Miscellaneous fine games; Upcoming events

We take advantage of a brief lull in the arrival of chess news to present three fine games that have lain on our desk for several months as events of greater magnitude commanded our attention. All three contests below feature attacking, tactical play, and should provide a feast for those with a passion for analysis.

First, from March of this year, a game played in a match between teams representing the Swiss cities Basel and Zurich, won by the former side by the score of 12 wins to 4, with 10 games drawn. The notes included in the game score are based on those by the winner.

Next, from July, we present the tie-break game to decide first place in the summer tournament of the Munich Chess Club, a lively and fluctuating struggle that does credit to both players.

Finally, a game from last month, played in the ongoing Championship tournament of the Hamburg Chess Club, an event mentioned in one of our earlier entries.  Black's defense may leave something to be desired, but the checkmate effected with Bishop and Knight is attractive, and worthy of notice by those relatively new to the game.

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We do not expect the lull in chess news to last long, as events in many quarters are proceeding apace.  Dr. Lasker continues his European tour, as does Capablanca, who, we understand, has now arrived in Berlin.  In Italy the 2nd National Tournament, sponsored by the journal L'Italia Scacchistica and originally scheduled to begin in Bologna on the 10th inst., has been postponed until the 24th, a circumstance that has allowed us time to make arrangements to receive the games therefrom on a daily basis.  In Vienna, meanwhile, the 5th Trebitsch Memorial tournament is not far off, while word comes from St. Petersburg of an upcoming All-Russian Tournament of Masters whose winner will be granted the right to participate in the great international tourney planned for that city in the spring.  We shall, as always, do our utmost to report on all these doings, and on all else of interest in our busy chess world.       

City of London Club defeats Kent County Association, 14-7

The City of London Chess Club, long known as one of the strongest in the world, demonstrated its prowess yet again on the 25th ult. in a match held on home ground against the Kent County Chess Association.  Though the visiting Kent side - headed by Mr. O.C. Müller, who defeated Herr Edward Lasker - made the excellent result of four victories on the first five boards, the Londoners' superior strength from top to bottom nevertheless allowed them to take the contest by the convincing score of 14-7, dropping only one of the remaining 16 games, with four draws.

We have received one game from the match, a victory on third board by Mr. George E. Wainwright of the host club over Dr. S.F. Smith of Kent.  This triumph must have been a particularly gratifying one for Mr. Wainwright, who three years ago during the British Championship tournament at Oxford lost to Dr. Smith in a game featuring the same opening, the Danish Gambit Declined.  The reader will find the score of that earlier encounter included in the notes.

  

Games by Members of Parliament

We present for the consideration of our readers two games by Mr. W. Watson Rutherford, former Lord Mayor of Liverpool and present Member of Parliament for Liverpool West Derby.  Mr. Rutherford's opponents in the games subjoined are themselves prominent members of the British lower house - namely, Mr. Andrew Bonar Law, current leader of the Conservative Party, and Mr. Arthur Strauss, Member of Parliament for Paddington North.  Chess, we understand, is a popular diversion at Westminster, with Mr. Rutherford generally recognized as the strongest among a goodly fraternity of players of no mean skill.

It is of course a tribute to our game of chess that men of accomplishment in other fields find it worthy of their attention, just as the many and varied successes achieved in the larger world by some of our foremost chess players - think of the mathematician and philosopher Lasker, the doctor of medicine Tarrasch, and the Shakespearean scholar Staunton, to name but a few - speak well for the high abilities of Caissa's most illustrious votaries.  Only a truly noble pastime attracts, and produces, such admirable men.

   

Two correspondence miniatures

We present two quick victories achieved recently in international correspondence play by Mr. Sven Svensson of Stockholm, long one of the strongest Scandinavian players and participant at the 1906 Masters' tournament in the Swedish capital alongside such familiar names as Schlechter, Marco, and Mieses.  If any reader should cavil that the losing side in the two miniature contests appended below failed to offer the sternest possible resistance, we would only remind him that without error, brief, decisive games cannot occur.  In our experience, moreover, virtually all players share an occasional liking for such one-sided brevities, most especially when - as is sometimes sadly the case - the greatest exponents of our game produce short and colorless draws.

  

Rolando Illa defeats Julio Lynch for Championship of Argentine Chess Club

From Buenos Aires we learn that in a match for the Championship of the Club Argentino de Ajedrez between Señores Rolando Illa and Julio Lynch, the former emerged victorious by the score of three wins to one, with one game drawn.  Señor Illa, born in New York in 1880, acquired Argentine citizenship several years ago and is perhaps the leading player in all of South America, if one discounts the temporary presence there of Kostic.  He previously held the Club Championship - the de facto national title - in 1910, and has faced not only Kostic, but also Capablanca and Dr. Lasker on their respective visits to Buenos Aires, an honor many players residing in Europe and North America surely wish they could boast of.

We have received one game from the match, a victory by the new Champion, and we present it below.

      

Tartakower-Spielmann match: Tartakower, with victory in 12th game, wins contest 5 1/2 - 2 1/2

Dr. Saviely Tartakower defeated Rudolf Spielmann in the 12th game of their match at Vienna to cross the winning threshold of five points and decide the contest in his favor by the score of 5 1/2 - 2 1/2, with four additional drawn games not included in the final tally.  The victory is undoubtedly a sweet one for Tartakower, who lost a short match to the same opponent 3 1/2 - 2 1/2 in 1910. For Spielmann, first-prize winner earlier this year at tournaments in Vienna and Budapest, the result must come as a disappointment, although in our experience brilliant attackers like the Viennese maestro are more subject to the vagaries of form than are players of a calm and quiet style.  He will certainly achieve many more successes in the time to come.

The 12th game took an interesting course, with Spielmann, again in need of victory at all costs, directing his forces against the Black King-side from early on - see, for example, the moves 10.h4 and 11.h5.     Tartakower, ever the cool defender, castled into the path of White's advance and soon began a forceful counter-action of his own with 19...f6.  By the 24th move it was apparent that Black's assault on the Queen-side had far outstripped White's on the other flank, leading Spielmann in desperation to sacrifice his Queen for Rook and Bishop, hoping against hope to exploit the weakened dark squares in the vicinity of the Black monarch.  This proved impossible, as Tartakower by making good use of his Queen forced resignation at the 38th move.

We offer our congratulations to the winner and our commiseration to the loser, while thanking both for the excellent chess they have offered us, the public, over the course of the contest just concluded.

Herewith the score of 12th and final game.

Captain of doomed Zeppelin airship was strong chess player; defeated Dr. Lasker at simultaneous exhibition last year

In a sad footnote to the widely-reported tragedy of the Zeppelin dirigible airship "L-2", which crashed in a ball of flame during its test flight at Johannisthal on the 17th ult. with the loss of all aboard, we have learned that the commander of the craft, Captain Max Behnisch, was an accomplished amateur chess player and well-respected member of the Berliner Schachgesellschaft.  Captain Behnisch, one of  the stronger members of that club, was the only one of thirty opponents to defeat the World Champion, Dr. Lasker, during a simultaneous exhibition given by the latter at Berlin in November of last year.  We understand that the Champion thought highly of his opponent's play on that occasion and that the game, which appeared in various journals, was likewise praised in annotations by Mr. Gunsberg, among others.

We reproduce below the score of the victory by Captain Behnisch over the Champion in the hope that it will serve as a small memorial to a fellow player taken from our world of chess far too soon.

  

Tartakower-Spielmann match: Spielmann wins 11th game, trails 4 1/2 - 2 1/2

From Vienna comes word that Rudolf Spielmann kept alive his slim hopes of victory in his match vs. Dr. Saviely Tartakower by taking the 11th game of the contest in a Rook endgame after 46 moves.  Spielmann, who thus moved to within two lengths of his adversary in their race to five points, 4 1/2 - 2 1/2, still faces a most difficult task ahead, as Dr. Tartakower needs to gain but one further half-point to decide matters in his favor.  Four drawn games played by the two Masters earlier in the match are, by agreement, not reckoned in the current score.

Tartakower as White selected the Vienna Game, with the opening dozen moves presaging a maneuvering struggle. Spielmann's 16...h5 represented a key moment in the contest, for Black by means of that thrust offered the sacrifice of a pawn in the hope of obtaining a superior Rook endgame after 17.Qxe6+ Qxe6 18.Nxe6 Kxe6 19.fxe4 d4. Still, any advantage thereby accruing to Black seemed minor at best, but Spielmann, faced with a situation in which a draw and a loss were equally fatal to his chances, continued to push forward, ready to pounce on the slightest error by his rival.  Such a moment came at last at the 43rd move when Tartakower erred with 43.Rb4?, the consensus of endgame experts being that 43.Ke2 was the correct choice.  After 43...c3 Black's advantage became decisive, as the c-pawn began to loom ever larger as a threat and White found it impossible to defend both his b- and g-pawns.  With the pretty 46...g4! Spielmann forced his opponent's resignation.

We append the game.

  

Burn leads City of London Club to victory over Midland Counties' Union

On the 1st inst. there took place at Rugby a team match between members of the City of London Chess Club and representatives of the Midland Counties' Chess Union, with the Londoners prevailing by the heavy score of 20 1/2 - 5 1/2.  Amos Burn, wily veteran of many a chessboard battle and now in his 65th year, held down first board for the London side, ahead of such familiar names as George A. Thomas, R.C. Griffith, Edward Lasker, J.H. Blake, R.J. Loman, R.P. Michell, and J. Davidson, among others.  That Burn's position of honor was a deserved one is made clear by the result of his game: a win in only 15 moves vs. E.H. Collier.

We must confess that such sprightly performances by venerable Masters bring us ever more joy as we ourselves begin to feel the increasing weight of  "Anno Domini."  In our happy world of chess a man may still produce efforts of youthful vigor even as he enters the autumn of his years.

The reader will find the victory by Mr. Burn reproduced below.

 

   

 

Tartakower-Spielmann match: Tartakower wins again, leads 4 1/2 - 1 1/2

Dr. Saviely Tartakower recorded yet another victory over Rudolf Spielmann in the tenth game of their match at Vienna and now stands within one half-point of overall success in the contest.  With this latest triumph Tartakower increased his lead over his rival to 4 1/2 - 1 1/2; the player who first accumulates five points will be declared the winner of the match.  The two competitors have also played four drawn games whose results are not figured in the scoring.

Spielmann opened the 10th game with the e-pawn, to which Tartakower replied with the Sicilian Defense.  A spirited struggle ensued, as White sacrificed a pawn at the 11th move and Black voluntarily ceded the exchange four moves thereafter.  Spielmann at the 27th move allowed his Knight on the a2-square to be captured, choosing to direct his fire against the opposing King rather than attempt to rescue the threatened steed.  Tartakower in consequence enjoyed the advantage of two minor pieces versus Spielmann's Rook, although the threatened position of the Black King and the presence of a passed White h-pawn offered the first player definite counter-chances.  The result of the struggle remained uncertain until Tartakower at the 37th move engineered a general exchange that left him two pawns to the good in a winning Bishop endgame, after which Spielmann soon resigned.

The score of the game, perhaps the liveliest of the match to date, is reproduced below.

       

Tartakower-Spielmann match: Tartakower wins 9th game in 22 moves, leads 3 1/2 - 1 1/2

Dr. Saviely Tartakower defeated Rudolf Spielmann in only 22 moves to take the ninth game of their match at Vienna and increase his lead to 3 1/2 - 1 1/2.  The winner of the contest will be the player who first reaches five points; the Masters have also played four drawn games that, by agreement, are not included in the official score.

Tartakower opened the ninth game with Bird's move 1.f4, to which Spielmann replied in gambit style, 1...e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6. The second player seemed determined to develop an attack at all costs, offering the exchange as early as the 10th move, a sacrifice Tartakower saw fit to decline.  By the 16th move Spielmann had aligned his Queen and Rook on the h-file with a view toward a mating attack, but Tartakower, confident in the security of his King's position, continued calmly, pocketing a second pawn at the 17th move, a third at 20th, and a fourth at the 21st, all while developing a threatening offensive of his own.  Spielmann, finding his attack thwarted and his game hopeless, resigned after delivering a final "spite check."

We append the game score.

  

Ed. Lasker-H.G. Cole match: Cole wins 5th game, takes match 3-0

Mr. Harold G. Cole defeated Herr Edward Lasker in the fifth game of their match at London to claim victory in the contest by the surprisingly one-sided score of three wins to none, with two games drawn.  We call the margin of victory surprising not to disparage in the slightest the skill of the winner, one of the strongest players in London, but merely in view of the fact that Herr Lasker has heretofore seemed to us a rising young Master destined for success on the international scene, and thus a man unlikely to be bested in so convincing a manner by an amateur, even one as talented as Mr. Cole.  Still, we have long known that much latent chess strength resides in those whose professional obligations allow them to devote only their leisure hours to the game, and the man who can summon that strength when needed to defeat an opponent widely reckoned his superior deserves our heartiest congratulations, which we hereby extend to the victor.

The fifth game saw Herr Lasker vary his defense from the first and third contests and adopt the Sicilian Defense against Mr. Cole's opening move of the King's pawn.  Whether the recent widely-publicized loss suffered by the German Master against J.R. Capablanca in the Ruy Lopez caused him to abandon that opening, only he can say.  As the game developed, Herr Lasker soon obtained his best position of the match, and by the 28th move Black enjoyed the advantage of an extra pawn, along with a dominating position on the Queen-side. Alas, establishing this superiority had cost the second player nearly all his allotted time, and his 34...Qf8?, made in haste, allowed Mr. Cole to sacrifice a Knight at the 36th move, with White emerging from the complications a sound pawn to the good.  Herr Lasker may well have been able to offer stronger resistance in the ensuing endgame, though if his disappointment at the unfortunate turn of events colored his further play, it is easily comprehensible under the circumstances. Black resigned the game and the match sometime after the 60th move.

We reproduce the game below.

  

     

Tartakower-Spielmann match: Tartakower now leads 2 1/2 - 1 1/2

We have received from Vienna the news that after the eighth game of their current match Dr. Saviely Tartakower leads Rudolf Spielmann by the score of 2 1/2 - 1 1/2 in the race to five points. We remind our readers that under the rules governing the contest the first four drawn games were agreed not to figure in the scoring, thus accounting for the discrepancy between the number of games played and the total points accumulated to date.

Reports from Vienna have been sporadic and less than complete, for which we once again express our regrets.  As some small consolation, we can inform our readers that we have made arrangements to receive the remaining games of the match from a different and, we believe, more reliable source, and so we expect that there will be no further lacunae in our coverage of this event.

Capablanca in Paris: Cuban defeats Aurbach in exhibition game

José R. Capablanca gained a full measure of revenge for his earlier defeat at the hands of Arnold Aurbach when he bested the French Master in an exhibition game played at the Café de la Régence on the 24th inst. Aurbach, who had taken the Cuban's measure in a privately-played game on the previous day, experienced firsthand the full force of Capablanca's renowned endgame prowess as the visitor made decisive use of his passed a-pawn in a Rook endgame. We understand that Capablanca hopes to contest similar exhibition games with other European Masters as he continues his travels, and we wish him every success in arranging these encounters and in upholding the banner of the New World against the finest players of the Old.  This is truly a bright period for chess in Europe, with both Capablanca and Dr. Lasker now in action on a regular basis as they tour the continent, and with - as the entire chess world so fervently hopes - their paths destined at last to cross in serious play at St. Petersburg next year.  

Herewith the Capablanca-Aurbach game.

    

World Champion on tour: Dr. Lasker in Munich; New endgame fortress discovered?

The latest reports on the travels of Dr. Lasker find the World Champion in Munich, where on the 23rd inst. he took on more than two dozen opponents in simultaneous play.  Accounts differ as to the precise number of men - 25 or 28 - ranged against the Champion, but all agree that the single player yielded just two draws and suffered only one loss, to Herr J. Bär.

It is that loss, the only game from the Munich exhibition to reach our hands, that we reproduce below.  We urge our readers not to overlook it, for the play from Black's surprising 26th move onward offers a wide variety of unusual and attractive tactical motifs.  Dr. Lasker's opponent, Herr Bär, is to be congratulated on his ability to maintain his bearings in the maelstrom that broke loose upon the board.  And indeed, at the very close of the contest it was the Champion himself who went astray, striving for a win that did not exist and in consequence suffering defeat.

The game merits attention for yet another reason as well.  In the final position - which is undoubtedly a winning one for White, who possesses Rook and g-pawn against Black's lone Knight - it seems that the first player must nevertheless proceed carefully in order to prevent his opponent from constructing a heretofore unknown drawing fortress, one in which the Black King and Knight collaborate to hold the balance against the vastly superior enemy forces.  The position in question, discovered by one of our younger clubmates, does not appear in the endgame manuals, and none of the veteran members of our group, endgame experts all, can recall ever having seen anything quite akin to it. We do not know when fate shall once again afford us the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Lasker, but it is our intention to bring this remarkable drawing idea to his notice.  Perhaps the Champion's fertile chess mind will discover a means of breaching the Black fortress.  If not, then perhaps at some later date he will find the opportunity to avail himself of it, and so rescue a dire situation.  Such a possibility is admittedly remote, but a lifetime in chess has taught us that in our little world remote possibilities arise with uncanny frequency.

First, the game itself:

We now turn to the final position, which, we stress, is with best play a winning one for White.  Nevertheless, our young clubmate, in seeking to determine the surest path to victory, stumbled by chance upon a remarkable drawing fortress.  We ask the reader to follow the analysis given below.

We shall be most eager to hear the opinion of Dr. Lasker with regard to this endgame.  If he confirms the soundness of the drawing fortress, we feel that his name should in some way be associated with it.

          

Ed. Lasker-H.G. Cole match: Cole leads 2-0 after winning 4th game

Mr. Harold G. Cole defeated Herr Edward Lasker in the fourth game of their match to take a 2-0 lead in terms of decisive results. With this latest triumph Mr. Cole now stands but one win away from overall victory in the contest, whose winner will be the first man to defeat his opponent three times.  Herr Lasker, on the other hand, faces the formidable task of scoring three consecutive victories without defeat if he is to achieve success.

In the fourth game Herr Lasker, playing White, selected the Four Knights' Opening, to which Mr. Cole replied with the 4...Nd4 defense.  Queens were exchanged before the tenth move, after which Mr. Cole attempted to make good use of his two Bishops in the endgame, a goal toward whose attainment he was assisted by some rather haphazard play on the part of his opponent, who in the space of half a dozen moves played his Rook from the e1 square to e2, d2, d1, and, finally, back to e1 again.  At the 29th move Black won a pawn, which Herr Lasker immediately made efforts to regain. These efforts, however, proved ill-timed, for the struggle came to a sudden end following White's 32.Rdxc2?, a blunder costing a piece after 32...Bb3, as 33.Rb2 is met by 33...Rxb4.

We append the game score.