ADDICTS CORNER

by Mike Fox and Richard The Internet Anorak

Well done people

Congratulations, everybody who competed in the recent North Yorks Rapidplay, Minor (under 120) section at Knaresborough, for your superlative fighting spirit. Your results table was astonishing (and an example to
the world's grandmasters): every single game was decisive.
Given five rounds and some thirty entrants, that's around 75 games without a glimmer of a 1/2 1/2. (Could someone up there provide us with the precise figures, and if possible,
the results table?).

Thanks for this to Robin Mackley, the BCF's suave PR supremo. Robin was one of that heroic band battling it out in the Minor, where he reached the pinnacle of a long and distinguished chess career by scoring 4/5 (equal second).
Is the Knaresborough result a record? Can anyone show us another tournament with all decisive games, and if so, how many? Over to you, Omniscient One.

Speaking of records

Next time you have five minutes to spare, have a shot at these two simple studies. They're are by Lewis Stiller and his computer. White to play and win in each case. They are from that excellent little magazine British Endgane Study News (about which, more in a minute).

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+N+(
7+-+-+KtR-'
6-+n+-+-+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+-+-+-+-#
2-+n+-+-+"
1+k+-+-+-!
Xabcdefgh
Forget the fifty move rule. The first position is, we think, a record for a demonstrable forced mate in any ending without pawns; it takes 243 moves to win.
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7mK-+-+-+-'
6-+nsn-+-+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+L+k+-+-#
2-tR-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
The second is a doddle - only 223 moves (the longest ending featuring R+B v 2N, which, incidentally, on the million to one chance you ever get stuck with it, is a win.) No, we're not going to print the moves (perhaps we shall in the next edition of TEMCCA).

(R the A writes: MF’s odds are about right: I found one game with R+N v 2N and three with R+B v 2N in my database.)
And, still speaking of records: Richard the Anorak has just invested in ChessBase and the Internet, where he now spends most of his waking hours (says MF). As a result, he is about to bore us rotten with his trouvailles (trans: discoveries of useless facts and meaningless records - see next item).

The Record Breakers

Firstly, a couple of seemingly genuine Five Queens games. The first one is rather remarkable. Black wins despite being at a heavy material disadvantage throughout the game. We haven’t yet given FRITZ the job of analysing it.

Igor Belov - A Prokhorov
Cheliabinsk Open 1991
King's Indian Defence Classical
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 0–0 6.Be2 e5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.b4 Bg7 12.c5 f5 13.Nd2 Kh7 14.Rc1 Ng8 15.cxd6 cxd6 16.Nb5 Nf6 17.Nc7 Rb8 18.Bd3 f4 19.Qa4 a6 20.b5 Nh5 21.f3 Rf7 22.b6 Bf8 23.Qb3 Ng7 24.Rc2 Qf6 25.Rfc1 Bd7 26.Bxa6 bxa6 27.Nxa6 Rb7 28.Rc7 Qg5 29.h4 Rxc7 30.Nxc7 Qxh4 31.b7 Nh5 32.b8Q

XABCDEFGHY
8-wQ-+-vl-+(
7+-sNl+r+k'
6-+-zp-+pzp&
5+-+Pzp-+n%
4-+-+Pzp-wq$
3+Q+-+P+-#
2P+-sN-+P+"
1+-tR-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy

32...Ng3 33.Qc4 Qh1+ 34.Kf2 Qh4 35.Qb6 Be7 36.Nf1 Qh1 37.Nd2 Qh4 38.Ke1 Qh1+ 39.Nf1 Bh4 40.Kd2 Qxg2+ 41.Kc3 Ne2+ 42.Kb2 Nxc1+ 43.Kxc1 Qxf3 44.Ne6 Qa3+ 45.Kd2 Be7 46.Qcb3 Qa8 47.Qc7 Be8 48.a3 Qa6 49.Qcc4 Qa7 50.Qf3 Bh4 51.Qh3 g5 52.Nd8 Bd7 53.Qhc3 Rg7 54.Nc6 Qg1 55.Kc2 g4 56.Nb8 Be8 57.Nd2 Bg6 58.Qc8 Qg2 59.Nd7 Be7 60.Nxe5 dxe5 61.Qxe5 Bxa3 62.Qcc3 Bf8 63.d6 f3 64.d7 f2 65.d8Q f1Q

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-wQ-vl-+(
7+-+-+-trk'
6-+-+-+lzp&
5+-+-wQ-+-%
4-+-+P+p+$
3+-wQ-+-+-#
2-+KsN-+q+"
1+-+-+q+-!
xabcdefghy

66.Qde7 Qf7 67.Qxf7 Bxf7 68.Qf5+ Kg8 69.Qfc8 Qf2 70.Qb4 Bg6 71.Qbc4+ Kh7 72.Qxg4 Bd6 73.Qce6 Bb4 74.Qd5 Rc7+ 75.Kd1 Bxd2 76.Qxd2 Qf1+ 77.Qe1 Rc1+ 78.Kxc1 Qxe1+ 0–1

The next game features two players of IM standard. The appearance of the third Black Queen prompts White to play a few spite checks before resigning.

Zoran Mackic (2400) - Andrei Maksimenko (2430)
JUG-chT2 1994
Sicilian Defence Najdorf Variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.e5 h6 10.Bh4 g5 11.fxg5 Nd5 12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Qh5 Qb6 14.Be2 Bg7 15.g6 0–0 16.Bf6 Ra7 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.gxf7 Raxf7 19.Qg4+ Kh8 20.0–0–0 Qe3+ 21.Kb1 dxe5 22.Rhe1 Rg7 23.Qb4 Qf4 24.Qd6 e4 25.Qa3 Rxg2 26.Bxa6 Bxa6 27.Qxa6 Qe5 28.Rf1 Rb8 29.Qa3 e3 30.Rf8+ Rxf8 31.Qxf8+ Kh7 32.Qf7+ Rg7 33.Qf3 d4 34.a4 Qf5 35.Qe2 e5 36.a5 Qf2 37.Qd3+ Kh8 38.Qe4 Qxh2 39.a6 Qf4 40.Qh1 Kh7 41.Rf1 Qg4 42.Qd5 e4 43.Qa5 d3 44.a7 d2 45.a8Q e2 46.Rf6 d1Q+ 47.Ka2 e1Q

XABCDEFGHY
8Q+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-trk'
6-+-+-tR-zp&
5wQ-+-+-+-%
4-+-+p+q+$
3+-+-+-+-#
2KzPP+-+-+"
1+-+qwq-+-!
xabcdefghy
48.Rxh6+ Kxh6 49.Qh8+ Kg6 50.Qa6+ Kf7 51.Qb7+ Qdd7 0–1

We came across a number of games with quadrupled pawns, all so far on the c or f files. This one concludes strangely.

Gabor Kovacs (2225) - Rainer Barth (2305)
Balatonbereny Open 1994
Alekine's Defence
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Bc4 c6 5.d4 g6 6.Nge2 Be6 7.Bb3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Bxb3 9.axb3 Bg7 10.0–0 0–0 11.f4 Na6 12.Ba3Re8 13.Qd3 Qb6 14.f5 c5 15.fxg6 fxg6 16.Qc4+ e6 17.dxc5 Qc6 18.Rad1 b5 19.Nd4 Qxg2+ 20.Kxg2 bxc4 21.Nb5 Reb8 22.bxc4

XABCDEFGHY
8rtr-+-+k+(
7zp-+-+-vlp'
6n+-+p+p+&
5+NzP-+-+-%
4-+P+-+-+$
3vL-zP-+-+-#
2-+P+-+KzP"
1+-+R+R+-!
xabcdefghy

22...Rc8 23.Nd6 Rc6 24.Ne4 Rac8 25.Rd7 R6c7 26.Rd6 Rc6 27.Rfd1 Bf8 28.Rxc6 Rxc6 29.Rd8 Kf7 30.Rd7+ Be7 31.Rxa7 h6 32.Bc1 g5 33.h4 gxh4 34.Bf4 e5 35.Bxe5 Re6 36.Nd6+ Kg6 37.Bd4 Nb8 38.Ra8 Nc6 39.Rg8+ Kh5 40.Nf5 Rg6+ 41.Rxg6 Kxg6 42.Nxe7+ Nxe7 43.Kh3 Nc6 44.Kxh4 ½–½ The knight blockades the four c-pawns.

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+-'
6-+n+-+kzp&
5+-zP-+-+-%
4-+PvL-+-mK$
3+-zP-+-+-#
2-+P+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

Finally, a game with a record seventeen consecutive captures.

Reinhard Blodig (2230) - Herbert Wimmer (2305)
Bavarian Championship 1988
Reverse Pirc
1.g3 e5 2.Bg2 d5 3.d3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.0–0 h6 6.c3 Be6 7.Nbd2 Qd7 8.b4 a6 9.a4 Bd6 10.Bb2 0–0 11.b5 Na5 12.c4

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+-trk+(
7+pzpq+pzp-'
6p+-vllsn-zp&
5snP+pzp-+-%
4P+P+-+-+$
3+-+P+NzP-#
2-vL-sNPzPLzP"
1tR-+Q+RmK-!
xabcdefghy

12...dxc4 13.dxc4 Nxc4 14.Nxc4 Bxc4 15.Nxe5 Bxe5 16.Bxe5 Qxd1 17.Rfxd1 axb5 18.Bxb7 Rxa4 19.Rxa4 bxa4 20.Bxc7 Bxe2

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-trk+(
7+LvL-+pzp-'
6-+-+-sn-zp&
5+-+-+-+-%
4p+-+-+-+$
3+-+-+-zP-#
2-+-+lzP-zP"
1+-+R+-mK-!
xabcdefghy

21.Rd4 Re8 22.Bd6 Rd8 23.Be5 Rxd4 24.Bxd4 a3 25.f3 a2 26.Kf2 Bc4 27.Bc6 Nh7 28.h4 Nf8 29.Ba4 Ne6 30.Ba1 Nc5 31.Bc2 Bb3 32.Bf5 g6 33.Bh3 Be6 34.Bxe6 fxe6 35.Ke3 Nb3 0–1

Wordsworth’s Movie

Stephen Herbert London writes with news of his new book:
"New research into a hitherto little known inventor, who was one of the first in this country in 1890 to shoot a moving picture, has revealed that he was a founder member of the British Chess Association in 1885; later that year he became Vice-President of the newly-formed British Chess Club.
"Wordsworth Donisthorpe was a barrister, an Individualist and an author of many works relating to economy, the state and laissez-faire politics, His portrait and biography appeared in The Chess Monthly in December 1890, a year after a certain scurrilous satirical poem, THE SONG OF A NIT, had been printed, attacking William Steinitz. Kurt Landsberger, biographer of Steinitz, suggests that the anonymous poem was written by Donisthorpe.
"Wordsworth Donisthorpe, at the same time as sitting on the BCA board and addressing anti-socialist meetings throughout the country, was striving in secret to be the first to invent a viable movie camera. He was one of the pioneers who paved the way, years before the world eventually experienced cinema in 1896. Ten frames of his 1890 film of Trafalgar Square survive, enough to show that the camera worked.
"Donisthorpe kept up his involvement with chess, even after he abandoned attempts to project the movies he shot. In 1894, he wrote to The Chess Monthly complaining about the lethargic state of the BCA and suggested that its organisation should return to amateur hands."
INDUSTRY, LIBERTY and a VISION: Wordsworth Donisthorpe’s Kinesigraph by Stephen Herbert is published by The Projection Box, 66 Culverden Road, London SW12 9LS at £10.95 (post free).

Mags and Zines

If you publish a chess related magazine, include one of us on your list of complimentary copies. If it's interesting, we'll give you some free publicity.

Our Mag of the Month this issue is the aforementioned British Endgame Study News. If you're into studies, you could do a lot worse than bunging a tenner off to the editor: John Beasley, 7 St. James’s Road, Harpenden, Herts AL5 4NX. In return you'll get some sparkling stuff about, guess what, British endgame studies. On the cover of the June 1998 issue was the following simple looking study by Artur Mandler
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+k+-+-+-'
6-+-+p+-+&
5+-+-+-+K%
4-+-zP-zP-+$
3+-+-+-+-#
2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefgh y
White to play and win. If it were Black to move, no probs: using the opposition White works the K to e8 and e7, and the rest is easy. But it's White's move, and Black has the opposition. The answer is on pxxx, and no, it's not one of those
200+ move monsters.
(Answer: 1. Kh6! Kb6 2.Kh7! Kb7 3. Kh8! (now Black's next is forced if he wants to keep the opposition). ...Kb8 (but this exposes his K to check from f8 and now...) 4. d5 wins (exd f5 etc). Note that 1-3 Kg8 fails because after 3....Kc8 4. d5,Black draws by 4. ...Kd7)

Sexists' Corner

We learn with considerable distaste that - allegedly - our favourite former pupil was sexually harassed by her opponent during a recent 4NCL game. This fact has been brought to the attention of the BCF, and since they are now presumably deliberating on the matter, we shall refrain from detailed comment. Our view: the blighter (allegedly a chess journalist) ought to be impeached, if not actually castigated.

Pawn structure

The saddies amongst you who are 'Fifteen to One' addicts will have noted that a recent winner, when asked 'How many pawns are on the board at the beginning of a chess game?' came back, quick as a flash. with: 'Twenty four'.

Gjertrud Schnackenberg

You're all saying 'Who?' aren't you? Tsk tsk, untutored peasantry. You ought to know that Gjertrud is one of America's leading contemporary poets. In an effort to raise the cultural tone of the column, we propose to share a few lines of Schnackenburg
with you. It's from her 1982 poem Darwin in 1881

He'd quite by chance beheld the universe:
A disregarded game of chess
Between two love-dazed heirs
Who fiddle with tiny pairs
Of statues in their hands, while numberless
Abstract unseen
Combinings on the silent board remain
Unplayed forever when they leave their game
To turn, themselves, into a king and queen.

If you want the whole thing (it's jolly good), you'll find it in the Norton Anthology of Poetry (4th Edition).

Yet another record

Gregory Dighton becomes the world's youngest player ever to achieve a GM norm. Gregory is three. The GM norm is courtesy of FARCE, and the lad (son of Warley Quinborne's board two) gets it for his intelligent contribution to our Name That Piece series (AC last month). Greg got all the pieces right (give or take your views on calling a knight 'horsy');
but when it came to the pawns, he said, with unerring logic: 'Oh, those! Those are the different ones.'

(Sort of) IAGOCOT 233598

From the Sunday Times (via Mabel), in an article on young Mr. Hague's deficiencies as a Leader of the Opposition: 'A British Grandmaster once said that the hardest thing to do in chess was nothing - meaning you sometimes just have to bide your time.' A FARCE norm to anyone who can track down the British GM. (We've a vague idea it was Hartston - who never made the title).