Chess Life 2011-09 September

September 2011 uschess.org

A USCF Publication $3.95

IFC:Layout 1 8/10/2011 8:59 AM Page 1

Chess Magnet new:chess life 12/3/2008 5:28 PM Page 1

2 Chess Life September 2011 uschess.org

Chess Life

Editorial StaffChess Life Editor &Director of Publications Daniel Lucas [email protected]

Chess Life Online Editor Jennifer Shahade [email protected]

Chess Life for Kids Editor Glenn Petersen [email protected]

Senior Art Director Frankie Butler [email protected]

Editorial Assistant/Copy Editor Alan Kantor [email protected]

Editorial Assistant Jo Anne Fatherly [email protected]

Editorial Assistant Jennifer Pearson [email protected]

Technical Editor Ron Burnett

TLA/Advertising Joan DuBois [email protected]

Main office: Crossville, TN (931) 787-1234 Advertising inquiries: (931) 787-1234, ext. 123 TLAs: All TLAs

should be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent to P.O Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557-3967 Letters to the

editor: Please submit to [email protected] Subscriptions: To subscribe to Chess Life, join the USCF or enter

a USCF tournament, go to uschess.org or call 1-800-903-USCF (8723) Change of address: Please send to address-

[email protected] Other inquiries: [email protected], (931) 787-1234, fax (931) 787-1200

USCF Executive Board

President, Ruth Haring PO Box 1993, Chico, CA 95927 [email protected] President, Gary Walters Thompson Hine LLP, [email protected]

3900 Key Center, 127 Public Square,Cleveland, OH 44114

VP Finance, Allen Priest 220West Main Street, Suite 2200 [email protected], KY 40202

Secretary, Mike Nietman 2 Boca GrandeWay, Madison,WI 53719 [email protected]

Member at Large, Michael Atkins PO Box 6138,Alexandria, VA 22306 [email protected] at Large, Jim Berry PO Box 351, Stillwater, OK 74076 [email protected] at Large, Bill Goichberg PO Box 249, Salisbury Mills, NY 12577 [email protected]

USCF StaffExecutive Director Bill Hall ext. 189 [email protected]

Assistant Executive Director& Director of National Events Patricia Knight Smith 931-200-3411 [email protected]

National Events Assistant Cody Stewart 931-787-3916 [email protected]

Chief Accountant Peggy Eberhart ext. 131 [email protected]

Chief Financial Officer Joe Nanna ext. 150 [email protected]

Accounting Associate Susan Houston ext. 136 [email protected]

Director of Business Operations Judy Misner ext. 126 [email protected]

Tournament Director Certification Judy Misner ext. 126 [email protected]

Membership Services Supervisor Cheryle Bruce ext. 147 [email protected]

Mailing Lists/Membership Assoc. Traci Lee ext. 143 [email protected]

Membership Associate Joe Wright ext. 125 [email protected]

Membership Associate Joshua Van Winkle ext. 146 [email protected]

Director of Communications& Affiliate Relations Joan DuBois ext. 123 [email protected]

Correspondence Chess Alex Dunne [email protected]

Fundraising/Sponsorship Joan DuBois ext. 123 [email protected]

National Education Consultant Jerry Nash [email protected]

FIDE & Scholastic Associate Chuck Lovingood ext. 148 [email protected]

OTB Ratings/FIDE Walter Brown ext. 142 [email protected]

Computer Consultant Mike Nolan ext. 188 [email protected]

IT Director & Webmaster Phillip R. Smith ext.134 [email protected]

CL_09-2011_masthead_JP_r3:chess life 8/11/2011 4:08 PM Page 2

Chess Life September 2011 3uschess.org

Kings vs. Queens and the Opening of the World Chess Hall of FameThe World Chess Hall of Fame will open in its new location, St. Louis on September 9th. In conjunction with the opening the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis across the street will host a unique team event, Kings vs. Queens: A Battle of the Sexes (September 9-16). Saint Louis own Hikaru Nakamura headlines the Kings while the strongestfemale in history, Judit Polgar leads the women. Look for news, results and games onuschess.org/clo and saintlouischessclub.org and follow the action live on livestream.com/uschess.

U.S. Chess League, Season 8 Another exciting season of the U.S. Chess League kicks into high gear this month. Look forexclusive coverage on CLO and stay up to date on team rosters, pairings and more atuschessleague.com.

Al Lawrence

(Looks at Books, p. 12, and Cover Story, p. 18) is a former

executive director of both USCF and the World Chess Hall of

Fame. His latest book, with GM Lev Alburt, is Chess Training

Pocket Book II.

Dr. Tim Redman

(Profile, p. 26) has been a contributor to this magazine for

more than 35 years. He served twice as president of the

USCF.

IM Irina Krush

(2011 National Open, p. 30) is a three-time U.S. womens

champion, most recently in 2010, and a frequent contributor

to both Chess Life and Chess Life Online.

ICCM Bart Gibbons

(In the Arena, p. 36) lives in Joplin, Missouri. He has been

an over-the-board master since 1979, and an international

correspondence chess master since 1993.

IM Larry Evans

(Openings, p. 40) has been one of America's premier chess

instructors for over forty years. He currently runs dozens of

school programs in California, chess camps around the

world and has been a regular contributor to Chess Life

magazine since 1972.

Cory Evans

(Openings, p. 40) is a chess teacher based in New York and

a member of the Marshall Chess Club board of governors.

Whats your Labor Day Chess Tale? Look for reports from Labor Day Grand Prix tournaments across the nation and send yourown stories, games or photos to [email protected]. Or share your thoughts via socialmedia, twitter.com/uschess or our new facebook fan page, facebook.com/uschess.

Americans in the World CupWatch some of your favorite U.S. players battle in the prestigiousWorld Cup, set for August 26-September 21 in Khanty Mansiysk,Russia. Our representatives include former World Cup and currentU.S. Champ Gata Kamsky (l) as well as GMs Yury Shulman, SamShankland, Robert Hess (far left), Ray Robson (middle) andAlexander Onischuk.

Vs.

Contributors

September on uschess.org

CL_09-2011_CLO_AKF_r6.qxp_chess life 8/10/11 9:57 AM Page 3

Columns

12 LOOKS AT BOOKSIsaac Kashdan, AmericanChess GrandmasterBy Al Lawrence

14 CHESS TO ENJOYIts Just a Matter of TechniqueBy GM Andy Soltis

16 SOLITAIRE CHESSDutch TreatBy Bruce Pandolfini

44 BACK TO BASICSThe Truly Bad BishopBy GM Lev Alburt

46 ENDGAME LAB 2011 World ChampionshipCandidates MatchesBy GM Pal Benko

Departments

3 PREVIEW

6 COUNTERPLAY

8 FIRST MOVES

10 USCF AFFAIRS

50 TOURNAMENT LIFE

70 CLASSIFIEDS

71 SOLUTIONS

On The Cover

The World Chess Hall of Fame

opening adds yet another world-

class chess facility to the city of

St. Louis. Our cover shows just

some of the exhibit items visitors

can experience after the opening

early this month. Read more about

the new museum in Al Lawrences

report beginning on page 18.

Exhibit and building photos

courtesy of World Chess Hall

of Fame; Menchik, Gulko, Soltis

photos from USCF archives.

Cover art by Shirley Szymanek

(www.dog4design.co.uk)


18 COVER STORY

World Chess Hall of Fame Reopens in Saint LouisBy Al Lawrence

The Hall upgrades to a professional staff and a prime location.

26 PROFILE

All RiseBy Dr. Tim Redman

A profile of the Honorable George Leighton.

30 2011 NATIONAL OPEN

Love Has Its BordersBy IM Irina Krush

The story from Las Vegas, including a look by our author at what

makes some of the top players tick.

36 IN THE ARENA

Great RivalriesBy ICCM Bart Gibbons

The top chess stars battle each other one-on-one for prize money and

glory more often than in perhaps any other professional competition.

Follow the action as memorable games between two players over their

careers are presented.

40 OPENINGS

Innovations in the Mikenas BenoniBy IM Larry Evans and Cory Evans

Improvements in a popular opening.

This opulent 1900s Habsburg Dynasty Chess Set is one of 30 rare historical sets, in Chess Masterpieces:Highlights from the George and Vivian Dean Collection exhibition, which along with OUT OF THE BOX:Artists Play Chess, inaugurate the opening of the WCHOF in St. Louis this month.

Dean Collection 2010, Richard Beenen Photography

SeptemberChess Life

CL_09-2011_TOC_AKF_r6_FB_chess life 8/11/11 11:18 AM Page 4

NewMembership OptionsPREM IUM AND REGULAR USCF MEMBERSH I PS NOW AVA I LABLE

PREMIUM MEMBERSHIPPRINTED COPY of Chess Life (monthly)

or Chess Life for Kids (bimonthly) plus allother benefits of regular membership.

REGULAR MEMBERSHIPOnline-only access to Chess Life or Chess Lifefor Kids ; TLA Newsletter will be mailed to you(adults: bimonthly, scholastic: 3 per year)

WHAT YOU GET AS AREGULAR USCF MEMBER:

The right to play in USCF-sanctioned tournamentsand be assigned an official rating

Access to member-only contenton uschess.org, including our USCF

forum discussion group. (9)

Online access to Chess Life & Chess Life for Kids.

WHAT YOU GET AS APREMIUM USCF MEMBER:

All of the above plus a printed copy ofChess Life or Chess Life for Kids!

PAY ONLINE AND SAVE! See uschess.org for all of your membership options.

PREMIUM USCF MEMBERSHIP RATESCATEGORY 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR

ADULT (PAID ONLINE) $42 $78 $113

ADULT (PAID MAIL/PHONE) $49 $85 $120SCHOLASTIC (1) (6 ISSUES CL4K) $23 $42 $60YOUTH (2) (6 ISSUES CL) $27 $49 $70YOUNG ADULT (3) $32 $59 $85

REGULAR USCF MEMBERSHIP RATESCATEGORY 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR

ADULT (PAID ONLINE) $34 $63 $91

ADULT (PAID MAIL/PHONE) $41 $70 $98SCHOLASTIC (1) $16 $28 $39YOUTH (2) $20 $36 $51YOUNG ADULT (3) $24 $43 $61

OTHER USCF MEMBERSHIP RATESCATEGORY 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR

SUSTAINING (4, 8) $95 $190 $285 $380(started prior to 2003)

SUSTAINING (4, 8) $120 $240 $360 $480(started after 2002)

SENIOR (5) $36 $65 $93 N/A(paid online)

SENIOR (5) $43 $72 $100 N/A(paid by mail or phone)

FAMILY PLAN 1 (6) $70 N/A N/A N/AFAMILY PLAN 2 (7) $44 N/A N/A N/ASENIOR LIFE (5, 8) $750 (one time charge)LIFE (8) $1,500 (one time charge)BENEFACTOR (8, 10) $3,000 (one time charge)BENEFACTOR,EXISTING LIFE MEMBER (8, 10) $1,500 (one time charge)

OR

CL_04-2011_membership_ad_redo_JP_r3:Layout 1 5/11/2011 8:53 AM Page 1

Noting the rules

This is a question on tournament rules

that I think others might find interest-

ing. Tournament rules say a player

cannot refer to notes. However, I often

see players with brief reminders on their

score sheet, book or clock, such as

Watch your time or Take your time,

etc. (They often, but not always refer to

time.) My question is this: Are such

small reminders illegal and if they are,

how is a tournament director to handle

such offenses?

Jack Adamovia e-mail

Tim Just, editor of the USCF rulebook,replies:

The two rules that cover notes20D (Use of recorded matter prohibited)and 20C (Use of notes prohibited)have the same idea behind them; i.e.,they prohibit a player from receivingwritten assistance in their game. The

main thing that those rules want toprevent is having a player referencing achess book, handwritten material, printedmaterial, recorded matter, or any otherrecorded material that may help chesswarriors make their moves. The rules doallow players to record normal stuff ontheir scoresheets like the moves of thegame, draw offers, clock times and theheader info.

Is the material you are asking aboutbreaking those rules? Well, those tworules give the tournament director (TD)discretion in enforcement. Without morespecific language in the rulebook thatmeans a wide variety of rulings can takeplace if you make a claim. The loosestinterpretation is that the written mate-rial you refer to in your question isnothing more than coaching materialand no different than a player reading anewspaper or non-chess novel at theboard. The strictest interpretation isthat any material not given a pass in theexact wording of the rules is prohibited.The most common end result of a TDupholding this complaint is suggested inthe wording of the two rules; i.e., theoffending player should first receive awarning or a minor penalty.

I would also guess that the setting inwhich the claim is made also has a lot todo with its interpretation. The looser viewis probably more often enforced at thelocal chess club while the stricter view isenforced, to various degrees, as the tour-nament becomes more significant.

By the way, the current thinking isthat players that write down a move,erase it, write down another move are breaking those two rules.

6 Chess Life September 2011

Send your letters to [email protected] Chess Life publishes your letter, you will be sent a copy of Test, Evaluate andImprove Your Chess (see ad to the left).

Counterplay

uschess.org

Girl talk

I very much appreciated Irina Krushsreview of Play Like a Girl (July 2011), andI commend her, and Jennifer Shahade, forbeing such outstanding ambassadors forfemale chess players. Ms. Krush has beena marquee guest master at CincinnatisQueen City Classic tournament severaltimes, where she is always a populardraw, and in connection with that eventthis year, she took time to visit the chessteam at Sycamore High School.

As someone who runs an elementaryschool chess program, organizes anddirects scholastic tournaments, and playsin (and occasionally directs) open tourna-ments, I am very familiar withandbaffled bythe reality that female playersare increasingly scarce after about thirdgrade. I suspect that the reasons many ofthem leave chess have little or nothing todo with the game itself but a lot to dowith cultural perceptions of what is nor-mal or acceptable or cool for a girl.

Every time I come across a girl who isenthusiastic about chess, I take it on asa mission to help her understand thatshe can own the game as much as anyboy. Having players such as Ms. Krushand Ms. Shahade to show as role modelsis invaluable for demonstrating that shedoesnt need to take my word for it.

Alan HodgeLoveland, Ohio

PHOTO

: CHRIS BIRD

CL_09-2011_counterplay_AKF_r6.qxp_chess life 8/10/11 11:28 AM Page 6

uschess.org Chess Life September 2011 7

G ET REA L !

Chess is not a supercial game dont play it on a supercial board. Step up to solidhardwood. Hand crafted in the United States. Available exclusively on our web site.

Summerville New England, LLC6 R 9 BC 7

summerville-newengland.com

Be a USCFBenefactor!

HELP PROMOTE

AMERICAN CHESS

BY BECOMING A

USCF BENEFACTOR

MEMBER.

Benefactor Membership includes LifeMembership, a special membershipcard, and recognition on a benefac-tor page of our website andperiodically in Chess Life. The cost is$3,000, or $1,500 to existing LifeMembers. Half the funds collectedwill go to the USCF Life MemberAssets Fund and half to assist USCFoperations. Become a Benefactor atuschess.org, by phone at 1-800-903-8723, or by mail to USCF, POBox 3967, Crossville TN 38557.

THANKS TO OURBENEFACTORS!

USCF BENEFACTOR MEMBERS

AS OF MARCH 1, 2011:

JEFFREY DAVIDSON (CA)

BILL GOICHBERG (NY)

DAVID KOCHMAN (NH)

PARKER MONTGOMERY (VT)

CHARLES UNRUH (OK)

EDWARD WYCOFF (CA)

BECOME A BENEFACTOR

PROMOTE AMERICAN CHESS

CL_09-2011_adpage_JP_r1:chess life 8/11/2011 3:27 PM Page 7

Creating a chess great migration.


First Moves

Sharing Knowledge Across Cultures

The cool breeze gently flowed across the

Serengeti Plains as I sat in the chair and

looked out upon the profusion of wildlife.

My wife, Susan, and I had come to fulfill a

dream we have had since we started teaching

school in 1968. Our goal was to travel and meet

as many cultures and see as many places as

we could. Both of us were history teachers so

we believed that we should travel. Our trip took

us to Kilimanjaro, a town in northern Tanza-

nia, where we headed out for the Great

Migration of over two million animals.

The next morning, I turned to Susan and

said, The adventure continues. As we were

driving to the airport for our first small plane

experience, I glanced down at my duffle bag.

We were informed that there was a weight

restriction on the small aircraft of 33 pounds

per suitcase. In my bag were two triple-

weighted Ultimate Chess Sets as well as 35

golden pawn key chains. Each set, board and

bag weighed four pounds which took a total of

eight pounds out of my allotted 33 pounds. I

had decided to donate these sets to one of

the camps and a school in Maasai land, an

area that stretches from northern Tanzania

(Serengeti) across the border into southern

Kenya (Masai Mara). As you have noted there

are different spellings for the Maasai people

and their land. We quickly learned two words

in Swahili which carried us through the trip:

Jambo which means hello and Asante sana

which means thank you.

Our driver, Rabin, and Jackson, our tracker

were considered some of the best in finding

game to view which started me thinking. How

was chess related to their highly developed

skills? Day after day we drove over very rough

land, and when we stopped, we were able to

view the animals we had come to see. So I

asked Rabin, How is it possible you are able

to find the animals of this great land since

they are moving from place to place, crossing

rivers and walking in tall grass? He replied,

What you need to do is look for the patterns

that the land presents and find that which

does not fit or looks unusual. Then, I looked

out into the plains and it made sense. Chess

presents patterns and so does the Serengeti.

That evening I asked Tiffany, the gracious

and helpful manager of Kleins camp in the

Serengeti if I could share a chess lesson with

one of the staff. I knew it was an unusual

request, but when I travel I like to make chess

part of my trip. So the scene was set: The trav-

eler who was visiting Tanzania for the first time

and head tracker, Karipoi, a Maasai warrior,

who lives in the nearby Ololosokwan commu-

nity and was on staff at the camp would play

chess. The lesson focused on the basics of

chess and the real challenge was relating to

a person from a very different background and

culture. I found that discussing the topic of

patterns in his job with the patterns in chess

helped. At the conclusion, I presented him

with a gift, a golden pawn. I explained, This

golden pawn key chain I give to you represents

what most often happens in chess at the

beginning of the game. A pawn is moved

forward just as I move forward on my first trip

to Tanzania. He graciously accepted my

special gift.

I also gave Rabin and Jackson a golden

pawn and expressed my appreciation for their

service to their country. Rabin later asked for

a chess lesson and promised he would learn

more about the game in the future. The tour

company, &Beyond, in Tanzania wrote an

interesting phrase about this event. They said

that this was an example of Sharing Knowl-

edge Across Cultures. I have chosen as the

theme for the 2011 Denker Tournament of

High School Champions and the Barber Tour-

nament of K-8 Champions the following:

Chess: Sharing Knowledge Across Cultures.

As we flew to the Mara Plains camp and

were greeted by Richard Pye, a native Kenyan,

former tracker, and guide who is now manager

of the Mara Plains camp located on the wildlife-

rich Olare Orok Conservancy, and Lorna, a

member of the staff who is originally from Scot-

land. A big priority was saving the animals

from poachers and adding more land that pro-

tected the animals and ensuring the local Masai

community. I had occasion to ask my usual

question, Does anyone at the camp play chess?

To my surprise, both Richard and Lorna played

each other as time permitted. He reflected and

said, It is better to compete over a game, than

to compete for game! May your next game of

chess be an opportunity to share knowledge

across cultures.

By Dewain Barber

Photo: Karipoi (l), a Maasai warrior who played chess with Dewain Barber (r). The U.S. Open was completed in early August andwill be reported on in the November issue. See tournament reports on uschess.org, Chess Life Online, July/August archives.Photo courtesy of Dewain Barber.

CL_09-2011_First_Moves_AKF_r6.qxp_chess life 8/10/11 11:32 AM Page 8

09-2011_USCFSales_inside:Layout 1 8/10/2011 9:14 AM Page 1

10 ChessLifeSeptember2011 uschess.org

USCF Affairs September

OWN HOWARD STERNS MONROI DEVICE!Howard Sterns MonRoi is being auctioned for charity on eBay beginning September 10. In like-new con-

dition, it includes the original equipment in the box, a User Guide, and a note from Howard Stern to his

chess coach (and seller) Dan Heisman showing that it belonged to Howard. All proceeds will be donated

to the Dan Heisman Chess Support Fund charity at the Philadelphia Foundation (www.philafound.org).

USCF EXECUTIVE BOARD ELECTION RESULTS

Results are in for the 2011 USCF executive board election. The USCF executive board consists of seven members elected by the

USCF membership and is charged with oversight of the Federation between annual meetings of the USCF board of delegates.

This year three seats were up for election for three-year terms with four candidates vying for the positions.

Walters and Nietman were incumbents. The board was seated at the 2011 Delegates Meeting on August 6, 2011, held in con-

junction with the U.S. Open in Orlando, Florida, joining the other current board members: Ruth Haring (President), Jim Berry

(Member at Large), Michael Atkins (Member at Large), and Bill Goichberg (Member at Large). Allen Priest will be the Vice Presi-

dent of Finance, Mike Nietman continues as Secretary, and Gary Walters becomes the Vice President.

The next USCF Executive Board election will be in June of 2013 with four seats up for election.

USCF EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT JENNIFER PEARSONPosition: Editorial Assistant

There are certain items in the production of the the USCFs various publications that readers take for granted

(and they should), such as the appearance of advertisements and the Tournament Life (TLA) section. So

we shine the employee spotlight this month on Jennifer Pearson, who has been working hard behind the

scenes since 2006 making sure these basic but essential items appear seamlessly in print. Jennifer works

with advertisers to make sure that their ads meet our technnical specifications and with Joan DuBois and

Alan Kantor in the Publications Department to make sure the TLA section fits properly amongst the pur-

chased display ads. This is all done with a can-do attitude that makes her a joy to work with.

RESULTS

Gary Walters: 1,596

Mike Nietman: 1,573

Allen Priest: 1,552

Sevan Muradian: 406

WALTERS NIETMAN PRIEST

CL_09-2011_uscfaffairs_DLF_r7.qxp_chess life 8/11/11 10:29 AM Page 10

Hall of fame:Layout 1 8/5/2011 12:43 PM Page 1


Looks at BooksLooks at Books

ISAAC KAShdAn, SportInG hIS trAdemArK mouStAChe and horn-rimmed eyeglasses, lives on, in a way, on YouTube. In a1956 episode of the then-popular tV quiz show You Bet Your Life,he stands diffidently behind an old-fashioned pedestal micro-phone, a lookalike straight-man for wisecracking host Grouchomarx. Kashdans kinescoped, grayscale image paradoxically remindsus that our old chess heroes were once colorful, red-blooded per-sonalities. And realizing that peter Lahdes new Isaac Kashdan,American Chess Grandmaster is the first biography of Kashdanreminds us that these old-timers did bet their lives, or at least theirlegacies, on a tiny cadre of part-time chess historians.

Kashdan (whom Groucho delighted incalling Ashcan) deserves to be betterknown. In the early 1930s, he was thestrongest player in America and one ofthe top half-dozen players in the world.Alexander Alekhine, not given to unmer-ited praise, singled out Kashdan as oneof Alekhines most likely successors to hisworld championship title. even in 1955,when FIde awarded its recently-mintedgrandmaster title to Kashdan, he wasone of only three grandmasters in theu.S., along with Sammy reshevsky andreuben Fine, and one of only 27 grand-masters in the world.

Chess hard luck sometimes playedits sharpest lines against Kash. theu.S. championship crown, the usualpassport to a self-sustaining professionalcareer, eluded him in heart- breakingways sometimes beyond his control. histwo biggest mistakes in this regard werebeing the best at a time when iconicu.S. champion Frank marshall couldchoose to avoid him, and insisting on aplayoff match with reshevsky in 1942.In addition, Lahde reminds us that aslate as 1948, Kashdan had won the rightto Americas second chair at the famoussix-man round-robin, held in the hague,to fill the world championship thronevacated with Alekhines death. But FIdeinstead insisted on Fine, who ultimatelydeclined, leaving the u.S. represented only by reshevsky.

If Kashdan is spoken about these days, it is often in the con-text of his remarkable olympiad feats. he collected an astoundingfour olympiad team medals and five individual awards, and hisall-time olympic scoring is the best among Americans at nearly80%, and fourth best of all time, behind only three worldchampstal, Karpov and petrosian.

the Little Capablanca, as Kashdan was known, was also influ-ential as a journalist and as an organizer and director. he foundedChess Review, one of the most influential American chess mag-

azines and wrote the chess column for the Los Angeles Times from1955 to 1982. An international arbiter, Kashdan directed a hostof landmark events, including all 11 Lone pine events, whose win-ners included petrosian, Larsen and Korchnoi.

Bobby Fischer and paul morphy attract mainstream Boswellsand even films. (See my review of Bobby Fischer Against the Worldin the August issue.) But those just a rung or two below the high-est title labored to produce excellence for decades and evenstreaks of world-beating brilliance, only to become mere footnotes,plaques and framed black and white photos on a very few walls.

peter Lahdes book is faithful to the small print of its subti-tle, A Career Summary with 757 Games.Lahde is frank about his goal: themain purpose of this book has beenthe presentation of all the games byKashdan that I could find. Lahde hasbeen conscientiously collecting Kash-dans games for 20 years, and hadaccess, through Kashdans family, tothe rich larder of 200 of the grandmas-ters own scores.

Lahde also gained first-hand access toKashdans son richard, who could haveput a lot of flesh on the bare bones. Sothe author had the ingredients to createa real biography. unfortunately for thoseof us who yearn to see the personalside, Lahde, a retired research chemist,sticks to his original formula. Its as if weare to get to know a great, long-gonearchitect by the stacks of rolled-up,dusty blueprints in his sons attic.Behind the columns of algebraic nota-tion was a vibrant life force with a realnon-chess job, a family, and a rich per-sonality that helped fuel decades ofAmerican chess. Lahde does, however,provide glimpses behind the games fromcontemporary reports and even fromfacsimiles of Kashdans correspondence,and gives us a few photos of the man.But the non-chess Kashdan is absent.

the 348-page book is a new volume inmcFarland & Companys chess series,

which are library editions, sturdy hardcovers of Spartan sim-plicity and a price tag of $55 dollars eachand even Amazon staysclose to that price. Indices and crosstables make this volume anAmerican chess history buffs rapture. the publisher providesa great service to American chess with this series.

Kashdan was important. Lahdes book is important, and hedeserves our thanks for filling a longstanding void. perhaps some-day a biographer will stand on Lahdes shoulders to put fleshand feelings on the bare chess bones assembled in Isaac Kash-dan, American Chess Grandmaster. .

Isaac Kashdan, American Chess Grandmaster

Peter Lahde, Isaac Kashdan, American Chess Grandmaster: A Career Summary with 757 Games,

2009, McFarland & Company, Inc., 348 pp., $55.00 from uscfsales.com

(catalog number B0011MF)

By Al Lawrence

Rapture for the American chess-history buff

CL_09-2011_Books_AKF_r6.qxp_chess life 8/10/11 11:15 AM Page 12

CL_07-2011_First_Moves_AKF_r6_chess life 6/9/11 12:27 PM Page 9


If a vote were taken to choose the mostannoying comment that is regularly madeby annotators, the winner would proba-bly be The rest is just a matter oftechnique.The annotators messagecondescend-

ing, if not insultingis: Its not worth mytime explaining the rest to you. But thereare some examples of technique that mayseem impossible to explain.

Deep techniqueDeep JuniorDeep FritzCadaques 2001

After 69. ... Ra8

White chose an astonishing way to win,beginning with 70. Rc6+!?!. Instead of try-ing to win with an extra rook, Whitewanted something easier. Yes, easier.If Black had helped him, with 70. ...

Kxc6?, they would have landed in a posi-tion from Ken Thompsons celebrateddatabase for five pieces/pawns. It wouldnot only be a winning position but, thanksto the database, all the ensuing movesleading to mate would be available forWhite.Therefore, Black kept matters in the rel-

atively murky world of six pieces/pawnsand play continued 70. ... Kb5! 71. Rc5+ Kb472. Rb5+ Kc4 73. Rd4+ Kc3. But Whitereached his goal with 74. Rc5+, perhapswith the idea of 74. ... Kb2 75. Rb4+ Ka276. Ra5+!, forcing Black into the database.Instead, Black played 74. ... Kxd4.

(see diagram top of next column)

After 74. ... Kxd4

White finally got to a database position,played the recommended move 75. Rf5!and delivered mate on move 109.As strange as it seems, what Deep Jun-

ior was doing is essentially the samething humans do when we have a signif-icant advantage. We want to simplify theposition into one in which we dont haveto think. Thats when we can turn ourbrain off and let our technique take over.If you have an extra pawn, you dont

need a mind, Tigran Petrosian used tosay. But there is always something tothink aboutbecause technique canmean different things.It can mean, for example, trying to find

the fastest win, such as creating a queen-able passed pawn as quickly as you can.Or it can mean trying to find the easiestwin. Forcing a trade of queens may pro-long the game but it can eliminatecounterplay and make your material edgeproportionally greater.Or technique can just mean getting

your king into the game. Jose Capablancaused to say, in a position like the follow-ing, that White wins in one move.

White to win in oneGM Teimour RadjabovGM Bu XiangzhiSofia 2008


But the one move Capa had in mindwas king to c7. In other words, Whitedoesnt have to do anything else to ensure

After 28. ... Kxg7

victory except get his king deep into Blackterritory where it would restrict thedefenders pieces.If the king stays on dark squares, Black

cant do anything to stop him. Play went29. Kf2! h6 30. Ke1! Re6 31. Qg3 Be8 32. Kd2!g5 33. Kc3! Kf8 34. Kb4 Bf7 35. Ka5!.White actually said the rest was just

a matter of technique in his annota-tions. But it was more a matter ofZugzwang35. ... Kg7 36. Kb6 Kf8 37. Kc7Kg7 38. Kd7 Kf8 and now 39. Qf2 Rg6 40. Qf5h5 41. g3

After 41. g3

Black resigned because he either beginsto drop pawns or allows White to reach awon pawn endgame 41. ... Kg7 42. Ke7Re6+ 43. Qxe6.Or technique can mean winning more

material. One of Reuben Fines long-for-gotten insights, in The Middle Game inChess, was: Dont swap down to anendgame unless you have two extra

r+ + + ++ + + ++ + R ++ k + ++ + + ++ +R+K++ + +P++ + + +

r+ + + ++ + + ++ + + ++ R + ++ k + ++ + +K++ + +P++ + + +

+ +r+ ++ +l+ kp+p+ +p++pPp+ +p+ Pp+ QP + P +P + +PP+ + + K

+ + k ++ +K+l++p+ +r++pPp+Qppp+ Pp+ +P + P PP + + P+ + + +

Its Just aMatter of Technique

By GM Andy Soltis

Theres more than one way to win a won gameand thats the problem.

Chess to Enjoy

CL_09-2011_soltis_JP_r8:chess life 8/10/2011 11:49 AM Page 14


pawns or you can reach one of the ele-mentary wins with one pawn ahead.Heres how that works:

Dont swap!GM Emil SutovskyGM Kiril GeorgievGibraltar 2007

After 29. ... Rd8

Yes, White can trade pieces, with 30.Rg8+ Ke7 31. Rxd8 Kxd8, and probablycreate a passed queenside pawn. ButBlack would have excellent chances ofblockading it and drawing.Positions like this recall what Mikhail

Botvinnik used to say when he ran his cel-ebrated school for talented Sovietyoungsters. How did Capablanca winwhen he was just one pawn ahead? hewould ask them.

Botvinniks terrified students wouldremain silent, unwilling to guess at whatanswer the great man wanted. Eventuallyhe broke the silence. He waited until hisopponent hung a second pawn! Botvin-nik said.Thats why White played 30. f4! Ng6 31.

f5!. Then 31. ... Nxh4? allows 32. Rg8+Ke7 33. Rg7+ Kd6 34. Rxh7, when thethreats of 35. Rxh4 and 35. Rxb7 wouldwin a decisive second pawn, as per Capa-blanca and Fine.Black replied 31. ... Ne7 instead. How can

White make progress other than by win-ning another pawn? The traditionalformula is to either limit the defenderscounterplay or create and push a passedpawn. Blacks king and knight wereseverely limited by the last two moves, andWhites next move, 32. c3!, stopped Blacksonly other counterplay (... Rd4).This means White could take his time

creating a passer. After 32. ... b6 33. Kc2 Rd634. Rg4 h5 35. Ra4! b5 36. Rd4! Rxd4 37. cxd4he also had a way to penetrate the queen-side with his king, Kc3-b4-a5 or -c5.Black stopped the king with 37. ... Nc6

but then came 38. Kc3 Ke7 39. Bd5!.


White threatens to win a second pawnwith 40. Bf3 and Bxh5. That should be aneasy win because Black has to commit

After 39. Bd5

one piece to stop Whites h-pawn, whilethe other fights a losing queenside battleagainst Whites king and bishop.Black chose 39. ... Kd6 and that allowed

40. Bxc6! Kxc6, which is the kind of ele-mentary one-extra-pawn win that Finewas talking about.Black resigned after 41. b4! Kd6 42. Kd2!

Kc6 43. Ke3! Kd5 44. Kd3 because the positionreally is just a matter of technique..Did you know that you can read archival

issues of Chess Life? If you have not beendownloading .pdfs regularly, they are avail-able on uschess.org, Chess LifeMagazine,Downloadable Files. Issues are archivedthrough October 2008. Also available are.pgn game files.

+ r k ++p+ + +pp+ +Lp ++ + n ++ + + P+ + + RPPP+ P ++ K + +

+ + + ++ + k +p+n+ p ++p+L+P+p+ P + P+ K + +PP + + ++ + + +

Carlsbad 1911

One hundred years ago thismonth, 26 of the worlds strongestplayers converged on the Bohemianresort town of Carlsbad, now KarlovyVary in the Czech Republic. Amongthe prominent players who foughtone another for five (!) weeks wereAkiba Rubinstein, Carl Schlechter,Frank Marshall, Aron Nimzovich,Rudolf Spielmann, Milan Vidmarand 20-year-old Alexander Alekhine.But it turned out to be the greatestevent of Richard Teichmanns career.In each of these six tough positionsfrom Carlsbad you are asked to findthe fastest winning line of play. Thiswill usually mean the forced win ofa decisive amount of material suchas a rook or minor piece. For solu-tions see page 71.

Problem IPaul JohnerGeorg Rotlewi

Black to play

Problem IVFyodor Dus ChotimirskyGeorg Salwe

White to play

Problem IIAron NimzovichAkiba Rubinstein

White to play

Problem VOscar ChajesJulius Perlis

White to play

Problem IIIOldrich DurasAlexander Alekhine

Black to play

Problem VIRudolf SpielmannAkiba Rubinstein

White to play

+ + r kpp+ +pp+ Q n p+ + + ++ + +L++ +R+ +q+ + PP++ + + +K

+ + + ++ + +p++ +p+ ++ + P kK+ + +P++ + + ++ + N ++ + + +

+ + r ++L+ + +k+ + +pp+ +q+ +Q + p ++ + p +l+ + + P+ + L K

+r+ + +R + + +pqkL + ++r+ + ++ + + ++ + Q PPP +P+ K+ + + +

+ +rrk+PQ+ + pR + + p+ + + ++ q + N+ +ppPPL+ +P+KP+ + + +

+ +qk +pp+nrrpp+l+ n Q+ +pLP++pP + N+ P +L+P+P+ +RP+ + + RK

CL_09-2011_soltis_JP_r8:chess life 8/10/2011 11:49 AM Page 15


With the Dutch Defense, Black coun-ters Whites attempt to control e4 with thef-pawn. In some cases, Black opens thef-file advantageously. Sometimes, Blackgets a kingside attack, being able to shifthis queen to e8 and then up to h5. Blacksking-rook and king-knight may join theassault as well. If White plays aimlessly,he could soon find himself in difficulties.But more often than not, its White whogets the better of it in the center, andeven on the kingside. In the followinggame, White opens the center and soonfuels a powerful offensive against Blacksking. In the end, Black gets mated, rathernicely. The opening moves were:

Classical Dutch (A91)Alberto Mario GiusfolisiO. TorrensMadrid, 1951

1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6

Your starting position

Now make sure you have the aboveposition set up on your chessboard. Asyou play through the remaining moves inthis game, use a piece of paper to coverthe article, exposing Whites next moveonly after trying to guess it. If you guesscorrectly, give yourself the par score.Sometimes points are also rewarded forsecond-best moves, and there may bebonus pointsor deductionsfor othermoves and variations. Note that **meansthat the note to Blacks move is over and

Whites move is in the next line.**4. c4 Par Score: 5

This is one of the moves White wantsto get in, along with Nc3. He can alsodelay it, playing 4. Nf3 (Full credit) instead.

4. Be7

Or Black could play 4. ... Bb4+, whichis best answered by 5. Bd2 (1 bonuspoint).**5. Nc3 Par Score: 5

Now if Black wants to pin, 5. ... Bb4, hehas to consume another tempo with thedark-square bishop.

5. 0-0

6. Nh3 Par Score: 5

More usual is 6. Nf3. The text workswell if Black plays the Stonewall, ... d7-d5. Then, with the f-pawn unblocked,White tries for f2-f3, followed by e2-e4.

6. d6

Black tries to adjust. He avoids theStonewall, now intending ... e6-e5.**7. 0-0 Par Score: 5

White safeguards his king before tak-ing action in the center.

7. c6

Black plays to blunt the action of theg2-bishop down the long diagonal. Healso aims to control d5, knowing that heplans to play ... e6-e5. Probably, he shouldplay 7. ... e5 directly.**8. e4 Par Score: 5

As a result of Blacks hesitation, Whiteis first to initiate action in the center.

8. fxe4

The point of ... f7-f5 was to be able tomake such a capture on e4. If Black does-nt take, White will capture on f5.Thereafter, he will try to expose e6 as aweakness, possibly with Rf1-e1 and Nh3-f4 (1 bonus point).**

9. Nxe4 Par Score: 4

Accept only 2 points part credit for 9.Bxe4 Nxe4, eliminating Whites strongattacking bishop.

9. Nxe4

This exchange is not forced, but Blackthinks hes found a neat little combina-tion with his next two moves.**10. Bxe4 Par Score: 4

10. e5

Black attacks d4, as well as the unde-fended knight at h3.**11. dxe5! Par Score: 6

Surprise! White sees his knight is indi-rectly defended.

11. Bxh3

Black follows through with his plan. Atleast Black is consistent.**12. Qh5 Par Score: 5

White looks to recapture the bishop.But the main threat is to bring aboutmate by 13. Bxh7+ Kh8 14. Bg6+ Kg8 15.Qh7 mate. Add 1 bonus point if you sawthis when playing 11. dxe5.

12. Bf5

Obviously, the move 12. ... Bxf1 runsinto the aforementioned mate. On 12. ...g6, White plays 13. Qxh3; and if 13. ...dxe5, then 14. Qe6+, followed by 15.Qxe5, remaining a pawn ahead (1 bonuspoint).**13. Bxf5 Par Score: 4

White has regained his piece and stillthreatens mate.

13. g6

The try 13. ... h6 can be handled with14. Be6+ Kh8 15. Bxh6 gxh6 16. Qxh6mate (1 bonus point).**14. Be6+ Par Score: 4

Accept merely 2 points part credit for the

rnlqkl rpppp+ pp+ +pn ++ + +p++ P + ++ + + PPPP+PPLPRNLQK NR

Solitaire Chess

Dutch Treat

By Bruce Pandolfini

In the Dutch Defense, when White plays purposefully, Black must defend thecenter and kingside carefully else hell find himself wishing he were on the otherside of the boardas he does in this months game.

CL_09-2011_pando_JP_r8:chess life 8/10/2011 11:18 AM Page 16


ABCs of Chess

These problems are all related tokey positions in this months game.In each case, Black is to move. Theanswers can be found in Solutionson page 71.

September Exercise: An importantskill to develop is the ability to playdetective. Taking available clues, wepose certain questions, trying tounearth relevant information. Thequestions neednt be profound. Whatwould we like to do? How can we doit? Can we be stopped? Is theresomething we should be doing first?And so on and so forth. As with any-thing, the more we do this, the betterwe get at it. Indeed, we should prac-tice asking these analytical typequeries whenever we can. Its aclich, but its true: if we ask theright question, we practically havethe answer.

Problem IMating net

Problem IVMating net

Problem IIDiscovery

Problem VTrapping

Problem IIIFork

Problem VIRemoving the guard

lk+ + ++ + + +P + + ++ + + ++ + + q+ + + ++ + +P++ +Q+LK

+l+ +k++ + +pp+ +p+ ++ + + ++ K + ++ + P PN+ + + ++ + + +

+k+ + ++pp + ++ + + q+ + + ++ +P+ ++ + + ++ + +P++ +Q+ K

+ + +k++ + + p+ + + ++ + + ++ + + q+ + + +l+ + + +Q + + RK

k + + ++p+ + ++ + +pl+ + + ++ + + ++ + + pl+ +P+ P+ +NR K

+ +r+k++ + +p++q+ + ++ + + ++ + +l++ + +R++ +LQ ++ + + +K

sacrifice 14. Bxg6 hxg6 15. Qxg6+. Thequeen, by herself, can effect a draw, 15.... Kh8 16. Qh6+. But there is probably nomore attack. For example, 16. Bh6 Rg817. Qh5, threatening 18. Bf8 mate, canbe defended by 17. ... Qe8 etc. Accept 1bonus point if you realized this.

14. Kh8

15. Qe2 Par Score: 4

White saves the queen and aligns withe5, ready to recapture at the appropriatemoment.

15. dxe5

This temporarily reestablishes mate-rial equality.**16. Bh6! Par Score: 6

This is better than the immediate 16.Qxe5+ (accept only 3 points part credit),which Black answers by ... Be7-f6, witha better game than he deserves.

16. Rf6

On 16. ... Re8, White has 17. Bf7, win-ning the Exchange (1 bonus point).**17. Qxe5 Par Score: 4

White is now a pawn ahead. He alsothreatens to pile up on the pinned rookby 18. Bg5, winning the Exchange (1bonus point). Accept only 1 point partcredit for 17. Rad1, which is answered by17. ... Qc7.

17. Qd6

Black figures that the attack on thebishop will force White to trade queens,eliminating the pin.**18. Qc3! Par Score: 7

Surprise! The pin is worth the bishopnow sacrificed. Accept only 3 points partcredit for exchanging queens, either 18.Rae1 or 18. Qxd6.

18. Qxe6

Its hard not to take a loose bishop.**19. Rae1 Par Score: 5

The queen and bishop are skewered.

19. Qf7

If 19. ... Bb4 (to distract the queen),there follows 20. Rxe6 Bxc3 21. Re8+ Rf822. Rxf8 mate (1 bonus point).

20. Rxe7! Par Score: 6

This removes the guard, the defenderof f6.

20. Qxe7

Blacks recapture is essentially forced.**21. Re1 Par Score: 5

White takes control of the e-file. Whenthe queen moves off, the rook will be ableto reach e8.

21. Qf7

If instead 21. ... Qxe1+ 22. Qxe1, theresistance is prolonged, but the gamestill cant be saved. For instance, on 22.

... Nd7, there follows 23. Qe7 (1 bonuspoint) 23. ... Rg8 24. Qxd7 g5 25. Qd4 Rg626. Bxg5 etc.The alternatives 21. ... Qd6 and 21. ...

Qd8 can be answered the same way as thetext.**22. Qxf6+! Par Score: 6

An equivalent line is 22. Re8+ Qxe823. Qxf6+, followed by 24. Qg7 mate.

22. Kg8

Or Black could try 22. ... Qxf6, butthat fails to 23. Re8+ Qf8 24. Rxf8 mate.

23. Re8+ Black resigned

For the record, Black saw what wascoming and resigned at move nineteen..

Solitaire Chess scores:Total your score to determineyour approximate rating below:

Total Score Approx. Rating95+ 2400+81-94 2200-239966-80 2000-219951-65 1800-199936-50 1600-179921-35 1400-159906-20 1200-13990-05 under 1200

CL_09-2011_pando_JP_r8:chess life 8/10/2011 11:18 AM Page 17


Cover Story

hen Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield, founders of the Chess

Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, heard that the

World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) was looking for new

quarters, it didnt take long for them to decide it should

be in their hometown. It was a spectacular opportunity, Rex

said. And this move puts the Hall dead center in the country

after all, all rivers and roads lead to St. Louis.

St. Louis had already played a keystone role in chess history,

hosting part of the very first world championship in 1886 when

Wilhelm Steinitz defeated Johannes Zukertort. In fact, those

games took place just three miles away from the home of the

new WCHOF. Recent events, including a string of national

championships, at the St. Louis club have reconnected the city

with its chess heritage.

The World Chess Hall of Fame, which traces its own history

back to 1986, has been accumulating relics of our game for the

past quarter century. Moving these artifactssome priceless and

worrisomely fragilemay seem like a daunting project. Not to

mention the responsibility of preserving and displaying them

after all, the Halls Miami digs are a hard act to follow.

But to the Sinquefields and their team, used to making big

things happen, it was just another day at work for chess.

There were no speed bumps, Rex said. They found a his-

toric building immediately across the street from the chess

club. A team of specialists guided extensive remodeling to

convert the three-story, 16,000-square-foot facility into a

secure, climate-controlled exhibit space. Its first and second

floor galleries will rotate exhibitions. The third floor houses

the Hall of Fame and will feature highlights from the perma-

nent collection.

Susan Barrett, one of the Sinquefields most trusted aides,

takes over as director of the new Hall. We knew right away that

moving the World Chess Hall of Fame here would be so appro-

priate, she said. The partnership between the Club and the

WCHOF allows the Club to continue to be the grad school of

chess and the Hall to widen the perspective to the whole com-

munity. We want to provide people with all the benefits of

chess, not just produce new GMs.

W

World Chess Hall of Fame Reopens in Saint LouisThe Hall upgrades to a professional staff and a prime location.

By Al Lawrence

CL_09-2011_Hall_of_Fame_DLF_r13.qxp_chess life 8/10/11 10:05 AM Page 18


This 1700s brightly polychromed carved ivory Rajasthan Style Figurative Set harkens back to the origins of chess in India and is one of the 30 historicalsets, dating from 900 to 1924 in Chess Masterpieces exhibition. Dean Collection 2010, Richard Beenen Photography

These and the following images are examples from the World Chess Hall of Fame opening exhibitions OUT OF THE BOX: Artists Play Chess, curated byBradley Bailey (bottom left this page, 20, 21 bottom, 23 top, and 25 top), and Chess Masterpieces: Highlights from the George and Vivian Dean Collection,curated by Larry List (above, bottom right, and 21 top and center), which will run from September 9, 2011 to February 12, 2012.

Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Do you feel comfortable losing?), 2006. Pieces:black and red Corian, miniature speakers, electronic and computer com-ponents, Box and Board: Corian, electronics and customized metal andcarbon fiber flight case with printed exterior and foam interior. Edition of7 and 3 artists proofs. Luhring Augustine, New York. Image courtesy ofthe artist and Luhring Augustine, New York.

This 1900s Habsburg Dynasty Set & Board from the Dean Collection has32 unique pieces of silver and gilt covered with over 100 semi-preciousgems including garnets with engraved portraits. The fortress-walled chessboard is a rich display of rulers& nobles coats of arms. This WCHOF exhi-bition celebrates the Deans 50th year of collecting together. DeanCollection 2010, Richard Beenen Photography

CL_09-2011_Hall_of_Fame_DLF_r14_chess life 8/11/11 10:49 AM Page 19


Cover Story

The Sinquefields quickly made sure that, for the first time in its

history, the Hall acquired the kind of know-how required for pre-

serving and exhibiting chess antiquities. Larry List, a New York

City curator and specialist in exhibiting chess, was called in to

consult on the move and relocation. Without the initial energy

of players and enthusiasts, he said, important historical proj-

ects like the World Chess Hall of Fame would never get started,

but at a certain point, folks with curatorial and other organiza-

tional experience can lend a hand to make sure the right kind

of work is done to preserve history. As the executive director of

the Miami Hall for half-a-dozen years, five of them as a volun-

teer, I have to agree with List. Shane Samole, the Miami sponsor

and moving force, made the Hall a worldwide chess destination

and greatly expanded the collection through donations and his

own purchases. But it was time to send it to the pros.

Shannon Bailey is another experienced museum specialist

with degrees in museum studies and art history, and years of

both hands-on and high-level experience that belie her youth.

With some initial help from Larry List, Frank Camaratta and

myself, Bailey spent most of the summer organizing and cate-

gorizing the material that arrived from Miami, including

preparing the new plaques for the September induction, as well

as early fund raising, marketing and branding decisions.

All of us working on the project are so proud to have it here

and really want to celebrate the honorees in the Hall of Fame,

Bailey said. Well continue the impressive plaques for each

inductee, but we also plan iPad kiosks to give visitors much more

information about the lives, games, and achievements of the

chess greats. Has working with chess changed her point of view?

Once you start to learn about chess, you see connections to

it everywhere, she said. Were all amazed at the many ways

chess is interwoven into our cultureand all of them offer

opportunities to make the game relevant and appealing to the

general public.

New expertise

Gavin Turk, The Mechanical Turk, 2008. HD Film on DVD, Box: wood with inlay. RS&A Ltd. Image courtesy of RS&A Ltd.



Dream locationFor the first time, the new WCHOF will have the benefit of con-

stant walk-by traffic. The move to St. Louis popular Central West

End puts the World Chess Hall of Fame in the middle of one

of the citys most popular gathering places, just north of For-

est Park, home to other important attractions and well-known

museums, and surrounded by a wide selection of restaurants

and sidewalk cafes, galleries, bookstores, and specialty shops.

Well have lots of synergy with the Saint Louis Art Museum and

other local attractions, Rex Sinquefield said. Many important

community leaders have already agreed to be on our board of

directors or advisory board.

Tony Rich, the executive director of the chess club, cant

wait for the Hall to open across the street. Im eager to see Dr.

Deans Faberge set and the Olympiad medals, as well as the

famous Play It By Trust chess set by Yoko Ono, he said. And

the collection will certainly grow. Chess collectors will know that

their treasures will be in safe hands at the new Hall of Fame.

Schools and other organizations from all over will now be even

more likely to arrange field trips, since they can visit a museum

and a chess club on the same trip, Rich said.

Widening the netDirector Barrettwho is comfortable in three languages and has

degrees in literature, art and architecturehas the job of keep-

ing the big picture in mind. We want to make the World Chess

Hall of Fame relevant in a wide perspective. How do we partner

with various local and national organizations? How do we for-

ward and expand our mission and get more people interested in

chess? Sinquefields St. Louis group has already made a lot of

progress in that direction. For example, our Chess for Life

program with Siteman Cancer Center gives patients and their

caregivers a way to interact through chess, Barrett said. Were

seeing multiple benefitsgetting patients minds off their illness,

opening up communication, giving them a sense of control and

a way to tap their inner warrior. We know there are many more

health care applications, and thats only one area. We envision

Our Moves that Matter program helps Alzheimers patients, those

with autism and substance abuse problems. Enthusiasm is a

strength that runs deep throughout the St. Louis cadre. The ben-

efits of chess are so fantastic, Barrett said. My role is to see

various applications.

On September 8, a special, invitation-only ceremony will be held

for the induction of GMs Boris Gulko and Andy Soltis into the

U.S. Hall of Fame and Vera Menchik into the World Chess Hall

of Fame. The next day at 10 a.m., the World Chess Hall of Fame

opens its doors to a new era.

Top: This 1905 Kuropatkin Set & Board with Presentation Case, commissioned by the court of Czar Nicolas II, and the 1915 Egyptians versus AssyriansSet with Presentation Case are the only two known chess sets by Faberg in the world. Complete with their custom, silk-lined presentation cases, eachemblazoned with the Faberg logo and their cities of origin, the Chess Masterpieces exhibition will be the first time they are shown together in public anywhere in the world. Dean Collection 2010, Richard Beenen Photography

Middle: The 1800s Braided & Embroidered Moroccan Travel Set & Board is a rare example of passementerie, gold & silver decorative braiding techniques,used to create an entire chess set. The red & green color scheme echoes that of the earliest Indian sets. Dean Collection 2010, Richard Beenen Photography

Bottom: Diana Thater, Georges Koltanowski versus Marcel Duchamp, Paris, 1929 (Played by Ellen Simon and Cybelle Tondu), 2010. Installation for fourvideo monitors, one Blu-ray player, one Blu-ray disc. Collection of Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield. Image courtesy of David Zwirner Gallery, New York.



Cover Story

The Chess Hall of Fame started out as an idea tossed around a New Jersey kitchen table.

In 1985, one year into his USCFpresidency, E. Steven Doyle informallydiscussed a plan with longtime friends togive chess its own Cooperstown. Wethought it would be a great idea to havea place to honor our best and store anddisplay valuable artifacts, Doyle said.

A specialist in turning ideas into action,Doyle, by February of 1986, had formallyestablished the concept of the Hall. SoonDoyle had located and purchased, onbehalf of USCF, the famed silver setawarded to Paul Morphy for winning thefirst American Chess Congress in 1857.That acquisition remains a centerpiece ofthe Hall to this day.

On August 10, 1986 at the U.S. Openin Somerset, New Jersey, USCF induct-ed the first hall of famersReuben Fine,Robert Fischer, Isaac Kashdan, GeorgeKoltanowski, Frank Marshall, PaulMorphy, Harry Nelson Pillsbury, andSammy Reshevskyeven though therewas as yet no actual Hall.

Thats when the tradition of theinductees donating a personal itembegan, Doyle said. During the very firstceremony, I leaned over and askedSammy, What about that hat? He smiledand handed it to me.

Then-USCF Executive Director GerryDullea began work on preparing a spacein USCFs New Windsor headquartersbuilding. I was instructed to make theHalls construction my first priority for theyear, Dullea said. I took to prowlingevery museum I could, looking for ideas.

The result was the first incarnation ofthe U.S. Chess Hall of Fame, which, asa brand-new USCF executive director,

I opened in 1988 in a handsome,

chessboard-carpeted room carved out of

the Federations subterranean

warehouse, surrounded by shelves of

books, chess sets, and clocks for sale. It

was intended as a start, and it has

obviously served as a good one. But it was

also a success on its own, attracting a

number of national news stories andbuilding support for the idea of a place

to honor chess heroes, as well as to

protect and display the games priceless

memorabilia. By the end of 1990, the

U.S. Chess Trust had taken over the

Hall as part of its nonprofit mission.

In 1993 the Hall was moved and

reopened in Washington, D.C., under thesupervision of David Mehler, sharingspace with his U.S. Chess Center, whichremains in operation today. Still inunderground quarters, The Center was,however, located just six blocks from theWhite House, USCF past president JohnMcCrary recalls. It was dedicated tousing chess to help inner-city children.Mehlers location in the nations capitalgave the Hall its first exposure in animportant metropolitan center.

By then a squad of volunteers dedicatedto the preservation of chess history hadtaken up the cause: Doyle and McCrarywere joined by former USCF president andU.S. Chess Trust Chairman HaroldWinston, as well as longtime volunteerFrank Camaratta. Winston, an attorney,filed the necessary papers and worked outcomplicated agreements safeguarding therights and contents of the Hall. McCraryaided with negotiations between partiesand lent the Hall rare chess books, whileCamaratta put on loan valuable antiquesets. Both gave invaluable guidance.

Meanwhile, businessman SidneySamole, holder of the first patent on acommercial chess computer, had beenentertaining the dream of creating a full-fledged World Chess Hall of Fame andMuseum, with its own unique space.McCrary recalls that, by chance, he wason the same flight to the 1998 U.S. Openwith Samole when discussions for a Hallof Fame move to Miami were taking place.

I'd just received a draft of the proposedcontract between Excalibur and the Trust,McCrary said. So Sid and I walked backand forth on the plane with changes. Buthe was in first class, while my family andI were in coach I kept walking up to firstclass. Then I got a very physical shovefrom the stewardess! So Sid came back tocoach for all our further discussions.

Samole worked with an architect tocreate a building along the FloridaTurnpike in Miami whose exteriormimicked a tournament chessboard andwhose Hall of Fame wing was enteredthrough a giant rook and then a darkenedTime Tunnel of Chess. Sadly, Sidneydied before his dream was fully completed,but his son Shane finished the job as aliving monument to his father, and itbecame The World Chess Hall of Fameand Sidney Samole Museum.

In 2001 I moved full-time to Miami tohelp Shane create the Hall of Fame

displays and to take on the job ofexecutive director of the facility. It wasdaunting but exhilarating work, sortingand selecting memorabilia from thepallets of boxes shipped from D.C., andproducing displays that showed themoff. Shane spared no expense gettingeverything right. We agreed that the maintask was to show the champions andthe treasures of chess for the first timein the elevated context they deserved.Sharon Samole, Sidneys widow, ran thegift shop and kept the membershiprecords. USCF expert Gil Luna gave toursand handled a myriad of other day-to-dayduties. Both Dr. George Dean, perhapsthe leading collector of chess sets in theworld, and Floyd Sarisohn of the ChessCollectors International donated historicand beautiful chessmen.

The grand opening, delayed by theworld-changing events of 9/11, wereattended by a whos who of chess. Eventhe descendants of Jose Raul Capablancawere on hand. The Hall gained importanceand garnered a worldwide audience ofadmirers by also becoming the officialWorld Chess Hall of Fame, sanctionedby FIDE. Championship tournaments, ahundred school field trips, and half adozen truly historic gatherings followed.Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov, LevAlburt, Walter Browne, Joel Benjamin,Larry Christiansen, and Nick de Firmian,among many others, came to the MiamiHall to be inducted, and brought theworld media with them.

But in the worldwide economicmeltdown of the last few years, supportingthe expensive project suddenly becameimpossible for Samoles privately heldcompany. Was the magnificent dreamcoming to an end?

At the time, Rex and Jeanne Sinquefieldwere in the news for making St. Louis a

capital city of chess, building the plushChess Club and Scholastic Center ofSaint Louis in the heart of the citysfashionable dining and promenadingdestination, and for rescuing USCFchampionship events. When I contactedthem, Rex and Jeanne immediately sawthe importance of the Hall of Fame andits relevance to making St. Louis theworlds most important chess destination.Their foresight, work and sponsorshiphave resulted in the World Chess Hall ofFames new, permanent home. (Seefeature story.)

KitchenTables,NewYorkCellars,andAngryStewardesses:

ABriefHistoryoftheHallofFame



The Morphy silver set, the first significantacquisition of the original WCHOF.

An old St. Louis Post Dispatch photo of then-USCF Executive Director Al Lawrence at the firstWCHOF in New Windsor, New York.

Tom Friedman, Untitled, 2005. Pieces: mixed media, table and board: maple and American black walnut; wall mounts: maple, American blackwalnut and Perspex; box: wood, chairs: wood. Edition 6 of 7. Collection of Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield. Photograph of Michael DeFilippo.



Cover Story

Twenty-five years after the very first Hall of Fame inductions,

Saint Louis new World Chess Hall of Fame will open its

doors by honoring Grandmasters Boris Gulko and Andy

Soltis with their own plaques in the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

At the same ceremony, Vera Menchik will become the first

woman enshrined in the World Chess Hall of Fame.

Gulko, born in the old East German town of Erfurt, is the only

player ever to win both the USSR and U.S. championships. He

shared the Soviet titleat a time when it was the strongest

national championship in the worldin 1977, only one year

after becoming a grandmaster. He won the American title two

decades later in 1994 and 1999. Many of the intervening years

were spent as a political outcast in the old USSR. Openly anti-

communist, he applied for permission to leave the country

shortly after winning the Soviet Championship but was denied.

Both he and his wife, WGM Anna Akhsharumova, became promi-

nent Soviet Refuseniks. Gulko was arrested and beaten by the

KGB (the former Russian secret police and intelligence agency),

and neither he nor Akhsharumova were permitted to play in top-

level competition until the policy of glasnost was introduced in

the 1980s. Finally allowed to emigrate to the U.S. in 1986, at 39,

he had lost perhaps the most important seven years of his career

to political suppression. Those years were a serious blow to my

chess career, he has said, but I dont regret them. He went on

quickly to win Marseille in 1986, and Cannes and Biel in 1987.

Hes been a stalwart team member for the U.S., representing it

in nine Olympiads and three World Team Champion- ships.

International politics again interfered with his professional oppor-

tunities as late as 2004, when the World Championship was held

in Libya, and Gaddafis son announced that Zionist enemies

would not be invited. Gulko, a Jew, withdrew. Our magnificent

and noble game does not deserve such a disgrace, he said.

Andy Soltis, born in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, earned his inter-

national master title after winning Reggio Emilia 1971-72

tournament in 1972 and his grandmaster title in 1980 after win-

ning New York 1977 and 1980. Soltis is one of the most avidly

read American chess writers of his generation. He has written the

award-winning and extremely popular Chess Life column, Chess

to Enjoy, for more than 30 years and is a best-selling author of

more than 100 chess books, including Rethinking the Chess

Pieces and Why Lasker Matters. He was named Chess Journal-

ist of the Year in 1988 and inducted into the Gallery of

Distinguished Chess Journalists in 2005. He is a longtime chess

columnist for the New York Post, starting the column in October

of 1972, right after the Fischer-Spassky match. I started at the

Post as a reporter three years earlier, Soltis said, so that makes

me one of the rare non-professional GMs. Andy and his wife

Marcy will be attending the induction. Im delighted to be hon-

ored, he said, and happy to see that the Hall of Fame is being

reopened in permanent quarters appropriate for Americans rich

chess history.

Vera Menchik will become the first woman to be inducted into

the World Hall of Fame. (The U.S. Hall inducted Gisela Gresser

in 1992 and Diane Savereide in 2010.) Early in Menchiks

career, the Viennese master Albert Becker chauvinistically sug-

gested that any man losing to her should be made a member of

the Vera Menchik Club. Becker quickly became the clubs

charter member. Many other, much more renowned male mas-

ters followed, including Max Euwe (later to become world

champion), Samuel Reshevsky, Edgar Colle, Sultan Khan, Fred-

erich Saemisch, Lajos Steiner, and F. D. Yates. Menchik, the most

dominant woman player of all time, was born in Moscow of a

British mother and Czech father in 1906, learned chess at age

nine, and moved to England in 1921. She competed for Russia,

Czechoslovakia, and England over the course of her career,

holding the title of womens world champion from its inception

in 1927 to her death in 1944. In the intervening seven womens

championships, she won 78 games while drawing four and los-

ing only one! At Ramsgate 1929, she finished tied for second with

Akiba Rubinstein, just half a point behind former World Cham-

pion Jos Ral Capablanca. Menchik died as a victim of Nazi

rocket attacks on London. In her honor, the womens Olympiad

trophy is known as the Vera Menchik Cup.

Gulko and Soltis will be the 48th and 49th inductees into the

U.S. Chess Hall of Fame. Menchik will be the 16th to enter the

World Chess Hall of Fame.

Gulko, Soltis & Menchik: First Saint Louis Inductees

Left to right: GM Boris Gulko, GM Andy Soltis, Vera Menchik



Annual memberships begin as low as $40 and family memberships at $75, but there are

many levels of giving available, including opportunities to join as a 2011 charter club

member. All memberships entitle you to special member previews, exclusive exhibition

opening events and invitations to chess tournament opening and closing ceremonies

hosted by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. There are discounts for

military personnel, seniors, students, and out-of-town members. Corporate sponsorship

opportunities are available for companies that want to be identified with a vital educational

resource thats been proven to benefit kids, grownups and senior citizens. To join or get

more information, e-mail Membership and Communications Manager Kelly Logue at

[email protected] or phone her at ext. 104.

THE 411

WCHOF Address: 4652 Maryland Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63108

Phone: 314-367-WCHF (9243) Website: www.worldchesshof.org

Guido van der Werve, Nummer twaalf: variations on a theme, The Kings gambit accepted, The number of stars in the sky, And why a piano cant be tuned, Orwaiting for an earthquake, 2009. Chess piano: walnut, ebony, Fihte, maple, piano mechanism; chess pieces: wood; stools: wood. Courtesy of the artist, GalerieJuliette Jongma, Amsterdam and Marc Foxx, Los Angeles. Image courtesy of the artist, Galerie Juliette Jongma, Amsterdam and Marc Foxx, Los Angeles.



CL_09-2011_Leighton_AKF_r8_chess life 8/10/11 10:09 AM Page 26


Profile

i trAveled to ChiCAGo in April topresent the winner of the Kasparov Chessfoundations national Girls Champi-onship with a $105,000 scholarship toattend the University of texas at dallasand to interview George leighton for thisprofile. i invited him to help me presentthe award but he demurred. tim, hesaid, in our days at the Chicago ChessClub if someone mentioned a $105,000scholarship for girls chess, they wouldhave undergone a court-ordered psychi-atric evaluation. i tried to work him intothe award ceremony for the champion,Alexandra v. botez, anyway.

Addressing several hundred students,parents, and coaches, i said: i spent apleasant friday afternoon with an oldfriend, George leighton. George is an avidchess player. he is also the first black per-son appointed to the federal bench inillinois, as judge of the United States dis-trict Court. Many in the audiencenodded. We have made a great deal ofprogress towards racial equality in thiscountry, a fact easily confirmed by sim-ply looking around the room.

i continued: i invited George leightonto participate in todays award ceremony,but he had to work over the weekend athis law office on a pressing case. Manymore in the audience nodded. these days,we all have to work long hours just to stayon top of things. these chess parents, whosacrifice so their children can play chessunderstood perfectly.

George leighton is 98 years old. Atthis point there was an audible gaspfrom those present. Chess keeps yousharp, i finished.

Chess Life caught up with George at hisoffice at the prestigious law firm of neal andleroy on laSalle Street, Chicagos equiv-

alent of Wall Street, where he is of Coun-sel. George has kept up with his chess. hehad the recent issue of the magazine andasked questions about hikaru nakamura.

George neves leitao was born on october 22, 1912 in new bedford, Massa-chusetts. he was the son of two portuguesenationals, natives of the Cape verdeislands, a 14-island archipelago off thecoast of Africa that was a portuguesecolony for more than 400 years. his namewas Anglicized to leighton. raised in newbedford and on Cape Cod, he finishedsixth grade but then dropped out becausehe had to work in cranberry bogs managedby his father to help support the family.

Mary A. hayden, who ran a local boysclub, taught him the rudiments of chess.it was the greatest gift i have ever beengiven, George told me. he has sincememorialized her help by making signif-icant financial contributions to chess inher honor. he also later became active insupporting the Chicago boys Clubs tohelp repay what he had received fromher. As a youth, after work, George readextensively, attended night school, andstudied in Works projects Administrationclasses in 1934-35. the Cape verdeancommunity in new bedford, under theleadership of the attorney Alfred J. Gomes,created a competitive scholarship, $200 forinitial college tuition to the top two essay-ists. George was one of the winners.

Without a high-school diploma, Georgeleighton was admitted to Washington,d.C.s famous howard University as anunclassified student. to make money tosupport his education, George worked fora time peeling potatoes in a district ofColumbia restaurant. on St. patricks dayin 1936, early in the morning, he reachedinto the bag for the next potato and could-

nt peel it. it was a rock the size of a potato.George kept it and it has served as his tal-isman ever since, to remind him of howhard he had to work to succeed. enclosedin plexiglas, it is still on his desk. After fourstraight years on the deans honor roll athoward, he was awarded a degree magnacum laude. he received a scholarship toattend harvard law School and, after warservice, graduated in 1946. George passedthe bar in Massachusetts and, after arriv-ing in Chicago, in illinois.

Merely listing Georges professionalaccomplishments and accolades wouldtake several pages. he helped found oneof the largest predominantly black lawfirms in the United States: Moore, Ming,and leighton. he is a life member of thenAACp. he argued a number of constitu-tionally important cases advancing thecause of civil rights in this country inthe 50s and 60s. he was elected judge ofthe Circuit Court of Cook County in 1964,assigned as judge of the illinois AppellateCourt in 1969, and elected to that officein 1970. president Gerald ford nomi-nated him as judge of the United Statesdistrict Court and he was confirmed bythe United States Senate in 1976. hewas for many years a professor at JohnMarshall law School and has beenawarded five honorary doctorates. in2005, the United States post office innew bedford was named in his honor.Most recently, on May 6, 2011, he wasgiven the prestigious Cardinal bernadinAward from the Chicago legal Clinic foraction on behalf of social justice, advo-cacy for the less advantaged, andpassionate promotion of the ideal thatwe are our brothers keepers.

i wrote to harold J. Winston, formerUSCf president, current chair of the U.S.

All RiseA profile of the honorAble GeorGe n. leiGhton

By Dr. Tim Redman | Photos by Betsy Dynako



Profile

Here Comes the JudgeFIDE Master Leonid Kaushansky

arrived in Chicago in the early

1980s from the Soviet Union and

started winning left and right. And

then he was paired with Judge

Leighton in the first round of the

Greater Chicago Open, on March

27, 1982.

Queens Pawn Opening: Unusual lines (D00)George N. LeightonLeonid Kaushansky

1. d4 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Bd3 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5.f4 Bg4 6. Nf3 c4 7. Bc2 Ne4 8. 0-0 f5 9.Qe1 e6 10. Ne5 Nxe5 11. fxe5 Be7? 12.Ba4+ Kf8 13. Nd2 Bh4 14. g3 Bg5 15.Kg2 Kg8 16. Nxe4 fxe4 17. Bd1 Bf5?18. h4 Be7 19. h5! h6 20. g4 Bh4 21.Qe2 Qg5 22. Kh1 Bh7 23. b3!

After 23. b3

23. ... cxb3 24. axb3 g6 25. Ba3 Kg7 26.Rf6 Rae8 27. Qb5! Rhf8 28. Bxf8+ Rxf829. Qd7+, Black resigned.

r+-+-+ktrzpp+-+-zpl-+-+p+-zp+-+pzP-wqP-+pzPp+Pvl+PzP-zP-+-P+-+Q+-+tR-vLL+R+K

Chess Trust, and a prominent Chicagopublic defender, for his comments aboutGeorge. Harold summarized it nicely: Ihave attended several legal get-togethers inthe last three years at which Judge Leightonwas honored. He is greatly respected by allin the criminal defense community because

he was a pioneer fighter for the rights of

defendants to fair trials as well as being an

excellent and fair judge.

I first got to know George Leighton

during the mid-sixties at the Chicago

Chess Club, the citys only seven-day-a-

week club, founded in 1870. Its quarters

were in a fading commercial building at 64

East Van Buren Street in Chicagos Loop

(downtown). The club included many emi-

nent Chicagoans and a few characters.Besides George, the former category

included Wiley Clements, an insurance

executive; Norbert Leopoldi, an importer;

Norman Perrin, a professor of theology

at the University of Chicago; Phil LeCornu,

a businessman who later left his estate to

the U.S. Chess Federation; Dr. Eugene

Martinovsky, a psychiatrist and chessmaster; along with a goodly number ofother masters. The characters includedDanny Fischeimer, who divided his timebetween Chicago, where he was a slumlandlord, and Las Vegas, where he gambled,and Walter Grombacher, a hypochondriac

who would insist on describing his symp-

toms to Dr. Martinovsky and who boasted

that he had been the only Jewish member

of the Hitler Youth.George and I shared some laughs

recalling some of these folks. He was

genuinely fond of Richard Verber, who

was Chicago Chess Club president for

many years. Richard, a Falstaffian man,was one of the nations top players (he

turned down an invitation to the U.S.

Closed Championship one year) and a top

organizer. Richard organized the record-

breaking U.S. Open in August 1973 and

put on what was the nations first ches-

sathon, though we didnt have a name

for it at the time.A lifelong Democrat and a supporter of

Mayor Richard J. Daley and John F.Kennedy (and later Barack Obama), Georgehad the clout to secure the Chicago CivicCenter Plaza in the Loop (now Daley Plaza)to hold an all-day chess simultaneous,where the citys best players, includingGeorge, played all comers over the courseof a work day, 2,900 in all. Due to variouscircumstances, the Chicago Chess Clubmoved to another Loop location, then to theNear North Side, and then to the basementof the Gas Light Tavern on North HalstedStreet. At that point, George stoppedattending. I asked him why and he told methat as a judge, he could not be seen in atavern, even if he was just passing throughto get to the chess club.

I was a student in Rome in 1970-71and I heard that George and his wife, Vir-ginia (he called her Ma), were going tocome as tourists. I arranged with Italianfriends to take them on a Rome by Nightcar tour of all the lighted monuments inthe city. I was surprised that Georgeunderstood our Italian, due, he explained,

A potato that couldnt be peeled.



to the fact that his parents were Por-tuguese nationals. Following his parents,George is a devout Roman Catholic. Hehas two daughters, five grandchildren,and, three great-grandchildren.

At one point, Georges passion for chessexposed him to risk. Like all serious

Chicago chess players, in summer he

would play at the chess pavilion at North

Avenue Beach. While he was presiding

over a trial of FALN (Puerto Rican) terror-

ists, a group of FBI agents visited George

in his chambers during a trial recess. They

told him that they had credible evidence

that the FALN was going to assassinate

him at North Avenue Beach that weekend

while he was playing chess. He stayedaway but then upset all sides of the crim-

inal case by giving the older indicted

members long prison terms but granting

probation to the youngest, an exception

which anticipated by many decades what

we now know about brain development

in males through their mid-twenties.

My next contact with George was when

he phoned my university office offering tohelp Bobby Fischer with his legal prob-lems (Fischer had just been detained inJapan). Knowing now what I do aboutGeorges legendary legal defense skills, Ihave no doubt that he could have helpedexonerate Fischer. But the difficulty ofcontacting Fischer was followed by whatseemed to be a fair resolution and theycaused me to let the matter drop. Andthen, two months ago, I read aboutGeorge in The New York Times. Thecolumnist ran into him shortly after Illi-nois halted the death penalty. Asked forhis reaction, George replied Its civiliza-tion. George had defended many indigentprisoners on death row.

On Friday, April 8, Betsy and I met at hislaw office for the beginning of the interviewand photos. We then re-paired to the Nealand Leroy conference room for a game ofspeed chess and further photos. I wasoverconfident about our game. Years ago,I had finally learned how to meet Georgesinevitable Stonewall (d2-d4, c2-c3, e2-e3, f2-

f4) with a response challenging commandof the black squares (... g7-g6, ... Bf8-g7, ...d7-d6, ... e7-e5). But George changed open-ings to the more conventional d4 and c4.Unprepared, seeing his mounting attack,and knowing we were both hungry, I offeredand he accepted a draw. George has keptup his chess using his Mephisto computer.

He took me to Chicagos famous Ital-ian Village in the Loop. Despite the factthat it was after 3 pm and a sign in theentry way directed all diners arrivingafter 2:30 pm to the second-floor restau-rant, he strode confidently into thefancier first-floor restaurant and we wereseated immediately. He is known there.We both had pasta and a drink and con-tinued our reminiscences. George had toleave but I lingered and got into conver-sation with our waiter. Il signore ha ungrande cuore, he said, un grandecuore. The gentleman has a big heart,a big heart. .Learn more in a five-minute video:

search George N. Leighton on YouTube.

Judge Leighton playing the author.



2011 National Open

In my enthusIastIc prevIew of the natIonal open forChess Life Online a few weeks prior to the June 10-12 las vegasevent, I promised that in this article, Id be coming back withanswers to such burning questions as what pre-registered Gmpavel Blatny has been up to in the years since he left behind thechess world for different (most likely greener) pastures. I wasabout to fail miserably in my task when I ran into pavel and co-winner loek van wely (photo, above; varuzhan akobian is in thephoto on the facing page) in the lobby on the morning of the tour-naments conclusion. thanks to this lucky encounter, I was

able to put together a little trivia quiz for my dear readers:

a) when was the last time pavel Blatny used chessBase to

prepare for a game? (A hint: what year was the last time)

b) what are loek van welys three top interests in life?

we can even do a true or false:

speaking about nakamura following in his footsteps in his recentpurchase of a Bmw, van wely said: I cant believe he didnt get abetter car!

The story from Las Vegas, including a look by our author at what

Love Has It

CL_09-2011_Natl-Open_AKF_r8_chess life 8/9/11 2:08 PM Page 30


Alright, now that youre hopefully intrigued, let me backtracka little and tell you about the players, the games, who won andwho lost

The finish at this years National Open was quite suspenseful,as four pairs were fighting for first place amongst themselves, unlike2010, when only the game Gareyev-Akobian was relevant fordetermining the tournament victor. These pairs were van Wely-Zhanibek Amanov, Ray Robson-Suat Atalik, Sam Shankland-TimurGareyev, and Giorgi Kacheishvili-Akobian. There was actuallyone other player with 4/5, GM Alejandro Ramirez, but he had com-

mitted to a bye for the final round, and had to fly off to teach ata chess camp the following day. Im sure he must have felt a twingeof regret at leaving the tournament at such a critical moment whoever is planning your schedule, Alejandro, please tell them thatthe last round is indeed the most important one!

As we already know, van Wely capitalized on his gift by eas-ily beating the only non-GM of the group, and while all the othermatchups were fought out, only one produced a decisive result.Varuzhs solid opening choice paid off as Giorgi went overboardtrying to make something out of an equal endgame:

makes some of the top players tick. By IM Irina Krush | Photos by Chris Bird

ts Borders

CL_09-2011_Natl-Open_AKF_r8_chess life 8/9/11 2:09 PM Page 31


Queens Gambit Declined,Semi-Slav without ... Nf6(D31)GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (2660) GM Varuzhan Akobian (2685) National Open (6), Las Vegas,06.12.2011

1. d4 e6 2. c4 d5 3. Nc3 Be7

It doesnt get any more solidthan this line of the QueensGambit Declined.

4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6

5. ... Nf6 6. e3 Bf5 is theother main line, which featuredin most of my white games

against Anna Zatonskih in the2011 U.S. Womens Champi-onship. Black solves theproblem of the light-squaredbishop, but leaves the b7-pawnvulnerable to an attack by thequeen.

6. Qc2

Prophylaxis against ... Bf5.

6. ... Bd6

Again Var goes for the ultrasolid continuation. 6. ... g6 7. e3Bf5 is another branch.

7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. e3 Qg6

After8....Qg6

A tough nut for White tocrack. If White withdraws withhis queen, he doesn't get his

ideal setup with Bd3. .

9. Qxg6

This queen trade was

inspired by the recent Naka-

mura-Ponomariov match,

where Naka scored a nice

endgame victory. 9. Qb3 and 9.

Qd2 are the alternatives

9. ... hxg6 10. b4 Nf6

Ponomariov played 10. ... a6

and later developed this knight

to e7. Nakamura thought 10. ...

a6 was a big mistake.

11. f3 g5 12. g4

Seizing space on the king-

side is part of Whites plan inthis position. It was also usedby Nakamura.

12. ... Be6 13. Bd3 Nbd7 14. Kf2Ke7 15. Nge2 a5 16. b5 c5

After16....c5

Black has harmonious devel-opment and can be satisfiedwith his prospects.

17. Na4 Rac8 18. Kg3 cxd4 19.exd4 Ne8 20. Rhe1

20. Rae1 was possible withthe same idea as in the game,forcing Black to change plansas the h2-pawn is protected.

20. ... Nd6 21. f4

After21.f4

Ambitious, but giving Blackdangerous counterplay in con-nection with the e4-square.

21. ... Nf6!? 22. f5 Nde4+

After22....Nde4

Documents

Chess Life 2011-09 September