Frank Teed

    Frank Teed (1856-1929, 72 years old) was both a player and a problem composer. He won the Manhattan Chess Club championship in 1881 and served as secretary of the Brooklyn Chess Club and treasurer the Manhattan Chess Club. 

    It’s hard to say exactly how good Teed was; Chess metrics does not have a rating for him, but in 1883, he beat the 47 year old future World Champion Steinitz in a casual match played at a fast time limit (30 moves an hour) by a score of +1 -0 =1. 

    An article in the American Chess Magazine called him, "...unmistakably a genius. He is brilliant, though of sterling soundness." He was also known for being a fast player. In his day, Teed was best known and considered himself to promarily be a problem composer with over 800 problems to his credit. He was editor the problem department of Brownson's Dubuque Chess Journal. 

    The magazine was a widely respected publication edited by Orestes Augustus Brownson. It was published in the offices of the Dubuque (Iowa) Herald from August, 1870 until it was sold in 1876. It contained short stories with chess themes, poetry, news from chess clubs in the United States, Europe and Australia and obituaries of prominent chess players. You can read then magazine on the excellent Chess Archaeology site HERE. He was also an associate editor for the American Chess Magazine. The site also has a dew issues of that magazine available. 

    Teed was born in Westchester County, New York (located north of New York City) and learned to play chess at the age of 15 when he was living in Connecticut. After moving to New York City, in 1878, he won a handicap Tournament and in 1991, he won the Manhattan Chess Club championship. In 1889, he won the Brooklyn Chess Club handicap Tournament. 

    His opponent in the following game was Werner Cohn (1855-1918) who was born in Hanover Germany; he became a US citizen in 1878 and died in Manhattan in New York City. 

    The game was played in 1881 in the Manhattan Chess Club Championship. For winning the event Teed received a gold medal. Teed’s opening play was very slow, but Cohn’s rambunctious attempt to tale advantage of it backfired when he overplayed his hand and Teed sprung into action. As a point of interest take a look at the chart produced by Fritz 19’s tactical analysis with Stockfish 17.1.

 

[Event "Manhattan CC Championship"] [Site ""] [Date "1881.05.21"] [Round "?"] [White "Frank M. Teed"] [Black "Werner Cohn"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D10"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "1881.??.??"] [Source "Baltimore Americ"] {D12: Slav Defense} 1. d4 c6 2. c4 d5 {Although used by Steinitz at the time, the Slav Defense was not to become popular until the 1920s and it received an exhaustive test during the two Alekhine–Euwe World Championship matches in 1935 and 1937. Today its theory is extensive.} 3. e3 {The main moves here are 3.Nf3 or 3.Nc3. With 3.e3 white intends a slower paced game.} Nf6 4. Nc3 Bf5 { This is way to equalize than 4...e6} 5. Nf3 e6 6. Be2 Bd6 {Unlike in similar positions where white's B os on d3, here black avoids capturing the d-Pawn because white's B is passively positioned at e2.} 7. O-O Nbd7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bd2 (9. Nh4 {is more active.} Be6 10. f4 {Safer was 10.Bd3 with equality.} Ne4 11. g3 Bh3 12. Re1 Ndf6 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Bg4 Bxg4 15. Qxg4 {Black is better. Ralevic,Z-Mihaljevic,M (2095) Montenegro-ch 57th Cetinje 2005}) (9. Qb3 Qb6 10. Qxb6 axb6 11. Bd2 h6 12. Rfc1 {equals. Ruffenach,A (2146)-Benitah,Y (2397) Open Cannes FRA 2000}) 9... Ne4 10. Ne1 h6 11. Nxe4 dxe4 {Taking with the B was OK, but he would lose time as wgite would drive it back with 12.f3} 12. f4 {[%mdl 32]} (12. f3 O-O 13. fxe4 Bxe4 {only leaves white with a backward e=Pawn.}) 12... g5 {This only leads to a weakening of his K's position, Better was the solid 12...Nf6} (12... Be6 $15) 13. Bg4 {Trading off his light squaed B and leaving himself with a bad B pn the same color as his center Ps is a positional mistake.} (13. d5 {is an active move. Black's nest line is now} gxf4 14. dxc6 bxc6 15. exf4 {which leaves black with weak Ps and a compromised K-side.}) 13... Bg6 {Of course he should have traded Bs.} 14. f5 {Aggressive play!} Bh7 15. Bc3 {All of a sudden the B has some potential scope.} Nf6 16. Nc2 {This slow move is a waste of time; the N is destined to spend the rest of the game here. Active play with 16/d5 was called for.} Qc7 {[%mdl 8192] Black cannot hold the game after this. He needed to play 16...Nd5 stopping white's next move. He would have had an excellent game in that case.} 17. d5 {[%mdl 544] This is the start of white's juggernaut.} Bxh2+ 18. Kh1 {Note the scope of white's dark squared B.} Be5 {Cutting off the B.} (18... Nxg4 {moght be worth a try. If} 19. Bxh8 (19. Qxg4 {This is correct. Now, after} Be5 20. dxc6 Bxc3 21. cxb7 Qxb7 22. bxc3 {White's advantage should prove decisive.}) 19... Qg3 {and white is in trouble.} 20. Qe1 Qxe1 21. Raxe1 O-O-O 22. Bd4 Rxd5 { and black is much better.}) 19. d6 {[%mdl 576] This fine move deflects black's B.} Bxd6 20. Bxf6 Rg8 21. Qd2 Be7 22. Bxe7 Qxe7 23. f6 {This P is destined to hold black's K captive.} Qc7 24. Rad1 h5 {Hoping to deflect the B so he can try to cut it off with ...g4, bit with his K caught in the center black is doomed.} 25. Bd7+ (25. Bxh5 g4 26. Bxf7+ Kxf7 27. Qd7+ Qxd7 28. Rxd7+ Kg6 29. f7 Rgf8 30. Nd4 {At least in this line this N can get on pn the action and playb a decisive role.} Kh6 31. Ne6 Bg6 32. Rf6 {White is winning.}) 25... Kf8 26. Qd6+ Qxd6 27. Rxd6 {The exchange of Qs has in no way lessened the force of white's attack.} g4 28. Rfd1 {Intending Bc8 and mate.} Rg5 {White has a nifty problem-like move to finish the game.} 29. Bc8 {[%mdl 576] Black resigned. After a slow start, Teed conducted his final attack with great verve.} (29. Bc8 Re5 (29... Rxc8 30. Rd8+ Rxd8 31. Rxd8#) 30. Bxb7 Rae8 31. Bxc6 {is completely hopeless for black.}) 1-0

Short and Sharp

Before getting into this post I should mention that Stockfish 17.1 has been out for a few days now. It’s only 20 points higher, but who wouldn’t like to have 20 points added to their rating? 

 

 

    The other day I was browsing some chess magazines from 1970. That’s 55 years ago which for many readers is more than a lifetime ago, but for some of us it doesn’t seem that long. 

    The US top ten players were Bobby Fischer, Samuel Reshevsky, Pal Benko, Larry Evans, Lubosh Kavalek, William Lonbardy, Robert Byrne, William Addison, Arthur Bisguier and Walter Browne. They are all gone now. 

    The top junior players were Ken Rogoff, Greg DeFotis, Camille Coudari (Canada), James Tarjan, Norman Weinstein, Eugene Meyer, Charles Koplik, Sal Matera, Charles Irvine and Steven Spencer. 

    Greg DeFotis passed away in Illinois at the age of 65 in 2017. I am not sure, but Charles Irvine may have passed away in Alabama in 2021. Steven Spencer died of lung cancer in San Diego in 2008.

    The Match of the Century yook place when a four-round, ten-board contest was played between teams of the USSR and the Rest of the World was held at the Trades Union House in Belgrade. 

    Two thousand spectators made up the audience. Based on ratings Bobby Fischer was to Board 1, but in what might be called the Surprise of the Century agreed to step down to Board 2 when Bent Larsen argued that recent performances should put him first and he refuses to yield on the point. 

    The USSR won the match by a score of 20.5-19.5. By the way, Larsen scored 2.5-1.5 against Spassky and Fischer scored 3-1 against Petrosian. 

    Fischer won big (by a 3.5 point margin) at Buenos Aires ahead of Vladimir Tukmakov.He also won at Rovinj/Zagreb ahead of Hort, Smyslov, Gligorić and Korchnoi (all tied). The Siegen Olympiad was won ny the USSR ahead of Hungary and Yugoslavia. FIDE formally adopts the Elo rating system. Viktor Korchnoi won the Soviet Championship. Bent Larsen won the US Open Chess Championship in Boston. Mikhail Botvinnik announced his retirement from competitive play. FIDE President Folke Rogard retired and Max Euwe replaced him. 

    Here is an enjoyable little correspondence gem by a couple of amateurs that I discovered buried in the back pages of one of the magazines.

 

[Event "Correspondence"] [Site "?"] [Date "1970.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "J. Cardena"] [Black "E.O. Anders"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B09"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17.1"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "1970.??.??"] {B09: Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. f4 {In the Austrian Attack white wants to start an attack against black’s King.The idea of f4 is to develop Nf3 with the N behind the P and eventually conduct a P-storm.} Bg7 4. Bc4 {It soon becomes evident that white is playing for a mate.} Nf6 5. Nc3 { Reasonable tries are 5...Nxe4, 5.d6 or 5...c5} a6 {This is a poor novelty that ignores any threats white has.} (5... Nxe4 {is met by} 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Nxe4 Rf8 8. Nf3 Kg8 {is equal}) 6. e5 {Seizing the initiative and never letting go.} dxe5 7. fxe5 Nfd7 {Black is already in trouble.} (7... Ng4 {is not any better.} 8. h3 Nh6 9. Bf4 O-O 10. Nf3 b5 11. Bd3 f5 12. Qd2 Nf7 13. h4 {Black has a difficult defensive task.}) 8. Nf3 {Black should now try 8...Nb6 or 8...O-O when in either case white is better/ Instead, in an effort to stop the advance of white's e-Pawn, he makes a tactical error.} e6 9. Bxe6 (9. Bg5 {This is also very strong.} f6 10. Bh4 Qe7 11. O-O O-O 12. Ne4) 9... O-O {...and loses!} (9... fxe6 {is out of the question.} 10. Bg5 Nf6 11. O-O {followed by Ne4 which leaves black helpless.}) (9... Nxe5 {A miserable ove, but it's the best availab;e. At least after} 10. Bxc8 Nxf3+ 11. Qxf3 Qxc8 12. Nd5 Nc6 13. Qe4+ Kf8 {Black has a miserable position, but there is no forced win.}) 10. Bb3 (10. Bg5 {First was much stronger. After} Qe8 11. Bb3 {white will castle and play Re1 plus he has an overwhelming position with good moves like Nd5 or Ne4 available.}) 10... Nb6 {Counterring in the center with 10...c5 was better.} ( 10... c5 11. Bg5 Qa5 12. O-O cxd4 13. Nd5 {Even here though white has a very favorable position.}) 11. O-O Nc6 12. Bg5 Qe8 13. Qd2 Na5 14. Ne4 {The focal point of white's attack is f6.} Nxb3 15. axb3 Nd7 16. Bf6 {Bkack is dead lost.} h6 (16... Nxf6 17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. exf6 Qe6 (18... Be6 19. Qh6 {This mating pattern is known as Lolli's Mate}) 19. Ne5 Kh8 20. Qh6 Rg8 21. Rae1 {etc.}) 17. d5 {Nice! This prevents 17...Qe6 and clears the 4th rank. Note that ranks can be just as important as files.} Bxf6 18. Nxf6+ Nxf6 19. exf6 Kh7 20. Ra4 { A key move. Threatening mate with Qxh6+!} Rh8 {Black was lost in any case, but this allows a mate in 2.} (20... h5 21. Re4 Qb5 (21... Qxe4 22. Ng5+) 22. Re7 Qb6+ 23. Kh1 Qd6 24. Ng5+ Kg8 25. Ne6 {all roads lead to mate. The longest being} Qxe7 26. fxe7 Bxe6 27. exf8=R+ Rxf8 28. dxe6 fxe6 29. Rxf8+ Kxf8 30. Qd7 c5 31. Kg1 c4 32. Kf2 cxb3 33. cxb3 h4 34. Ke3 h3 35. gxh3 a5 36. Kf4 a4 37. Ke5 axb3 38. Kf6 e5 39. Qf7#) 21. Qxh6+ {[%mdl 512]} Kxh6 22. Rh4# 1-0

Reshevsky's Luck

    In 1939, pop culture saw the rise of iconic films like The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind and popular music genres like jazz and big band, and the emergence of radio heroes and superheroes in comics. Prominent players lost that year were Swiss master Hans Fahrni who died in Ostermundingen, Switzerland. Alexei Alekhine (born in 1888), who was being held as a political prisoner in Kharkov (a cuty in Ukraine) was murdered by the NKVD.

    During August and September the Olympiad (known at the time as the Hamilton-Russell Cup) was held in Buenos Aires. Germany won, Poland was second and Estonia third. After the event many European played elected to stay in South America. The Women's World Championship was held in conjunction with the Olympiad. Vera Menchik-Stevenson retained her title finishing ahead of Sonja Graf. 

    On December 27, 1939 the American Chess Federation and National Chess Federation form the United States Chess Federation. Prior to that happening, the annual congress of the American Chess Federation opened at New York City in the George Washington Hotel. It’s now the Freehand New York Hotel and it has an interesting history. 

    The tournament started wiyj a field of twenty-eight players and it was for the North American Chess Championship. In the preliminaries the top three scorers in each group qualified for the finals. The US champion Samuel Reshevsly entered hoping to become the holder of both titles, but a draw with Albert Pinkis, whom Fine defeated, cost him at least a tie for the title. 

 

    At move 27 in the following game against Ulvestad, Reshevsky made what should have been a losing move. A few move later a mistake by Ulvestad let Reshevsky off the hook and things were back to equal. Then at move 35 Ulvestad blundered again and Reshevksy was winning. But, the game wasn’t over! Reshevsky ,issed the strongest continuation at move 37, but on his turn Ulvestad erred and then the ga,me was over. 

     Olaf Ulvestad (1912-2000) was from Washington state, but in the 1960s hemoved to Italy, where he performed as an opera singer. He later moved to Spain, and played first board for Andorra at the 1970 Siegen Olympiad. He died on August 24, 2000 at the Washington Old Soldiers Home in Retsil, Washington.

 

[Event "ACF, N. American Chp, New York"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1939.07.25"] [Round "?"] [White "Olaf Ulvestad"] [Black "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A49"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "1939.07.21"] {A49: Anti-King's Indian System} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nbd2 d6 6. c3 {Ulvestad plays an unambitious system where he avoids c4.} Nc6 { Rather passive.} (6... c5 7. e3 Nc6 8. O-O Qc7 9. Re1 b6 10. e4 cxd4 11. cxd4 Nb4 12. Re3 Qc2 {Zahariou,N (2009)-Sigalas,F (2153) Nikea 2002 diesn;t offer much either.}) 7. Nc4 e6 8. Bf4 {If Ulvestad’s goal was to reach a simple, uncomplicated position then he gas been successful. The only drawback is that he has almost no attacking chances whereas at least black can operate on the Q-side.} b5 9. Na3 {[%mdl 32]} Rb8 10. Nc2 Qe7 11. Nb4 Bb7 12. O-O a5 13. Nd3 h6 14. a4 bxa4 15. Qxa4 Nd5 16. e4 Nb6 17. Qc2 a4 18. Rfe1 Na5 19. Re2 Qd7 20. Rae1 Qb5 21. e5 {We finally see some action on white's part, but this is the wrong center P to advance.} (21. d5 e5 (21... exd5 22. e5 dxe5 23. Ndxe5 Bxe5 24. Nxe5 {The threat of Nxg6 is to strong to meet}) 22. Be3 {with only a nomila advantage for black.}) 21... Nbc4 22. h4 {This is no more than a gesture.} Nb3 23. Nh2 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 a3 25. bxa3 $1 $11 Nxa3 26. Qd1 Qc6+ 27. Nf3 {This position is equal and Reshevsky could keep it that way by withdrawing the N on a3. Instead he makes a tactical blunder.} Rfd8 {[%mdl 8192]} 28. Ra2 Qa8 (28... Nb5 29. Qxb3 Nxd4 30. Qd1 Qxc3 31. Nxd4 Qxd4 { White's extra piece is worth more than black's two Ps. In Shootouts white scored +5 -0 =0}) 29. Nb4 Nxd4 30. cxd4 Rxb4 31. Qd3 {After this his advantage is gone and Reshevsky is back on equal terms. Ulvestad can be excused for this slip though because after the correct 31.exd6 rhings gwt super-complicated to calculate.} (31. exd6 cxd6 32. d5 e5 33. Bc1 Rd4 34. Rxa3 Qxd5 35. Qb3 Qxb3 36. Rxb3 {Theoretically at least white has a decisive advantage, but these kinds of positions are not so simple to play.}) 31... Ra4 32. Rea1 {Another small slip, but it's not too serious.} (32. exd6 {is better. After} cxd6 33. Bxh6 { A move that's hard to spot when calculating this variation!} Bxh6 34. Rea1 { regains the piece.} Bg7 35. Rxa3 Rxa3 36. Rxa3 {with equality.}) 32... dxe5 33. Rxa3 Rxa3 34. Rxa3 Qd5 35. Qc3 (35. Qe3 exf4 36. Qxf4 {offers equal chances.}) 35... exf4 36. Qxc7 fxg3 {And now we see why white's 35.Qc3 was wrong.} 37. Ra5 (37. fxg3 Bxd4 {and black is two Ps uo.}) 37... Qd6 {White has better drawing chances with Qs off the boad so he should have played 38.Qxd6 which would have allowed him time to play fxg3} 38. Qc4 {[%mdl 8192] The final error.} (38. Qxd6 {was the crucial defense.} Rxd6 39. Ra8+ Bf8 40. fxg3 {Black has two Ps and a B vs. N, but the ending could prove arduous.}) 38... gxf2 39. Ra6 f1=Q+ 40. Qxf1 Qd5 {White resigned. Two Ps down us a hopeless fight.} (40... Qd5 41. Ra4 Rb8 42. Qc1 Qe4 43. Qc3 Qg4+ 44. Kf2 Bf6 45. Rb4 Bxh4+ {etc.}) 0-1

A Nice win by Harry F. Lee

    Harry F. Lee (January 24, 1855 - May 29, 1917, 62 years old) was a prominent figure in Chicago chess circles during the early twentieth century. He was editor of the chess column in the Chicago Tribune from 1912-1917, and also served as a tournament referee and secretary of the Western Chess Association. 

    Lee’s opponent, Charles Blake (1880-1961m 80 years ols) was a Canadian who was born in London. Blake emigrated to Winnipeg in 1903 before serving as a Major in French territory during the First World War. He had moved to Ontario by 1925 and later to White Rock, British Columbia. 

    The game was played in the 1905 Westen Championship in Excelsior, Minnesota. There were 18 players and the event was won by E.F. Schrader (13 points) a half point ahead of Charles Blake. Places 3-5 (with 12 points) were shared by E.P. Elliott, Harry Lee and Louis Uedemann. 

 

[Event "Western Champ. Excelsior, Minnesota"] [Site "Excelsior, MN USA"] [Date "1905.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Harry Lee"] [Black "Charles Blake"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C77"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "1905.??.??"] {[%evp 12,63,21,11,19,17,36,10,80,81,93,8,62,-2,3,-15,4,-3,14,6,139,149,184, 119,117,111,258,245,240,82,247,207,258,202,238,110,326,311,332,347,433,412,414, 446,479,485,575,562,826,793,831,804,29995,29992] C77: Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 {This is thr Anderssen Variation which just reinforces the e-Pawn. Black has two different main move: One is ...d6 or he can play ...b5 to get out of the pin.} Bc5 {Seldom played, but reasonable. The B puts pressure on f2 in a fashion that is similar to the Cordel Defence (3... Bc5} 6. c3 b5 7. Bc2 d6 8. Nbd2 {[%mdl 32] The nain line is 8.O-O} Bb7 9. Nf1 Ne7 {The more aggressive 9...d5 was worth considering. Both sides are engaging in some slow maneuvering,} 10. Ng3 Ng6 11. Qe2 {Worth comsidering was 11.d4} Bb6 {Evidently played in preparation of ...c5 which he can now play at any time.} 12. h3 {Stopping a square shirt. 12.h4 would have given black something to think about because further advance of the h-Pawn would loomimg.} O-O 13. Nf5 Re8 14. Bg5 d5 15. O-O-O d4 {Releasing tension in the center is a major mistake. He should first drive back the B with 15...h6 and the begin play on the Q-side with 16...a5. Now white begins operations on the K-side.} 16. cxd4 Bxd4 17. N3xd4 exd4 18. h4 c5 {Black ignores what's happening on the K-side as there isn't much he can do about it.} (18... h6 {isn't much help.} 19. h5 Ne5 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. f4 {with a strong initiative.}) 19. h5 Ne5 20. f3 {Much too slow. He gets real winning chances with the attacking 20.f4. Now all he is left with is a modest positional advantage.} Rc8 {More slow maneuvering, White's last move alloed black to slow white down on the K-side.} (20... h6 21. Bf4 Bc8 22. g4 Bxf5 23. gxf5 Kh8 24. Rhg1 Nfd7 {Black has a chance to survive.} ) 21. Kb1 {Why not 21.f4?!} Re6 {Thanks to white's last move there was still time to give 21...h6 a try} 22. g4 {The alternative 22.f4 was also good.} c4 23. Qf2 c3 {Not as good as it looks! Lee now conducts the finiah flawlessly.} ( 23... cxd3 {was worth a try...things get rel messy and so black would have a fighting chance.} 24. Bxd3 Nxd3 25. Rxd3 Nxe4 26. Qxd4 Qxd4 27. Nxd4 Nxg5 ( 27... Rd6 28. Be3 Rcd8 29. Rhd1 Nc5 30. R3d2 {is equal. There is no way for black to take advantage of the pin.}) 28. Nxe6 fxe6 {Theorecticall favors black, but practical play is a different story.}) 24. Nxd4 Qb6 25. Rhf1 Rd6 26. Nf5 Qxf2 {The trade of Qs in no way helps black, but there was really nothing better.} 27. Rxf2 Rd7 28. h6 {Undermining the N.} Rcd8 29. hxg7 Nexg4 30. fxg4 Nxg4 31. Bxd8 Nxf2 32. Bf6 {Black resigned. He can only be delayed.} 1-0

Take a Break...Enjoy the Harmonica Duel

Al Bisno

    The year 1951 was the first year Nielsen television ratings came out and the most watched series was Texaco Star Theater, comedy and variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. Milton Berle, a silly, not so funny comedian and Lady: Lucille Ball of whom the same could be said were the two most popular personalities on television. 

    People were going to the movies to see The African Queen, Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), The Day The Earth Stood Still, Kon Tiki, A Streetcar Named Desire and Show Boat. 

    The there was a conspiracy theory going around that J.D. Salinger did not write Catcher in the Rye, a coming of age novel narrated by the disillusioned 16-year-old boy who, after being expelled from prep school, explores New York City and grappling with the "phoniness" of the adult world and his own feelings of alienation and loss. It was controversial because of its profanity and sexual content. 

    If Salinger wasn’t the author, who was? According to the theory it was a CIA brainwashing program using neurolinguistic passages. The fact that Salinger, who was rafted into the Army in 1942, served as a counterintelligence agent probably feuled the theory/ Neurolinguistics is a field of study that explores the connection between the brain and language, examining how the brain processes and represents language. Neuro-linguistic programming is a pseudo-science claiming to improve communication and achieve desired outcomes. There are also theories that assassination codes are buried deep in Salinger’s book. 

     Alexander (Al) Bisno was bon in Chicago on January15, 1897 and died at the age of 90 in Los Angeles on July 13,1987. A real estate investor, in the chess world he was a patron and benefactor who also played a significant role in other areas of the game such as serving as President of the Manhattan Chess Club (1951) and the non-playing captain of the US team for the USA-USSR team match (1954). He was a negotiator in the 1952 match between Reshevsky and Kashdan. He also served as an official of both the USCF and the American Chess Foundation. Curious fact: Bisno's son was named Paul Morphy Bisno. 

    Almost none of his games are available, but I ran across the below miniature in which he defeated a National Master. The game was superficially annotated by Al Horowitz in the January 1952 issue of Chess Review so it was probably played in 1951, perhaps at the Manhattan Chess Club. Horowitz had the annoying habit of not giving the date or the event in which games were played. 

 

[Event "New York"] [Site "?"] [Date "1951.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Harold M. Phillips"] [Black "Al Bisno"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "34"] {[%evp 11,34,48,52,48,63,51,62,12,20,9,-11,-1,16,14,21,-152,-135,-140,-211, -237,-210,-316,-379,-476,-12800] C41: Philidor Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 { Considered a second rate defense today, this defense is still playable except at the GM level.} 3. d4 {This is about the only move you will ever see played here because black is compelled to exchage ...exd4 which gives white a dominating center position.} Nd7 {The beginning of the defensive setup known as the Hanham Variation, the idea of which is that black wantsto make the P on e4 a strongpoint. One disadvantahe is that the N interferes with the B's development, but that's not really important because there is no way for white to take advantage of ot. Dpending on how the game goes, black will find a good fquare for the N later.} 4. Bc4 {Aiming at the weak f7 and hoping at some point to take advantage of it.} c6 {Only 4 moves in and the position requires precise play on black's part! Aside from avoiding the disaster given in the note, 4...c3 opens a diagonal for the Q.} (4... Ngf6 {What could be more natural looking than this?} 5. dxe5 Nxe5 (5... dxe5 6. Ng5 {and black is lost.} ) 6. Nxe5 dxe5 7. Bxf7+ Ke7 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. f3 {with the advantage.}) 5. c3 { This move, the idea of which is to maintain a strong P center in the event of . ..exd4, is not witout merit, but white usually plays 5.O-O and if ...exd4 white can retake with his Q leaving him with a dominating center.} Be7 { This gets slapped with a couple of question marks. The idea of the move is to avoid any danger from Ng5, but it allows something even worse.} 6. O-O { White miises his opportunity and he doesn't get a second chance!} (6. Qb3 { Adding pressure to f7. Black doesn't have a really good way to defend it.} d5 7. exd5 b5 8. Bd3 cxd5 9. Bxb5 Ngf6 {This looks reasonable, but after} 10. dxe5 Ng4 11. h3 {Black's best try is} Nxf2 12. Kxf2 Rb8 13. Qxd5 {and whiye should win.}) 6... Ngf6 7. Re1 Qc7 {Black usually castles here, but he did not, as Horowitz claimed, fail to capitalize on white's last move with 7...Nxe4} (7... Nxe4 8. Rxe4 d5 9. Nxe5 {A surprise move that Horowitz missed.} Nxe5 (9... dxe4 10. Nxf7 {is obviously good for white.}) 10. Bxd5 cxd5 11. Rxe5 {White is a P to the good plus black has an isolated d-Pawn. Blackls two Bs are not enough compensation. In Shootouts white scored +4 -0 =1}) 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Nf1 {The idea is to reposition the N to the K-side, but the problem is that now ...Nxe4 is a good move. Guarding the e-Pawn with 9.Be3 was better.} Nxe4 10. dxe5 (10. Rxe4 {is also layable, but it does not have the same force as in the similar situation nebtioned in the note to move 7.} d5 11. Nxe5 dxe4 12. Nxf7 {Black could offer the draw with 12..Nb6 13.Nh6+ Kh8 14.Nf7+ or 12...Nf6 13.Ng5+ etc.} Rxf7 {would be losing after} 13. Qh5 {Taking the strongly favors black.} Nf6 14. Qxf7+ Kh8 15. Bf4 Qxf4 16. Qxe7 Bf5 17. Ne3 {White has good expectations of eventually winning which he did in 5 Shootouts.}) 10... d5 11. Bd3 f5 { A good move solidifying control over e4. Horowitz comments that white's K is insufficiently guarded, but that comment was apparently based on the game's outcome. Engines )Stockfish, Dragone by Komodo, Berserk and Lc0 all assess the position as sompletely equal.} 12. exf6 {Necessary. Otherwise white's e-Pawn falls.} Ndxf6 {Black has somewhat better development, more active poeces and the f-file on which to operate, but white's position has no exploitable weaknesses, so the position is equal.} 13. Ng5 {But, not after this! This aggressive looking move is a losing mistake.} (13. Bxe4 Nxe4 14. Ng3 {White wants to eliminate the aggressive, and dangerous Ns.} Bf5 (14... Nxf2 {is completely wrong now. AFter} 15. Kxf2 Bg4 16. Qd4 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Bf6 18. Qg4 { Black has lost material and there has no attack to show for it.}) 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Ng5 {Now this is OK.} Bf5 17. Ne6 Bxe6 18. Rxe6 {with a completely equal position.}) 13... Nxf2 {[%mdl 512] Alertly playec. Black now has a decisive advantage.} 14. Kxf2 {There is nothimg any better.} (14. Qc2 Nxd3 15. Qxd3 Bd6 16. h3 h6 17. Nf3 Qf7 {Threatening ...Bxh3; white is lost.}) 14... Ng4+ {Best/} (14... Bc5+ {isn't quite so good.} 15. Ke2 Qe5+ {wins a piece.}) 15. Kg1 Bc5+ 16. Be3 Bxe3+ 17. Rxe3 {Has white survived? No. It's black to play and win.} Rxf1+ $1 {[%mdl 512] White resigned} (17... Rxf1+ 18. Kxf1 (18. Bxf1 Qxh2#) 18... Nxe3+ {wins the Q}) 0-1

Attacking Fun with Wilhelm Orbach

    Assuming you are the attacker or spectator, an attack on the castled King is always enjoyable and that’s what this game offers. It was played in the 1929 Deutscher Schachbund (DSB) Kongress that was held in Duisberg, a city in western Germany, at the junction of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers. It's known for its large harbor. 

    The winner was the German Master Wilhelm Orbach (1894-1944). You won’t find much information on him, but Chessmetrics estimates hus best rating to have been 2548 back on 1921, placing him at #41 in the world. By comparison, a couple of better known players with similar ratings were Fritz Saemisch and Sir George Thomas. He was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp. 

    His opponent was Walther Holzhausen (1876-1935) who was known as a problem composer who published a couple of books on problems, as well as a player. 

    The chart giving the Accuracy and Blunder Categories as determined by Fritz 19’s Tactical Analysis gives some interesting insight as to how the game went. Clearly, it was not especially well played, but white’s final attack is entertaining. Unfortunately I have not been able to discover what determines how a move is categorized. Anybody have any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Event "DSB Kongress, Duisberg"] [Site ""] [Date "1929.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Wilhelm Orbach"] [Black "Walther von Holzhausen"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D15"] [Annotator "Stockfish"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "1929.??.??"] {D15: Slav Defense} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. Qc2 e6 7. Be3 {This B is normally developed to f4 or g5, but the text is hardly bad. Another popular move is 7.a4 to challenge black on the Q-side.} Bb4 8. Be2 { Black almost always waits until white plays a2 before making this exchange.} Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Nbd7 10. Bf4 {Moving the B again is a waste of toime. Simply 10. O-O was better.} Bb7 11. O-O c5 {This gives black excellent play.} 12. e5 { This move is suspect; white needs tp keep things flexible in the center.} (12. Qb2 {Attacking the b-Pawn. Black emerges with a slight advantage after} Nxe4 13. Bxc4 bxc4 14. Qxb7 Nxc3 15. Rfe1 O-O {Note that neother R can threaten the N.} 16. Bd6 Qc8 17. Qb2 Nd5 18. Bxf8 c3 19. Qb5 a6 20. Qc4 Qxf8 {Black has plenty of play for the exchange.}) 12... Nd5 13. Bg3 O-O 14. Bh4 f6 {This creates an almost imperceptible weakness in the K's position. The active 14... Qb6 was in order.} 15. Rab1 {This is another small inaccuracy.} (15. exf6 N7xf6 (15... gxf6 16. Rfb1 Bc6 17. a4 {and white has equalized.}) 16. Bg3 {Prevents . ..Nf4} Rc8 17. a4 b4 18. Bxc4 bxc3 19. Rfd1 Qe7 {with the more active position, but white's position remains quite solid.}) 15... Bc6 {He could take advantage of white's omission last move with 15.g4 because white is in no position to take advantage of the weakness that ...g4 creates.} (15... g5 16. Bg3 f5 { leaves whiyr at a loss for a really good continuation.}) 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Nd4 Be8 {The threat is ...Bg6.} 19. Qd2 Ne4 {A piece with a promising future, but things will go wrong.} 20. Qh6 {This move is not as aggressive as it looks, but practically speaking it's better than the defensive 20.Qe1 because it baits a trap which black falls for.} (20. Qe1 Nexc3 (20... Ndxc3 21. Nxe6 {equalizes}) 21. Nxe6 {equals}) 20... Nexc3 {This is the wrong N because it allows white's next move.} 21. Bg4 {[%mdl 640] White has a promising counterattack.} Nc7 {[%mdl 8192] This is a game losing blunder!} (21... Nxb1 { [%emt 0:00:04] allows a mate in} 22. Bxe6+ Rf7 23. Nf5 Kh8 24. Bxf7 Bxf7 25. Qg7#) (21... Bg6 {is correct as it avoids the mate.} 22. Rbe1 Qb6 23. Bxe6+ Kh8 24. Ne2 Nxe2+ 25. Rxe2 {In Shootouts from this position white scored +1 -0 =4}) 22. Nxe6 Qe7 23. Nxc7 {Much stronger than taking the R.} (23. Nxf8 Qxf8 24. Qf4 (24. Qxf8+ Kxf8 {with equal chances.} 25. Rbc1) 24... Nxb1 25. Qxc7 {Even here though white should win.}) 23... Bg6 (23... Qxc7 24. Be6+ Bf7 25. Bxf6 Bxe6 26. Qg5+ Kf7 27. Qg7+ Ke8 28. Qxc7 Rxf6 29. Qc6+ {and wins}) 24. Nxa8 Nxb1 25. Nc7 {[%mdl 512]} Qxc7 26. Be6+ Rf7 (26... Bf7 {just delays the mate.} 27. Bxf6 Bxe6 28. Qg5+ Kf7 29. Qg7+ Ke8 30. Qxc7 Bd7 31. Re1+ Kf7 32. Qxd7+ Kxf6 33. Re6+ Kg5 34. Qg7+ Kf4 35. g3+ Kf5 36. Re5#) 27. Bxf6 {Black resigned. It's mate in 2} 1-0

Theophil Demetriescu

    Theophil Demetriescu (April 12,1891 - August 6, 1958) was a Romanian pianist who, beginning in his childhood, showed a talent for music and studied piano in Germany with Ferrucio Busoni, an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer and teacher. Demetriescu made his debut im early1912 in a concert with the Berlin Philharmonic. 

    In the last years of his life Demetriescu suffered great financial difficulties. In 1949 he was employed as a piano teacher at the Art Institute in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, but his salary was insufficient to allow him to even rent a place to live, so he slept in one of the teaching halls of the institute, while his family was living a life of misery in Bucharest. 

    Demetriescu was also a good chess player who participated in a few international tournaments, he preferred correspondence play because it did mot interfer with his music interests. 

    He played board 5 on the Romanian team at the 3rd Unofficial Chess Olympiad (which was not organized by FIDE), which took place in Munich from August 17 to September 1, 1936. The Romanian team finished 14th out of 21. 

     Demetriescu was better in correspondence play. In the 1930s he participated in the national correspondence championships, finisjing 10th in 1934-1935 and 9th in 1936-1937 and14th in 1937-1938. 

     In the following game which has a nice finishing touch he defeats the Dutch master Lodewijk Prins (1913-199) who at the time was a promising junior. The game was played in a small tournament at Ebensee, today a market town in Austria. Dutch GM J.H. Donner, who had no great love for Prims, once described him as a Grandmaster who couldn’t tell a Bishop from a Knight, but Prins was the Dutch champion in 1965. 

    Several years after the tournament the town became known for its concentration camp established on 1943 by the SS in order to build tunnels for armaments storage near the town. Between 8,500 and 11,000 prisoners died in the camp, most from hunger or malnutrition. Political prisoners were most common and prisoners came from many different countries. Conditions were poor, and along with the lack of food, exposure to cold weather and forced hard labor made survival difficult. US Army troops liberated the camp on May 6, 1945. Today residential homes exist on the site and a memorial cemetery is nearby. There is also a memorial tunnel and a museum nearby. 

[Event "Ebensee"] [Site ""] [Date "1933.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Lodewijk Prins"] [Black "Theophil Demetriescu"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B44"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "1933.??.??"] {B44: Sicilian, Taimanov Variation} 1. e4 e6 2. c4 c5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Ndb5 {White plays an ultra-sharp line that is favorable to black. Safer ware 7.Nxc3 or even 7.Qd2?!} Nxe4 8. Qg4 Nxc3 {As his mext move shows, this is not the most accurate.} (8... Nf6 {is better and it is too risky fpr white to take the g-Pawn.} 9. Qxg7 Rg8 10. Qh6 Rg6 {The Q has no good square to which it can retreat and so black has an active position.}) 9. bxc3 {Now black cannot afford to sacrifice the g-Pawn and this retreat is an indication that his last move was wrong.} Bf8 (9... Bc5 10. Qxg7 Rf8 11. Bf4 { Threatening 12.Nc7+} (11. Qxh7 a6 12. Ba3 Bxa3 13. Nxa3 Qa5 14. Nb1 {is only equal.}) 11... e5 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. fxe3 {White;s Ps are shattered, but the threat on Ne6+ is too hard for b;ack to meet.} Ke7 14. c5 Rg8 15. Qh6 Rg6 16. Qxh7 Qf8 17. Nd6 {White is winning.}) 10. c5 {This position has been reached a few times in recent years and white has played 10.Ba3, but it has been shown that 10.Qg3 keeps a slight advantage,\.} a6 {Well played. Oddly, at this point black has nothing to fear from Nd6+} 11. Nd6+ Bxd6 12. cxd6 {At first glance black's position may appear badly compromised because of the white P on d6, but he has a nove that gives him the advantage.} Qf6 {This defends the g-Pawn and white has to take time to defend agains ...Qxc3+} 13. Bb2 {The B is not well placed here so 13.Qg3 defending both Ps and intending to develop the B to a more active square was better.} O-O {[%mdl 2048] Note that white has no way of satisfactorily meeting the threat of ...Qe5+ followed by ...Qxd6} 14. O-O-O {Thus turns out to be a very poor choice because it leaves his K exposed.} (14. Rd1 b5 15. Be2 Bb7 16. O-O Ne5 {The P is saved, but at the cost of giving black an active position. Best mow appears to be} 17. Qg3 Qg6 18. Qxg6 Nxg6 19. f4 Nh4 20. g4 f5 21. g5 Bd5 22. a3 Rfc8 {Black's position should prove decisive according to Stockfish, Dragon by Komodo and Fritz 19.}) 14... b5 15. Bd3 Qh6+ {This is even stronger than grabbong the insignificant f-Pawn.} 16. Kc2 f5 17. Qe2 Bb7 18. g4 {Hoping to open up files leading to b;ack's K, but the attempt will prove ineffective.} Rac8 {Hoping for ...Nd4+.} 19. Kb1 Na5 { [%mdl 32]} 20. Rhg1 fxg4 {Threatens to win with ...Bf3. Again, black does not waste time grabbing a P with ...Qxh2} 21. Bc1 Qf6 {aiming for ...Bf3.} 22. Qxg4 Bf3 {This tome grabbing a P with 22...Rxc3 woulf allow white to equalize.} ( 22... Rxc3 23. Bb2 Nc4 24. Qh5 h6 25. Bxc4 Bf3 {This complcated position is about equal after the best move} 26. Bxe6+ dxe6 27. Qg6 Qxg6+ 28. Rxg6 Be4+ 29. Ka1 Bxg6 30. Bxc3) 23. Qh3 g6 {Effectvely ending all white's hopes on the K-side.} 24. Rde1 (24. Rxg6+ {is not quite sufficient, but in view of the vertigo inducing complications that result it would have been an excellent choice.} hxg6 25. Rg1 Rxc3 26. Bxg6 {How does black get out of thid jam? There is only one way, but it wons.} (26. Rxg6+ Qxg6 27. Bxg6 Be4+ 28. Bxe4 Rxh3) 26... Rxc1+ 27. Kxc1 Qf4+ 28. Kb1 Kg7 {Brilliant! Discovered checks don;t save white.} 29. Be4+ Kf6 30. Qxf3 Qxf3 31. Bxf3 Ke5 {Black is winning, but how?!} 32. Bd1 Rxf2 33. Rh1 Nc4 34. h4 Ne3 35. h5 Nxd1 36. Rxd1 Rh2 {with a winning R+P ending.}) 24... Nc4 25. Rg3 Qxc3 {White's next move allows mate, but there was really no way of saving the game.} 26. Rd1 Nd2+ {[%mdl 512]} 27. Bxd2 Qxd3+ {White resigned.} (27... Qxd3+ 28. Ka1 Qd4+ 29. Kb1 Be4+ 30. Rd3 Bxd3+ 31. Qxd3 Qxd3+ 32. Ka1 Rc2 33. Rc1 Qd4+ 34. Bc3 Rxc1+ 35. Kb2 Qxc3#) 0-1

Play the Urusov Gambit!

 

    The Bishop’s Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4) is rarely played these days and if it is the opening often transposes into the Giuoco Piano, King’s Gambit or the Vienna Gane, but there is another possibility that most opponents won’t be prepared for...the old Urusiv Gambit (3.d4!). It’s named after Russian Prince Sergey Semyonovich Urusov (1827–1897). 

    What’s more, it’s easy for black to go wrong if he is not familiar with it! You can watch a Youtube video on it HERE. 

    White’s play in the following miniature is a perfect example of the dangers black faces. White is the forner Soviet, now Israeli, GM Boris Avrukh (born 1978). He was the World Under-12 champion in 1990. Black is the Moldovan-French WGM Almira Skripchenko (born1976), She won the European Women's Individual Championship in 2001 and is a seven-time French Women's Champion. 

 

[Event "Linares Anibal Open"] [Site "Linares"] [Date "2001.01.11"] [Round "?"] [White "Boris Avrukh"] [Black "Almira Skripchenko"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C24"] [WhiteElo "2625"] [BlackElo "2440"] [Annotator "Stockdish 17"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "2001.01.08"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "CBM 081"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2001.03.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2001.03.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam " C.A. EBANO"] [BlackTeam " C.A. EBANO"] {C24: Urusov Gambit} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d4 exd4 {The usual response.} (3... Nxe4 {is not recommended.} 4. dxe5 {Black has played a number of different moves here, but most often seen is} Ng5 5. f4 Ne6 6. Nf3 {and white is better.} ) (3... Nxe4 4. dxe5 Nxf2 {This is completely unsound, but it has been tried.} 5. Qd5 (5. Kxf2 Qh4+ {with what should be a winning advantage.}) 5... Qe7 6. Kxf2 Qc5+ 7. Be3 Qxd5 8. Bxd5 {White gas a winning position. Chulis,A (2172) -Kanzlirsch,A Vienna 2003}) 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Qxd4 Nf6 {Technically this position is evaluated as equal as black has no weaknesses, but white's huge lead in development must account for something.} 6. Nc3 (6. Bg5 {is not as good as it looks., After} Nc6 7. Qe3+ Qe7 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Nc3 Qxe3+ 10. fxe3 Bb4 {Black is slightl better.}) (6. Bg5 Be7 {This looks logical and is the move most often played. After} 7. Nc3 {Black has 7...Nc6, 7...c6 and 7...O-O, all reasonable moves.}) 6... c6 7. Bg5 d5 8. O-O-O {[%mdl 2048]} Be7 9. Qh4 Nbd7 10. Rhe1 {Black has made no errors and her position of free from weaknesses, but white is ready to undertake action against black's K. Black's best move is probably 10...O-O} dxc4 (10... Kf8 {This odd move was played in Kreiman,B (2400) -Shirazi,K (2435) New York and it's not likely to be repeated.} 11. Bxd5 cxd5 12. Rxe7 Qxe7 13. Nxd5 Qe4 14. Bf4 h6 15. Bd6+ {and white went on to win.} ) 11. Bxf6 {This leaves lack's K-side is in shambles.} gxf6 12. Ne4 {[%mdl 32]} O-O 13. Ng3 {[%mdl 1024]} Kh8 {This loses quickly. Her position was difficult, but gar from hopeless after 13...Re8} (13... Re8 14. Qe4 f5 15. Qxf5 c3 16. Nh5 Nf8 17. Qe5 Bg5+ 18. Qxg5+ Qxg5+ 19. Nxg5 cxb2+ 20. Kxb2 Rxe1 21. Rxe1 Be6 { Black has survived the attack and white is better, but his advantage is not a winning one,}) 14. Nf5 Bc5 15. Qh5 (15. Re4 {at once was also good.} Rg8 16. Nh6 Rg7 17. Ne5 Qf8 18. Nxd7 Bxd7 19. Rxd7 {and white is winning.}) 15... c3 16. Re4 Qb6 17. b3 {White wants to mate with Rh4.} Rg8 (17... Bxf2 18. Qh6 $18 Rg8 19. Rxd7 Bxd7 20. Qxf6+ Rg7 21. Qxg7#) (17... Qa5 18. Ra4 Ba3+ 19. Kb1 Qc7 20. Rh4 {nates}) 18. Qxf7 Qa5 {After this white has a mate, but her position was hopelessly lost no matter what she played.} 19. Rxd7 Ba3+ 20. Kb1 Qxf5 { White is clearly winning, but he has a mate in 5 with the following problem-like move.} 21. Re8 {[%mdl 512] Black resigned.} (21. Re8 Bf8 22. Rxf8 Qg6 23. Rxg8+ Qxg8 24. Qxf6+ Qg7 25. Qxg7#) 1-0

Alberto Giustolisi

 

    Few players today know the name Alberto Giustolisi (March 17, 1928 - February 27, 1990); it’s a name that was not well known outside of Italy and today has fallen into oblivion even among Italian players. 

    His heyday came in the years 1950 to about 1966, and in his time he was well known and highly respected wherever chess was played in Italy. His pleasant manners, polite elegance, respect for others, reserve, absence of ambition and the lack of a sense of superiority spilled over into his chess and harmed his competitive spirit and bordered on what almost appeared to be an insecurity. In spite of that, he was a good strategist as well as an elegant tactician and a formidable opponent to all but the elite. 

    Born in Rome, he passed away in a nursing home where he had been hospitalized for some time supposedly for a serious form of nervous breakdown.

    He was Italian champion in 1952, 1961, 1964 and 1966. He was awarded the IM title in 1962 after winning the New Year's Tournament in Reggio Emilia. 

 

    His opponent in this game was the Swiss player Otto Marthaler who won the Reggio Emilia 1958/59 event. 

    Giustolisi emerges from the ipening with an advantage and then follows up with nearly flawless play to score the point. The most interesting thing about the game is the role played by white’s Knight on g1.

 

[Event "Reggio Emilia, 1961/62"] [Site ""] [Date ""] [Round ""] [White "Alberto Giustolisi"] [Black "Otto Marthaler"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E94"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "1961.12.27"] {E94: King's Indian: Classical} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 {A piece with a remarkable future!} e5 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Be3 Re8 9. d5 Nc5 10. Nd2 {This N will not move again until move 26 and then makes the final move of the game. ts purpose here is to defend the e-Pawn and allow white to play f3.} a5 11. a3 {[%mdl 32] In view of what happens next this position can be considered critical and black must choose his next move wisely.} Kh8 { Black has a wide choice here...the opening book I ise shows 8 different moves, all reasonable, but the best is probably 11...a4. The text looks rather pointless.} 12. b4 {Immediately seizing the initiative.} axb4 13. axb4 Rxa1 14. Qxa1 Na6 15. Rb1 {White already has a significant advantage thanks to black's passive 11th move.} Nd7 16. Qa3 f5 17. f3 f4 18. Bf2 Rg8 {So! The point of his 11th move is revealed, but an attack on the g-file is going to prove impotent.} 19. c5 dxc5 20. bxc5 {Black is positionally quite lost.} Bf8 21. Bxa6 bxa6 22. Qa5 g5 {Black gets a K-side attack going, but it is nothing nure than a gesture given Giustolisi's precise defense.} 23. d6 {[%mdl 512] A powerful blow!} g4 24. fxg4 Qg5 {With heavy pieces doubled on the g-file and the threat of ...f3 it looks like black has something going, but Giusto;isi has everything under control.} 25. h3 cxd6 26. Nf3 {The versatile N return to where it was a long time ago in order to block the further advance of black’s f-Pawn.} Qg7 27. Qc7 Be7 28. cxd6 h5 {He could have saved the B with 28...Bf6, but pressing on with his attack is his best practical chance.} 29. dxe7 hxg4 30. hxg4 Qxg4 31. Nh4 {This time the N defends the g-Pawn and realizing there is no attack, Marthaler resigned, It;s interesting to observe the future this N could have had.} (31. Nh4 f3 32. Qd6 Kh7 (32... fxg2 33. Qh6# ) 33. Qd1 Nf6 (33... fxg2 34. Qxg4 Rxg4 35. e8=Q) 34. Qxf3 Qxf3 35. Nxf3 Bh3 36. Ne1 {Again the N shows its versatility by defending g2!} Bd7 37. Rb7 Be8 38. Nf3 {Back again this time headed for more verdant pastures.} Ng4 39. Nd5 Kg7 40. Bg3 Kf7 41. Bxe5 Bc6 42. Rc7 Ba4 43. Bd4 Rb8 44. Bb6 Bb3 45. Ng5+ { Its defensive days are over and the N become an attacker.} Kg6 (45... Ke8 46. Ne6 Bxd5 47. Ng7+ Kf7 48. e8=Q+ Kf6 49. Qh5 Be6 50. Bd4+ Ne5 51. Bxe5#) 46. Rc6+ Kxg5 {The N has sacrificed itself for a mate in 11.} 47. Bd8 Bxd5 48. e8=Q+ Kf4 49. Qf8+ Kxe4 50. Qf3+ Ke5 51. Bc7+ Kd4 52. Qxg4+ Be4 53. Bxb8 Ke3 54. Ba7+ Kd2 55. Qxe4 a5 56. Qd4+ Ke2 57. Re6#) 1-0

Same Story, Different Setting

    The international tournament that was held in Venice in 1948 ended up in forgotten event category. Chess Life of the day didn’t mention it and Chess Review had a blurb on it, but had some unflattering remarks about Najdorf and Euwe. 

    The magazine noted that after his tie for sixth place at the tough Saltsjobaden Interzonal Najdorf must have found winning the Venice tournament a breeze, adding that he celebrated the absence of Soviet opposition and that’s what resulted in a “handsome lead” over the opposition. The 20 player Saltsjobaden tournament was won by David Bronstein, who along with seven other players advanced to the 1950 Candidates Tournament. 

     The short article added that former World Champion Max Euwe was unable to shake off a poor start. His two losses (against Canal and Castaldi) combined with difficulty in defeating the tailenders resulted in him being “just another chessplayer.” 

    Venice consisted of twelve players, six Italians, two South Americans and four from Europe, including former World Champion Euwe. Not only did Venice have competition form the goings on at Saltsjobaden, but it was just one of many tournaments that year that fell under the shadow of the 1948 World Championship tournament held to determine the new Champion following the death of Alekhine in 1946. This tournament (won by Botvinnik ahead of Smyslov, Jeresm Reshevsky and Euwe) marked a significant shift in the international chess scene as the FIDE took control of the world championship title and the cycle of tournaments leading up to it. 

    The winner of this game, Giuseppe Primavera (1917-1998) was Italian Chess Champion in1948, 1953, 1954 and1970. He was one of the founders of the organization Association of Chess Masters of Italy and in 1973-1974, he published the chess magazine Tutto Schacchi. IM Henri Grob (1904-1974) was Swiss champion in 1939 and 1951 who is best known for popularizing the Grob Attack (1.g4). 

 

 

    Their brief encounter at Venice has the same plot as the game between Koenig and Weinberger in the previous post. In this game Primavera erred in the opening and Castaldi got an overwhelming attack, b

[Event "Venice"] [Site "Venice ITA"] [Date "1948.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Giuseppe Primavera"] [Black "Henri Grob"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D45"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1948.10.03"] {D46: Semi-Slav Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 c6 {Black is threatening to capture on c4 and hold it with ...b7–b5. White can avoid this in a number of different way, but at the dame time doing so is not really necessary. Either way some very sharp positions can arise/} 4. Nc3 e6 (4... dxc4 {is the thematic move, but it's super sharp.} 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. a4 e6 8. axb5 Nxc3 9. bxc3 cxb5 10. Ng5 Bb7 11. Qh5 g6 12. Qg4 Be7 {favors black.}) 5. e3 Bb4 6. Bd2 O-O 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. O-O Qe7 9. Re1 dxc4 10. Bxc4 e5 11. e4 exd4 12. Nxd4 { Up to here the moves have all been seen many times. White can try the text or 12.Ne2, but the aggressive 12.e5 is no doubt best. The text is faulty, but both players missed its refutation.} Ne5 {While not as good as 12...Qc5 after this black still has an advantage.} (12... Qc5 {attacking two pieces results in a sizable advantage for black after} 13. e5 Nxe5 14. Nb3 Qxc4 15. Rxe5 Rd8) 13. Bb3 {Primavera's faulty opening play has left his opponent with a clearly better position. Grob's next move plunging his N into the guts of white's position is by no means bad, but there was an even better one.} (13. Nf5 { is a btter alternative. After} Bxf5 14. exf5 Bc5 15. Be2 {To stop ...N6g4} Rfd8 {Black has an active position.}) 13... Nd3 (13... Bc5 {is a tough move to meet. After 15 minutes this is Stockfish's top line...} 14. Nf5 Bxf5 15. exf5 Nfg4 16. Rxe5 Nxe5 17. f6 gxf6 18. Ne4 Rad8 19. Qh5 Nd3 20. Qg4+ Kh8 21. Nxc5 Qxc5 22. Qf3 Qxf2+ 23. Qxf2 Nxf2 {with a clear advantage.}) 14. Re3 {Primavera has underestimated the strength of the attack on his g2 or else he would have reinforced it with 14.Re1} Nxf2 {[%mdl 512]} 15. Kxf2 Ng4+ 16. Kf1 Rd8 { A major slip that should have cost most of his advantage.} ({is also a path to nowhere.} 16... Qh4 17. Qe1 Nxe3+ 18. Bxe3 Qxh2 19. Nf3 {and white has equalized.}) (16... Bc5 {leaves white in dore straits.} 17. Nce2 Qh4 {Now this is really good.} 18. Rg3 Nxh2+ 19. Kg1 Bxd4+ 20. Nxd4 {and black is winning.} Qxg3) 17. Rf3 {[%mdl 8192]} (17. h3 {keeps white in the game after} Nxe3+ 18. Bxe3 Bc5 19. Nce2 Bxd4 20. Nxd4 c5 21. Qc1 cxd4 22. Bg5 Qd7 23. Bxd8 Qxd8 { Black is better, but that's not to say white is going to lose.}) 17... Nxh2+ 18. Kg1 {Black now plays what was the winning move in previous variations, but now it's not...it's a gross blunder that loses!} Bc5 {[%mdl 8192] Grob has overlooked his opponent's reply.} (18... Nxf3+ {wins...} 19. Nxf3 Bc5+ 20. Kf1 Bg4 21. Qe1 Bxf3 22. gxf3 Qd7 23. Be3 Bxe3 24. Qxe3 Qh3+ 25. Kf2 Qh2+ 26. Kf1 Rd2 27. Nd1 Qh1+ 28. Qg1 Qxf3+ 29. Nf2 Qe2+ 30. Kg2 Qxe4+ 31. Kh3 Qf3+ 32. Qg3 Rxf2) 19. Rxf7 {Stunning! Amazing! Startling! Shocking!} Bxd4+ (19... Qxf7 20. Bxf7+ Kxf7 21. Qh5+ Kg8 22. Qxc5) 20. Kh1 (20. Kxh2 Qh4#) 20... Qe5 {A casual glance may give the impression that black still has an attack, but all he can do is play on a bit on inertia.} (20... Qxf7 21. Bxf7+ Kxf7 22. Kxh2 Be6 23. Qh5+ {White is winning.}) 21. Rf5+ Kh8 22. Rxe5 Bxe5 23. Qh5 Ng4 24. Bg5 Nf2+ 25. Kg1 Bg4 26. Qh4 {Black resigned} (26. Qh4 Rf8 27. Be3 {Black loses more material.} Rf6 28. Bxf2 h5 29. Bd1 Rh6 30. Bxg4 hxg4 31. Qxg4 Rf8 32. Rd1 Bf6 33. Bc5 Rg8 {White wins at will.}) 1-0

ut misplayed it and lost.

 

 

Imre Koemig

    IM Imre Koenig (February 9, 1901 - September 9, 1992) was born in Kula, Hungary when it belonged to pre-World War I Austria. After the war he became a Yugoslav by nationality; Kula is now in Serbia. 

    Koenig spent much of his life in Vienna, but in 1938 he emigrated to England and became a British citizen in 1949. The English climate adeversely affected his health, so in 1953 he moived to California. 

    He became a promising player at an early age and in 1920, while in college, he met Spielmann, Tartakover and Reti, who sparked his interest in the Hypermodern style. 

    Koenig’s results were handicapped by a poor temperament for tournament chess which prevented him from achieving greater success in the international events. He played for Yugoslavia in the chess Olympiads of 1931 and 1935 and finished 2nd in the 1922 Yugoslav championship. In international tournaments his best result was at Hastings 1948/49 where he finished 2nd behind Rossolimo. 

    The following game is one of his later efforts that was played in Fresno in the 1962 annual Northern California vs. Southern California match. This was a massive 43 board event which was won by the northern team by a score of 28.5-14.5.

    His opponent was FM Tibor Weinberger (born 1932), a Hungarian master who played in five Hungarian championships from 1952 through 1956. He settled in the United States in 1957.

 

 

 

    This game is far from perfect and hardly shows either player at their best, but the quick reversal of fortunes illustrate the point, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” See more Yogisms 

 

[Event "North-South Match, Fresno"] [Site ""] [Date "1962.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Imre Koenig"] [Black "Tibor Weinberger"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "1962.??.??"] {B24: Closed Sicilian} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 {The Closed Sicilian tends to be more positional in nature. White will usually go for a K-side attack. Black will either play in the center or expand on the Q-side.} Nc6 {This is black's most common reply; it is not yet known if white will play for d4 or 3.g3} 3. g3 { This is the thematic move in the Closed Sicilian. White intends to control the light squares in the center and make it difficult for black to play ...d5} g6 { This is the most common move for black.} 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 e6 {At this point white almost always plays the routine 6.Be3 and 9.Qd2.} 6. Nh3 {A rare sideline, while not as common as 6. Be3 or 6. f4, aims to play a delayed f4 and launch a K-side attack usinf the f-file. Black has a wide variety of good responses.} Nge7 7. O-O O-O 8. Bg5 (8. Be3 b6 9. Qd2 d5 10. Bh6 Bb7 11. Bxg7 Kxg7 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Rae1 {is completely equalm but in Suttles, D (2470)-Westerinen,H (2450) Havana 1966 they played on and black somehow eventually manages to win.}) 8... h6 9. Be3 d6 (9... b6 10. Nf4 Bb7 11. h4 Nd4 {Black is slightly better. Krnic,I (2166)-Tomazini,Z (2370) Legnica POL 2013}) 10. Qd2 Kh7 11. Rab1 {Highly unusual. Realizing he has no real prospects on the K-side, Kownig turns his attention to the other side.} (11. f4 f5 {This blunts white's prospects on the K-side sp he gas to cast about for play elsewhere.}) 11... Rb8 12. Ne2 Ne5 13. f3 b6 14. b4 Bd7 15. Nf2 f5 (15... cxb4 16. Qxb4 d5 17. f4 N5c6 18. Qa3 (18. Qd2 d4) 18... d4 {leaves black with a solid position.}) 16. f4 {Of course, white wants open lines for his as of yet only potential K-side attack that black's last move has made possible.} N5c6 17. bxc5 dxc5 18. e5 {The immediate 18.d4 leads to equalizing exchanges.} Qc8 19. c3 Nd5 20. Bxd5 $1 exd5 21. d4 c4 {White has a protected passed e-Pawn, but it doesn;t confer any advantage because black is solidly in control of e6.} 22. Qe1 Rf7 23. Nd1 Bf8 24. Bc1 b5 25. Ne3 Be6 26. Bd2 Qa6 {All of this maneuvering has not really lead anywhere. Black threatens the a-Pawn whicj Koenig now mistakenly defends...it would have been better to let black have it. } 27. Nc1 {This allows black to gain some counterplay.} (27. Qd1 {keeps the balance.} Qxa2 28. Ra1 Qb2 29. Nc2 a5 30. Rb1 Qa2 31. Ra1 {draws.}) 27... b4 { [%mdl 512] This threatens to win with ...bxc3.} 28. cxb4 {This is a serious error.} (28. Kh1 {A pass to show the threat.} bxc3 29. Rxb8 cxd2 30. Qxd2 Nxb8 {Black has won a piece.}) 28... Nxd4 29. Bc3 Nc6 {Threatening ...d4} 30. Nc2 Bc5+ 31. Kg2 d4 32. Qf2 Bd5+ {Weinberger now has a winning position.} 33. Kh3 Be4 {Also very strong was 33...g5} 34. bxc5 Rxb1 35. Nxd4 g5 36. fxg5 hxg5 37. Ne6 {White's K is clearly in a very dangerous position and all black has to do in play 37...g4+ forcing it to h5. Instead, Weinberger plays his K to g6 so that it will allow him to deliver mate with 38...Rh7.} Kg6 {One wonders if Weinberger was expecting his opponemt to resign.} 38. Nxg5 Kxg5 {[%mdl 8192] As Yogi Berra once said, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there." After this move the treat of 38...Rh7 cannot be met...or can ot?!} (38... Rxc1 {It's astonishing, but this is the only winning move black has!} 39. Nxf7 (39. Rxc1 Kxg5 {wins. For example} 40. Qd2+ f4 41. gxf4+ Kf5 42. Rg1 Rh7+ 43. Kg3 Nxe5 44. Bxe5 Qh6 { The Bs of opposite color are meningless because there isd a mate in 7.} 45. Bf6 (45. Kf2 Qxh2+ 46. Kf1 Qxd2 47. Rg5+ Ke6 48. Rg6+ Bxg6 49. f5+ Bxf5 50. Bd4 Rh1+ 51. Bg1 Bd3#) 45... c3 46. h4 cxd2 47. Kf2 Qxf4+ 48. Ke2 Qf3+ 49. Kxd2 Rd7+ 50. Kc1 Qa3+ 51. Bb2 Qe3#) 39... Rxc3 40. Nh8+ Kg7 41. Qf4 Qb7 42. Qh4 Qe7 {with an easy win.}) 39. Qd2+ {This completely turns the tables!} Kg6 {The threat is still ...Rh7+} 40. Qd6+ Kh7 {The K is forced to cut the R off fron h7.} 41. Rf4 {Now black;s KJ is in a mating net.} Kg8 42. Rh4 Qc8 43. Qg6+ Rg7 44. e6 {[%mdl 512] Coldblooded efficiency.} Rbb7 (44... Rxg6 45. Rh8#) 45. Bxg7 Rxg7 46. Qh6 {A bitter disappointnebt for Weinberger! A lucky escape for Koenig!} (46. Qh6 Kf8 47. Qh8+ Rg8 48. Qf6+ Ke8 49. Qf7+ Kd8 50. Qxg8+) 1-0

Simon Rubinstein

    Among the millions who perished in the Nazi concentration camps were a number if chessplayers, some well known, some not. One of the latter that few have ever heard of was Simon Rubinstein (c. 1910–1942), an Austrian master who participated several times in the Leopold Trebitsch Memorial tournaments that were held in Vienna. 

    These tournaments were a chess competition organized by the family of Austrian silk manufacturer Leopold Trebitsch. Twenty tournaments were played in Vienna between 1907 and 1938. Leopold Trebitsch (1842–1906) loved chess and je and his family contributed greatly to the Vienna Chess Club (Wiener Schachklub) to organize the series of tournaments. Because Trebitsch died one month before the first tournament the competitions were named in his memory. Six of the first nine events (1907–18) were won by Carl Schlechter, but his death in December 1918, along with the loss of the Club's Trebitsch fund in the aftermath of World War I, put a temporary halt to the tournament. In 1926, Trebitsch's son made more funds available, enabling eleven additional tournaments to be held until 1938, when Germany's annexation of Austria ended the event.

 

 

    Here is one of only a handful of known Simon Rubinstein's games. Chessnetrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2540 in 1937, ranking him in 67th place. On that list the leaders were: Euwe was first (2753) followed by Botvinnik (2752), Capablanca (2751), Alekhine (2750) and Reshevsky (2745). 

     

[Event "Trebitsch Memorial, Vienna"] [Site ""] [Date "1933.11.27"] [Round "?"] [White "Simon Rubinstein"] [Black "Karl Kopetzky"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D44"] [Annotator "Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1933.11.12"] {D26: Queen's Gambit Accepted} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 dxc4 {The QGA is not a true gambit because white regains the P because it is unprofitable for black to keep it. White will try to use his center space to lainch an attack. Black will try to hold white;s center at bay and gain an advantage in the endgame by giving white an isolated d-Pawn. The resulting oisitons can lead to a sharp fight.} 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 c5 6. Bxc4 Nc6 7. O-O cxd4 8. exd4 Be7 9. Bf4 a6 10. Re1 O-O 11. Rc1 (11. Qd2 b5 12. Bb3 Bb7 13. a3 Qb6 {This position is nearly equal. Walta,P-Seto Wai Ling Dubai 1986}) (11. a3 {This is satisfactory if followed up correctly.} b5 12. d5 exd5 (12... bxc4 {This captur is wrong. Shevchenko,D-Tarnovetsky,R Evpatoria 2005 continued} 13. dxc6 Qb6 14. Nd4 Qxb2 15. Na4 {Whute won quickly.}) 13. Bxd5 Bb7 {with equal chances.}) 11... Nb4 12. a3 Nbd5 13. Be5 {He could also have pkaced a N on e5, but the text also works out well.} (13. Bg3 Nxc3 14. Rxc3 b5 15. Ba2 Bb7 16. Ne5) 13... b5 14. Ba2 { In these types of positions white wull set up a battery attacking h7 with Bb1 and Qd3} Bb7 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bb1 Qd7 17. Qd3 {[%mdl 2048] While the position is theoretically equal white seems to be the one with all the chances and to keep thing equal black will be forced to defend accurately which is never an easy task.} g6 18. Qd2 {The Q never leaves here, but apparently white was thinking about the possibility of Qh6. The immediate advance 18,h4 was equally giid.} Rfc8 19. h4 Nf6 20. Ng5 {White's pieces have a lot of pent up energy, but sp far black has defended in a satisfactory manner and the position is equal. However, black now slips up.} Nh5 {Black is barking up the wrong tree. Instead of trying to bust up whiye's K-side attack he needs to hunker down on the defensive.} (20... Rxc1 21. Rxc1 Bd8 22. Qf4 Nd5 {with a solid position.}) 21. Nxf7 {This speculative sacrifice pays off handsomely, but with correct defensem always a difficult job, black can equalize. The sharo\p 21.g4 secures a clear plus though.} (21. g4 Rxc1 22. Qxc1 Rc8 23. Qe3 f6 24. gxh5 fxe5 25. hxg6 h6 (25... hxg6 26. Bxg6 {is winning for white.}) 26. Ne4 Bxe4 27. Qxe4 Qxd4 28. Qxd4 exd4 29. Rxe6 {Black is in serious trouble.}) 21... Bxh4 { [%mdl 8192] Fatal! This P is meaningless. Taking the N keeps the chances eqiual...white can't whip up any serious threats.} (21... Kxf7 22. Qh6 Nf6 23. Bxf6 Bxf6 24. Qxh7+ Bg7 25. Bxg6+ Kf8 {An interesting position that is theoretically equal: white has 3 Ps vs. a B. In Shootouts using Stockfish white scored +1 -0 =5. Using the older, weaker Fritz 5.32 white scored +1 -2 =02. So, in actual play the outcome would be unclear.}) 22. Nh6+ Kf8 23. g4 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Qd5 {Played with the forlorn hope that white will overlook the mate.} 25. f3 Bf6 26. Be4 {Black resigned.} (26. Be4 Qd8 (26... Qd7 27. Rc7 { wins}) 27. Bxf6 (27. Bxb7 Bxe5 28. gxh5 {also wins}) 27... Qxf6 28. Bxb7 Rd8 29. gxh5 Rxd4 30. Rc8+ Ke7 31. Ng8+ {etc.}) 1-0