The chess world is abuzz with news of the 10-move win of Leinier Domínguez Pérez against Elshan Moradiabadi in the US Championship in St. Louis earlier this month.
After 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Bf5 8. c4 O-O? 9. cxd5 Qxd5??, the diagrammed position was reached.
Domínguez Pérez – Moradiabadi, US Championship, St. Louis 2022
Position after 9… Qxd5??
After 10. Bxe4!, Black resigned: the bishop at e7 is lost in all variations.
Much of the commentary described this as a well-known trap that has occurred before. Indeed it has, but what is the first example of it in a competitive game? As discussed here some time ago (see Irish Junior Championship 2016), the same position appeared in the game Coffey – McHugh, Irish Schoolboys’ Championship 1980. That game continued 10. Bxe4 Bxe4 11. Nc3 Bxf3 12. Nxd5 Bxd1 13. Nxe7+ and Kevin resigned. (Click to replay.)
The databases I checked have no examples of the diagrammed position before the turn of the millennium, and the game Matsuo – Al Badani, Japan v. Yemen, Istanbul Olympiad 2000, is the first with 10. Bxe4.
Over five years ago, a report on the Target Recruitment Masters 2001 was added to the tournament pages here. The overall event, held at Queen’s University Belfast, attracted 86 players across three sections. The top section was won jointly by Alexander Baburin and Bogdan Lalić, each on an undefeated 5/6, ahead of the Dutch players Harmen Jonkman and Yge Visser on 4½, and the quintet of Keith Allen, Tom Clarke, Colm Daly, Stephen Gillen, and Mark Orr on 4. In all, 92 of the 98 games are available.
For some reason that escapes me, there was no associated cover post when the report was first posted here. Just recently, it emerged that one of the players was wrongly identified in that report, as well as in essentially all databases: the “John Cooper” who finished joint 10th-15th on 3½ was not the Welsh IM John Grantley Cooper, rated 2341 at the time, but rather John G. Cooper, then and now of Lytham in Lancashire, b. 1942, FIDE ID 416096. The report has been updated to correct this misidentification.
David McAlister, who was one of the co-organisers, provided invaluable help in clearing this up, and he has also provided a great deal more information, including details of time forfeits and incomplete games, clubs for more than half the players and links to assorted photos, for which many thanks.
Here is an excerpt from John G. Cooper’s first round game against Stephen Gillen. The databases break off here with “½-½”, which I had assumed meant that the players agreed a draw. David’s information clarifies that the game continued. Perhaps the players stopped recording moves here due to time trouble. We must assume, though, that White did not find the best move here. What did he miss?
Cooper – S. Gillen, Target Recruitment Masters, Belfast 2001
Position after 46… Rg6
This is based on joint work with David McAlister, to whom many thanks; we have been trading versions back and forth and adding details sporadically for five years or so on this.
To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the ICU and the tenth anniversary of the founding of the City of Derry C.C., the championship was awarded to Derry for the first time. After the all-play-all championships of the two preceding years, the format returned to the Swiss system, to be played over 8 rounds.
The field of sixteen included the defending Irish champion John Reid of Adare, who was also Munster champion; the champion of 1959 and 1960 Brian Reilly; and Ulster champion Eugene O’Hare of the host club. There were also the future Irish champions Eamon Keogh, 18 years old and playing in his first Irish championship, and 17-year-old Hugh MacGrillen, playing in his second, along with a representative selection of top players from the Leinster and Ulster leagues.
A month before the event, there was an incident that may have had a major bearing on the eventual outcome. The incident made national news, including a front page story in the Irish Press (June 16, 1962):
“Sergeant hurt in spade attack: man berserk
A Garda Sergeant was injured in Mungret, Co. Limerick, yesterday, when he successfully brought under control a 28-year-old six-foot Limerick man who went berserk with a spade.
Sgt. John Reid of Patrickswell — he was Irish chess champion last year and is a well-known rugby player — had an artery in his right arm severed in the struggle. …”
The championship opened on July 14, and the shock of the first round was the loss Brian Reilly suffered at the hands of the local player Larry Finlay. John Reid won a pawn against Maurice Hughes but had to settle for a draw after a bishops of opposite colour ending was reached.
In round 2, the local player Matt O’Leary forged into the sole lead by defeating Donal Déiseach, in what seems to have been a surprise: Déiseach had been tipped prior to the event as one of the leading contenders. Michael Littleton drew against Larry Finlay and Alex Montwill drew against Ulster’s Noel Mulholland, leaving each ½ point off the lead. Brian Reilly recovered from his opening round setback with a win against Eugene O’Hare. On the other hand, John Reid drew again, this time against Eamon Keogh.
In round 3, Matt O’Leary continued his run of successes with a win against his clubmate Larry Finlay to reach 3/3. Alex Montwill won against Ulster’s David Kerr to reach clear second on 2½, ahead of five players on 2, including Littleton, who drew again, and Reilly, who won again. Once again, for the third successive game, John Reid drew, this time against Hubert Boyd of Derry. Was this slow start due to the aftereffects of his unpleasant experience a month earlier?
In round 4, Montwill beat O’Leary, to lead with 3½ to O’Leary’s 3. Keogh and Littleton drew, as did Mulholland and Reilly, while Reid finally won, against MacGrillen. This left five players tied for third place on 2½: Keogh, Littleton, Mulholland, Reid, and Reilly.
In round 5, Montwill lost to Keogh, leaving five players tied for first on 3½/5: Keogh, Montwill, O’Leary, Reid, and Reilly. Littleton, who drew for the fourth consecutive round, fell to joint 6th on 3.
In round 6, Keogh lost in turn to O’Leary. Reid beat Reilly, and both Montwill and Littleton won, leaving Montwill, O’Leary, and Reid joint first on 4½/6, with Littleton clear fourth on 4.
In round 7, O’Leary and Reid drew on top board; Eugene O’Hare’s report says that O’Leary missed a win. Littleton beat Montwill, and Reilly beat Keogh. This left Littleton, O’Leary, and Reid joint first with 5/7, with Montwill and Reilly joint fourth on 4½, and all others out of contention.
In the last round, Reid and Littleton drew in 18 moves in a King’s Indian. This seems strange: in light of what followed, it seems as if one or the other, probably Littleton, should have been inclined to play on. O’Leary could have secured the Irish championship by winning against Reilly. As it was, he lost fairly quickly with the black pieces. Montwill won against Hubert Boyd, after an adjournment.
This left four players in joint first with the low score of 5½/8, the only time in the history of the Irish championship that there has been a four-way tie. The tiebreak system was Sonneborn-Berger, which had been used to break three ties in the 1950’s (1953, 1955, and 1957) and was to be used again in 1967. Reid was adjudged the winner, and the shield duly presented. It was a remarkable comeback after his slow start.
However, it was soon discovered that there was a snag: Reid and Littleton had the same Sonneborn-Berger score (Montwill was third and Reilly fourth). What next? There seems to have been no provision for this possibility, but in the entire history of the Irish championship, all ties had been broken in one way or another to produce a single champion. In this case, it was initially assumed that there would be a playoff match for the title, of 4 or 6 games. It was announced two months later, though, that there would be no playoff match and that they would share the title.
Strangely, the four players who eventually tied for first had not met each other at all up to the end of round 5, and there was only one game between players of this set in each of the last three rounds. On the other hand, Matt O’Leary played all other players who finished in the top 7, plus one of those who finished joint 8th, while Eamon Keogh, who finished in clear 7th, one point off joint first, played all six players who finished above him.
Only one game survives, featuring an imaginative sacrifice by Donal Déiseach against David Kerr in round 4.
Kerr – Déiseach, Irish Championship, Derry 1962
Position after 11. Nd5
In the diagrammed position, Déiseach played the startling 11… Nd4!!??. He deserves full credit for creativity, but was this sound, as contemporary sources assumed?
The page here on FIDE title norms by Irish players, and progress of Irish players towards titles, has been updated. There has been so much activity on this front that it has been hard to keep up, and the update includes all of Tarun Kanyamarala’s norms and his application for the IM title, Conor Murphy’s GM norm at the Olympiad, Tom O’Gorman’s norm at the European Individual Championship in March, and Alice O’Gorman’s qualification for a direct WFM title at the Women’s Olympiad.
The norms now cover 2007 onwards. More detail has been added to descriptions of norms, and links to the applicable FIDE rules over the years have been added.
Where possible, links to certificates of title results and title applications have been added. This is not as straightforward as it was until relatively recently: FIDE now provides links to norms and applications from the FIDE titles page only for a limited time before and after a pending application, though often/usually the link to the norm or application itself is still active.
Ireland’s record at Women’s Olympiads had an outstanding start at the first such event, Emmen 1957, when the team of Hilda Chater and Beth Cassidy finished equal 14th-15th out of 21, ahead of France, Austria, Finland, Norway, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
Ireland sent no team to the following two events, in 1963 and 1966, but in 1969 the team of Mai Branagan (Rathmines), Aileen Noonan (Collegians), and Elizabeth Shaughnessy (Collegians) travelled to Lublin, Poland for the fourth Women’s Olympiad. Contemporary newspaper reports record that they paid for their own travel and hotels; I hope this has changed since then.
The event was organised as a 15-team all-play-all, with matches over two boards. The runaway winners were the Soviet Union, whose squad comprised the reigning Women’s Word Champion Nona Gaprindashvili (of Georgia); her challenger in 1965, 1969, and 1972 Alla Kushnir; and future challenger Nana Alexandria (also of Georgia).The next seven places were filled by the remaining Eastern European countries: Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, East Germany, Romania, and Poland. The Western European countries followed: England, West Germany, Denmark, Austria, and Belgium, with Ireland finishing in last place.
All of the countries that finished ahead of Ireland in 1969 also did so this year. (Or their main analogies did, in the case of the countries that have split or merged since then.)
No games from the event appear in the ICU games archive as of the date of this post, but all games have long been available at OlimpBase. The Irish games have been uploaded here.
Ireland’s only win came in a dramatic game by Aileen Noonan against the then-three-times Austrian Women’s Champion Ingeborg Kattinger. The twists and turns must largely be attributable to time trouble. Earlier Noonan had had a nominal advantage but no viable way of making progress. After breaking open the position, she was objectively lost; was this an error or a gamble based on her opponent’s time trouble?
Here 37. Qc8 would have left Black with nothing better than taking the perpetual. Instead Noonan erred with 37. Rxf4?. After 37… Rd1+ 38. Ke2, 38… Qd3 would have been mate, but Kattinger instead played 38… Qd2+. After 39. Kf3 Qxf4+ 40. Ke2, Kattinger, on the last move before the time control, missed 40… Qf1+ and mate next move, instead playing 40… Rd2+.
This should still have been enough to win, and with the time control met should have been no problem. The game continued 41. Ke1 Rd8 42. Ke2 Qd2+ 43. Kf3 Rd3+?, throwing away the win (43… Qf4+ 44. Ke2 Rd2+ 45. Ke1 Qf2+ 46. Qxf2 Rxf2 wins easily) 44. Kg4 Qf4+? (44… Qh6 was now essential to survive) 45. Kh5 Rd8 46. Qe7 and Black resigned.
The Irish Championship is in progress in Dublin, and reaches the halfway stage today. A report has been added to the tournament pages here; updates will be added round by round until the conclusion.
Numbers are down from the past several championships, which saw an extraordinary run, but the event has still attracted a good-sized field of 24 (starting) players, with 6-7 strong contenders for the title.
After four rounds, Tarun Kanyamarala has set a blistering pace, with successive wins against Colm Daly, Alexander Baburin, and Henry Li, to lead by a clear point. His opponent today, Conor O’Donnell, is one point back, along with Tom O’Gorman, and a group of seven players lie joint fourth on 2½/4.
Update, July 7: Tarun Kanyamarala and Conor O’Donnell drew on the top board in round 5. Tom O’Gorman won against Cathal Keenan, and Alexander Baburin won against Joe Ryan on board 3, in an interesting game where Ryan earlier had seemed better. Colm Daly won convincingly against Gerard O’Connell. Kanyamarala now leads by ½ point over O’Gorman, against whom he has Black in round 6, with Baburin, Daly, and O’Donnell a further half point back.
Update, July 8 (round 6): O’Gorman and Kanyamarala drew on the top board, and likewise Baburin and O’Donnell on board 2. Colm Daly surprisingly lost to Oisín O’Cuilleanain on board 3, and must now be out of contention. Peter Carroll defeated Jacob Flynn on board 4, and Henry Li beat Joe Ryan on board 5.
Eamon Keogh, who seemed well out of form throughout, played his last game of the tournament. It’s worth noting that this year marks the 60th anniversary of his first Irish championship, Derry 1962, where he scored 4½/8 to finish in 7th place, 1 point short of joint first. This year was his 30th Irish championship.
Update, July 9 (round 7): Tarun Kanyamarala had his easiest game of the tournament on board 1 against Oisín O’Cuilleanain, while there were draws on the next three boards: Carroll – O’Gorman, O’Donnell – Li, and Daly – Baburin, the last of these by far the most interesting. The upshot is that Kanyamarala leads by a clear point from O’Gorman with two rounds to play, with four players a further half point behind. Is it all over? Last year, O’Gorman seemed in an equally strong position at the same stage, and the last two rounds scrambled everything.
Update, July 11 (final rounds): Tarun Kanyamarala won his last two games to record a resounding victory, a point and a half ahead of the field, for his first Irish Championship, two weeks after his sister Trisha won her first Irish Women’s championship. The report has been updated. In round 8, he recorded a spectacular win in a very interesting game against Peter Carroll, while on the next board, Tom O’Gorman maintained the pressure by also winning as Black, against Henry Li, using the now-rare Polugaevsky variation of the Najdorf.
This left Tarun a point clear heading into the final round, and needing only a draw. In the event, he won fairly easily against Joe Ryan, while O’Gorman lost as Black against the always-dangerous Colm Daly. The latter pair shared thrid and fourth places, while Alexander Baburin finished in clear second, with 6½/8.
A report on the 1951 Irish championship has been added to the tournament pages here.
The championship was held in University College, Cork from the 16th to the 24th July. Eighteen players participated over eight rounds with the Swiss pairing system being used.
The field included the veteran nine-time Irish titleholder John O’Hanlon and the winners of the three most recent Championships – Dónal O’Sullivan (1948), Paddy Kennedy (1949) and Vincent Maher (1950).
Austin Bourke had been in good form earlier in 1951, winning the Civil Service Championship (which had qualified him for the national championship) and then going on to secure the Leinster title. Bourke was unbeaten after five rounds in Cork, but had won only twice to leave himself a half-point behind the leaders. He then stepped on the gas in the next two rounds, beating O’Sullivan and Maher to assume the sole lead. Going into the final round only Bourke, O’Hanlon and O’Sullivan remained in contention for the Championship title. The top two pairings (with scores after round 7 in brackets) were:
O’Sullivan had the better of the opening against Mulcahy and, in the position below, missed an excellent chance.
O’Sullivan -v- Mulcahy
15.Ng5! Now if 15…fxg5 (best) 16.Bxa8 and if 16…Rxa8 White plays 17.Qc6 forking Rook and Bishop, coming out of the combination at least the exchange up. Black should instead probably play 16…Qxe2 – although that would also concede the exchange, there might be some potential for a kingside attack.
Although 15.Nd2, the move actually played, still maintained a slight advantage for O’Sullivan, he could not subsequently cope with Mulcahy’s energetic play and the game ended in checkmate on Black’s 37th move.
Mulcahy was awarded the best game prize for this effort by James Creevey, winner of two Irish Championship matches against O’Hanlon in the 1930s.
Meanwhile, according to the Cork Examiner, after Bourke played the Réti Opening “O’Hanlon’s ingenious efforts to win failed to bear fruit against Bourke’s careful defence. The draw was sufficient to give Bourke the championship.”
Although a Waterford man, and by 1951 resident in Dublin, Bourke winning the Championship at University College Cork seems very appropriate – he had first made his name in the chess world while a student at U.C.C., earning a place in the 1935 Irish Olympiad team.
After competing his studies, he remained in Cork to be a lecturer in Mathematics, until in 1938 he joined the Irish Meteorological Service on its foundation, eventually becoming its Director. He had a distinguished career in public service and was a noted expert on potato blight and the Irish Famine.
After his 1951 victory Bourke continued to play competitive chess, but he never participated in the Irish Championship again.
On June 10, 1922, one hundred years ago today, John O’Hanlon, Irish champion since 1913, was arrested in Portadown. A report appeared in the Belfast News-Letter the following Monday (page 5):
ARRESTS IN PORTADOWN
In the early hours of Saturday morning military and police in Crossley and Lancia cars visited Portadown and arrested a number of well-known residents who are supposed to be associated with the Sinn Fein movement. The prisoners included Mr. J. J. O’Hanlon (Irish chess champion), proprietor of the Queen’s Hotel; Richard Brophy, Frank Lapping, and Patrick Lynch, publicans; Peter Connolly, Thomas Foy, mill-worker; and John and Henry Sharkey, horse-dealers. It is understood that the prisoners were removed to Belfast.
An update appeared in the same source on July 1 (page 6):
Hotel Proprietor’s Arrest
Mr. T. J. Campbell, K.C., with whom was Mr. C. L. Shiel (instructed by Mr. McCullen, solicitor, Portadown), applied for a writ of habeas corpus, directed to the governor of the prison at Belfast requiring him to bring John James O’Hanlon, hotel proprietor, Portadown, before the court. Counsel moved on the affidavit of Vera O’Hanlon, of Ashdown, Portadown, who said that in the early hours of Saturday, 10th June, forces of the Crown went to Ashtown while she was in Belfast, and took her husband into custody, giving no reason for their action. He had since been detained in prison, though no charge had been made against him; nor had he been informed that a charge would be preferred. He had done or said nothing to justify his arrest or detention, and had lived in Portadown all his life. His absence from the hotel was a very serious loss.
His Lordship gave notice to serve notice of motion for a writ of habeas corpus, and directed that the matter should come up for argument on Thursday next.
A further update appeared in the same source on July 11 (page 7), under the headline “Portadown Man Interned”, providing a long discussion of the court proceedings the previous day, which were contentious. Ultimately, the Lord Chief Justice, one of two judges hearing the application, “made an order for the production of the prisoner on that day week and to have a commissioner present to take his affidavit”.
On July 18, the same source reported (page 7) on the continuation one week later. “The case had been adjourned from Monday last for the production of the prisoner, and he was now present in court under escort.” An affidavit of Colonel C. G. Wickham (Inspector-General Royal Ulster Constabulary) stated that reliable information had been received that O’Hanlon was a member of an unlawful association and part of a widespread and highly organised conspiracy whose object was the overthrow of the established Government of Northern Ireland, and on this basis O’Hanlon was interned.
In response, O’Hanlon’s counsel read his affidavit, in which he denied the allegations:
He was not, and never had been, a member of any unlawful association, or a party to the conspiracy; nor did he at any time act, nor was he at any time about to act in a manner prejudicial to the preservation of peace. Any information to the contrary was absolutely false and malicious. He was a native of Portadown, where both his father and grandfather lived, and he was aged about 45. He had lived all his life in Portadown. All his life had been passed in Portadown, and he was well-known to the residents of all denominations there. He had been engaged in the licensed trade in Portadown for 25 years. Since April, 1921, he had owned the Queen’s Hotel, Portadown, for which he paid £8,000. He had been a director of the Portadown Gas Company for the past five years, and had also been financially interested in a number of English industrial concerns. Outside his home and his business, his chief interest in life had been chess, and he had held the Irish Chess Championship for the past nine years. He had never, by word or act or conduct, given the slightest ground for the allegations against him, and was totally at a loss to know on what ground he was suspected. He believed that no such conspiracy existed in Portadown, which had been peaceful for years and free from offences against law and order. The affidavit concluded by a reference to a number of postcards written from prison to his wife authorising her to take the legal proceedings, and in one of which he said he was always a Constitutional Nationalist, and never a Sinn Feiner.
Decision of the court.
The Lord Chief Justice said that the only question the court had to decide in an application of this kind was whether at the moment Mr. O’Hanlon was legally held. … They now decided that the warrant was within the powers of the Minister of Home Affairs. It was not their province to express an opinion on the facts, and they refused the application.
Mr. Justice Wilson—I concur and have nothing to add.
On August 21, the Irish Times had a short item (page 7):
CHESS CHAMPION RELEASED
Mr. J. J. O’Hanlon, Queen’s Hotel, Portadown, the Irish Chess champion, who had been interned by the Northern Government authorities in June last, along with several hundred other persons suspected of conspiring against the Government, has been released. Mr. O’Hanlon recently brought an application in the Northern High Court for a writ of habeas corpus, and entered an affidavit against the charge made against him. His release has given much satisfaction to Irish Chess players.
The last round of the recent Sligo Spring Tournament Masters featured an interesting ending on board 1 between Lara Putar and the tournament winner, Ukrainian WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova.
Duras – Capablanca, Rice C.C. Masters, New York 1913
Lara Putar – Doluhanova, Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022
White to play
The diagram shows a critical position from the game and also, curiously, from the famous game Duras – Capablanca, New York 1913.
A similar position, with colours reversed and rooks and one king in different places, arose in Capablanca – Yates, Hastings 1930-31, and this version is usually used as the model for how the stronger player wins with this pawn configuration. Capablanca’s breakthrough in the first game was incorrect, and allowed Duras an opportunity to escape with a draw. Even the second game featured some slips, including one that allowed Yates an opportunity to achieve a drawn position, though Capablanca’s basic method was sound.
There were no such flaws in Doluhanova’s play. “The winning plan is a rook transfer to the eighth rank followed by f4-f5-f6+. If the Black rook takes aim at the e5-pawn, White defends it with the rook from e8.” Dvoretsky (2008). This basic plan worked smoothly here.
The ending has many subtleties and difficulties, and the official verdict has changed in numerous ways down the years, with some discoveries appearing in the last ten years. Though the diagrammed position is lost for White with best play, the sternest defence is tricky to overcome. The playable game provides relevant links.
[Click to replay the full game. Note that, as usual, clicking on the triangle on the right below the board steps into variations.]
I came across one such win a couple of days ago which (until the date of this post) does not appear to have been available anywhere else. It was played at the 1945-46 Hastings Congress, resuming after an enforced absence due to the Second World War. To mark its local hero returning to international competition the Portadown Times for 29th December 1945 provided this potted biography:
“Mr. J.J. O’Hanlon, the Irish Chess Champion, who is a native of Portadown, and who some years ago sold out his property here and went to reside in Dublin, has left Eire by air, travelling to Hastings to compete with the masters of the game. His prowess as a chess player, together with his swimming feats and skill as an ex-Portadown Club oarsman, have been paid a rare compliment by being featured at length by “Irish Press” and “Irish Independent” columnists. Mr. O’Hanlon’s longest chess game, one writes, took three years. Another states he swam across Carlingford Lough from Greenore to Warrenpoint and right across Lake Geneva. We too, join in wishing him success in his contests at Hastings.”
Francis Percival (Percy) Wenman – John James O’Hanlon Hastings Premier Reserves C, 1945-46, Round 10 Source: (Dublin) Evening Herald, 26th January 1946, page 4 Annotations by two-time Irish champion James Creevey
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5
The classical defence to Ruy Lopez is not often played nowadays and possibly is not as safe as the more usual 3…a6 but Black has his own convictions and the courage of them. 4.c3 Nge7 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 d5 8.e5
To take or not to take, that is the question. Generally the capture should be made though the advance may be considered when Black’s King’s Knight has been developed on f6. Here 8.exd5 should have been played. 8…0-0 9.Bg5 Bg4
Black’s opening moves are exemplary; already he has gained a move. 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.0-0 h6 12.Bh4 Qd7 13.h3 Bh5 14.g4
Setting up a target for Black, who soon starts shooting. 14…Bg6 15.Ne2
Moves 14 and 15 were probably played by White under impression the Black’s King’s Bishop could be won. Probably the immediate advance of the Queen’s side pawns (a3, b4) would have been better.
Diagram 1
15…h5! 16.Qa4 hxg4
Mark Twain’s couplet fits here:-
“Thrice is he armed that has his quarrel just;
but four times he who gets his blow in first.” 17.Nh2 Nf5 18.Bg3 Nxg3 19.Nxg3 Be7
With two well-posted Bishops against two badly-placed Knights, Black has clearly the better game. 20.hxg4 f5 21.gxf5 Bxf5 22.Rfc1 Rab8! 23.Qxc6 Rxb2 24.Qxd7 Bxd7 25.Nh1 Bh4 26.Rxc7 Bxf2+ 27.Nxf2 Rfxf2 28.Rxd7 Rg2+ 29.Kf1 Rxh2 30.Kg1 Rbg2+ 31.Kf1 Rf2+
Diagram 2
32.Ke1
32.Kg1 is also a loss. 32…Rhg2+ 33.Kh1 Rg4 and 34.Rg1 allows mate by 34…Rh4 . In reply to any other defence Black retreats his Queen’s Rook to f5 and mates on the h-file next move.
[There appears to be a flaw in Creevey’s analysis. Instead of the blunder 34.Rg1, White should play 34.Re1 Rf5 35.Re2 defending against the mate and with best play the ending would have been drawn. Indeed, on move 34, moving the Rook anywhere between b1 and d1 also provides access to the second rank, preventing the suggested mate, while pushing the a-pawn forward also achieves the same objective. Therefore we can conclude that 32.Ke1 was the losing blunder] 32…Rf4!! [Despite Creevey’s two exclamation marks for the final move, there is a more clear-cut (and perhaps more obvious) way to finish off White. The move played will lead to winning the a1-Rook, but instead 32…Rb2 threatens mate which White can only delay but not prevent.] 33. resigns.
Congratulations to Mr. O’Hanlon on his win against a player who has repeatedly won the Scottish championship.
There is a twist in the tale. It appears from the report below (my thanks to Sean for referring me to it) that, contrary to the game score in the Evening Herald, Wenman did not resign immediately after 32…Rf4 and that the game only ended some moves further on.
Irish Independent, 9 January 1946, page 6
If we accept that the game did not end with White resigning after Black’s 32nd move, we now need to search for a reconciliation between the differing accounts in the two newspaper articles.
Diagram 3
The diagram immediately above shows the final position according to the game score in the Evening Herald. One plausible continuation that works reasonably with the Irish Independent narrative would start with 33.Rxd5
(on 33.Rd1 then Re4+ 34.Kf1 Rh1+ wins the Rook; or 33.Rc1 Re4+ 34.Kd1 Rxd4+ 35.Ke1 Rh1+ again winning the Rook, though in this line there is also the immediately decisive finish of 34…Rg4 when mate with Rg1 is inevitable)
and then after 33…Rh1+ 34.Kd2 (or 34.Ke2) 34…Rxa1 we would arrive at the material imbalance of two Rooks and two pawns versus a single Rook and three pawns mentioned in the Irish Independent article (though my suggested moves seem more compressed than the process described in the Independent).
So instead of ending our game score with “33. resigns”, we could replace it with something like “and White resigned after 40 moves.”
The moral of this story is that if you find a game score, it does not necessarily mean that it tells you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
