Improving on Fischer, Geller, and Kasparov?

The key position in Fischer - Geller, Skopje 1967 is shown in the following diagram (see that previous post for the PGN and a link to Chessgames.com). Fischer played 20.a3, where Fischer, Geller, and Kasparov all gave the move a '?', suggesting 20.Qf4! instead.

Skopje 1967
Geller, Efim

Fischer, Robert
After 19...Nxe4

My engine finds 20.Qf4 better for White at depth 13, giving 20...cxb2 21.Rh5 Nf6 {FIS: 21...Nc3+} 22.Rh6 Rxf7 {GEL: 22...d5} 23.Bxf7 Be4 24.Bb3 d5 25.Bxf6 Bxc2+ {KAS: 25...gxf6}, as best. I've indicated where the machine deviates from the published analysis of the three GMs, who each in turn improved on the other's previous analysis.

Now the machine comes up with 26.Bxc2 Qxf4 27.Rxh7+ Kg8 28.Rxg7+ Kh8 29.Rh7+ Kg8 30.Bxe7 Rc8 31.Rh3 Rxc2 32.Kxc2 Qc7+ 33.Kb1 Qxe7 34.Rxd5 Qe4+ 35.Rdd3 Qe1+ 36.Kxb2 Qb4+ 37.Kc2 Qc4+ as best. I've left out side variations that, although significant, don't change the course of the game dramatically.

In the final position, Black is behind in material with 2R+3P vs. Q+P, but the White King has difficulty finding shelter from the Queen's checks without dropping a Pawn. I abandoned the analysis here because I was far from the diagrammed position ('long analysis, wrong analysis') and finding a technical win for White would take more time than I had available. While Black is behind materially, it's worth remembering that 2R+P vs. Q is often a theoretical draw.

Olympiad Last Round

Ponomariov: 'In general I think the Olympiad was run at a high level. The hotel was quite good; the food was quite good; the organizers provided good transport so we can play concentrated on our games.'

2010 Chess Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk - Day 11 Report (3:06) • 'For results, pairing and live games please visit www.pakchess.org'

The Market Demands It!

In a number of posts I've expressed my admiration for old BBC chess programming -- see BBC: The Master Game -- with special interest in shows that spotlighted the World Championship: Karpov - Kasparov (Moscow 1985, Game 16) and 1993 Kasparov - Short on BBC. After the BBC itself, the common denominator in the programming was one William Roland Hartston [Wikipedia].

In today's democratic climate, where the requirements for Grandmaster titles are much relaxed, Hartston would easily be a GM, but in the old days he had to settle for IM. The Streatham & Brixton blog did a series on Hartston a few months ago, starting with

• Bill Hartston Speaks • 'Didn't They Use to Put Chess on the Telly? It was clearly our greatest era and nobody, aside perhaps from a certain R.D. Keene, could challenge Bill Hartston’s claim to be television’s “Mr. Chess”. Although no longer actively involved in the game, back then, some tournaments broadcast late at night on ITV aside, if chess was being televised Hartston would inevitably have his fingers in the pie. I caught up with him for a chat about his appearances on TV and why the game has all but disappeared from our screens. Our story begins, as many chess narratives do, in Reykjavik forty years ago...'

and continuing with loads of links to YouTube clips.

• Bill Hartston Speaks II: Chess on the Telly
  
• Bill Hartston Speaks III: What Bill Did Next
  
• Bill Hartston Coda: The Master Game 1981

The Coda summarized 'The Master Game' with

It was a memorable show. I would always be amazed that my schoolfriends, who to my certain knowledge were not players, would watch the programme and then come to me and talk about it the following day. But that was an index of how good it was. The world has changed since then, but I do not see why something a little like it would not be good again.

Not everyone was so impressed by Hartston's work. Here is former World Champion Anatoly Karpov in 'From Baguio to Merano' by Karpov and Baturinsky, commenting on his 1978 title match against Korchnoi (p.73-74):

Many of those who came to Baguio as correspondents for their papers had altogether not the slightest connection with our game, and in fact this is one field where it is extremely difficult to get by without a minimum of specialist knowledge. [...] And those of them who had no knowledge of our game described in especially vivid terms and pronouncements by the grandmaster who had defected from the Soviet Union -- since this in itself was a sensation, and everything associated with it was readily published by the papers. But where does chess come into all this?

There is another, perhaps even more refined method of forming public chess opinion. Immediately after the match, in fearful haste dictated by purely opportunist considerations (the market demands it!) a whole series of books devoted to the match were written. The quality of the overwhelming majority of them leaves a great deal to be desired. [...] I made the acquaintance of an analysis of the match games in a book by William Hartston, and it immediately became clear why this player, who for a long time promised to become the first English grandmaster, continues to remain an ordinary master. The superficiality of his subjective comments is beneath all criticism.

What are the characteristics of superficial and subjective comments? I'm not sure I can tell, so in another post I'll look at notes by both Karpov and Hartston to some games from that memorable match.

Olympiad Records

A few weeks ago I received an email saying,

The reason I'm writing is to find out more about an article at Susan Polgar's blogspot website. She writes that Kramnik is "closing in on a record" of consecutive Olympiad games without a loss. She didn't say who has the current record, in the Men's, or how many games is the record??

Closing in on the record
http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2010/10/closing-in-on-record.html

Do you know who holds the current record for this, in the 'Men's' division, and how many games it is?? I was thinking Tal, or Portisch maybe?

Having no answer, I forwarded the message to Olimpbase.org, who promptly replied,

Before 2010 Kramnik's score was 32,5 of 47 (18 wins 29 draws, no loss) so he played 55 games overall (stats after 2010 Olympiad). In fact, he is the one to have played most games ever at the Olympiad and lose none.

Men's Chess Olympiads' Overall Statistics
http://www.OlimpBase.org/statistics/all_id09.html

That's the Record no. #1. As for record no. #2 (longest no-loss run) he is far behind current holder Tigran Petrosian, who conceded no loss on his first 7 appearances on the olympiads (1958-1970) only to lose once in 1972, in his game #96. His loss to Hubner is actually the sole one among 103 games!

Petrosian, Tigran
http://www.olimpbase.org/players/ikkqkgyh.html

Read more Olympic trivia here:

Men's Chess Olympiads Trivia
http://www.olimpbase.org/articles/trivia.html

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again: Thanks, Olimpbase!

Fischer - Geller, Skopje 1967

Continuing with 18 -> 21 Memorable Games, here is the PGN game score showing the punctuation from the game that was no.58 in Fischer's 60 Memorable Games, no.100 in Kasparov's Predecessors II, and no.99 in Geller's Application of Chess Theory.

[Event "Skopje"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1967.08.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Fischer, Robert J"]
[Black "Geller, Efim"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B57"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Bb3 O-O 9.Qe2 Qa5 {KAS: '?!'} 10.O-O-O Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Bd7 12.Kb1 Bc6 {KAS: '?'; GEL: '?'} 13.f4 Rad8 14.Rhf1 {KAS: '!'} 14...b5 15.f5 {FIS: '!!'; KAS: '!'; GEL: '!'} 15...b4 16.fxe6 {FIS: '!'; KAS: '!'} 16...bxc3 17.exf7+ Kh8 18.Rf5 {FIS: '!'; KAS: '!'} 18...Qb4 {KAS: '!'; GEL: '!'} 19.Qf1 {FIS: '!'; KAS: '!'} 19...Nxe4 {KAS: '!'} 20.a3 {FIS: '?'; KAS: '?'; GEL: '?'} 20...Qb7 21.Qf4 {KAS: '?'} 21...Ba4 {FIS: '!!'; KAS: '!!'; GEL: '!!'} 22.Qg4 Bf6 {FIS: '!'; KAS: '!'; GEL: '!'} 23.Rxf6 Bxb3 {FIS: '!'; KAS: '!'; GEL: '!'} 0-1

By any standards, there are a lot of '!'s in this game. It might be more interesting to look at the '?'s, especially to see whether the mean machine can find any resources that three top GMs missed. I doubt it, but it's worth a try. If nothing pops up, I'll return to the series last seen in Fischer - Geller, Bled 1961.

To play through the complete game, see...

Robert James Fischer vs Efim Geller, Skopje 1967
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044020

...on Chessgames.com.

There's Something About Alice (*)

Are all the pieces different? If so, it's a good thing the bases are marked with the chess piece represented. I wonder where the set is located geographically. Has anyone here seen it?

Alice in Wonderland Chess Set Sculpture © Flickr user koontzb under Creative Commons.

(*) Last spotted at Alice in Lumberland.

Wiener Werkstaette Postcards

For the next post in the series on Top eBay Chess Items by Price, I had the largest selection of items that I can remember. I could have chosen from any one of the following:-

• Chess computer Mephisto exclusive Lyon 32-bit • Bid history: 28 bids, Winning bid: GBP 1,019.00, Approximately US $1,622.45
  
  
• Mens 10k yellow gold round diamond chess cross pendant • Sold for: US $1,170.00
  
  
• Harry Potter movie 'Final Challenge' zinc chess set & board • Sold for: US $999.99 (two of these sold for that price)
  
  
• Huge Dresden Lace Plateau Lady & Man Playing Chess 17" • Sold for: Original price US $1,195.00, Discounted price US $750.00
  
  
• Dave Matthews Poster - Wrigley Field 9/17 Chess Series • Sold for: US $700.00; 'Selling the entire chess series (5 posters) from the Dave Matthews Band tour of 2010. All posters are IN HAND and are MINT! London, Hershey, Flushing, Louisville, and Chicago!'

Instead I chose '1911 Wiener Werkstaette, Wiener Cafe - chess match!', pictured on the left. It received 21 bids and the winning bid was US $925.00.

Why choose this particular item? First, I had no idea that a postcard would attract such competitive bidding. The 21 bids included 12 different bidders. Second, I had no idea that a postcard would sell for so much. The second highest bid was $915.00, when the item started at $9.99! There are some serious postcard collectors competing on eBay.

The item's description said,

Here is an Investment Grade 1911 Wiener Werkstaette No. 531 Art Postcard titled “Wiener Café: Die Schachspieler.” The artwork is by Moritz Jung. The card shows a nerve-wracking game of chess with several men watching through the café’s window. The card is postally unused and in fabulous condition.

A single page of search results convinced me that the auction's result was not at all unusual; see Wiener-werkstaette-postkarten.com for lots of examples. Looks like I should have spent my hard-earned Euros buying postcards instead of chess books.