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Chess 12 Feb 1959, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
CHESS
The Guardian, Chess, Thursday, February 12, 1959, Greater London, England Problem No. 513 By H. W. Massingham...
Posted by Bobby Fischer's True History on Thursday, May 5, 2022
Problem No. 513 By H. W. Massingham (Manchester)
Black (7)
White (8)
White mates in two moves.
FEN 7q/4pNN1/3pPkr1/1n1P2p1/8/3B4/1K4R1/4Q3 w - - 0 1
Solution: 1. Qh4 Qxh4 2. Ne8#
The counties' championship
Essex, the holders of the inter-county championship, are almost certainly eliminated from the current competition after their 11-7 defeat by Middlesex, who are now favourites to regain the title which they used to win regularly a few years ago. In the other home counties section, a single critical position for adjudication will probably decide whether Surrey or Kent Qualifies for the finals, while in the North there is the usual three-cornered struggle between Cheshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. The following game was the most brilliant of the Essex-Middlesex match.
Harry Ivor Woolverton vs David Brine Pritchard
London (1959), London ENG
Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit. Normal Line (D08) 0-1
1. This gambit is more neglected than it deserves to be. Although probably not quite sound, it gives good chances to an attacking player in practice, particularly when White, as here, is over-cautious. The rule in all gambits is that, if you accept them, you should concentrate on giving your piece scope rather than on clinging to the extra material.
2. A doubtful innovation: “Modern Chess Openings” recommends 5. … B-KN5.
3. The drawbacks of Black's last move could have been shown up by 6. P-K3 PxP; 7. QxQch KxQ; 8. BxP N-N3; 9. N-B3 KNxP; 10. O-Och B-Q2; 11. NxN NxN; 12. B-K2 followed by P-B4, when White has much the better development.
4. This is weak; White it thinking of holding on to the pawn (9. … KNxP; 10. NxN NxN; 11. Q-K4), and underestimate Black's tactical chances for a later P-Q6. Either 9. QN-Q2 or P-N4, followed possibly by Q-R4, is better.
5. Another non-developing move. Better is 11. B-N2, and only if 11. … KNxP; 12. P-N5.
6. In spite of White's inaccuracies, he could still maintain a tenable game by 15. B-K3. Since he then really threatens the QNP, Black would have to reply 15. … P-QB3; 16. PxP PxP; 17. N-B3, followed by P-B3 and QR-Q1, with only a slight positional advantage for Black. Still, White can scarcely be blamed for overlooking the splendid combination which follows.
7. The first point: if 17. K-R1 QxBch; 18. PxQ B-B6 mate.
8. This is the real idea behind Black's fifteenth move. If 19. KxB N-Q5ch, and Black emerges a piece up, so that White's king must head for the open.
9. It is a pity, from the artistic viewpoint, that Black has here an alternative winning method by 19. … P-N4; 20. P-N4 P-KR4; 21. QxN PxPdis.ch.; 22. K-N3 R-R6 mate.
10. Hoping desperately for 20. … RxQ; 21. NxR, or 20. … R-R3ch.; 21. QxR, when White can play on for some time, but the reply leaves him completely without resource.
11. If 21. QxR P-N5 mate; or 21. QxP BxQ; and … R-R3 mate.
Russian Champion
Tigran Petrosian, aged 29, has won the Russian championship with 13½ points out of 19. This is his first win of the title, although he has been close on several previous occasions. Petrosian is the nearest thing to an unbeatable machine since the days of Capablanca: in the past, two and a half years he has lost only three games. In this Russian championship he won eight and drew eleven, a success which will make him one of the favourites in the tournament later this year to decide a challenger for the world title.
Tal made a great effort in the final stages to retain his title, but lost a vital game to Korchnoi in the penultimate round. Tal shared second prize with Spassky with 12 points; both are only 22 years old. Kholmov and Taimanov were equal fourth with 12. Neither Bronstein nor Keres ever challenged the leaders, although both finished in the top half of the tournament.
