Wonders and Curiosities of Chess

by Bill Wall

In 1974, Irving
Chernev wrote an
interesting book called
Wonders and
Curiosities of Chess.
Here are a few of his
wonders and
curiosities with a little
bit more detail that I
have added.

Shortest Master Game. Bill Wall

Chernev wrote that the
shortest tournament
Marcel Duchamp game ever played
Chess Master between masters lasted
only four moves. He
wrote that it occurred Chess is 99 percent
between Gibaud and tactics. -Teichmann
Lazard in a Paris
Championship
Tourney. The moves
were 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nd2
e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.h3
Ne3 and White
resigns, Amedee
Gibaud-Frederic
Lazard, Paris 1924.
However, this is said
to be a conjured up
game, not a real game.
In 1922, Lazard wrote
that he played a
friendly game with an
amateur in Paris, and
the game went 1.d4 d5
2.b3 Nf6 3.Nd2 e5
4.dxe5 Ng4 5.h3 Ne3
and White resigned,
NN-Lazard, Paris
1922. In 1937, Gibaud
wrote an article in
CHESS and denied
that he played this
game. Gibaud was
champion of France
four times (1928,
1930, 1935, and
1940).

Longest Won Game.

Chernev wrote that the
longest master game
ending in a win lasted
168 moves (there have
been longer games
since this — 239
moves is the record). It
was between Wolf and
Duras at Carlsbad
1907. He said it took 6
sittings and lasted 22.5
hours.

Heinrich Wolf —
Oldrich Duras,
Carlsbad 1907
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5.
Nc3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7.
Nxe5 O-O 8. O-O Nd4
9. Nf3 d6 10. Nxd4
Bxd4 11. Ne2 Bb6 12.
d3 Ng4 13. h3 Ne5 14.
d4 Nc4 15. Ng3 Qh4
16. c3 g6 17. Qf3 Be6
18. Bc2 Rad8 19. b3
Na5 20. Be3 d5 21. e5
f5 22. Qf4 Qxf4 23.
Bxf4 Nb7 24. Ne2 c5
25. b4 c4 26. a4 Rb8
27. axb5 axb5 28. Bg5
Kf7 29. Ra6 Nd8 30.
Rfa1 Bc8 31. R6a2
Ne6 32. Be3 Bb7 33.
Kh2 Kg7 34. f4 h5 35.
g3 Nc7 36. Ng1 Ra8
37. Rxa8 Rxa8 38.
Rxa8 Nxa8 39. g4
hxg4 40. hxg4 Bc8 41.
Nf3 Bd8 42. gxf5
Bxf5 43. Bxf5 gxf5
44. Bf2 Kf7 45. Bh4
Bxh4 46. Nxh4 Ke6
47. Ng2 Nb6 48. Ne3
Na4 49. Nd1 Ke7 50.
Kg3 Kf7 51. Kf3 Ke7
52. Ke3 Nb6 53. Kd2
Ke6 54. Ne3 Nc8 55.
Nc2 Kd7 56. Ke2 Nb6
57. Ne3 Ke6 58. Kf3
Na4 59. Nd1 Ke7 60.
Kg3 Kf7 61. Kh3 Kg7
62. Kh4 Kg6 63. Kg3
Kf7 64. Kf2 Ke7 65.
Ke2 Ke6 66. Kd2 Nb6
67. Ne3 Nc8 68. Nc2
Kd7 69. Ne1 Ke6 70.
Nf3 Nb6 71. Ke2 Ke7
72. Ng5 Na4 73. Kd2
Nb6 74. Nh7 Nd7 75.
Ke3 Kf7 76. Kf2 Ke6
77. Ke3 Kf7 78. Kd2
Ke6 79. Ng5+ Ke7 80.
Nf3 Nb6 81. Ne1 Ke6
82. Nc2 Kd7 83. Na3
Kc6 84. Ke2 Na4 85.
Nb1 Kd7 86. Kf3 Ke6
87. Kg3 Kf7 88. Kh4
Kg6 89. e6 Kf6 90.
Kh5 Ke7 91. Kg6
Kxe6 92. Kg5 Nb2 93.
Na3 Nd1 94. Nxb5
Ne3 95. Nc7+ Kd7 96.
Na6 Kc6 97. Nc5 Kb5
98. Kf6 Nd1 99. Kxf5
Nxc3 100. Ke5 Na4
101. f5 Nxc5 102.
bxc5 c3 103. f6 c2
104. f7 c1=Q 105.
f8=Q Kc4 106. Qf6
Qa1 107. Kd6 Qa3
108. Qf1+ Kb4 109.
Qe1+ Kb5 110. Qe2+
Kb4 111. Qe6 Qa8
112. c6 Qd8+ 113.
Qd7 Qf6+ 114. Kxd5
(White has a won
endgame at this point)
114...Qf3+
(114...Qg5+ would put
up more resistance)
115. Kd6 (15.Ke5
would have been
better) Qg3+ 116. Ke7
Qh4+ 117. Ke6 Qh3+
118. Kf6 Qh6+ 119.
Kf5 Qh5+ 120. Kf4
Qh6+ 121. Kf3 Qh5+
122. Ke4 Qh4+ 123.
Ke5 Qh2+ 124. Kd5
Qh1+ 125. Ke6 Qh3+
126. Ke5 Qh2+ 127.
Ke4 Qh4+ 128. Kf5
Qh5+ 129. Kf4 Qh6+
130. Kg3 Qg5+ 131.
Kf3 Qh5+ 132. Qg4
Qd5+ 133. Ke3 Qd6
134. Qf4 Qe6+ 135.
Kf2 Qa2+ 136. Kg3
Qg8+ 137. Qg4 Qb8+
138. Kg2 Qd6 139.
Qd7 Qg6+ 140. Kf2
Qc2+ 141. Kf3 Qd1+
142. Kf4 Qd2+ 143.
Kf5 Qf2+ 144. Kg6
Qg3+ 145. Kf7 Qh2
146. Qe7+ Ka4 147.
d5 Qh5+ 148. Ke6
Qg4+ 149. Kd6 Qb4+
150. Kd7 Qg4+ 151.
Kc7 Kb5 152. d6 Qf4
153. Kb7 Qb4 154.
Qe5+ Kc4+ 155. Kc7
Qa3 156. Kd7 Kb4
157. c7 Qh3+ 158.
Kd8 Qh4+ 159. Kc8
Kb3 160. Qb5+ Ka3
161. Kb8 Qd4 162. d7
Qc3 163. d8=Q Qb3
164. Qxb3+ Kxb3
165. c8=Q Kb4 166.
Qd3 Ka5 167. Qdc4
Kb6 168. Qb4# 1-0

Longest Drawn Game.

Chernev wrote that the
longest game ending
in a draw occurred
between Pilnik and
Czerniak (there have
been longer draws —
269 moves is the
record). It lasted 191
moves and required 23
hours of play. The
game was between
Herman Pilnik and
Moshe Czerniak and
played at Mar del
Plata, Argentina in
1950.

Most Defeats in a
Tournament. Chernev
wrote that Moreau lost
all 26 games without a
draw or win at the
Monte Carlo 1903
international
tournament (won by
Siegbert Tarrasch).
The player was
Colonel Charles Paul
Narcisse Moreau
(1837-1916), a French
soldier and
mathematician. Here is
one of his losses at the
tournament.

Geza Maroczy —
Moreau, Monte Carlo
1903 1.e4 e5 2.d4
exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6
4.Qe3 Be7 5.Nc3 d6
6.Bd2 Be6 7.O-O-O
Bf6 8.f4 Qc8 9.Nf3
Nh6 10.h3 Bxc3
11.Bxc3 O-O 12.f5
Bd7 13.f6 Ne5
14.Nxe5 gxf6
15.Qg3+ Kh8 16.Nxd7
1-0

Grunfeld. Chernev
wrote that Ernest
Grunfeld (sic), in his
time one of the
greatest authorities on
openings, played 1.e4
only once in his whole
tournament career
(against Capablanca at
Carlsbad in 1929).
When asked why he
avoided 1.e4, he
replied, "I never make
a mistake in the
opening." However, I
did find another game
in which Ernst
Gruenfeld played 1.e4.
He played 1.e4 against
Jacques Mieses in
1918 and drew.

Ernst Gruenfeld —
Jose Capablanca,
Karlsbad 1929 1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6
4.Bb5 Bb4 5.O-O O-O
6.d3 d6 7.Bg5 Bxc3
8.bxc3 Qe7 9.Bxc6
bxc6 10.Nd2 h6
11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Qf3
Qxf3 13.Nxf3 Be6
14.c4 Rfb8 15.Rfb1
Kf8 16.Nd2 Ke7 17.f3
Rb6 18.Kf2 Rab8
19.Ke2 c5 20.Kd1
Kd7 21.Kc1 Rxb1+
22.Rxb1 Rb6 23.Nf1
f5 24.Ne3 f4 25.Nd5
Bxd5 26.cxd5 c6 27.c4
1/2-1/2

Ernst Gruenfeld —
Jacques Mieses,
Kosice 1918 1.e4 e6
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4
4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3
Ngf6 6.Bd3 Nxe4
7.Bxe4 Nf6 8.Bd3 c5
9.O-O cxd4 10.Nxd4
Be7 11.Re1 O-O
12.Bg5 Qxd4
13.Bxh7+ Nxh7
14.Qxd4 Bxg5
15.Rad1 Bf6 16.Qb4
e5 17.c3 Ng5 18.a4 b6
19.a5 Rb8 20.axb6
axb6 21.Ra1 Bb7
22.h3 Ne6 23.Red1
Nf4 24.f3 Rfe8
25.Qb5 e4 26.Rd7 Ba8
27.Qc4 Ne6 28.fxe4
Rbc8 29.Qb4 Nc5
30.Rda7 Bxe4
31.Qxb6 Bg5 32.Re1
Re6 33.Rc7 Rxb6
34.Rxc8+ Kh7
35.Rxc5 f5 36.Rxe4
fxe4 37.Rxg5 Rxb2
1/2-1/2

Blindfold Play Banned

by Law. Chernev
wrote that in Russia,
chess is thought so
highly that it is taught
in the public schools.
Yet blindfold play is
forbidden by law.
Some sources say that
simultaneous blindfold
exhibitions were
officially banned in
1930 in the USSR as
they were deemed to
be a health hazard.

Rehsevsky's
Prediction. U.S. chess
champion Sammy
Reshevsky was asked
whether he expected to
win the Western
Tournament of 1933.
According to Chernev,
his reply was, "Who is
there to beat me?"
Reshevsky was right.
Nobody did beat him
— but he did not win
the tournament.
Reshevsky scored 11-
2 with 9 wins and 4
draws. Reuben Fine
scored 12-1 with 12
wins and 1 loss. This
was the 34th Western
Championship, held at
the Hotel Tuller in
Detroit from
September 23 to
October 1, 1933
(otherwise known as
the US Open). The
event was sponsored
by the Auto City
Chess and Checker
Club. There were 14
players in the event.
Fine lost to Reshevsky
in round 6, but won
every other game that
he played. Reshevsky
drew to Arthur Dake,
Samuel Factor, Albert
Margolis, and George
Barnes.

Reshevsky — Fine,
Detroit 1933
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3.
Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2
Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 b6 6.
g3 Bb7 7. Bg2 O-O 8.
Nc3 Qe7 9. O-O d6
10. Qc2 c5 11. dxc5
bxc5 12. Rad1 Nc6 13.
e4 Rfd8 14. Rd2 Ng4
15. Rfd1 Nge5 16.
Nxe5 Nd4 17. Ng6
hxg6 18. Qd3 e5 19.
Rf1 Bc6 20. f4 Rab8
21. f5 Qg5 22. f6 Rb7
23. Rdf2 gxf6 24. b3
f5 25. exf5 Bxg2 26.
Kxg2 gxf5 27. Rxf5
Nxf5 28. Rxf5 Qh6
29. Qe4 Re7 30. Qg4+
Kf8 31. Rh5 Qg7 32.
Qh4 Ke8 33. Nd5 f5
34. Nxe7 1-0

An Amateur for Life.

Franz Gutmayer, who
wrote a book on how
to become a chess
master, was never able
to become one
himself. Gutmayer
(1857-1937) was an
Austrian chess writer
and mediocre chess
player. In 1898, he
wrote Der Weg zur
Meisterschaft (The
Way to Chess
Mastership) and
explained how to
become a chess
master.

Sergey von Freymann

— Gutmayer, Cologne
1911
1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 f5 3.c4
Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.e3
O-O 6.Bd2 b6 7.Qc2
Bb7 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.a3
Qe8 10.O-O-O Nb8
11.d5 Ng4 12.Be1 Bf6
13.h3 Ne5 14.Nxe5
Bxe5 15.f4 Bf6 16.g4
g6 17.gxf5 exf5 18.e4
Bxc3 19.Bxc3 fxe4
20.Bxe4 Rxf4 21.Rde1
Na6 22.Bxg6 Qxg6
23.Rhg1 1-0

A Million-Dollar
Move. Chernev wrote
that Frank Marshall
(1877-1944) brought
off one of the most
startling and
unexpected moves
ever seen on a
chessboard in his
game against Levitzky
at Breslau in 1912.
The spectators were so
electrified by the
brilliant coup that they
responded by
showering the game
with gold pieces.
Marshall assured
Chernev of the truth of
the incident. Marshall,
in his book Marshall's
Greatest Games
(formerly My Chess
Career), wrote "I have
often been asked
whether the crowd
really did shower us
with gold coins. The
answer is yes
literally!!"

Stefan Levitsky —
Frank Marshall,
Breslau 1912
1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.Nc3
c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.exd5
exd5 6.Be2 Nf6 7.O-O
Be7 8.Bg5 O-O 9.dxc5
Be6 10.Nd4 Bxc5
11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.Bg4
Qd6 13.Bh3 Rae8
14.Qd2 Bb4 15.Bxf6
Rxf6 16.Rad1 Qc5
17.Qe2 Bxc3 18.bxc3
Qxc3 19.Rxd5 Nd4
20.Qh5 Ref8 21.Re5
Rh6 22.Qg5 Rxh3
23.Rc5 Qg3! (24.fxg3
Ne2+ 25.Kh1 Rxf1
mate) 0-1

Strange Name of
Players. Chernev gave
a list of strange chess
player names such as
Bobritscev, Putschkin,
Bogolybov, Dus-
Chotimirski, Ilyin-
Genevsky, Przepiorka,
and Konstatinopolsky.
Chernev wrote that in
a tournament held in
St. Petersburg in 1903,
no less than three
Znosko-Borovskys
won prizes. I have not
been able to confirm
this. There were two
active players with
that same last name —
Evgeny Alexandrovich
Znosko-Borovsky
(1884-1954) and his
brother, Sergey
Alexandrovich
Znosko-Borovsky
(1879-1911). There
was also N. Znosko-
Borovsky, who
appears with Eugene
in the photo of St.
Petersburg 1914.

Unwilling Club
Members. Chernev
wrote that one club
that no one cared to
join was the Vera
Menchik Club. The
members consisted of
masters who had lost a
game to Vera Menchik
— a master but still a
woman! Chernev
listed notable
unwilling members
include Dr. Euwe
(former World
Champion),
Reshevsky, Sultan
Khan, Colle, Lajos
Steiner, Sir George
Thomas, Samisch,
Becker, and Yates. In
1929, the Vera
Menchik Club was
formed as a joke. The
first member was
Viennese master
Albert Becker. He
proposed that all the
men that got beaten by
Vera Menchik should
be members of the
Vera Menchik Club.
When he lost to her in
an international
tournament that year,
he became the first
member. Other
members included
masters Conel Hugh
O'Donel Alexander,
Abraham Baratz, Eero
Book, Harry
Golombek, Frederic
Lazard, Jacques
Mieses, Stuart Milner-
Barry, Karel
Opocensky, Brian
Reilly, Theodore
Tyler, and William
Winter.

Good Advice. Chernev

wrote that a book
published in German
whose title in English
would be Advice to
Spectators at Chess
Tournaments, is
completely blank with
the exception of one
page. On this page
there are only two
words: Halt's Maul
(Keep your mouth
shut). The book (two
folded pages) was
Regeln fur
Nichtmitspieler (Rules
for Non-Players) ,
published by Adolf
Roegner (1855-1910)
of Leipzig. Roegner
was a chess dealer and
among his items was
Regeln fur
Nichtmitspieler from
one of his catalogs.
Roegner's item
comprised of one
folded cover page and
one folded page
inside. The front-cover
was entitled
Spielregeln fur Nicht-
Mitspieler, printed in
Leipzig. On the only
printed page inside
was the words 'halt's
Maul.' On the back
cover was a list of
items from Roegner's
chess business and a
chess diagram.

Blind Composer.
Chenev wrote that
comparable to
Beethoven's miracle of
composing music
while deaf is that of A.
F. Mackenzie, who,
although blind, created
some fine chess
problems. Arthur Ford
Mackenzie (1861-
1905) composed
dozens of chess
problems while blind
and was the author of
Chess, Its Poetry and
Its Prose (1887). He
lost his sight in early
1896. In 1905, Alain
C. White published
Chess Lyrics: A
Collection of Chess
Problems by A. F.
Mackenzie 1887-1905.
It consisted of 282
problems composed
by Mackenzie.

Dazzling Exhibition.
Chernev wrote that
Capablanca played
103 games
simultaneously in
Cleveland in 1922. He
won 102 games, lost
none, and allowed one
player to escape with a
draw. Capablanca's
winning score was
99.5%, the highest
ever in a large
simultaneous
exhibition. The
exhibition date was
February 4, 1922. At
the time, it was the
largest simultaneous
exhibition ever given.
The drawn game was
scored by Erick
Anderson when
Capablanca made a
slight error which
resulted in a draw
where he had a
winning position.
Anderson received a
fine inlaid chess table
for his draw.

Board Kings. Chernev

wrote that in 1851, the
Chess Champion of
the World was A.
Anderssen and the
Checker Champion of
the World was A.
Anderson. Adolf
Anderssen (1818-
1879) was a German
master. In 1851, he
won the first
international chess
tournament held in
London, making him
the unofficial chess
champion of the
world. Andrew
Anderson (1799-1861)
was a checkers master
and was the first
World Champion of
draughts/checkers. He
held that title from
1830 until 1848 when
he retired undefeated.
In 1851, James Wylie
(1818-1899) was
recognized as the
Checker Champion of
the World.

Drawing Master.
Chernev wrote that
"The Great Drawing
Master" in chess
history was Carl
Schlechter. He drew 7
of his 9 matches in
which he took part.
Even Dr. Lasker,
World's Champion,
could do no better than
draw his match with
Schlechter, when they
played for the title in
1910. Carl Schlechter
(1874-1918) was a
leading Austrian
master who is best
known for drawing a
World Chess
Championship match
with world champion
Emanual Lasker.
Schlechter only
needed a draw in their
final game to win the
match, but he lost after
blundering from a won
position, then
blundering from a
drawn position..
Schlechter won 1
game, drew 8 games,
and lost the final game
to draw the match.
Lasker retained his
world championship
title. He seems to have
drawn 47% of all his
games that he played.
In 1893, he played
Georg Marco in a
match in Austria and
drew all 10 games. In
1894, he drew matches
with Georg Marco and
Adolf Zinkl. In 1896,
he drew a match with
Dawid Janowski in
Vienna. In 1900, he
drew a playoff match
with Harry Pillsbury.
In 1904, he drew a
match with Richard
Teichmann in Vienna.
In 1911, he drew a
match with Siegbert
Tarrasch in Cologne.

Emanuel Lasker —
Carl Schlechter, World
Championship Match,
Game 10, Berlin 1910
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3
Nf6 4.e3 g6 5.Nc3
Bg7 6.Bd3 O-O 7.Qc2
Na6 8.a3 dxc4 9.Bxc4
b5 10.Bd3 b4 11.Na4
bxa3 12.bxa3 Bb7
13.Rb1 Qc7 14.Ne5
Nh5 15.g4 Bxe5
16.gxh5 Bg7 17.hxg6
hxg6 18.Qc4 Bc8
19.Rg1 Qa5+ 20.Bd2
Qd5 21.Rc1 Bb7
22.Qc2 Qh5 23.Bxg6
Qxh2 24.Rf1 fxg6
25.Qb3+ Rf7 26.Qxb7
Raf8 27.Qb3 Kh8
28.f4 g5 29.Qd3 gxf4
30.exf4 Qh4+ 31.Ke2
Qh2+ 32.Rf2 Qh5+
33.Rf3 Nc7 34.Rxc6
Nb5 35.Rc4 Rxf4
36.Bxf4 Rxf4 37.Rc8+
Bf8 38.Kf2 Qh2+
39.Ke1 Qh1+ 40.Rf1
Qh4+ 41.Kd2 Rxf1
42.Qxf1 Qxd4+
43.Qd3 Qf2+ 44.Kd1
Nd6 45.Rc5 Bh6
46.Rd5 Kg8 47.Nc5
Qg1+ 48.Kc2 Qf2+
49.Kb3 Bg7 50.Ne6
Qb2+ 51.Ka4 Kf7
52.Nxg7 Qxg7 53.Qb3
Ke8 54.Qb8+ Kf7
55.Qxa7 Qg4+ 56.Qd4
Qd7+ 57.Kb3 Qb7+
58.Ka2 Qc6 59.Qd3
Ke6 60.Rg5 Kd7
61.Re5 Qg2+ 62.Re2
Qg4 63.Rd2 Qa4
64.Qf5+ Kc7 65.Qc2+
Qxc2+ 66.Rxc2+ Kb7
67.Re2 Nc8 68.Kb3
Kc6 69.Rc2+ Kb7
70.Kb4 Na7 71.Kc5 1-
0

Bad Year for

Champions. Chernev
wrote that the year
1894 was a disastrous
year for board
champions. William
Steinitz, World's
Chess Champion for
28 years, lost his title
then to Emanuel
Lasker, while James
Wyllie, Checker
Champion for 40
years, had to
relinquish his crown to
James Ferrie.
Actually, Wyllie was
world checkers
champion for 50 years,
beginning in 1844,
with a few breaks
when Andrew
Anderson was world
checkers champion
from 1847 to 1849,
Robert Martins was
champion from 1859
to 1864, and Robert
Yates was world
champion from 1876
to 1878. In chess, On
May 26, 1894,
Emanuel Lasker
defeated Steinitz, 12-
7, in Montreal, to
become world
champion. Steinitz
was the oldest world
champion at 58 years,
10 days. Steinitz was
the official undisputed
world champion from
May 29, 1886 to May
26, 1894, or 8 years.
Steinitz was unbeaten
in match play for 32
years, from 1862 to
1894. Another
champion that lost that
year was U.S. chess
champion Jackson
Whipps Showalter
(1859-1935) losing to
Albert Hodges (1861-
1944).

First Blindfold Star.

Chernev wrote that the
first display of
simultaneous blindfold
play was given by
Buzecca, the Saracen
chess master, when he
visited the palace of
Count Popoli in
Florence in January of
1266. He conducted
two games blindfold,
and one game over the
board against three of
the city's leading
players. The exhibition
resulted in 2 wins for
Buzecca and 1 draw.
The record stood for
517 years. The source
of the story is from
Tratto dell' origine di
Firenze, by Giovanni
Villani, written in
1559. It was repeated
in A History of Chess
by H.J.R. Murray,
1913, page 458. There
is no record of the
games or whether the
draw occurred in a
blindfold game or the
sighted game. This is
the earliest recorded
report of blindfold
play in Europe. It was
in May, 1783, that the
record of 3 blindfold
games was played. On
May 9, 1783,
Francois-Andre
Danican Philidor
(1726-1795) played 3
blindfold games
simultaneously at the
chess club in James
Street in London. He
won two and drew
one.

Champions' Longest
Reigns. Chernev wrote
that William Steinitz
held the Chess
Championship of the
World for 28 years
against all opponents.
His conqueror, Dr.
Emanuel Lasker,
proved to be a worthy
successor; he held the
Championship for 27
years! Lasker was
world chess champion
for 26 years and 337
days, from 1894 to
1921.

Napoleon's
Hypermodern Move.
Chernev wrote "The
opening of the future,"
as Tartakover called
the Reti-Zukertort
Opening in 1924, was
played as far back as
1804 by Napoleon
Bonaparte. The
opening in question is
1.Nf3. Actually,
Napoleon played the
move 1.Nc3 first, and
the game may have
never really
happened.

Napoleon Bonaparte
— Madame De
Remusat, Chateau de
Malsaison, Rueil-
Malmaison, France,
1804.
1. Nc3 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3.
e4 f5 4. h3 fxe4 5.
Nxe4 Nc6 6. Nfg5 d5
7. Qh5+ g6 8. Qf3
Nh6 9. Nf6+ Ke7 10.
Nxd5+ Kd6 11. Ne4+
Kxd5 12. Bc4+ Kxc4
13. Qb3+ Kd4 14. Qd3
mate 1-0

Philidor Eschews His

Defence. Chernev
wrote that Philidor
never played Philidor's
Defence. We really
don't know that since
very few of his games
were recorded.
Philidor's Defense is a
chess opening
characterized by the
moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3
d6. The opening is
named after Francois-
Andre Danican
Philidor (1726-1795),
who advocated it as an
alternative to the
common 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3
Nc6 line. His original
idea was to challenge
White's center by the
pawn thrust 3...f5. The
opening line was noted
by Lucena and
recommended by Ruy
Lopez. Philidor was a
strong advocate of
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 since
he disliked blocking
the pawns with his
knights. In his book
Analyse du jeu des
Echecs, written in
1749, he analyzed 1.e4
e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5,
writing, "It is always
advantageous to
change your king's
bishop's pawn for his
king's pawn, because,
by that means, your
king's and queen's
pawns may place may
place themselves in
the centre of the chess-
board; besides, in
castling on the right
wing, your castle finds
itself free and able to
act from the very
beginning of the game,
as will be shown by a
back-game on the
same play."

Master Learns the

Moves Twice.
Chernev wrote that the
Russian chess master
Iljin-Genevsky had to
learn the moves twice!
Shell shock in the first
World War took away
his memory, and the
master player had to
be told how the chess
pieces move and
capture! Alexander
Fyodorovich Ilyin
(1894-1941) was
known as Alexander
Ilyin-Genevsky
(Zhenevsky), or "the
Genevan" because he
joined the Bolshevik
group of Russian
émigrés while
exiled in Geneva. In
1914, he was chess
champion of Geneva.
At the outbreak of war
he returned to Russia
and joined the tsarist
army. He was
wounded and returned
to Petrograd (the new
name of St.
Petersburg) suffering
from shell shock.
Having lost his
memory, he had to
relearn everything,
even how to move the
chess pieces. He later
won the Leningrad
championship in 1925,
1926, and 1929. In
1925, he defeated Jose
Capablanca at the
great Moscow 1925
International
Tournament.

Marache in a Hurry.
Chernev wrote that
Napoleon Marache
made such rapid
strides in assimilating
chess that he was able,
three weeks after his
first lesson, to give his
tutor the odds of a
Rook! The source of
this statement comes
from the biographical
sketch of Marache in
The Fifth American
Chess Congress by
Charles Gilberg,
published in 1881.
Napoleon Marache
(1818-1875) was born
in France and moved
to the United States
when he was 12. He
learned the game
around 1844 at the age
of 26. He began
composing chess
problems and writing
about chess the
following year. In the
winter of 1855-56, he
won the New York
Chess Club
championship,
consisting of the eight
strongest players in
New York of that day.

Ruy Lopez at Play.

Chernev wrote that the
first International
Chess Tournament
was held in Madrid in
1575 at the Court of
Philip II. The players
were Ruy Lopez and
Alfonso Ceron of
Spain, and Giovanni
Leonardo (also known
as Il Puttino) and
Paolo Boi of Italy.
Leonardo was the
winner of the first
prize. The event took
place at the Royal
Court of Spain in El
Escorial, near Madrid,
in presence of King
Philip II (1527-1598)
of Spain, the most
powerful ruler in
Europe. First place
went to Giovanni
Leonardo Di bona
(1542-1597), followed
by Paolo Boi (1528-
1598), then Ruy Lopez
de Segura (1530-
1580), and Alfonso
Ceron (1535-1590?) of
Grenada. King Philip
presented Ruy Lopez
with a golden chain
for his neck, from
which was suspended
a rook, and obtained
preferment to a rich
benefice. Ruy Lopez
was given some
property and was
declared a noble. King
Philip II granted Boi
certain official
appointments in Sicily.
Leonardo received a
thousand crowns,
jewels, and furs.

Longest Problem
Mate. Chernev wrote
that J.N. Babson
published a problem in
Brentano's Chess
Monthly in 1882, the
terms of which were:
White to mate in 1,220
moves, after
compelling Black to
make three successive,
complete Knight's
tours. Joseph Ney
Babson (1852-1929)
was a famous chess
composer. He edited a
chess column in the
Montreal Herald in
1892.

Record for
Simultaneous Play.
Chernev wrote that the
record for
simultaneous chess
play is held by Gideon
Stahlberg, Swedish
master. He played 400
games at Buenos
Aires, in an exhibition
which started at 10:00
P.M. Friday, August
29th 1941, and ended
at 10:00 A.M. on
Sunday. He wound up
with the score of 364
wins, 14 draws, and 22
losses. Since then, in
2011, Ehsan Ghaem-
Maghami of Iran
played 604 players in
25 hours. He won 580,
drew 16, and lost 8
games. Gideon
Stahlberg (1908-1967)
was a Swedish chess
grandmaster who won
the Swedish Chess
Championship in
1927. He gave the
exhibition in Santos
Lugares, a suburb of
Buenos Aires, which
lasted 36 hours and 5
minutes. Hundreds of
opponents did not sit
at a chessboard for 36
hours. The organizers
limited the number of
games to 40 played at
once. When a game
was over, a new
opponent sat at the
same table. He took a
10-minute break after
every 4 hours.

Army of Women
Players. Chernev
wrote that more than
10,000 women players
took part in the
eliminating sections of
the Russian Women's
Chess Championship
in 1936! In 1936, the
USSR Women's Chess
Championship finals
was played in
Leningrad and won by
Olga Semenova Tyan-
Shanskaya (1911-
1970). She had won it
previously in 1934.

Masters Becoming
Army Officers.
Chernev wrote that
Reuben Fine and Isaac
Kashdan have been
officers in the
Mexican Army. The
reason for these titles
(which were honorary)
was that it would
facilitate their travels
through Mexico. In the
1930s, the Mexican
government offered all
foreign chess masters
officer appointments
as chess instructors in
the Mexican Army.
Boris Kostic (1887-
1963) was made an
army Colonel. Reuben
Fine and Isaac
Kashdan were made
Lieutenants.
Alexander Alekhine
and Jose Capablanca
were also chess
instructors in Mexico,
but did not accept their
rank. This status and
honorary title
facilitated their travels
to chess tournaments
throughout Mexico.
Distinguished Race-
Horses. Chernev wrote
that Steinitz and
Capablanca have had
racehorses named after
them. So has
Alekhine, Smyslov,
and Karpov. In a
database of
thoroughbred horses,
there have been 9
horses named
Capablanca. A
racehorse named
Steinitz had 8 starts, 2
wins, 2 places, and 0
shows, earning over
$30,000.

Suspicious-Looking
Moves. Chernev wrote
that Steinitz was once
arrested as a spy!
Police authorities
assumed that the
moves made by
Steinitz in playing his
correspondence games
with Tchigorin were
part of a code by
means of which
important war secrets
could be
communicated. In
1891 Steinitz played
Chigorin in Havana by
cable (a telegraph
match) and lost.
Shortly afterward, the
New York police
arrested Steinitz as a
Russian spy for using
chess code over a
cable. This was
cleared up later on.
Unfortunately, there
does not seem to be
any collaboration in
the local press to
prove this incident.

Merry-Go Round at
Baden-Baden.
Chernev wrote that in
the double-round
tourney held at Baden-
Baden in 1870,
Anderssen beat
Steinitz 2-0, Steinitz
beat Neumann 2-0,
and Neumann beat
Andersson 2-0. Adolf
Anderssen won the
event (and 3,000
francs) 13 out of 18
points, followed by
Wilhelm Steinitz with
12.5, and Joseph
Blackburne and
Gustav Neumann with
12 points.

One-Upmanship 400
Years Ago. Chernev
wrote that Ruy Lopez
recommended as good
chess tactics placing
the board so that the
light would shine in
the opponent's eyes!
(A valuable addition to
the theory of the Ruy
Lopez opening!).

Blindfold Musician.
Chernev wrote that the
organist Sir Walter
Parratt was able to
play a Beethoven
Sonata at the same
time that he was
conducting two games
of chess blindfold. Sir
Walter Parratt (1841-
1924) was an English
organist and
composer. He was a
member of the
Huddersfield Chess
Club and played his
blindfold games while
playing a selection of
tunes on the piano at
Tenbury Wells,
Worcestershire. The
source of this
information is from
Musical Memory and
its Cultivation by Dr.
F. G. Shinn, written in
1898.

Chess and Insanity.

Chernev wrote that in
1850 an old passion
for chess awoke in
Szechenyi (founder of
the Magyar Academy)
and took an insane
character. It became
necessary to pay a
poor student to play
with him for 10 to 12
hours at a time.
Szechenyi slowly
regained his sanity,
but the unfortunate
student went mad!
Count Istvan
Szechenyi (1791-
1860) was a
Hungarian politician
and considered one of
the greatest statesmen
of Hungarian history.
During the Hungarian
Civil War of 1848-49,
he suffered a nervous
breakdown and
withdrew to a private
hospital in Vienna.
Chess helped him
recover from his
mental illness for a
time. He suffered from
depression and
committed suicide by
a shot to his head.

Lucky Prize-Winner.
Chernev wrote that in
the International
Tournament held at
London in 1851,
Mucklow won a grand
total of two games,
lost eight, forfeited the
rest — and still won a
prize! James Swain
Mucklow (1820-1897)
ran a successful
business in the
Manchester area. He
played in the 1851
London tournament as
a provisional
competitor. He
defeated E.S. Kennedy
twice at that
tournament and moved
on to the next round
(the tournament was
organized as single
elimination matches).
He lost to E. Williams
in round two, losing 4
games, then lost to H.
Kennedy in round 3,
losing 4 games.
Mucklow took 8th
place out of 16 players
in the event. Staunton
said that Mucklow was
a player from the
country, never before
even heard of, and to
whom a first-rate
master would give the
odds of a rook.

Just Wild About

Chess. Chernev wrote
that perhaps the most
fantastical devotee the
game has ever known
was Daniel Harrwitz.
He wore stickpins
shaped like chess
pieces, chess ties, and
had chess figures
embroidered on his
shirts. He played chess
a the Café de la
Regance morning,
noon and night seven
days a week. At one
stage of his match
with Morphy,
Harrwitz pleaded
illness, and failed to
put in an appearance.
His admirers found
him resting up at the
Café de la Regence,
playing chess! Daniel
Harrwitz (1823-1884)
was a Jewish German
chess master. He was
one of the most active
chess players of his
day. He played
matches against
Staunton, Anderssen,
Lowenthal, and lost to
Morphy. He became a
professional chess
player at the Cafe de la
Regence in Paris. In
1852, his match with
Lowenthal was the
first chess match that
introduced a time
limit. The time limit
was 20 minutes per
move. In 1853-1854,
he founded and edited
the British Chess
Review. In 1862 he
wrote Lehbuch des
Schachspiels. He
retired in the Austrian
Alps (Tyrol), living
off his inheritance.

Belated Tournament
Book. Chernev wrote
that the Cambridge
Springs Tournament
took place in 1904.
The Book of the
Tournament was
published in 1935, 31
years later! The Book
of the Cambridge
Springs International,
1904 was written by
Fred Reinfeld in 1935.
In June 1904, the
American Chess
Bulletin, Volume 1,
No. 1, was published
by Hermann Helms
and Hartwig Cassel. It
included all 120 games
from Cambridge
Springs and was the
first "book" written
about the tournament.
The introduction by
Renfeld in his book
said, "It may seem
incongruous, in view
of the endless
procession of
tournaments and
matches, to bring out
the book of a
tournament which
ended 31 years ago to
the day. Nine of the
participants of the
Cambridge Springs
Tournament, some of
them among the
greatest masters the
game has had,are no
longer with us. To
honor the dead and at
a same time to pay
tribute to Frank J.
Marshall's glorious
triumph in one of the
most notable
tournaments in chess
history, seemed to me
two tasks which
demanded
completion....I have
been somewhat
handicapped in the
production of this
book by the shameless
apathy of those from
whom I had every
reason to expect some
interest in such a
volume...." May 19,
1935.
Exception Wins
Tournament. Chernev
wrote that the
Tournament at San
Sebastian in 1911 was
limited to those
masters who had won
at least one third prize
in an International
Tournament. An
exception was made to
this ruling in the case
of Capablanca (who
had never played in an
International
Tournament) on the
strength of his
phenomenal victory
over Marshall two
years earlier. The
exception won the
tournament! Initially,
Ossip Bernstein (and
Aron Nimzowitsch)
had objected to
Jacques Mieses, the
tournament organizer,
about Capablanca's
inclusion in the
tournament based on
one match victory.
Capablanca proved
himself first by
defeating Bernstein in
the first round
(winning the
Rothschild prize for
the most brilliant game
of the tournament). He
then beat
Nimzowitsch,
silencing his protests
for the rest of the
tournament. He then
went on admirably to
win clear first in the
tournament, taking
home the 5000 Franc
prize, as well as
winning the brilliancy
prize. Capablanca
scored 9.5 out of 14 to
win the event. San
Sebastian was the
strongest chess
tournament since
Nuremberg in 1896.
Capablanca won a
major international
tournament at his first
attempt (the last
person to do that was
Pillsbury when he won
Hastings 1895). He
won 6, drew 7, and
lost 1 (to Rubinstein)
ahead of Rubinstein
and Schlechter. At age
23, Capablanca was
now the 2nd strongest
player in the world,
after Emanuel Lasker.

Standing Room Only.

Chernev wrote that
over 100,000 people
requested tickets of
admission to the first
round of the Moscow
1935 International
Tournament! Mikhail
Botvinnik and
Salomon Flohr tied for
first place in this 20-
player event. The
tournament was
organized by Nikolai
Krylenko, the head of
Soviet Chess. He
invited two former
world champions
(Lasker and
Capablanca) and eight
foreign masters to pit
their skills against 12
Soviet masters. The
tournament was held
at the Museum of Fine
Arts in Moscow. Over
60,000 tickets to the
tournament were sold
out long before the
event even began.
Only 4,000 fans at a
time could be
accommodated with
seating in the playing
room. There were also
180 Soviet journalists
and 23 foreign
journalists that
covered the event.

Baby (of the

tournament) Finished
Third. Chernev wrote
that Nimzovich once
took part in a
tournament where he
was forbidden by law
to enter the
tournament room!
This occurred in
Ostend in 1907, where
the play took place in
the Casino. Since all
under 21 were
forbidden to enter the
building, Nimzovich
(who was 19 at the
time) had to play his
games outside. The
baby of the
tournament finished
third in a field of 29
entrants. The Ostend,
Belgium Masters'
Tournament was
played in May-June
1907. Ossip Bernstein
and Akiba Rubinstein
tied for 1st place with
19.5 points.
Nimzowitsch and
Jacques Mieses tied
for 3rd-4th place with
19 points. A
championship
tournament was also
held for the top 6
players. Siegbert
Tarrasch won that
event.

Carried to the Battle.

Chernev wrote that a
curious misfortune
afflicted the youthful
Alekhine in the
Hamburg 1910
Tournament. Because
of an injury to his foot
(it wasn't a bone spur),
he had to be carried to
his table every day.
This would have been
the 17th German
Chess Federation
(DSB) tournament in
July-August, 1910.
Carl Schlechter won
the event. Alekhine
(1892-1946) tied for
7th-8th. Alekhine was
17 years old and could
not walk on account of
a serious swelling of
the lymphatic vessels
of his ankles.

Fine's Record-
Breaking Exhibition
Play. Chernev writes
that in 1940 Reuben
Fine toured North
America, giving
exhibitions of
blindfold play,
simultaneous chess,
and serious games
against single
opponents. He played
418 games in all, of
which 21 were
conducted blindfold.
Of these last, Fine won
17, drew 4, and lost
none. Of the
remaining 397 games,
Fine won 376, drew
18, and lost only 3
games! In 1940,
Reuben Fine (1914-
1993) gave several
simultaneous
exhibitions in
California. In
Sacramento, he won
13 and drew 1. In San
Francisco, he won 18
and drew 3. In Carmel,
he won 23 and drew 1.
In Los Angeles, he
won 29 and drew 3. In
Hollywood, he won 14
and drew 4. In Santa
Barbara, he won 15,
drew 1, and lost 1.
Who's Looney Now?
Chernev wrote that
Cambridge University
once played a game by
correspondence with
an insane asylum —
and lost! This game
was first reported in a
chess column by
Leopold Hoffer which
appeared in The Field
on May 10, 1884. The
game was played by
some students at the
Cambridge University
Chess Club and some
patients at the
Bethlehem Royal
Hospital (Bedlam
Asylum) in London.
The game was started
in December, 1883
and ended in March,
1884.

Cambridge University
— Bedlam Asylum,
Correspondence 1883-
84
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6
3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4
5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Ndb5
Nf6 7.a3 Bxc3+
8.Nxc3 d5 9.exd5
exd5 10.Bg5 Be6
11.Be2 O-O 12.O-O
Ne7 13.Bxf6 gxf6
14.Bd3 Kh8 15.Qh5 f5
16.Ne2 Qd6 17.Nd4
Qe5 18.Nf3 Qg7
19.Nh4 Rg8 20.g3 Qf6
21.f4 Rg4 22.Rae1
Rag8 23.Ng2 R8g6
24.Rxe6 fxe6 25.Be2
Rh6 (26.Qe8+ Rg8
27.Qd7 Qd4+ 28.Rf2
Nc8) 0-1

Cash Penalty for

Exceeding Time
Limit. Chernev wrote
that in the Nuremberg
Congress of 1906
there was no time limit
if a game took 6 hours
or less. Afterwards the
players were required
to move at the rate of
15 moves an hour. If
they exceeded the time
limit, they were
penalized at the rate of
a mark for each
minute of extra time.
Under this ruling,
Tarrasch not only lost
his game to Salwe but
had the unique
privilege of paying the
equivalent of $20.00
in fines for doing so!
The 15th DSB
Congress in
Nuremberg was won
by Frank Marshall.
Georg Salwe took 6th-
7th place. Tarrasch
took 9th-11 place.
Tarrasch's penaly
came to four pounds
and 15 shillings. In
1906 U.S. dollars, this
fine would have been
approximately $4.86
(1 pound) x 4.75 =
$23.09. At that time
the German mark was
worth approximately
23.79 cents. Therefore,
Dr. Tarrasch exceeded
the time limit in his
game with Salwe by
approximately 97
minutes. One source
says that Tarrasch paid
60 marks in his time
limit penalty. Other
competitors avoided
these fines by agreeing
to make meaningless
moves. Here is the
game.

Salwe — Tarrasch,
Nuremberg 1906
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.e3
Nc6 4.c4 e6 5.Nc3
Nf6 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.O-O
O-O 8.Qe2 Qe7 9.b3
b6 10.Bb2 Bb7
11.Rad1 Rad8 12.Rfe1
Kh8 13.Ba1 Bb8
14.Bb1 Rfe8 15.cxd5
exd5 16.Qb2 cxd4
17.exd4 Qf8 18.Ne2
Ne4 19.Ng3 f5 20.Bd3
a6 21.a3 Bd6 22.b4 b5
23.Nd2 Nb8 24.Ngf1
Bf4 25.Nb3 Nd7
26.Nc5 Bc8 27.f3 Ng5
28.h4 Nxc5 29.dxc5
Nf7 30.Rxe8 Rxe8
31.Qb3 Rd8 32.Bb1
Qe7 33.Rxd5 Qxh4
34.Bxf5 Re8 35.Qc3
Bh6 36.Bxc8 Rxc8
37.Qd3 Re8 38.Rd7
Ng5 39.Be5 Ne6 40.g3
Qh5 41.f4 Kg8 42.c6
g5 43.Qxh7+ 1-0

First Picture Book of

Chess. Chernev wrote
that a book of
Philidor's games,
published in 1819, had
illustrative diagrams
showing the position
of the pieces after
every move. The
editor, J.G. Pohlman,
must therefore be
given credit for being
the originator of chess
in movie form. John
George Pohlman's
book was titled Chess
Rendered Familiar by
Tabular
Demonstrations of the
Various Positions and
Movements, as
Described by Philidor;
With Many Other
Critical Situations and
Moves, and a Concise
Introduction to the
Game.

Bald Heads Win

Match. Chernev wrote
that in 1891 a team
match was played at
the Manhattan Chess
Club between the
bald-headed members
and the full-haired
members. The bald
heads won 14-11. The
September 20, 1891
issue of the New York
Tribune announced
that the Manhattan CC
had organized a chess
match between its
bald-headed members
and "those blessed
with full crops of
hair." The bald-headed
members claimed their
opponents would "not
be able to touch a hair
on their heads." The
players with the full
heads of hair replied
that they "will grasp
their enemies where
the wool is short." The
event was played on
September 26, 1891.
Over 40 members of
the Manhattan CC
participated. The bald-
headed team achieved
a victory by the score
of 14 to 11. Samuel
Lipschutz, who played
on the full-haired team
and lost, later said that
he would shave his
head bald before the
next year's contest so
that he could play on
the bald-headed team
next time.

Singles Beat Married.

Chernev wrote that a
match between the
bachelors and the
married men was held
at the New Orleans
Chess, Checkers, and
Whist Club in 1890.
The single men won 8
to 4. The club building
was destroyed by fire
on January 21, 1890.
In order to celebrated
the opening of their
new building at the
end of the year, the
New Orleans Club
organized a chess
match between their
married and single
members. The event
took place after
Christmas in 1890.
There were 12 players
on each side, and the
bachelors won by 8
games to 4.

For Whom the Bell

Tolls — 15 Times.
Chernev wrote that
Samisch lost all 15 of
his games in a
tournament held at
Berlin in 1969. He lost
every game on time
limit! Friedrich
Saemisch (1896-1975)
was 73 years old at the
time. He played in a
chess tournament in
memory of Adolf
Anderssen in May,
1969. The event took
place is Buesum,
Germany, not Berlin.
In that event, Bent
Larsen took 1st place.
Saemisch later played
in a tournament in
Linkoping, Sweden
where he lost all 13
games on time
control.

The Staunton Knight.

Chernev wrote that the
Staunton pattern
Knight is modeled
from the famous
Greek horse of the
Eglin Marbles in the
British Museum. The
design of the knight
did come from the
head of a Greek horse
of the Eglin Marbles
in the British Museum
(brought to the
museum in 1806). The
head of a horse of
Selene, the Moon
Goddess, came from
the east pediment of
the Parthenon in
Athens, Greece. The
Parthenon had a
sculpture of horses
drawing the chariot of
Selene. That sculpture
was controversially
removed by Thomas
Bruce (1766-1841),
the 7th earl of Eglin,
when he was
ambassador to the
Ottoman Empire
between 1799 and
1803. In 1816, he
donated these "Eglin
Marbles" to the British
Museum.

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