Fritz 19 Opponents

    The last several days have brought our first nasty weather. It’s been cold dreary and we had our first snow. Now today it's warmed up with solid overcast and drizzle; it ‘s a good day to play a couple of test games against the personalities on my fairly new Fritz 19 program. 

    I don’t really enjoy playing against engines, but wanted to at least test the feature. I have read a number of reviews of Fritz 19 and am surprised at how many people have found fault with the program. I have several ChessBase programs and have had no difficulties with them whatsoever. One person found it offensive that ChessBase used animal avatars for the personalities! 

    Fritz 19’s pre-set opponents are: Beginner, Hobby Player, Club Player, Strong Club Player, Master Candidate and Grandmaster. For each opponent you can choose a style: All Around, Aggressive, Swindler, Positional, Timid and Endgaome Specialists. 

    I have no idea and have been unable to locate an estimated rating for any of the personalities. I am guessing a Club Player would fall in the range of 1700-1800 and Strong Club Player 2000-2100. 

    These personalities with their different playing style could be fun for those who enjoy playing against engines and it could also be good training for those who arr actually hoping to improve. 

    In any case, here is a casual game I played against the Positiona; Hobby Player personality. I played two casula games lasting about 15-20 minutes each. One against the Aggressive Club Player and one against the Positional Hobby Player. I defeated the Aggressive Club Player in a game in which we both played sloppy chess. It seemed the engine was giving me tactical chances, most of which I missed. 

    The second game against the Positional Club Player was more difficult and was actually instructive. The personality put up strong resistance and when we reached the critical position I missed the best line and went into an ending that proved to be pretty difficult, at least for me. 

    Analyzing the game with Stockfish leads me to believe that the game could very well have been played by a couple of non-Masters. In conclusion, although I still prefer live opponent, I think the personalities do make good sparring partners. 

[Event "Casual Game"] [Site "?"] [Date "2024.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Tartajubow"] [Black "Positional Hobby Player"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D03"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2024.12.09"] {D03: Torre Attack} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bg5 {This old favorite of mine, the Torre Attack, is rarely seen in modern play. White sims quick development and hopes to obtain attacking chances on the K-side.} Ne4 {Black usually plays 3... e6, but this move is a crucial continuation as it questions the early B move and prepares for quick counterplay.in the center. Black hopes to seize the initiative by gaining a tempo on the B.White's main choices are 4.Bf4 and 4.Bh4 } 4. Bh4 {This move leaves the B on a less active square, but the hope is that it will interfere with black’s development. The disadvantage is that it has no effect on the Q-side and so allows black to prepare pressure against the P on b2 by ...c5 and ...Qb6.} (4. Bf4 {This is the more principled continuation. After 4..c5. white has to support the center with either c3 or e3.} c5 5. e3 Nc6 {White can now play just about any reasonable move.}) 4... c6 {This is solid, but passive. More robust was 4...c5} 5. Nbd2 g6 {A novelty, but the finchetto is a very solid approach.} (5... Nxd2 6. Qxd2 Qb6 7. c3 Bf5 8. e3 e6 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Qb5 {an here Leuba,D (2295)-Kamber,B (2270) Suhr 1991 agreed to a draw.}) (5... Bf5 6. e3 {Equally good was 6.Nxe4} Qb6 {with equality/ Moran Llera,J-Gadeo Colomina,F (2088) Linares 2005}) (5... Qa5 6. c3 Bf5 7. Nxe4 Bxe4 8. e3 Nd7 9. Bd3 Nf6 {Boring! Pyrzynski,M (1980)-Velecky,V (2104) Polanica Zdroj 2006}) 6. e3 Qa5 7. c3 Bg4 {Black would have dine better capruring on d2 or retreating to d6.} 8. Be2 {This is too routine. 8.h3 was more precise.} Bg7 9. O-O O-O {An outright error losing a P. 10...Nxd2 was best } 10. h3 {I must confess that I totally overlooked the win of a P with 10.Bxe7} Bxf3 11. Nxf3 {Now I realized black's e-Pawn was attacked, but so did the Hobby Player!} e6 12. Qb3 b5 {This is the wrong reaction to the attack on the b-Pawn. 11...Qc7 or 11...Qb6 are acceptable.} 13. a4 {With no prospects on the K-side white's attention turns to the Q-side.} Nd7 {A mistake that loses a P and leaves white with a decisive advantage. Correct was 13...bxa4} 14. axb5 Qc7 15. bxc6 Qxc6 16. Rfc1 a5 17. Bb5 Qc7 18. c4 Qd6 {Here I did npt see any clear way of forcing the issue on the Q-side so decided to switch operations back to the K-side/} 19. Ng5 (19. cxd5 {is crushing.} exd5 20. Bc6 {picks up the d-Pawn after which black os quite helpless.}) 19... Nd2 20. Qd3 Nxc4 21. Bxc4 dxc4 22. Qxc4 Nb6 23. Qc5 Qd8 {A tactical mistake. Trading Qs would have at least kept black on the game.} 24. Nxh7 {[%mdl 512] Attacking both the Q and R. } Qxh4 25. Nxf8 Qd8 {Why give up another P?!} 26. Nxe6 fxe6 27. Qc7 e5 28. Qxd8+ Rxd8 {It would seem the ending is easilt won for white.} 29. Rc6 (29. dxe5 Bxe5 30. Rxa5 Bxb2 {is won, but there looks to be a lot of technical problems for white to solve.}) 29... Nd5 30. Rxg6 Kf7 31. Ra6 exd4 32. exd4 Bxd4 33. R1xa5 {I thought about resigning for the machine here, but decided to play on not realizing that black still has some play keft.} Nb4 34. Ra8 Rd6 35. Rb5 Nd3 36. Rb7+ Kg6 {How can I meet the attack on f2?} 37. Rc8 {Not this way!} (37. Rg8+ {Like this!} Kf5 (37... Kh5 38. Rf7 Kh6 39. Kf1) 38. Rf7+ Ke6 39. Rg6+) 37... Bxf2+ 38. Kf1 Kg5 {[%mdl 8192] Missing the opportunity equalize.} ( 38... Re6 39. Rg8+ Kf6 {Mate is threatened with ,,,Re1# so...} 40. g3 Re1+ 41. Kg2 Bc5 {and theoretically the chances are equal. In Shootouts white scored +1 -0 =4}) 39. Rg8+ Kh6 40. b4 {Playing on the wrong side of the board!} (40. g4 { and white stays cle on top as g5+ would win.} Bh4 41. Rh8+ Kg5 42. Ke2 Nc1+ 43. Ke3 {White gets his K into play and black's pieces are tied up.}) 40... Re6 { Threatening ...Re1#} 41. g4 Re5 {[%mdl 8192] A tacticl mistake that should have lost outright. 41...Bh4 and ...Bf6 makes it much more difficulr for white to make progress.} 42. g5+ {An excellent move that simplfies into an ending that is easier to win.} Rxg5 43. Rxg5 Kxg5 44. b5 {Of course 44.Ke2 wins a piece. As things are bow winning is not so easy! Stockfish is giving me about a 5 Pawn advantage, but I do not play at Stockfish's level,} Nc5 45. Rc7 Ne4 46. Rc6 Kf5 47. b6 Bxb6 48. Rxb6 {[%mdl 4096] White must be very careful not to lose the P and be left with a R vs N>} Nd2+ 49. Ke2 Nc4 50. Rb5+ Ke4 51. Rb4 Kd5 52. h4 {This required a bit of calculation to maje sure the P cannot be stopped!} (52. Rxc4 Kxc4 53. Kf3 (53. Ke3 Kd5 54. Kf4 Ke6 55. Kg5 Kf7 {draws}) 53... Kd5 54. Kf4 Ke6 55. Kg5 Kf7 56. h4 Kg7 57. h5 Kf7 {The P can;t be forced to h8 so the game is drawn.}) 52... Ne5 53. Rb5+ Ke6 54. h5 Kf6 55. h6 Ng6 { This ending is turning out to be nuch tougher than expected!} 56. Rb6+ Kf7 57. h7 Nh8 58. Rb7+ {Now all white needs to do is bring up the K.} Kg6 59. Kf3 Kf6 60. Ke4 Kg6 61. Ke5 Nf7+ (61... Kh6 62. Kf5 Kh5 63. Rb8 Ng6 64. h8=Q+ {wins}) ( 61... Kg5 62. Rg7+ Kh6 63. Kf6 Kh5 64. Rg8 {wins/}) 62. Rxf7 Kxf7 63. h8=Q { Here I did something you can't do in a real game...I resigned for my opponent.} 1-0

John Littlewood, Always Dangerous

    English FM John Littlewood (1931-2009) was always a dangerous opponent who on a good day could defeat anybody. In any tournament he played in he was always skulking about waiting to ambush the unwary. An enterprising player, he was not in the least timid about sacrificing material. You can read his complete biography HERE. 

    His opponent in the following game was Edwin Bhend (born in 1931) was awarded the IM title in 1960 and was Swiss champion in 1966. He represented Switzerland in 10 Chess Olympiads from 1952 to 1982. According to the FIDE web site Bhend is still active at the age of 93! 

    The following game, played at the Clare Benedict Team Tournament in 1961, features a spirited attack combined with silois positional play. 

    The Clare Benedict Cup was a team tournament for teams from Western and Northern Europe, which took place 23 times from 1953 to 1979. Clare Benedict (1871–1961), a distant relative of author James Fenimore Cooper, was author and patron. She was originally from Cleveland, Ohio, but moved to Switzerland in 1945, where she founded the tournament.

 

 

    The English team was Jonathan Penrose, Peter Clarke, Michael Haygarth and Littlewood. The Swiss team was Dieter Keller, Max Blau, Edgar Walther, Bhend and Hans Johner. 

[Event "Clare Benedict Cup"] [Site "Neuhausen SUI"] [Date "1961.04.05"] [Round "?"] [White "John Littlewood (England)"] [Black "Edwin Bhend (Switzerland)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B11"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "1961.04.05"] {B11: Caro-Kann: Two Knights Variation} 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. d4 Nf6 7. Bd3 {At the time this was line was quite familiar from the 1958 Smyslov·Botvinnik return match, but here Littlewood essays what was at the time a much recommended, but rarely trie Pawn sacrifice. Today it has become the main continuation. For the Pawn white obtains the better development, open lines and a dangerous initiative. However, with caredul play black should be abe putup an adequate defense.} dxe4 8. Nxe4 Qxd4 9. Be3 Qd8 {Black had three other possibilities: 9...Qxb2 which is too dangerous, 9...Qe5 and 9...Bb4+ (recommended. The text may be considered the safest continuation} 10. O-O-O {[%mdl 1024]} Nbd7 11. Qg3 (11. Bc4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Be7 13. Rhe1 O-O 14. Bxe6 {In this complicated position white is better, but in Mamedov,R (2657)-Eljanov,P (2717) Berlin 2015 he only managed to draw.}) 11... Qa5 12. Kb1 Nd5 {Black has difficulty coordinat his development; however, his position is basically sound.} (12... O-O-O 13. Ng5 Ne5 14. Be2 Rxd1+ 15. Rxd1 {lead to a quicj draw in Hujbert,F (2444)-Wang,P (2455) Budapest 2014}) 13. Bd2 Qc7 14. f4 O-O-O 15. c4 N5f6 16. Bc3 Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Nc5 {Oddly, this move leaves black with a difficult game. The neutral 17...h6 keeps the balance. Or, if black is feeling adventerous he can play 17...Be7} 18. Rxd8+ Qxd8 19. Bc2 f6 {Suddenly it becomes clear that white has the better position. The pressure he exerts against black's K-side is more than enough compensation for the P especially now that black has weakened his e-Pawn.} 20. Rd1 Qc7 21. Qe3 {A fine multi-purpose move! It threatens both the e-Pawn and the a-Pawn (after b4) and allows him to advance on the K-side with g4.} a5 {A slightly safer way of guarding the a-Pawn was 21...Kb8} 22. a3 Kb8 23. b4 axb4 24. axb4 Na6 25. c5 (25. Qxe6 {is inferior.} Bxb4 26. Bxb4 Nxb4 27. Rd7 Qa5 {Threatening mate on a2, so...} 28. Kc1 Qa1+ 29. Kd2 Qb2 {and black is better.}) 25... Qc8 26. g4 {White has tied down the black Q-side and so he now turns his attention to the K-side. Still, there is no reason for black to panic because with care his position is solid enough to withstand the pressure.} (26. Qg3 {is technically stronger because black will have to retuen the P in order to complete his development.} Nc7 27. Kb2 {A waiting move.} Be7 28. Qxg7 Qf8 29. Qxf8+ Rxf8 30. f5 {This is even better that capturing the h-Pawn.} e5 31. Bb3 {White has a positional advantage, but can ge win? It seems unlikely as 5 Shootout ganes were drawn.}) 26... Nc7 27. g5 Be7 (27... Nd5 {loses in a nifty fashion...} 28. Rxd5 {[%mdl 512]} exd5 29. gxf6 $18 gxf6 (29... b5 30. fxg7) 30. Bxf6 Rg8 31. Be5+) 28. gxf6 Bxf6 29. Be5 {Although not fatal, practically speaking this piun causes black some anxiety. At least one annotator (pre-engine) based hos evaluation on the games outcome and claimed that black was lost. We engine users know that the game is dead equal...theoretically that is; black must defend accurately which is earier for Stockfish than a human!} Rd8 30. Rd6 Ka7 31. Qa3+ {Unable to make progess on the K-side, Littlewood switches back to the Q-side.} Na6 32. Qa5 {Hoping for b5.} Rxd6 (32... Be7 {The pre-engine annotator recommeded this as black's best chance, bit it's his worst...it loses.} 33. b5 Rxd6 34. cxd6 Bd8 35. Qc3 {and the N is lost.}) 33. Qb6+ Ka8 34. cxd6 Bd8 35. Qd4 {Threatens to win with d7.} Qd7 36. Bd3 g6 37. Qa1 Ka7 38. Bd4+ Kb8 39. Qa4 Qf7 40. Be5 {In spite of white's best efforts black has been holding on, but his next move is a slip that should have allowed white to invigorate his position.} Ka7 {[%mdl 8192] Walking into a pin is rarely a good idea and this move is no exceptiom to that gemeralization.} (40... g5 {Counterattack!} 41. Be4 gxf4 42. b5 {The problem with this line of defense is that when playing 40///g5 black has to see the one move that doesn't lose!} Qh5 {This one.} 43. bxa6 Qxe5 44. axb7 Qb5+ 45. Qxb5 cxb5 {and the Bs of opposite color assure the draw.}) 41. b5 cxb5 42. Bxb5 (42. Qxb5 {was even stronger.} Bb6 43. Qa4 g5 44. d7 gxf4 45. Bd4 Bxd4 46. Qxd4+ b6 47. Qa4 b5 48. Qd4+ Nc5 49. Qxc5+ Kb7 50. d8=Q) 42... Qf5+ {Littlewood now wraps up the game with a few swift blows.} 43. Ka2 Qf7 44. d7 Bb6 45. Bxa6 bxa6 46. Qc6 {Black resigned. Bhend's play was actually very good, but Littlewood's was better!} (46. Qc6 Qe7 47. Qc8 Qd8 48. Bb8+ Ka8 49. Bc7+ Ka7 50. Qxd8) 1-0

The Turton Theme

    The fields of problems and of practical games are far removed from each other. Problems are artificial constructions in the form of of a puzzle. The problem has no element of psychology and the idea of a fight is absent. Though they still exist, in our modern world fans to this art form has shrunk in favor of tactical problems taken from actual play. 

    It’s rare when themes from the world of problems occur in practical play, but it does happen. One such instance is the Turton theme which is a kind of doubling (usually involving a Queen and Bishop) in which one piece moves along a line allowing a second to move onto the same line in front of it...this second piece then moves in the opposite direction to the first. Is that clear?! Perhaps a three mover by Otto Wurzbueg will make it clear. I have set it up HERE. 

    The following brevity illustrates the Turton Theme which is one of the earliest and simplest plans which also often occurs in practical play. A Bishop withdraws over a critical square which is to be occupied by the Queen. Thus type of maneuver is frequently sen in the Queen’s Gambit. 

[Event "Semi-Finals USSR Chp, Baku"] [Site "Baku URS"] [Date "1951.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Andre Lilienthal"] [Black "Leonid Shamkovic"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D30"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "37"] [EventDate "1951.05.??"] {D43: Semi-Slav} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qb3 Nd7 8. e4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 Qf4 10. Bd3 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rfe1 b6 (12... Rd8 {This defense is well analyzed and this is the usual continuation.} 13. Rad1 b6 14. Bb1 Bb7 15. c5 Qc7 {White has the more active position. Rajkovic,D (2485)-Kosic,D (2515) Budva 1996}) (12... Qc7 13. Bc2 Rd8 14. Rad1 b6 15. h4 Bb7 16. Qe3 c5 {is equal. Galperin,P (2383)-Nomin Erdene,D (2386) Novi Sad 2019}) 13. Bc2 {Although white's advantage is minimla, this is the first phase of the Turton Theme.} Bb7 14. Qd3 {This completes the regrouping of the pieces for the attack. After Shamkovich's careless next move allows the final phase of the attack.} Qc7 {Black quick collapse after this is quite stunning.} (14... Rfd8 {was called for.} 15. Ng3 Nf8 16. Re5 g6 17. Qe2 Bf6 18. Ne4 Bxe5 19. g3 Qxf3 20. Qxf3 Bxd4 {Kobylkin,E (2444)-Paramonov,D (2362) Alushta 2004. White is better and in the game he went on to win.}) 15. Ng3 {[%mdl 32]} Nf6 {At first glance black has covered h7 and his position looks safe, but white already has a decisive advantage.} 16. Ne5 {[%mdl 128]} Rfd8 17. Nh5 {[%mdl 512] With the exception of the Rs *which aren't needed) all of white's pieces are poised for the final attact.} Kf8 (17... Nxh5 {allows mate in 2.} 18. Qh7+ Kf8 19. Qh8#) 18. Qg3 {Althoigh immediate 18.Nxg7 would also win this is the strongest move on the board.} Ne8 (18... Nxh5 19. Ng6+ {wins the Q.}) 19. Nxg7 {[%mdl 512] Black resigned. As before the N cannot be taken.} (19. Nxg7 Bd6 (19... Nxg7 20. Ng6+ {wins the Q.}) 20. Nxe6+ fxe6 21. Qf4+ Kg7 22. Re3 {This Rook lift finishes the game without difficulty. For example...} Kg8 23. Qxh6 Bxe5 24. dxe5 Qg7 25. Qxe6+ Qf7 26. Qh6 Rd7 27. Rg3+ Ng7 28. e6 {etc.}) 1-0

Monkeying Around With Engines

    When annotating games for this Blog I always use the latest version of Stockfish at 10-15 seconds per move, but is it the best engine to use for that purpose? And, what are the engines that GMs use? 

    Stockfish is the unchallenged strongest, but pure strength is not always all there is to it because in opening preparation a player’s aim is to reach a position that he is familiar with, but not his opponent. At least in over the board play; correspondence play is another matter. 

    Of course, such a position must have possibilities to play for a win. To that end, analysis by a weaker engine can actually be preferable even though the position might be won by Stockfish. This kind of opening preparation only applies at the upper levels where surprising the opponent is more important than playing the absolute best move. At the non-Master level such things are far less important because most players don’t follow the “book” more than five moves anyway! In fact, for many of us winning a won position is not assured. 

    Correspondence GM Jon Edwards, winner of the 2022 World Correspondence Championship, has said that in modern correspondence play which permits unlimited engine use, in order to get an edge, a player must make better use of all the tools available than his competitors can. 

    In addition to Stockfish and Leela, he found that Houdini would sometimes be able to generate ideas not found by the other engines, but you had ti run it for several days. 

    Also, of great importance was a database of correspondence games and he noted that even elite OTB players rely on the games of top correspondence players. 

    When it come to over-the-board play, Sadler says that using Leela with its Win-Draw-Loss evaluation can generate some interesting opening ideas that are difficult to refute over-the-board. 

    The Win-Draw-Loss Evaluation is an interesting concept. Traditionally, chess engines evaluate position in terms of Pawns. Leela developers clam that is not the most logical way to evaluate a position. Unfortunately, most chess GUIs are not able to display WDL probabilities. 

    My ChessBase programs have Fat Fritz (based on the LCZero engine), but it needs a very high performance graphics card which I do not have in order to achieve its full playing strength. 

    My chess programs have 25 engines available and in a two minutes per game tournament with five engines competing that I ran, Stockfish 17 walloped them all except for a draw against Drain by Komodo. Because of that I played a match between the two and Stockfish scored a decisive victory (+8 -1 =7). Consequently, there is nothing new to report...Fritz and Stockfish are still the winners. 

    Back in the days of infancy of engines I was playing e-mail chess with the Correspondence Chess League of America which did not allow engine use. Nevertheless, it was obvious that some opponents were using them anyway. It didn’t matter a whole lot though because at first engines could be beaten. Twenty years ago Correspondence GM Robin Smith published a book telling us how to do it. 

    Eventually though two things happened: 1) stopping engine use became a losing battle and 2) engine got too strong and Smith’s book was all but useless. As a result of engine use I switched to playing on Lechenicher SchachServer, a site that allowed engine use. 

    I stopped playing there when almost all the games were colorless draws. A while back I checked out the site and noticed that unlike in the old days the site has little activity and it takes forever plus a couple of days for tournaments to fill up. 

    The below game was played in 2008 when some of the top engines were Fritz, Shredder, Rybka, HIARCS, Junior, Zappa, Jonny and Fruit. Rybka was released in August of 2008 and was available from both Chessbase and Convekta. It was strong enough that it won a match against GM Joel Benjamin that year. 

     Rybka won the World Computer Championship in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. But then in 2010 it was striped of its titles and banned from future events by the International Computer Games Association because the developer was accused of plagiarizing code from other programs, especially Fruit. HIARCS 12 supplanted Rybka as the top engine. Stockfish 1.0 was released in November, 2008. It was an offshoot of the open-source engine Glaurung. 

     In the following game I believe I was using the Fruit engine which was commercially available from September 2005 until July 2007 when it became free and its further development ended. 

 

[Event "Lechenicher SchachServer Open"] [Site ""] [Date "2008.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "T.N."] [Black "Tartajubow"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "1975"] [BlackElo "2050"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "2008.09.11"] {D00: Queen Pawn Opening} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 {This innocuous move suggests that my opponent was letting whatever engine he was using select his moves without any input on his part.} Bf5 4. Bd2 {This move reinforced my belief that my opponent was allowinf his engine, and a rather weak one at that, select all of his moves.} (4. Nh4 Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. g4 Bg6 7. Bg2 e6 8. g5 Nfd7 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. e4 c6 11. h4 Nb6 {White has the better position, but he was apparently content to accept the draw offered by his higher rated opponent. Young,A (2390)-Golod,V (2552) Santa Monica 2004}) (4. h3 e6 5. g4 Bg6 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Bg2 c5 9. O-O {The position is about even. Sluka,R (2319)-Sosna,J (2364) Czechia 2015}) 4... e6 5. e3 c6 6. a3 Bd6 7. Ne2 Nbd7 8. Ng3 O-O {Somewhat better was 8...Bg6, but rightly or wrongly, I reasoned that white had lost time with his N maneuvers and if he took the B then I could gain even more time advancing the K-side Ps.} 9. Nxf5 exf5 10. Bd3 Ne4 11. c4 Ndf6 12. c5 Bc7 13. O-O {Srockfish 17 evaluates this position as equal and recommends either 13...Ng5 or 13...g5} Qe7 14. Re1 {This rates a ? and after the recommended 14.Be1 (apparently preserving the two Bs) the position is equal. Stockfish recommends plating the immediate 14...g4, but the text is also quite good.} Qe6 15. h3 {White is dawdling and with this move he slightly weakens his K-side. More to the point was 15.b4 although it must be admitted that white’s position is not very promising.} g5 {Initiating a strong K-side attack.} 16. Bc3 g4 17. Ne5 {For better or worse white had to minimize the damage to his K-sid and play 17.hxg4.} gxh3 18. g3 {Played with the forlorn hope of keeping his K-side closed.} (18. gxh3 Kh8 19. Qf3 Rg8+ 20. Kh1 Bxe5 21. dxe5 Ng4 22. hxg4 Rxg4 {wins for black.}) 18... Bxe5 {Eliminating white's only well placed piece.} 19. dxe5 Ng4 20. Bxe4 fxe4 {White has a won position, but there is no way to force a breakthrough on the K-side. However, white's next move is a gross blinder that loses immediately. He could have tried to hold on with any reasonable move.} 21. f3 h2+ 22. Kg2 h1=Q+ {White resigned.} (22... h1=Q+ 23. Rxh1 (23. Kxh1 Qh6+ 24. Kg1 Qh2+ 25. Kf1 Qf2#) 23... Nxe3+) 0-1

Wild and Wooly

    Re the title...is it spelled woolly or wooly? Wooly is predominantly used in American English while woolly is predominantly used in British English (the UK, Australoa and New Zealand). Either way you spell it, that describes the following game between Kupreichik and Sokolov that was played in the Bad Woerishofen Open in 2001. 

    Viktor Kupreichik (1949-2017, 67 years old) of Belarus won the individual gold medal at the 15th World Student Team Championship in Ybbs, Austria) in 1968. He was awarded the GM title in 1980. 

    Andrei Sololovw (born in 1963) from the Soviet Union was awarded the IM title in 1982 and the GM title in 1984. He became a Candidate in 1985 amd was World Junior Champion in 1982, USSR Champion in 1984 and joint Moscow Champion in 1981. In Candidates matches he beat Rafael Vaganian and Yusupov, but lost to Karpov on the Candidates Final in1987. 

     The game was played in the Bad Woerishofen Open Tournament. The event was won by Aleksej Aleksandrov with an 8-1 score. He was followed by: Amon Simutowe, Slobodan Martinovic, Sergey Kalinitschew,Ivan Farago, lerij Filippov. Yannick Pelletier, Sebastian Siebrech, Alexander Grafm Zoltan Vargam, Arkadij Naiditsch and Fabian Doettling with 7-2. Both Sokolov amd Kupreichik scored 6-3.

    Their individual game was a wild one!

[Event "Bad Woerishofen Open"] [Site "Bad Woerishofen GER"] [Date "2001.03.21"] [Round "7"] [White "Viktor Kupreichik"] [Black "Andrei Sokolov"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B20"] [WhiteElo "2453"] [BlackElo "2566"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2001.03.15"] {B20: Sicilian: Keres Variation} 1. e4 c5 2. Ne2 {(B20: Sicilian: Keres Variation) 1. e4 c5 2. Ne2 (This is known as the Keres Variation because of his successes in 1943-1944 when he occasionally played it. Though it can transpose into regular lines if white plays 3.d4 it is considered an offbeat line. With 2.Ne2, white aims to develop the N to a more flexible square. From e2, the N can go to g3, f4 or d4. Its advantages are it's surprise value and its flexibility and it avoids the main lines and the heavily analyzed lines like the Najdorf, Scheveningen or Open variations.} d6 3. g3 h5 {Highly original!} 4. d4 (4. h3 e5 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. c3 g6 7. d4 Bg7 8. Be3 {with a slight advantage. Vallejo Pons,F (2650)-Nakamura,H (2644) Cuernavaca 2006}) 4... h4 (4... cxd4 5. Nxd4 h4 6. gxh4 Rxh4 7. Nc3 Qa5 8. Nb3 Qe5 9. f4 Qh5 10. Qxh5 Rxh5 11. Nd5 {equals. Romanov,E (2501)-Loskutov,O (2397) Moscow 2007}) 5. dxc5 Bg4 6. gxh4 Nc6 7. cxd6 exd6 {This looks logical, but white now gets a good position/} (7... Ne5 {keeps the balance.} 8. Bg2 (8. dxe7 Nf3#) 8... e6 9. Bg5 Qxd6) 8. Bf4 Qxh4 {Aggressive, but somewhat risky play.} 9. Nbc3 Bxe2 10. Nxe2 g5 11. Be3 Qxe4 12. Rg1 Qb4+ 13. c3 Qxb2 14. Rb1 {[%mdl 2048]} Qxa2 15. Rxb7 Nf6 {After this black is in serious trouble because he needs f6 as an escape square for his Q.} (15... Nge7 $16 {was necessary.} 16. Nc1 Qa5 17. Rxg5 Qxc3+ 18. Bd2 Qf6 {with full equality.}) 16. Nc1 Qa5 17. Rxg5 d5 (17... Qxc3+ {fails...} 18. Bd2 {Note that f6 is now unavailable to the Q so...} Qd4 19. Qb3 Qe4+ 20. Kd1 Qe6 21. Bb5 Rc8 22. Qc3 {wins a piece.}) 18. Nb3 Qxc3+ 19. Bd2 Qb2 20. Bb5 {White has a decisive advantage.} Rc8 {This akkows a mate in 15...not that it matters.} 21. Qe2+ Ne4 22. Rxd5 (22. Qg4 $18 Qb1+ 23. Nc1 f5 24. Qxf5 Qxc1+ 25. Bxc1 Bb4+ 26. Kf1 Nd2+ 27. Bxd2 Rc7 28. Rxc7 Be7 29. Bxc6+ Kd8 30. Qd7#) 22... Qb1+ 23. Nc1 Bb4 24. Bxc6+ Rxc6 25. Rb8+ Ke7 26. Bxb4+ Ke6 {White is winning, but he must not get careless and take the R!} 27. Re5+ (27. Rxh8 Qxb4+ 28. Kf1 Kxd5 {and black has completely equalized.}) 27... Kxe5 28. Bc3+ Kd6 29. Rxb1 Nxc3 30. Qd3+ Kc7 31. Qg3+ {Black resigned.} (31. Qg3+ Kd8 32. Qb8+ Kd7 33. Rb7+ Ke6 34. Qxh8 Rb6 35. Qe8+ Kd5 36. Rd7+ Rd6 37. Qxf7+ Kc6 38. Rc7+ Kb6 39. Rxc3 Rc6 40. Rb3+ Kc5 41. Nd3+ Kd6 42. Rb7 Rc1+ 43. Kd2 Rc7 44. Rxc7 a6 45. Qd7#) 1-0

Mike Valvo

    IM Michael Valvo (April 19, 1942 in Albany, New York – September 18, 2004 in Chanhassen, Minnesota) was, by 1962, one of the top blitz players in the United States. He won the 1963 U.S. Intercollegiate Championship. 

    Valvo was a graduate of Columbia University. He spent much of his life working with computers and is best known for his job as commentator for the Kasparov versus Deep Blue Matches in 1996 and 1997, but he accomplished many things in a chess career going back to the late 1950s. 

    Valvo learned the game from his father Frank, who was also a USCF Master. Michael made quick progress and in 1964 was a member of the U.S. team that competed in the 11th Student Olympiad in Cracow, Poland, in 1964 along with Bill Lombardy, Raymond Weinstein, Charles Kalme, Bernard Zuckerman and Mitchell Sweig. The Americans finished in fourth place behind the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. 

    He quit playing chess in 1969, but came back and earned a FIDE rating of 2530 in the late 1970s after an excellent performance in a NY Futurity. FIDE awarded him the IM title in 1980. By 1976, Valvo had essentially dropped out of tournament chess and his rating was no longer published in the USCF rating lists, until Bill Goichberg and Jose Cuchi invited him to a futurity tournament. Valvo did well and his rating rose to 2440. However, Professor Arpad Elo refused to award Valvo the rating because Elo had never heard of Valvo and suspected that the tournament had been rigged. 

    This matter was debated at the 1978 FIDE Congress in Buenos Aires and FIDE voted to give Valvo his 2440 rating. Valvo quickly proved that he really was a 2440 strength player and earned the International Master title. Valvo never played in the U.S. Chess Championship, but made his mark in computer chess, which became his primary focus. 

    At every World Computer Chess Championship from the early 1980s until his death, Valvo was the organizer, moderator, commentator or acted in some official capacity. He also played a two game play by email match against Deep Thought, winning both games. 

    A respected opening theoretician Valvo played 1.e4 for much of his career before adding the English to his repertoire. He was a life-long fan of the Dragon and a early pioneer (1963) of a Benko-gambit. He tested many of his lines in correspondence chess throughout his career. Valvo was a co-author of a book on the 1990 Kasparov-Karpov match and was the technical editor of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess along with Raymond Weinstein. He did the game annotations for the 1966/67 US Championship bulletin. Valvo died of a heart attack. 

    Valvo’s opponent in the following game was Roberto Kaimo (1943-2016, 72 years old) from the Philippines. The gane was played in a large round-robin, the largest international event held in the US in 88 years. 

 

 

    GM Anatoly Lein of New York, formerly of the USSR took first place. IM Edmar Mednis failed in his quest for the GM (which he earned later) title, but he had a great tournament. 

 

Philipp Hirschfeld

    The better known first class players of the City of London Chess Club in the 1880s were George MacDonnell, Bernard Horwitz, James Mason, William Potter and Joseph H. Blackburne. Today we are going to meet a much lesser known but at the time a prominent club member, Philipp Hirschfeld. 

    Philipp Hirschfeld (October 2, 1840 0 October 4, 1896) was a German player and theoretician. In 1873 he took up permanent residence in London which explains his membership in the city’s chess club. At the club he was a frequent analysis partner of Johannes Zukertort. While residing in London he regularly lived a few months of the year in Berlin which is where he died. 

    He was, apparently, a far better player than we know! Chess metrics assigns him a highest ever rating of 2600 in 1865 and between 1862 and 1866, he was ranked #4 in the world 8 times, though it must be added that those lists contained very few players, 20 or less. 

    Hirschfeld was born in Konigsberg, Prussia, and came from an affluent background. He learned the game of chess as a child in Konigsberg and by the time he went to Berlin in 1859 to study, he was already a very strong player and theoretician. He was on the editorial department of the Deutschen Schachzeitung, where he published analysis of opening theory. 

    In 1863 Hirschfeld finished his studies and joined his father's business. In London, he founded the Konigsberg Tea Company, with branches in Konigsberg, Moscow and China. 

    Hirschfeld's profession left him no time for international tournaments, but on his business trips he met up with the best players of his time and occasionally contested matches with them. 

    In 1865 he drew a match with Ignaz von Kolisch and in 1865 he lost a match in Moscow against Sergey Urusov. Hirschfeld also played individual games against Steinitz, Lowenthal, Horwitz and De Vere. 

    According to the Chessmetrics website his best historical Elo rating was 2600, which he attained in October 1864. Between 1862 and 1866 he was ranked 4th in the world. 

    His opponent in the following game was Ignatz von Koliscj (1837-1889,52 years old). He was born in Pressburg (now Bratislava in what is modern-day Slovakia). 

    During the period 1859-1868, he was one of the top five or six players in the World. Chessmetrics ranks him the #1 player in the world several times between 1867-68. Kolisch is nit appreicated today, but he defeated Danieal Horwitz and Thomas Barnes and drew with Adolf Anderssen in matches in 1860. The following year he played Anderssen again, narrowly lost and drew Louis Paulsen in a match. In 1863, he challenged a retired Paul Morphy who declined to play. 

    Kolisch opened a bank in Vienna in 1871 and within ten years became a very wealthy man. He continued to support chess by financing the great tournaments.

 

A Classic Capablanca Win

    The year 1918 was a rough one because it was heavily influenced by World War I plus the Spanish Flu epidemic which resulted in life expectancy at birth in the US dropping by almost 12 years to a scant 26,6 years for men and 42.2 years for women.

    Opha Mae Johnson (1878-1955) was born in Kokomo, Indiana and graduated as salutatorian of her class from the shorthand and typewriting department of Wood's Commercial College in Washington, DC in 1895. 

    As far as is known, she didn’t play chess, but on August 13, 1918, at the age of 39, she joined the Marine Corps Reserve making her the first women to enlist in the Marine Corps Reserve during World War I. 

    Her first duties were as a clerk at Headquarters Marine Corps, managing the records of other female reservists who joined after she did. She was soon promoted to sergeant and was the highest ranking woman in the Corps during her time in service. 

    At the end of World War I the Corps, like all services, women were slowly released from duty and she became a clerk in the War Department and worked for the Marine Corps as a civil servant until retiring in 1943. Semper Fi, Sergeant Johnson! 

    New York 1918 was originally planned as an 8-player double round tournament, but the nefarious Norman T. Whitaker began a game a day before round 1, became ill and withdrew. 

    Round 1 saw the most famous game of the tournament when Frank Marshall sprung his prepared variation of what has come to be known as the Marshall Gambit against Jose Capablanca who managed to win anyway. 

    In Round 2, Marshall lost againt, this time to Oscar Chajes and as a result Marshall was unable to overcome his bad start. 

 

     

    The loser of today’s game, which features some interesting tactical play, was John S. Morrison (1889-1975) from Toronto. He was Canadian champion in 1910, 1913, 1922, 1924, 1926 and shared first place in 1931 with Maurice Fox won the playoff. In 2000, he was inducted posthumously into the Canadian Chess Hall of Fame. 

    The fact is, both players deserve credit for a well played game. The tactical analysis with Fritz assigns Morrison a credible Weighted Error Value of 0.39 while Capablanca performed at a very precise 0.39. 

 

Sacrificing the Exchange

    As Rudolf Spielmann explained it the chess pieces, like stocks, have two prices: the par value and the quoted rate. The par value is the value assigned by the company that issues it. The quoted price is the current market price meaning it’s the actual price you can buy or sell it for. 

    Chess pieces are the same. For example, the par value of a Rook is 5 Pawns while the par value of Bishops and Knights is 3 Pawns. However, it’s the market, or relative value, that is the decisive factor. In some positions a Bishop or Knight might be worth more than a Rook. It all depends on specific positional and tactical factors. 

    How do you know when the sacrifice of the exchange is feasible? In The Art if Sacrifice in Chess Spielmann gives a number of guidelines and their exceptions and ends up saying you shouldn’t worry about them because, “With a little practice, (the student)will soon be able to grasp all these circumstances instinctively when they arise…” as well as a sound positional judgment. 

    Here’s an example of what Spielmann was talking about. The game was played in an event which, like the winner Hans Fahrni (1874-1939) has been long forgotten. 

     Fahrni was born in the Austrian-Hungarian empire city of Prague which today is in the Czech Republic. It's not certain when he went to Switzerland, but from there he eventually emigrated to Germany. 

[Event "Munich"] [Site "Munich GER"] [Date "1909.06.22"] [Round "?"] [White "Rudolf Spielmann"] [Black "Savielly Tartakower"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "1909.??.??"] {B15: Caro-Kann} 1. e4 c6 {Although not very dynamic, the Caro-Kann is rock solid and often leads to good endgames for black. That's the theoretical assessment, but as this game shows, if a world class player like Tartakower can mishandle the opening like he does here, theory doesn't mean much...at least for us amateurs.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Ng3 {At the time this move was new and it was subsequently adopted by Alekhine. It has since been supplanted by 5.Nxf6} e5 6. Nf3 {With the move in the text, White obtains a noticeable lead in development} exd4 7. Nxd4 Bc5 8. Be3 {As Spielmann was to realize much later this is not the right con tinuation anf 8.Qe2+ is better.} (8. Qe2+ Be7 9. Be3 c5 10. Ndf5 O-O 11. Qc4 Re8 12. Bd3 b6 13. O-O-O {White stands very well. Alekhine,A-Tartakower,S Kecskemet 1927}) 8... Qb6 9. Qe2 {By indirectly guarding both b2 and d4 this move makes Q-side castling possible.} O-O (9... Qxb2 10. Bc1+) (9... Bxd4 10. Bxd4+) 10. O-O-O Nd5 {According to Spielmann this is a serious infraction of the rules of developmentm but there is nothing wrong with it and the position remains completely equal. Hiwever, 10...Re8 was also good.} 11. Qh5 Nf6 {This is black's real error. Because of the strong position of the white Q, which black's last move permitted, black must find the best defensive move which this move is not. He has two plausible defenses. 11...Nxe3eliminating the potentially strong B and giving white an isolated P or developing with11...Nd7 and 12...N7f6. In either case the position remains equal.} 12. Qh4 Bg4 {A well played move.} 13. Bd3 {White is better developed and his pieces are much more active, so he offers the exchange. Theoretically the evaluation is that the chances are completely equal. Practically though it's a different story as any slip by black is likely to have grave consequences.} (13. Be2 {allows black to equalize after} Bxe2 14. Ngxe2 Nbd7 15. Nf5 Rae8 16. Bh6 Re4 17. Nf4 Re5 {with a very sharp position, but b;ack has sufficient defensive resources.}) (13. f3 {This is white's best reply. After} Be6 14. Bg5 Nbd7 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Bc4 {white is clearly better.}) 13... Bxd1 {The acceptance of the exchange sacrifice was virtually com pulsory.} (13... Nbd7 14. Bxh7+ Nxh7 15. Qxg4 {with a significant advantage.}) 14. Rxd1 {By sacrificing the exchange Spielmann's idea is to utilize his lead in development and activity of his pieces. White has no material compensation, though he does have the two Bs and almost all his forces point menacingly at black's K.} Nbd7 15. Ngf5 {[%mdl 160] Hoping for Nxg7! White mounts an attack.} Ne5 {[%mdl 8192] Tartakower has completely missed the point of white's last move. The text leads to his immediate down fall.} (15... Rfe8 {leaves him safe, but hr must walk a tightrope! For example...} 16. g4 Ne5 17. Nxg7 Bxd4 18. Bxd4 Nxd3+ 19. Rxd3 Re1+ 20. Kd2 Qb4+ 21. Bc3 Qe4 22. Bxf6 Qe2+ 23. Kc3 Rc1 24. Rd2 Qf3+ 25. Rd3 {White must accept a draw by repeating move for if} Qe2 26. Nf5 Rxc2+ 27. Kb3 Qxd3+ 28. Bc3 Rxc3+ 29. bxc3 {And it's black's choice whether ot not he wnts to fraw ot play for the win. In Shootouts black won 5 out of 5 games.}) 16. Nxg7 {[%mdl 512] This sacrifice which cannot be accepted and it ultimayely leads to black getting mated.} Qd8 (16... Kxg7 17. Nf5+ Kg8 18. Qxf6 Nxd3+ 19. Rxd3 {and black cannot avoid mate.}) 17. Ngf5 {Material is not the key factor. What counts here is black's missing g-Pawn.} Ng6 18. Qh6 Ne8 {Black coners g7, but white's attack cannot be twarted.} 19. Nf3 Bxe3+ 20. fxe3 Qf6 21. Ng5 Qh8 {At first glance it appeards that black has everything covered, but ir;s white to play and win.} 22. Ne7+ {[%mdl 512] It's mate in 3, so black resigned.} (22. Ne7+ Nxe7 23. Bxh7+ Qxh7 24. Qxh7#) (22. Nxh7 {This would also win, but there is no immediate mate after} Qxh7 23. Ne7+ Kh8 24. Nxg6+ fxg6 25. Qxg6 Qxg6 26. Bxg6) 1-0

A Small, Unimportant Tournament in 1937

    Following Hitler’s appointment as chancellor in 1933, the Nazis transformed Germany into a one-party dictatorship that implemented racial, political and social policies. German Jews felt the effects of legislation that transformed them into outcasts and enemies of the state. 

    When 1937 rolled around the Aryanization of the economy started when Jewish business owners were forced to sell their businesses, in most cases at proces considerably below their valus. Additionally, Jews were prohibited from working in any office in Germany. 

    Buchenwald concentration camp opened and yhe first 300 prisoners arrived on July 16. By the end of the month, there were 1,000 inmates and the number climed to 80,000 in March 1945. 

    While that was happening in Germany, in the U.S. the Neutrality Act of 1935 expire, but it’s replacement did include a concession to President Roosevelt that permits Allied nations to pay cash for American goods and then transport the goods in their own ships. 

    Roosevelt tried to warn the world of the growing threat to international security that was being jeopardized, but he was accused or trying to circumvent the neutrality laws of America. In late 1937, Germany and Japan signed a military pact. Anf the Japanese Army launched the massacre of Nanking and ot’s estimated that over 300,00 people were brutally murdered. 

    Against that backdrop a long forgotten small and unimportant double round tournament was played in the three cities of Bad Nauheim, Stuttgart and Garmisch.   

    The four players were the world champion Max Euwe, former world champion Alexander Alekhine, former world champion challenger Efim Bogoljubow and German champion Friedrich Saemisch. Shortly after this event, Alekhine won a rematch against Euwe for the world championship.

 

[Event "Bad Nauheim-Stuttgart-Garmisch"] [Site ""] [Date "1937.07.26"] [Round "5"] [White "Max Euwe"] [Black "Efim Bogoljubov"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E36"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "1937.07.18"] {E36: Nimzo-Indian Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 {This game was played in the early days of the Nimzo and at the time this was the most popular move; today it's considered the Classical (or Capablanca) Variation which has largely been replaced by the Rubinstein Variation *4.e3. In this Classical line white plans to acquire the two Bs without getting doubled c-Pawns. Even though white ains the two Bs black should open the game quickly to exploit their lead in development.} d5 {Black immediately plays in the center.} 5. a3 Be7 {A rare sideline that statistically has not worked well for black, so 5...Bxc3 us better.} 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 {Oddly, in my ChessBase opening database this is the main line, but Stockfish's first coice is 7.Bxf6} Nbd7 8. e3 O-O 9. Nf3 c6 {Black would get more play with 9...c5} 10. Rd1 Ne8 (10... b6 11. Be2 Bb7 12. O-O dxc4 13. Bxc4 c5 14. dxc5 Qc8 {is about even. Gurevich,D (2540)-Kasimdzhanov,R (2565) Dordrecht 1998}) 11. Bg3 {[%mdl 32]} Nd6 12. c5 Nf5 13. Bf4 b6 14. b4 bxc5 15. bxc5 Qa5 16. Bd3 Nh4 17. Nxh4 Bxh4 18. Bd6 {It's rather unusual to see a B rather than a N on such an advanced outpost.} Re8 19. O-O e5 {Rather than this advance black should have challenges the B on d6 with 19...Be7 with equal chance. Now after all the jockying for position of the last several moves white now gets a nore active position.} 20. Bh7+ Kh8 21. Bf5 exd4 22. exd4 Nf8 {[%mdl 32]} 23. Bxc8 Raxc8 24. Rd3 Bf6 25. Rfd1 Ne6 {Threatening the d-Pawn.} 26. Ne2 {[%mdl 8192] This is a serious tactical blunder. Now it's Black To Play And Win.} (26. h3 {and white has nothing to worry about; black can only mark time with moves like 26...h5 or 26...Kh8, but he should avoid} Nxd4 27. Rxd4 Bxd4 28. Rxd4 {when altgough the winning process was long and arduous white scored 5-0 in Shootouts.} Qxa3) 26... Nxd4 {[%mdl 512] Taking advantage of white's weak back rank.} 27. Rxd4 (27. Qd2 Nxe2+ 28. Kf1 Nc3 {Black has won a piece.} 29. Rxc3 Qxc3 30. Qxc3 Bxc3) 27... Bxd4 28. Rxd4 {White is lost, but this gross oversight allows a rare occurrence in play at this level...a checkmate} Qe1# {Of all the World Chapions Euwe pribably had more games containing gross blunders like in this game than any of them. Even so, Chessmetrics estimated him to have been the world's #1 ranked player for 14 different months in 1936 and 1937.} 0-1

Play the Clemenz Opening!?

    The Clemenz Opening (1.h3) is named after Hermann Clemenz (1846–1908) an Estonian player who played it in a tournament in St. Petersburg in 1873. He was born in Dorpat which today is Tartu, Estonia. He began his chess career in his native town, then lived in St. Petersburg, where he participated in several tournaments. 

    The opening achieves nothing in terms of development or control of the center and it makes no attempt to exploit white’s first move advantage. By playing in the center and gaining a slight lead in development black can try to exploit the fact that white has wasted time with 1.h2, bit there is no refutation. The Clemenz is probably best described as indifferent. 

    Nevertheless, IM Michael Basman has experimented with it and sometimes follows it up with 2.g4 as in the Grob Attaxk (1.g4) or 2.a3 followed by a quick c2–c4, a line that has been dubbed the Creepy Crawly or the Global Opening. The 1990 Great Britain Championship was held in Eastbourne anf was won by James Plaskeyy with a 9-1 score. 

    The participants in this game were: Michael Basman (2370) who finished wit a 6-4 score which left him tied for places 22-32 (out of 74) and Niall Carton (2220) who scored 5-5 and tied for places 46-51.

 

 

[Event "British Chamo, Eastbourne"] [Site "Eastbourne ch-GB"] [Date "1990.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Michael Basman"] [Black "Niall Carton"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A00"] [Annotator "Stocjfish 17"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1990.??.??"] {A00: Clemenz/Anderssen Opening} 1. h3 {The Clemenz Opening.} e5 {Here are the top four Stockfish replies. All result in complete equality, so there appears to be no refutation to white's strange beginning.} (1... e5 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Ba5 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Re8 7. b4 Bb6 8. O-O d5 9. d3 c6 10. Bg5 d4) (1... d5 2. d4 c5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Be2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. c3 Bf5 9. Nbd2 Qc7 10. a4 Rc8) (1... Nf6 2. d4 d5 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Qb6 5. Nc3 Qxb2 6. Nb5 Na6 7. Rb1 Qxa2 8. Ra1 Qb2 9. Rb1 Qa2 {White can repeat moves with 10.Ra1 or play 10.dxc5. Either way the evaluation is 0.00}) (1... c5 2. e4 g6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. c3 e6 6. d4 d5 7. exd5 exd5 8. Bb3 cxd4 9. cxd4 Nge7 10. O-O Be6) 2. a3 {The Clemenz Opening is combined with the Anderssen Opening (1.a3).} (2. c3 d5 3. d4 f6 4. dxe5 fxe5 5. e4 Nf6 6. Be3 {Black is slightly better. Prohaszka,P (2331)-Pilgaard,K (2415) Budapest FS09 GM 2005}) 2... g6 {A novelty, but any reasonable move is playable.} (2... a5 {Weird. It makes no sense, but the position remains equal.} 3. c4 Nc6 4. Nc3 g6 5. g4 h5 6. gxh5 Rxh5 {Black is a wee but better. Basman,M (2365)-Quinn,M BCF-ch 79th Plymouth 1992 (2)}) (2... f5 3. g4 d5 4. gxf5 Bxf5 5. d3 Nf6 6. Bg2 Bc5 {B;ack is better. Kaplan,A (2146)-Djokic,M (2192) Titled Tue, chess.com INT 2023}) 3. d4 Bg7 4. dxe5 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nxe5 6. e4 {Even with offbeat opening general pronciples are still valids. With this move whte stakes a claim in the center} d6 7. Nf3 Nxf3+ 8. Qxf3 {In spite of his bizarre opening play white ha incurred no disadvantage.} Be6 9. Be2 h6 10. Be3 Ne7 11. Rd1 a6 12. O-O Nc6 13. Qg3 h5 {Black is taking the wrong approach and ends up leaving his K in the center too long...a violation of general principles.} (13... Bxc3 $14 {is superior.} 14. bxc3 Qe7 15. Rb1 O-O-O {with about equal chances.}) 14. f4 {White is more active.} h4 {Black could still have played in the note to the last move. After this his troubles multiply.} 15. Qf2 {His best tey was still 15...Bxc3} Bd7 16. Nd5 {The N is destined to do some damage.} Be6 17. c4 {White has two good plans. This advance on the Q-side and the advance of the f-Pawn.} Qd7 (17... Bxd5 18. cxd5 Ne7 19. Bd4 Bxd4 20. Qxd4 {followed by f5 when white's attack will prove decisive.}) 18. b4 {Can black castle out of trouble? Let's see.} f5 (18... O-O 19. f5 {...ripping the guts out of black's position.} Bxd5 (19... gxf5 20. exf5 Bxf5 21. Qxf5 Qxf5 22. Rxf5 {Black has lost a piece.}) 20. exd5 Nb8 (20... Ne7 21. f6) 21. f6 Bh8 22. Rd4 {and white is winning.}) (18... O-O-O 19. Rb1 Ne7 20. b5 a5 21. Rfd1 Bxd5 22. cxd5 {and if black tried to stop the advance of white's b-Pawn with...} b6 {wite wins with...} 23. Bxb6 cxb6 24. Qxb6 Qb7 25. Qxa5 {The K has to flee.} Kd7 26. b6 Ke8 27. a4) 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. Bf3 {Also good was the immediate 20.c5} Kf8 21. c5 Re8 (21... dxc5 22. Bxc5+ Kf7 23. Nb6) 22. cxd6 cxd6 23. Nb6 Qc7 24. Nc4 Qe7 {Losing a piece, but his position was hopeless anyway.} 25. Rfe1 Nd4 26. Bxd4 {Black resigned.} 1-0

Viktor Goglidze

    Yesterday saw a swath of cold drizzle 250 miles wide and 800 miles long that hung around all day. It was a good day to browse some old chess books. The one I selected was The Soviet School of Chess by Kotov and Yudovich. 

    It was first translated from the Russian and published by the Foreign Languages Publishing House (Moscow) in 1958. If you can find it, this original edition is the one to get. 

    It’s full of propaganda, but it contains bios of many of the older Russian players. Unfortunately many of them have been deleted from the new editions, for example, Bondarevsky, Levenfish, Korchnoi, etc. In my first edition, there is an entire chapter on Alekhine, who the authors claimed was Russia’s greatest player; it’s missing from later editions. 

    One of the old Russian Masters in my book is Viktor Goglidze (November 27, 1905 – September 15,1964, 58 years old) who was awarded the IM title in 1950.

    In 1925, at the age of 20, he won the championship of Tbiliai in where he displayed a good understanding of positional play and he demonstrated the ability to put up a tenacious defense. 

    After a number of major successes in local tournaments he fought a stubborn and thrilling match against Nikolai Grigoriev which he lost by a score of +4 -5 =1. Taking into account the lessons he learned from that match which disclosed shortcomings in his play, in 1930, after making a good showing in tournaments in the Ukraine, Uzbek and other local events, Goglidze beat Vladimir Nenarokov 7.5-4.5 in a classification match and so gained his Soviet Master title. 

    Shortly before the outbreak of WWII he was awarded the title of Soviet Honored Master and in 1950 a publishing house in Tbilisi published a book of his best games.

 

 

    His opponent in the following game was Vsevolod Rauzer (1908-1941, 33 years old) who was the Ukrainian champion in 1927 and joint champion in 1933. After 1937, ill health brought Rauzer's playing career to an end. Confined to a mental hospital, he died during the siege of Leningrad in 1941. His contributions to opening theory influenced play long after his death. 

    The game starts out slowly, but what looks like a small slip by Rauzer quickly proves to be into a disaster. When black resigned he could have played on on hopes that white would botch the win.

 

[Event "Semi-Finals USSR Chp, Tbilisi"] [Site "Tbilisi"] [Date "1934.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Viktor Goglidze"] [Black "Vsevolod Rauzer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D37"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1934.??.??"] {E14: Queen's Indian: Classical Variation} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Be2 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. b3 Nbd7 9. Bb2 c5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Ba6 Rc7 14. Qe2 Qa8 15. Rfd1 Bb7 16. Bxb7 Qxb7 17. dxc5 Nxc5 18. Qc4 {Bored yet? The action will pick up shortly.} (18. Be5 Rcc8 19. Rc2 Nd7 20. Bb2 Bf6 21. Bxf6 Nxf6 22. Rdc1 {It's no surprise that Petran,P (2320)-Lipka,J (2419) Austria 2014 was eventually drawn.}) 18... Rcc8 19. Qg4 f6 {This weakens the K's position. After the better 19...g6 the B can cover the dark squares.} 20. Nd4 {[%mdl 128] Positionally white can claim to be better if for o otyher reasin that he has K-side attacking chances. Still, black's position is not horrible and so what could go wrong?} Qd7 {Plenty! Putting hs Q opposite white's R on an open file simply cannot be good. A A puzzle-like move to finish the game has escaped Rauzer's attention.} (20... h5 {Hoping to get the Q off line of his K was worth a try.} 21. Qxh5 (21. Qg6 Qd5 {Black is holding on.}) 21... Rfd8 {and with luck black maybe able to survive although it's unlikely; in Shootouts white scored +4 -0 =1}) 21. b4 {Driving the N to a useless location on the edge of the board.} h5 22. Qg6 {This is better now than in the note because black has to move the N and so doesn't have time to play ...Qd5} Na4 {White can afford to simply ignore the threat to his B.} (22... Rfd8 {offers no salvation.} 23. Qxh5 (23. Nf5 Qxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Rxd1#) 23... Na4 24. Nc6 {and it's all over for black.}) 23. Nf5 {Threatening both mate and the Q leaves black hopeless.} Qxd1+ (23... Bd6 {Shields the Q and guards g7, but white still wins after} 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Rxd6 Qf7 26. Nh6+ Kh8 27. Nxf7+ Kg8 {White mates in 3} 28. Rd7) 24. Rxd1 exf5 25. Bd4 Bxb4 26. Qxf5 {Black resigned. He might have played on because even though white has a winning material advantage the winning process is somewhat tedious.} (26. Qxf5 {A likely continuation might be} Rfd8 27. Qxh5 Bc3 28. g3 Bxd4 29. Rxd4 Nc5 30. Rxd8+ Rxd8 31. h4 Ne6 32. g4 Nf8 33. Qf5 Rd6 34. Kg2 Kf7 35. Qf4 Re6 36. Qc7+ Re7 37. Qc4+ Re6 38. Kg3 a5 39. Qc7+ Kg8 40. Qd8 Kf7 41. h5 Kg8 42. Qc7 Nh7 43. Qc4 Nf8 44. f4 Kh7 45. Qd3+ Kg8 46. Kf3 Re7 47. Qb3+ Rf7 48. Qxb6 a4 49. a3 Re7 50. Qc6 Ne6 51. Qxa4 Kf7 52. Qb3 Ke8 53. a4 Kd7 54. Qb5+ Kd8 55. a5 Nc7 56. Qb8+ Kd7 57. a6 Re8 58. a7 Rd8 59. Qb3 Kc6 60. Qf7 Nd5 61. Qxg7 Re8 62. e4 Nc7 63. Qxf6+ {with an elementary win.}) 1-0

Levenfish Plays Like Stockfish

    In describing Levenfish’s play in The Soviet School of Chess, Kotov and Yudovich wrote, “Levenfish’s style in the middlegame is universal. He has an excellent command of the methods of positional maneuvering and a keen grasp of strategy...His chief strong point however is tactics. A resourceful tactician, he plans complex and disguised combinations, foresees combinational attacks long ahead of time, sets ingenious traps and conceives combinational blows which at first glance appear impossible.” 

    Other terms used to describe his play include terms such as smashing attack, a stunning blow, a sledge hammer blow, etc. Who wouldn’t want to play over his games? Unfortunately no collection of his games exist in English. 

    Awarded the Soviet GM title in 1950, Grigory Levenfish (1889-1961) was born in Poland. He was Leningrad champion in 1922, 1924 and 1925 (jointly). He won the USSR Championship in 1934/35) (jointly with Ilya Rabinovich) and 1937. 

    He drew a match with Mikhail Botvinnik (+5 -5 =3) in 1037, but that was to be the last major success of his chess career although before the war he won a match against Vladimir Alatortsev in 1940 (+5 -2 =7). 

    As mentioned, Levenfish's play was marked by elegant combinations, unexpected tactical blows and deep endgame analysis. Chessmetrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been 2677 which came in 1939 and his best world ranking to have been #9 in 1938.

    Unlike Alekhine, Bogoljubov, Nimzovich and Rubinstein, he was one of the few pre-revolutionary masters who didn't end up abroad. He successfully passed on his knowledge to the first generation of young Soviet players, authoring a book on openings and along with Smyslov, a book on Rook endings. 

    In the following game his opponent was Vyachesvlav Ragozin (1908-1962), another Soviet GM, both OTB and in correspondence play. Ragozin won the 2nd Correspondence World Championship (1956-1959. For many years he served as Botvinik’s sparring partner. He was also active in FIDE affairs, edited Shakhmaty v SSSR magazine and wrote an excellent book on first Botvinnik - Tal Match in 1960. Ragozin died in Moscow in 1962 while compiling a collection of his own games. His friends completed the book which was published in 1964. 

 

J.J, O'Hanlon

    John J. O'Hanlon was born in Portadown, a town in Northern Ireland and he passed away in Dublin on February 20, 1960. He was the Irish Chess Championship nine times, the first time in 1913 and the last in 1940. He also played in several British championships. 

    In international play O'Hanlon’s successes included sharing 1st with Max Euwe at Broadstairs in 1921 and tying for 1st–3rd with Marcel Duchamp and Vitaly Halberstadt at Hyeres in 1928. He also played for Ireland in unofficial and official Olympiads at Paris 1924, Warsaw 1935 and Buenos Aires 1939. 

    Poor health which had prevented his taking part in tournament play for a number of years, but at the time of his death he was overhauling his opening repertoire in preparation for the 1961 Irish championship. After his death a series of five tournaments in his memory were played at the Dublin Chess Club from 1960 to 1965 where he had been a member. 

    O'Hanlon was popular with Irish players and non-players alike as well as players in places like Hastings, Amsterdam, Moscow, Prague and Munich because of his gentlemanly manners. In his youth he was an oarsman who won trophies at regattas all over Ireland. In addition, he was a strong long distance swimmer. 

    The Irish Chess Union was founded in 1912 and O'Hanlon won the first two. He played in every championship, except in 1927, from 1913 to 1956 and on his last appearance he was eighty years old. 

    The First Irish Chess Union Championship was held in 1913 even though there had been a competition for the title during the period 1865 to 1893 when a number of different organizations had organized Irish Championships. 

    As a result of his play in England he had contact with the German master (who was a resident in England for many years) George Shories and towards the end of 1912 they played a series of 19 friendly games while Shories was on a visit to Ireland. O’Hanlon won 7, drew 1 and lost 11. It was those games that sharpened O'Hanlon's play and prepared him for his attempt to win the Irish championship in 1913. 

    In the following game O'Hanlon's opponent gets mauled. They were to play is a 5 game match to determine the Irish champion, but after O’Hanlon won the first three the match was concluded. 

    Ronald George Doxpn Addey (1882-1956) was a civil engineer employed by the local government in the northwest of Ireland. He was a notable player and around the time of World War One his name regularly appeared in tournaments. 

    "Mr. Dixon Addey belongs to Castlebar and is undoubtedly the best chess player in the West of Ireland. He has competed four times in the British Chess Federation tournaments. The first time was in 1909, when he entered the first class, but, not being accustomed to tourney play, he did not make as good a score as his play deserved. In 1910 he competed in the first class at Oxford, making a better score. In 1912 he played in the first class at Richmond and tied for third prize. Last year he competed at Chester in the major open tournament, and tied for fourth place." (Belfast Newsletter, May 6, 1912) 

[Event "Match, Iroah Champ"] [Site "?"] [Date "1915.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "John J. O'Hamlon"] [Black "R.G.D. Addey"] [Result "*"] [ECO "D07"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "53"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.11.11"] {D07: Queen's Gambit: Chigorin Defense} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 {This is the unorthodox Chigotin Defense that's better than its reputation becuuse it develops with a direct effect on the center.} 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. cxd5 Bxf3 5. gxf3 Qxd5 6. e3 Nf6 {This plausible developing move is not so good for reasons that soon become apparent.} (6... e6 7. Nc3 Qd7 8. f4 Nge7 9. Bd2 Nf5 10. Qa4 Be7 11. O-O-O {White has the more active position. Smyslov,V (2575)-Castro Rojas,O (2425) Sao Paulo 1978} O-O {1-0 (21)}) (6... O-O-O 7. Nc3 Qh5 8. f4 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 e6 10. Bd2 Nf6 {White's position is preferable. Koustav,C (2429)-Biolek,R (2446) Olomouc 2019}) 7. Nc3 Qd8 8. d5 Ne5 9. f4 Ned7 10. Qb3 {Now it’s pretty clear what was wrong with black’s 6th move: white has complete control of the center and black has lost a lot of time with his N’s. Also, he is facing difficulty castling. There is also the problem of how to defend his b-Pawn..which does not seem to have a solution.} Nc5 11. Qb5+ Nfd7 12. b4 c6 13. Qe2 (13. dxc6 {is also quite playable, but whute has more ambitious plans.} bxc6 14. Qxc6 Rc8 15. Qg2 Ne6 16. Bb2 {White has what should amount to a winning position.}) 13... Na6 {The N is out of play and the b-Pawn is its feeble defender.} 14. dxc6 Rc8 15. cxd7+ Qxd7 16. Qb2 Nxb4 {Retreating to c7 would not have helped his position.} 17. Qxb4 a6 18. Qb3 Qc6 19. Qa4 b5 { Of course black is reluctant to trade Q’s in this situation, but even this move meets a clever refutation!} 20. Nxb5 $1 {[%mdl 512]} Kd8 (20... axb5 21. Bxb5) 21. Bd2 axb5 {Black's position is most miserable!} 22. Ba5+ Rc7 23. Bxc7+ Kxc7 24. Qa7+ Kc8 25. Bh3+ e6 26. O-O Bc5 27. Rac1 {Black resigned...several moves too late.} *