Blindfold Chess - the book

[Erik Malmsten]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

Join Us at Mama's Jamaican Kitchen for a Chess Show

Artiom is now Little Chess Mates' in-house chess master. His ability to play blindfold chess, 75-board simuls, and great personality is the greatest inspiration to everyone across our nation. Come meet Artiom on Thursday September 9, 2010 at 7:00pm at Mama's Jamaican Kitchen in Brampton, Ont Canada as he marvels you in some of the best chess you will ever see. Tickets to this chess show are as low as $5 as he demonstrates this God-given memory ability. Don't delay to see such a show since very few have the talent to do so - a true spectacular chess event. It will be an evening to remember!

Chess Simul

An amazing demonstration where Artiom will play everyone in the Kitchen at once including Brampton's Chess Champion Devon Thomas. *Blindfolded.*

Devon Thomas is not only a champion chess player in Brampton but has beaten masters in chess with elo ratings of 2300. An event you don't want to miss.

Blindfold Chess Show

An amazing demonstration where Artiom will challenge multiple players without looking at the chess boards! Very few chess players in Canada are able to do this. Players could record their games using notation and can keep the signed score sheet at the end of the show. A collectable souvenir for any chess fan.

Parents children and chess fans, come challenge him on the chess board for as low as $10 and $20 for a Blindfold show and a chance to win some great prizes as he trains to represent Canada this September. As he plays he will be giving out chess prizes for the best played lines in his simul, the best opening repertoire, the best end game he has endured, and the most tactful player he has played. Children - can you imagine if you win a free 1-year membership to Little Chess Mates with lessons from Artiom himself given to the winner of his simul (valued at over $500).

Proceeds from this event will also help Artiom to further train and stay on Canada's elite team of chess players and put Canada on the chess map as a leader in children's chess education.

Artiom has witnessed and claims that Mario Adragna is one the best beginner's children's chess instructors. Mario will be facilitating a chess tournament exclusively for the Active chess player, CXR rated. All CFC members are welcome to be rated for a free one year subscribtion to CXR. See Tournament link for details. Players- don't miss this one-day event as you will witness masters play and conquer the chess board.

The SPIRIT of chess is now alive and in motion at Little Chess Mates. Come support, witness, and have fun with International Master Artiom at one of our chess club exclusively for children.

Wait.... there is more... our Woodbridge club is call for chess players. Artiom will be playing at this adult, juniors and children chess club regularly for all that want to play with him. Regular Swiss Tournaments starting every last Friday of the month, 7:30 p.m. This club will be Toronto's masters chess club with checkmate style. A true test of a chess playing will be shown.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

Alekhine-Bisno, Chicago 1933 1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.d5 Ne5 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bf4 Nf7 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.Ng5 Nd6 9.0-0 h6 10.Nf3 Nh5 11.Be3 Nc4 12.Bc1 g5 13.Nd4 0-0 14.e4 Bxd4 15.Qxd4 Nd6 16.e5 Nf7 17.f4 gxf4 18.Bxf4 Nxf4 19.Rxf4 e6 20.dxe6 dxe6 21.Qe3 c6 22.Rd4 Qc7 23.Re1 Bd7 24.g4 fxg4 25.Rxg4+ Kh8 26.Kh1 c5 27.Rg6 Bc6 28.Rg1 Kh7 29.Be4 Bxe4+ 30.Qxe4 Kh8 31.Rg7 Ng5 32.Rxc7 Nxe4 33.Nxe4 1-0 After considerable sparring and creative play in the opening Alekhine ends up with a dominating position in the center. However he transforms his central domination into a kingside attack via his patented g4 pawn lever and treats his opponents desperado knight move (31...Ng5) with a fine positional flair. A complete gem of a game - one of the finest I believe that Alekhine ever played.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

Now for two high class swindles by Alekhine. The first: Alekhine-Wagner, Chicago 1933, 1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 b5 3.e4 Bb7 4.Nbd2 a6 5.a4 bxa4 6.Bd3 c5 7.c3 Nf6 8.0-0 Nc6 9.Qxa4 cxd4 10.cxd4 Nb4 11.Bb1 Rc8 12.e5 Nfd5 13.Ne4 Bc6 14.Qb3 Bb5 15.Re1 h6 16.Ng3 Rc6 17.Bd2 Bc4 18.Qd1 Qb6 19.Nh5 Nd3 20.Bxd3 Bxd3 21.Bc3 Bg6 22.Ng3 Nxc3 23.bxc3 Rxc3 24.Ne4 Bxe4 25.Rxe4 a5 26.d5 Bb4 27.Rxb4 Qxb4 28.Rb1 0-0 29.Rxb4 axb4 30.h4 Rfc8 31.Qa4 b3 32.Qb5 Rc1+ 33.Kh2 R8c3 34.d6 Rb1 35.Nd2 Rb2 36.Ne4 1-0 On move 23 Black is a passed A-pawn ahead and it looks grim for White. 13 moves later its resigning time! (for Black!)

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

So what happened at Mama's Jamaican Kitchen last Thursday evening? (referring to post 271) Were there any superhuman blindfold feats? Did people get value for their $5? Were any chesstalkers there? Dont leave us in the dark. Pray tell.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

The second "swindle" wasnt really a swindle at all, just alot of missed opportunities for Alekhine's opponent (more than a dozen). Have a look: Alekhine-Engholm, Chicago 1933 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.c5 Nd5 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 e6 7.Be3 b6 8.cxb6 cxb6 9.Nf3 Bb7 10.Bd3 Qc7 11.0-0 Nc6 12.Re1 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Qxe5 14.Bf1 Qc7 15.Qg4 h5 16.Qh4 Be7 17.Bg5 f6 18.Be3 g5 19.Qa4 Bd6 20.h3 Kf7 21.Rad1 Bh2+ 22.Kh1 Bc6 23.Qc4 g4 24.h4 Rae8 25.b4 d5 26.Qd3 Be5 27.Bd4 Bd6 28.c4 Bxb4 29.cxd5 Bxe1 30.dxc6 Ba5 31.Qe4 Rd8 32.Bc4 Rd6 33.Qf4 Qe7 34.Rd3 Rxc6 35.Bb3 Rhc8 36.Qh6 Rc1+ 37.Kh2 Bb4 38.Qxh5+ Kf8 39.Qxg4 Bd6+ 40.g3 Qh7 41.Bxe6 Re8 42.Be3 Rxe6 43.Bxc1 Re4 44.Qc8+ Re8 45.Qc4 Re4 46.Bh6+ Ke7 47.Re3 Rxe3 48.Bxe3 Qh5 49.Qe4+ Kf7 50.Kg2 Qa5 51.a4 Be7 52.Qc4+ Kg7 53.Qe6 Qb4 54.h5 Qd6 55.h6+ Kh8 56.Qf7 1-0 Alekhine's opponent plays Alekhine's Defense against him! Alekhine plays 4.c5? - a line now known to be bad and after Alekhine misplays further the opening his opponent has things his way until move 35. From move 41 to the end of the game Alekhine's finesses are pure Alekhine! A bizarre game.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

A very rare form of simultaneous blindfold chess is the tandem blindfold simul (two or more masters as a team alternating moves). This is much more difficult than a blindfold simultaneous exhibition by one player. In 1934 Alekhine did this more than once - he did 6 games against teams of two on each board with Dutch master Salo Landau as his partner (in Rotterdam) and then he teamed up with Koltanowski in Antwerp, Belgium against 6 teams (each team having 4 strong players consulting). The partnership of Alekhine and Koltanowski (alternating moves) scored 3 wins, 1 loss, and 2 draws and luckily for us the gamescores survived. Kolty stated that he was far more tired doing this than playing 30 boards blindfold simultaneous. Alekhine&Koltanowski - Margariniere Belge Chess Club 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 b6 4.c4 e6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.Bd3 Nbd7 8.Nc3 Bb7 9.0-0 Be7 10.Ne5 0-0 11.f4 c5 12.Qf3 a6 13.g4 Kh8 14.g5 Nxe5 15.fxe5 Ne4 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.Qxe4 Bxg5 19.b3 cxd4 20.exd4 Bxc1 21.Raxc1 Qg5+ 22.Kh1 Rac8 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.d5 Rc1 25.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 26.Kg2 Qd2+ 27.Kh3 Qh6+ 28.Kg3 Qg5+ 29.Kf3 Qg1 30.d6 Qf1+ 31.Ke3 Qe1+ 32.Kd3 Qd1+ 33.Kc3 Qc1+ 34.Kd4 1-0 An interesting game from the point of view of the opening where I would guess that Kolty wanted a Colle System whereas Alekhine wanted something more aggressive. A tug of war (in their minds) results in the beginnings of an interesting kingside attack. However disappointingly their opponents take matters into their own hands by simplifying massively into an interesting although lost endgame. The Black team resigned when they collectively decided they could not force prepetual check.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

Alekhine&Koltanowski - Flemish Chess Club Team 1 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d4 Bg4 6.dxe5 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 Bc5 8.Ke2 Ne7 9.h3 Be6 10.b3 Ng6 11.g3 Nxe5 12.Be3 Bd6 13.Nd4 Bd7 14.f4 Ng6 15.Nd2 c5 16.N4f3 f6 17.Rad1 Rd8 18.Nc4 Bb5 19.Nfd2 Kf7 20.a4 Bxc4+ 21.Nxc4 b6 22.Kf3 Rhe8 23.h4 h6 24.h5 Nf8 25.Rd5 Be7 26.Rhd1 Rxd5 27.Rxd5 Rd8 28.Rxd8 Bxd8 29.e5 Nd7 30.Ke4 b5 31.axb5 axb5 32.Na5 Be7 33.Kd5 fxe5 34.fxe5 Nb6+ 35.Kc6 1-0 The Black team "tricks" the White team with 11...Nxe5. I wonder who played 11.g3 - Alekhine or Kolty? Regardless the Black team is made to suffer as White plays a nice strategic game to finish. A nice recovery by White after the shocking eleventh move.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

Alekhine&Koltanowski - Chessboard Chess Club, Antwerp, 1934 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 d6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.00 Bg7 8.Nb3 Nf6 9.Kh1 0-0 10.f4 Qc7 11.Qe1 Rac8 12.a3 Rfd8 13.Qh4 e6 14.Bd3 Ne7 15.Be3 Bc6 16.f5 exf5 17.exf5 Ned5 18.Nxd5 Nxd5 19.Bg5 Re8 20.Rf3 Bd7 21.Raf1 Re5 22.fxg6 fxg6 23.Rf7 Ne3 24.Rxg7+ Kxg7 25.Qh6+ Kg8 26.Bxe3 Be6 27.Nd4 Bd5 28.Bg5 Qd7 29.Bf6 Rh5 30.Qf4 Rf8 31.c4 Bxg2+ 32.Kxg2 Qh3+ 33.Kg1 Qxd3 34.Qg3 Qxc4 35.Qb3 1-0 This game shows how hard blindfold chess can be. In a Dragon Sicilian White plays extremely well and plays the breakthru pawn lever 16.f5 to achieve a winning attack on the kingside following up with a nice rook sacrifice (24.Rxg7+). However on the next two moves the White players miss knockout shots (25.Bxg6 and 26.Rf7) and then seem confused before playing the oversight 31.c4? which loses all White's advantage and spoils a beautiful game. In the end position its hard to understand Black's resignation as far more likely is agreement of a draw.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

Alekhine&Koltanowski - Maccabi Chess Club, Antwerp 1934 1.c4 c5 2.e4 Nc6 3.Nf3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 d6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Be2 00 9.00 Bd7 10.Rc1 Rc8 11.Kh1 Ne5 12.b3 Neg4 13.Qd2 Nxe3 14.Qxe3 Qb6 15.Rcd1 Rfe8 16.h3 a6 17.Rd3 Bc6 18.Nxc6 Qxc6 19.Nd5 Nd7 20.f4 Nc5 21.Rdd1 e6 22.Nc3 Bxc3 23.Qxc3 Nxe4 24.Qe3 d5 25.Bf3 Ng3+ 26.Kg1 Nxf1 27.Kxf1 b5 28.cxd5 exd5 29.Qd2 Red8 30.Bxd5 Qf6 31.g4 Kg7 32.Kg2 Rc5 33.g5 Qc3 34.Qxc3+ Rxc3 0-1 The White team builds a nice advantageous position from the opening but miss an important tactic (20.f4?) dropping the E-pawn. There is still play but a blunder (25.Bf3) loses the exchange and Black forces simplification into an ending which is passive and without hope for White.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

Alekhine&Koltanowski - Flemish Chess Club Team Two, Antwerp,1934 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Qc2 cxd4 6.Qa4+ Nc6 7.Nb1 Qa5+ 8.Qxa5 Nxa5 9.Nf3 Bc5 10.Nbd2 Nf6 11.a3 Bb6 12.b4 Nc4 13.Nb3 0-0 14.Nbxd4 Bd7 15.e3 a6 16.Be2 Bc7 17.0-0 b5 18.Rd1 Rad8 19.Bd2 Rfe8 20.Nb3 Ne4 21.Be1 Bc8 22.Nfd4 Bb7 23.Bf3 Bb6 24.Na5 Bxa5 25.bxa5 Nb2 26.Rdc1 Rc8 27.Rxc8 Rxc8 28.Bg4 Rc7 Agreed drawn. In the opening White misses 6.Nxd5! and gets a terrible position. White spends the rest of the game getting back and maintaining equality.
Alekhine&Koltanowski - Antwerp Chess Club, Antwerp 1934, 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 g6 6.Bb5+ Nbd7 7.0-0 Bg7 8.Be3 0-0 9.Kh1 Ne5 10.f3 a6 11.Bd3 Bd7 12.Nb3 Nxd3 13.Qxd3 b5 14.a3 Qc7 15.Rad1 Be6 16.Qd2 Bc4 17.Rfe1 Rac8 18.Bh6 Bxh6 19.Qxh6 a5 20.Nd4 b4 21.axb4 axb4 22.Nce2 Bxe2 23.Rxe2 Qa5 24.Red2 Rc4 25.b3 Rc5 26.g4 e6 27.Rg1 Qc7 28.h4 d5 29.h5 Qe5 30.exd5 Qxd5 31.hxg6 fxg6 32.Qe3 Rd8 33.Rgd1 Nxg4 34.Qxe6+ Qxe6 35.Nxe6 Agreed drawn. White misses the beautiful winning shot 33.Nf5! and the game is shortly later agreed drawn.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

Koltanowski spent much of the years 1935 - 1937 touring Europe and giving 8 and 10 board blindfold simuls, although when asked he would occasionally do more boards. Here are two games from Spain in 1935. Koltanowski - N.N. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d4 Nxd4 6.Nxe5 0-0 7.Nd3 Bb6 8.e5 Ne8 9.a4 a6 10.Nc3 d6 11.Nd5 Ba7 12.Be3 c6 13.N5f4 d5 14.Ba2 f6 15.c3 fxe5 16.Nxe5 Nf5 17.Bxa7 Rxa7 18.c4 Qd6 19.Re1 Ne7 20.cxd5 Rxf4 21.dxc6+ Kh8 22.Nf7+ Rxf7 23.Bxf7 Qxd1 24.Raxd1 1-0 This game is from a 10 board display. Kolty plays his favorite Max Lange and uses his bishops and knights to create a number of pretty pictures. The concluding combo starting with 17.Bxa7 is a work of art. From another 10 board exhibition: Koltanowski - Saura 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Qg4 cxd4 6.Qxg7 dxc3 7.b3 Qh4 8.Qxh8 Qe4+ 9.Be3 Qg6 10.Nf3 Bf8 11.Bd3 Qxg2 12.Rg1 Qxf3 13.Rxg8 Nd7 14.Bb5 Ke7 15.Rxf8 Nxf8 16.Bg5+ 1-0 Often Kolty's opponents would make terrible moves in the opening based on cheap threats with the idea of "getting away with it" because Kolty was blind. This game is another such example. However Kolty first makes his king safe and then his accurate development and his uncanny hunting of the black king make this game worth showing.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

About one year before his world record 34 board blindfold simul in Edinburgh, Scotland in September 1937 Kolty began doing regular blindfold simuls in Great Britain (mainly in England and Scotland). At Bath he broke his own English record of 20 boards (set at Hampstead in 1932) by doing 21 (14 wins and 7 draws). Here is one of the games: Koltanowski - Dr McKeag 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 f5 7.0-0 Bd6 8.c4 c6 9.Nc3 Bc7 10.Qe2 Be6 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Ng5 Qd6 13.g3 Nxg5 14.Bxg5 0-0 15.Nb5 1-0 Its all about remove the defender.
Here also are two exceptional games from London exhibitions: Koltanowski - Duke 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d4 Bxd4 6.Nxd4 Nxd4 7.f4 d6 8.c3 Nc6 9.f5 Qe7 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 Bd7 12.b4 a6 13.a4 Na7 14.Bb3 Rd8 15.Qf3 Bc6 16.Nd2 b6 17.Rf2 Bb7 18.Re1 c5 19.Nf1 cxb4 20.cxb4 Nc6 21.Ng3 Nd4 22.Qd1 Rc8 23.Nh5 Rg8 24.Rd2 Rc3 25.Bd5 Bc6 26.Rxd4 exd4 27.Qxd4 Qe5 28.Nxg7+ Rxg7 29.Bxf6 Rxg2+ 30.Kxg2 Rc2+ 31.Kf3 Qxh2 32.Bxc6+ Rxc6 33.Qg1 1-0 In a Max Lange, which Kolty keeps closed, his opponent seems to be breaking thru when Kolty finds some amazing moves (26.Rxd4!, 28.Nxg7+!, 29.Bxf6) and then defends crisply and accurately.
Koltanowski - Veining 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 e6 7.Nf3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qe2 a6 10.Rd1 b5 11.Bb3 Bb7 12.Bg5 b4 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Ne4 Bxe4 15.Qxe4 Nd7 16.Ne5 Nb6 17.Rac1 Nd5 18.Rd3 Rc8 19.Rcd1 g6 20.Rf3 Rc7 21.Nd3 Be7 22.Re1 Nf6 23.Qe5 Nd5 24.Rxf7 Kxf7 25.Qxe6+ Kg7 26.Bxd5 a5 27.Qe4 Rf6 28.Nf4 Rxf4 29.Qxf4 Rd7 30.Qf7+ Kh8 31.Rxe7 1-0 As Kolty tells it he reached a position in this game where he had to something and so he did (24.Rxf7!). He said he is still not sure that the rook sacrifice is correct. Finally from beautiful Keswick in the Cumberland Mountains a special game from a special 8 board exhibition (arranged thru the generosity of his opponent) Koltanowski - Sir Hugh Walpole 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 d5 4.Bd3 Nbd7 5.Nbd2 Bd6 6.e4 dxe4 7.Nxe4 Nxe4 8.Bxe4 Nf6 9.Bd3 0-0 10.0-0 h6 11.Qe2 Bd7 12.Ne5 c5 13.dxc5 Bxc5 14.Rd1 Qe7 15.Bf4 Rad8 16.Qf3 Bc8 17.c3 g5 18.Bg3 Kg7 19.h4 Rh8 20.Bc2 b6 21.Nc6 Bb7 22.b4 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Qe8 24.Qxf6+ Kxf6 25.Be5# 1-0 A finish that any chessplayer would like to dream about let alone perform. Kolty wrote a nice dedication to Sir Hugh Walpole above this game in his book "In the Dark" describing him as a "novelist extraordinary and a devoted lover of chess" as well as "to honor a great artist, chess player, and friend who has entered the Great Beyond".

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

For 6 months in 1937 Kolty rented an apartment in Dublin, Ireland where he practiced the openings he was going to play in his world record blindfold simul exhibition. He avoided chessboards and kept his mind clear by not playing or looking at recent chessgames (also studied no chess). However he did continue to do blindfold displays, travelling to England to do 8, 10 , and 12 board exhibitions. He was particularly busy in the month of August with several. On September 20th, 1937 in Edinburgh, Scotland he played 34 boards simultaneously blindfold and scored 24 wins and 10 draws over 13 and a half hours to set a new world record. Here are some of the games: Koltanowski - Baker 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.c4 Bf5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bf4 h6 6.h3 g5 7.Bh2 Bg7 8.e3 Nf8 9.Rc1 c6 10.Nd2 d5 11.Qb3 Qb6 12.cxd5 Qxb3 13.Nxb3 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Nc5 Rc8 16.Kd2 Ng6 17.Bb5+ Kf8 18.g4 1-0 Black doesnt castle his king in time and gets caught. Koltanowski-Burnett 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.exf6 dxc4 8.Re1+ Be6 9.Ng5 Qd5 10.Nc3 Qf5 11.Nce4 Bf8 12.Nxf7 Kxf7 13.Ng5+ Kg6 14.Nxe6 gxf6 15.g4 Qa5 16.Bd2 Qb6 17.Qf3 Be7 18.Qf5+ Kf7 19.Qh5+ Kg8 20.Qh6 Bf8 21.Qxf6 Ne7 22.Bh6 Bxh6 23.Qxh6 1-0
A common (for Kolty) king hunt in the Max Lange. Kolty announced the rest of the moves (for White) in the game in sequence from 18.Qf5+ onwards. Koltanowski - Cairns 1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 Bg4 4.b3 e6 5.Bb2 Be7 6.Bd3 Nbd7 7.h3 Bh5 8.Nc3 c6 9.0-0 Nc5 10.Ne2 Nxd3 11.cxd3 Bxf3 12.Rxf3 0-0 13.Ng3 c5 14.Rc1 Qa5 15.Bc3 Qb5 16.Qe2 Rac8 17.Rff1 Rfd8 18.Be5 g6 19.Nh1 c4 20.dxc4 dxc4 21.bxc4 Qa5 22.d3 Nd7 23.Bc3 Qc7 24.Nf2 Qd6 25.Ba1 Bf6 26.d4 Qa6 27.Rc2 Rc7 28.Ne4 Bg7 29.g4 Nb6 30.Nc5 Qa3 31.Bb2 Qa5 32.Bc3 Qa3 33.Rb1 Na4 34.Bb4 1-0 Black has good queenside play until he fumbles with 19...c4?? Kolty then builds a strong center and kingside space before changing his mind and deciding to hunt down the pesky black queen. In doing so the white queen's knight, which had first travelled from b1 to h1, travels back to c5. How many times does the black queen need to be threatened before one learns to bring it to safety. Obviously not enough in this game. Instead the black queen gets slapped (I mean trapped). A little bit of chess humor in this game.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

Koltanowski - Gemmell, Edinburgh 1937, 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 g6 6.e4 d6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.Be3 Nd7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Qd2 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Ne5 12.Rad1 b6 13.f4 Nc6 14.Be3 Qc7 15.Rc1 e6 16.Nb5 Qd7 17.Rfd1 Rd8 18.Nxd6 Qe7 19.c5 e5 20.f5 gxf5 21.exf5 bxc5 22.Bxc5 Qd7 23.Bc4 Rf8 24.Qg5 Qd8 25.Nxf7 1-0 Sometimes simple pawn exchanges should be avoided as they open up the position for your opponents pieces. Here is a clear case of that. Kolty develops all his pieces in the center but its not clear what direction they will take from there until his opponent does two pawn exchanges on moves 20 and 21. The tactics soon become overwhelming.

[Ed Seedhouse]

Re: Blindfold Chess - the book

Sometimes simple pawn exchanges should be avoided as they open up the position for your opponents pieces. Here is a clear case of that. Kolty develops all his pieces in the center but its not clear what direction they will take from there until his opponent does two pawn exchanges on moves 20 and 21. The tactics soon become overwhelming.

Um, well Rybka running on my not so high end computer thinks Black was already lost after 18 ... Qe7. It gives as better 18 ... e5 leaving White with a clear advantage but not an actual outright win, at least according to the infernal machine's calculations.

It cites 15 ... e6 as an error changing white's slight advantage to a clear one.

It also indicates that 20. ... gxf4 is best, but agrees with you that 21. cxb5 was an error, though by then Black was already lost, according to it's evaluation.