Gens Una Sumus!
Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club Newsletter #794
July 21, 2017
Style can be a limiting factor. When you say Frank Marshall is an attacking player, by implication you are saying he is not quite at home on the defense. Fischer, unlike any player I have known, seems at home in all phases of the game. He was so complete a player it was as if chess itself was playing against you.
—Walter Shipman,The Newsday Magazine, April 14, 1985, p.14
The Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club will host the 17th Annual Vladimir Pafnutieff on August 5.
The Newsletter takes its traditional break along with the Tuesday Night Marathon the next three weeks and will resume on August 11.
1) Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club News
National Master Derek O’Connor, who started the year rated an Expert at 2167, moved a step closer to 2300 by winning the Summer Tuesday Night Marathon. His score of 7 from 8 raised his rating to a personal best of 2284 and earned him $750.
International Master Elliott Winslow looked like he was out of contention after losing to O’Connor in round 6, but he came back strong, defeating 2300-rated Tenzing Shaw and Conrado Diaz in the final two rounds to take second with 6 points. Winslow’s score was good for $550 and raised his rating to 2321 making him the eighth-highest-rated player in the United States over 65.
There was a four-way tie for third at 6-2 in the 135 player event among Shaw, Experts Michael Walder, Joe Tracy and Ashik Uzzaman. A complete list of prize winners and a crosstable for the event can be found here.
A number of players made significant USCF rating gains. They include
Renate Otterbach 195 points (1069-1264)
Joseph Crofts 134 (1558-1692)
Ben Holderness 109 (1229-1338)
Lane Erickson 103 (1586-1689)
Ahyan Zaman 90 (1452-1542)
Daniel McKellar 78 (1742-1820)
Timothy Bayaraa 72 (710-782)
Terrance Robertson 70 (1363-1433)
Albert Starr 70 (1500-1570)
Aniket Mondial 65 (1554-1619)
Michael Baer 54 (1300-1354)
From round 8 of the Summer Tuesday Night Marathon:
 |  |
| Black to move (Uzzaman–Shaw after 9 dxc5) | White to move (Winslow–Diaz after 46...R2a3) |
 |  |
| White to move (Kim–Shakhnazarov after 28...Bd3) | White to move (Walder–Argo after 39...h5) |
 |  |
| Black to move (Starr–Poling after 7 Bc4) | White to move (Casares–Than after 7...Qb6) |
 |  |
| Black to move (White–Brown after 14 c3) | Black to move (Agdamag–Enkh after 19 Qb5) |
 |  |
| White to move (McEnroe–Otterbach after 60...Rg2) | Black to move (Hilliard–Baer after 6 Qxb7) |
 |  |
| White to move (McLain–Reed after 11...Be7) | Black to move (Boldi–Valente after 26 Kh2) |
 | |
| Black to move (Baterdene–Cowgill after 59 Kxh7) | For the solutions, see the game scores for round 8. |
The 9-round USCF- and FIDE-rated Peter Grey Tuesday Night Marathon starts August 8th.
This coming Sunday, July 23, Lauren Goodkind will be the special guest lecturer for the Women and Girls Sunday Chess Class. Goodkind, who was recently written about in the Menlo Park area publication The Almanac (article), will talk about her new book 50 Poison Pieces. The talk, question-and-answer session and book signing will run from 11 am to 1 pm and is open to all.
Portland Grandmaster James Tarjan, the top-rated player in the United States over 65, turned in an excellent performance in the 2017 Canadian Open held July 6–16 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Tarjan, who tied for third with a score of 6–3, defeated Alex Lenderman in the penultimate round.
Queen’s Indian A17
Alex Lenderman–Jim Tarjan
Canadian Open (8) 2017
Notes by Tarjan
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 Be7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Re1 Ne4 8.Nxe4 Bxe4 9.d3 Bb7 10.e4 c5 11.d4 cxd4 12.Nxd4 d6 13.b3 a6 14.Bb2 Nd7 15.Qd2 Qc7 16.Rad1 Rfe8 17.Qe2 Bf8 18.Qf1 Rad8 19.Rc1 Qb8 20.b4 Qa8 21.a3 Rc8 22.Nb3 h6 23.Nd2 Rc7 24.f4 a5 25.Qd3 d5 26.cxd5 Rxc1 27.Rxc1 exd5 28.Qb5?
28.Rc7 axb4 29.axb4 dxe4 (29...Rd8=) 30.Qxd7 Re7 31.Qd6 e3 32.Bxb7 Rxc7 33.Qxc7 exd2 34.Bxa8 d1Q+=; 28.exd5 axb4 29.axb4 Bxb4=.
28...axb4 29.Qxd7 dxe4 30.Nc4 Rd8 31.Qg4 b5 32.Ne5 bxa3 33.Ba1 Bd5 34.f5 b4 35.f6 b3 36.Bc3 Qa7+ 37.Kh1 Qe3 38.Rf1 Qxc3 39.fxg7 Bxg7 40.Nd7 Be6 0-1
Walnut Creek Grandmaster Sam Shankland will defend his title in the 2017 Biel Open which starts July 24.
Grandmaster Conrad Holt won the 2017 People’s Open held July 14–16 at the Faculty Club at the UC Berkeley Campus. Holt, who took a position at Google earlier this year, trailed the leaders after drawing Jack Zhu in round 3, but came through in the last round, defeating Grandmaster Enrico Sevillano to finish with 4 from 5. Tying for second at 4 were Sevillano, Grandmaster Nick de Firmian and International Master Kesav Viswanadha. The latter defeated top seed Parimarjan Negi.
Richard Koepcke, Abel Talamantez and Judit Sztaray directed the 175-player event for Bay Area Chess.
Ray Conway was the Chess Director of the Mechanics’ Institute from 1971 to 1980 and was in the middle of his service when the following minutes of the newly-formed Chess Room Activities Committee were published. Two of the players that are served are still Chess Room regulars forty-plus years (!) later: Joe Tracy and Paul Whitehead.
Conway, who bore a resemblance to W.C. Fields, was a former prison guard at Alcatraz who ran a tight ship at the M.I. It was under his watch that the Tuesday Night Marathon started in the early 1970s.
Conway was succeeded as Chess Room Director by Max Wilkerson, who served from 1990 to 1996.
2) Remembering James Schroeder (1927-2017)
2017 will be remembered as the annus horribilis of American chess. The year is little more than half over and already we have lost Grandmaster Arthur Bisguier, World Correspondence Champion Hans Berliner, International Masters Nikolay Minev and Walter Shipman and three-time Washington State champion John Braley. Now one more name can be added to this distinguished list as National Master James Schroeder died on July 8 at the age of 89 in Vancouver, Washington.
Few Americans chess players have contributed in so many ways and for so long as James Schroeder. He was always active in an over seventy-year career promoting prison chess, organizing, tournament directing, publishing, book selling, and playing. Arguably his most important contributions were through his writing, as a both a journalist and author.
We lead off this tribute with a few quotes and a remembrance from National Master David Presser.
He was scathingly blunt, had never even crossed paths with the concept of tact, and would do anything for you, up to and including the shirt off his back. He also had a wicked sense of humor.
Douglas Ayers (Jim’s good friend who helped him so much his last few years.)
James Schroeder was my inspiration for prison chess outreach. He was the father of prison chess.
Steven Frymer (Head of the Prison Committee of the United States Chess Federation for several decades.)
I knew him only thru his spicy writings, Confidential Chess Lessons. He evidently loved chess, brought it to prisoners, studied its history and did a lot for documenting tournaments. He retired the term opinionated. Scathing does not begin to describe his typical book review. But occasionally one of his intuitions, like so-and-so was better with knights, hit home. Where else will you find a writer who says on one page, Seirawan is a blithering imbecile, and on the next tells you where to send your money for Seirawan’s mag?
International Master Anthony Saidy
Jim Schroeder, as remembered by David Presser in Cleveland
I have known Jim since my early teens and first saw him when playing in the Ohio Junior Chess Championship in Columbus where Jim was the tournament director. When Jim moved to Cleveland we saw each other frequently. One of Jim’s great ideas was a combination chess and table tennis club which he arranged and which met one evening each week. In 1987 or 1988 he moved to Portland, OR but we remained in touch, and I spoke with Jim for half an hour a few weeks before he passed away. He appeared to be just as sharp as ever.
Jim was married for a time and had a daughter. He served in the Korean War as a radio and Morse code operator.
Jim lived on the edge financially for most of his life. He worked in a bookstore for a while in one of the cities of southern Ohio. He tried to survive through chess but sometimes it wasn’t enough. He told me he sold food at Cleveland Indians’ baseball games occasionally to get by. Jim did come into money once when he inherited $ 40,000 from his sister, but Jim spent most of the money on donations to prison chess clubs, a charitable endeavor of Jim’s which lasted several decades. In this way he helped thousands of prisoners; it noteworthy that the rate of recidivism among prisoners who played chess was very low.
In chess Jim found his calling. He was a strong National Master and had three draws with International Grandmasters to his credit including a 1958 draw with Pal Benko, who at that time was one of the world’s top 30 players. Jim twice won the Ohio Chess Championship (1950 and 1985).
Jim was a successful tournament organizer and chess book dealer. He wrote Confidential Chess Lessons for many years and published chess pamphlets, tournament books, bulletins and similar works—a difficult undertaking with only a typewriter. Jim had an encyclopedic knowledge of all aspects of chess and followed world chess until the last few months of his life. He freely shared his knowledge of chess with many persons and helped some of Cleveland’s top players with their chess development.
Although Jim could be irascible, behind that exterior was a very intelligent man with many interests and a large heart. Music was one of his passions. He and I discussed many things by telephone and letter (Jim was old school; no email).
Jim’s last gift to me was Grandmaster Yuri Averbach’s autobiography, a treasure that arrived out of the blue last April, a most thoughtful gesture.
Jim was my friend. Rest in peace, Jim.
A typical scene at Cleveland tournaments in the 1960s and 1970s is shown here. Jim Schroeder is pictured selling books, many of which he wrote or produced. (Photo: James Schroeder)
We now offer a few of Jim’s games. The first is from the 1991 Oregon Open, which he nearly won. Jim drew the following battle against Lubomir Ftacnik and would have shared first place with the Slovak Grandmaster if he had won from a dominating position in the last round. That game, played against many-time Oregon Champion James Bricher, is given in the notes.
Pirc B07
James Schroeder–Lubomir Ftacnik
Oregon Open Portland (3), September 1, 1991
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bg5 c6
4...Bg7 5.Qd2 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Nh5 8.0–0–0 Nd7 9.f3 Nxg3 10.hxg3 c5 11.Nge2 Qa5 12.f4 g4 13.e5 cxd4 14.Nxd4 dxe5 15.Nf5 0–0 16.Nxe7+ Kh8 17.f5! (17.Nxc8 Raxc8 18.Qxd7 Rxc3 19.bxc3 Qxc3 20.Qd3 wins but the text is even stronger.) 17...Kh7 18.f6? (18.Qg5! with the deadly threat of f6.) 18...Nxf6 19.Bd3+ e4 20.Rxh6+?? (20.Nxe4 and White is still on top.) 20...Bxh6 21.Rh1 Nh5 0–1, Schroeder-J. Bricher, Oregon Open (6).
5.Qd2 b5 6.Bd3 h6 7.Bh4 e5 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.f4 Nbd7 10.Nf3 b4 11.Ne2 Qe7 12.fxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5
13.Ned4 Bd7 and now either 14.0–0–0 or 14.0–0 offer White the better chances. What follows is a solidly played draw.
13...Qxe5 14.0–0–0 Be7 15.Kb1 Be6 16.Bg3 Qa5 17.b3 Rd8 18.Qe3 Ng4 19.Qf4 Bf6 20.h3 Qa3 21.Qc1 Qxc1+ 22.Rxc1 Ne5 23.Nf4 Bc8 24.Rcd1 0–0 25.Bf2 Bg5 26.g3 f5 27.Bxa7 Bxf4 28.gxf4 Nxd3 29.cxd3 fxe4 30.dxe4 Rxd1+ 31.Rxd1 Bxh3 32.Rd6 Rxf4 33.Rxc6 Kf7 34.Be3 Rxe4 35.Bxh6 Bf5 36.Kc1 Re1+ 37.Kd2 Rg1 38.Rb6 Rg2+ 39.Ke3 Rxa2 40.Rxb4 Ra7 41.Bg5 –
The following entertaining miniature was played against one of the great gentlemen of chess, National Master James Harkins.
King’s Gambit C37
James Harkins-James Schroeder
Cleveland 1968
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4
Here 4.h4 (the main line) and 4.d4 are more commonly played.
4...g4 5.Ne5
White declines the chance to enter the romantic Muzio Gambit. One modern example was played by the young Alexey Shirov in 1990:
5.0–0 gxf3 6.Qxf3 Qf6 7.e5 Qxe5 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.d4 Qxd4+ 10.Be3 Qf6 11.Bxf4 Ke8 12.Nc3 Nc6 13.Nd5 Qg6 14.Rae1+ Be7 15.Bd6 Kd8 16.Qf8+ Bxf8 17.Bxc7 mate!, Shirov-Lapinski, Daugavpils 1990.
5...Qh4+ 6.Kf1 Nc6!?
Jim makes a spicy dish extra spicy! Anderssen, Steinitz and Chigorin all tested the position after 6...Nh6. Black can also try 6...f3. The text is especially challenging.
7.Nxf7
7.Bxf7+!? might be the critical test of 6...Nc6.
7...Bc5
Also possible was 7...f3 meeting 8.Nxh8 (8.d4 b5 9.Bb3 b4 10.Bc4 Na5) with 8...fxg2+ 9.Kxg2 Qh3+ 10.Kf2 Nf6 11.d3 g3+ 12.hxg3 Ng4+ .
8.Qe1 g3 9.Nxh8
The alternatives were
(1) 9.d3 Nf6 10.Nxh8 Ng4 11.Bxf4 Nxh2+ 12.Rxh2 Qxf4+ 13.Ke2 Qe3+ 14.Kd1 Qxe1+ 15.Kxe1 gxh2;
(2) 9.d4 Nxd4 10.Nxh8 Nf6 11.Nd2 Ng4 12.Nb3 Nxb3 13.axb3 f3
In both cases Black is doing very well.
9...Bf2 10.hxg3 Qxh1+ 11.Kxf2 fxg3+ 12.Ke2 Qxg2+ 13.Kd1 d5 14.exd5+ Nge7 15.dxc6
Or 15.c3 Bg4+ 16.Kc2 Bf5+ 17.Bd3 (17.Kd1 Qh2) 17...Bxd3+ 18.Kxd3 Qxd5+ winning.
15...Bg4+ 16.Be2 Bxe2+ 17.Qxe2 Qh1+ 18.Qe1 g2 0–1
James Schroeder is pictured standing alongside Vassily Smyslov, after the latter gave an exhibition in Cleveland in the mid-1970s. The third person in the photo is unknown. (Photo: James Schroeder)
Jim’s triumph in the 1985 Ohio State Championship, 35 years after his first victory in the event, surprised many but was well-deserved. Three players tied for first with five points: Grandmaster Anatoly Lein, International Master Calvin Blocker, and James Schroeder—Blocker and Schroeder earning the title of state champions, as they were Ohio residents. A half-point back were Grandmaster Dmitry Gurevich, International Edward Formanek and Senior Masters Sergey Berchenko and Vivek Rao.
Jim advocated playing classical chess to his students (meeting 1.e4 with 1e5 and 1.d4 with 1d5), and was known for his skillful handful handing of the black side of the open variation of the Ruy Lopez and the Tarrasch variation of the QGD (he drew with Benko in the line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.dxc5 d4—a game which we would love to see in full.), but he could also play more modern openings well. Here he defeats the Cincinnati Senior Master Sergey Berchenko in fine style in a dynamic Sicilian.
Sicilian B57
Sergey Berchenko–Janes Schroeder
Columbus (5) September 1, 1985
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 Qb6 7.Nb3 e6 8.Be3 Qc7 9.f4 a6 10.a4 b6 11.0-0 Bb7 12.Be2 Be7 13.Bf3 0-0 14.Rf2 Rfd8 15.Rd2 Nd7 16.Qe1 Nc5 17.Nd4 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 e5 19.Be3 exf4 20.Bxf4 Ne6 21.Be3 Bg5 22.Rad1 h623.Bg4 Qe7 24.Bxe6 fxe6 25.Bxb6 Bxd2 26.Qxd2 Rd7 27.e5 d5 28.Qd4 Rc8 29.b3 Qf7 30.Rf1 Qg6 31.Rf2 Rf7 32.Rxf7 Qxf7 33.Bc5 Qf5 34.b4 Qxc2 35.h3 Bc6 36.a5 Rc7 37.Nd1 Rf7 38.Ne3 Qe2 39.Kh2 Bb5 40.Ng4 Bd3 41.Nf2 Bc4 42.Ng4 Rf5 43.Ne3 Rg5 44.h4 Rg6 45.Kh3 Bd3 46.g4 Qf3+ 47.Kh2 Be4 48.Qd1 Qf4+ 49.Kh3 Qxe5 50.Bd4 Qf4 51.b5 Bf3 52.Qg1 Qxd4 53.b6Bxg4+ 54.Kh2 Qd2+0–1
Schroeder was the first researcher to really take advantage of the famous John G. White collection at the Cleveland Public Library, and he used it resources to produce many bulletins and books on forgotten tournaments. Among his best books was Boris Spassky: World’s Greatest Player (1967), the first work in English on Spassky. The series of pamphlets he produced on early World Championship matches, which relied heavily on primary sources, was first-rate.
Jim Schroeder circa late 1950s/early 1960s. (Photo: James Schroeder)
Jim could be brutally honest in his reviews and for him it was never personal. He considered his criticism to be professional and constructive, but those on the receiving end did not always see it that way—friend and foe alike. Tony Miles has the record for the shortest book review—“Utter crap.”—but Jim was not far behind. His review of The Dragon Variation by Anthony Glyn could have ended after the first sentence: “I have one good comment on this slop: the book is well-bound.”
Although Jim never learned in a major chess center, his entire adult life spent in Ohio, Oregon and Washington, he knew and corresponded with many top players and considered U.S. Chess Hall of Famer Milan Vukcevich a close friend. It was Schroeder who drove the 21-year-old Bobby Fischer from Cleveland to Toledo when the young U.S. champion was on his 1964 transcontinental chess tour. Schroeder was so impressed with the young Fischer that two months later he arranged to have him give an exhibition in Columbus.
Those wanting to know more about this remarkable man will want to read Tartajubow’s article on him and visit a website devoted to the man.
In closing we note that Schroeder was recognized by the U.S. Chess Federation before the 2012 U.S. Open held in his adopted hometown of Vancouver. U.S.C.F. Executive Director Bill Hall sent Jim a very nice letter specifically mentioning his contributions to prison chess and gave him a free entry into the U.S. Open, the last tournament he would play. Those who had been most active in pushing for this recognition, Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan and International Master Jeremy Silman, were among Jim’s chief targets in his role as a chess critic, but they recognized and respected his contributions to the game.
3) David vs. Goliath: Dan Mayers Triumphs
How many players nearing their 80th birthday, and never rated a master, have defeated two Grandmasters? The late Dan Mayers (1922–2014) did in side tournaments held alongside the National and U.S. Opens. Both games were played at a time control of game in 10 minutes.
Sicilian B21
Dan Mayers (2018)–Dmitry Gurevich (2638)
Las Vegas (G/10) 2000
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 d3 4.Bxd3 Nc6 5.c4 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.f4 d6 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.0–0 0–0 10.Kh1 b6 11.Be3 Bb7 12.Qe2 Rc8 13.Rac1 Nd7 14.b3 Nc5 15.Bb1 Ne6 16.Nd5 Ned4 17.Nxd4 Nxd4 18.Qd3 Ne6 19.f5 Nc5 20.Qd2 Bxd5 21.exd5 a5 22.Bh6 Nd7 23.Rf3 Nf6 24.Rcf1 b5 25.Rh3 Bh8 26.fxg6 fxg6 27.Qg5
27.Bxf8
27...Qe8?
27...Ne4! 28.Qc1 Nf2+ 29.Rxf2 Rxf2 30.Qe1 Rf7 31.Qe6 Qd7 32.Bf5 Qe8 33.Rf3 Rb8 and Black's meets White's threats.
28.Bxf8 Qxf8 29.Bf5
29.Rxh7!
29...Bg7 30.Be6+ Kh8 31.Bxc8 Qxc8 32.Qxg6
32...Kg8
32...Kg8 33.Rxh7 Nxh7 34.Rf7 Qf8 35.Rxf8+ wins or 32...Qxh3 33.Qxf6 Bxf6 34.gxh3 winning.
33.Rxh7! 1–0
Dan Mayers at the 2006 National Open (photographer unknown)
Modern Defense A41
Helgi Olafsson (2563)–Dan Mayers (1879)
Framingham 2001
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 g6 3.d4 d6 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.f4 Be6 7.e4 Nd7 8.Nf3 f6 9.Be2? Bc5 10.Rf1? c6 11.f5 Bf7 12.g4 g5 13.h4??
Having played a series of forcing moves, Grandmaster Olafsson hits on the only move on the board that loses outright – Mayers.
13...h5! 14.hxg5 hxg4 15.g6
15.Ng1 Rh1 16.g6 was the best practical try. If 15.Nd2 then 15g3 wins.
15...gxf3 16.gxf7 f2+ 17.Kd2? Nh6 18.Nd1 Nxf7 19.Nxf2 Ke7 20.Ng4 Nd6 21.Bd3 Rag8 22.Ne3 Rg3 23.Ke2 Bxe3 24.Bxe3 Rhh3 0–1
4) Unknown Games of Hans Berliner
The following previously unpublished games come from the archive of Hans Berliner that was donated to the World Chess Hall of Fame earlier this year. All four games appear to be previously unpublished.
Budapest A51
Hans Berliner–Norman Whitaker
Intra-Club Federal CC 1944
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 Qe7 7.Qd5 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Qa3 9.Qd2 Qc5? 10.e4 0–0 11.Be2?? Qxf2+ 12.Kd1 Re8 13.Kc2 Ngxe5?? 14.Be3! Qxg2 15.Ng5! Na5 16.Rag1 Nexc4 17.Rxg2 Nxd2 18.Kxd2 f6
19.Rhg1! g6
19...fxg5 20.Rxg5 g6 21.Rxa5.
20.Nxh7! Re6 21.Rxg6+ Kf7 22.Rg7+ Ke8 23.Rg8+ Ke7 24.Bc5+ Rd6+
1–0
The definitive game collection for Fine, Aidan Woodger’s Reuben Fine, A Comprehensive Record of an American Chess Career, 1929-1951, reports on page 319 that in July of 1944 Fine gave an exhibition in Washington D.C. scoring +9, =1. His opponents included Klein, Mugridge and two strong teenagers—Richard Cantwell and Hans Berliner.
Neither of the following games appears to be from this event. Fine was in Washington D.C. working in military intelligence during much of World War II. He gave several exhibitions during his stay in the nation’s capital.
Sicilian E41
Reuben Fine–Hans Berliner
Simul DC, November 811.1944
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.e3 0–0 7.Bd3 d5 8.0–0 Nc6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Nce2 Re8 11.Bd2 Bd6 12.h3 Ne5 13.Bc2 Ne4 14.Be1 Bd7 15.Nf4 Nf6 16.Bc3 b5 17.Nf5 Bxf5 18.Bxf5 Bc7 19.Rc1 g6 20.Bb1 Rc8 21.Qb3 g5 22.Ne2 Qd6 23.Ng3 a5 24.Rfd1 b4 25.Bd4 Nc4 26.Qd3 Ne4 27.Nxe4 dxe4 28.Qxc4 Qh2+ 29.Kf1 Qh1+ 30.Ke2 Qxg2 31.Rg1 Qf3+ 32.Ke1 Bg3 33.Rxg3 Rxc4 34.Rxc4 Qh1+ 35.Kd2 Qxb1 36.Rxg5+ Kf8 37.Bc5+ Re7 38.Rc2 Qf1 39.Bxe7+ Kxe7 40.Re5+ Kd6 –
Woodridge says that Fine (blindfolded) scored +3, =3 playing two sets of three simultaneous rapid games in July 1945. This game, which appears to have been played at the Washington Chess Divan, might be from that event.
QGD Slav D11
Reuben Fine–Hans Berliner
Washington D.C. (10 second blindfold simul) June 27, 1945
1.d4 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.0–0 Bd6 6.c4 c6 7.Nbd2 Nbd7 8.Nh4 Bg6 9.Qb3 Qc8 10.Re1 0–0 11.Nxg6 hxg6 12.e4 dxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Rxe4 e5 15.dxe5 Nc5 16.Qc2 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 Bxe5 18.Be3 Qe6 19.Re1 Rfd8 20.b4 Bd4 21.b5 Rd6 22.bxc6 bxc6 23.h4 Rad8 24.h5 gxh5 25.Bxd4 Qg4 26.Bc3 Rd1 27.Kg2 Rxe1 28.Bxe1 h4 29.Bf5 Qd1 30.Qxd1 Rxd1 31.Bb4 hxg3 32.Kxg3 Rd4 33.Bc5 Rxc4 34.Bxa7 Ra4 35.Be3 Rxa2 –
English A22
Hans Berliner–Anthony Santasiere
Yankton (5) September 1, 1957
Santasiere beat Berliner at the Cleveland US Open two weeks before.
1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e5 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nc3 Ne7 6.d3 c6?! 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.0–0 Nf5 9.d4 exd4 10.Nxd4 Ne5 11.Nxf5 Bxf5 12.Qa4 Be7??
12...Bd6 13.Rd1 0–0 (13...Qe7 14.Nd5 Qe6 15.Ne3 Bg6 16.Qd4 Bc7 17.Qb4 Bb6 18.a4 and White wins; 13...Qc7 14.Nd5 Qd8 15.Bf4 and again White is winning) 14.Ne4 with a clear positional advantage.
13.Qf4 1–0
5) This is the end
This king-and-pawn endgame is from a Master game. Can you see the best continuation for Black?
Black to move
Show solution
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