Bryon Nickoloff Annotations

[Brad Thomson]

Thanks Hans! Nick was Nick, and this thread has been very respectful, emphasizing the positive.

[Hans Jung]

"Every now and then a puff of blue smoke drifted out from an apparently immobile mouth and throat. But despite the appearance of a complete somnolence suggested by the relaxation of his body there were indications of an internal activity discernible at two points: the eyes, like instrument dials of the mind and emotions, registered thought, perplexity, a faint hairline trace of anxiety." This reminded me of Nick. - a perfect descriptive picture. The quote is from Edward Abbey's book the Brave Cowboy, page 6 paragraph 3. - a great book with fantastic descriptions and a gripping story. I hope you dont mind me posting this Brad.

[Aris Marghetis]

I am not sure if Nick played his version of the Swiss Gambit, but in the 1995 Canadian Open in Toronto I recall that he never played a player higher rated than himself and then finished equal first thanks to this Hergottian masterpiece. Of all of the fabulous creative games I watched Deen play this is the most memorable.

Deen Hergott - Kevin Spraggett (1995) - Master Chess Game - Chess.com

THAT'S an incredible game!! Thanks Brad!!

[Brad Thomson]

Deen tended to play more in his "crazy style" with the Black pieces, and by his own admission. He actually felt that he was something of a positional player with White. He tended to play 1.d4 most of the time. But of course he conceded that with Black his plan was to imbalance the game and seek counterplay. He once told me that he played ...Nh6 any time he possibly could. His games are beautiful and Nick was always very impressed with Deen's fearless creative approach. Then Bryon would crush him by playing in Deen's style and refute him at his own game- this too Deen admitted.

[Frank Dixon]

That IM Hergott 1-0 GM Spraggett game, from round 10, Canadian Open 1995, saw Deen win by stepping outside his often crazy style to win in what one could call true Super-GM fashion, a positional masterpiece where Black had almost no play. GM Spraggett needed just a draw for clear first; the loss dropped him into a five-way tie for first place.

[Hans Jung]

Thanks for the memories. I was there playing and watching. Deen successfully squeezed kevin which was not at all easy to do.

[Brad Thomson]

I am not sure if Nick played his version of the Swiss Gambit, but in the 1995 Canadian Open in Toronto I recall that he never played a player higher rated than himself and then finished equal first thanks to this Hergottian masterpiece. Of all of the fabulous creative games I watched Deen play this is the most memorable.

Deen Hergott - Kevin Spraggett (1995) - Master Chess Game - Chess.com

[Hans Jung]

Nick used his own form of Swiss Gambit in that he would offer a draw to give him better positioning for the next round. He was always aware of the opportunity and how his main rivals were doing.

[Brad Thomson]

Thanks Frank!!

[Frank Dixon]

I wrote an article for chessbase.com, shortly after Nick's passing, in 2004, as a tribute. Here is the link: Enjoy!!
en.chessbase.com/post/im-bryon-nickoloff-1956-2004-

[Brad Thomson]

Do you know, Hans, if Nick would use this knowledge to sometimes play the Swiss Gambit? I recall meeting with Nick and Igor in his hotel room in Winnipeg, 1994, and Igor was explaining the value of this approach. He used it all the time, he said.

[Hans Jung]

One of my best memories of Nick was watching him calculating at the crosstables of major tournaments. We often compared notes and he was better than anyone else at strategic positioning during the course of a tournament (in regards to looking ahead at potential pairings and outcomes)

[Brad Thomson]

I recalled today something else Nick once said. "When I play the Sicilian I try to hold on for dear life in the middlegame and then win the endgame."

[Brad Thomson]

No disrespect intended of course, but Bryon would sometimes jokingly refer to himself as "Nick the prick". This generally took place during the post-game refreshment sessions.

[Brad Thomson]

Nick meant it as a compliment to be sure, he basically loved everyone. Bryon was capable of being, shall we say direct, but only if the other person started it in some manner. He admired the fight that you, Hans, put into your games, sort of like Lawrence or Deen, because this style of play was foreign to Nick. He was loath to muddy a position just so as to give himself a better chance of out-calculating his opponent. Nick was never a Tal, always a Capablanca. Nick needed to play the best move he could find, his perfectionism and aesthetic sensibility would not allow otherwise. There were many times I said to Nick after he had agreed to give some 2250 player a draw that he should have played the game out and waited for a mistake, but if Nick had already made what he deemed to be the slightest error, he often would not be interesting in continuing. As noted above, Nick was NOT a practical chess player.