Chess Chats by George Koltanowski Sunday, January 27, 1957 The Press Democrat Santa Rosa, California Problem No. 60 by...
Posted by Bobby Fischer's True History on Thursday, February 13, 2020
Problem No. 60 by A. Efron, Hartford. White to play and mate in two moves.
FEN n1B3bN/2pR1p2/1p3k2/1Pp2N2/2RpKP2/8/8/8 w - - 0 1
Solution: 1. Kd3 Kxf5 2. Rxf7#
17 Moves
Max Lange games in tournaments have always been a great weakness of mine and recently I ran across the following game played in the Barcelona tourney, 1944, which I feel sure will interest the student.
Max Lange
Dr. O.S. Bernstein (white) R. Lorens (black)
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Spielmann Defense
(a) Von Bardeleben's continuation. The classical line is 6. … P-Q4 7. PxN, PxB; 8. R-K1ch, etc.
(b) Is unafeared of the double pawn on the KR file. If 7. … P-Q4; 8. B-QN5 or if 7. … P-Q3; 8. B-KN5, etc.
(c) Black brings his only attacking piece back to a square where it will be inactive.
(d) 11. … N-N5 looks better.
(e) If 13. … B-Q2; 14. Q-B3 and White continues the pressure.
(f) Now 15. … B-Q2; would lose a good pawn after 16. Q-N3ch
(g) Black is lost anyway. If 16. … Q-K3; 17. Q-N4ch wins.
(h) There's no way of meeting White's strong 17th move. After 17. B-Q1; 18. RxB, QxQ; 19. RxRch, KxR; 20. PxQ, Black is a piece down.
Bad Habit
Miguel Najdorf vs Nicolaas Cortlever
Buenos Aires Olympiad fin-A (1939), Buenos Aires ARG, rd 6, Sep-07
Gruenfeld Defense: Russian Variation (D96) 0-1
(a) See game Tartakower-Znosko-Borowski.
(b) Well played. If 11. PxP, then Q-B1.
(c) Heroic method of stopping the stamped of the white pawns.
(d) Better by far was 20. P-B5, P-B3; 21. P-R4, etc.
(e) Threatens N-B6ch.
(f) Hard to understand. Why resign when he has the better game? 28. P-N5, gives White an easy advantage in all variations. The moral: Resigning is a bad habit!