The best in chess

Citation preview

THE BESTIN

CHESS

I.A. HOROWITZ

JACK STRALEY BATTELL Illustrated Compi led by two of the foremost author· ities on chess, I. A. Horowitz a n d Jack Straley Batte l l - from Horowitz' own mag­ azine Chess Review-this delightf u l pot­ pourri has everything necessary to please chess players of a l l ages and all degrees of ta lent. Here the greatest ptayers of past and pres­ ent exhibit their prowess i n fifty thoroughly annotated grand masterpieces. Selected on the basis of lasting merit, stature of the . contesta nts, clarity, color, and flavor of the notes, they cover some of the fi nest efforts of such a ll-time greats as Alekhine, Botvin­ nik, Capa b lanca, Euwe, Lasker, Stein itz, Smyslov, Tahl, the current titleholder Pet­ rosyan, and America's most bri lliant chess master, B obby Fischer. (Included is Fisch­ er's famous game, cal led "The Game of the Century.") The stories and articles are calculated to whet the reader's interest in chess off the board by revea l i n g unusua l aspects of the game or of the personalities. The short stories are dramatic and some of them in­ volve an 0. Henry twist at the end . (One of them, Mate in Nineteen, concludes with a murder.) There are twenty bra i n-twisting problems composed by some of the greatest "artists i n the fie ld that should keep even the most (continued on back flap)

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The Best In

Chess

By I. A. Horowitz

Chess for Beginners How to Win in the Chess Openings Modern Ideas in the Chess Openings How to Win in the Middle Game of Chess How to Win in the Chess Endinµ;s Chess Openings: Theory and Practice Point Count Chess Solitaire Chess New Traps in the Chess Opening Chess Self-Teacher Winning Chess Tactics Illustrated Golden Treasury of Chess Picture Guide to Beginner's Chess

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Co-author with Fred Reinfeld

Chess Traps, Pitfalls and Swindles First Book of Chess How to Improve Your Chess How to Think Ahead in Chess Macmillan Handbook of Chess

Co-author with P. L. Rothenberg Personality of Chess

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The Best iln Chess �

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I. A. HOROWITZ and JACK STRALEY BATTELL E. P. DUTTON & CO., INC. NEW YORK· 1965

EIU'0" ' ,,_. .,

'':' .

© 1965 by I. A. Horowitz I All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. I No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in

Copyright

writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief pas­ sages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper or broadcast.

I Library of Congress catalog card number: 65-19965 I Published Clarke, Irwin & Companr, Limited, Toronto and

simultaneously in Canada by Vancouver

I FIRST EDITION

PERMISSION TO REPRINT THE FOLLOWING CARTOONS HAS BEEN GRANTED: Drawing by Alain; Copyright © 1938 The Neu' Yorker Magazine. Reprinted by permission of The New Yorker Magazine. I Cartoon by E. Simms Campbell; © 1936 by Esquire, Jnc., © renewed 1964 by Esquire Inc. Reproduced by permi!'�ion of Esquire Maga­ zine. I Cartoon by Al Jaffee; © 1959 New York Herald Tribune Inc. I Re­ printed by permission of the New Y01·k Herald T1·ibu11e. I Cartoon by Mike Thaler; © 1960 Mike Thaler. Reprinted by permission of ThiJ Week Magazine and Mike Thaler I Cartoon by Barnaby Tobey; © 196 l by the New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission of Barnaby Tobey and the New York Times Company.

To all chess lovers with affection

I NTRODUCTION

6

Introduction Someone has spoken of chess as a mirror of life. In fact, several commentators have, more or less independently. But the original re­ mark nearly qualifies under Pope's definition of "true wir": "What oft was thought, but ne'er so well express'd." Chess as a mirror of life is a rather idealized concept. For one obvious point, the facmr of luck is nor totally but almost nonexistent in chess. A player cannot win unless his opponent makes a mistake; hence we consider the better battler won. On occasions, both players make mistakes-and, we'd say, such a game more nearly approaches a true mirror of life. Not because the winner is, as has been humor­ ously stated, the one who makes the next to the last blunder, but be­ cause ic is he who finally rises through trial and adversity to seize the golden opportunity. The Best in Chess is a mirror of chess from

19 33

to the present.

Being composed of extracrs from the magazine Chess Review which began publication in

1 933,

it reflects the chess of the last thirty-two

years. But it, too, is a rather idealized mirror. For the contents of The Best in Chess are from the best in Chess Review. And the latter, of

course, seriously attempted to have the best of everything chessic. The contents of The•Best in Chess run to selective samplings of everything from Chess Review which, after passage of years, remains fresh and appealing: games and annotations of games, stories and articles, problems and poems, serious pieces and humorous and often

I NTRODUCTION 7 a blend of both, cartoons, quizzes and quips-in a fine savoring of everything that happened in chess since

1933.

The authors of The Best in CheH expect some reaction as to their choice. A typical outcry from the readers of the book will be: Why is there no game by Grandmaster Excelsior ? The authors may fall back on the familiar De gustibus non disputandum. But, to be fair, let us explain. In the first place, what has appeared in Chess Review has been--except for some games published solely for their

newsworthiness at the time-frdm the very best available. To repro­ duce all is obviously impossible within rhe confines of a single volume. Grandmaster Excelsior may, indeed, have played a best game equal to those in The Best in Chess; but space limited the selection of the authors, and something had to give. His best game may have been conceivably even better than some game in The Best in Chess; but, if the querulous reader will consider the qualities of the game in ques­ tion, he may find it is there because the commentary on the moves is unsurpassed, as are the annotations of many games in The Best in Chess. In selecting games, too, the authors have cried to avoid those that might be too familiar because of i.nclusion in other books. For that reason, the immortal games by the titans of earlier years, Anders· sen, La Bourdonnais and Morphy, for example, have been omitted from The Best in CheJJ rhough all appeared at one time or another in CheJJ Review. On the other hand, what has been best since

1933

has,

within the limits possible in a single volume, been included here. That first immortal game by the youthful Bobby Fischer, historically appraised by annotator Hans Kmoch as "The Game of the Century," simply could not be excluded. The two recent masterpieces by the same Robert ]. Fischer from the

1964

U.S. Championship are of course also

in The Best in CheH. The shorter games in The Best in CheJJ may seem to be offered more lavishly. But that is so simply because these brevities delight the chess aficionados without consuming space. For the latter reason, roo, all types of miniatures appear from the ultraviolent exploding with the sacrifice of a Queen to the subtler whereby the tendering of a Pawn may .bring on the sharp decision or even the astonishing Zugzwang.

The cartoons, problems and various kinds of quizzes and the other smaller pieces in The Best in Chess are perforce mere samplings from the profusion of such since to encrance.

1933.

But they are samples designed

I NTRODUCTION 8 As for the articles and stories, they are, it goes without saying, supremely subject to the factor De guJtibuJ. On the satiric side, how­ ever, the authors feel that there is nothing in all chess to equal the hilarious artistry of Hans Kmoch's satire on Nimzovich, "An Example of My System." And, taken together, these stories and articles reflect in remarkably diverse ways the exceptional facets of chess literature since

1933.

The seriously historical, yet far from ordinary, is repre­

sented in the account of the tournament_ ar Mannheim. In such tales as "The Most Important Game" and "Replay," there is exemplified the touch of fantasy yet blended with chessic truth, in quite different aspects in each story. And "The Perilous Sport" shows truth can be stranger than fiction even in the mundane world of chess. In short, The Beu in CheJJ is a mirror of chess life during a period in which chess had supreme moments of beauty, exquisite pro­ fundity and an extremely instructive development of the theory of the game as well as both instructive and diverting coverage in litera­ ture. In it, chess is "to the best advantage dress'd." The authors gratefully acknowledge their indebtedness to the contributors of the various materials that appear in this work.

CONTENTS

9

Contents Chess in Fact

Visiting Firemen/ Fred M. Wren Legislating Morals / I. A. Horowitz The Tourney That War Interrupted/ Paul Hugo Little

13 15 20 22

Chess Brevities

27

Chess Titans of the Thirties

43

Chess in Theory

61

People and Machines at the Chessboard/ Mikhail Botvinnik Can a Dope Become a Denker? Cyclic Chess / Jack Straley Bittel!

Titanic Throes of the Later Thirties

Chess Traps

Chess in Fiction Based on Fact

The Most Important Game/ Pedro Saavedra, Jr.

63 70 75

89

109

121 123

CONTENTS

10 The Immortal Emanuel / Daniel Fidlow The Old Pro/ Robert Coveyou A Matter of Some Importance / Harlan Evans

Master Play of the Forties

Problcmart The Adventure of the Obstruent Chessmen/ Thomas F. Mosiman Chess in Personalized Fact Approaching Satire

Impeccable Hindsight/ B. F. Levene, Jr. Patzer: An Etymological Study / Dr. Helen Weissenstein The Rule of the Immune New Queen / Nolan Saltzman The Ego and I/ I. A. Horowitz Replay/ Jack Straley Battell

128 135 139

143 167 171

177 179 183 185 192 194

197

Chess in Satire

Mate in Nineteen / Vincent Fotre A Strange Simultaneous Display / Marc Benoit Libido Ex Machina/ Jack Straley Battell An Ingenious Example of My System/ "Aron Nimzovich" Glamour / Nat Halper Pronunciation / Nat Halper Chessboard Magic

199 203 209 213 221 225 231

Chess Caviar

235

Fierce Bartles of the Fifties

261

Chess Quiz

295

Further Combats of

Solitaire Chess

the Fifties

309

343

CONTENTS

11 Chess in Fiction

Mate with the Starboard Bishop / Bob L. Basnight The Case of the Missing Chessmen/ Jack Straley Battell How I Won the Eastern Seaboard Intercollegiate Chess Championship/ Robert Brill

351 353 357 361

Heroic Struggles of the Sixties

371

Solutions

401

CHESS. IN FACT

"What would you do if you teere in rny place?"

CH ESS

IN

FACT 15

VISITING FIREMEN By Fred M. Wren

Any player who has dropped in to visit a strange chess club, hoping to get a friendly game or two waiting for a train or a plane or a date, only to find every club member deeply engrossed in his own game, will probably have some recommendation to propose about the arrangements which each club should make to provide hospitality and competition for the visitor. Club policies m such cases are in patternless variety. In some large and pros­ perous clubs, as well as in many small ones that are three months �ehind in their rent, a director or volunteer or drafted member is always on hand to greet any visitors and to furnish any would6e player with competition in his own category of chess strength. In other clubs, the visitor is ignored unless he is a "name player," and he can sit all night watching the members play without ever receiving a bid to display his own prowess. And don't let your nationalistic pride lead you to believe that your countrymen couldn't produce one of these unhospitable evenings. _ The writer has personally visited clubs of that category in the United States, England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Canada and in other ..:ountries. If, however, you are welcomed into one of the more hos­ ?itable groups and are invited to play, the chances are that you will be paired with the strongest player who happens to be :here at the moment. There are several good reasons. One

THE BEST IN CHESS

16

is that chessplayers whose words are undoubtedly bonds in everyday business and social affairs seem absolutely unable to tell the truth when questioned as to their strength as players. The young hotshot champion of his own club at home usually becomes a guy who "used to play on the high school team," while a streak of gray in the hair of the visiting expert or Class A player always seem to make him a chap who "used to play a good Class B game years ago - haven"t seen a chess book or played a serious game for twenty years ! " And then, when you are chosen to be the home-club's representative to play either of these birds, you get snowed under by the visitor.' s application of strat­ egy and tactics out of last month's Shakmaty! Provided, of course, that you have accepted the visitor"s own evaluation of his playing strength and that you, a Class B player, have not yet learned that chessplayers closely approach fishermen in a generic disregard for truth. There is added cause for tossing your strong­ est club player into the ring with an unknown. Suppose that the visitor is a weak player - even as weak as he claims to be - and that you knock him off in twenty moves. Then you, as the club champion, know the various levels of playing strength of your fellow members, and you are in a perfect position to turn him over to one of them who plays about the same kind of game and let them light it out for the remainder of the evening. I shall never forget one night in Paris when I visited the Cercle CaiHa on the Boulevard Montmartre. During the after­ noon, I had taken a swing by the famous Cafe de la Regence, hoping to catch the shade of Napoleon kibitzing a game between the spirits of Morphy and Labourdonnais. My side trip to the Place du Palais Royal was in vain, and was extremely depressing. Not only were the famous habitues absent - the Regence itsel f wasn't there. Oh, the walls were standing, but the entire interior was being renovated, all furnish­ ings removed, and posters on the barricaded entrance informed one that entry by unauthorized persons would be punished by im­ prisonment in the 1953 edition of the Bastille. With some French workmen giving me dirty looks - I ob­ viously didn't belong to their union I didn't stop to wonder -

CH ESS IN FACT 17

what had become of the special tables where Voltaire and Ben Franklin and Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other notables were sup­ posed to have played chess. I didn't even inquire what had be­ come of the portrait of Philidor which used to hang on one in­ terior wall. I got out of there fast, before the ghost of St. Amant emerged from the shadows of the forsaken and forbidding in­ terior to ask me what a Yankee woodpusher was doing nosing around such hallowed ground. When visiting Paris, the inexperienced American tourist who is seeking information on some particular subject usually seeks it at the United States Embassy. The more experienced traveler will seek it from a more accessible (and in some cases, more reli­ able) source - his hotel concierge. I sprang it on him cold. "If one of your guests wants to play chess, where do you advise him to go, now that the Regence is closed ,.. He didn't bat an eye or hesitate for a second. "The best place is Cercle Caissa on the Boulevard Mont­ martre - Number 9 - that is the club l recommended not long age to the Argentine champion, Pilnik, when he was a guest here. He thanked me afterward, said it was fine.' ' S o o ff we rushed t o the Boulevard Montmartre, and found Number 9 to be an entrance between a store and a restaurant, with stairs leading to the club rooms above. As I entered l could see several games in progress, but before l could get to them to see whether or not I could kibitz effectively in French, I was greeted by a little old lady, who welcomed me to Cercle Caissa, introduced herself and asked if she could help me. This was Madame Le Bey Taillis, Vice-President of the French Chess Federation, Pres­ ident of the Chess League of the lie de France (that's a part of Paris - not the ship) and direct rice of the Cercle Caissa. I explained that I was just returning Lafayette's call, that I was either a strong Class B or a weak Class A player in the United States and that I had come hoping for an evening of chess play. She showed me all over the club, peeking quietly into a back room where the master Seneca was giving a lecture on chess to a group of about a dozen students, and going the rounds of the various games in progress, not interrupting them, but telling me

THE BEST

IN

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18

softly who ( and sometimes what ) the players were. Then she said, "You want to play. Come. You shall play first with one of our best players." She led me to a table where three men were analyzing a position, talking quite animatedly in a language which I didn't understand. The language was Russian, the players were of the famous Paris colony of White Russians, and the player with whom I was paired for my first game was Rosso!imo ! I had met him briefly in New York when he was playing a short match with Bisguier, so I knew him, and I also knew what a waste of his time and mine it would be for me to play chess with him. The French grandmaster understood my predicamen t and gracefully turned me over to "the boys" who were with him. I played three of them, losing twice quickly to the French master Raizman, losing one and drawing one with Guilfaud and finally hitting a winning streak against the Russian, Reschetnikoff. And all this time Grandmaster Rossolimo stood by and kibitzed im­ partially and helped us all with postmortem analyses. Eight or ten feet from our table, two players were engaged in what Edward Lasker must have had in mind when he wrote about "Chess for Blood." They were playing live-minute chess for fairly substantial stakes, with three or four dollars changing hands at the end of each game. They were a remarkable pair in appearance. The loser - and he lost every game, so far as I could see - was short and stocky and bald. The winner was tall and husky. The composure with which the loser would begin each game would start to crack after about ten moves; and, as time grew short, he would become quite excited, following through with body-English on each move of a piece or the level of his clock. His opponent, on the other hand, was like ice. His face betrayed no emotion at any time, and he played like an automaton, pro­ ducing impersonal, ruthless and errorless chess. What first attracted my attention to him was the fact that he was wearing, in spite of the well-heated room, a fur hat and a heavy overcoat. with the fur collar turned up. It seemed that the hotter his opponent became the more was he determined to pro­ tect himself against a stray draft. I can almost hear you say-

CH ESS

IN

FACT

19

ing, "So what ' Just another screwball chessplayer ! " That's what I thought, too. But, after two hours or more of this 5-5 chess, they called it off for the evening; and the winner rose silently and, so far as I could see or hear, departed without a word to anyone. The loser came over to our table, and Rosso­ limo introduced me to Tartakover ! I was overwhelmed, and the great Polish-French grandmaster probably never understood my mumbled, confused language enough to realize what a state of shock I was in. To meet one of the chess giants of the world - a man as famous for his equanimity under lire and in adversity, as for his unorthodox brilliance and mastery of all phases of the game in such circumstances stunned me. For he was obviously in the throes of seething rage, probably as much because of what must have been faulty play on his part, as because of the not inconsider­ able sum of money he had lost, and, after acknowledging the in­ troduction and my stupid words with a curt bow, he followed the winner into the night without another word. Such was my first and only meeting with Tartakover. I was so shaken by the incident that I quickly lost a won position against my opponent of the moment and left a few moments later with­ out ever finding out the identity of the fur-upholstered player who had taken about a dozen games in a row from Tartakover. If Rossolimo ever sees this, he may be able to tell us. In the morning, when I next met the hotel concierge, I must' have still carried some trace of the previous evening's strain. "Well," he began. "Did you find the chess club ?" " I certainly did," I replied, thanking him for his detailed and exact directions of the night before. "That"s good," he said. "I was afraid you hadn't found it. You look as if you had had a hard night . . . or as if you had seen a ghost." Thoughts of the 1 920's and 1 930's flashed through my mind as I replied, "I did 1" undoubtedly confirming in the mind of the concierge the truth of the French expression of World War I Yintage - "Tous /es Americain.s sont fous !" All Americans are crazy ! )

THE BEST IN CHESS

20

LEGISLATING MORALS By I. A. Horowitz

The game of chess is governed by written and unwritten law. The Laws of Chess, official code of the International Chess Federation, refers to the conduct of the game and the player. The unwritten law relates to the morals of the player. Whereas, in general, rules are flexible and morals ironclad, in chess, the reverse seems to be true. There is a wide divergence of opinion on what is right and what is wrong. It is no great secret, for instance, that masters analyze their games with other players during adjournments. Obviously, such procedure in­ cludes a third party in a game designed for two. It is wrong. The practice, nevertheless, was sanctioned by FIDE. In the Alekhine-Euwe World's Championship match, both the cham­ pion and the challenger hired seconds whose duty it was to ana­ lyze during adjournments ! This is reminiscent of the "whipping boys" of polite eighteenth-century society. These luckless urchins had to absorb the punishment meant for their mischievous mas­ ters. More than once has the result of an important event de­ pended upon extracurricular third-party analysis. In the U.S. Open, Boston, 1 938, the Santasiere-Kashdan embroglio had ex­ tended to more .'than 1 20 moves. About the fourth adjournment Santasiere was a Pawn to the good in a tricky ending. Nearly all the contestants submitted analysis to best Kashdan, who was

CHESS IN FACT

21

a threat for premier honors. After some twenty-odd hours of this wide open "Jub ro1a" analysis, S was positive that he had discovered the winning line; K was equally certain that the posi­ tion was a draw. Before play was resumed, however, Santasiere magnanimously exhibited the win. "Kash," said he, "this is how I am going to beat you." Kashdan was unimpressed. "And this, " he replied, "is how I am going to draw against you," show­ ing a variation which Santasiere had not taken into account. Kashdan was right. He was going to draw. But he would have been " righter," had he not spoken out of turn. For no sooner had word got around that Kashdan had found a draw, than the analysts came up with a new idea, this time a clear-cut win. As matters turned out, this was the first time in chess history where a player talked himself out of first prize ! There are many provocative practices which require public amng. Is it permissible, for instance, to agree to a draw before a single move has been made ? Is it ethical to offer a player a special inducement for drawing with or beating another player ? Is it "cricket" for a player to offer a draw when he realizes that he is busted higher than a kite ? The story of Alekhine-Dake, while not exactly apropos, makes chess hysterics 1 Somehow, Dake offended the champion. Alekhine ranted and raved. When he played Dake, he would make an extra special effort to do him in. The prospects weren't pleasing to the Portland Star. He apologized. Alekhine was conciliated. "In that case," said he, "one of us will win." He was right as rain. Dake won !

THE BEST IN CHESS

22

Mannheim, 1914

THE TOURNEY THAT WAR INTERRUPTED By Paul Hugo Little

The game of chess is often compared to war. Generals, it is supposed, must be superior chessplayers. Why ' No one has the temerity to suggest that chessplayers must be good military strategists. The truth is that observers who know anything about chess find this parallelism a flimsy fiction. Chess ability is only remotely related to the sort of planning necessary for war; and chessplayers, even as lesser mortals, leave war to those who make it their business. Perhaps the world would be better off if chess masters, rather than war-mongers, were in charge; but, as matters stand, when chess and war run neck-and-neck, the race goes to the war lords. At least this was true on . one occasion. Let me tell you about it. No one needs to be reminded of the early summer of 1 9 1 4 when Archduke Francis Ferdinand a n d h i s wife were assassinated at Sarajevo. An undernourished student - one Gavrillo Princep, wide-eyed with fanaticism - did the deed on June 28th, St. Vitus Day, and soon Europe, then all the world twitched in a ghastly dance. Meanwhile, there were rumors of rioting and unrest everywhere. Stiff-necked German-Junker diplomacy demanded

CHESS IN FACT

23

sweeping reparations. The world watched the sordid drama in nervous anticipation. And the chess masters - what of them ? In April, they gathered at ancient Baden for a joyous, double-round bacchana­ lia in which gambits were required in every game. A 30-year-old Viennese by the name of Rudolph Spielmann echoed his Abbazia success of two years before by waltzing off with first prize. He, apparently, is the only master with the esprit to give and take in gambits. In that same month, the great tournament at St. Petersburg was written into the record. World champion Emanuel Lasker tucked that one away in his trophy bag despite the competition of Jose Capablanca, young Alexander Alekhine ( Aljechin he spelled it then ) , Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch and Frank Marshall. By royal decree of Nicholas II, Tsar of all the Russias, these five be­ came the first '"grandmasters of chess." Now, on the eve of a greater conflict, itinerant chess masters gather in Mannheim for the 19th congress of the German Chess Federation. Despite the threat of war, the tournament has lures enough to beguile anyone eager for fame and fortune. The win­ ner will carry away 2000 marks (about $500) and the honor of being victorious in this historic event. So on Monday, July 20th, 1914, a notable field assembles for the first round. The masters' event has a nicely balanced array of talent, old school against new. Dr. Tarrasch, one of the greatest players and a superlative teacher, leads the old guard. A challenger for the world title, he has won seven tournaments in this same series. Backing him up are Jacques Mieses, David Janowski and Oldrich Duras. Although younger than his con­ freres, Ducas has heen a topflight star for so long that he proper­ ly ranks with them. His tale is a strange one. This is to be his last tournament. At the height of his powers, he forsakes chess for the quiet halls of the University of Prague. Among the newer players are Spielmann, Milan Vidmar, Savielly Tartakover and Alekhine. The first three have been around for quite a while but only lately have they scored con­ sistent successes. Alekhine, on the other hand, is barely 22.

THE BEST

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He first drew attention at Hamburg 1910, then at Carlsbad 1 9 1 1 . His surprising third place a t St. Petersburg puts him i n the front rank. He will be heard from. Julius Breyer, Richard Reti and Ewfim Bogolyubow complete the list of johnny·come-latelies. Their future is before them and they thi rst for success. Minor masters and local players round out the list: Fahrni, Flamberg, Carls, John, Post and Kruger. These are the minnows for the bigger fish to feed on. The haupttu rniers, a vital adjunct to these German events, contain names easily recognizable today. Abues, Bohatirchuk, Opocensky, Rabinovich, Selesniev and Oscar Tenner ( later dean of the rapid players at New York's Manhattan Chess Club) are in this test for mastership. Understandably, the spotlight is on the proven masters. In the first round, with the drums of war about to beat a fearful dirge, young Alekhine defeats the cagey Duras. John upsets Tarrasch. The virtually unknown Bogolyubow holds Marshall to a draw. Vidmar downs Janowski brilliantly while Tartakover wins a dashing King's Gambit Declined from the veteran Mieses. Round two sees Spielmann administer Tarrasch's second de­ feat. Wins over Mieses and Fahrni give Spielmann four of four to lead the field. Alekhine and Vidmar hold second ; each has 31/z-l/2. In the fourth round, Tarrasch wins for the first time. His victim is Duras who seems even more out of form. Alekhine catches up to Spielmann in the next round by defeating Carls while the Austrian is drawing with Vidmar. The sixth round is concurrent with the tragic march of his­ tory. Saturday, July 27th : the wi res are hot with news that France is calling men to the colors. Perhaps unnerved by this turmoil, Alekhinc suffers his first and only defeat, a wild game to Janowski, a naturalized Frenchman 1 Spielmann regains the lead by drawing with Reti. The standings : Spielmann 5· 1; Alek­ hine and Vidmar 41/r 1 \/;>; Bogolyubov and Reti 1-2, a splendid showing for these neophytes. On Tuesday, July 28th, the ominous specter of war looms unmistakably on the horizon: Austria declares war on Serbia. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse prepare to ride again.

CHESS IN FACT

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Yet the masters embark upon the seventh round of the Mannheim tourney. Alekhine beats Bogolyubow while Tartakover nicks the exuberant Spielmann for a draw. Thus Alekhine and the "King of Gambiteers" share the lead at 5Vz-11/2. Playing steadily without a loss, Marshall defeats Reti to take over fourth place with 4Vz-2V2 with Vidmar a scant half a point better. The eighth round brings no change in the standings. Alek­ hine trounces Flamberg and Spielmann accounts for John. Vid­ mar takes over Kruger, according to form. Marshall, Breyer and Reti are now bracketed in fourth place with 5-3 . Tarrasch, who lost for the third time-to Breyer in the seventh round-and Janowski follow with 4V2-3y2. The poor showings of Duras, 31/2-4Vz, Tartakover, 3-5, and Mieses, 2-6, are a surprise. Thursday, July 30th : the Russians order general mobiliza­ rion against the Germans; all Europe is in flames. Yet - Alek­ hine crushes Tarrasch in a game which is included in the farmer's hundred best games. Janowski - this Franco-Pole has a flair for upsets - disposes of Spielmann, and Alekhine is first with 71/z- Jl/2. Vidmar slips into second place by defeating Post. Marshall, Breyer and Reti win, thus remaining tied with 6-3. The fateful tocsin sounds on Friday, July 3 lst. Everywhere men bid farewell to sweethearts, wives and family as they leave to join the ranks. Still the masters play on. What else can rhey do amid such chaos ' Again, Alekhine produces a master­ piece, this time against the doughty Mieses. Spielmann vaults into a tie for second by trimming Marshall (his only Joss in this event) while Vidmar draws. Reti, Breyer and now Janowski are ;ied at 61;2- 31/2. Now it is Saturday, August !st, 19 14, and it is no ordinary day. Germany has declared war on France and Russia. Eng­ land stands by her allies. World War I begins, and the eleventh round - the last that is to be played - of the Mannheim tourna­ ment gets under way. Once more young Alekhine wins so magnificently that this _l!ame against Fahrni finds its way into his collection of master· pieces. The Russian finishes with 9Vr !1;2 for eleven rounds.

THE BEST

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CHESS

26

Milan Vidmar beats Carls, taking second with 8lf2-· 2 lf2. A draw with Duras pulls Spielmann into third place with 8-3. Marshall shares fourth prize by defeating his familiar rival Janowski, while Breyer and Reti draw with each other; all have 7-4. Janowski falls to seventh place with 61fi-41f2. He is followed by Tarrasch and Bogolyubow, 5Vr 5lf2, the last of the prize winners. The Russian chess masters, until this moment favored guests, find themselves under mil itary arrest. There is just time for a hasty division of the prizes - which have mysteriously shrunk 1 Alekhine receives only I 1 00 marks while Vidmar's second prize is 850. Spielmann gets 600 marks. Marshall, Breyer and Reti each pocket 375. Janowski's share is 250. Bogolyubow and Tarrasch are awarded 180 marks. The other competitors are solaced to the tune of JOO . marks each - poor recompense for their labors. Tarrasch, inflexible logician that he is, protests this division of the prize fund in an unfinished tourney. His reason: with six rounds remaining to be played, he still has a mathemati­ cal chance to win first prize ! Alas, tragedy is at hand. Chess has lost its race with war. Tarrasch receives heartbreaking news : his son, Fritz, a doctor of philosophy, has already been killed in action with a Bavarian regiment. Spielmann is summoned to a regiment of telegraph­ layers in the Southern Tyrol. Tartakover becomes a lieutenant in the Austrian army. Alekhine escapes internment with the aid of forged passports, but Bogolyubow, Flamberg, Rabinovich and Selesniev are less (or more ') fortunate. Interned at Triberg, they are permitted to hold chess tourneys. In this confined com­ bat, Bogolyubow fosters his latent talent for the game. Recall­ ing this later, Bogolyubow makes his home at Triberg in 1925. Destiny has its play. So, even as the Baden-Baden Congress of 1870 was inter­ rupted by the Franco-Prussian war, another tournament is shat­ tered by the ruthless hand of war.

CHESS BREVITIES Sudden catastrophes arc the cocktails of chess

THE BEST IN CHESS 28

Berlin, 1950 FRENCH DEFENSE SEPPELT

LAEGANKI

Black P-K3 P-Q4 P-QB4 KPxP BxP Q-N3

White 1 P-K4 2 P-Q4 3 N-Q2 4 KPxP 5 PxP 6 N-K2* Resigns

Vienna, 1950 ALBIN COUNTER GAMBIT HRDY

White 1 P-Q4 2 P-QB4 3 P-K3 4 QPxP 5 P-QR3 6 B-- Q 3* 7 BxB 8 K-K2 Resigns

�Indicates place in d i agram oc:curs.

which

the

position

shown

m

H. HABERD!TZ

Black P-Q4 P-K4 N-QB3 P-Q5 B--K B4 PxP PxPch QxQch

CH ESS B R EVITIES 29

Havana, 1900 VIENNA GAME

H. N. PILLSBURY White 1 P-K4 2 N-QB3 3 P-B4 4 N-B3 5 B-B4 6 PxP 7 NxN 8 BxPch 9 N-Q 5 mate

FERNANDEZ Black P-K4 N-QB3 P-Q3 P-QR3 B-N5 Nx P* BxQ K-K2

Postal Game, 193 5 RUY LOPEZ

A. G. PEARSALL White 1 P-K4 2 N-KB3 3 B-N5 4 0-0 5 R-Kl 6 P-Q3 7 BxN 8 RxPch 9 B-N5

]. B. WHITE Black P-K4 N-QB3 N-B3 NxP P-B4 N-Q3 QPxB K-B2* Resigns

THE B EST IN CH ESS

30

Antwerp, 1932 SICILIAN DEFENSE

SIR G. A. THOMAS White 1 P-K4 2 N-KB3 N-B3 4 PxP 5 B-N5ch 6 N-K5 7 Q-B3 8 Q-R5ch 9 NxP IO N-K5ch

M. SAPIRA Black P-QB4 N-KB3 P-Q4 NxP B-Q2 NxN* P-B3 P-N3 K- B 2 Resigns

NORRIS GAMBIT

J. E. BISCHOFF White 1 P-Q4 2 B-B4 3 P-K4 4 N-QB3 5 PxP 6 PxN 7 P-QN4 8 Q-Q5 9 Q-B3 IO PxPch

W. K. ESTES Black P-Q4 P-QB4 N-QB3 PxQP PxN Q-R4 QxNP B-K3 0-0-0*

Resigns

CH ESS B R EVITIES 31

Bad Pyrmont, 1950 FRENCH DEFENSE

SCH MANN White 1 P-K4 2 P-Q4 N--QB3 4 NxP 5 N-KB3 6 N/4-N5 7 NxBP 8 N-N5ch 9 NxKP 10 NxBP*

R. TESCHNER Black P-K3 P-Q4 PxP N--Q2 KN-B3 B-K2 KxN K-N l Q-K l B-N5 mate

Prague, 195 1 RUY LOPEZ M. FILIP White 1 P-K4 2 N-KB3 B--N5 4 P-Q4 5 NxP 6 BxN 7 N--QB3 8 Q-B3 9 P-K5 10 P-K6

HRUSKOVA·BELSKA Black P-K4 N-QB3 P-Q3 PxP B--Q2 Px B B--K 2 B--N 4 P--Q4* Resigns

.1•..t..

mt(j

• • • • • • •

THE BEST IN C H ESS 32

Moscow, 1947 IRREGULAR OPENING

R USAKOV White I P-K4 2 P-QB3 3 P-Q4 4 B-KN5 5 B-R4 6 B-N3 7 P-K5 8 PxN 9 Q-K2ch* 1 0 PxQ Resigns

VERLINSKY Black P-K4 N-QB3 N-B3 P-KR3 P-KN4 PxP PxP PxP Q-K2 B-N2

Nuremberg, 1 895 CENTER COUNTER DEFENSE 0EHQUIST J. MIESES

White I P-K4 2 PxP 3 N-QB3 4 P-Q4 5 N-B3 6 P-Q 5 7 NxN 8 B-N5ch 9 PxP 10 PxPch 1 1 NxP mate

Black P-Q4 QxP Q-Q l N-QB3 B-N5 N-K4* BxQ P-B3 Q-B2 K-Q I

CH ESS B R EVITIES 33

1925 FRENCH DEFENSE

A. ALEKHINE White 1 P-K4 2 P-Q4 N-QB3 4 B-Q3 5 PxB 6 B-R3 7 Q-K2 8 BxP 9 B-Q3 JO QxPch JJ B-N6 mate

AMATEUR Black P-K3 P-Q4 B-N5 BxNch P-KR3 N-Q2 PxP KN-B3 P-QN3* PxQ

Vienna, J9JO CARO-KANN DEFENSE

R. RETI S. G. TARTAKOVER Black White P-QB3 J P-K4 P-Q4 2 P-Q4 3 N-QB3 PxP 4 NxP N-B3 5 Q-Q3 P-K4 6 PxP Q-R4ch 7 B-Q2 QxKP 8 0-0---0 NxN* 9 Q-Q8ch KxQ JO B-N5ch K-K l 1 1 R-Q8 mate

THE B EST

IN

C H ESS

34

Moscow, 1958 FRENCH DEFENSE

KUNIN White 1 P-K4 P-Q4 N-QB3 4 B-Q2 5 Q-N4 6 0-0-0 7 B-KN5 8 R-Q8ch 9 N-B3 IO B-N5 1 1 N-K 5ch

0CHSENHAUT Black P-K3 P-Q4 B-N5 PxP QxP P-KB4 Q-K4 K-82 Q-R4* N-QB3 Resigns

VIENNA GAME

GEN E EVANS White I P-K4 2 N-QB3 3 P-B4 4 P-Q3 5 N-B3 6 P-KR3 7 QxB 8 B-Q2 9 Q-Q I 1 0 PxP I I NxN* Resigns

KARL J. KEPPLER Black P-K4 N-KB3 P-Q4 N-B3 B-KN5 BxN B-N5 N-Q 5 KPxP NxP Q-R5ch

CH ESS B REVITIES 35

Budapest, 1948 SICILIAN DEFENSE E. NAGY

White 1 P-K4 2 P-QN4 P-Q4 4 PxP 5 N-KB3 6 B-KB4 7 B-N3 8 Q-Qs 9 QxQ* 1 0 Q-B3 11 QxB Resigns

J. BALOGH Black P-QB4 PxP P-K4 N-QB3 KN-K2 N-N3 Q-R4 P-N6ch P-N7 B-N5 NxQ

London, 1891 PHILIDOR 0-EFENSE

BLAKE \Vhite P-K4 N-KB3 B-B4 4 P-Q4 N-B3 6 QxP 7 N-KN5 8 B-B7ch 9 QxNch 1 0 N-Q5ch 1 1 N-B3ch 12 N-B3 mate

HOOKE Black P-K4 P-Q3 P-KB4 N-KB3 KPxP B-Q2 N-B3 K-K2* KxQ K-K4 KxP

THE B EST

IN

CH ESS

36

FRENCH DEFENSE

B. WINKLER White 1 P-K4 2 P-Q4 3 N-QB3 4 B--N 5 5 P-K5 6 NxN 7 NxB 8 N-B3 9 B-Q3 IO Q-Q2 II

0-0

12

P-QR3

M. THOMPSON Black P-K3 P-Q4 N-K B 3 B-K2 N-K5 BxB QxN Q-K2 Q-N5ch QxNP P-KR3* Resigns

Moscow, 1947 CARO-KANN DEFENSE

••..t.•••••

mt•�BiBi t• mig • • •-'lH • • ·�· ft H ft •.£)6 ft 6 %

• � B.§

(HULKOV White 1 P-K4 2 N-QB3 3 P-Q4 4 NxP 5 NxNch 6 B-QB4 7 Q-R5 8 N-K2 9 Q-B3 1 0 B-KR6 1 1 BxPch 1 2 Q-N3 mate

KHAVEMAN Black P-QB3 P-Q4 PxP N-83 KPxN B-K2 0-0

P-KN3 N-Q2 R-K l * KxB

CH ESS B R EVITIES 37

Austria, 1950 QUEEN'S PAWN

N. KAMPARS White 1 P-Q4 2 B-N5 3 PxP 4 N-B3 5 P-K4 6 P-QN4 7 N-N5 8 QxQch 9 R-Q lch 10 N-Q6 1 1 B-N5ch 1 2 N-K8 mate

F. PIGL Black P-Q4 P-QB4 Q-R4ch P-K3 PxP Q-B2 Q-Q2 KxQ K-B3 P-B3* K-B2

Varna, 1962 RUY LOPEZ MORLOCK

White 1 P-K4 2 N-KB3 3 B-N5 4 B-R4 P-Q4 6 B-N3 7 NxN 8 P-QB3 9 P-QR4 1 0 PxP 1 1 Q-R5 1 2 BxP

KRAMER Black P-K4 N-QB3 P-QR3 P-Q3 P-QN4 NxP PxN P-Q6 B-Q2 PxP* P-Q7ch Resigns

THE B EST IN CH ESS

38

Oslo, 1952 CARO-KANN DEFENSE

Es PELI White I P-K4 2 P-QB4 3 BPxP 4 B--N5ch 5 Q-R4 6 BxBch 7 QxKP 8 Q-QB4 9 K-K2* 10 QxN I I KxQ 1 2 K-K2 Resigns

ANDERSEN Black P-QB3 P-Q4 PxP B--Q2 PxP NxB N-84 N-Q6ch R-BI QxQch R xB P-KN3

Leipzig, 1861 SICILIAN DEFENSE SAALBACH POLLMACHER

W h i te 1 P-K4 2 N-KB3 3 N-B3 4 P-Q 4 5 P-Q5 6 NxP 7 N-Ks 8 Q-B3 9 Q-B7ch 1 0 B-N 5ch 1 1 Q-K8ch 1 2 N-B6ch 1 3 N-B7 mate.

Black P-Q B4

P-K3 N-K2 P-84 BPxP

NxP P-KN3 Q- B2 K-Q l

N-K2* KxQ K-Q l

CH ESS B R EVITI ES 39

London, 1886 KING'S GAMBIT

H. E. BIRD White 1 P-K4 2 P-KB4 3 N-KB3 4 N-B3 5 N-K 5 6 P-KN3 7 QxP 8 QxQ 9 Q-R5 IO NxBP* 1 1 N-Q6ch 1 2 Q-K8ch 1 3 N-B7 mate

AMATEUR Black P-K4 PxP P-KN4 P-N5 Q-R5ch PxP P-N7ch PxR (Q) B-K2 N-KB3 K-Q l RxQ

Munich, 1927 QUEEN PAWN GAME

SPRINGE White I P-Q4 2 N-KB3 3 B-N5 4 P-K4 5 QN-Q2 6 B-Q3 7 0-0 8 Q-K2 9 NxP 10 QxN 1 1 P-B4 1 2 QxPch 1 3 B-N6 mate

GEBHARDT Black N-KB3 P-K3 P-B3 Q-N3 QxNP P-Q4 Q-N3 PxP NxN N-Q2 P-KR3* PxQ

THE BEST IN CH ESS

40

Liege, 1934 RUY LOPEZ

A. OKELLY FEUER Black White P-K4 1 P-K4 N-QB3 2 N-KB3 P-QR3 3 B--N5 P-Q3 4 B--R4 PxB 5 BxNch P-B3 6 P-Q4 R-Nl 7 N-B3 8 Q-Q3 N-K2 9 B--K 3 RxP IO PxP BPxP* 11 NxP PxN KxQ 12 QxQch 1 3 0-0-0ch and White wins Budapest, 1 942 SICILIAN DEFENSE

KLUGER White P-K4 I 2 N-KB3 3 P-Q4 4 NxP 5 N-QB3 6 B--K N5 7 Q-Q2 8 B--K 2 9 N-Q5 10 N-K6 1 1 N.15-B7ch 1 2 N-Q8ch 1 3 N-K8ch

NAG Y Black P-QB4 N-QB3 PxP N-B3 P-Q3 P-QR3 N-Q2 P-KN3 P-B3 Q-R4 K-B2 K-N2* Resigns

CHESS BREVITI ES 41

Colby College, Maine, 1961 SICILIAN DEFENSE

W. LOMBARDY White 1 P-K4 2 N-K2 3 P-Q4 4 NxP 5 N-N5 6 N/1-B3 7 N-R3 8 N-B4 9 NxP/4 10 B-Ns 1 1 N/K-Q6ch 1 2 N-B7 1 3 N/4----Q6 *

N. N. Black P-QB4 N-QB3 PxP P-K4 P----Q 3 P-QR3 P-B4 PxP P-Q4 KN-K2 K----Q 2 Q--K l Resigns

Bognor Regis, 1961 KING'S GAMBIT

P. S. MILNER-BARRY White 1 P�K4 2 P-KB4 3 N-KB3 4 B-B4 5 N-B3 6 N-K5 7 P-N3 8 BxPch 9 0--0 10 KxP 1 1 K-N2 1 2 Q--R S 13 N-N6ch

E.G. EXELL

Black P-K4 PxP B-K2 N-KB3 NxP B-R5ch PxP K-Bl PxPch B-N6ch NxN Q--K 2* Resigns

THE BEST I N CHESS 42

Celle, 1948 BUDAPEST DEFENSE DEUTGEl'i L. SCHMID White 1 P-Q4 2 P-QB4 3 PxP 4 N-QB3 5 Q-B2 6 PxP e.p. 7 Q-N3 8 N-B3 9 P-K3 IO B-K2 1 1 N-R4 1 2 NxB 1 3 0-0* Resigns

Black N-K B3 P-K4 N-K5 B-N5 P-Q4 B-KB4 N-QB3 QxP 0-0-0 Q-N3 Q-B3 QxN N-B4

CHESS TITANS OF THE THIRTIES

CHESS TITANS OF THE TH I RTIES 45

Bled, 1931 QUEEN PAWN OPENING Commentary by I. Kashdan

I. KASHDAN E. COLLE White Black P-Q4 P-Q4 2 N-KB3 N-KB3 3 P-K3 P-B4 4 P-B3 This is the Colle System, made famous by this master, who employed it frequently. It is an apparently backward development, but the idea is to play P-K4 very soon. It can lead to a surprisingly strong attack if Black does not defend properly. Nevertheless, it allows Black more choice and freedom than is usual in the Queen Pawn openings. P-K3 4 If 4 . B-N5, 5 PxP, a Queen's Gambit transpires with White a move ahead. He can probably hold the Pawn safely. N-B3 5 QN-Q2 B-Q3 6 B-Q3 0-0 7 0-0 7 . . . P-K4 is risky before Black has castled. There can follow 8 PxKP, NxP 9 NxN, BxN 10 P-K4 ! PxP 11 NxP, NxN 12 Q-R4ch ! B-Q2 13 QxN with a winning advan.

tage. Or, in this variation, IO . 0-0 11 P-KB4, B-B2 12 P-K5 with a strong at­ tack. 8 PxP Bx BP 9 P-K4 Q-B2 Better than exchanging Pawns, which aids White's development considerably. IO PxP An interesting possibility, which occurred in a "skittles" game, is 10 Q-K2, B-Q2 1 1 P-K5, N-KN5 1 2 N-N5 ? (best is 12 BxPch, KxB 1 3 N-N5ch, K-N l 14 QxN, QxP with a slight advantage for Black) , P-B4 ! 13 PxP e.p. ? ? QxP mate 1 White is lost on his last move as the King Pawn cannot be saved. If 13 NxRP, QNxP 14 NxR, NxB, Black wins. IO PxP 10 . NxP 11 N-K4, B--K2 is sounder from the theoretical standpoint. Black chooses the isolated Pawn, with the greater freedom of pieces as compensation. 11 N-N3 B-N3 12 Q-B2 R-Kl 13 B-KN5 N-K5 14 QR-Kt B-KB4 15 B-K3 Easing the pressure on the King Bishop Pawn, and pre.

.

THE BEST IN C H ESS

46

paring to attack the center by N-Q4 or N-R4. B--N3 15 A simple looking retreat, but I took more time on this than on any other move in the game, as I had to visualize the entire subsequent combination. Otherwise, I 5 . . P-KR3 16 N-R4, B-R2 is more se· cure. 16 N-R4 Threatening to exchange both Bishops followed by BxN winning a Pawn. The move seemingly forces an ab· ject retreat.

16

NxKBP� !

Certainly unexpected. The Pawn is overprotected to the best taste of a Nimzovich dev­ otee, and there seems to be no drastic weakness in Whites camp to justify this intrusion. I will admit that, when I first thought of the move, it ap­ peared too fantastic to offer any real chances. But the

pieces on both sides are exact­ ly placed to create the maxi­ mum complications, and I knew my opponent would have a pretty problem in working out his proper de­ fense. It is the sort of thing which cannot be analyzed to a decisive conclusion, but is worth trying over-the-board with the clock ticking, what­ ever the result may be as a postmortem after the game. 17 BxN The only move. Here are some of the variations that had to be considered : 1) 17 KxN, Q-Bsch 18 N-B3, Rx B 19 RxR. QxRch 20 K-N3, BxB wi nning just about everything ; 2 ) 17 QxN, QBxB with a Pawn ahead ; 3) 17 RxN, BxQB winning the Exchange; 4) 17 Q RxB , QxB 1 8 RxRch, RxR 19 BxB (not 19 RxN' R-K8ch 20 B-Rl, BxQ ) , N­ KSch 20 K-R 1, RPxR with a Pawn plus and the better position ; 5 ) 1 7 K llxB, N-KNS' 1 8 Bx llPch, K-R l 19 P­ N3, Nx B winning at least the Exchange.

CH ESS TITANS OF TH E THI RTI ES 47

BxBch 17 18 KxB Again forced to avoid material loss. Q-N3ch 18 19 K-N3 If 19 K-B3, N-K4ch 20 RxN, RxR threatening . . . Q-K6ch or . . . Q-B3ch, White has little resource a­ gainst the attack despite his extra piece. R-K6ch 19 QxRch 2 0 RxR Q-N4ch 21 R-B3 In my earlier analysis, I had first thought that I could play 21 . BxB 22 RxQ, BxQ. But 22 QxB destroys that il­ lusion. White thus remains a piece ahead; but he is exposed to a lasting attack, which de­ pends on the fact that the King is forced to a square in front of his Pawns, from which he cannot secure a re­ treat. 22 K-R3 N-K4 23 R-N3 Q-R3 24 B-B5 ' This move is weak, and the cause of all White's later trou­ ble. Correct is 24 BxB, Nx B (if . RPxB, 25 Q-Q2 ! wins) 25 R-N4, N-K4 (there is nothing better) 26 Q-K2, giving up the Ex-

change (but not 26 R-N3, P -KN4) . Black still retains enough attack to at least se­ cure a draw. 24 R-K l If . . B-R4 25 Q-Q2 ! and White soon gets the up­ per hand. After the text, he cannot try Q-Q2 because of . . . Bx&h. He then finds him­ self with very few good moves. 25 N-Q4 B-R4 ! Threatening 26 . . . P­ KN4, which White will find hard to prevent, as he no longer can oppose the Queens. P-KN4 26 Q-B2 27 BxPch An interesting resource, and the best at White's disposal. If 27 Q-K3, not 27 . . . P­ N5ch ' 28 BxP, BxBch 29 RxBch as White wins, but 27 . . . P-B3 ' threatening . . . K-R l, and White has no time to untangle his pieces. 27 K-Bl Or . . QxB 28 RxPch, or . . . KxB 28 Q-B5ch followed by QxNP. But now the Bishop must return. 28 B-B5 PxN 29 R-K3 R-K2! Threatening to win the Ex­ change by . . . N-N5 ! The text is important to avoid

TH E BEST IN C H ESS 48

White's playing RxRch. 30 R-K l But this move still loses the Exchange because of a neat re­ joinder. There is no longer a defense : e.g. 30 N-B2, Q­ N4 3 1 P-KN3, B--N 5ch 32 BxB, NxB and Black wins. 30 B-N5ch ! N-Q6 3 1 BxB 32 QxRP N-B5ch A little finesse which re­ gains the Pawn and leaves Black a full Exchange ahead. 33 K-N3 QxQch 34 KxQ NxPch RxR 35 K-N5 36 P-KR4 White can still offer some resistance through the strength of the Rook Pawn; but, in the long run, the material advan­ tage must be decisive. N-K6 36 37 B-- B 3 N-85 38 N-B5 R-N8ch 39 K-B4 R-KBS 40 N-K3 R-87 Better than exchanging Knights, as now the White Pawns begin to fall. 41 N-Q l R-R7 42 P-R5 NxP 4'J N-K 3 N-Q6ch 44 K-N3 RxQRP 45 BxP R-QN7 46 P-R6 N-K4

N-N3ch 47 K-B4 P-N3 48 K-K4 49 N-85 N-K2 Resigns If 50 P-R7, of course . . . R-KR 7. After the exchange of pieces, White is helpless a­ gainst the march of the Black Rook Pawn. London, 1932 CARO-KANN DEFENSE Commentary by Dr. A. Alekhine w. WINTER A. ALEKHINE Black White 1 P-K4 P-QB3 P-Q4 2 P-Q4 PxP 3 PxP 4 P-QB4 One of the best lines of play against the Caro-Kann. 4 N-KB3 N-83 5 N-QB3 B-N5 6 N-B3 KNxP 7 PxP 8 B-QN5 This move, which I intro­ duced in my game against Nimzovich at Bled, 1 93 1 , is decidedly too risky. After 8 . R-B l , preventing 9 Q­ R4, White's advantage has to be very slight. Q-R4 8 .

.

CH ESS TITANS OF THE T H I RTIES 49

BxN 9 Q-N3 1 NxN 10 PxB I I PxN In the Bled game, Nimzo­ vich played 1 1 BxNch, Px B 1 2 Q-N7 ' and after . . . N­ Q4ch 1 3 B--Q 2 , Q-N3 1 4 QxRch, K-Q2 1 5 0-0 1 N-B2 16 B--R5 etc., lost a piece and the game. With the simple text move, White keeps the initiative. P-K3 II 12 P-Q5 ! It is necessary to sacrifice the Pawn at once as, after 1 3 0-0, R-Q I , Black obtains a satisfactory position. PxP 12 0-0-0 1 3 0-0 The only move. After 1 3 . . . B--K2 1 4 R-K I , the pin on the King file is deadly. PxB 14 BxN Q-B2 15 R-N I Or 1 5 . . K-Q2 1 6 P­ QB4 etc., with a tremendous attack. R--Q2 16 Q-R4 B--B4 17 B--Q 2 ! K-Ql 18 P-QB4 Again the only move. If 1 8 . . . B--N3, 19 P-B5, BxP 20 Q-R6ch, K-Q I 21 B-­ R5, B--N3 22 RxB wins. B--N 3 19 B--R5 PxB 20 BxB

21

Q-Rsch Most of the continental an­ notators have failed to appre­ ciate the Queen maneuver. The idea is the following : If White plays at once 2 1 PxP, Black can answer 21 . . . RxP 22 KR-Q I , K-K2 ! 23 RxR, PxR 24 R-K lch, K-B3 2 5 Q-R4ch, K-N3, and White has no more than perpetual check . Therefore, he has to prevent the Black King escap­ ing via K2. 21 Q-Bl 22 Q-R3 Q-Nl PxP 23 PxP After 23 . . . RxP 24 KR­ Q l , R-K l 25 RxRch, PxR 26 R-QI, Q or R-K4 27 P­ KB4, Black has no adequate defense. 24 R-N4 The winning move, since Black has no time for 24 . . . R-K I on account of 2 5 R­ QR4 etc. 24 Q-Q3 R-B2 25 R-KI ! Or 25 . . . R-K2 26 R--QI , with a winning attack. R-KI 26 Q-N3 27 R--Ql R-K4 Obviously, Black cannot protect both his Pawns. 28 RxNP R-B3 29 RxR R-N4ch

THE BEST IN CH ESS

50

Forced. If 29 . . . QxR ? 30 Q-N8ch etc. QxR 30 K-R l 3 1 R-K l Initiating the final attack. 31 Q-B3 32 Q-N8ch K-Q2 R-N3 33 P-B4

P-QB4 P-Q4 K PxP PxP 4 PxP QxP The better way to regain the Pawn is 4 . . . N-KB3 5 B­ N5ch, QN-Q2 1 6 QN-B3, P-QR3 7 B-K2, N-N3 etc. QN-B3 Q-Q l 6 B-B4 N-KB3 7 P-Q4 P-KN3 ? Black has no time to fian­ chetto. A better development . P-K3 8 N-B3, P­ is 7 QR3 (or N-B3 ) which gives him a hal fway playable game. .

I expected here 33 . . . R­ R4 34 Q-K8ch, K-Q3 3 5 R-QB l , RxPch 3 6 K-N l , forcing the win for White. 34 Q--K8ch K-B2 K-N3 35 R-QBlch 36 R-QN l ch K-B4 37 Q-N 5ch Resigns If not the most brilliant, this is, to my mind, the best game I succeeded in playing in London. Gyor, 1 932 CARO-KANN DEFENSE Commentary by the Winner

F. CHALUPETZKY White 1 P-K4

KALLOS Black P-QB3

_

8 Q-N3 P-K3 The hole created in Black"s Pawn structure by his last two moves is sufficient for a loss, but the manner in which White takes advantage of Black"s weakness in develop­ ment is instructive. 9 B-K N 5 B-N2 10 P-Q5 PxP 11 0-0-0 0-0 12 NxP QN-Q2 13 KN-B3 1 13 Q-K B 3 leads to noth­ ing. The threat of 14 NxNch, BxN 1 5 RxN fails because of 1 5 . . . BxBch. 13 Q-R4 Black finds the pin very an­ noying. 1 3 . . . P-KR3 loses a Pawn by 14 NxNch, BxN

CH ESS TITANS OF THE T H I RTIES 51

1 5 BxRP. An attempt to free his Queenside with 13 . P-QR3 is prevented by 14 P-QR4. Q-Q l 14 B--Q2 R-K l 1 5 B--N 4 ! 16 KR-K l White brings his last idle piece into play whereas Black"s Queenside is still locked in. 16 RxR threatened 17 White NxNch followed b y BxPch etc. 17 RxR NxN 18 BxN Q-B2ch 19 Q-B4 If 19 K-N l , N-B3 pro­ tects everything : e.g. 20 R­ K7, B-- B4ch etc. 19 QxQch 20 BxQ N-B l If, instead, 20 . . . N-B3 21 R-K7 etc. 2 1 R-K8 B--R 3ch 22 K-Q l P-R3 23 K-K l ! To be able to play N-K5 . 23 P-R4 P-N3 24 B--Q6 25 N-K5 White can win the Ex­ change here by 25 B--Q 5, B--Q N2 26 RxR, BxB but prefers the text as a more ele­ gant continuation. 25 B--Q N2 26 BxPch K-R l

Of course not 26 . . . K­ N2 27 BxNch. 27 R-K7 BxP 28 B-- B4 B--K N2 29 N-B7ch K-Nl 30 N-Q8ch K-R l

RxB 1 ! White forces a mate in splendid fashion. KxR 31 K-R3 32 B--K5ch K-R4 3 3 N-B7ch K-R5 34 B--K2ch Interposing the Black Bish­ op only prolongs the mating process by one move. 35 B--N 3ch K-R6 36 N-N5 mate Such endings are rare. 31

Stockholm, 1934 QUEEN GAMBIT DECLINED Commentary by A. Nimzovich

A. NIMZOV!CH White .1 P-QB4

G. STOLTZ Black P-K3

TH E BEST I N CH ESS 52

P-Q4 2 N-QB3 P-QB4 3 P-Q4 KPxP 4 PxQP N-QB3 N-83 P-B5 6 P-KN3 This is the Swedish Defense, which I have often played. B--Q N5 7 B-N2 KN-K2 8 0-0 9 P-K4 The best move. PxP 9 After 9 . . B-K3 10 N­ KN5, 0-0 1 1 Q-R5. P­ KR3 1 2 PxP, PxN 1 3 PxB, White's position is favorable. B--K B4 10 NxP It is difficult to decide at this point which is the best continuation : 10 . . . B--KN5, 10 . . B-K3 or 10 . . 0-0 ought to be taken into consideration. Af­ ter 10 . . . B-K3, follows 1 1 P-QR3, B-Q3 1 2 KN-N5, B-Q4 1 3 Q-R5, Q-B2 1 4 N-QB3, P-KN3 1 5 NxB, PxQ 16 NxQch, BxN, and the ending is questionable for Black. After 10 . . . B-N5 follows 1 1 P-QR3, B-QR4 12 N-85 1 Perhaps IO . . . 0--0 is wiser, for then Black can decide later which is the proper square for the Queen Bishop. But the vulnerable point of the opening remains .

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in any event: that is, after P­ QR3, Black must choose to re­ treat his Bishop to R4 or Q3, where it does not properly be­ long. 1 1 N-K5 ! Dr. Kraus's innovation a­ gainst which it is difficult for Black to equalize. 11 QxP Stoltz later recommended II . NxN 1 2 PxN, N-B3, but even then, after 1 3 B­ N5, QxQ 14 KRxQ, P-KR3 I 5 B-- 8 4, White maintains the upper hand. 12 QxQ NxQ 1 3 P-QR3 BxN Forced, otherwise NQ6ch 1 follows. 1 4 BxB B-84 1 5 BxNP R-QNl 16 B--QR6 Now, after 16 . . . N­ K7ch 1 7 K-N2, NxB 1 8 QRxN, RxP 19 BxP, White has the double threat of BxPch and also N-Q3. 16 1 7 K-N2 .

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CH ESS TITANS OF THE THI RTIES 53

18

NxKBP ' This coup lends an original touch to the game. 18 NxB Of course after 18 . . . KxN follows 19 BxPch ' N-N6 19 NxR P-N3 20 QR-Ql KxN 2 1 N-B7 ! K-Bl 22 BxPch BxNP 23 BxN 24 R-Q3 BxP 25 R-KB3ch K-N2 Forced : for, after 25 . . . K-K l, 26 B--R4ch wrns a piece. 26 R-QRl B-B4 27 R-B7ch K-R3 28 R-R5 A finesse ' White wishes to prevent Black from playing R-N7 in the following vari­ ation and does not play R­ R4 at once : e.g. 28 R-R4, N-B4 (to stop the threat of mate in two) 29 B--K6, R­ N7 ! B-N3 28 N-B4 29 R-R4 30 B-K6 N-Q5 Resigns 31 B-Q7 A pity 1 I had prepared a beautiful Rook sacrifice. 3 1 . . . R-N2 32 P-N4, N­ N6 (not 32 . . . P-N4 33 R­ B6ch, K-N2 34 RxB ! ) 33 P-N5ch, KxP 34 R-KN4ch, K-R3 35 R-R4ch, K-N4 36 P-B4ch etc.

Liebwerda, 1934 QUEEN GAMBIT DECLINED Commentary by E. Eliskases

E. EusKASES

White 1 P--Q4 2 P-QB4 3 N-QB3 4 B--N 5 5 P-K3 6 N-B3 7 R-Bl 8 Q-B2 9 B-B4 ?

K. GILG Black N-KB3 P-K3 P--Q4 B-K2 0-0 QN--Q2 P-B3 N-K5

Instead the simple and more usual 9 BxB, QxB 10 B--K2 is indicated. 9 P-KB4 10 P-KR4 Otherwise . . . P-KN4 can eventually be played with ef­ fect. QN-B3 10 1 1 B-K2 ? This move is immediately refuted. 1 1 N-K5 is proper. N-N 5 1 11 12 NxN BPxN 13 N-Q2 P-K4 ! If the Knight retreats to B3, 14 P-B5 gives White a stranglehold on the position.

THE BEST IN C H ESS 54

Rx8 1 1 14 QPxP P-K6 1 1 5 PxR 16 BxN Forced ' If 16 PxKP, BxPch 1 If 16 N-83, PxPch 17 K­ Q2, B-N5ch 1 and, if 16 N­ N l , PxPch 1 7 K-Q2, B-­ N5ch 18 N-83, PxPch ' PxNch 16 Bx8 17 QxP PxP 18 PxP 19 P-83 ' Flohr has pointed out that after 1 9 0--0 1 the position is still tenable : e.g. 19 . 8xP 20 P-N3, B--K 2 ( . . . 8-86 2 1 R-83) 2 1 P-83, B--K3 22 KR-Q I ( threaten­ ing P-85 1 ) Q-N3 23 Q­ Q4 ! etc. B--K 3 19 Q-N3 2 0 P-KN4 21 P-85 ? Asleep at the switch r The position is still defendable with 21 K-B l . B--N5 21 P-Q5 ! 22 R-83 The endgame, after 22 . . .

BxR 23 PxB, Q-QN8ch 24 Q-Q l , QxQ 25 KxQ, still al lows drawing chances. 23 Px B PxR 24 PxP R-Q I ' Avoiding the trap ' 24 . 8xP 25 Qx B, Q-QN8ch 26 K-K2, QxR 27 P-K7 ! after which White continues with Q-B4ch and Q-KB7 1 (27 . . K--B2 28 Q-N3ch 1 ) . 2 5 Q-B l R-Q 8 ! I 26 P-K7 Q-B4 ! Resigns Gilg conducted the game in masterly fashion. Bad Lovisa, 1 934 QUEEN GAMBIT DECLINED Commentary by A. Becker J. NIEMELA R. KROGIUS Black White I P-Q4 N-K B3 2 P-QB4 P-K3 3 B--N5 P-Q4 Arriving at the orthodox Queen Gambit. Alternatives are 3 . . B-N5ch ( 4 B--Q2 loses a tempo and 4 N-Q2 is met by 4 . N-K5 1 ) or 3 . . P-84 after which 4 P­ Q5 is answered by 4 . . . P­ N4, leading to the Blumen­ feld Counter Gambit. .

CH ESS TITANS OF T H E THI RTIES 55

4 5 6 7

P-K3 N-KB3 QN-Q2 B-Q2

QN-Q2 B-K2 0---0 P-QN3

When White's Queen Knight is developed at Q2, . . . P-QB4 is the correct counter thrust in the center. B-N2 8 Q-B2 PxP 9 PxP 1 0 N-K5 Aggressively played. 10 0---0 is also strong. NxN 10 N-K5 1 1 PxN 12 P-KR4 1 Exchanges at K7 lead to nothing. NxB 12 12 . . . BxB 13 PxB, QxP also comes into consideration; but, in this line, White re­ covers his Pawn with 14 NxN and retains the attack ( 14 . . . QxNP 1 5 N-B6ch l l follow­ ed by 0-0-0 wins ) . P-N .> 1 3 PxN P-QB4 14 P-B4 1 5 Q-Ql 1 Laying the foundation for a grand combination. P-B5 15 1 5 . . . BxP; 16 PxB, QxP 17 Q-B3, QxKP getting three Pawns for the piece is not adequate compensation.

16 RxP ! Beautiful and entirely correct ! 16 PxB ? Capturing the Bishop i s just as bad as capturing the Rook. 16 . . . KxR ? 1 7 Q-R5ch, K-N2 18 Q-R6ch, K-N l 19 BxNP, PxB 20 QxPch, K­ Rl 2 1 K-B2 1 and White wins. But the counter sacrifice of 16 . . . BxP is interesting. Then follows 17 BxNP ! B­ R5ch 18 K-B l , PxB 19 RxQB, Q-Bl 20 N-B3, QxR 21 NxB. White still re­ tains the attack, but defense is quite possible. 17 K-B2 ! The point ' The Rook still cannot be captured. 17 . . . KxR 18 Q-R lch, K-Nl 19 Q-R6 followed by 20 R-R l, and White wins. Now 1 7 . . . BxP is too late. 18 Q-Rl ! ends the game rapidly. P-B3 17 Resigns 18 Q-R 1 For the threat of Q-R6

THE BEST IN CH ESS 56

cannot be met. This game was rightly awarded the brilliancy prize. Hastings Masters Tournament, 1934 NIMZO-INDIAN DEFEN SE Commentary by Dr. M. Euwe

CAPABLANCA LILIENTHAL Black White N-KB3 1 P-Q4 2 P-QB4 P-K3 3 N-QB3 B--N 5 4 P-QR3 Preferred by Lilienthal. For a long time, this move had a bad reputation ; but, due to the successes by Lilienthal and others, it has gained favor. The text move has the advan­ tage of forcing Black im­ mediately to declare himself, so that White can build up his center accordingly. 4 BxNch 5 PxB P-QN3 6 P-B3 The consequences of the fourth move. White now in­ tends 7 P-K4 with beautiful play and good chances for at­ tack. 6 P-Q4 Of course Black does not

tolerate 7 P-K4 without a light. P-KR3 7 B--N 5 B--R 3 8 B--R 4 As played by Alekhine-Elis­ kases, Hastings, 1933. 9 P-K4 A Pawn sacrifice; this idea of Alekhine's is the most logi­ cal continuation for White. BxP 9 Black does not accept the sacrifice: 9 . . . PxKP 10 PxP, P-KN4 1 1 B-N3, NxP as White gets excellent chances with 12 B-K5 and 13 Q-R2 or 1 3 B--Q 3. PxB 1 0 Bx B 1 1 Q-R4ch Q-Q2 12 QxBP Q-B3 Up to here, the game is identical with Alekhine t'S. Eliskases, which ended in a draw after an interesting fight. At this point, Eliskases played 12 . . . N-A3 instead of the text move and played . Q-B3 only after 13 N-QR4. It is difficult to de­ cide which of these two sys­ tems deserves preference. .

13 14 15 16

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Q-Q3 QN-Q2 N-K2 R-Q l 0-0 P-QR4 Q-B2 The threat now is 17 P-

CH ESS TITANS OF THE THI RTIES 57

K5, P-KN4 ( forced) 1 8 PxN, PxB 19 Q-K4, QxQ (otherwise the P on R5 is lost) 20 PxQ with consider­ able advantage for White. P­ K5 cannot be played sooner due to NxP. Still, the text move is not best as the QB4 square is surrendered to Black. 16 QR-Bl followed by P­ QB4 deserves preference. Then Black is surely in diffi­ culties because his King can­ not find a safe place. Q-B5 ! 16 17 P-B4 Again threatening P-K5. R-QBl 17 18 P-B5 By this move, White does not gain his purpose, viz., opening up the position. QR­ Ql is better. P-K4 ! 18 Thus Black gets about equal chances. 19 PxP QxKP An error which is not ap­ parent at first sight. Black ought to have played 19 . . . Q-B4ch and, after 20 N­ Q4, QNxP. True, White can then break up Black's Pawn position with 21 BxN, PxB, but to Black's advantage.

Queen sacrifices ever made. Most of these sacrifices lead, after a series of checks, to the recapture of the sacrificed ma­ terial or to mate. Here the first check comes after four moves ! 20 QxQ Black has to accept White's plan. 21 PxP The Black King has no flight square so that the next move is also forced. R-KNl 21 22 N-Q4 Opening the King file with a tempo, and threatening both NxQ and QR-K lch. Q-K5 22 Forced. After any other Queen move, for instance 22 . . . Q-Q7, there follows 23 QR-Klch, N-K4 24 RxNch, K-Q2 2 5 R-Q5ch, K-K l 26 R-K lch, QxRch

20 PxN ! ! One of the most brilliant

27 BxQ with material advan­ tage for White.

THE BEST IN CHESS

58

23 QR-K l N-B4 24 RxQch NxR 25 R-K l Winning another piece to complete the combination. RxP 25 Resigns 26 RxNch In his game against Thom­ as, Capablanca with two Rooks could continue for quite some time against Rook,

Knight and Bishop ; but it is clear that here the ex-World Champion had to resign im­ mediately : 26 . . . K-Q2 27 R-K7ch, K-Q3 28 P-B6 and 29 B--N3ch leads to further loss of material, while after 26 . . . K-Bl 27 B-­ K7ch, K-N l 28 B--B6, the Black Rook is locked in.

When you know you have a mate in prospect, your efforts are easier because channelized to one direct point. So this "Quiz" is a mere shooting of fish in a rain barrel. Consequently, we are setting the required scoring higher than in the other quizzes. Consider yourself excellent for 10 correct answers ; fair for 9 ; good for 8; and indifferent if your solutions not letter perfect or run to less than 8. Solution on page 406

W h i t e to move a n d mate

\V i t h a s t r o n g a d v a n t a g e l i ke a Pawn �1 b o u t t o q u e e n , how can you lose ? Y o u just h a v e to c o n t r i v e to s n e a k i n t h e q u e e n i ng- tempo w i t h ­ o u t perm i t t i n g B l a c k to m a t e you ! O f course, B l a c k does threa t e n mate i n three d i ffere n t ways. \V e i l , t h a t ' � y o u r proh! e m , i s n ' t i t ? How d o y o u ma L e ?

Black to move a n d mate

O n e t h i n g a b o u t t h e s e A r r n o u n C' e ­ t h e - :'l l a t e problems t h e re · � rio p o i n t to :'hat the opening moves to this game were. I t is clear that White didn't employ very practical ones. Be that as It may. well may i t be that you mate - provided this one is not too ha.rd for you. It Is a bit stiffer than those before.

How

Black to move and mate easy can i t get? Here, of

course, 1 QxPch, K-Ql (forced) and 2 N-K6ch - no, 2 . . . QxN Is not

forced and, it' I t were. I t wouldn't be a mate, anyhow. Wel l , signals oft', It's Black to move. That does make a difference. But don ' t say we did n ' t warn you of that QxPch. Black mates. How?

THE B EST IN CH ESS 60

W h i te to move a n d mate Here w e are all even i n material I n what would be a dilly of a nor­ mal Quiz position. Obviously, for White to win in such, the clue would be how to extricate his Knig·ht so deeply ensconced a t KR8, This is not a normal Quiz position, however; i t is an A n nounce the Mate. What's the difference?

9 W h i te to move and mate Wel l , you know the score by now. It's mate. not Just win, And so you fix your eyes on the "King's field" and direct every effort i n re­ lation to that. Then pretty soon comes up an idea., and Jt's mate or it' s not. But you can hardly rniss on this one. There's just one logi­ cal idea.

B l a c k to move a n d mate " A Power House" is what some players call the maJor pieces all li ned up on an open file. You have such in this case ; how do you em­ ploy it? Possibly. you can work in a preparatory move since White Is not threatening to mate mean:while. A t any rate, don' t Just win: mate!

Black to move and mate 10 One last try, and a f&ir one, ex­ cept that, if you know your history of chess, this one is already much too familiar to you. There Is a species of illusion i n this Position. So, if i t is new to you, you may find your capabilities put to a mild Lit of exercise. Don't strain too hard.

CHESS IN THEORY

CH ESS IN TH EORY 63

PEOPLE AND MACHINES AT THE CHESSBOARD By Mikhail Botvinnik, Grandmaster, D. Sc. ( Engineering)

There have been articles before on the pros and cons of robot chess, of "Man versus ·Machine" - perhaps too many. But we cannot ignore this one. When a Grandmaster of Chess and former World Champion speaks on chess, we must pay atten­ tion. When he is also a practical scientist and research engineer and speaks on chess-playing machines, we simply have to heed his statement. On chess robots, Botvinnik offers, we think, one really no­ table new point. It has often been argued that the large expense of turning the computers to the study of chess is justified be­ cause, by having the computers play the game, we may learn about chess thinking, and from that about human thinking. But the robots, says Botvinnik, don't think out chess problems as humans do. If we may interpret Botvinnik, he says that the human looks for the idea which will solve the problem but the robot tries to smother the problem by trying every move in every variation and so runs out of time. Incidentally, too, we garner some incidental ideas from this article. Such as what Botvinnik thinks of chess. And how he believes masters tackle problems in practical chess play. Un­ fortunately, we must admit, he does not quite spill the latter secret, for us at any rate. We think that, perhaps, if we knew what he means by some of those "etceteras, " we might have the secret. No, sorry - we can add no more, interpret no further.

rHE BEST IN C H ESS

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We have reproduced as accurately as we could what appears to have been an address, probably to scientists, and printed in Kom­ mmolskaya Pl'atda, January 3, 1961 .-Ed. *

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What is chess ? This is a very old question, to which some people prefer to give witty but empty answers, while others play safe and make a hash of the definition of chess, claiming that it is a game, an art and a science. It stands to reason that this is all unsatisfactory to those studying the question, which demands a clear-cut answer. It can be said most definitely that chess is not a science. Whereas science must study the laws of nature, society or think­ ing, chess is only a historically formed conventional system. Of course, there is an element of science in chess, but it plays the same subsidiary role as in art and, probably, in sport. And no­ body will claim that athletics is a science merely because a runner uses the recommendations of medical science when training for competition . Chess can be either a game or an art. rll run a little ahead of my story and say that chess is always a game, whereas earlier it was only a game. Nonetheless, as people acquired deeper knowledge of chess and learned to value its beauty - and when games were played which provided followers with real esthetic pleasure for decades afterward - chess ceased to be only a game. Putting it briefly, a chessplayer always plays the game, but he creates a work of art when and only when his game continues to live on for years and years. That is why chess is always a game - which sometimes becomes an art. Karl Marx wrote that "the object of art . . . creates the pub­ lic, which understands art and can enjoy beauty." It is easy to understand that chess meets this requirement. It is also clear that chess has its own public which appreciates fine creations of chess. Art must reflect reality in specific artistic portrayals. This is the explanation of why art critics have simply shrugged their shoulders when told that chess is an art. "How can you say

C H ESS IN TH EORY 65

this !" they asked. "Chess doesn't reflect reality, because it is a system conceived by human beings." It seems to me that this rather widespread misconception is explained as being only a superficial approach to the matter. We see a board, chessmen and a conventional pattern, which seem to us to be the content of chess. It is much the same as saying that a violin and a bow are music. In chess, the experts admire the creative, logical aspects of a player's thinking and gain an idea of him through the specific chess idiom. We judge the nature of a chess master, his ability, ingenuity, flight of mind, profoundness of thought, perseverance and energy through his games on the chessboard . It is while watch­ ing an exciting game or working on an interesting study that a real chess devotee derives esthetic pleasure. The sense of beauty of chess and emotions so familiar to all chess fans are evoked by strict, accomplished and forceful positions which make up stirring games. A chessplayer admiring masterpieces of the game thus admires human thinking. And so chess is art and calculation. A machine can also handle calculations, but can it produce works of art ? Is it pos­ sible to build a computer which would be expert at chess ? Can there be a successful match between robot and human grand­ masters ? Norbert Wiener, the "father of cybernetics," has re­ plied to these questions in the negative. It goes without saying that this viewpoint must be regarded with utmost attention. I recently heard of Mikhail Tahl's statement that it is im­ possible to make such a machine. This statement, however, was based on intuition, and the author is a person deeply con­ cerned with chess. A prominent Soviet expert in cybernetic machines said on one occasion that, in principle, a chess robot could be built, but its size would be commensurable with the new University of Moscow. Why has man learned to make machines which can solve most complicated mathematical problems at high speed and yet be unable to create a robot chessplayer ? Work has become so much easier for researchers because of

THE B EST IN CH ESS

66

the help of computers - work which only a quarter of a century ago engineers found to be torturing. I, too, as a student then took part in solving the problem of stability linked with the project of the Byelo-Russian power grid and so know something of this torture. For it took about three months to solve this problem with the aid of approximate calculations. Computers now solve such problems without human assist­ ance, in a matter of minutes or at most hours, but these problems are small-scale. History has seen the building of the first machines to solve precisely these problems. When the subject turns, however, to the construction of machines capable of tackling broad problems and notably of playing chess well, we are told that the exact solution of such an extensive problem requires a machine of fantastic dimensions. And that the machine would have to compute so many variants that it would already find itself experiencing "time trouble" after the second move. A ten-move chess problem, involving four men - a King and a Rook venus a King and a Rook would require three quadrillion operations It would take even a computer with a capacity of one million operations per second a terribly long time to solve this problem . Experimental robots have been made to cope with two­ move and three-move problems. Or the size of the chessboard has been reduced for some robots. But such is not a true solu­ tion of the task. The full task for a chess-playing robot simply demands too much of it for any period of time which can be permitted. We may understand the reason if we fi rst examine the thinking process of a human chessplayer. All of us know that a chess­ player is never capable of calculating all possible variants but studies only two, three or four moves. He does this with the aid of intuition, on the basis of past experiences etc. If we take into consideration that a chess game continues on an average for 40 moves, it means that a player must analyze about 100 opening moves. 1

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1 We are not sure ourselves what Botvinnik means here, particularly what he means by "open· ing moves". here _and "opening move" i n the second paragraph bel(!W. B_ut 111 e believe he means something like this: at a given moment i n a game. a player, sclectrng h i s next move must rnn-

CH ESS IN THEORY 67

What are these 100 moves ? Herein lies the secret of a player's ability, if we cast aside everything else bound up with the practical form of chess. It sometimes happens that both con­ testants choose 99 moves which are the same, and only the lOOth will be different. In this case, the player with the most pene­ trating mind wins. Of course, altogether, a player analyzes much more than 1 00 moves in a game. Even if two or three moves of a variant, on an average, should be examined, the total number of analyzed moves would be quite impressive. I repeat, the figure 100 con­ cerns only the opening move of analysis. We should also bear in mind that a player, occupied with calculations, does not see all 64 squares of the board, but, say, 8 to 1 6, which makes an analysis essentially easier during a game. It should likewise be taken into account that players do not pay attention to some chessmen in these circumstances. A given calculation may involve 3 to 6 men instead of the aggregate number of 25 to 30 on the board. This factor also contributes to making the analysis easier. Thus, in the course of play, a chessplayer analyzes the movements of a limited number of men over a limited area of the board . He analyzes the moves of only the clashing men and only on those squares on which those clashes are possible. In other words, he gives attention to those men which interact with those of his opponent and to the spots where such interaction is possible. How then can he check on whether or not he has chosen the proper men and spots ? There is only one way of doing so, and I believe all chess masters try to use it. I shall call it con­ ditionally a "method of checking or repeated approach." The chess master chooses a move and analyzes it. If new men or new squares are brought into play during the analysis, then the collected information is used in repeated examination etc. An analysis, repeated several times, makes it possible to determine accurately ( or - alas 1 - inaccurately ) these interacting men

THE BEST

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and squares, after which a clean copy of calculations can be written out. 2 You probably have guessed by now why Norbert Wiener was not altogether correct. Computer builders had produced precise machines all the time and they intended to build a pre­ cise robot chessplayer. Unfortunately, it is hardly possible to turn out a super-mechanical chessplayer. Shouldn't we instead think, perhaps, of creating a machine which thinks and makes mistakes like human Grandmasters ? The task with regard to the calculation of variants would be a million times easier, and it would be practically possible to solve the problem with present­ day technics. In other words, as long as we go on trying to produce a super-mechanical chessplayer, we shall meet with failure, where­ as it will be possible to solve our task by trying to create a robot which would be almost human. Of course, great difficulties will spring up with the pro­ gramming 3 of this machine. How can we, for instance, get a machine to analyze chess "in a human way," when we don't know ourselves how a chessplayer analyzes the game ? ' And we'll never know until we start building such machines. We simply have had no need until now of studying the process of a chessplayer's thinking. When programs are created similar to that of the thinking of a chessplayer, the machine, or rather its faults of "chess thinking" will be revealed. By testing different programming methods, we shall learn the way chess masters think. Incidentally, a chess robot will also be able to hold its own in a match against a human adversary because of its excellent memory and enviable stamina. It will not be affected by noise in the tournament hall and will remain indifferent to chess com­ mentaries . . . . As before, we are following the text of Botvinnik's article exactly as transmitted to us : but the ''master's sec�t" d0ts seem obscured. On the other hand, we do feel confident that, as to "dean copy .. being "written out," Botvinnik is merely speaking figurativel\r.-Ed. 3 ''Programming" and "program .. as used here are te,hnical terms, meaning briefly the process by which the computer is "instruct.ed" how to carry on, by which verbal communica· lions are translated into mechanical actions.-Ed. 4 This statement stumps us ! Is Botvinnik speaking for himself?-Ed, 2

CH ESS IN THEORY 69

That last is not a fantasy. The time will come when me­ chanical chessplayers will be awarded the title of International Grandmaster at FIDE congresses, and it will be necessary to promote two world championships, one for humans, one for robots. The latter tournament, naturally, will not be between machines, but between their makers and program operators. And just one more thing. The task of programming these machines, of determining the way a chessplayer thinks can be solved only by the joint efforts of chess experts, mathematicians, psychologists and other researchers.

TH E B EST IN C H ESS

70

CAN A DOPE BECOME A DENKER? This article embodies the contents of a letter addressed to Chess Review by Capt. Henry A. Davidson, a psychiatrist now serving in a U. S. Army Hospital in New Guinea - "a green inferno where the mildeu· rots the chessboards and the mould slimes up the chessmen. " The U'l'iter cmswers questions raised in our Readers' Forum conceming the mythical character Czen­ tovic, a surly oaf who hecame u·orld chess champion in "The Royal Game" by Stefan Zu·eig (The Viking Press, Neu• York) . *

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In the March Chess Review ( 1 944 ) , Mr. Mott-Smith, re­ calling Stefan Zweig's last story, asks if a blockhead like Czen­ tovic could become a chess champion and if a sensitive soul like "Dr. B" could be driven insane by too much analysis. And in the same column, Mr. Thorne asserts that a good chessplayer could never be as churlish as Czentovic was. Being both a psychiatrist and a chessplayer, I have often thought about the problem of the intellectual assets required in playing a masterly game. Offhand, one would assume that the sole requisite is intelligence. But it is not so simple. It is well known that a man may be a brilliant brain truster, yet show an

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intellectual blind spot. For instance, a n a l l round genius might be inept in the manipulation of mathematical concepts, stupidly trusting in business relationships, or be gauche in the utilization of words. Ordinarily, all three of these activities re­ quire brains. But a man may be brilliant without covering every possible area of intellect. This is well known, but it does not answer Mr. Mott-Smith's query. He poses the reverse question. Granted that a smart man may have an intellectual blind spot, the issue is: can a stupid man have an area of intellectual brilliance ' The answer, it appears, is yes. For instance, many reputable records attest to the existence of "idiots-savants" - persons of inferior, even defective intelligence, who show extraordinary clarity in certain compartments of thinking. There is one im­ becile who can extract square roots in his head. This is not a matter of rote memory. He has not memorized a table of square roots. He performs the required arithmetical operation with dispatch and efficiency, even though his I.Q. is in the low fifties. Or consider the quality called "shrewdness." We bookish people show contempt for it because we don't have it and pre­ tend that shrewdness has nothing to do with intelligence. We are kidding ourselves of course. Shrewdness is a form of intel­ ligence, and if an unlettered yokel outwits you in a business deal, he has in fact "outsmarted" you ; that is, he's smarter than you, even though you might win an encyclopedia from Clifton Fadi­ man when he can't. My point is that intelligence is not a meas­ urable unit like height - something that you have so much of, and the next man has so much more or so much less. Intelli­ gence is a mixture of skills including memory, curiosity, ability to generalize, ability to see comparisons, imagination, ability to put things together, and numerous other qualities - some of them still unnamed_ When a man has a fair quantity of a num­ ber of these, he's a smart man. When he has large quantities of lots of these traits, he's a genius. But what is he, if he has an extra dose of one of these skills, while he has been short-changed on all the others ? Then he is an idiot-savant, and that is what the surly master Czentovic was. What is the pattern of intellectual skills that makes one

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72

man a good chessplayer while the other remains a duffer ? Why is it that a superannuated quiz kid can persistently fall for the scholar's mate ? I am not sure, but I think that these are some of the factors : In the first place, topnotch chess requires visual imagery. Before you make a contemplated move, you have to visualize how the board will look after you make it, and then how it will be changed by your opponent's response, and how it will look after you meet this response and how it will look after you meet an­ other possible answer. Now that takes visual imagery. Can you look at an empty apartment and imagine how your furniture would be placed there and what the rooms will look like after you have deployed the furniture ' If you can, you are using vis­ ual imagery. Personally, I have a lot of trouble with that kind of intellectual exercise, which is one reason why I will never even be chess champion of New Guinea. But in self-defense, I hasten to point out that an idiot may have good visual imagery. In fact, if his mind is uncluttered with the ideas that race through a busier head, he may have a nice clean tablet in his skull on which all sorts of pictures can find room . In general smart peo­ ple have good visual imagery. In general. But some smart ones don't, and some alumni of our schools for the feeble-minded do happen to possess this solitary intellectual asset. But even visual imagery isn't enough to convert a dope into a Denker. You also need patience and restraint. The quick thinker is often a fool. To sit still without moving or talking and let the wheels go roun:< P o s i t i o n after 23

,

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•

Q - Q2

CHESS IN FICTION

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353

MATE WITH THE STARBOARD BISHOP By Bob L. Basnight

We sailed down from Yokohama without a cargo in order to pick up a full load of mahogany in the Philippines. From there we were to return to New York by way of Cape Hom with a few stops along the east coast of South America. My ship was a three-masted vessel built with the lines of the Clipper Ship. She was one of the last of her kind still trying to show a profit under sail. We finished loading one morning about ten and were ready to sail by noon. The crew was fastening down the cargo hatches, and the tug that was to tow us just beyond the harbor entrance was already alongside. We were held up because of one pas­ senger. Ordinarily, that would have been the hard luck of the passenger, but this one was rather special. He was Herr Vandersa, the owner of the quarter of a million dollars worth of mahogany stored in our hold. This was my first trip on my new first mate . ticket, and I did not want anything to go wrong. I had men stand­ ing by at the lines, fore and aft and by the gangplank, ready to cast off the instant our important passenger placed one foot on the deck; the Captain, unconcerned by time, tide, or winds, how­ ever, sat in the shade of the main cabin engrossed in analyzing a new chess opening.

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With a rattle of wheels and horses' hoofs on the cobblestone wharf, our man arrived. He was a heavy-set fellow but moved quickly. He was dressed in the typical white linen suit and Pan­ am;i hat. At first glance : you would think of a fat, Dutch bar­ tender; but, when you saw his eyes, you realized he was the hard, unscrupulous businessman he was supposed to be. They were dark and piercing, more like those of a Spanish bullfighter than of a man who should have been mellowed by years of living in the humid islands of the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines. I welcomed him aboard and assigned a seaman to show him to his cabin. As he was making his way aft, the Captain rose from his chessboard to greet him. It was only a matter of a few hours before each found that the other fancied himself as being close to master strength in chess. So we began our eastward passage across the Pacific with a fair wind and the Evans Gambit. In the eyes of those two "1en, what could have been more appropriate than an opening inve nted by a sea captain who was also respon­ sible for the universal red and green running-light system found on all ocean-going vessels ? At first, Herr Vandersa had the edge, but only a slight edge. He won the majority of the games, but all went into long-drawn­ out endgames_ The Captain and Herr Vandersa would settle at their chessboard every night after dinner and often played into the early hours of the next morning. By the time we crossed the "line," at longitude 1 7 5 ° off the Gilbert Islands, the Captain was wise to the tactics and strategy of his opponent. This put them on an equal footing. Never have I seen two men so well matched. Game after game was ending in a draw. One game I remember particularly. We were becalmed for several hours one day while on the Equator. The two had begun playing early in the morning while the temperature on deck was at least bearable. But, as the game progressed, so did the sun. Several times, I approached the Captain to ask permission to rig an awning over the afterdeck, but was waved away. Probably at no time in this game could either have been said to have had the advantage. If one was a Pawn ahead, then he was behind in position. It was as if some cosmic force present here at the half­ way mark of the globe had equalized their abilities. When the

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game ended, there were only two Kings left on the board, neither casting a shadow, for the sun was directly overhead. These games went on the rest of the way across the Pacific. They played during the rounding of the Horn while the ship was bucking headwinds of gale force. When we were off the Amazon River, Herr Vandersa suggested to the Captain that they make some small wager on the games to install some degree of excite­ ment to make up for the element that was lacking due to the months of playing with only each other. At first, the bets were only minor; but, with each game, they were increased ; and Herr Vandersa's original "slight edge" � eemed to be back. Soon, all the profit to be made from our voyage had been signed over to Herr Vandersa. It looked as though another sailing vessel was going out of business. One night, while skirting the South Carolina coast, after each had won a g�me and one had been drawn, the Captain, in one last desperate 'attempt to regain his losses, bet his ship against the cargo of mahogany. Each braced himself with a drink, and the game began. It was a stormy night with a heavy, following sea, for we were approaching Cape Hatteras. When the second mate informed me of the magnitude of the game, I turned the deck over to him and went below. The game had been in progress some time when I entered the main cabin; and it was obvious, even to an amateur like me, that the Captain was having the worst of it. The Captain was two pieces down; and, after weathering a series of checks, his defense was ruined. I stepped back and braced myself against the trunk of the mizzenmast, for it was difficult to stand due to the rolling. Then I saw it! The impossible, nevertheless there it was, a mate in one for the Captain. If the strain of so many months of continuous play, com­ bined with the heavy stakes and the storm had caused one to allow this situation to occur, it also was causing the other to overlook it. For the Captain was reaching for a Rook, instead of the Bis+wp which would bring him victory. I started to cry out. Pass this up, and you couldn't even hope for a draw. The Captain's hand hovered over the Rook. Never have I suffered so. Why couldn't he see it ? Was it because of the weird lighting effect caused by

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the violently swinging lantern ? Were the distorted shadows and flickering light hypnotic and fogging his mind ? It was the end of everything, the ship, the Captain, every man who had a share in the voyage. In my mind : I screamed for him to see it. The ship was lost, and I could do nothing about it. Damn Vandersa ! What twist of fate had caused this tragedy ? Then, with a sickening scream of strained timbers, the ship was heeled over under the impact of a sudden squall. We were carrying too much sail for it. I heard the main top sail explode, and I could picture shreds of canvas being carried out across the Atlantic. This was the result of the first officer's not being on deck. The ship made another plunge forward and rolled to star­ board at the same time. It was then the Bishop made a slow, even slide along the long diagonal of the board and completed the mate. The ship settled back on an even keel. Both men stared expressionless at the board. The Captain reached out and touched the piece to make the move official. "I'd best be going on deck now, Sir, " he said, "to take care of my ship, and cargo."

CH ESS IN FICTION 357

THE CASE OF THE MISSING CHESSMEN By Jack Straley Battell

· "The whole territory is unclaimed," said Joel Shoebridge. "All we need do is locate the lode, somewhere in western Colo­ rado, and we can file on a fortune in gold." "Somewhere in western Colorado," retorted Kenneth Hil­ chen, bitterly. "That's some hundreds of square miles, and we wouldn't know iron pie - fool's gold, I mean - if we saw it." "No, but we have the old sourdough's story. The site is marked by a Knight or at least a horse's head, scratched on a rock," Joel went on. "We do know a Knight when we see one." "Yes," Ken burst out. "So did old Crapper know a horse's head. And how many years did that blamed prospector look and not find it !" "But you're forgetting the rest of the story, Ken. Old Crap­ per didn't know chess and so he never tried to track down the clues in it. He knew the old hidalgo, searching for the fabled El Dorado, located the lode back when only a few Spaniards had penetrated the region. He knew he'd fought his way back through Kiowas, Cheyennes, Comanches and what not, nearly to this mission -·· "And then two Joes, name of Black and White," cut in Ken, "saved him from the Indians who had cut down his last few fol­ lowers and were torturing him. And, knowing he was done for,

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he had the cute whim of having them play chess for which would get the claim. " It's a fantastic enough tale. The old Spaniard teaching them the moves from his de;thbed for weeks and then umpiring the showdown game just before he died. But Crapper didn't even know who won." "So he didn't, Ken ; but we do. There is a clearly won posi­ tion on the board here at the mission. As the padre says, the loser tried to ambush the other, and both barely got back to the mission, one after the other, and died." "Sure," answered Ken, bitterly again. "The padre has shown us their kits, just as he did Crapper. The mission stowed them away for more than three hundred years - just to baffle us, that's all. "Now that the Indians are fairly quiet at last ( Damn Colonel Cherrington, anyway ! ) , we could push right on and claim the mine, if only this confounded chessboard would �peak up." He looked at the board before them and reached for the White King. King and board alike arose in his grasp. "Heck ! I keep forgetting the pieces are fastened down. The winner cer­ tainly wanted to commemorate that game." As they had both done before, Ken turned the board over and searched for some inscription. "Well, we know that Black - what was he ' Oh, Eduardo Negro - won. So he ought to have a record of the hidalgo's, a map or some sort of writing to show where the lode is to be found. But we've been all through his effects . . . and nothing ' " "And Blanco had nothing i n his pack, nothing special, ex­ cept the box with the captured men," said Joel. "Why worry about his kit ?" remarked Ken. "The hidalgo had them play the colors of their names. They said so to the padre who was here then. And it's a cinch that Black won. Look at the position." "Yes, " said Joel, "White must have resigned. He's a whole Queen down, probably counted on getting it back by discovered check with Knight to Bishop's Sixth. But then Black's Bishop takes the Rook with check; and, even though Rook takes Bishop is another check, White will still be a whole Rook down."

CHESS IN FICTION 359

"Still," he said, suddenly, almost desperately, "mightn't White have won ? We ought to dig through his things more carefully. "Suppose his Queen Bishop Pawn were at Bishop Third ?" "Joel," said Ken, disgustedly. "Those pieces were fastened in place, remember ?" Joel shru,gged . "I don't suppose there is any clue in the posi­ tion itself." H e was stating the matter rather than questioning it. "Or maybe it means something, somehow, what pieces are miss­ ing ?" " Bishop, two Knights and two Pawns for Black," said Ken. " Bishops, two of them, Knight and two Pawns - and the Queen for White. What else ? It was the game, you know, and the men on the board or off are as the game fell out. Or do you mean, say - maybe this isn't the game position but something symbolic set up as a guide to the mine. Know any places in Colorado with chess names ? King, Knight - or even Night ?" "They'd have had to be Spanish in those days," said Joel. "Obispo - no, that's in California. Padre, " he called, "Padre," and, as the mission head entered, "Do you know chess ?" The padre shook his head. "No, son." Then, as he saw the board before them, "Oh, you mean the game ? I did not know it by the English. Si, it is a fascinating story, that game ! " "You know the story, Padre '" Ken looked anxiously a t Joel. " But yes, it was my predecessor who told it to Crapper. The mission has passed it on ever since those two told it. Strange conceit that Blanco played the White side, Negro the black . . . And the first names ! " "What about the first names ?" Ken still looked uneasy.

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"Why, Eduai·do can mean 'defender' as in your 'warden' or its cognate 'guard.' And, of course, White's name was what you say as 'victor.' As I said, a _pretty conceit.'' " But Edward was Black," said Joel. "Or did we have the names mixed ?" "To be sure, Eduardo was Black, but White won." The Padre appeared faintly puzzled. "A very pretty play" - and added gropingly - "you'd cal l it, ah, discovered mate." As Joel and Ken stared at the board, he smiled benignly. "Ah, I see you know only the latter-day rules. The hidalgo was �n old man and had learned the game when he was young." And, shaking his head, the Padre left the room. The two stared at the board in disbelief. It was Ken who stirred first. He made for the kit of "Victor" White and took out the chess box. "The Bishop used to move just two squares, Joel," he said. "Not only couldn't the Bishop take the Rook, it could not cover King's secon'd either. It's Knight to Knight's Sixth Dis­ covered Check (not mate) * ; but, on Queen to King's Second, it's Rook takes Queen mate. The record simply must be with Bianco's things." He shook out the cloth, padding down the captured men, and pressed tentatively on the bottom of the box. A false bottom yielded a paper. " Follow Rio Grande, " Joel deciphered the old Spanish slowly over Ken's shoulder, "to Rio Salade, take its first right fork to headwater, then, uh, due North one hundred, hm, paces, to rock with caballero Knight. That hidalgo was mad about chess, Ken ! We can locate the lode now. The mystery is solved." "Yes," said Ken, looking at Joel with a mild twinkle in his eye, "it was the Case of the Missing Chessmen ! " -

Actually, the padre was right: but not to K2.-Ed.

under the hidalgo's rules, the Queen could g o to

KB}

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HOW I WON THE EASTERN SEABOARD INTERCOLLEGIATE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP By Robert Brill

In my days at the University, I had a friend named Peterson Polk, a rather macabre pre-medical student who chiefly delighted in slipping the privy parts of cadavers into the pockets of his un­ suspecting colleagues. This and similar charming habits soon earned for Peterson a special place in the esteem of those who knew him : he was methodically avoided. In fact, after he once planted a fully assembled human skeleton in his roommate's bed, his friends actively organized to shun him in a body. None­ theless, I stuck by Peterson, for despite his morbid humor, he had a remarkable faculty for playing Chess. After many years of forced contact with intellectuals and other sedentary types, I de­ veloped a curiosity to be initiated into the rites of their inscrutable pastime. Peterson not only knew, he was an expert, and con­ tributed greatly to the honor of the University Chess Team. He was a willing teacher and I an apt pupil ; and, in no time at all, I was castling with one hand. One afternoon at lunch hour, we commandeered a table at the Chess Club and sat down for a short lesson. As was our usual method, Peterson played without his Queen, in order to

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give me some faint incentive for attacking and some slim hope for victory, though this technique usually served only to demon­ strate how a good player can defeat a miserable player without his Queen. This harsh lesson I learned again and again. The game had progressed some six moves when it chanced that the Captain of the Chess Team, one Merton Osgood, sauntered over to our table to get in a little practice at the chessplayer's off­ season exercise known as"Kibitzer's restraint." Rather good as a player, he had always been weak on watching the games of others, and took every opportunity to improve himself. He edged close to the table, in order no doubt to provide himself with a stronger "temptation, and his hand hovered above the board as though, should his great will snap, he might suddenly descend upon the arena and checkmate one or the other of us with a vicious flour­ ish. But the hand wavered, a certain incredulity swept across his face, and he stammered, "Peterson, how did this chap get your Queen ' And the game only just begun 1 " Peterson returned to time present ( h e was i n the world o f eleven moves ahead ) and squinted u p a t the interloper. "Oh," said Peterson drily, "you missed an interesting exchange. Had to give her up on the fourth move. " "The fourth move ' " exclaimed o u r visitor with apparent alarm. "Peterson, how could it happen ' You are not a novice." "No, " replied my friend-, "but neither is this gentleman. But forgive me. I haven't introduced you to Dlugatz. Mr. Merton Osgood, Captain of the University Chess Team ; Mr. Simon Dlugatz, Friend and Inspiration to the International Chess World." I shook Mr. Osgood's hand, and from his grip and from his expression it was evident that he was not sure if I were a Rook or a Queen, though he was certain that I was formidable. I pressed the advantage. "That will teach you, Peterson," I ex­ claimed in a jolly tone, "to laugh at a N-QR3 opening. Little did you think that three moves later you'd be throwing me your Queen to save your beggarly King." "Would you reconstruct that for me ?" said Osgood, quite overcome by the pace of such an attack.

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"Some other time," said my friend. "The game must go on." And indeed I hadn't thought of that, for it was then my move and the apparition of Emanuel Lasker would not have torn Osgood away. I decided at last to send a Bishop on a startling and bizarre excursion into the thick of the danger. Osgood stared in amazement. " But Mr. Dlugatz, I don't understand." "Very simply a defensive move," I murmured. "A defensive move ! But Bishop takes Bishop, and then where is your defense ?" " Let him take. " I tried to sound as though the poor fool were taxing my patience. "You see, Mr. Osgood, a defense need not be wholly and intrinsically defensive. You've heard, of course, of the Imminent Defense and the Interpolated Defense ?" For a moment it seemed entirely possible that Osgood might produce a notebook and pencil and take down my words verbatim. " No," he con fessed, ''I 've never heard of such defenses." "Evidently, you have not been getting the news from Eu­ rope. But let that pass. The time.honored systematic defense, which is so esthetically pleasing both to the eye and to the in­ tellect, is going the way of all useless ornaments. Let's not be sentimental, Mr. Osgood, about the game of chess. Its beauty, if such there be, lies in the perfect logic of its execution, and not, you must forgive me; in the obvious and rather homely relation­ ships of mutually protecting pieces. "This puts me in mind," I continued, "of a game I played not long ago with a German astronomer aboard the Ile de France. A well-ordered mind this chap had, clean and systematic, but with a sentimental penchant for the prettiness of his systems and an unfortunate disregard for their fallacies. He had ranged his pieces rank on rank with an imposing uniformity. Not a piece stood unprotected, and to destroy a single one would have involved a monstrous sacrifice, and started a letting of blood that could only have ended by the abdication of my King. So there stood his men, planted as straight as the Black Forest of his native land. I much admire that sort of thing. It requires a certain esthetic sensibility and a flair for the dramatic. But in Chess the application of these

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talents is fatal. I proceeded at once to destroy him. Down one of those stately aisles I sent a Rook, and his pieces lining the files on either side seemed not so much to be alien forces as a guard of honor paying tribute to my bold procession. On the eighth rank I stopped, thus placing him in check. His King fled into the Black Forest. I then sacrificed a Bishop to free my other Rook, for what earthly good is a Bishop which can only zigzag its way through the foliage ? That accomplished, I sent my second Rook the way of the first and checked the King on the seventh rank. Deeper into the forest he fled, but I sent my Rooks barking after him until he was. choking in his own Pawns and finally lay back against the wall. Then with a Knight I leaped lightly o'er the top of the tallest tree in his forest and held the dagger to his throat. "And all this was done, my dear Osgood, without disturbing a single element in his defense. Had I touched one piece, an aw­ ful mechanism would have set itself in motion, but when the game was ovet his forest stood as firm and straight as ever, a symbol of its own meaningless invincibility. He was a game chap, poor fellow. Killed himself shortly after, I think. Your move, Peterson." Peterson's sense of humor was as grim as ever. He took my Bishop. "You have doubtless discovered," I said to Osgood, "that the profoundest moves are often the most obvious." And with that I threw my other Bishop to the hounds. "Mr. Dlugatz," our astonished visitor exclaimed, "have you ever thought of playing for the Chess Team ?" "Really, Mr. Osgood, it's good of you to ask, but I simply haven't the time." "Couldn't you come around after classes in the afternoons ?" "Couldn't possibly. Not during Football season and with Track coming on in the spring." If you could have any notion of my size and build, the idea of my playing football is utterly laugh­ able, but I knew by this time that I could have claimed to be the inventor of spaghetti with complete impunity. It took a moment for Osgood to reassess me, but then he made the inevitable ad­ justment to the fact that I was one of those wiry types whose body packs more strength than at first glance would be apparent. Clearly he'd never pick a fight with me. I continued, "The de-

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velopment of the mind without the development of the body is to develop nothing in the end, but only to distort the human capacity for participation. Football, Mr. Osgood, is as much food to my soul as Chess." A � d now I was clearly doubled in stature, for I had established myself as the living embodiment of the Classical ideal for the fully rounded Man. "How about in the evenings ?" he ventured. There was no longer any reason for caution. "Jn the evenings, I am doing my homework, writing a novel and teaching a class in ballet." "I see," he said. "But perhaps you could come up just for a game or two at lunchtime, as you did today." "It would be a pleasure, Mr. Osgood, truly a pleasure. But occasions like today are rare, for it's my habit at this hour of the day to spend a little time in the chemistry lab, mixing up a few potions of sorts. A little theory I'm working on, and I 've absolute· ly no other t ime for it. If I can break away again in the near future, I should be delighted to sit down with you to a friendly game. And now, Peterson, it's your move again. I expect you'll ju m p at the obvious and avail yoursel f of my other Bishop." He did. That was the way with my friend. He never knew when to stop with his practical joking. " Now that you are quite out of position," I said, "I will show you both how the Interpolated Defense takes effect." I looked suddenly at my watch. "Zounds ! " I cried. "I forgot about poor Brinley. This young chap wants to make the Track Team this coming spring and I promised to work out with him today and show him a few pointers. The boy runs like a lemon, but completely unorthodox. He pits one leg muscle against the other. By illustrating the very basest fundamentals of anatomy, I can show him how to combine the efforts of both muscles. And, if he learns, the boy may be a great miler, for he has the wind." I waved my hand in a mystical gesture to show that the grosser arts of physical competition also have their subtleties. "Yes," I whispered, completely wooed away now to my other love, "he has the wind. "And so, Peterson, I must give you a friendly forfeit," and with that I knocked over my King with a casual flip of the finger.

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I turned to Osgood . . . It was a pleasure to meet you, sir. It is a pity you couldn't have seen the next two moves, but we must let that pass till fortune next offers us an opportunity. Good day, Mr. Osgood." And with th ose words, I fled the room. The In­ terpolated Defense had worked. For my part, the incident would have been closed then and there. But Osgood was not going to lose a championship chess­ player without sending his forces at least once more against my impenetrable ramparts. He caught me one night when my position was rather widely disinterpolated. In fact, my friend Peterson Polk and I had just returned from drinking beer (as we did almost every night) , and we had retired to my rooms to have a friendly game of catch with a human skull. Just as this little diversion was reaching its most exciting moment, we were interrupted by Os­ good, flanked by several dutiful Pawns. .. My colleagues a'nd I," he said, .. would appreciate it if you would play us a game, that is, if you are not busy on your novel." One of the Pawns advanced . . .You don't seem to be busy now, Mr. Dlugatz. Couldn't we have a quick one ?" And a quick one it would have been with the lot of them against me. There I was, caught with the skull in my hand. What could I do ? A natural analogy suggested itself. I assumed the attitude of Ham­ let. . .Good God," said I, . . how quickly we do pass to dust ! You have brought me to my senses, gentlemen, and I must ever be thankful to you for it. How could I stand here buffeting this skull about, when its very presence should remind me that time's winged chariot is hurrying near ? To the books, Peterson, and let this idle folly by." In a frenzy, I brought down a dozen volumes from the shelf as though in my sudden zeal I should devour their contents in a single sitting . .. For herein is the fruit of knowledge to be had. Gentlemen, you'll forgive me; I must go to work. I shall ever hold you in high esteem for this most timely reminder. Good night." The Pawns withdrew, but Osgood was making his last stand. .. The Eastern Seaboard Intercollegiate Tournament is coming up next week," he said, .. and we haven't got the man that can win

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first table. Couldn't you spare an evening, a single evening, to play in the match for the good old University ?" I was fully prepared at this point to begin, "Alas, poor Yor­ ick," and continue· if necessary right up to "Go, bid the soldiers shoot" ; but Peterson, bless his morbid fancy, stabbed from the rear. 'Tm sure you can take out an evening," he said to me, " for the good old University. You'll play the match won't you, Simon ?" I felt an impending checkmate. I altered my entire defense. "Mr. Osgood," I said, "] have something to confess to you." Pe­ terson's face glowed with devilish amusement. "Chess is my re­ laxation, " I continued, and the grin dropped from Peterson's face. "] play for neither stakes nor honors, not even for the honor of the good old University. " For you see," I added, "if I began to take Chess seriously, I should bec'ome hopelessly and helplessly ensnared in its fatal fascination and should never do anything my whole life long but play the game. When I get to Heaven, I expect I'll devote an eon or two to getting the fever of Chess out of my system, for there I'll have all eternity at my disposal. But now, while there is so much work to be done in so little time (alas, poor Yorick) , I can only allow myself an occasional game once every year or two as an indulgence to a passion which would otherwise quite smoth­ er me. But do not be disappointed, my friend, for you have here in Peterson a player of remarkable talents. I have been coaching him a bit of late, and believe me, he has mastered the Interpolated Defense as no one in Europe has even begun to approach it, and I am certain that his game is now sufficiently strong to take the trophy for the good old University. As a gesture of good will, I'll attend the match and watch the games, but I beg of you, I cannot, I dare not, I must not play." And so it came to pass. My friend Peterson Polk was slated to play first table in the Eastern Seaboard Intercollegiate Chess Tournament. When we arrived at the match, I was somewhat astonished to learn that my reputation had preceded me. Osgood had made it known to both friends and opponents that Peterson Polk, playing first table against the three-time winner of the East-

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em Seaboard Cup, had been coached by none other than the mas­ ter of the Continent, Simon Dlugatz. You"ve never heard of him ? My poor deluded fool, I "m speaking of Simon Dlugatz, the well­ known proponent of the · new European Interpolated Defense. Why didn't you say so ? I must find out more about that system. Perhaps we can invite him down for a lecture. And so it went about the hall. The incumbent Champion, certain of an easy vic­ tory, was now visibly worried, and, as the players took their places, he very nearly tripped on the leg of his chair. The Champion drew White and opened with a modest I P-K4. I could hardly suppress a smile at his stupidity ; in fact, · 1 did smile and even let out a small snicker. This drew several angry glances, and I brought myself under sharp control. Peter­ son answered with I . . P-K4, and the Champion firmly, even confidently, answered with 2 N-KB3. Could ever a more crude blunder have been committed ? I rose from my seat, chuckled derisively and left the hall with an air that was meant to convey that the result of the game was already a foregone conclusion. Really, why should one hang on and take morbid pleasure in the coup de grace?

As Peterson told me afterwards, upon my exit the champion broke into a sweat. He played the next few moves with extreme caution and then castled prematurely, giving Peterson the chance to capture an unprotected Pawn. This advantage was slight, but it was enhanced shortly after when the nervous Champion sacri­ ficed a Knight to eliminate Peterson"s Rook Pawn, which had in the mind of the Champion assumed monstrously threatening pro­ portions. This, coupled with a later miscalculation, centering in the idea that Peterson"s Bishops were endowed with the power of Queens, put Peterson in firm control. At the first check, the Champion resigned and sobbed convulsively for half an hour. As there was an even split in the other games, Peterson"s victory proved instrumental in winning the Trophy, and thus it was given into his care. I later saw the admirable old relic; and, underneath the Eastern Seaboard and so on and so forth, and the date and the place and the official position of the sun in the zodiac, and the names of all the players, there followed a special tribute to Peterson, which ended thus:

CH ESS IN FICTION 369

PETERSON POLK Who was trained and inspired by Good Old University's Other Favorite Son ·the Internationally Acclaimed Chess Master SIMON DLUGATZ The trophy was consigned to Peterson's shelf, and it served him thereafter as an excel lent receptacle for skulls, phalanges, and assorted bones, a sign that like all else, this too must fade and pass. But, before it does, let me leave you with one word of advice. Chess is a remarkable game. The power of its logic is sufficient at times to overwhelm the mind from which this logic springs, and the wisest player then becomes but a Pawn to his own intellect. If ever you should care to master the game, if ever you should desire among your other ambitions to hold the Eastern lnte1collegiate Chess Championship, as once I held it, follow the path of my experience. To reduce this ineffable logic to one single principle - there is but one way to win: never, never, play Chess.

HEROIC STRUGGLES OF THE SIXTIES

HEROIC STRUGGLES OF THE SIXTIES

373

Leipzig, 1 960

The Che�s Olympiad Commentary by Dr. M. Euwe

As expected, the Russians won the Chess Olympiad at Leip­ zig ( 1960) . Tahl, Botvinnik, Keres, Korchnoy, Smyslov and Petrosyan again demonstrated their great chess ability. Tahl drew a lot of attention, of course, but was not in top form. There were ru m ors that he had been involved in ·an auto­ mobile accident, but these rumors could not be confirmed. The possibility is that Tahl held back some new theoretical findings in reserve for his return match with Botvinnik. Botvinnik was at his best. Impressive was his win against the strategically accurate Eliskases. But one of Botvinnik' s best games is the following, against the Bulgarian Neikirch. Botvin­ nik as Black played the same variation which he had used four years ago in the Alekhine Memorial Tournament against the Bul­ garian Padewski. The variation was extensively analyzed in Hol­ land at that time. It is a question if Botvinnik was acquainted with that analysis; but it seems that Neikirch was not acquainted with it; for he selected a more modest continuation than his com­ patriot did four years ago.

THE BEST IN CH ESS 374

SICILIAN DEFENSE

King �ishop Variation 0. NEIKIRCH

M. BoTVINNIK

Bulgaria

Soviet Union

White Black 1 P-K4 P-QB4 N-QB3 2 N-KB3 As second move for Black, the text is seen less frequently these days than 2 . . . P-Q3 or 2 . . . P-K3. But Botvinnik used to like it. P-Q4 PxP N-B3 4 NxP P-Q3 5 N-QB3 With this move, Black "has transposed"' to the line with 2 . P-Q3, that is to say, either second move can lead to this position. And White ' has at his disposal the Rauzer Attack, 6 B-KN5, in this position (which he does not on 2 . . . P-Q3 and 5 . . . P-KN3) . 6 B-QB4 Interest in this move has increased since Fischer has had some remarkable successes with it. 6 B-KN5, however, is still con­ sidered the move with the best chances. 6 P-K3 Not bad is 6 . . . B-Q2, followed by 7 . . P-KN3 and 8 . B-N2. 7 B-N3 B-K2 7 . . P-QR3 for immediate action on the Queenside like­ wise deserves consideration here. 0-0 8 0--0 9 K-Rl White definitely has more chances after 9 B--K3. In Pa­ dewski-Botvinnik, Moscow, 1 9 56, there followed 9 . . . N-QR4 JO P-B4, P-QN3 ? White ought then to have continued with 1 1 P-K5 ! N-K l 12 P-B5 ! ! with a strong attack. 9 N-QR4 This method incurs less objection now than in the line just quoted. There is simpler, however: 9 . . . NxN 10 QxN, P-QN3 .

_

.

.

H EROIC STRUGGLES OF THE SIXTIES 375

11 B-N5, B-N2 12 P-B4, R-Bl 13 P-B5, R-B4 ! with a good game as in Jezek- Boleslavski, Vienna, 1957. P-QN3 10 P-B4 1 1 P-K5 White certainly obtains nothing with other moves. N-Kl 11 12 R-B3 Even now White can play 12 P-B5, and a study of the com­ plex variations shows the danger to which Black is exposed in this type of position. On 12 . . . NxB ' 13 N-B6, Q-Q2 14 Nx&h, QxN 1 5 P-B6, Q-B2 1 6 PxNP, White has a strong attack. On 12 . . . PxBP ' White has 1 3 P-K61 Then 1 3 . . . NxB ? 14 N-B6 ! Q-B2 1 5 N-Q5 ! is strong for White. And White gets a decisive advantage also with 13 . . . PxP 14 BxPch, K-R l 1 5 P-QN4, N-N2 16 N-Q 5. Black's bdt is 12 . . . QPxP ! 1 3 PxP, NxB. Here we may note that the absence of the White Bishop on K3 (where it would be if White had played 9 B-K3 instead of 9 K-Rl ) is im­ portant; for it would now permit White to gain an advantage with 14 N-B6 ! Q-Q3 15 N-Q 5 1 A s i t is, however, there follows 14 PxPch, RxP 1 5 NxN, B-KB4 with a good game for Black. 12 NxB Now this dangerous Bishop is elminated without trouble. Q-Q2 13 N-B6 QxN 14 Nx&h P-B3 ! 15 RPxN Well played. The elimination of the advanced King Pawn neutralizes White's attack. 16 PxQP On 16 N-K4, B-N2, Black obtains the edge : e.g. 1 7 PxQP, NxP ' 18 QxN, QR-Q t ' and Black wins. White can ease out with 17 PxBP, PxP 18 R-N3ch, K-R l 19 N-B3 ; but Black gets good chances for attack with 19 N-N2 ! NxP 16 N-B4 17 R--Q3 18 R-R4

TH E BEST IN CH ESS 376

As White's Bishop cannot easily be developed, the Queen Rook is mobilized via the Rook file. Also White prevents the developing 18 . . . B--N2; for the seemingly simple resource for Black 19 R-Q7 1 QR-Q I 1 comes to nothing at all after 20 R/4-Q4 ! 1 18 Q-Kl ! Black dodges the continuation just mentioned and prepares ' instead for action on his QRl-KR8 diagonal. 19 N-K4 Also unsatisfactory is 19 R-K4, B--N 2 20 R-K l , Q-B3 2 1 Q-N4, P-KR4 22 Q-N6, N-R5 with a winning attack for Black. P-QN4 19 20 R-R5 This is the decisive· error. White simply must protect his back rank with 20 R-R I. Then Black gets a slightly better but not a won game: e.g. 20 . . . B--N 2 21 N-Q6 (not 21 N-B5 ? BxPch, nor 2 1 N-N3 ' N-R5 ) , NxN 22 RxN, Q-N3 23 Q-K2, QR-Q l 24 RxR (after 24 QxKPch, K-R l, White is lost) , RxR 25 B--K 3, Q-K5. 20 . . . . B--N2

21 N-Q6

There is nothing better. On other Knight moves, there is either . . . BxPch or . . . N-R5 as indicated before. NxN 21 R-Q l ! 22 RxN Black's last move is simple but very effective. He threatens to play 23 . . . RxR 24 QxR, Q-Ql ' and also 23 . . . Q-B3 ! in either line striking forcefully at White's poorly guarded back rank.

H EROIC STRUGGLES OF THE SIXTIES 377

23 Q-Q2 Desperation. RxR 23 Q-Q l ! 24 QxR R-B2 25 QxPch R-K2 26 Q-Kl Resigns White sees that he is clearly lost. In order to have his Queen, protect his Rook and guard against . . . Q-Q8 mate, he has but little choice. 27 Q-Q2 holds temporarily, very temporarily in view of 27 . . . R-Q2 1 1 and 27 B-'-K3 may be answered, e.g. by 27 . . . Q-Q4 1 28 Q-B2, RxB ' etc.

CHESS ANAGRAMS

-

4

Unscramble the following items to come up with terms used in chess - a helpful clue, all are names of openings :

4 5 6

AT MANY CASTLES GIT A SHAM BIND WORK AT TALL ARC 0 I GO IN A COUP FRAME TOUGH KINGS GO PIN IN PAIN ZONE

Solution on page 405

7 8 9 10

CAN GET MERE RECOUNT WE FIGHT DENSE KNOTS RULING GOES NEAR RIP NONE RIB BIG MATE COUNT

THE BEST JN CH ESS 378

Team Match at Hamburg, 1960 Commentary by Dr. M. Euwe

The team match at Hamburg between West Germany and the Soviet Union resulted in a conclusive victory for the latter, with a score of 5 1 - 1 3, in spite of the courageous and sturdy re­ sistance of the German team. From the organizationahtan