Christmas Chess Books

A good year for contributions to chess literature. First of all, I must declare an interest, being a member of the RAC Chess Circle, the Fons et Origo of my first of three recommendations.

The Hamilton-Russell Cup: 100 Years of Convivial Chess and the Man Behind It
by Norman Britten & Danny Rosenbaum (The Biogs Group, £34.95)

Published to mark the 100th anniversary of the Hamilton-Russell Cup, this book gives important background material on one of the chess world’s most important but least known figures, Frederick Gustavus Hamilton-Russell. It also provides an authoritative history of the inter-club competition he founded: the Hamilton-Russell Cup, a tournament of social, political, military and sports clubs — and which the RAC regularly wins.

I first encountered the name Hamilton-Russell when I represented England at age 18 in the 1966 Havana Olympiad, or world championship for national teams. On display in the foyer of the Havana Libre (formerly Hilton) Hotel, was the magnificent golden Hamilton-Russell Trophy for the winning team. The image reproduced above shows that winning team — the Soviet Union — which includes the then World Champion Tigran Petrosian and his successor, Boris Spassky. (Former World Champion Mikhail Tal was also in the team but is missing from the picture.)

Bondarevsky (the Soviet team captain) is cradling the Hamilton-Russell trophy. The large edifice on the floor was the one-off trophy offered by the Olympiad organisers, the Chess Federation of Cuba.
I soon understood that Frederick Gustavus loved chess so much that he provided splendid trophies around the world for many important events.

The book is multi-layered and, as well as being a chess biography, it is in many ways also a social history. There is a foreword by Viscount Boyne (Gustavus Michael Stucley Hamilton-Russell) and games annotations by Grandmaster Matthew Sadler, a stalwart of the commentary team for the annual Varsity match, which the RAC hosts.

The authors are: Norman Britten, social secretary of the RAC’s chess circle and himself a regular competitor in the Hamilton-Russell Cup; and Danny Rosenbaum, social media manager of the English Chess Federation and former editor of their magazine ChessMoves. He is secretary of the Hamilton-Russell Cup.

The following game was from a simultaneous display, played at the RAC in 2016 and (except where italicised), annotated by Matthew Sadler, who wrote:

“The White side of this game was played in tandem by Grandmasters Julian Hodgson and Matthew Sadler. It’s never clear whether two grandmasters are worth more than one in such situations! Simultaneous displays have been witnessed where each grandmaster – displaying a commendable belief in the superiority of their own plan, and a perhaps less commendable disdain for the plan of their partner – seemed more intent on thwarting their partner than the opponents! However, Julian and I both enjoy attacking so it was clear that we would generally be moving in the same direction: forwards!”

Julian Hodgson and Matthew Sadler vs. Henry Mutkin

RAC simultaneous display, 2016

It should be emphasised that the traditional RAC simul is always preceded by a fine dinner with Port, Brandy and the Royal Toast, but sadly no longer cigars. 

 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5

The Trompovsky opening was Julian’s forte as a professional player and he scored many fine victories with it. Julian once told me during a dinner that he originally came across the idea in the games of some Spanish players – notably Miguel Illescas, for many years the strongest Spanish grandmaster.

2… Ne4 3. Bf4 d5 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. Ne2 Nd7 7. Bxe4 dxe4 8. Nd2 Nf6 9. Bg5

Attacking is pleasure, but pawn-winning is business! The e4-pawn is loose and far from home and the grandmasters aim to snaffle it!

9… c5 10. Nxe4 Qa5+ 11. b4

11.Qd2 would display admirable restraint but could never be played after a fine RAC dinner!

11… Qxb4+ 12. c3 Qb6 13. Nxf6+ gxf6 14. Bxf6 Rg8

The engine approves of White’s play but Black’s position certainly contains the promise of counterplay: a combination of the rook on the open g-file and a queen and bishop battery along the a1-h8 diagonal might give White pause for thought, particularly as white’s king has no other safe home except for the kingside.

15.O-O Qc6

One uninvited guest at the banquet, a Sr. Sancho Panza*, had the temerity to suggest that instead of developing the battery along the h1-a8 diagonal with the text and subsequent …b6, …Bb7; Black could have instead preferred, 15… Rg6 16. Be5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Bd7 18. Nf4 Rg5 19. h4 Rxe5, when Black plans to castle long and exploit the open d-file.

16.Ng3 b6 17. Qh5

Once again, our brandy-imbued interloper, whom we shall call ‘Pancho’, presumes to better grandmaster practice, drolly suggesting that 17. e4!? be given the attention it apparently deserves, as after: 17… Rg6 18. Qf3 Bb7 19. Rfe1 Qc7 20. Rad1 a6 (20… Bf4 21. Bh4 c4 22. d5 Kf8) 21. d5 Be5 22. Bxe5 Qxe5 23. c4, White is very close to winning.

17… Bb7 18. f3

Pancho still tells all that will heed him: 18. e4!? may be better? For example, 18… Rg6 19. Be5 h6 (19… Bxe5 20. dxe5 O-O-O 21. Qxh7) 20. f4 Bxe5 21. fxe5 Ba6 (21… cxd4 22. cxd4 Qd7 23. d5 O-O-O 24. Rac1+ Kb8 25. d6) 22. Rf2 cxd4 23. Qf3 O-O-O 24. cxd4 Kb8 25. Rd1, may well be half-a-dram better than the text move. But White is spoiled for choice.

18… Rg6

Snifter in hand, Pancho regales us with tales of, 18… Bxg3 19. hxg3 Rxg3 20. Rad1 Rg6 21. Bh4 Ba6 22. Rf2 cxd4 23. cxd4 Rc8 24. e4 Kd7; which he thinks perhaps better than the text.

 19. Ne4 Kd7

With the gusto of his Spanish spirit, Pancho protests against this weak continuation. Considerably more advisable, he confides, were either, 19… Ba6 20. Rf2 h6 21. Rd1 cxd4 22. cxd4 Bc7 23. Rfd2 Bb7 24. Qh4 Kf8, or 19… h6 with 20. Rad1 Bc7 21. dxc5 Qb5 22. Rd2 Kf8 23. Be5 Bxe5 24. Qxe5 Bxe4 25. fxe4 Kg8. However, all these alternatives accomplish, is to lose more slowly.

 20. Rad1

A crucial error! White literally demolishes Black after, 20. Qxh7! For example, 20… Rag8 21. Rf2 Bc7 22. h4 Qb5 23. Qxf7 Kc8 24. Qxe6+ Qd7 25. Qxd7+ Kxd7 26. Bg5 Bxe4 27. fxe4, when the four additional passed pawns on the kingside, will prove decisive in the ensuing endgame.

20… Rag8

The game has reached its critical point. Both kings are in great danger: the white king along the g-file, the black king along the d-file. The grandmasters decide to turn the game into a race: who will mate first?

21.dxc5

The rationale about a race to checkmate is all very well, but…swirling his glass, still half full, Pancho plays to his swelling audience: he explains that the immediate sacrifice, 21… Qxe4, does not quite work, as 22. Rxd6+ Kc7 23. dxe4 Rxg2+ 24. Kh1 Rg1+ 25. Rxg1 Bxe4+ 26. Rg2 Bxg2+ 27. Kg1 Bf3+ 28. Qg5 Rxg5+ 29. Bxg5, leaves White a clear rook to the good.

What White needed to play, Pancho continues, was the very natural 21. Rd2 (21. g3 was also promising).  Then Black has the following unappetising choice for dessert: 21… Kc8 (21… cxd4 22. Qxh7 Kc8 23. cxd4 transposes) 22. Qxh7 cxd4 23. cxd4 Bc7 24. h4 Qe8 25. h5 Bxe4 26. hxg6 Bxg6 27. Qh6 Qc6 28. e4 Kb7 29. Qe3, when White enjoys the material advantage of an exchange and a pawn, and completely dominates the board.

21… Rxg2+ 22. Kh1 Qxe4

 A very fine sacrifice which was certainly not anticipated on the white side!

23.Rxd6+ Kc8

…Qxf3 is a huge threat, fxe4…Bxe4 will be followed by a devastating discovered (double) check! The path to equality was narrow… and the nervous grandmasters fail to find it.

24.h4

Intended to give the king some room to escape off the back rank, but it allows a very sharp tactic! 24. Rd8+ Rxd8 25. fxe4 Bxe4 26. Qe5 Rg4+ 27. Qxe4 Rxe4 28. Bxd8 Kxd8 29. cxb6 axb6 30. Rxf7 Rxe3 31. Rxh7 Rxc3 would have unleashed a typhoon of exchanges on the board to leave the calm of an equal rook endgame behind! The game continuation was not so fortunate!

24… Rh2+ 25. Kxh2 Qc2+ 26. Kh3 Qg2

and the Grandmaster duo are checkmated.

Well played Henry! 0-1

*Sr. Sancho Panza, or “Pancho”, is the affectionate nom de plume for the computer Stockfish 14+ NNUE, who also enjoyed the fine afore-mentioned RAC dinner.

The Chess Saga of Fridrik Olafsson

by Oystein Brekke and Fridrik Ólafsson (Norsk Sjakkforlag £32.95)

The Icelandic Grandmaster Fridrik Olafsson achieved the unique distinction of rising to become a legitimate candidate for world title honours in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and later President of FIDÉ (the world chess federation) from 1978 to 1982. Olafsson’s best games were defined by a rare elegance and power which enabled him to overcome several world champions. Almost in his spare time he occupied the post equivalent to Speaker of the Icelandic Parliament.

Olafsson was born on January 26, 1935 in Reykjavik, where he still lives. He was Nordic Champion in 1953, at 18, and won his first grandmaster tournament at Hastings 1955/56, shared with Korchnoi and ahead of Taimanov. Besides his illustrious chess career, he is a lawyer, and was for 21 years Secretary General of the Icelandic parliament, Althingi.

The co-author, Oystein Brekke, was born in 1956 and is a Norwegian chess player, organizer, arbiter, trainer, historian, author and publisher. His several books in Norwegian language consist primarily of elementary books and chess historic works. He was editor of the Norwegian chess magazine “Norsk Sjakkblad” from 1975 and Secretary General of the Norwegian Chess Federation 1982-88.

The career of the famous Icelandic grandmaster is described through 10 chapters and 70 years, starting from his first tournament in 1946 and up to his last championship participation in 2016. 52 of the games are presented and annotated by Fridrik Ólafsson himself. The book also has 115 photos, many of them not published before.

Two of the games in the book are wins against Tal (one of them very brilliant), two wins against Fischer (see later game links), two against Petrosian and one against Karpov. The latter was in Buenos Aires 1980, when it happened that the FIDÉ President beat the reigning World Champion — a unique occurrence in the history of chess.

Olafsson belongs to that fine tradition of Scandinavian Grandmasters, inaugurated by the post-First World War émigrés, Nimzowitsch , Spielmann and Rubinstein, and continued by home-grown protagonists: Stahlberg, Stoltz, Lundin, Larsen, Andersson, Westerinen and culminating in the former World Champion, Magnus Carlsen. Of that entire group, I would consider Fridrik Olafsson the supreme stylist.

The Wizard of Warsaw: A Chess Biography of Szymon Winawer

by Tomasz Lissowski and Grigory Bogdanovich (Elk and Ruby) ISBN10: 5604676691

The Polish grandmaster Szymon Abramowicz Winawer was born in Warsaw in 1838. His first appearance internationally was at Paris (1867) where he finished 2nd= with Wilhelm Steinitz behind Ignatz von Kolisch. It is alleged that he was visiting Paris as a tourist and was roped into the tournament to fill a sudden vacancy. To universal astonishment he nearly won first prize, and for the next 15 years he was among the world’s strongest half-dozen players. Chessmetrics ranks him No. 2 in the world for 12 months during the period 1878-80.

In 1881, at Berlin, Winawer came 3rd= with Mikhail Chigorin behind Blackburne and Zukertort. Then in the strongest tournament held up to that time he had his finest moment: 1st= with Steinitz at Vienna (1882). The subsequent play-off was drawn (+1, -1). See the results cross-tables below.

Winawer performed poorly at London (1883) and resolved to abandon chess, but on his return home, he interrupted his journey at Nuremberg, in need of a dentist, and in a curious echo of his serendipitous experience at Paris, sixteen years previously, was approached by the tournament organisers and prevailed upon to compete. The result was 1st prize, ahead of Blackburne at the 3rd DSB Congress, Nuremberg (1883). This made him champion of Germany.

Winawer then revived his desire to retire from competitive chess, but after a long absence, Winawer re-entered the chess arena in the 1890s. By that stage a younger generation had come  to the fore and the Warsaw Wizard never repeated the stunning successes of yesteryear.

The Winawer Variation of the French Defence (1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4) is the most important opening line named for him. Others include the Winawer Counter-Gambit in the Slav (1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 e5)

Winawer died in Warsaw in 1919.

And as is customary, some further brilliancies with which to round off:

Olafsson vs. Fischer

Tal vs. Olafsson

Winawer vs. Steinitz

Grandmaster Raymond Keene’s 206th book, Chess in the Year of the King, with a foreword by TheArticle contributor Patrick Heren, and written in collaboration with former Reuters chess correspondent, Adam Black, has just appeared and is available from Amazon.

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