Komodo 12 is now available as a free download from the Komodo site. On the CCLR 40/15 rating list this engine is ranked number 30 with a rating of 3395. It should be noted that the list includes mostly experimental versions of Stockfish and new versions of Komodo. That means 30th place is somewhat deceptive. Komodo gets soundly whipped by Stockfish and nipped by Houdini 6 so it is probably the third best engine available, but it does have its place when it comes to analysis.
Komodo heavily relies on evaluation rather than depth, and thus has a distinctive positional style that is supposed to be more in line with human thinking. Developer Don Dailey stated its forte is to play when there is nothing to to do. "In positions that most engines would likely struggle or find it impossible to make progress, Komodo quietly prepares a break and ends up with the victory."
For the games in this blog I use Stockfish to do the initial automatic analysis and then use Komodo for the final analysis because I don't like Stockfish's wild evaluation numbers. Komodo's numbers are more in line with what a human GM would come up with.
After installing the engine be sure and read the information provided on the hash table settings. The instructions advise that the default hash table size setting will work well, but if you want optimal performance you may wish to tweak it and so they provide guidelines.
The article advises that setting a hash table that is much larger than it needs to be will have a negative impact on the performance because it places high demands on memory. On my laptop and my go-to program (Fritz 12) I am informed that the maximum hash table size is 2991 MB, so I use about half of that or 1145 MB.
The Dresden International Chess Congress, the seventh International Congress of the German Chess Association was commenced in Dresden on July 17 and ended on July 31, 1892.
This was the third of four international tournaments in a row between 1889 and 1894 that Tarrasch won. In the first three tournaments that he won he only lost only one game, to Adolf Albin (in Dresden) out of a total number of fifty-two. The two previous tournaments in which he gained first place were Breslau, 1889 and Manchester, 1890. His fourth straight win was at Leipzig, 1894.
Tarrasch's play in the Dresden Congress wasn't quite so good as in
Breslau and Manchester tournaments, but nevertheless it was of a high order. In those days his style was mostly tactical and he was well able to brush aside the weaker competitors probably better than any other leading master of the day. In that respect he was reminiscent of the future great Argentinian player Miguel Najdorf. Against those players Tarrasch often preferred drawing with
them rather than risking a loss by attempting to force a win out of an even ending. For all that Tarrasch was not a dull player and many of his games were brilliant tactical displays.
At that time Tarrasch had not been tested against world class players. In 1891 the Havana Chess Club had invited him there to play a match against Steinitz, but Tarrasch had declined saying that he could not spare the time that a journey to Havana and the contesting of a long match would require. Later on an attempt was made by the Berlin Chess Club to arrange a match with Tchigorin, but that also came to nothing.
Adolf Albin (1848-1920) was a Romanian player best known for the Albin Counter Gambit and authoring the first chess book written in Romanian. He was born in Bucharest to a wealthy family. After completing his studies in Vienna, he went back to Romania, where he ran the Frothier Printing House in Bucharest.
Soon he became associated with Dr. Bethel Henry Baron von Stroussberg, working as a translator for the influential railroad tycoon who was nicknamed "The King of Railways". Stroussberg's financial bankruptcy in 1875 led to Albin's exile in Vienna once again, together with his wife and three children. He died at age 72 in a Vienna sanatorium.
According to The Oxford Companion to Chess he didn't learn to play chess until in his 20s and did not play in international events until his 40s. His tournament results were spotty, though he won individual games against several notable players.
Speaking of Tarrasch, one of my earliest game collections was Tarrasch’s Best Games of Chess by Fred Reinfeld and I loved it! Reinfeld was a great writer when he wanted to be and was filled with instructive positional masterpieces.
Unfortunately the Hardinge Simpole Chess Classics reprint sells for for the rather high price of $30. One reviewer disliked the descriptive notation, gave it a single star and returned the book unread. How silly...he missed out on some really entertaining and instructive games.
I don't understand why anyone would even bother offering the original hard cover edition of this book on Amazon for $768.57 and $920.99. Who would be foolish enough to pay that?!
Apparently the answer is, nobody. Some Amazon booksellers explained that it has something to do with their inventory control and Amazon's pricing algorithm. And, a couple conspiracy theorist believed that those super-high prices were part of a money laundering scheme.
Several years ago a local mall had a chess store where they held small tournaments, sold chess equipment and the owner had a very nice collection of older chess books for sale. I doubt he ever sold any because of the absurdly high prices on them. Maybe you have to be a collector to understand.
I seem to meandered off the subject, so getting back on track, take a gander at Albin's win over Tarrasch. Even though he was an
opening expert Albin caught him in a variation of the Giuoco
Piano in which Tarrasch had to rely on OTB analysis which turned out to
be faulty. The finish is as pleasing as it is clever.
Adolf Albin - Siegbert Tarrasch
Result: 1-0
Site: Dresden
Date: 1892
Giuoco Piano
[...]1.e4e52.♘f3♘c63.♗c4♗c5 The Hungarian Defense is 3... Be7. It has been played on occasion by some plyers with defensive positional styles like Reshevsky, Hort, Petrosian and Smyslov. It was also recommended by CJS Purdy for amateur players because it avoids the complexities of the Giuoco Piano, the Evans Gambit and the Two Knights Defense. The disadvantage is that black has to defend a cramped position. 4.c3♘f65.d4exd46.cxd4♗b4+7.♗d2♘xe4 This enters complications that while not unfavorable to black must be handled with caution. Safe is 7...Bxd2+ 8.♗xb4♘xb49.♗xf7+♔xf710.♕b3+d5
10...♔f8 is somewhat safer. After 11.♕xb4+♕e7 the chances are equal.
11.♘e5+♔f6 It may seem counterintuitive to place the K on the open e-file, but it is actually safer there.
11...♔e612.♕xb4c513.♕a3cxd414.♘f3♕b615.O-O♔f716.♘bd2♖e8 with a completely equal position. Lee,G (2361) -Flear,G (2538)/Torquay 2002
12.♕xb4c5 An excellent movement that keeps Black in the game.
12...♕d6 turned out to be in white's favor after 13.♕b3♗f514.O-O♖hf815.f3♘g516.♘c3 White eventually won in Barglowski,F (2310)-Puczylowski,M (2090)/Zabrze POL 2015
13.♕a4♕e8 Tarrasch is too anxious to trade Qs and this move allows white to gain the upper hand.
13...♕b6 Counterplay! Black attacks both b2 and d4. 14.f3 Here black has an interesting piece sacrifice. 14...♕xb215.fxe4♕c1+16.♕d1♕xd1+17.♔xd1cxd418.♘d3dxe4 with an interesting position where both sides have their chances.
14.♕d1♘g5 After this white's initiative gains momentum.
14...♕e715.♘c3♘xc316.bxc3cxd417.f4♕c518.cxd4♕c3+19.♔f2♕b2+20.♔g3♕a3+21.♔h4 Another unusual position where white can only lay claim to a slight advantage in spite of the seemingly precarious position of his K.
15.f4♘e616.♘c3 The attack on the d-Pawn has no satisfactory reply. 16...g6
16...♕d817.dxc5♘xf418.♕d4♘xg2+19.♔d2 and the coming discovered check is catastrophic for black.
17.♘xd5+♔g718.O-Ocxd4 18...Rf8 hindering the advance of the f-Pawn would have held out a bit longer. 19.f5 White has a won position and for the remaining moves he has many choices, all of which lead to victory. 19...♘f420.f6+♔f821.♘e7 (21.♖xf4♕xe522.♕d2 is also winning.) 21...♕b5
21...♘e6 saves the N but after 22.♕d2♕b523.♕h6+♔e824.♘7xg6 white wins easily.
22.♖xf4♕xe523.♕xd4♕xd4+24.♖xd4 With white having complete freedom while black's pieces are so restricted the win is a matter of routine. White need not be in any hurry and can slowly improve his position. 24...♗e625.♖d6♔f726.♖e1♗xa227.♘d5♖hd828.♖e7+♔f829.♖xd8+♖xd830.♘c3♗f731.♖xb7a6
31...♖d6 An attack on the f-Pawn would prove unsuccessful. 32.♘e4♖e633.♘g5
32.♖a7♖d233.♘e4 (33.♖xa6 also wins. 33...♗d534.♘xd5♖xd5) 33...♖xb2 Black it appears has managed to equalize. 34.♖a8+ Surprise! A beautiful finish by Albin who now has a mate.
34.♖xa6♗d535.♖a4 (35.♘d6♖xg2+ would only draw.) 35...♗xe436.♖xe4 draws
34...♗e835.♘d6 Facing a mate in 9 Tarrasch resigned.
1912...in the United States the life expectancy for males was 51.5 years and 55.9 for females (shudder!). Frederick Rodman Law was paid to Jump off the Brooklyn Bridge for A Leap of Love and thus became the first movie stuntman.
J.P. Morgan and Milton Hershey were both in Europe and planned to travel back to the US on Titanic’s maiden voyage but made other plans.
Violet Jessop (October 2, 1887 – May 5, 1971) was a stewardess/nurse who was aboard the ocean liner Olympic when it collided with a warship in 1911. She was also aboard Titanic (1912) and the Britannic (1916) when they sank. She survived all three sinkings!
In France, despite pleas from the police and friends to use a dummy, Franz Reichelt demonstrated his parachute design by jumping off the first level of the Eiffel Tower which is about 187 feet above the ground. He should have listened because the parachute failed and Reichelt fell to his death.
It doesn't sound like Russia was a good place to be in 1912. The Lena Massacre or Lena Execution took place in April. It was the shooting of goldfield workers on strike in northeast Siberia near the Lena River. They were striking because of exceptionally harsh working conditions, and when the strike committee was arrested, a large crowd marched in protest. They were fired on by soldiers of the Imperial Russian Army, causing hundreds of casualties. The incident did much to stimulate revolutionary feeling in Russia.
Nevertheless strikes begin to grow, with 9000 during the period and along with them the Bolshevik trade unions grew and between 1912 and 1916.
Rasputin, a monk and favorite of the Imperial family, accepted sexual favors for political influence and his government appointments created a lot of division.
There was a minor tournament in St. Petersburg in 1912 that consisted of First Category players (roughly an Elo rating of about 2000-2125, or USCF Expert). Alekhine, Levenfish, Ilya Rabinovich and Romanovsky went on to become prominent players; the others didn't.
The following snazzy little game was an especially interesting one when it was played because in the good old days when the double Rook sacrifice was played it was startling, exciting and sensational.
Of course, it still is even though the underlying principle is pretty well known...in order to capture both Rooks the victim's Queen allows itself to be lured away from the scene of action, namely an attack on his exposed King.
Alexander Alekhine - Grigory Levenfish
Result: 1-0
Site: St. Petersburg First Category Tmt
Date: 1912
Schmid Benoni
[...]1.d4c5 The Benoni as it was originally played was usually condemned. These days the Schmid Benoni, as it is called, is where white's c-Pawn remains on c2 instead of c4. Without the usual Q-side P-majority black's counterplay loses its sting. Karpov's win against Korchnoi's Schmid Benoni in the final, decisive world championship game in 1978 didn't help its reputation. 2.d5♘f63.♘c3d64.e4g65.f4 Today the preferred move is 5. Nf3 5...♘bd76.♘f3 Black does not seem to have any decent way of countering white's initiative. 6...a6
6...♕c77.♕e2 This is the most dangerous to black.
7.♗c4a68.a4♗g79.O-OO-O10.♕e2♘b611.♗a2♗g4 and in Trompowsky, O-Corral,H/Montevideo 1954 a draw was soon agreed to.
7...♘b68.a4♗g49.♘b5♕b810.c4a611.♘c3♗g7 Chances are even. Vidmar,M-Menchik,V/Carlsbad 1929
6...♗g77.e5dxe58.fxe5♘g49.e6♘de510.♗b5+♔f8 and white is much better. Bellin,R (2385)-Olkinuora,H (2040)/Gausdal 1996
7.e5 This early assault by Alekhine before either side has completed their development is most impressive. 7...dxe58.fxe5♘g49.e6 This gut punch is very painful for black! 9...♘de510.♗f4♘xf3+11.gxf3♘f612.♗c4
12.exf7+ is also good. 12...♔xf713.♕d2b514.O-O-O with a promising position. Note black can't play his intended ...b4 14...b415.♘e4♘xe416.fxe4♗d717.♗c4♔g818.♗c7♕e8 (18...♕xc719.d6+) 19.d6+e620.♕g5 with a very strong attack.
12...fxe613.dxe6♕b6 By going after the b-Pawn black is barking up the wrong tree. He should try 13...Qd4 after which he would at least have a fighting chance. (13...♕d414.♕xd4cxd415.♘a4b516.♘b6 and white is better.) 14.♕e2♕xb2 Way too greedy. In spite of everything his position is far from hopeless after 14...Bg7 and ...O-O. 15.♘b5 This is the only move that seals black's fate.
15.♔d2 Trying to save his Rs is good for black! 15...♕b616.♖ab1♕a517.♖b5 Best 17...axb518.♗xb5+♗d719.exd7+♘xd720.♕e6♗g7! and suddenly the chances are equal.
15...♕xa1+
15...axb5 is unplayable because after 16.♗xb5+♗d717.exd7+♘xd718.♗e5 white is winning.
16.♔f2♕xh1
16...♕d4+ fails to save the game... 17.♘xd4cxd418.♗b5+axb519.♕xb5+♗d720.exd7+♘xd721.♕xb7♖xa222.♕c8+♔f723.♕xd7♖xc2+24.♔g3♗g725.♕d5+♔e826.♖a1♖c827.♗g5♖d828.♕e6♗f829.♖a7 mates in 3.
Who could forget 1991? The USSR dissolved, Time Magazine's Man of the Year was Ted Turner, The few, the proud, the Marines became the Marine Corps slogan and Bounty paper towels began being touted as "the quicker picker-upper." And, in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Arnold Schwarzenegger uttered his famous line, "Hasta la vista, Baby."
The town of Taos, in north-central New Mexico, has been home to many famous residents including Julia Roberts, Dennis Hopper, D.H. Lawrence, Aldous Huxley and Donald Rumsfeld.
In 1991 this small, laid-back artsy community became home to an unusual mystery: a hum of unknown origin, the so-called Taos Hum. You can read all about it HERE.
We lost some chess players that year. On March 12 veteran Master and former New Jersey champion Edgar McCormick (1914-1991) died. On June 3rd IM Osmo Kaila, twice champion of Finland died and in July the popular 7-time Virginia state champion Charles Powell died in San Francisco.
The big chess news in 1991 was Susan Polgar becoming the first woman in to earn the Grandmaster title when she reached the required 2500 rating which she earned by successfully playing against other GMs. She was awarded the title in December at the age of 15 years, 4 months, 28 days.
In chess politics IM Ricardo Calvo (1943-2002) was censured by FIDE and declared persona non grata after he wrote a letter that was interpreted by many Latin American readers as racist.
It was also the year that a fellow named Arkady Flom, a 64-year-old grandfather was arrested in Manhattan by dimwitted New York City police officers after he accepted two dollars for supposedly gambling on a chess game. Flom's treatment after his arrest was nothing short of Gestapo-like.
Today's game is from the big Tilburg tournament that year. Tilburg, The Netherlands, was a series of very strong tournaments held from 1977 through 1994 under the sponsorship of Interpolis, an insurance company.
These days Short is no longer among the world's elite players, but in those days in the World Championship cycle from 1990-1993 he defeated Speelman, Gelfand, Karpov and Timman and challenged Kasparov for the PCA World Championship (in 1993).
In this encounter against Timman, Short played an instructive game that built up to a brilliant finish that's famous for his incredible King walk.
Timman played Alekhine’s Defense and fianchettod his King’s Bishop. According to Alekhine specialist GM Lev Alburt the fianchetto is a sensible alternative in which black hopes to increase pressure on the a1-h8 diagonal, while leaving his B on c8 for th etime being.
The problem with this variation is that f7 is weak and white can try to exploit this to his advantage. This is exactly what happens in this game...Short conducts a relentless attack on f7.
Nigel Short - Jan Timman
Result: 1-0
Site: Tilburg
Date: 1991
Alekhine's Defense
[...]1.e4♘f6 A rare guest these days and this game turned out to be a poor advertisement for Alekhine's. 2.e5♘d53.d4d64.♘f3g65.♗c4 This move is recommended by Anatoly Karpov and seconded by Lev Alburt as best. 5...♘b66.♗b3♗g77.♕e2♘c68.O-OO-O9.h3a5 This move is rarely played and its results not quite as good as with the more common 9...Na5. 10.a4 10.c2-c3 has been tried, but it's a bit too slow, and white wants to keep his B on its present diagonal, hence 10.a4. 10...dxe511.dxe5♘d412.♘xd4♕xd4 This is the reason that this variation has a bad rap. The Q's early entry into the game causes black some problems. 13.♖e1e6 This is a logical move, but it has obvious drawbacks. First, his B is shut in, but mybe he intended to play ...Nd5, ...b6 and ...Bb7. Or, maybe he can play ...Bd7 and ...Bc6. Either method is time consumong which is something he can't afford. Also, this move results in a weakening of his K's position.
13...♗d7 was tried by Timman in Leko,P (2625)-Timman,J (2620)/Wijk aan Zee 1996 and in that game Timman managed to hold out for a draw. 14.♘c3♗c615.♘b5♗xb516.♕xb5c6 and the position is roughly equal.
13...♘d7 didn't work out well for black after 14.e6fxe615.♗xe6+♔h816.♘c3♘e517.♘b5 Tregubov,P (2583) -McShane,L (2605)/Germany 2006
14.♘d2♘d5
14...♗d7 was good for equality in Dimitrov,V (2505)-Marinkovic,I (2450)/Tivat 1995 15.♘f3♕c516.♗e3♕e717.♗g5♕c518.♕e4♗c6
15.♘f3♕c516.♕e4 With this aggressive move Short is planning on going after the K with possible moves like Qh4, Bh6, Ng5. The more conservative Komodo considers moves like 16.c3, 16.h4 and 16.c4. Stockfish likes the first two and thinks Short's move is just a smidgen behind. 16...♕b4 Realizing he is facing the possibility of a dangerous attack Timman offers to trade Qs. Naturally Short is not so inclined. 17.♗c4 In view of the fact that this move result in the exchange of his seemingly well palced B plus doubled Ps this move just looks wrong, but Short has a plan. 17...♘b618.b3 Short is willing to accept a badly weakened Q-side because he is in control on the K-side and that's where the game is going to be decided. 18...♘xc419.bxc4 Black has the B pair and white's Q-side is destroyed. A cursory evaluation might lead one to believe that black is doing OK here, but that's not the case at all. Such evaluations is why Short was a world class player in his day. So was Timman, but in this game he ahs been outplayed. Timman likely was well aware of that or he would not have offered to exchange Qs back on move 16. 19...♖e8 With the threat of Ba3 skewering his Q and R black has to lose time and ... Bd7 must wait. (19...♖d820.♗a3♕b621.♕h4♗d722.♘g5 isn't much better.) 20.♖d1 Well played. This move makes sure the development of black's B is stymed. 20...♕c5 Poor Timman. His Q is his only active piece. The idea is to play ...Qc6 and support ...Bd7. 21.♕h4 Intending Bh6, but this move also eyes f6.
21.♖a3 This move, the idea of which is yo play it to d3 was suggested by both GM John Shaw and Stockfish. 21...♕e722.♖ad3 and here, tto, black is in a pickle.
21...b622.♗e3 Another well played move by Short! Before playing Bh6 he forst drive the black Q back. 22...♕c6 He could have retreated to f8, but Timman prefers c6 because after ...Bb7 he at least has a threat against g2 should Short get careless. (22...♕e7 is suicidal after 23.♕xe7♖xe724.♖d8+♗f825.♗h6) 23.♗h6 Any book on strategy will recommend this elementary strategy of exchanging the B and weakening the dark squares around black's K. 23...♗h8 Of course black will not cooperate. Black has serious positional difficulties here. So bad in fact that Stockfish considers his position completely lost, evaluating it at 4 Ps in white's favor. The more conservative Komodo puts it at about 1.5 Ps. 24.♖d8 Strategically the game is over. All Short has to do is figure out a way to convert it to a win. 24...♗b7 Black has a potential threat against g2, but Short easily deals with it.
24...♗d725.♖xa8 (25.♘d4♖exd826.♘xc6♗xc6 favors white.) 25...♕xa826.♘h2f5 (26...♗xe527.♘g4♗h828.♘f6+ mates) 27.exf6 is also very good for white.
25.♖ad1♗g7 (25...♖exd826.♖xd8+♖xd827.♕xd8+ mate next move.) 26.♖8d7♖f8 Black is forced to defend f7. (26...♕e427.♖xf7♕xh428.♖xg7+♔h829.♘xh4♖ed830.♖xd8+♖xd831.♖xc7) 27.♗xg7♔xg728.♖1d4♖ae829.♕f6+♔g830.h4h5 White now faces the problem of how to finish off his opponent. If only he had one more piece to add to the attack. He does. The King! 31.♔h2 This is not a waiting move played just to make time. 31...♖c8 One wonders if Timman thought he had defended everything and could simple take a wait and see attitude.
31...♗c8 fails because of 32.♘g5♗xd733.♖f4♕a8 (33...♕xa434.♘xf7♖xf735.♕xf7+♔h836.♕xg6 and mate is certain.) 34.♘xf7♖xf735.♕xf7+♔h836.♖f6♖g837.♕xd7 and white is winning.
32.♔g3♖ce833.♔f4 White now has a mate in 8. 33...♗c834.♔g5 Black resigned. (34.♔g5♔h735.♖xf7+♖xf736.♕xf7+♔h837.♔h6♕d738.♖xd7b539.♕xe8#)
