From: hwr@intercal.com (Hanon W. Russell)
Subject: Gleanings - 1992 - Part 1
Organization: Chessnews list (chessnews-request@tssi.com)
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 02:49:14 GMT


Based on member response, one of the most popular features in the
Chess Perspectives forum on the USA Today Sports Center (a/k/a
The Linc) is the daily posting of items of interest, quotes and the
like. Here from those postings, collected into a single article,
from the first part of 1992...

                          GLEANINGS '92
                              Part I

                        THE EVERGREEN GAME
Adolph Anderssen (who was born and lived all his life in 
Breslau, for many years the champion of German chess, was one of 
the most brilliant combinational players of all time He won the 
first truly international tournament (London 1851), won two more 
first prizes at Manchester 1862 and Baden-Baden 1870, third 
prize at Vienna 1873, and came sixth at Paris 1878 at the age of 
sixty.

Anderssen may be regarded as the first great tournament 
specialist, but in match play his record is less impressive. In 
1858 he lost to Morphy (+2 -7 =2); in 1866 to Steinitz (+6 -8 
=0). A professor of mathematics who led a quiet bourgeois life, 
Anderssen really let himself go at the chess board - the 
Evergreen Game and the Immortal Game are the outstanding 
examples of his style of play.

If combinational vision may be seen as the yardstick of pure 
strength, then Anderssen certainly deserves his ranking as one 
of the all-time greats. [The above based on the introduction to 
Anderssen in Keene and Divinsky's "Warriors of the Mind."]

Elo, in his classic "The Ratings of Chessplayers Past & Present" 
estimates Anderssen's best five-year average rating at 2600 - 
grandmaster strength in any era.

It was world champion Wilhelm Steinitz who dubbed Anderssen's 
brilliant victory against Dufresne at Berlin, 1852 as "The 
Evergreen Game" (Immergruen). Elo gives Dufresne's rating as 
2370.

Adolph Anderssen-Jean Dufresne Berlin, July, 1852 Evans Gambit 
Notes by Steinitz

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 b4 Bxb4 5 c3 Ba5 6 d4 exd4 7 0-0 
d3?! 8 Qb3 Qf6 9 e5 Qg6 10 Re1 Nge7 11 Ba3 b5 12 Qxb5 Rb8 13 Qa4 
Bb6 14 Nbd2 Bb7? (14...0-0 15 Ne4 Kh8 16 Bxd3 f6 17 Rad1 Qe8 +=) 
15 Ne4 Qf5? (15...0-0 16 Bxd3 Kh8 [16...Qh5? 17 Ng3!; 16...Qh6? 
17 Bc1!; 16...Qe6 17 Neg5! +-] 17 Nc5 f5 18 Nxd7 Nd4 19 cxd4 
Bxf3 20 g3 +-) 16 Bxd3 Qh5 17 Nf6+! gxf6 18 exf6 Rg8 19 Rad1!! 
Qxf3? (19...Rxg2+ 20 Kxg2 Ne5 21 Qxd7+ Kf8 [21...Kxd7 22 
Bg6+;21...Nxd7 22 Rxe7+ Kd8 23 Rxd7+ Kc8 24 Rd8+ Kxd8 25 Bf5+ 
+-] 22 Qxe7+ Kg8 23 Be4+ +-) 20 Rxe7+ Nxe7 (20...Kd8 21 Rxd7+ 
Kc8 22 Rd8+ Nxd8 23 Qd7+ Kxd7 24 Bf5+ +-) 21 Qxd7+ Kxd7 22 Bf5+ 
Ke8 23 Bd7+ Kf8 24 Bxe7# 1-0

                         MAD HATTERS ALL?
"One of [Anand's] observations was that the contest for the 
world championship clearly led to madness; since 1984 both 
Karpov and Kasparov have been obsessed with the most absurd plot 
theories. Many would agree with him."
Hans Ree, in "New In Chess" No.6/91

                           OR WHATEVER
Chess, music and mathematics all have a kind of cosmic harmony; 
they just balance because God, or whoever, built the universe 
in that way."
-Grandmaster Raymond Keene interviewed by Dominic Lawson, as 
reported in the "British Chess Magazine" December 1991

                        OOPS - NEVER MIND
"I got a little upset that only 4 Americans were playing [in the 
1991 U.S. Women's Championship], until I remembered that I was 
not an American myself. After that I found it funny. Everyone 
had an accent. A few even had American accents."
-Vesna Dimitrijevic in "Chess Chow" Oct-Nov 1991

                            RED NIGHT
"When I played in Philadelphia I felt that I was a character in 
Alice in Wonderland...the rules are changed while you are 
playing.
-Soviet GM Sergei Dolmatov in "Shakhmaty v SSSR," commenting on 
pairings at the 1991 World Open being altered after the games 
had started, as reported in the "British Chess Magazine" 
December 1991

                          FATHER DEAREST
"I couldn't escape the feeling that I had been cheated. Before I 
left the board, I told Gata that he would never be respected, no 
matter how good he was, if his father continued to behave as he 
does. Gata stared blankly at me as if my words had no meaning. 
But at least it made me feel a little better."
-Joel Benjamin in his notes to game three of his title match 
with Gata Kamsky, as reported in "Chess Chow" Oct-Nov 1991

            BUT WILL THEY OFFER HIM ANY ORANGE JUICE?
"When Gata [Kamsky] is asked whether he has any close friends 
besides his father he mentions two names. A computer expert and 
Edward Schmitt 'a very good friend who is a lawyer.' Perhaps the 
Kamsky's should especially cherish this second friendship. 
Sooner or later they might need him."
-Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam in "New In Chess" 7/91

                          WOMEN'S CHESS
If [new Women's World Champion Xie Jun] wants to become a 
champion to be remembered - instead of a historical footnote - 
she should immediately raise her goals to winning a place on the 
male Chinese team and to winning the national Chinese 
championship and Zonal. Competing as a World Champion candidate 
comes next. Such ambitions should not be a dream reserved for 
males. Such victories would do more for female players and 
generations to come than all the women's competitions combined.
-Yasser Seirawan in "Inside Chess" December 9, 1991

                  THE STATE OF TOURNAMENT CHESS
"One reason for the unpopularity of tournament chess, largely 
unrecognized by the chess world, is the horrible, 
weekend-consuming five-round Swiss."
-Stuart Rachels in "Chess Life" January 1992

                   FOREIGNER IN A FOREIGN LAND
"After 22 moves [in the final round game at Reykjavik 
Seirawan-Ivanchuk] Ivanchuk did not like his position too much 
and proposed a draw. It was a typical Ivanchuk decision. In all 
circumstances the young Ukrainian star wants to remain objective 
and the idea of playing bend-or-break in the last rounds is 
completely foreign to him."
-Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam in "New In Chess" 7/91

                           DUTCH TREAT
"Basman once told me that it's not much fun playing an unusual 
opening against Dutch players. If he sacrifices a pawn an 
English player will cheerfully throw himself into the resulting 
fray and do something original himself. But the Dutch player 
will take the pawn and sit on it. He won't enter into the spirit 
of the thing. There's no joy with the Dutch."
-Hans Ree in "New In Chess" 7/91

                    NEW MEANING TO "FORTRESS"
"The only slight hitch in the [World Junior Championships held 
in Romania] came when the Portuguese player, Rocha, defaulted 
one of his games. To the amusement of everyone except the poor 
player himself, it turned out that he had been locked into his 
hotel room by his room-mate Tom Weidig. Apparently, Weidig had 
not noticed him on the balcony when he left for the game, and 
locked the door behind him. With the telephone not working, 
Rocha decided to wait for the return of his room-mate after the 
game rather than risk trying to escape from his 4th floor 
balcony!"
-IM Michael Hennigan in the December, 1991 issue of "Chess"

                   THE PROFESSIONAL CHESS WORLD
"Players with 2500-2600 Elo's do not have many good 
opportunities to play anymore. If this is going to continue for 
any length of time, the expression 'the professional chess 
world' will become just an empty phrase."
-Alexey Shirov and Alexander Shabalov in "New In Chess" 7/91

                           SATISFACTION
"When you win five games against players over 2600 you must be 
satisfied."
-Alexander Khalifman, quoted in "New In Chess" 7/91

                           PERESTROIKA
"While everyone around is celebrating perestroika, I am to be 
found muttering to myself about the good old days when you only 
played a Russian in Russia. And when you lost 7 games, drew 4 
and won 0 (like I did in Lvov '86) it didn't really matter, 
because they were not all following you home."
-David Norwood in "Chess," December 1991.

                        NOBODY TOLD BOBBY
"Perhaps it does a chess player good, as he faces up to a 
nerve-racking confrontation, to remember that there are other 
things in life."
-GM William Watson, writing on the Candidates Matches in the 
December, 1991 issue of "Chess"

                      ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN
"Before the [Reykjavik World Cup] tournament Nikolic had had no 
fears that his Candidates loss against Gelfand might influence 
his game. 'For the simple reason that I didn't have the feeling 
that I was defeated in that match. The match was tied at 4-4, I 
didn't play worse than Gelfand and ultimately I was eliminated 
by sheer accident.'"
-Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, quoting Nikolic in "New In Chess" 7/91

                            CUE IT UP!
"When snooker [a variation of billiards -HWR] first started to 
get televised in a big way I used to watch it a little bit (now 
I try and avoid it; there must be better things to do in life). 
One of the commentators (I forget his name) was quite fond of 
likening snooker to chess. Occasionally, after a great and 
profound session of creative thinking lasting up to as much as 
ten seconds, one of the players would play a shot cleverer than 
usual. Maybe it would simultaneously improve the position of one 
ball while potting another, thus facilitating the future course 
of the break. This display of a measure of foresight (which 
could be used to differentiate snooker players from orangutans) 
would, without fail, prompt our dear commentator to sigh and 
utter something like: 'A wonderful game, snooker, like chess 
with balls.'

"The first few times I found this sort of comment quite amusing, 
but then I realized that it is in fact something of an insult. 
Thinking of the great Winston Churchill ('If I valued the 
honorable gentleman's opinion, I might get angry') I maintained 
my calm and finally managed to put my math degree to use. Three 
years of training enabled me to formulate an equation 
corresponding to the snooker commentator's insight. Following 
this up with some complex mathematical manipulation (the full 
details below) I discovered a surprising result:

"Assuming, Chess + Balls = Snooker

"Then, subtracting the Balls from both sides of the equation, we 
get:

"Chess = Snooker - Balls

"It follows that chess is like snooker without balls. Amazing!"
-GM Jonathan Levitt in "Kingpin" No. 17/18 1991

                       SURE, SURE, SURE...
"This is a good move but I can't remember why so you'll just 
have to take my word for it!"
-IM Chris Ward annotating his game with Barua in "Kingpin" No. 
17/18 1991

                     RUBBISH IN, RUBBISH OUT?
"A game with Julian [Hodgson] is never run-of-the-mill. First of 
all there is no point in preparing because he'll try any old 
rubbish in the opening."
-IM Tibor Karolyi in "Kingpin" No. 16

                         G.L. PHONE HOME
"Gert Ligterink, who reports for the Dutch daily 'De Volkskrant' 
felt irritated and insulted when Rustam Kamsky accused him of 
signalling moves to Anand when he was playing young Kamsky. 
Perhaps Ligterink set an example which is worth following when 
he demanded an apology. Of course he knew that his demand would 
not be honored, but on the other hand simply shrugging your 
shoulders does not stop this nonsense either. Rustam Kamsky of 
course, stuck to his view and only explained why he knew for 
sure that Ligterink was not a journalist. During the rounds he 
had observed the Dutchman and he never used the phone!"
-Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam reporting on the Tilburg tournament in 
"New In Chess" 8/1991

                     YEAH, RIGHT, IT'S A GAME
"Of course, a well balanced person is someone who treats chess 
as if it were only a game..."
-GM Jonathan Levitt in "Kingpin" No. 17/18 1991

                        NOT A BAD TEAM...
"Bayern Munchen, for example, home to the present writer, can 
field a full team of 2500+ grandmasters on all eight regular 
boards, although it must be said that this includes Icelander 
Hjartarson, who, according to the present rules on foreign team 
members (a maximum of two foreign players per match), can only 
play as substitute for Yusupov or Ribli. The average Elo of the 
team is about 2555, which is equivalent to category 13!"
-Gerald Hertneck reporting on the German Bundesliga in "New In 
Chess" 8/1991

                  PAY ATTENTION, LEWIS CARROLL!
"But you should understand (laughs), when you play against 
Kasparov the pieces start to go differently. That's the 
problem."
-Yevgeny Bareev "New In Chess" 8/1991

                   THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS, BOY!
"On being asked what he thought of Gurevich's accusations 
[Karpov] replied: 'He's too small for me, too insignificant. But 
what I will say is if we both lived in the United States I'd 
have him prosecuted for libel. He'd be my slave for the rest of 
his life and only work to pay me."
-Dutch GM Hans Ree in his review of Karpov's autobiography in 
"New In Chess" 8/1991

                            COMPULSION
"...[M]ostly chess periodicals are undertakings by enthusiastic, 
almost insane chess addicts, who simply feel an inexplicable 
urge to write about the Royal Game."
-Rene Olthof in "New In Chess" 8/1991


                           OLD FRIENDS
"Apart from these unconcealed frictions there was a lot of 
subdued tension that should not get too much attention here. 
Suffice it to say that some of the friendliest post-mortems were 
those between Kasparov and Karpov and Karpov and Kortchnoi!"
-Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam reporting on the Tilburg tournament in 
"New In Chess" 8/1991

                         ONCE UPON A TIME
"Karpov and Kasparov both played more than their role in the 
party and related organizations. Now they're competing as to 
who's the biggest anti-communist -and who was the biggest once 
upon a time- only nobody knew."
-Dutch GM Hans Ree in his review of Karpov's autobiography in 
"New In Chess" 8/1991

                         SATISFACTION II
"I hope that one day I will play [a game that I am particularly 
proud of]. But, honestly, my play is still so crude that I've 
never played a game that satisfied me from the first till the 
last move."
-Yevgeny Bareev in "New In Chess" 8/1991

                              HUNGER
"They are over here for the money. They're desperate - and 
literally hungry."
-British Chess Federation International Director Ray Edwards 
quoted in a "Time Magazine" article on Soviet players flooding 
Western tournaments, as reported in the January, 1992 issue of 
"British Chess Magazine"

                          SPEED THRILLS
"Like it or not, speed chess is the game of the future."
-Leonard Barden in his "Financial Times" column as reported in 
the January, 1992 issue of "British Chess Magazine"

                           TIME TRIALS
"This time I didn't have the time to spoil my good positions and 
he didn't have the time to save them."
-Dutch GM Jan Timman on his mini-match versus Anatoly Karpov on 
his way to winning the Immopar Action Tournament in Paris, as 
reported by "New In Chess" 8/1991

                            HUNGER II
"...[O]ne evening the hotel restaurant decided, on the 
instructions of the [tournament] organizer, to close at the time 
when the first session of play was ending, leaving many hungry 
players. The next day it was explained to the organizer that 
such a situation was, to say the least, unsatisfactory. Rehurek 
responded with the suggestion that, to avoid such a problem 
again, the participants should play more quickly!"
-English GM Ian Rogers reporting on the Brno tournament in "New 
In Chess" 8/1991

             WE DIDN'T REALIZE HE WAS STILL PLAYING!
"The final [match, Timman v. Kasparov, Immopar Speed Tournament] 
was preceded by a short concert of music by Andre Philidor."
-British GM Jon Speelman reporting in the January, 1992 issue of 
"British Chess Magazine."

                          NAUGHTY NIGEL
"I'm getting much more pleasure out of humiliating a guy. Maybe 
I'm just a mean bastard."
-British GM Murray Chandler reporting British GM Nigel Short's 
comments when interviewed in the "Daily Telegraph" as recounted 
in the January, 1992 "British Chess Magazine."

                         RELATIVE JUSTICE
"[Karpov is] now dead against the rule that the world champion 
keeps his title if he draws against the challenger. Why didn't 
he bring this up when he was the world champion? His explanation 
is amazingly blunt: 'Although the problem came up again and 
again it never bothered me. Well, what was the point? As long as 
I was the world champion the rules were in my favor. My 
opponents never brought the matter up, so I'd have been mad to 
open my mouth, wouldn't I?' Notions of justice will change in a 
life."
-Dutch GM Hans Ree in his review of Karpov's autobiography in 
"New In Chess" 8/1991

                         VISHY VARIATIONS
"For the Trophee Immopar there are three variations: You lose in 
the first round and you go 'This time-limit is not serious, it's 
just for the public, etc.' You survive one round: 'This is an 
interesting form of play, a good compromise between tournaments 
like Tilburg and a nice show.' You win the final and the 400,000 
Francs. 'This is great, a new direction for chess, blablabla."
-Indian GM Viswanathan Anand as reported by "New In Chess" 
8/1991

            HEAR NO MOVE, SPEAK NO MOVE, SEE NO MOVE!
"That's why I'm not the World Champion. He just sacrifices a 
knight and continues as if nothing had happened. I would not 
even have looked at the move."
-English GM Nigel short commenting on Kasparov's stunning knight 
sacrifice on move 19 against Karpov in Round Six at Tilburg, 
reported by "New In Chess" 8/1991

                  BUT IS JUDIT THE YOUNGEST GM?
Earlier today we had an interesting telephone discussion with 
Dan Edelman of the U.S. Chess Federation regarding whether or 
not Judit Polgar had become the youngest GM. It seems that 
shortly after Fischer's performance at Portoroz, 1958, which 
qualified him for the candidates cycle and thus earned him the 
GM title, then FIDE president Folke Rogard awarded Fischer the 
title *by decree* rather than wait the many months until the 
next FIDE meeting. FIDE bylaws allowed (and still allows) the 
FIDE president to so act. However, although Judit's recent 
performance fulfills the final requirements for the awarding of 
the title, the title itself will not be awarded until the next 
FIDE meetings in June. So, technically, she will not be the 
youngest to have been awarded the title.

She would also not be the youngest if the title were awarded 
right now by decree. But, say you, we are splitting hairs. 
Perhaps. And in any event this is one tempest in a teapot and/or 
irrelevant subject, perhaps only of interest to pedantic 
historians and statisticians. At any rate there you have it. And 
that's the truth. And Was Reggio Emilia The Strongest? "Although 
Reggio Emilia 1991/92 will go down in the record books as the 
first Category 18 event (2676) held since the introduction of 
Professor Arpad Elo's invention, it is by no means clear that it 
is the strongest tournament of all time. Comparing different 
eras is guaranteed to produce an argument, but at least it is 
mathematically possible. Professor Elo's book 'The Rating of 
Chessplayers, Past and Present' gives the best five-year 
averages for players who predate 1970, when FIDE accepted his 
system.

According to this book, two challengers to Reggio Emilia would 
be The Hague-Moscow 1948 and AVRO 1938. The former comes out on 
top (2682) with Botvinnik 2720, Smyslov 2690, Reshevsky 2680, 
Keres 2670 and Euwe 2650. Right behind is AVRO 1938 (2677) with 
Capablanca 2725, Botvinnik 2720, Alekhine 2690, Reshevsky 2680, 
Keres 2670, Fine 2660, Euwe 2650 and Flohr 2620. Rating 
inflation to the tune of 20-30 points is currently infecting the 
top heights of the FIDE ratings, but on the other hand, Elo's 
figures for old-timers represent peaks. Capablanca may well have 
been 2725 or higher at one time, but it's doubtful he still was 
in the late 1930's.
-IM John Donaldson in his report on Reggio Emilia in "Inside 
Chess" V/2

                       GIVE US ALL A BREAK!
"Many of you will say, 'He lost because he blundered. What's 
that got to do with luck?' Let's think about it some more. You 
play all the right moves, making two sound piece sacrifices. 
Your opponent, in desperation, gives a check that can be 
answered by two sentient moves. There doesn't seem to be any 
difference. Behind door #1 is the new car (furry dice optional). 
But you randomly choose door #2, and end up with ten cases of 
canned squid. If you're Jay Bonin, you just have to say 'Give me 
a break!'"
-GM Joel Benjamin annotating his swindle of IM Jay Bonin in the 
most recent issue of "Chess Chow"

                       LIKE KINKY OPENINGS?
"Personally, I think there is enough new opening theory 
sprouting already. I like to see the top GMs do really weird 
stuff. Of course, the don't always comply."
-GM Joel Benjamin in the recent issue of "Chess Chow"

           AGE BEFORE BEAUTY (THERE'S HOPE FOR US ALL!)
"Polugaevsky, 57, the oldest player in [the Reggio Emilia super 
tournament] by far, seems to be enjoying a second youth since 
relocating to France."
-IM John Donaldson in his report on Reggio Emilia in "Inside 
Chess" V/2

                           TRIVIA QUIZ
When Bill Goichberg told GM Eric Lobron "You're not going to 
play in any more of my tournaments," what was Lobron's response?
a. "But my Elo is very high" b. "Danke shon, Herr Goich" c. "Big 
deal" d. "There goes my career"
-From the Trivia Quiz in the recent issue of "Chess Chow"

                          TRIVIA QUIZ II
What is GM John Fedorowicz's favorite dessert?
a. Chocolate Cream Pie b. Bananas Flambe, prepared with creme de 
cassis c. Strawberry Chesscake d. Nothing, he never touches the 
stuff
-From the Trivia Quiz in the recent issue of "Chess Chow"

                         TRIVIA QUIZ III
What is "A School For Scoundrels"?
a. GM Robert Byrne's favorite movie b. An underground expose of 
Mark Dvoretsky's training methods c. Winning team name at the 
1987 U.S. Amateur Team East d. Name of chess class taught by 
"Chow" staffer Mark Ginsburg
-From the Trivia Quiz appearing in the recent issue of "Chess 
Chow"

                          OPENING MOVES
"Sometimes one of the drawbacks of playing in a tournament [like 
Wijk aan Zee] with such an illustrious history (only Hastings 
goes back further) is the length of the opening ceremonies. In 
this instance, the speakers felt compelled to recall each 
edition of Wijk aan Zee tournaments and their own personal 
histories. In fact one speaker opened with an apology in advance 
of his speech with the comment, 'I promise not to take more than 
one hour and a half of your time.' He kept his promise, but only 
barely!"
-Yasser Seirawan reporting on Wijk aan Zee in the February 17 
issue of "Inside Chess"

                    DON'T TELL THAT TO JUDIT!
"Along the way, [one of the speakers at the Wijk aan Zee opening 
ceremonies] managed to insult just about everyone in' the room. 
Recalling the days of Vera Menchik and the advancement of women 
in chess, he inferred [sic] that women were better off at home 
making babies."
-Yasser Seirawan reporting on the opening ceremonies at Wijk aan 
Zee in the February 17 issue of "Inside Chess"

                             YAWN...
"But the number of good Western sponsors has remained the same 
or has diminished. We have to find new sponsors or get new 
countries interested in chess. Like the USA. A great country 
with incredible financial possibilities, but they take 
absolutely no interest in chess."
-Alexander Khalifman interviewed in the 1/92 issue of "New In 
Chess"

                       WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE
"Losing can be a really bad low, especially when you play 
somebody you're not really fond of and you feel you ought to 
give it to them good and hard, and it just doesn't work out. 
When you know you shouldn't have lost. That's really nasty. 
Nigel Short said once that losing hurts more than winning is 
nice, and I think that's probably true."
-Michael Adams in the January, 1992 issue of "Chess"

Copyright 1992 Hanon W. Russell
All Rights Reserved