Laszlo Szabo Gives A Lesson On Castling

     US Champion Arthur B. Bisguier participated in the Golden Wedding Tournament which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Club Argentino de Ajedrez in Buenos Aires. Play commenced on April 17, 1955 and lasted 25 days. 

     There was political turmoil in Argentina in 1955, but the tournament was completed before the June 16th bombing of Plaza de Mayo, a massacre that took place in Buenos Aires when 30 aircraft from the Argentine Navy and Air Force strafed and bombed the square in the largest aerial bombing ever on the Argentine mainland. It was a failed attempt by Argentine Naval Aviation to overthrow President Peron. 

     The first bomb to be dropped fell upon a bus packed with children, killing everyone on board. Peron sources claimed those killed to be around 400, but the official police report put the number at 136. Much later, in 1965, a journalist claimed that once the fighting had ended, in the immediate vicinity of Plaza de Mayo 2,000 were killed. 

     Peron was finally overthrown in September in the Revolucion Libertadora and Major General Eduardo Lonardi took office as president. The same month Major General Pedro Eugenio Aramburu overthrew Lonardi. 

     Switzerland banned nearly all forms of motor-racing after the 1955 Le Mans (France) disaster in which parts of a crashed car flew in the stands, injuring 180 and killing 84 spectators. 

     In a dark and evil event in Mississippi, a 14-year-old African American boy, Emmett Till, was abducted, tortured and lynched for allegedly flirting with a white woman. The murderers, Roy Bryant and his half brother J.W. Milam, were acquitted in a trial by an all white male jury. Protected against double jeopardy, the two men publicly admitted in a 1956 interview with Look magazine that they had tortured and murdered the boy, selling the story of how they did it for $4,000 (almost $43,000 today). 

     It was predicted that 1955 was going to be a tough year because of a predicted polio outbreak. And, at the Boston Children’s Hospital patients with polio started arriving earlier and in higher numbers than usual. It was the first sign of an outbreak that would go down in history. One good thing did happen in 1955...Dr. Jonas Salk started inoculating children against polio. 

     On January 31st former British champion (1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1924 and 1925) Henry Atkins (1872-1955) died in Huddersfield, England at the age of 82. Also in England, in May, H.J.R. Murray (1868-1955), a prominent chess historian died at the age of 86. 

     In November, in Los Angeles, the prominent US player and 1948 US Champion Herman Steiner (1905-1955) died during the California State Championship. And, in December, England lost another player, the 1912 British Champion and co-author of Modern Chess Openings, Richard C. Griffith. About a week later yet another British player, William Winter (1898-1955) died tuberculosis. He was the British Champion in 1935 and 1936. 

     On the lighter side, television remote controls became available to the public and the microwave was invented. Finally, tap dancer Bill Bailey preceded Michael Jackson in doing the moonwalk...watch it HERE

    

     The 1955 Buenos Aires event was a mediocre result for Bisguier, but his loss to the great Hungarian GM Laszlo Szabo was instructive because it serves as an example of the difficulties that are sometimes associated with something that happens in almost every game...castling. 

[Event "Buenos Aires"] [Site "?"] [Date "1955.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Laszlo Szabo"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D46"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "45"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.10.11"] {Semi-Slav} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. e4 dxe4 8. Nxe4 Nxe4 9. Bxe4 Nf6 {Black has tried a lot of moves here and it is now known that by far the best move is 9...e5 which gives black excellent chances. After the text black will experience difficulties.} 10. Bc2 Bb4+ 11. Bd2 Bxd2+ 12. Qxd2 O-O {This position is highly favorable to white for positional reasons: he has more space in the center and his B is well placed for a K-side attack. By comparison black's B is hemmed in behind it's own Ps. So, the problem for white is to find a way to exploit his advantage.} 13. Ne5 ( 13. O-O {Trifunovic played this against Bisguier in and earlier round and the game continued} Qc7 {in Baumegger,S (2447)-Neff,G (2205) Zwettl AUT 2012 black tried 13...b6 but got nothing.} 14. Qe3 {In Peralta,F (2601)-Sochacki,C (2358) Arinsal AND 2011 white played 14.c5, but Trifunovic's move is better.} b6 15. Qe5 Qb8 16. Ng5 Ba6 17. b3 c5 18. Rad1 {Black has been allowed to equalize and the game was agreed drawn in a few more moves.}) 13... Qc7 14. O-O-O {An excellent move because it brings the R into play and at the same time white gets his K castled. Note that white's K is in no danger despite castling on opposite sides because black's attacking chances are almost non-existent. BTW, CJS Purdy always advised amateurs that their development was not complete until the Rs have been connected.} c5 {A routine counterattack, but not the best.} (14... b5 {This move enjoys a hearty recommendation from GMs Ludek Pachman, Stockfish 15, Komodo 14, et al. The idea is that this move secures d5 for his N, but even then white is better.} 15. c5 {This yields d5 to black and leaves the d-Pawn backward and on an open file, but a very important trade off is that black's P structure renders his B incommodious.} Nd5 {An interesting position! Komodo evaluates it as equal, but Pachman and Stockfish think white is better. Perhaps black could hold the position, but white certainly has the better prospects. In Shootouts using Stockfish white scored +2 -0 =3.}) 15. Qe3 b6 {The disadvantage of this move is that it precludes any prospects of black counterattacking.} (15... cxd4 {This exchange only facilitates white's attack.} 16. Rxd4 Qc5 17. g4 g6 18. g5 Nh5 19. Nxf7 e5 20. Nxe5 Bf5 21. Bxf5 Rxf5 22. Rd8+ Rxd8 23. Qxc5 Nf4 24. Qe7 Rc8 25. Rd1 {Black resigned; it's mate in 8. Blagojevic,D (2531)-Scekic,V (2038) Bar 2006}) (15... b5 {This violent move should prove unsatisfactory, but it is black's only hope.} 16. dxc5 bxc4 17. Nxc4 Bb7 18. Nd6 Bd5 19. a3 Rab8 {Depending on white's reply black can exchange off the N on d6 or try for a counterattack with ...Nd7 and ...a5. In either case white stands well.}) 16. dxc5 bxc5 (16... Qxc5 {results in an ending very much in white's favor after} 17. Qxc5 bxc5 {Black's c-Pawn is weak and the proximity of white's K to the center are important factors in white's favor.}) (16... Bb7 {leads nowhere.} 17. Rhe1 Rfc8 (17... Bxg2 18. Rg1 Bb7 19. Rxg7+ Kxg7 20. Qg5+ Kh8 21. Qxf6+ Kg8 22. Rg1+ Bg2 23. Rxg2#) 18. g4 {Much better than capturing on b6.} (18. cxb6 axb6 {White is better, but black has some hope because of the open lines on the Q-side.}) 18... Qxc5 19. Rd4 Rc7 20. g5 Nh5 21. Red1 {white has a dominating (winning) position.}) 17. g4 {[%mdl 32] The beginning of the winning assault on black's K.} Rb8 18. Rhg1 Qb6 (18... Nd7 {Hoping to get rid of the dangerous N on e5 is tactically faulty.} 19. Rxd7 Bxd7 20. Qd3 g6 21. Nxd7 Rfd8 22. Rd1 Qf4+ 23. Kb1 Qxf2 24. Qd6 Rbc8 25. Qe5 { and black is left with no satisfactory defense.} Qf3 26. a3 h6 27. Ka2 a6 28. h3 Qf2 29. Ba4 {Black is out of moves. For example...} g5 30. Qc3 Qe2 31. Bc2 Qf2 32. Qd3 Rxd7 33. Qh7+ Kf8 34. Rxd7 {etc.}) 19. b3 Rb7 20. g5 Ne8 {Playing 20...Nd7 was equally hopeless.} (20... Nd7 21. Bxh7+ {Anyway.} Kxh7 22. g6+ { wins.}) 21. Bxh7+ {[%mdl 512] What a dandy! White mates in 11.} Kxh7 22. Qh3+ Kg8 23. Rg4 {It's mate in 9. Stockfish assigns Szabo's play a "very precise" rating.} (23. Rg4 Qa5 24. Rh4 Qa3+ 25. Kb1 Rxb3+ 26. axb3 Qxb3+ 27. Qxb3 Bb7 28. Qh3 Be4+ 29. Kb2 Bh7 30. Rxh7 g6 31. Rh8+ Kg7 32. Qh7#) 1-0

Reggio Emilio 1971/72

 

     The year 1971 saw a big change in television and radio when ads for cigarettes were banned. The top rated tv shows were All in the Family a comedy that touched on social issues and stereotypes; The Flip Wilson Show, a comedy/variety show; Marcus Welby, M.D.; Gunsmoke, a Western; Sanford and Son, a comedy; Mannix. private detective 

     The hit movies were the horror film Willard, the Western Big Jake, the action drama Billy Jack and the musical Fiddler on the Roof. 

     The female sex eymbols, hotties and fashion icons were Dyan Cannon, Veronica Carlson, Catherine Deneuve, Goldie Hawn, Ann-Margret, Diana Ross, Tannia Rubiano, Tina Turner and Raquel Welch.

     I did not make the list of sex symbols, leading men and Hollywood hunks, but Richard Roundtree, Jim Morrison, Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, Sean Connery and Elvis Presley did. 

     D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane in the northwest United States, obtained $200,000 in ransom money and parachuted into the night, never to be heard from again; to this day nobody knows the real story. 

     After the Watergate scandal broke, Richard Nixon still won the 1972 election by winning 49 out of 50 states. Charles Manson and three of his followers were convicted of murdering actress Sharon Tate and six others in 1969. 

     Audie Murphy was an American soldier, actor, songwriter, and rancher who was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II died when the private plane in which he was a passenger crashed northwest of Roanoke, Virginia, in conditions of rain, clouds, fog and zero visibility. The pilot and four other passengers were also killed. 

     Rock and Roll stars Duane Allman (motorcycle crash) and Jim Morrison (officially heart failure, some suggest it was a drug overdose) died. 

     Chess players lost in 1971 were IM Hans Mueller (1896-1971) the 1947 Austrian champion; IM Emil Richter (1894-1971) the Czech champion in 1948; IM Olaf Barda (1909-1971) a 6-time Norwegian champion and correspondence GM; IM Carel Benjamin van den Berg (1924-1971), the Dutch CC champion in 1943; Jose Joaqin the Mexican champion in 1957; oviet GM Alexander Zaitsev (1935-1971) died of thrombosis after having a leg lengthened. 

     It was also the year Bobby Fischer annihilated Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen 6-0 in the Candidates matches. Tigran Petrosian fared a little better; Fischer beat him by a score of +5 -1 =3 making him the challenger for the world championship. 

     Long forgotten was the 1971/72 annual international tournament at Reggio Emilia, Italy, that was won by an untitled Andrew Soltis; he was awarded the IM title two years later and the GM title in 1980. 

     The tournament was not especially strong with only one GM (Damjanovic) and three IMs (Masic, Kovacs and Garcia). IM Enrico Paoli was entered, but dropped out to make room for Lombard; Paoli then served as TD instead. Soltis made the IM norm, but was 4 games short of the 30 games he needed for the title. The Swiss player Andre Lombard just missed qualifying for the title when he lost in the penultimate round to Richter of Israel. 

     Soltis' opponent in the following game was Renato Cappello (born 1952), an Italian FM. 

[Event "Reggio Emilia"] [Site "Reggio Emilia ITA"] [Date "1971.12.27"] [Round "?"] [White "Andrew Soltis"] [Black "Renato Cappello"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C17"] [Annotator "()tockfish 15"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "1971.12.27"] {French Defense} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. dxc5 {This was one of Soltis' opening experiments in this tournament. His evaluation of this unusual move is that is is not as bad as its unpopularity would indicate and leads to a good attacking position for white. Almost always seen here is 5.a3} Nc6 6. Nf3 d4 {An innovation and not a bad one. Book lines here are 6...Nge7 and 6...f6.} 7. a3 Ba5 8. b4 Nxb4 {Soltis was critcal of this calling it a bad idea and recommended 8...dxc3 instead. Stockfish suggests that both moves are of nearly equal merit, but finds the text slightly preferable.} (8... dxc3 9. bxa5 Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 Nge7 11. a6 {with roughly equal chances.}) 9. axb4 Bxb4 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. O-O (11. Qxd4 {This is also quite playable.} Bxc3+ 12. Qxc3 Bxb5 13. Qb3 {Black is slightly better. White should have played 13.Nd4 with equality. Amdouni,Z (2290)-Rian, M (2048) Sousse 2019}) 11... Bxc3 12. Rb1 Bxb5 13. Rxb5 Qd7 14. Rb3 Ne7 (14... h6 {This was recommended by Soltis because it prevents his next move,but it is actually nor better or worse than the text. In either case black has equal play.} 15. Bb2 Bxb2 16. Rxb2 Ne7 17. Qxd4 Qxd4 18. Nxd4 Nc6 (18... b6 19. cxb6 axb6 20. Rxb6 O-O {is drawn.}) 19. Nxc6 bxc6 20. Ra2 a5 21. Rfa1 {draws}) 15. Ng5 Nd5 16. Qh5 g6 {Soltis correctly labels this move ghastly idea because it leaves black's K-side permanently weak.} ( 16... a5 {Soltis suggested 16...h6 at once.} 17. Ba3 h6 18. Ne4 O-O 19. Nf6+ gxf6 20. Qxh6 fxe5 {draws.}) 17. Qf3 (17. Qh6 {was better because after} O-O-O 18. Ne4 Kb8 19. Nd6 {white has excellent prospects.}) 17... d3 {This tactically flawed.} (17... O-O {As dangerous as this looks it keeps white's advantage at a minimum.} 18. Ne4 f5 19. exf6 a5 20. Bh6 Rf7 21. Nd6 Rxf6 { White's active piece play compensates for his P minus.}) 18. Ne4 Bxe5 19. c4 f5 20. cxd5 fxe4 21. Qxe4 Bg7 22. d6 Rb8 {White is winning, but Soltis spent half an hour looking for a constructive winning plan without allowing black any counterplay.} 23. c6 {[%mdl 32] This packs a punch!} Qxd6 24. Ba3 Qe5 25. c7 { Equally good was 25.Qxd3} Rc8 26. Qa4+ b5 {The only move.} (26... Kf7 27. Qd7+ Kf6 28. Be7+ Kf7 29. Bg5+ Kg8 30. Qxc8+ Kf7 31. Qd7+ Kg8 32. c8=Q+ {mates in 3} ) 27. Rxb5 (27. Qa6 {was even more persuasive.} Rxc7 28. Rxb5 Qf6 29. Qd6 Re7 30. Qc6+ {wins.}) 27... Qd4 {Soltis overlooked that this move which allows the Q to retreat to d7 in time to hold the position together a bit longer. Black K is caught in the center and as soon as white gets his Rs into play, black will be finished.} 28. Qa6 Qd7 29. Rb3 {Much simpler than the suggested engine move. } (29. Rd1 {was technically best, meaning it's preferred by engines, but it leads to a position a human would not want to play!} Kf7 30. Rb3 Rxc7 31. Rbxd3 Qc6 32. Rf3+ Bf6 33. Rxf6+ Kxf6 34. Bb2+ Kf7 35. Qxc6 Rxc6 36. Bxh8 {with a technical, but very difficult, win.}) 29... Rxc7 30. Rxd3 Qc6 31. Qa5 Bf6 { [%mdl 8192]} 32. Rd6 Qc4 {[%mdl 8192]} 33. Rxe6+ {[%mdl 512] Capello had overlooked this fine move.} Qxe6 (33... Kf7 {loses to} 34. Rxf6+ Kxf6 35. Bb2+ Ke7 36. Qe5+ Kd7 37. Qxh8 Kc6 38. Be5 Rb7 39. Qc8+ Kd5 40. Rd1+) 34. Qxc7 Be7 35. Qb8+ Bd8 36. Rd1 Kf7 37. Qb7+ Ke8 38. Qb5+ {Black resigned.} 1-0

Denker Demolishes Mott-Smith

Mott-Smith vs. Denker

     Saturday, March 31, 1945, was cloudy and rainy in New York, but the rain was expected to clear out by evening making for a warm and sunny Easter Sunday.

     The Brooklyn Daily Eagle headlined that the Nazi High Command was calling on Hitler to quit the war and 2,500 bombers had blasted industrial targets in Germany. On the other side of the world 100 bombers had pummeled the island of Kyushu for two hours in support for the invasion of Okinawa. 

     Also that day, the Manhattan Chess Club met the Marshall Chess Club at the Manhattan club's quarters in a team match in the annual Metropolitan League. As in the previous year's match, the champion Manhattans won by the smallest possible margin. 

     Despite the loss of their beloved mentor, Frank Marshall who had passed away in November, 1944, the visitors mustered strong team on the top four boards, but they were no match for Manhattan's top four. 

     For Manhattan, Arnold Denker won a fascinating game from K.O. Mott-Smith; Robert Willman secured a crushing bind in the opening which he never relaxed; Manhattan Club Champion Albert Pinkus drew an uneventful game with Anthony Santasiere. 

     Marshall's only win came when Reuben Fine scored a well-deserved victory against Alex Kevitz who had been making a good comeback after a long absence from chess. 

     On the lower boards, the Marshall team held their own. In the end, the Manhattan club retained its title of Metropolitan League Champion. 

     The following game between K. O. Mott-Smith and U. S. Champion Arnold S. Denker was one of the decisive games of the match. According to Mott-Smith, who annotated the game in Chess Review, he lost the game due to an opening blunder. He claimed that Denker tried to exploit his advantage too impetuously and was forced to sacrifice a Knight for two Pawns in an attack which looked stronger than it was. 

     Then Mott-Smith's 22nd move permitted a forced win which Denker overlooked, as he adopted a continuation which should not have lead to no decisive result. 

     Mott-Smith explained that a "psychological quirk" on his part again handed Denker the advantage after which he (Mottt-Smith) fell apart. Undoubtedly, Denker would have had a different view of the game...Stockfish would, too. Check it out! 

     Kenneth Ormsby (K.O.) Mott-Smith (1902–1960) was co-chairman of the American Contract Bridge League's Laws Commission, editor of their bulletin from 1935–36, a contributor to The Bridge World and a writer and cryptographer. During World War II, he served as chief instructor for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in the training of cryptographers and analysts. He wrote or co-wrote more than 29 books on games and served as games consultant for the Association of American Playing Card Manufacturers.

 

[Event "Met League Match, New York City"] [Site "?"] [Date "1945.03.31"] [Round "?"] [White "K.O. Mott-Smith (Marshall)"] [Black "A.S. Denker (Manhattan)"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A50"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "1945.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.10.07"] {Queen's Fianchetto Defense} 1. c4 {Mott-Smith's favorite opening; he liked its versatility.} Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 g6 {Mott-Smith was critical of this unexpected move thinking it lead to a cramped position. Not a particularly good move, he said. In his book The Road To Chess Improvement, GM Alex Yermolinsky devoted a chapter to the double fianchetto and showed that it is quite playable. He also made an instructive comment concerning the openings when he said not too many games are going to be decided by a memory contest. Most theoretical variations end up with an "unclear" assessment meaning they are playable by BOTH sides. And, the game's outcome is mostly going to be decided by a player's middlegame skills.} 5. O-O Bg7 6. Nc3 O-O 7. d4 {[%mdl 32]} c5 {After this white does get the advantage: more space and black's B on b7 is rather useless. Correct is 7...Ne4!. White has a choice of 8.Nxe4, 8.Qc2 and 8.Be3. All are playable.} 8. d5 d6 {My database has xx games that reached this position; White scored +22 -5 =9; not very promising!} 9. Rb1 {This move turns out to be rather pointless, but it does no serious harm to white's position. Much better would have been 9.e4} a6 10. a4 Nbd7 11. b3 {Another rather pointless move. Again 11.e4 would have been a good choice.} Ne8 12. Ne4 {Mott-Smith blamed this move on an hallucination and claimed after the correct 12.Qc2 Denker would have had his troubles. His observations were based on faulty analysis. In this position white's advantage is minimal, but he is correct in that 12.Qc2 would have been slightly better. The correct followup would be 13.e4} e5 {Now black has the better game because this move and ...f5 "cripple white's K-side Ps forever." So said Mott-Smith. Actually, white is slightly better here. The position would have been equal after 12...e6} 13. g4 {According to Mott-Smith "a makeshift device" and an attempt to fish in troubled waters. He also added that his adversary was not lacking in that piscatorial talent. OK, I had to look up that word. Piscatorial means relating to fish, fishing, or fishermen. In any case, even after this wild move the chances of both side in this position are adjudged equal. White's best plan to keep a slight edge would have been Qc2, Nc3 and e4.} Ndf6 14. Nxf6+ Nxf6 15. h3 {Mott-Smith stated that now black can infiltrate at will into white's position and he suggested ...Ne8, ...Bc8 and ...f5. Komodo evaluates the position as equal and suggests several reasonable, if quiet, alternatives.} Ne4 {Instead, Denker, "the great exponent of tank warfare...thrusts in an armoured spearhead, " said Mott-Mith. That's a poetic, but accurate, way of putting it because Denker wasn't the kind of player to just sit back and do nothing. He once played an unsound sacrifice against Reshevsky and after the game when Reshevsky asked him why he played it, Denker's answer was, "It looked good."} 16. Qc2 f5 17. h4 {"Which the white army prepares to pinch off" wrote Mott-Smith. A more solid way to oust the N would have been for white to retreat his N to either e1 or h2 threatening Bxe4 and so necessitating the N's retreat to f6.} Bc8 18. g5 {Black's N is precariously posted on e4 and it can be picked off with Kh2. Ng1 and f3, hence black's next move. In fact, that's not the case at all as black can actually improve its position should white try that lengthy maneuver.} f4 (18... b5 19. Kh2 b4 20. Ng1 Nc3 {Black is better.}) (18... b5 {If white wants to mix it up he can now play 19,b4?!, but a better, and safer, plan is} 19. Bb2 b4 20. Nh2 {but black is doing well after } h6 21. Bxe4 (21. f3 Ng3 {Black is considerably better.}) 21... fxe4 22. Bc1 hxg5 23. Bxg5 Bf6 {and black can olny claim to be slightly better.}) 19. Nh2 { Forcing black to sacrifice the N. Mott-Smith claimed that in provoking the sacrifice he was interested to see how Denker would succeed in carrying out his attack. Mott-Smith's "instinct" told him his position could be defended. At least in that respect he was correct.} Nxg5 20. hxg5 Qxg5 (20... Bf5 { was also playable.} 21. Be4 Qxg5+ 22. Kh1 Qh4 {Here, too, white's defensive sources should prove adequate.}) 21. Kh1 Qh4 22. b4 {White does not have time for this Q-side demonstration. Correct was 22.Be4 when anything could happen.} Rf5 {According to Mott-Smith, Denker is bluffing with this move and he should have played 22... g5 with a forced win.} (22... g5 {is the best move, but it is hardly a forced win! For example...} 23. Be4 g4 24. Rg1 g3 25. Rg2 gxf2 { Curiously, 25...gxh2 gives white the advantage because black has no way to continue his attack. In this position black has a sustained initiative, but nothing decisive; with careful play white has defensive resources.}) 23. Bf3 Rf6 24. Rg1 {Aberration! This line of play, giving up the exchange and leaving black with a R+2Ps for two pieces plus the attack and no worries should not have been considered for a moment; nor would it have been, except that having been presented with a tempo, he felt the urge to make use of it. What price the primrose path! So explained Mott-Smith. Eloquent, but the move he played does not lose...it does, however, give black the initiative. After the better 24.Be4 the attack and defense would have been balanced.} g5 {Denker attacks.} 25. Qd1 {This move should have resulted in black gaining the upper hand.} (25. Rg2 {yields a position evaluated at 0.00!} Bf5 26. Be4 Bh3 27. Kg1 (27. Rg1 { is a loser.} Rh6 28. f3 Bf5 29. e3 Bxe4 30. fxe4 g4 {with a winning attack.}) 27... Bxg2 28. Bxg2 g4 29. Qe4 {and white is hanging on.}) 25... Rh6 (25... Qxh2+ {would lose.} 26. Kxh2 Rh6+ 27. Bh5 {The saving move.} (27. Kg2 Bh3+ 28. Kh1 Bf1+ 29. Bh5 Rxh5#) 27... Rxh5+ 28. Kg2 Bh3+ 29. Kf3 e4+ 30. Kxe4 Re8+ 31. Kf3 {and the K is safe and black does not have nearly enough compensation for the Q.}) 26. Rg2 Bf5 {This is an inaccuracy.} (26... Bh3 {remains equal.} 27. Qg1 Bxg2+ 28. Qxg2) 27. Rb3 {[%mdl 8192] Self immolation! Strangely enough, Mott-Smith foresaw what was coming. By way of explanation he gave an example from contract bridge, which is meaningless to non-bridge players. He added a lot of pitter-patter that basically said playing one serious game of chess a year was hardly adequate preparation for taking on the U. S. Champion. He correctly stated that 27.e4 was correct.} (27. e4 Bh3 28. Qg1 Bxg2+ 29. Qxg2 { And there is no way to continue the attack. Materially the situation is that white has B+N vs R+2Ps. This is the type of position which Arthur Bisguier stated he felt he could win with either color assuming that he was the stronger player.}) 27... e4 {[%mdl 32] The barrage of Ps will prove calamitous for white.} 28. Qg1 exf3 29. Rxg5 Rg6 30. Rxg6 hxg6 {Also playable was 30... Bxg6} 31. bxc5 {Pointless, but he is lost anyway.} (31. Rxf3 Be4) (31. exf3 Bc2 32. Ra3 cxb4 33. Ra2 Bf5 {is hopeless.}) 31... fxe2 32. Bd2 Bd4 {In face of the threat of ...Be4+ Mott-Smith wrote that in a tournament game he would cheerfully have resigned, but in a team match he felt that hr needed to play on.} 33. Qg2 {Black can win in a variety of way and how he does so is a matter of taste.} Bxc5 34. Kg1 Re8 35. Nf3 Qg3 36. Be1 Bh3 37. Qxg3 fxg3 38. Rb1 a5 39. Rc1 g5 {White resigned. Not a perfect game, but entertaining.} 0-1

The Torre Attack In the Hands of an Amateur

 

     Once upon a time the IECG (International Email Chess Group) was an electronically based organization whose aim was to organize, develop and promote the study and practice of international e-mail or server correspondence chess all over the world; they ceased operations on December 31, 2010. 

     The reason was because at that time email play was declining in popularity making it impossible to put together tournaments. There were other issues, too, like spam and viruses. 

     IECG's operations were transferred its partner, Lechenicher SchachServer Server (LSS) which was run by Dr. Ortwin Paetzold, one of the IECG founders. 

     I am not exactly sure when I started playing with the IECG, but it was at my CCLA rating which was somewhere in the Expert class (2000-2199), but I do remember that I was unaware that the rules nowhere prohibited engine use and as a result I only scored two draws out of six games and dropped a class! 

     Back in 2004 when the following game was played, the top engines were Fritz 8, Chess Tiger, Crafty, Hiarcs, Houdini, Junior, Rybka, Shredder and Zappa. I am not sure how they compared to today's engines, but in 2005 a Fritz 9 prototype drew against the then FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov. 

     By that time I had discovered that you could use engines on IECG, but they were not playing at the level at which they are today and you could still beat them as Robin Smith demonstrated in his book Modern Chess Analysis which was published in 2004. Naturally the book was quickly outdated because the strength of engines progressed so rapidly. 

     The original notes to this game proved to be useless when subjected to scrutiny by Stockfish and Komodo! According to the database with my games, the games played in 2004 were analyzed using the by then outdated Fritz 6. 

     I honestly cannot say if either one of us were using engine assistance during this game, but judging from some of the original notes and black's terrible 19...Be7 it would seem that we were not! At that time only a few correspondence sites allowed engine use and happily almost none of my correspondence opponents in the CCLA where their use was illegal were engine users.

     In the previous game Spassky used one of my favorite openings to crush his opponent and in today's games I want to show just how dangerous this opening can be even when used by amateurs.

 

[Event "IECG email"] [Site "?"] [Date "2004.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Opponent"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D03"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2004.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 d5 4. Nbd2 c5 {Black has chosen a classical P setup and aims to seize control of e4 and he hopes to organize counterplay in the center. However, in doing this he weakens the e5 square which may become a base for white's N.} 5. e3 {In this setup the long-term direction the game takes depends on the development of the black forces, for which there are two main plans. One is characterized by the fianchetto of the light-square B and the deployment of the Non b8 to d7. Black chooses a third way which seems out of place.} Qb6 6. Rb1 {Safe and solid. I was not interested in taking any risks.} (6. Bxf6 gxf6 7. c4 cxd4 (7... Qxb2 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Rb1 Qxa2 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. dxc5 {leaves black with a shattered P formation.}) 8. exd4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nc6 10. O-O {leaves white with a slight positional advantage after 10...Be7} Qxb2 {Black should avoid this!} 11. Re1 Be7 12. d5 {with the advantage.}) 6... Nc6 7. c3 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O (8... Bd7 9. O-O a6 10. Ne5 cxd4 11. exd4 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Ng8 13. Qg4 {White is slightly better. Trifunovic-Puc, Novi Sad, 1945}) 9. Ne5 c4 10. Bc2 h6 {Here one would expect to see a mild mannered retreat such as 11.Bf4 or 11.Bh4 or even 11.Bxf6.} 11. h4 {I changed my mind about playing it safe, but it's OK because he cannot very well take the B.} Qa5 (11... hxg5 $2 12. hxg5 g6 (12... Ne4 13. Qh5) 13. gxf6 Bxf6 14. Qf3 $16 Bg7 15. Qh3 Rd8 { and white is winning.}) 12. Nxc6 {This seemed logical; it puts a whole mess of black's P's on white squares, but the immediate advance of the g-Pawn was also playable.} bxc6 13. g4 hxg5 (13... Qxa2 {is unplayable.} 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 (14... gxf6 15. g5 fxg5 16. Qh5 Kg7 17. hxg5 Bxg5 18. f4 {wins}) 15. g5 {and wins.}) ( 13... Qd8 {Just like in the Spassky-Osnos game getting the Q back to defend the K fails.} 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. g5 Be7 16. Qh5 Qe8 17. Rg1 f5 18. Qxe8 Rxe8 19. gxh6 Bf6 20. hxg7 Re7 21. Rg6 Rxg7 22. Bxf5 Rxg6 23. Bxg6 Bxh4 24. Nf3 { and Stockfish gives white a decisive advantage of about 3 Ps. Komodo 14 puts it at a little over half of that. Most of white's advantage is due to black's B on c8 being bad as a result of my 12th move.}) 14. hxg5 Ne4 (14... Nd7 15. Bh7+ Kh8 16. Qc2 {wins}) 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Bxe4 {White has the advantage, but there is no forced win, so care must still be taken.} Bxg5 {Risky but a whole lot of fun would have been 16...Rd8!} (16... Rd8 $5 17. Bxc6 {is insufficient. } Rb8 18. Qc2 g6 19. f4 Bf8 {and black has at least equalized and may even be a bit better.}) (16... Rd8 $5 17. Qc2 g6 18. Bxg6 {White maintains the advantage after 18,f4, but this tempting move offers no more than equality.} Qxg5 (18... fxg6 19. Qxg6+ Kf8 20. Rh8#) 19. Be4 e5 {with an unclear position.} ) 17. Bh7+ {Surprisingly, the coming discovered check doesn't accomplish anything.} (17. f4 {also came into consideration.} g6 (17... f5 {This is not so good.} 18. gxf5 (18. fxg5 {This loses.} fxe4 19. g6 Rb8 20. Qc2 Qg5 21. Qxe4 e5 22. dxe5 Be6 {and white is a piece down and therefore lost.}) 18... Bf6) 18. Bxc6 Rb8 19. fxg5 Qxg5 20. Qf3 {and the position is equal.}) 17... Kh8 18. Be4+ (18. f4 {This is the only viable alternative.} Bh6 19. Be4 f5 20. Bxc6 Rb8 21. g5 Bb7 22. Bxb7 Rxb7 23. gxh6 g6 {Positionally white is better, but making progress will prove difficult.}) 18... Kg8 19. f4 Be7 {This is a blunder that loses almost at once.} (19... g6 {Returning the extra piece allows him enough play that the position is equal after} 20. fxg5 Qxg5 21. Bxc6 (21. Qf3 e5 22. dxe5 Bxg4 23. Qf4 Qxf4 24. exf4 Rfd8 {With his B in play and the fact that white's b-Pawn is a liability, black has equalized.}) 21... Rb8 22. Qf3 e5 23. Qh3 Kg7 {Back is quite safe.}) 20. Bh7+ Kh8 {Even better was 21.Qf3 and 22.Qh3} 21. g5 Bxg5 (21... g6 22. Bxg6+ Kg7 {Black gets mated after} 23. Qh5) 22. Qh5 Bh6 23. Qxa5 Kxh7 {Two Bs just aren't enough for the Q. Still, white must demonstrate the win!} {In order to get the other R into play.} 24. Kd2 (24. Qc7 {is winning, but white has a hard time making progress after} c5 25. Qxc5 Bb7 26. Rh2 Bd5) 24... c5 (24... f5 {leads to a mate in 13.} 25. Rxh6+ gxh6 26. Qc7+ Kh8 27. Qe7 Rg8 28. Rh1 Rg2+ 29. Ke1 Kg8 30. Rxh6 {mates in 7}) 25. Qxc5 Bb7 26. Rh2 Bd5 27. Qe7 {Played in order to get the Q back to the K-side} Kg8 ( 27... f6 {leads to mate in 7} 28. Rg1 Rg8 29. Qf7 Be4 30. f5 Bxf5 31. Rxh6+ Kxh6 32. Rh1+ Bh3 33. Rxh3+ Kg5 34. Qh5#) 28. Rg1 Rfb8 29. Rxh6 Rxb2+ 30. Kc1 { Black resigned.} 1-0

Spassky Smashes Osnos With the Torre Attack

     The 1963 Soviet Championship was a massive affair with 20 players and Leonid Stein, Boris Spassky and Ratmir Kholmov tied for first with 12-7 scores. Stein won the playoff. 

     Spassky's opponent in the following game finished last with a score of 5-14. As an indication of how strong this tournament was Chessmetrics estimates Osnos' highest rating to have been 2656 on the October 1969 rating list, placing him at 26th in the world. 

     Soviet IM Vyacheslav Osnos (July 24, 1935 - August 27, 2009) was a prominent trainer and author who competed in six Soviet championship finals from 1963 to 1968. Between 1968 and 1974 he was one of Viktor Korchnoi's seconds and in 1974 he was awarded the title of Honored Trainer of the Russian SFSR. Osnos assisted Korchnoi during his narrowly lost World Championship Candidate's final match against Anatoly Karpov in Moscow 1974. He won the championship of Leningrad in 1971 and 1980. 

     The weapon Spassky used was one of my favorite openings, the Torre Attack. In the Torre white develops his dark squared Bishop actively outside the Pawn chain and aims for an attack on the K-side. 

     The downside is that the Torre Attack doesn’t create any early Pawn tension in the center and so black has many options against it. What that means is that if you are going to play the Torre, you will have to be familiar with the correct strategy to use against any number of black setups. Nevertheless, white can often develop a very dangerous attack as Spassky does here. 

[Event "USSR Champ, Leningrad"] [Site "?"] [Date "1963.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Boris Spassky"] [Black "Vyacheslav Osnos"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A46"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "51"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.10.05"] {Torre Attack} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 {The Torre Attack came into being in 1925, when the young Mexican star Carlos Torre used it at the top level important international tournament in Moscow. The opening is a harmonious system of development where white pins the N nd then establishes the Pawn wedge c3-d4-c3. This setup allows white to develop harmoniously, has great flexibility and offers white good attacking potential. What it is NOT, as some authors have suggested, is a "system" in which white can play a set strategy regardless of white black does. White's strategy will depend on what type of formation black chooses.} c5 4. e3 Qb6 {This counterattacking move is the most critical test of the Torre. Positionally the idea is that white has left his b-Pawn undefended. Additionally, the Q puts pressure on the d4 Pawn, which might be reinforced by ...Nc6. On the other hand, this early attack on the Q-side has caused black to delay castling.} 5. Nbd2 {This is white's most critical reply in which he offers the b-Pawn in the hopes that by attacking the Q white will win several tempi for developing his pieces and thereby generate a dangerous initiative as compensation. A sharp fight is looming.} Qxb2 {Black can decline the gambit P and develop his pieces beginning with 5... d5 or he can play 5...Nc6} 6. Bd3 {This is not the only method of trying to secure compensation for the P. Another method is 6.Bxf6 gxf6 and now 7.Bd3 transposes into the main line, but white could also play 7.Be2 which requires a completely different strategy.} cxd4 (6... Nc6 7. O-O Qb6 8. Nc4 Qd8 9. e4 b5 10. Nce5 c4 11. Be2 Be7 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Nxc6 dxc6 14. a4 a6 15. d5 cxd5 16. exd5 Qxd5 17. axb5 Qxb5 18. Nd4 Qc5 19. Bf3 Ra7 20. c3 Bd7 21. g4 {Dreev,A (2697)-Onischuk,A (2650) Poikovsky 2006 ½-½ (51)}) 7. exd4 (7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. exd4 Qb6 9. O-O {is equal and the players agreed to a draw after a handful more moves. Reinderman,D (2565)-Solleveld,M (2485) Haarlem 2009}) (7. Rb1 { This was a recommendation of GM Eduard Gufeld. He deemed taking the a-Pawn to be too risky and suggested 7...Qc3} Qxa2 8. Nc4 b5 9. Ra1 Qxa1 10. Qxa1 bxc4 11. Bxc4 Bb4+ {and black may or may not have sufficient compensation for his Q! Stockfish evaluates the position as equal whereas Komodo 14 favors white by about a P.}) 7... Qc3 {This is just one of many alternatives that have been tried here.} (7... d5 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. O-O Nc6 10. c4 Qc3 {is equal, but difficult to play. In Zierke,O (2294)-Bodnar,A (2398) Hamburg 2006 black lost in a mere 20 moves.}) (7... Be7 {This looks rock solid. So how did black manage to lose in 13 moves? Watch.} 8. Nc4 Qb4+ 9. c3 Qxc3+ 10. Kf1 {So far, so good. Now after 10...b5 white would stand only slightly better. Instead, black logically gets castled, but there's a fly in the ointment.} O-O 11. Rc1 Qb4 12. Rb1 Qc3 {Perhaps white will take the draw by repitition.} 13. Rb3 { Trapping the Q so black resigned. Belenov,D (2338)-Kutlaev,M (2238) Nizhnij Novgorod 2008}) 8. O-O {[%mdl 1024] Natural, but it also contains a trap that black must be alert to.} d5 {It's vital that the c4 square is denied to white's N.} (8... Be7 9. Nc4 Qb4 (9... d5 10. Bd2 {traps the Q}) (9... b5 10. Bd2 {Again, the Q is trapped.}) 10. c3 Qb5 11. Nd6+ {wins the Q}) 9. Re1 (9. Rb1 {lacks punch.} Be7 10. Rb3 Qc7) 9... Be7 10. Re3 {This R lift prepares the R for action on the K-side.} (10. Nb3 {is an alternative, but less direct that Spassky's move.} Qc7 11. Ne5 Nc6 12. Rc1 O-O 13. c4 {with a sharp position.}) 10... Qc7 {Threatens to win with ...Ng4.} 11. Ne5 {Besides meeting the threat of 1 ...Ng4, this clears the way for the R to get into the action.} (11. Rb1 { A pass to demonstrate black's threat.} Ng4 12. Ne5 (12. Re1 Bxg5) (12. Bxe7 Nxe3 13. fxe3 Qxe7 {Black is better; he has a R+P for a N}) 12... Nxe3 13. Bxe3 {Black is better; he has a R+P for a N.}) 11... Nc6 12. c3 Nxe5 {While this eliminates the well placed N it also gives white the advantage.} (12... Bd7 13. Rb1 h5 {Intending ...Ng5} 14. Re1 (14. h3 {This fails to thwart black's intentions.} Ng4 {Anyway!} 15. hxg4 Bxg5 16. Rh3 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Bf4 {with an excellent position.}) 14... Ng4 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 16. Ndf3 {with equal chances.}) 13. dxe5 Ng8 {It's probable that Osnos was expecting simplification after 14. Bxe7, but Spassky has a surprise.} (13... Nd7 14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15. Qh5 {is simply too risky for black.}) 14. Nf3 {Clever. Spassky wants to make use of the capture on g5 to save a tempo.} h6 (14... Bxg5 15. Nxg5 {Black has no really good defense to the attack on f7.} Bd7 (15... Nh6) 16. Nxf7 Kxf7 17. Qh5+ g6 ( 17... Ke7 18. Qg5+ Kf7 19. Rg3 {White is winning.}) 18. Bxg6+ {and white is clearly better.}) 15. Bf4 Bd7 16. Nd4 {[%mdl 32]} Bg5 {While not losing, this does not work out well. After 16...Bc5 the position would have been about equal.} 17. Bxg5 hxg5 18. Qg4 Qxc3 {This is too risky, but a defensive move like 18...Qd8 does not look especially promising. White has let this P go because it was impossible to defend it anyway and now the open c-file discourages Q-side castling.} 19. Nb3 {This renews the threat to capture on g5 and at the same time defends the R.} Nh6 {A bad square for the N!} (19... Ne7 { This was his best move, but even so, his position is not very promising.} 20. Qxg5 Qb4 21. Qxg7 Qh4 22. h3 Rg8 23. Qf6 Qxf6 24. exf6 Ng6 {White is clearly better.}) 20. Qxg5 Qb4 {Osnos plans on the transfer of his Q with the hope of defending the K-side.} 21. Rg3 {This prevents ...Qg4. White could have played 21.Qxg7 but black can slip away with 21...O-O-O or he can try to defend with 21...Qf8 22.Qg5 (White should avoid trading Qs) Rg8. In either case white retains excellent chances.} Qf8 {Black has succeeded in getting his Q back to the defense, but now he loses quickly because this move fails to meet n even greater danger.} (21... Rc8 {was necessary.} 22. Qxg7 Qf8 23. Qf6 Nf5 24. Bxf5 exf5 25. Rd1 Rc6 26. e6 fxe6 27. Qd4 b6 {Black has warded off the tactical threats, but is left with a positionally inferior game.}) 22. Rc1 {This is a very instructive move! There are no concrete threats so Spassky develops another piece and at the same time keeps the K in the center.} f6 23. Qe3 (23. Qxg7 Qxg7 24. Rxg7 fxe5 25. Rc7 Bc8 26. Nc5 {is also quite hopeless for black.} ) 23... f5 24. Nc5 f4 {Overlooking a tactical shot, but black is lost anyway.} (24... Qe7 25. Nxb7 Kf8 26. Rc7 Rc8 27. Rxc8+ Bxc8 28. Nd6 Bd7 29. Qxa7 {etc.}) 25. Bg6+ Ke7 26. Qa3 {Black resigned.} (26. Qa3 Bb5 (26... Kd8 27. Nxb7#) 27. Nxb7+ Kd7 28. Rgc3 Bc4 (28... Qxa3 29. Rc7#) 29. Rxc4 dxc4 30. Nc5+ {It's mate in 5 regardless of what black playes.} Kc8 (30... Kd8 31. Nxe6+ Kc8 32. Qa6+ Kd7 33. Rd1+ {mate in 2}) 31. Qa6+ Kd8 32. Rd1+ Qd6 33. Nxe6+ Kd7 34. Qxd6+ Kc8 35. Qc7#) 1-0

Give me words, not moves

     Twenty years ago Swedish trainer IM Jesper Hall published a slim (176 pages) book titled Chess Training for Budding Champions, a book that is aimed at players who are well beyond beginner, but need guidance on how to further improve. 

     Hall based the book on the training program that he used in order to improve. At the age of 13, Hall was an "untrained hacker" with "great gaps in (his) positional knowledge" and his trainer, a 2300+ master, showed him how to study systematically. He shares some of his secrets in the book. 

     One of the things I found interesting was the chapter on using a chess engine. Hall wrote that after going through books like the Informator or some annotated games he is left feeling exhausted. "Who can learn anything from all these variations, variations, and more variations?", he wrote. 

     As he points out, people cannot utilize this type of information because they are looking for information that can be put into words. And, if all that is given is a string of moves it's left up to the reader to interpret them...something that is beyond most of us. 

     Hall is absolutely right! Many times while annotating games for this blog I have come across Stockfish's evaluation that run something like 26.Nd5 being given a question mark and the evaluation is -2.76 whereas after 26.h3 and then 27.Nd5 the evaluation is +0.78. Often the problem is that I can't see any purpose in 26.h3. That makes it hard to comment on the move! 

     Hall has hit the nail on the head when he wrote that engines have created a norm where variations have replaced words. Hall wrote, "Computers do not think like (humans)...They have no intuition and cannot make a selective choice of which moves to analyze, so they calculate everything...Answers spill out with symbols and numbers for explanation." You can't put it much better that that! 

     Hall analyzes his games without the aid of an engine and only then checks his analysis with an engine. He considers such analysis an important part of his training because during a game there is no engine analysis to guide you. 

     He makes it clear that merely listing a string of moves in several possible variations is pretty much useless. He also makes the sagacious observation that engines have lead us to losing appreciation for the great annotators of the past along with their instructive annotations, that explain the game in human terms and thereby help improve the reader's understanding. 

     That's not to say that engines are not a great help...they are. Hall uses his computer "both as an archive and as a tool for searching for information." To that end, it was interesting to see how a titled player organizes his chess files. 

 

1) A game database. For example, ChessBase's Mega Database which he updates every couple of weeks using The Week in Chess. 

2) A database of his own games. Annotated, of course! Even the bad ones. 

3) A database with the openings that he commonly plays. 

4) A database of openings he does not play regularly, but has found fun to analyze and where he might find novelties to surprise an opponent. 

5) A database with opening variations he plans to analyze. 

6) A database of "position-types". These are games, tactical positions, exercises and endings that arise from the same position types. Just a note...notice he includes endings! He add that "this database is tied to the openings database and he sometimes move variations between the databases. 

7) Endgame database. This is a collection of basic positions for the various endings with his own explanations, and guidelines and positions that illustrate the themes. 

8) A database he calls "Grains of gold." This database contains games that make him "love the game of chess." 

 

     Hall also touched on practicing against an engine. They play quite differently from a human and they a tendency to go for material. He warned, "It is dangerous to play a lot against computers because you get used to their style; this can have negative effects in a real game position." 

    He advises that if you play against an engine it should be to test openings and positions of the type you are interested in and, also, they are good practice partners for studying endings. I noticed he mentioned endings, a neglected area of study for a lot of amateurs!

     I think that if one is serious about improving, then Hall's suggestions on computer use are, perhaps with some modifications to suit the individual user's preference, quite on point. To that end one is going to have to invest some money in a good program. Two database programs spring to mind: ChessBase and Chess Assistant. 

     Chess Assistant costs about $95, but before spending the money you can download the free Lite version HERE to try it out. I have Chess Assistant 18 on my laptop, but have not used it because my preference is for ChessBase products. I also have ChessBase 16; it is a program specifically designed to handle databases, but it'll cost you 2-4 times as much as CA.

Win, Lose, Win, the Swinging Pendulum

     Boris Verlinsky (January, 1888 8 - October 30, 1950, 62 years old) was a Soviet player, who was awarded the IM title in 1950. He was one of the top Soviet players in the 1920s, and was Soviet champion in 1929. 

     Although he played in the international tournament in Moscow in 1925 Verlinsky never got a chance to compete outside the Soviet Union. Chessmetrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2627 on the May, 1926 rating list ranking him number 16 in the world. Lasker, Alekhine, Bogoljubow, Capablanca and Nimzovich were at the top with ratings in the 2700s. 

     Born in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Wikipedia says he was deaf as a result of meningitis as a youngster, but an article on him entitled First Russian Grandmaster of Chess in the August 1998 issue of Deaf History Journal (published by the British Deaf History Society says that he was deaf from birth and learned to speak in his teens.

Verlinsky

     After World War I, Verlinsky moved from Ukraine to Russia. His best result was,no doubt, in 1925, when he tied for 12th-14th in Moscow. Although his finish was not so high, he scored several beautiful wins, including one over Capablanca.

     In 1929, Verlinsky won the 6th Soviet Championship in Odessa, at the time earning the title of grandmaster. The title was rescinded in 1931, supposedly in order to make Mikhail Botvinnik the first Soviet grandmaster. Verlinsky's last major tournament was the 1945 Moscow Championship, where he scored 5-11.

     The Moscow tournament was organized by Nikolai Krylenko, head of the Soviet Chess Association, in an effort to popularize chess in the Soviet Union. Before the start of the tournament it was expected that it would be a race between Capablanca and Lasker, but the surprise winner turned out to be Bogoljubow. He left the Soviet Union permanently a year later and eventually became a German citizen. 

     The following Verlinsky game is from the USSR Championship in 1925. This tournament offered some extra incentive because a good finish would procure an invitation to Moscow. 

 

 

     Bogoljubow started well with a 12-2 score to take a two-point lead over Levenfish, who had started with losses in the first two rounds. However, Bogoljubov then lost to Vilner and Verlinsky in successive rounds which allowed Levenfish to draw within a half-point. In the critical round 17 Levenfish lost to A. Rabinovich which left Bogoljubow leading by a full point and he then won his remaining games. 

     The following game would never make it into a best played game collection, but the seesaw ending was entertaining. And, as C.J.S. Purdy was always pointing out in his writings, you simply MUST look for tactical possibilities at EVERY move. In this game both players took turns at missing them and as a result, the outcome of the game swung back and forth and, as Tartakower observed, the game was won by the player making the next to the last mistake.

[Event "USSR Championship, Leningrad"] [Site ""] [Date "1925.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Boris Verlinsky"] [Black "Ilya Rabinovich"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B02"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "1925.??.??"] {Alekhine's Defense} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. Nc3 e6 4. d4 d6 5. Nf3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Nd7 7. Bf4 dxe5 8. Nxe5 Bd6 (8... c5 {A mistake that went unpunished in Sluka,R (2363)-Palkovi,J (2451) CZE 1999} 9. Bb5 (9. Bc4 { The move played by Sluka.} cxd4 10. cxd4 Nxe5 11. Bxe5 Bb4+ 12. Kf1 {black is slightly better.}) 9... cxd4 (9... Bd6 {is met by} 10. Nxf7 Kxf7 11. Bxd6 { with a substantial advantage.}) 10. Rb1 Be7 11. Qxd4 Bf6 12. Bxd7+ Qxd7 13. Qxd7+ Bxd7 14. Nxd7 Kxd7 15. Rxb7+ {with a decisive advantage.}) 9. Bg3 Bxe5 10. dxe5 Qe7 11. Qd2 Qc5 12. Rb1 a6 13. f4 b6 14. Rd1 Qc6 15. Bd3 Bb7 16. O-O { Better would have been 16.Bh4 to hinder ...O-O-O} O-O-O {The threat is ...Nc5.} 17. Bh4 f6 18. Qe2 {Preferable was 18.exf6} g5 {Opening lines against white's K. While difficult, white's position is not yet lost.} 19. Bg3 gxf4 20. Bxf4 ( 20. Rxf4 {was correct.} f5 (20... fxe5 21. Rc4 {equalizes.}) 21. Bxa6 Nc5 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. Bb5 {and white is still in the game.}) 20... fxe5 21. Bg3 b5 ( 21... Qxc3 {allows black to equalize after} 22. Bxa6 Nc5 23. Bxe5) 22. Rde1 Qxc3 23. a4 {This attempt at loosening up the position of black's K is reasonable, but it allows black to gain a decisve advantage. He could have made black's task much harder with 23.Bxe5!} (23. Bxe5 Qc5+ 24. Qf2 Qxf2+ 25. Rxf2 Nxe5 26. Rxe5 Bd5 27. a4 c6 28. axb5 axb5 {Black has the better chances.}) 23... Qd4+ {This is much better than 23...bxa4 because black picks off the a-Pawn while keeping his own Q-side Ps together.} 24. Kh1 Qxa4 {Black now has a decisive advantage, but ruins it on his next move!} 25. c4 Nc5 {[%mdl 8192] This unfortunate move leaving the e-Pawn undefended allows white a decisive attack.} (25... b4 {and black's Q-side Ps will prove decisive.} 26. Be4 Rhf8 27. h3 (27. Bxb7+ Kxb7 28. Bxe5 Nxe5 29. Qxe5 Rxf1+ 30. Rxf1 Rd1) 27... a5 28. Ra1 Rxf1+ 29. Qxf1 Qb3 30. Bxb7+ Kxb7 {and wins}) 26. Qxe5 Qa5 27. Qxc5 (27. Rf7 {was even stronger.} Nd7 28. Rxd7 Rxd7 29. Qxh8+ Rd8 30. Qxh7 b4 31. Be5 { Black con up up only token resistance.}) 27... Rxd3 28. cxb5 {[%mdl 128] With this move white let the advantage get away.} (28. Rf7 {was a must} Rxg3 { After this in order to keep the advantage white must play accurately.} 29. Rf8+ Rxf8 30. Qxf8+ Kd7 31. Qf7+ Kd8 {Best} 32. Rd1+ Rd3 33. Qg8+ (33. Rxd3+ Bd5 { White cannot win and could possibly lose.}) 33... Kd7 34. Qxh7+ Kc8 35. Qxd3 { in this difficult position white has winning chances because of his K-side Ps. Shootouts resulted in five wins for white, but the games were long and the endingx extremely complicated.}) 28... Rhd8 {[%mdl 8192] In his turn black fails to take advantage of white's slip.} (28... axb5 {and Black stays safe.} 29. Rf7 Rxg3 30. Rf8+ Rxf8 31. Qxf8+ Kd7 32. Qf7+ Kd8 {Here white probably should take the draw.}) 29. Rc1 R3d7 30. Rfe1 {After this the position is again (!) back to offering equal chances.} (30. Rf8 Rxf8 31. Qxf8+ Rd8 32. Qe7 Rd7 33. Qe8+ Rd8 34. Qxe6+ Kb8 35. b6 Qd2 36. bxc7+ Ka7 {Mate on g2 is threatened.} 37. Rg1 Rf8 38. h3 Rf1 {Obviously the R cannot be takes and 39. Kh2 would result in a draw, but white has a clever win by underpromotion...} 39. c8=N+ Ka8 40. Nb6+ Ka7 41. Bb8+ Kxb8 42. Qg8+ Ka7 43. Rxf1 Kxb6 {and white should (theoretically, at least, win.}) 30... axb5 31. Rxe6 Qd2 {[%mdl 8192] Again, missing the best move and leaving himself with a lost game.} (31... Qa2 {is a self mate...in 13 moves!} 32. Qxc7+ {[%mdl 512]} Rxc7 33. Rxc7+ Kb8 34. Rc2+ Ka8 35. Rxa2+ Ba6 36. Raxa6+ Kb7 37. Reb6+ {mates in 7.}) (31... Bxg2+ { This holds the game.} 32. Kxg2 Qa2+ 33. Rc2 Qxe6 {Here white must play the stunning...} 34. Qxc7+ Rxc7 35. Rxc7+ Kb8 36. Re7+ Qd6 37. Bxd6+ Rxd6 38. Rxh7 {with a draw.}) 32. Qxc7+ {[%mdl 512] Unlike in the variation where black played 31...Bxg2+ this move is now the haymaker.} Rxc7 33. Rxc7+ Kb8 34. Rc1+ Ka7 35. Ra1+ Ba6 36. Raxa6+ Kb7 37. Reb6+ Kc8 38. Ra8+ Kd7 39. Rxd8+ {Black resigned. A gripping finish!} 1-0

Fischer Disappoints!?

     The year 1959 was an interesting one. According to Rod Serling there was a fifth dimension we didn't know about...the dimension of imagination. It was an area known as The Twilight Zone, a mix of horror, science-fiction, drama, comedy and superstition; Serling was the program's narrator. The wildly popular program first aired in October, but we never watched it at our house; my dad didn't like it.

     The most famous person in the country was probably Elvis Presley, but February 3rd came to be known as The Day The Music Died. On that date rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, along with the pilot, Roger Peterson. 

     They weren't the only celebrities to meet a violent death. George Reeves, who played Superman on television, died at the age of 45 from a gunshot to the head. He was found in the upstairs bedroom of his home in the wee hours of the morning on June 16, 1959. The official finding was suicide, but some believe that he was murdered or the victim of an accidental shooting. 

      The scandalous book Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence was creating a hubbub. Although it was first published in Italy in 1928, it was banned in the U.S. (and other countries) as being obscene. 

     The ban on it and another book, Tropic of Cancer, was overturned in court in 1959. According to a columnist with The New York Times, the ruling was going to set off an explosion of free speech. 

     In 1959, the first house with a built-in bomb shelter was shown in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania. Later, in October of 1961, President Kennedy advised American families to build bomb shelters to protect them from fallout in the event of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. Kennedy also assured the public that the country's civil defense program would soon begin providing shelters for every American. 

     It was just a year later that the world hovered on the brink of nuclear war when the Cuban Missile Crisis erupted over Russia's placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba. During the 13-day crisis, some Americans prepared for nuclear war by buying up canned goods and completing last-minute work on their backyard bomb shelters. 

The Blogmeister in younger days

     Speaking of Cuba, several years later, in 1964, on the 5-year anniversary of Fidel Castro's takeover of Cuba, I was with the Marine Corps and we were aboard an old WWII aircraft carrier loaded with helicopters that was circling off the coast of Cuba. We sat on deck all day with the helicopters running and shutting down only to refuel. We had been issued ammunition and our weapons were loaded as we were ready to board the choppers and be flown to the fence line at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in case the Cubans tried to invade the base. Nothing happened and towards evening we were told to stand down. 

 

       In testimony before congress, game show contestant Charles Van Doren admitted he had been given the answers and coached on his on-camera performance while appearing on the game show Twenty-One. 

     As a result, Congress added a law to prohibit the fixing of televised contests of intellectual knowledge or skill and quiz shows disappeared for a long time. 

     Bobby Fischer played in three tournaments in 1959. In Mar del Plata he tied for 3rd with Borislav Ivkov a half point behind Miguel Najdorf and Ludek Pachman who tied for first. Then, after an appearance in a tournament in Santiago, Chile, he tied with Paul Keres for 3rd in Zurich behind Mikhail Tal (1st) and Svetozar Gligoric (2nd). 

 

     The second Torneo de Arturo Alesandri Palma was held from April 20th to May 6th, 1959 in Santiago, Chile. According to a brief report in Chess Review, the sixteen year old Bobby Fischer's result was disappointing. Fischer, who was just beginning his international career, scored as many wins as Ivkov and Pachman, but he lost four games. Here is his win against the 1958 Chilean champion.

[Event "Santiago"] [Site " "] [Date "1959.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Robert Fischer"] [Black "Moises Stekel Grunberg"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1959.04.20"] {Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense Deferred} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 (3... d6 4. d4 Bd7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 {is the Old Steinitz.}) 4. Ba4 d6 {Also called the Modern Steinitz Defense, this line allows blacks the possibility of breaking the pin with ...b5 and so gives him more latitude than the Old Steinitz. White has many playable moves: 5.c3, 5.c4, 5.Bxc6, 5.d4 and 5.0-0.} 5. c3 Bd7 6. d4 g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. Bg5 Nge7 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Qe2 (10. Re1 h6 11. Be3 b6 12. Na3 O-O 13. Qd2 Kh7 14. Rad1 {with equal chances. Zapata,A (2545) -Kamsky,G (2650) Manila 1990}) 10... h6 11. Be3 (11. Bh4 {is not so good.} g5 12. Bg3 Ng6 13. Rd1 Qe7 14. Nbd2 g4 15. Ne1 h5 16. f3 h4 {Black is better. Shceglov,M (1590)-Erokhin,A (1851) St Petersburg RUS 2019}) 11... Qc8 (11... O-O {can be played fiest.} 12. Rd1 Qc8 13. Nbd2 b6 14. Nf1 Be6 {is equal. Keres,P-Medina Garcia,A Gothenburg 1955}) 12. Rd1 Bg4 {This does not turn out well.} (12... b6 {is correct.} 13. h3 O-O 14. Bb3 Na5 15. c4 c5 {Nishimura,H (2285)-Kagan,N (2395) Malaysia 1995}) 13. h3 Bxf3 {The ignominious retreat 13.. .Bd7 was better.} 14. Qxf3 O-O 15. Bc5 Qe6 {A scintilla better was the exchange of Rs with 15...Rd8} 16. Nd2 Rad8 {As usual, this is the wrong R.} 17. Bxc6 {Had black played the other R to d8 he could have answered this with 17... Nxc6} bxc6 18. Qe2 Rb8 {There is little point ion trying to save the P, so black tries to use the open file.} (18... Ra8 19. Qc4 Qf6 (19... Qxc4 20. Nxc4 Rfe8 21. Rd7 {wins}) 20. Nf3 Rfc8 21. Rd7 Bf8 22. Rad1 {and black is in some serious trouble.}) 19. Qxa6 {White is clearly winning and it's only a matter of time.} Bf6 20. b4 Rfd8 21. a4 g5 {To his credit black is seeking a K-side attack even if it is doomed to failure.} 22. Kh2 g4 23. Qc4 Qc8 24. Nf1 { [%mdl 32] The beginning of a journey to f5.} Ng6 25. Ne3 gxh3 26. g3 Bg5 27. Nf5 {The N plays an important defensive role on f5.} h5 28. Kxh3 Rd7 29. Kg2 Qd8 30. Qe2 h4 {A frantic attempt at an attack, but there is no time to even get in ...hxg3} (30... Ne7 {There is just no way to get rid of the N on f5.} 31. Bxe7 Bxe7 32. Rxd7 Qxd7 33. Qxh5 {is winning easily.}) 31. Rxd7 Qxd7 32. Qg4 Qd8 33. Rd1 Qf6 34. gxh4 Bxh4 35. Be7 {Very precise play by Fischer. Black resigned.} 1-0

Unheralded Players, Forgotten Tournaments

     In his early days Fred Reinfeld wrote some excellent chess books, but they didn't sell so he took to writing junk, a trend not a few chess authors today have followed, and it made him a comfortable living. 

     One characteristic of a lot of Reinfeld's chess books was that he neglected to give details about the game such as the date, tournament and names of the players! 

     The following game is an example, but at least we know the names of the players and since the game was published in January, 1943, no doubt it was played in 1942, but the tournament was not given. 

     The player of the white pieces was given only as "M. Fish" while black was played by "S. Rubinow", who we know was Sol Rubinow, a Master who was born in New York City on November 6, 1923 and died on February 22, 1981. 

     It’s difficult to say exactly how good Rubinow was because his heyday which was before there was a rating list. However, after the advent of the rating list, he became a Life Master. When the USCF published its first rating list in November of 1950, Rubinow was rated 2243, which at that time was considered "Expert", not Master. 

     Chess was not his only interest. He was also a master bridge player and he became very prominent at his job...he was an authority on biomathematics, which employs theoretical analysis, mathematical models and abstractions of living organisms to investigate the principles that govern their structure, development and behavior. That's opposed to experimental biology which deals with the conduction of experiments to prove and validate the scientific theories. I hope that clears up any questions about Rubinow's day job. 

     Beginning in 1964, Rubinow was a professor of biomathematics at the Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences. He was noted for research and papers papers on cancer research. 

     In 1943, he was intercollegiate chess champion. In 1952, he won the Massachusetts State Championship. He also took part in several U.S. Championships. 

     Dr. Rubinow died at the age of 57 at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center after having been hospitalized for two months following complications resulting from brain surgery. 

     Alas, the master Rubinow managed to lose to Fish in the following short, sharp, exciting game. It was, as Reinfeld stated, a fascinating game, but it was not the lopsided beating that he insinuated. 

 

 

[Event "Unknown"] [Site "?"] [Date "1942.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "M. Fish"] [Black "Sol Rubinow"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B56"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "1942.??.??"] {Sicilian Defense} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 {[%mdl 32]} 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be3 {Unusual, but not bad.} Ng4 {Black usually play 6...e6, but the text, which tries to take advantage of white's last move actually gives better results in practice.} 7. Bc4 {Normally white would play 7.Bb5 or even 7.Bg5. Instead, white is aiming for sharp play even if it means burdening himself with double isolated e-Pawns and a weakened King's position.} Nxe3 8. fxe3 Ne5 {The alternative is 7...e6, but from e5 the N cannot be driven off and it also guards f7.} 9. Bb3 g6 {Reinfeld was critical of this because he thought Rubinow was underestimating white's attacking potential. He suggested, without any analysis, 9...Be6 saying it was much safer. Actually, there is nothing at all wrong with 9...g6 and I suspect that the suggested 9...Be6 was a misprint ant it should have read simply 9...e6.} (9... Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Nxe6 { and white is winning.}) (9... e6 10. Nf3 {Black must not play ...Nxf3 because it reinforces white's weak Ps.} Qb6 11. Qd4 Nd7 {Black has a positional advantage.}) 10. O-O Bh6 {Reinfeld blasted this move claiming black need not be in a big hurry to take the e-Pawn because it's a weakness that's not going away. He recommended 10...Bg7 instead. In fact, both moves have been played in this position, but Reinfeld does seem correct in his assessment that 10...Bg7 would be better.} (10... Bg7 11. Nf3 O-O 12. Qd5 e6 13. Qd2 b6 {Black is much better. Rothe,G (2171) -Miroshnichenko,E (2670) Reykjavik 2011}) 11. Nd5 { This turns out to be a poor choice that allows black to gain the upper hand.} ( 11. Nf3 {is a safe alternative after which black can't claim any advantage.} Bxe3+ 12. Kh1 Bg4 {White can play it safe with 13.Qe1 or he can try the spectacular} 13. Nxe5 Bxd1 14. Nxf7 Qa5 15. Raxd1 (15. Nxh8 Bg4 16. Nf7 Bd4 17. h3 Bxc3 18. hxg4 Bxb2 19. Rab1 {favors black.}) 15... O-O 16. Nd8+ e6 17. Rxf8+ Kxf8 18. Nxe6+ Ke8 19. Rf1 Rc8 20. Nd5 {In this complicated position the only good line is...} Qd2 (20... Bh6 21. c3 {Black has no good moves and white is winning!} a6 22. g3 {Black is running out of moves.} Rc6 23. Nf6+ Ke7 24. Ng8+ Kd7 25. Nxh6 Rc8 26. Rf7+ Kc6 27. Bd5+ Kb5 28. Nd4+ Kc5 29. Rxb7 {mates in two. } Qb6 30. b4+ Qxb4 31. Ne6#) 21. Rf8+ Kd7 22. Rf7+ Kc6 (22... Kxe6 23. Re7#) 23. Ba4+ b5 24. Nd8+ Kc5 (24... Rxd8 25. Rc7#) 25. Ne6+ Kc6 (25... Kc4 26. b3#) 26. Nd8+ {draws.}) 11... O-O {This position was reached in a game many years later!} 12. Qe1 (12. Nf5 gxf5 13. exf5 e6 14. fxe6 fxe6 15. Qh5 Bg7 16. Rxf8+ Bxf8 17. Rf1 exd5 18. Bxd5+ Kh8 19. Be4 h6 20. h3 Bd7 21. Rd1 Qg5 {White resigned, Plank,P (2083) -Levin,F (2523) Bad Woerishofen 2003}) 12... a5 { A waste of time according to Reinfeld. True, it loses black's advantage. Better were either 12...e6 or 12... Bg7 and black keeps his positional advantage.} 13. Qh4 {This attack on e7 equalizes for white, but not more.} Kg7 14. Nxe7 Bxe3+ (14... f6 {was neither better nor worse. Five Shootouts from this position resulted in five draws, For example...} 15. Nd5 a4 16. Nf4 Bxf4 17. exf4 axb3 18. fxe5 bxa2 19. exf6+ Rxf6 20. Qxf6+ Qxf6 21. Rxf6 Kxf6 22. Kf2 Be6 23. Ke3 d5 24. Nxe6 Kxe6 25. exd5+ Kxd5 26. Kd3 g5 27. c4+ Kc5 28. Kc3 Ra4 29. Kb3 Ra8 30. Kc3 Ra4 31. Kb3 Rb4+ 32. Ka3 Rxc4 33. Rxa2 Re4 34. b3 h5 { This position is a draw,}) 15. Kh1 Ng4 {Reinfeld commented that had Rubinow seen what was coming he would have played 15...Bxd4 and white has a perpetual. He claimed that Rubinow felt he deserved more than a draw and that while Rubinow's positional judgment was correct, he played poorly tactically. Reinfeld was of the opinion that had Rubinow taken the trouble to consolidate his position and secure it from attack, he would have undoubtedly been able to utilize his positional advantage.} (15... Bxd4 {and white does have to take the perpetual.} 16. Qf6+ Kh6 17. Qh4+ {etc.}) 16. Ndf5+ {In spite of Reinfeld's twaddle, THIS position is equal IF black finds the correct move... which he does not.} gxf5 {[%mdl 8192] The tactical error of which Reinfeld spoke; it loses the game. It should be mentioned that even at this early stage Rubinow was in time pressure.} (16... Bxf5 {The only move.} 17. exf5 {Black is on a tightrope...again he must find the only move that does not lose.} Nf6 18. fxg6 fxg6 19. Nd5 Nxd5 {No other move is satisfactory. Whether white exchanges Qs or not, the chances are equal.}) 17. exf5 Kh8 18. Bxf7 {Very pretty says Reinfeld, but very bad says Stockfish!} (18. Rae1 {White has a massive advantage. For instance...} Bd4 19. f6 Bxb2 20. c3 Bxc3 21. Bc2 h6 22. Re4 { with a winning attack.}) 18... Qb6 {[%mdl 8192] After this gaffe there is no salvaging the game.} (18... Bf2 {Pure wizardry! It saves the game!} 19. Rxf2 ( 19. Qxg4 Qxe7 20. Rxf2 Qxf7 {...and black has won a piece and much more than likely will win the game.}) 19... Nxf2+ 20. Kg1 Ne4 {Now it's white's turn to save the game and there is only one way it can be done.} 21. Bg6 Qb6+ 22. Kh1 Nf2+ 23. Kg1 Ne4+ 24. Kh1 {black has to take the draw.}) 19. Qxg4 Rxf7 { He overlooks the mate, but it doesn't matter because the game is now beyond hope.} (19... Bh6 20. Qh5 Qe3 21. Ng8 {and black has little choice but to play} Rxg8 22. Bxg8 Qg5 (22... Kxg8 23. Rae1) 23. Qxg5 Bxg5 24. Be6 {with a won ending.}) 20. Qg8# {A fascinating game.} 1-0

Tal at Jurmala 1985

 

     Jurmala?! It's a resort city in Latvia just west of the capital, Riga. It’s known for wooden art nouveau seaside villas, Soviet-era sanatoriums and long, sandy Jurmala Beach. 

     Starting in mid-August back in 1985, the 2nd Jurmala International Chess Tournament was played. Six of the 14 players were living in Latvia and the other eight had not played in Latvia before. 

     Hungary was represented by its 1983 champion IM Tamas Utasi, Bulgaria by GM Ventzislav Inkiov, Denmark by IM Carsten Hoi, the Philippines by IM Andronico Yap and England by IM Daniel King. 

     The Latvians were headed by Mikhail Tal. A talented young player named Alexander Shabalov was also playing. In 1991 Shabalov found his way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and became one of the top players in the US for a while. He won the US Championship in 1993, 2000, 2003, 2007 and won or tied for first place in the US Open in 1993, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016. 

     According to GM Daniel King, "...for much of the tournament Tal cruised along, not giving the chess his all; instead he was enjoying relaxing with his wife and young daughter." 

     In the last round Tal could share first place if he beat Danish IM Carsten Hoi and according to King, "Hoi didn't stand a chance. Tal was gunning for him." King described Tal's intense concentration and told how he "lit up a cigarette, sucking in the nicotine as though it were his life-blood, but never averting his gaze from the chessboard through the whole operation." 

[Event "Jurmala"] [Site ""] [Date "1985.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Mikhail Tal"] [Black "Carsten Hoi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "1985.08.29"] {Pirc Defense} 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. c3 d6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 O-O 6. O-O Nc6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Nh5 (8... Qe8 {The reason for this is soon clear.} 9. Nbd2 Nh5 10. Re1 e5 {This why black moved his Q.} 11. dxe5 dxe5 {equals. Van Wely,L (2560)-Reinderman,D (2415) Wijk aan Zee 1993}) (8... e5 {This is the usual move here.} 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Na3 Be6 11. Re1 Qe8 {with equal chances. Jussupow, A (2600)-Seirawan,Y (2570) Montpellier 1985}) 9. Na3 {The book moves here are 9.Nbd2 and 9.Re1 and as far as I know this is the only game in which this move has been played. The reason for developing the N on a3 turns out to be an idea that Tal had which will soon be apparent.} (9. Nbd2 Nf4 10. Bc2 g5 11. Bg3 Bg4 12. Nc4 {equals. Rasmussen,K (2295)-Hoi,C (2380) Naestved 1985}) (9. Re1 Nf4 10. Bf1 g5 11. Bg3 e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Nfd2 Qf6 14. Na3 Be6 15. Qc2 {equals. Zysk,R (2395)-Mohr,S (2400) Budapest 1988}) 9... Nf4 {Tal had foreseen that black was going to play ...Nf4 and that's the reason he played 9.Na3...so the Q could go to d2 as part of his plan to drive back the N.} 10. Bc2 {White must keep this B as it is one of his attacking pieces.} Bg4 11. Qd2 {Attacking the N } g5 12. Nxg5 {Very nice! Retreating the B would leave him at a disadvantage. King believed Tal saw the rough outlines of this sacrifice when he played 9. Na3.} (12. Bg3 Bxf3 13. Bxf4 gxf4 14. gxf3 e5 15. Kh1 Qh4 16. Rg1 Kh8 {and black has a promising position.}) 12... hxg5 {White gets the advantage after this, but retreating the N was worse.} (12... Ng6 13. Nxf7 Kxf7 {If he takes with the R then white has 14.Bb3}) 13. Bxg5 Ng6 14. f4 {The threat is 15.f5 driving the N back and trapping the B on g4.} f6 15. f5 {A tricky position has resulted and before reaching it Tal had to visualize everything.} e6 {[%mdl 8192] After this black's position is in the trash.} (15... fxg5 {Challenging Tal's last move was the only correct plan.} 16. Qxg5 (16. fxg6 {allows black to equalize with} Bf6) 16... Nge5 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Rf4 e6 19. Rxg4 Nxg4 20. Qxg4 exf5 21. exf5 {White has all the play. Still, this was black's best chance at survival.}) 16. Bh6 (16. fxg6 {This allows black to equalize because it gives him good defensive possibilities after} fxg5 17. Rxf8+ Bxf8) 16... exf5 17. h3 (17. exf5 {was even stronger.} Nge7 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Rf4 Bh5 20. Rh4 Rh8 21. Qf4 {White still has a strong attack going. For example...} Kf7 22. g4 Qg8 23. Kh1 Qg5 24. Bb3+ d5 25. Qxg5 fxg5 26. Rxh5 {White is winning.}) 17... f4 {A fine idea. Black must lose the piece anyway he plays to close the K-side and thereby blunt white's attack.} (17... Bh5 {loses quickly after} 18. Rxf5) (17... Bxh3 {is best met by} 18. exf5 {with two pieces under attack black is losing.}) 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. hxg4 Rh8 20. Rxf4 {This followup is the only way white can maintain any advantage.} Nxf4 21. Qxf4 {Materially white has a B+2Ps vs a R, but white has the initiative and black's K is exposed.} Rh6 22. Kf2 {Anticipating... h8. Anyway, white's K will be safer behind the mass of Ps in the center.} Ne5 {[%mdl 8192] With two Ps for the exchange and such a strong centre, white has the better chances, but the win is a long way of. This move, a panicky one made in time pressure, loses the game. Such things happened a lot to Tal's opponents!} (22... Qh8 {was his best try. After} 23. Rf1 Rh1 24. Rxh1 Qxh1 25. Nb5 Qh4+ 26. Kf3 Ne5+ 27. Ke2 (27. dxe5 fxe5 28. Qe3 Rf8+ 29. Ke2 Qxg4+ 30. Kd3 Qxg2 {and black has equalized.}) 27... Qxg4+ 28. Qxg4+ Nxg4 29. Nxc7 {white is better, but here, too, the win is a long way off. }) 23. dxe5 {White is now winning.} fxe5 24. Qg3 {The best because it stops the unpleasant check on h4.} (24. Qe3 Qh4+ 25. Ke2 Rf6 {White is still better, but at least black has some play.}) 24... Qg5 25. Nc4 {Tjis prevents ...Qd2+ plus, once the N is centralized black is finished.} Rf8+ 26. Ke2 Rf4 27. Ne3 Kf8 28. Rf1 Ke8 29. Rf3 Rh1 30. Qf2 Ra1 31. Bb3 Rb1 32. Kd3 c6 33. g3 {[%mdl 32] This is what white has been building up to playing for the last few moves.} Rxb2 (33... Rxf3 34. Qxf3 Rxb2 35. Qf7+ Kd8 36. Qxb7 {is winning rather easily. }) 34. gxf4 {White has a won ending but it must be noted that he can still lose the game if he is not careful!.} (34. Qxb2 Rxf3 35. Qe2 Rxg3 36. Qf2 { and a draw is likely going to be the outcome.}) 34... Rxf2 35. fxg5 Rxf3 36. Ke2 Rf4 37. Kd3 Kf8 38. g6 Rf3 39. Bf7 b5 40. Ke2 Rf4 41. Nf5 Rxe4+ (41... Rxg4 42. Nxd6 Rg2+ 43. Kf3 {with a won ending.}) 42. Kf3 Rf4+ 43. Kg3 {In this final position black actually has a small material advantage of a R+2Ps vs. a B+N, white has a mate in 20 moves.} (43. Kg3 b4 44. Be6 Rxf5 (44... d5 45. g7+ Ke8 46. g8=R#) (44... Ke8 45. g7 Rf3+ 46. Kxf3 e4+ 47. Ke3 Kd8 48. g8=Q+ Kc7 49. Qc8+ Kb6 50. Qb8+ Ka5 51. Qxa7+ Kb5 52. c4#) 45. gxf5 Kg7 46. Kg4 Kf6 47. cxb4 e4 48. Kf4 e3 49. Kxe3 Kg7 50. Bd7 c5 51. bxc5 dxc5 52. Be6 c4 53. Bxc4 Kf6 54. Kf4 a5 55. a4 Kg7 56. Ke5 Kh6 57. Bd3 Kg7 58. f6+ Kf8 59. g7+ Ke8 60. g8=Q+ Kd7 61. Qb8 Kc6 62. Bb5+ Kc5 63. Qd6#) 1-0