Check is in the Mail: Everything Old is New Again

Hello chess friends! This month’s column was inspired by a reader! Matthew Brodhead sent in his game against John Cissik, and analyzing his game gave me the idea for this month’s column. GM Savielly Tartakower (whom I love to quote!) once said that any opening is good enough to play if its reputation is bad enough. What he meant was that once a line gets a reputation as a loser, it becomes fodder for those who are willing to work to find improvements and use them to gain points in competition. Bobby Fischer proved this by rejuvenating the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez at the 17th Olympiad at Havana in June, 1960, and Magnus Carlsen won games and tournaments using plans that date back a century or more. So, this month’s column focuses on recent correspondence games that contained opening variations that were once popular long ago and have come around again.

Our first game, Cissik – Brodhead, shows the Four Knights Game, a solid choice that requires more positional sense than memorization. Both players try to get more out of the position than is justified, and both players miss opportunities – until the 21st move, after which it only takes Brodhead five more moves to force mate (although he overlooked a mate in four!).

Our second game is a Two Knights Defense, an older opening that has never really gone away. It has a reputation for being pugnacious, and the game Brandon - Bump follows that tradition. It is fairly even until Black chooses to exchange queens, making White’s extra pawn that much more valuable. It was over by move 30.

Our third game, Jesunas – Bump, shows Almyr Bump essaying his favorite Two Knights Defense again, but this time it is White who takes the risk of stepping away from theory. He makes a mistake on move nine, but fortunately for him it is Savielly Tartakower’s famous “next-to-last mistake.” White’s final mistake, on move 11, leads him to resign on move 14.

Knudsen – Shannon, our fourth game, uses an ancient line in the Ruy Lopez that has recently become quite popular, thanks in part to former World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Paul Shannon plays his kingside knight to the rim to attack with his f-pawn, but the position calls for queenside play on Black’s part. Repositioning the knight to a forward square was the last straw, and John Knudsen found a nice exchange sacrifice that led to a mating attack.

Games five and six are from the same general opening, the ancient Petroff Defense, but follow different lines of play. Game five is Renfroe – Chaubal, where White chooses a line from the 19th century that is normally intended to exchange queens quickly, but then plays to avoid the queen exchange. After failing to avoid the queen exchange a few moves later, White plays a move that gives up a pawn. The only mistake Nina Chaubal makes after that is missing a mate in one when it is offered.

Game six is included because I am familiar with one of the players. I used to see Fred Rhine during tournaments at Jules Stein’s Chicago Chess Center on the north side of the city, and occasionally we would analyze a game together with other players. In this game he takes on another Master in that same ancient line in the Petroff, and makes the defense look easy.

Glover – Hall is our seventh game, and it shows the Bishop’s Opening, which also dates to the 19th century. White makes an ambitious but faulty knight move in the opening, leading to a continuation that favors Black. White has difficulty finding the right square for his rook, but Black fails to make the most of it, and Justin Glover finishes it off nicely.

Shannon – Tirrell has the once feared (but now toothless, at least in correspondence play) Goering Gambit. White never makes the most of his lead in development, and Black makes slow but steady progress for 20 moves before White loses sufficient material to call it quits.

Game nine, Krickel – Mahony, gives us the romantic King’s Gambit Accepted, and Michael Mahony does a fine job of holding off a player rated 300 points higher than him. Finally, perhaps in frustration, White makes one mistake, but it’s a doozy.

Our tenth and final game is Beauvais – Chirillo, another King’s Gambit Accepted. Both players press hard in the middle game, but Chirillo comes out of the fray with enough of an initiative to keep the pressure on Beauvais for another 30 moves, until it is obvious that Black’s passed pawn will cost White his rook.

Old opening lines can sometimes be repackaged with new plans that offer different ideas. They don’t have to be winning ideas, just ideas that offer good play. Professionals need to win in the opening; us amateurs just need to avoid losing before the middle game.

I hope 2024 offers you all good health and good chess. Look for new ideas in the New Year!

Good skill in your games,

Robert

News From the Front Office

Michael D. Buss, US Chess Correspondence Coordinator

U.S. Postal Service New Prices for 2024

• Prices scheduled to take effect January 21, 2024
• First-Class Forever stamp will be 68 cents
• Postcards will be 53 cents

2021 Golden Knights Championship

Play commenced in the six Semi-Final sections on December 29, 2023.

Results will be available here.

2023 Absolute

John Millett has completed all 13 rounds of play with a score of 6½/12. John scored the tournament’s only win so far, taking the point from three-time Absolute Champion Harry Ingersol (2010, 17 and 19). Millet’s 11 other games were drawn. Four games are ongoing, with five players having the opportunity to tie Millet’s score.

Results can be found here.

In Passing

We have been notified that Edward J. Robinson of New York, New York passed away on September 2, 2023. Mr. Robinson was a Life Member with a 1606 correspondence chess rating.

Mitchell Weiss of Mason City, Iowa passed away on December 4, 2023. Mr. Weiss was also a Life Member with a 2357 rating.

Recent Event Winners

Walter Muir E-Quad

23W10, Benjamin Hoback, 5½–½

23W14, Oswaldo Olivo & Robert TeVrucht, 4–2

23W24, Michael McCaffery, 6–0

23W26, Matthew Brodhead, 4½–1½

23W30, Almyr Bump, 6–0

Victor Palciauskas

23VP09, Michael McCaffery, 5–1

John W. Collins Memorial

21C02, William Baumer & Allen Woollen, 4½–1½

21C05, Christopher Claffey, 6–0

21C06, Kenny Drombosky, 5–1

22C06, Charlie Leach, 4½–1½

22C12, Bruce Elkins, 5½–½