Finding sanctuary in a chess library

Not that writing a chess column qualifies as hazardous journalism, but sometimes trying to keep up with the news from the wide world of chess can be like trying to drink from the proverbial firehose. Just the current edition of Mark Crowther’s indispensable online “The Week In Chess” contains for perusal some 7,838 games from the U.S., Argentina, Iraq, Poland and India, among other venues. There are some 3,443 games just from the weekly Tuesday Titled Blitz Tournament hosted on Chess.com.

And every Monday, there will be thousands more.

At such times, it can be soothing to retreat to the company of old friends in the old-school chess library, playing over a favorite game or discovering a new favorite from the bookshelf without feeling that the loading dock is taking in another hefty load of inventory to wrangle.

One old favorite of mine — and the source for many a past column — is a little volume picked up at a bookstore in Moscow 20 years ago, with the charming title (in English) on the cover: “Antology of Chess Beauty.” With a short introduction by then-world champion Garry Kasparov, who praises its “very democratic” selection of grandmaster and amateur prize-winning games, the 1,640 games, presented chronologically and annotated in the globally-spoken Informant-style code, includes some unexpected gems that don’t always make it into the more famous anthologies (or “antologies.”)

Surprisingly, three of the first 14 games in the collection were won by the now-obscure English-American 19th century master William H.K. Pollock. A surgeon by trade, Pollock had a so-so tournament record, including an 11th place finish out of 20 in the famous 1889 American Chess Congress in New York to pick a challenger to titleholder Wilhelm Steinitz. But Pollock claimed the event’s brilliancy prize in an upset of Austrian star Max Weiss, who would tie for first in the event.

This quieter treatment of the Morphy Ruy Lopez with 5. d3 has become fashionable again in the 2020s, but Weiss gets himself into trouble with a misguided early pawn grab: 11. Nxe5?!? (this leads to headaches when 11. Ng5! g6 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. 0-0 offered White a pleasant and enduring positional plus) Nxe5 12. Qxe5 Nb4! (oops! — now 13. cxb4 [Qxc5?? Nxd3+] Bxb4+ 14. Kd1 [Nc3 Bxb3 15. axb3 Re8] Qxd3+ 15. Nd2 Bxb3+ 16. axb3 Rfe8 17. Qg3 Qe2+ 18. Kc2 Rad8 hands Black a raging attack) 13. 0-0 Nxd3, winning back the pawn with a better position.

The pyrotechnics show, however, is just beginning: 16. Nd2 (better was 16. Be3, but Black is still on top after 16…Bxe3 17. fxe3 g6 18. Qe2 Qd5 19. Na3 Rad8 20. Rad1 Qe4, dominating the center) Qe7 17. b4 Bxf2+! 18. Kh1 (and not 18. Rxf2? Nxf2 19. Kxf2 Qe3+ 20. Kf1 Qe1 mate) Qe1 19. h3 Nxc1!! — a combination highly praised by Steinitz himself. Black ends up with a rook and bishop for the queen, but White’s king also is left totally exposed to the angry Black forces buzzing around.

White gets no respite in the mostly forced play that follows: 20. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 21. Kh2 Bg1+ 23. Kg3 (Kh1 Be3+ 23. Kh2 Bxd2 gives Black an overwhelming material edge) Re3+ 23. Kg4 (and here 23. Nf3 is nicely refuted by 23…Ne2+ 24. Kh4 Re4+ 25. Kg5 Be3+ 26. Kf5 Ng3 mate) Ne2 24. Nf1 g6 25. Qd5 h5+ 26. Kg5, and now, with both Black rooks hanging, a simple king move delivers the quietus.
On 26…Kg7! (Re6 does the job as well, but Pollock’s move is aesthetically superior, breaking the f-pawn pin and threatening things like 27…f6+ 28. Kh4 Bf2+ 29. g3 Kh6 30. Rxa6 Re4+! 31. Qxe4 g5 mate), it’s over after 27. Nxe3 f6+ 28. Kh4 Bf2+ 29. g3 Bxg3 mate.

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Among the gems of the “Antology” are some behind-the-Iron-Curtain obscurities from countries (Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and East Germany) that no longer exist. Today’s second game, won by the unjustly neglected Ukrainian star Isaac Lipnitsky (a friend and rival of his great compatriot David Bronstein) fits the bill, played in Dzintari, Latvia in 1950 when the Baltic state was still a part of the Soviet Union.

As in our first game, Russian master Mikhail Beilin as White also gets in trouble early in this Queen’s Gambit with a premature knight hop to e5: 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. Ne5?! (White’s not ready for this with his forces still to be developed; simple and good was 8. e3) Bd7! (already setting a trap — 9. Nxd7? Qxd4! 10. Qc2 Qxc4! 11. e3 Qg4, and the White knight has no route back to safety) 9. Nxc6 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Bxc6 11. Qb3 dxc4 12. dxc4 12. Qxc4 0-0, and Black has re-established material equality, has a clear lead in development and his bishop on c6 makes White’s kingside development a problem. White is already scrambling just to stay in the game.

Brilliancies don’t happen without at least a little help from the losing side, and White obliges here with 15. d5?! (Beilin should seize the last chance to play 15. e4, when Black has just a small advantage after 15…a6) Bd7 15. Qxc7? (and this pawn grab will prove disastrous given the undeveloped state of half of White’s army) e4! 16. Rc1 (see diagram; 16. Qxd7 Qxc3+ 17. Kf2 e3+ 18. Kg3 Qxa1 is just winning for Black) Rac8!!, the start of a beautiful series of maneuvers to punish White for his ill-timed greed.

There followed 17. Qxd7 (Qa5 exf3 18. gxf3 Qh4+ 19. Kd2 Rc4 20. Rg1 Rfc8 21. Qa3 R8c5, and Black’s domination is total) e3!! 18. Qa4 (g3 Qd4) Rxc3 19. Rd1 Rfc8 — White is still a pawn up, but his imprisoned king’s bishop and rook might as well not be on the board.

Black avoids one nasty shoal before bringing the point into port: 22. Kf1 Rxd1+! (and not 22…Qd2??, and Black would even lose after 23. Bxc8! Rxd1+ 24. Kg2 Qxe2+ 25. Kh3 Rxh1 26. Qe8+ Kh7 27. Bf5+ and wins) 23. Qxd1 Qd2 24. Kg2 (losing at once, but even the computer’s ingenious  24. Qxd2 exd2 25. Kf2! Rc1 26. Ke3! Rxh1 27. Kxd2 Kf8 28. Bc8 b6 29. d6 Ke8 30. f4 Rxh2 is a pretty basic endgame win for Black) Rc1!, and White resigned ahead of 25. Qxc1 (Qxd2 exd2 26. Bd7 Rxh1 27. Ba4 d1=Q 28. Bxd1 Rxd1 29. e4 Kf8 and wins) Qxe2+ 26. Kg1 Qf2 mate.

(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)

Weiss-Pollock, 6th American Chess Congress, New York, March 1889

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Qe2 O-O 10. Qe4 Be6 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Qxe5 Nb4 13. O-O Nxd3 14. Qh5 Bxb3 15. axb3 Re8 16. Nd2 Qe7 17. b4 Bxf2+ 18. Kh1 Qe1 19. h3 Nxc1 20. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 21. Kh2 Bg1+ 22. Kg3 Re3+ 23. Kg4 Ne2 24. Nf1 g6 25. Qd5 h5+ 26. Kg5 Kg7 27. Nxe3 f6+ 28. Kh4 Bf2+ 29. g3 Bxg3 mate.

Beilin-Lipnitsky, Dzintari, Latvia, USSR, 1950

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. Ne5 Bd7 9. Nxc6 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Bxc6 11. Qb3 dxc4 12. Qxc4 O-O 13. f3 e5 14. d5 Bd7 15. Qxc7 e4 16. Rc1 Rac8 17. Qxd7 e3 18. Qa4 Rxc3 19. Rd1 Rfc8 20. g3 Rc1 21. Bh3 Qc3+ 22. Kf1 Rxd1+ 23. Qxd1 Qd2 24. Kg2 Rc1 White resigns.

• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.