A nice find...

The photo above shows my grandfather playing the black pieces and was among some photos I found in my mother's papers. The photo is undated, but I would guess it was taken during a lunch break, back when my grandfather worked for the Port Authority of New York in the 1940s.

My grandfather was a scribbler, as was my mother (and I, too, appear to have been cast from the same mold in that respect). Among the contents of a suitcase of family mementos that I've accumulated over the years is a sturdy spiral notebook with stiff covers, filled with what appears to be an extensive set of notes on calculus written by my grandfather. Curiously enough, in looking through the book this morning, I rediscovered a couple of pages with chess scores, scrawled in pencil.

When the game below was played, the Allies had invaded Normandy almost exactly five months before, and the Battle of the Bulge is just over 6 weeks in the future. My grandfather is "VV."

[Date "05/11/1944"]
[White "VV"]
[Black "Moras"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.O-O O-O 9.Re1 Qe7 10.e4 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Nxe4 12.Ba3 c5 13.dxc5 Nxc5??

{Up to this point, the game has been fairly even, though I prefer the White position. Perhaps it would've been better to ignore the c pawn for a bit, say with 13...Nc6.

}

14.Nd4! Bg6?

{This move compounds the error of the previous move and allows a hailstorm of crippling moves. Better was 14...Qc7, after which 15.Nxf5 exf5 16.Bf7+ Kh8 17.Qh5 is a likely continuation, and Black still loses, I think, but not as quickly as in the game.}

15.Nxe6! fxe6 16.Rxe6 Qf7 17.Re4

{I'm not sure this is better than 17.Bxc5, since the situation on the a2-g8 diagonal won't improve much even if the queen gets off of f7. I'm thinking perhaps my grandfather just wanted to expedite the queen's departure from the board, after which the game's course is predictable.}

17...Nxe4 18.Bxf7+ Kxf7 19.Bxf8 Kxf8 20.Qd8+ Be8 21.Re1 Nf6 22.Qe7+ Kg8 23.Qxb7 Bc6 24.Qc8+ Kf7 25.Qe6+ {1-0}

Cheers...

Happy Translator's Day!

It's again time to nod in the direction of St. Jerome, said by some to be the patron saint of translators.

Currently, I've two small items due tomorrow and one small item I need to finish today for delivery tomorrow morning in Moscow.

If I don't count expenses billed to clients during this past month, then I am at 89.996% of where I need to be for September in order to make my "nut." I've been aware for some time that I wasn't going to hit the mark, but it looks like I'll make the 90% level, with a bit to spare.

But of course, that means I'll have to sit down and actually do a little work.

However, it's still the morning, and there's some time. There are other issues that need clarification, too.

Cheers...