IRLchess

Many thanks to Robert Pye, who answered the question from the previous past on what the final outcome was in the Leinster Senior Schoolboys’ Championship (essentially the Leinster U19 championship) in 1972: the players shared the title after they had each won one game in a playoff match (see comment on last post). This was the first shared title.

The event itself was held at St. Joseph’s School for the Blind from December 28, 1971 to January 3, 1972. Eleven players entered, and Pye and Kernan finished joint first on 5½/6, dropping only a half point against each other.

Their game, in round 3, appeared in Paul Cassidy’s column in the Irish Independent on January 7. As of the date of this post, it does not appear in the ICU games archive.

Pye – Kernan, Leinster Senior Schoolboys’ Championship 1972 (3)
10. ?

The diagram shows the position facing Pye at move 10. On the previous move, he had inadvisedly captured on d5 (9. d4, with an equal game, was better).

The game continued 10. d4 exf3 (better 10… Bd6 11. Ne5 cxd5, when Black stands considerably better) 11. dxc5 fxg2 (here 11… Qg6! retained some advantage) 12. Re1, when Black’s advantage had disspiated.

[Click to replay the full game.]

I was alerted by Twitter to an interesting game earlier this week involving Gavin Wall, which comes with an even more interesting annotation. The game was against Peter Lalić in a club knockout match in London, and the annotation is by John Saunders, associate editor of CHESS magazine and founder of the BritBase archive.

The full annotation is given at Kingston C.C.’s web site; it includes some discussion of the difference between the best engine moves and the best human moves, with application to this game.

The game, without any of the notes, has been added to the archive here.

P. Lalić – Wall, Thames Valley League Knockout Cup 2022-23
17… ?

In the diagrammed position, it’s Gavin Wall to play. How should he continue?

John Saunders posted a report on Hastings 1963-64 at BritBase, and I was interested to note that J. J. Walsh had finished second in the Challengers Reserves A ‘Pelton’, behind Michael Basman.

The report had none of J. J.’s games. A quick search in the normal places failed to turn up anything, but by sheer coincidence I saw the game against Basman very shortly afterwards in the Irish Chess Journal.

The 17-year-old Basman had a slight advantage out of the opening, but then erred badly, and was lost as early as move 12. Thereafter it was all simply a matter of time, and the game ended much later with the diagrammed picturesque position.

Basman – Walsh, Hastings Challengers Reserves ‘A’ (Pelton) 1963-64 (4)
Final position

[Click to replay the full game.]

J. J. won his first five games, of which this was the fourth, and still was in the clear lead heading into the last round. Unfortunately a loss allowed Basman to leapfrog his way to first.

I prepared the game and was about to send it to John Saunders this morning, when I found that it had already been added earlier today, sent by regular contributor Ulrich Tamm, who found it in J. J.’s From My Games. You have to move quickly in these matters!

The Mindsports Masters GM Norm event in London in September produced the following interesting position early on:

Fitzsimons – Rowson, Mindsports Masters GM 2022
46. ?

If you would like to treat this as a (not too easy) puzzle, please don’t read further.

David Fitzsimons now erred with 46. Qb8+?. The right way is 46. a7!, which wins after 47… e2 48. a8=Q+ Kh7 49. Nf7!, e.g., 49… e1=Q (else White can prevent this promotion) 50. Qh8+ Kg6 51. Rg4+ and White mates in a few more moves.

After the game’s 46… Kh7 47. a7 e2, 48. a1=Q? was another error, and after 48… e1=Q, White was lost. More often than not, the side promoting first wins in these four queens games, but here White runs out of checks quickly.

Instead, there was still a (difficult) draw to be had via 48. Nf7!!. The rook capture loses, while the queen capture and the immediate promotion only draw.

[Click to replay the full game.]

Why does this startling knight move work? One hint lies in the fact that the position after the game’s 48… e1=Q, easily won for Black, would instead be convincingly won for White if only the knight were not on the board. After 49. Qg8+ Kg6, White’s 50. Qxc6 would be a devastating check if it were not for the knight. Thus 49. Nf7 is (partly) a line-opening sacrifice.

Michael Basman played some tournaments last year, including the 1st EJCOA Forest Hall Invitational in Northumbria, England, a 10-player all-play-all in which Tarun Kanyamarala earned his first IM norm. The 75-year-old Basman scored 2½/9. A photo of round 7 shows him on the far board.

He scored 0/3 against Irish players. His first round loss against David Fitzsimons saw him lost out of the opening, but he should have drawn his second round game against Tarun Kanyamarala (which commenced 1. b4 e5 2. a3). By far the most interesting of these games, though, was his fourth round game against Trisha Kanyamarala, a game he could have won.

This one opened with the Grob, 1. g4.

Basman – Tr. Kanyamarala, 1st EJCOA Invitational 2022
Position after 25… Qe7

The position after move 25 was no advertisement for this eccentric opening. White has two bad bishops, and two bad knights; the one on h3 has particularly poor prospects. Or so it seems.

Same game
35. ?

Nine moves later, the second diagram was reached. Now Basman could have won with the shot 35. Ng6+!! hxg6 36. Qb4, since 36… Bf6 37. hxg6+ Kg8 38. Qf4 is crushing. The change in fortunes for the formerly forlorn knight is startling. (The more prosaic 35. Qb4 also wins; the difference is that it allows the extra defence 35… Rxf4.)

The game’s 35. Qc1? was thus a missed opportunity, but Basman was still slightly better, and (after some further twists and turns) was still equal ten moves later, when he blundered a piece, ultimately losing.

[Click to replay the full game.]