I picked up this in a book shop, it was sealed.
Pictured playing cards dedicated to famous Hungarians.
I know 10 famous Hungarians, nine of them are chess players.
Portisch, Adorjan (I’ve played him…..I lost), Breyer, Reti , Sax, Szabo. and
the three Polgar sisters No. 10 is that chap who invented the Rubik’s Cube.
I bought and flicked through the entire pack. No Chess players were there..
The Rubik Cube inventor was there.
Erno Rubik (pictured playing cards - apparently this what he looks like.)
Also present and Hungarian was one the lads who created the Simpsons.
Gabor Csupo (pictured playing cards - apparently this what he looks like.)
The Hungarian chap who invented the Biro was there.
Laszlo Biro (pictured playing cards - apparently this what his hand looks like.)
Next we see the clever Hungarian who gave us the...
(Enough playing of the cards……..Russ)
Eight blogs ago I did a whole piece about Windmills. (here is the cartoon again.)
I have just decided that a White Rook swinging back and forth along the 7th rank looks
nothing like windmill. It is more like a saw. So it’s now called a See-Saw combination.
By chance and good fortune I found my myself going through this book again.
It’s the Russian version of Rashid Nezhmetdinov’s best games.
Don’t skip this bit, I’m not going to show the Nezhmetdinov Queen sac game.
Yes it’s a Queen sac but it’s not THAT game. Infact it never happened………
I’ve uncovered a smashing couple of lines in this one game.
R. Nezhmetdinov - V. Mikenas, Match, Russia, 1948
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 Nd5 5. Bc4 e6 6. Nc3 Nxc3 7. dxc3 Qh4 {Not a misprint, Black was a very good player. The good guys know when early Queen moves are playable. In my OTB database Black has 20 wins v 8 losses from this position. 7...Bxc5 8.Qg4 looks like the response. So we have just figured out that 7...Qh4 prevents 8.Qg4.} 8. Qe2 Bxc5 {Black pockets a pawn.} 9. Nh3 {Why here instead of Nf3. On Nh3 the squares g4 and h5 are still covered by the Queen. White develops with the Queen winning threat of 8.Bg5. Dozens of RHP players as Black have lost their Queen to this Nh3 and Bg4 pattern.} 9... f6 {This seems to be the popular choice of the OTB lads. In the Nezhmetdinov book they look at 9...Qe7.} 10. exf6 Qxf6 {Hang on....Black has lost a piece.} 11. Qh5+ Qg6 12. Qxc5 Qxg2 {Ah...he wins it back. But has Black misjudged the play White gets for his minus pawn. The eternal argument on the chessboard. Material v Activity,} 13. Rg1 Qxh3 14. Rxg7 {Keeping the material loss down to one pawn and as a sideline threatening mate on e7.} 14... Nc6 15. Be2 {Again we see a good player breaking the rules. He moves a developed twice in the opening. (It's probably going to take me years to undo the damage this one game is doing to the weaker and impressionable lads on here.) No mystery about this one. White is threatening Bh5+.} 15... e5 {Looks like he best move in a very bad and probably lost position, If 15...h5 then 16.Qg5 looks very nasty. White now played 16.Bg4 Qh4 17.Qd5 and Black resigned. I looked at this move....} 16. Bg5 {I enjoy looking for alternative wraps up's. You never know wee joys your will find. Here I struck gold! The threat is of course Re7+} 16... d6 17. Qd5 {Threatening mate on f7. If 17...Rf8 we see a mini See-Saw combination with a Queen sac winning a piece in a very instructive way. (see next game).} 17... Be6 {This appears to be obvious and best. Now we see the idea I found.} 18. Bh5+ {The Black Queen cannot protect both the e6 Bishop the h5 square. If 18...Qxh5 19.Qxe6+ mates Black so....} 18... Kf8 {Now does this work?} 19. Bh6 {We have a Queen Sac - See-Saw and I could not believe my luck.....It Checkmates.} 19... Bxd5 {Might as well take it. Black cannot save the game.} 20. Rxc7+ Kg8 {Only move.} 21. Rg7+ Kf8 22. Rxb7+ Kg8 23. Rg7+ {You can see where we get the term 'See-Saw' from. The White Rook acts like a saw going back and forth along the 7th rank chewing up material with the discovered check.} 23... Kf8 24. Rxa7+ Kg8 {Usually in 'See-Saw' combo's White would ceases with the see-sawing and play Rg7+ and Rg3+ winning back the Queen (see next game). However here we can go one better. But just for the sheer fun of it all I'll slip in another See-Saw.} 25. Rg7+ Kf8 26. Ra7+ {Wheeeee......} 26... Kg8 27. Rxa8+ {Black can block with both a Queen and Knight but neither can prevent checkmate. What a lucky find. This would have slotted in nicely in the 'Unheard Melody' article I did a few blogs back. And simply for effect I'll play on to the checkmate.} 27... Qc8 28. Rxc8+ Nd8 29. Rxd8 {Wonderful.}
The other See-Saw I hinted at is also instructive and entertaining.
[FEN "r1b1k2r/pppp2Rp/2n5/2Q1p3/8/2P4q/PP2BP1P/R1B1K3 w Qkq - 0 16"]
16. Bg5 d6 17. Qd5 {Now instead of 17...Be6 we look at....} 17... Rf8 18. Qxc6+ {Again saccing the Queen to get the See-Saw in motion.} 18... bxc6 19. Re7+ Kd8 {There is no mate in this line. White can win back the Queen but it is protected by the c8 Bishop. Our task is to come out of the see-saw a whole piece up....Look and Learn.} 20. Rxe5+ {Not just a pawn steal it is setting up the piece winning trick.} 20... Kd7 21. Re7+ Kd8 22. Re3+ {Now you see it. The Black King is forced to.....} 22... Kd7 {...The c8 Bishop no longer protects the Queen so....} 23. Rxh3 {White is a whole piece up.}
So next time someone stops you in the street and asks to be shown a See-Saw
Combination all you have to whip out your pocket set and show them this game.
Now an RHP game showing a Queen getting caught in the pattern I mentioned.
partyharty - CaptainBIdseye RHP 2011
1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 e6 3. d3 d5 4. Bb5+ Nc6 5. e5 Bd7 {Black is threatening a pawn winning Knights Triangle (see previous blog). Nxd5 Bxd7+ Nxd7.} 6. Bxc6 {No Knight's Triangle.} 6... Bxc6 7. Nh3 {Why Nh3 ? I always try to find the why and the wherefore. The lads here are not robots and they have fresh ideas. Look and you will often see a plausible reason for any odd looking move. I'm going for White wants to castle and hold the e5 pawn with f4.} 7... d4 8. O-O {8....Qd5 will win the e5 pawn. Unless of course White allows Qxg2 mate.} 8... Qh4 {I always try to find the why and the wherefore. I'm stumped! I have no idea why the Queen went here. The good news is we won't have to worry about it staying on the board for much longer.} 9. Bg5 {The good lady is trapped.} 9... Be7 10. Bxh4 Bxh4 11. Qg4 {Black resigned.}
That Knight Sac v The Blackburne Shilling Trap.
Quite a few Blogs back I suggested falling for the Blackburne Shilling Trap thus.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4 4. Nxe5 {This move is meant to be bad (maybe it is, I’m still on the fence.)} 4... Qg5 {And the trap goes 5.Nxf7 Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3 mate. And thousands (yes thousands ) of players have fallen for it..} 5. O-O {This is my move. You sac a knight for oodles of play by kicking Black's Queen and Knight with your pawns.} 5... Qxe5 6. c3 Nc6 7. d4 {etc..etc... a good fun game for White and I got the chance to prove it in a 4 minute game on the net a few weeks ago. However there was a move I had not considered….See the next game.}
Here is what happened. I’m White.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4 4. Nxe5 Qg5 5. O-O Qxe5 6. c3 {So far so good.} 6... Bd6 {That is an annoying move which did not really annoy me at the time because I had not seen how annoying it was going to become.} 7. f4 {Looking good, and I now have a Queen, a Knight and a Bishop to kick with my pawns.} 7... Qc5 {Ahh...there is that. I'm now annoyed.} 8. Na3 {Holding the Bishop and developing. (if you can call a Knight on a3 developed.). I thought chummy was now going to play Nb3+ going for the a1 Rook 8...Nb3+ 9.d4 and I'm winning.} 8... Ne2+ {This is a double check so no time for d4.} 9. Kh1 Nxc1 {And the plan of kicking the Knight with the pawns has gone.} 10. d4 {But I can still knock the Queen and the d6 Bishop about.} 10... Qb6 11. Rxc1 Bxa3 {OK. No d6 Bishop to knock about. Now looking grim.} 12. bxa3 Ne7 13. Rb1 {He's trying to castle so I resort to plan A. Queen Kicking for as long as I can and hope (pray) something turns up.} 13... Qa5 14. Rb5 Qxc3 15. Rc5 {That pleased me. I setting a Bxf7+ winning the Queen trap. Also this move stops him from castling due to the same move. Bxf7+. Pretty deep eh?} 15... Qxa3 {He saw it. OK carry on with Plan A.} 16. Rf3 Qb4 17. Rb3 {At least I'm consistent.} 17... Qa4 {The Rook is pinned to the Queen. If the Queens come off I have nothing.} 18. Qh5 {Plan B. Switch attention to the King. (and it unpins the b3 Rook.)} 18... O-O 19. Rh3 {Thankfully the Queen covers d1 so no back rankers but it is my weak back rank that attracts chummy into a blunder.} 19... h6 20. Rg5 {I spot a shot and it's a goody. He thinks I'm after Qxh6 and Qh8 mate so uses the free move to.....} 20... Qxc4 {Pocket the Bishop and threaten Qf1 or Qc1 check and mate.} 21. Rxg7+ {Yahoo for me. There was now a long pause and he disconnected. It's mate for White.} 21... Kxg7 22. Qxh6+ Kg8 23. Qh7 {Possibly (without a doubt) there are loads of better moves for Black. But there again there are possibly (probably not) loads of better moves for White. 4.Nxe5 may not be shot although you still get fun at blitz.}
The end bit where I show The Horrors of RHP…wait a minute, those playing cards…
Bela Lugossi the Hungarian star of b/w horror films. He also appeared in one of
my favourite films ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space.’ How could I forget Bela Lugossi?
So I did a search on the RHP Database for this pattern from Nezhmetdinov game.
Just to see what turns up. One never knows what to expect next on RHP.
A couple made it into the RHP Hall of Horror.
m1g25 - The Pup RHP 2012 (White to play)
Play went 23.Qg4 Qf6+ and 24…Qxh6 White lost this one.
White missed that 23.Rxf7+ is double check! 23.Rxf7++ Kg8 24 Qg4+
The Queen reaches g4 with a check and it’s mate on g7 in two moves.
Another game where the White player misses a shot (not exactly a shot - it’s checkmate.)
Houston1 - Dace Ace RHP 2011
I’m afraid to say White did not play 32.Rxg4 Checkmate and went onto lose this game.
Finally we depart the Hall of Horror with a game that still gives White Knightmares.
No he was not mated by a Knight it’s his own Knights that keep him awake at night.
luizandre - Policestate RHP 2010.
[FEN "8/1p3kpp/pb3pb1/8/8/P3P1NP/1P1NKPP1/8 w - - 0 28"]
28. Nc4 Bc7 29. Kf3 b5 30. Nd2 Be5 31. b3 Bc2 {And now the White Knight move that haunts the dreams of the poor White player.} 32. Nge4 {OOPS!} 32... Bd1# {Checkmate.}
It's not really a pack of cards. Not suits or anything like that.
Goldie Hawn, Peter Falk and Tony Curtis are there because they have Hungarian relations. In Peter Falk's case (Columbo) he was the grandson of Mike Falk a famous Hungarian editor.
Zsa Zsa Gabor is there as is Monica Seles.
Oh yes, the Polgars! I'd forgotten about them as well. I was actually thinking of Eva, Zsa Zsa and Magda Gabor, who were well known for playing chess on honeymoon against their husbands and divorcing them if their play wasn't up to scratch (being highly religious, they didn't believe in chess before marriage).
Good grief, they simply never entered my tiny mind.
(I nearly forgot Reti and Breyer)
I'll be getting letters about this one. (I could nip in and do a quick edit - but not my style. You cannot take back a move at chess - nor should you edit a post unless it can be deemed as an unintentional insult.)
Surely the Polgars should have mentioned in the
Hungarian playing cards so it's not my fault.
The second see-saw example is great. I looked at the initial position for quite a while and completely missed the idea of the rook see-sawing up and down the e-file so that White could win the queen without dropping the rook!