can only claim an advantage in space.}) 10. e5 Nd7 {Apparebtly lkack is unfamiliar with the sacrifice.} (10... Ne4 {This bkocks the sacrifice and is the only plausible move.} 11. Ng5 h6 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 {followed by either 14.Qh4 or 13.Qh5 with an excellent position.}) 11. Bxh7+ {[%mdl 512] Unlike the position noted in the note to move 9 this results in a pretty clear sequence; white is clearly winning.} Kxh7 {There is no other option.} (11... Kh8 12. Ng5 Re7 (12... Rf8 13. Qh5 {mates}) 13. Qh5 {mates} Nf6 14. exf6 gxf6 15. Bd3+ Kg8 16. Qh7+ Kf8 17. Qh8#) 12. Ng5+ Kg6 {In some positions this is the best defense, but here it makes no difference.} (12... Kg8 13. Qh5 f6 14. Qh7+ Kf8 15. Qh8+ Ke7 16. Qxg7#) 13. Rf3 Rh8 14. Rg3 {The threat (which I did not see) is 15.f5+ leading to mate.} f6 (14... a6 {A pass to demonstrate the threat.} 15. f5+ exf5 16. Ne6+ Qg5 17. Rxg5+ Kh7 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. Rxg7#) 15. Nxe6+ {Ending the gane. Black's remaining move were the result of inertia.} Kf7 16. Rxg7+ Ke8 (16... Kxe6 17. f5+ Kxf5 18. Qg4#) 17. Nxd8 Nxd8 18. Qg4 Nf8 19. exf6 Bxg4 20. Re7# 1-0

Lembit Oll

 

    On Sunday, May 17, 1999, in Tallinn, Estonia, the world’s 42nd ranked player who was rated well over 2600, 33-year old Lembit Oll committed suicide by jumping out of his fourth floor apartment window. He had been receiving treatment for depression since 1996 as a result of his divorce and the loss of custody of his two sons.

    Born on April 23, 1966, he was a player with a classical style yet he seemed especially at home in extremely sharp opening variations. Oll (IM title in 1983, GM title in 1990) had been a promising junior, becoming champion of Estonia in 1982 and junior champion of the Soviet Union in 1984. He also won multiple European and World junior championships. Oll regularly played for Estonia in the chess Olympics and European team championships. He played his last tournament in 1999 in Nova Gorica, sharing second place 

 The following game against was played in the 1989 USSR Championship. The opening was a sharp line of the Winawer French, going into a sub-variation that had recently become popular at GM level. Thanks in part to a brilliant idea of Oll’s first demonstrated in this game, it didn't last long. Mikhail Ulibin (born 1971) is a Soviet GM and silver medalist in the World Junior Championship of 1991. He played in the Soviet Union Junior Championships of 1984, 1985 (3rd place),1986,1987 and 1988 where he tied for first with Gata Kamsky.

 

 

[Event "USSR Chp, Tbilisi"] [Site ""] [Date "1989.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Lembit Oll"] [Black "Mikhail Ulibin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C18"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "1989.01.??"] {[%evp 16,67,135,72,251,241,248,237,262,240,245,113,444,435,442,447,452,424, 431,423,463,459,445,438,454,427,741,739,742,723,745,739,746,731,742,742,733, 725,741,731,717,733,710,702,775,762,976,29969,29976,29976,1004,1192,1000,908] C18: French Defense, Winawer Variation} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 O-O 8. Bd3 Nbc6 9. Qh5 h6 {This move is risky, downright bad in fact. So, why did black play it? The fact that it practically loses was not known at the time. Stockfish spits the winning 10.Bxh6 almost immediately, but even after several minutesd the old (prior to 2008) Rybka 2.3. 2 multi_processor version evaluates the position as equal after 10.Bxh6. Black's best is 10...Ng6 after which whute still has an active position.} 10. Bxh6 {Without question best. 10. g4 (was tried by British GM Nigel Short the previous year, but it only resulted in a draw:} gxh6 11. Qxh6 {Black only has one move that avoids mate. but is allows the elimination of his K's lone defender and leaves his K's position in ruins.} Nf5 12. Bxf5 {[%mdl 128]} exf5 13. Nh3 {White needs quick development, but even stronger was a R-lift after castling Q-side/} (13. O-O-O Re8 14. Rd3 Re6 15. Rg3+ Rg6 16. Rxg6+ fxg6 17. Qxg6+ {and now white can bring the N into play with 18.Nh3 and black will be helpless no matter what he does.}) 13... f6 {[%mdl 8192] Except for 13...Qg4 this is probably the worst move he could have played.} (13... Qe7 {allows him to play on with some hope of equalizing.} 14. O-O-O cxd4 15. Rd3 Nxe5 16. Rg3+ Ng4 17. Nf4 dxc3 18. Kb1 {Black has gobbled up some materail and defended against a mating attack, but white is still better after...} Qxa3 (18... Re8 19. Nxd5 {The only defense against a N check on f6 is...} (19. Nh5 {falls short.} f6 {Now is the time for this.} 20. h3 d4 21. hxg4 Qe1+ 22. Qc1 Qxc1+ 23. Kxc1 Kf7 24. gxf5 {White's attack has been beaten back and he has established material equality, but in the process black hab equalized.}) 19... Qe1+ 20. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 21. Ka2 Be6 22. Qg5+ {Black does not have quite enough for is Q, but at the same time white has no forced win.}) 19. Qg5+ Kh7 20. Rh3+ Nh6 21. Rxh6#) 14. Qg6+ Kh8 15. Qh6+ Kg8 16. Qg6+ Kh8 {Is white going to take a draw?! Of course bit! He probably repeated moves to gain time in the clock.} 17. O-O-O {A move rarely seen in the Winawer. It’s good here because black has no attack at all at the moment and white now nas the potential for a R-lift via d3.} fxe5 18. Qh6+ Kg8 19. Qg6+ {Gaoning more clock time.} Kh8 20. Rd3 f4 21. Qh6+ Kg8 22. Qg6+ Kh8 23. Qh6+ {Gaining even more time on the clock! } Kg8 {All of a sudden white seems stymied as there appears to be no way to continue the attack.} 24. Rg3+ {[%mdl 512] This brilliant move gets the other R into play and keeps fis winnign attack going.} (24. Ng5 {fails badly againsr} Bf5 25. Rh3 {Of course the R can't be taken because of Qh7#} Qf6 {and it's black that has a decisive advantage.}) 24... fxg3 25. Qg6+ Kh8 26. hxg3 Qh4 { This just prolongs the game a bit.} (26... Qe7 27. Ng5+ {[%emt 0:00:02] mates in}) 27. gxh4 Bf5 28. Qh6+ Kg8 29. Ng5 exd4 30. Rh3 {[%mdl 512] Jopiong to draw away the lone defender. If not, the R gets into play.} Ne5 31. Rg3 Bg6 32. Ne6 Kf7 33. Nxf8 Rxf8 34. Qf4+ {Black resigned. A brilliant game by Oll.} 1-0

Vladimir Alatortsev

    Vladimir Alatortsev (1909-1987) was a Soviet player, author and administrator. His name has passed into obscurity, but during his peak years Chessmetrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2646 in 1940 which put him at #21 in the world. 

    He was Botvinnik’s early rival in Leningrad, but Botvinnik, who was two years younger, established his dominance over Alatortsev right from the start and wound up with a + 9 -0 =2 record against Alatortsev.

    During his career, he was champion of both Leningrad and Moscow, and he played in the Soviet Championship finals nine times, with his best results coming in the 1930s and early 1940s. After WWII his star began to fad Alatortsev never got the opportunity to compete outside the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Honorary Emeritus Grandmaster title by FIDE in 1983. Alatortsev died in Moscow at age 77 on January 12, 1987.

 

 

 

[Event "USSR Championship, Moscow"] [Site "Moscow URS"] [Date "1950.11.16"] [Round "?"] [White "Vladimir Alatortsev"] [Black "Victor Liublinsky"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E47"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {E40: Nimzo-Indian} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 Nc6 { This is a poor choice because black does not have much success with it. He gets more active play with either 5...d5 or 5...c5} 6. Nge2 e5 7. d5 Ne7 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Nxc3 d6 10. O-O Ne8 {In this position black has tried many moves, but none of them have been especially successful which is an indication that his 5th move was inferior.} (10... Bf5 11. e4 Bg6 12. h3 Nd7 13. g4 {with a pronising position. Soos,B-Milner Barry,P Moscow 1956}) (10... Ng6 {This is perhaps his best move.} 11. b4 Qe7 12. Qc2 Re8 13. Bb2 e4 {with equal chances. Khurtsidze,N (2447)-Zhao,X (2543) Batumi 2012}) (10... a5 11. Qc2 Ng6 12. Bd2 Ne8 13. f4 {White is better. Zagoriansky,E-Liublinsky,V Moscow 1945}) 11. f4 exf4 12. exf4 Bf5 {Hoping to eliminate the potentially dangerous B aimed at his h7.} 13. Be2 (13. Bxf5 Nxf5 14. g4 Ne7 15. f5 {was an equally goiod alternative.}) 13... Bd7 14. Be3 f5 {The point of his 10th move. He holds up white's K-side advances, but his position remains passive and so white has other options.} 15. Bf3 Nf6 16. Re1 Ng6 17. g3 a6 18. b4 Re8 19. Qd3 h5 { Black's position is very passive and so he is motivated to make a vain attempt to get some play. Defensive moves have little practical value} 20. c5 h4 21. c6 bxc6 22. dxc6 Be6 23. Bd4 hxg3 24. hxg3 Nf8 25. Re2 Qe7 {His best chance was to occupy d5 with a P (25...d5) because now white gets control of this square.} 26. Rae1 Qf7 27. Bxf6 {This excellent move settles the issue. He gives up the two Bs in order to take control of the critical d5 square.} Qxf6 28. Nd5 Qf7 29. Kf2 Kh8 30. Qd4 Kg8 31. Re3 Reb8 {With his K-side demonstration coming to nothing, black tries his luck on the Q-side, but white's domination of the center prevails.} 32. Rh1 a5 33. Bh5 {Black could (and should) resigm.} Bxd5 ( 33... g6 34. Nf6+ Kg7 35. Ng4+ Kg8 36. Nh6+ {mates in 5} Kh7 37. Bf3 Qe7 38. Nxf5+ Kg8 39. Qh8+ Kf7 40. Qg7+ Ke8 41. Qxe7#) 34. Bxf7+ Bxf7 35. Rb1 Rb5 36. a4 Rd5 37. Qc3 axb4 38. Rxb4 Rc5 39. Qd3 Ra6 (39... Rxc6 {Not that it really matters, but there was no rrason to avoid this.} 40. Re7 {leaves black completely tied up.}) 40. Qxa6 {Black resigned. Not a flashly game, but a solid positional performance by Alatortsev.} 1-0

The Morphy Period

    When we think of Paul Morphy we think of a great tactical genius, but it was Morphy who introduced positional ideas that ended the age where playing brilliant sacrifices was the goal. Before Morphy sacrifices were made with great abandon, often without regard for their soundness. 

    Morphy changed the game because he was the first to understand and demonstrate strategic principles rather than premature attacks just for the sake of attacking. Nevertheless, he often conducted spectacular attacks and his games are full of brilliant sacrifices. 

    Morphy's first serious test in international play was his match against Johann Jacob Lowenthal (1810-1876) of Hungary. Between 1842 and1862 he was a member of the elite and he was capable of defeating the best players of his day. It’s interesting to see Frotz 19’s tactical analysis evaluation chart of this game. Ut shows that even Morphy was not perfect. He was outplayed positionally, but unfortunately for Lowenthal he couldn't put his opponent away and Morphy’s reputation of invincibility remained in tact for another game. See the Fritz 19 tactical analysis chart.  

 

    Chessmetrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been 2616 in 1859 and his best world rank to have been #2 on several occasions in 1858 and 1859. Morphy was rated over 100 points ahead of him. 

    By the way, it is important to note that these ratings do not equate to the equivalent rating of today. Ratings measure results, not ability. Naturally the strongest players have the best results, but a case in point was the infamous Claude F. Bloodgood III who, in 1996 as a prisoner in the Virginia State Penitentiary, manipulated his rating to over 2700 by holding rated tournaments containing a small pool of prison players. 

    On the rating list for 1858, Chess metrics assigns Lowenthal a rating of 2597 placing him at #2 in the world behind Morphy. In their match Morph scored a decisive victory with a score of +9 -3 =2. 

 

 

[Event "Match, London"] [Site ""] [Date "1858.07.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Paul Morphy"] [Black "Johann Loewenthal"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C30"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1858.07.19"] [Source "(London) Field, "] {C30: King's Gambit Declined} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 {This is the classical way to decline the gambit.} 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 Bg4 5. Bc4 Bxf3 {This unprovoked exchange has little to recommend it. Developing with 5...Nc6 is more logical.} 6. Qxf3 Nf6 (6... Nc6 7. b4 Bb6 8. b5 Na5 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7 10. fxe5+ Ke8 11. Rf1 Qe7 12. d4 g6 $4 13. Bg5 Qg7 14. Qh3 Ne7 15. Bf6 Qg8 16. e6 h5 17. Bxh8 Qxh8 18. Rf7 Bxd4 19. cxd4 Qxd4 20. Nc3 Nc4 21. Rd1 {1-0 Kosmac,B (2149)-Malnar,A (1918) Kranj op 1st 2004}) 7. b4 (7. d4 {leads to complications unfavorable to black after} exd4 8. e5 dxe5 9. fxe5 Qe7 10. Kd1 Nfd7 11. e6 fxe6 12. Qxb7 O-O 13. Qe4 {os equal/} (13. Qxa8 Nb6 14. Qe4 Nxc4 {with compensation for the exchange} )) (7. fxe5 dxe5 8. d3 O-O 9. Nd2 {with a solid position.}) 7... Bb6 8. d3 Nbd7 {White should now consider 9.Be3 eliminatiin that annoying B that is preventing him from playing O-O} 9. f5 {With this move white's center becomes immobile and, as a resukt, black is able to lainch a counterattack against it with ...d5. Also, as a result of the advance of the f-Pawn white can no longer open the f-file which would have given him attacking possibilities..} Qe7 10. g4 {With careful defense the coming Pawn advance on the K-side has no danger to black because of the aforementioned possinility of a counter in the center with ...d5} h6 (10... d5 {at once was also possible.} 11. Bb3 (11. exd5 { os forcefull met by} e4 {with a huge advantage.}) 11... h6 12. h4 O-O-O { White's advance on the K-side has come to nothing and hid K is not comfortable in the center.}) 11. Ke2 {This is just bad move because it leaves his K precariously y positioned.} (11. g5 {was worth a try, but after} hxg5 12. Bxg5 c6 13. Nd2 d5 {black has excellent play.}) 11... c6 {This is unnecessary preparation..} (11... d5 12. Bxd5 (12. exd5 {results in serious consequences after} e4) 12... Nxd5 13. exd5 {Now black cannot play ...e4 because the N on f6 has disappeared.} Nf6 14. Nd2 a5 (14... O-O {is too risky!} 15. g5 hxg5 16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 f6 {Black is OK, but he is still facing an attack against his K.}) 15. bxa5 Rxa5 {Black has switched operations to the Q-side and white can only play defensively.}) (11... a5 {White an immediate central advance does not accomplish much, this excellent move swutching attention to the Q-side keeps black's initiative going.} 12. bxa5 Bxa5 13. h4 d5 14. Bxd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Nf6 {is differnt than in the previous analysi because white can;t play Nd2} 16. Nd2 (16. g5 e4 17. dxe4 hxg5 18. Bxg5 Qxe4+ 19. Qxe4+ Nxe4 { with a distinct advantage.}) 16... Bxc3 17. Rb1 Rxa2) 12. g5 {Somewhat better would have been 12.h4} hxg5 13. Bxg5 d5 {[%mdl 512] Black now has a sizeable advantage and he can be optomistic about the future.} 14. Bb3 Qd6 15. Nd2 a5 { Excellent!} 16. bxa5 Rxa5 17. h4 Nh5 {[%mdl 32]} 18. Nf1 {This do nothing move is an indication that Morphy has been outplayed positionally.What's odd is that this N will meander back home to b1 and win the game!} Nc5 19. Bc2 Rb5 ( 19... Ra3 $142 {attacking the c-Pawn was even better. 20.Bd2 Ba5 White is positionally lost.} 20. Bd2 Ba5 {White is positionally lost.}) 20. Bc1 dxe4 ( 20... Ba5 {was even better.} 21. Bd2 Nf4+ 22. Ke1 Rb2 23. Kd1 dxe4 24. dxe4 b5 {White is about to get torn apart.}) 21. dxe4 {This is a critical position. After 21...Bf4 white can't leave the N there so has to exvhange it and that allows the R to go to b2 which should be enough to score the point.} Rb2 { [Loewenthal has played excellently until now, but this overzealous move allows white to turn the tables and now black lost.} (21... Nf4+ {would win.} 22. Ke1 (22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Nd2 Rb2 24. Rac1 Rxa2) 22... Ncd3+ {White has no hope.}) 22. Bxb2 Nf4+ 23. Ke1 {[%mdl 32]} Ncd3+ 24. Bxd3 Nxd3+ 25. Kd2 Nxb2+ 26. Kc2 { The N has to skedaddle if black wants to play on, so he should try 26...Nc4} Qa3 {Loewenthal has cpmpletely his way.} 27. Nd2 Bc7 28. Nb1 {[%mdl 64] Black resigned. After the Q retreat white picks up the N with 29. Kxb2} 1-0

Bogoljubow – Trott, a Rare Finish

 

    The annual Agnes Stevenson Memorial, an open event, was played in the 1950s and 1960s with Southsea being the venue from 1949 to 1952. Mrs. Stevenson was a British Ladies Champion who met an untimely end in 1935 when she accidentally walked into an airplane propeller. 

    The 1950 tournament was Arthur Bisguier's first international success in Europe and Jonathan Penrose created a sensation by defeating both Tartakower and Bogoljubow. His loss to Bisguier in the eighth round knocked him out of first into a tie for third place. 

    There's also an interesting anecdote concerning Tartakower that relates to a Wesley So incident when he was forfeited in the 2015 US Championship for writing noted on his scoresheet. I think things have gotten ridiculous; it’s not like So was analyzing on his scoresheet. Back in the old days players used to write down their move before making it; now, thanks to the nitpickers, it’s considered taking notes. 

    In TChess Masters on Winning Chess by Fred Reinfeld he wrote, “Tartakower had a fluent pen; he wrote voluminously, often annotating a game for a newspaper or magazine while he was playing it.” 

    Leonard Barden wrote that he witnessed Tartakower making notes during at least one game, at one or more of the Southsea tournaments of 1949, 1950 and 1951. Barden related that in Tartakower's game against Ravn at Southsea, 1951 he (Barden) was curious to see what Tartakower was writing and so crept up behind him and found there were copious notes in small writing on his scoresheet. He went on to say that apparently Tartakower had trouble reading his own notes because he pushed his glasses back on his forehead, squinted and peered closely at what he had written. Nobody objected though; Tartakower was a legend and besides, it wasn't considered consulting written material in those days. That would come many years later. 

 

 

    Bogoljubow's opponent in this game is A.H. Trott. Not a lot is available on Trott. He is referred to in an article in keverelchess. He was an alumni of the Alleyn School in London. The June, 1947 issue of the school magazine mentions that he was playing for the school's chess team. The July, 1951 wrote, “A.H. Trott (tn 1945-47-note: this is apparently a reference to the years he attended) has won the Southern Counties' Chess Championship by finishing first out of the British players in the recent Southsea Tournament. Both The Times and the Observer made favourable comments on his play.” This game where he was defeated by Bogoljubow has a rare finish. Trott's last move was a check and Bogoljubow replied with a move that delivered mate.

 

[Event "Southsea"] [Site ""] [Date "1950.04.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Efim Bogoljubov"] [Black "Arthur H. Trott"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "1950.??.??"] {[%evp 17,78,-50,-39,-89,-98,-110,-56,-54,-10,-126,-18,-26,-27,-52,-48,-58,-34, -59,-64,-69,-73,-79,-62,-66,-62,-47,-65,-64,87,84,82,33,80,79,110,98,126,132, 149,64,118,109,128,113,113,103,174,174,164,178,149,180,319,287,691,663,778,762, 29993,29991,29995,29996,29999] B25: Closed Sicilian} 1. e4 c5 2. Ne2 Nc6 3. Nbc3 d6 4. g3 {In the Closed Sicilian white expands on the K-side without opening the center. Black has little difficulty in equalizing, yet white often gets attacking chances against an unwary opponent. Vasily Smyslov and Boris Spassky both contributed to the theory on this variation. Spassky’s treatment was more aggressive, very often playing with an early f4 followed by Nf3, while Smyslov was more cautious and preferred to develop his pieces with Be3 and Qd2 followed by Nge2. The Closed Variation has pretty much disappeared from the high level competition even though it is a solid line and it leads to a complicated and positional game. Still, at lower levels it is seen occasionally and it’s a good choice for white because most Sicilian players spend a lot of time trying to learn the main lines, but very little on sidelines.} g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. d3 e6 7. Nf4 {Very rare. White almost always castles or plays 7.Be3 here.} Nge7 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 {Another rare move. Moves like 9.h4, 9.h3, 9.Bd2 and 9.Nce2 have all been tried here. White can also try the precautionary 9.a3 to hinder a potential advance by black’s b-Pawn.} Rb8 {A reasonable idea, planning to expand on the Q-side.} 10. Nce2 b5 {White has not accomplished much out of the opening whereas black's Q-side play is underway.} 11. c3 Qa5 {This is unnecessary and the immediate 11...b4 was preferable.} 12. a3 b4 13. Bd2 {This withdrawal is a waste of time. It would have been better to play 13.cxb4 and after 13...cxb4 counter in the center with 14.d4} bxa3 {This is the wrong capture; taking the c-Pawn leaves white with two weak Ps.} 14. Rxa3 Qb6 15. Bc1 Bd7 16. Ra2 Rfc8 17. g4 Na5 18. h3 Nb3 19. Be3 e5 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 f5 {At the moment black can make no further progress on the Q-side, so he advances on the other side. However, he has no pieces on the K-side with which to support this advance and so in the end this advance is not likely to lead to much of anything even though it forces white to weaken his K-side. For his part, white’s pieces are not especially well placed to initiate K-side operations.} 22. gxf5 Bxf5 $2 {Better was 22...gxf5. Now white gets the initiative on the K-side.} (22... gxf5 23. f4 Kh8 {with some prospects on the g-file.}) 23. Ng3 Rf8 {After this black’s position begins a gradual slide downhill, but other moves seem no better.} 24. Kh2 Rb7 25. Rg1 Kh8 26. Ra3 Bd7 27. Ne4 {There is a storm brewing against black's K.} a5 28. Bf3 {The advance of his h-Pawn must have been in the back of Bogoljubow’s mind when he played this, but the straightforward advance of the h-Pawn would have been even stronger.} Be8 {Suddenly black has to shore up his K-side in view of the potential advance of the h-Pawn.} 29. Rg2 h6 30. Be2 {White pulls his B back because he wants to use the Q for something besides defending it.} a4 31. Qg1 Nd4 {This sacrifice ps not quite sound as black does not get nearly enough compensation in the form of play on the Q-side for it. At the same time, it’s hard to suggest a reasonable plan.} 32. cxd4 Qxb2 33. dxc5 Qxa3 34. Nxd6 Rb8 {Trott’s desire to save his R is understandable, but this leaves him clearly lost. What a pity because despite his difficult position Bogoljubow’s win is not a forgone conclusion.} (34... Qb2 {is trappy!} 35. Nxb7 a3 {White is forced to deal with the a-Pawn.} 36. Qc1 Qxe2 { and black has equalized.}) (34... Qb2 35. c6 {This is the correct response.} Bxc6 36. dxc6 Rc7) 35. Nxe8 Rfxe8 {As is often the case...wrong R! Taking with the other R was, accoring to engines, only half as bad, but still losing.} 36. Rxg6 Rg8 37. Qg4 e4 38. Qh5 Rge8 39. Bxh6 Be5+ 40. Bf4# {An unusual finish.} 1-0

Alekhine Shows No Mercy

    In 1915, World War One was going on and on the Western Front it was a war of attrition with both sides entrenched in what was a bew form if warfare...trench warfare. Along with it came another development, the German Army’s prolific us if poison gases such as chlorine, mustard, bromine and phosgene. 

    Chlorine gas can cause effects from mild irritation to severe and it can even be fatal.  Symptoms include eye, nose and throat irritation, cough, breathing problems, chest pain and lung damage. 

    Mustard gas is a blistering agent that causes severe burns and damage to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. It can lead to temporary or permanent blindness and in large concentrations it can cause death. 

    Bromine gas causes upper respiratory effects, cough, headache, central nervous system effects, skin loss and discoloration. 

    The immediate effect of phosgene is watering of the eyes. Subsequently, it causes a build up of fluid in the lungs that leads to death. It's estimated that 85% of the 91,000 gas deaths in WWI were a result of phosgene or a derivative. 

    As a kid there was an elderly hardware store owner who wasn’t quite right in the head and my mother said it was because he was gasses in WWI. Bromine gas’s effect on the central nervous system include extreme drowsiness, a strong desire for sleep or the tendency to fall asleep, seizures, the quick onset of confusion, disorientation, and difficulty focusing, thinking clearly, and remembering recent events. It can also cause a person's thinking, perception and behavior to be severely altered, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and what is not real. It's often characterized by hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thoughts and speech. 

    In 1915, Alexander Alekhine was confined prim agaarily to playing chess in Moscow and it was the year when he “played” his famous Five Queens Game against Nikolai Grigoriev. The game was actually composed, but Alejhine presented it as real. 

    The following game featuring a merciless attack by Alekhine was played in a First Category tournament in Moscow. In the Soviet Union players were classified using a system of categories rather than a numerical rating. It’s difficult to define exactly what a First Category player was, but a First Category player seems to have been what was also called a Candidate Master, or according to the USCF rating system an Expert which is one rank below Master (Elo 2200). 

 

[Event "1st Category tournament, Moscow"] [Site ""] [Date "1915.10.??"] [Round "?"] [White "G I Rabinovich"] [Black "Alexander Alekhine"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C44"] [Annotator "James Massie"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "1915.??.??"] {C44: Ponziani Opening} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 {This ancient opening dates back to around the time Columbus landed in America. In 1904, Marshall wrote that there is no point in white's third move unless black plays badly and today it's rarely used except as a surprise. Black's main responses are 3... Nf6, leading to quiet play or 3...d5 leading to sharp play.} d5 4. Qa4 { This peculiar move breaks the rule about bringing the Q out early, but it's actually the Main Line. White indirectly threatens the P on e5 by pinning the N. Black must defend the P by 4...f6 or sacrifice a P by either 4...Bd7 (this is probably his best choice) or 4...Nf6} Nf6 (4... dxe4 {This is often seen, but it does not work out well for black/} 5. Nxe5 Qd5 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bc4 { White is better.}) 5. Nxe5 Bd6 6. exd5 {A poor choice, Better is 6.Nxc6 and 7. d4} Bxe5 7. dxc6 O-O 8. Be2 (8. d4 Bd6 9. Be3 Ng4 10. Nd2 Nxe3 11. fxe3 Qh4+ 12. Kd1 {Black is better.. Savchenko,B (2589) -Jakovenko,D (2720) Odessa 2008}) 8... Re8 9. d4 Bd6 10. Bg5 bxc6 (10... Qe7 11. Qd1 bxc6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. O-O Rb8 {wuth equal chances. Castellano Egea,E (2186)-Pinsach Gelabert,A (2138) Barcelona ESP 2014}) (10... h6 {This move assures black of a considerable advantage after} 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Qd1 Bg4 {and white is in serious trouble.}) 11. Nd2 Qe7 {Better was 11...Bg4 forcing white to play the weakening 12.f3} 12. Qc4 {Allowing the pin to continue was not a good idea. Blocking the e-file with 12.Be3 would have been much better.} a5 {[%mdl 1024] Threatening 13...Ba6} 13. Qd3 Bf5 {[%mdl 640] After this sockdolager white is in trouble.} 14. Qf3 ( 14. Qxf5 Qxe2#) 14... Qd7 {Another blow threatening 15...Bg4} 15. h3 Ne4 { Bringing the N into the action.} 16. Be3 (16. Nxe4 {is out od the question.} Bxe4 17. Qh5 g6 18. Qh6 Bxg2 19. Rg1 Bf3 {and black is winning}) 16... Nxd2 17. Kxd2 Rab8 {Even better would have been 17...Be4} 18. b3 c5 {Same as before.} 19. Bc4 cxd4 20. cxd4 c5 {This move, played with the idea of opening up the position, is not at all effective.} (20... Be4 21. Qg4 Bb4+ 22. Ke2 Bf5 23. Qf3 Rb6 {adding the R ti the action. Black is clearly better, but white can, at least, hope to defend himself.}) 21. d5 {This is an odd situation...normally keeping the position closed with a move like this would be a reasonable idea, but here opening up the position with 21. dac5 would actually jave been safer.} (21. dxc5 Bxc5+ 22. Ke2 Be4 23. Qf4 Bxg2 24. Rad1 {This is why opening up the position is white;s best defense; his R gets into play.} Qa7 25. Rhg1 {Black has ti be careful!} Bxe3 (25... Bc6 26. Rxg7+ Kxg7 27. Qg5+ Kh8 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Rg1+ {and it's white who is winning.}) 26. fxe3 {and white has managed tio achieve equality because by opening up the position his pieces have obtainsed considerable scope.}) 21... Be4 22. Qg4 {This loses quickly. SOmwhat better would have been 22.Qh5} (22. Qh5 Re5 23. Qh4 Rbe8 {All white can do is wait for the end.}) 22... f5 23. Qh4 Qb7 {It wonl't take long to dig out white's K.} 24. Bf4 ({and white gets hounded without mercy.} 24. Rad1 Qb4+ 25. Ke2 f4 26. Bxf4 Bxg2+ 27. Be3 Re4 28. Qg5 Bxh1 29. Rxh1 Rxc4 30. bxc4 Qxc4+ 31. Kf3 Rf8+ 32. Kg2 Qe4+ 33. Kg1 Rf6 34. Qh5 Rg6+ 35. Bg5 Qe1+ 36. Kg2 Qe4+ 37. Kg1 Qxd5) 24... Qb4+ 25. Kd1 Qc3 26. Rc1 Qd4+ {White resigned} (26... Qd4+ 27. Bd2 Bf3+ { wins the Q}) 0-1