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Chess 22 Jan 1959, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Chess
The Guardian, Chess, Thursday, January 22, 1959, Greater London, England Problem No. 509 By J.E. Driver...
Posted by Bobby Fischer's True History on Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Problem No. 509
By J.E. Driver (Kettering)
Black (13).
White (10).
White mates in two moves.
FEN nB1r4/bbqB1R1p/8/3pkNpK/1Pp5/5Qp1/1P1N4/3Rrn2 w - - 0 1
Solution: 1. Nd6 Kxd6 2. Nxc4#
The French Renaissance
Tournaments during the past year have lowered the reputation of the Sicilian Defence, but enhanced that of the French. It is curious that whereas the world champion, Botvinnik, who used to be almost a lone protagonist of the French, has practically abandoned it, several other strong masters now adopt it regularly. One reply which used to be greatly feared is 3. N-Q2, with which Keres obtained many successes before the war; but it is now recognised as giving Black plenty of chances. The following game by the winner at Hastings is a typical example; Uhlmann, incidentally, plays nothing else but the French in reply to 1. P-K4.
Leonard William Barden vs Wolfgang Uhlmann
Hastings (1958/59), Hastings ENG, rd 8, Jan-06
French Defense: Tarrasch. Closed Variation (C05) 0-1
1. 3. … P-QB4; 4. KPxP KPxP; 5. KN-B3 K-NB3; 6. B-N5ch B-Q2; 7. Q-K2ch B-K2; 8. P X P Castles; has also been shown, by a number at master games, to be sufficient to equalise.
2. This is the usual line of play nowadays; Black eliminates White's spearhead and prepares to free his game completely by an eventual P-K4.
3. The other main idea for White is 12. B-Q2 Castles; 13. B-B3, so as to restrict Black's chances of achieving … P-K4. A game Kupper-Nievergelt, match 1957, showed this plan also to be harmless after 13. … B-Q2; 14. N-N3 Q-B2; 15. R-K1 B-B5; 16. Q-K2 QR-K1; with sufficient play in the centre.
4. The first of a series of inaccuracies, which lose the initiative. Better is 13. B-K3, and if 13. … B-Q2; 14. R-B1 K-R1; 15. N-QR4 Q-B2; 16. P-KR3 QR-K1; 17. N-B5 B-B1; 18. B-QN5 (Trifunovic-Schmid, Munich, 1958), when Black finds it difficult to force … P-K4 without creating positional weaknesses.
5. This is also unnecessary, since N-KN5 would weaken Black's king's position too much. White could still maintain a reasonable game by 15. P-QR3, followed by P-QN4 (if 15. … QxNP; 16. N-QR4 wins the queen.)
6. Black could already play 16. … QxNP; since White's compensation for the pawn after 17. N-QR4 Q-R6 is nebulous; but now the threat of capturing the pawn leads to the elimination of Black's QB.
7. A further error: White overestimates the prospects of his two bishops. 19. N-K5 would enable White to hold his QP.
8. In making this move. White had rosy dreams of 20. … NxP; 21. NxN QxN; 22. RxP, with good play for the bishops; but Black's reply dispels the illusion. Better is 20. KR-Q1, indirectly protecting the QP (20. … NxP; 21. NxN QxN; 22. BxKRP).
9. If at once 23. R-B7 Kt-B4.
10. 24. P-N3 would lead to immediate defeat by 24. … QxP; 25. QxB N-K4.
11. Uhlmann conducts the final attack with masterly accuracy. If 27. B-B1 QR-B1; while if 27. … B-Q2, BxB; 28. RxB N-B6ch; 29. PxN Q-N4ch.
12. The final mistake: but after the better 29. R-K4. Black would still win by 29. … Q-Q7; 30. Q-B2 RxP; 31. QxQ RxQ; 32. B-B1 B-B6; 33. RxKP R-Q8; 34. R-Q7 P-R4; 35. R-KN6 R-KB1; 36. RxB. R(B1)xBch: followed by mate.
