MARK RUBERY CHESS

In a tournament played at the Johannesburg library 66 years ago that starred the former World Champion Max Euwe (1935-37), a game was played that has featured in most opening anthologies as the definitive refutation of White’s optimistic 6th move against the Philidor…

Heidenfeld,W - Wolpert,J [C41]

Johannesburg (1), 1955 (At first sight a very tempting move as one appears to disturb the Black king as well as gain material. Instead the main path trodden here is 6 0-0 0-0 7 Re1 c6 8 a4)…Kxf7 7.Ng5+ Kg8 8.Ne6 Qe8 9.Nxc7 Qg6 10.Nxa8 Qxg2 (The reality is that the knight is stranded on a8 and it is White’s king that is the more vulnerable) 11.Rf1 exd4 12.Qxd4 Ne5 13.f4 Nfg4 14.Qd5+ Nf7 15.Qc4 Bh4+ 16.Kd1 Be6 17.Qe2 Nf2+ 18.Rxf2 Bxf2 19.f5 Qg1+ 20.Kd2 Ne5 21.Nd1 Be1+ 22.Qxe1 Qd4+ 0–1

Jack Wolpert was still visible on the local chess circuit during the 1980s

Nearly a half a century later the same position featured on the board in an encounter between two of our (then and still) top players…

Cawdrey,D - Kobese,W [C41]

South African Closed Championship Kempton Park (3) 2003

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.Bxf7+?

(A player of Cawdery’s calibre should have suspected that this little combination was too good to be true-or perhaps he should be criticised in not having, at that time, a sufficient grounding in SA chess history!)... Kxf7 7.Ng5+ Kg8 8.Ne6 Qe8 9.Nxc7 Qg6 10.Nxa8 (10 0-0 was a more recent attempt to improve White’s play but after… Rb8 11 Qd3 h6 12 N7d5 Nxd5 13 Nxd5 Bd8 Black was still much better Praveen-Czebe 2012)… Qxg2 11.Rf1 exd4 12.Qe2 dxc3 13.Qc4+ d5 14.exd5 (14 Qxc8+ Kf7 15 Qxh8 Qe4+ 16 Kd1 Qf3+ 17 Ke1 Bb4+ 18 c3 Ne5!! 19 cxb4 Nd3+ 20 Kd2 Ne4+ leads to a rapid mate)... Kf7 15.d6+ Nd5 16.Bf4 b5 17.Qxb5 cxb2 18.Rd1 Bf6 19.Nc7 Qe4+ 0-1

“Folke Rogard, who was then in 1957 president of FIDE, was trying to be extremely neutral between West and East. For instance, when our federation asked that Tal, after winning the Soviet championship, be given the title of grandmaster, he immediately gave also the grandmaster title to the champion of the USA, Bisguier. Just to make things even.” (Yuri Averbakh)