This section thanks to moonbus, who pm’ed me with the moves and pictures of a chess set he owns that was used by A. L. Moir in a simul against C. H. O’D Alexander. Thanks, moonbus!
C. H. O’D Alexander–Rev. A. L. Moir 1953 Simultaneous
EVENT
simultaneous"] [Site "Hereford Town Hall"] [Date "1953.11.23"] [White "C. H. O'D Alexander"] [Black "Rev. A. L. Moir"] [Result "1-0
[Event "simultaneous"] [Site "Hereford Town Hall"] [Date "1953.11.23"] [White "C. H. O'D Alexander"] [Black "Rev. A. L. Moir"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 Nc6 {3…d5 was best, as after 4. fxe4, 4…Nxe5. This just gives White a Halloween Gambit without sacking a knight.} 4. fxe5 Nxe5 5. d4 Nc6 6. e5 Nxe5 {Tired of being pushed around, Black lashes out. Bad.} 7. dxe5 Qe7 8. Be2 Qxe5 9. Nf3 {White has the piece <i>and</i> the compensation.} Qe6 10. O-O Bc5+ 11. Kh1 Ng4 12. Ng5 Ne3 {Note by A.L. Moir: 12...Nf2+ was perhaps stronger. [However, it's not–and the position is still lost.]} 13. Nxe6 Nxd1 { Black resigned, as he is in the soup after 14. Nxc5.} 1-0
[WORD TOO LONG]/center]
Being fairly strong, C. H. O’D Alexander played several games against strong players, beating Botvinnik and Bronstein while drawing with Alekhine. The game against Botvinnik is beautiful.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 {The sharp, highly theoretical Winawer French.} Ne7 7.Qg4 cxd4 {7. 0-0 is more usual, but this is fine.} 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 {White should take these pawns, but he comes under a bit of an attack, where Black usually regains them.} Qa5 {A rare move. We are now nearly out of book. 9…Qc7 was better, as it also attacks the e-pawn.} 10.Rb1 {This is OK. To me, 9. Ne2 looks better.} Qxc3+ 11.Bd2 Qc7 {If 11…Qxa3, which is better as it collects a pawn, then 12. Nf3 Nbc6 looks reasonable, after which White will likely run his passer with 13. h4.} 12.f4 {Material is now even, but Black’s horrendous light-squared bishop and White’s passer on h2 combine to give White a substantial advantage.} Nbc6 13.Nf3 Bd7 14.Ng5 Rxg5 {14. Rf8 is too passive, and if 14. Nd8, then 15. Qd3 Rg7 16. Qxd4 Qxc2 17. Bd3 looks good for White because of his passer.} 15.fxg5 {Clearly, White must take.} O-O-O 16.Qxf7 {White now has three passers.} Qxe5+ 17.Kd1 {If 17. Be2, then 17…Nf5 with threats of 18…d3 19. cxd3 Nd4.} Nf5 18.g6 Ne3+ 19.Kc1 Qe4 20.Bd3 Qxg2 21.Re1 {That was all pretty much forced.} Ne5 {21…Nc4 is much better, as after 22. Rd1, 22…N4e5, Black removes the d3 bishop under better circumstances.} 22.Qf4 Nf3 {Tempting, but removing the bishop with 22…Nxd3+ is simple and better.} 23.Re2 Qh3 {23…Qh3 jams White, though winning, up a bit.} 24.Bxe3 {24. Ba6 is even quicker.} e5 25.Qf7 {25. Qf6, which after 25…dxe3 allows White to try 26. Ba6, is superior.} dxe3 26.g7 {26. Rxb7 is a fantastic tactic–see variation 1.} Qg4 27.h3 Qg1+ 28.Kb2 Qg3 29.Bg6 {Preparing g8–Q. This is quite good, although 29. Rxe3 pins the knight.} Nd4 30.g8=Q Rxg8 31.Qxg8+ {Black is now lost, and Alexander wraps it up nicely.} Kc7 32.Qh7 Kd6 33.Bd3 e4 34.Qh6+ Kc7 35.Rxe3 Qe5 36.Ka2 Nf5 37.Qg5 Be6 38.Be2 d4 39.Reb3 b6 40.Qd2 d3 41.Bg4 {After 41…Bxb3 42. Rxb3, White emerges a rook up. Botvinnik is done for, so he resigns.} 1-0
I had time to work on this blog today because of a burst water pipe, so I thought I’d include–as a quiz– a game I played where White’s pawns gush and overflow Black’s position.
TetsuoKaga(me)-MrBruheim 2015 (on another site) 3min
