FE BRUARY 1956 MAN BEHIND THE SCENES (See page 39) IIl1illl IEGI11ICIl . LIBRARY FEB 131~ 50 CENTS --=ription Rate ~~~~ .. YEAR $5.50 I- From the "Amenities and Background of Chess-play" by William Ewart Napier .. Old Slaughter's Co ffee House, of London, was established ill 1692. Thi~ aged t heme is always a m using. SCOTCH GAME .... When the shutters clo!ied finally on its ancient glory I do 1I0t know, Mac:wski though it was here in 1824 that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Kol isch ""'hlte Black to Animals began its crusading. 1 P- K4 P- K4 7 Nx N QPxN This tavern had the magic which aUracts ingenious men. BY l1 g went 2 N-KB3 N-QBS 8 B_Q2 B,N there, the inslJbordinale admiral whom the British shot, as Voltai re said 3 P- Q4 p,p 9 Bx8 N,P 4 NxP Q-R5 10 Q_Q4 Q-K2 tartly, " to enconrage the others." Marat hung about, calling himseli 5 N- QB3 B_N5 11 0-0-0 Q- N4t Dr. Murat. Hogarth was a frequent vi si tor, with his engravers. The stage, 6 Q- Q3 N_B3 12 P- B4 QxPt too, sent a share of thi s impressive company; one was Macready. But our concern and our hunt is chess. What chess fancier, before or since Morphy, and ineluding that adept, has not dabbled in the Cunningham Gambit? This comely debut wa s Darn, we are told, at Old Slaughter's, and carries the name of its author, Alexander Cunningham, the historian. I turn now to a German source for some account of the brightest orna­ ment of Old Slaughter's, the mathematician, Abraham DeMoivre. He was a devoted chess player and, it is alleged, eked out a living throughout the last thirty years of hi s li fe, giving lessons at chess-play and "expounding" mathematical theories. It is further told that Newto'l, who by the way 13 B-Q2 Q-N5 15 B-N5t K-K1 lived near the tavern, wellt often there to see DeMoivre and to lure him 14 Q-QSt KxQ 16 R-QS mate out to more stable pursuits and more serious discussions. The nn-h iv€s say r played t his nim ble DeMoin-e's great work on the Doctrine of Changes, or a "Method of thing. (hough it has laded completely Calculating the Probability of Events at Play/' perhaps-and , if so, out o[ my memory. righteously- set him up as professional arbiter of gambling disputes. ALLGAI ER GAMBIT Indeed, we may well believe he plied a lucrative trade, in the old, spacious Won by W. E. Napie r, 1904 1 P-K4 P- K4 S BxP B_N2 times, when wagering was legal, and the courts were seriously cluttered 2 P-KB4 p,p 9 N-B3 p,p with these betting litigants, presenting knolly questions beyond the fitness 3 N-KB3 P_KN4 10 B-B4t K_N3 of judges to solve, without eminently technical light and guidance. 4 P-KR4 P-N5 11 P-R5t K_R2 5 N-N5 P_KR3 12 NxP Q,P It seems a fair surmise that Newton, also, had peered, a little, at 6 NxP K,N 13 B-Q3 B-84 least, into the chess arcana; for the "Knight's To u ~-" and the "Eight 7 P- Q4 P_Q4 14 QxP Q-Q2 Queens Problem" have a lway~ engaged th e interest of mathematicians. Which leads me to remark that, unlillalely, I have never seen a con­ cise and well satisfyin g definition of the Knight's Ill ove. The Chess Players Chronicle, ed ited by the fa stidious and learned Stuunton, de­ scribed that arc of intrigue in a phrase that fails because, among other stinting, it robs the Knight of personality. Angularly, it reads, "The Knight's line of motion and attack is along the diagonals of parallelo­ grams, 3 by 2, in every direction to the opposite square. " And must my Knight go cross-lots? Ma y I not have a horse agog and snorting and, per· haps, even slyly winking? Is there to he no curvet, no gentleman astride and aplume, doing the King's errand? No! My Knighb go not in angles. 15 Q-N6t A Letter definition, ow ing nothing to Euclid or Blackstone hut much 16 N-NSt to human nature, is "The Knight-leap is as close as two jealous Queens 17 PxB mate can be, without mischief to either." t - ch6ClI:; t db!. chell:; i & •. cb. CHESS REVIEW 'Hf ,,'CU,., tlfUI MAOAZI", Annotated by FRED REINFELD Almost thil·ty years ago, I saw the con· 16 . , B_K3 Volumn 24 Number 2 February, 1956 eluding phase of this game, without the Bla ck can also try 16 . B -B~ (de- EDITED &, PUBLISHED BV opening moves nor names nor dates. I. A. Horowitz fending his K ing Pawn) 17 P- K6! I was struck by the beauty, force and ele­ (threatening N- E7), BxP 18 RxP, B - B4 gance of V\'hite's play. Despite my eager­ 19 R-KZ, P- N4 (threate ning E- N"2) INDEX ness to trace this tantalizing fragment, 20 B-K3! E-N2 with 21 B- E5 in t he nick FEATURES many years passed before I located of time. the whole game. Chess As I Know It __ _____ __ _______ 44 On lG P-N"4 17 R- Q1! B-N2 18 Game of the Month __ ____ ____ _______ 42 Match, 1890 R-Q6, BxN 19 RxRP, BxP 20 ExP, ExP Kasper and RUY LOPEZ 21 R-Kl, 8 - B4 22 P-KN4! \Vhite has a An American Chess Ma nifesto ____ 39 winning galle. J. Showalter M. Judd My Best Games of Ch ess ________ __ __ 40 17 R-Q1!! Second Rosenwald Tourn<lment ____ _ 51 1 P-K4 P_K4 50- 0 NxP 2 N-KB3 N-QB3 6 P- Q4 P-QN4 The (illest move in the whole game. By penetrating to Q6, White gets all the D EPARTMENTS 3 B-N5 P-QR3 7 B-N3 P- Q4 counter-play he needs. Announce the Mate! __ __________ ____ 34 4 B-R4 N-B3 8 PxP N-K2 Chessboard Magic! ________________ _ 43 Fantastic: Instead of the simple and 17 .... P-N4 Games from Recent Events ___ _____ 54 obvious developing mD',e. 8 . B-K3, l'nfortunately, Black cannot play 17 How to Win in ' the Ending __________ 48 which is invariably played nowadays, N-IH to keel) the Hook out as then Mo rphy Masterpieces __ ___ ____ ______ 45 this clumsy Kuight move was fashionable 18 N-NC be("ollle~ possible. Postal Ch ess ________________ __ _____ 58 fo r many years. 18 R_ Q6l B- B4 Sol itaire Chess __________ ___________ 64 9 N_ N5 N-QB4 19 P-KN4! B-R2 Spotlight on Openings __________ __ __ 46 ),Iore of the same. On 19 . BxP, '.vhite·s Kni)!;ht escapes. Tournament Calendar ____________ ___ 38 World of Chess ________________ ____ _ 35 10 N-QB3 P- QB3 20 P-R4! 11 R-K1 Now. if 20 .. PxP 21 BxP again saves EDITOR After three moves with this Knight, the Knight. I. A. Horowitz Black swaps it off [or an inactive 20 B_N2 EXECUTIVE EDITOR Bishop and thereby opens the Queen 21 P_ R5!! Jack Straley Batten Rook file for White. CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 12 RPxN P-R3 I. Chernev, J. W. Col1ins, T. A. Dunst. 13 NJ3-K4!? Dr. l'>l. Euwe, Hans Kmoch, W. Korn, Freu R ein[cld. P . L. Rothenbe,·)(. Surely an astounding move. The chief Dr. S . G. 'I"urtakover. Burnie I,'. \\'inkelman point is that, if 13 . R FxN. Black's CORRESPONDENTS game is in a very disordered state after Alabam a E. M. Cockrell, 14. N-Q~t, K- ·Q2 15 NxBP, followed by California J, B. Gee , Leroy Johnson. Dr. H. 16 N"xH.. Ral&ton, M. J. Royer. Colorado M. W. Reese. Blaclt's best course doubtless is 13 Connecticut Edmund E. Hand. N-E·j 14 N-B6t, N PxN 15 PxP§, K-Q2 Delaware M. R. Paul. ]6 NxP, QxP ]7 NxH., N-Q3. Eut, even Dist. of Columbia M. V. Churchill. F lorida Major J. B. Holt, P. C. Knox, Ernest then. Black has no bed of roses. G. Werber. Georgia R. L. Froemke. JU inol. Howa rd J . B ell, J. G. ·Warren. Indiana D. C. Hills , D. E. Rhead. Now \Vhite threatens N- N6 and, on 21 Iowa W. G. Vanderburg. Ex!\', 22 RxRP regains a piece. Kentucky J. W. Mayer. Kansas K. R. MacDonald. 21.... N-B1!? Maryland Charlea Barasch. A clel'e!" resource which is not qnite Musachusetts Franklin J. Sanborn Michigan R. BUllkager, J. R. Watson. good enough. Minnesota R. C. Gave. 22 RxBP BxN Nebraska B. E. Ellsworth, Jack Spence, 23 RxKRP R. E. Weare. R-R2 New Hampshire Ralph M. Gerth. The llQint of Black's 21st move. "'ew York Walter Froehlich, Edward Lasker, H. M. Phillips. 24 B-K3 ! R-Q2 North Carolina Dr. S. Noblin. 25 QRxPl ",orth Dakota D. C. Macdonald. White maintains the pressure: e.g .• 25 Ohio Lawrence C. Jackson, Jr., Edward F: 13 .... QPxN 15 NxPt K_K1 Johnson. 14 QxQt KxQ 16 NxR RxP 26 QR-Ktit or 25 ... K-Ql 26 Potnnsylva nia J. C. Bortner, \VilJiam R. Now the great problem ot the game BxPt, K-K1 27 P -K6, and White wins Hamilton, Lee B. Hoover. easily. $Outh Carolina Prot. L. L. FOllter.