Taking poison
THE CHESS WORLD seems a very small place, and people you have met in other countries keep turning up all the time. After the Olympiad in Israel I met three of the Australian team in different places around London. I expected to meet Vernon Small. and Robert Smith, two of the New Zealand team who are playing in Europe before returning home, at the Islington Congress. Instead I found Vernon standing on my doorstep one afternoon.
One of the biggest coincidences was, when playing board 1 for Charlton Chess Club in a match against London Universities, I turned up to find the opposing No 1 was New Zealand Championship participant Peter Weir.
I had lost my game against Weir in congress last Christmas and thought I had given him another present this year when I got a bad game from the opening. But Weir grabbed a "Baker" pawn - named after Canterbury's Chris Baker, who is reputed to snatch any and every pawn he thinks he can get away with.
Chandler, M. - Weir, D. - London League 1976
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 Bb6 7.Bg5 Re8 8.d5 Nb8 9.Nbd2 c6 10.Be2 cxd5 11.exd5 e4 12.Nd4 h6 13.Bh4 g5 14.Bg3 Bxd4 15.cxd4 Nxd5 16.Nc4 Nf4 17.Bg4 Qf6 18.Rc1 d5 19.Nd6 Qxd6 20.Bxc8 Re7 21.h4 Nc6 22.hxg5 hxg5 23.Qg4 f6 24.Rfd1
Moves are clickable
Weir, playing black has a fine position but the continuation with 24...Rb8? was dubious. Play proceeded 25.Bxf4 Qxf4 26.Be6+ The Zwischenzug or in-between move. White regains his pawn with at least equality. 26...Kg7 27.Qxf4 gxf4 28.Bxd5 Nb4 29.Bc4 Weir had perhaps calculated 29. Bb3?!, which cedes d3 to the black knight. Black would assume a dangerous initiative with followups such as Kg6 and the doubling of rooks on the h file being very strong. 29...b5 30.Be2 Nxa2? A lowly pawn is no reward for putting the knight out of play like this. Better is 30...Rd7 31.Rc5 b4? 32.d5 Rb6 More resilient but still inadequate was (32...Rd8 33.d6 Red7 34.Rc6 eg 34...f5 35.Bc4 b3 36.Be6 ) 33.d6 Rd7 34.Rc7! Rb7 ( After 34...Rxc7 35.dxc7 Rc6 the pawn is shepherded through with 36.Rd7+ Kg6 37.Ba6! ) 35.Rxb7 Rxb7 36.d7 1-0
NOW, to show that not only New Zealanders can take poison, here is a position from the New Zealand v England struggle at Haifa.
Mestel, A J - Small, Vernon - Olympiad 1976
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 d5 4.e5 Bd7 5.d4 Qb6 6.Be2 Bb5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.b4 Be7 9.O-O Bxe2 10.Qxe2 Nh6 11.a4 Nf5 12.g4 Nh6 13.h3 Nc6 14.Bf4 Ng8 15.Nbd2 h5 16.Nb3 hxg4 17.hxg4 Nh6 18.Nfd2 Rc8 19.Rfc1 Qd8 20.b5 Nb8 21.c4 dxc4 22.Nxc4 Nd7 23.Qf3 O-O
Moves are clickable
The British Champion A. J. Mestel, playing white, was too greedy, and New Zealand's V. Small played accurately to score a fine victory. 24.Qxb7? Bg5! 25.Qe4 ( Both 25.Bxg5 Qxg5 26.Qxd7 Qxg4+ 27.Kf1 Rxc4 ) ( and 25.Qf3 f5! are good for Black ) 25...Nxg4 26.Rc3 Bxf4 27.Qxf4 ( Ewen Green's suggestion after the game of 27.Rh3!? just fails to 27...f5! 28.Qxf4 g5 29.Qd4 Ndxe5 30.Nd6 Rc2 31.f3 Qa8! ) 27...Ngxe5 Before the game I had (jokingly!?) warned Small about Mestel's exchange sacrifices and guaranteed he would try one! Here Mestel should defend with 28.Rac1 but... 28.Nxe5?! Rxc3 29.Rd1 Qf6! Decisive simplification 30.Qxf6 Nxf6 31.Na5 Rc7 32.Nac6 Nd5 33.Rd3 Rfc8 34.a5 f6 35.Nc4 Rxc6! "I had heard so many stories," said Small "of Mestel giving up the exchange and winning, that I socked it back to him at the earliest opportunity!" 36.bxc6 Rxc6 37.Nd2 Rc1+ 38.Kh2 Even in horrific time trouble, Mestel saw the knight fork after 38. Kg2 38...Rc5 39.Nb3 Rc3 40.Rxc3 Nxc3 41.Nd4 Kf7 42.f4 Nd5 43.Kg3 Nxf4! After (43...Nxf4 44.Kxf4 e5+ the piece is recovered with an easy win ) 0-1