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Paul Morphy (2850) - Some Amateur (2200) [C34]
Club/Casual Game New Orleans, LA; 1858.
[Annotator = A.J. Goldsby I]
A new, and completely fresh look at this classic game.
A MODEL Morphy game. (White's execution of his attack is
PERFECT!!) ***
"Morphy's combinations usually ended in a mate, or a reasonable
facsimile thereof. Here he resorts to a device rarely seen in his
time. He simplifies by a series of exchanges, to reach a position
where the mere threat of a simple pin clinches the win." - Irving
Chernev. ("The 1000 Best Short Games of Chess." Game # 898, page #
485.). This is game # 163 in the book: "PAUL MORPHY: And The
Evolution of Chess Theory." Copyright (c) 1993, by Macon
Shibut.
1.e4 e5; 2.f4 exf4; 3.Nf3 c6!?; ('?!') {Diagram?} Controls the
center square on d5, but takes the best square away from Black's
QN.
[ The best line for Black was: 3...d5!; 4.exd5 Nf6; 5.Bb5+ c6;
6.dxc6 Nxc6; 7.d4 Bd6; 8.Qe2+ Be6; 9.Ng5 0-0!; {Black has
"compensation."} and Black gets a playable game. Another book line
is: 3...d6; 4.d4 g5; 5.h4 g4; 6.Ng1 Bh6; 7.Nc3 c6; 8.Nge2 Qf6;
9.g3!, {"Unclear."} with complicated play for both sides. ]. (For a
complete survey on the King's Gambit, visit the "Best Games" page
of my Geo-Cities web-site ... and click on the game, "B. Spassky -
D. Bronstein.")
4.Nc3 Bb4?!; {Diagram?} Black is in a rush to get rid of White's
Knight. Yet later in the game, it is the LONG-RANGE Bishop that
will be the (MUCH) more dangerous of the two minor pieces. "A
continuing characteristic of all amateurs is that they rush to
exchange off enemy Knights, so that the risk of a nasty knight fork
is eliminated." - GM E. Mednis.
5.Bc4 Bxc3?; {Diagram?} Continuing with the idea expressed by
his last move.
GM Mednis notes this is a bad move - mainly because it terribly
weakens the dark-squares.
[ Much better was: 5...Qe7!?; "~" {Diagram?} when Black is
congested, but is not yet lost.
Several writers have recommended the line: 5...d5; ('!') 6.exd5
Nf6!?; {"Comp."} gambiting a pawn. ].
6.dxc3!, {Diagram?} White captures away from the center!
(Violating a general guide-line.) He opens up his Queen, his QB,
pressures the d-file, prevents ...d5; and threatens to take the
pawn on f4.
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[ Normally I teach my students to capture towards the center
with, 6.bxc3, but the text is much sharper and much more accurate.
].
6...Ne7; {Diagram?} Black tries to develop.
[ The move, ...d5 just drops a pawn, while the move 6...d6?!;
{Diagram?} gives Black problems defending the d6-square, after
7.Bxf4, "+/" ].
7.Qd6!, {Diagram?} (Maybe - '!!') Normally you do not bring out
the Queen early.
But here there are 2 very good reasons for doing so: # 1.) The
Queen on d6 is almost impervious to attack. # 2.) The Queen on d6
prevents Black from easily developing his entire Queen-side. Notice
Black was also threatening ...d5; (A break in the center.); which
White just prevented. "Cramping (preventing) the other fellow's
development is just as just as important as completing your own." -
Irving Chernev.
[ 7.0-0 d5!; "~" etc. ].
7...0-0; 8.Bxf4 Ng6; {Diagram?} Black tries to unravel his
pieces. (And develop ... well, sort of anyway.) 9.Bg5!, {Diagram?}
The best and the most aggressive move here.
[ A strong version of the computer program 'Crafty' wants to
play the move: 9.Be3, "+/=" instead. ].
9...Qe8; {Diagram?} Black is trying defend. (This may be the
best/forced move in this position.) [ Worse is: 9...Qb6?!;
10.0-0-0!, "+/" ].
With his next move, White offers Black a pawn. 10.0-0! Kh8;
{Diagram?} Which Black probably wisely decides not to accept.
[ If 10...Qxe4?!; 11.Bb3, (11.Nd4!?) 11...b6; 12.Rae1! Qg4;
13.h3 Qh5; 14.Ne5! Nxe5; This is nearly forced. (14...Qxg5? 15.Rxf7
Ne7; (15...Rxf7?; 16.Bxf7+ Kh8; 17.Nxg6+! hxg6; 18.Qf8+ Kh7;
19.Qg8+ Kh6; 20.Qh8#) 16.Rxe7+ Kh8; 17.Nf7+ Kg8; 18.Nxg5+ Kh8;
19.Re8 h5; 20.Rxf8# ) 15.Rxe5 h6; {Diagram?} Black has no good move
here. 16.Be7, "+/-" and White has a winning attack. ].
11.Rae1!, {Diagram} -----------> (See the diagram just
below.)
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White has mobilized his entire army! (All pieces - or units from
the 1st row - have been deployed ... on good posts.) He avoids
moving any other piece until every unit is actively engaged!!!
***
GM Edmar Mednis writes: "Again admire Morphy's plan: It is only
move 11 and ALL of his pieces have been actively and purposefully
developed; moreover, his King is safely castled. On the other hand,
Black is playing WITHOUT his Queenside. Under such conditions,
combinations appear as if they, ... 'fell from out of the sky.' " -
GM Edmar Mednis. (From the book: "Practical Opening Tips," page #
20.) [ Several Masters have recommended: 11.Nh4!?, as winning for
White. ].
11...f6; {Diagram.} Black tries to drive White back. (He can do
nothing right now, with White's pieces so deeply entrenched in his
half of the board.) (This move {...f6} is also the first choice of
many computer programs.) [ Black could also have tried: 11...b5!?;
12.Bb3, a5; 13.a4!? {Diagram?} White stops Black's pawn advance on
the Queen-side. (Also possible was for White to play: 13.Nh4!?
"+/") 13...bxa4; 14.Bxa4, Ba6; 15.Rf2, f6; 16.Rf2, "+/=" with the
clearly better game for White. (NOTE: These lines are NOT
re-playable. I added them later.) ].
12.e5!, {Diagram.} Morphy insists on opening lines!
[ White could also play: 12.Nh4!?, Or 12.Bd2!? ].
12...f5!; {Diagram?} Black wisely tries to keep lines
closed.
Black MUST have been one of several things: #1.) A very strong
player, capable of seeing that if he took the Bishop on g5; that
White would get a winning attack; (and/or) #2.) He knew Morphy
liked to open the game, and thus he simply wanted to keep the
game
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closed; #3.) He had been destroyed by Morphy before, and was
simply terrified of what the great genius might do, if given the
chance!
It might have been this, or any number of things - or a
combination of the factors listed above - that caused Morphy's
opponent to play as he did.
[ A good example of what happens if Black foolishly OPENS lines
is: 12...fxg5?; ('??') 13.Nxg5 Na6; 14.Rxf8+ Qxf8; 15.Re4! Nc5;
16.Qxg6! hxg6; 17.Rh4#. ].
With his next move, Morphy prepares to break the game wide open
by the vigorous pawn push to e6. 13.Nd4 f4; 14.e6!, {Diagram?}
Morphy single-mindedly continues to pursue open lines.
(This is one of the "Morphy Principles" in action. One of the
things Morphy always did VERY SYSTEMATICALLY was to always open
lines - once he had completed his development!!) [ Maroczy pointed
out many years later that White could have played: 14.h4! h6;
(14...f3!?); 15.h5 hxg5; 16.hxg6 g4!?; 17.Kf2!, {Diagram?} with
Mate coming on the h-file. ].
14...dxe6; 15.Nxe6 Bxe6; 16.Rxe6 Qc8; {Diagram.} (This move
looks forced.) It looks as if Black ALMOST has everything under
control. But once again, Morphy finds a combination that
brilliantly exploits Black's sadly under-developed game.
***
I also must point out that: A.) Morphy has calculated this
entire combination out, even though it is nearly 10 moves long!!;
& B.) Morphy may have had this whole thing planned well in
advance!
***
17.Rxg6!!, (Maybe - '!!!') {Diagram?} An incredibly brilliant,
very forceful, and well though-out sacrifice.
[ Other methods, such as: 17.h4!?, {"Compensation?"} are not
nearly as good. ].
17...hxg6; 18.Qxg6, ('!') {Diagram?} Seemingly ... the obvious
move. {But did White have a better one?} In fact this is such an
obvious move ... that few people have even bothered to look for
improvements at this particular point. But this move is not even in
the top three picks of most strong computer {chess} programs here.
Going over some old notes, I find that an improvement was suggested
by (one) Rick Frye during one of my 'PCC' (Pensacola Chess Club)
lectures. (Circa approximately 1977.) But I had forgotten all about
this idea until Bjrnar Snoksrud e-mailed me and mentioned it again.
(This note added: February 11th, 2004.) [ In all likelihood, White
could improve with: >/= 18.Rf3!! Re8!; 19.Rxf4! Re1+; 20.Kf2!
Re4!; 21.Rf8+! Kh7!?; 22.Bg8+!, {Diag?} Much better than simply
grabbing the Queen here. ( Also sufficient was: 22.Rxc8!?, ("+/-")
{Diagram?} which is probably good enough to make the average player
resign. )
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22...Kh8; 23.Bf7+ Qxf8; {Diagram?} This is probably forced.
( /= 5.Ne5!?, {"comp"} "The Kieseritzsky Gambit." (See any
standard reference work.) ]
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5...h6!? ; 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 ; 7.Qxg4!? , Condemned by some pundits -
and also frowned upon by theory - but it looks like a perfectly
reasonable move (to me) in this position. {It is also the first
choice of several different computer programs.} [ Theory currently
prefers: 7.d4 , as being superior to the text line. ] 7...Qf6? ;
Just a bad and unnecessary play with the Queen ... so typical of
the chess play of that era. [ Better is: >/= 7...Nf6 ; 8.Qxf4
Bd6; "/+" which clearly favors Black. (Several postal games clearly
show that Black generally wins from this particular position.) ]
8.Bc4+ Ke7 ; 9.Nc3 c6 ; Other than Black's one Queen move, all the
moves thus far have been ... more-or-less ... fairly decent and
relatively reasonable. 10.e5!? , (hmmm) Rather than wait, Morphy
sacrifices a Pawn here. [ Probably better was: 10.d4!? , ('!') with
good play for the material. (GM Chris Ward calls this a viable,
"dynamic alternative.") ]
10...Qxe5+ ; 11.Kd1 Kd8!? ; Not terrible - but this is
definitely inferior to the obvious move of ...Knight-to-f6. (Which
is far better than the move actually played.) Ward gives this move
a whole question mark ... this definitely appears a bit extreme to
me. 12.Re1 Qc5!? ; (Probably - '?') This LOOKS like a reasonable
move, at least at a first, very casual glance. {But it is actually
a mistake.} [ A really big improvement was: >/= 12...d6! ;
13.Qf3 Qg7! ; "/+" which obviously favors Black. (Maybe "-/+") ]
13.Bxg8 d5?! ; (Really - '?' or '??') This appears to be a VERY
plausible move ... however it is refuted in an extremely
spectacular fashion!!!
You might think, after at least a quick glance at this position,
that Black is doing OK here. However, appearances are deceiving! [
Much better than the game would have been the continuation: >/=
13...d6! ; 14.Qg6!? , There are several playable moves in this
position for White ... but not any choices that I would want to
brag or write home about. (14.Be6 is {also} a plausible
alternative.)
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( Much worse would be: /=) 16...Qxd5 ; is forced {for Black} in
this position. (Most of my students say they would rather resign
than play such a move!) ] 17.Qc7# , This is not a perfect game ...
but definitely a highly entertaining one!! (Almost unbelievably ...
Paul Morphy was no more than 12 years old when this miniature was
played!!!) GM Chris Ward spends three whole pages annotating and
analyzing this game in his excellent book: "The Genius of Paul
Morphy." My notes are much inferior to his, and it is my hope that
- if you really enjoyed this game - you would try to obtain a copy
of this excellent book.
T. Lichtenhein (2420) - Paul Morphy (2800)
(Note: The above ratings are basically extrapolations, based on
what the players would be [minimally] rated in the year 2000.)
(ECO Code =) [C55]
1st American Chess Congress New York City, NY, 1857.
One of the most brilliant games of the last century. (And
probably one of my "Top Ten" favorite Morphy Games!!) It shows just
how much talent Morphy really had. ALL the other Masters present
during the game labeled Paul's 12th move a mistake. It is actually
a very
brilliant move, and reminds me greatly of another chess genius,
M. Tal. ***
This game is a brilliant example of the "Two-ROOK Sacrifice."
(The Anderssen "Immortal Game" was probably the first great
example of this technique.) ***
This game has also been savaged by many writers who have greatly
disparaged White's play. Yet few (if any!) players have
successfully found ALL of Black's moves. And I have
showed this game dozens and dozens of times over the years. Even
MASTER's have failed to correctly find all of Black's moves.
***
(Click HERE to see this this game on a java-script re-play
board.) ***
Note: I have annotated this game many times over the years.
1. e4 e5; Morphy's favorite response against 1. P-K4, or 1. e4.
Morphy delighted in piece play, and there is more than ample
opportunity for it in the Open Games.
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2.Nf3 Nc6; 3.d4, (!?) At one time thought to be inferior, but
revived by Garry Kasparov in some of his World Championship
encounters. (It is most likely that this move will lead to the
Scotch Game, or even ... the Scotch Gambit. Click here to go to my
"Traps Page.") It is certainly completely playable, and abides by
all the opening principles. [ 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5, is the
normal move order to arrive at the position we achieve in the game.
]. 3...exd4; 4.Bc4, (!?) Gambiting a pawn, which was common and
accepted at that time. [ 4.Nxd4 is a straight Scotch Opening.
].
4...Nf6; 5.e5!?, {Diagram just below.}
(The position after 5.e5!?)
White thinks to disturb Morphy's development. [ 5.0-0!? Nxe4;
transposes to The 'Max Lange Attack.' ].
Reti writes: "The most important thing in an open position is to
bring ALL the pieces into play as quickly as possible. In open
games, it is possible to obtain a perhaps superficial, but rapid
and - for all practical purposes - an often sufficient opinion in
regard to a position; simply by counting the [number of] pieces
that have been developed." (R. Reti, in "Masters of the ChessBoard.
" Pg. # 33.)
(In other words, if I have two pieces developed and my opponent
has developed five, then my opponent may have a very large
advantage. Things such as being ahead a pawn in such a situation is
of a secondary, and a greatly diminished consideration.)
Now the great Morphy plays: 5...d5!; Black (Morphy) does not
move or retreat a well-posted piece. Instead he vigorously
counter-attacks in the center! (Hitting White's Bishop.) We now
have transposed to a Scotch Opening.
***
This thrust (5.e5, d5!), is common today, but was practically
unheard of in Paul Morphy's time.
***
"If 6. exf6, dxc4; 7.fxg7 Bxg7; and Black stands well." -
Reinfeld.
6.Bb5 Ne4!; {Diagram just below.}
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(The position after 6...Ne4!) Again, no retreating!
Black's Knight occupies an advanced square in the center ...
securely anchored by a pawn. This is known as an "outpost." (You
should always strive to get your Knights to a square of this type.
A good definition of an outpost is: "An advanced square, in or near
the center, - or very near the opponent's King - where the Knight
can occupy this square and is NOT easily driven off. The square
should be firmly anchored (protected) by one of your own pawns. The
'driving away' process should always involve a significant
weakening of your opponents' Pawn structure." - LM A.J. Goldsby
I)
7.Nxd4 Bd7; 8. Nxc6?!, ('?') With this move, White will lose a
tempo in the opening, which is not a good idea. (White's Bishop on
b5 will be forced to retreat, or move again. Another loss of
time.)
[ Better was: 8.Bxc6 bxc6; 9.0-0, ("+/=") ECO says this position
is nearly equal. 9...Be7; 10.f3 Nc5; 11.Be3 Ne6; 12. Qe2 0-0;
13.c4!? Nxd4; 14.Bxd4 Be6; 15.Rd1 c5; 16.Be3 d4; 17. Bf2 Rb8; 18.b3
Qd7; 19.Nd2 Rbe8; ("=") Black may even be slightly better here.
("=/+") Variation by A.J. Goldsby I.].
8...bxc6; 9.Bd3 Bc5!; Rapid and active development! Morphy was
never one to play passive moves. Notice Morphy has a threat against
f2 now.
***
Also please notice how Morphy has three pieces developed to his
opponent's one! ***
"It is interesting that this natural move has been sort of
forgotten by modern theory." - GM C. Ward
*******
10.Bxe4, Qh4!; (Maybe - '!!') {Diagram just below.}
This, and Black's next move, are in reality so complicated that
I seriously doubt many people could have calculated this
combination
to its logical conclusion. (See the analysis below!!) Perhaps
Paul Morphy was guided by his superior intuition! (?)
Perhaps just sheer genius?
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(The position after 10...Qh4!)
The move, 10...Qh4 is a zwischenzug, or an in-between move. This
is a nice way for Black to keep the advantage.
11.Qe2, This has the appearance of being a {half-way} decent
move.
GM Edmar Mednis writes: >
[See: "Practical {Chess} Opening Tips," page # 21-23.]
[ Not 11.Bf3?? Qxf2#; or if 11.g3?? Qxe4+; 12.Qe2 Qxh1+; 13.Qf1
Qxh2; ("-/+") ].
11...dxe4; 12.Be3?, (?!) (Maybe this move is only dubious.)
"Certainly now 12.0-0 would be better." - GM Chris Ward
[ 12. 0-0, (E.C.O.). 12...Rb8; ("=/+") is slightly better for
Black, but VASTLY better than the game continuation. ].
Reti writes: "In open positions, especially in cases of retarded
development, the safety of the King should be the first
consideration. Castling was therefore imperative." (R. Reti, in
"Masters of the Chess Board," pg. # 35.)
12...Bg4!!; (Maybe - '!!!') This move had to be calculated VERY
precisely. In fact, in order to be 100% sure of the win, Paul
Morphy would have had to calculate OVER 15 moves ahead!!! (I don't
think Morphy calculated this far ahead, but probably relied on his
incredible intuition, instincts, and just plain PURE GENIUS.) Edge
wrote (in a similar situation) that although the winning line may
have been very complex, Morphy never calculated for longer than
5-10 minutes. Sometimes Morphy would respond instantly with a
tactical shot that would simply amaze his contemporaries. It is too
bad that we will never be able to accurately test Morphy's powers
of calculation. But I would be willing to bet, that he would have
been able to hold his own with any player of any age, judging from
what we do know - and what people have written about Morphy. (I
remember seeing this game as a very young person. I played -
sensing the possibility of Qc4 - 12...Bb6. This move would lead to
a slight advantage for Black, especially if White captures on d6
and undoubles Black's pawns.) ---> GM C. Ward calls this a
stroke of genius - that was carefully calculated out to the
end.
13.Qc4, {Diagram just below.}
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(The position after 13. Qc4!?)
It appears that Black has outsmarted himself, for it seems that
Black must lose material. But all this has been calculated out to
the very end by Morphy!
GM Mednis writes: "White must counter-attack, since the safe 13.
Qd2, loses routinely to 13...Rd8, with mate on d1 coming up."
[ 13.Qf1? Bxe3; 14.g3 Qg5; 15.f4, If 15. fxe3?? Qxe3+; 16.Qe2,
(forced) 16...Qxe2#. 15...Qf5; ("-/+") and Black has won a piece.
Or 13.Qd2? Rd8; 14.Qc3 Rd1#. ]
13...Bxe3!; Black fearlessly continues the attack.
14.g3!, [box], {Diagram?} This move is forced, and shows just
what a strong player Lichtenhein was. Many Masters have played 14.
Qxc6+ here. (When I showed them this position and asked them what
the correct move was for White.) {Castling was an idea worth
consideration here for White.}
[ Now Soltis and Reinfeld give: 14. Qxc6+, { "?!" - A.J.G. }
14...Bd7!!; The only way to make progress. Black sacrifices one
rook, (offering two;), all to get to White's King. ( 14...Kf8;
{'?'} 15.Qxa8+?! Ke7; 16.g3, "~" (Maybe '') Chris Ward gives the
line: (
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Var. # 5.) 18. Ke2?? Qc4+; 19. Kxe3 Rxa8; ("-/+") So it appears
that 18. Ke1, is clearly forced here.
*************************************
(Returning to the main analysis line.) 18...Qb4+; 19. c3 Qxb2;
20. Qe4,
[ And now if: 20. Qxh8? Qf2+!; The most direct. (Also winning
is: 20...Bg4!?; ("-/+") 21. Nd2 Qxd2+; 22. Kf1 Qf2#.) 21. Kd1 Ba4+;
22. Kc1 Qc2#; or 20. Qf3 Qxa1!; { Not: (a1.) 20...Qc1+?; 21.Qd1.
("=") or also bad is: (a2.) 21.Ke2?? Bb5+; 22.c4 Bxc4#. } 21.Qb7
Qxa2; 22.Rf1, Rd8; ("-/+") and now Black is winning easily. ]
20...Qc1+; 21. Ke2 Bb5+; 22. c4, Bxc4+; 23. Kf3, ( Or 23.Qxc4
Qxc4+; 24.Kxe3 Qc5+; {"-/+"} ) 23...Qxh1+; 24. Kxe3 Qe1+; 25. Kf3
Qf1+; 26. Ke3 Qe2+; 27. Kf4, (Or 27.Kd4? Rd8+;), 27...g5+!; 28. Kf5
Be6+; 29. Kxg5 Qxe4; ("-/+") Black is winning easily.] (The end of
the Reinfeld / Soltis Variation.)
***
(And now we return to the analysis of the actual game.)
14...Qd8!; "Even in retreat, Morphy finds a way to attack!"
(Threatening a mate on d1, should White become careless. [
14...Qh6; 15. Qxe4 Bc1; ("-/+") ].)
15.fxe3, The alternatives here are clearly inferior. [ 15.Qxc6+?
Bd7; 16.Qxe4 Bb6; and Black has won a piece. ("-/+") Or 15.Qxe4??
Qd1#. Or 15. Nc3, (To cover d1.) 15...Bb6; ("-/+") ].
15...Qd1+; 16.Kf2 Qf3+!; One New York reporter wrote (in his
newspaper) That White had probably been expecting the capture of
the Rook on h1 here. (Not 16...QxR/h1?!; 17. QxP/c6+, and White
gets a lot of counterplay.)
17.Kg1 Bh3!!; (Black has other ways to win here, but this is
clearly the best! AND the quickest!)
18.Qxc6+ Kf8!; Black offers to give away BOTH his Rooks, the
first with check!! (It was not until I began analyzing this game
with students again that I realized how difficult some of these
moves are to find for the average player. July, 2001.)
***
18...Ke7?; gives White needless counterplay. 19.Qxc7+, and the
game goes on. (This is the line that most of my students choose at
this point.)
19.Qxa8+ Ke7; ('!') {Diagram just below.} (Not 19...Bd7?; Which
gives White more chances.)
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13
(The position after 19...Ke7.)
White Resigns. 0 - 1.
(Mate is unavoidable. I.e., 20. Qxe4!?, Qf1#!) Paul Morphy
(2800) - Some Amateur (2200)
[C34] Club Game (?) (Casual Game)
New Orleans, LA; 1858.
[A.J. Goldsby I]
A model Morphy game. Also a great game for teaching beginners.
(I have taught this game probably several hundred times!!) You will
definitely need a chess board, as there are NO diagrams here.
(Click HERE if you would like to see this game on a java-script,
re-play board!!)
"Morphy's combinations usually ended in mate, or a reasonable
facsimile thereof. Here he resorts to a device rarely seen in his
time. He simplifies by a series of exchanges, to reach a position
where the mere threat of a simple pin clinches the win." - IRVING
CHERNEV.
***
1. e4 e5; 2. f4 exf4; 3. Nf3 c6!?; ('?!') Controls the center
square on d5, but takes the best square away from Black's QN.
[ The best line for Black was: 3...d5!; 4.exd5 Nf6; 5.Bb5+ c6;
6.dxc6 Nxc6; 7.d4 Bd6; 8.Qe2+ Be6; 9.Ng5 0-0!; {Comp.} and Black
gets a playable game. Another book line is: 3...d6; 4.d4 g5; 5.h4
g4; 6.Ng1 Bh6; 7.Nc3 c6; 8.Nge2 Qf6; 9.g3!, with complicated play
for both sides. ]
4. Nc3 Bb4?!; {Diagram?} Black is in a rush to get rid of
White's Knight. Yet later in the game, it is the LONG-RANGE Bishop
that will be the more dangerous of the two minor pieces!!
5. Bc4 Bxc3?; {Diagram?} Continuing with the idea expressed by
his last move.
[ Much better was: 5...Qe7!?; "~" ]
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6. dxc3!, {Diagram?} White captures away from the center!
He opens up his Queen, his QB, pressures the d-file, prevents
...d5; and threatens to take the pawn on f4.
[ Normally I teach my students to capture towards the center
with, 6.bxc3, but the text is much sharper and much more accurate.
]
6...Ne7; 7. Qd6!, {Diagram?} Normally you do not bring out the
Queen early!
But here there are 2 good reasons for doing so: # 1.) The Queen
on d6 is almost impervious to attack. # 2.) The Queen on d6
prevents Black from easily developing his entire Queen-side.
(White's Queen on d6 plays the role of blockader ... something that
is normally reserved for the Knights. And as long as the Queen is
on d6, Black can never push his QP. And as long as the QP cannot
move, Black will be unable to find a reasonable development of all
of his Queen-side pieces.) Notice Black was also threatening ...d5;
(A break in the center.); which White just prevented!
[ 7.0-0 d5!; etc. Black is doing pretty well here. ]
7...0-0; 8. Bxf4 Ng6; 9. Bg5 Qe8; {Diagram?} Black is trying
defend.
With his next move, White offers Black a pawn. ("Take my e-Pawn,
PLEASE!!") 10. 0-0!, {Diagram?} The White King is safest on the
King-side. There is no reason to castle on the Q-side. Plus with a
King-side deployment ... White exerts very powerful pressure down
the f-file.
White is also offering a gambit. (The KP is open to possible
capture.) 10...Kh8; {Diagram?} Which Black probably wisely decides
not to accept.
[ If 10...Qxe4?!; 11.Bb3, (11.Nd4!?) 11...b6; 12.Rae1! Qg4;
13.h3 Qh5; 14.Ne5! Nxe5; ( 14...Qxg5?; 15.Rxf7 Ne7; (If 15...Rxf7?;
16.Bxf7+ Kh8; 17.Nxg6+! hxg6; 18.Qf8+ Kh7; 19.Qg8+ Kh6; 20.Qh8#)
16.Rxe7+ Kh8; 17.Nf7+ Kg8; 18.Nxg5+ Kh8; 19.Re8 h5; 20.Rxf8# )
15.Rxe5 h6; Black has no good move here. 16.Be7, "+/-" and White
has a winning attack. ]
11. Rae1!, {Diagram?} White has mobilized his entire army!
He avoids moving any other piece until every unit is actively
engaged!!!
GM Edmar Mednis writes:
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15
[ White could also play: 12.Nh4!?; or 12.Bd2!? ]
12...f5!; {Diagram?} Black wisely tries to keep lines
closed.
The player guiding the Black army MUST have been one of several
things: #1.) A very strong player, capable of seeing that if he
took the Bishop on g5, that White would get a winning attack; #2.)
He knew Morphy liked to open the game, and thus he simply wanted to
keep the game closed; #3.) He had been destroyed by Morphy before,
and was simply terrified of what the great genius might do, if
given the chance!
***
It might have been this, or any number of things - or a
combination of the factors listed above - that caused Morphy's
opponent to play as he did.
[ A good example of what happens if Black foolishly OPENS lines
is: 12...fxg5?; ('??') 13.Nxg5 Na6; 14.Rxf8+ Qxf8; 15.Re4! Nc5;
16.Qxg6! hxg6; 17.Rh4#. ]
13. Nd4 f4; 14. e6!, (Maybe - '!!') {Diagram?} Morphy
single-mindedly continues to pursue the idea of opening lines.
[ Maroczy pointed out many years later that White could have
played: 14.h4! h6; (14...f3!?) 15.h5 hxg5; 16.hxg6 g4; 17.Kf2!,
with Mate coming on the h-file. ]
14...dxe6; 15. Nxe6 Bxe6; 16. Rxe6 Qc8; {Diagram?} It looks as
if Black ALMOST has everything under control.
But once again, Morphy finds a combination that brilliantly
exploits the state Black's sadly under-developed game.
I also must point out that: A.) Morphy has calculated this
entire combination out, even though it is nearly 10 moves long!!;
& B.) Morphy may have had this whole thing planned well in
advance! 17. Rxg6!! hxg6; 18. Qxg6, ('!') Seemingly ... the obvious
move. {But did White have a better one?} In fact this is such an
obvious move ... that few people have even bothered to look for
improvements at this particular point. But this move is not even in
the top three picks of most strong computer {chess} programs here.
Going over some old notes, I find that a large improvement was
{first} suggested by one Rick Frye, during one of my 'PCC'
(Pensacola Chess Club) lectures. (Circa approximately 1977.) But I
had forgotten all about this idea until Bjrnar Snoksrud e-mailed me
and mentioned it again. (This note added: February 11th, 2004.) [
In all likelihood, White could improve with: >/= 18.Rf3!! Re8!;
19.Rxf4! Re1+; 20.Kf2! Re4!; 21.Rf8+! Kh7!?; 22.Bg8+!, {D?} Much
better than simply grabbing the Queen here. ( Also sufficient was:
22.Rxc8!?, ("+/-") {Diagram?} which is probably good enough to make
the average player resign. ) 22...Kh8; 23.Bf7+ Qxf8; {Diagram?}
This is probably forced.
(
-
16
24.Qxf8+ Kh7; 25.Qg8#.
****************************************************
White could have also played: (>/=) = 18.Rxf4! Rxf4; 19.Qxf4,
("+/-") {Diagram?} and the only way Black can stop mate is to give
up the Queen with ...Qg8. ]
18...Qf5; 19. Rxf4! Qxg6; 20. Rxf8+ Kh7; 21. Bg8+, (!) 21...Kh8;
22. Bf7+ Kh7; 23. Bxg6+ Kxg6; 24. Bf4, ('!') Black resigns.
1 - 0
Black is going to lose a piece due to the pin on the back
rank.
One of Morphy's prettiest games, and one that has withstood the
rigors of analysis for nearly 150 years. (It is also a tremendous
teaching vehicle and shows clearly - the dangers of lost tempi and
poor development.)
Napoleon V. Marache (2450) - Paul Charles Morphy (2800)
[C52]
U.S. Championship (Chess Congress) New York, NY; 1857
[A.J. Goldsby I]
Chernev writes: "Morphy's name is synonymous with brilliancy,
but never in his life did Morphy make a move more dazzling than his
nineteenth (move) in this game. It makes a beautiful climax to the
attack, and winds the game up in a blaze of glorious Technicolor."
[ The book, {The} "1000 Best, Short Games of Chess," by Irving
Chernev. Game # 616; pages # 312-313. ] I will only say that the
game is beautiful beyond my ability to describe it. I can also
(maybe) understand why (some) people tried to discredit Morphy and
his contemporaries. After his games, no one else had anything to
brag about!!!
Lawson writes: " A chess teacher searching for a classic example
of a 'positional sacrifice' will find it here on Black's eleventh
move. The game itself has a happy ending for everybody: Morphy wins
and Marache gets "Knighted." " [ See David Lawson's book, "Paul
Morphy, The Pride and Sorrow of Chess." Game # 18, pg. # 349. ]
***
1. e4 e5; 2. Nf3 Nc6; 3. Bc4 Bc5; {Diagram?} One of the oldest
lines in all of chess.
White's next move initiates the, "Evans Gambit." (A variant of -
and in - the Italian Game. The Italian Game is ANY line after - - -
1. e4, e5; 2, Nf3, Nc6; 3. Bc4, Bc5;) This opening (The Evan's) was
once described, "As a gift from the gods to a languishing chess
world." (!!!) I will also say the Evans was considered UNSOUND for
virtually my entire career, until Kasparov crushed Anand with it!
(Late 90's.)
4. b4!? Bxb4; {Diagram?} The gambit accepted. Black should not
be afraid to take.
{ 4...Bb6!?; 5.a4 a6; 6.Nc3 Nf6; 7.Nd5 Nxd5; 8.exd5 Nd4; 9.a5
Ba7; 10.d6! cxd6; 11.0-0 0-0; 12.Nxd4 Bxd4; The end of column # 6.
13.c3 Ba7; 14.Qf3, "White has compensation for the material
invested." - GM P. Leko. [ See MCO-14; pages 27-28, columns 1-6,
(mainly col. #6); and note # (z.).] }
5. c3 Ba5; 6.d4!, {Diagram?}
-
17
The most energetic. (White attacks the center in a way that was
not all that common in those days.) { White can also play the very
logical 6.0-0!?, "White has compensation for his pawn." 6...d6!;
This is the "Lasker's Defense." This line virtually killed the
Evan's for many years. 7.d4 Bb6; 8.dxe5 dxe5; 9.Qb3, ('!') The best
line for White. ( Less than best is: 9.Qxd8+!? Nxd8; 10.Nxe5 Be6;
11.Be2 Ne7; 12.Nc4 Ndc6; 13.Bf4, "=" Anageliev - V. Ivanov;
Ashkhabad, 1995. [ See MCO-14; pages 27-28, columns 1-6, (mainly
col. 1); and note # (c.).] ) 9...Qf6; 10.Bg5 Qg6; 11.Bd5 Nge7;
12.Bxe7 Kxe7; The end of column # 1. 13.Bxc6 Qxc6; 14.Nxe5 Qe6;
15.Nc4, Probably the best. (15.Qa3+ Qd6; "And Black is OK." -
Levenfish.); 15...Rd8; 16.Qb4+ Ke8; 17.Nxb6, ("=") "The position is
equal." - Y. Estrin. [See MCO-14; pages 27-28, columns 1-6, (mainly
col. # 1); and note # (d.).] }
6...exd4; {Diagram?} Acceptance is virtually forced. (Black
cannot retain the strong-point on e5 without making his position
the worse for it.) { The computer gives: 6...d6!?; ('?!') 7.Qb3
Qd7; 8.dxe5, Is this forced? ( MCO gives the line: 8.Nbd2 Bb6; 9.a4
Nf6; 10.a5 Nxa5; 11.Rxa5 Bxa5; 12.dxe5 Ng4; "=/+" The end of column
# 4. "After: 13.exd6 Bb6; 14.h3 Nxf2; 15.Rf1 0-0; 16.Ba3 cxd6;
17.Rxf2 Bxf2+; 18.Kxf2, a weird material balance arises that is
slightly in White's favor." - GM Nick DeFirmian. ---> Note that
the computer greatly favors Black. {"/+"} But here I prefer the
GM's evaluation! {A.J.G.} [ See MCO-14; pages 27-28, columns 1-6,
(mainly col. 4); and note # (o.).] ) 8...Bb6; 9.Nbd2 Na5; 10.Qc2
Nxc4; 11.Nxc4 Bc5; 12.exd6 cxd6; 13.Be3 Bxe3; 14.Nxe3 Ne7; 15.0-0
0-0; 16.Rad1 Qc7; 17.Rd2, ("+/=") but I think this line is terrible
for Black, he is slightly inferior and has no real chances for
generating meaningful counterplay.}
7. e5!?, (Maybe - '?!/?') {Diagram?} Maybe not the best,
although this was (seems to be) "accepted theory" at the time. (I
have found many examples of this line that pre-date this game!)
Mednis gives this move a question mark. (I think this is far too
harsh.) GM Mednis then goes on to write: "White must look for rapid
development as compensation for the sacrificed material. The text
does not further development and meets a clear refutation. The
developing move, 7. 0-0, is in order when 7...Nge7; is considered
by theory to be the only correct response; eventual equality is the
most likely outcome." [See the book, "Practical {Chess} Opening
Tips," by GM Edmar Mednis. Pg.'s 22-23.] { Correct was: 7.0-0!,
("White has compensation for the material invested.") but this move
is the result of nearly 200 years of development in opening
theory!! Sometimes, it is easy - far too easy! - to forget this.
7...Nge7; The best according to theory. ( 7...dxc3?!; "The
Compromised Defence." - It is considered very risky by modern-day
theory. 8.Qb3 Qf6; 9.e5! Qg6; 10.Nxc3 Nge7; 11.Ba3 0-0; 12.Rad1,
"With good compensation for the material AND a strong initiative."
[ See MCO-14; pages 27-28, columns 1-6, (mainly col. # 3.); and
note # (k.).] ) 8.cxd4 d5; 9.exd5 Nxd5; 10.Ba3 Be6; 11.Bb5 f6;
12.Qa4 Bb6; The end of the column. 13.Bxc6+ bxc6; 14.Qxc6+ Kf7;
("=") (Analysis by Botterill.) "Black is slightly better." - GM
Nick DeFirmian. (According to the computers, the position is nearly
dead-equal. It also looks very equal to me. - LM A.J. Goldsby I.) [
See MCO-14; pages 27-28, columns 1-6, (mainly col. 2); and note #
(h.).] }
7...d5!; {Diagram?} Chernev also awards this move an exclam.
Black immediately gains some space for his pieces by countering
in the center. (Controlling the center is the single most important
thing you do in the opening!)
8. exd6 Qxd6; 9.0-0!, {Diagram?} White correctly castles,
despite many attractive alternatives.
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18
[ Interesting is: 9.Qb3!? "~" {Diagram?} The position is
unclear, or maybe slightly better for Black. ]
9...Nge7!; {Diagram?} I believe this is the correct course for
Black. (He must develop as quickly as possible. Or perish!) [ Most
strong computer programs prefer: 9...dxc3!?; ("/+") giving Black
(now) as much better. But White can play: 10.Qb3!, with a very
strong attack. (And some good compensation for the material
invested.) ]
10. Ng5!?, (Maybe -'?!/'?') {Diagram?} Sergeant gives this move
a question mark, and recommends instead B-R3 followed by R-K1. [See
the book," "Morphy's Games of Chess," by Phillip W. Sergeant. Game
# CLXI, pg. # 223.] This may be an improvement over the actual
game, but does NOT give White the better game. (Nothing gives White
the better game at this point.) The move Ng5 is certainly a time
waster, and the kind of move Morphy showed his brilliance against.
(I must also add I have taught this game dozens and dozens and
dozens of times over the years. And a lot of people will pick Ng5
as the move White ought to play here!) GM Edmar Mednis writes:
(After giving 10. Ng5 a question mark.) "White is insufficiently
developed to expect anything from such a Knight sally. 10. Ba3,
Qf6; 11. cxd4, is logical; with some compensation for the pawn."
[See the book, "Practical {Chess} Opening Tips," by GM Edmar
Mednis. Pg.'s 22-23.] [ Better is 10.Ba3! Qf4; ("=/+") ]
10...0-0; 11. Bd3, (!?) {Diagram?} Maybe not the best. But it is
also hard to come up with viable alternative for White.
GM Mednis's comments are very illuminating here. He writes: "
Notice how White is attempting to attack by moving the same pieces
repeatedly ... rather than bringing new soldiers into play. Morphy,
therefore, decides that he can both complete his development and
gain a safe material advantage by an exchange sacrifice. In return,
he will get 2-3 pawns and a clear initiative. " [See the book,
"Practical {Chess} Opening Tips," by GM Edmar Mednis. Pg.'s 22-23.]
I will only add that White threatens Qh5 with a nearly winning
attack. Morphy is as brilliant in defense as he is in attack. - LM
A.J. Goldsby I
[ 11.cxd4 Qxd4; ("=/+") ] 11...Bf5!; {Diagram?} This move is
given an exclam by no less than GM Mednis.
[ My computer likes: 11...h6!?; "(-/+") ]
12. Bxf5 Nxf5; {Diagram?} To me, Black's position is not all
that impressive. (At least, not right at this moment!) With his
next move, White wins the exchange.
13. Ba3, ('!?') {Diagram?} White takes the bait.
(He may as well, he will get little else from Morphy!) [
13.cxd4? Qxd4; "/+" (Maybe - "-/+".) ]
13...Qg6; {Diagram?} The Queen gets out of the way. Chernev
writes: "Black is glad to give up the exchange. For his Rook,
Morphy gets a Knight ... and three tempo's! And NOBODY knew the
value of
-
19
time better than Morphy." (Emphasis mine.)
14.Bxf8 Qxg5!; {Diagram?} Perhaps a shock ... especially if you
were expecting a simple recapture on f8! (This is a good example of
an "In-Between move," or a "Zwischenzug.") Now White must lose yet
ANOTHER tempo and retreat his Bishop.
15. Ba3, {Diagram?} White must retreat or lose another
piece.
The loss of tempi here is very subtle and easy to miss. (Most of
my students have failed to correctly identify where White's big
tempo loss was.) This piece has already moved 3 times (!!) {Ba3,
BxR/f8, then B back to a3}; and will wind up moving two more
times!
[ 15.Bb4!? ]
15...dxc3; {Diagram?} Amazingly, Black has THREE Pawns for the
lost exchange. The pawn on c3 prevents White from moving anything
on the Queenside. And he is about to get his Rook on d8 into the
game with YET ANOTHER gain of time. (The computers already give the
assessment of "-/+" or "Black is winning.") GM Mednis writes:
"White has no chance of coping with Black's initiative." (To say
the least!)
16. Bc1, {Diagram?} A natural looking move.
White wants the Black Queen to move from its very imposing
square. GM Mednis writes: "The attempt to bring over the Bishop to
help out on the Kingside will be insufficient, but there is nothing
satisfactory."
Note White has already moved this Bishop four (4!) times, (B-R3,
BxR/f8, Bishop back to R3, then B-B1); and will move it once more.
(It maybe the losses of time with this one piece that could be the
decisive factor of this game.) [ White could have also played:
16.Qd3!? Ne5!; ("/+") Or maybe ("-/+"). ]
16...Qg6; {Diagram?} The Queen 'ducks'. Very subtle. White
probably thinks he is gaining time by attacking the Black Queen.
But since the Queen only loses one tempo, (And gets to a much
better square where she is well protected!); and the Bishop moves
for the FOURTH (4th) time, Black actually GAINS THREE TEMPI!! (With
this one move!)
17. Bf4!?, {Diagram?} Making a brave attempt.
White is trying hard; given enough time (!) he may eventually
unravel all his pieces. (Now the plan is probably Na3-c2, followed
by the mobilization of all his other pieces.) This is also WHITE's
FIFTH (5th) MOVE WITH THIS BISHOP!!!!! [ Maybe White should try:
17.h3!? ]
17...Rd8; {Diagram?} Another gain of time. And the White Queen
now has few ... ... if any!!! ... viable squares. (For his
lady.)
18. Qc2, {Diagram?} Its easy to label this a mistake.
It is hard (impossible!) to come up with a move or a plan to
extricate White.
-
20
[ 18.Qc1!? ]
18...Ncd4; {Diagram?} And yet another gain of time. One begins
to wonder if Chernev could count!! (This is like the 5th one. I
thought he said Black only won three tempo!) GM Mednis writes:
"Black just walks in on the fifth-rank central squares, which have
been left unattended because of (the) lack of development on
White's part."
19. Qe4, {Diagram?} Losing. But so did everything else.
"White's game is lost anyhow." - Sergeant.
[ Sergeant provides the following variations: 19.Qd3 Ng3;
("-/+") Or 19.Rd1 Ng3!; 20.Qxg6 Nde2#; Or 19.Qa4 b5!; 20.Qxa5 Ne2+;
21.Kh1 Nxf4; 22.Rg1, (Or 22.g3 Qc6+; 23.f3 Qxf3+; 24.Rxf3 Rd1+;
25.Rf1 Rxf1#) 22...Rd1!!; 23.g3 Qc6+!, etc. ("-/+" ... & mate
shortly!) ] 19...Ng3!!; {Diagram?} White Resigns. 0 - 1.
Chernev writes: "If 20. QxQ/g6, then N/d4-e7 is mate! White's
Queen is attacked, and if he tries 20. Qe1, then 20...N/d4-e2+;
wins the Queen and Bishop for the two Knights. White - of course! -
RESIGNED. Everybody was crying!"
I can only say if someone else had written this, it would not be
believable. But Chernev's credentials are impeccable and
unimpeachable. I must also note that Chernev gave out VERY FEW
double-exclamation points to moves, but Black's 19th move is one of
the few to be showered with praise and receive the "!!"
This game is one of ultra-brilliance and of the very first
magnitude. Easily one of the prettiest games ever played in a U.S.
Championship. (Several have called this an "off-hand game," but
this conflicts with both what was written about his game in the
newspapers, and the game score given by several sources, including
the CB database.) One should also remember that many events were
"impromptu," and chess organization hardly existed in any form in
those days. (Many players felt they had been unfairly excluded from
the Congress. They wanted a chance to play the new champ. Morphy,
on the other hand, seemed eager to prove himself against all
comers!) One writer, in a N.Y. newspaper, wrote: "This is one of
the finest game specimens recorded ever played on American Soil." ]
Sergeant compares this ending to the game, Levitsky- Marshall;
Breslau, 1912.
Macon Shibut mentions this as one of the best combinations that
Morphy ever played. [See the book, "Paul Morphy," And The Evolution
of Chess Theory." By Macon Shibut. Game # 108, pg. # 214.] I have
seen this game in literally DOZENS of books over the years. (I have
quoted several here in the analysis of this game.) I have also seen
this game in many magazines over the last 25 years, and I cannot
possibly remember all the times I have seen this game mentioned. I
also wanted to thank two friends, who asked not to be named. These
selfless individuals, (one from New York, one from Cleveland);
poured over old newspaper accounts (Micro-film) and copied them and
sent them to me. "The White Collection," in Cleveland is a
treasure-house of such information. (I have been there a few times,
and hope to return again someday.) (I have also taught this game
literally hundreds of times over the last 25 years!) [ Still need
to see more proof that White is lost? Then 19...Ng3!!;
{See the diagram just below for this picturesque final
position.}
-
21
The final position of the game.
20.Qxd4 , The computer says this move is forced. (Or 20.Qxg6??
Nde2#; Or 20.Qe1? Nde2+; 21.Qxe2[] Nxe2+; 22.Kh1 Nxf4; ("-/+"); Or
20.hxg3?, White loses his Queen this way on any recapture of the
Black Knight on g3! and now Black plays - 20...Qxe4; ("-/+"), with
an easy win.) 20...Ne2+; 21.Kh1 Rxd4; ("-/+") Black has an easy win
on material. ]
Stepan M. Levitsky (2498) - Frank J. Marshall (2675) [C10]
DSB-18.Kongress, (German Open Championships) (Round # 6),
Breslau, GER 1912
***
This game contains one of the single most amazing moves ever
played on a chessboard!!
It is also the legendary ... "SHOWER OF GOLD PIECES" game!!
(After the game, the board was reputedly covered with gold marks,
gold crowns, and gold sovereigns. Many newspaper columns said the
spectators became so excited they threw coins, as if to reward
Marshall for his brilliance.). Prior to annotating this game, (or
at least attempting to!); I did a lot of research. I checked dozens
of older books and old magazines, and I also spent a great deal of
time in my database, and also on-line. (Internet.). Unfortunately -
over a dozen 'chess reference' books gave NO mention of the player
who championed the White pieces in this game.
(Levitsky/Lewitsky.).
Stepan (Stephen) Mikhailovich (Michael) Levitsky - Levitsky
(some db's give Lewitsky) was born in 1876 and died in 1924, when
he was just 47. (Cause of death?). He was a Russian/Soviet player,
who may [also] have been of Polish descent, and he was almost
definitely Jewish. (As many good chess players seem to be also of
Semitic origin.). He was an inveterate KP-player, who was addicted
to the Giuoco Piano. He scored moderately well with the White
pieces, but poorly with the Black pieces.
{ The common misconception seems to be ... } Many players have
thought he was a "real fish," and ... "not really of true Master
strength." Quite the opposite seems to be true, he was definitely a
real Master-level player. (When he was nearly 20, Tchigorin himself
labeled this player, "Russia's New Chess Hope." !!). (ChessBase
gives him a near 2500 ELO-rating.).
-
22
While he never won a MAJOR international tourney, he did win at
least one minor event. My database indicates he played in several
German (Open) Championships, probably by invitation. He scored
third in Vilna, 1912; (according to an Oxford Encyclopedia
cross-table); behind Rubinstein and Bernstein, but AHEAD of many
stars such as Nimzovich, Alekhine, and Levenvish!!! He also came in
like 6th, (in a field of over 20 players); in the 1903 Russian
Champ; (Kiev) ... (Won by the legendary Tchigorin!!) ... scoring a
very respectable 10.5 out of a possible 18 points.
In ChessBase's "Career Highlight's," they have Levitsky playing
a 10-game match, (St. Petersburg, 1913.); against Alekhine.
Although he lost by the somewhat lop-sided margin of 7-3; CB gives
Alekhine's rating as "2774" and Levitsky's as "2596." (This was/is
considered a pretty respectable result, especially considering who
his opponent was!!! and ..... Adjusting for rating inflation, this
means Levitsky would definitely be a GM today, especially by the
watered-down standards of modern-day!!). He was most active in the
period, 1910 - 1914; probably his chess activities, (like SO many
others!!) were interrupted by WWI. (He played over 80 games during
this period.). He was something of an innovator. Several modern
ideas in the opening can be traced to him.
Unfortunately, very little else is known about this player.
***
Frank James Marshall - Marshall's story is very well known. He
was one of ... - THE FIVE ORIGINAL (!) GRAND-MASTERS of Chess!!!!!
- (From St. Petersburg, 1914. Click here for more info on this
event.) - and U.S. Champion from 1906 to 1936. (He was also
probably in the World's "Top Ten" players ... for nearly 40
years!!) He was known to be VERY passionate about chess, often
taking a small chess-board with him when he retired to bed.
Marshall won dozens of events and matches in the U.S. - he also won
4 or 5 major international tournaments. And he placed highly in
dozens of other competitions. ( His greatest success being
Cambridge Springs, 1904. ) Marshall was a feared competitor,
largely responsible for helping the U.S.A. to be THE chess world
power during the 1930's ..... He played First Board in like 4
straight Chess Olympiads!
Unfortunately, Marshall never had much luck with Emmanuel
Lasker. [The World Champion.] (He had a very poor score against
him, and his 1907 match against him was almost a complete rout.).
Marshall also did badly in his match against Capablanca.
[Poor Marshall. He probably expected to be one of the best
players in the western hemisphere - after Pillsbury's death. But he
wasn't even the best player in New York after Capablanca started
attending Columbia University!] Marshall was a renowned (and
feared!) tactician, famous for his brilliant combinations ... AND
his swindles!!!
Marshall was also an innovator - he created the Marshall Attack,
several lines in the Slav ... including, "The Marshall Gambit." In
addition to this, Marshall first worked out many of the lines in
the Petroff Defense. (And he worked on many other openings, helping
players work out new lines. The common wisdom at that time was to
show Marshall a line ... unless it was a secret - OR you planned on
playing it against Marshall!! ... and let him spot any tactical
flaws - - - BEFORE you used it in tournament play! - Napier.)
-
23
[The ChessBase software was very helpful in discovering
information on Levitsky. By bringing up the CB software and
inserting the CD-ROM disk containing the "playerbase" info, I was
able to get quite a lot of information on this player. Additionally
when I clicked on the "dossier" button, some really fantastic
things began to happen. The machine automatically pulled up all the
games of this player (130+); his career highlights, provided a
repertoire of the openings this player gave, showed some of his
better combinations, etc!!!
I do not impress easily, but I must say I was VERY impressed!].
(The rating given of Levitsky was the one generated by ChessBase,
when it showed a crossable of this event, and games of this player.
Marshall's rating was given as over 2600, I have adjusted his
rating slightly for inflation.)
Many Masters have praised this game, others have greatly
criticized it!!! ***
( One Master in Europe called it "The Grandest Game of Chess
Ever Played, ending with the single best move ever played." (!!) GM
A. Soltis wrote: "Marshall's startling Queen offer occurred at the
end of what looked like a Master-versus-'C' player game." {"The 100
Best," page # 3, paragraph 3.} ) [ I think Soltis is overly harsh
in his criticisms of this game. ] Such a HUGE difference of
opinion! Why? (Another European GM called this game, "Coffee-house
rubbish."). !!!
***
> ( MY comments. {A.J.G.} ) .
***
It does contain one of the most amazing and wonderful chess
moves ever played, however. (See my web page devoted to this
subject.) { "The Best Moves" (http://www.geocities.com
/lifemasteraj/best_moves.html) }.
***
This is what the great, (late) Irving Chernev wrote of this
game: > - Irving Chernev, in his book; "The 1000 Best Short
Games Of Chess." (Game # 918, Page # 499.) .
-
24
1. e4, Of course there is nothing wrong with this, it grabs the
center.
Fischer once said that 1. P-K4, was, "Best by test."
***
[ Chernev (AND GM A. Soltis!!) gives this game as starting with:
1.d4 e6; Marshall often played this move, because he was VERY fond
of the Dutch, especially against lower-rated players!!
[ Many Dutch fans do NOT immediately play 1...f5; as they may
fear an immediate 2. e4!? (The Staunton Gambit.) ]. 2.e4 d5;
transposing back to the game.
This may have explained why, Marshall used the French. It was
primarily the result of a transposition.
Or did Marshall have another reason?
(In some books, this little transpositional trick is known as,
"The Levitsky Attack."). I pulled this game out of my database and
I offer it as yet another example of an incorrect move order!! (I
have found dozens - if not hundreds - of examples!!) ].
1...e6; A French Defense.
This opening is something of an oddity for Marshall.
But I am sure Marshall ... - who had an excellent memory, and
also prepared for many an opponent - had a valid reason for playing
this particular defense against this particular opponent.
(Originally in his career, Marshall played the Black side of the
Ruy Lopez. But after some disastrous results against the immortal
Capablanca, Marshall practically gave up on the Black side of the
Spanish Game; and instead began to specialize in: 1. e4, e5; 2.
Nf3, Nf6!?) [ More normal for Marshall, during this period - was to
play: 1...e5; 2.Nf3 Nf6; which is the, "Petroff's Defense." ].
2. d4 d5; 3. Nc3 c5!?; (A little unusual.) This sudden attack on
the center, is known in some books as ... "The Franco-Sicilian."
(Although many times the normal move order is 2...c5; and then
3...d5.). White can give Black an isolated center-Pawn, but Black
then gets a lot of play.
4. Nf3 Nc6!?; This development cannot be bad.
I think the main idea is if White were to play 5. d4xc5!?, Black
could disrupt White's normal flow (of development) in the opening
with 5...d5-d4. [ The 'Book' line here is: 4...Nf6; 5.Bg5 dxe4;
6.Nxe4 cxd4; 7.Bxf6 gxf6; 8.Bb5+! Bd7; 9.Bxd7+ Nxd7; 10.Qxd4 Qa5+;
11.c3 Be7; 12.Qc4!? 0-0; 13.0-0 Rac8; "=" ].
5. exd5!?, White immediately gives Black an isolated Pawn, but
it is not clear if this procedure is best.
[ 5.dxc5!? d4!; 6.Nb5 e5; "~" The computer likes: 5.Bb5, "+/="
(Maybe closer to equal?) Also interesting is: 5.Be3!?, "=" ].
-
25
For the next 5 or so moves, both sides develop pretty normally.
5...exd5; 6. Be2, This is fine, but could have White found an
improvement?
[ 6.g3!?, Rubinstein figured out long ago that - in isolated QP
positions - that a fianchettoed KB may be the best way to go.
].
6...Nf6; 7. 0-0 Be7; 8. Bg5!?, This is OK, but does not seem
congruent with Nimzovich's formula for handling the isolated QP
positions. [ Maybe better was: 8.h3!?, "=" with the idea of Be3 to
follow. ].
8...0-0; 9. dxc5!?, This gives Black an isolated-QP, but also
activates Black's dark - squared Bishop.
[ 9.Re1!?, "+/=" ].
9...Be6!; Black guards his QP. (Black gets in trouble if he
immediately captures the QBP.) [ Black avoids: 9...Bxc5?; ('??')
10.Bxf6 Qxf6; 11.Nxd5, "+/" ].
10. Nd4 Bxc5; 11. Nxe6!?, Hmmm. This does not look right.
(White gives up a great blockading Knight for a do-nothing
Bishop. In addition, Black will no longer have an isolated center
Pawn ... as White has repaired his structure.). GM A Soltis awards
this move the dubious appellation, and then goes on to write: "A
common amateur error. The e6 pawn only appears to be weak, while
the exchange of minor pieces leaves Black (well) in control of the
center." - GM A. Soltis.
'?!' - GM A. Soltis.
[ 11.Be3!, "=" White may have the better long-term chances
because of Black's isolated QP. ].
11...fxe6; 12. Bg4!?, Not impressive.
Maybe White should have looked for something more vigorous.
[ Maybe 12.Na4!? ].
12...Qd6; A centralized Queen ... usually not a bad thing to do.
[ 12...Qe7; ].
13. Bh3!?, This is nothing to scream about, but may now be
positionally forced. [ 13.Nb5!? ].
13...Rae8; "=/+" Black has completed his development, and
already has a small, but tangible and secure, advantage. [
13...h6!? ].
-
26
14. Qd2?!, (Maybe - '?') It does not look good to walk into a
pin ... but ... White had few good moves here-abouts! '?' - GM A.
Soltis.
[ 14.Qd3!? ].
14...Bb4!; GM Soltis awards this rather obvious pinning move an
exclam, so I follow suit.
"Pin and win," said Fred Reinfeld ... on more than one
occasion.
15. Bxf6!?, (Maybe - '?!') This does not make sense either,
White will miss the protector of his dark-squares.
[ Maybe better was: 15.Rae1 Bxc3; "=/+" ].
15...Rxf6; Black's advantage increases just a little bit here.
16. Rad1!?, (Maybe - '?!/?') This is definitely not the best
here.
[ Maybe better was 16.a3, (Box?) This looked like it was, well
... positionally forced. ].
16...Qc5!?; (Maybe - '!') This seems like the most logical.
Black piles up on the pinned piece. [ 16...Qb8!? ].
17. Qe2!?, (Maybe - '?!') White targets Black's backward KP ...
and also prepares to exploit a pin on the e-file.
GM A. Soltis awards this move a full question mark - but offers
NO good alternatives.
'?' - GM A. Soltis.
Since Black has a clear advantage no matter what White plays
here ... - the computer confirms this - and since no VASTLY better
move for White can be demonstrated, I think Soltis is mistaken. It
is (was) White's series of inaccurate moves earlier which caused
the problems that now exist in his game.
After hours of reflection on this position, I think one could
even award an exclam to 17.Qe2, as it is perhaps the best practical
try here! [ Maybe only slightly better was: 17.a3!? Bxc3; 18.Qxc3
Qxc3; 19.bxc3 g5!; "=/+" Maybe White could also try: 17.Qd3!?
Bxc3=/+ ; but Black is better in both cases. ].
17...Bxc3; 18.bxc3 Qxc3!?; Black grabs a pawn, and goes for the
extreme piece activity. (Black keeps a very small edge after this
move, yet it may not be the very best choice for Black.) It may
have been better for Black to keep his KP on the board.
[ Probably better was: 18...e5!; "=/+" (Maybe - "/+") Black is
clearly better here. ].
-
27
19. Rxd5, Hmmm. Forced - to regain his pawn. (Several annotators
have criticized this move as bad, but if White does not regain his
Pawn, he will be as good as lost.) One can now see why White played
this line. (Positionally, White has the better game. The better
minor piece and a slightly superior Pawn structure. Black also has
a big target at e6!) But ... Black now has all the play!
(Especially down the half-open f-file!) [ Not 19.Rd3? Qc5; "/+" Or
19.f4?! Qc5+; 20.Kh1 Nb4; "/+" ].
19...Nd4!; Nice. (Energetic play.) Probably disrupting White's
well-laid plans. "White is hanging by a thread." - GM A.
Soltis.
[ Not 19...exd5??; 20.Qxe8+ Rf8; 21.Be6+ Kh8; 22.Qxf8#. Or
19...e5!? ; ('?') 20.Bd7, "=" ].
***
FM Graham Burgess, in his book; "Chess Highlights Of The 20th
Century," picks up this fabulous game at this point. 20. Qh5?!,
(Maybe - '?') FM Graham Burgess awards this move a whole question
mark - but fails to suggest a worthy alternative! (Maybe 20.
Qe4!?). It actually may not matter either, White may already be
worse off ... in this position!
'?' - FM Graham Burgess.
(GM Soltis gives NO mark ... or appellation to this move at
all!) I think probably Burgess is closer to being right than
Soltis. 20. Qh5, is probably a mistake ... BUT ... Black is still
better in any case!
[ Probably forced was: 20.Qe4[], (Maybe "=") 20...Rf4!; ""
(Maybe - "=/+") Black is already just a tiny bit better here. Not
20.Qe5?! Nf3+!; 21.gxf3 Qxf3; "-/+" (Maybe "-/+") (GM Soltis gives
instead: 21...Rg6+; which also wins for Black.) ].
20...Ref8; (Almost - '!') Not quite an exclam, but this is
clearly superior to 20...g6!?
(The computer shows that Black's advantage is now overwhelming.)
[ 20...g6?!; (Maybe - '?/??') The natural reaction ... and dead
wrong! 21.Qe5, "=" ("+/=" ?) Maybe slightly better for White!
].
21. Re5 Rh6; 22. Qg5, Hmmm. This looks ugly, but it may be
forced.
FM G. Burgess writes: "Otherwise 22...Rxh3; simply wins material
for Black."
[ If 22.Qd1? Rxh3; 23.gxh3 Nf3+; 24.Kg2 Nxe5; "-/+" Or 22.Qg4?
Rxh3; 23.Qxh3 Qxh3; 24.gxh3 Nf3+; 25.Kg2 Nxe5; "-/+" ].
Black's next move is a cute little sack. 22...Rxh3!; 23.
Rc5,
-
28
Attempting to "bump" the Black Queen. (The routine 23.gxh3??
loses to 23...Nf3+; winning White's Queen.) Chernev writes:
"Expecting to drive the (Black) Queen away, but ... never to such a
fantastic spot!"
GM Soltis calls this move, "A last gasp."
[ 23.gxh3?? Nf3+; ("-/+") Black wins White's Queen. ].
23...Qg3!!; (Maybe - '!!!/!!!!') Wow! Easily one of the most
amazing and incredible moves ever actually played on a chess
board.
There is no defense, so ... WHITE RESIGNS! 0 - 1 (There is no
reply to a real thunderbolt!! Or a real ... "sock-dolager" as
Horowitz used to say.). [ For those who need proof that Black is
really lost: 23...Qg3!!; 24.Qxg3[], This looks forced. Or 24.fxg3?
Ne2+; 25.Kh1 Rxf1#; Or 24.hxg3? Ne2#. 24...Ne2+; 25.Kh1 Nxg3+;
26.Kg1, (26.fxg3?? Rxf1# ). 26...Nxf1; "-/+" Black will emerge a
piece up, with an easy win.
***
Or Black could have played 23...Qb2!; "-/+" Black wins. - GM A.
Soltis. Black could have also played: 23...Ne2+!?; 24.Kh1 Ng3+;
25.Kg1!, (25.fxg3?? Rxf1#.) 25...Nxf1!, (25...Ne2+?!; 26.Kh1 Ng3+;
27.Kg1 Ne2+; "=" - GM A. Soltis.) 26.Rxc3 Rxc3; 27.Kxf1 Rxc2; "=/+"
(Maybe - "-/+") and Black is clearly better. (But this is GROSSLY
inferior to what Marshall actually played!) ]
0 - 1
***
Chernev writes, (after 23...Q-KKt6!!): "Such a move deserves two
exclamation points! Apparently the Queen has committed suicide, but
strangely enough it is White who is helpless." (Chernev goes on to
analyze the position and prove that White is completely lost.)
Chernev goes on to comment: (after 23...Qg3!!) "Levitszky did not
mar the glory of the moment by playing on, chivalrously ... he
resigned." FM G. Burgess writes of the move, 23...Qg3!!: "A very
pretty move to finish." (The understatement of the year!). "The
most elegant move ... I have ever played." - GM F. Marshall.
***
Soltis awards this move (23...Qg3) THREE (3) exclamation points!
For many years ... the story on this game was that the spectators
became so excited that they ... " ... showered the board with gold
pieces." (Even several newspapers carried this version of the
story.) > - GM Ruben Fine.
Years later, it was revealed that gold pieces may have been paid
... ... (at least in part) ... by disgruntled bettors - - - paying
off their debts!! (But it does not lessen the tremendous impact or
the electricity of Marshall's extremely rare move!!). On 23...Qg3:
'!!' - Irving Chernev.
-
29
'!!' - FM G. Burgess. '!!!' - GM A. Soltis. '!!!' - GM Ruben
Fine.
"Many respected critics consider this stroke to be the single
most amazing move of chess ever actually executed on a
chess-board." - Anne Sunnucks.
"THE ... Marshall Immortal?"
During the period from 1904 to 1909, Marshall won like four or
five International Chess Tournaments. He was obviously one of the
best players in the world, and also one of the most brilliant. The
game that follows could very well be the finest game that Marshall
ever created during his long and storied career. This tournament
was one of the very strongest of that period. With the exception of
Pillsbury, who was already ill, and World Champion Emanuel Lasker
... all the world's leading masters showed up for this exciting
tournament. Geza Maroczy won ... a full point-and-a-half ahead of
David Janowski and Siegbert Tarrasch, who were tied for second.
(Schlechter, Marco, Teichmann, and Burn all finished ahead of
Marshall. Click here to see a cross-table of this extremely
important and historic event - you may have to scroll down a bit.)
I also have studied many of the games of this tournament, some
really great chess was played here. (You can get a lot of these
games in just about any chess database.) While Marshall did not do
too well, he played some great chess. (One of his games against
Burn won the second brilliancy prize.) But this game was probably
his best effort. (I think so!)
Was there something in the water? Friday; April 30th, 2004: Just
an aside - I received an e-mail from a good friend ... who asked
that I not use his name. (Wassup with this?) But he is a fairly
well-regarded chess historian, and while not a really strong
player, knows a great deal about the lore and history of our royal
game. (His library is much bigger than mine!) He told me that
Ostende, 1905; (and 1907 - for that matter); was a VERY rare
tournament in terms of the high-quality games that were played.
When I started to dispute this, he simply pointed to a few books
that he knew I had (and respected) in my library, like Soltis's
book, "The 100 Best." (He has an ORIGINAL copy {or copies} of the
tournament books for Ostende.) These games are truly magnificent.
When just one game from a tournament makes into several anthologies
as a really great game ... well this is good, but nothing to cheer
about. But when 10-15 games are recognized as being really
outstanding games ... and have made their way into several books
... you begin to wonder. (Was there a special prize for best
play?)
White's play here is brilliant. Many historians consider this
one of Marshall's best games. And I recently (March, 2004) got some
new information about this game ... and I wanted to share it with
Marshall fan's everywhere. So I finally forced myself to annotate
this game. This is mostly a text-based game ... with one or two
diagrams. You will definitely want a chess board. Click HERE to see
an explanation of some of the symbols that I use when annotating a
chess game. Click HERE to see this game in java-script replay
format. (Not one of my pages!)
Frank J. Marshall (2675) - Mikhail Tchigorin (2650) [A80]
ICT / Masters / Ostende Invitational Ostende Resort, Belgium,
NED; (Rd. # 7), 1905
[A.J. Goldsby I]
This game is in most databases ... but usually just the game
score ... and not much else. (No indication of what kind of game
this really is!)
***
-
30
The son of an Eastern European Master recently (March, 2004);
told me a story. (And it was one that I had never heard before.)
And it was truly a most fascinating one. It seems that many years
ago that the one and only Vassily Smyslov came to town to play in a
chess tournament. Smyslov had already lost his title back to
Botvinnik, but his stature in this town was not diminished a bit.
Smyslov was invited to give a lecture at the local TV station,
which would be taped and re-transmitted later. The lecture was
attended by many of the town's best players. The talk was on chess
tactics, and this game was one of those that was covered in the
lecture. {This game can be found in many chess books and game
collections as well.}
The game starts off as: "A Dutch Defense." 1.d4 f5; 2.e4!?,
{Diagram?} The Staunton Gambit ... ... ... one of the sharpest
lines that a player of the White pieces could possibly meet the
Dutch with. (Marshall said he loved to play this line ... and used
it whenever possible.) [ The main line of the Dutch usually goes
something like: 2.Nf3 Nf6; 3.g3! e6!?; {Diagram?} The "Classical
Dutch." (Also heavily played today is: 3...g6!?; {Diagram?} which
is known as: "The Leningrad Dutch Defense." ) 4.Bg2 d5; {Diagram?}
These are the more popular lines of this opening, which today is
called: "The Dutch Stonewall." ( Also played is: 4...Be7!? ) 5.c4
c6; 6.0-0 Bd6; 7.b3 Qe7; 8.Bb2 0-0; 9.Ne5 Nbd7; 10.Nd2, "+/="
{Diagram?} White has a slight advantage in this position -
currently on the board. (White won a nice game in only 41 moves.)
A. Kalinin - A. Kripiavin; City Championship Tournament Moscow,
Russia, 2001. (White won a nice game.) ]
2...fxe4; 3.Nc3 Nf6; 4.Bg5 c6!?; {Diagram?} Black intends to
play ...d5. (...Nc6; is the most reliable move here, according to
opening theory.)
[ Black should NOT play: /= 4...Nc6!?; 5.d5 Ne5; 6.Qd4 Nf7;
7.Bxf6 exf6; 8.Nxe4 Be7; {Diagram?} The end of the column here.
9.0-0-0 0-0; 10.Ng3!? d6; 11.f4 c5; "~" ("=") {Diagram?} ... "with
at least even chances for Black in a very sharp game." - GM Nick de
Firmian S. Kravtsov - A. Vyzhmanavin; ICT / Masters / RUS. Cup # 9
Novgorod, Russia; 1997. [ See MCO-14, page # 489; column # 20, and
also note # (f.). ] ]
5.Bxf6!?, {Diagram?} White gets rid of the Knight so as to be
able to recapture the e-pawn. But modern opening theory suggests a
much better and sharper way for White to proceed (from) here. [
Much better is the ultra-sharp move of f3! here. For example:
>/= 5.f3! exf3; 6.Nxf3 e6; 7.Bd3 Be7; 8.Ne5, "~" ('+/=') {D?}
with great play for White.
-
31
Emanuel Lasker - H.N. Pillsbury; ICT / Super-Master Invitational
DRR / Paris, France; 1900. (1-0, 85m.) ]
5...exf6; 6.Nxe4 Qb6!?; 7.Rb1 d5; 8.Ng3 Be6!?; {Diagram?} Both
sides have developed the best they could given the current Pawn
structure ... although the Queen move to b6 by Black struck me as a
tad too speculative.
*************************
**************************
This is a rather bizarre position that we currently have on the
chess board. [ 8...Qa5+!?; 9.c3 Qxa2; 10.Bd3, "~" ]
9.Bd3 Nd7!?; {Diagram?} "Black tries to do without ...g6; or
castling." - GM Andy Soltis. [ Possible was: 9...Bd6!?; "~" ] Both
sides continue to mobilize for the middlegame. 10.Qe2 Kf7; 11.Nf3
Re8; 12.0-0 Bd6; 13.c3!, 13...Nf8!?; 14.Nh4!, (hmmm) {See the
diagram ... just below.} It is not even clear why White made his
last move ... or just what the point of this Knight sally was.
*************************
-
32
**************************
I went over this game - briefly - one night on ICC, a popular
chess server. One strong player commented that: "White seems to be
walking into an upper-cut in this position!" [ One program likes:
14.Rbe1!?, "~" ]
14...Bf5!?; (Tempting fate?) {See the diagram, just below.} This
seems like an obvious and a fairly playable move, Tchigorin expects
something like: 15.Qc2, Bxd3; 16.Qxd3, Ng6; when Black has an
excellent position. (Note that White's Queen - now - is in a
discovered attack.)
*************************
**************************
But the great Tchigorin is in for a very big (and rude)
surprise! (Probably the best move in this position - for Black -
was ...a6; or ...g6.)
-
33
[ The move of: >/= 14...g6!?; "~" {Diagram?} seems to blunt
White's attack. (A little, anyway.)
*******************************************************
GM A Soltis recommends that Black play ...Bxg3; in this
position, but that is clearly bogus:
-
34
17...Qc7; 18.Bxe2! Kf7; ('!') {Diagram?} Black avoids the
obvious stuff. [ After the moves:
-
35
and White's Knights look very alone and stranded in this
position. [ Worse is:
-
36
(Tchigorin does not care about the loss of the Pawn, this
capture of the Black infantry (on g7) by White's Rook would put his
King in a terrible bind.)
*******
[ White could have also played: (>/=) 24.Rxg7!?, ('!!')
24...Nxd3?; 25.Nf5!, {Diagram?} with an inescapable mating web.
]
24...g6[]; {Diagram?} According to several books, this move is
completely forced here. [ Better is: 24...Rxc8; (Fritz) {Diagram?}
{White is still winning easily.} ]
25.g3!, (challenge) {Diagram?} Putting the question to Black's
Knight on f4 which lacks a bevy of good squares to retreat to. [
Interesting was: 25.Rxb7!?, "+/-" {Diagram?} and just grab ALL of
Black's Pawns on the 7th rank here. ]
25...Nh3+; 26.Kg2 Ng5; 27.Bd3!!, {See the diagram just below.}
An almost magical re-activation of this piece, White now threatens
28.h4!, (and if) 28...Ne4; then 29.Nf7, and 20.Be2#.
*************************
**************************
'!' - GM Andrew Soltis. [ Also good was: 27.f3!?, "+/-" ]
Now Black is in really dire straights ... and feels compelled to
start returning a little of his booty ... in a vain effort to save
the leader of the dark armies. 27...Rxc8; 28.Nxc8 Qd8; 29.h4! Qxc8;
{Diagram?} Not pleasant ... but few of the variations here are. [
Or 29...Nf7!?; 30.Rxf7 Qxc8?; {Diagram?} Grabbing material, but ...
( >/= Or 30...Kh6; 31.Nxa7, "+/-" ) 31.Rxh7+ Kg4; 32.f3#. ]
-
37
30.hxg5, ("+/-") {Diagram?} (Black Resigned here.) White has an
overwhelming material advantage here ... ... ... and it is a mate
in five or six more moves from this position anyway. [Apparently
this game was submitted for the top brilliancy prize(s).] "This is
a real Fourth of July fireworks show from beginning to end." - GM
Frank J. Marshall, in his book: "My Fifty Years of Chess." GM
Andrew Soltis picked this game as one of the very best ('Top 100')
of the whole of the 20th Century. GM Vassily Smyslov called this
... "simply the finest combination that Marshall ever conceived!"
GM Mikhail Botvinnik and GM Salo Flohr wrote a series of articles
on great chess games. These articles were published in Soviet chess
magazines from the late 1930's ... all the way through the 1950's.
(Most westerners have never heard of or even seen these articles.)
But this very distinguished pair called this combination: "The
finest of its kind and one of the best of that whole period of
chess." Emanuel Lasker - in his [then] new chess magazine - praised
this contest as, "a spirited and inspired attacking game, one of
the best of its type." Is this Frank J. Marshall's greatest and
best chessic achievement? It is entirely possible that this is so!
(04/14/2004)
Frank J. ("James") Marshall (2650) - Amos Burn (2575) [A46]
Ostende Resort, (GER) 1907. [A.J. Goldsby I]
Chernev writes: > [ See the book, {The} "1000 Best Short
Games Of Chess," by (the late, great) Irving Chernev. Game # 683,
pg. # 351. ]
***
For my part, I will simply say the game is incredibly brilliant.
This is also the famous, "Un-lit pipe game." (Burn was an
inveterate smoker, usually smoking his pipe non-stop during the
entire game. Some opponents claimed it was distracting and they
could not see the board for the haze of smoke!) Here, Marshall
kills his opponent before he could even get his pipe properly lit!
(I do not know if this game won a prize, months of research has
yielded little information about this tournament. {Ostende, 1907.}
This game is NOT annotated by GM Andy Soltis in his excellent
hard-back book, "Frank Marshall, U.S. Chess Champion." (A biography
with 220 annotated games.) But I do remember reading that this game
was at least a strong contender for the brilliancy prize.).
1. d4 Nf6; 2. Nf3 d6; 3. Bf4 Nbd7; 4. e3 g6!?; {Diagram?}
Perhaps slightly risky, (Maybe according to GM A. Soltis.) (See the
book, "The Best Chess Games of Boris Spassky," Game # 16, pg.'s #
61 - 65.) (In a similar position.) The move 4...g6!? does slightly
weaken the squares around Black's King and on the whole of the
King-side. Perhaps this move, in concert with ...Nbd7; makes the
move, ...g6; a little risky. (Maybe 4...c6!?)
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38
5. Bd3 Bg7; 6. Nbd2 0-0; 7. h4!? (Maybe - '!!!') {Diag?}
Marshall does not mess around, but starts an immediate attack on
his opponent's King. [ White could have played the very sedate:
7.0-0; or the calm - 7.c3, "=" ]. 7...Re8; 8. h5! Nxh5; 9. Rxh5!!
gxh5; {Diagram?} Marshall must have gotten up in the wrong side of
the bed this morning. He rains sacrifices down on his unsuspecting
opponents. 10. Bxh7+! Kxh7!?; (Maybe - '?!/?') Is this capture
wise? Black captures the Bishop. At one time it was considered
unchivalrous not to capture a proffered piece. Burn may have been
still suffering the after-effects of one of their earlier
encounters. (Marshall sacked a piece unsoundly and Burn should have
taken, but he did not.) Maybe Black should not have taken this
piece!!! [Although Chernev does not say it, the best move may be:
10...Kf8!?;
(See the diagram directly below.)
(Maybe - '!') Its not clear how White will continue his attack.
( 11.Ng5 Nf6; 12.Nde4,"~" {Unclear.} ). ]. 11. Ng5+ Kg6; {Diagram?}
Unfortunately for Black, this is probably forced. [Chernev offers
the variation: "No better is 11...Kg8; ('?!') 12.Qxh5 Nf6; 13.Qxf7+
Kh8; 14.0-0-0, ("+/-")
(See the diagram directly below.)
and the Rook check will end it." - Chernev. ].
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39
12. Ndf3 e5; {Diagram?} Black is lost, the computer shows this
position as a complete win for White. - So it matters little what
defense Black adopts now. [ I would have been tempted to try
something like: 12...Nf8!? ].
13. Nh4+ Kf6; 14. Nh7+ Ke7; 15. Nf5+ Ke6; 16. Nxg7+!? Ke7;
{Diagram?} Watch them little horsies dance!
17. Nf5+ Ke6; 18. d5+! Kxf5; 19. Qxh5+ Ke4; 20. 0-0-0, Black
Resigns. 1-0 [The final moves could have been: 20.0-0-0 Nf6 ;
(20...exf4; 21.Rd4# ) 21.f3# ]
***
Chernev writes: "The threat is 21. P-B3 mate (f3#), and if
20...PxB/f4; then 21. R-Q4 (Rd4) is mate." Chernev continues:
"Marshall's skillful manipulation of his Knights is reminiscent of
Capablanca's Knight maneuvers in his game against Yates at New
York, 1924" A game of exceeding brilliance and beauty. A
'one-in-a-1000' chess game. Marshall sacrifices almost all of his
pieces, yet Chernev gives him not a single exclamation point. One
has to wonder at this. (Had Capa played this game, would Chernev
given all of these moves exclams?) (This game got strong
consideration for the "Top Ten" list, but in the end, Burn's
defense - or the lack of it - basically removed this game from real
consideration for the final candidate list of games. - A.J. Goldsby
I.)
1 - 0 (There is a very long story behind this game. I was sent
{loaned} a book {on Marshall} by a
friend who lived in Texas many years ago. {In the 1970's.} He
was a big Marshall fan. I was to annotate ten of Marshall's best
chess games and they were to be published in the Texas State Chess
Magazine. {Over a period of several issues.} After working more
than a year on this
project, I copied everything and sent it to my friend. Then the
magazine changed hands several times, and I don't know what
happened to the material. The games were never printed. *sob*
Aaron Nimzowitsch (2718) - Frank J. Marshall (2647) [A50]
Master's Invitational Tournament Bad Kissingen, (GER); (7)
1928
[A.J. Goldsby I]
**************************************************************
One of Marshall's best games, this near miniature also won the
FIRST Brilliancy Prize at the Bad Kissingen Tournament in 1928. The
ratings are the ones that were assigned to this game when it was in
the database. According to Sonas, Nimzovich was Number Five (# 5)
in the World, (behind Lasker, Capa, Alekhine and Vidmar); with a
rating of 2697. Marshall is designated as the Number Ten (# 10)
player in the World with a rating of 2622. (Rating list: Dec. 31st,
1927.)
**************************************************************
1.d4 Nf6; 2.c4 b6!?; (Maybe - '!') {Diagram?} There are many
myths about Marshall. The most popular ones are: A.) Marshall only
played swindles; and B.) He could not play a wide variety of
openings. The simple truth is that Marshall was a tremendous
player. While perhaps best known for a few famous swindles, he
could beat you in ANY phase of the game!! (Opening, middle-game or
even in an ending.)
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40
The other myth about Marshall is he played only certain lines
... and played them poorly. (Fine {in the U.S. chess magazine} once
wrote: "He had a narrow repertoire, and was addicted to a few
inferior lines.") Nothing could be further from the truth. This was
a man who often took a small chess-board and a writing pad to bed
with him at night, in case he came up with a new idea. Here he
plays Nimzo's own invention, and soundly thrashes him with it!! [
Also popular is the move: 2...e6!?; {Diagram?} which could
transpose to several different openings, but usually signifies the
Nimzo-Indian. Or Black could try: 2...g6!?; {Diagram?} leading to
the Benoni, the Gruenfeld, or the King's Indian Defense. (But
masters did not begin playing these lines until the 1930's or even
the 1940's.) ]
3.Nc3 Bb7!?; {Diagram?} Probably not the most accurate move
order - by the standards of modern theory, anyway. (But I don't
think its that big of a deal.) [ Normal is: 3...e6 ]
4.Bg5!?, {Diagram?} This move, while very popular in the early
days of this line, is not considered dangerous by theory today.
(The pin is not considered all that effective, but many players -
like GM J. Timman - regularly use Bg5 against the {regular}
Nimzo-Indian Defense.) [ In modern times, one could expect the
following moves: 4.Nf3 e6; 5.a3!?, "+/=" {Diagram?} transposing to
the main lines. ( See MCO-14, beginning on page number # 555. And
see columns one through eighteen. {1-18} );
*******
Soltis says the best line for White is to play Queen-to-c2 on
his fourth move, with the idea of a very quick pawn advance, e2-e4:
>/= 4.Qc2! c5!?; {Diagram?} Theory says this is best - but I am
not convinced. ( 4...e6; 5.e4 d5!?; {Diagram?} This allows White to
fix the pawn structure, maybe ...d6 was better. 6.cxd5 exd5; 7.e5
Ne4!?; {Diagram?} Hmmm, maybe ...Nfd7 instead? 8.Bb5+ c6; 9.Bd3,
{Diagram?} ... "with an excellent game." - GM Andrew Soltis. GM S.
Tartakower - GM F. Marshall; Bad Kissingen, (GER); 1928. (Later in
this same tournament!);
***
The other way for Black to play this position is the following:
4...d5; ('!?/?!') {Diagram?} This could be a very risky (dubious)
concept, at least according to GM Andrew Soltis. 5.cxd5 Nxd5; 6.e4
Nxc3; 7.bxc3 e6; 8.Nf3 c5!?; {Diagram?} Black might do better with
...Be7; followed by ...0-0; first. 9.Ne5! a6; 10.Rb1 Be7; "~"
{Diagram?} and now White played Qa4+!, which according to Soltis
gives White a very clear advantage. (11.Qa4+!, Kf8!?; 12.Bd3, etc.)
GM F.J. Marshall - S.B. Gothilf; Moscow, (USSR); 1925. )
*******
(Returning to the main line of analysis of this opening.) 5.d5
e5!?; 6.e4 d6; 7.g3, "+/=" {Diagram?} White has a solid edge, and
went on to win a very nice game. (But Black's handling of the
opening was less than ideal, IMOHO.) GM V. Smyslov - GM A.
Matanovic; (FIDE) Interzonal Tournament Biel, Switzerland; 1976.
]
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41
4...e6; 5.Qc2 h6!; {Diagram?} Black 'asks the question' of the
Bishop without any delay. '!' - GM Andrew Soltis. '!' - GM F.J.
Marshall
6.Bh4 Be7!?; (Maybe - '!') {Diagram?} Black immediately breaks
the pin. While not necessarily smiled upon by modern opening
theory, I like this move. It certainly makes sense ... Black
develops a piece, gets ready to castle and breaks the pin without
any further delay. [ The more modern move today is ...Bb4; viz:
6...Bb4; 7.e3 0-0; 8.Nf3 d6; 9.Bd3 Nbd7; 10.0-0-0, "+/=" {Diagram?}
(when) White is thought to have a small but steady advantage. IM B.
Finegold - GM V. Tukmakov; CAN - (open) Tournament, Winnipeg,
Canada; 1994. (Black won in under 30 moves.) See also: GM G. Serper
- A. Bagheri; FIDE WCS Tournament (knock-out) New Delhi, India;
2000. (White won in 26 moves.) ]
7.e4!?, {Diagram?} White immediately grabs the center, in a
purely classical vein. [ Or 7.Nf3!? 0-0; {Diagram?} when Black's
chances are certainly no worse than White's. ]
7...0-0; ('!') 8.e5!?, (Probably - '?!') {Diagram?} This is a
natural reaction in this kind of position, the Knight on f6 is the
natural defender of Black's entire King-side. (If it leaves, the
second player's defenses have been weakened - or so the theory
goes.) Modern opening theory, however, warns against prematurely
crossing the ... 'line of demarcation,' ... or advancing beyond the
first four rows of the chessboard. '?' - GM Andrew Soltis. (This
looks a little harsh to me, but ...) '?' - Fred Reinfeld. '?' -
Frank J. Marshall. Nimzovich also wanted to weaken Black's key dark
squares, but here the idea simply costs too much time. [ After the
ambitious: 8.f3!? d6; 9.Bd3!? c5!; 10.Nge2!? Nc6; "=/+" {Diag?}
Black is already (a little) better.
***
White's best bet is probably: >/= 8.Nf3 d6; 9.Bd3 Nc6;
10.a3!, "~" {Diagram?} with close to an equal position ... but
Black certainly has little to fear here. (...e5! Or even ...a5.)
]
8...Nd5!; {Diagram?} An excellent move by Marshall ... which
Nimzovich {later} admitted he had simply missed. (or
under-estimated) '!' - GM Frank J. Marshall. [ Nimzovich had
expected a line like:
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42
[ Or >/= 9.Bxe7 Nxe7; {Diagram?} but Black is fine. (This is
probably better than the game, White avoids any disadvantage.)
]
9...Nb4; ('!') {Diagram?} Many times better than other moves
like ...Nxc3. 10.Qb3, {Diagram?} T