July 01, 1972 Larry Evans on Chess

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Reno Gazette-Journal Reno, Nevada Saturday, July 01, 1972 - Page 5

EVANS ON CHESS

Dr. G. Paros, Hungary
Problem: (07/01/1972) White mates in two.
Stockfish Analysis.

21st USA Championship
14 top players, including 7 grandmasters, recently vied for the title in New York City. The defending champ Sammy Reshevsky led most of the way. Then he lost to Robert Byrne and Lubomir Kavalek, both undefeated, who managed to overtake Reshevsky in a 3-way tie for first prize. Since this tournament was a zonal, the first leg of the triennial world championship challengers cycle, a playoff will determine which two of these grandmasters will represent the USA at the interzonal in 1973.

Final Standings
1 Byrne 2 Kavalek 3 Reshevsky 4 Evans 5 Benko 6 DeFotis 7 Lombardy 8 Mednis 9 Bisguier 10 Martz 11 Kaufman 12 Feuerstein 13 Horowitz 14 Popovych	9 9 9 8½ 8 7½ 7½ 7 6½ 6½ 5 3 2½ 2

This instructive example of play on both wings is a candidate for the best game award. White achieves an early space advantage and breaks through on the Queenside but Black's defense is tenacious. Finally White switches to a Kingside invasion.

King's Indian Defense
White: EVANS 1 P-Q4 2 P-QB4 3 N-QB3 4 P-K4 5 B-K2 6 N-B3 7 0-0 8 B-K3 9 P-Q5 10 BxB 11 P-QN4 12 P-QR3 13 Q-N3 14 B-K2! 15 B-Q2 16 P-B3 17 N-R4 18 PxP 19 Q-B3 20 P-B5 21 P-N5! 22 QxKP 23 Q-B5 24 B-B3 25 KR-Q1 26 P-K5 27 P-K6 28 NxB 29 Q-B2 30 P-R3(b) 31 B-B4 32 N-K4 33 QxN 34 Q-K5 35 R-R4! 36 B-Q3 37 R/1-R1 38 QxQ 39 K-B2 40 P-R4 41 PxP 42 R-R1 43 R-KR5 44 P-N3 45 KxP 46 R-KN4 47 R/5xP 48 RxR 49 B-R7 50 K-B4 51 PxP 52 P-B7! 53 K-K5 54 R-N8ch 55 R-N7ch 56 RxN 57 R-QN7	Black: POPOVYCH N-KB3 P-KN3 B-N2 P-Q3 0-0 B-N5(a) KN-Q2 P-K4 BxN P-KB4 P-QR4 N-R3 K-R1 P-85 N-B3 R-KN1 PxP B-B1 P-KN4 PxP N-N1 QN-Q2 R-N3! B-N2 Q-K2 N-KN1 BxB R-KB1 N/2-B3 P-N3 R-N2 NxN N-B3 N-K1 N-Q3 K-N1 Q-B3 RxQ R-K2(c) P-R3 PxP R-B1 R-N2 PxPch R-Q1 K-B1 RxR P-B5 NxP P-B3(d) N-Q5(e) NxPch NxP K-K2 K-B1 P-N4 Black Resigns
(a) Inferior. Usual is 6 … P-K4 7 0-0, N-B3 8 P-Q5, N-K2 (b) Unclear is 30 R-R7, P-N3 31 P-Q6, QxKP 32 RxP (or 32 PxP, R-B1 33 R-Q8, R-N2!), P-N5! (c) Better is 39 … P-R4. (d) Missing a draw: 50 … N-B6! 51 R-N8ch K-K2 52 RxR. KxR 53 K-K5, K-K2 54 K-Q4, N-N4ch 55 KxP. N-Q3ch 56 K-Q4, K-B3 with a blockade. (e) Looks natural, but 51 … N-B2! is the only drawing chance.

PROBLEM SOLUTION: 1 Q-K8! threatening 2 PxP. If 1 … P-Q3 2 N/5-Q7. If 1 … R-Q3 2 P-KB4

June 17, 1972 Larry Evans on Chess

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Reno Gazette-Journal Reno, Nevada Saturday, June 17, 1972 - Page 5

EVANS ON CHESS

A. Zarur, Brazil
Problem: (June/17/1972) White mates in two.
Stockfish Analysis.

Fischer Lore
From the moment he exploded upon the world as a 13-year-old prodigy, Bobby Fischer brought more excitement and vitality to the scene than any other player since the legendary Paul Morphy. Each Fischer game is a struggle from opening to ending: there are no easy draws if he can help it. Small wonder so many books appear on him.
Profile of a Prodigy by Frank Brady (McKay $1.95) traces Fischer's stormy career through 1964. Six booklets Bobby Fischer his games and his openings cover the period 1955 through 1971 ($13, Chess Digest, Box 21225E, Dallas, Tx 75211). And in his classic My 60 Memorable Games (Simon & Schuster, $6.95) Fischer annotates his own best efforts, including 3 losses, from 1957-67.
If I had to choose his most brilliant game it would be #48, for which I contributed this preface in Fischer's own collection:
K. F. Kirby, editor of the South African Chess Quarterly, summed up the astonishment and admiration of the chess world when he wrote: ‘The Byrne game was quite fabulous, and I cannot call to mind anything to parallel it. After White's 11th move I should adjudicate his position as slightly superior, and at worst completely safe. To turn this into a mating position in 11 more moves is more witchcraft than chess! Quite honestly, I do not see the man who can stop Bobby at this time …’ And one can add nothing to Byrne's own words: ‘And as I sat pondering why Fischer would choose such a line, because it was so obviously lost for Black, there suddenly came 18…NxB. This dazzling move came as the shocker…The culminating combination is of such depth that, at the very moment at which I resigned, both grandmasters who were commenting on the play for the spectators in a separate room believed that I had a won game!’

U.S.A. Championship 1963/4 Gruenfeld Defense
White: R. BYRNE 1 P-Q4 2 P-QB4 3 P-KN3 4 B-N2 5 PxP 6 N-QB3 7 P-K3 8 KN-K2 9 0-0 10 P-N3 11 B-QR3 12 Q-Q2 13 PxP 14 KR-Q1(a) 15 Q-B2 16 KxN 17 K-N1 18 Q-Q2 19 KxN 20 NxP 21 K-B1(b) 22 Resigns (c)	Black: FISCHER N-KB3 P-KN3 P-B3 P-Q4 PxP B-N2 0-0 N-B3 P-N3 B-QR3 R-K1 P-K4! NxP N-Q6! NxP! N-N5ch NxKP NxB! P-Q5! P-N2ch Q-Q2!
(a) Correct is 14 QR-Q1! (b) Fischer gives 21 K-N1 (or 21 K-B2, Q-Q2! 22 QR-B1, Q-R6 23 N-B3, B-KR3) BxNch 22 QxB, R-K8ch! 23 K-B2, QxQch 24 RxQ, RxR wins. (c) If 22 Q-KB2, Q-R6ch 23 K-N1, R-K8ch!! 24 RxR, BxN 25 QxB, Q-N7 mate.

PROBLEM SOLUTION: 1 Q-05! If 1…RxN 2 R-N5. If 1…PxP 2 Q-Q3.

May 20, 1972 Larry Evans on Chess

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Reno Gazette-Journal Reno, Nevada Saturday, May 20, 1972 - Page 5

EVANS ON CHESS

A. Benedek, Hungary
Problem: (05/20/1972) White mates in two.
Stockfish Analysis.

Alekhine Is In Again
Alexander Alekhine (1892 — 1946) emigrated to France after the Russian revolution in 1917. He won the world championship from Cuba's José Capablanca in 1927, refused to grant a return match, and held the title until his lonely death in Lisbon after World War II. Alekhine explained his brief loss of the title in 1935-37 as “too much alekohol.”
Alekhine did not invite affection as a human being. He even collaborated with the Nazis during the war and wrote a series of articles Jewish and Aryan Chess in 1941: “A psychological study — based on experiences at the chessboard — which demonstrates the Jewish lack of courage and creative power.”
Ugly rumors circulated that Alekhine did not lift a finger to aid chess colleagues condemned in Nazi concentration camps. In Russia his name was purged from Alekhine's Defense (1 P-K4, N-KB3) and he was ostracized by the chessworld. Not now.
The Alekhine Memorial Tournament was held in Moscow recently, a strong event indeed. The first 7 in a field of 18 Grand Masters were all Russians: 1-2 Karpov & Stein (11); 3 Smyslov (10½); 4-5 Petrosian & Tukmakov (10); 6-7 Spassky & Tal (9½). The U. S. representative Robert Byrne made the best showing of the seven foreigners, scoring 9 points. In this game he demolishes a young Soviet player with a novel attacking system.

Sicilian Defense
White: BYRNE 1 P-K4 2 N-KB3 3 P-Q4 4 NxP 5 N-QB3 6 B-K3 7 N-N3 8 Q-Q2 9 P-B3 10 0-0-0 11 P-N4 12 P-N5 13 R-N1 14 K-N1 15 BxN 16 P-K4 17 Q-N2 18 N-Q5 19 P-B4 20 PxPe.p. 21 PxP 22 B-R6 23 PxP 24 N-Q4! 25 RxQ 26 N-B7ch 27 Q-R8ch 28 R-N7ch 29 QxR	Black: BALASHOV P-QB4 P-Q3 PxP N-KB3 P-QR3 P-K4 B-K3 QN-Q2 R-QB1(a) N-N3 Q-B2 N-B5 QxB P-N4 P-N5 B-Q1 P-B4(b) NPxP QPxP P-B4 BxP QxN RxP BxN(c) K-K2 K-B3 Resigns (d)
(a) 10…Q-B2 followed by 0-0-0 gets the King to safety. (b) Dangerously exposing his King in the center. 19…P-QR4 offers more counterplay. (c) If 26…RxNch 27 K-R1, PxR 28 R-K1ch, B-K2 29 Q-N7 wins. (d) Futile is 29…R-R7ch 30 K-B1, R-R8ch 31 K-Q2, etc.

PROBLEM SOLUTION: 1 Q-B7! If 1…B-B4 2 K-Q5. Or 1…B-Q4 2 PxB.