Category: 1970s

The Chameleon

by lefthandeddragon, posted in 1970s, Uncategorized

Back in the 1970s GM Soltis popularized the opening moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2. He called it the Chameleon Sicilian as White has option of going into the Closed Sicilian with d3 and g3, or of transposing into the main line of the open Sicilian after .d4 cxd4 .Nxd4.

The opening can quickly transpose into one of the many lines of the Open Sicilian.

IM Soltis-Williams
Marshall Futurity
New York, Dec. 1979
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2!? (The game soon transposes into a version of the Dragon.) 3…e6 4.g3 g6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 a6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 Qc7 9.f4 f6 10.Ne4 fxe5 11.fxe5 Qxe5 12.Bg2 Bh6 13.O-O d5 14.Qf3 Qd4+ 15.Kh1 dxe4 16.Qf7+ Kd8 17.c3 Qd7 18.Bg5+ Bxg5 19.Rad1 Bd2 20.Qf8+ Qe8 21.Qd6+ Bd7 22.Rf8 e3 23.Bxc6 Qxf8 24.Qxd7+ 1-0

GM Soltis-DEEP BLUE JR.
Exhibition Match, 1997
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Be7 8.Be3 O-O 9.Qe2 (Transposing into the Velimirović Attack.) 9…e5 10.Nf3 Na5 11.O-O-O Nxb3+ 12.axb3 Bd7 13.Bg5 Ne8 14.h4 Rc8 15.Nd5 f6 16.Bd2 f5 17.Ng5 h6 18.Qh5 Rc6 19.Qg6 hxg5 20.hxg5 Ra6 21.Kb1 Nf6 22.gxf6 Rxf6 23.Nxf6+ Bxf6 24.exf5 Bc6 25.Rh6 Be8 26.Qg4 g6 27.Rdh1 Qc8 28.Qh3 Kf8 29.Rh8+ Ke7 30.Rh7+ Bf7 31.fxg6 Qxh3 32.Rxf7+ Ke6 33.Rxh3 1-0

Gi Su I-Valentin Lyaskovsky
Russian Cup
Vladivostok, Sept. 18 2012
1.e4 c5 2.Ne2 Nc6 3.Nbc3 Nd4 4.f4 g6 5.g3!? Nf3+ 6.Kf2 (White’s move is forced and his king is safe for the moment. But he gets in the way of his kingside pieces; the ones that are supposed to protect him.) 6…Nd4 7.Bg2 Bg7 8.d3 h5 9.Be3 h4 10.e5 Nh6 11.Nxd4 cxd4 12.Bxd4 d6 13.Nd5 dxe5 14.Bc3 Be6 15.Ne3 Qb6 16.Qf3? (This loses in a hurry. Better is 16.Ke2.) 16…h3! 17.Bf1 Bd5 18.Qxd5 Ng4+ 19.Kf3 Qxe3+ 20.Kxg4 Rh5 21.fxe5 f5+ 22.exf6 Rxd5 23.fxg7 O-O-O 24.Re1 Rg5+ 25.Kxh3 Qf3 26.Re4 Rh5+ 0-1

One independent line, which may look weak at first, is 3.Nge2 e5!? White certainly can occupy the center with Nd5, but Black isn’t going away – his position is solid.

GM Fischer-Renato Naranja
Meralco, Philippines, 1967
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 e5 4.Nd5 Nf6 5.Nec3 Be7 6.Bc4 O-O 7.d3 h6 8.f4 d6 9.f5 b6 10.h4 Bb7 11.a3 Rc8 12.Nxf6+ Bxf6 13.Qh5 Ne7 14.Bg5 d5 15.Bxf6 dxc4 16.Qg4 g6 17.dxc4 Qd6 18.Bxe7 Qxe7 19.fxg6 fxg6 20.Qxg6+ Qg7 21.Qxg7+ Kxg7 22.Rd1 Rcd8 23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Nd5 b5 25.cxb5 Bxd5 26.exd5 c4 27.a4 Rxd5 28.Ke2 Rd4 29.Rd1 Re4+ 30.Kf3 Rf4+ 31.Ke3 c3 32.b3 1-0

Christina Domsgen (2125)-Brigitte Burchardt (2262)
East Germany Women’s Ch.
Erfurt, 1973
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 e5 4.Ng3 g6 5.Bc4 d6 6.O-O Bg7 7.f4 exf4 8.Rxf4 Nf6 9.d3 O-O 10.Rf1 Ng4 11.Nge2 Qh4 12.Bf4 Be5 13.Qd2 Nxh2 14.Rf2 Ng4 15.Rf3 Nd4 16.Rff1 g5 17.Bxe5 dxe5 0-1

GM Viswanathan Anand-N.N.
Simul
Bad Mergentheim
Germany, n.d.
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 e5 4.Nd5 Nge7 5.Nec3 a6? (Better is 5…Nxd5 6.Nxd5 Be7 – see below.) 6.a4 g6?? 7.Nf6# 1-0

GM Fischer-GM Spassky
Match, Game #19
Belgrade, 1992
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 e5 4.Nd5 Nge7 5.Nec3 Nxd5 6.Nxd5 Be7 7.g3 d6 8.Bg2 h5 9.h4 Be6 10.d3 Bxd5 11.exd5 Nb8 12.f4 Nd7 13.O-O g6 14.Rb1 f5 15.b4 b6 16.bxc5 bxc5 17.c4 O-O 18.Qa4 Bf6 19.Rb7 Nb6 20.Qb5 Rf7 21.Rxf7 Kxf7 22.Bd2 Rb8 23.Qc6 Nc8 24.Re1 Ne7 25.Qa4 Qc7 26.Kh2 exf4 27.Bxf4 Be5 28.Re2 Rb6 29.Kh3 Ng8 30.Rxe5 dxe5 31.Bxe5 Qe7 32.d6 Rxd6 33.Bxd6 Qxd6 34.Bd5+ Kf8 35.Qxa7 Ne7 36.Qa8+ Kg7 37.Qb7 Kf8 38.a4 f4 39.a5 fxg3 40.a6 Qf4 41.Bf3 Nf5 42.Qe4 g2 43.Qxf4 g1=Q 44.Be4 Qa1 45.a7 Qxa7 46.Bxf5 gxf5 47.Qxf5+ Kg7 48.Qg5+ Kf8 49.Qh6+ Kg8 50.Qxh5

50…Qc7 51.Qg6+ Kh8 52.Qf6+ Kg8 53.Qe6+ Kh8 54.Qd5 Qf7 55.Kg2 Qg6+ 56.Kh3 Qf7 57.Qe5+ Kh7 58.Kg4 Qg6+ 59.Kf4 Qh6+ 60.Kf3 Qg6 61.Qe4 Kh8 62.Ke2 Qd6 63.Qe3 Qh2+ 64.Kd1 Qh1+ 65.Kd2 Qh2+ 66.Kc3 Qxh4 67.d4 Kh7 68.d5 Qf6+ 69.Kc2 Qd6 70.Qg5 Kh8 71.Kd2 Qb6 72.Qe5+ Kg8 73.Qe8+ Kg7 74.Qb5 Qc7 75.Kc2 Kf8 76.Qa6 Qh2+ 77.Kb3 Qb8+ 78.Qb5 Qc7 79.Ka3 Qa7+ 80.Kb3 Ke7 81.Kc2 Kd8 82.Kd2 Qc7 83.Qa6 Qf4+ 84.Kc2 Qe4+ 1/2-1/2

GM Benjamin-Julio Granda Zuniga
Buenos Aires, 1992
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 e5 4.Nd5 Nge7 5.Nec3 Nxd5 6.Nxd5 Be7 7.Bc4 O-O 8.d3 Na5 9.O-O d6 10.f4 exf4 11.Bxf4 Be6 12.Qd2 Nxc4 13.dxc4 Re8 14.Rad1 Bf8 15.Ne3 Qf6 16.b3 Qg6 17.Qd3 Bh3 18.Rf3 Rxe4 19.Rg3 1-0

Canadian Chess Chat

by lefthandeddragon, posted in 1970s, Canada, chess, history, Uncategorized

Last week I was pleasantly surprised. I had ordered set of Canadian Chess Chat magazines from the 1977.  What made it so fun to read?

First, the games were printed in algebraic notation (AN), years before Chess Life did. The annotations were concise and clear and the games contained enough diagrams to assist the reader with his enjoyment. Our northern neighbors did a good job with magazine.

If I am allowed note one minor gripe, it is that some of the notes seem to have translated from another language, most probably French. There are naturally some glitches and mixed-up of tenses. But they are fun to read!

The publication, Canadian Chess Chat, was published from 1974 to about 1992.

Here are some games from the magazine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gabor Kadas-IM Enrico Paoli
Agard, Hungary Sept. 1976
[“Selected Games”, Canadian Chess Chat, March 1977]
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.d4 d5 4.e5 e6?! (4…Nc6 5.a3 Bf5 or 5.Ne2 Bf5 6.Nf4 e6 looks better for Black.) 5.a3 Nc6 6.axb4 Bxb4+ 7.c3 Be7?! (7…Bf8 might be better.) 8.Bd3 h5 9.g4 hxg4 10.Qxg4 g6 11.Na3 Bxa3 12.Bxa3 Qh4 13.Qe2 Nge7 14.Nf3 Qh5 15.h4 Nf5 16.Kd2 Qg4 17.Rag1 Qf4+ 18.Kd1 (Of course, not 18.Kc2?? Qxf3 19.Qxf3 Ncxd4+.) 18…Qh6 19.Ng5 Bd7 20.Qb2 b6 21.Rg4 Qg7 22.c4 dxc4 23.Bxc4 O-O-O 24.Ke2 Kb7 25.Ra1 Bc8 (On 25…Rxh4 26.Rxh4 Nxh4 27.Bc5! and White’s attack comes through. Black tries to turn against the weak d-pawn.) 26.Nf3 Rd7 27.Bc5 Rhd8


28.d5!! (An excellent move which decides the game.) 28…Nb8 (28…exd5 29.Bxd5! Rxd5 30.Rxa7+ Kxa7 31.Qxb6+ Ka8 32.Ra4+ leads to mate.) 29.Rxa7+!! 1-0 (29…Kxa7 30.Qxb6+ Ka8 31.Bd3 +-)

K. Monro-G. Zerkowitz
Vancouver Island Open
Canada, 1977
[Canadian Chess Chat, May 1977]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nc6 4.c3 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nf6 6.Nxf6+ Qxf6 7.Nf3 h6 8.Bd3 Bd7 9.Be3 Bd6 10.Nd2 e5 11.d5 Nd8 12.c4 Qe7 13.Qc2 Bc5 14.O-O Bxe3 15.fxe3 O-O 16.Rf2 Qg5 17.Qc3 f6 18.Raf1 Nf7 19.Ne4 Qh4 20.Rxf6 gxf6 21.Nxf6+ Kg7 22.Nxd7 Rfe8 23.Nf6 Re7 24.Ne4 Rae8 25.Ng3 Qg5 26.Rf3 Kh8 27.Ne4 Qg7 28.Rg3 Ng5 29.Qb4 Rg8? 30.Nxg5! 1-0

GM Efim Geller-Andrew Whiteley
European Team Ch.
Moscow, Apr. 1977
[“European Team Championship”, Canadian Chess Chat, June 1977]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bb3 b4 9.Ne2 Bb7 10.O-O c5 11.Nf4 cxd4? (This move which opens the center, the e-file, is absolutely wrong. Better was 11…Nb6) 12.exd4 Nb6 13.Ng5 Bd5 14.Nxd5 Nfxd5 15.Ba4+ Nd7 16.Qh5 Qe7 17.Re1 g6 18.Qf3 N5b6 (Threatened Nxf7 and Bc6. Now Geller finishes the “job” in a few more moves.) 19.d5 Nxd5 20.Nxf7 Qxf7 21.Qxd5 O-O-O 22.Qa8+   1-0

GM Velimirović-GM Romanishin (2595)
Keres Memorial
Tallinn, 1977
[“Keres Memorial in Tallinn”, Canadian Chess Chat, July 1977]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Be7 4.e5 b6 5.g4! Ba6 6.Bxa6 Nxa6 7.f4 h5!? 8.gxh5 Bh4+?! (Better was 8…Bb4 9.Nf3 Rxh5 10.Ng5 g6.) 9.Kf1 Ne7 10.Qe2 Nb8 11.Nd1 Nbc6 12.c3 Qd7 (Better was 12…Nf5 13.Ne3 Nce7.) 13.Ne3 g6 (There was no other choice was White threatens Nf3. Now, on the opening f- and h-files Black gets counterplay.) 14.hxg6 fxg6 15.Nf3 O-O-O 16.Rg1! Rdf8 17.Rg4 g5 18.Ng2 Nf5 19.Kg1? (Misjudges the position! The h-file is more dangerous! 19.fxg5 was the right move, for ex.: 19…Qh7 20.Bf4, or 19…Nce7 20.Kg1 Ng6 21.Bf4 Qh7 22.Rf1 and after exchanges on h4 White will have the advantage) 19…Qh7 20.fxg5


20…Bg3!!  21.Bf4 (If 21.hxg3 the following nice ending is possible: Nfxd4 22.cxd4 Qh1+ 23.Kf2 Rh2 24.Qa6+ Kb8 25.Ke3 Rxf3+ 26.Kxf3 Qxg2+ 27.Ke3 Qf2+ etc.) 21…Qh5! 22.Rxg3 Nxg3 23.Bxg3 Rxf3 24.Re1 Rxg3! 25.hxg3 Qh2+ 0-1 (If 26.Kf2 Rf8+ 27.Ke3 Qxg3+ 28.Kd2 Rf2 wins the queen.)

Alexander Zakharov-GM Anatoly Karpov
USSR Ch.
Moscow Dec 13 1976
[“Games from the 44th USSR Championship”, Canadian Chess Chat, Sept. 1977]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.f3 d6 7.e4 Nc6 8.Ne2 b6 9.Ng3 O-O 10.d5 Na5 11.Bd3 Ba6 12.Qe2 Nd7! 13.f4 exd5 14.cxd5 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 c4 (Otherwise White will play c3-c4. And the square c5 will give a good place for the knight.) 16.Qf3 Nb3 17.Rb1 Re8 18.O-O Ndc5 19.Be3 Nxe4 20.Nxe4 Qe7 21.Nd2 (White’s only chance is in exchanges.) 21…Qxe3+ 22.Qxe3 Rxe3 23.Nxc4 Rxc3 24.Nxd6 Nd2 25.Rbc1 Rd3 26.Rfd1 Rxd5 27.Ne4 Nb3 28.Rxd5 Nxc1 29.Kf2 Nb3 30.Rd7 f5 31.Nd6 Nc5 (Arrives in time, otherwise no chances for winning the game.) 32.Re7 g6 33.Nf7 Kf8 34.Rc7 Ne6 35.Rb7 Re8 36.Nd6? (36.Ng5! gives better chances for a draw in the rook endgame) 36…Re7 37.Rb8+ Kg7 38.g3 Nd4 39.Ne8+ Kf7 40.Nd6+ Ke6 41.Nc4 Kd5 0-1

GM Smyslov-Grigorian
USSR Ch., 1977
[“Games from the 44th USSR Championship”, Canadian Chess Chat, Sept. 1977]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.O-O Qc7 8.f4 Nbd7 9.a4 b6 10.Bf3 Bb7 11.Qe2 e5!?  12.Nd5! Nxd5 13.exd5 g6! 14.Nc6 Bg7 15.fxe5 (Coming into consideration 15.c4 O-O 16.f5 Rfe8 17.Be4 Rac8 18.f6 Bf8 19.Ra3 and Rh3 with a serious king-side attack.) 15…Nxe5 16.Nxe5 Bxe5 (If 16…dxe5 17.d6 Qd7 18.Bh6!) 17.Bh6 f6! 18.c4 Kf7 19.Bg4 Bc8 20.Bxc8 Raxc8?? (20…Qxc8 was necessary, on which Smyslov planned 21.Be3 Re8 22.Qd3!) 21.Rxf6+!! (And the game suddenly decided due to the unprotected king.) 21…Kxf6 22.Qg4 Qc5+ 23.Kh1 Ke7 24.Bg5+! 1-0

Obviously I am not the only one who enjoyed this magazine. If you watched The Queen’s Gambit you may have noticed this “Easter egg” that was sitting on a table.

Chess Computers in 1977

by lefthandeddragon, posted in 1970s, chess, Computers, Fischer, games, history, Uncategorized

Before we start, I capitalize the name of chess playing computers to clarify who (or what?) is playing White or Black. Now let’s get to the main event.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

computerchess1

 

Chess computers, of course, had been in development for a couple of decades before 1977. But in that year, several notable events brought the chess computer to the public’s attention.

 

But let’s first mention that the International Computer Chess Association was established, which is important to this article, even if the public was not aware of it.

 

More worthy for public interest was the first microcomputer chess playing machines, CHESS CHALLENGER and BORIS, were created and sold to the general public. You could now buy a computer to play chess. Even better was the fact they were not too strong and existed more of a novelty than a challenge, making them easy prey to most players. Nevertheless, I heard many people brag how they “beat the computer”, or they were “better than a computer”. What they sometimes forget to mention they played the same opening repeatedly, until they got the result they wanted. Not exactly cheating, but not entirely honest either! (I must pause and smile here, as I the only reason I didn’t do such things was that I couldn’t afford these machines).

 

Also, in 1977, CHESS 4.6, a stronger machine than either CHESS CHALLENGER or BORIS, became the first chess computer to win a major chess tournament. That occurred at 84th Minnesota Open in February of 1977. It achieved an Expert USCF rating.

 

In August, SNEAKY PETE played in the U.S. Open. It was the first machine to do so, was promoted and gathered much attention, but its results were not impressive.

The December 1977 issue of Chess Life and Review had this to say;

 

“Computers were everywhere during the U.S. Open. A major attraction for the entire tournament was SNEAKY PETE. The poor machine had to stick it out on Board 69 for the entire two weeks and was constantly surrounded and scrutinized by Class As and Experts. SNEAKY rated 1209, was so nervous he lost seven games in a row. And every back-rank mate was immortalized in the daily games bulletins.”

 

In 1977, Michael Stean, who earlier in the year earned the GM title, became the first Grandmaster to lose a computer program.

 

CHESS 4.6-GM Michael Stean
Blitz Game
London, 1977
1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Nc3 c5 4.dxc5 (This does not seem best. 4.d5!? is probably better.) 4…bxc5 5.Be3 d6 6.Bb5+ Nd7 7.Nf3 e6 8.O-O a6 9.Bxd7+ Qxd7 10.Qd3 Ne7 11.Rad1 Rd8 12.Qc4 Ng6 13.Rfe1 Be7 14.Qb3 Qc6 15.Kh1 O-O 16.Bg5 Ba8 17.Bxe7 Nxe7 18.a4 Rb8 19.Qa2 Rb4 20.b3 f5 21.Ng5 fxe4 22.Ncxe4 Rxf2 23.Rxd6 Qxd6 24.Nxd6 Rxg2 25.Nge4 Rg4 26.c4 Nf5 27.h3 Ng3+ 28.Kh2 Rxe4 29.Qf2 h6 30.Nxe4 Nxe4 31.Qf3 Rb8 32.Rxe4 Rf8 33.Qg4 Bxe4 34.Qxe6+ Kh8 35.Qxe4 Rf6 36.Qe5 Rb6 37.Qxc5 Rxb3 38.Qc8+ Kh7 39.Qxa6 1-0

 
But this was a blitz game. Chess computers still could not compete against World Champions, either current or past, in blitz games, or under tournament conditions.

 

Fischer (yes, that one!) play three games against a chess computer. The first one is the most well-known and perhaps his best effort.

 

Greenblatt was the name of the programmer. I do not know the name of his computer, or if it even had one, so I’ll just use his name.

 

Here are the three games Fischer was known to have played after his 1972 World Championship win.

 

GM Fischer-GREENBLATT
Cambridge, 1977
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 d5 4.Bxd5 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Nf3 O-O 7.O-O [Fischer liked to experiment with the Bishop’s Gambit, probably as a result of publishing an article titled, The King’s Gambit is Busted, where he showed how Black should win after 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d6. Here’s a game from his simul tour of 1964: GM Fischer-Nyman, Simul, Cicero, May 20 1964, 7.O-O Bxc3 8.dxc3 c6 9.Bc4 Qb6+ 10.Kh1 Nxe4 11.Qe1 Re8 12.Bxf4 Nd6 13.Bxd6 Rxe1 14.Raxe1 Bd7 15.Ng5 Na6 16.Rxf7 1-0.] 7…Nxd5 8.Nxd5 Bd6 9.d4 g5 10.Nxg5 Qxg5 11.e5 Bh3 12.Rf2 Bxe5 13.dxe5 c6

2019_08_22_A
14.Bxf4 +- Qg7 15.Nf6+ Kh8 16.Qh5 Rd8 17.Qxh3 Na6 18.Rf3 Qg6 19.Rc1 Kg7 20.Rg3 Rh8 21.Qh6mate 1-0

 

GREENBLATT-GM Fischer
Cambridge, 1977
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 Bg7 4.Nc3 cxd4 [Black tried the original 4…b6 in GM Božidar Ivanović-Grigic, Vinkovic, 1982 and lost after the spectacular 5.dxc5! bxc5 6.Qd5 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Qa5 8.Qxa8 Qxc3+ 9.Kd1! 1-0.] 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 Ng8 9.f4 f6 10.exf6 Nxf6 11.Bc4 d5 12.Be2 Rb8 13.b3 Ng4 14.Bd4 e5 15.fxe5 O-O 16.Bxg4 Qh4+ 17.g3 Qxg4 18.Qxg4 Bxg4 19.Rf1 Rxf1+ 20.Kxf1 c5 21.Bf2 Bxe5 22.Be1 Rf8+ 23.Kg2 Rf3 24.h3 Rxc3 25.Bxc3 Bxc3 26.Rf1 Bf5 27.Rf2 h5 28.Re2 Kf7 29.Re3 Bd4 30.Rf3 Ke6 31.c3 Be5 32.Re3 d4 33.cxd4 cxd4 34.Re1 d3 35.h4 d2 36.Rd1 Bc3 37.Kf2 Bg4 38.Rh1 Bd4+ 39.Kg2 [Any player would automatically see that promoting the pawn would force White to part with his rook for bishop (winning the exchange and eventually win the game). Fischer, however, wants the rook for free.]
2019_08_22_B
39…Kd5! 40.a3 Ke4 41.Rf1 Kd3 42.Kh2 Ke2 43.Kg2 Bh3+ 44.Kxh3 Kxf1 45.b4 d1=Q 46.Kh2 Qe2+ 47.Kh3 Qg2mate 0-1

 

GREENBLATT-GM Fischer
Cambridge, 1977
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 O-O 9.Qd3 Be6 10.O-O Nbd7 11.Nd5 Rc8 12.Nxe7+ Qxe7 13.f3 d5 14.Nd2 Qb4 15.Nb3 dxe4 16.Qd1 Nd5 17.Ba7 b6 18.c3 Qe7 19.fxe4 Ne3 20.Qd3 Nxf1 21.Qxa6 Ne3 22.Bxb6 Qg5 23.g3 Ra8 24.Ba7 h5 25.Qb7 h4 26.Kf2 hxg3+ 27.hxg3 f5 28.exf5 Rxf5+ 29.Ke1 Raf8 30.Kd2 Nc4+ 31.Kc2 Qg6 32.Qe4 Nd6 33.Qc6 Rf2+ 34.Kd1 Bg4 35.Bxf2 Qd3+ 36.Kc1 Bxe2 37.Nd2 Rxf2 38.Qxd7 Rf1+ 39.Nxf1 Qd1mate 0-1

 

 

It would take another two decades for chess computers to score a win against World Champion.

A First

by lefthandeddragon, posted in 1970s, Opening, Scholar's Mate, Uncategorized, winning

My friend, A., started a writing class. Her first assignment was to make a list 10 things of her “firsts”, and then write about them.

 

Intrigued by this idea, I decided to write about one of my “firsts”.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

MY FIRST TIME I WON A GAME AT CHESS.

 

 

I was in grade school in the early 1970’s and in the fourth grade.

 

I played a simple Scholar’s Mate [For those who don’t know the moves, they are 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qf3 Nd4? (played to attack White’ queen and threaten …Nxc2+, but actually loses) 4.Qxf7mate].

scholars_mate

I was joyful. Happy. My dad played it against me and I thought it was the best way to win and why did people need chess books?

 

Then doubt.

 

Was this it? Was this the best one could achieve in chess? To win a game in four moves? Was this the only, or at least the best, way to win? Why did Grandmasters Fischer and Spassky take so long to move in their match?

 

Spassky Fischer

 

Didn’t they know about Scholar’s Mate?

 

It was only later I discovered that the game of chess is incredibly complex.

 

And what I have learned in the last 40+ years of studying this game is;

 

(1) Black does not have to respond 1…e5 to White’s first move.

 

(2) There are opening variations that go past the 10th, the 20th moves.

 

(3) There is usually a middle game.

 

(4) There are endings to learn.

 

(5) Books exist to help the beginner, the novice, the merely good player, the experienced player, the expert and the master.

 

(6) And Grandmasters know Scholar’s Mate.

John Hurt’s Wings

by lefthandeddragon, posted in 1970s, gambit, John Hurt, Sicilian, Uncategorized, Wing Gambit

John Hurt was a local player from Memphis who played there for over three decades. He was Class A competitor during his Tennessee tenure.

He was fond of the Sicilian Wing Game (1.e4 c5 2.b4) and even wrote a book about it. Titled The Sicilian Wing Gambit (1983), it met with moderate success.

He even wrote an article that appeared in the Tennessee Chess News (May, 1974) which featured many of his games and are reprinted here with updated notes.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John Hurt-H. Smith, no date
1.e4 c5 2.b4 e6 3.bxc5 Bxc5 4.d4 Bb6 5.Nf3 Ne7 6.Bd3 O-O 7.c3 f5 8.O-O Nbc6 9.Nbd2 a6 10.Nc4 fxe4 11.Bxe4 d5 12.Bxh7+ Kxh7 13.Ng5+ Kg6 14.Nxb6 Qxb6 15.Qd3+ Nf5 16.g4 e5 17.gxf5+ Bxf5 18.Qg3 Kf6 19.Be3 Qc7 20.dxe5+ Ke7 21.Bc5+ Kd7 22.e6+ 1-0

John Hurt-Middleton, no date
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 e5 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Bc5 8.Na3 Nf6 9.Bc4 Qe4+ 10.Be2 O-O 11.Nb5 Nc6 12.Ra4 Qf5 13.O-O Nd5 14.d4 exd4 15.Bd3 Qh5 16.cxd4 Be7 17.Re1 Bg4 18.Be4 a6 19.Bxd5 axb5 20.Rxa8 Rxa8 21.Bxc6 1-0

John Hurt-Berry
Arkansas Open, 1961
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 bxa3 4.Nxa3 d5 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Nb5 Qd8 8.d4 Bf5 9.d5 Nb4 10.Nfd4 Bd7 11.Bc4 a6 12.Qe2 axb5 13.Nxb5 Rxa1 14.Nd6mate 1-0

John Hurt-Wright
Delta Invitational
Greenville, Mississippi, 1961
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 Nc6 4.axb4 d5 5.exd5 Nxb4 6.Nf3 Qc7 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 9.c4 Nd3+ 10.Kf1 Nxc1 11.Ne5 Qc7 12.Qa4+ Kd8 13.Nxf7+ Kc8 14.Qe8+ Qd8 15.Qxd8mate 1-0

John Hurt-Middleton
Memphis C.C. Rating Ladder
Tennessee, 1961
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 e5 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Bc5 8.Na3 Nf6 9.Bc4 Qe4+ 10.Be2 Nc6 11.Nb5 Kd8 12.Ra4 Qd5 13.d4 exd4 14.Nfxd4 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Bd7 16.O-O Bxa4 17.Qxa4 Re8 18.Rd1 Ke7 19.Bf3 Qe5 20.Bf4 Bxd4 21.Bxe5 Bxe5 22.Qb4+ Ke6 23.Qxb7 Rab8 24.Qc6+ Ke7 25.Qc5+ Ke6 26.Re1 Nd7 27.Qd5+ Kf6 28.Qxd7 Bxc3 29.Qc6+ Kg5 30.Qxc3 f6 31.Qc5+ Kg6 32.Qh5mate 1-0

John Hurt-Richard Long
Nashville vs. Memphis Match
Tennessee, 1962
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 e5 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Bc5 8.Na3 Nf6 9.Bc4 Qe4+ 10.Be2 Nc6 11.Nb5 O-O 12.Ra4 Qf5 13.O-O Rd8 14.Nh4 Qb1 (A bizarre move. White will certainly gain at least a few tempi trying to snare the queen.) 15.d4 Be6
2018_07_19_A
16.Be3 [16.Bd3 would seem better. But White has to be careful. After 16…Bxd4 White can’t immediately play 17.Bxb1 due to 17…Bxf2+ 18.Kh1 Rxd1 19.Rxd1 Bb3. Instead he has to first play 17.Nxd4! Qb6 (or 17…Bb3 18.Bxb1 Bxd1 19.Rxd1 exd4 20.cxd4) 18.Nxc6 Qxc6 19.Qc2.] 16…Qxd1 17.Bxd1 exd4 18.cxd4 Bb6 19.Bf3 Bb3 20.Ra3 Bc4 21.Rb1 Bd5 22.h3 h6 23.g4 Bxf3 24.Nxf3 Nd5 25.Kg2 Rac8 26.h4 Ba5? 27.Nxa7 Ra8 28.Nxc6 bxc6 29.Rba1 Nxe3+ 30.fxe3 Rd5 31.Ne5 1-0

John Hurt-Fischbarg
Mid-South Open, 1964
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 bxa3 4.Nxa3 Nc6 5.d4 d5 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.Nb5 Kd8 8.Be3 e5 9.dxe5 Qxd1+ 10.Rxd1+ Bd7 11.Nf3 a6 12.Bb6+ Kc8 13.Nd6+ Bxd6 14.Rxd6 Nh6 15.Bd3 Re8 16.O-O Re6 17.Rxe6 Bxe6 18.Rd1 a5 19.Bb5 a4 20.Ng5 a3 21.Nxe6 fxe6 22.Bc4 Ra4 23.Bxe6+ Kb8 24.Bb3 Re4 25.e6 Nf5 26.f3 Re2 27.Kf1 Re5 28.Kf2 Rb5 29.g4 Rxb6 30.gxf5 Rb5 31.Ra1 Ra5 32.Ke3 b5 33.Bd5 Kc7 34.Bxc6 Kxc6 35.c3 a2 36.Kd3 Kd6 37.Kc2 Ra7 38.Kb3 Ke5 39.Rxa2 Re7 40.Ra6 Kxf5 41.Kb4 Kf4 42.Kxb5 Kxf3 43.Kc5 Rc7+ 44.Rc6 1-0

John Hurt-James Wright
Club Ladder Game
Memphis, 1965
1.e4 c5 2.b4 b6 3.Nf3 Bb7 4.bxc5 Bxe4 5.Nc3 Bb7 6.cxb6 axb6 7.d4 d5 8.Ne5 Nf6 9.Bb5+ Nbd7 10.Qf3 Qc8 11.Bxd7+ Nxd7 12.Qxf7+ Kd8 13.Ne2 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Qxc2 15.Be3 Ra6 16.Nd4 Qc3+ 17.Ke2 Rxa2+ 18.Rxa2 Qc4+ 19.Kf3 Qxa2 (John Hurt claimed White has a forced mate in 8. Can you find it?) 1-0

John Hurt-David Burris
Tennessee Open, 1965
[White makes several small errors in the opening.]
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 e5 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Bc5 8.Na3 Nf6 9.Bc4 Qe4+ 10.Be2 Nc6 11.Nb5 O-O 12.Ra4 Qf5 13.O-O e4 14.Nfd4 Qg6 15.Kh1 Bg4 16.f3 exf3 17.Nxf3 a6 18.Nbd4 Nxd4 19.cxd4 Bd6 20.Ba3 Rad8 21.Qb3 Qh5 22.Bxd6 Rxd6 23.Qxb7 Re8 24.Bc4 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Nd5 26.Ra5 Rh6 27.Rf2 Re1+ 28.Bf1 Rxf1+ 29.Kg2 Qh3mate 0-1

John Hurt-Churchill
Club Game, 1969
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 e5 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Bc5 8.Na3 Nf6 9.Bc4 Qe4+ 10.Be2 O-O 11.Nb5 Nc6 12.Ra4 Qf5 13.O-O Nd5 14.d4 exd4 15.Bd3 Qh5 16.cxd4 Be7 17.Bd2 a6 18.Qa1 Bh3 19.Ne1 Bd7 20.Nc3 Ncb4 21.Nxd5 Nxd5 22.Ra5 Bd6 23.f4 Bc6 24.Rf3 Qg4 25.Qb1 g6 26.f5 Qxd4+ 27.Kh1 Nc3 28.Qa1 Bxf3 29.Bxc3 Bxg2+ 30.Kxg2 Qg4+ 31.Kh1 Qh4 32.Ra2 Rfe8 33.Rg2 Re3 34.Qd1 Rae8 35.Nf3 Qh3 36.fxg6 fxg6 37.Bxg6 Kf8 38.Qxd6+ R3e7 39.Be4 Qe6 1-0

John Hurt-Robert Holyfield
Memphis City Ch., 1973
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 e5 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Be7 8.Na3 Nf6 9.Nb5 Bd8? 10.Ba3 Bg4 11.Bc4 Qd7 (Certainly not 11…Qxc4? 12.Nd6+, and after 11…Bxf3 12.Qxf3 Qxf3 13.gxf3, Black still has to worry about White’s very aggressively placed pieces.)  12.Nd6+ Kf8 13.Nxf7+ Ke8 14.Nxh8 1-0

John Hurt (1894)-Peter Thayer (1556)
Memphis Candidates, 1974
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 e5 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Bd6 8.Na3 Bxa3 9.Bxa3 Bg4? 10.Qa4+ Bd7 11.Qb4!! 1-0

John Hurt (1894)-Stephen Thomas (1556)
Memphis Candidates, 1974
1.e4 c5 2.b4 d6 3.Nf3 a6 4.c3 Bg4? (This is almost never a good move in the Sicilian.) 5.Bc4 e5? (Severely weakening the f7 square and the diagonal leading to it.) 6.Bxf7+! Kxf7 7.Nxe5+ Ke8 8.Qxg4 Nf6?? (The immediate and obvious 8…dxe5 is better.) 9.Qe6+ Qe7 10.Qc8+ Qd8 11.Qxd8+ Kxd8 12.Nf7+ 1-0

John Hurt-James Wright
Club Ladder Game
Memphis, 1974
1.e4 c5 2.b4 b6 3.Nf3 Bb7 4.Bc4 e6 5.Qe2 Nf6 6.e5 Nd5 7.Bxd5 Bxd5 8.bxc5 Bxc5 9.c3 O-O 10.d4 Be7 11.O-O Qc7 12.Nfd2 d6 13.f4 Nd7 14.Ba3 Rae8 15.c4 Bb7 16.Nc3 dxe5 17.Bxe7 Rxe7 18.Nb5 Qb8 19.fxe5 f5 20.Nd6 Ba8 21.Nf3 h6 22.Nh4 g5 23.Ng6 Rg7 24.Nxf8 Nxf8 25.Rac1 Ng6 26.g3 f4 27.d5 exd5 28.cxd5 fxg3 29.hxg3 Ne7 30.Rf6 b5 31.Rxh6 Qb6+ 32.Kh2 Bxd5 33.Qc2 Qe3 34.Qc8+ Nxc8 35.Rxc8mate 1-0

John Hurt-Thomas
Memphis C.C. Championship, 1975
1.e4 c5 2.b4 d6 3.Nf3 a6 4.bxc5 dxc5 5.c3 Bg4 6.Bc4 e5 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Nxe5+ Ke8 9.Qxg4 Nf6 10.Qe6+ Qe7 11.Qc8+ Qd8 12.Qxd8+ Kxd8 13.Nf7+ Ke7 14.Nxh8 1-0

John Hurt-Rackley
Summer Rating Tourney, 1975
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.axb4 Nf6 7.Nc3 Qd8 8.b5 Nb4 9.Bc4 e6 10.O-O Be7 11.Ba3 O-O 12.Re1 Re8 13.d4 Qc7 14.Ne5 Bd6 15.b6 Qxb6 16.Nb5 Bxe5 17.dxe5 Rd8 18.Qe2 Nfd5 19.Rab1 a6 20.Nd6 Qa5 21.Qf3 Nxc2 22.Qxf7+ Kh8
2018_07_19_B
23.Ne8! 1-0

John Hurt-Stearns
Memphis vs. Nashville Match, 1976
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 e6 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Be7 8.Na3 Bd7 9.Nc4 b5 10.Ne3 Qb7 11.Qb3 a5 12.Ne5 b4 13.Be2 Ra7 14.Bf3 Qb5 15.Nxd7 Nxd7 16.c4 Qb6 17.d4 Qxd4 18.Bb2 Qb6 19.Bxg7 Nc5 20.Qb1 Bf6 21.Bxh8 Bxh8 22.Qxh7 Bxa1 23.Qxg8+ Ke7 24.O-O Bc3 25.Bh5 Rd7 26.Qxf7+ Kd8 27.Rd1 Rxd1+ 28.Bxd1 b3 29.Qg6 Qd6 30.Nd5 Qe5 31.Qg8+ Kd7 32.Qf7+ Kc6 33.Qe8+ Kd6 34.Qb8+ Kc6 35.Qc8+ Kd6 36.Qc7mate 1-0

John Hurt-Scott
Mid-South Open, 1978
1.e4 c5 2.b4 Qb6 3.bxc5 Qxc5 4.d4 Qc7 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bd3 d6 7.O-O Bg4 8.Be3 g6 9.Nbd2 Bg7 10.c4 O-O 11.Rb1 Nc6 12.h3 Bd7 13.Nb3 Nb4 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 Nxd3 16.exf6 exf6 17.Qxd3 Bf5 18.Qe2 Bxb1 19.Rxb1 Rfe8 20.c5 Qc6 21.Na5 Rxe3 22.Qxe3 Qa4 23.Nxb7 Qxa2 24.Qb3 Qe2 25.Re1 Qa6 26.Re7 Rf8 27.Nd6 h5 28.Nxf7 Kh7 29.Qb7 Qa1+ 30.Kh2 Rg8 31.Qxa7 Qc1 32.Qc7 1-0

John Hurt (1831)-Morris Busby (1033)
Bluff City Open, February 17, 1979
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 Nc6 4.axb4 Nf6 5.b5 Nd4 6.c3 Ne6 7.e5 Ne4 8.d4 d5 9.f3 N4g5 10.h4 1-0

John Hurt-Mueller
Norderstedt vs. Memphis Match, 1979
1.e4 c5 2.b4 e5 3.Nf3 cxb4 4.Bc4 Qf6 5.a3 Nc6 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Bc5 8.Na3 a6 9.Nb5 Rb8 10.Nc7+ Kd8 11.Nd5 Qg6 12.d3 Qxg2 13.Rf1 d6 14.Ne3 Bxe3 15.fxe3 Bg4 16.Ra2 Qh3 17.Bxf7 Nh6 18.Bd5 Rf8 19.Raf2 Kd7 20.d4 exd4 21.exd4 Rxf3 22.Rxf3 Qh4+ 23.R1f2 Ne7 24.Qa4+ b5 25.Qxa6 Nxd5 26.exd5 Bxf3 27.Qc6+ Kd8 28.Qxd6+ Kc8 29.Bf4 Rb7 30.Qf8+ Kd7 31.Qxg7+ Kc8 32.Qf8+ Kd7 33.Bxh6 Bxd5 34.Kd2 Qe7 35.Qf5+ Be6 36.Qe5 Qa3 37.d5 Qa2+ 38.Ke3 Qa7+ 39.Kd3 Qxf2 40.Qxe6+ Kc7 41.d6+ Kc6 42.Qe4+ Kxd6 43.Bf4+ 1-0

John Hurt-Fowler
Mid-South Open, November 25, 1979
1.e4 c5 2.b4 a5 3.bxc5 Nc6 4.d4 e6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Nf3 d6 7.cxd6 Bxd6 8.e5 Bb4 9.Bd2 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Ne4 11.Bb2 a4 12.Qd3 Qa5+ 13.Nd2 Nxd2 14.Qxd2 b5 15.Qxa5 Rxa5 16.a3 Na7 17.Bc3 Ra6 18.Rb1 Bd7 19.Bb4 Bc6 20.Bc5 Kd7 21.Bxa7 1-0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here some additional Sicilian Wing Gambit games for study or enjoyment (or both!)

Greco-N.N.
Rome, 1620
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.d4 e6 4.a3 bxa3 5.c4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Qxd2 d5 8.e5 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nc6 10.Ne2 Nge7 11.Rxa3 O-O 12.O-O Nf5 13.Rd3 a6 14.f4 b5 15.Bb3 a5 16.g4 Nh6 17.h3 a4 18.Bc2 b4 19.f5 exf5 20.g5 b3 21.Bd1 Qa5 22.Qf4 Qb5 23.Rg3 Bd7 24.gxh6 g6 25.Qg5 f6 26.exf6 Rf7 27.Nf4 Nxd4 28.Nxg6 Ne6 29.Ne7+ Kh8 30.Qg7+ Nxg7 31.fxg7+ Rxg7 32.hxg7mate 1-0

Capablanca-Richard Black
New York, 1911
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 bxa3 4.Bxa3 d6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.d4 g6 7.h4 Bg4 8.c3 Bg7 9.Nbd2 Nf6 10.Qb3 Qb6 11.Qa2 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nh5 13.Nc4 Qc7 14.Bc1 O-O 15.Rb1 Kh8 16.Bh3 b6 17.Bg4 Nf6 18.Ne3 h5 19.Bh3 Na5 20.Bd2 Bh6 21.Rc1 Kh7 22.c4 Nb7 23.Nf5 Ng8 24.Nxh6 Nxh6 25.Bxh6 Kxh6 26.Qd2+ Kh7 27.f4 e5 28.fxe5 dxe5 29.d5 Nc5 30.Qe2 Qe7 31.Bf5 Kg7 32.Rc3 Rh8 33.Rg3 Rh6 34.Qe3 Qf6 35.Rhg1 Kh7 36.Rg5 gxf5 37.Rxf5 Qe7 38.Qf3 f6 39.Rxh5 Nd3+ 40.Kd1 Nf4 41.Rxh6+ Kxh6 42.Qg3 Rc8 43.Qc3 Qc5 0-1

IM Shirazi-IM Peters
US Ch.
Berkeley, CA, 1984
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.axb4? Qe5+ 0-1

GM Timur Gareyev (2703)-Peter Bodziony (1733)
Blindfold Simul
Las Vegas, Dec. 3 2017
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 Qe7 9.Bxb4 Qxb4 10.Nc3 a6? 11.Rb1 Qc5 12.Ne4 Qc6 13.Nd6+ Ke7 14.Ng5 f6 15.Qh5 fxe5 16.Nge4! Rf8
2018_07_19_C
17.Qg5+ Rf6 18.Qxg7+ Rf7 19.Qxf7+ Kd8 20.Qf6+ Kc7 21.Ne8mate 1-0

T. Shih (2060)-P. Sorge (1617)
US Amateur Team Ch., East, 2000
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 e5 4.axb4 Bxb4 5.c3 Be7 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.d3 d5 8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Qb3 Be6 10.Nf3 Nf4 11.Nxe5 Bxc4 [Tempting, but ultimately winning for the other player is 11…Nxg2+ 12.Kf1 Bh3 13.Bxf7+ Kf8 14.Bh5 Nf4+ 15.Ke1 (not 15.Kg1 Ne2#) 15…Nxd3+ 16.Nxd3 Qxd3 17.Qf7#] 12.Qxc4 Ne6 13.O-O O-O 14.Be3 Nd7 15.Nxd7 Qxd7 16.Rxa7 Rxa7 17.Bxa7 b5 18.Qb3 Qxa7 19.Qxb5 Rb8 20.Qf5 Qa2 21.d4 Qe2 22.g3 g6 23.Qa5 Qe4 24.Nd2 Qe2 25.Qa7 Rb2 26.Qxe7 Rxd2 27.Qf6 Rd1 28.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 29.Kg2 Qd3 30.Qf3 Qxf3+ 31.Kxf3 Kf8 32.h4 Ke7 33.Ke4 Kd6 34.g4 f6 35.f4 Ng7 36.c4 f5+ 37.gxf5 gxf5+ 38.Ke3 h5 39.Kd3 Ne6 40.Ke3 Nc7 41.Kd3 Na6 42.Kc3 Nb8 43.Kb4 Nc6+ 44.Kc3 Ne7 45.Kb4 Ng6 46.Kb5 Nxf4 47.Kb6 Nd5+ 48.Kb5 Nc3+ 49.Kb4 Nd5+ 50.Kb3 Nf4 51.Kc3 Ng6 52.Kd3 Nxh4 53.Ke3 Ng6 54.Kf3 h4 55.Kg2 Nf4+ 56.Kh2 h3 57.d5 Nxd5 58.Kxh3 Ne7 0-1

 

Three games from the 1970’s.

by lefthandeddragon, posted in 1970s, chess, gambit, miniature, Uncategorized

Recently I bought some old state chess magazines, all from 1970 to 1975. They were all purchased from ebay and I found some wonderful gems in this collection.

 

Almost all the games had to be translated from Descriptive Notation (DN) into Algebraic Notation (AN) as DN was the most popular method of recording and analyzing games.

 

Here are three games I found to be enjoyable, and even instructive.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Proll (1998)-Babinski (2157)
US Open
New York, 1974
[Escalante]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Nxe4 8.O-O Bxc3 9.d5 (The Moller Gambit.) 9…Bf6 10.Re1 Ne7 11.Rxe4 d6 12.Bg5 Bxg5 13.Nxg5 h6 14.Qh5!? (Usual is 14.Qe2, followed by 15.Re1 and putting pressure on the “e” file.) 14…g6? (This move just weakens Black’s kingside pawn structure at a time when he needs it the most. White is practically winning here. Black can sidestep many of his troubles with 14…O-O.) 15.Qh4 [Another winning try is 15.Qf3 hxg5 16.Rae1 Rh4 17.Qf6 Rxe4 18.Rxe4 Bf5 19.Bb5+ c6 20.dxc6 Bxe4 21.c7+ Nc6 22.cxd8=Q+ Rxd8 23.Qd4 d5 24.Qxa7 Rd7 25.Bxc6 bxc6 26.Qa8+ Ke7 27.Qxc6 Rd6 28.Qc5 1-0 (Treybel-Engler, Prague, Nov. 28 1908)] 15…Bf5 16.Re3 Kf8 17.Qd4 Kg8

2018_06_21

18.Qxh8+! 1-0

 

Steve Ellis-Dwight Weaver
Nashville vs. Memphis Match
Tennessee, 1974
[“Nashville – Memphis Match 1974”, Tennessee Chess News, Nov. 1974]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Bc4 Be7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qe2 Nxe4 9.Nxe4 d5 10.O-O-O dxc4 11.Nxe6 Qa5 12.Nxf8 Bxf8 13.Nc5 Qxa2 14.Qf3 Qa1+ 15.Kd2 Qxb2 16.Ke2 Qxc2+ 17.Rd2 Qg6 18.h3 Bf5 19.Qxb7 Na6 20.Qxa8 Nxc5 21.Bxc5 Bd3+ 22.Ke1 Qe6+ 23.Be3 Be4 24.Qxa7 c3 25.Rd8 Qb3 26.Rxf8+! Kxf8 27.Qc5+ Ke8 28.Qe5+ Kd7 29.Qxe4 c2 30.Kd2 Qb2 31.Qd4+ 1-0

 

Ted Bielbaum (2029)-Stuart Samuel (2016)
Danvers C.C. Ch.
Massachusetts, Aug. 31 1973
[Notes based “Tournament Games”, Chess Horizons, Jan.-Feb. 1975]
1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.Nf3 dxe5 4.e4?! (Transposing into a sort of King’s Gambit Declined, but with the addition of the moves “fxe5” and “dxe5” helps Black.) 4…Bc5!? [It appears From’s Gambit, or at least this variation, was a popular opening in the 1970s. Here is another game from the same time period. 4…f5!? 5.d4 fxe4 6.Nxe5 Be6 7.Be2 Nd7 8.Bf4 Nxe5 9.Bxe5 Bd6 10.O-O Nf6 11.Bh5+ Kd7 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.d5 Bc5+ 14.Kh1 Bg8 15.Qg4+ Kd6 16.Qf4+ Kd7 17.Bg4+ Ke8 18.Qxe4+ Be7 19.Nc3 h5 20.Rxf6 hxg4 21.Qg6+ Kd7 22.Qxg4+ Ke8 23.Re1 Qd7 24.Rf8+ 1-0 (Thompson-Taylor, South Carolina, 1970)] 5.c3 Nc6! (Normal lines are 5…Nf6 6.Nxe5 Qe7 7.d4 Bd6 8.Nf3 and 5…Bb6 6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Nf6=. Too risky would be 5…Qe7 6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Qxe4+? 8.Kf2! Be7 9.Nc3.) 6.Bb5 Nf6!? (6…Bd7! prevents 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4? Nxd4! 9.Nxd4) 7.Nxe5 O-O (7…Nxe4? 8.Qf3! O-O 9.Qxe4 +-) 8.Nxc6? (Too dangerous. White should play 8.Bxc6! bxc6 9.d4 Nxe4 10.O-O Qd5 11.Bf4=) 8…bxc6 9.Bxc6 Nxe4!? [Leading to unclear complications. If 9…Qd3!? 10.Qf3 (10.Bxa8? Bg4) Qc2 11.Qd1! Qd3 12.Qe2 (12.Qf3=) 12…Ba6 13.Qxd3 Bxd3 14.Bxa8 Rxa8 15.b4 Bb6 16.Bb2 Nxe4 17.c4 Nf2 18.c5 Nxh1 19.Bd4 Re8+ wins!] 10.d4 (Both 10.Bxa8?? Bf2+ and 10.Bxe4 Qh4+ get mated. 10.Qf3? Nf2! 11.d4 Nxh1 12.dxc5 Qh4+ 13.g3 Qxh2 14.Bxa8 Re8+ 15.Be3 Bg4! -+) 10…Qh4+ 11.g3 Nxg3 12.hxg3 Qxg3+ 13.Kd2 Be7? [A blunder. After 13…Qf4+ 14.Kc2? (14.Kd3? loses to 14…Ba6+ 15.Kc2 Qf5+ 16.Kb3 Rab8+) 14…Bf5+ 15.Kb3 Rab8+ 16.Kc4 Qd6, Black wins. White must permit the draw by 14.Ke1! Qg3+ 15.Kd2 Qf4+.] 14.Qf3 Qg6 15.Be4 f5 16.Bxa8 1-0 (The editor must have had fun annotating this game!)