Another V.V. game, played 57 years ago!
Mar. 26th, 2003 08:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpAs someone who has few personal recollections of my father or maternal grandfather (my paternal grandfather died about 16 years before I came into this world), I'll grasp at any straw, it seems, to make some kind - any kind - of connection with them in an attempt to understand better what kind of people they were.
That's part of what drives me to analyze my grandfather "V.V."s games, found in a small pocket memo book of ancient manufacture (a "University" No. 5-406, with a "Wire-O Binding").
What can you tell about a person from a chess game? I'm not sure, really. I guess what I'm doing is overlaying what I'd like my grandfather to have been onto a schema of people I've known who play at about the same level. In my analysis, I'm not trying to puff my grandfather up into some kind of super-chessplayer, nor am I trying to tear him down and brand him what chess fanatics call a patzer, or weak player. I'm looking for what may be those small (and rare, believe me) flashes of insight that define the amateur player of various levels.
Enough blabbing. Here's a nice outing by my grandfather, 57 years ago tonight:
That's part of what drives me to analyze my grandfather "V.V."s games, found in a small pocket memo book of ancient manufacture (a "University" No. 5-406, with a "Wire-O Binding").
What can you tell about a person from a chess game? I'm not sure, really. I guess what I'm doing is overlaying what I'd like my grandfather to have been onto a schema of people I've known who play at about the same level. In my analysis, I'm not trying to puff my grandfather up into some kind of super-chessplayer, nor am I trying to tear him down and brand him what chess fanatics call a patzer, or weak player. I'm looking for what may be those small (and rare, believe me) flashes of insight that define the amateur player of various levels.
Enough blabbing. Here's a nice outing by my grandfather, 57 years ago tonight:
[Event "Wednesday night event"]Cheers...
[Date "1946.03.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Spielholtz"]
[Black "VV"]
[Result "0-1"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3
{Squanders White's opening advantage, IMO.}
3...d6
{I would have played 3...d5, I think.}
4.Bc4 Nf6 5.d3 a6 6.a3 Bg4
{White should have castled last move, and should castle this move. Instead...}
7.h3 Bh5 8.Bf4 Qc7 9.Nbd2 Ne5 10.Qa4+ Qc6 11.Qxc6+ Nxc6 12.b4 b5 13.Bb3 e6 14.e5 dxe5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 Nd7 17.Bg3 Bg6 18.Ke2
{No need to castle anymore, with the heavy iron off the board and few prospects for combinative play.}
18...Be7 19.Rad1 O-O 20.Rhe1 a5 21.Ne4
{A mistake. I think 21.bxc5 was indicated. This move loses a pawn.}
21...axb4 22.axb4 cxb4 23.Kd2
{Another inaccuracy. Now, with 23...Rfc8, Black starts to pour it on!}
23...Rfc8 24.c4?
{This only helps Black.}
24...Bxe4 25.Rxe4
{In trying to maintain support for c4 (via the pawn on d3), White allows...}
25...Nc5 26.Kc2 Nxe4 27.dxe4 bxc4 28.Rd7?
{This simply loses a piece.}
28...cxb3+ 29.Kxb3 Kf8 30.Rb7 f6
{Not a very exact move, but the position favors Black in a lopsided way. Here, I'd think about starting some trouble with 30...Rc3, then maybe double my rooks on the c-file.}
31.h4 e5 32.h5
{Is White just going through the motions? Maybe he's in time trouble?}
32...Rc3+ 33.Kb2 Rac8 34.Bh4 Rc2+ 35.Kb1
{35.Kb3 is a disaster, starting with 35...R8c3 36.Ka4 b3, intending ...b2, ...Ra3+ and ...b1=Q.}
35...R8c3 36.g4 Re2 37.Rb8+
{A spite check.}
37...Kf7 38.Rb7 Rh3
{The only way to parry the threat of mate is 39.Rc7, which then results in the loss of the bishop after 39...Rxh4. White resigned.}
0-1
