1951 Staunton Centenary

     If you lived in England in 1951 you would have seen the British Board of Film Censors introduce X rating for films that were suitable only for those aged 16 and over. 

     Ford introduced its hit car, the 4-cylinder Consul, which was manufactured from 1951 until 1962. A radio soap opera, The Archers, was launched on the BBC and it's still in production. 

     In May, the spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean left Britain and defected to the Soviet Union. Also, Kim Philby, a British intelligence officer and a double agent who had divulged British secrets to the Soviets during World War II was forced to quit his position. John Cairncross, a civil servant who became an intelligence officer and spy during the Second World War suffered the same fate. As a Soviet double agent, he passed to the Soviet Union the decryptions that influenced the Battle of Kursk. 

     British boxer Randy Turpin whipped American Sugar Ray Robinson in a fight in London to become world middleweight champion. 

     1951 was also the year of the great Staunton Centenary Tournament celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first international tournament. First prize went to a 27-year old Yugoslav GM named Svetozar Gligoric (1923-2012, 89 years old). For decades he was one of the world's leading non-Soviet players. Even back in 1946 it had been written that it was evident from his play that he was a great master in the making. 

 

     Second, third and fourth prizes were shared between Pirc (Yugoslavia), Stahlberg (Sweden) and Trifunovic (Yugoslavia). Trifunovic was unlucky not to finished higher. His one loss, to Bogoljubow, was in a game that for the major part of its course seemed quite won for him. Even when he was lost most of the spectators were quite sure he was winning. 

     It was about that time that Petar Trifunovic (1910-1980) had a distinct change in his style of play. Before the war he was a dashing attacking player, but then his play became very safe and solid and he began playing almost all draws; that remained his style up to the end of his career. 

     In this tournament another Yugoslav player, Vasja Pirc (1907-1980), an older player, was the opposite. From a positional master he had turned into an adventurous player who went for complications and took hair-raising risks. He had the fewest draws among the prizewinners. 

     Stahlberg finished well, but his play was not up to its usual high standard and his showing was somewhat disappointing. 

     Tied for the remaining prizes were Alexander, Matanovic, Rossolimo and Unzicker. Alexander’s showing was a pleasant surprise for the British. He was in the lead for the first five rounds, but couldn't keep up the pace. 

     As a professional player whose only income was from prize money, Rossolimo had to play in about ten tournaments a year and the strain was trying, but he managed to almost always finish among the prize winners. 

     Ernst Klein (1910-1990) was born in Vienna and arrived in England in 1935. He was second among the British players, but he had little international practice in the past eleven years, so his result was quite an achievement. 

     The two veterans, Bogoljubow (1889-1952) and Tartakower (1887-1956), were both badly disappointed with their results, but in such a strong tournament their age was a handicap.

[Event "Staunton Memorial , England"] [Site "?"] [Date "1951.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Aleksandar Matanovic"] [Black "Saviely Tartakower"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B09"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "1951.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.04.07"] {Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 {At the time this defense was called the Yugoslav Defense and theory was still being formed. It was thought that black had good prospects if white did not take the opening seriously. The was enjoyim great popularity because at the time black had been obtaining excellent results and white's setup was in the experimental stage. Today white's move is the one that is most often seem.} c6 {Black eschews the then popular ...c5 thrust and tries a different P-formation. In this line, while it's tru that he does not suffer from the cramping effects of white's d5, black's prospects of achieving a forthright development are not bright. Nowadays black usually plays either 6... Na6 or 6...Nc6.} 7. O-O b5 {According to Euwe this move does not achieve anything of note, but black's position is already most difficult for him. If he tries 7...Nbd7 intending to play ...e5 then his B is blocked in for a long time. And if he tries 7...Bg4 then 8.h6 forces him to part with the two B. The question then arises why play a defense in which this positional drawback has to be incurred so quickly?} 8. a3 a6 (8... d5 9. e5 Ne8 10. h3 f5 11. exf6 exf6 12. f5 Bxf5 13. Bxf5 gxf5 {White is clearly better. Bagaturov,G (2474)-Cugini, W (2199) Bratto 2007}) 9. Kh1 {White has also played 9.Qe1 and 9.Qe2} Qc7 (9... c5 {striking at the center is a better defense.} 10. e5 Nfd7 11. Be4 {but even so white is still better.}) 10. e5 Nd5 11. Ng5 {White has a very fine attacking position and black can do little more than await the onslaught.} Nxc3 12. bxc3 h6 {Of course Tartakover knew that he will have to pay for this weakening of the K-side; but 12...Nd7 would be refuted rather easily.} (12... Nd7 13. e6 Nf6 14. f5 gxf5 15. Bxf5 Bxe6 16. Bxe6 fxe6 17. Nxe6) 13. Nf3 dxe5 { Black opens the f- file for white's R as well as the diagonal for his dark squared B, but, if black avoids this exchange, then white plays Qe1-g3 and threatens f5 with an explosive force.} 14. fxe5 {[%mdl 32]} Be6 15. Qe1 Bd5 16. Qh4 h5 17. Bg5 Ra7 18. Rae1 c5 {Black strives desperately for counter-play, but white now gets in a powerful thrust.} 19. e6 {The main point of this move is that after 19...Bxe6 20 Bxg6 or even 20,Rxe6 black's K-side is destroyed.} f5 (19... Bxe6 20. Rxe6 fxe6 21. Bxg6 Nd7 22. Qxh5 Nf6 23. Qh3 Qd6 24. Bd2 { and the threat of Ng5 is decisive.}) (19... Bxe6 20. Bxg6 Bc4 21. Bd3 Bxd3 22. cxd3 f6 23. Be3 Qd7 24. Qxh5 {White is winning.}) 20. Bf4 Qc6 21. Qg3 {By threat of Bxb8, white wins the g-Pawn and the collapse of black's position soon follows.} Rb7 22. Qxg6 Rf6 23. Qg3 Bxf3 24. gxf3 {White wants to mate with Rg1. The rest of the game is just mopping up.} h4 25. Qg2 h3 26. Qg3 Rxe6 27. Rxe6 Qxe6 28. Rg1 Qf7 29. Bxb8 e6 30. dxc5 {[%mdl 32]} Qh5 31. Be5 Qh6 32. c6 {Black resigned} (32. c6 Rf7 33. c7 Rxc7 34. Bxc7 {It's mate in 11 moves} { Stockfish 15.1:} Kf7 35. Bd6 Qf6 36. Bc5 Bf8 37. Qg8+ Ke8 38. Rg6 Qxg6 39. Qxg6+ Kd8 40. Qxe6 Bxc5 41. Bxf5 Kc7 42. Qd7+ Kb6 43. Qd8+ Kb7 44. Be4+ Ka7 45. Qc7#) 1-0

Sucha-Florian Dog Fight

 

     The 1943 was jam packed with news. Down in Mexico a farmer named Dionisio Pulido had a volcano start forming in his cornfield about 200 miles west of Mexico City. It reached a height of almost 1,400 feet. In other news from Mexico, nachos were invented circa 1943 by Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. 

     Closer to home, the Pentagon, considered to be the world’s largest office building, was completed. On August 13, 1943, that paranoid weirdo J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, received a letter alleging that the popularity of Frank Sinatra was being used to prepare the masses to accept a new Hitler. The FBI kept surveillance over Sinatra for the next 40 years. 

     I read articles claiming that the FBI had banned postal chess in the belief that the move notation could contain some kind of coded message, but I don't believe it because Al Horowitz' Chess Review was still publishing results of its postal tournaments and advertising entries for postal events that year. For example, you could enter a class tournament (4 players, 2 games with each opponent) for only $1.00 per section. 

     The US had formally entered the European Theater of World War II on December 11, 1941, only days after the events of Pearl Harbor, when Germany declared war on the United States. So, in 1943 the United States rationing of gasoline, canned food, meat, shoes, cheese, butter and cooking oils went into effect. 

     Beatrice Arthur (May 13, 1922 - April 25, 2009, 86 years old) was a actress and comedian who was born and raised in Brooklyn; she began her career on stage in 1947. During WW2 Arthur served in the US Marine Corps from 1943-1945 and was honorably discharged rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6). 

     The big hit record in 1943 was by the Mills Brothers, an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies. They were the first African-American artists to have their own show on national network radio (on CBS in 1930). You cam listen to their 1943 hit , Paper Doll, HERE. 

     At the Philadelphia Naval Yard a Navy ship, the USS Eldridge, was docked when it reportedly disappeared for a few minutes in a transporter experiment, after which members of the crew reportedly suffered from sporadic invisibility, madness and spontaneous combustion. Read more... You can read the Navy's explanation of the event HERE. 

     In chess, in the US, Ariel Mengarini won the Amateur championship and Herman Steiner won the California Open State Championship with the score of 17-0! Al Horowitz won the 44th US Open, held in Syracuse, New York. 

     A large number of players died that year: Polish master Henryk Pogoriely was murdered by the Nazis in Pawiak prison, Warsaw. Abram Rabinovich starved to death in Moscow. Lithuanian-Russian master Alexander Romanovsky died in Russia. 

     Romanian-born Belgian master Emmanuel Sapira died. Hungarian-Serbian master Mirko Broeder died at the hands of the Nazis. Vasily O. Smyslov, father of the future World Champion, died. 

     Mikhail Barulin, executive secretary of the Central Composition Committee and the first Soviet Master of Sport of Chess Composition, was arrested, refused to sign a confession or denounce other chess problemists and, as a result, he died in a Russian prison. 

     Australian master Gunnar Gundersen died in Melbourne, Australia. Polish master Abram Szprio died at Auschwitz. He was a Polish chess master. Belarusian-French master Leon Monosson, the 1935 champion of Paris, also died at Auschwitz. Latvian master and study composer Karlis Betins died in Riga. 

     Walter Frere, a top New York City amateur player died in the city at the age of 69. His father had helped organize the First American Chess Congress of 1857 that was won by Paul Morphy. Mexican-British master Adrian Garcia Conde died in London. 

     US master Stasch Mlotkowski died in Gloucester City, New Jersey at the age of 62. Swedish master Karl Berndtsson died in Gothenburg. Czech master, chess publisher and problem composer Jan Kotrc died in Vlachovo Brezi, Czechoslovakia. Austrian master Heinrich Wolf died at the age of 68. 

     Polish master Eduard Gerstenfeld was shot to death by the Nazis in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. And, Vladimir Petrov died at Kotlas, Russia at the age of 34. He was sentenced to 10 years for treason, but died of pneumonia shortly after arriving at a labor camp. AT least that's the official version. When somebody asked Edmar Mednis, who was born in Lativa, whatever happened to Petrov, Mednis replied simply, "The Russians shot him." 

     On the other side of the coin, on March 3, 1943, Robert James Fischer (1943-2008) was born in Chicago.

     Alekhine was invited to a tournament in Madrid, but he arrived too late to take part. A Nazi broadcast claimed that Alekhine was confined to a sanitarium shortly after his arrival and there were reports that he had been showing signs of a mental disorder. He did, however, playAlekhine did play in the International Speed Game Tournament that was held in Madrid on October 22. 

     There was also a report in the English magazine CHESS Alekhine had taken part in two tournaments at Prague in 1943. In one of the events he tied with Karl Junge for first. In the other tournament Alekhine made a much better showing, out pointing Paul Keres and the others by a wide margin. 

 

     CHESS also reported that Alekhine was supposed to have taken part in the tournament at Madrid and his absence may have been explained by a recent Axis broadcast which reported that shortly after arriving in Madrid, Alekhine had been showing signs of mental a disorder. 

     The article also added that in 1942, Alekhine had been taken to a hospital in Prague in a dying condition, but no further news was ever received, nor was the incident ever again referred to. 

     The following game is one by lesser known players. Ruzena Sucha (October 19, 1907 - October 7, 1989), also known as Ruzena Sucha–Dobiasova, was a Czech female player. She received WIM title in 1954. 

     From the end of the 1930s to the early 1960s, Sucha was one of the leading Czechoslovakian women's players. She was the 1938, 1951 and 1954 Czech Women's Champion. Besides her three victories, she finished second in 1949, 1952, 1953 and third in 1940, 1943, 1944, 1955, 1956, 1960 and 1961. In 1943, she was the only woman who participated in Prague tournament where she finished last with 3 draws out of 19 games. 

Ruzena Sucha

     In 1954, she shared 1st-2nd place in Women's World Championship Zonal Tournament in Leipzig. In 1955, she participated at Women's World Championship Candidates Tournament in Moscow when ranked 19th place. Sucha was also known as chess organizer and in 1974, she was one of the founders of the chess club in Smichov. After her death memorial tournaments were regularly held at this club. 

     The winner of the following dog fight was Jaromir Florian (August 13, 1911 - September 9, 1984) who was from Brno in the Czech Republic. He was one of the most famous and most charismatic players in Czechoslovakia even though he never possessed an international title. 

     Originally from Bilovec, Czechoslovakia, in 1919 his family moved to Brno where in 1935 he completed his law studies. Beginning in 1948 Florian was a judge of the state court in Brno and in March 1949, he investigated atrocities committed during the war. His enemies devised a case in which he was alleged to have taken bribes. As a result, he went on trial and was found guilty and was sentenced to a four-year imprisonment (1950-1954) where he worked in a quarry. After serving his sentence he owned a chess shop in Brno. 

[Event "Prague"] [Site "?"] [Date "1943.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Ruzena Sucha"] [Black "Jaromir Florian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C40"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "1943.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.04.05"] {Elephant Gambit} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d5 {Considered unsound, the Elephant Gamnit allows white to capture either P. With one of his center Ps missing black is left with a passive position.} 3. exd5 e4 (3... Bd6 4. d4 e4 5. Ne5 Nf6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. Bc4 {According to GM Nicj de Firmian, white enjoys a distinct superiority, but no immediate attack.}) (3... Qxd5 {This regains the P, but leaves white with a lead in development. However, it seems to be black's best reply.} 4. Nc3 Qa5 {An alternative is 4...Qe6} 5. d4 {Another good move is 5. Bc4} exd4 6. Nxd4 Nf6 {and white's advantage is minimal.}) 4. Ne5 {After this the position is equal.} (4. Qe2 {appears to be more precise.} Nf6 5. d3 Qxd5 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. dxe4 Qe6 8. Qc4 {White is slightly better.}) 4... Qxd5 5. d4 exd3 $1 6. Nxd3 Nc6 (6... Nf6 7. Nc3 Qf5 8. Bf4 c6 9. Qd2 Be6 10. Ne5 Nh5 11. Nd3 Nxf4 12. Nxf4 Be7 13. h4 O-O {A draw was agreed in Aydincelebi,K (2263) -Gadimbayli,A (2447) Lvov 2019}) 7. Nc3 Qf5 (7... Qe6+ 8. Be2 Bd7 9. Nb5 O-O-O 10. Bf4 Nb4 11. Nxa7+ Kb8 12. Nxb4 Bxb4+ 13. c3 Be7 14. Be3 c5 15. Qb3 Kxa7 16. Qa3+ Kb8 17. O-O-O Qe5 18. Rxd7 Rxd7 19. Qa4 Qc7 {0-1 (19) Chen,F (2385)-Lin,W (2469) Suzhou, Jiangsu CHN 2001}) 8. a3 {Better would have been 8.Bf4} Bd7 { Black has comne out of the opening with an active position and so has every reason to be satisfied.} 9. Be2 Nf6 10. O-O O-O-O 11. Be3 h5 12. f3 Bd6 13. b4 Ne5 14. f4 (14. Bxa7 Nxd3 15. Qxd3 Be5 16. Rad1 {would have been somewhat better.}) 14... Neg4 15. Bd2 Rde8 (15... Nd5 {threatening ...Nge3 was an alternative.} 16. Nxd5 Qxd5 17. Nf2 Qe6 18. Bd3 (18. Bxg4 {turns out badly after} hxg4 19. c4 Qf5 20. c5 Be7 21. Rc1 Qh7 22. Nxg4 f5 23. Ne3 Qxh2+ 24. Kf2 Bh4+ {[%emt 0:00:04] mates in}) 18... Ne3 19. Bxe3 Qxe3 {with the better game.} ) 16. Rf3 Bc6 17. Rg3 g5 {White's hopes of defending her position are slim.} 18. h3 Rxe2 {[%mdl 8192] But this slip warrants a couple of question marks because now white could have grabbed the advantage with 19.Qe2!} (18... gxf4 { gives black an irresistible attack. That said, the ensuing complications would be very difficult to calculate OTB, so it's hard to be critical of either player here!} 19. hxg4 Qg5 (19... hxg4 20. Bxg4 Nxg4 21. Qxg4 {White has equalized.}) 20. Qf1 hxg4 21. Re1 Rxe2 22. Qxe2 Qh4 23. Bxf4 Bxf4 24. Nxf4 Qxg3 25. Qd2 Qh2+ 26. Kf1 Rd8 27. Qe3 Re8 28. Qd2 Qh1+ 29. Kf2 g3+) 19. hxg4 { [%mdl 8192] Two question marks for this move also!} (19. Qxe2 {is the narrow road to the win.} gxf4 (19... a5 {this is the engine line.} 20. Rf1 Re8 21. Qd1 Qh7 22. b5 Bd7 {and white is better.}) 20. Bxf4 Bxf4 21. Rf1 Nd5 22. Nxd5 Qxd5 23. Rxf4 {with a decisive advantage.}) 19... hxg4 {At least one question mark for this which allows white to equalize.} (19... Rxg2+ {forces the win.} 20. Rxg2 hxg4 21. Qf1 Qh7 22. Nf2 g3 {Black is clearly winning.}) 20. Nxe2 { [%mdl 8192] And, a question mark, perhaps two, for this move which fails to equalize and leaves black with a clear advantage.} (20. Qxe2 Qh7 21. Kf2 { and it's a whole new game...both sides have chances.}) 20... Qh7 {Things are back on track now. Black has a decisive advantage.} 21. Nf2 {She could have held out a bit longer with, say, 21.Nc3. The text hems in the K.} Qh2+ (21... gxf4 {also works.} 22. Bxf4 Bxf4 23. Nxf4 Qh2+ 24. Kf1 Bb5+ 25. Ne2 Qxg3) 22. Kf1 gxf4 23. Bxf4 Bxf4 24. Qd3 Bxg3 25. Qxg3 Bb5 (25... Qh1+ {This is a move that only an engine would choose. It also works, but it involves temporarily giving up the Q and so would be unappealing to humans!} 26. Nxh1 Rxh1+ 27. Ng1 Bb5+ 28. Qd3 (28. Ke1 Rxg1+ 29. Kd2 Ne4+ 30. Ke3 Nxg3 31. Rxg1) 28... Bxd3+ 29. cxd3 Nd5 {with a won ending.}) 26. Qxh2 Rxh2 27. Re1 (27. Kg1 {was the only chance.} Rh5 28. Nc3 {and white cam play on; black has no forced win.}) 27... g3 28. Nd3 Bc6 {More precise was 28...Rh1+ because after the text white has some practical chances of defending herself.} 29. Nef4 Ne4 30. Kg1 f5 {After this white could get back in the game with 31.Re3} (30... Rh8 31. Re3 Re8 32. Nh5 Nd6 33. Rxe8+ Bxe8 34. Nxg3) 31. Re2 {Even after this the game is hardly lost.} Rh4 32. Re1 {[%mdl 8192] A final and fatal blunder...it's a shame!} (32. Re3 {makes things tough for black! The best line now is} Rg4 33. Ne2 Ba4 34. c4 Bd1 35. Nef4 {Black is better, but could he win? Most likely; in 5 Shootouts Stockfish had one draw and 4 wins for black.}) 32... Nf2 {After this white was forced to resign.} (32... Nf2 33. Kf1 (33. Nxf2 gxf2+ 34. Kxf2 Rxf4+) 33... Nxd3 34. Nxd3 Rh1+ 35. Ke2 Bxg2 {wins easily}) 0-1

Lev Blonarovych

     On January 27, 1989, Lev Blonarovych passed away at the age of 61 in Richmond, Virginia after losing his battle against a long and serious illness. 

     An engineer by profession, Blonarovych was a well-known New Jersey master and many-time champion in Ukrainian tournaments sponsored by the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the U.S. and Canada. He was New Jersey Champion in 1956 and 1963. 

     During WW2 he was a soldier in the Galicia Division, a Ukrainian military formation within the German armed forces. He was born in Radymno, western Ukraine and emigrated to the U.S. and after WW2 and he served time as a parachutist in the U.S. Army.

     Outside of chess, he was an activist in the Ukrainian community. He was employed by the Veterans Administration in the engineering department and after a brief transfer to the West Coast, he ended up in Richmond, Virginia where he retired as chief in the engineering service. It was through his initiative that an active Ukrainian community was formed in Richmond. 

     In the following game he defeated California Master Gilbert Ramirez who eventually quit chess and became a professional bridge player. 

[Event "1957 US Open, Cleveland Ohio"] [Site ""] [Date "1957.08.13"] [Round "?"] [White "Lev Blonarovych"] [Black "Gilbert Ramirez"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "1957.08.05"] {A08: King's Indian Attack} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. d3 { The K-Indian Attack is sometimes presented as a system where white can play the same moves against any black setup and thereby eliminate the memorization of opening lines. However, as with all these so cal;led system openings, the proper strategy and therefore moves should be determined by what black plays because you simply cannot use the same strategy no matter what moves black plays.} d5 6. Nbd2 c5 7. e4 e6 8. Nh4 {There is nothing subtle about white's play; he's going for a K-side attack.} (8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Ne4 b6 10. Nfd2 Nc6 11. Nc4 Ba6 12. c3 {is about equal. Haddouche,M (2515)-Sarwat,W (2313) Monastir TUN 2014}) (8. Qe2 Nc6 9. c3 b6 10. Rd1 Ba6 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Ne4 {Black has the more active position. Britton,R (2238)-Andersen,M (2474) London ENG 2006}) 8... Nc6 9. f4 Qb6 (9... Qc7 10. e5 Nd7 11. c3 b5 12. g4 Bb7 {with equal chances. Ortmann,D-Solinski,M (2220) Berlin 1996}) 10. c3 Qa6 {The Q is not especially well placed here, so 10...c4+ was more exact.} (10... c4+ 11. d4 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Bxe4 e5) 11. e5 Ne8 {After this passive retreat white gets active play.} (11... Nd7 {was better.} 12. Ndf3 b5 {with equal play.}) 12. Re1 f6 13. Ndf3 fxe5 {Opening up the position on the K-side is a nad decision. It would have been better to improve the position of his Q with 13...Qb6} 14. fxe5 {Now comes a series of moves where both sides are jockeying for position. Blonarovych skillfully neutralizes black's play on the Q-side and at the same time builds up dangerous threats on the K-side.} Bd7 15. Bg5 Rc8 16. Qd2 Rf7 17. Bf4 Ne7 18. Ng5 Rf8 19. Nh3 Bb5 20. Nf2 Rc7 21. Nf3 Kh8 22. h4 Ng8 23. Bh3 Rcf7 24. a4 Bd7 25. b3 h6 26. d4 cxd4 27. cxd4 {Black's pieces are huddled around the K, but that's not where the danger lies! The decisive action will take place on the Q-side.} Qb6 28. Nd3 Qxb3 {Trapping his own Q. In reality about all black can do is make harmless waitling moves like 28...Ne7} 29. Reb1 Qc4 {The Q has no escape.} 30. Nc5 g5 (30... b6 31. Bf1 bxc5 32. Bxc4) 31. Bf1 gxf4 32. Bxc4 dxc4 33. Nxd7 Rxd7 34. g4 Ne7 35. Rb4 Nc6 36. Rxc4 {White is clearly winning.} Nxe5 37. Nxe5 Bxe5 38. Re1 Nd6 (38... Bg7 {and white simplifies to a won ending.} 39. Rxe6 Nc7 40. Rxc7 Rxc7 41. d5 Rd8 42. d6 Rcd7 43. Qd3 Bf8 44. Qf5 Bxd6 45. Rxh6+ Kg8 46. Rg6+ Rg7 47. Qe6+ Kh8 48. Rh6+ Rh7 49. Qf6+ Kg8 50. Rg6+ Rg7 51. Qxg7#) 39. dxe5 {Black resigned. An impressive performance by Blonarovych.} 1-0

An Unusual Position

 

     The first air conditioners appeared in 1902 by an inventor named Willis Carrier, but it was not for homes. Carrier's air conditioner was designed to keep paper from wrinkling in the heat and humidity at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, New York. 

     It wasn't long after that industrial buildings and hospitals began adopting the technology, but the first person to air condition his home was Charles Gates, son of an industrialist and gambler named John Gates when he air conditioned his house in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1914. 

     By the 1920s, air conditioners were smaller and safer; the old versions used a toxic coolant. During the Depression, few places could afford to install the expensive systems, but movie theaters were an exception because they could be sure to see a return on their investment as people flocked to them. 

     However, it wasn't until after WWII that air conditioning started showing up in American homes, especially in the South. And, the fact that the venue of the 1956 U.S. Open in Oklahoma City, the Civic Room of the Oklahoma Biltmore, was air conditioned would have been w a welcome draw; in fact, it was even mentioned in the tournament announcement. The entry fee was $12 ($132.72 in today's dollars). 

     The Open was won by the U.S. Champion Arthur Bisguier. He suffered a surprising third round defeat by Donald Fischheimer of Chicago and as a result had to come from behind in an exciting finish to win the Championship with a 9.5-2.5 score. He was actually tied with James Sherwin, but won on tiebreaks. Robert Steinmeyer, who led the field for a time, placed third with 9-3. Tied at 8.5-3.5 for fourth to eight place were 13-tear old Bobby Fischer, Anthony Saidy, Edmar Mednis, Stephan Popel and Anthony DiCamillo. 

     The Women's Open Champion was Sonya Graf-Stevenson of Los Angeles, the defending champion, with 6.5-5.5 score. She was followed by the unheralded Mary Selensky a point behind. 

     Arthur Bisguier (1929-2017) needs no introduction, but his opponent, Dr. Orest Popovych is less known. Popovych was born January 18, 1933, in the Ukraine; he passed away at the age of 90 on March 14, 2023 at his home in Howell, New Jersey. 

     He immigrated to the U.S. in 1949 and settled in Newark, New Jersey. After finishing high school in 1951, he enrolled at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey where he majored in chemistry. In the fall of 1955, he entered the PH.D. Program in Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, first as a teaching assistant and then as an Allied Chemical and Dye Fellow. In January 1959, he was awarded his PhD in analytical chemistry. 

     After graduation he then embarked on a corporate career and in 1963 he began teaching in Brooklyn College of the City University of New York where he became a full professor in the Department of Chemistry. 

     Popovych was a USCF Senior Master and an FIDE FM. He won the New Jersey championship in 1959, 1961, 1985 and in 2001. In 2001 he authored a chess book featuring games by former champions of the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the USA and Canada. He was inducted into the Ukrainian Sports Federation Hall of Fame in 2016. 

     In the following game, the position of Bisguier's Bs on e7 and e8 at move 15 is quite unusual. He held the advantage for most of the game, but made a slip at move 30. Popovych failed to take advantage of it, but he still managed to create a mate threat. However, in doing so he allowed Bisguier a nice finish. Not that it mattered because black was lost anyway. 

[Event "US Open, Oklahoma City"] [Site "Oklahoma City, OK USA"] [Date "1956.07.24"] [Round "?"] [White "Arthur Bisguier"] [Black "Orest Popovych"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E70"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "1956.??.??"] {King's Indian} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Bg5 c5 6. d5 O-O 7. Qd2 Qa5 {this is somewhat risky because the Q may end being misplaced. Either 7...e6 or 7...a6 are better.} 8. Bd3 Re8 (8... a6 9. Rc1 b5 10. b3 e6 11. Nge2 exd5 12. exd5 Nbd7 {equals. Milov,V (2668)-Kempinski,R (2624) Geneve 2005}) 9. Nge2 Na6 (9... a6 10. O-O Nbd7 11. f4 b5 12. cxb5 {Much better was 12.b3} axb5 13. Ng3 c4 {Black is much better. Amerkeshev,M (2228)-Omori,M (2191) chess.com INT 2013}) (9... e6 10. O-O a6 11. a4 exd5 12. cxd5 Nbd7 13. f4 c4 {is equal. Blosze,E-Djurhuus,R (2405) Gausdal 1992}) 10. O-O Nc7 {Risky in that it cuts off the Q's retreat. Better would have been 10...Nb4} 11. a3 {The threat is 12. b4} Na6 (11... Kh8 {A pass to demonstrate the threat.} 12. b4 cxb4 13. axb4 Qxb4 14. Rfb1 Qc5 15. Be3 {The Q is trapped.}) 12. f4 Ng4 13. Bc2 f5 {After this black's position is all but lost.} (13... e6 {This counterattack in the center does not work out well because after} 14. Ba4 Rf8 15. Be7 {he has a very poor position.}) (13... Qd8 {This was Bisguier's recommendation because it protects the e-Pawn and removes the Q from danger, but after} 14. Ba4 Bd7 15. Bxd7 Qxd7 16. h3 f6 17. Bh4 Nh6 {white's position is quite promising.}) 14. Ba4 Rf8 15. Bxe7 Rf7 16. Bxd6 {Already white has a decisive advantage.} fxe4 17. Be8 Rf6 18. Be7 {A unusual position!} e3 19. Qc1 Bf5 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Bb5 Bd4 22. b4 Qd8 {Interesting...the Q is transferring to the the R file with the hope of creating threats against white's K. Nevertheless, white remains in com plete control.} 23. Rf3 Qh4 24. h3 Nf2 25. bxc5 Bxc5 26. Qe1 {Safe and solid.} (26. Na4 {leads to some tricky tactical play.} Bg4 27. Nxc5 Bxf3 28. Qxe3 Nxc5 29. Qxf3 {and white is clearly better.}) (26. Bxa6 {is best met by} Bg4 27. Rg3 bxa6 28. Rxg4 Nxg4 29. Ne4 {White has a significant advantage.}) 26... Bg4 27. Rg3 Bh5 (27... Bxe2 {was not any better.} 28. Nxe2 Nc7 29. Ba4 Rf8 30. Rf3 { white remains with the superior position.}) 28. Kh2 Kh8 {[%mdl 8192]} 29. Bd7 Rf8 30. Na4 {[%mdl 32] This slip should have allowed Popovych to nearly equalize.} (30. Rg5 Bxe2 31. Nxe2 Rxf4 32. Qc3+ Rd4 33. Qxe3 Bd6+ 34. g3 Rd3 35. Qc1 Nd1 36. Rg4 Qe7 37. Be6 {Here black can continue to put up a manly defense.}) 30... Ne4 {[%mdl 8192] Played against Qc3+, but after this black is clearly lost.} (30... Bxe2 {is tougher.} 31. Qxe2 Bd4 32. Rf3 (32. Rb1 Qxf4 { and it's black who is winning!}) 32... Bxa1 33. Qxe3 Nd3 34. Qxd3 Rxf4 { and black has equalized.}) 31. Nxc5 {Simplifying} Nxg3 32. Ne6 (32. Nxg3 { would be a serious mistake.} Nxc5 33. Nxh5 Qxe1 34. Rxe1 gxh5 35. Be6 Rxf4 36. Rxe3 Rxc4 {and black is right back in the game.}) (32. Qxg3 {is also not quite so good because after} Qxg3+ 33. Kxg3 Nxc5 34. Bg4 Bxg4 35. hxg4 Re8 {black is still fighting.}) 32... Bxe2 33. Nxf8 Nf1+ 34. Kg1 Qxf4 {Of course this threatens mate, but at the same time it allows a nice finish. Of course any other move would have lost, too.} (34... Qxe1 35. Rxe1 Bxc4 36. d6 e2 37. Be6 Bb5 38. Rxe2 Kg7 39. Rb2 {wins} Kxf8 40. Rxb5 Ng3 41. Bg4 Nf5 42. Bxf5 gxf5 43. Rxb7 {wins.}) 35. Qc3+ Kg8 36. Qg7+ {[%mdl 512]} Kxg7 37. Ne6+ {Black resigned. To continue on would have been pointless because the ending is won for white.} (37. Ne6+ Kf6 38. Nxf4 Bxc4 39. Rxf1 Bxf1 40. Kxf1 Ke5 41. Ne6 Kxd5 42. Ke2 Nb8 43. Bc8 b5 44. Nc7+ Kc4 45. Kxe3 a5 46. Be6+ Kc5 47. Ba2 b4 48. a4 Nc6 49. Ne6+ Kd6 50. Ke4 {The Ps on the Q-side are stopped and white's extra piece must prevail.}) 1-0

Fiasco At Liverpool, 1952

     Back in 1951, it was decided to run an International Union of Students’ Chess Tournament in conjunction with the National Union of Students’ Arts Festival at Liverpool, England over Easter week in 1952. 

     Eight teams with three players each were expected to meet from April 4th to April 10th, but when the start date arrived there was only a British team and a Finnish team present. There was also one player each from Belgium, Denmark and India. There was supposed to be some players from Russia, too, but none of them showed up. 

     As a result, the three individual players that were in Liverpool were grouped into an "International" team and a short team tournament was held in which Finland defeated both Britain and the International team 2-1. Britain then defeated the International team 3-0 and so tied Finland. 

     It's not clear why, but when the Russians did arrive there were only two of them. In any case, a tournament was hastily arranged with the fast time limit of 40 moves in two hours because they had to play two games a day.

     The two Russians were David Bronstein and Mark Taimanov plus an "interpreter" who could not speak a word of English.

      It was no surprise that the Russians won all their games, although Nyren had a drawn position against Bronstein, but he was outplayed in the ending. 

     The Russians drew against each other, but it wasn't a peaceful one; it was a bitterly contested game. Bronstein avoided a draw by repetition on the fifteenth move and obtained a superior position, but as the time limit approached he found himself in time trouble and Taimanov sacrificed a piece for an attack which gained him a draw by perpetual check, Bronstein having missed a winning line.

 

     How did David Bronstein and Mark Taimanov, who were hardly students, end up playing in what was essentially an amateur students' competition? According to Taimanov's memoirs, Stalin had an interest in chess and the opportunity to bring glory to Russia could not be passed up, so chess authorities chose Grandmaster Bronstein, who had never attended college, and Taimanov who at the at the time was an IM and had already graduated from the Conservatory of Music to play in the tournament and they were ordered to win it. 

     The following see-saw game from the tournament was a thriller. Little is known of either player. Erkki Rutanen (July 12, 1932 - January 2, 20123, 82 years old) of Helsinki was a psychologist and psychotherapist who was one of the influential figures in Finnish clinical psychology. Nothing is known of his opponent, but according to British player/writer Gerald Abrahams, the Indian player, Katragadda, "knew as much about chess as Sultan Khan didn't." That seems a but harsh.

[Event "Liverpool Students Int'l"] [Site "?"] [Date "1952.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Erkki Rutanen"] [Black "G. Katragadda"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C36"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "69"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.03.31"] {King's Gambit Accepted} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d5 4. exd5 Bg4 5. Bb5+ (5. Be2 Bxf3 6. Bxf3 Qh4+ {This shoulkd not lead anywhere.} 7. Kf1 Bd6 8. d4 Nd7 9. c4 b6 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. Qc2 O-O 12. Ne4 {White has managed to fritter away his advantage.} Nf5 13. Nxd6 {This is disastrous} Ng3+ 14. Kg1 Nxh1 15. Nf5 { A final blunder; it's mate after 15...Qe1 so white resigned. Sever,T (1764) -Guler,E (1532) Antalya 2008}) 5... Nd7 (5... Bd7 6. Qe2+ Qe7 7. Ne5 f6 8. Nxd7 Qxe2+ 9. Bxe2 Nxd7 10. d4 O-O-O {White is better. Lanzani,M (2419)-Manzoni,A (2115) Bratto 2000}) 6. O-O a6 7. Ba4 (7. Qe1+ Be7 8. Bxd7+ Bxd7 9. c4 Bf5 10. Qe5 {White is better. Eliassen,E (1507)-Soreng,E (1351) Lysaker 2002}) 7... Bd6 8. c4 Ngf6 9. Re1+ Be7 10. d4 O-O 11. Bxf4 Bd6 (11... b5 {is more active and would have allowed black to keep the position equal.} 12. cxb5 Nxd5 13. Bg3 Bb4 {with an active position.}) 12. Bg5 {Giving black a weak P with 12.Bxd6 would have given him a slight advantage.} h6 {He still should have played 12...b4!} 13. Bh4 g5 14. Bf2 Kg7 {After this black finds himself subjected to a vigorous attack.} (14... b5 {was still the move!} 15. Bc2 bxc4 16. h3 Bh5 17. g4 { Now black's best practical try is} Nxg4 18. hxg4 Bxg4 19. Nbd2 Qf6 {and hope for the best.}) 15. Qd3 (15. c5 {packs a wallop!} Bf4 16. Nc3 b5 17. Bb3 b4 18. Ne2 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Nh5 20. Ng3 {White's advantage should prove decisive. He will play Qd3 and Bc2.}) 15... Bxf3 {Have I mentioned that black needs to play ...b5?} 16. gxf3 {This is the wrong way to recapture; taking with the Q was correct.} c6 {[%mdl 8192] At the risk of repeating myself, 16...b5 would have kept black in the game.} (16... b5 {and Black is okay.} 17. Bc2 (17. cxb5 Nb6 18. Bc2 axb5 19. Nc3 Qd7 20. Qxb5 Qh3 {and black has equalized.}) 17... bxc4 18. Qf5 Nb6 19. Nc3 Qd7 {and it's actually black that stands slightly better.}) 17. c5 {With this white gains a decisive advantage.} Bf4 18. d6 Nd5 19. Qf5 N7f6 20. Qh3 {This passive move loses much of his advantage. Completing development with 20.Nc3 was better.} Qd7 {This offer to exchange Qs should lose quickly.} (20... Qa5 21. Bb3 Be3 22. Nc3 Bxf2+ 23. Kxf2 Rae8 {keeps black in the game.}) 21. Qg2 {White can't afford another passive move. Now the position is back to complete equality!} (21. Qxd7 Nxd7 22. Nc3 N7f6 23. Nxd5 Nxd5 24. Bb3 Nf6 25. Re7 {and white is in complete control.}) 21... Kh8 { Black plans on opening up the g-file for an attack, but his prospects of successfully getting at white's K are pretty slim.} 22. Na3 {Wrong square. 22. Nc3 is the right one.} g4 23. Bh4 {[%mdl 8192] This should have lost the game. Getting the K off the file with the Q with 23.Kh1 would have left him in good shape.} (23. Kh1 Rg8 24. Nc4 Qf5 25. Ne5 Qh5 26. fxg4 Nxg4 27. Bd1 Nxf2+ (27... Bxe5 28. Rxe5) 28. Qxf2 {and the game is essentially over.}) 23... gxf3 { [%mdl 8192] Missing his chance, but it's hard to criticize his move. Play after the correct 23...Rg8 would be impossible to calculate OTB!} (23... Rg8 { and now the threat of ...gxf3 forces...} 24. Kh1 Nh5 (24... gxf3 25. Qxf3 { and white is out of danger.}) 25. Nc4 (25. Rg1 g3 26. hxg3 Rxg3 27. Bxg3 Nxg3+ 28. Kh2 Ne4+ 29. Kh1 Nf2+ {wins}) 25... g3 26. h3 b5 {THAT move again!} 27. Nb6 Nxb6 28. Re7 bxa4 {Brilliant!! Black get more than enough compensation for the Q.} 29. Rxd7 Nxd7 30. Rg1 (30. Re1 Rae8 31. Re4 Rxe4 32. fxe4 Be3 33. d5 Nf4 34. Qf3 g2+ 35. Kh2 g1=Q#) 30... Nf8 31. Be7 Ng6 32. Re1 Rae8 33. Re4 Nxe7 34. dxe7 Rg7 {White has no constructive moves.} 35. Kg1 f5 36. Re2 Rgxe7 37. Rxe7 Rxe7 38. Kf1 Nf6 39. h4 Nd5 40. Qg1 Rg7 41. Ke2 g2 42. b3 axb3 43. axb3 Be3 44. Qa1 g1=Q) 24. Qxf3 Rg8+ 25. Kh1 {This is the right square!} (25. Kf1 {would lose!} Ng4 26. Re2 Nge3+ 27. Ke1 Rg1+ {and black wins.}) 25... Rg4 (25... Qg4 { was somewhat better.} 26. Qxg4 Rxg4 27. Bxf6+ Nxf6 28. Re2 Rh4 29. Rae1 { White is better, but black can fight on.}) 26. Re7 {[%mdl 8192] This rates two question marks.} (26. Bxf6+ {keeps a significant advantage. For example...} Nxf6 27. Nc4 Rh4 28. Re2 Rg8 29. Ne5 {Black can do no damage on the K-side and white is in full control.}) 26... Rxh4 {And wins...you would think. Black gets way more than enough for the Q.} 27. Rxd7 (27. Re2 Ng4 {All white can di is delay mate (in 11 moves), not avoid it.} 28. Bxc6 bxc6 29. Qg2 Nxh2 30. Kg1 Be3+ 31. Rxe3 Nxe3 32. Qg3 Rg8 33. Qxg8+ Kxg8 34. Kf2 Qf5+ 35. Kxe3 Qf3+ 36. Kd2 Rxd4+ 37. Kc2 Qd3+ 38. Kc1 Qd1#) 27... Rxh2+ {Black has a mate in 11 moves. } 28. Kg1 Rg8+ 29. Kf1 Be3 {This move misses the mate and throws away almost all of black's advantage.} (29... Ne3+ {mates} 30. Qxe3 Bxe3 31. Rd8 Rxd8 32. d7 Nh5 33. Ke1 Nf4 34. Bb5 cxb5 35. Kd1 Rd2+ 36. Ke1 Nd3+ 37. Kf1 Rg8 38. d8=Q Rf2#) 30. Rd8 Ne8 {[%mdl 8192] This move simply cannot be explained except that black was probably thinking of playing ...Rg8#, but he has apparently suffered an hallucination.} (30... Rxd8 31. Nc2 Bg5 32. Re1 Rh4 33. Ke2 Rf4 34. Qg2 Rg8 {and black stands very well. He has more than enough compensation for the Q.}) 31. Rxe8 Rxe8 32. Re1 Rg8 33. Rxe3 {Perhaps in his calculations black missed the fact that the B is missing and he can't play ...Rg8} Nxe3+ 34. Qxe3 Rh1+ 35. Ke2 {Black resigned.} 1-0

Just a Barnes Opening

     Whatever you call it, the Barnes Opening, the Fried Fox Attack, the Wandering King Opening, the Hammerschlag, the Tumbleweed, the Bongcloud, the Pork Chop Opening or the Half Bird and even if the late GM Edmar Mednis called it the worst opening move possible and GM Ben Finegold lists it on his Never Play list. I say never say never play 1.f3. 

     It's named after Thomas Wilson Barnes (1825–1874), an English player who had eight wins over Paul Morphy, including one game where Barnes answered 1.e4 with 1...f6, known as the Barnes Defense. 

     It's considered bad because it does not take control of the center, it takes away the f3 square for the N, it doesn’t allow development of any pieces and it seriously weakens safety of white’s King. 

     I play it occasionally in online blitz games and sometimes it works out quite well because my opponents, not realizing that there is no immediate, crushing refutation, have ignored commonsense rules of development and control of the center. Black can secure a comfortable advantage by advancing central Pawns and rapidly developing pieces to assert control over the center, but there is no forced way to confute the opening. 

     It's a waste of time for amateurs to go too deeply into memorizing opening lines. The thing about any opening is that at some point both players are going to start playing at their skill level and that is what is going to decide the game. And, that's why 1.f3 works, but only if you are playing opponents who are at, or below, your skill level. An example... 

[Event "Chess Hotel G/5+3"] [Site "?"] [Date "2023.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Guest"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A00"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2023.??.??"] {Barnes Opening} 1. f3 b6 2. Kf2 Bb7 3. c3 e6 {Black has played an odd setup to be sure.} 4. Qc2 Qh4+ {Rather pointless because the Q simply has to retreat. Either 4...c5 or 4...d5 would have been more precise.} 5. g3 Qf6 6. Bg2 Bc5+ { I wanted to be critical of this move which appears to only result in another loss of time, but according to the engines the position is quite equal. Stockfish suggests that both 6...g5 and 6...Nc6 would have left black with a smidgen of an advantage.} 7. d4 Bd6 {Retreating to e7 deprives the N of its best square. Black probably played this with the intention of playing ...e5} 8. e4 Bf8 {Clearly black's development has gone completely wrong! He should have continued with the planned ...e5} (8... e5 {was best...it leads to some real complications.} 9. f4 {Again threatening a P fork on e5.} exf4 10. e5 fxg3+ 11. Kxg3 Bxe5+ 12. dxe5 Qxe5+ 13. Bf4 Qe1+ {Stockfish puts white's advantage at a P, but that means nothing. This game is being played by two amateurs at blitz speed and anything could happen!}) 9. Nh3 h6 10. Nd2 d6 (10... e5 {would still work.} 11. dxe5 Qxe5 12. Nb3 Nc6 13. Be3 O-O-O {with about equal chances.}) ( 10... Nc6 {is also plausible.} 11. Re1 O-O-O {but white is better because black still has some development problems.}) (10... d5 {is another possibility. } 11. b4 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Qd8 13. f4 {but here, too, black will find completing his development difficult.}) 11. f4 c6 {Pointless. 11...Nc6 and ...O-O-O was better.} 12. Nc4 Nd7 13. Re1 O-O-O 14. Bd2 {My development is complete, but the N on h3 is rather poorly placed. Black still has to finish developing his pieces and the Ps in front of his K are loose. As a result, white is better, but not by much...just about a Ps worth.} d5 15. e5 Qe7 {This innocent looking retreat turns out to be a serious mistake.} (15... Qg6 {is the right move because white has nothing better than exchanging Qs which lessens his attacking possibilities and makes the defense easier.} 16. Qxg6 (16. Nd6+ Bxd6 17. Qxg6 fxg6 18. exd6 Nf8 {and black has nearly equalized, but he still needs to complete his development plus the e-Pawn is backward and his position is badly cramped. White's difficulty is that his pieces don't have a lot of scope. }) 16... fxg6 17. Ne3 c5 {White is better, but it's hard to suggest a reasonable plan of operation and it looks like it's going to be a long game.}) 16. Nd6+ {This is a bone in black's throat and it shows why having the Q on e7 is a huge disadvantage.} Kb8 17. a4 a6 18. b4 {[%mdl 32]} f6 19. b5 {This move, breaking up the position around black's K requires no calculation...it just has to be good.} fxe5 20. fxe5 g5 21. Nxb7 Kxb7 22. bxc6+ Kxc6 23. c4 {[%mdl 32] More digging is required to get at black's K.} Kb7 24. cxd5 Qf7+ 25. Nf4 { [%mdl 512] White wants to mate with d6+.} (25. Kg1 {Wins, but it takes longer.} exd5 26. e6 Qf6 27. Bxd5+ Kb8 28. Qc6) 25... gxf4 {Black lost on time.} (25... gxf4 26. d6+ Kb8 27. Qc7#) 1-0

Vintage Reshevsky

     Samuel Reshevsky (November 26, 1911 - April 4, 1992) was always one of my favorite players. For some reason I always found his games easier to understand than those of anybody else. 

     Because of that it was a very enjoyable couple of weeks when I got to observe him in action close up at the 1975 U.S. Championship and it was a chess thrill of a lifetime when, in 1979, I drew a correspondence game with him. 

     Reshevsky's own description of his play was that he was "essentially a positional player, although I can conduct an assault with precision and vigor when the opportunity arises. My style lies between that of Tal and Petrosian. It is neither over-aggressive nor too passive. My strength consists of a fighting spirit, a great desire to win and a stubborn defense whenever in trouble. I rarely become discouraged in an inferior situation and I fear no one." 

     He continued, "By playing slowly during the early phases of a game I am able to grasp the basic requirements of each position. Then, despite being in time pressure, I have no difficulty in finding the best continuation. Incidentally, it is an odd fact that more often than not it is my opponent who gets the jitters when I am compelled to make these hurried moves." 

     Bobby Fischer said that Reshevsky was "like a machine calculating every variation" and he had to "find every move over the board by a process of elimination." Fischer added that REeshevsky could "see more variations in a shorter period of time than most players who ever lived." 

     Though Reshevsky pretty much adhered to the positional concepts of Steinitz and Nimzovich, his play was a rather curious mixture of their positional ideas and tactics. 

     He claimed that chess is basically positional, but tactics was how you obtained those positional advantages. You need a strong position in order to attack and you got those positions through tactics. 

     The following game was played in the 1958 Chess Olympiad that was played in Munich, West Germany. As expected, the Russians (Botvinnik, Smyslov, Keres, Bronstein, Tal and Petrosian) won easily. They were followed by Yugoslavia, Argentina and the United States (Reshevsky, Lombardy, Bisguier, Evans and Rossolimo). 

     Reshevsky's opponent in the following game was the English veteran C.H.O'D. Alexander, a tough, resourceful and dangerous attacker who was a hard player to beat. Over his career ge has wins over the likes of Botvinnik, Bronstein, Pachman and Szabo. 

     The game is pretty boring up to move 17, but then Reshevsky sacrificed a Pawn to reach a complicated position. Alexander was defending very well until time pressure set in. It was a gritty, vintage Reshevsky game. 

     In pre-engine days it's excusable that annotation errors were made, but Reshevsky's annotations to this game were, I hate to say this, appalling! It's almost as if he annotated the game without setting up a board. 

[Event "Final Olympiad, Munich"] [Site "Munich FRG"] [Date "1958.10.14"] [Round "?"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "C.H.O'D. Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A10"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "1958.09.30"] {English Opening} 1. c4 {At the time this game was played the English had become quite fashionable because it was thought that it was less committing than 1.d4. On the other hand, as Reshevsky pointed out, it gives black a wider choice of defenses.} g6 2. g3 Bg7 3. Bg2 e5 {Black's intention is to play an early ...f5 which was a favorite setup of Alexander. The idea is to obtain immediate control of e4 and then launch a K-side attack.} 4. Nc3 d6 5. d3 f5 6. e4 Ne7 {Black wants to be aboe to recapture with the N if white plays exf5. Other options are 6...Nc6 and 6...Nf6} 7. Nge2 O-O 8. O-O Nbc6 9. f4 {In this nearly symmetrical position white's P on c4 does not give him any particular advantage and so the position is quite equal.} fxe4 (9... Rb8 10. Nd5 fxe4 11. dxe4 Bg4 {is equal. Kurosaki,T (2131)-Duckworth,W (2352) Los Angeles 2011}) 10. dxe4 Be6 (10... Bg4 11. h3 Be6 12. Nd5 Qd7 {White's position is slightly more active, but black's is solid and in Habibi,A (2343)-Fierz,M (2201) Mendrisio SUI 1999 the game was eventually drawn.}) 11. Nd5 (11. b3 {would have been too passive for Reshevsky's taste.} exf4 12. gxf4 Bg4 13. Bb2 Nd4 14. Qd2 Nxe2+ 15. Nxe2 Bxb2 16. Qxb2 Bxe2 17. Qxe2 {and black has simplified too much.}) 11... Qd7 {In his notes to this game Reshevsky made some incredibly bad observations!! He claimed that this a natural move that was aparently played with the intention of playing ...Bh3. In fact, in this position ...Bh3 would be horrible.} (11... Nd4 {was also possible.} 12. f5 (12. Nxd4 exd4 13. Bd2 c6 14. Nxe7+ Qxe7 15. Qc2 c5 {is equal, but not very promising for white.}) 12... Bxd5 13. cxd5 gxf5 14. Bg5 {with equal chances.}) 12. Rb1 {Reshevsky was expecting 12...Bh3 to which he would have then played 13.b4. Honest! That's what he wrote.} Bg4 {Here Reshevsky wrote some fiddle-faddle about how Alexander apparently concluded that white's B on g2 was weak so he avoided exchanging it, preferring to give up his B for a N, but that was a wrong assumption because later in the game the B on g2 became very active.} (12... Bh3 {turns out to be a mistake.} 13. Bxh3 Qxh3 14. Nxc7 Rac8 15. Nb5 {White has snagged a P.} Rcd8 16. Be3 {Somewhat better than taking on d6.} (16. Nxd6 Nc8 17. c5 Nxd6 18. cxd6 Qe6 19. Qd5 Rxd6 20. Qxe6+ Rxe6 21. f5 gxf5 22. exf5) 16... Qe6 17. Qd3 {with good position.}) 13. Ne3 Bxe2 {Reshevsky preferred 13.. .Bh5, but wrote that Alexander probably feared that the B would get into trouble there, but the fact is that there is no way white can endanger the B. Alexander was a very strong player and I think he, too, would have known that. He probably played 13...Bxe2 as part of a plan to exchange pieces and simplify the position.} (13... Bh5 14. f5 gxf5 15. exf5 Bh6 16. f6 Bxe3+ 17. Bxe3 Nf5 { The chances are completely equal, but that does not equate to a draw!}) (13... Be6 {leads to more routine play.} 14. b4 Nd4 15. Bb2 c5 {with equal chances.}) 14. Qxe2 Nd4 {A very fine move. White has two Bs vs black's well posted N and now white needs to find a way to use the two Bs.} 15. Qd3 exf4 {Another nice move. The idea is to increase the scope of the B on g7.} 16. gxf4 a5 17. Bd2 c5 18. f5 {With his Q-side prospects shut down it's time for white to undertake some aggressive action elsewhere.} Nec6 {This natural move is an imperceptible error!} (18... Rae8 19. Bxa5 gxf5 20. exf5 Nexf5 21. Nxf5 Nxf5 22. Bc3 Ne3 { with complications.}) 19. Nd5 {Here's the flaw with black's last move...the threat is 20.f6 and black has no good defense against it.} Ne5 20. Qh3 Nxc4 ( 20... gxf5 21. exf5 Rae8 22. Ne3 {favors white}) 21. Bg5 {Black is confronted with the serious threat of Ne7+} Rae8 {Meeting the threat.} 22. f6 {In thgis case the threat was stronger than the execution because after this black can equalize.} (22. Kh1 Ne5 23. Rbd1 Rf7 24. Rf4 b5 25. Rdf1 {keeps up the pressure.}) 22... Qxh3 23. Bxh3 {Black now has complete equality if he finds the best move. Even if he plays the expected retreat of the B to h8 he should be able to defend himself.} Re5 {A terrific rejoinder that was overlooked by Reshevsky.} (23... Bh8 24. Bh6 Kf7 {Best!} (24... Rf7 25. Rbd1 Ne5 26. Ne7+ { favors white.}) 25. Bxf8 Rxf8 26. Rbd1 b5 {with adequate defensive resources.}) 24. Bc1 {[%mdl 128] Here Reshevsky stated that after black retreats the B he will lose material. True, but it's hardly relevant.} (24. Bf4 {can be met by} Rxd5 25. exd5 Bxf6 26. Bh6 Bg7 {Here, too, black has sufficient defensive resources so that the game must be called even.}) (24. Ne7+ {is not nearly as good as it looks at first glance. After} Kf7 25. fxg7+ Kxg7 26. Bh6+ Kxh6 27. Rxf8 Rxe7 {black is clearly better.}) 24... Ne2+ {Here is where Alexander begins going down the path to destruction. Most likely he was beginning to feel the effects of time pressure.} (24... Bh8 25. b3 {The N is trapped so} Rxd5 26. exd5 Ne5 {and white has the advantage.}) (24... Rxd5 {This excellent move was missed by both players.} 25. exd5 Rxf6 {and the chances are equal.}) 25. Kh1 Rxe4 {Best under the circumstances according to Reshevsky. Engines slap a ? on it!} (25... Nxc1 {The logical followup.} 26. Rbxc1 Nd2 27. Ne7+ Kh8 28. fxg7+ Kxg7 29. Rxf8 Kxf8 30. Nc8 Nxe4 {White is better, but proving it might be difficult!}) 26. fxg7 Rxf1+ 27. Bxf1 Kxg7 {Black has 3 Ps for the piece which is usually sufficient compensation, but here white's two powerful Bs vs black's uncoordinated Ns make the defense next to impossible.} 28. Bg5 h6 29. Bd8 Nd2 30. Bg2 Ra4 31. Ra1 (31. Rd1 {looks tempting, but things get tricky after} Rxa2 32. Rxd2 Ra1+ 33. Bf1 Rxf1+ 34. Kg2 Rf5 35. Ne3 Nf4+ 36. Kf3 Rf7 37. Ke4 {and white should be able to win.}) 31... Kf7 32. a3 Rh4 { Alexander was in terrific time trouble, but his position was helpless... theoretically at least!} (32... Rd4 33. Re1 Nc4 34. b3 (34. Rxe2 {makes things more difficult...for white.} Rd1+ 35. Bf1 Rxf1+ 36. Kg2 Rb1) 34... Nxa3 35. Bf3 Rd3 36. Be4 Rd2 37. Bxa5 Rb2 38. Bd3 b6 39. Bxb6 Rd2 40. Rf1+ Kg7 41. Be4 Rd4 42. Nf6 {White is theoretically winning...OTB things wouldn't be so clear.}) 33. Bxh4 {Black resigned.} 1-0

A Defensive Lesson By Dr. Marchand

     In 1956 the highest rated US player was Samuel Reshevsky (2663), who was in a class (Grandmaster) by himself. He was followed by Senior Masters Larry Evans, Robert Byrne, Arthur Bisguier, Isaac Kashdan, Donald Byrne, Nicolas Rossolimo, Max Pavey, Alex Kevitz, James Sherwin, Herbert Seidman, I.A. Horowitz, Arthur Dake, Arnold Denker and George Kramer. 

     The great Dr. Savielly Tartakower (born February 1887) passed away on February 4, 1956, and in Detroit, Michigan a Tartakower Memorial Tournament was held from August 31 to September 3 at Wayne (State) University, a public research university. It was an 8 round Swiss and first prize was a staggering $500, which had the buying power of nearly $5,500 today. Back in those days the average yearly salary was $4,450. A new Ford car cost between $1,748-$3,151 and gas to put in it cost $0.23 a gallon. 

     The entry fee was a little stiff, $8.00 which was about a week's pay if you were making the average salary. Second prize was $175 ($1,900 today) and third prize was $75 ($800 today). There were also prizes for Classes A, B and C, unrated players and Juniors. 

     No mention was made of a prize for women, but in those days very few women played chess. The top female player was Lucille Kellner of Lima, Ohio, who finished with 5-3 (+4 -2 +2); she was rated 1782 placing her 9th on the women's rating list. 

     Eva Aronson of Chicago, had returned to play after a two year layoff due to illness and finished with +3 -3 =2. She was not rated because she had not played before the rating list was published. 

     The tournament was a strong one and Donald Byrne tallied 7-4 to win the event, drawing with runner-up Arthur Bisguier who tied for second with National Master Povilas Tautvaisas. Fourth to sixth with 6-2 scores were Stephan Popel, Walter Shipman and Dr. Ariel Mengarini. Seventh to ninth with 5.5-2.5 scores were Dr. Erich Marchand, Kazys Skema and Kazimieras Jakstas. 

     Obviously, in the opening black has to be much more careful than white because white, having the first move, has a slight but definite advantage. Black usually finds himself on the defensive in the opening and sometimes he even has to continue playing a defensive game into the middlegame or even the ending.

     Defensive play requires nerves of steel and one of white's advantages is that in the opening his superior center can cause black problems in developing his pieces. Consequently, black must be alert for every opportunity to seize his share of the center or, at least, to control as much of it as he can. 

     Another opening advantage white has is the "initiative" so he can generally play whatever type of middlegame plan that looks the most promising. 

     Generally black has two basic plans: 1) He can try for complications, hoping to wrest the initiative or cause white to go astray...a difficult and risky option! Or, 2) play simple chess, close the position, exchanges pieces and avoid the opening attacking lines. The idea is to meet each threat as it arises and by gradual positional means build up a strong position and maybe even develop an attack.

     The following game by US Master Dr. Erich Marchand, who at he time was rated a class below Master at Expert, illustrates some of these defensive procedures.

     His opponent was given as "K. Pleskacz", but I believe that is incorrect. I found an obituary for Bazyli Pleskacz (February 12, 1916 - March 17, 2006) who was originally from Belarus and after many hardships and adventures ended up in Detroit in 1950. The obituary added that he was an accomplished chess player and the May 1957 issue of Chess Life's rating list had a "B. Pleskacz" from Detroit who was rated 1887. I also discovered an obituary for his son, Peter Victor Pleskacz (1948-2021), and it mentioned that he had enjoyed playing bridge and chess with his father. 

[Event "Tartakower Memorial, Detroit"] [Site "?"] [Date "1956.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Bazyli Pleskacz"] [Black "Dr. Erich Marchand"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B40"] [Annotator "Komodo 14"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "1956.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.03.28"] {Sicilian Defense} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 {Marchand purposely avoided the Dragon Variation which was extremely popular at the time.} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 {This move is somewhat risky to play early because of the possible reply 6.e5 which can lead to unclear complications.} 6. Bd3 (6. e5 Nd5 7. Bd2 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Be7 9. Qg4 {and already white has a dangerous attack and black must proceed with caution.}) 6... e5 {Again somewhat risky, but Marchand played it thinking that Pleskacz would not know the best reply. Actually, Marchand was mistaken about what is the best reply!} 7. Nb3 {Certainly not bad, but at the time the star move was thought to be 7.Nf5} (7. Nf5 d5 {This move loses, but it does show the practical advantage of 7.Nf5} 8. Nxg7+ Kf8 9. Bh6 Kg8 10. Nf5 Bxf5 11. exf5 Bf8 12. Bg5 Nbd7 13. Nxd5 Qa5+ 14. Nc3 e4 15. Bb5 h6 16. Bh4 Bb4 {White has a decisive advantage, but managed to throw it away and ended up drawing in the ending. Jablonski,N (2266)-Shirazi,K (2401) Paris 2007} ) (7. Nf5 {is correctly met by} O-O 8. O-O {and black can try either 6...Bxc3 ot 6...d6}) (7. Nde2 {This is the most solid move after which the position is even after} O-O 8. a3 Be7 9. O-O) 7... d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 {Here Marchand avoided 8...Bxc3+ and 9...Qxd5 doubling white's Ps because he thought that in the resulting open position white's teo Bs could end up being quite powerful. Beside, the figured he could double the Ps without yielding the two Bs.} 9. Bd2 {Castling at once was also worth considering.} Nc6 {This developing move cannot be bad, but 9... Bxc3 was more precise.} (9... Bxc3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. O-O Nc6 12. Qh5 f5 {Shleimovitch,V-Lelumees,B (2110) Tallinn 2001 with equal chances.}) (9... Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bd6 11. Qh5 {He could also castle.} g6 12. Qh6 Bf8 13. Qe3 Bg7 14. Qc5 {Cirkovic,R-Meister,Y (2503) Berlin 2005 with equal chances.}) 10. O-O Nxc3 11. bxc3 Be7 {More exact was 11...Bd6 rendering white's next move totally harmless.} 12. f4 exf4 {Played to prevent white from gaining space with 13.f5. White's weakness is his doubled Ps, but as compensation he has a lead in development because black still needs to castle and develop his other B. One important factor to take inot consideration though is that white has opened a disgonal toward his own K and this is something black needs to keep in mind.} 13. Bxf4 Be6 14. Kh1 {White plays with caution...he yields a tempo in order to get his K off the diagonal. The alternative was 14.Qf3 and then Rad1.} O-O 15. Nd4 {Both sides having completed their development and the position is quite equal. White intends to bring his N into play and invite white to undoubling the c-Pawns and, this is important, he is setting a trap for black's Q,} Nxd4 {While undoubling the Ps may appear surprising, it's actually the best move. The idea is to exchange one small advantage for another. White now gets a weak c-Pawn, but more importantly black exchanges off white's pieces before they can be used to launch a full scale attack.} 16. cxd4 Bf6 {Avoiding the trap. With this move black slows down his opponent's attack. Note that black is still on the defensive because white has control of the center and the semi-open f-file might prove handy. Black must continue to be cautious.} (16... Qxd4 17. Bxh7+ { wins easily.,}) 17. c3 (17. Qh5 {There is nothing to be gained by this seemingly aggressive move because after} g6 18. Qf3 Bxd4 {black has the upper hand.}) 17... Rc8 {Development combined with a threat, thus keeping the balance. Practically speaking it seems that black is gradually taking over the initiative without white having made any mistakes.} 18. Bd2 Bc4 {Forcing the exchange of one of white's Bs.} 19. Bxc4 Rxc4 20. Rf3 Bg5 {Forcing the exchange of the other B or else white has to make a time losing and pointless retreat} 21. Bxg5 Qxg5 22. Qe2 Rc6 {Black has a number of reasonable alternatives, but Marchand felt that the coming action on the e- and f-files was going to play an important role and from c6 his R can defend his K by going to g6 or h6.} 23. Raf1 Qd5 (23... Qd8 {Would have avoided the possibility of white taking on f7, but not safer.} 24. c4 (24. Rxf7 {is, of course, no longer a possibility.} Rxf7 25. Rxf7 Kxf7) 24... Re8 25. Qd3 { Technically the position is equal, but practically black is clearly going to be defending.}) 24. Rf5 (24. Rxf7 {leads to tricky play after} Qxf7 (24... Rxf7 25. Qe8+ Rf8 26. Qxf8#) 25. Rxf7 Rxf7 26. c4 {Theoretically the chances would be equal, but this is one of those position where the win is likely going to go to the stronger player. In any case, the ending is going to be a tough one!} ) 24... Qc4 25. Qxc4 (25. Rxf7 {Again, this was playable.} Qxf7 26. Rxf7 Rxf7 27. c4 {as noted before.}) 25... Rxc4 26. R5f3 (26. Re5 {was an interesting possibility, but after} Rxc3 27. Re7 Ra3 28. Rxb7 Rxa2 29. h3 h6 30. d5 Rd2 31. Rxa7 Rxd5 {it's a draw}) 26... f6 27. Re1 {Marchand mistakenly called this an error. It's not at all; in fact the position is dead equal.} (27. Rd1 { Marchanbd. It ties up white's pieces after} Rfc8 28. Rdd3 Ra4 29. Rd2 Ra3 30. Rc2 {It's unlikely that black could win this, but it is he who has all the play.}) 27... Rfc8 28. Ree3 {This move. leaving his first rank undefended, is the fatal mistake.} (28. Re7 Rxd4 29. h3 Rdc4 30. Rxb7 {with a draw.}) (28. Kg1 {was also quite playable as after} R8c7 29. Rb1 Ra4 30. Rb2 {it's not likely that either side can squeeze out an advantage.}) 28... Rxd4 {Pleskacz has made an elemenrary mistake! With R's and Q's on the board one must protect the 1st or 8th rank or give the K an escape square for escaping checks on the rank!} 29. Rd3 {[%mdl 8192] This allows a cute finish.} (29. h3 {would have made black's task more difficult.} Rdc4 30. Rd3 R8c7 31. Kg1 Kf7 32. Kf2 b5 33. Ke2 Ra4 34. Rd2 a6 35. Rfd3 Ra3 36. Rc2 Rc4 {and with white's pieces tied up black can patiently turn his attention to using hsi K-side P-majority.}) (29. Kg1 { was also a reasonable try.} Rdc4 30. Re7 R8c7 31. Rxc7 Rxc7 {with care black should be able to squeeze out the win.}) 29... Rxc3 {[%mdl 512] White resigned. He has to give up a R to avoid mate. A fine defensive example by Marchand.} 0-1

Judge A.B. Meek

     Having been out of town on a get-away for a few days last week was OK except for the chilly, very windy, rainy weather. It could gave been worse though because while checking out of the hotel Sunday, I talked to a man who said they were returning home to Racine, Wisconsin and the 8 inches of snow that had fallen Saturday. 

     Or, it could have been horrible like it was in Mississippi where tornado spawning storms killed at least 26 people. One town, Rolling Fork, was described as having been obliterated. 

     Rolling Fork, a town of fewer than 2,000 residents who live under the constant threat of flooding, was claimed by the Blues singer Muddy Waters as his hometown. 

     Upon returning home, my neighbor told me that we had a lot of rain and the wind was so bad that the Ohio Turnpike had issued a travel ban for all high-profile vehicles (like trucks) across the entire length of the 241-mile toll road. 

     The American Civil War lasted from April 12, 1861 to Apr 9, 1865, and on April 14th President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth during the play Our American Cousin. Lincoln died the following morning. That was the big news.

     Other exciting news took place on May 5, 1865, in North Bend, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. I was not too far from that neck of the woods over the weekend. It is the home of William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the U.S. and the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President.

     The Civil War is considered to have ended less than a month earlier when General Lee had surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, but that only ended fighting in Virginia. Some Confederates held out for a few months and the incident in North Bend was five days before the capture of Jefferson Davis, the fleeing president of the defeated Confederacy, near Irvinville, Georgia. 

     The incident was the country's first train robbery. Some historians have asserted it was the work of Confederate guerrillas who refused to accept surrender and they label it a military action, not a criminal act. 

     The Cincinnati Times newspaper said Kentucky had been "fearfully infected by guerrillas, who in roving bands, have ravaged the whole country." The train robbers were assumed to have come from Kentucky. 

     On May 5th, an O&M train left Cincinnati at 8PM and it consisted of a locomotive pulling a baggage car, an Adams Express Company car and four passenger coaches. 

     According to the Cincinnati Times, the train was derailed "almost in the suburbs of Cincinnati by one of the nefarious gangs of cutthroat Rebel robbers." About 20 men had been seen crossing the Ohio River in boats from Kentucky earlier in the day and they were assumed to have been responsible for removing one rail, causing the derailment and overturning the locomotive, baggage car, Express car and one coach. 

     Four men then appeared at each car, two doing the robbing and two standing guard. They took at least $1,000 in cash from three men plus valuables and more cash from other passengers and crew. 

     Using an ax, five of the bandits entered the Express car and forced an agent to open one safe and two other safes were blown open using gunpowder. The amount of the loss is unknown. 

     The robbers were assumed to have recrossed the Ohio River to Kentucky after the robbery. Initially, the paper claimed it was a military act, but later stated that the robbers were not regular organized rebel guerrillas, but just a gang of thieves. It was noted that only male passengers were robbed and the gang leader had been heard to instruct his men not to hurt the ladies. 

    In 1865. Charles Hooper, a cabinet maker, built Ajeeb, a chess-playing "automaton." It was a piece of fake mechanical technology that had a strong human player concealed inside. The machine also played checkers. 

     In other chess news on April 3, 1865, the Richmond, Virginia Chess Club burned down. It had been visited by Paul Morphy as well as some notable Confederate Generals. 

     In New York City, in August, Thomas Bill entered a guilty plea to the charge of stealing from a hotel two pairs of Paul Morphy's boots. Bill was sentenced to prison. 

     Finally, on October 30, 1865, Judge Alexander B. Meek (born in 1814), a politician, lawyer, judge, and chess player of note, died of a heart attack in Columbus, Mississippi at the age of 51. He also was a writer of historical and literary essays, and poetry. 

     He served as Alabama's Attorney General in 1836. He also represented Mobile in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1853 to 1855 and was Speaker of the House from 1859 to 1861. 

     Meek gained a reputation as an orator early on, delivering addresses at colleges and before learned societies and many of his addresses were published by the societies or schools for which he spoke, and many more were collected and published in his book Romantic Passages in Southwestern History (1857). 

     In 1857, Meek was elected president of the 1st American Chess Congress and he was also a participant. In round one he defeated William Fuller with 3 wins and 2 losses. In round two, he lost to Paul Morphy with 3 losses. During the American Chess Congress, he also lost a game to Amalie Paulsen, the sister of Louis Paulsen. 

[Event "1st American Congress, New York"] [Site ""] [Date "1857.10.06"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Alexander B. Meek"] [Black "William J. A. Fuller"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C20"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1857.??.??"] {MacLeod Attack} 1. e4 e5 2. c3 {Chess Explorer lists this as the "Lopez Opening," but it's also known as the MacMeod Attack after the 19th century Scottish–Canadian master Nicholas MacLeod who played it several times in 1889 in the 6th American Chess Congress in New York. He finished last out of 20 players with a score of +3 -31 =6. Whatever name you call it, it does not give white very good results. The intention is to play d4 immediately which cannot be prevented.} Nf6 (2... c5 3. d4 exd4 4. cxd4 cxd4 5. Nf3 {leaves black with an isolated d-Pawn which may or may not be a disadvantage depending upon subsequent play.}) (2... c5 3. Nf3 {This is probably white's most promising continuation.} Nc6 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Ng5 d5 {with interesting play.}) ( 2... d5 {was recommended by Eric Shiller because it eliminates transpositional possibilities and solves all of black's opening problems.} 3. exd5 Qxd5 { As Shiller pointed out, 4.Nc3 driving back the Q with the gain of a tempo is not available to white.} 4. d4 exd4 5. cxd4 {Same observation as after 2...c5 except that the colors are reversed!}) 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 Bc5 5. Qg4 { Theoretically probably not the best, but it it lays a trap into which black immediately falls!} (5. Nh3 d5 6. Nd2 Nxd2 7. Bxd2 Qh4 8. Qf3 Bxh3 9. gxh3 Nd7 10. O-O-O c6 {and black has equalized at the least.}) 5... Nxf2 {[%mdl 8192] Offhand this looks like a juicy move, but it's very bad.} (5... d5 {stays ahead.} 6. Qxg7 Bxf2+ 7. Ke2 Rf8 8. Bh6 Bc5 9. Nf3 Bf5 10. b4 Be7 11. g4 Bg6 12. Nd4 Qd7 13. Kf3 Nc6 14. Bb5 Nxd4+ {White resigned. Cabanas Bravo,J (2036) -Montanes Arribas,A (2030) Madrid 2008}) 6. Qxg7 Rf8 7. Bg5 f6 (7... Be7 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Kxf2 {wins a piece}) 8. exf6 {Black has not a single move that would even offer his a small chamce of saving himself.} Rf7 (8... Nxh1 9. Be2 { and the threat of Bh5+ cannot be met.}) (8... d5 9. Be2 Bg4 {is well met by} 10. Bxg4 Nxg4 11. f7+ Rxf7 12. Qxf7+ Kxf7 13. Bxd8 {and black is a R down.}) 9. Qg8+ Bf8 10. Kxf2 {It would not be wrong for black to resign here., only embarrassing.} d5 11. Na3 Qd6 12. Re1+ Be6 13. b4 Nd7 {[%mdl 32]} 14. Nf3 O-O-O 15. Nb5 {[%csl LRa7,LRd6]} Qb6+ 16. Be3 c5 17. Qg3 {Very good!} (17. bxc5 { Not at all bad, but just not a good as the move actually played.} Bxc5 18. Qg5 a6 19. Nbd4 Nxf6) 17... Nxf6 {White still has to be alert because ...Ne4+ would fork his K and Q.} 18. Kg1 {White's R is shut in which may have given black some hope, but, in fact, white is not going to need the R anyway.} Ne4 19. Qe5 {Black must now prevent Nxa7+!} Bg7 (19... h6 {A pass to demonstrate the threat.} 20. Nxa7+ Qxa7 21. Qxe6+ Rdd7 22. Bb5 {and wins.}) (19... a6 20. bxc5 (20. Na7+ Kd7 {Much better that taking the N.} 21. Qh5 Bd6 22. Bd3 Bf4 { Black is lost, but still kicking.}) 20... Bxc5 21. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 22. Nfd4 axb5 23. Qxe6+ {wins}) 20. Nxa7+ {White is clearly winning, but Meek finishes off the game with precise play.} Qxa7 (20... Kd7 21. bxc5 Qa5 22. Bb5+ Ke7 23. Bg5+ Kf8 24. Qxe6 Qxa7 25. Be3 {Here, too, white is winning. It will just take time to get his R into play.}) 21. Qxe6+ Rfd7 22. Bb5 Bxc3 23. Bxd7+ Rxd7 24. Ne5 { [%mdl 512]} Bxe5 25. Qxe5 Qxa2 26. Ra1 {Black resigned.} 1-0