Chess Notes

Edward Winter

When contacting us by e-mail, correspondents are asked to include their name and full postal address and, when providing information, to quote exact book and magazine sources. The word ‘chess’ needs to appear in the subject-line or in the message itself.

7636. Sculpture (C.N. 7614)

The position provided by Michael McDowell for David Goode’s sculpture was the composition by Stamma on page 269 of Praktische Sammlung bester und höchst interessanter Schachspiel-Probleme by A. Alexandre (Leipzig, 1846):

7637. Seconds

From page 320 of the October 1866 Chess Player’s Magazine:

‘Not having been furnished till recently with the names of the seconds and umpire in the late match between Anderssen and Steinitz, we were unable to state that Messrs Staunton and Hewitt acted as seconds for the former, and Messrs Strode and Boden for the latter. Earl Dartry [sic – Dartrey] was the umpire.’

7638. Steinitz v von Bardeleben

Concerning Steinitz v von Bardeleben (Hastings, 1895) Olimpiu G. Urcan sends this cutting from page 2 of the 8 September 1900 edition of the Newcastle Weekly Courant:

What is the source of the claimed dialogue?

7639. Steinitz and 1 d4

A question from Mr Urcan is thrown open to readers:

‘Is it possible to establish, with reliable historical sources, the first known occasion when Steinitz played 1 d4?’

7640. Veteranitis

From page 148 of the April 1929 Chess Amateur:

7641. King’s-side attack

From the same issue of the Chess Amateur (pages 153-154) comes this game played at the Liverpool Chess Club:

1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Nbd7 5 e3 Be7 6 Nf3 O-O 7 Rc1 c6 8 a3 Ne4 9 Bf4 Nxc3 10 Rxc3 Nf6 11 Bd3 dxc4 12 Rxc4 Qa5+ 13 Nd2 b6 14 O-O Bb7 15 Be5 Qd5 16 e4 Qd7 17 Rc3 Ne8 18 Bc4 Bf6 19 Bxf6 Nxf6

20 e5 Nd5 21 Rg3 Ne7 22 Ne4 Ng6 23 Ng5 Rfd8 24 Qh5 Nf8 25 Nxh7 Nxh7 26 Qh6 g6 27 Rh3 Qe8 28 Qxh7+ Kf8 29 Qh4 Resigns.

Are further details available?

7642. Alekhine in Paris, 1941 (C.N.s 7629 & 7634)

Peter Anderberg (Harmstorf, Germany) notes that the first page of the Lower Saxony supplement to the February 1993 issue of Rochade Europa had a second photograph of Alekhine’s simultaneous exhibition:

7643. For solving

White to move

7644. From Zurich to Copenhagen

From Thomas Niessen (Aachen, Germany) comes an item in the chess column of the Aachener Anzeiger/Politisches Tageblatt of 7 September 1934. It states that after that year’s Zurich tournament Nimzowitsch travelled home to Copenhagen via France, Belgium and England, instead of through Germany, because he feared that the German authorities might be aware of negative remarks that he had made about ‘Neudeutschland’ during the tournament:

7645. ‘The Mozart of chess’

Page 317 of People (London, 1954)

Christian Sánchez (Rosario, Argentina) enquires about the origins of a nickname given to Capablanca, ‘The Mozart of chess’, and wonders when it was first used. We plan to revert to that matter later on, and readers’ assistance with citations will be welcomed. Firstly, though, we would point out that the term has been applied to many masters. Some examples:

• Paul Morphy:

‘Morphy was the Mozart of chess.’
Page 228 of the Columbia Chess Chronicle, 29 December 1888 (article by G.H.D. Gossip).

Page 305 of the August-September 1884 BCM had stated: ‘What Mozart, as to innate, natural ability, was to music, Morphy likewise was to chess.’

• Emanuel Lasker:

‘The Mozart of chess’
Page 45 of White King and Red Queen by D. Johnson (London, 2007).

• Mikhail Tal:

‘El Mozart del ajedrez’
Page 113 of El campeonato mundial de ajedrez by E. Gufeld and E.M. Lazarev (Barcelona, 2003).

• Boris Spassky:

‘Spassky has been called the Mozart of chess.’
Page 65 of Bobby Fischer Goes to War by D. Edmonds and J. Eidinow (London, 2004).

• Bobby Fischer:

‘Fourteen-year-old “Mozart of Chess”’
Page SM38 of the New York Times, 23 February 1958 (article by H.C. Schonberg – see C.N. 5491). Schonberg referred to Capablanca as ‘the Mozart of chess’ on page 181 of Grandmasters of Chess (Philadelphia and New York, 1973).

• Anatoly Karpov:

‘He is the Mozart of the chessboard ...’
Page 21 of Karpov-Korchnoi 1978 by R. Keene (London, 1978).

• Magnus Carlsen:

‘In January 2004, I called Magnus Carlsen the Mozart of chess for the first time. It was a spontaneous, last-minute decision to meet a deadline for my column in the Washington Post. The name was picked up immediately and spread around quickly. It was used, misused, overused.’
Lubomir Kavalek, article dated 23 February 2012.

7646. Nimzowitsch in Copenhagen (C.N. 4307)

Philippe Kesmaecker (Maintenon, France) has found the above document at the Danish Politietsregisterblade website.

Per Skjoldager (Fredericia, Denmark), the co-author of a forthcoming book on Nimzowitsch (see C.N.s 7108 and 7310), informs us:

‘This record is of great importance. It shows the dates when Nimzowitsch registered his arrival with the Danish police and specifies:

• Full name: Aron Nimzowitsch. Occupation: chess master. Born in Riga on 7 November 1886.
• On 29 November 1922 he moved to Nansensgade 32, first floor, his landlord being named Nielsen.
• On 11 June 1923 he moved to the Missionshotellet (Missionary Hotel) at Løngangstræde 27.
• On 28 August 1923 he moved to Øster Farimagsgade 11, second floor, where his landlady was Miss Juul.’

Mr Skjoldager has provided two photographs:

Nansensgade 32 is on the left of the Café Stjernen

Øster Farimagsgade 11 is on the right, behind the pedestrian.

7647. The Italics are Mine (C.N. 5415)

John Roycroft (London) sends this passage from pages 35-36 of The Italics are Mine by Nina Berberova (London, 1969), an autobiographical work translated from the Russian by Philippe Radley:

‘... I remember one of my dreams about Dostoevsky. I am playing chess with someone. There are many people in the room. Dostoevsky stands near me and looks attentively at the board. And I say to him, “Well, Fedor Mikhailovich, in chess you can foresee everything and allow for it. If we move here, then all 25 or 35 moves to the very end of the game are foreordained and known beforehand. If we move there, a whole chain of causalities again unfolds, a chain from which there is no escape. But in human life even you cannot foresee what will happen. You can be given a heap of data about two people and you will still not be able to tell us today what they, either together or alone, will do tomorrow. The law of cause and effect is not operative when you talk about men.”

He smiles, squints with one eye, is silent for about a minute, and then says:

“Yes, very likely this is so. Twenty-five or 35 moves you can, of course, foresee, but only on the condition that the ceiling does not collapse during the game and that one of the players does not die of a stroke. If this happens, then chess becomes like life, it moves into a dimension where there are neither social nor biological laws, nor the possibility for the smartest mind to figure out the ‘pattern’ of the future.”

“What! No social or biological laws? Is there really such a place on earth?”

“In the meeting of two people and in man’s creativity”, he answers. “There these laws are not operative.”

I see my opponent take my pawn. Suddenly I notice that Dostoevsky has small, exquisite, well-cared-for hands.’

7648. Pillsbury’s umbrella (C.N. 5209)

From Olimpiu G. Urcan (Singapore) come a report and a cartoon published on page 4 of The World (New York), 20 June 1896:

Larger version of the cartoon

7649. Monte Carlo, 1902 (C.N. 7159)

Mr Urcan has also submitted this photograph taken at Monte Carlo in 1902, from Caras y Caretas, 26 April 1902:

A copy of better quality is sought.

7650. Aphorisms and observations

C.N. 775 gave, from James J. Walsh (Dublin), a selection of aphorisms and observations on the game:

• Rook endings a pawn up are generally drawn – but rook endings a pawn down are usually lost.


• The most attractive combinations are usually just one tempo short of being sound.


• The popular press believes that chess congresses are composed exclusively of child prodigies and octogenarians.


• Players indicate an increasing maturity at the game by not automatically making the en passant capture.


• Players with the greatest theoretical opening knowledge are most likely to get into time-trouble.


• The weakest players in a tournament are generally first to enquire about the prizes.


• Annotations attempt to prove that a game had only one logical sequence.

7651. Morphy positions (C.N. 7408)

Further to the reference in C.N. 7408 to an alleged Morphy position against Bousserolle, Bonserolle or Bousserolles, we add that the conclusion of a different game (against Busserolles) was published on page 129 of the April 1859 Chess Monthly:

Page 132 of the same issue had the following regarding Morphy:

‘The Duke Decazes had given him a dinner, at which a number of grave senators and warlike generals assembled to do honor to the young hero. Mr Morphy, at the request of the company, played two simultaneous blindfold games and took part, at the same time, in an animated conversation.’

7652. Lipschütz’s death in Hamburg

From page 208 of the July-August 1906 Wiener Schachzeitung:

‘S. Lipschütz, der bekannte amerikanische Schachmeister, ist Ende November 1905 im Hamburger Krankenhause im Alter von 42 Jahren gestorben. Seine Leiche wurde im Hamburger Krematorium verbrannt.’

Is it really impossible to find anything about Lipschütz (and, in particular, his forename) in archives or other reference sources in Hamburg?

7653. Steinitz and 1 d4 (C.N. 7639)

The question raised in C.N. 7639 was when Steinitz first played 1 d4.

Roland Kensdale (Aberdeen, Scotland) notes the move in Steinitz’s tenth match-game against Zukertort (London, 31 August 1872). The opening 1 d4 f5 2 g3 recurred in the twelfth game. (Westminster Papers, 1 October 1872, page 85.)

Our correspondent also points out Steinitz v Jeney, Vienna, 4 September 1860, which opened 1 c4 e6 2 Nc3 d5 3 e3 Nf6 4 Nf3 Nc6 5 d4. See, for instance, page 383 of volume one of Schachmeister Steinitz by L. Bachmann (Ansbach, 1925).

Finally, Mr Kensdale remarks, a game between Steinitz and Healey (London, 1864), played at king’s knight’s odds, began 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6. It is on page 88 of the Bachmann book.

7654. Steinitz photographs

Below are two photographs which appeared, courtesy of David Lawson, on pages 31 and 82 respectively of the Weltgeschichte des Schachs volume on Steinitz by D. Hooper (Hamburg, 1968):

‘Steinitz beim Simultan-Spiel mit 18 Teilnehmern (Hamburg, 1896?)’

7655. Translating Fischer

C.N. 867 (see page 149 of Chess Explorations) noted the flavourless and inaccurate French translation (by Parviz M. Abolgassemi) in Fischer’s Mes 60 meilleures parties (Paris, 1972). The examples given were:

• ‘Once again, time-pressure had Sherwin burying his thumbs in his ears.’ ‘Une fois de plus à court de temps, Sherwin ne veut rien entendre.’ (Game 1)


• ‘Alekhine said, in his prime, ...’ ‘Alékhine disait, au début de sa carrière ...’ (Game 8)


• ‘A good last-ditch try.’ ‘Un excellent coup.’ (Game 16)


• ‘I was informed that Gligorich thought I had blundered a Pawn ...’ ‘Je savais que Gligoric pensait que je m’étais trompé, ...’ (Game 30)


• ‘Relieving the suspense.’ ‘Gardant le suspense.’ (Game 60).

C.N. 867 was published in 1984. Just over a decade later Editions Editéchecs, Paris reissued Fischer’s book, without any attempt to correct the translation.

7656. Najdorf v Che Guevara (C.N.s 4803 & 4809)

Mike Salter (Sydney, Australia) notes that whereas a 16-move draw between Najdorf and Che Guevara at a simultaneous exhibition in Havana in 1962 has been given, an unsourced quote on page 44 of Najdorf: Life and Games by T. Lissowski and A. Mikhalchishin (London, 2005) has Najdorf claiming that he won on that occasion, after refusing a draw because he wanted revenge for a loss to Che Guevara in a display at Mar del Plata in 1947.

How is the discrepancy to be explained?

7657. Lipschütz’s death in Hamburg (C.N. 7652)

From Stephen Davies (Kallista, Australia) comes the registration of Lipschütz’s death, which has been found for him by Mr Ralf Stullich of the website beyond-history.com:

Below is the translation by Mr Stullich:

‘No. 2652

Hamburg, 1 December 1905

Before the undersigned registrar there appeared today, personally known, the deaconess, Sister Anna Johanna Siegrist, residing in Hamburg, at Martinistrasse 46, and reported that Salomon Lipschütz, insurance agent, 42 years and 4 months old, no religion, residing in Hamburg at the address mentioned, born in Ungvaa [sic] in Hungary, on 4 July 1863, unmarried, son of Nathan Lipschütz, residing in New York (profession unknown), and his wife Sallie Nebenzahl, deceased in Hungary, died in the Bethanien Hospital on 30 November in the year 1905 in the afternoon at one p.m, as she, the reporting person, reported from her own knowledge.

Read out, accepted and signed

Johanna Siegrist

The Registrar [signature].’

7658. Capablanca v Lasker footage

Further to this well-known photograph of Capablanca and Lasker in Moscow in 1925 (see, for instance, page 310 of Chess Facts and Fables), Christian Sánchez (Rosario, Argentina) notes a brief sequence of moving pictures of the two champions (at about 15:40:40).