Chess Research - the story never ends

[Hans Jung]

https://en.chessbase.com/post/chess-...ory-never-ends An insight to chess research by my good friend Alan McGowan who published his life's work on Kurt Richter a few years back. Alan was my layout man in my years as editor of Chess Canada and he had an amazing attention to detail. I know of what he writes as I have had the same experience writing about My Father's Family - an account that has turned into a book. I am 150 pages in and am temporarily stuck working out many details and discovering much more information.

[Hans Jung]

This may be old news but there is an interesting and stimulating interview of Alan McGowan in the magazine chess volume 89, number 8, November 2024, pg 20.Alan points out two great games - Pietzsch vs O'Kelly de Galway, Madrid Zonal 1960 and Foltys vs Michel, Buenos Aires Olympiad, 1939. Also when asked for a defining moment in research he mentioned finding the name Erwin Knopfler in Scottish Championships in the 50"s. He was the father of the Dire Straits Mark and David. Small world. For his extensive research of the history of the Edinburgh Chess Club Alan was made an honorary member, a distinguished honour.

[Hans Jung]

I might also mention that Ive been reading back issues of the magazine Chess which I've picked up at the Waterloo Main Library. While I was briefly working there I got into stimulating conversations with the buyers and a subsequent subscription resulted. I also mentioned that if they decided they had too many back issues at some point they could give them to me (instead of getting rid of them).

[Hans Jung]

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1657335 Foltys vs Michel, 1939

[Hans Jung]

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1557918 Pietzsch vs O'Kelly de Galway, 1960

[Frank Dixon]

In high school, I came up with a new concept, linking castling position, order, castling game move (if any) and game outcome, which I called 'CASCLA' (a new word covering CAStling CLAssification). My idea was to set up a searchable characterization for all games, with a view to the forthcoming database world, which was fast becoming a reality, what with personal computers, faster software, greater popularization of chess, and so forth. Players can castle either on the Kingside (K), Queenside (Q), or not at all (N). Games can be won by either player, or drawn ( +, -, =). A vertical stroke separates the two sides in the specialized, invented CASCLA notation.

There are 39 distinct CASCLAs possible, from the standard starting position. Of course, with randomized starting positions, the same concept could be applied; the same, if new pieces are added to the grid; so long as castling is a possibility.

I worked with teachers to formalize these ideas, and submitted them in a 'CASCLA' paper, under an 'Independent Study' course classification (ultimately for no high school credit), with the Mackenzie High School creating two so-called 'Mini Course Days'. I included a game with each of the 39 possible CASCLA's. The idea was with an attached CASCLAS for each game on a database, it would become a searchable quantity, using software to be created for this purpose. My paper won an award!

Here is an example from one of my games, which I included with the 1976 paper (50 years ago now!), at the time:

Frank Dixon -- Robert Schulist
Renfrew Country High School League
Arnprior 1975, G/30'
Russian (Petroff) Defense, C42
CASCLA: [K'+,4|Q-,11]
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4
[A gambit idea sometimes played by Paul Morphy (1847-1884), the world's strongest player in the late 1850s.]
3...Nxe4 4.O-O!?
[I could find no examples at the time with this move, and even today there are only very few in online databases. White castles first, on the Kingside; hence the ' in the CASCLA, denoting 'first'; along with the 4, meaning castling on move 4.]
4...d5 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.Nc3 Be6 7.d3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Be7
[Here, 8...Bd6 would have been stronger, better testing the gambit's value.]
9.Re1 Bf6 10.Ba3! Qd7 11.Ba4! O-O-O
[So now Black castles, after White has done so, on the Queenside (Q), on move 11; hence the details listed as such, in the CASCLA.]
12.Rb1 Rhe8 13.Qd2 e4 14.Nd4 Bxd4 15.cxd4 f5
[Black had been eyeing White's potential transfer of the N/f3 to d4, after the e-pawn's advance, pressuring the pinned N/c6; so he was ready to exchange this knight, once it got to d4. Black said later he thought he was better here, with a solid pawn up, a strong center, full development, and an apparently safe King. But he is due for a rook sacrifice surprise!]
16.Rxb7!! Kxb7 17.Rb1+ Kc8 18.Qc3! e3 19.Bxc6 exf2+ 20.Kf1 Qf7 21.Bb7+ Kb8 22.Ba6+, 1-0.
[White wins the game, so a '+' on his side of the CASCLA; Black loses the game, so a '-' on his side of the CASCLA. This completes all the relevant CASCLA information, for this game.]

I did post earlier, on the CASCLA theme, on this site in 2015 and 2016. I am not aware of any other writer or researcher following this topic! A software program could be created, to attach CASCLA designations to all database chess games, by inspection of their game scores.]

Respectfully submitted,
Frank Dixon
NTD, Kingston