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July 17, 1932 It's Your Move by W. H. Steckel, Morning Call

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ChessChess 17 Jul 1932, Sun The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com

OCR Text

Problems, Games and News Items Solicited. By W.H.STECKEL 2 J BLACK H0 offi seai A ho Ref If In these times of unemployment tiiw-e happens to-be a manager of chess stars who Is looking for a Job let him apply to Messrs. Reuben Fine and Herman Steiner of the Marshall Chess club, at present engaged in a match of ten games. They will be able to make good use of him and doubtless be quite willing to make It worth his while. On second thought, Harold M. Phillips, upon whom has been thrust the more or less thankless office of referee, may be the right party to whom application should be made. At any rate it Is he who doubtless would benefit the most if a manager or even a second were to come upon the scene and take a hand in the proceedings. Four of the games have been played thus far, the score at the moment being 1-0, in favor of Fine, with two drawn and one adjourned. The first and second were not marred by any mishap, unless the defeat of Steiner in the second encounter at Woodside can be so wgarded. In the third, real excitement which had nothing to do with the actual play on the board, loomed up.
Recourse to the International Chess Code and appeal to Referee Phillips were necessary, before the troubled spirits of the two contenders could resume their composure. It seems that after 46 moves Fine, who is as wideawake a young chap as ever pushed a Pawn, took mental note of the fact that the same posi tion then shown on the board had occurred twice before with the same player to move. Such repetition under a provision of the International Chess Code is sufficient to warrant a claim for a draw if made immediately. Losing no time in vain cogitations and certain that he was within his rights Fine forthwith and quite gently called the attention of his opponent to the state of affairs. Simultaneously, he claimed a draw.
Whether or not the nature of the position in which Fine was a pawn behind had anything to do with his course is quite aside from the point. Steiner, having ably conducted the game and feeling convinced that victory was within his grasp, was shocked almost beyond expression. Nevertheless, he recovered and became vocal after which there was quite a bit of argument in the interesting case of Fine vs. Steiner. Subsequent discussion included the merits of the position, as to which opinion was naturally divided.
The upshot of it all was that the question of law should be left to Mr. Phillips, who is not only an expert at chess but a legal luminary as well. Pending his decision it was agreed to play out the game in order that Steiner might have the satisfaction of demonstrating the soundness of his views. This he succeeded in doing after otal of 61 moves had been recorded. However, the game went on record officially as a draw in 46, when the referee upheld Fine.
No sooner had one Incident been disposed of than another cropped up in the fourth game and it is believed that its settlement will cost Referee Phillips a sleepless night or two. It is to be hoped that it will not discourage him to the point of refusing future refereeships without pay. All are agreed that he is the right man in the right place, and the wish is general that he will not abandon this most Intriguing field of chess activity. The game stands adjourned, this time in a position regarded as favor able to Fine, because after they had played for four hours Steiner maintained that his rival had overstepped the time limit. - Fine innocently enough was shaping his play according to his understanding of the conditions which provided that the first 40 moves be made In two and one-half hours with 16 moves in each hour thereafter.
On the other hand Steiner asserted that for four hour sessions the play was to be at the rate of 36 moves in the first two hours and 18 moves an hour subsequently. And there the matter rests. Just how much rest that will mean for Referee Phillips remains to be seen. is understood that Steiner has wit nesses in reserve who will be called upon. (Brooklyn Eagle) The sixth annual Central Pennsylvania Association tournament will be held on September 3, 4 and 5 at Wilkes-Barre in the spacious rooms of Hotel Sterling, according to word recently received from A. N. Towsen and Kenneth Williams, president and secretary, respectively, of this association. Plans are made to have play start at 2 o'clock till six, resume Sunday at 9 a. m. till 11 p. m. and on Monday, Labor Day, the same as Sunday. From all appearances this will be one of the most successful tournaments ever conducted by this body of men. From late reports the score of the recently announced match between R. S. Goerlich of Bethlehem, and Charles Koch of Allentown, is 4-1 in the Al-lentown representative's favor. Two other games ended in draws. A post card has been received at the office from Isaac Kashdan, who is at present in Seattle, Washington. He asks to be remembered to all his friends In this section. The following game was played In the Pennsylvania State championship tournament of 1929.
The notes are by the winner, well known Phila delphia lawyer: S B Mlotkowski-Winkleman
White ts one of the most profound students of the openings in America. His researches include variations In the rungs uamDH, uie Evans uamolt ana the French Defense which he has sprung on opponents with great success.
His victories against winter ana sergeant in tne Cable jviaicnes. against tvevitz in tne new York Philadelphia team match and against anaerson ana wnrcaser. I therefore expected a deep-laid plot, prooaDiy a plan to advance jt-k.k4-kd etc All carefully worked out. After much study Black played K-B to retain the rook for protection, etc. Note the sequel, the rook never moves In the whole game and its force from R square later wins tne end game.
b For Kt-OKt5 was threatened Rarely has a chess master renounced from nis open ins: strategy, so precarious a rjosi tion after only 13 moves. Black rightly senses that the initiative has passed to mm. c For if PxP-KtxP and all the White weaKnesses are unaer lire. (d) ' A double threat O-ICWrh. ptr Now the White position seems hopeless and Black senses speedy victory.
e The second of a series of defensive moves ioresnaoowea oy wnite s k-qk.1 The result is that Black's advantage disappears and the battle begins once more, f The position is one of extra ordinary complexity Black overlooks KKt-K4 which l believe would win without much difficulty. ig Another surprise, now the Importance of the other Knight move becomes clear. h) Another difficult position. In fact each move has presented an intricate nrob lem. Neither side has been able to make any routine move.
(i) This was the 40th move At the end of two hours with both sides pressed for time. J After splendid openlnff nlay Black erred on move 24, but thereafter won the game anew. Tne combinations, tnrow-out. opening, mid-game and end game were complex ana ouiicuit. Problem No. 156 Prize Problem No. 15 By Havel Black 5 Pieces.
White 5 Pieces White mates in three moves. Solution to problem No. 13, KT-Q2 R. Fatzinger, A. Guerber and H. Peters, each 11: E. Gardner, H. Martz, L. Buck and F. Jackson, each 9; E. Knoll and R. Kessler, each 6; L. Buss, 4: W. Wallitsch, 3: E. Leeds. C. Car lisle, V. Benner and P. Flickinger, each 2 and E. Garnet l..

Recommended Books

Understanding Chess by William Lombardy Chess Duels, My Games with the World Champions, by Yasser Seirawan No Regrets: Fischer-Spassky 1992, by Yasser Seirawan Chess Fundamentals, by Jose Capablanca Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, by Bobby Fischer My 60 Memorable Games, by Bobby Fischer Bobby Fischer Games of Chess, by Bobby Fischer The Modern Chess Self Tutor, by David Bronstein Russians versus Fischer, by Mikhail Tal, Plisetsky, Taimanov, et al

'til the world understands why Robert J. Fischer criticised the U.S./British and Russian military industry imperial alliance and their own Israeli Apartheid. Sarah Wilkinson explains:

Bobby Fischer, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech
What a sad story Fischer was,” typed a racist, pro-imperialist colonial troll who supports mega-corporation entities over human rights, police state policies & white supremacy.
To which I replied: “Really? I think he [Bob Fischer] stood up to the broken system of corruption and raised awareness! Whether on the Palestinian/Israel-British-U.S. Imperial Apartheid scam, the Bush wars of ‘7 countries in 5 years,’ illegally, unconstitutionally which constituted mass xenocide or his run in with police brutality in Pasadena, California-- right here in the U.S., police run rampant over the Constitution of the U.S., on oath they swore to uphold, but when Americans don't know the law, and the cops either don't know or worse, “don't care” -- then I think that's pretty darn “sad”. I think Mr. Fischer held out and fought the good fight, steadfast til the day he died, and may he Rest In Peace.
Educate yourself about U.S./State Laws --
https://www.youtube.com/@AuditTheAudit/videos
After which the troll posted a string of profanities, confirming there was never any genuine sentiment of “compassion” for Mr. Fischer, rather an intent to inflict further defamatory remarks.

This ongoing work is a tribute to the life and accomplishments of Robert “Bobby” Fischer who passionately loved and studied chess history. May his life continue to inspire many other future generations of chess enthusiasts and kibitzers, alike.

Robert J. Fischer, Kid Chess Wizard 1956March 9, 1943 - January 17, 2008

The photograph of Bobby Fischer (above) from the March 02, 1956 The Tampa Times was discovered by Sharon Mooney (Bobby Fischer Newspaper Archive editor) on February 01, 2018 while gathering research materials for this ongoing newspaper archive project. Along with lost games now being translated into Algebraic notation and extractions from over two centuries of newspapers, it is but one of the many lost treasures to be found in the pages of old newspapers since our social media presence was first established November 11, 2017.

Special Thanks