Gens Una Sumus!
Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club Newsletter #816
February 2nd, 2018
Avoid any radiation therapy. I feel certain with proper non-invasive treatment you will be as good as new shortly.
—Bobby Fischer gave a glimpse of his future behavior in a letter dated
March 19, 1992, to his friend Svetozar Gligoric from which this quote
is taken. A decade later Fischer would opt not to seek medical |
treatment for kidney-related problems, which would hasten his death.
This Saturday the Mechanics’ Institute will host the 18th Annual Henry Gross Memorial G/45.
1) Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club News
The fourth round of the Winter Tuesday Night Marathon was bitterly fought from top to bottom, with over 60% of the games going over 40 moves. The top four boards were all master affairs, and ended with International Master Elliott Winslow and National Masters Tenzing Shaw and Derek O’Conner leading the 131-player field with perfect scores.
From round 4 of the Winter Tuesday Night Marathon:
 |  |
| White to move (Chambers–Winslow after 19...d5) | Black to move (Shaw–Vickers after 28 Bxf6) |
 |  |
| Black to move (Pane–Traub after 24 Nde4) | White to move (Singh–Askin after 30...Qe4) |
 |  |
| Black to move (Cortinas–Argo after 42 Rdd7) | White to move (Mays–Wingenroth after 48...Ke4) |
 | |
| White to move (Sandoval–Chan after 45...Qf5) | For the solutions, see the game scores for round 4. |
We are sad to report the death of Tuesday Night Marathon regular Charles “Chuck” Dupree, who played in over 20 TNMs the last decade. Chuck was suffering from cancer the last few years of his life, but told us he always looked forward to playing in the TNM when he was not receiving treatment in Southern California. He will be missed.
FIDE Master Josiah Stearman won the 10-player Wednesday Night Blitz held January 24 with a score of 10½ from 12. Experts Carlos D’Avila and Jules Jelinek shared second and third place with 9 points. National Master Anna Matlan was fourth with eight points.
14-year-old Josiah Stearman of Martinez, currently rated 2335 FIDE, will play in the IM norm group of the Saint Louis Norm Congress, to be held February 8–13 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.
Former Mechanics’ Member Grandmaster James Tarjan, now living in Portland, made an even score in the 2018 edition of Tradewise Gibraltar Chess. Hikaru Nakamura tied for first with a score of 7½–2½, and had the highest performance rating (2822).
Kerrie Utsumi (Cameron’s mom), Guido Piccinini, Tony Lama (presenting the check) and MI Chess Club Director John Donaldson at the 2018 Neil Falconer Award ceremony for International Master Cameron Wheeler (receiving the check). The award presentation was held on January 23. (Photo: Nick de Firmian)
The Mechanics’ Institute’s free weekly Sunday class (11:00 AM to 1:00 PM) for girls and women is drawing larger crowds, thanks to the efforts of instructors Ewelina Krubnik and Sophie Adams, with the January 21 event attracting 15 attendees.
2) Saidy–Gligoric, annotated by Anthony Saidy
International Master Anthony Saidy, on the short list of the strongest chess-playing medical doctors of all time (Siegbert Tarrasch and Nikolay Minev are two others that come immediately to mind) was leading Lone Pine 1972 after five (of seven rounds), but then came a cropper in round six against the legendary Yugoslav Grandmaster Svetozar Gligoric, in these recently rediscovered notes that appear here for the first time—they were not published in the tournament book of the event by John Grefe and Dennis Waterman.
Modern Benoni A64
Anthony Saidy–Svetozar Gligoric
Lone Pine (6) 1972
I entered the game in an enviable situation; a half-point in the lead, and with the White pieces of course, even vs. a lesser player, a draw would have been satisfactory. I determined to play “normally”. It was up to my opponent to try to wrest the initiative. I was surprised at 4...c5. In many dozen of Gligoric games I hadn’t seen it played by that King’s Indian savant. On move 7, his choice of a Benoni-type formation instead of the solid Yugoslav set-up was no doubt prompted by his need to win—as was his committal 17th move. Later, he said he didn’t know that it was a book position. I had seen the Ra4–a2 idea some months before in Shakmatny Biulletin. It seemed that Black had to keep White’s knight out of a5. Whether White had anything better than repeating the position again is very doubtful—but Gligoric accepted the onus of playing to win with 17...Ne5.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 c5 5.d5 d6 6.Nc3 0–0 7.Nf3 e6 8.0–0 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.Nd2 a6 11.a4 Nbd7 12.a5 b5 13.axb6 Nxb6 14.Nb3 Nc4 15.Ra4 Nb6 16.Ra2 Nc4 17.Ra4 Ne5!? 18.Na5 Bd7 19.Ra2 Bb5 20.Qc2 Qb6 21.Rd1 Bd7 22.h3 Bb5 23.b3
After this move, which Gligoric approved, the time elapsed was as follows: White one hour and 46 minutes and Black one hour and 17 minutes. Somewhat concerned over the clock, I decided to simplify the game unnecessarily.
23...Rac8 24.Bf4
24.Bb2 was better.
24...Nh5 25.Bxe5 Bxe5 26.Nxb5 axb5
27.g4
This move appeared necessary due to the threats of ...Bxg3 followed by ...c4+ etc.
27.Nc6 Bg7 28.e3 and only then g4. White has a small but persistent advantage due to Black’s passivity (Silman).
Los Angeles mayor Sam Yorty (L) and Svetozar Gligoric (R) during the 1963 Piatigorsky Cup (Photo: Art Zeller)
27...Nf6 28.Nc6 Nd7 29.e3 Bg7 30.Rb1
After move 30, the situation is stabilized, except for White’s shortness of time. If I had simply placed the queen on e2 and bishop on f1, Black would have had nothing. Even so, with the pawn sacrifice on move 35 giving him a passed pawn, Black should not have succeeded.
30...Ne5 31.Qe2 Ra8 32.Qc2 Qb7 33.Rxa8 Qxa8 34.Kh1 Qa3 35.Qe2 c4 36.Nxe5 Bxe5 37.bxc4 b4 38.Qc2 Rb8 39.Qb3
39...Ra8 40.Be4 Bc3 41.Bc2 Qa7 42.Kg2 Qc5 43.Bd3 Ra3 44.Qc2 Qa7 45.Kf1 Ra2 46.Qb3 Rd2 47.Bc2 Qa3
48.Bd1?
On the correct sealed move 48.Rd1 Gligoric said he would have agreed to a draw without further play. I distrusted the endgame without reason, for after 48...Qxb3 49.Bxb3 Rb2 50.Ba4 Kf8 51.c5! dxc5 52.d6 neither side has anything to fear.
48...Qa6
Black regains his pawn by force.
49.Kg1 Ra2 50.Bf3 Ra3 51.Qc2 Qxc4 52.Qe4 Qb5 53.Qc2 Kg7 54.Kg2 Qa5 55.Be4 Ra2 56.Qb3 Rd2 57.Kg1 Qd8 58.Qc4 Qh4 59.Qf1 f5 60.Bf3 f4
White’s defense has been weak—he should never have allowed this advance.
61.Bg2 Qf6 62.exf4 Qxf4 63.Rd1 Ra2 64.Rd3 Be5 65.Qe1 Qc4 66.Rd1 b3 67.Qe4 Qc5 68.Rf1 b2 69.Qe3 Ra1 70.Qb3 Qa7 71.Be4 Ra3 72.Qb5 Rxh3
73.Kg2 Rh4 74.Qe2 Qd7 75.Bf3 Qa4 76.Be4 h5 77.f3 Rh2+ 0-1
My bad sealed move, which cost me $1300, reminded me of my game with Fischer in 1964. I saw the right sealed move, which would have forced a draw and broken his 11 straight wins in U.S. Championships, but distrusted it, played another, and lost. Someday I’ll learn.
Anthony Saidy (L) and William Lombardy (R) conversing during a meal in Santa Clara, California, on September 23, 2017. (Photo: Elliott Winslow).
3) Bobby Moves to Pasadena
Bobby Fischer’s life after winning the World Championship didn’t go the ways his fans had hoped for, but in December of 1972 there was still every indication he would continue to play, as the following article from the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner indicates.
4) This is the end
Black is up a pawn. Can he convert this advantage to a win?
Black to move
Show solution
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