11161. Courtesy
In a letter dated 24 March 1962 John Vining of London
wrote on page 262 of the June 1962 CHESS:
11162.
Fraser v N.N. (C.N. 11149)
Alan McGowan (Waterloo, Canada) draws attention to his
feature
on Dr James Cunningham Fraser (1825-76) at the Chess
Scotland website.
11163.
Bonar Law v Aurbach
Mr McGowan also submits a cutting about Andrew Bonar Law from
the chess column in the 19 October 1921 edition of the Falkirk
Herald, page 4:
The establishment in Paris, mentioned in C.N. 10114,
was the Café de la Rotonde au Palais-Royal.
11164.
Humour in the opening
How did this position arise?
Black to move
It comes from a game between C.J.S. Purdy and F.A.
Crowl (Melbourne, 29 December 1934 – see page
9 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph of 31
December 1934) which Purdy annotated on pages 317-318 of
the November 1936 issue of the Australasian Chess
Review under the heading ‘Humour in the Opening’.
Purdy began:
‘Little humour is to be found in the chess openings,
a field that is sacrosanct to serious-minded
theorists. The following game, however, contains a
genuine piece of sheer buffoonery (unintentional)
within the first dozen moves. Played in the fourth
round of the last Australian championship tournament
(Melbourne 1934-35), it is a disgrace to both
contestants, but none the less entertaining for that.’
The full score, with Purdy’s punctuation:
1 c4 Nf6 2 d4 e5 3 dxe5 Ng4 4 Bf4 g5 5 Bd2! Nxe5 6 e4
Bg7 7 Nc3 d6 8 Qh5!? h6 9 Be2??? Nbd7 10 Bf1!! Nb6 11
Qd1!!! Be6 12 b3 Qd7 13 Be2! O-O-O 14 Nf3 Ng6 15 Qc2 g4
16 Ng1!! f5 17 exf5 Bxf5 18 Bd3 Rde8+ 19 Nge2 Rhf8 20
Bxf5 Rxf5 21 O-O-O Nh4 22 Nf4 Qf7 23 g3 Nf3 24 Be3 Qf6
25 Nb1! Kb8!? 26 h3 Qa1!? 27 Nd5 Nxd5 28 cxd5 Rf7 29
hxg4 Rfe7 30 Rd3 Ne5 31 Rd4 Nc6 32 Ra4 Nd4 33 Qd2 Nb5 34
Kc2 Nc3 35 Nxc3 Qxh1 36 Bxa7+ Kc8 37 Be3 Kd7? 38 Qd3 Rb8
39 g5 Bxc3 40 Kxc3 Qa1+ 41 Kc2 b5 42 Ra7 h5 43 Qf5+? Kd8
44 Qf8+ Re8 45 Qf7 Re7 46 Qxh5 Qe5 47 Qf3 Ke8 48 Qf6
Qe4+ 49 Kb2 Kd7 50 Qd4 Qxd4+ 51 Bxd4 Re2+ 52 Kc3 Rg8 53
Be3 Rg6 54 Kb4 Rxe3 55 fxe3 Rxg5 56 Kxb5 Rxd5+ 57 Kc4
Rg5 58 e4 Kc6 59 b4 Rxg3 60 a4 Kb6 61 Ra8 Kb7 62 Re8 Rg1
63 Re7 Rc1+ 64 Kb5 Ka7 65 e5 dxe5 66 Rxe5 Kb7 67 Re7 Ka7
68 a5 Kb8 69 Re5 Rd1 70 Re6 Rd8? 71 Kc6 Rh8 72 b5 Rg8 73
a6 Rd8? 74 a7+ Kxa7 75 Kxc7 Resigns.
A note in the middle-game is of interest:
Position before 37 Be3
Kd7
[37 Be3] ‘White’s sealed move, virtually forced. Now,
a remarkable instance of the psychological factor in
chess is that Crowl, in spite of having an hour for
private analysis, and being certain of White’s sealed
move, made a gross blunder immediately on resuming. He
had failed to adjust himself to the fact that White
had completely recovered his lost ground. He had
therefore examined only defensive moves for White.
This shows that it is much better to recover from a
bad game than to have an equal game all the time.’
Finally, Purdy called 70...Rd8 ‘the losing move’,
adding this maxim in bold type:
‘Avoid using a rook for defence.’
11165. 64
- ‘Bobby Fischer died in Iceland of kidney failure on
17 January 2008 at age 64 – the exact number of
squares on the chessboard.’
Page 314 of This Crazy World of Chess by
Larry Evans (Las Vegas, 2009).
- ‘... he died at the iconic age of 64.’
Page 26 of Battle of Bonn by Raymond Keene
and Eric Schiller (2008).
- ‘ ... [Fischer] moved to Iceland and died there at
the iconic age of 64, the number of squares on the
chessboard!’
Page 123 of Carlsen-Anand Match for the World
Chess Championship by Raymond Keene (New York,
2013).
- ‘Iconically, Fischer died in 2008 in Reykjavik, the
scene of his 1972 triumph, at the age of 64, the
number of squares on the chessboard.’
Page 29 of Carlsen v Caruana: FIDE World Chess
Championship, London 2018 by Raymond Keene and
Byron Jacobs (London, 2018).
- ‘Upon Fischer’s death in 2008 at the age of 64 for
64 squares of the chess board, many where [sic]
sad ...’
Page 8 of A Guide Book Of Places To Go and
People You Will See Around NY Chess by Peter
Julius Sloan (2012).
- ‘On 17 January 2008 Robert James Fischer died at the
age of 64 – one year for every square on the chess
board ...’
Page 192 of The Big Book of World Chess
Championships by Andre Schulz (Alkmaar, 2016).
- ‘He died from renal failure, after refusing medical
treatment from fear of being poisoned, at the symbolic
age of 64 (the number of squares on a chessboard).’
Page 113 of The Psychology of Chess by
Fernand Gobet (Abingdon, 2019).
How often has anyone bothered making such a point
about, for instance, Staunton or Steinitz?
11166.
Psychology
Below is a remark by G.H. Diggle from an article in the
December 1981 Newsflash which was reproduced on
page 78 of Chess Characters (Geneva, 1984). See
too C.N. 7805.
‘Sixty years ago there were dotted around the
provinces (either in small struggling clubs or once a
week in “private house soirées”) players with
only each other’s chess intellects to feed on who
would loyally stick to the game without improving one
iota through whole decades. ... Many of them were
characters of as great psychological interest as a
Fischer or a Korchnoi; for to imagine that
“psychological motifs” and whatnot are the exclusive
monopoly of grandmasters is to fall into the snobbish
fallacy of the Sergeant Major who (when a poor Private
reported sick with a “pain in the abdomen”) roared at
him: “You ’ave a stummick! Only orficers has
abdomens!’
11167.
‘Before the death of Alekhine in 1946’
An unfathomable claim about FIDE on pages 288-289 of Who
Was The Strongest? by Raymond Keene, Nathan
Divinsky and Jeff Sonas (Aylesbeare, 2006):
‘Three years later [in 1993] Kasparov annihilated
Nigel Short in a match that was held outside the
auspices of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, which
had shown itself increasingly incompetent to handle
events at the highest level. FIDE soldiered gamely on
with its own championship, much as it did before the
death of Alekhine in 1946, but FIDE always had to make
do without the world’s top two players at any given
time.’
11168. Vogue
11169.
Reshevsky v Fischer
The above snippet, concerning a case not yet included
in Chess in the Courts,
comes from page 296 of the October 1961 BCM, in
a section edited by Harry Golombek.
Chess Review,
September 1961, page 264
Chess Review,
October 1961, page 317
Below are five press reports:
New York Times,
15 August 1961, page 36
New York Times,
17 August 1961, page 22
New York Times,
18 August 1961, page 27
New York Times,
19 August 1961, page 15
New York Times,
10 April 1962, page 33
There were briefer reports in the New York Times
of 14 August 1961, page 20 and 16 August 1961, page 25.
The above photograph of Reshevsky, Fischer and Ferrer in
the 15 August 1961 edition is similar to the one in Chess and Hollywood.
C.N. 8923 referred to coverage of the affair in Chess
Life; an article entitled ‘The Fischer-Reshevsky
Snafu’ on page 321 of Chess Review, November
1961 provides a notable summary.
On page 137 of Endgame (New York, 2011) Frank
Brady wrote that ‘the case lingered in the courts for
years and was finally dropped’. Does a detailed account
of the full procedure exist?
11170. Léonard
Tauber (C.N.s 7821 & 7830)
Eduardo Bauzá Mercére (New York, NY, USA) sends this
game from page 38 of the Washington Post, 13
July 1919:
1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 g5 4 Bc4 g4 5 O-O gxf3 6 Qxf3
Qf6 7 e5 Qxe5 8 d3 Bh6 9 Nc3 Nc6 10 Bd2 Nge7 11 Rae1
Qc5+ 12 Kh1 d6 13 Nd5 Be6 14 Rxe6 fxe6 15 Qh5+ Ng6 16
Nf6+ Kf7 17 Qxh6 Kxf6 18 Rxf4+ Ke7 19 Qg7+ Kd8 20 Bxe6
Nce7 21 Qxh8+ Nxh8 22 Rf8 mate.
This game between Léonard Tauber and Charles
d’Hersignerie had been published on pages 254-255 of La
Stratégie, November-December 1918:
As mentioned in Chess and
Jews, A. Geoffroy Dausay was a pseudonym of
Alphonse Goetz.
11171. On
board the Llangibby Castle
From page 184 of the June 1930 BCM:
Larger
version
The picture has been mentioned (‘group photograph of
team match, 1930’) in Sultan
Khan.
11172.
Intellectual gymnastics
Olimpiu G. Urcan (Singapore) has been looking into
claims that Steinitz referred to chess as
intellectual/mental gymnastics (geistige Gymnastik
or intellektuelle Gymnastik) and offers these
citations for such terms:
- Deutsche Schachzeitung, June 1866, pages
161-164 (article by V. Grimm):
- Chess Player’s Magazine, September 1866,
pages 257-260 (translation of the above Grimm
article):
- Illustrirte Zeitung, 8 September 1866, page
162:
- Household Chess Magazine, 31 January 1865,
page 2 (a magazine edited by Thomas Henry Hopwood):
‘It is our intention to create for our readers a
series of mental recreations or, in other words, we
have pleasure in presenting them with a complete
intellectual gymnastics,
on which the mental portion of their organization
may take full swing.
First and foremost in our mental gymnasium stands
chess, the royal game; patronized by the Emperor,
who reigns over nations, and by Genius, who, still
greater, reigns over minds.’
... Charades, draughts, riddles, novels of a chess
character, and intellectual gymnastics generally
will form additional attractions to our work, and
which, we trust, will duly contribute to the
amusement of our readers.’
- Wiener Presse, 14 December 1884, page 1:
Complete
article
- Columbia Chess Chronicle, 24 September 1887,
page 107, quoting from J.A. Congdon (‘Gen. Gongdon’)
in the Scranton Truth:
‘Chess is considered the most intellectual of
amusements. Its tendencies are moral and refining.
It is admirable mental gymnastics.’
- Letter from Steinitz to H.M. Gorham and W.E. Lester
dated 13 April 1888, quoted on pages 95-96 of The
Steinitz Papers by K. Landsberger (Jefferson,
2002):
‘You see I am trying to recover my good humor but I
am really sincere in thinking that our mental
gymnastics offered more relief to a philosophical
mind in time of great affliction than even music or
any other art.’
- International Chess Magazine, June 1888,
pages 175-176 (in Steinitz’s ‘Personal and General’
column):
‘For many enthusiastic chessplayers are, like
myself, convinced that the general cultivation of
chess logic would help to cure our age from many
political, economical and philosophical
escrescences, and would also greatly diminish such
baneful excesses and unhealthy habits as
over-smoking, drinking, gambling, etc., which are
incompatible with the acquisition of excellence in
our mental gymnastics.’
- The Modern Chess Instructor by W. Steinitz
(New York, 1889), page xxvii:
‘In our time the game is becoming more widely
popular among intelligent people in different
countries, and it is almost universally recognized
as a healthy mental exercise, which in its effects
on the intellectual faculties is akin to that of
physical gymnastics on the conservation and
development of bodily strength.’
- Philadelphia Inquirer, 22 October 1893, page
21 (feature by Carl Synder which included an interview
with Steinitz). One of the world champion’s remarks:
‘Chess may be described as mental athletics. It is
the gymnasium of the mind. I believe that the mind
can be trained as easily and perfectly as the body,
and I know of no better exercise than chess. It
develops, strengthens and clarifies the brain.’
- Interview with Steinitz in the Pittsburg
Dispatch, quoted on pages 197-198 of The
Steinitz Papers by K. Landsberger (Jefferson,
2002):
‘It [chess] is a species of mental gymnastics,
which, when properly applied, should be to the
hygiene of the mind just what athletics are to the
hygiene of the body. In other words, chessplayers
may help brain workers to know how to take care of
themselves.’
- Article by Steinitz in Johnson’s Universal
Cyclopædia, quoted on page 151 of The
Steinitz Papers by K. Landsberger (Jefferson,
2002):
‘The influence of the cultivation of this game
[chess] on the highest qualities of mind bears
essential resemblance to the effect of gymnastics on
the growth, increase and conservation of the
physical powers.’
Mr Urcan adds:
‘I cannot provide independent corroboration of the
text which Landsberger states was in the Pittsburg
Dispatch.
You have noted on several occasions the inadequacy
of the sourcing in his book William Steinitz,
Chess Champion (Jefferson, 1993), and the
gymnastics matter provides another example. From
page 152:
The bibliographical reference ‘(34)’ leads to
nothing more precise than this on page 472:
I can at least add that pages 357-358 of the
November 1885 Deutsche Schachzeitung have a
reference to H. Bennecke and to Steinitz’s useful
letter, but there is nothing about any “intellectual
gymnastics” remark.’
11173. An
unidentified figure
The photograph below was published opposite page 208 of
Hundert Jahre Schachturniere by P. Feenstra
Kuiper (Amsterdam, 1964). For a larger version, see C.N.
4772 and Nimzowitsch’s My
System:
Concerning the ‘unknown man’ standing third from the
left, Dan Scoones (Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada) writes:
‘I believe that the same individual is in the 1937
Moscow team photograph on page 210 of Chess
Review, September 1937 which was reproduced in C.N.
7022. He was identified there as David:
The only games of his that I have traced are from
the Leningrad Semi-Final of the 11th USSR
Championship, 1939, where he tied for last place
with Solomon Gotthilf with 5½ points from 17 games.
There is confusion over his forename. The crosstable
and game-file at the RusBase website do not
agree, giving G. David and Michael David
respectively. This has sown further confusion in the
ChessBase database because there is a Michael David
of Israel.
The Soviet player David does not seem to have had
a particularly active or distinguished chess career,
and his appearance in group photographs of important
events is therefore rather mysterious.’
11174.
Bird v Lasker
From page 101 of Lasker’s Manual of Chess (New
York, 1927):
The text appears towards the end of the Second Book;
page numbers vary in other editions.
Jean-Pierre Rhéaume (Montreal, Canada) points out that
the game in question which began 1 f4 e5 2 fxe5 d6 3
exd6 Bxd6 4 Nf3 g5 occurred in the second Lasker v Bird
match, i.e. in 1892 and not 1890.
The score was given on pages 485-486 of H.E. Bird
by Hans Renette (Jefferson, 2016), with these notes by
Steinitz from page 22 of the New York Daily Tribune,
25 September 1892:
Notwithstanding what appears in some publications and
databases, the game continued until move 63, as reported
in many contemporary sources, such as page 5 of The
Scotsman, 31 August 1892 and page 12 of Lasker’s London
Chess Fortnightly, 1 September 1892. The
concluding moves (after 42...Bxh1) have not been found.
Page 68 of the recent Zenón Franco book on Lasker
(C.N.s 11130, 11139 and 11140) has ‘40 Bb6 Bd5! 0-1’. As
regards the opening, page 61 states:
The misspelling ‘Fromm’ is common, but the player’s
name is not in doubt: Martin From (1828-95).
Some articles on the opening:
- ‘Zur Eröffnung 1 f2-f4. From’s Gambit’ by S.A.
Sörensen, Deutsche Schachzeitung, July-August
1862, pages 200-202;
- ‘From’s Gambit’ by J.H. Zukertort, Chess Monthly,
October 1879, page 54; December 1879, pages 110-111;
January 1880, pages 141-144; March 1880, pages
213-215; April 1880, pages 246-248;
- ‘From’s Gambit’ by C. von Bardeleben, Deutsche
Schachzeitung, July 1919, pages 132-137.
11175.
Opposite-coloured bishops
White to move
This position was analyzed by Emanuel Lasker. Can White
win?
11176. Modern
chess and the good old days
The start of an article entitled ‘Modern Chess Dull?!’
by Fred Reinfeld on page 32 of the Chess Review,
March 1940:
‘It is unfortunate, but true, that a sizable
proportion of amateurs find modern master chess dull.
“Ah, the good old days!” This is based on what is for
the most part an imaginary kind of chess which is
supposed to have been peculiar to any age but our own.
If the good old chess was really so interesting, we
should expect it to have flourished in the first
International Tournament, held at London in 1851. If
we turn to the Book of the Tournament, however, we
discover that it is an epochal collection of the most
dreary, tedious, witless, planless, slovenly and inept
chess that has ever been assembled between the covers
of a book. Of the 85 games in the main event, not more
than five could be described as brilliant by the most
charitable man in the world; and he would be hard put
to it to find ten games that were worth looking at.
It is impossible to retain any more illusions about
the chess of this period as one reads Staunton’s
peppery philippics against his bumble-fingered
colleagues. (And since he was much inferior to
present-day analysts, he leaves myriads of blunders
untouched!)’
Reproducing the article, until the title ‘Ah, The Good
Old Days!’, on pages 96-98 of his anthology The
Treasury of Chess Lore (New York, 1951), Reinfeld
added this introduction:
‘At the time I wrote this article I was nettled by
the disparagement of modern masters which flourishes
side by side with unthinking praise for the ancients.
My views are still the same, although my approach to
his [sic] type of controversy has mellowed
considerably!’
‘The Good Old Days’ was the heading to game 46 (Flohr v
Landau, Antwerp, 1930) on page 91 of Chess Strategy
and Tactics by Fred Reinfeld and Irving Chernev
(New York, 1933):
‘In every chess era the greybeards are forever
bemoaning, maliciously or mournfully, the passing of
“the good old days”. Nowadays, for example, one hears
that there is no “brilliancy” left in chess, no
sacrifices, no combinations. There is nothing left,
runs the wail, but stodgy woodshifting. For those who
still look back sadly to the flashy and trashy
confetti of so-called “immortal games”, we offer a bit
of consolation ...’
On page 181 of Great Brilliancy Prize Games of the
Chess Masters (New York, 1961) Reinfeld introduced
Flohr v Landau as follows:
‘Many years ago, when I first saw this game, it
seemed to me an effective refutation of the charge
that modern chess is much less brilliant than the
old-time variety. Now that so many years have passed,
this game is no longer “modern”, but it is still a
delight to play over and appreciate.’
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 d5 4 e3 e6 5 Nbd2 Be7 6 Bd3 Nbd7
7 O-O O-O 8 b3 c5 9 Bb2 cxd4 10 exd4 dxc4 11 bxc4 b6 12
Qc2 Bb7 13 Ne5 Qc7 14 f4 Rfd8 15 Ndf3 h6 16 Qe2 Nxe5 17
fxe5 Nd7 18 d5 Bc5+ 19 Kh1 exd5
20 Ng5 Nf8 21 Nxf7 Re8 22 Qg4 Re6 23 Bf5 Rae8 24 Bxe6
Rxe6 25 Nd6 Bxd6 26 exd6 Qd7 27 Ba3 Nh7 28 h3 dxc4 29
Qxc4 Nf6 30 Rxf6 gxf6 31 Re1 Bc8 32 Rc1 Bb7 33 Qg4+ Kh8
34 Rc7 Re1+ 35 Kh2 Qxg4 36 hxg4 Resigns.
From page 627 of L’Echiquier, 12 February 1930:
Flohr annotated his victory on pages 46-47 of Československý
Šach, March 1930:
11177. Alekhine
v Alexander
‘Some of Marshall’s most sparkling moves look at
first like typographical errors.’
This well-known remark is listed in The Chess Wit and Wisdom of
W.E. Napier.
On page 194 of Great Brilliancy Prize Games of the
Chess Masters (New York, 1961) Fred Reinfeld
wrote:
‘Some of Alekhine’s best combinations are so
startlingly original that they give the impression of
being oversights. In this regard, 20 P-K4! is one of
his most striking moves.’
The game was Alekhine v Alexander, Nottingham, 1936:
On page 196 Reinfeld commented regarding 20 e4:
‘This sly move looks like a blunder, as Black can now
win a pawn.’
The game continued 20...Nxe4 21 Qc1 Nef6 22 Bxf5, and
Black resigned at move 27.
11178.
‘The Immortal Lightning Game’
From pages 306-307 of The Delights of Chess by
Assiac (New York, 1974):
Assiac had also presented the conclusion on page 202 of
Chess Treasury of the Air by Terence Tiller
(Harmondsworth, 1966):
1 e4 c6 2 Nc3 d6 3 d4 Nf6 4 Bf4 Qb6 5 Qd2 Nbd7 6 Nf3 e6
7 Bd3 Be7 8 O-O O-O 9 a4 Qc7 10 e5 Nd5 11 Nxd5 cxd5 12
Rae1 Re8 13 Re3 Nf8 14 Rfe1 Bd7 15 a5 a6 16 exd6 Bxd6 17
Bxd6 Qxd6 18 Ne5 Bb5 19 Bxb5 axb5 20 b4 b6 21 axb6 Qxb6
22 Rc3 f6 23 Ng4 Rac8 24 Rg3 Kf7 25 Nh6+ gxh6 26 Qxh6
Ke7 27 Rg7+ Kd6 28 Qf4+ Kc6 29 Re3 Qb8 30 Ra3 Kb6 31
Qd6+ Rc6 32 Qc5+ Resigns.
The full score of this allegedly ‘celebrated’ game is
in databases, but which is the earliest, or best,
primary source?
11179. Lasker
on development
Pages 60-61 of Common Sense in Chess by Emanuel
Lasker (London, 1896):
On page 36 of Chess Treasury of the Air by
Terence Tiller (Harmondsworth, 1966) Harry Golombek
quoted the marked paragraph and contended:
‘This sentence alone contains more instruction than
many a book that we see turned out by the dozen
nowadays.’
11180.
Chigorin engraving (C.N. 5686)
Another version of the engraving of Chigorin playing
blindfold, published on page 444 of the 23 April 1888
edition of Niva:
11181.
Johannes Metger (C.N. 11141)
The full obituary of Metger on pages 199-201 of Kagans
Neueste
Schachnachrichten, January-March 1926:
The end of the Gill v Metger game-score is garbled, and
we have added 30...Qc1+: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4
Ng5 d5 5 exd5 Na5 6 Bb5+ c6 7 dxc6 bxc6 8 Be2 h6 9 Nf3
e4 10 Ne5 Bd6 11 f4 Qc7 12 d4 O-O 13 c4 c5 14 Be3 Rd8 15
Nc3 Rb8 16 Nb5 Rxb5 17 cxb5 cxd4 18 Qxd4 Nd5 19 Bd2
19... e3 20 Bxe3 Nxe3 21 Qxe3 Bb4+ 22 Kf1 Bd2 23 Qg3
Rd4 24 Nd3 Bf5 25 Rd1 Nc4 26 Rxd2 Nxd2+ 27 Ke1 Qc2 28
Nf2 Ne4 29 Qf3 Bg4 30 Qxg4 Qc1+ 31 Nd1 Rxd1+ 32 Bxd1
Qd2+ 33 Kf1 Qf2 mate.
11182.
‘The Immortal Lightning Game’ (C.N. 11178)
Hans-Georg Kleinhenz (Munich, Germany) sends a report
by Lothar Schmid on pages 382-383 of Caissa (‘2.
Oktober-Heft 1952’):
Larger
version
11183. Meyer v
Hirschfeld
Hans Renette (Bierbeek, Belgium) and Fabrizio
Zavatarelli (Milan, Italy) provide two games
between H.F.L. Meyer and P. Hirschfeld which are not in
their book Neumann, Hirschfeld and Suhle
(Jefferson, 2018).
11184. De
mortuis
Wanted: examples of particularly negative chess
obituaries, whatever the level of justification.
Norman T. Whitaker, one of the game’s leading
reprobates, received little attention when he died in
1975. The obituary by his colleague James E. Gates on
page 521 of the August 1975 Chess Life & Review
was low-key:
‘Outside chess Norman was not very distinguished,
being involved in too many things at and beyond the
laws he studied.’
11185.
Opposite-coloured bishops (C.N. 11175)
From pages 102-103 of Schachjahrbuch 1922 by
Ludwig Bachmann (Ansbach, 1924):
11186. Barry
Martin on chess history
Based on a very short browse, below are some extracts
from Chess Problems, Play and Personalities by
Barry Martin (Beddington, 2018).
The start of an article about Alekhine on pages 41-43:
‘... his father was a landowner, a Marshal of
Nobility, and a member of the Russian Duma. His mother
was an heiress to an industrial fortune. Alekhine
became addicted to the game of chess at the age of 11
...’
This brings to mind page 5 of The Oxford Companion
to Chess by D. Hooper and K. Whyld (Oxford, 1984):
‘His father was a landowner, a Marshal of Nobility,
and a member of the Duma, his mother heiress of an
industrial fortune. ... Alexander became addicted to
the game at the age of about 11 ...’
Similarly, pages 194-195 (the section on Leonard
Barden) are little more than pickings from his Wikipedia
entry.
Sometimes, though, Mr Martin is self-reliant. From page
70:
‘Howard Staunton, the only English chess player ever
to have held the title of World Champion by winning
against the generally accepted World Champion, St.
Amain in Paris in 1843 ...’
Page 81 discusses St Petersburg, 1914:
‘The combatants in the main tournament were the
leading lights at that time of world chess, five of
whom had played in a pre-tournament which included 11
players to the main tournament in St Petersburg.’
Page 269 states that Capablanca ...
‘... taught himself the game of chess at the age of
13’.
11187.
Hutagalung and Purdy
From page 35 of the February 1961 Chess Review:
11188.
Opposite-coloured bishops (C.N.s 11175 & 11185)
White to move
This position from a game between A. van Foreest and H.
Wagner in an international team match was analyzed by
Emanuel Lasker as a win for White.
W. John discussed the match on pages 121-123 of the
June 1922 Deutsche Schachzeitung, with, at the
bottom of page 122, a reference to Lasker’s analytical
work:
The Deutsche Schachzeitung did not give the
game-score, but it was published on pages 127-128 of Deutsches
Wochenschach, 18 June 1922:
The game is also on pages 151-152 of the June 1922 Tijdschrift
van
den Nederlandschen Schaakbond, with a reference to
analysis by Bernstein as well as Lasker:
The pages from Deutsches Wochenschach and Tijdschrift
van
den Nederlandschen Schaakbond are reproduced
courtesy of the Cleveland Public Library.
The full game: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 Ng5 d5 5
exd5 Na5 6 d3 h6 7 Nf3 e4 8 Qe2 Nxc4 9 dxc4 Bc5 10 c3
O-O 11 Nd4 Bg4 12 Qc2 Qe7 13 Be3 Rae8 14 h3 Bc8 15 Nd2
Nh7 16 O-O-O f5 17 g3 Ng5 18 h4 Nf7 19 N2b3 Bd6 20 c5
Be5 21 Ne2 Rd8 22 Nf4 Bxf4 23 gxf4 h5 24 Qe2 Nh6 25 Qc4
Qf7 26 Qd4 Ng4 27 c4 c6 28 d6 Be6 29 Nd2 Rd7 30 b3 Rfd8
31 f3 Nf6 32 fxe4 fxe4 33 Nxe4 Nxe4 34 Qxe4 Re8 35 Qd4
Bf5 36 Rhe1 Re4 37 Qc3 Rd8 38 Bd4 Rde8 39 Be5 Rxe1 40
Rxe1 Bd7 41 Kb2 Bg4 42 Re3 Bd7 43 Qe1 Kh7 44 Bc3 Rxe3 45
Qxe3 Kg8 46 Qe5 Kh7 47 Qg5 Kg8 48 Ka3 Bg4 49 Be5 Kh7 50
Kb4 Qd7 51 Qe7 Kg8 52 Bxg7 Qxe7 53 dxe7 Kf7 54 Be5 Kxe7
55 Bb8 a6 56 Ka5 Kd7 57 Kb6 Kc8 58 Be5 Bf5 59 Ka5 Kd7.
Adjudicated a win for White.
For ease of reference, the feature on pages 102-103 of
L. Bachmann’s Schachjahrbuch 1922 (C.N. 11175)
is repeated here:
Richard Forster (Zurich) writes:
‘The analysis in the Schachjahrbuch and in
the Dutch magazine differ, and it is possible that
Lasker gave no concrete lines himself, but showed
the general winning plan, which different editors
then put into different lines. Although both sets of
analysis lead to a win, the best result comes from
combining the two.
60 Kb6 Kc8 61 b4 Bd3 62 a4 Bxc4 63 f5 Bg8 64
f6 Be6 65 a5! Bd5
66 Bh2!
66 b5 axb5 leads nowhere, but now Black is in Zugzwang.
After the move in the Schachjahrbuch (66
Ba1), Black could defend more tenaciously with
66...Kb8, forcing White to go for the Zugzwang
with, for instance, 67 Bb2 Kc8 68 Be5.
66...Bc4 67 b5! axb5
67...cxb5 68 c6 bxc6 69 Kxa6 c5 70 Kb6 also wins
for White. The try 67...Kd7!? 68 bxc6+ bxc6 leads to
a technically lost position after 69 f7 Ke7 70 Kxc6
Bxf7 71 Kb6 Kd7 72 c6+! (but not 72 Kxa6?? Kc6).
68 a6 bxa6 69 Kxc6 b4 70 Kd6!
White does not need the king manoeuvre to b6 or b5
(which is given in both sets of analysis, although
at different points). Against the best defence, this
would simply lose time. The king belongs on d6.
70...b3 71 Be5 Kd8 72 c6 a5 73 c7+ Kc8 74 Bb2
a4
75 Ba3!
The important last point. If White cashes in too
early with 75 Ke7? Kxc7 76 f7 Bxf7 77 Kxf7, Black
has 77...Kd6! and saves the game.
75...Bg8 76 Ke7 Kxc7 77 f7 Bxf7 78 Kxf7 Kc6
Thanks to 75 Ba3, Black does not have the square
d6 for the king and must lose.
79 Ke6
White wins by picking up the queen’s-side pawns
with his king.’
11189. Chess
bibles
Chess Review,
August-September 1943, page 243
A remark by Adam Hart-Davis in a tribute to Irving
Chernev on page 278 of CHESS, December 1981:
Adam Hart-Davis also related the story on page 8 of 200
Brilliant
Endgames by Irving Chernev (New York, 1989):
11190.
V.P. v A. Aurbach
Page 89 of La Stratégie, April 1922:
1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 e5 Nh5 5 d4 d5 6 Be2 Rg8
7 O-O g5 8 h3 Ng3 9 Re1 Be6 10 Nh2 h5 11 Bxh5 Nc6 12 c3
Qd7 13 Bg4 O-O-O 14 Bxe6 fxe6 15 Ng4 Rh8 16 Nf6 Qg7 17
Qg4 Nf5 18 Nd2 Rh4 19 Qe2 Ng3 20 Qd1 Nxe5 21 dxe5 g4 22
Nxg4 Rxg4 23 Nf3 Bc5+ 24 Nd4 Rh4 25 Kh2 Rxh3+ 26 gxh3
Nf1+ 27 Kh1 Qg3 28 Bxf4 Qxh3+ 29 Kg1 Rg8+ 30 Kf2 Rg2+
(30...Qg2 mate.) 31 Kxf1 Qh1 mate.
11191.
Unsound combinations
Taking the example of a 1932 Spielmann v Stoltz game,
C.N. 2035 (see pages 208-209 of Kings, Commoners and
Knaves) asked whether the definition of
‘combination’ should cover combinative
hallucinations.
Not according to Emanuel Lasker, who wrote on page 153
of Lasker’s Manual of Chess (New York, 1927):
‘A combination must be sound. An unsound
combination is no combination at all. It is merely an
attempt, an error, a failure, a nonentity.’
The remark is in the Third Book, after a
Tartakower-Alekhine position. The text in various German
editions (page numbers vary):
‘Eine Kombination muß richtig sein, sonst ist sie
nur ein Versuch, ein Fehlgriff, ein Irrtum, und
eigentlich ein Unding.’
11192. Pilnik v
Najdorf
‘It would not be too much of an exaggeration to say
that this game is one long combination. This is really
a way of paying tribute to White’s inexhaustible
ingenuity in conjuring up new attacking ideas.’
That was Fred Reinfeld’s introduction to Pilnik v
Najdorf, Mar del Plata, 24 March 1942 on page 202 of Great
Brilliancy Prize Games of the Chess Masters (New
York, 1961).
Below is an early appearance of the game, on page 76 of
the May 1942 issue of the Argentinian chess and bridge
magazine Estrategia (whose four photographs of
the tournament were given in C.N. 9933):
1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nf6 5 Nxf6+ exf6 6 c3
Bd6 7 Bd3 O-O 8 Qh5 g6 9 Qh4 c5 10 Ne2 Nc6 11 Bh6 f5 12
Bg5 Qb6 13 O-O cxd4 14 cxd4 Re8 15 Bc4 h5 16 Rae1 Re4 17
Nf4 Qxd4 18 Rxe4 fxe4 19 Nxh5 gxh5 20 Bf6 Qc5 21 Rd1 Kf8
22 b4 Nxb4 23 Qg3 Bg4 24 Rxd6 Nd3 25 Bxd3 Qc1+ 26 Bf1
Rc8 27 h3 Qxf1+ 28 Kh2 Qc1 29 hxg4 hxg4 30 Qxg4 Qh6+ 31
Kg3 Rc3+ 32 f3 Resigns.
‘A fascinating game, beautifully handled by White from
start to finish’, wrote Reuben Fine on pages 137-138 of
the June-July 1942 Chess Review. His article,
reproduced on pages 198-201 of Chess Marches On!
(New York, 1945), was liberal with exclamation marks,
and in one note a possible move for White surprisingly
received four:
Position after 22 Rd1-d5
Be6xd5
The game was also annotated on pages 122-126 of The
Art of Attack in Chess by V. Vuković (Oxford,
1965). See too pages 116-120 of the algebraic edition
edited by John Nunn (London, 1998).
11193.
Alekhine v Capablanca
The recent death of Stephen Berry brings to mind his
clever contribution to a C.N. topic 25 years ago. (See
pages 316-317 of Kings, Commoners and Knaves.)
C.N. 1973 showed this position on pages 63-64 of Turnierpraxis
by Franz Gutmayer (Berlin and Leipzig, 1922):
In C.N. 1988 Jan Kalendovský (Brno, Czech Republic)
noted the following on page 65 of Tarrasch’s book on St
Petersburg, 1914, in the sixth-round game between the
two future world champions:
Position after 27...g5
in the above variation by Tarrasch
Mr Kalendovský commented that the above position
broadly resembled the one in Gutmayer’s book.
Further to the Tarrasch analysis, C.N. 2003 reported:
Stephen Berry (London) has ingeniously concocted a
variation (after 23...Qg4 24 f3 Qe6 25 Bxf4 Rxe1+ 26
Kf2) which results in Gutmayer’s position:
26...Rg1 (threat: 27...Qe1 mate) 27 Kg3 h6 28 Rf2 (28
Rxd6 Qe2) 28...g5 29 Bd2 Qc4 (intending 30...Qh4 mate)
30 f4 Qd3+ 31 Kg4.
For further discussion of the matter, see C.N. 3300 on
pages 292-293 of Chess Facts and Fables. In
particular, Peter Anderberg (Harmstorf, Germany) noted
that the line created by Stephen Berry was pointed out
by C. Sander on page 170 of the June 1914 Deutsche
Schachzeitung.
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