Classic Bishop Sacrifice

 

    The Classic Bishop Sacrifice (Bxh7+) is simply a “must know” pattern! It may not happen often that you get to play it, but when it does, it’s pretty satisfying to pull it off like I sus in the following 10 minute game. 

    The Classic Bishop Sacrifice is the oldest of all the sacrifices involved in the attack on the castled King and it’s aso a good illustration of h7 and f7 as focal points foer delivering mate. The earliest instance of the sacrifice Bxh7+ followed by Ng5+ dates back to Greco's handbook in 1619, but ot wasn’t systematically categorized until the Swiss master Erwin Voellmy did so in a magazine article in 1911. 

    For the conditions to be ripe for the sacrifice white needs to have a Queen, light squared Bishop and Knight. The Bishp has to be able to sacrifice itself on h7, he Knight should be able to reach g5 and the Queen must be able to reach h5, or in some cases another square on the h-file. From black’s perspective the most important point is that either is Bishop or Queen should be able to safely occupy the b1-h7 diagonal. 

 

 

ChessBase

Tartajubow–Anonymous1–0B00Chess Hotelm G/102025Stickfish 17.1

B00: Nimzovich Defense 1.e4 c6 The Nimzovich defense which allows white to occupy the center after whicj black will try to block or restrain white's centralPs and eventually undermine it. Kasparov and Keene wrote that 2hile not popular, it is sound. 2.d4 e6 Black usually plays either 2...d5 or 2...e5, vut this flexible move lools reasonable. 3.c3 b4 4.f4 Perhaps a bit risky, but I played it with the intention of launching a K-side attack as quickly as possible. xc3+ Black should delay this until provoked by a3. 4...f6 5.e5 e4 6.d3 d5 7.f3 Olsen,C (2064)-Kragh,N Copenhagen 1999 with equal chances. Here as in the game black played the inprovoked 7...Bxc3 and soon ended up with an inferior position. Suggested moves are 7...b6, 7... f5 and 7...f6 5.bxc3 d6 This too passive and not in the spirit of this Hypermodern defense. He should play 5,,,Nf6 5...f6 6.e5 can get crazy! The safe mobe is 6.Bd3 e4 7.f3 xc3 8.d3 d5 9.c4 de7 10.d5 exd5 11.cxd5 b4 12.d2 bxd5 13.f5 c6 14.f6 gxf6 15.exf6 g6 6.f3 f6 7.d3 0-0 8.0-0 White is clearly better and the Classic Bishop Sacrifice is looming as a possibility. e8 This should have lost immediately, but nothing was entirely satisfactiry. 8...h6 preventing Bxh7+ is best. Engines prefer 9.Qe1 for some reason, but I would hane played the nearly as good 9.e5 after which white has a great position after 9...Nh7 10.Qe2, 9...Nd5 q0.c4 or 9...Ne8 10.g7 9.d2 While not bad this misses an immediate win! 9.e5 d5 10.xh7+ xh7 11.g5+ g6 12.f3 f6 13.d3+ f5 14.g3 White is clearly winning according to the engine, but figuring out exactly how to do it in a 10 minute game is beyond my skill level! 9...d5 I was haooy to see this because now the Classic Bishop Sacrifice is possible. 9...e5 This prevents the sacrifice and whike white gets a significant advantage, black is far from lost. 10.d5 b8 11.fxe5 dxe5 White has a multitude of reasonable moves, but can only claim an advantage in space. 10.e5 d7 Aooarebtly bkack is unfamiliar with the sacrifice. 10...e4 This bkocks the sacrifice and is the only plausible move. 11.g5 h6 12.xe4 dxe4 13.xe4 followed by either 14.Qh4 or 13.Qh5 with an excellent position. 11.xh7+ Unlike the position noted in the note to move 9 this results in a pretty clear sequence; white is clearly winning. xh7 There is no other option. 11...h8 12.g5 e7 12...f8 13.h5 mates 13.h5 mates f6 14.exf6 gxf6 15.d3+ g8 16.h7+ f8 17.h8# 12.g5+ g6 In some positions this is the best defense, but here it makes no difference. 12...g8 13.h5 f6 14.h7+ f8 15.h8+ e7 16.xg7# 13.f3 h8 14.g3 The threat (which I did not see) is 15.f5+ leading to mate. f6 14...a6 A pass to demonstrate the threat. 15.f5+ exf5 16.e6+ g5 17.xg5+ h7 18.h5+ g8 19.xg7# 15.xe6+ Ending the gane. Black's remaining move were the result of inertia. f7 16.xg7+ e8 16...xe6 17.f5+ xf5 18.g4# 17.xd8 xd8 18.g4 f8 19.exf6 xg4 20.e7# 1–0

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Lembit Oll

 

    On Sunday, May 17, 1999, in Tallinn, Estonia, the world’s 42nd ranked player who was rated well over 2600, 33-year old Lembit Oll committed suicide by jumping out of his fourth floor apartment window. He had been receiving treatment for depression since 1996 as a result of his divorce and the loss of custody of his two sons.

    Born on April 23, 1966, he was a player with a classical style yet he seemed especially at home in extremely sharp opening variations. Oll (IM title in 1983, GM title in 1990) had been a promising junior, becoming champion of Estonia in 1982 and junior champion of the Soviet Union in 1984. He also won multiple European and World junior championships. Oll regularly played for Estonia in the chess Olympics and European team championships. He played his last tournament in 1999 in Nova Gorica, sharing second place 

 The following game against was played in the 1989 USSR Championship. The opening was a sharp line of the Winawer French, going into a sub-variation that had recently become popular at GM level. Thanks in part to a brilliant idea of Oll’s first demonstrated in this game, it didn't last long. Mikhail Ulibin (born 1971) is a Soviet GM and silver medalist in the World Junior Championship of 1991. He played in the Soviet Union Junior Championships of 1984, 1985 (3rd place),1986,1987 and 1988 where he tied for first with Gata Kamsky.

 

 

ChessBase

Lembit Oll–Mikhail Ulibin1–0C18USSR Chp, Tbilisi1989Stockfish 17.1

[%evp 16,67,135,72,251,241,248,237,262,240,245,113,444,435,442,447,452,424, 431,423,463,459,445,438,454,427,741,739,742,723,745,739,746,731,742,742,733, 725,741,731,717,733,710,702,775,762,976,29969,29976,29976,1004,1192,1000,908] C18: French Defense, Winawer Variation 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c3 b4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 xc3+ 6.bxc3 e7 7.g4 0-0 8.d3 bc6 9.h5 h6 This move is risky, downright bad in fact. So, why did black play it? The fact that it practically loses was not known at the time. Stockfish spits the winning 10.Bxh6 almost immediately, but even after several minutesd the old (prior to 2008) Rybka 2.3. 2 multi_processor version evaluates the position as equal after 10.Bxh6. Black's best is 10...Ng6 after which whute still has an active position. 10.xh6 Without question best. 10. g4 (was tried by British GM Nigel Short the previous year, but it only resulted in a draw: gxh6 11.xh6 Black only has one move that avoids mate. but is allows the elimination of his K's lone defender and leaves his K's position in ruins. f5 12.xf5 exf5 13.h3 White needs quick development, but even stronger was a R-lift after castling Q-side/ 13.0-0-0 e8 14.d3 e6 15.g3+ g6 16.xg6+ fxg6 17.xg6+ and now white can bring the N into play with 18.Nh3 and black will be helpless no matter what he does. 13...f6 Except for 13...Qg4 this is probably the worst move he could have played. 13...e7 allows him to play on with some hope of equalizing. 14.0-0-0 cxd4 15.d3 xe5 16.g3+ g4 17.f4 dxc3 18.b1 Black has gobbled up some materail and defended against a mating attack, but white is still better after... xa3 18...e8 19.xd5 The only defense against a N check on f6 is... 19.h5 falls short. f6 Now is the time for this. 20.h3 d4 21.hxg4 e1+ 22.c1 xc1+ 23.xc1 f7 24.gxf5 White's attack has been beaten back and he has established material equality, but in the process black hab equalized. 19...e1+ 20.xe1 xe1+ 21.a2 e6 22.g5+ Black does not have quite enough for is Q, but at the same time white has no forced win. 19.g5+ h7 20.h3+ h6 21.xh6# 14.g6+ h8 15.h6+ g8 16.g6+ h8 Is white going to take a draw?! Of course bit! He probably repeated moves to gain time in the clock. 17.0-0-0 A move rarely seen in the Winawer. It’s good here because black has no attack at all at the moment and white now nas the potential for a R-lift via d3. fxe5 18.h6+ g8 19.g6+ Gaoning more clock time. h8 20.d3 f4 21.h6+ g8 22.g6+ h8 23.h6+ Gaining even more time on the clock! g8 All of a sudden white seems stymied as there appears to be no way to continue the attack. 24.g3+ This brilliant move gets the other R into play and keeps fis winnign attack going. 24.g5 fails badly againsr f5 25.h3 Of course the R can't be taken because of Qh7# f6 and it's black that has a decisive advantage. 24...fxg3 25.g6+ h8 26.hxg3 h4 This just prolongs the game a bit. 26...e7 27.g5+ mates in 27.gxh4 f5 28.h6+ g8 29.g5 exd4 30.h3 Jopiong to draw away the lone defender. If not, the R gets into play. e5 31.g3 g6 32.e6 f7 33.xf8 xf8 34.f4+ Black resigned. A brilliant game by Oll. 1–0

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Vladimir Alatortsev

    Vladimir Alatortsev (1909-1987) was a Soviet player, author and administrator. His name has passed into obscurity, but during his peak years Chessmetrics estimates his highest rating to have been 2646 in 1940 which put him at #21 in the world. 

    He was Botvinnik’s early rival in Leningrad, but Botvinnik, who was two years younger, established his dominance over Alatortsev right from the start and wound up with a + 9 -0 =2 record against Alatortsev.

    During his career, he was champion of both Leningrad and Moscow, and he played in the Soviet Championship finals nine times, with his best results coming in the 1930s and early 1940s. After WWII his star began to fad Alatortsev never got the opportunity to compete outside the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Honorary Emeritus Grandmaster title by FIDE in 1983. Alatortsev died in Moscow at age 77 on January 12, 1987.

 

 

 

ChessBase

Vladimir Alatortsev–Victor Liublinsky1–0E47USSR Championship, MoscowMoscow URS16.11.1950Stockfish 17.1

E40: Nimzo-Indian 1.d4 f6 2.c4 e6 3.c3 b4 4.e3 0-0 5.d3 c6 This is a poor choice because black does not have much success with it. He gets more active play with either 5...d5 or 5...c5 6.ge2 e5 7.d5 e7 8.a3 xc3+ 9.xc3 d6 10.0-0 e8 In this position black has tried many moves, but none of them have been especially successful which is an indication that his 5th move was inferior. 10...f5 11.e4 g6 12.h3 d7 13.g4 with a pronising position. Soos,B-Milner Barry,P Moscow 1956 10...g6 This is perhaps his best move. 11.b4 e7 12.c2 e8 13.b2 e4 with equal chances. Khurtsidze,N (2447)-Zhao,X (2543) Batumi 2012 10...a5 11.c2 g6 12.d2 e8 13.f4 White is better. Zagoriansky,E-Liublinsky,V Moscow 1945 11.f4 exf4 12.exf4 f5 Hoping to eliminate the potentially dangerous B aimed at his h7. 13.e2 13.xf5 xf5 14.g4 e7 15.f5 was an equally goiod alternative. 13...d7 14.e3 f5 The point of his 10th move. He holds up white's K-side advances, but his position remains passive and so white has other options. 15.f3 f6 16.e1 g6 17.g3 a6 18.b4 e8 19.d3 h5 Black's position is very passive and so he is motivated to make a vain attempt to get some play. Defensive moves have little practical value 20.c5 h4 21.c6 bxc6 22.dxc6 e6 23.d4 hxg3 24.hxg3 f8 25.e2 e7 His best chance was to occupy d5 with a P (25...d5) because now white gets control of this square. 26.ae1 f7 27.xf6 This excellent move settles the issue. He gives up the two Bs in order to take control of the critical d5 square. xf6 28.d5 f7 29.f2 h8 30.d4 g8 31.e3 eb8 With his K-side demonstration coming to nothing, black tries his luck on the Q-side, but white's domination of the center prevails. 32.h1 a5 33.h5 Black could (and should) resigm. xd5 33...g6 34.f6+ g7 35.g4+ g8 36.h6+ mates in 5 h7 37.f3 e7 38.xf5+ g8 39.h8+ f7 40.g7+ e8 41.xe7# 34.xf7+ xf7 35.b1 b5 36.a4 d5 37.c3 axb4 38.xb4 c5 39.d3 a6 39...xc6 Not that it really matters, but there was no rrason to avoid this. 40.e7 leaves black completely tied up. 40.xa6 Black resigned. Not a flashly game, but a solid positional performance by Alatortsev. 1–0

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The Morphy Period

    When we think of Paul Morphy we think of a great tactical genius, but it was Morphy who introduced positional ideas that ended the age where playing brilliant sacrifices was the goal. Before Morphy sacrifices were made with great abandon, often without regard for their soundness. 

    Morphy changed the game because he was the first to understand and demonstrate strategic principles rather than premature attacks just for the sake of attacking. Nevertheless, he often conducted spectacular attacks and his games are full of brilliant sacrifices. 

    Morphy's first serious test in international play was his match against Johann Jacob Lowenthal (1810-1876) of Hungary. Between 1842 and1862 he was a member of the elite and he was capable of defeating the best players of his day. It’s interesting to see Frotz 19’s tactical analysis evaluation chart of this game. Ut shows that even Morphy was not perfect. He was outplayed positionally, but unfortunately for Lowenthal he couldn't put his opponent away and Morphy’s reputation of invincibility remained in tact for another game. See the Fritz 19 tactical analysis chart.  

 

    Chessmetrics estimates his highest ever rating to have been 2616 in 1859 and his best world rank to have been #2 on several occasions in 1858 and 1859. Morphy was rated over 100 points ahead of him. 

    By the way, it is important to note that these ratings do not equate to the equivalent rating of today. Ratings measure results, not ability. Naturally the strongest players have the best results, but a case in point was the infamous Claude F. Bloodgood III who, in 1996 as a prisoner in the Virginia State Penitentiary, manipulated his rating to over 2700 by holding rated tournaments containing a small pool of prison players. 

    On the rating list for 1858, Chess metrics assigns Lowenthal a rating of 2597 placing him at #2 in the world behind Morphy. In their match Morph scored a decisive victory with a score of +9 -3 =2. 

 

 

ChessBase

Paul Morphy–Johann Loewenthal1–0C30Match, London220.07.1858Stockfish 17.1

C30: King's Gambit Declined 1.e4 e5 2.f4 c5 This is the classical way to decline the gambit. 3.f3 d6 4.c3 g4 5.c4 xf3 This unprovoked exchange has little to recommend it. Developing with 5...Nc6 is more logical. 6.xf3 f6 6...c6 7.b4 b6 8.b5 a5 9.xf7+ xf7 10.fxe5+ e8 11.f1 e7 12.d4 g6?? 13.g5 g7 14.h3 e7 15.f6 g8 16.e6 h5 17.xh8 xh8 18.f7 xd4 19.cxd4 xd4 20.c3 c4 21.d1 1-0 Kosmac,B (2149)-Malnar,A (1918) Kranj op 1st 2004 7.b4 7.d4 leads to complications unfavorable to black after exd4 8.e5 dxe5 9.fxe5 e7 10.d1 fd7 11.e6 fxe6 12.xb7 0-0 13.e4 os equal/ 13.xa8 b6 14.e4 xc4 with compensation for the exchange 7.fxe5 dxe5 8.d3 0-0 9.d2 with a solid position. 7...b6 8.d3 bd7 White should now consider 9.Be3 eliminatiin that annoying B that is preventing him from playing O-O 9.f5 With this move white's center becomes immobile and, as a resukt, black is able to lainch a counterattack against it with ...d5. Also, as a result of the advance of the f-Pawn white can no longer open the f-file which would have given him attacking possibilities.. e7 10.g4 With careful defense the coming Pawn advance on the K-side has no danger to black because of the aforementioned possinility of a counter in the center with ...d5 h6 10...d5 at once was also possible. 11.b3 11.exd5 os forcefull met by e4 with a huge advantage. 11...h6 12.h4 0-0-0 White's advance on the K-side has come to nothing and hid K is not comfortable in the center. 11.e2 This is just bad move because it leaves his K precariously y positioned. 11.g5 was worth a try, but after hxg5 12.xg5 c6 13.d2 d5 black has excellent play. 11...c6 This is unnecessary preparation.. 11...d5 12.xd5 12.exd5 results in serious consequences after e4 12...xd5 13.exd5 Now black cannot play ...e4 because the N on f6 has disappeared. f6 14.d2 a5 14...0-0 is too risky! 15.g5 hxg5 16.e4 xe4 17.dxe4 f6 Black is OK, but he is still facing an attack against his K. 15.bxa5 xa5 Black has switched operations to the Q-side and white can only play defensively. 11...a5 White an immediate central advance does not accomplish much, this excellent move swutching attention to the Q-side keeps black's initiative going. 12.bxa5 xa5 13.h4 d5 14.xd5 xd5 15.exd5 f6 is differnt than in the previous analysi because white can;t play Nd2 16.d2 16.g5 e4 17.dxe4 hxg5 18.xg5 xe4+ 19.xe4+ xe4 with a distinct advantage. 16...xc3 17.b1 xa2 12.g5 Somewhat better would have been 12.h4 hxg5 13.xg5 d5 Black now has a sizeable advantage and he can be optomistic about the future. 14.b3 d6 15.d2 a5 Excellent! 16.bxa5 xa5 17.h4 h5 18.f1 This do nothing move is an indication that Morphy has been outplayed positionally.What's odd is that this N will meander back home to b1 and win the game! c5 19.c2 b5 19...a3 attacking the c-Pawn was even better. 20.Bd2 Ba5 White is positionally lost. 20.d2 a5 White is positionally lost. 20.c1 dxe4 20...a5 was even better. 21.d2 f4+ 22.e1 b2 23.d1 dxe4 24.dxe4 b5 White is about to get torn apart. 21.dxe4 This is a critical position. After 21...Bf4 white can't leave the N there so has to exvhange it and that allows the R to go to b2 which should be enough to score the point. b2 [Loewenthal has played excellently until now, but this overzealous move allows white to turn the tables and now black lost. 21...f4+ would win. 22.e1 22.xf4 exf4 23.d2 b2 24.ac1 xa2 22...cd3+ White has no hope. 22.xb2 f4+ 23.e1 cd3+ 24.xd3 xd3+ 25.d2 xb2+ 26.c2 The N has to skedaddle if black wants to play on, so he should try 26...Nc4 a3 Loewenthal has cpmpletely his way. 27.d2 c7 28.b1 Black resigned. After the Q retreat white picks up the N with 29. Kxb2 1–0

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Bogoljubow – Trott, a Rare Finish

 

    The annual Agnes Stevenson Memorial, an open event, was played in the 1950s and 1960s with Southsea being the venue from 1949 to 1952. Mrs. Stevenson was a British Ladies Champion who met an untimely end in 1935 when she accidentally walked into an airplane propeller. 

    The 1950 tournament was Arthur Bisguier's first international success in Europe and Jonathan Penrose created a sensation by defeating both Tartakower and Bogoljubow. His loss to Bisguier in the eighth round knocked him out of first into a tie for third place. 

    There's also an interesting anecdote concerning Tartakower that relates to a Wesley So incident when he was forfeited in the 2015 US Championship for writing noted on his scoresheet. I think things have gotten ridiculous; it’s not like So was analyzing on his scoresheet. Back in the old days players used to write down their move before making it; now, thanks to the nitpickers, it’s considered taking notes. 

    In TChess Masters on Winning Chess by Fred Reinfeld he wrote, “Tartakower had a fluent pen; he wrote voluminously, often annotating a game for a newspaper or magazine while he was playing it.” 

    Leonard Barden wrote that he witnessed Tartakower making notes during at least one game, at one or more of the Southsea tournaments of 1949, 1950 and 1951. Barden related that in Tartakower's game against Ravn at Southsea, 1951 he (Barden) was curious to see what Tartakower was writing and so crept up behind him and found there were copious notes in small writing on his scoresheet. He went on to say that apparently Tartakower had trouble reading his own notes because he pushed his glasses back on his forehead, squinted and peered closely at what he had written. Nobody objected though; Tartakower was a legend and besides, it wasn't considered consulting written material in those days. That would come many years later. 

 

 

    Bogoljubow's opponent in this game is A.H. Trott. Not a lot is available on Trott. He is referred to in an article in keverelchess. He was an alumni of the Alleyn School in London. The June, 1947 issue of the school magazine mentions that he was playing for the school's chess team. The July, 1951 wrote, “A.H. Trott (tn 1945-47-note: this is apparently a reference to the years he attended) has won the Southern Counties' Chess Championship by finishing first out of the British players in the recent Southsea Tournament. Both The Times and the Observer made favourable comments on his play.” This game where he was defeated by Bogoljubow has a rare finish. Trott's last move was a check and Bogoljubow replied with a move that delivered mate.

 

ChessBase

Efim Bogoljubov–Arthur H. Trott1–0A07Southsea20.04.1950Stockfish 17.1

[%evp 17,78,-50,-39,-89,-98,-110,-56,-54,-10,-126,-18,-26,-27,-52,-48,-58,-34, -59,-64,-69,-73,-79,-62,-66,-62,-47,-65,-64,87,84,82,33,80,79,110,98,126,132, 149,64,118,109,128,113,113,103,174,174,164,178,149,180,319,287,691,663,778,762, 29993,29991,29995,29996,29999] B25: Closed Sicilian 1.e4 c5 2.e2 c6 3.bc3 d6 4.g3 In the Closed Sicilian white expands on the K-side without opening the center. Black has little difficulty in equalizing, yet white often gets attacking chances against an unwary opponent. Vasily Smyslov and Boris Spassky both contributed to the theory on this variation. Spassky’s treatment was more aggressive, very often playing with an early f4 followed by Nf3, while Smyslov was more cautious and preferred to develop his pieces with Be3 and Qd2 followed by Nge2. The Closed Variation has pretty much disappeared from the high level competition even though it is a solid line and it leads to a complicated and positional game. Still, at lower levels it is seen occasionally and it’s a good choice for white because most Sicilian players spend a lot of time trying to learn the main lines, but very little on sidelines. g6 5.g2 g7 6.d3 e6 7.f4 Very rare. White almost always castles or plays 7.Be3 here. ge7 8.0-0 0-0 9.e1 Another rare move. Moves like 9.h4, 9.h3, 9.Bd2 and 9.Nce2 have all been tried here. White can also try the precautionary 9.a3 to hinder a potential advance by black’s b-Pawn. b8 A reasonable idea, planning to expand on the Q-side. 10.ce2 b5 White has not accomplished much out of the opening whereas black's Q-side play is underway. 11.c3 a5 This is unnecessary and the immediate 11...b4 was preferable. 12.a3 b4 13.d2 This withdrawal is a waste of time. It would have been better to play 13.cxb4 and after 13...cxb4 counter in the center with 14.d4 bxa3 This is the wrong capture; taking the c-Pawn leaves white with two weak Ps. 14.xa3 b6 15.c1 d7 16.a2 fc8 17.g4 a5 18.h3 b3 19.e3 e5 20.d5 xd5 21.exd5 f5 At the moment black can make no further progress on the Q-side, so he advances on the other side. However, he has no pieces on the K-side with which to support this advance and so in the end this advance is not likely to lead to much of anything even though it forces white to weaken his K-side. For his part, white’s pieces are not especially well placed to initiate K-side operations. 22.gxf5 xf5? Better was 22...gxf5. Now white gets the initiative on the K-side. 22...gxf5 23.f4 h8 with some prospects on the g-file. 23.g3 f8 After this black’s position begins a gradual slide downhill, but other moves seem no better. 24.h2 b7 25.g1 h8 26.a3 d7 27.e4 There is a storm brewing against black's K. a5 28.f3 The advance of his h-Pawn must have been in the back of Bogoljubow’s mind when he played this, but the straightforward advance of the h-Pawn would have been even stronger. e8 Suddenly black has to shore up his K-side in view of the potential advance of the h-Pawn. 29.g2 h6 30.e2 White pulls his B back because he wants to use the Q for something besides defending it. a4 31.g1 d4 This sacrifice ps not quite sound as black does not get nearly enough compensation in the form of play on the Q-side for it. At the same time, it’s hard to suggest a reasonable plan. 32.cxd4 xb2 33.dxc5 xa3 34.xd6 b8 Trott’s desire to save his R is understandable, but this leaves him clearly lost. What a pity because despite his difficult position Bogoljubow’s win is not a forgone conclusion. 34...b2 is trappy! 35.xb7 a3 White is forced to deal with the a-Pawn. 36.c1 xe2 and black has equalized. 34...b2 35.c6 This is the correct response. xc6 36.dxc6 c7 35.xe8 fxe8 As is often the case...wrong R! Taking with the other R was, accoring to engines, only half as bad, but still losing. 36.xg6 g8 37.g4 e4 38.h5 ge8 39.xh6 e5+ 40.f4# An unusual finish. 1–0

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Alekhine Shows No Mercy

    In 1915, World War One was going on and on the Western Front it was a war of attrition with both sides entrenched in what was a bew form if warfare...trench warfare. Along with it came another development, the German Army’s prolific us if poison gases such as chlorine, mustard, bromine and phosgene. 

    Chlorine gas can cause effects from mild irritation to severe and it can even be fatal.  Symptoms include eye, nose and throat irritation, cough, breathing problems, chest pain and lung damage. 

    Mustard gas is a blistering agent that causes severe burns and damage to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. It can lead to temporary or permanent blindness and in large concentrations it can cause death. 

    Bromine gas causes upper respiratory effects, cough, headache, central nervous system effects, skin loss and discoloration. 

    The immediate effect of phosgene is watering of the eyes. Subsequently, it causes a build up of fluid in the lungs that leads to death. It's estimated that 85% of the 91,000 gas deaths in WWI were a result of phosgene or a derivative. 

    As a kid there was an elderly hardware store owner who wasn’t quite right in the head and my mother said it was because he was gasses in WWI. Bromine gas’s effect on the central nervous system include extreme drowsiness, a strong desire for sleep or the tendency to fall asleep, seizures, the quick onset of confusion, disorientation, and difficulty focusing, thinking clearly, and remembering recent events. It can also cause a person's thinking, perception and behavior to be severely altered, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and what is not real. It's often characterized by hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thoughts and speech. 

    In 1915, Alexander Alekhine was confined prim agaarily to playing chess in Moscow and it was the year when he “played” his famous Five Queens Game against Nikolai Grigoriev. The game was actually composed, but Alejhine presented it as real. 

    The following game featuring a merciless attack by Alekhine was played in a First Category tournament in Moscow. In the Soviet Union players were classified using a system of categories rather than a numerical rating. It’s difficult to define exactly what a First Category player was, but a First Category player seems to have been what was also called a Candidate Master, or according to the USCF rating system an Expert which is one rank below Master (Elo 2200). 

 

ChessBase

G I Rabinovich–Alexander Alekhine0–1C441st Category tournament, Moscow10.1915James Massie

C44: Ponziani Opening 1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.c3 This ancient opening dates back to around the time Columbus landed in America. In 1904, Marshall wrote that there is no point in white's third move unless black plays badly and today it's rarely used except as a surprise. Black's main responses are 3... Nf6, leading to quiet play or 3...d5 leading to sharp play. d5 4.a4 This peculiar move breaks the rule about bringing the Q out early, but it's actually the Main Line. White indirectly threatens the P on e5 by pinning the N. Black must defend the P by 4...f6 or sacrifice a P by either 4...Bd7 (this is probably his best choice) or 4...Nf6 f6 4...dxe4 This is often seen, but it does not work out well for black/ 5.xe5 d5 6.xc6 bxc6 7.c4 White is better. 5.xe5 d6 6.exd5 A poor choice, Better is 6.Nxc6 and 7. d4 xe5 7.dxc6 0-0 8.e2 8.d4 d6 9.e3 g4 10.d2 xe3 11.fxe3 h4+ 12.d1 Black is better.. Savchenko,B (2589) -Jakovenko,D (2720) Odessa 2008 8...e8 9.d4 d6 10.g5 bxc6 10...e7 11.d1 bxc6 12.xf6 xf6 13.0-0 b8 wuth equal chances. Castellano Egea,E (2186)-Pinsach Gelabert,A (2138) Barcelona ESP 2014 10...h6 This move assures black of a considerable advantage after 11.xf6 xf6 12.d1 g4 and white is in serious trouble. 11.d2 e7 Better was 11...Bg4 forcing white to play the weakening 12.f3 12.c4 Allowing the pin to continue was not a good idea. Blocking the e-file with 12.Be3 would have been much better. a5 Threatening 13...Ba6 13.d3 f5 After this sockdolager white is in trouble. 14.f3 14.xf5 xe2# 14...d7 Another blow threatening 15...Bg4 15.h3 e4 Bringing the N into the action. 16.e3 16.xe4 is out od the question. xe4 17.h5 g6 18.h6 xg2 19.g1 f3 and black is winning 16...xd2 17.xd2 ab8 Even better would have been 17...Be4 18.b3 c5 Same as before. 19.c4 cxd4 20.cxd4 c5 This move, played with the idea of opening up the position, is not at all effective. 20...e4 21.g4 b4+ 22.e2 f5 23.f3 b6 adding the R ti the action. Black is clearly better, but white can, at least, hope to defend himself. 21.d5 This is an odd situation...normally keeping the position closed with a move like this would be a reasonable idea, but here opening up the position with 21. dac5 would actually jave been safer. 21.dxc5 xc5+ 22.e2 e4 23.f4 xg2 24.ad1 This is why opening up the position is white;s best defense; his R gets into play. a7 25.hg1 Black has ti be careful! xe3 25...c6 26.xg7+ xg7 27.g5+ h8 28.f6+ g8 29.g1+ and it's white who is winning. 26.fxe3 and white has managed tio achieve equality because by opening up the position his pieces have obtainsed considerable scope. 21...e4 22.g4 This loses quickly. SOmwhat better would have been 22.Qh5 22.h5 e5 23.h4 be8 All white can do is wait for the end. 22...f5 23.h4 b7 It wonl't take long to dig out white's K. 24.f4 and white gets hounded without mercy. 24.ad1 b4+ 25.e2 f4 26.xf4 xg2+ 27.e3 e4 28.g5 xh1 29.xh1 xc4 30.bxc4 xc4+ 31.f3 f8+ 32.g2 e4+ 33.g1 f6 34.h5 g6+ 35.g5 e1+ 36.g2 e4+ 37.g1 xd5 24...b4+ 25.d1 c3 26.c1 d4+ White resigned 26...d4+ 27.d2 f3+ wins the Q 0–1

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A Surprising Knight Move

  

    Today the preferred term seem to be “tactics”, but in my day they were referred to as “combinations”. Whatever you call them we all love games in which the outcome is decided by them. 

    Sometimes a tactical shot is the result of deep calculation and other times they appear almost by accident. In either case they can come as a complete surprise to one of the players who is suddenly faced with an unforeseen possibility. In the following game a surprising Knight move to an out of the way square by Kotov immediately decides the outcome, but not before Donner tried a little trick of his own. 

    The winner of this game, Soviet GM Alexander Kotov (1913-1981) was a two-time world title Candidate and a prolific chess author. His writing were often filled with praise for rhe Soviet political system. He is probably best remembered for his trilogy Think Like a Grandmaster, Play Like a Grandmaster and Train Like a Grand master. 

 

    His opponent was the GM Jam Hein Dinner (1927-1988) who was also an author who was Dutch champion in 1954, 1957 and 1958. In 1983, at the age of 56, he suffered a stroke and went to live in what he described as a kind of nursing-home. He was unable to walk, but had learned to type with one finger and wrote for a Dutch magazine. 

ChessBase

Jan Donner–Alexander Kotov0–1D44Venice1010.1950Kotov/Stockfosh 17.1

D44: Semi-Slav: Botvinnik System 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.c3 c6 4.f3 f6 5.g5 dxc4 This variation was introduced into tournament practice by Botvinnik and so is known as the Botvinnik Syaten, The other often seen move is 5...h6 6.a4 The main line is 6.e4, but the text has the point of preventing 6...b5 and the creation of a Pawn mass on the Q-side. 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.h4 g5 and now great complications arise after 9.xg5 hxg5 10.xg5 6...b4 7.e4 xc3+ While often played, Kotov thought it questionable, but because he wanted to avoid Donner's home preparation he chose this move which he considered risky because after this exchange his dark squares are very weak and white's pieces might be able to attack on them. 7...b5 is also frequently played, but it's not so good. B;ack's best is probably 6...h6 8.e5 h6 9.exf6 hxg5 10.fxg7 wuth a good game. 8.bxc3 a5 9.e5 e4 10.d2 Kotov harshly criticized this move calling it an incomprehensible retreat, but that seems unfair and there is not much difference between it and the "natiral" move 10.Rc1 after which black has a wide choice of playable moves. d5 Certainly 10...Nxd2 was worth considering. 11.c2 c5 Black must react with vigor or risk getting a passive position. 12.e3 c6 This is a major error, but luckily for Kotov, Donner missed the refutation! 12...cxd4 is correct. 13.cxd4 Black should now play 13...Bd7 when white is slightly better. a5+ 14.d2 xd2 15.xd2 Ivanchuk,V (2779)-Smeets,J (2601) Wijk aan Zee 2009. White is better, but he misplayed the game and later lsot. 13.e2 After this the position is equal. 13.0-0-0 cxd4 14.xd4 c5 He should have castled. 15.b5 b3+ 16.b2 xe5 17.d6+ e7 18.xc4 1-0 Danielian,O (2440)-Ceteras,M (2335) Vejen DEN 1993 13.d1 is by far the strongest move here after whicjh black's position is very difficult. cxd4 14.xd4 c5 15.b5 d3+ 16.xd3 cxd3 17.c7+ followed by 18.Rxd3 with a decisive advantage. 13...cxd4 There are other reasonable moves, but black's resoning here is that this move weakens white's d-Pawn. 14.cxd4 Donner has missed the point of his opponent's last move. 14.xd4 was correct. xe5 14...xd4 15.cxd4 a5+ White is slightly better. 16.f1 15.0-0 d7 16.fd1 with equal chances. 14...b4 15.c1 While wgite's position id hardly critical, his 15.xc4 is not good... xc4 16.xc4 c2+ 15...c3 Donner's minuscule slip last move has allowed black to seize the initiative. 16.0-0 d7 17.e1 The plan is to play f3 and after ...Nd2+ and then after the exchange on d2 he can play Qg5 after which he can launch an attackm vut there is a fly in the ointment. c8 17...a5 is better. 18.f3 d2 19.xd2 cxd2 20.xd2 d8 21.g5 21.f4 c6 22.f3 The need to defend his d-Pawn has prevented him from launching a K-side attack and ;eft b;acl with the better position/ 21...xd4+ wins the R on a1. 18.f3 Completely missing an important point. 18.c2 was must play after which he has chances of holding the position. Now ...Nd2 would lose, so a5 18...d2 19.xb4 e4 20.d3 h4 21.xd2 cxd2 22.xd2 19.xb4 axb4 20.f3 g5 20...d2 21.xd2 cxd2 22.xd2 is equal. 21.xg5 h6 22.e3 0-0 A very sharp position where black's two passed Ps are plenty of compensation. 18...d2 18...g5 doesn't work now. 19.xg5 xd4+ 20.e3 d5 21.xa7 with a decisive advantage. 19.xd2 Now, of course, Donner was expecting ...cxd2 as in the previous variations a2 Bang! 20.xa2 Donner realized he was losing and so decided to sacrifice the exchange and at the same time set a cunning trap. 20.d1 was worth a try. xd4+ 21.h1 xd2 22.xd2 cxd2 23.xa2 dxe1 24.xe1 c5 But, here it's doubtful white can save the game. 20...xa2 21.g5 Hoping Kotov will fall for taking the N on e2. h6 Sends the B packing and white can't play Qa3+ 21...xe2 22.a3 Threatening mate on e7. Black can avoid it, but the cost is too high. f6 23.exf6 gxf6 24.xf6 22.d3 Other moves are just as hopeless. 22.h4 xe2 23.a3 e3+ 24.h1 g5 ends it. 22...hxg5 23.xg5 d2 24.f4 24.xg7 is easily met by e3+ 25.h1 h6 24...c6 A nify little tactical point...white can't take the g-Pawn. 25.g3 25.xg7 e3+ 26.h1 h3 27.g1 xh2+ 28.f2 xf4+ 29.f3 e7 wins easily. 25...g6 White resigned. Short, sharp and even the loser manages some clever play. 0–1

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The Tournament That Never Was

    In mid-1941, Chess metrics estimates the best players in the world to have been Mikhail Botvinnik (2786), Reuben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky (2748), Paul Keres (2737) and Max Euwe (2723). World Champion Alekhine was #6 at 2718 and former Champion Capablanca was #12 at 2677. 

    In early 1941, Capablanca was in New York and was interviewed by George Sturgis (ISCF President), L Walter Stephens (Vice-President) and chess journalist Hermann Helms about the possibility of holding a world championship tournament in the United States. 

    Capablanca informed them that he did not favor the idea of holding a round-robin tournament to decide the championship and stated that he would refuse to play in such a tournament because it wouldn't be a “fair test of the real caliber of the competitors.” He called attention to AVRO 1938, as highlighting the inadequacy of this type of competition. Sounds like sour grapes’ Capablanca finished next to last with a minus score. 

    Capablanca wanted the USCF to help fund a match between Alekhine and, of course, himself and he even told them how to go about it. They should form a committee of three and draw up regulations and make plans for the match. He also suggested hat the USCF use its influence to persuade Alekhine to play for a purse of $10,000 (over $218,000 today) in American money. Alekhine wanted a guaranteed purse of $10,000 in gold, which would have been the equivalent of about $17,000 in 1941 US dollars (abut $371,000 in today’s dollars). 

     USCF officials decided to take no action on Capablanca’s suggestions but to hold the matter in abeyance. If Alekhine showed up in the United States they would discuss it with him. 

    Stephens told Capablanca that he thought a match between Alekhine and Reshevsky would be more interesting to American and he (Stephens) would prefer to raise money for that match if a tournament could not be arranged. 

    What was Capablanca’s reaction to Stephens declaration? In the discussion that followed Capablanca recommended that American chess authorities should take a firmer hold in tournaments “in order to raise the dignity and decorum of such events to a higher level.” Stephens agreed with him. 

    In 1941, the United States was hesitant about getting involved in the war and initially maintained a policy of neutrality. However, President Roosevelt recognized the growing threat posed by Nazi Germany and sought ways to support Allied nations. Then on December 7th the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan changed everything. 

    On a side note, on January 11, 1941, Emanuel Lasker, holder of the World Championship from 1894 to 1921 died in New York at the age of 72. One tournament that was held in 1941 was the one held in Ventnor City, New Jersey. It had an exciting finish when 36-year old lawyer Jacob Levin, of Philadelphia, upset all expectations by winning first prize. 

 

 

    In the final round, Levin quickly won his game against Robert Durkin, making it necessary for Anthony Santasiere to win from Milton Hanauer in order to tie, but he ended up losing. Fred Reinfeld slipped into second when he won his last round game against Weaver Adams. 

     Of the following game Pinkus wrote, “While not an example of perfect chess, this game is certainly one of the most interesting produced in the past few years.” He was right about it not being perfect and it is kind of interesting. Nor was it the one sided drubbing that Pinkus made it ouy to be. Durkin’s only really nig mistake came on move 22 which list instantly. Of course, these days any Patzer with an engine can criticize. Let’s take a look. 

 

ChessBase

Albert Pinkus–Robert Durkin1–0C10Ventnor City06.07.1941Pinkus/Stockfish 17.1

C13: French Defense 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c3 dxe4 A rather inisual move that Tarrasch dismissed as theoretically unsound because he believed black will be unable to break up white's center. He appears to have been right; in my database white scores twice as many wins as black. 4.xe4 d7 Black avoids the immediate 4...Nf6 because of 5.Nxf6+ when he hs to either accept doubled Ps of bring his Q out too early. 5.f3 gf6 6.d3 b6 In a brief annotation I saw this move was, perhaps unfairly, slapped with a question mark. Theoretically it's just OK, but in practice it has not worked out well at all. White wins 53% of the database games; black 22%. But then the usual 6...c5 and 6...Nxe4 don't do any better! 7.g5 While this move is frequently seen, the exchanges that result from it only favor black. Hence, 7.Qe2 seems preferable. b7 8.e2 e7 White has played at least a half dozen different moves here. Again, the position is equal, ober the long haul black's lack of any real counterplay tells agaist him. 9.xf6 There was no reason to play this unprovoked exchange as black now is equal. 9.h4 is white's most interesting try. xe4 The exchanges only help black. 9...h6 10.xf6+ xf6 11.f4 d5 12.d2 b4 13.b5+ c6 14.a4 is equal. 10.xe4 xe4 11.xe4 0-0 11...xg5 12.hxg5 g6 13.0-0-0 White gas a nearly won position. 12.0-0-0 with equal chances. 9...xf6 10.0-0 0-0 11.c4 What are the plans for both sides? White has control of the center and he can either play for the endgame using his Q-side P-majority or he can try to build up a K-side attack. For his part, black, who has a cramped but solid position anf the twi Bs, must at the moment attempt to get rid of white's d-Pawn and so needs to think about playing ...c5 which he should play at once. c8 The purpose of this odd looking move is to make d8 available for the R. It's not a bad move, but Durkin is playing very passively. The correct plan, as mentioned, was to play 11...c5 12.ad1 d8 13.g3 This, too, is rather passive. 13.Ne5 suggests itself. f8 Of course he couldn't take the d-Pawn. In spite of the fact that black's position looks gead, it's solid and should prove a tough nut to crack! 14.e5 c5 Finally! 15.h5 White threatens Nxf6+ and mate. e8 This meets the threat, but it puts one too many pieces on the back rank! 15...a6 A pass to demonstrate the threat. 16.xf6+ gxf6 White has a forced mate. 17.xh7+ h8 18.h5 h6 19.xh6 d7 20.c2+ g8 21.d3 f3 22.xf3 xd4 23.h7+ f8 24.xf7# 15...c7 Eliminates the threat. 16.xf6+ gxf6 17.xh7+ xh7 18.h5+ g8 18...h6 19.xf7 wins 19.d3 fxe5 20.h3 g7 21.h7+ f8 22.g3 exd4 23.xg7+ e7 24.g5+ d7 The K has given white the slip and black is left with a winning position. 15...c7 16.d5 xh5 17.xh7+ 17.xh5 g6 Black is better. 17...xh7 18.xh5+ g8 19.dxe6 fxe6 Surprisingly, white can't seem to make any headway in this position and so black has equalized. 16.f4 This is not the most energetic, but Pinkus is relying on what he described as a trap. 16.xh7+ xh7 17.xf7 leaves black with no good reply. d7 18.g5+ g8 18...h8 19.f4 Here, too, white is winning. 19.xe6+ 16...g6 17.dxc5 Durkin's next move is what Pinkus was relying on. While it's not a gross blunder, it is not the strongest move. Instead of retaking with the B which is helping to defend his K. Durlin makes the logical decision to retake with the Q. xc5 Pinkus gave this a ??, but it's not that bad! 17...xc5 White still has the N sacrifice, but it leads to no more than equality. 18.xf7 xf7 And now white has only one way to continue and that is to play another sacrifice. 19.xg6+ hxg6 Taking with the K leaves it badly exposed after 29.Nxe6. After the text the e-Pawn is protected because the Q is on c8. 20.xd8 Removing the e-Pawn's protection. xd8 21.xe6+ f8 22.xg6+ g7 White is able to hold his own in this materially unblanced position, but he must find the one move that accomplishes the task (22.Ne5). Here is a sample line... 23.e5 d6 24.g4+ f6 25.d7+ e7 26.g7+ e6 27.g4+ f7 28.e1 e4 and white has to take the perpetual check. 18.xf7 The crusher according to Pinkus, but while it is the best move and it leaves black at a disadvantage, he might be able to find a satisfactory defens. For his part white must now find moves that keep up the pressure. xf7 19.xg6+ 19.xe6 is just a bit less effective. e7 20.xd8+ xd8 White is only slightly better. 19...hxg6 20.xe6+ g7 21.xg6+ h8 It's amazing, but this position is evaluated at being completely equal which is not the same as being drawn. As usual, being on the defensive puts a lot of pressure on black. 22.f7 e4 This unfortunate move loses instantly. Pinkus wrote, "Where thetre are no good moves, bad ones will be found." While that may be true, here there is a relatively good move; ,but Durkin didn't play it. 22...g7 Returning some plastic; the best white has is to take on b7 23.xb7 xc4 24.g3 c7 25.f3 f7 with a crazy position, but one in which 5 Shootouts were drawn. 23.xd8 xd8 24.e6 d6 Even the better 24,,,Qe7 would not have saved the game. 25.f6+ Black resigned. 1–0

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The 1941 Reshevsky – Horowitz Match

 

    In 1941, US Champion Samuel Reshevsky defeated I.A. Horowitz in a match for the US Championship by a score of +3 -0 =13. 

    In February 1940, Horowitz had been on an exhibition tour along with a close friend, a Master named Harold Morton, when one night they were traveling by car when they were involved in an accident in which Morton was killed and Horowitz seriously injured. It took a few months, but he fully recovered. 

    In 1940, the next US Championship was two years in the future, so Horowitz decided to challenge Reshevsky to a mtch for the title, Reshevsky was the favorite, but Horowitz had beaten him in the 1936 Championship in what was one of the few games Reshevsky had lost to an American in five years. Also, a healthy prize fund sweetened the pot AND there was a rumor going around that a Reshevsky-Alekhine match might be possible, so Horowitz would be a good warm up. 

    The Reshevsky-Horowitz match was to be a grueling 16 games played in seven venues over the course of three weeks. The schedule was so tight that Reshevsky said it became a matter of endurance rather than chess. This game, the 6th, played on May 13th, 1941 in Philadelphia, was probably the most exciting of the match. 

 

ChessBase

I. A. Horowitz–Samuel Reshevsky½–½C99uS Champ Match, Philadelphia6Philadelphia, PA USA13.05.1941Stockfish/Reuben Fine

C99: Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense 1.e4 Except for the 14th game, Horowitz played this every time and succeeded in getting a good game out of the opening. e5 2.f3 c6 3.b5 a6 4.a4 f6 5.0-0 e7 Black has two main systems here: this and the Open Defense (5...Nxe4). 6.e1 b5 7.b3 d6 8.c3 a5 9.c2 c5 10.d4 c7 11.h3 0-0 12.bd2 cxd4 So far the players have been following what was considered the main line, but now instead of the then popular 12...Nf6, Reshevdsky plays what ha become the main line today. 13.cxd4 c6 14.d5 b4 15.b1 a5 16.a3 a6 17.b3 c5 18.f1 d7 19.a2 This rather odd looking move has a point - it gets the R into play. ac8 Threatening 20...Ncxe4 20.g3 20.h1 A pass to show the thrat. cxe4 21.xe4 xe4 22.xe4 xc1 winning a piece. 20...fd8 Just as a reminder of the tremendous amount of theory there is on the Ruy Lopez, this has all been played before! Reuben Fine was of the opinion that this move is proof of the inferiority of black's game and commented that the R serves no useful purpose on d8 and black is just marking time because he is unable to undertake anything constructive. Fine is correct concerning 20...Rfd8, but in a game he may not have been familiar with (thankfully we have huge databases today) Kashdan had found the more active 20...Qa7 in a game played in New York in 1930. 20...b7 is an alternative. 21.h2 e8 22.g1 h4 23.f5 xf5 24.exf5 c7 with equal chances. Steiner,Lajos-Kashdan,Isaac New York 1930 21.g5 h6 22.e3 b7 23.c2 The point of his 19th move shows up. b8 He cannot acceot the offered e-Pawn. 23...fxe4 24.xe4 xe4 25.xc8 Unmasking the B. xc8 26.xe4 White has won a piece. 24.c1 f8 25.e2 a4 This and his next move lead to the loss of a P. There is no reason for this sacrifice, so Reshevsky probably played it because he did not want to be reduced to complete passivity. The sound option was 25...Rc7 and doubling Rs on the c-file which would have left white with only a minimal advantage. 26.b4 b3 Fine gave this moive a ? and suggested 26...Na6 which he thought was good for a draw. Actually, 26...Na6 is slightly inferior to the text which, at least, gives black some play. 27.xc8 xc8 28.a2 c3 29.b2 The N is stuck here and a P will soon be lost. a8 The point of this wily move will be seen if white plays the immediate 30.Bxb3 30.b1 Fine gave this move a ? and claimed it would have been better to have won the P at once, but there is little difference in the move played and winning the P immediately. 30.xb3 axb3 31.xb3 a4 White is on the defensive and has to find the right moves or see his slight edhe disappear. 32.d2 h5 33.b1 xb3 34.xb3 xb3 35.xb3 h4 36.e2 xe4 30...c8 31.xb3 axb3 32.xb3 c2 Fine notes that now white must constantly be on guard against a possible sacrifice on h3. It's not clear what he had in mind because I tried out several "neutral" moves and the sacrifice never even came close to working. In fact, the Q has to stay on the c-file else the R on c2 is hanging. I think Fine (and othe contemporary annotators) completely misjudged the position based on the fact that it was the invincible Reshevsky who was playing black because engines give Horowitz at least a one P advantage here! 33.d1 g6 34.d3 h7 35.d2 Horowitz wants to get rid of that annoying R by playing Rc3. c4 36.c3 f5 Black's only chance lies in a counterattack. 37.h4 This small slip allows black to equalize. Ir was necessary to simplify. 37.exf5 xc3 38.xc3 c4 39.xc4 bxc4 40.fxg6 with the advantage. 37...f4 37...fxe4 38.xc4 bxc4 39.xe4 +is winning for white. 38.e2 e7 39.f3 f6 Storm clouds appear to be gathering towards white's K. 40.xc4 bxc4 41.c2 Draw Agreed. Reuben Fine wondered about this. He stated that first he was amazed to find "such a complicated position called a draw." He then went on to explain that his subsequent analysis confirmed his first impression that black had enough for his P and white cannot win. He was absolutely correct as engine evaluation is 0.00! 41.c3 xe4 42.c1 a6 43.e1 f5 44.d2 xd2 45.xd2 a4 46.c3 b3 47.h2 h5 48.e1 d3 49.b5 d8 50.a4 f7 51.a1 a5 52.e2 xe1 53.xe1 xe2 54.xe2 xa4 55.b6 b5 56.c2 xb6 57.xc4 c5 58.a2 c7 59.f3 g5 60.a8 g4 61.hxg4 hxg4 62.fxg4 d7 This drawn position was reached by Stockfish after about 15 minutes of analysis. ½–½

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1963, End of the Line for Botvinnik

 

    After World War II, Alekhine was not invited to tournaments except in Spain and Portugal because of his affiliation with the Nazis. However, a World Championship match between him and Botvinnik was planned, but when Alekhine was found dead at the age of 53 in his hotel room in Estoril, Portugal on March 24, 1946 the match was off. 

    The cause of his death is still open to debate...heart attack, choking on a piece of meat or was he was murdered by a French "death squad? Alekhine's son, Alexander, Jr., said that "the hand of Moscow reached his father.” Canadian GMKevin Spraggett, who lives in Portugal, investigated the case and believes the manipulation of the crime scene and the autopsy by the Portuguese secret police indicates that Alekhune was murdered, probably by the Russians, outside his hotel room. 

     With the death of Alekhine FIDE seized the opportunity to invited six players to a tournament to determine the championship; Botvinnik won it and hekd the tutle from 1948 to 1963 with the exception of a couple of interruptions...by Smyslov (1957-58) and Tal (1960-61). The end of the line came in 1963 when he lost to Petrosian. 

     Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995, 83 years old), condisered the Patriarch of Soviet Chess, won the first of his 6 USSR Championships in 1931. Tirgan Petrosian (1929-1984, 55 years old) earned his GM title by finishing in 5th place in the 1953 Zurich Candidates tournament. 

    In this 1963 match there was no provision for a return match which meant that it was the end of the line for Botvinnik’s World Championship reign. Concerning the match, Botvinnik related how it was really hard to play Petrosian because “he had a somewhat different understanding of positional play. He went deeper into it than usual, and myself, a universal player, did not completely understand Tigran's way and depth of judgment, although I was judging all positions well.” 

    Botvinnik’s brother, Igor, believed that one of the reasons for Botvinnik's defeat was his poor realization of advantages. In a number of games, after having obtained an advantage in the opening, he couldn’t put Petrosian away.

 

 

     After the first game of the match it seemed certain that Botvinnik would sweep the match because handled Petrosian so easily.. Botvinnik not only scored an easy win, but it looked like it was a mismatch. The experts were wrong and Petrosian went on to score a decisive victory. 

ChessBase

Tigran Petrosian–Mikhail Botvinnik0–1E34World Championship Match, Moscow1Moscow URS23.03.1963Stockfosh/Botvinnik

E35: Nimzo-Indian 1.d4 f6 2.c4 e6 3.c3 b4 4.c2 This continuation was popular in the 1 9 30s, but then went out of fashion. It offers White a guarantee against any sur prises, but it is hard for him to count on achieving anything real d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.g5 h6 7.xf6 It's not surprising that Petrosin avoids the complications that arise after 6.Bh4 xf6 8.a3 xc3+ 9.xc3 c6 10.e3 0-0 11.e2 Instead of the far more popular 11.Nf3. With the text move white intends ot place his N on f4 from where it can go to d3, then develop the B to e2, play O-O and then begin a minority attack on the Q-side. Neither Botvinnik nor Keres thought much of the whole idea necause the N is misplaced on f4. e8 This prevents the N from going to f4 and thereby upsetting white's plan. 12.g3 The N needs to make way for the B. 12.c1 seems to be a viable way of carrying out the above mentioned plan. h5 13.d3 h4 14.e2 with equal chances. 12...g6 An energetic continuation that intends to advance the h-Pawn which, as Botvinnik pointed out, putd white in a difficult situation. Any other move would allow whie to complete his development unhindered. 12...d7 13.d3 c5 14.0-0 cxd4 15.xd4 xd4 16.exd4 f8 17.ac1 was soon drawn. Golod,V (2590)-Filippov, A (2598) Tashkent UZB 2010 13.f3 Played after 20 minutes thought, this move makes sense if white intends to castle Q-side, in which case the P on f2 needs defending. However, castling Q-side turns out not be a good idea and, as a result, the text wastes time and weakens the K-side. 13.d3 is equal after h5 14.c2 d7 15.h3 f8 16.0-0 h4 17.e2 e6 18.b4 Setting up the Minority Attack. a6 19.a4 and a draw was soon arrived at in Beliavsky,A (2570)-Balashov,Y (2540) Minsk 1983 13...h5 14.e2 d7 Black does not hurry with the advance of his h-Pawn. White's problem is that if he castles his N only has the horrible h1 as a retreat square. Consequently, Petrosian decides to abandon castling and uses his K to defend the P on e3 and f1 available as a retreat square for the N. Black is now beginning to show just a bit of an advantage. 15.f2 This plan turns out to be faulty. For better oir for worse he had to try to hold up black with 15.h5 15.h4 b6 16.f2 f5 17.xf5 xf5 18.d3 equals 15...h4 This drives the N to a square from which its prospect of finding purpose is zero. 16.f1 f8 17.d2 It's obvious that white must bring his R on h1 into play. For his part, black wants to double Rs on the e-file. e7 18.he1 f5 19.h3 Obviously white wants to prevent any possibility of ...h3, a possibility he would have to consider at every move. At the sa,e time though the move weakens g3.It would have been safer to eliminate a black attacker with 19.Bd3 ae8 20.f1 The poor N has to return to defend e3. 20.d3 would allow him to put up a manly defense. d7 20...xd3 21.xd3 e6 22.b4 with a slight advantage for black. 21.f1 e6 22.h2 g5 23.g1 Black is better, but proving he has a win will be challenging. 20...e6 Adding the N to the attack. 21.d2 Petrosian is sticking to waiting strategy, but again 21.Bd3 was bettetr. g7 The N retreats when an advance was in order. Botvinnik spent a long time looking 21.. .Ng5 followed by a sacrifice on h3, but he miscalculated the sequence not only duting the game, but in his post game analysis. 21...g5 22.g1 22.d3 xh3 23.gxh3 xf3+ 24.g1 xh3+ 25.h2 f2 26.g1 e4 The addition of the R to the attack wraps it up. 22...xh3 Ckearky taking the B would be bad, so... 23.d3 f5 24.xf5 xf5 25.ad1 h3 26.g3 f6 27.f4 e4 28.xe4 xe4 29.g3 e7 30.f2 e6 Black will advance the g-Pawn and meanwhile white can't do anything constructive. 22.ad1 h5 23.c1 d6 24.c3 g3 25.g1 h5 26.d1 e6 27.f2 Petrosian's waiting strategy has managed to keep his disadvantage at a minimum and it would probably have worn out a lesser adversary, but not the resolute Botvinnik! e7 Black has completed preparations for an advance of his K-side Ps as a prelude to digging out white's K. Wite's position is hardly hopeless, but the defense will eveltually take its toll. 28.b3 g5 Consistent, but perhaps a bit too passive. 29.d1 29.e4 This vigorous counterattack in the center offers a much better chance. f4 30.e3 g6 31.d2 Black will find making headway difficult. In fact, 5 Shootouts from this position were drawn. 29...g6 After 30.b4! black is better, but exactly how he can make progress is not clear. Additionally, at some point in the future white has the posibility of finally launching his Q-side Minority Attack. 29...f4 as in the game comes to nothing because the h-Pawn is defended. 30.d2 Black has no forceful reply. 30.g4 Petrosin finally cracks. Botvinnik observed that it's interesting that, just at the moment when nothing was threatened, Petrosian, who has conducted the entire game using waiting strategy, suddenly launches into complications. It may have been a purely psychological ploy as Botvinnik was in some time pressure. hxg3 31.xg3 f4 32.h2 c5 32...d3 packs a wallop... 33.e2 xe3 34.xe3 xe3+ 35.h1 e1+ 36.g1 xg1+ 37.xg1 e1+ wins 33.d2 c4 34.a4 b5 35.c2 xh3+ 36.f1 f6 37.g2 f4+ The N's returns to f4 is even stronger that before. 38.exf4 xe1 39.fxg5 e6 40.f4 e2+ White resigned. 0–1

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Asleep At the Board

    Several 1.e4 e5 openings have the same tactical motifs, but at higher levels they are rarely seen because the players are quite aware of them. In this game we see one of those unique instances where a strong player wasn’t paying attention and got caught napping. 

    Jacek Bednarski (1939-2008) was a Polish politician and an IM who won the Polish Chess Championship in 1963. Bednarski became interested in chess at the age of eleven. He studied under a professional chess trainer while studying physics at Moscow State University. After returning to Poland, Bednarski quickly became one of the country’s leading players. You know who Robert J. Fischer (1943-2008) was.

 

 

 

 

ChessBase

Robert Fischer–Jacek Bednarski1–0B90Havana Olympiad, Qialifier30.10.1966Stockfosj 17.1

B86: Sicilian Najdorf 1.e4 c5 1...e5 2.c3 f6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 xe4 5.d3 The usual move here is 5...Nxc3 h4+ This is generally considered inferior, but it it is quite playable. 6.g3 xg3 Compare this maneuver to the position after white's 12th move in the game. 7.f3 After 7...Qh5 the position is equal. 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4 f6 5.c3 a6 6.c4 e6 7.b3 bd7 8.f4 c5 In addition to Fischer's next move, white has a wide choice here: 9.e5, 9.O-O and 9.Qf3 9.f5 fxe4 Black incorrectly thinks ... Qh4+ is a threat, but in this position it is not! 9...e7 Although black has tried a variety of moves here, this is the Main Line and it is the best. 10.f3 0-0 11.0-0 d7 with equal chanxes. 9...exf5 At the time it was considered to be too risky for black to accept the this P offer and its acceptance does not appear in my database. However, it appears that black can safely accept the offer. 10.exf5 e7+ 11.de2 xb3 12.axb3 xf5 13.g5 e5 and the position is fully equal. 10.fxe6 h4+ Unlike in the above noted Virenna, here this move is very bad. 10...xc3 isn't any better. 11.exf7+ d7 12.bxc3 xb3 13.cxb3 White is clearly better. Hari,V-Virnik,E (2154) Patras 1999 10...xe6 This is his best move, but after 11.xe4 xe4 12.xe6 fxe6 13.0-0 13.xe6 loses to h4+ 14.g3 xg3 Here white doesn;t have Nf3 available. 15.g1 e4+ 16.e2 e7 and black is winning. 13...b6 14.f3 White is better. 11.g3 xg3 Black is lost here, but Befnarski has overlooked white's reply. However, even the better 11...Nxc3 was not that much better! 11...xc3 12.gxh4 xd1 13.exf7+ d8 14.d5 xb2 15.xb2 Black has a miserable position and is probably lost. 12.f3 As noted in the beginning this reply is known from the Vienna. h5 13.exf7+ d8 14.g1 14.g5+ is also a good move. c7 15.g1 h6 16.e3 xb3 17.d5+ b8 18.axb3 e4 and nobody would want to be playing black. 19.d3 14...f5 Black's attack has failed and now Fischer blows him off the board. 15.d5 xf7 16.g5+ e8 17.e2+ e6 18.f4 d7 19.0-0-0 e8 20.xe6+ xe6 21.e4 g6 22.xe6 Black resigned. Amazingly, The analysis with Fritz and the Stockfish engine assigns Fischer an Accuracy rating of 100%. Poor Bednarsky only got 12%. 22.xe6 c8 22...xe6 23.xb7+ e8 24.ge1 23.fd4 xd4 24.xd4 e7 25.f4 f8 26.xd6 xd6 27.xd6 e7 28.gd1 etc. 1–0

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Where's the Game?

    Clara Peller (1902-1987) was a manicurist and television personality. Born in Russia, she was one of eight or nine children. She spent most of her early life in Chicago after her father left Russia in 1906 when he was being drafted for the second time. 

    At age 20, she married a local jeweler, William Peller. They later divorced and she never remarried. She worked for 35 years as a manicurist at a Chicago beauty salon, and later moved to the suburban North Shore area to be near her daughter. 

    At age 80, Peller was hired as a temporary manicurist for a television commercial set in a Chicago barbershop. Impressed by her no-nonsense manners and unique voice she appeared in a number of TV spot advertisements, first as a comical cleaning lady in an advertisement for a Massachusetts State Lottery game and in 1984, in Wendy’s national commercials. 

    The Wendy's commercial portrayed a fictional fast-food competitor named Big Bun, where three elderly ladies were served an enormous hamburger bun containing a minuscule hamburger. Two of the women were commenting on the size of the bun, they were interrupted by an irascible Peller, who looked around in vain for customer assistance while asking, "Where's the beef?" Peller died on August 11, 1987, in Chicago, one week after her 85th birthday, from congestive heart failure. 

    Peller's "Where's the beef?" line became a catchphrase across the United States and Canada as a way to express a lack of substance or quality in anything. I recently received an e-mail from a reader who, to paraphrase Peller, asked, “Where’s the game?!” in an old post. 

    For many years the games in this Blog were published using a few different online sites which are now defunct and, as a result, the games do not appear. The ogn and notes to the games are on the Blog post, but they don't show up. When I copy the pgn and paste it into the chess program I use (Fritz) it will not work because of some embedded “symbols” which are difficult to remove because there are so many of them. 

    Some time in 2021, I began posting games using the Aquarium program and all was well, but at some point the games began showing up in the posts with the moves and notes, etc., but no board. Unfortunately, copying the game and pasting it into a chess program does not work. 

    In February of 2022, I began using Fritz 17 to publish games. This program generates HTML which can be pasted directly into the Blog. It also has the option of creating an interactive board that is stored on the ChessBase site which is why I prefer not to use it. If, for any reason, ChessBase would no longer supports this feature then all the games anybody has ever published using this feature would be lost.