The Chess Mind

When you see or hear the name “Donald Byrne”, your first thought is probably about the so-called “Game of the Century”, Byrne’s famous loss to the 13-year-old Bobby Fischer in the 1956 Rosenwald Tournament. And this is understandable – Fischer himself has called this his best game! But Byrne, who died in 1976 at just 45 years of age, was an impressive player in his own right. He was a strong IM (a GM by today’s standards), many times a participant in the U.S. Championships, the 3-1 winner of a match against then-Candidate Yuri Averbakh, and had to his credit wins or draws against world champions Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, and Fischer. That’s already quite impressive, and even more so when you realize he was an amateur. He had a Ph.D. and was an associate professor of English at Penn State the last 15 years of life, where he also coached their chess team.

He is thoroughly worthy of his own show, therefore, and this week we’ll take a look at his win over Ukrainian legend Efim Geller from one the 1955 USSR-USA team match. Byrne played the Dragon Sicilian, and against Geller’s 9.O-O-O chose the playable but now thoroughly unfashionable 9…Be6. (Dragon fans can rejoice: even relatively bad sidelines defeat world-class opposition!) Geller enjoyed various static advantages, but Byrne always managed to keep his dynamic play alive. This took both imagination and courage: positionally, he accepted tripled pawns and a buried bishop; materially, he sacrificed a piece, and then the exchange. For all that, the battle remained extremely unclear, but Geller finally broke, missing a sham sac combination that won Byrne a piece. Even after that the win wasn’t entirely clear, thanks to Byrne’s pseudo-bishop, but with good technique the American brought home the point.

It’s a nice win by a good guy, and theoretically interesting, too. What more could a chess fan want? I hope to see you all this Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET. (Directions for watching the show are here.)

It's possible that tonight's show will have too much material. If so, I may give Donald Byrne his own show next week, and then it's only fitting after that to give his brother Robert a show as well.

Robert Byrne was a former world championship candidate, the inventor of an important plan in the King's Indian and a proto-founder of the English Attack against the Najdorf. And in addition to those impressive accomplishments and a win over Fischer, he also fits with the current show's theme: he's best-known for his 22-move loss to Fischer from the 1963 US Championship.

After that, Vassily Smyslov and his magnificent endgame technique will make an appearance. Beyond that, I have various ideas, including the impressive Anand-Kramnik game from a couple of days ago and one or two openings-based shows. Stay tuned, and remember to invite your friends!

It’s a rare chess fan who doesn’t know about Adolf Anderssen’s classic victories against Lionel Kieseritzky (the “Immortal Game”) and Jean Dufresne (the “Evergreen Game”), or Bobby Fischer’s “Game of the Century” over Donald Byrne. These three – Kieseritzky, Dufresne and Donald Byrne – have gone down in chess history as famous losers.

Undeservedly!

While the trio weren’t up to the level of their conquerors, they were all fine players in their own right. Kieseritzky and Dufresne both beat Anderssen several times and were successful chess authors, while Byrne was a talented player who was considered for a time more talented than his older brother Robert. (And Robert Byrne even reached the Candidates matches in 1974!) So this week, we’ll give these men their due, and show some of their triumphs; moments that remind us that these were strong, imaginative players worthy of respect in their own right as well.

The games are a lot of fun, so I hope to see you all there – Thursday night at 9 pm ET! (As always, directions for watching the show can be found here.)

Alexander Alekhine, the fourth world champion, was a player so blessed with creativity, so richly endowed with fantasy, that even games played in simultaneous exhibitions were sometimes tactically deep and rich. And so it was in the game Alekhine-Hulscher (N.B. in Alekhine's My Best Games of Chess, the opponent is called "Mindeno"), from a 1933 simul in Holland. Though just 17 moves long (and the first nine moves are simple theory), the heart of the game displays tactical complications it took generations of commentators to finally get right!

Lovers of attractive, complicated attacking games will want to tune in, but what about others? Here are some reasons to watch this Thursday at 9 pm ET:

1. An intro to the Philidor Defense, an opening that has been surprisingly popular of late.

2. Discussion of and comparison with the tricky Chekhover Variation against the Sicilian.

3. Tips for h-file attacks, for both attackers and defenders.

4. The opportunity to practice your tactical skills.

5. Free virtual pizza, supplied by ChessBase. (Complete with pictures - have a look!)

Directions for watching the show can be found here.

Hungarian grandmaster Andras Adorjan is a colorful fellow: a former world championship candidate, an experienced trainer, and perhaps above all, an outstanding theoretician and polemicist, probably best known for his slogan “Black is OK!” Adorjan thinks the White slight edge is a myth and that Black can fight for the advantage from the first move, and he has tried to prove it in his theoretical researches. (Perhaps the most extraordinary of his ideas is the “Adorjan Gambit”: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 e5!??, which Leko once used against Kramnik – and won!)

One combative variation Adorjan has employed is the so-called “Hedgehog”, a formation against the English (and sometimes in the Sicilian) characterized by Black pawns on a6, b6, d6 and e6 against a White pawn on c4 (and often on e4); Black’s c-pawn and White’s d-pawn have been exchanged. It may look passive – Black’s pawns and pieces are all situated on the last three ranks, while White typically occupies all four ranks on his side of the board – but Black’s position enjoys enormous dynamic potential.

Case in point: the game Miles-Adorjan, from the 1979 Interzonal in Riga. Miles grabbed his space, took aim at the d-pawn, made no glaring errors…and was routed in 32 moves. To see how this happened, and why, tune in this Thursday night (9 pm ET), and learn some of the mysteries of the Hedgehog in the process! See you then.

(Directions for watching the show can be found here.)

The French Defense is correctly considered a fighting opening, but that general attitude doesn’t usually extend to the 4…exd5 line of the Tarrasch (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 exd5). Black gets an isolated d-pawn, and those familiar with Karpov’s successes against this line might think the only question is whether White wins or Black draws. That’s a mistake! (Unless you’re playing Karpov, but how likely is that?)

Wolfgang Uhlmann, the great German specialist with the French Defense, will be our guide this week, as we investigate his win over Lothar Vogt from Potsdam 1974. The fine points of theory have moved along, but the strategic themes we’ll see in this game remain important to this day. What’s great about this game is just how many key Tarrasch French (and general IQP) themes come into play! If Karpov-Uhlmann, Madrid 1973 offers a model for White’s play (and we’ll take a look at that game, too), Uhlmann provides the antidote for Black. Best of all, it’s an outstanding all-around game: instructive and attractive, too, from beginning to end. French, Tarrasch anti-French, and IQP players of all sorts will find something of benefit, and it’s good entertainment besides!

See you this Thursday night – 9 pm Eastern time, as always. Directions for watching the show can be found here.