Leopold Hoffer

 

    Leopold Hoffer (1842 in Hungary – August 28,1913 in England) was an English player and journalist who was born in Budapest, left for Paris at the end of 1866 and for the rest of his life he resided in London after 1870. 

    He founded the British Chess Club, was an honorary member of the City of London Chess Club, founder and honorary secretary of the British Chess Association. 

    As a chess journalist he worked for The Field, Standard and Westminster Gazette. He is most famous for founding the Chess Monthly magazine and running it together with Zukertort. You can read issues of the magazine (as well as many others) at the outstanding site Chess Archaeology. 

    While living in Paris, he won matches against, among others, Ignatz von Kolisch, Samuel Rosenthal and Jules Arnous de Riviere. 

    At his death he was Europe's supreme chess commentator who was known for his verbal brickbats and and at least one admirer claimed he was the greatest chess editor the world had ever seen! 

    His opponent in the following delightful minature was James I. Minchin (1825-1903) who was born in Madras, India and died in Parkstone, England. He was one of the main promoters of the London 1883 international tournament and edited the tournament book. After Minchin’s slip on move 11 he got slaughtered. 

[Event "London"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "1876.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "James I. Minchin"] [Black "Leopold Hoffer"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C33"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "1876.??.??"] {C33: King's Gambit Accepted} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 {This is second in popularity to 3.Nf3. The text can lead to several extremely sharp lines. Compared to 3. Nf3 there is very little theory on this move.} Qh4+ 4. Kf1 { White has lost the possibility of castling and his K looks precariously placed, but it's actually safe on f1. White can now gain several tempi because of the position of black's Q. White's plan is usually to develop quickly and start an attack on the K-side using the half-open f-file and the B on c4.} d5 {This move, attacking the B, is only one of black's defensive possibilities. Black gives back the P for a rapid development.} (4... g5 {is usual and statistically brings black th emost success.} 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. d4 {Black usually continues with 6...Ne7, but 6...d6 isslightly better. Either way the chances are about even.}) 5. Bxd5 {Best. It avoids the B being blocked by the P on d5.} (5. exd5 {This favors black after} Bd6 6. Nf3 {and the retreat to either h5 or h6 leave black well off.}) 5... Ne7 6. Nc3 (6. Bb3 {preserves the B, but black is solid after} g5 7. Nf3 Qh5 8. d4 Nbc6) 6... g5 (6... Nxd5 {Gains the two Bs, but black's development is disrupted after} 7. Nxd5 Bd6 8. Nf3 Qh6 9. e5) 7. d4 (7. Nf3 {is more accurate, Then after} Qh5 8. h4 {chances are even.}) 7... Bg7 (7... Bg4 {leaves black a bit better.} 8. Nf3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nbc6) 8. Nf3 $18 (8. g3 {is not to be recommended even though it's whan the great Capablanca played in Capablanca,J-Beckman,A, Philadelphia 1924} fxg3 9. Kg2 Nxd5 10. hxg3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Qxe4+ 12. Nf3 Bg4 13. Re1 Bxf3+ 14. Qxf3 Qxe1 {and black won in a few more moves.}) 8... Qh5 9. Ne2 (9. h4 {is correct.} h6 10. Kf2 (10. Kg1 Qg6 11. Ne5 Bxe5 12. dxe5 Rg8 {with equal chances. Paulsen,L-Anderssen,A Baden-Baden 1870}) (10. e5 {did not work out well for white in Mortimer,J-Steinitz,W London 1883} O-O 11. Kg1 g4 12. Ne1 Rd8 {Black has what should amount to a decisive advantae, but in the game he let it slip and only managed to draw.}) 10... g4 11. Ne1 Nbc6 12. Bxf4 Bxd4+ 13. Kf1 {Black is better. Swiderski, R-Marshall,F Vienna 1903}) 9... Nxd5 10. exd5 {Black now has a strong initiative and white finds himself on the defensive.} Bg4 11. Qe1 {A fatal slip. Correct was 11.Qd3 so as to recapture with the Q if black plays ...Bxf3} (11. Qd3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Qxf3+ 13. gxf3 {Black has no more than a slight advantage.}) 11... O-O {A necessary precaution.} (11... Bxf3 12. Nxf4+ Be2+ 13. Qxe2+ Qxe2+ 14. Nxe2 {White is solid P up.}) 12. Qf2 Nd7 {[%mdl 32] This N will strengthen the attack.} 13. c4 Rae8 {[%mdl 32]} 14. Bd2 Nf6 {The threat of Ne4 cannot be met in any satisfactory way.} 15. Nc3 (15. a3 {This a pass just to illustrate the danger if the N remains on e5} Ne4 16. Qe1 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Qxf3+ 18. Kg1 Nxd2 19. Qxd2 Rxe2) 15... Ne4 16. Nxe4 Rxe4 17. Bc3 Rfe8 { White's position is hopeless.} 18. Rd1 Re3 19. Kg1 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Rxf3 21. Qg2 { White is quite lost and Stockfish is announcing mate in 11 moves.} Rxc3 { [%mdl 512] White resigned. A nearly flawless game by Hoffer.} (21... Rxc3 22. bxc3 Qxd1+ 23. Qf1 Re1 24. Kf2 Qd2+ 25. Kf3 f5 26. Qf2 Qd1+ 27. Kg2 Qg4+ 28. Qg3 Re2+ 29. Kf1 fxg3 30. hxg3 Qf3+ 31. Kg1 Qg2#) 0-1

Bruno E. Siegheim

    Here is a name from out of the past that you have probably never heard of: Bruno E. Siegheim (May 24, 1875 in Berlin, Germany - November 5, 1952 in Johannesburg, South Africa).

    Born in Berlin, in 1895 he went to South Africa. At that time, though he knew something about chess, he was totally unacquainted with its deeper mysteries. He joined the Johannesburg Chess Club in January of 1898, but in April he migrated to Quebec in Canada, where he lived for nine months. 

    While there he met Professor Isaac Rice (1850-1915), the Bavaria-born master and inventor of the Rice Gambit who had moved to the US together with his parents at the age of six. Rice introduced Siegheim, who by that time had developed into a strong player, to the Rice Gambit germ. 

    Seigheim's next experience was with the Manhattan Club in New York where he worked his way up to one of their strongest players, even taking third place in a Rice Gambit tournament in 1903. In the Manhattan Chess Club Championship of 1903, David Baird took first and Seigheim finished second. 

    In October of 1904, Seigheim returned to South Africa and returned to the Johannesburg C.C. At that time a player named Dr. Nax Blieden was acknowledged to be the strongest player in the country. Seigheim was strong enough that a match with Blieden was arranged.

    Seigheim scored +6 -2 =2 in the first ten games, but then Blieden scored four straight wins to even the score! According to the match arrangements the match was to be continued until one of the players score 9 points which Seigheim succeeded in doing. 

    Seigheim won the championship of South Africa in 1906 at Capetown, scoring +5 -0 =2. In 1910, he lost a challenge to Dr. Blieden, he defeated Harry Duhan in a challenge in 1911, then defeated Henk Meihuizen in challenge in1912. Also in 1912, he captured his second South African championship. 

    After World War I, he tied for 5-6th in th British Championship at Malvern (F.D. Yates won). At the annual Hastings Christmas Congress of 1922/23 he shared 2nd with Richard Réti, behind Akiba Rubinstein. He also is reported to have played a match against Mir Sultan Khan at London in 1929, but I was unable to find any details.

 

[Event "Offhand Game Johannesburg CC"] [Site "?"] [Date "1910.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Bruno Siegheim"] [Black "A. Frere"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D52"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "1910.??.??"] {D52: Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Variation} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 {The Cambridge Springs Defense has been around for over a century and is still one of the most popular ways of meeting the Queen's Gambit, second only to 4...Be7. It also sets what is known as the Elephant Trap.} 5. e3 (5. cxd5 {This is quite playable.} exd5 {White should now play either 6.Nf3 or 6.e3} 6. Nxd5 {Falling for the Elephant Trap.} Nxd5 7. Bxd8 Bb4+ 8. Qd2 Bxd2+ 9. Kxd2 Kxd8 {and black has won a piece.}) 5... c6 6. Nf3 Qa5 {At the time of this gme this move had been abandoned as insatisfactory. However, that opinion has changed and today 6...Qa4 is the main line. Black intends ...Bb4 and possibly ...Ne4 with pressure along the a5–e1 diagonal.} 7. Nd2 Ne4 (7... Bb4 {This is the modern way.} 8. Qc2 O-O 9. Be2 c5 {White has a wide choice of replies.}) 8. cxd5 (8. Ndxe4 dxe4 9. Bh4 {Akso playable is 9. Bf4} Bb4 10. Qb3 e5 11. a3 exd4 12. Qxb4 Qxb4 13. axb4 dxc3 14. bxc3 {Dobrev,N (2179)-Hristov,A (2259) Albena BUL 2010. Chances are equal.}) 8... Nxc3 $146 ( 8... Nxd2 9. Qxd2 exd5 10. Bd3 Bb4 11. O-O O-O {Marshall,F-Teichmann,R Cambridge Springs 1904. White is slightly better.}) 9. bxc3 Qxd5 10. Bh4 f5 { Much too weakening.} (10... e5 11. Nf3 exd4 12. exd4 (12. cxd4 {is inferior. After} Bb4+ 13. Ke2 {Black is better.}) 12... Be7 13. Bxe7 Qe4+ 14. Be2 Qxe7 15. O-O Nf6 16. Re1 O-O 17. Bc4 Qc7 {equals.}) 11. Qh5+ g6 12. Qg5 Qa5 (12... Nb6 {to hinder Bc4 is not any better.} 13. a4 a5 14. Be2 {and black is still at a positional disadvantage.}) 13. Bc4 Kf7 (13... Rg8 14. Bxe6 h6 15. Qg3 Rg7 16. Bxd7+ Bxd7 17. Bf6 Rf7 18. Qxg6 {is also unfavorable for black.}) 14. O-O Bd6 15. e4 {White already has a decisive advantage and must figure out how to dig out black's King which Siegheim does quite efficiently.} h6 16. Bxe6+ Kg7 ( 16... Kxe6 17. Qxg6+ Nf6 18. Qxf6+ Kd7 19. Qf7+ Be7 20. Qxe7#) 17. Qe3 f4 ( 17... g5 {runs into} 18. Bxf5 gxh4 19. Qh3 {So that he can check on g4. Black's K is exposed and is totally helpless. A samll line..} Nb6 20. Qg4+ Kf8 21. Bxc8 Nxc8 22. e5 Be7 23. Qh3 Qd5 24. f4 c5 25. f5 cxd4 26. f6 Bc5 27. Kh1 dxc3 28. Nf3 Nb6 29. Nxh4 Rh7 30. Ng6+ Ke8 31. e6 c2 32. f7+ Kd8 33. Rac1 Kc7 34. Rxc2 Na4 35. Qb3 Qxb3 36. axb3) 18. Qf3 g5 {This wins a piece, but further weakens his position.} 19. Nc4 Qc7 20. e5 Be7 21. Qh5 Rf8 (21... gxh4 22. Qf7#) 22. Nd6 {The purpose of this move is to lure the B away from the defense of the g-Pawn.} (22. Bxg5 {is also playable. Here is just a sampke of how play could go.} hxg5 23. Nd6 Nxe5 24. Nxc8 Raxc8 25. Bxc8 Qxc8 26. dxe5 Qe6 27. Rad1 Rd8 28. Rxd8 Bxd8 29. Rd1 Be7 30. h4 gxh4 31. Rd4 Qf7 32. Qg4+ Qg6 33. Qxg6+ Kxg6 34. Rxf4) 22... Bxd6 (22... Nxe5 {would have given him a fighting chance.} 23. Bxc8 Qxd6 24. dxe5 Qg6 25. Qxg6+ Kxg6 26. Bxb7 Rab8 27. Bxc6 gxh4 28. Rfd1 Rb6 29. Be4+ Kg5 30. Rd5 Rc8 31. e6+ Kf6 32. Rf5+ Kxe6 33. Re1 Rxc3 34. Rxf4 { White is better and should be able to win.}) 23. Bxg5 hxg5 24. Qxg5+ Kh7 25. Bf5+ {The last words of Hamlet, "The rest is silence" is appropriate here!} Rxf5 26. Qxf5+ Kg7 27. Qg5+ Kh7 28. exd6 Qxd6 29. Rfe1 Nf6 30. Re5 Bd7 31. Qxf4 Qf8 32. Rae1 {Black resigned. Forceful plat by Siegjeim!} 1-0

1904 - Chicago Players Were Best in Country

    Life expectancy in the US in 1904 was only 46.2 for men and 49.1 for women. Short story writer O. Henry was visiting Honduras whe he came up with the term Banana Republic to describe a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon exporting a limited-resource product like bananas. 

    Thomas Sullivan, a New York tea merchant, invented tea bags by accident. He wanted the small bags to be samples of the tea. People started dunking them instead. King C. Gillette patented his Gillette razor blade. On December 31, the first New Year’s Eve celebration was held in Times Square (then Longacre Square), New York City. And, the term “hangover” came into the vernacular. Before that, people felt “crapulous.” 

    If you lived in Chicago in 1904, you started paying the Bottled Water Tax. It applied to the retail sale of bottled water in the city at a rate of $0.05 per bottle. However, the tax did not apply to sale of bottled water to passengers on an interstate carrier. 

    In 1904, it appeared that Chicago might possibly be emerging as the new power in American chess. Teams from the Chicago Chess and Checker Club had won victories in telegraph matches against Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Boston and they also overwhelmed a team from the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

    In the match against the Twin Cities the outcome of one of the games was disputed owing to inability of the players to agree upon the correct position at time of adjournment. It didn’t matter; Chicago won by 10 points anyway. 

    The winner of the following game from the match was Chicago’s little known Carl Medinus (August 4, 1873 – December 6, 1941). Medinus played a match against Frank Marshall ib Chicago in 1900, with Marshall winning 4-2. 

    On the other hand, Horace Bigelow (March 6, 1898 – April 18, 1980) was a well known master and organizer. He learned to play chess at age ten in Lucerne, Switzerland. Eventually he found his way to New York City where he was a prominent member of the Manhattan Chess Club, one of organizers of the New York 1924 tournament. In 1928-29, he won the Marshall Chess Club Championship. He edited a chess column in the New York Evening Post and the Liberty magazine.

[Event "Team Match"] [Site "?"] [Date "1904.01.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Carl Medinus (Chicago)"] [Black "Horace Bigelow (Twin Cities)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C29"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "57"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.15"] {C29: Vienna Game} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 {Originally the idea behind the was to play a delayed King's Gambit, but in modern play qhite often plays more quietly. Weaver Adams once claimed the Vienn led to a forced win, but of course it does not.} Nf6 3. f4 d5 {Best. It strikes in the center.} (3... exf4 4. e5 {is rarely played. White almost always replies with 4.Bc4, but the best movr appears to be...} Ng8 {Best because after 4...Qe7 5.Qe2 black has to retreat the N anyway.} 5. Nf3 d6 6. d4 dxe5 7. Bb5+ c6 8. Bc4 {White is better developed.}) 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. d4 {More exact os 6.Bb5} Bb4 7. Bd2 Bf5 $146 (7... Bg4 8. Be2 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 Qh4+ 11. Qf2 Qxd4 12. Qxd4 Nxd4 {with a clear advantage.}) 8. Be2 {[%mdl 32]} Nxd2 (8... f6 {Challenging white in this was assures black of equality. For example...} 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Nh4 Be6 11. Bxb4 Nxb4 12. O-O fxe5) 9. Qxd2 Be4 10. O-O (10. O-O-O {is somewhat stronger.} f6 11. a3 Bxc3 12. Qxc3 O-O 13. Rhe1 {White is slightly better.}) 10... O-O 11. Rad1 b6 {Black is wasting time with this pointless move. Once again, challenging white's cenbter with 11...f6 is correct.} 12. a3 Be7 13. Bb5 Bxf3 14. Bxc6 (14. gxf3 {would be bad.} Nxd4 15. Ba6 (15. Qxd4 Bc5) 15... c6 16. Kh1 Nf5 {Black is slightly better.}) 14... Bxd1 15. Qxd1 (15. Bxa8 {is a misstep.} Qxa8 16. Rxd1 c6 {with an even position.}) 15... Rb8 16. Nxd5 f6 17. Qg4 {White's position has reached the point where he can be considered to be winning.} f5 {Apparently Bigelow hoped the elimination of Rs would ease his defensive burden, but that is not the case.} (17... fxe5 {is technically speaking no better though because of} 18. Qe6+ Kh8 19. Qxe7 Qxe7 20. Nxe7 exd4 {However, practically speaking, this is probably black's best chance.}) 18. Rxf5 Rxf5 19. Qxf5 Bg5 20. c3 a5 21. g3 Kh8 22. h4 Bc1 23. e6 {Decisive.} Qd6 { Medinus now executes a nifty finish.} 24. e7 Qxg3+ (24... Bxb2 {was worth a try.} 25. Kg2 Bxa3 26. e8=Q+ Rxe8 27. Bxe8 Qd8 28. Bb5 Bd6 {White is winning, but he still has some work to do.}) 25. Kf1 Qd6 26. e8=Q+ Rxe8 27. Bxe8 Bxb2 28. Bh5 Bxa3 29. Qc8+ {Black resigned . A fine finale by Medinus.} (29. Qc8+ Qf8+ 30. Qxf8+ Bxf8 31. Nxc7 {is hopeless for black.}) 1-0

The First Ladies' International Tournament

    The first ladies’ international tournament was held in London from June 23 through July 3, 1897. The tournament was organized to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne. The event attracted the best female players in the world. 

    The idea that women could play a decent game of chess was a fairly new concept. Many men believed women made up rules as the game progressed and they would do things like castle ou of check and ignore the touch-move rule. Of course, that was not the case and this tournament proved women really could play chess even if they were not on a par with the best men players. 

    Playing hours were from 1:00pm until 5:00pm and after a dinner break games were resumed from &:pm until 11:00pm Monday through Saturday. 

    English players were: Eschwege, Field, Fox, Gooding, Hooke, Rudge, Sidney, Thomas, Thorold and Watson. 

    Others were: Berry and Finn (Ireland), Forbes-Sharp (Scotland), Bonnefin (Belgium), de la Vingne (France), Fagan (Italy), Hertzsch and Muller-Hartung,S. Stevenson (Canada) and Worrall (Unitetd States). 

    Two of the ladies representing other countries actually lived in England. Madame Bonnefin lived in London and Mrs. Fagan was also living in England. Additionally, the US representative, Harriet Worral, who was living in Brooklyn, was of English origin. 

 

    Alice Hooke was a substitute for Eliza Campbell Foot of the United States who was expected to attend but failed to put in an appearance. Little is known of Mrs. Foot outside her chess related activities. She was born February 23, 1851. She was reported to have been a cousin to Wilhelm Steinitz. On December 6, 1914 near the Manhattan Chess Club during a stormy evening, she was carrying an umbrella which apparently blocked her view of an oncoming vehicle as it came around the corner. She was struck and killed instantly; the driver never stopped.

    Gertrue Field Anderson was British Women's Champion in 1909, 1912 and 1921. She later married player named Donald L. Anderson. Born in 1880, she passed away in 1924 after having been in ill health for some time. 

    Alice Elizabeth Hooke was the sister of noted British player George Archer Hooke (a857-1934). She never married and lived most of her life in London. where she was born in 1862. 

    For most of her life she worked as a Civil Servant clerk. As a very keen player, for forty years she was one of the leaders in the development of women's chess in England. 

    She shared first place in two British Ladies' Championships in her late 1860s. The following game is an interesting one. 

    The following game was pretty routine for a while. Field was on the attack and on move 25 she sacrificed a Bishop. The sacrifice was not bad, but against correct play it offered no more than equal chances. 

    On her 26th move Hooke retreated her Queen to the wrong square and should have lost, but Field didn’t find the refutation which left the chances still balanced.  Even so, Hooke’s position was difficult to defend. As often happens in such situations Hooke finally cracked and lost quickly. The complications were enormous and Stockfish quibbled with several moves, but that was just nitpicking.

 

[Event "Ladies' First Int’l Tmt., London"] [Site "?"] [Date "1897.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Gertrude Field"] [Black "Alice E. Hoole"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C51"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "75"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.11"] {C51: Evans Gambit: Declined} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 { n My System Nimzovich claimed that 4...Bb6 does not lost a tempo because 4.b4 is unproductive because it does nothing for white's developemnt. Although far less popular than accepting the gambit, declining it is probably safer. I} 5. c3 a6 (5... Nf6 6. d3 d6 7. a4 {and now either 7...a6 or 7...a5}) 6. Qb3 Qf6 ( 6... Qe7 7. d3 Nf6 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 d6 {is equal. Da Castro,J-Williams,A Abuja 2003}) 7. d3 h6 8. O-O d6 9. Be3 Nge7 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bxb6 cxb6 12. h3 { White should have played 12.a4 as a measure against 12...b5! (if not here, then on the next few moves) which would have been to black's advantage.} Qg6 13. Nh4 Qf6 14. Nhf3 Bd7 15. Qd1 Rac8 16. Nh2 Kh8 17. Ng4 Qg6 18. f4 {White is mistakenly playing for a K-side attack when her real prospects are on the Q-side and so 18.a4 was the proper course.} h5 {[%mdl 8192]} (18... exf4 { is advantageous for black.} 19. Rxf4 {Actually 19.d4 is better, but this is likely what white intended.} Ne5 20. Nxe5 dxe5 21. Rf2 b5 22. Bb3 Bxh3 { and black has the advantage.}) 19. f5 {After this white has a strong attack.} Qh7 20. Ne3 Qh6 21. Rf3 b5 22. Bd5 Ng8 23. Rg3 (23. g4 {packed more punch.} g6 24. Rg3 f6 25. fxg6 h4 26. Rf3 {is excellent prospecys. Black should now play 28...Nge7, but not...} Qxg6 27. Qe1 Qg5 28. Rf1 {Vacating fe for the N.} Nce7 29. Nf3 Qh6 30. Nxh4 Nxd5 31. Nxd5 {with a strong attack.}) 23... Nf6 24. Qe1 g6 25. Bxf7 Rxf7 26. Rxg6 Qh7 {[%mdl 8192] This retreat loses rather quickly.} (26... Qf8 {and Black is OK.} 27. Qh4 Ne7 {Now white has to find 28.Rf1 to avoid getting an inferior position.} 28. Rf1 {Things are getting tactical nad both sides have plenty of room for errors tht lead to a loss!} Be8 (28... Nxg6 {loses to} 29. fxg6 Re7 30. Rxf6) 29. Nf3 Nh7 (29... Nxg6 30. fxg6 Re7 31. Nd4 exd4 32. Rxf6 Qg8 33. Nf5 {is winning for white.}) 30. Qxh5 Rg7 31. Nh4 Qg8 32. Qh6 Nxg6 33. fxg6 Rxg6 34. Nxg6+ Bxg6 35. Rf6 Be8 {Wgite's advantage is minimal.}) 27. Qh4 (27. Nf3 {at once was necessary.} Ne7 (27... Re7 28. Rxf6 { wins}) 28. Ng5 {and black must surrender her Q.}) 27... Rcf8 28. Nf3 {[%mdl 2048] One move to late to do any damage, but black's position is still precarious and she must find the right move every move.} Rg7 {[%mdl 8192] Which she does not.} (28... Ne7 29. Ng5 Nxg6 {and now it's black who is winning no matter if white plays 30.Nxf7+ or 30.fxg6} 30. Nxf7+ Rxf7 31. fxg6 Qxg6 {with a piece up.}) (28... Ne7 29. Rg3 {Black now equalizes as follows...} Rg7 30. Rxg7 Qxg7) 29. Rxf6 {Game over.} Rxf6 30. Qxf6 Qg8 31. Qxd6 Qe8 32. Nh4 Rg3 33. Qh6+ Kg8 34. Ng6 {Intending Qh8+ and mate follows.} Qd8 {34... Bxf5avoids the immediate mate, but itt's equally hopelless.} (34... a5 { A pass to demonstrate the mate threat.} 35. Qh8+ Kf7 36. Qh7+ Kf6 37. Nd5+ Kg5 38. h4+ Kg4 39. Nf6#) 35. Qh8+ {White mates in this line, too.} Kf7 36. Qh7+ Kf6 37. Nd5+ Kg5 38. Nh8 {1-0 Missing the mate, but black's position is so bad that she resigned anyway.} (38. h4+ Kg4 39. Qh6 Rf3 (39... a5 40. Nxe5+ Nxe5 41. Qf4#) 40. Kh2 (40. gxf3+ Kg3 41. Qe3 Kh3 42. f4+ Kg4 43. Qe2+ Kh3 44. Qg2#) 40... a5 41. gxf3+ Kxf3 42. Qe3+ Kg4 43. Qe2#) 1-0

A Stunning Attack by R.C. Griffith

    We should probably be glad we didn’t live in 1922. Life expectancy was only 58.4 years for men and 61.0 years for women! 

    In those days (in fact, in my early days) Walgreens Drug Store had lunch counters and in 1922 they introduced the malted milkshake. Christian K. Nelson patented the Eskimo Pie ice cream treat and over in England, Gummy Bears were invented. A case of 24, 8 ounce bottles of Dr. Swift’s Root Beer was $2.25. 

    Dr. Swett's Root Beer was a brand of root beer that was created in 1845 by Dr. George W. Swett. Dr. Swett was born in 1834 in New Brunswick, Canada, though he was sometimes listed as being from Massachusetts. 

    His root beer was being sold by 1885 as a type of medicine and beverage. The drink was originally sold in 5 gallon packages at the price of $1.00 and was available only in Boston and New York. 

    By 1890, it was being sold at drugstores, soda fountains, sporting events around the US and began being sold in earthenware bottles by 1893. 

    I am not a drinker, but I can't imagine root beer that had alcohol in it, but this stuff did, so it was affected by the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, which had intended to stop companies from selling fake medicines and required companies to list their ingredients. 

    In 1922, the Bureau of Public Roads commissioned General John J. Pershing to make a map for construction purposes and to highlight which roads in the US were the most important in the event of war. The “Pershing Map” was the first official topographic road map of the United States.

    Speaking of war, Mussolini and the Fascist Party came to power in Italy and the world would feel the effects of it in a couple of decades. Also, America’s first aircraft carrier, The USS Langley, was commissioned. 

    In 1922, Emanuel Lasker wrote Mein Wettkampf mit Capablanca (My Match with Capablanca). In it, he believed that chess would exhaust itself in short order and that draws would kill chess. He was wrong.

    In August 1922, the London victory tournament was won by Capablanca. In December, Alekhine won the Hastings International Tournament with the score of 7.5-2.5. 

    That year Szmul Rzeszewski (later known as Samuel Reshevsky) was making headlines. In April, he visited Washington, D.C. where played chess with several congressmen and met President Warren G. Harding. The 10-year-old Reshevsky played in the New York Master tournament and finished +1 -2 =2.

    Reshevsky was not attending regular school and in October a late-night simultaneous exhibition when it got raided by the New York police! Child welfare officials were behind the raid because they were concerned about his apparent lack of education and probably that he was being exploited. His parents were charged with improper guardianship. In the end, it was shown that the boy was receiving religious education in a rabbinical school in New York and the case was dismissed. 

    Over in England there was a long forgotten match played in London between Middlesex and Essen in the Southern Union championship. 

    Playing on board 1 for Middlesex was Richard C. Griffith (1872-1955), a metallurgist for an assaying company by profession, he was a player, author and editor. 

    In 1912, he was the original co-author along with John H. White of the famous Modern Chess Openings, aka “The Chessplayers’ Bible.” Before computers MCO was THE opening book. Griffith serve as the editor of the British Chess Magazine, 1920–1937 and again for some months in 1940. He won the British Chess Championship in 1912 in his only appearance in the event. 

    His opponent was Henry H. Cole (1873-1953). In late December 1898, Cole's was committed to London's Bethlem Hospital due to a bout with mental health problems. They were possibly the result of his brother sudden death, followed soon after by his mother’s death, his best friend’s suicide and then the his father died the following year. Eventually he managed to get things back on track and by 1901 he was living with an aunt and her family and working as a clerk. In 1910, he got married and began raising a family.

 

[Event "Southern Union Chp, London"] [Site "?"] [Date "1922.12.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Richard Griffith (Middlesex)"] [Black "Henry H. Cole (Essex)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [Annotator "Stochfish 16"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1922.??.??"] {D05: Colle System} 1. d4 d5 2. e3 e6 3. Bd3 Nf6 4. Nd2 c5 5. b3 {The development of white's B on b2 is generally refered to as the Zukertort Variatin; white tries to solve one of the problem of his hemmed in dark squared B.} (5. Ngf3 Nc6 6. O-O Bd7 7. b3 Rc8 8. a3 cxd4 9. exd4 Bd6 10. c4 O-O 11. c5 Bb8 {was played in Capablanca,J-Villegas,B Buenos Aires 1911. White stands slightly better.} 12. Bb2 {1-0 (42)}) 5... b6 6. Bb2 Nc6 7. Ngf3 Bd6 8. Ne5 Bb7 9. O-O {[%mdl 32]} O-O 10. a3 Qe7 11. f4 {My database has 7 games with this position and white scores +2 -3 =2.} Rad8 12. Rf3 {This R is destined to play an important role in the game.} (12. Qe2 Ne8 13. Ndf3 f5 14. c4 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Nc7 16. Rfd1 Rd7 17. cxd5 Nxd5 18. Bc2 {Martinovic,S (2415)-Abramovic,B (2480) Bor 1984 is equal.}) 12... Nb8 {This retrograde move is a poor choice. Black does not haw time to dawdle} (12... cxd4 13. Rh3 h6 14. exd4 Ne4 { is a dead end where it looks like neither side will be able to accomplish much. }) 13. Rh3 {White's position is very good and it's hard to suggest a decent move mor black.} Bxe5 {This eliminates white's well placed N, but at the same time his own pieces are pretty much helpless bystanders. Nevertheless, a better move is hardly available.} (13... g6 {wa essential.} 14. Ndf3 {Black's best practical option is probably to seek counterplay with} c4 15. bxc4 Ne4 ( 15... dxc4 16. Nxc4 Be4 17. Ng5 {White;s advantage should prove decisive.}) 16. cxd5 exd5 17. c4 dxc4 18. Bxc4 {Black's position is not very promising.}) 14. Bxh7+ {[%mdl 512]} Nxh7 15. Qh5 f5 {This creates a squre on which the K can flee. Additionally, it makes capturing the N with check look impossible because the Q can get trapped.} 16. Qxh7+ {Brillaint!} (16. fxe5 {throws away the advantage.} g5 17. dxc5 bxc5 {White's attack is over and black has the advantage.}) (16. dxe5 {After this wgite's advantage is minimal.} g6 17. Qxg6+ Qg7 18. Qxe6+ Kh8 19. Nf3 Bc8 20. Qh6 Qxh6 21. Rxh6 Kg7 {The materially unbalanced position slightly favors white's P's, but there is a lot of play left.}) 16... Kf7 {Now ...Rh8 looks to be a strong threat.} 17. dxe5 {[%mdl 128]} (17. Qh5+ g6 18. Qh7+ Bg7 {and black is better.}) (17. Qh4 {actually loses.} Qxh4 18. Rxh4 Bf6 {and black is a piece up.}) 17... Rh8 {Winning the Q, but watch what happens.} 18. Qxh8 Rxh8 19. Rxh8 Qc7 (19... Nc6 20. Nf3 { Here, too, black is helpless.} Qc7 21. Ng5+ Ke7 22. Rg8 Kd7 23. Nh7 Ne7 24. Nf8+ Kc6 25. Nxe6 Qd7 26. Rd8 Qxe6 27. Rd6+ Qxd6 28. exd6 Kxd6 29. Bxg7 { and white wins.}) 20. Nf3 {It's simply amazing how active white's R and N are.} Nd7 21. Ng5+ Ke7 22. Rg8 Qc6 23. Rxg7+ Kd8 24. Rg8+ Ke7 {Of course white jas no intentions of repeating moves.} 25. Rg6 Nf8 {Defending the e-Pawn, so now what does white do?} 26. Rg7+ Ke8 27. Nf7 {The N on d6 will be even stronger.} Nd7 28. Nd6+ Kf8 29. Rg6 c4 (29... d4 {creating the possibility of a mate on g2 is met by} 30. Rf1 Qd5 31. exd4 cxd4 32. Rf3 Bc6 33. Rfg3 {and thge game is over.}) 30. Bd4 {White is clearly winning.} Nc5 31. b4 Ne4 32. Rxe6 c3 33. Re8+ Qxe8 34. Nxe8 Kxe8 35. g4 {Black resigned. A stunning attack by Griffith.} 1-0

The Elusive Charles B. Snow

    Today is, not to use a meteorological term, crappy if you live on the US east coast...blizzard conditions, rain and lots of wind with plummeting temperatures. It’s a good day to poke around some old chess magazines.

    In the 1800s there was an group of strong players in the Boston area known as the Order of the Mandarins of the Yellow Button. In order to join, a prospective member had to be an amateur who had beaten a recognized Master of international repute in an even game i.e. no odds. 

    The group met on Saturday afternoon for skittles and in the evenings they had diiner and discussed chess. Members included: Franklin K. Young, Constant F. Burille, F. H. Harlow, Dr. E.M. Harris, C. F. Howard, Major Otho.E. Michaelis, General W. C. Paine, Dr. Horace Richardson, Henry N. Stone, Preston Ware, Jr. and Charles B. Snow.

Weather radar at Noon

    The elusive Charles B. Snow Snow was born on Orleans, Massachusetts and passed away in his home in Roxbury, a Boston suburb, on February 28, 1924 at the age of 76. 

    For many years he was one of the leading players in Boston. For more than half a century he had been a member of the Boston Chess Club. His obituary described him as a man with a cordial and amiable disposition who was ever ready for a game with anybody. 

    He was a successful merchant in the stove and hardware business, and later he owned a carpet and crockery store. 

    What made him so elusive is that he never sought notoriety or any titles in the chess world, although many times he won first place in the Boston club championship. He just loved the game and found great pleasure in it. 

    It was in 1874, when a player of some ability named Reverand Benjamin M. Neill (1853-1922) of Philadelphia was residing in Boston, Snow discovered that he and a group were playing chess at the Y. M. C.A. and so Snow invited Neil to the Boston Chess Club. There 

    Neill 1 caused a sensation when he easily whipped all the club members, Neill was a strong player and problemist, whose chess career spanned almost 50 years.

    In 1873, he began to compose problems. In 1874, while living in Boston, he won the New England Championship by beating Preston Ware in a match with the score of 7-3. 

    He also won a tournament held in Boston tournament in1874 with the score +15 -1 =2. He traveled to New York in 1874, where he defeated Eugene Delmar in a short match. 

    After returning to Philadelphia in 1875, he won the Philadelphia Chess Club Tournamentin1875). 

    Neill participated in few tournaments only, since he didn't want chess to interfere with his ministerial duties. He even published his chess problems under the name Benjamin Milnes, as long as he was active in church work.

    In 1888, in a special four-round tournament between five of Boston's strongest players, Snow finished second (15-5) behind Burille whose scored 15.5-4.5. In rghwie individual games in the tournament Snnow scored _1 1 =2 against Burille. Snow defeated the third place finisher, Franklin K. Yong, 2.51.5. He acored 4-0 against Preston Ware and Henry Stone who were 4th and 5th respectively.

    Besides the aforementioned humility, what makes Snow so elusive is that never kept any written records of his games so only a very few are now available from other sources. The following is taken from the Boston Globe's weekly chess column dated October 11, 1876. The tournament is unknown as is the full identity of his opponent. 

[Event "Bostin"] [Site "?"] [Date "1876.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Charles B. Snow"] [Black "Sawyer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C51"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1876.??.??"] {C51: Evans Gambit} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 {Fashionable at the time, the Evans Gambit fell out of fasjion for decades until Garry Kasparov used it in a few games in the 1990s which which prompted a brief revival of interest in it.} Bxb4 {Declining the gambit with 4...Bb6 makes it little harder foir white to score the point, but the gambit's acceptance is much more popular.} 5. c3 Bc5 6. O-O d6 7. d4 exd4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Bb2 Nf6 $11 (9... Nge7 10. d5 Na5 11. Bxg7 {Losing. 11.Bd3 equals} Rg8 12. Bf6 Nxc4 13. e5 Bg4 14. exd6 Qxd6 15. Bxe7 Kxe7 16. Re1+ Kf8 17. Re4 Qf6 {White resigned. Prill,D (2181)-Sanchez Jerez,E (2291) Calvia ESP 2013}) 10. d5 Ne5 (10... Ne7 {is superior.} 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. a4 O-O {In spite of apperances the chances are equal. Bird,H-Steinitz,W London 1883}) 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Ba3 Nxe4 13. Qe2 { Black's position looks precarious, but in reality he can actually claim to be a bit better.} Qh4 {Not really bad, but it's risky.} (13... f5 {The position of black's K in the center of the board is probably enough to scare most players away from this position, but Stockfish is certain that the position is exactly equal. After 5 minutes analysis this is its best line...} 14. Nd2 Nxd2 15. Qxd2 Bd7 16. Rfe1 e4 17. d6 Qf6 18. dxc7 Bxc7 19. Bb2 Be5 20. Bxe5 Qxe5 21. Bf7+ Ke7 22. Bd5 Bc6 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Rac1 Rac8 25. f3 Rhd8 26. Qg5+ Kf7 27. fxe4 Qd4+ 28. Kh1 fxe4 29. Qh4 Kg8 30. Rxe4 Qd2 31. Rce1 c5 32. h3 Kh8 33. Re7 Rg8 34. Qc4 a5 35. R1e4 Qd8 36. Kg1 Qd6 37. Kh1 Rgf8 38. R4e6 Qd1+ 39. Re1 Qd8 40. Qc3 Rg8 {[%eval 0,0] Evaluation}) 14. Nd2 f5 {This is a mistake. It's possible that black miscalculated to consequenses of capturing in f3.} (14... Bxf2+ {Or 14...Nxf2} 15. Rxf2 Qxf2+ 16. Qxf2 Nxf2 17. Kxf2 Bf5 {This is the type of unbalanced material situation that is theoretically equal, but in practice the stronger player can probably win from either side.}) 15. d6 (15. g3 {won't do because after} Qf6 16. Nxe4 fxe4 17. Bb5+ Kd8 18. Qxe4 Bh3 { Black is better.} 19. Bb2 Rf8 20. Bxe5 {Let's get tactical!} Bxf2+ 21. Kh1 Qf5 22. Qxf5 Rxf5 23. Bxg7 Ke7 24. Bd3 Rf7 25. Bc3 Bxf1 26. Bb4+ (26. Rxf1 { is a blooper.} Bc5 {and black is better.}) 26... Ke8 27. Rxf1 Bb6 28. Rxf7 Kxf7 29. Bxh7 Re8 {In Shootouts white drew one game and lost 4.}) (15. Bb5+ { This is actually white's best mive.} Bd7 16. Bxd7+ Kxd7 17. Nxe4 fxe4 18. Qb5+ Kd8 19. Kh1 {White is better. Black must avoid} Bxf2 20. Qxb7 Rc8 21. d6 { and wins.}) 15... Bd7 {This is wrong.} (15... Nxd2 {is a loser...} 16. Qxe5+ Kd8 17. Qxg7 {Threatening mate on c7} Re8 (17... cxd6 18. Qxh8+ Kc7 19. Qg7+ { also wins}) 18. Bb2 cxd6 19. Bf6+) (15... cxd6 {After this black nakes it out of the woods.} 16. Rae1 Nc5 17. Nf3 Qf6 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. Qxe5+ Qxe5 20. Rxe5+ Ne6 21. Rfe1 Bd8 22. Rxf5 Bf6 {with equal chances.}) 16. Nxe4 (16. g3 {is still a poor choice as it allows black to equalize.} Qf6 $11 17. Nxe4 fxe4 18. dxc7 Bxc7) 16... fxe4 (16... Qxe4 {offering a trade of Qs loses quickly.} 17. Qh5+ g6 18. Qg5 cxd6 19. Qf6 Qxc4 (19... Rf8 20. Qxd6 O-O-O (20... Qxc4 21. Qxf8#) 21. Rac1 {wins}) 20. Qxh8+ Ke7 21. Qxa8 {wins easily.}) 17. Bd5 { [%mdl 8192] This slip should have reversed the situation and allowed black to gain the advantage!} (17. dxc7 Rc8 18. Rad1 Rxc7 19. Bd6 Qg4 20. Qxg4 Bxg4 21. Bxc7 Bxd1 22. Rxd1 Bxc7 {The Bs of opposite color give white drawing chances.}) 17... O-O-O {While this does not lose by any means it makes black defense difficult.} (17... c6 {shuts out white's B on a3 and allows black's K to reach safety.} 18. Bxe4 O-O {and black is better.}) 18. dxc7 {As bad as things may look for black he is hanging on by the skin of his teeth.} Bxc7 {[%mdl 8192] Very logical...and very wrong! It loses almost at once.} (18... Kxc7 {This paradoxical move exposing the K is realtively safe.} 19. Rac1+ Bc6 (19... Kb8 20. Bd6+ Ka8 21. Qa6 {wins}) 20. Bxe4 Qf6 {and clack is hanging on.}) 19. Rab1 {The final assault begins...and a vicious one it is!} Bb6 20. Rfc1+ Kb8 { This allows a maye in 9, but he was lost anyway.} (20... Bc6 21. Rxc6+ bxc6 22. Qa6+ Kc7 23. Rxb6 axb6 24. Qa7+ Kc8 25. Qa8+ Kc7 26. Qxc6+ Kb8 27. Qb7#) 21. Bd6+ Ka8 22. Rxb6 $1 {[%mdl 512]} Bc6 23. Rbxc6 e3 24. Rc8+ $3 Rxc8 25. Bxb7+ { [%mdl 512]} Kxb7 26. Qb5+ Ka8 27. Qd5+ Rc6 28. Qxc6# 1-0

Reinfeld Blows Out Smirka

    The Marshall Chess Club Championship of 1937 was notable because of the participation of Frank Marshall himself. Before the tournament started there was some speculation about how the 60-year-old veteran who was at the end of his career would do. 

  There were no ratings in those days, but Chessmetrics estimates Marshall’s highest ever rating to have been in 1917 when he was rated 2762 ranking him number 3 in the world. In 1937 (the last year the site has a rating for him) his estimated rating was down to 2494 positioning him at number 96 in the world.

    Adding to the interest was that this was the first time Marshall had competed in the championship of his own club! 

 

 

    Not only did he win the tournament, but he won it in a manner which left no uncertainty about his clear superiority over the rest of the field. He was, well, Frank Marshall when tactical complications arose, but he also showed that he was a fine strategist when he wanted to be. 

    Reinfeld’s results were modest, but he was the only one to defeat Marshal when the latter underestimated the dangers in the position. The staid Reinfeld also conducted a sharp attack against Smirka in the following game.

     Attacking games are always entertaining...the kind of chess that makes the pulse faster and gives us greatest pleasure. One such game was the one between Reinfeld and Smirka.

    Fred Reinfeld (1910-1964) was a scant 54 years old when he supposedly died from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. He was born in New York and is best remembered as a chess author. His early books were superb, but eventually he realized the money was in writing potboilers, books written merely to make the writer a living by catering to popular taste. 

    Reinfeld could play chess though. Chessmetrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been 2532 in 1942; that ranked him number 70 in the world (Botvinnik was first ay 2771 and Reshevsky 2nd at 2749). Reinfeld was ranked sixth with a rating of 2593 on the first rating list issued by the USCF in 1950.

    Reinfeld won the New York State Championship twice (1931 and 1933) and played in seven US Championships before abndoning play for writing. 

    Little is known of his opponent, a journeyman Master named Rudolph Smirka (1887-1947, 60 years old) except that he was born in Vienna, Austria. He won the New York State chess championship in 1923 and 1927. Smirka was one of the strongest members of the Marshall Chess Club and won the club championship in 1929-1930 after a play-off with Sidney Bernstein. 

[Event "Marshall CC Championship"] [Site "New York, NY"] [Date "1937.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Fred Reinfeld"] [Black "Rudolph Smirka"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D11"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1937.??.??"] [Source "British Chess Ma"] {D46: QGD, Semi-Slav} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c6 3. d4 d5 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 {[%mdl 32]} Nbd7 6. Nbd2 Bd6 {The strategu for both players is to advance their e-Pawn.} 7. O-O O-O 8. e4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 10. Bxe4 h6 {It's well known that 10...e5 at this time loses a P, bur even today a lot of players fall for it. My fatabase has 3 games in which players rated over 2500 played 10...e5?} (10... e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Qh5+ Kg8 15. Qxe5 {Black might be able to hold the draw if he fights hard and has some luck.}) 11. Bc2 Nf6 12. Bd2 {A good alternatiuve is 12.Ne5} Qe7 (12... c5 {is considerably better.} 13. Bc3 b6 (13... Re8 14. dxc5 Bxc5 {Infante,M (2301)-Puntier,W (2312) Santo Domingo DOM 2012. White is better.}) 14. Qe2 Bb7 15. Rad1 Qe7 16. dxc5 Bxc5 17. a3 Rfd8 18. b4 Bd6 19. Ne5 Rac8 20. Rd4 Qc7 {Draw agreed. Soppe,G (2469) -Chemin,V (2316) Sao Paulo 2002}) 13. Re1 {In addition to the text white had played 13.Bc3 and 13.Qe2, but 13.Qc1! is the hardest for black to handle.} (13. Qc1 Nh7 (13... b6 {This is a pass to show what happens if black allows the sacrifice on h6.} 14. Bxh6 Ng4 (14... gxh6 15. Qxh6 Re8 16. Ng5 Qc7 17. Qxf6 Bxh2+ 18. Kh1 Bf4 {White is winning.}) 15. Bg5 Qc7 16. h3 Nh2 17. Nxh2 Bxh2+ 18. Kh1 {White is up a P and has good attacking chances. Again, black migh be ab;e to hold the game if he avoids arrors and has some luck.} Bd6)) 13... Rd8 14. a3 {12.Qc1 was still a good alternative.} c5 {A good move making a bid to free his game and get some play.} 15. d5 {Equally good! Other move allow black equality.} Qc7 16. Bc3 {lapse, White has all the play and his Bs look menacing to black's K.} Be7 {Black's lagging development tells against him, but instead of this retreat he should have went in for complications.} (16... b5 17. b3 bxc4 18. bxc4 exd5 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. cxd5 c4 21. Qd4 Kg7 {Clearly white is better, but black may be able to defend himself. In Shootouts whites scored +4 -0 =1, but the games were long (70-100 moves), so OTB a draw would be a possibility.}) 17. Qd3 $18 {Black's position is bery difficult.} b5 {A bold bid for freedom, which fails because of the inferiority of Black's game. I} ( 17... exd5 {This is simply not possible because of} 18. Bxf6 Bf5 (18... Bxf6 19. Qh7+ Kf8 20. Qh8#) 19. Qxf5 g6 20. Be5 {and wins}) (17... g6 {is met by} 18. Ne5 Nxd5 19. cxd5 Rxd5 20. Qf3 Bd6 21. Ng4 Rd4 22. Qf6 Bf8 23. Bxd4 cxd4 24. Rac1 Qe7 25. Nxh6+ Kh7 26. Qxf7+ Qxf7 27. Nxf7 {and wins.}) 18. b3 (18. cxb5 {woukd play into black's hands.} Rxd5 19. Qe2 a6 {Black has equalized. White sould now play 20.Bxf6, but not} 20. bxa6 Bxa6 21. Qe3 Bb7 22. Be5 { with planty of play.} Qc6) 18... Qb6 19. Rad1 Ba6 {This threatens 20...Nxd5, but white has prepared for the final assault.} (19... Kf8 20. Ne5 b4 21. Ba1 exd5 {and now...} 22. Nxf7 Kxf7 23. Qg6+ Kf8 24. Rxe7 Kxe7 25. Qxg7+ Kd6 26. Bxf6 Kc6 27. Bxd8 Qxd8 28. cxd5+ Kb5 29. axb4 Kxb4 30. Qxh6 {etc.}) 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Qh7+ Kf8 22. d6 {It does black no good to take this P.} g6 (22... Rxd6 23. Rxd6 Qxd6 24. Qh8+ Ke7 25. Qxa8) 23. Ne5 {Even after this which is less forceful thanv23.Bxg6 blacvk is already crushed.} (23. Bxg6 fxg6 24. Rxe6 Qb8 ( 24... Rxd6 25. Rdxd6 Bg7 26. Rd7 Qxe6 27. Rxg7 bxc4 28. Qh8+ Qg8 29. Qxg8#) 25. Rxf6+ Ke8 26. Qe7#) 23... Bg7 (23... Bxe5 {is met by} 24. Bxg6 fxg6 25. Qe7+ Kg8 26. Rxe5 {White is now ready to go for the kill.} Bc8 {Just a sample line.. .} 27. Qf6 Rd7 28. Rxe6 Bb7 29. Qe5 Kh7 30. Rxg6 Kxg6 31. Qe6+ Kg7 32. Qxd7+ Kh8 33. Qe6 bxc4 34. Qxh6+ Kg8 35. Qg5+ Kh7 36. Re1 Qxd6 37. Re7+) 24. Nxf7 { [%mdl 512] Crushing. Stockfish announces a mate in 11.} Kxf7 (24... Rxd6 { allows a mate in 9.} 25. Nxd6 Qc7 26. Rxe6 Qd7 27. Rde1 Bb7 28. Rf6+ Bxf6 29. Qxd7 Bd5 30. cxd5 Be7 31. Rxe7 b4 32. Rh7 bxa3 33. Qf7#) 25. Qxg6+ Kf8 26. Re3 {Threatens 27.Rf3+, but there are many ways to win.} (26. Rxe6 {with a mate in 9 is the most precise.} Rxd6 27. Rdxd6 Qxd6 28. Rxd6 Re8 29. Qf5+ Kg8 30. Re6 Rf8 31. Qh7+ Kf7 32. Qg6+ Kg8 33. Re7 Rf7 34. Qxf7+ Kh8 35. Qxg7#) 26... Bb7 27. Rxe6 {This wins, but he missed a pretty move.} (27. Rd5 {Nice. It's mate in 5} Bxd5 28. cxd5 Rxd6 29. Rf3+ Bf6 30. Rxf6+ Ke7 31. Qg7+ Kd8 32. Rf8#) 27... Qc6 {Black is lost, but he hopes to be able to play 28...Qxg2#} 28. Rd5 { Less flashy was 28.f3 with a mate in 17. After the text black resigned.} (28. Rd5 Rxd6 29. Qf5+ Kg8 30. Qh7+ Kf7 31. Rexd6 Qxd6 32. Rxd6 Ke7 33. Rg6 Rg8 34. Qxg8 Bf6 35. Qh7+ Ke6 36. Qg7 bxc4 37. Qxf6+ Kd7 38. Rg7+ Kc8 39. Qf8#) 1-0

Ljubojevic Smashes Durao

    Fifty years ago, in 1974, players lost that year were former British Champion C.H.O'D. Alexander who died in Cheltenham, England at the age of 64. Josef Lokvenc (1899-1974) died in Sankt Polten, Austria. He was German Champion in 1943 and Austrian Champion in 1951. Soviet attacking genius Rashid Nezhmetdinov (1912-1974) died in Kazan, Tatarstan, at the age of 61. Former Swiss Champions Henri Grob (1904-1974) died in Zurich at the age of 70. 

    Pal Benko and Vastimil Hort tied for 1st in the US Open, held in New York. The first World Cadet (under 16) Championship was won by England’s Jonathan Mestel. Mikhail Tal and Alexander Beliavsky won the Soviet Championship, held in Leningrad. In Chicago, Walter Browne won the first of his six US Championships. Kaissa, a Russina computer, won the first computer world championship that was held in Stockholm.  

    Convicted murderer Claude F. Bloodgood III (1937-2001) escaped from a chess tournament after he and another fellow inmate player named Lewis Carpenter overpowered their fusrd. They was captured a few days later. 

    While in the Virginia State Penitentiary Bloodgood gained notoriety for for artificially pumping up his rating to the point that he was rated number two, at Elo 2700, in the US behind Gata Kamsky. 

    At that time players were complaining of rating deflation...everybody's rating was drifting down, something that’s anathema to chess players! The cause of the deflation was an influx of rapidly improving young players. The rating system was like a poker game where a player sits down at the table with no money and wins from those already in the game. 

    In order to “fix” the problem, officials (who were not mathematicians) introduced bonus points, feedback points and fiddle points. You were awarded points just for entering a tournament and in some cases could even gain points with a minus score! 

    Bloodgood warned the USCF what was happening and pumped up his rating by playing against fellow prisoners. The USCF hurled charges of rating fraud, erased his rating, kicked him out of the USCF and changed the system. In the process the chess program at the Virginia Penitentiary was destroyed. 

     On the international scene Walter Browne won at Wijk aan Zee. At the Olympiad held in Nice, France it was no surprise that the oviets (Karpov, Korchnoi, Spassky, Petrosian, Tal and Kuzmin) took first. Yugoslavia was second and the United States (Kavalek, Byrne, Browne, Reshevsky, Lombardy and Tarjan) was third.

    The really big news happened on May 10th when Anatoly Karpov defeated Boris Spassky in Moscow, eliminating Spassky from the world challengers’ competition. Karpov went on to beat Viktor Korchnoi to become Bobby Fischer’s challenger. Fischer hemmed and hawed, made excuses and chickened out of meeting Karpov who was then awarded the title. 

    You’ve probably never heard of Ourense, a city in northwestern Spain that’s known for its hot springs; they held an international tournament there in 1974 that was won by Yugoslavia’s Ljubomir Ljubojevic (born 1950). 

 

    Ljubojevic was awarded the IM title in 1970 and the GM title in 1971. He was Yugoslav Champion in 1977 (jointly) and 1982. By the early 1980's he was ranked third in the world, but he never succeeded in reaching the Candidates stage of the World Championship. He was always dangerous, he lack consistency. 

    His opponent in the following game was IM and International Arbiter Joaquim Durao (1930-2015) who won the Portuguese championship 13 times. 

    The game was well played by both players and it only took one small slip for Durao to quickly find himself in a hopeless position. 

[Event "Orense"] [Site "Ourense ESP"] [Date "1974.01.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Ljubomir Ljubojevic"] [Black "Joaquim Durao"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C64"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1974.01.14"] {C64: Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 {This is the Classical (or Cordel) Defense which is the oldest defence to the Ruy Lopez, and has been played occasionally by Boris Spassky and Boris Gulko.} 4. O-O {White's most common reply is 4.c3,} (4. Nxe5 {This old fork trick does ot offer white amy advantage.} Nxe5 5. d4 c6 6. Be2 Bd6 (6... Bxd4 {is inferior...} 7. Qxd4 d6 8. Bf4 {with the advantage.}) 7. dxe5 Bxe5) 4... Nd4 5. Nxd4 Bxd4 6. c3 Bb6 7. d4 c6 8. Ba4 d6 9. Na3 Bc7 10. d5 (10. Nc2 Nf6 11. Qe2 Bd7 12. Ne3 O-O 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Nf5 Bxf5 15. exf5 {is equal. Shirov,A (2719)-Fedorchuk,S (2619) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2009}) 10... Bd7 (10... Ne7 {was preferrable.} 11. Bg5 Bd7 12. dxc6 bxc6 13. Nc4 {equals. Volokitin,A (2627)-Musat,A (2398) Calimanesti-Caciulata ROU 2014}) 11. dxc6 bxc6 12. Nc4 Qe7 13. f4 Nf6 14. fxe5 dxe5 15. b3 Bb6+ (15... Nxe4 {at once was better.} 16. Ba3 {is adequately met by} Qe6 17. Qf3 f5 18. Rad1 O-O-O {Black is at least equal.}) 16. Kh1 (16. Nxb6 axb6 {The B on a4 in danger so...} 17. b4 Nxe4 {Black is ever so slightly better.}) 16... Nxe4 17. Ba3 {[%mdl 2048] White has strong initiative.} Qe6 18. Qd3 {Prevents ...Ng3+. It also sets a trap which Durao does not fall for.} (18. Bb2 {A pass to demonstrate the threat.} Ng3+ 19. hxg3 Qh6+ 20. Qh5 Qxh5#) 18... f5 (18... Nf2+ {This juicy looing check loses.} 19. Rxf2 $1 Bxf2 20. Nd6+ Kd8 21. Qa6 f6 (21... c5 22. Bxd7 Qxd7 23. Rf1 Be3 24. Rxf7 {wins}) 22. Rf1 Bb6 ( 22... Be3 23. Bxc6 Bxc6 24. Qxc6 Rb8 25. Rd1 {is fatal for black.}) 23. Qb7 Rc8 24. Nxc8 Bxc8 25. Rd1+ Bd4 26. Qb4 Ke8 27. cxd4 {White is winning.}) 19. Rae1 Bc7 {A measure against Nd6+} (19... Kd8 {is actually a better defense. White's best continuation is then} 20. Rxe4 fxe4 21. Qxe4 Kc7 22. Bd6+ Kb7 {and it's going to be nearly impossible to get at black's K.}) 20. Rxf5 {Although this works out well in the end, it actually allows black equality.} (20. Rxe4 { leaves white slightly better after} fxe4 21. Qe3 (21. Qxe4 O-O-O {and it's black that is better.}) 21... c5 (21... O-O-O 22. Qxa7 {wins for white}) 22. Qxe4 Rd8 (22... O-O-O 23. Qa8+ Bb8 24. Bxc5 {White is winning.}) 23. Bxd7+ Rxd7 24. Bxc5 {White is better.}) 20... Qxf5 (20... Nf6 21. Rfxe5 Bxe5 22. Rxe5) ( 20... Ng3+ {might have been worth a try, but with best play it leads to a lost ending.} 21. hxg3 Qxf5 22. Qxf5 Bxf5 23. Bxc6+ Kf7 24. Bxa8 Rxa8 25. Bd6 Bxd6 26. Nxd6+ Kf6 27. Rf1 g6 28. g4 Ke6 29. Nxf5 gxf5 30. Rxf5) 21. Rxe4 {Black's position looks precarious (and it is), but he has an aderquate defense in 21... Rf8} O-O-O {[%mdl 8192] Whereas this move was satisfactory in the past, at this time it loses quickly.} (21... Rf8 $1 $11 22. Bxf8 Kxf8 23. Qf3 Qxf3 24. gxf3 {with equal chances.} Re8) 22. Nd6+ Bxd6 23. Qa6+ {Obviously overlloed by Durao, this move wins.} (23. Bxd6 {This is probably what Durao expected. Then after} Be8 24. Qa6+ Kd7 25. Bc5 (25. Qxc6+ {loses} Ke6 26. Qc4+ Kxd6 {Black is winning.}) 25... Qxe4 26. Qxa7+ Kc8 (26... Ke6 27. Qe7+ Kf5 28. Qxd8 Qe1+ 29. Bg1 {with an unclear position. Shootouts from this position resulted in white scoring +2 -0 =3} h5) 27. Qa8+ {White is forced to take the draw byu repeating moves.}) 23... Kc7 (23... Kb8 24. Bxd6+ Ka8 25. Bxc6+ Bxc6 26. Qxc6#) 24. Qxa7+ Kc8 25. Bb5 {[%mdl 512] Black resigned. Stockfish inforns us that it's mate in 32.} (25. Bb5 Rdf8 (25... Qf1+ 26. Bxf1 Rdf8 27. Ba6+ Kd8 28. Bxd6 Rf1+ 29. Bxf1 Ke8 30. Rxe5+ Kf7 31. Qxd7+ Kg6 32. Qe6#) 26. Qa8+ Bb8 27. Ba6+ Kc7 28. Qb7+ Kd8 29. Qxb8+ Bc8 30. Bc5 Qf1+ 31. Bxf1 Rxf1+ 32. Bg1 Ke7 33. Rxe5+ Kf7 34. Qc7+ Kg6 35. Qxc6+ Rf6 36. Qe4+ Bf5 37. Rxf5 Rxf5 38. Qg4+ Kf6 39. Bd4+ Ke6 40. Qe4+ Kd6 41. Qxf5 Re8 42. Qc5+ Ke6 43. Qe5+ Kf7 44. Qxg7+ Ke6 45. Qe5+ Kd7 46. Qb5+ Ke7 47. Bc5+ Kd8 48. Qb8+ Kd7 49. Qb7+ Ke6 50. Qc6+ Kf7 51. Qd7+ Kf6 52. Qxe8 Kg7 53. Bd4+ Kh6 54. Qe6+ Kh5 55. Be3 h6 56. Qxh6+ Kg4 57. Qg5#) 1-0

A Flawless Gem by Dr. Joseph Platz

 

    Joseph Platz (April 11, 1905, Cologne, Germany – December 30, 1981, Manchester, Connecticut) was a German-American master. Platz moved to the United States because of Nazi policies in Germany in the 1930s.

    Platz learned the game at the age of thirteen and for over a year he devoted himself to the intensive study of the games of Lasker, Anderson, Morphy, Steinitz and Tarrash. With this firm foundation in fundamentals, his progress was such that at age 16 he had the reputation of being one of the best players in Cologne. 

    In high school, he devoted the same intensity to his studies that he devoted to his chess games and graduated with the intention of entering medical school. The early death of his father and the insecure position of the family's economic situation caused a change in plans and he worked as a bookkeeper for a banking firm from 1923 to 1926. 

    An important milestone in Platz's life was the re-marriage of his mother to an man whose urging convinced Platz that at the age of 21 it was not too late to start studying medicine and so he entered medical school. 

    His first major tournament was an invitational event sponsored by the Cologne Chess League in which he scored 7-0. This win was not a one-shot victory because Platz went on to win the Cologne Chess Club Championship seven times in a row. 

    Chesswise, 1926 could be considered a successful year for him. He won the City of Cologne Championship with a score of 11.5-0.5 and when Rudolf Spielmann, one of the greatest attacking player of all times, was returning from winning an international tournament in Austria, he visited Cologne and a five game match with Platz was arranged.

    The results of proved that Platz was no ordinary player. To put it in his own words, "What chance did I, an amateur chess player, have against the famous master? To everyone's surprise, including my own, I won two games, drew two and only lost one and won the match with a 3-2 score.” 

    In 1928, after a two year absence from serious chess due to his medical studies, Platz entered and won the tournament for the Championship of the Rhine (i.e. Western Germany). 

    More tournament successes followed, then in 1931, having passed the Medical Board examinations Dr. Platz served his internship in Hannover where he played a six-game match with H. Matthai, Lower Saxony Champion, and won with a +3 -1 =2 score. 

    1932 was spent as resident in surgery in the city of Offenburg where the busy schedule left little time for chess. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Dr. Platz left Germany and came to the United States where, after a year's internship at Fordham Hospital in New York City, he passed all of the Medical Board exams and went into general practice in the Bronx. 

    In 1934, with all the uncertainty contingent with emigrating to a new country, learning a new language, setting up a medical practice and having to adopt a new way of life, Dr. Platz still managed to return to competitive chess and joined the Manhattan Chess Club where he took part in many tournaments. 

    As a member of the Manhattan team in the Metropolitan Chess League, he went undefeated for seven years and won a record setting Best Game Prize four times. During his stay in New York, Platz was also a member of the Bronx Chess Club and did not suffer a single loss in the six club championships that he won.

    In 1948, he played in the US Championship (won by Herman Steiner). It was a 20-player event and Platz scored +4 -8 =7, landing him in 14th place. 

      In 1952 Dr. Platz, with a desire to live in a smaller and quieter community, moved his family to Manchester, Connecticut. Building up a new practice left very little time for anything else much less chess. Therefore, Platz decided to retire from active chess, but his retirement only lasted two years and in 1954 he was back in action. 

    In 1978 he wrote Chess Memoirs: The chess career of a physician and Lasker pupil. I do not have this book, but you can download the games in pgn from Bill Walls’ fantastic site HERE. For some reason Platz only included one game from his match with Spielmann and quite a few miniature games where his opponents made real howlers…one move blunders. Perhaps there was a story behind them.

     In the game below he defeats Irving Chernev who got into trouble when he brought his Q out too early and neglected to castle.

 

[Event "New York ch"] [Site "New York ch"] [Date "1939.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Joseph Platz"] [Black "Irving Chernev"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E34"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "1939.??.??"] {E34: Nimzo-Indian: Classical} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nf3 c5 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 {[%mdl 32]} (8. Qxc3 {This is equally good.} Ne4 9. Qc2 Nc6 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Be3 {equals. Schmidt,W (2370)-Rozentalis,E (2602) Warsaw POL 2012}) 8... Nc6 9. e3 Bd7 10. c4 Qd6 (10... Qh5 {This leaves the Q slightly vulnerable.} 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O Rfd8 13. Rb1 b6 14. Ne5 { White is slightly better. Lomineishvili,M (2350)-Timmermans,I (2225) Schwaebisch Gmuend 1999}) 11. Bb2 Rc8 12. Bd3 cxd4 13. exd4 Qf4 {This leaves his Q somewhat exposed plus his delay in castling is going to be a problem. 13. ..O-O was better.} 14. O-O Ne7 {This was his last chance to castle.} 15. Ne5 Bc6 16. Rad1 h5 {[%mdl 8192] A fatal error; black has zero prospects of conducting a successful K-side attack. 16...O-O, or possibly 16...b5 were better. In that case white's advantage is only a modest one.} 17. g3 {This highlights the problem with black's 13th move.} Qh6 18. Bc1 g5 19. h4 Ng4 20. Bxg5 Nxe5 {Very nice! This may look like desperation, but it's actually a neat little trap!} (20... Qg7 21. Rfe1 f6 22. Nxc6 Rxc6 23. Bc1 O-O 24. Be4 { White is clearly calling the shots.}) 21. dxe5 {[%mdl 32] Avoiding Chernev's crafty trap and securing the point.} (21. Bxh6 Nf3+ 22. Kg2 Nxd4+ 23. Kh3 Nxc2 24. Bg7 (24. Bxc2 Rxh6 {and black is winning!}) 24... Rg8 25. Bb2 Ba4 26. Rd2 Rd8 27. Bxc2 Rxd2 28. Bxa4+ Nc6 {and the advantage lies with black.}) 21... Qg7 22. Rfe1 Rg8 23. Be4 Bxe4 24. Qxe4 {With the powerful threat of Bxe7 and Qxb7+} Nc6 (24... a6 25. Bxe7 Kxe7 26. Qxb7+ Ke8 27. Qxc8+ Ke7 28. Rd7#) (24... Qg6 25. Qxb7 Kf8 26. Bf6 {Black gets mated.} Re8 27. Rd8 {Black can only delay mate by giving away material.} Qxg3+ 28. fxg3 Rxg3+ 29. Kh2 Rxd8 30. Qxe7+ Kg8 31. Qxd8+ Kh7 32. Qh8+ Kg6 33. Kxg3 a6 34. Qg7+ Kf5 35. Qg5#) 25. Qd3 { Threatening mate with Qd7+.} f5 26. exf6 Qf7 27. Qd6 Nd8 28. Rd3 b6 29. f4 { Black resigned, Flawless play by Platz.} (29. Rde3 {is just a bit quicker.} Rc5 30. Rxe6+ Nxe6 31. Rxe6+ Qxe6 32. Qxe6+ Kd8 33. Qxg8+ Kd7 34. Bf4 Rxc4 35. Qxc4 a5 36. Qd5+ Ke8 37. Qe6+ Kd8 38. Qd6+ Kc8 39. Qc7#) (29. f4 Rh8 30. Rde3 Rh7 31. Rxe6+ Nxe6 32. Rxe6+ Qxe6 33. Qxe6+ Kd8 34. Qd6+ Ke8 35. f5 a5 36. Qe6+ Kd8 37. f7+ Kc7 38. Bf4+ Kb7 39. Qd7+ Rc7 40. Qxc7+ Ka6 41. Qc8+ Ka7 42. Qb8+ Ka6 43. Qa8#) 1-0

Pollock’s Masterpiece

    Wilhelm Steinitz and Mikhail Chigorin played their first World Championship match in Havana from January 20th until February 24th in 1889. Steinitz won 10.5-6.5. 

    The big New York tournament in1889 started a month later. Steinitz was scheduled to play, but much to the horror of the organizing committee, he withdrew but remained available for administrative tasks and as a tournament reporter. 

    The schedule called for six games played per week with play began at 1pm and continued until 5pm with a break for dinner and then resumed as necessary at 7pm. Games were adjourned at 11pm and completed on rest days. The time limit of 15 moves per hour. 

    Draws added to the tournaments toughness. They counted as a half a point in the first cycle, but in the second cycle they had to be replayed and it was the second result that counted! 

    As a result of the weird treatment of draws, the congress had 38 normal rounds, 8 replay rounds, and 4 playoff rounds, for a grand total of 50 rounds. 

    This event can be regarded as the first Candidates' Tournament because the winner was obligated to play match against Steinitz within a month.

    That obligation was something either Weiss nor Chigorn wanted to do and as a result the tournament committee decided to cancel the match idea. 

    The third prize winner Gunsberg was interested in a match against Steinitz that was to be played in New York. But, before that Gunsberg drew a match against Chigorin in Havana at the beginning of 1890 (11.5-11.5). Based on that result, Steinitz agreed to a match against the under-appreciated Gunsber. It was played at the Manhattan Club and Steinitz won with 10.5-8.5. 

 

View Crosstable HERE

 

    The following game from the tournament was played between Max Weiss and W. H. K. Pollock. The game was awarded the special prize of 50 dollars (a little over $1,700 in today’s buying power) as the most brilliant of the tournament. 

    It’s claimed that play from the 17th move on makes it one of the finest examples of chess ingenuity and one of the most brilliant gems ever played. Actually, I think the key move was the surprising 12...Nb4. See what you think and we’ll also see what Stockfish thinks of the game! 

    Max Weiss (1857-1927) was an Austrian player born in the Kingdom of Hungary who had a short, but brilliant, career. Chess metrics places him at number 3 in the world 8 different months between the August 1887 and June 1890. They estimate his highest ever rating to have been 2727 on the July 1889 rating list. 

    William Pollock (1859-1896, only 37 tears old) was born in Cheltenham, England. A player of IM strength, he was Irish Champion in 1885. He died of tuberculosis (consumption). Chess metrics ranks him number 26 in the world 3 different months between October 1886 and the June 1887. His highest ever rating is estimated to have been 2541 on the July 1889 rating list. 

[Event "6th American Congress, New York"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1889.05.11"] [Round "35"] [White "Max Weiss"] [Black "W.H.K. Pollock"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C77"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "1889.03.25"] {C77: Ruy Lopez} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {[%mdl 32]} a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 { Instead of 5.O-O. White steers clear of the Marshall Attack and threatens 6. Bxc6 winning the e5-Pawn.} b5 {Defending the P with 5...d6 is sldo s good alternative.} 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d5 8. exd5 (8. Nbd2 O-O 9. O-O Be6 10. exd5 Bxd5 11. Qe2 {is equal, but white's opportunities for attacking are limited. Moussard,J (2686)-Yilmaz,M (2621) Zagreb CRO 2022}) 8... Nxd5 {[%mdl 32]} 9. Qe2 (9. Nxe5 {is not quite sound.} Nxe5 10. d4 Be6 11. dxc5 c6 12. O-O Qh4 { Black has a promising attack and eventually won in Braun,G (1887)-Wiebusch,M (1901) Tuebingen 2007}) (9. O-O O-O 10. Re1 Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 {White stands quite well. Englisch,B-Von Minckwitz,J Hamburg 1885}) 9... O-O 10. Qe4 Be6 {This should have allowed white to get the upper hand.} (10... Nde7 { should be played and then after} 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Qxe5 Bd6 13. Qh5 Bf5 { Black's lead in development is well worth the P.}) 11. Nxe5 {The cost of winning the P is not worth it!} (11. Ng5 {is another story.} g6 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. O-O {White stands quite well.}) 11... Nxe5 12. Qxe5 {So far the game hasn't been all that interesting, but now things change.} Nb4 {With the obvious threat of a fork on the Q and K, but it goes beyond that.} 13. O-O { Strange...castling leaves white lost!} (13. cxb4 {is the only way!} Bxb4+ 14. Nc3 Bxb3 15. O-O (15. axb3 Re8) 15... Re8 16. Qf4 Bd6 17. Qf3 Bc2 18. Be3 Bxd3 19. Rfd1 Qh4 {White should survive the attack, but he is a P down.}) 13... Nxd3 14. Qh5 Bxb3 15. axb3 Re8 {[%mdl 32] Black has a strong threat in ...Qf6. In any case, the mounting pressure on f2 is becoming unbearable.} 16. Nd2 (16. Be3 {was worth a try.} Re5 17. Qf3 Bxe3 18. fxe3 Qe8 {But even here white's position is very difficult.}) 16... Qe7 17. b4 {Rather pointless, but he had to make a move. Now black executes a classic attack.} (17. Nf3 {is not much better.} Qe2 (17... Bxf2+ 18. Rxf2 Nxf2 19. Kxf2 Qe2+ 20. Kg3 Re6 {and white is in dire straits.}) 18. Be3 Bxe3 19. fxe3 Rad8 20. h3 Rd6 {is also very dangerous for white.}) 17... Bxf2+ 18. Kh1 (18. Rxf2 Qe1+ 19. Rf1 Qe3+ 20. Kh1 Nf2+ 21. Rxf2 (21. Kg1 Nh3+ 22. Kh1 Qg1+ 23. Rxg1 Nf2#) 21... Qxf2 22. h4 Re1+ 23. Kh2 Qf4+ 24. g3 Qf2+ 25. Kh3 Rh1+ 26. Kg4 {Black has a forced mate in 8.} Rg1 27. Ne4 Qe2+ 28. Kf4 Rf1+ 29. Kg5 h6+ 30. Qxh6 gxh6+ 31. Kxh6 Qxe4 32. h5 Qf5 33. Bg5 Qh7#) 18... Qe1 19. h3 {This gives the K an escape square so now black has to move his Q, but he really doesn't!} Nxc1 20. Rxe1 (20. Rxc1 Qxd2 { is no salvation for white.}) 20... Rxe1+ 21. Kh2 {The way black finishes off the game is bot instructive and entertaining.} Bg1+ 22. Kg3 Re3+ 23. Kg4 Ne2 24. Nf1 g6 (24... Rae8 {is even prettier!} 25. Nxe3 {Taking the N would result in no more than equality, but watch this...} Re4+ (25... Rxe3 26. Rd1 Re4+ 27. Kf3 {There's no mate and black must take the draw by repeating moves with 27... Re3+ otherwise this happens...} g6 28. Kxe4 (28. Qg5 Re6 29. Rd8+ Kg7 30. Qd2 Rf6+ 31. Kxe2 Rf2+ 32. Kd3 Rxd2+ 33. Kxd2 {White wins.}) 28... gxh5 {wins a peice and the game.} 29. Kf3) 26. Kf3 Rxe3+ 27. Kg4 g6 28. Qd5 Bf2 29. Qd8+ Kg7 30. Rf1 h5+ 31. Kg5 Re5#) 25. Qd5 h5+ {Black mates in 9 moves.} 26. Kg5 Kg7 { [%mdl 512] A very nice in-between move!} 27. Nxe3 (27. Qd4+ {olds out a bit longer...} Nxd4 28. cxd4 Re4 29. g4 f6+ 30. Kh4 Bf2+ 31. Ng3 g5+ 32. Kxh5 Rh8# {Very nice.}) 27... f6+ 28. Kh4 Bf2+ 29. g3 Bxg3# {The best game ever played? Not really, but still a masterpiece, The engine assigns black's play with a weighted score of a precise 0.22 meaning that his moves came very near to matching those of Stockfish. Pollocks final attack was a joy to behold.} 0-1