Quick Quiz: Who won the tournament at Bad Harzburg 1938?

     As you may have guessed, Bad Harzburg is a spa town in the central part of Germany. During World War II military hospitals were established in several hotels there and the town surrendered without a fight to the 83rd US Infantry Division on April 11, 1945. 

     There was a chess tournament held there in 1938, but nobody remembers it because too much other stuff was going on in the world. 

     Following a number of years of success the US economy had a recession hit and in Europe, Germany was continuing it's strategy of persecuting the Jews and the occupation in Czechoslovakia. Fearing another war, British prime minister Neville Chamberlain went to Germany and after agreeing that Hitler could occupy Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain declared "Peace in our time." He was wrong. 

     In the US a law was passed making the minimum hourly wage 40 cents per hour for a 44 hour working week. Weather reporting wasn’t what it is today and on September 21st a giant hurricane slammed into the east coast with little or no warning from the Weather Service. 

     The Weather Bureau had been advised that the storm was spotted in the Caribbean around September 16th and was expected to hit Florida. However, on September 19th it made an unexpected change of course and headed parallel to the coast. It made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Long Island, New York at about 2:30 PM on September 21st with sustained winds of 120 mph, a 15 foot storm surge and 40-50 foot waves. From there the storm battered Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New England. When it reached Canada it finally dissipated on September 23rd. 

     On October 30th the radio broadcast of Orson Wells’ War of The Worlds caused panic on the East Coast when it was broadcast like a breaking news story. Most of the world cheered when Germany's Max Schmeling was defeated by a knock out in the first round by the great Joe Louis for the heavyweight championship. 

     As far as chess was concerned, about the only thing anybody remembers was that 1938 was the year the great AVRO tournament was held. Keres and Fine tied for first ahead of Botvinnik, Euwe, Reshevsky, Alekhine, Capablanca and Flohr. After the war Reuben Fine used the results and twisted logic as “proof” that he should be considered world champion. 

     A few people might remember the eighth South American Chess Championship (Torneo Sudamericano) that took place in Montevideo in March of 1938. Alekhine was undefeated and finished 1.5 points ahead of Carlos Guimard. The other players were mostly known only in South America. 

     The year started off with Laszlo Szabo beating out Max Euwe at Hastings. But, few people will know that in 1938, the Argentine championship was won by Roberto Grau who edged Guimard by a half point or that Euwe won the Dutch championship ahead of Nico Cortlever. 

     At Bad Elster, Germany, Bogoljubow finished first ahead of Eliskases and Engles. The German championship was dominated by Eliskases who finished 2.5 points ahead of Georg Kieninger and Paul Michel. In a small 8-player tournament in Berlin, Albert Becker and Ludwig Rellstab shared first place. In another German tournament held in Gablenz, Karl Gilg finished ahead of Gideon Barcza and Dieter Keller. 

     At Karlsruhe, also in Germany, Anton Kohler, Max Eisinger, Jr. and Efim Bogoljubow tied for first. At Krefeld in, you guessed it, Germany, Ludwig Engels and Erich Eliskases tied for first. 

     At Ljubljana, Yugoslavia Boris Kostic won ahead of Szabo with Tartakower and Lajos Steiner tied for third. At Lodz, Poland Vasja Pirc won ahead of Tartakower. Alekhine took first at Margate ahead of Spielmann and in Nice, the French championship ended in a tie between Maurice Raizman and Aristide Gromer.

     Eliskases won at Noordwijk ahead of Paul Keres. Gosta Stoltz won the Swedish championship. Karel Opocensky won the Czech championship, Alexander Tolush won the Leningrad city championship while Sergey Belavenets and Vasily Smyslov tied for first for the Moscow city championship. 

     In the US championship Reshevsky edged Fine by a half point and in a surprising result, Albert Simonson took third place ahead of Horowitz, Dake and Kashdan. 

     The answer to the quiz question is Vasja Pirc (December 19, 1907 – June 2, 1980), a leading Yugoslav player of his day. There were a number of interesting games played at Bad Harzberg, but one that I enjoyed was Bogoljubow’s win over German master Herbert Heinicke (March 24, 1905, Porto Alegre, Brazil - April 4, 1988, Hamburg). He was active mainly in the 1930's and the post WW2 era. He tied for 2nd in the German Championship of 1953 and also played for Germany at the Munich 1936 Team tournament and at the Helsinki Olympiad in 1952. 

     Born in Brazil, in 1914 the Heinicke family also returned to Germany. As an adult he was very successful as an entrepreneur. His company produced stainless steel that were used before and during the Second World War, especially in German submarines. After the war, in which Heinicke lost his home and his huge chess library in 1943, Heinicke remained active with his company and in chess for a long time. 

 

 

Ewfim Bogoljubow - Herbert Heinicke

Result: 1-0

Site: Bad Harzburg

Date: 1938

Queen's Indian: Classical Variation

[...] 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e6 3.♘f3 By playing this move white sidesteps the Nimzo-Indian. Like the Nimzo, the Q-Indian aims to impede white's efforts to gain full control of the center by playing e2–e4. 3...b6 4.e3 This quiet move is rarely seen today, but it may lead to complex middlegame play. These days 4.g3 is usually played although 4.a3 and 4.Nc3 are also popular. 4...♗b7 5.♗d3 If 5...d5 6.O-O Bb4 or 6.Nc3 Bb4 with a Nimzo-Indian after all. 5...c5 6.♘c3 ♗e7 7.O-O O-O 8.d5 d6 9.e4 At this point black should keep the central tension and play ...Re8, ...Nbd7 and ...Bf8. 9...e5 This move blocking the center leaves black passive with little play. 10.g3 Already planning to play f4 and attack on the K-side. 10...♗c8 Losing time, but the B had a dim future on b7.

10...♘e8 11.♘e1 ♗g5 12.f4 ♗h6 13.♘f3 ♘d7 14.f5 Sulashvili,M (2431)-Odeev,H (2487)/Agana TUR 2006 is technically even, but in the game black's lack of space eventually cost him the game.

11.♔g2

11.♘h4 g6 12.♘g2 ♗h3 13.f4 ♘g4 14.f5 with equality. Lomineishvili,M (2410)-Charkhalashvili,I (2369)/Tbilisi 2008

11...♘e8 Black intends ...f5, but that turns out to be a bad idea. Trying to expand on the Q-side with ...Na6, ...Nc7 then advancing the Q-side Ps was a better plan. 12.♘g1 f5 With all his pieces except the B on e7 (which is a bad B at that) all huddled on the back rank black understandably tries to get some play, but all he ends up doing is weakening his position. 13.f4 Opening up the position. 13...exf4 14.♗xf4 fxe4 15.♘xe4 ♘d7 This blocks his B; better was 15...Bf5 which at least helps defend his K. Black's position is critical and one more questionable move will be his last. 16.♕c2 It's too late to get any Q-side play. 16...h6 (16...b5 17.cxb5 ♗b7 18.♘c3)

16...a6 17.♖ae1 b5 18.b3 bxc4 19.bxc4 ♖b8 and even here all he can do is try to defend against white's looming attack on his K.

17.♖ae1 ♘df6 18.♘c3 a6 19.♘f3 ♖a7 From here, hopefully, the R can defend along the 7th rank. 20.♗c1 Now black's best hope is to play ...Ng4-e5. Instead, he weakens his K-side even more. 20...g5 21.h4 g4 22.♘g1 ♔g7 (22...h5 23.♗h6 ♖f7 24.♗g6) 23.♘ge2 Bringing up the reserves. Black can only wait. 23...♘d7 24.♕d2 ♖h8 25.♘f4 ♘e5 Finally black has a well placed piece, but his position is so bad that white can work around the N. 26.♘h5 ♔g8 27.♕f4 ♘f3

27...♗f6 (or 27...Nf6) runs into 28.♖xe5 dxe5 29.♘xf6 ♘xf6 30.♕xf6 ♕xf6 31.♖xf6 h5 32.♗h6 The stinger! Mate is threatened on f8, so... 32...♖xh6 33.♖xh6 and wins. Nifty!

28.♕e4 Even stronger was 28.Bg6 threatening mate on f7 when black is totally helpless. 28...♘e5 29.♕f4 ♘f3 29...Bf6 runs into that old Rxe5 trick previously mentioned. 30.♗f5 The B stops one square short. Better was 30.Bg6, same as on move 28. (30.♗g6 ♘xe1 31.♖xe1 ♘f6 32.♘e4 and wins.)

30.♗g6 ♗g5 31.hxg5 hxg5 32.♕xg5 ♘xg5 33.♗xg5 ♕d7 34.♖xe8 ♕xe8 35.♗xe8 and wins

30...♗g5

30...♘xe1 31.♖xe1 ♗xf5 32.♕xf5 ♖h7 33.♕g6 ♔h8 34.♗xh6 and white will win easily after playing his R to e4 and capturing the g-Pawn.

31.♕xg4 ♘xe1 32.♖xe1 ♗xf5 33.♕xf5 ♖f7

33...♘g7 is better, but not by much. 34.♕g6 ♕f8 35.♗xg5 ♕f7 (35...hxg5 36.♘f6) 36.♖e8

34.♕g6 ♘g7 35.hxg5 ♕f8 36.♘f6 Black resigned. A nice crush by Bogo!

36.♘f6 ♖xf6 37.gxf6 ♖h7 38.♖e7 ♔h8 39.♖b7 h5 40.♗h6 h4 41.♗xg7 ♖xg7 42.♕h6 ♔g8 43.♖xg7 ♕xg7 44.♕xg7#

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Leonid Shamkovich, the Prince

     Nicknamed “Prince” for his regal bearing and speech, Leonid A. Shamkovich (June 1, 1923 – April 22, 2005) was born in Rostov-on-Don in Russia, the same city as Tartakower. 

     He won the Russian Championship twice, in 1954 and 1956. He tied for 3rd at the 1962 Moscow Championship (behind Yuri Averbakh and Evgeny Vasiukov) and placed fifth at the 1964-65 Soviet Championship. He finished third at Marianske Lazne 1965 (behind Paul Keres and Vlastimil Hort). Awarded the GM title in 1965, his best victory was at Sochi in 1967, where he tied for first place with Nikolai Krogius, Vladimir Simagin, Boris Spassky and Alexander Zaitsev. 

     Shamkovich dropped out of Leningrad State University one semester short of graduation to become a full-time player. In 1972, he immigrated briefly to Israel and then went to Canada before finally settling in the United States in 1973 where he quickly became a powerful force on the American chess scene. 

     In 1976 he was winner of both the World Open and the US Open, sharing the latter title with Anatoly Lein and in 1977 tied again for the US Open, this time with Andrew Soltis and Timothy Taylor. 

     In addition to his achievements as a player, Shamkovich is one of the most respected authorities on chess sacrifices and tactics and was the author of more than a dozen books, including The Modern Chess Sacrifice. He also has been a major influence through his work as teacher and trainer of some of the world’s best players, including Mikhail Tal and Garry Kasparov. 

     In 2005, he passed away from complications related to cancer and Parkinson’s disease at his home in Brooklyn. 

     Although Shamkovich, whose expertise was as an analyst and in his tactical ability, was not among the leading Soviet players who dominated the game for most of the second half of the 20th century, but he played with great emotion, which made his results very uneven. He continued to play into the late 1990s. He was married and divorced three times. 

     The following game was played at Rio de Janeiro Interzonal in 1979. Along with Lubomir Kavalek (1st) and James Tarjan (2nd), Shamkovich qualified as a result winning a playoff against Edmar Mednis after they tied for third in the 1978 US Championship. Kavalek dropped out and his place was taken by Mednis. Walter Browne had been scheduled to play in the championship but dropped out before round one after a run in with the TD, Isaac Kashdan. See my post HERE.

     Shamkovich’s opponent in this game was the strong Cuban GM Guillermo Garcia Gonzlez (December 9, 1953 – October 26, 1990) who tragically died at in a car accident in Havana in 1990. The game isn’t one of Shamkovich’s tactical gems. Instead it’s a positional crush were Garcia never seemed to have a chance right from the start.

Guillermo Garcia Gonzales - Leonid Shamkovich
Result: 0-1
Site: Rio de Janeiro BRA
Date: 1979.10.08
English Opening: Flohr-Mikenas System

[...] 1.c4 ♘f6 2.♘c3 e6 3.e4 This is the Flohr-Mikenas Attack. It forces black to respond vigorously. In this game white's backward d-Pawn will cost him the game! 3...d5 Black has two main ideas in these kind of positions. He can counterattack in the center immediately and force a liquidation with this move or he can try to exploit the weakness created by 3.e4 which is the d4-square. The other method is to try and exploit d4 by playing 3...c5 hoping at some point to make it a post for a N. Any other reply is likely to land black in a passive position. 4.e5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.e5 is rarely played, but it has also worked out well for white in practice. 4...♘e4 5.♘xe4 Less effective, but not bad, is 5.Nf3. 5...dxe4 6.♕g4 ♗d7 Black plans on using the long diagonal.

6...♘c6 7.♕xe4 ♕d4 8.♕xd4 ♘xd4 is awkward for white but after 9.Bd3 and 10.Ne2 the postion is about even.

7.♕xe4 ♗c6 8.♕e2 This move blocks the B and so white never gets his K-side developed.

8.♕f4 ♘a6 9.a3 ♘c5 10.♕e3 Adamowicz,M (2071)-Czyz,A (2042)/ Rewal POL 2013 and black was slightly better.

8.♕e3 seems better. 8...♘a6 (8...♘d7 9.a3 ♗e7 10.d4 leaves black badly cramped.) 9.d4 ♘b4 10.♔d1 ♕h4 and black has active play.

8...♗c5

8...♕d4 9.♕e3 ♗c5 10.♕xd4 ♗xd4 with equal chances. Wedberg,T (2504)-Hermansson,E (2412)/Sweden 2001

9.d3

9.♘f3 ♗xf3 10.♕xf3 ♘c6 11.♕e4 ♕d7 12.♗e2 was played in Hausner,I (2430) -Chloupek,S (2305)/Czechia 1996. Black is very slightly better.

9...♘a6 An odd move. One would expect 9...Nd7 10.♗e3 ♗b4 Garcia's next move reveals the point behind Shamkovich's strategy when he played his last move. 11.♗d2 After this logical looking move black establishes a dominating position.

11.♔d1 was better. 11...♕d7 12.♔c1 ♖d8 13.a3 ♗e7 14.b4 ♗a4 15.d4 with roulghly equal chances.

11...♕d4 12.♗xb4 ♘xb4 The backward pawn on d3 has become a target 13.h4

13.a3 runs into 13...♘xd3 14.♕xd3 ♕xd3 15.♗xd3 ♗xg2 16.♗e4 ♗xe4 17.f3 and black has won a piece.

13...O-O-O

13...♘xd3 no longer works because the R has an escape square. 14.♕xd3 ♕xd3 15.♗xd3 ♗xg2 16.♖h2

(13...♗a4 is not dangerous for white. 14.♘f3 ♕d7 15.b3) 14.♖h3 ♗a4 15.♖c1 ♘xa2 16.♖a1 ♗b3 17.♘f3 ♕b6 18.♘d2 ♖d4 Here white should probably see if Shamkovich would be interested in a draw by repitition. 19.♖e3 After this white falls into serious difficulties and he remains titally passive and can only wait to get slowly crushed. (19.♘f3 ♖dd8 20.♘d2 ♖d4 etc.)

19.♘xb3 does not work out well after 19...♕xb3 20.♕d2 a6 21.♗e2 ♘b4 with an excellent position.

19...♖hd8 20.c5 Hoping for counterplay. This moive ultimately loses a P, but even after 20.Nf3 R4d7 white remains horribly passive. 20...♕b4 21.♖e4 ♗d5 22.♖xd4 ♕xd4 23.♘f3 ♕xc5 (23...♗xf3 24.gxf3 ♖d5 was a alternative way to win.) 24.d4 ♕b6 Equally effective was 24...Qb4+ 25.♕b5 ♕xb5 26.♗xb5 a6 27.♗e2 ♘b4 28.♔d2 ♘c6 Here Garica resigned. (28...♘c6 29.♔c3 ♗xf3 30.♗xf3 ♘xd4 is hopeless.)

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Something Different

     Off and on for the last few days I have been dipping in to the book The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes: Fifty Tantalizing Problems of Chess Detection by by Raymond M. Smullyan. 

     This is not a book of chess problems but a book of logic puzzles about chess positions with Holmes and Watson as the main characters. The puzzles are challenging, novel, and ingenious. 

     In the positions you have to, for example, deduce whether white has moved a Knight, or whether the Queen was promoted, etc. Like in all Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Holmes, by his remarkable powers of deduction, is able to demonstrate what must have happened.

     If you don’t enjoy solving standard chess problems then this book could prove interesting as you are given a chess position and a seemingly impossible question to answer question about it. The questions can all be answered by deduction and there are some trick questions. 

     Reading the reviews of the book showed most people liked it, but one who probably couldn’t solve any of the problems called it “total nonsense.” 

     Here’s a problem from the book. White to mate in one...there are two solutions. 

If you get stumped see the solutions  HERE

Spielmann's Crush of Chekhover at Moscow 1935

     In 1935, the title of "Soviet Grandmaster" was re-introduced and awarded to Botvinnik who was being pushed by Soviet chess Czar Nikolai Krylenko as Russia’s next great player. 

     Ten years after the Moscow 1925 tournament and the Botvinnik-Flohr match in 1933, Krylenko decided it was time to test the progress of Soviet players against Western players. To this end, eight foreign masters, including two former World Champions, were invited to play against twelve Soviet masters in a tournament in Moscow. The tournament opened on February 14th and finished on March 15th and was held in the Museum Of Fine. 

     Although Botvinnik and Flohr tied for first, the finish of 66-year-old Emanuel Lasker who was undefeated and finished just half a point behind them was impressive. Lasker also finished half a point ahead of Capablanca, whom he brilliantly defeated in their individual game. 

     At the time, Salo Flohr, then of Czechoslovakia, was considered a world championship contender so his finish was no surprise. Botvinnik was known as a rising star at age 24 and two years earlier he had drawn a match with Flohr.

Botvinnik, Flohr and Levenfish took the early lead. After round 15 Levenfish had slipped back and Flohr led Botvinnik by half a point. In round 16 Botvinnik won and Flohr drew to bring the two into a first-place tie. They both drew their games in the final three rounds.  

    When Flohr and Botvinnik met in round 18, Flohr proposed that they both draw their final game in round 19 and share first place. Their individual game was a colorless 17 move draw.

    With Flohr and Botvinnik tied for first going into the last round, Ilya Rabinovich was ordered to lose his game against Botvinnik to ensure that Botvinnik took first. Botvinnik refused to go along with the skulduggery and said he would put a piece en prise and resign. The plan was then abandoned and the game was drawn after 24 moves in a complicated position where both sides seemed to have had chances. In the last round Flohr proposed a draw against Alatortsev in a level position at move 23. This tournament was Botvinnik's first success in international play. 

    As can be seen from the crosstable there were some very strong players among the also rans and they produce some great games. Spielmann’s crush of Chekhover was awarded the 3rd prize for "best game" of the tournament. 

Pianist Vitaly Chekhover (December 22, 1908 – February 11, 1965) was a Soviet master and endgame study composer of renown. With more than 160 published endgame studies he was considered a prominent specialist on Knight endgames He also wrote several books on the subject. In 1956 he was awarded the title International Judge of Chess Compositions and received the title International Master of Chess Compositions in 1961. He was awarded the IM title in 1950. 

 

Final standings:

 

 

 

 

Rudolf Spielmann - Vitaly Chekhover 

Result: 1-0

Site: Moscow

Date: 1935.02.28 

Queen's Indian Defense

[...] 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 b6 One hesitates to call this a Queen's Indian because of black's 5th move. In annotating the game. Chekhover himself gave this move a ? and called it risky because it allows white to build up a strong P-center. He recommended 2...e6. 3.♘c3 ♗b7 4.♕c2 Preparing e2-e4. 4...d5 5.cxd5 Chekhover recommended that instead of this white should play 5.Nf3.

5.♘f3 and if 5...e6 6.♗g5 The opening has transposed into an unfavorable variation of the QGD for black.

5...♘xd5 6.e4 According to CHekhover it was still better to play 6.Nf3 and only then play e4. ..splitting hairs! 6...♘xc3 7.bxc3 e5 Chekhover gave this move !, but analyzing with Stockfish causes the little red warning light to flash and the evaluation to jump from even to slightly in white's favor. The engine way is 7...e6 then either 8.Nf3 or 8.Bf4 would leave white a bit better. 8.♘f3 exd4 9.♗b5 Typical of Spielmann. He sacrifices a P for a strong attack. At the time 9. Nxd4 was the usual continuation with the intention of transferring the N to f5 in preparation of a K-side attack. Black would have comensation in the form of white's weal Ps. 9...c6 10.♗c4 b5

10...dxc3 gives white an overwhelming attack after 11.♘g5 ♗a6 12.♗xf7 ♔d7 13.♗b3 threatening Nf7

11.♗e2 A good move because it leaves the d-file open. 11...dxc3 Chekhover believed that it would probably have been wiser not to win the P, but to complete his development by 11...Be7 and 12..0-0.

11...♗e7 This, however, does not seem to work out well for black. 12.O-O O-O 13.♖d1 is favorable for white.

11...d3 12.♗xd3 ♘a6 13.O-O ♘c5 14.♖d1 ♕c7 15.♗f1 ♗d6 16.e5 ♗e7 17.♘d4 O-O also leaves white with a promising position.

12.♕xc3 A difficult position has arise and practically speaking, it is difficult to say whose attack is going to prove stronger. 12...♘d7 13.O-O ♕e7 This is a serious mistake. By attacking the e-Pawn it has the purpose of It has the purpose of preventing 14.Bb2, but it doesn't.

13...b4 was the best replay as played in Pilgaard,K (2418)-Grachev,B (2618)/La Roda ESP 2019. 14.♕b3 ♗e7 15.♖d1 ♕c7 Pilgaard,K (2418)-Grachev,B (2618)/La Roda ESP 2019/0-1 (36) and in the game white erred here with 16.Bg5 allowing white to eaualize and go on to win. After 16.Nd4! threatening Ne6 white would have been better.

14.♗b2 ♘c5 With this move black was hoping to exchange the dangerous bishop b2 after ... Na4. Chekhover commented that he didn't notice white's reply. 15.♕c2 This move gets a ! from Chekhover, but in fact it's a poor move releasing the pressure on black's position and allowing him to equalize.

15.♖ad1 ♘a4 16.♕c2 ♘xb2 17.♕xb2 would leave white quite well off because black has trouble completing his development and getting castled.

15...♘e6

15...♕xe4 Chekhover claimed this move was not possible, yet it is actually the best move as after 16.♗d3 ♘xd3 Best!

16...♕xd3 loses as Chekhover correctly pointed out. 17.♖fe1 ♔d8 18.♖ad1 ♕xd1 19.♖xd1 ♔c7 20.♗e5 ♔b6 and black gets crushed. 21.♗d4

17.♖fe1 ♕xe1 18.♘xe1 ♘xb2 19.♕xb2 O-O-O with an unclear position. In Shootouts Stockfish scored +2 -0 =3 in white's favor.

16.a4 Another move that Chekhover incorrectly praises. After this the chances are no more than equal.

16.♖ad1 Keeps the pressure on black. 16...♕c5 Black would love to trade Qs, but white will not oblige. 17.♕b1 ♗d6 18.♘d4 ♘xd4 19.♗xd4 ♕b4 20.♕c1 O-O-O 21.e5 ♗e7 22.♕f4

16...a6 Better was 16...Qc5 and ...Be7. 17.axb5 axb5 (17...cxb5 is not possible. 18.♖xa6 ♖xa6 19.♗xb5) 18.♖xa8 ♗xa8 19.♖d1 Threatening Bxb5. Basically black is playing a R and B down because those two pieces are useless. Plus, his K is caught in the center. 19...♕b7

19...h6 A pass to demonstrate the threat. 20.♗xb5 cxb5 21.♕c8 ♘d8 22.♕xa8 Threatening Ba3. White is winning.

20.♘e5 ♗e7 Chekhover lays a bit of a trap in case Spielmann plays the natural 21.Rd7 21.♗h5 Spielmann makes what is probably the best practical choice OTB because the lines arising from 21.Rd7 certainly would not be clear.

21.♖d7 ♕xd7 22.♘xd7 ♔xd7 and Chekhover wrote that black has a R, N and pawn for Q and two connected passed Ps with a solid position. Practically I am not sure how true that is. In Shootouts white won five games fairly quickly. For example... 23.f4 ♖d8 24.f5 ♘f4 25.♗f1 ♔e8 26.♗xg7 ♘h5 27.♗b2 ♘f6 28.♗e2 ♘d7 29.♗h5 ♘b6 30.♕c3 ♗f8 31.♕f6 ♗c5 32.♔f1 ♔d7 33.♗xf7 ♗d6 34.e5 ♗b4 35.♗d4 ♘c8 36.e6 ♔c7 37.♗e5 ♘d6 38.e7 ♖b8 39.e8=♕ ♖xe8 40.♗xe8 and wins easily.

21...♖f8 (21...O-O Finally! 22.♖d7 wins material.)

21...g6 can be met by 22.♗g4 Threatening Nxf7 22...♖f8 23.♕b3 with the same position as in the game.

22.♕b3 A new threat along the a2-g8 diagonal. Now white threatens not only 23 Nxf7 or 23 Bxf7+, but also 23 Qxe6. Since black can only play one move at a time it is not possible to answer all three threats. 22...g6 23.♗g4 ♕c8 24.♘xf7 The final blow. 24...♔xf7 25.♕f3 ♔e8 26.♕h3 ♘f4 27.♗d7 Note that grabbing the Q would be very bad! After 27.Bd7+ Chekhover resigned. Much to his credit, when Chekhover annotated this game he had nothing but praise for Spielmann's play. (27.♗d7 ♕xd7 28.♕xd7 ♔f7 29.♗a3 ♖e8 30.♗xe7 ♖xe7 31.♕d8 and wins.) (27.♗xc8 ♘xh3 28.♗xh3 ♗c5 and black is better.)

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