~. ?u...({..

bY
l "'Sol\l't> 'S' .
 Hardest Game of Purdy's Life
(No. 30)
•
Best Move of Purdy's Life
(No. 30)
•
Purdy's Best Game Ever
(No. 38)
•
Purdy Did Not Lose a Game
of Correspondence Chess
Between 1937 and 1952!
•
Three World Championship
Finals games of Purdy's have
20 pages of notes!
•
C.J.S. Purdy, from Australia, won
the world's first chess
correspondence championship.
This book shows the road he took
to win with ruthlessness and
precision against the world's best.

I SBN 0 - 938650 - 80 -7
51800

9 780938 650805
HOW PURDY WON
1st World Champion of
Correspondence Chess

by

CJ.S. Purdy
and
Frank Hutchings
Kevin Harrison

Second Edition
Edited by Frank P. Hutchings

THINKERS' PRESS, INC.

DAVENPORT IOWA
1998
 How Purdy Won

Copyright © 1998 by Thinkers' Press, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval
system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act
or in writing from the publisher.

First Printing
April1998

ISBN: 0-938650-80-7

Requests for permissions and republication rights should be addressed in writing to:

Thinkers' Press Inc.

Editor, Bob Long
P.O. Box 8
Davenport IA 52805-0008 USA

2-
 How Purdy Won

CoNTENTS

Foreword to the Second Edition ................................................................ 7

Auth.or's Preface ............................................................................................. 8
Foreword to First Edition ............................................................................. 9
Foreword by Erik Larsson ......................................................................... 10
CJ.S. Purdy: His Career ............................................................................. 13
Acknowledgm.ents ........................................................................................ 15
Auth.ors' Photos ............................................................................................. 16
Purdy's Letter from Napolitano ................................................................ 29
Purdy's Page of Analyses ............................................................................. 52

CHAPrERl
I DISCOVER CORRESPONDENCE CHESS (17)

Sacrifice and Counter Sacrifice ........................................... 20

1. Purdy-Crowl ........................................... Nimzo-Indian Defense
The Willhemsen Gambit ....................................................... 22
2. Crowl-Purdy ......................................................... King's Gambit
My Eyes Are Opened ............................................................. 24
3. Purdy-Mcintosh ....................................................... Slav Defense
Anotlter Neat "Slav" .............................................................. 26
4. Purdy-Mcintosh ....................................................... Slav Defense

CHAPrER2
INAUGURAL AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP (30)

CCLA Champion .................................................................... 32

5. Hallmann-Purdy ............................... Queen's Gambit Declined
Concealment ............................................................................ 34
6. Cornforth-Purdy ..................................... Nimzo-Indian Defense
Coping With A Desperado ................................................... 36
7. Purdy-Crowl ........................................... Nimzo-Indian Defense
Novelty' In The Four Kltights ............................................... 38
8. Goldstein-Purdy ........................................... Four Knights Game

-3
 How Purdy Won
Rook Ending ............................................................................. 41
9. Purdy-Mcintosh ............ Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense Deferred
Pl'ema'tu.re Attack .................................................................... 43
10. Lindl~-Purdy ................................................... Catalan System
Anotller \l,Uick Black Win .................................................... 45
11. Vaughan-Purdy ............................................ Nimzovich Attack
No Absolute Freeing Move ................................................... 46
12. Purdy-Ludlow ............................ Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense
Winner Versus Runner-Up .................................................... 49
13. Koshnitsky-Purdy ............................................. Catalan System

CHAFI'ER3
SECOND AUSTRAUAN TITLE (51)

Limited Bishop's Gambit ....................................................... 53

14. Crowl-Purdy ....................................................... King's Gambit
Disguised Project ..................................................................... 54
15. Purdy-Miller ...................................................... French Defense
Anti-Dragon .............................................................................. 58
16. Purdy-Salm ....................................................... Sicilian Defense
That Tartak:over Idea ............................................................. 61
17. Armati-Purdy .............. Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense Deferred
New Light On An Old Gambit ............................................ 62
18. Purdy-Goldstein .................................................. Evans Gambit
An Ingenious Opponent ........................................................ 66
19. Purdy-Klass ........................................... Nimzo-Indian Defense
A Popular Brevity ................................................................... 67
20. Vaughan-Purdy ........................................... Gruenfeld Defense
Quick Gru.enfeld Win ............................................................ 71
21. Spinks-Purdy ................................................ Gruenfeld Defense
Endgam.e Subtleties ................................................................ 72
22. Purdy-Lindley ................................................... French Defense

CHAFI'ER 4
INTERNATIONAL TEAMS TOURNAMENT (76)

Defeat ·······················································~································· 78
23. Purdr=-Goncalves .................................... Two Knights Defense
Elegant Chess ........................................................................... 79
24. Purdy-Kerdil ...................................................... Petroff Defense

4-
 How Purdy Won
Defender 'IIi.umphs ................................................................. 83
25. Nilsson-Purdy ................................. Queen's Gambit Declined
Mopping-Up Hazards ............................................................. 85
26. Purdy-Soultanbeieff ............................................. Vienna Game
Complications .......................................................................... 88
27. Schittecatte-Purdy ................................................ Colle System

CIIAYrER 5
WORLD CHAMPIONSillP PRELIMINARY (95)

The aassic Response ............................................................. 97

28. Purdy-Frantzen .................................................... Evans Gambit
Opening Win .......................................................................... 100
29. Purdy-Baijot ............................................ Two Knights Defense
The Hardest Game Of My Life .......................................... 104
30. Bigot-Purdy ............................... Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense

CIIAYrER 6
WORLD CHAMPIONSillP FINAL
1: DOMINANCE (112)

Bishops Dominate ................................................................. 114

31. van't Veer-Purdy ...................... Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense
Novel Sttategy- ....................................................................... 116
32. Purdy-Collins ............................ Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense
The Pu.rdy Grip ...................................................................... 119
33. Purdy-Madsen ................................................ English Opening
House Of Cards ..................................................................... 122
34. Cuadrado-Purdy ....................... Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense
Logical Chess ......................................................................... 125
35. Purdy-Barda .................................................... English Opening
Dubious Gambit .................................................................... 129
36. Adam-Purdy ............................. Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense
Hanging Pawns ...................................................................... 131
37. Wood-Purdy ................................... Queen's Gambit Declined
Deep Thap ............................................................................... 134
38. Purdy-Watzl .................................... Queen's Gambit Declined

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 How Purdy Won

CHAPTER7
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
ll: STRUGGLE (138)

Faulty Opening ...................................................................... 141

39. van Scheltinga-Purdy .............. 000000000000000000000000000000 Slav Defense
Strategical Subtleties ............................................................ 143
40. Purdy-Balogh 0000000000000000000000000000 Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense
Super Defense ........................................................................ 147
41. Purdy-Malmgren 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 English Opening
Misconceptions ...................................................................... 151
42. Mitchell-Purdy 00000000000000000000000000 Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense
Battle Royal ............................................................................ 160
43. Purdy-Napolitano 000000000000000000000000000000000 Nimzo-lndian Defense

EPILOGUE (168)

For The Record ......................................................................................... 171

Additional Games ..................................................................................... 170
44. Hugolf-Purdy Ruy Lopez: Worrall Attack
00000000000000000000000000000000

45. Purdy-Condon Ruy Lopez: Cozio

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

46. Purdy-Harris Sicilian Defense

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo•

47. Koshnitsky-Purdy English Opening

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

48. Wolfers-Purdy .... oo •• oo.oo••oo•oo··········oo••oo······oo·····oo••oo•oo·········oo•••oo••oo

49. S. Bernstein-Purdy Ruy Lopez: Chigorin

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo . . .

50. C. Nielsen-Purdy Nimzo-lndian Defense

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

51. Krausz-Purdy Catalan Opening

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

52. Purdy-B. Reilly Caro-Kann Defense

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

53. Viaud-Purdy Slav Defense

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Index of Openings .................................................................................... 174

Volumes of the Purdy Library ............................................................... 175
Colophon ..................................................................................................... 176

6-
 How Purdy Won

FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDmoN

This second edition has been prepared as one of the volumes of a Purdy
Library, envisaged by RalphJ. Tykodi, and to be published by Thinkers' Press.
The major change is the update to algebraic (international) notation.
Descriptive notation was used in the first edition because about half the
original text had been prepared in this form by CJ .S. Purdy in the late 1970s,
though by the publication date, 1983, most new English language chess
books used algebraic.
Otherwise, as no major errors have been reported in the 13 years since
the original publication, only a few minor improvements and editorial
changes have been made. For convenience of reference, all games have
been numbered and an Openings Index introduced. In line with publica-
tion in the USA, spelling has been converted to American style.
The work itself was prepared using a word processor on a home
computer, and the completed text forwarded to Thinkers' Presson a diskette.

Frank P. Hutchings
Sydney, Australia
June 1996

-7
 How Purdy Won

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

Although this book is primarily for players of correspondence chess it is also

designed to help people who play chess only across the board.
I started playing correspondence chess seriously when I was thirty. I
had twice won the championship of Australia in crossboard chess and was
rated a master in that country. My experience at CC, however, was limited
to a number of off-hand games, and as I afterwards realized, what I had
played was not true correspondence chess, but ordinary chess by corre-
spondence, and against opponents who were doing likewise.
When I accepted a challenge from a CC specialist, also an Australian,
I was beaten badly. I then began studying the special requirements of CC,
and did end up becoming World Champion in it. How I got to that stage,
learning as I went, is what this book is about. But its purpose is to help other
players, both CC and crossboard. Perhaps one learns most from one's own
mistakes, but one can learn much from the mistakes of others, and learn far
more painlessly.
So the annotations all have that objective.

CJ.S. Purdy

8-
 How Purdy Won

FOREWORD TO FIRST EDITION

CJ.S. Purdy once wrote that if the name Purdy stood for anything in the
chess world it was for late publication. He would have been the first to
appreciate the irony of the posthumous appearance of this long-promised
book.
He originally intended writing in 1953, and over the next two decades
made a number of false starts, but it was not until1976 that he sat seriously
at the typewriter. On his death in 1979 the job was still only half finished.
The task of completing the manuscript was later taken up by the present
writers, who, for eighteen months, met weekly for long sessions to check
their analysis. It is hoped that their enthusiasm will compensate to some
extent for the loss of Purdy's personal touch.
The prospect of annotating the CC games of a world champion was
made a little less daunting in this case by the availability of many of Purdy's
original working sheets of analysis. These yellowed records, though often
incomplete and difficult to follow, provided some valuable clues to the
thoughts behind the moves. Also, a few brief published notes by Purdy
provided a sound basis for further work on some of the games.
Purdy's assertion that clear demonstrations are often not possible in
chess, even for the correspondence player, applies also to annotators
blessed with the enormous benefit of hindsight. The present annotators
have learned much from an intensive study of Purdy's play. We hope to
have preserved his theme of instruction, and to have shed additional light
on some of the games.
We are indebted to Mrs. Anne Purdy for her assistance in editing the
manuscript and her general support.

Frank P. Hutchings
Kevin J. Harrison

-9
 How Purdy Won

FOREWORD

by Erik Larsson
Former Vice President and T oumament Director of the ICCF

Cecil - "Mon compagnon par le coeur"

After the Second World War I wrote to everybody I could, proposing the
formation of a new international correspondence chess union. I modestly
called it the ICCA, an association, but I got replies from almost everybody
around the world, including Cecil Purdy. He registered both the CC League
of Australia and the New Zealand CC Association as members of the ICCA
in March 1946, about three months earlier than the USA and Latin
American countries joined. My correspondence with Cecil thus started
very early, and our writing was extensive and regular.
IFSB, the predecessor of the ICCA, of which I had been a tournament
director in 1937-1939, consisted mainly of Central European countries.
Many countries from Europe and other continents had been missing. The
ICCA immediately became-surprisingly to me and to all others-a world-
wide union. It was a pity that we did not at once call it a federation.
I emphasized the importance of sound playing rules, for international
competitions, in achieving fairness to players of all backgrounds, as well as
a high standard of play. However, though the IFSB rules were based on a
decade of experience, many countries did not know or wish to adopt them,
while others, including Great Britain, America and Australasia, also used
different notations.
I discussed all these important matters with Cecil, and we were one
hundred percent in accord. As Cecil had great authority in the English-
speaking ICCA member countries, he became a most valuable support to
me, and we were able to proceed unexpectedly fast in changing the ICCA
into the ICCF.
In one of his early letters Cecil wrote to me: "!see in CC, as in chess
generally, a by no means negligible factor in promoting international fellowship, a
necessary ingredient in any recipe for world peace. But CC is the most important in
70-
 How Purdy Won

this respect, because it gives the direct contact between many players of different
countries."
This corresponded fully with what I had written myself some months
earlier, in the first issue of the ICCA Monthly Resume, in january 1946.
A big problem in 1946, and for years thereafter, was the predominating
antagonism to Germany. When Argentina, partly backed up by the
Netherlands and some others, proposed that any ~ingle ICCA member
should be able to veto the acceptance of a membership application from a
new country, Cecil reacted strongly. Like myself, he found it against all
democratic principles that any single country should have such power over
others.
Cecil called the proposal "villainous", which he afterwards much
regretted. He had, in his indignation, overlooked that the word "villainous"
had a milder tone in Australian than in American English. Argentina was
most aggrieved, but Cecil wrote a diplomatic letter of apology and every-
thing calmed down.
In a later confrontation within the I CCA Cecil was again entirely on my
side. In spite of the weak financial position of the ICCA, and its dependence
on private donations, Cecil and I considered that sufficient grounds existed
to invest and take risks. The enormous growth of the ICCA (in the form of
I CCF) during later years was proof enough that Cecil and I had correctly
judged the possibilities of developing international correspondence chess.
Here is a charming little story: The scene is the Palais des Expositions
in Nice, May 12th 1974. ICCF is about to open its conference. Many are
assembled, not only ICCF people but also many others, because in the same
building the FIDE Olympiad (OTB) is in progress. When suddenly
"silentium" is called for, it is only the ICCF and AJEC presidents who are
near the chairs of honor. I myself happen to be far from the places ofhonor,
and who, by chance, is my neighbor on my right, I have not the slightest
idea. Mter some minutes I feel a discreet touch on my arm, and when I lean
a little to the right my neighbor whispers: "Can you tell me where is Mr.
Larsson?"-"Well, certainly, it's me. And who are you?"-"I am Cecil Purdy,
your old friend."
I missed most of the opening ceremony from that moment, and surely
Cecil did too, because all those memories from the first ten years ofiCCA
and ICCF passed in review through our minds. Cecil and I had never had
time to exchange photos or enquire about our appearances. Our extensive
correspondence kept us busy enough. I often think back to that moment in
-11
 How Purdy Won
Nice, and to the pleasant time I spent there with Cecil and his charming wife
Anne.
Cecil once wrote to me that he considered that OTB chess was a kind
of sport, while CC was a kind of art. Even in that respect we were on the
same wavelength, though I expressed it in another way, namely that OTB
chess is more often sport than art, while CC is more often art than sport. The
CC players often work like problem composers and solvers.
I consider Cecil to be one of the greatest figures in chess history, as he
had everything. He was an excellent organizer, an excellent chess journalist
and teacher, and as a player even a world champion. I am therefore so glad
that this book has been produced, giving further opportunity for all chess
fans to enjoy the chess art practised by Cecil Purdy, the first world champion
of correspondence chess.

12-
 How Purdy Won

CJ.S. Purdy, His Career

The competitive correspondence chess career of CJ.S. Purdy comprised

only 46 games. Many CC addicts have more games than th~s in progress
at once. Those 46 games gave Purdy two Australian titles and a World
Championship, the only individual events in which he competed. He
scored 34 wins, 10 draws and 2losses-nearly 85% overall!-and became a
Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess.
In crossboard play he won four Australian Championships, the Cham-
pionship of the Pacific and South East Asia (1960), numerous New South
Wales State titles and many other tournaments. He was awarded the title
of International Master in 1951.
Yet Purdy's main contribution to chess was not his play but his writings.
If Dr. Tarrasch was "the man who taught Europe chess," Purdy was the man
who taught Australia. For nearly four decades he edited a world class
monthly magazine which held chess together in Australia, and, for much of
the time, in New Zealand also.
The magazine, under the titles Australasian Chess Review, Check and Chess
World, contained, apart from informed comment on local and world chess
events, a wealth of articles by Purdy. These articles were aimed chiefly at
the average club player, the backbone of support for the magazine, and
contained practical chess instruction of the highest quality-instruction
designed to guide the average player to the level of expert.
Much of this material was distilled into two of the best chess primers
ever written: Chess Made Easy (written in collaboration with G. Koshnitsky)
and Guide To Good Chess. Nor were the interests of more experienced players
neglected. Purdy's three books on World Title matches all won acclaim
from the cognoscenti: How Euwe Won (1935), The Return ofAlekhine (1937)
and How Fischer Won (1972).
Not content with these achievements, Purdy contributed mightily to
chess administration. For almost the whole of his long career, and right up
to his death, he served with distinction in various capacities on the New
South Wales Chess Association, the Australian Chess Federation and the

-13
 How Purdy Won

Correspondence Chess League of Australia. His involvement with interna-

tional CC administration is discussed by Erik Larsson in the Foreword.
Important projects with which Purdy was closely associated included
Australia's early ventures into international crossboard competition - the
radio matches of the late 1940s, and the visits of Asian and European
masters, starting in the 1950s. Perhaps his greatest monument is the revised
Chess Laws, to which he made a major contribution. He considered the
creation of an accurate code of the laws of chess to be most important, and
devoted much time to their clarification and the avoidance of ambiguities.
The chess career of CJ.S. Purdy spanned 56 years. His name became
known to millions of Australians as synonymous with chess. In 1976 he
received the award of Member of the Order of Australia for services to the
game. It was fitting that he met his end during a tournament game - on
November 6th, 1979, he collapsed at the board and died soon afterwards
from a severe heart attack. His last words to his son john, also competing
-"I have a win but it will take some time." (F.P.H.)

CJ.S. Purdy receives the trophy for the World Championship in 1954.

14-
 How Purdy Won

Acknowledgments

The publisher would like to thank Mrs. Anne

Purdy for permission to republish CJ.S. Purdy's
writings. Our debt also extends to Kevin J.
Harrison and Frank P. Hutchings for permis-
sion to reproduce this book. Castle Books (Aus-
tralia, Horwitz Grahame Books Pty Ltd,
Cammeray) orginally published this in hard-
board cover in 1983.
Further thanks are due to Prof. Ralph Tykodi
for initiating the Purdy Library Project as well as
for his superb job in doing the legwork with
Frank and Kevin on this book.
Editor Bob Long made some editorial addi-
tions including one on Purdy's Hardest Game
(game 30)-Frank Hutchings was consulted.
RobertJamieson gave us information on where
to get hold of Koshnitsky for perhaps future
photos. Peter Parr (Chess Discount Sales) has
been very helpful in promoting our works in
Australia and correctly giving us information on
copyright holdings of the Purdy family concern-
ing his Australian Chess Maga;jne.

This book has been put into algebraic nota-

tion, a few errors corrected, and a new format
installed (including some additional diagrams).

-15
 How Purdy Won

CJ.S. Purdy, 1906-1979, de-

voted his life to chess. Widely
acclaimed as one of the great
writers on the game, he was an
eminent administrator, an out-
standing player, and, in corre-
spondence chess, a World
Champion.

Frank P. Hutchings, born

1936, son-in-law of CJ.S. Pur-
dy and for many years his
chess sparring partner and
confidant, is a retired electri-
cal engineer. In crossboard he
won theJunior Championship
of New Zealand, 1953, and
the State Championship of
Victoria, 1969.
After his work on How Purdy
Kevin Harrison, born 1946, is
Won he took up- correspon-
a full-time coach and teacher of
dence play, and has twice won
chess. He learned the game late,
the CC Championship ofAus-
at age 20, but progressed rap-
tralia (1989 and 1993). He is
idly to become State Cham-
currently contesting his first
pionofNewSouth Wales, 1979,
international tournament, a
in both crossboard and corre-
Semi-Finalsectionisthe World
spondence.
Championship XXI series.
Kevin won the 1981 CCCham-
pionship of Australia (while
working on How Purdy Won),
and in 1986 completed a win in
a Semi-Final section of the
W odd Championship XIV se-
ries, later competing also in the
Threequarter-Final event. He
holds the CC International
Master Title.

16-
 I Discover Correspondence Chess

CHAPTER 1

I DISCOVER CORRESPONDENCE CHESS

Before I went in for correspondence chess competitively I had played

quite a few games of chess by correspondence-perhaps a dozen. I had
even played in two matches for New South Wales against Victoria, in 1926
and 1934, but most of my games had been with the late F.A. Crowl, one of
Australia's leading crossboard players from about 1928 until his death in
1965.
However, up until 1936, in which year I reached the age of thirty, I
had never played a real specialist in CC. In that year I was challenged to a
friendly match by an old friend of university days, Gaius Mcintosh.
Remembering him as a fairly strong A-grade player (but nothing more), of
the Sydney University Chess Club, I saw no reason why I should not win
the match without undue exertion. I was, after all, holder of the Australian
crossboard title.
I did not take the games lightly, but gave each move much more time
than I could have over the board, with a clock ticking against me,
particularly when I found my positions deteriorating. To be brief, I was
beaten soundly in the match.
What was I to deduce? I, a professional player and a well known
writer on the game, had been trounced by an amateur of very little
account in the world which I regarded as the real chess world-and not
because I had played below my strength, but simply because he had
played more strongly. I realized that he had given the games more study
than I had, but-this is the point-I had never before suspected how much
difference that extra study might make.
I was forced to conclude that the game I had been playing over the
board was relatively superficial. I now know that this applies even to the

-17
 How Purdy Won

great crossboard players; I have proved it and accept it as commonplace,

but in 1936 it was a new thought to me.
I had been writing of the "machine-like accuracy" of the wizards of
the game. I now realize that this is purely an illusion. Nearly every
chessplayer must at times have come up against an opponent who proved
very clearly his master; try as he would, this opponent would mow him
down. In such a case did he not have the feeling that he was playing
against something like a machine? I think so. However, a critic going
through the games with a fine-tooth comb must find that even a World
Champion, though he played well enough to win, time and again failed to
find the best move. A player who could have done so would have
defeated him.
From my games with Mcintosh it was clear to me that status in
crossboard chess had very little to do with correspondence chess. A
player might lack the facility and quick sight of the board necessary to get
good results against strong players in crossboard chess, and yet possess a
really deep understanding of the game, and a capacity to play nearly
perfect chess when not beset with the handicaps of crossboard play -
firstly the time limit and secondly the ban on trying over moves before
playing them.
Mcintosh put it that the CC player is like an artist-a painter. The
painter is not only allowed as much time for his creations as he wishes to
take, but he is free to try over his colors on a palette before deciding just
how to apply them on his canvas.
This is not to say that correspondence chess is more important than
crossboard chess.lt produces a higher standard of play, other things being
equal, but because one player may elect to spend more time than his
opponent, it lacks the virtue of equal conditions for both players.
Crossboard chess, though frequently disfigured by blunders, even at the
top level, will always remain the best way of testing respective skills. It still
remains true that correspondence chess approaches nearer to the realm of
art, and gives great enjoyment to a host of players throughout the world
who can hope to approach that realm very seldom in crossboard play.
It also follows that correspondence games at a high level should be of
great interest to students of the chess openings, simply because the players
have given the moves so much thought. Writers on the openings should in
fact make more use of correspondence games than they commonly do.
Mcintosh also published, in the handbook of the Correspondence

18-
 I Discover Correspondence Chess

Chess League of Australia, advice on the special technique of CC. His

most important hint was to write down all your analysis at every move.
When I began playing CC competitively, I followed this advice and
found it extremely useful. You inevitably write down many moves that
turn out to be bad, but this at any rate saves you from looking at them
again, for you have recorded the refutations.
When calculating a difficult move in crossboard play, everybody is
familiar with the frustrating experience of going over the same ground at
least twice. In CC this is even more likely to happen, because a week or
two weeks or more may elapse between the sending of a move and the
receipt of a reply, turning your attention once again to a line of play
previously considered. Naturally you re-check a conclusion previously
reached, but if you have not written those conclusions down, you are
liable to forget a few of them or to be a little uncertain.
Despite all my scribbles of analysis, I seldom found that they amounted
to a demonstration that the move I finally selected was the best on the
board. All that I usually reached was a moral certainty in my own mind
that I had found either the best move or one that couldn't be bettered.
And I think this is a general experience. Correspondence chess is not a
series of mathematical demonstrations. The kind of confidence in one's
moves that is reached is much the same as in crossboard chess, only quite
a bit stronger. And of course one never has those awful races against the
clock, in which confidence almost vanishes.
(CJ.S.P.)

-19
 How Purdy Won

6. Qc2 f5
SACRIFICE AND 7. e3
Not 7. j3 Qh4f 8. g3 Nxg3. How-
COUNTER SACRIFICE ever, the usual strategy against the
Dutch Defense (7. g3, etc.) is best.
by C]S. Purdy 7. b6
8. Bd3 Bb7
Frank Crowl was an ardent disciple 9. Ne2 Qh4
-one could say apostle-of Nimzo- Crowl afterwards suggested 9...
vich, and could always be relied Qg5, and after 70. Nf4 Qjt6 followed
upon to play interesting chess, win by .. .g5. The position is hard to
or lose. evaluate. In this, not 70. 0-0? Nd2
It was during the following game 77. e4 fxe4 72. Bxd2 ()Jg2f!, and
(1934-35) that I first won the Aus- Black comes out a pawn up.
tralian crossboard championship. 10. 0-0 Nc6
Although Crowl lost the game he 11. g3
declared it to be "perhaps the best Creating a weakness unneces-
game of chess he had ever played," sarily. White meant to go for the
i.e., up till 1935. I think we must pawn grab. He should have played
conclude that it is worth a place in 77. a3 but wished to avoid losing a
this book. tempo.
11. ... Q!6
-1- 12. a3!
Purdy-F .A. Crowl I had seen now that 72. Bxe4
Nimzo-lndian Defense fxe4 73. 0Je4 was inferior. After
73 ... Na5 74. d5 0-0 White is in
1. d4 Nf6 trouble, e.g. if 75. Nc3 Ba6, or 75.
2. c4 e6 Rb7 exd5 76. cxd5 Qj7! 77. Nc3 Ba6,
3. Nc3 Bb4 or 77. Nf4 g5 78. Nh3 Bxd5 79. Qg4
4. Qc2 h6, and if 20. Nxg5 Qg7. Black al-
Still played, though 4. e3 long ways regains his pawn with the ini-
ago replaced it as the favorite. tiative at least.
4. ... Bxc3t 12. Ng5
Bringing about a variant of the 13. f3 0-0
Dutch Defense. Orthodox is 4... d5 14. Bd2 Rae8
and after 5. cxd5, then either 5... 15. Bc3 Qh6
()Jd5 or 5... exd5. Crowl said afterwards that if he
5. Qxc3 Ne4 did miss a chance to gain an advan-

20-
 I Discover Correspondence Chess

tage from White's error on move 24. gxf5 Nd6

11, it was probably here, by 75... It is probable that 24 ... Qs6was
Nh3ffirst. better, when White's advanced
16. h4! Nf7 pawns could soon become weak,
17. e4 g5 though White would have drawing
Crowl said he spent 14 hours chances. Crowl thought he was
analyzing this move. clearly winning.
18. Kg2! g4 25. Qd5t Qt7
Based on a startling idea. If 18... 26. exd6 Rxe2t
gxh4 19. Rhl. 27. Kf3 Re6
19. fxg4 Nce5!! As far back as move 17, Crowl
A brilliant and imaginative con- had banked on exchanging Queens
ception, at any rate. I was taken here, but now he finds that it loses,
completely by surprise, but thought as White gets a supported passed
I had discovered a refutation. pawn on the seventh rank.
20. dxe5 fxe4 28. g4 h5
21. Bxe4 Qg6! Black still thought he had win-
ning chances; he should have tried
28... Rxd6 29. OJ5 Rd3f, and 30...
Rxc3, giving back the Exchange with
a likely draw.
29. dxc7 hxg4t
If 29... Rc6 30. Rgl Kh7 31. Q§f7t
Rxf7 32. Be5 Rxc4 33. f6 d6 34. g5!,
and wins.
30. Kxg4 Rc6
31. Rgl!
And if 22. Rf4 Ng5! 23. hxg5 A vital move, to drive Black's
Rx/4 24. Nxf4 Bxe4f 25. Kf2 Bxc2 King out of play for the ensuing
26. Nxg6. end-game.
Black cannot lose and even has 31. ... Kh7
winning chances. White thought at Not 31... Rxc4f?? 32. Kf3t. Nor
the time that his next move should 37... f!3d5 32. cxd5 Rxc7 33. Kh5f
win, and at least it gives Black the Kj7 34. Rg7t Ke8 35. Kg6 and wins.
maximum opportunity of going 32. Qxt7t Rxf7
wrong. 33. Re1 Rxc4t
22. Rf5! Bxe4t 34. Kg5 Rc5
23. Qxe4 exf5 Not 34... Rxc7 35. ReB. Now

-21
 How Purdy Won

Black has perpetual check as a If 46... Kg6 47. Kd4Kj7 48. Kxd5
counter to 35. ReB. Rc1 49. Kd6 KeB 50. Bd4, etc. Or
35. Re5 Rg7t 46... Rc4 47. Kd3! d4 (If 47. .. Kg6 48.
36. Kh5 Rc6 Bd6, threatening Bc5, 48. Bd6 Rc6
49. Kxd4 Rxd6t 50. Kc5 Rd1 51. Kb6
Rc1 52. Kb7, and White easily wins
the coming pawn ending.

THE WILLHEMSEN
GAMBIT
Suddenly the game seems to by CJS. Purdy
have turned Black's way. But this is
an illusion. In the early days of correspondence
37. f6! Rxf6 chess, gambits were exceedingly
38. Rg5 Rh6t popular. The idea was that if you
39. Kg4 Rxg5t were going to spend a great deal of
40. Kxg5 Rc6 time on a game, it might as well be
41. Be5 d5 a lively one. Even today this rea-
This cuts out White's threatened soning still leads to a fair propor-
Bd6, but White's King can come to tion of gambits in CC.
the rescue. I myself played the Evans Gam-
42. Kf5 b5 bit, first in the second Australian
43. b4 a6 Correspondence Championship,
Black can only mark time. If and again in the sectional play of
43 ... Kh6 44. Kf4 as in the game. the World Championship. I won
44. Kf4 Kg6 both games. In this case there was
45. h5t! too much at stake to put liveliness
The black King must be de- ahead of the competitive aspect, but
coyed. If 45. Ke3? Kf5 46. Kd4 Ke6 the fact was that I was for a long
and White cannot win. time very impressed with the possi-
45. ... Kxh5 bilities of the Evans, and refrained
46. Ke3 1-0 from it over the board only because
Although the Exchange up, of the difficulty of coping with its
Black is helpless. intricacies with a clock ticking be-

22-
 I Discover Correspondence Chess

side me. and the following two moves con-

The King's Gambit, too, has stituted an absolute refutation. Gold-
become a favorite in CC. The fol- stein did not know about it until the
lowing was also a non-tournament fourth game of his match, and then
game, but has the merit, for publi- he faltered in following it up.
cation, of extreme brevity. It fea- 5. Nxd5 Bg4t
tures an extraordinary branch of the 6. Nf3 Nc6
King's Gambit which, despite its di-
sastrous result for White here, has
never been refuted, although many
players are under the delusion that
it has been.
In the year of this game, 1936,
Crowl won a challenge match over
the board against the English mas-
ter M.E. Goldstein, in which the
conditions were that Crowl would
have White in every game and play 7. d4
the Willhemsen Gambit. The stake Trevor Hay, in his masterly
was five pounds a side, which was book on the King's Gambit (pub-
money in those days. To the sur- lished by Chess Digest, U.S.A.-out
prise of everybody except Crowl, of print), points out that White
he won 3.5-1.5. This game was should accept the offered Exchange:
played soon after that match. 7. Nxc7t KdB 8. NxaB Ne5 9. h3!
(nothing else [Ed.: perhaps this is not
-2- true because 9. Qs1 Nxf3 10. Qxh4t
F.A. Crowi-Purdy Nxh4t 11. Ke1 and it's not so clear.] is
King's Gambit any use) and now the obvious 9...
Nxf3 is dubious as the return of ma-
1. e4 e5 terial by 10. hxg4 enables White to
2. f4 exf4 relieve the pressure and even to ob-
3. Nc3 tain winning chances ultimately.
This is the Willhemsen Gambit. Hay's analysis continues: 9 ...
The idea is to lure the black Queen Bxf3t 10. gxj3 Qg3 11. d3 QJJ3t 12.
to where she can later be chivvied. Ke 1, and Black has the choice of
3. ... Qh4t 12 ... Qg3f, leading to perpetual
4. Ke2 d5 check, and an attempt to win by
At that time I believed that this 12 ... 0Jh1. It seems to me that Black

-23
 How Purdy Won

can try the second alternative with
reasonable optimism. After 13. Bxf4
Bd6 White is going to have great
difficulty in extricating his Knight
from a8.
7. ... 0-0-0
8. Kd3?
Correct is 8. c3 but 8... f5 gives
Black an advantage. A game Keres-
Kunerth, 1936, continued from
there: 9. Qj3 Nf6 10. Nxf6 gxf6 11.
Bxf4 fxe4 12. Q3e4Bh6.
Crowl had played 8. c3 against
Goldstein, who answered with 8...
Nf6 and lost.
8. f5
9. Qe2 fxe4t
10. Qxe4 Bxf3
11. Qxf3 Rxd5
0-1
MY EYES ARE
OPENED
by C]S. Purdy
The history of chess contains anum-
ber of CC specialists. Most of them
have been crossboard players of fair
strength who, for one reason or an-
other, went over to CC almost ex-
clusively.
One such player-now, like my-
self, a veteran-is G.F. Mcintosh. He
became a lecturer in philosophy at
the University of New England at
Armidale, New South Wales. In this
rural seat of learning he rarely had
the opportunity to cross swords with
a strong opponent over the board,
and correspondence chess became
his absorbing hobby.
In 1937 he assisted a Sydney
player, F.M. Hallmann-also a CC
specialist-to revive the Correspon-
dence Chess League of Australia.
The CCLA, founded in 1929, origi-
nally had its headquarters in Mel-
bourne. Falling into the doldrums
in 1936, it was rescued by Mcin-
tosh and Hallmann, with Sydney as
its new center. It now (mid 1970s)
has possibly the largest member-
ship, proportional to population, of
any national CC body in the world-
about 2000.
The game that now follows was
the first to finish in my 1936 match
with Mcintosh. At the time I said it
was the best game I had ever lost.
-3-
Purdy-G.F. Mcintosh
Slav Defense
1. d4 d5
2. c4 c6
3. e3 Nf6
4. Nc3 Bf5
No doubt better is 4... e6, in-
tending the Meran Variation. How-
ever, the text move is playable.
5. cxd5 Nxd5

24-
 I Discover Correspondence Chess
Certainly better than 5... cxd5
(Alekhine-Capablanca, New York
1924). After 6. Qj3 Bc8 (the least
evil) Black has a serious deficit in
development, though Capablanca
succeeded in drawing.
6. Nge2
An experiment which Black
counters very ingeniously. Best is 6.
Bc4 first.
6. ... Qa5!?
The strategical objective of this
is ... e5, freeing himself in the center.
The tactical threat is to win by ... Nb4.
White cannot play 7. Bd2 because
then 7... Nb4 has the additional
threat of ... Nd3 mate. But in view of
my next note, probably the quiet
6... Bg6 was better.
7. f3
The obvious move, but not suf-
ficiently far-seeing for correspon-
dence chess. White should have
prevented Black's ... e5. Thus: 7. Qj3
Nd7 8. Ng3 (not 8. Q§b7? Rb8 9.
Q§c6 Nb4) Bg6 9. e4 Nxc3 10. bxc3,
followed by Bd3. Threatened with
loss of his light-squared Bishop,
Black will be forced to weaken his
position enough to give White a
small positional advantage.
7. ... e5!
Based on deep calculation.
8. e4 exd4
9. Qxd4 Nb4
10. Qd1
10. •.. N8a6!!
White had counted on Black's
having to save his Bishop, which
would give White time to organize
his game. But Black finds a way to
avoid this. If 11. exj5 Rd8 12. Nd4
Rxd4.
11. Nf4?
White selects this in place of
the obvious Ng3 because it gives a
chance to trap the black Knight with
a3. Indeed, Black is lost unless he
can permanently leave his Bishop
en prise. Unfortunately for White,
he can. Even 11. Ng3 might not save
the game, e.g. 11... Be6 12. a3 Rd8
13. Bd2 Nd3f 14. Bxd3 Rxd3, and
White is in trouble, as 15. 0-0 ?loses
to 15... Bc5f, followed by ... Qd8.
11. Rd8
12. Bd2 Bd6
13. Qb1 Nc5!
And now if 14. exf5 Bxf4 15.
Bxf4 Ncd3f, and Black regains the
piece with a winning attack. The
move White does play is an over-
sight, but there is no quite satisfac-
tory defense.
-25
 How Purdy Won

14. Nfd5 cxd5 off elegant finishes over the board.

15. Nxd5 Bg3t But in CC the same thing is pos-
Black's saving clause, which sible for players oflesser crossboard
White had missed. Such elemen- caliber.
tary slips have no place in corre-
spondence chess.
16. hxg3 Flxd5
And now if 77. exj5, simply 77. .. ANOTHER NEAT
0-0 with a winning attack.
17. Qd1
''SLAV' 1

By CJS. Purdy

Here is another ignominious defeat

I suffered at the same hands. Again
I had the advantage of the first move
and again the Slav Defense led to a
fairly quick win for Black. .This in
itself is noteworthy because the Slav
Defense is not a favorite with CC
17. ... Qb6!! players; it is regarded as too "inac-
This beautiful move is the short- tive".
est way to victory.
18. Bb5t Bd7!! -4-
Black could win by taking the Purdy-G.F. Mcintosh
Bishop, but this is neater. Slav Defense
0-1
Black sent the following condi- 1. d4 d5
tionals: If 19. exd5 Ncd3f! 20. Bxd3 2. c4 c6
Nxd3f 21. Ke2 Bb5! 22. Qg1 Nj2t 3. N£3 Nf6
23. Ke1 0-0, forcing mate or win of 4. Nc3 dxc4
the Queen. 5. a4 Bf5
The meticulous care taken by Most Slav Defense games begin
Mcintosh to find the most elegant, thus. For several decades the usual
i.e. shortest, finish, is characteristic continuation from here has been 6.
of high-class correspondence chess. e3, but 6. Ne5 (the Krause Attack)
This is where chess enters the realm still rears its head from time to time.
of art. Of course, chess masters bring It is tricky and complicated, and

26-
 I Discover Correspondence Chess

therefore well suited to correspon- 8. Qb3

dence play. "Book" was 8. g3. In the 21st
6. Ne5 Nbd7 game of the 1935 World Champi-
This was "book" at the time. onship match, Alekhine-Euwe,
Subsequently 6... e6 took its place, there followed: 8. g3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5
the idea being to answer 7. f3 with 10. Bf4 Nfd7 11. Bg2 f6 12. 0-0 Rd8
7. .. Bh4, after which the immediate 13. Qs1 Be614. Nxe5 Nxe5with about
8. e4 can be met by 8... Bxe4! lead- equality.
ing to a wild game of equal chances. A Russian magazine then rec-
So, in this line White prefers to pref- ommended the text move, to fore-
ace e4 with 8. Bg5 or 8. Nxc4. stall ... e5.
A fairly recent example was The present game was played
Mikenas-Kuprejcic, USSR Cham- in 1936, right in between the two
pionship 1973: 6... e6 7. f3 Bb4 8. world title matches between
Nxc4 Nbd7 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 b5 11. Alekhine and Euwe. In the first
Nd2 e5 12. e4 (Better was 12. dxe5 game of the 1937 match, Euwe fol-
Nxe5 13. e4 Bd7 with equality.) exd4 lowed Alekhine's play given in the
13.Na2 Nxe4!! (in the grand style) paragraph just above, up to move
14. Bxd8 Bxd2f 15. Ke2 d3f 16. Kxd3 13, then varied with 14. Ne4! White
Ndc5f 17. Ke2 Rxd8 18. g4 Be6 19. has been credited with a slight ad-
Qs2 Bb3! 20. Rc1 Bxc1! 21. Q3c1 Rd2f vantage ever since. The best con-
22. Ke3 Rd1 23. Q3d1 Bxd1 24. fxe4 tinuation from there is probably:
Bxa4and Black won this wild game. 14 ... Bb4 15. a5 a616. Nxe5 Nxe5 17.
It will be difficult to exhaust the Bd2. Black's queenside is rather
possibilities of this complex varia- rigid.
tion (6. Ne5): 8. ... e5!?
Typical of Mcintosh's imagina-
7. Nxc4 Qc7 tive and creative style. At first glance
the pawn offer looks too risky.
9. dxe5 Nxe5
10. Nxe5 ~e5
11. Qxb7 ReB
This has a very defensive look,
considering that Black has just sac-
rificed a pawn. But White's Queen
is going to have difficulties.
12. e3 Bc5
13. Bd3
-27
 How Purdy Won

On principle it is good to ex- 18. h3 Nh2!

change off the attacking pieces, but "Further weakening dl. A weak
in this case Be2 was perhaps better. square is naturally all the weaker
White's kingside becomes short of with a piece on it instead of defend-
defenders. ing it." (Mcintosh)
13. 0-0 19. Rd1 Nf3t
14. Bxf5 Qxf5 20. Kf1
15. 0-0 Rfd8 "Not 20. gxj3? 0Jh3 21. f4 g5
16. a5 with a winning attack." (Mcintosh)
View Ra4. Black beautifully [Ed.: The theme ofthe "attack" appears
demonstrates the danger of weak- to be the opening ofthe g-jile for a black
ening the back rank. A better de- Rook. But even after a White move such
fensive try was 16. Q,a6 (aiming at as 22. Qg6 with the threat of 23. Qj1,
Qs2), but in any case Black's com- the absolute finish of the attack may be
pensation for the pawn is at least unclear. No doubt Mcintosh had some
adequate. long set of variations in mind, but it
16. Ng4 would have been nice to have them noted.
17. Ra4 Perhaps Mcintosh's ally was Pierre de
Fermat.]
20. ... Be5
21. Qb3?
"White misses Black's 22nd
move. If 21. e4!, probably Black
would play 21 ... Nh2t at once be-
fore moving his Queen. If then 22.
Kg1, the King cannot go to the de-
fense of the key square dl after the
Queen moves: while if instead the
White ought to have changed King goes to its defense immedi-
his plan and played 17. h3 Ne5 18. ately, the kingside is very much
e4. However, Black retains an at- weakened, as the Queen's Rook is
tack. now cut off from it by the pawn at
17. ... Bd6! e4." (Mcintosh)
"The key square of the game is 21. ... Bxc3
now dl. The Bishop utilizes the king- 22. bxc3
side attack, which of itself cannot If 22. RxdBt RxdB 23. 0Jc3 OJ5t
go through, to change its square and 24. Qs4 Rd1 t 25. Ke2 Rxc1 26. 0Jb5
indirectly weaken d 1." (Mcintosh) cxb5 27. Re4 f5!, and Black has a
28-
 I Discover Correspondence Chess

steady win.
22. ... Qb5t
0-1
White comes out the Exchange
down with a dead loss.

A letter accompanying Napolitano's 34th move. The friendly tone indicates the spirit in
which the World Championship was played.

-29
 How Purdy Won

CHAPI'ER2

INAUGURAL AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

My first CC tournament was the inaugural Correspondence Chess Cham-

pionship of Australia, which started in 1937. It was decided in 1939,
though the games were not all finished till 1941.
Both Mcintosh and Hallmann competed. Hallmann at the time was
Champion of the CCLA. These two CC specialists suffered score-wise for
giving away some of their secrets before the event.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
CJ.S. Purdy * * 1 1 1 1 10.0
2 G. Koshnitsky * * * * * * 1 1 1 1 1 8.0
3 F.A. Crowl 0 * * * 0 1 §1 0 1 6.5
4 M.E. Goldstein * * * * * * 0 * 1 6.5
5 F.L. Vaughan 0 * 0 * * * * 1 6.5
6 F.M. Hallmann 0 * * * 0 1 0 * 1 6.0
7 A.C. Harris 0 * 1 * 0 0 * 1 * 1 6.0
8 G.F. Mcintosh 0 0 0 * 0 * 0 1 5.0
9 J.W. Cornforth 0 0 §0 0 * 0 1 §O 4.5
10 G. Lindley 0 0 1 0 * * * 0 0 * 0 3.0
11 R.F. Condon 0 0 0 * 0 0 0 0 0 * * 1.5
12 0. Ludlow 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 §O 1 * 1.5

The winner and the runner-up happened also to be Australia's two

leading crossboard players. I had profited exceedingly from my drubbings

§ Two games were adjudicated when Cornforth moved to England. Under the CCLA
rules he was treated as a withdrawn player and was credited no points for them.

30-
 Inaugural Australian Championship

at the hands of Mcintosh, whereas I think it was only during the tourna-
ment that Koshnitsky found out that crossboard chess and correspon-
dence chess are such different games.
Most of the remaining competitors were well known crossboard play-
ers. Maurice Goldstein (died 1966) was famous as the compiler of the
1935 edition of Modern Chess Openings. He had been Britain's No. 4 player
when he migrated in 1929.
Jack Cornforth was later to become Dr.J.W. Cornforth, FRS, and in
1975 became a Nobel Prize winner. He could have been a great player,
but wisely chose to dedicate himself to organic chemistry. (CJ .S.P.)

-31
 How Purdy Won
Strategy of some depth, one pos-
CCLA CHAMPION sible sequel being Qg4 and Nb3.
However, it does seem to concede
by CJS. Purdy Black the initiative. The answer to
11. dxe5 is 11... NeB.
This game was the interesting meet- 11. Re8
ing of the CCLA Champion with 12. Be2 Nf8
the Australian crossboard Cham- 13. Qa4 exd4
pion. 14. exd4 Ne6
15. Be3 Bxc5
-5- Calculated a good way ahead
F.M. Hallmann-Purdy on both sides.
Queen's Gambit- Orthodox Defense 16. bxc6 bxc6
17. dxc5 d4
1. d4 d5 18. Qxc6 Bd7
2. c4 e6 19. Qd6
3. Nc3 Nf6 Or 19. OJ6 Qs7! 20. Nde4 dxe3
4. Bg5 Nbd7 21. Nxf6f 0Jf6 22. 0-0 Qg4!, with
5. e3 Be7 advantage to Black.
6. Nf3 0-0 19. dxe3
7. Rcl a6 20. fxe3 Rc8
8. c5 21. Nce4
Nowadays regarded as the best Wishing to hang on to his passed
answer to 7. .. a6. pawn, for if that goes, the game
8. ... c6 could be decided by the weak iso-
9. b4 lated e-pawn.
Obvious but not the best. A 21. Nxe4
modern classic is Portisch-Petro- 22. Nxe4
sian, match 1974, in which after 9.
Bd3 b6 10. cxb6!, Petrosian played
10... c5 and lost. In Hort-Portisch,
Madrid 1973, Portisch played 10...
0Jb6 and also lost. It seems so diffi-
cult for Black to equalize that 7. .. a6
is somewhat discredited.
9. a5
10. b5 e5
11. Nd2
32-
 Inaugural Australian Championship

22. 000 Qh4t 31. Kf2

Black worked out the simple If 37. Rg3 Q,h6.
22 ... Bc6 to a draw, and then evolved 31. ... Rxc5!
this extraordinarily complicated Although this entails giving up
line, which has point only because the Exchange in some variations, it
of a piece sacrifice. is better than using the Rook for the
23. Ng3 Qg5!! menial task of blockading the passed
And now if 24. fl3d7 Rcd8 25. Q, pawn.
side-steps, fl3e3. White's King is held 32. Nxt7
on the open center files and his Not 32. Bxe6? Rc2f. Now Black
Rooks cannot connect. That is worth has only one good move.
a piece as a general rule, and this 32. ... Rc7!
case is no exception. 33. Nd6
24. 0-0 Qxe3t If 33. Bxe6? fl3e6 34. Rxc7 Qg6f.
25. Khl Bc6 If 33. Ng5 Rxc4 34. Rxc4 fl3g5
26. Bc4 35. Rc8f Nd8, and the piece can be
If 26. Ba6Black could again sac- kept.
rifice the Bishop by 26... Bxg2t 27. If 33. Ne5 @6 34. Bxe6f (34.
Kxg2 Rcd8, though probably still Rb7 g5!) fl3e6 35. Rxc7 Qg6f.
stronger is the quieter 26... Rc7, Or 33. Nd8 Rxc4, etc.
which threatens to win the Queen 33. ... h5!
by .. .Rd8. The text move exerts
counter-pressure on f7.
26. ... Red8
27. Nf5
White had planned this resource
many moves earlier. White gets an
attack and a fairly good load of
wood for his Queen. Not so good
was 27. Rce7 Qs3 28. Bxe6(If 28. Qs7
Rc7 29. Q,h4 Rd4.) Rxd6 29. Bxj7t
Kh8 30. cxd6, because of 30... Qj2. 34. Kfl
And of course not 27. Qs7?? This makes Bxe6f a real threat.
Bxg2t, etc. If at once 34. Bxe6f fl3e6 35. Rxc7
27. Bxg2t fl3d6 and White cannot escape the
28. Kxg2 Qe4t loss of a second pawn (after which
29. Rf3! Rxd6 the two Rooks will fail to draw),
30. Nxd6 Qg6t except by 36. Rjf7 fl3h2t 37. Kf7

-33
 How Purdy Won

@3t 38. Kj2 Q_h4t 39. Kf1 Qg3! 40. 41. Re3 Kf5
a4!, to forestall ... a4. Now a too hasty 42. Nb6 g5
40... h4?would give White a draw 43. h3 a3
by 41. Rxg7t, but 40... Kh7 (for ... Kh6 44. Nd5 Nb5!
and ...g6) preserves the win. 45. Ne7t Kf6
In this, if 39. Kj3 Qg4ffollowed 46. Nd5t Kf7
by ... a4! makes the win easy be- 47. Rf3t Ke6
cause in the pawn ending, after the 0-1
general exchanges, Black's King can If 48. Nc3 Nxc3 49. Rxc3 g4 and
hurry to b2 without worrying about the black King creeps up, using his
White playing a4 when it gets there. g-pawn for shelter.
The obvious 34. Re3 is spoiled
by 34... Qf6f, e.g. 35. Ke1 Qf4! 36.
Bxe6f KfB 37. Rxc7 Q!,e3f, etc.
Or 35. Ke2 Qj2t 36. Kd1 Q_d4t
CONCEALMENT
37. Rd3 Rxc4!
Or 35. Kg1 Qg5t 36. Kj2 Qf4t by CJS. Purdy
37. Ke2 Q!,d6 38. Rxe6 Q!,h2t 39.
Ke 1 Kh8, etc. In warfare, concealment of forces,
Hallmann considered the inge- and concealment of plans, are of
nious 34. Rj5!? and discarded it only tremendous importance. Camou-
because he assumed I would find flage and a myriad other devices
the beautiful win: 34 ... Rd7! 35. Rg1are called into service.
Q_h6 36. Ne4 Rd2t 37. Kf3 Rd3f!! In chess one cannot physically
(still cannot be taken) 38. Kg2 Rd4!, conceal anything. Every move is
and at last Black wins. plainly visible. Nevertheless, the
The move played enables Black purpose of a move is not always
to give back his Queen. White saw obvious. The less obvious it is the
this but thought the ending offered better. Of two moves otherwise
some drawing chances. equally good, one prefers the move
34. Flh7! that is more likely to delude the
35. Bd3 Rxcl t opponent about one's designs.
36. Kf2 Rc2t The following game is an un-
37. Kfl Rxa2 usually quick win with the Black
38. Bxg6t Kxg6 pieces. Such a thing is not possible
And Black won: without a serious error by White,
39. Kgl a4 and here such an error is forthcom-
40. Nc4 Nd4 ing. However, the interesting fact

34-
 Inaugural Australian Championship
about the game is that the move
that sparked off White's troubles was
a seemingly inoffensive one that ap-
peared to have no bearing on the
quarter of the board on which Black
was setting his sights.
-6-
J.W. Cornforth-Purdy
Nimzo-Indian Defense
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 Bb4
4. Qc2 d5
5. cxd5 exd5
6. e3
There is little to be said for this
except that Rubinstein favored it.
White's reason for playing it was
that he assumed that Black had pre-
pared against the usual 6. Bg5. But
in correspondence play it is more
important to play the best moves
than to surprise your opponent. Al-
though initially unprepared for a
certain move, he has plenty of time
to think about it. He will usually be
happy that you have played a sec-
ond-best move, however well pre-
pared he was against the best one.
6. ... 0-0
7. Bd3 c6
At that time the "book" line was
7. .. b6 followed by ... c5 as played in
Rubinstein-E. Steiner, Budapest
1929. It leads to "hanging pawns."
The .. .c6 formation gives Black
an immobile queenside, but in or-
der to attack it, White must castle
on the kingside, which will itself be
vulnerable if his dark-squared Bish-
op is cut off from it, as here. And
the point of playing ... c6 so early is
that it enables Black to play ...Bd6
in answer to a3, as Nb5 is prevented.
8. Nge2 ReS
9. Bd2 Nbd7
10. Ng3 Nf8
11. 0-0
I gave much thought to this po-
sition. The question is whether Black
should make a move to initiate his
own kingside attack or "prophylact"
against White's queenside push of
b4 and b5. The former course is the
obvious one, since the latter is not
yet necessary.
However, one of the moves that
would clearly enter into White's
thinking was Na4, and Black wanted
to encourage it! Hence the deliber-
ate weakening of his dark squares
on the queenside. For while White's
Knight (on c3) has the option of
-35
 How Purdy Won

retreating to e2, White could hold a the agony by f4 and Qjt2.

kingside attack at bay.
11. ... a6!
Without this timid-looking
move at this stage, it is safe to say COPING WITH A
that no quick win for Black would
have eventuated.
DESPERADO
12. Na4
White is tempted by the lure at by Cj.S. Purdy
once. It was more logical to reserve
the option, and play 12. Rfcl first. Frank Crowl had been an inveter-
12. Bd6 ate CC player for many years, but
13. Rfcl Ng4 his extremely intuitive style was not
14. Bel? perfectly suited to correspondence
An oversight which terminates play. The interesting feature of this
the game rapidly. Of course not 14. game was the diabolical ingenuity
h3? Nxf2, but necessary was 14. Nfl, displayed by Crowl in a losing fight.
when 14... Qjt4 15. g3 Qf6 still leaves
Black with a promising attack. -7-
14. ... Qh4 Purdy-F.A. Crowl
15. h3 Nxe3 Nimzo-lndian Defense
For if 16. Qs2 0Jd4.
16. Qd2 Nxg2! 1. d4
17. Kxg2 Here I deviated from my cus-
If 77. Nh6, Black intended sacri- tomary 1. e4 because I wanted to
ficing the Rook: 17. .. Nf4! 18. Nxa8 give Crowl a chance to play what
Nxh3t 19. Kfl Nf4 20. Kgl N8e6, was at that time a favorite Nimzo-
with a winning attack. vichian line of his.
17. ... Bxh3t 1. Nf6
0-1 2. c4 e6
The attack is overwhelming. If 3. Nc3 Bb4
18. Kgl Ne6! lf18. Khl Bf4! 19. @4 4. e3 0-0
Ne6 and White is again helpless, 5. Nge2 ReS
e.g. 20. Bd2 Ng5 21. Bxf4 gives Black This was the line.
a mate in three starting with 21.. . 6. a3 Bf8
Bfl f. In this line the idea of 18.. . 7. e4 e5
Bf4 is not to win the Exchange but So that if 8. d5 Black can play
to prevent White from prolonging ... a5 and ... Bc5. If 7. .. d6, then 8. d5

36-
 Inaugural Australian Championship

with advantage. But this threatens both, and

8. dxe5 Ng4 Black must lose the Exchange in all
9. Ng3 variations, e.g., after 77. .. ReS 78.
If 9. f4 Bc5; rather wild. Qj4. He elects to make a virtue of
9. ... Qh4 necessity.
With the good idea of sacrific- 17. Rxe3
ing a pawn for an attack, but over- 18. Qxe3 Bc5
looking that White can win the 19. Nd4 Re8
pawn in an advantageous way. 20. Qd3 g6
10. Be2 d6 There was a masked threat to
11. Nb5! Na6 h7 and it was wise, also, to stop
12. exd6 cxd6 Ndj5.
If 72 ... Rd8 73. Bd2 c6 74. Nc7. 21. Kb1! Bd6!
13. Qc2 It is amazing how, despite the
pinned Knight, Black can still fight.
22. Ka2
This second King move is cor-
rect. If instead 22. Ka 7, there is pith
in ... Nc5.
22. ... Nc7

13. •.. d5!

This sacrifice of a second pawn
is the only hope.
14. cxd5 Nxh2
"Though this be madness, yet
there's method in't."
15. Be3 Bd7
16. Qd2 Rxe4!
In this desperate looking situa-
tion, Black finds an apparent saver.
White cannot afford either 77. Nxe4
Nf3t or 77. Rxh2. [Ed.: But Purdy
doesn't say a thing about 77. Nc3.}
17. 0-0-0
Now White considered many
lines and still failed to find the best,
which is a third King move, 23.
KaT! This directly obviates Black's
threat of .. .Nxd5, and leaves Black
helpless. The obvious move White
chose gave Black yet another run
for his money.

-37
 How Purdy Won

23. Nf3 Qa4 have seen its obvious merit in mak-

24. Rxh2 Bb5 ing ... Nxd5 no longer a threat, since
Here I had counted on winning White could then reply with Nj3
comfortably with 25. Qg4. Only now and Q3d5 without fear of Black's
I saw the devilish trap, 25... Rxe2! pinning the Queen (see diagram).
26. Nxe2 Bc4t 27. Kb1 Nb5.
Then, despite his huge plus in
material (two Rooks for a Bishop),
White is faced with such a concen-
NOVELTY IN THE
tration of force on his King that
Black must at least draw. In this, 26.
FOUR KNIGHTS
Q§a4 Bxa4 promises Black nearly
equality. by CJS. Purdy
Not surprisingly, however,
White finds another way. It is a mistake to be over-fearful of
25. Rh4 Qa6 drawish openings. There are play-
26. Qd2 Bxe2 ers who will refrain from answering
27. Rcl Nb5 1. e4 with 1... e5 simply because
This time, White has deliber- they fear that if the opponent plays
ately invited the mating net, because a reputedly drawish type of open-
he wins before it can close. By re- ing, such as the Four Knights Game,
fusing the bait, Black could still have it will be difficult to avoid a draw.
made a long resistance. In my own correspondence
28. Qh6 Bxa3 games I never once answered 1. e4
29. Qxh7t Kf8 with any move but 1... e5.1t seemed
30. QJt8t Ke7 to me that it was the only reply that
31. Re4t Kd6 avoided making a slight concession,
32. Qf6t 1-0 and that it was always best to play
Queens off, finis. the soundest move. For correspon-
White's failure to find the cor- dence play I never quite trusted the
rect 23. Ka1!! is easily understood, Sicilian Defense, always a favorite
when White had already just played of mine over the board.
Kb 1 followed by Ka2. It suggests I am aware that in the fifth
there is much wisdom in G.F. World CC Championship tourna-
Mcintosh's advice to look, even if ment, the winner, Hans Berliner
only momentarily, at every possible (USA), always met 1. e4 with 1...
move on the board. Had I merely Nf6, Alekhine's Defense, and that
glanced at 23. Ka1, I would surely he won all his four games with Black

38-
 Inaugural Australian Championship

in this opening. Berliner's tremen- Besides, many so-called "draw-

dous winning margin of three points ish" openings present better oppor-
(as compared with the usual half- tunities for playing to win than is
point or one point) showed that he generally thought, for Black as well
was head and shoulders above the as for White. The following game is
field. Moreover, it is clear from the a case in point, even though it did
tournament book that he had stud- end in a draw.
ied Alekhine's Defense in enormous
depth, and had been able to arrive -8-
at some discoveries in it that were M.E. Goldstein-Purdy
ahead of current theory. Four Knights Game
As a result of his success, I am
sure that there has been more re- 1. e4 e5
search in the intervening years. 2. Nf3 Nc6
Alekhine's Defense is being adopted 3. Nc3 Nf6
a little more often than before 1968 4. Bb5 Bb4
(the year of Berliner's record-break- 5. 0-0 0-0
ing victory), but only a little more. 6. d3 d6
Possibly the chess world in gen- 7. Bg5 Bxc3
eral is wrongly assessing Alekhine's 8. bxc3 Qe7!
Defense. Possibly in years to come The Metger Defense, getting
it may be thought of as the best away from symmetry. Admittedly,
defense to 1. e4. But there is no sign White can now give the game a
of such a swing yet, and I must drawish turn by 9. Bxc6, but I
confess to a high respect for the thought I could rely on the famous
consensus among the crossboard M.E. Goldstein not to do this. I as-
grandmasters. Berliner picked on a sumed that his choice of opening
defense that was under-rated, but I showed rather a hope of luring me
suspect it is no longer under-rated. into some indiscretion than a delib-
An opponent may adopt a draw- erate intention of playing for a draw.
ish opening as White, but he will 9. Rel Nd8
rarely play cold-bloodedly for a 10. d4 Ne6
draw all the way. In any case, I 11. Bel
have always thought that an equal The usual move. There is little
position is better than a slightly in- to be said for 11. Bh4 Nf4, after
ferior one. Mere complications, which Black could aspire to a
without an advantage accompany- kingside attack.
ing them, have never attracted me. 11. ... c5!
-39
 How Purdy Won

12. g3 will become so woefully weak on

In those days this was the rou- the exposed c-file as to be worth-
tine move. This game shows that less.
12. B/1 is far better. Then if 12 ... Qs7 14. dxe6 Bxe6
13. d5J Black must play 13 ... Nd8 15. Bg5! a6
and cannot obtain the lively sort of 16. Bxf6 gxf6
play he gets in the present game. 17. Ba4 b5
However, I do not think there is 18. Nh4
any need for White to get so much By weakening Black's kingside
out of the opening as Petrosian did and not attempting to regain his lost
against Lilienthal, Moscow 1949. pawn, White assures himself of a
That game continued 14. Nh4 NeB counter-attack to balance his bad
15. g3 Qs7 16. Nj5 Bxf5 17. exf5 Of6 queenside.
18. Qg4J with slightly better chances 18. bxa4
for White. I suggest 75... g6 (instead 19. Qh5! Rfb8!
of ... Qs7). If then 16. Bh6 Ng7J fol- 20. g4 Rb2
lowed by .. f6. 21. Qh6!
Another way of playing the Black threatened to get his King
Metger for Black is to vary at move away, give up his h-pawn, and then
10 with 10... Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. g4 prosecute his queenside attack in
Bg6J and if 13. d5 c6 14. B/1 cxd5 15. safety.
exd5 Qs7! 16. Bxf6 gxf617. Re3 b678. 21. ... Qe7
Nh4 Nb7 19. Bd3 Nc5J as in 22. Nf5
Altshuler-Veldtmander in a CC If 22. Re3 KhBJ followed by
game of 1957-9. ...Rg8J etc.
For players not altogether happy 22. Bxf5
with these variations for Black, there 23. gxf5 Qf8!
is Rubinstein's 4... Nd4.
12. ... Qc7
13. d5 c4!
At that time a complete innova-
tion. If White accepts the Knight,
Black must regain the piece in all
variations. And otherwise the at-
tacked Knight gets an excellent
square. Even if Black ultimately
loses the impudent pawn it will not
matter, as White's doubled pawn Drawn by agreement
40-
 Inaugural Australian Championship

Goldstein assured me he would Purdy-G.F. Mcintosh

not play either 24. OJJ8f or 24. 0Jf6, Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense Deferred
as either move leads to a losing end-
game. I was expecting 24. Q,h4 Qg7f 1. e4 e5
25.Kh1 Kj8 26. Rg1 Qjt8 27. Qjt6f 2. Nf3 Nc6
Ke7 28. Rg7 RabB 29. Rag1 Rb1 (nec- 3. Bb5 a6
essary) 30. Rxh7 Rxg1f 31. Kxg1 4. Ba4 d6
Rb1f 32. Kg2 Qj8. This seems to 5. d4
lead to a drawn Rook ending. I am by no means convinced
However, Goldstein told me he that this leads only to equality. More
had intended 24. Qs1 a3 25. Kh1 h6 generally favored is 5. c3.
26.Rg1f Kh7 27. Rg4. Then Black 5. b5
might have winning chances with 6. Bb3 Nxd4
27. .. RabB, followed by ... R8b5 and 7. Nxd4 exd4
... d5, opening up lines to take ad- 8. Bd5
vantage of White's cooped Rook, Here the Bishop is later subject
e.g., 28. h3 R8b5 29. Rh4 (If 29. Qj1, to exchange by a Knight, but I doubt
still ... dS) d5 30. exd5 Rxd5 31. Rxc4 whether Black can make his two
Rc5 32. Qf1 Qs8! Bishops tell. As is well known, 8.
A draw was sufficient for me, as 0Jd4??loses a piece for two pawns.
I had a commanding lead in the The gambit 8. c3 is sound enough,
tournament. but only for equality.
8. ... Rb8
9. Qxd4
The standard move is 9. Bc6f, a
ROOK ENDING simplification that promises noth-
ing much.
by CJS. Purdy 9. ... Bd7
Renewing the threat of trapping
In view of my earlier games with the Bishop.
G.F. Mcintosh, I give here my tour- 10. a3!
nament game with him-interesting This improvement on the usual
in its own right because of the open- 10. c3 was suggested by Tartakover
ing and the endgame. It is hard to in a special gala number of the
say just what move caused Black's Wiener Schachzeitungin 1933.
defeat. 10. ... Nf6
11. Nc3
-9- White makes no attempt to save

-41
 How Purdy Won

his Bishop from exchange. The sanc- Now, instead of 19. j3, White
tuary at a2 is only in case of ... c6. would play 19. Rc3! with winning
11. ... Be7 chances, e.g. 19... Bxe4 (Not 19 ...
At first glance 77 ... g6looks bet- Rxe4? 20. Bh6) 20. Rxc7 RbcB 21.
ter, to preserve the dark-squared RxcB RxcB 22. c3 d5 23. Rd1 RdB 24.
Bishop from exchange when a Rd2 Kj8 25. f3 Bj5 26. Kf2, and
Knight replaces the Bishop on d5. White will march his King to d4,
However, 12. Bg5 Bg7 (12 ... Be7 13. while Black's King can never ob-
Bf4) 13. e5! dxe5 14. 0Je5f Qs7 15. tain a satisfactory post. Therefore
0Je7f Kxe7 16.0-0-0, and White is "Bishops on opposite colors" would
threatening, besides Rhe 1t, to win a by no means assure a draw.
pawn by Bxf7. White is assured of 16. ... Bxd5
an endgame advantage. 17. Qxd5 Bf6
Inadequate also is 11... h6 12. 18. b4 Qc8
Bf4 g6, because of 13. e5, and if 13 ... 19. f3 Qe6
Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Bg7 15. Nf6f. 20. Rcl! Qxd5
12. 0-0 0-0 21. Rxd5 Bb2
13. Bf4 White threatened 22. c4.
A "prophylactic" against a later 22. Rb1 Be5
... c6, perhaps after ... Nxd5, followed If 22... Bc3, the likely plan is
by ... ReB and ...Bj8. King up to d3, to prepare c4.
13. Nxd5 23. Bxe5 Rxe5
14. Nxd5 Bc6 24. Rxe5 dxe5
15. Rad1 ReS 25. Rd1 Rc8
Getting ready to threaten ... c5.
If 26. Rd7 Kf8 followed by ... KeB. If
26. Rd5 f6 27. Rc5 (not 27. Rd7 c5;
c6, and White's Rook is poorly
placed, seeing that Black's can get
free after Black plays King to d6.
White has only one winning line.
26. c4 c6
Not 26... c5? 27. cxb5 axb5 28.
bxc5, as Black's Rook is tied.
16. Rd3! 27. c5 RJ8
The only way to discourage the 28. Rd6 Ke7
drawish line 16... B/617. Nxf6f OJ/6 29. h4 a5
18. OJ/6 gxf6 19. f3. Necessary to free his Rook;

42-
 Inaugural Australian Championship

Black cannot hope to draw with a 43. g3

tied Rook. However, he could con- The only move to win, as 43.
sider first playing 29 ... h5, as h5 is a Kxh5?? is met by 43 ... Kf5, threat-
threat. ening mate and forcing White to
30. bxa5 Ra8 take a draw.
31. Rxc6 Rxa5 1-0
32. Rb6 Kd7 A genuine case of zugzwang.
33. Kf2 With White to move, no clear win,
Not 33. Rh7t Kc6 34. Rxj7, as but Black must move and lose, e.g.
Black's b-pawn becomes a runner, 43 ... g6 44. Kh6 Ke7 45. Kg7 Ke6 46.
White's King being too remote. Rc6f, and if 46... Kd7 47. Rf6, etc.
33. ... Rxa3
34. Rxb5 h5
White was strongly threatening
35. h5 followed, according to cir-
PREMATURE ATTACK
cumstances, by h6 or by RbB and
RgB. by CJS. Purdy
35. c6t Ke6
36. Rc5 Ra8 It surprises many people that corre-
37. f4! exf4 spondence play produces so many
If 37. .. f6 38. fxe5 fxe5 39. c7 ReB short games, not drawn. There are
40. Rc6f, and Black is paralyzed, two main reasons. Firstly, an early
for if 40... Kd7, 41. Rg6 etc. advantage tends more often in CC
38. Kf3 Rc8 to be retained and pushed through
39. Kxf4 Rc7 with a neat finish.
40. e5! Rc8 Secondly, a cliff-hanging varia-
41. Kg5 Rh8 tion which might be avoided over
42. c7 Rc8! the board because of its complica-
tions can be walked into fearlessly
in CC with the aid of midnight oil.
This game is a case in point.

-10-
G. Lindley-Purdy
Queen's Pawn: Catalan System

1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6
-43
 How Purdy Won

3. g3 d5
4. Bg2 dxc4
The surrender of the center is
temporary. The idea is to play ... c5
without incurring an isolated d-
pawn.
5. Qa4t Nbd7
6. Nc3 c5
Sharper than 6... Be7 followed
by 7... 0-0. White is now tempted
into a very trappy line. Black has 11. Nf3
only one good move at each point, White tries to rehabilitate his
but the trouble is that he always has compromised game with simple de-
one. velopment. If he tries fireworks
7. Bf4 Be7 there is a beautiful variation: 11.
8. Nb5 0-0 Nxe6 fxe6 12. BxbB Bc5 13. QgB Qj6
9. Nc7 14. 0-0-0 NxbB 15. Qj:bB Ba3/l
If 9. Bc7 Q§B 10. Nd6, Black has This sacrifice wins. If 16. bxa3
a complete get-out in 10... Nb6.' c3.
9. ... Rb8 11. ... Bb4t
10. ~a7? Forcing the King to move, for if
Best was 10. Nb5, playing for a 12. Nd2? Bc5 and wins a piece by
draw by repetition. To avoid the ... e5, or if 13. Qg5, Bb6.
draw, Black was considering 10... 12. Kfl Bc5
a6 11. BxbB NxbB 12. Nc3 cxd4. 13. Qa4 Qe7
White could improve on this Simple but devastating.
with 11. Bc7.' axb5.' 12. BxdB bxa4 13. 14. Nb5 e5
Bxe7 cxd4 14. BxfB KxfB, with 15. Bel Nb6
chances about equal. [Ed.: In this 16. Qc2 Bd7
particular case I wonder ifthis is Purdy's 17. Na3 e4
way ofsaying the position is unclear.] 18. Ng5 d3
10. ... cxd4 19. Qdl h6
20. Nh3
An amusing lesson in the dan-
ger of premature attacks. White has
only three pieces developed after
twenty moves, and poorly devel-
oped at that.

44-
 Inaugural Australian Championship

20. ... c3 not to play it he retains a backward

0-1 pawn. Therefore not 9... Bd6.
A piece must be lost. Black 10. Nbd2 0-0
threatens 21 ... cxb2. If 21. Rb 1 Bxa3 11. c4?!
followed by ... c2. If 21. @3 d2 wins He should have played 77. Ne5
the Bishop to begin with. but did not like the theoretically
weak c-pawn after 77... Nxe5 12. dxe5
b5.
11. dxc4
ANOTHER QUICK 12. Nxc4 b5
13. Nce5 Bb7
BLACK WIN With both black Bishops
"good," White has a positionally
by CJS. Purdy compromised game.
14. Qe2 Rc8
Quick wins by Black seem to occur 15. Racl Qd5
more often by correspondence than 16. Nxc6 Bxc6
over the board. There is time to 17. Qe5 f6
spend hours and hours looking for With a terrific endgame if 78.
the sharpest possible lines in place 0Jd5.
of routine. 18. Qe3 a5
19. a3 Bd6!
-11-
F.L. Vaughan-Purdy
Nimzovich Attack

1. Nf3 d5
2. b3 c5
3. Bb2 Nc6
4. e3 e6
5. Bb5 Nge7
6. 0-0 a6
7. Bxc6t Nxc6 Black does not want White ei-
8. d4 cxd4 ther to swap all the Rooks or to
9. exd4 Be7 double on the c-file. This move sub-
Black is mainly concerned to tly prevents White from doing so,
play so that c4 will not be good for but White doesn't see this. The stu-
White. If White can be persuaded dent should make sure he can see

-45
 How Purdy Won

why 20. Rc2?fails. advantage of the player with the

20. Rc2? Qf5 better placed pieces.
And if either Rook to c 1, Bf4. In this game I instructively uti-
21. Re2 Bd5 lized this principle; yet I did not
With the only open file also in fully understand it. I proved this a
his hands Black must win. Now he decade after this game, when I
threatens to win the Queen. nearly failed to even qualify for the
22. Ne1 Qh5! inaugural World Championship by
Mate must be stopped, and then making a "freeing move." The
...Bxb3 gives Black a pawn plus. reader will find all about this in my
With a passed pawn his position game with Dr. Bigot (game 30), an-
would become overwhelming. notated at great length.
0-1 Later, in the finals of the world
Even before White's oversight event, I won my game with Watzl
on move 20, he had a strategically (game 38) by inviting a freeing
losing game. It is always risky to move, after calculating the result-
open the game for the opponent's ing position nearly twenty moves
Bishop pair when one of your own ahead.
Bishops has gone. After 7. Bxc6f By that time I had come to un-
White was obliged to try for a block- derstand the game pretty well. At
ade type of game. the time I played Ludlow, my chess
understanding was still a bit super-
ficial, although I had twice been
crossboard champion of Australia
NO ABSOLUTE and had also written a great many
useful articles on chess technique.
FREEING MOVE From the principle, it follows
that one should not unhesitatingly
by CJS. Purdy make a freeing move. It may just
happen that you can make it harder
One of Nimzovich's profoundest for your opponent by refraining
observations is that "there is no ab- from opening lines, though it was
solute freeing move." not so in this game.
If a player has a cramped game,
he may have a move that gives him -12-
a degree of freedom. But at the same Purdy-0. Ludlow
time the position will become more Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense
open, and this is somewhat to the

46-
 Inaugural Australian Championship

1. e4 e5 18. Racl Rc8

2. Nf3 Nc6 19. a3 h6
3. Bb5 a6
4. Ba4 Nf6
5. 0-0 Nxe4
6. d4 b5
7. Bb3 d5
8. dxe5 Be6
9. c3 Be7
10. Be3
One of the seven possible
"book" moves.
10. ... 0-0 Black has a couple of "weak"
11. Nbd2 Kh8 pawns but it is extremely difficult to
A novelty, carefully thought out make anything of them. I saw that I
and not easily refuted. The idea is could improve my position if al-
to play .. .j5 if permitted, and be lowed to double Rooks on the c-
able to follow with ...BgB if then file. The obvious way was by 20.
Nxe4 and Ng5. To spoil this, White Qs3 first, but in CC one should ex-
is bound to make the obvious ex- amine all reasonable alternatives.
changes. Looking at 20. Qg2 I saw it allowed
12. Nxe4 dxe4 the freeing move .. .c5. But that had
13. Bxe6 fxe6 the immediately attractive feature
If 13 ... exf3 14. 0Jf3 Nxe5 15. that I could follow with 21. Rc3,
@5 Bd6 16. Bb3, with two excellent gaining a tempo with the sacrificing
Bishops. threat of Bxh6. Calculating a long
If 13 ... ()Jd1? 14. Rfxd1 fxe6(else way further, I concluded that White
15. Bd5) 15. Nd4with a clear advan- should actually win as a conse-
tage. Exchange of Queens loses a quence of Black's opening up the
vital tempo. game, whereas if the game remained
14. Nd4 Qd5 closed I might or might not ulti-
15. Qb3 mately wangle a win.
If 15. Qg4 Nxe5 16. ()Je6 Qg6! And so I played probably the
leaves White with a very faint ad- right way without consciously think-
vantage. ing of the abstract concept of illu-
15. Nxd4 sory freeing moves. The mere fact
16. cxd4 c6 that a board is crowded with 16 or
17. Qc2 Rf5 14 pawns almost invariably makes

-47
 How Purdy Won

a game hard to win, even with an 29. Rc8 Rd6

advantage. 30. Bb6! Red5
20. Qd2! c5 31. Ba5 Kf8
Suppose Black had declined the
invitation with a "nothing move"
like 20... Kh7. White could not then
follow with 27. Rc3 because of 27...
b4.
White could, however, double
Rooks with 27. Rc2 instead. Mean-
while if Black played ...Bd8 to stop
QgS, there could come ReS with tre-
bling on the file. All in all, Black
has good reason to think the free- Had Black started his crab walk
ing move compulsory. It was other- earlier (27. .. Kg8) he could here have
wise in Bigot-Purdy and Purdy- played 37... Ke8. But it would have
Watzl (see above). made no real difference, as White
21. Rc3 g5 does not bother to win the Exchange
Parrying the Bxh6 threat. anyway (32. Bb4).
22. dxc5 Qxd2 32. Ke2! Ke8
23. Bxd2 Rxc5 33. Raa8 Rd3
24. Rfcl Rd5 34. Rxd8t Rxd8
If 24... RfxeS 2S. Be3, Black's 35. Rxd8t Rxd8
best is probably 2S... RedS, trans- 36. Bxd8 Kxd8
posing into the game. 37. Ke3 Ke7
25. Be3 Rfxe5 38. Kxe4 Kf6
26. Rc7 Bd8 If 38... Kd6 39. b4 puts Black in
White's pawn minus is only ar- zugzwang.
ithmetical, and White has an ex- 39. f4 g4
tremely strong position. The better As 39... gxf4? gives White are-
drawing choice was 26... BfB. mote passed pawn; routine win.
27. Ra7 h5 40. g3 a5
Tempting White to give up the 41. Kd4 Kf5
"seventh rank absolute" with 28. 42. b4! axb4
Rxa6 when 28... Kg7 would make it 43. axb4 h4
very hard for White to win. But 27. .. Hoping for 44. KcS? [Ed.: Why
Kg8 was better. doesn't White still win? Because 44 ...
28. Kfl! Kg8 hxg3 4S. hxg3 Ke4 46. Kd6! Kj5 47.
48-
 Inaugural Australian Championship

Kd7 e5 48. fxe5 Kxe5 49. Kc6 Ke4 50. Knight on c3 instead of f3.
Kxb5 Kf3 and both pawns queen.] 7. Nc3 Be7
44. gxh4 Kxf4 Alekhine had brought the Cata-
45. Kc5 e5 lan into favor by winning with it in
46. h5 Kg5 one game of the return World
If 46... e4, both queen, then Of6f Championship match with Euwe,
etc., forces Queens off, and White 1937. Euwe had played 6... c5 (after
makes his last Queen with check. 6. Qj;c4). This was not the cause of
47. Kxb5 Kxh5 his defeat, but the play here is safer.
48. Kc4 1-0 8. 0-0 0-0
Black is always a move short, 9. Qxc4 b5
e.g., 48...g3 49. hxg3 Kg4 50. Kd5. 10. Qd3 Bb7
White has not the vestige of an
advantage, as ... c5 can come any
time.
WINNER VERSUS 11. Ng5 Bxg2
RUNNER-UP 12. Kxg2 c5
13. Be3 c4
It will take White so long to
by C]S. Purdy mobilize his pawn center that Black
is not worried.
The main interest in this game is in 14. Qc2 Rc8
showing the feebleness of the Cata- 15. a3 Qb6
lan System if White wants to win. In anticipation of f3. Of course
if now 76. d5, ... Oj7.
-13- 16. f3 h6
G. Koshnitsky-Purdy 17. Nh3 e5
Catalan System 18. Rad1 Rfd8
19. Rd2 exd4
1. d4 Nf6 20. Bxd4 Bc5
2. c4 e6 21. Rfd1 Bxd4
3. g3 d5 22. Rxd4 Nc5
4. Nf3 dxc4 23. Qf5 Ne6
5. ~a4t Nbd7 24. Rxd8t Rxd8
6. Bg2 a6 25. Rxd8t Qxd8
The opening is slightly differ- 26. Nf4
ent from Lindley-Purdy (game 10),
where White at this stage had a

-49
 How Purdy Won

26. ... Qd6

Black had a wide choice here,
e.g. 26... Qj2 27. Nxe6 Q3b2, but
White can secure a draw simply by
28. Ne4, and if 28... Qp2t 29. Kh3.
Throughout this game I played safe;
at first because I was Black against
my probably strongest opponent,
and later because I stood to win the
tourney if I drew.
27. Nxe6 fxe6
28. Ne4 Nxe4
29. Q?ce4 Qd5
30. Qxd5 exd5
31. Kf2 d4
32. e3!
Drawn by agreement
Had White played 32. e4, Black
would have had chances later by
playing a pawn to b3, and after-
wards ... c3, bxc3 b2, Kc2 dxc3 with a
supported passed pawn on the sec-
ond rank. But now Black must ei-
ther play 32 ... d3, ruling that caper
out, or else 32 ... Kj7 33. exd4 Ke6
34. Ke3 Kd5 35. f4 a5 36. g4 b4 37.
axb4 axb4, and now by 38. g5!White
easily forces a draw.

50-
 Second Australian Title

CHAPTER3

SECOND AUSTRALIAN TITLE

The second Australian CC Championship commenced shortly after the

end of the war in 1945, and concluded in 1948.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 CJ.S. Purdy * 1 * 1 * * 9.0
2 G. Koshnitsky * * * 0 1 8.5
3 G. Lindley 0 * * * 0 1 7.5
4 M.C. Salm 0 * 0 * * 1 * 1 * 1 6.5
5 H. Klass * 0 * * 0 * 1 * 6.5
6 L. Spinks 0 0 0 0 0 6.0
7 M.E. Goldstein 0 0 0 * * 1 * * * 1 * 5.0
8 Dr. R.E. Armati * 0 * 0 0 0 * * 1 5.0
9 F.A. Crowl 0 0 1 * 0 0 * 0 0 * 3.5
10 A.L. Miller 0 0 0 0 0 0 * * 1 1 * 3.5
11 F.L. Vaughan * 0 0 * 0 1 0 0 * 0 0 2.5
12 A. Wolfers 0 0 0 0 * 0 * 0 0 * 2.5

Half the players had also competed in the first Australian Champion-
ship. Of these, the winner and runner-up maintained their positions, and
G. Lindley improved greatly on his previous performance.
Newcomers Salm, Klass and Spinks figured prominently. Max Salm
was later to perform well in international CC events, finishing sixth in the
very strong Dyckhoff Memorial Tournament, 1954-56, and fourth in the
third World CC Championship, 1959-62. Mter a distinguished interna-
tional career of more than four decades, Salm, in 1996, has for many years
been Australia's leading CC player, and recently contested the World

-51
 How Purdy Won
Championship XIII Final!
Overall, the standard of play was probably a little higher than in the
first event, and this time the issue was in doubt till the very end, Koshnitsky
just failing to win his game with Lindley and thus tie for first place.
With this tournament Purdy embarked on eight years of intensive
correspondence play. He had no idea at this stage that he would soon be a
serious contender for the World Title.
(F.P.H.)

J I i ~-- ' ·~·.'

Purdy's original analysis of his 40th move against Napolitano.

52-
 Second Australian Title

3. ... f5
LIMITED BISHOP'S 4. exf5
Tartakover, in Die Hypermoderne
GAMBIT Schachpartie (1925) had said White
should get an advantage by 4. e5 d6
by CJS. Purdy 5. d4. This completely contradicted
Alekhine, who said in the book New
A rare gambit, and later a refusal to York 1924, "The reply 4. e5 cannot
win the Exchange, give this game very well be considered on account
its interest. of 4 ... d6, etc."
Hay in his book continues Tar-
-14- takover's analysis thus: 5... dxe5 6.
F.A. Crowi-Purdy dxe5 Q]t4f 7. Kf1 Bc5 8. Qs1 Q3e1f
King's Gambit 9. Kxe1 Ne7 10. Bxf4 0-0, "and Black
is better."
1. e4 e5 My own analysis at the time ran:
2. f4 exf4 6... Q3d1 t 7. Bxd1 Be6 8. Bxf4 Nd7
3. Be2 9. Nj3 0-0-0. Or in this, 8. Nj3 Nd7,
With this eccentric opening Tar- and if 9. Ng5 Ke7. White's e-pawn
takover scored 2.5-1.5 in four games becomes a fixed weakness anyway.
of the famous New York Tourney of 4. ... Qh4t
1924. In his article on the openings 5. Kf1 d5
in the tournament book, Alekhine Hay gives the immediate 5 ...
noted that in no case was "the most Qj6, for no clear reason that I can
logical defense" chosen, 3... f5, "in see. After the text, Alekhine points
which Black opens the f-file for an out that on 6. Bh5f Kd8, "Black
attack on the uncastled white King." would stand decidedly better."
Tartakover-Capablanca went 6. Nc3 c6
3 ... d5 4. exd5 Nf6 5. c4 c6 6. d4Bb4f 7. d4 Bd6
7. Kf1 cxd5. 8. Bd3 Ne7
Now White should have played 9. Qe2 0-0
8. c5, when Trevor Hay in his excel- 10. N£3 Qf6
lent work, King's Gambit, gives 8... White now has only a choice of
Ne4! which does offer Black an ad- evils.
vantage. Alekhine, in his commen- 11. g4 fxg3 e.p.
tary, had considered only 8... g5, 12. Bg5 Qf7
which Crowl had spent much time 13. Bxe7 Qxe7
analyzing. 14. Qxe7 Bxe7
-53
 How Purdy Won

15. Re1 Bd6 pawn.

16. Kg2 gxh2 25. f6 Bxe5
17. Nh4 Nd7 26. fxe7 Bxd4
18. Ne2 Nf6 27. rust Rxf8
19. Ng3 Ng4 28. Bxh7t Kf7
20. Rhfl Bd7 29. exf8=Qt Kxf8
21. Kh3 And Black won.

DISGUISED PROJECT
by CJS. Purdy

This was the only game in either of

21. ... h1=Qt
An example of the subtlety that
is possible in correspondence play.
The text move seems to gain noth-
ing. Mter the simple 21... Nh6White
would have to play 22. Kxh2, self-
pinning a Knight. However, there
is in fact quite a point.
22. Nxh1 Nh6
23. Kg2 Rf7
By forcing White's King to g2
instead of h2 Black has blocked the
Knight's retreat from h4 to g2 and
now threatens ...Be7, winning a sec-
ond pawn. Rather than face that,
White attempts to give up the Ex-
change to get two united pawns.
24. Re5 Re7!!
Searching always for the very
best move, Black declines the offer,
preferring the safe win of a second
the Australian Championships in
which I found myself struggling up-
hill, and struggling very anxiously.
In the second tourney, unlike the
first, I did not have a good margin
and I absolutely had to squeeze not
only a half-point from this game,
which looked quite hard enough,
but a full point.
In my notes to the earlier game
with Cornforth (game 6), headed
"Concealment," I have already men-
tioned how hard it is to conceal a
plan in chess. Here I was fortunate
in finding a possibility of doing so.
-15-
Purdy-A.L. Miller
French Defense
1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. Nc3 Nf6

54-
 Second Australian Title

4. Bg5 Bb4 pawn back for the privilege of cas-

The MacCutcheon Variation, tling queenside. Another defense
never refuted. "threat" is ... @4, as the sacrifice,
5. e5 h6 either at once or in reply, 15. Q/6
6. Bd2 Bxc3 Rh7 16. Bxg6 fxg6 17. Qfg6f Rf7 18.
7. bxc3 Ne4 Bxh6, is rather spoiled by 18... Ne7.
8. Qg4 g6 The try 15. Bg5 is likewise spoiled
9. Bel by 15... @4 16. Q]l3 Ne4!
This pawn offer is still regarded At the time I did not analyze
as a good alternative to 9. Bd3. It is this position at all well. Had I done
logical to preserve this Bishop, hav- so I would have seen that White
ing induced Black to weaken his can demonstrate an advantage by
dark squares. 15. a4!!, increasing still further the
9. c5 options of the already highly mo-
10. Bd3 Nxc3 bile dark-squared Bishop.
11. dxc5 Nc6 For example, if then 15... @4
Keres gives 11... Q,a5 12. Bd2 16. Qf6 Rh717. Ba3!, and now if 17. ..
Q,a4, with the verdict of equality. Qg5? the piece offer 18. Bxg6 wins,
12. Nf3 Qa5 e.g. 18... Ne4 19. Bxf7f Rxf7 and
13. 0-0 Qxc5 White mates in two. Also if 17. ..
14. Qh4 Bd7 Qg4? 18. h3 Q,h5 19. Kh2, and the
threat of 2 0. g4 is killing. Therefore
17. .. Ne4! 18. Q,h4. If then 18... Qs3,
White has a winning combination
in 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. Ng5, as 20...
Rh8 is answered with 21. Nxj7! If
18... Qg5 (instead of ... Qs3), 19. Rjb1
Qj8 (what else?) 20. Q/4, leaving
Black with a shocking position.
Likewise 15. a4 enables White
to counter 15... Ne4 strongly with
Here White has a nice prob- 16. Ba3, and if 16 ... Q,a5 17. Rjb1.
lem. Clearly he has full compensa- Or if 16... Nb4 17. a51 Qfa5 18. Bxe4
tion for his pawn minus, for Black dxe4 19. Qfe4 Nc6 20. Rjb1.
cannot castle either side, nor can he Black could then castle at last,
challenge Queens with ... QP be- but lose, e.g. 20... 0-0-0 21. Bd6!
cause of Bg5. Black has a sort of Qj5 22. f!.!2 (threat c4} and Black is
defense threat in .. .Ne4, offering the lost, for if 22 ... Nd4 23. Nxd4 Qfd4

-55
 How Purdy Won

24. c3! Or if 20... Qg5 21. Q,h4 with a 18. Bg7 Rh7
winning position (if 21 ... g5 22. White's Queen is going to g4
Nxg5). anyway. If 18... Rh5 19. Qg4 Bc6
If (after 15. a4) 15... Nb4 16. a5, White has time for 2 0. Ng5 with
for if 16... Nxd3 17. Ba3!wins. attacking possibilities.
The main actual threat of 15. a4 19. Bf6 Bc6
is a5. This suggests 15... a5 which Black does not want to castle
takes the sting from Ba3 but makes anyway now, for he must advance
the queenside no longer a safe har- his queenside pawns.
borage for Black's King if ever he 20. Qg4 Bxf3!
should manage to castle. White 21. Qxf3 Qc6
might quietly continue with 16. Re 1 22. Qg4 b5!
(over-protecting e5). This would 23. a3 a5
turn 17. Bg5 into a threat, for if then 24. Rae1 Qc5
17. .. Q94 18. @3 Ne4, White has 19. White was at last threatening
Bxe4 dxe4 20. Nd2! with a winning Q3d4.
position. 25. f4 Rh5
15. Bxh6? Not 25... Qfa3?? 26.f5!
I did not fully foresee the evils 26. Qf3
that would follow from regaining Unsound is 26. f5 exf5 27. Qj4
the pawn at the cost of the initia- Nd5! 28. Qj3 Rb8 29. g4 fxg4 30.
tive, but it was bad on principle. Qfg4 Ne3. In this, if 29. Rc1 Nc3.
The time White must lose in unpin- 26. Qd5
ning is used by Black very cleverly. 27. Qt2
15. ... Nb4!
16. Qg5
Not 16. Qj4?? because of the
fork threat after 16... Nxd3.
16. ... Nxd3
In the variation analyzed above,
this was answered crushingly with
Ba3, but now that's history.
17. cxd3 d4!
Essential both to stop White's
d4 and to support the Knight, which 27. Kd7!?
now threatens later on to help a Black probably looked first at
passed pawn to queen and hampers 27. .. b4, and saw 28. axb4 axb4 29.
White's Rooks. Ra 1 b3 30. Q92 Ra2 31. Rxa2 bxa2
56-
 Second Australian Title

32. Ra1, and Black's highest ambi-

tion must be a draw (each side has a
sick Rook but Black has a very sick
King, whereas White's King can
hide at h2, after playing h3).
Black naturally hoped for bet-
ter, so probably he then examined
27. .. Rb8, preparing ... b4. As this
looks so winnish for Black, only the
very sharpest counter-play can hope
to save White. This, however, in- 30. Re4!!
volves exposing White's King also. I was lucky that my King ma-
Thus 27. .. Rb8 28. g4 Rh3 (the neuver appeared to have the pur-
most aggressive) 29.f5 gxf5 30. gxf5. pose of advancing with g4, etc. Its
To secure his King Black would then real purpose was to avoid the Knight
need to play 30... Kd7, and after 31. fork that would otherwise occur now
fxe6f fxe6 32. Bg7 (If 32. Bg5 Kc6 33. if Black declined the offered Ex-
Qf7 Rbh8, threatening ...Rg3f!, is dif- change with 30... Kc6 and White
ficult to meet.) Kc6 33. Qf7 Rh4! 34. foolishly played 31. Rxd4?? Black
Qg6, the best winning chance may would of course reply 31... Q::d4 if
be the ultra-sharp 34 ... b4!!?Then if White's King were still at gl. The
35. axb4 axb4 36. Rf6 b3 37. Rxe6f quicker 28. Kh 1 might have given
Kb5. the show away, besides having other
Though rather wild, this play drawbacks.
seems definitely in Black's favor, 30. Nxe4
but whether or not Black has a 31. dxe4 Qc5
forced win by 27. .. Rb8I leave as an 32. Rdl b3
open question. 33. Rxd4t Kc6
It is understandable that Black 34. Qb2
did not want to risk unnecessary Threatening 35. Rd3, pinning
complications, and thought to take the Queen or winning the passed
the sting out of White's kingside pawn. Whatever he does, Black has
action in advance. This, however, King trouble. He has one Rook shut
gave me a diabolical idea. out, and the passed pawn gives him
28. h3 Rb8 his only hope.
29. Kh2 b4 34. ... Qc2
Hoping White will swap Queens
to get the passed pawn. But Black's

-57
 How Purdy Won

exposed King is weaker than the typical situation against the Dragon
passed pawn is strong. Variation of the Sicilian (Knight
35. Rd6t Kb5 posted on d5). The idea can be em-
36. (td4 b2 ployed frequently.
37. a4t (txa4
38. (txb2t (tb4 -16-
39. (tc2 (tc4 Purdy-M.C. Salm
40. (tb1t (tb4 Sicilian Defense
41. Rd1! Kb6
42. (tc2 Ka7 1. e4 c5
Now a hard decision for White. 2. Nf3 d6
Use the Rook for direct attack on 3. d4 cxd4
the King or put pressure on the new 4. Nxd4 Nf6
passed pawn? The two can be com- 5. Nc3 g6
bined! 6. Be2
43. Ra1! Ka6 This has gone rather out of fash-
44. (tc7 (tb6 ion, but I am not quite convinced
The threat was 45.Bd8. If 44 ... that Black can completely equalize
Rb 7, the pin 45. QsB is a winner in against it as maintained by D.N.
all lines. Levy in his classic The Sicilian
45. (txf7 Rb7 Dragon, published 1972.
46. (te8! The usual line is 6. Bc4 followed
Not 46. Q3g6 Rhh7 with a play- by j3, which has been analyzed in
able game. great depth without a conclusion as
46. ... Rhh7 yet.
47. Bd8 1-0 6. Bg7
If 47. .. Rb8, sufficient is 48. Q3g6. 7. Be3 Nc6
If then 48... Rxh3 t 49. Kxh3 Rxd8 8. (td2 0-0
50. Kg4 ReB 51. Rd1 wins. 9. f4!
Playing this before castling was
an idea of my own. If now 9... Ng4
10. Bxg4 Bxg4, White can already
ANTI-DRAGON play 77. j5! threatening to catch the
Bishop. Best for Black then, I think,
by C]S. Purdy is 11 ... Nxd4! 12. Bxd4 e5! 13. Bfl
gxf5 14. h3 Bh5 15. exf5 f6.
This was a very instructive game in White seems to get at any rate a
which White makes the most of a preferable game with 16. Nd5 (pre-

58-
 Second Australian Title

vents ... Qg5) Q_d7 (say) 77. 0-0 (to be 75. Nxf6f and 76. c3 White has the
considered is 77. g4 and 0-0-0}. initiative. In a position otherwise
White has a healthy initiative. Nei- about equal, Black's d-pawn is
ther of Black's Bishops is very good, clearly a liability.
and one is very bad. Faced with a choice of evils, a
Levy, in the classic already men- player usually chooses the vaguer
tioned, cites 9. 0-0 and if 9... Ng4 one. This is not always wise. ''A
70. Bxg4 Bxg4 77. Nd5! Bd7 (77 ... e6 cramped game is itself a weakness"
leaves the Bishop embarrassed af- (Tarrasch).
ter 72. Nc3} 72. c4 (Maroczy Bind) 15. c3 Nc5
Ne5 73. b3 e6 74. Nc3 Qg5, and now 16. Bd4 Bxd4
Boleslavsky, in some analysis, makes 17. Qxd4 Na4
White play 75. h3 a6 76. f4 Nc6 77. 18. Bg4! Rb8
Nde2 RfdB with "equality" accord- He would expose his King too
ing to Boleslavsky. much with 78... ]5? 79. exf5 gxf5 20.
The final verdict is one of the Bj3 (threatening 27. Nxe7f), and if
shakiest stages of chess analysis. The 20... e6 27. Nb4Bxf3 22. Rxj3, threat-
analyst absolves himself from giv- ening death in the g-file.
ing any further moves. 19. b3 Nb6
9. ... Bd7
If Black has no better move than
this, White's transposition is fully
vindicated. If 9... e5 70. Nxc6 bxc6
77. 0-0-0 Ng4 72. Bc5!
Or if, in this 77 ... Qg5 72. Q3d6
Ng4 73. Qs5!
10. 0-0 a6
11. h3
Black cannot now play ... d5,
which is sometimes a good riposte 20. f5! Bxd5
to h3 in the Dragon. Since ... e6 is now quite ruled
11. b5 out, the tremendous Knight must
12. Bf3 Rc8 be removed, and from now on the
13. Nxc6 game hinges on Black's backward
As .. .Na5 was now a threat. e-pawn.
13. ... Bxc6 21. exd5 Qc7
14. Nd5 Nd7 22. Rad1 Rbd8
Better was 74 ... e6, though after If 22 ... Qs5 I am not sure after
-59
 How Purdy Won

thirty years which of the many pos- 42. Qe4 Kg7

sible continuations I intended., but 43. Rec3 Rd7
the simplest is 23. OJ:e5 dxe5 24. d6
with a winning endgame, e.g. 24 ...
RfeB 25. dxe7 Rxe7 26. Rd6, threat-
ening fxg6 followed by Rff6.
23. Khl Nd7
Forcing a simplification as the
Knight would become a mighty de-
fender on e5.
24. fxg6 hxg6
25. Bxd7 Rxd7
26. Rf4 Qe5 44. h4!!
27. Qd3 QeS A pretty move which gives the
2S. e4 Rb7 game an artistic touch. A time comes
29. Rdfl Kg7 when a cramped player has reached
30. Rlf3 QeS his maximum cramp and his oppo-
The way to win against a nent must attack at last. Black must
cramped game is not to attack but now take the pawn somehow, but
to prevent any worthwhile freeing 44 ... Rxh4 would allow 45. ReB and
move, while gradually edging your if then 45... Qg6 46. ReB with cata-
pieces into better positions until clysmic effect (but not 46. Qs6 giv-
something just has to give. In a nut- ing Black a draw by 46... Rh2f).
shell, watch the rat-holes. 44. gxh4
31. g4 g5 45. g5 fxg5
If 31.. .[6, 32. Q¢4virtuallyforces 46. Qf5 QeS
this anyway. 47. ReS Qh5
32. Qd4t f6 Tempting White to take the
33. Re4 RhS Rook, when Black draws by ... Qs2f.
34. Rfe3 QdS There was little point in the slower
35. b4 bxe4 but sure loss 47. .. RdB 4B. RxdB OJ:dB
36. Qxe4 Ra7 49.0J:g5f Kj7(not 49... KJB? 50. Qg6!
37. Qd4 Re7 and mate quickly) 50. Qj5f Kg7
3S. Qd3 Ra7 (must not allow ReB) 51. Re4.
39. Kg2 Kf7 4S. RxhS KxhS
40. Re4 Qb6 49. ReSt Kg7
Not 40... Re7, losing a key pawn. 50. Qf8t 1-0
41. a4 QbS Black loses his Queen or gets

60-
 Second Australian Title

mated, e.g. 50... Kg6 51. QgBt Kh6 9. Qxd4 Bd7

52. Q]tBt and 53. Rg8f. Or in this, 10. a3 Nf6
51... Kf5 52.0J6t Kf4 53. Rf8t, etc. 11. Nc3 Be7
To make sure of resignation in 12. 0-0 0-0
these cases, with some saving of 13. Bf4 Ng4!
stamps, one usually sends a string Varying from Mcintosh's 13 ...
of conditional moves. Nxd5. Knight on d5 is just what
White wants, and hang the two Bish-
ops!
14. Rad1 Bf6
THAT TARTAKOVER 15. Qd2 Ne5
Black seems to have established
IDEA genuine equality.
16. Bxe5 Bxe5
by CJS. Purdy 17. f4 Bf6
18. e5 Be7
The reader may find it interesting Not 18... dxe5? 19. fxe5 Bxe5 20.
to see how the suggestion of Tarta- Bxj7t, etc.
kover's that worked well for me 19. Ne4 Bg4
against Mcintosh in the first Aus- 20. exd6 Bxd6
tralian CC Championship, pro- 21. Nxd6 Qxd6
duced only a draw in the second, 22. Bf3
where I was playing Black against
Dr. Armati and had the benefit of
remembering the earlier game.

-17-
Dr. R.E. Armati-Purdy
Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense Deferred

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6 22. ... Qb6t
4. Ba4 d6 Drawn by agreement
5. d4 b5 After 23. Kh1 Bxj3 24. Rxj3 Qf6!
6. Bb3 Nxd4 and Black can challenge the d-file
7. Nxd4 exd4 immediately if 25. c3 or 25. Q14.
8. Bd5 Rb8 White's best seems 23. Q14!,

-61
 How Purdy Won

hoping to exchange into a favor- The Evans Gambit, invented

able pawn ending in which White's and analyzed by Captain W.D.
King could establish itself on d4. Evans in 1826, is still seen-mainly
However, after 23 ... OJ,d4t 24. Rxd4 in correspondence play. The sev-
Bxf3 25. Rxj3 RfdB 26. Rfd3 Rxd4 27. enth World CC Champion, Estrin
Rxd4 KfB 28. Rd7, Black need not (USSR) favors it.
risk a pawn ending by 28... ReB, 4. ... Bxb4
followed by ...KeB and challenging For 4... Bb6, the Gambit De-
Rooks. Instead 28... Rb7.', then 29... clined, see my World Champion-
KeBand 30... Rb6activates his Rook ship game with Frantzen (game 28).
and maintains the balance. 5. c3 Ba5
In fair standing now is 5... Be7,
but the text move is still regarded
as the strongest.
NEW LIGHT ON AN 6. d4!
There is no question any longer
OLD GAMBIT that this is superior to the older 6.
0-0, which is very strongly answered
by C]S. Purdy by 6... d6 7. d4 Bb6, the Lasker De-
fense. An attempt to transpose into
Besides shedding light on a varia- it after 6. d4 by playing 6... d6 is
tion of the Evans, this game shows frustrated by 7. Qj3.' Qg7, and now
the depth that is possible in corre- after 8. dxe5 if Black still plays
spondence play. At move 13, I wrote Laskerwise 8... Bb6, White has a
down about fifteen "possibles" and promising line in 9. Nbd2.'This sug-
finally selected one that I might gestion by Keres enables White to
never have looked at in a crossboard recapture on c4 with the Knight if
game. Yet I became sure it was the Black plays .. .Na5.
best move. The only point in favor of 6. 0-
0 is that after 6. d4 exd4 7. 0-0 Black
-18- can take another pawn, 7. .. dxc3.
Purdy-M.E. Goldstein This was once known as the Com-
Evans Gambit promised Defense because it was
thought that it compromised Black's
1. e4 e5 game, and current theory has come
2. Nf3 Nc6 round to that idea again, or at any
3. Bc4 Bc5 rate to the opinion that White keeps
4. b4 an edge: 8. Qj3 Q57.' (or 8... Qf6 9.

62-
 Second Australian Title

e5) 9. Nxc3 Qj4! 10. Bxf7t KdB 11. was that Leonhardt had also missed
Bg5f Nge7 12. Nd5 0Jb3 13. axb3 an earlier improvement for Black,
Bb4 14. Ra4 a5 15. Nxb4 Nxb4 16. 11... Nxd4! with advantage. For if
Rfa1. White can regain his pawn 12. BxaB Nc2, and now 13. g4 is
after 16... Nbc617. Bd5 and although useless because of 13 ... Qj6f. And
the game could get drawish, White of course if 13. f5 Bb6f 14. Kh 1Nxj5
has the chances. 15. Be4 (if 15. 0Jc2??, mate in two)
In this game Goldstein, one of Ng3f 16. hxg3 0Je4, with a winning
the former editors of MCO, chooses game.
Leonhardt's Counter Gambit. Therefore I chose the mundane
6. ... b5!? move which I had already decided
7. Bd5 was best a year before the game. I
The American Master Ulvestad thought I should forget I was play-
in his Chess Charts gave 7. Bxb5 as a ing the Evans Gambit and just play
win for White. He left off after 7... chess.
Nxd4 8. Nxe5 Nxb5 9. Qj5, assum- 10. Nxb5! 0-0
ing White wins because he catches 11. Be3 a6
a Rook, thus winning the Exchange. 12. Nd4
But after 9... Qf6! 10. (}JaB Ne7
(Marry-Wormald) the white Queen
is shut in and White has better
chances of losing than winning.
7. exd4
8. Nxd4 Qf6
9. 0-0 Nge7
Both players had studied Leon-
hardt's own analysis, published in
the BCM of February 1906. Leon-
hardt gave 10. e5 Qg6 11. f4 Bb6 12. 12. ... Bb6
f5 Nxd4 13. fxg6 Ne2t 14. Kh1 Ng3t My first concern was always to
15. hxg3 hxg6f, and Black mates in make sure by careful analysis that
two more. Very pretty, but if White at each move there was something
plays 12. Kh1! instead of 12. j5?he to discourage Black from playing
wins. For if 12 ... Nxd4 13. BxaB Nc2 ... Nxd5, i.e. that there would be some
14. g4!! and Black is lost. solace for White for the grief of part-
Goldstein also discovered this ing with his "two Bishops".
flaw and afterwards asked me why Thus 12 ... Nxd5 13. exd5 Ne5 14.
I had not played 10. e5. My answer Nd2! d6 (14 ... Bxc3??1oses) 15. N4b3

-63
 How Purdy Won

Bb6 16. Bxb6 cxb6 17. f4 Ng6 18. Qj3c4 and White does not threaten Nd5
is somewhat in White's favor, e.g. immediately, but rather Nb3 with a
18... Bb7 19. Nc4! Rac8 20. Nxb6 clear initiative. The basis of his
Rxc3? 21. Nd7, or 18... Bd7 19. Ne4 strength is control of d5.
Qs7 20. Rfe1, or 18... Bj5 19. Nd4 13. Rb8
with sights on c6. 14. Bxb6 Rxb6
Over the board I would almost 15. Ne3 d6
certainly have now played the ob- 16. Qc2 Be6
vious 13. Bb3, preserving the two 17. Nd2 Rfb8
Bishops. Only after many hours of Black continues to rely on de-
analysis did I discard it in favor of a velopment, leaving White's central
move which flies in the face of "el- domination intact, always a risky
ementary principles". policy. However, if 77. .. Bxd5 18.
13. Nc2! exd5 Ne5 19. f4, and the position of
This reminded me of Retfs Black's Queen comes into question.
words in his Modern Ideas in Chess: 18. f4 Rb2
19. Qd3 Na5
'Prom a careful study of Black has reached the stage on
Capablanca's games I learnt which White has built his hopes.
that instead of applying Black has completed his develop-
Morphy's principle of devel- ment but is at a standstill because
oping all the pieces as White dominates the center. The
quickly as possible he was last move stops trouble from White's
guided in his play by some Knights but gives a new opportu-
plan based on positional nity.
considerations. According to 20. f5 Nxd5
that method, every move not Virtually forced now. Black
demanded by the plan hopes for 21. fxe6? Qgc3 22. exj7t
amounts to a loss of time." KJB when he is quite safe.
21. exd5
For Black now the obvious
move is the best, 13 ... Nxd5 14. Q3d5.
As 14... Rd8??is then ruled out (75.
Bg5) Black seems to have nothing
better than 14... Rb8 15. Bxb6 Rxb6
16. Ne3 d6 17. Qj3 Be6.
Then 78.f4makes Nd5 a strong
threat. If 18... Ne7 19. Nd2 Rfb8 20.

64-
 Second Australian Title

21. ... Bc8 25. Nc4!

White has lost the possibility of Decisive combination.
Nd5 but has a strong attack. If 21... 25. Nxc4
Bd7 22. Ne4 Qs5? 23. Ng4 Qs7 (not 26. Nc6 Qf8
23 ... Qs8??, losing the Queen) 24. 27. Qxc4 Bd7
f6. White would prefer the Rook
22. Rael! to escape, enabling him to finish his
The second big surprise in the Knight tour in a blaze of glory, e.g.
game. Black can not only win a 27. .. R8b6 28. Ne7t Kh8 29. Ng6f!!
pawn, but threaten to get two Rooks [Ed.: In Purdy's "Search for Chess Per-
on the second rank. But after 22 ... fection," published by Thinkers' Press,
Rxa2 23. Ng4 Q,d8 24. Qg3! Kh8 25. Purdy gave this move a triple exclam
f6 the attack should win. Black pre- and I had the temerity to ask, ''How
fers a crafty retreat. does White win in the variation after
22. ... Qd8 29 ... fxg6 30. fxg6 Qg8 ?I have thought
23. Nc2! about this and think Purdy may have
The peripatetic Knight returns had in mind: 31. Qj;4!! h6 32. Qs7
to this apparently futile position. Bb7 33. RfB Bxd5 34. Rxg8t Bxg8
Strangely enough, his ultimate goal 35. ~c7;!;. Perhaps I was looking for a
is the kingside. He selects a circui- crunch win, but this is effective.] How-
tous route in order to stop Black's ever, if 27... Ra8 instead, not 29.
doubling on the second rank. Ng6f, but 29. ~c7, winning less
23. ... Rxa2 glamorously.
Black's last fighting chance was 28. Nxb8 Qxb8
23 ... Bd7. If 28... Bb5 29. Qs4 Bxf1 30.
24. Nb4 Rb2 Nd7, smash.
29. Qxa6 Bb5
30. Qa3 Rd2
-65
 How Purdy Won

Not 30...Bxf1 31. f!Jb2! -19-

31. c4! Bd7 Purdy-H. Klass
If 31 ...Bxc4? 32. Qs3. Nimzo-lndian Defense
32. Re7 Qd8
He sees the answer, but it was 1. d4 Nf6
no use playing on a Rook down. 2. c4 e6
33. Rxd7 1-0 3. Nc3 Bb4
Annotating this game himself, 4. e3 0-0
Goldstein wrote, "It was really a 5. Bd3 d6
pleasure to lose this game in which This was the way Nimzovich
Purdy broke all the classical canons himself often handled this opening.
of development to maintain his grip In the kind of game that arises,
on the center." White tends to get two Bishops but
to find it hard to make them tell.
6. Nge2 e5
7. 0-0 Re8
AN INGENIOUS 8. Qc2 Bxc3
9. Nxc3
OPPONENT White will be unable to keep
both Bishops, but the Bishop he
by C]S. Purdy keeps will be very strong.
9. exd4
Harry Klass, of Sydney, started as a 10. exd4 Nc6!
violin virtuoso, took up chess at the 11. d5 Nb4
comparatively late age of seventeen, 12. Qd1 Nxd3
and became so fascinated by it that 13. Qxd3 h6
he ultimately gave up music. His
sharp and often brilliant style has
caused him to play a higher per-
centage of publishable games than
almost anyone I can think of below
grandmaster class.
Here he became fully aware of
the troubles threatening him, and
evolved an ingenious line to draw.

14. f4
A plausible move, threatening

66-
 Second Australian Title

to cramp Black by f5, but Black 17. Q.xd2 Q.e3t

proves it premature. With 14. Bd2.' 18. Q.xe3 Rxe3
White would keep on top. His 19. f6 Bd7
Bishop is far superior to Black's, 20. fxg7 Kxg7
which can only attempt to develop 21. Rf4 Rae8
by ...Bg4 and ...Bh5, but in that case 22. Rafl R8e7
f4 could come in strongly. 23. h3 a6
And if 14... Ng4 (after 14. Bd2.') 24. Kh2 b6
the reply 15. f4 is again very strong, 25. R1f2 R3e5
preventing ...Ne5. 26. R2f3 a5
Probably best would be 14 ... Bd7 27. Rg3t Kh7
15. h3.' OJ7 16. Rfe1 Qj8, but 17. Qj3.' 28. Rgf3 f5
is then threatening 18. Bxh6. If 17. .. 29. Kg3 Re3
Rxe1t 18. Rxe1 ReB 19. RxeB NxeB 30. Kf2 Rxf3t
20. Ne4, and Black is cramped. 31. Rxf3 Kg6
So it seems that I came out of 32. Re3 Re5
the opening with a far better game 33. Rd3
than I realized, but found a quick Draw agreed
way to lose my advantage.
14. ... Ne4!
To prevent f5 I thought Black
might play 14 ... g6. This would
A POPULAR BREVITY
weaken the dark squares for my
Bishop, e.g. 15. b3 Bf5 16. Q_d2, and by CJS. Purdy
now the plausible 16... OJ7 is bad
because of 17. Bb2 Qs3f? 18. Q!e3 This game finished in 1946. Eight
Rxe3 19. Nd1 winning a pi.ece. The years later the same game occurred
main idea of the move played is to in the cross board grandmaster tour-
free Black's Queen. If 15. Nxe4 Bf5 ney of Bucharest 1954, Filip-Pach-
16. Re1 OJ7 17. Qg4 Bxe4, when man. And ten years after that,
Black threatens .. .j5, and if 18. f5 Pachman played it with Black again,
OJ5. this time against Darga, in the In-
15. f5 Q.e7 terzonal, Amsterdam 1964. In the
16. Bd2 Nxd2 last round of the same tourney it
With the disappearance of his occurred yet a fourth time, in Ber-
Bishop, White's winning chances ger-Bilek.
become slim. But 16. b3 led to a In all these crossboard games,
clear draw by 16... Nxc3 17. Q!c3 f6. my game was copied for the pur-
-67
 How Purdy Won

pose of forcing a quick draw. But Bxa4 11. Bxe4 Na6!, and Black will
when I innovated with 5... e5, I did regain one pawn with full compen-
not suspect that I would be forced sation for the other.
into taking a draw, and indeed I The best move is now known
have since proved that Black need to be 7. ReT as in Petrosian-Fischer,
have no such worry. second game of match, 1971. Be-
cause Fischer was slaughtered in that
-20- game, the Gruenfeld lost face; it
F.L. Vaughan-Purdy was overlooked that Fischer's play
Gruenfeld Defense was fine up to move 13, and that he
had at least equality just before his
1. d4 Nf6 blunder.
2. c4 g6 Mter 7. ReT Ne4! (critics said
3. Nc3 d5 Fischer ought to have played 7. ..
4. Bf4 Bg7 dxe4, but Petrosian says not) 8. exd5
5. e3 c5 Nxe3 9. Q_d2 f23a2! (widely con-
Up till this time Black had al- demned, but best, says Petrosian)
ways castled here, offering a pawn TO. bxe3 (if TO. Rxe3 0-0! with full
(probably quite soundly, it is true). compensation for the pawn accord-
6. dxc5 Qa5 ing to Petrosian and Suetin, and in-
7. cxd5?! deed White cannot keep the pawn
I had not realized that this might if Black wants it back) Qg5 11. Be4
be good. It is actually bad, and Nd7 T2. Ne2 Ne5 T3. Ba2, and now
would not be good even if it did in lieu of Fischer's T3 ... Bf5??, sim-
force a draw. A draw is always theo- ply T3 ... f23e5 equalizes according
retically a small victory for Black, to Petrosian.
because statistics show that in mas- With these "equality" verdicts
ter play White comes very close to there is always a shade of prefer-
winning four games to Black's three, ence one way or the other, and here
with three drawn. to Black for his better pawns.
I considered at length 7. Qg4t?! All in all, 7. exd5 is clearly a
f23a4 8. Nxa4 Ne4! 9. f3 Bd7! TO. rational move for White, and one
fxe4 Bxa4 11. exd5 Na6! T2. RbT Be2 which Black might find most un-
T3. ReT Nb4 T4. a3 Bxb2 T5. Kd2 welcome if he thinks it dooms him
BxeTt T6. KxeT Bd3, and Black will to force a draw.
emerge with the Exchange for a 7. ... Nxd5
pawn. Here my game with Vaughan
In this, if 9. Bd3 Bd7 TO. exd5 ended because I gave the rest as

68-
 Second Australian Title

conditionals, though I had not seen (forced, else ...Kj7 dooms the Bish-
it all when I played 5... c5. op, see second diagram) Nc6 16. Kg3
8. Qxd5 Bxc3t Rd8 hitting the Queen, and Black
9. bxc3 Qxc3t obviously has considerable compen-
10. Ke2 Qxa1 sation.
11. Be5 I don't know how the Russian
analyst continued, but it would ap-
pear that he failed to consider 17.
QJ4! This move was played by
Gheorghiu against Barry in the
American Open in 1974, and Marie,
annotating in Informant 18, gives it
as an innovation.
The big point is the pin by 17. ..
Rd1 is met by 18. Nj3 threatening
the pseudo Rook offer 19. Bc4!! And
Now I assumed, as did the other if 18... Qj1 19. Q3b1 Rxb1 20. Rg1
masters who copied the game, that ends the pin. Likewise if 18 ... Rc1
as Black is about to become a piece 19. Nd4! Nxd4 (if 19... Bd5 20. Q]t4)
down he must force a draw. 20. Bb5f Nxb5 21. Rxc1, and White
11. ... Qcl{?) is the Exchange up with all the
Some years later I saw analysis chances.
in the Russian Shakmaty, claiming Apparently disruptive after 17. ..
clear advantage for Black in all Rd118. Nj3is 18... Bj5. But then 19.
variations by the piece sacrifice, 11... Qf4 (threatening 20. Bc4;, and since
Qj 1!! ? I remember the main line 19... Qj 1? doesn't even threaten 20...
ran 12. Bxh8 Be6 13. Qj3 (forced) Rxf1 because then comes a Knight
13 ... Q3a2f 14. Kf3! f6 15. Bg7 fork [Ed.: In a number of lines.],
Black's only logical move is 19 ...
Qg1 (not 19 ... e5 20. Q,h6). Then 20.
e4 and every Bishop retreat loses,
e.g. 20... Bc8 21. Qs7. Or 20... Bd7
21. Q,h6 Rxf1 22. Q3h7 (threatening
mate) Be6 (say) 23. Rxfl Q3f1 24.
Q3g6f and White's extra pawn
should win. Or 20... Be6 21. Bb5!!
Rxh1 22. Qj8f with a winning at-
tack.

-69
 How Purdy Won

Annotator Marie finds nothing g5, and Black will regain his piece
for Black but the forlorn hope, 17... with two pawns plus) Qg5.', and now:
Rd2.
However, I have found a win
for Black after all, by 15... Nd7.' in
the second diagram, instead of the
obvious 15... Nc6. It equally threat-
ens the deadly fork at eS, but has a
better goal at cS. White must move
his King or his Queen.
I
16. Kg3 Kf7 17. Bh6 Nxc5 18.
Q,d4 (not 18. Qj2? Qj5 [Ed.: 18... a) 18. Bc4 Ne5.' [Ed.: 18... Nxc5
Ne4 t also offers considerable potentcy. 19. @4 Qs7t 20. Kj3 Qs6f is another
19. Kf3 Q,d5 20. @5 Nc5f 21. Kg3 good way.} 19. f!3d8f Kxd8 20. Bxe6
a6-+.} 19. f3 Q,h5 20. Bf4 g5) Qs2 Qj1, and the threat of 21... Nd3 is
(threatening 19... Ne4f) 19. Kj3 a5.' killing.
20. e4 (if 20. Bf4? g5 21. Bc7 a4) a4.' b) 18. Qf4 g5.' (keep hitting) 19.
21. Qj2 (not 21. Bd2 Nb3) f!3d2 22. Qj4 Nxc5 20. f!3h7 @4/Black threat-
Bxd2 a3, and Black will win Bishop ens ... Qg441=, and also ... Ne4f, lead-
for pawn, remaining a winning ing to mate. Checks by White only
pawn up. force him to keep moving his
In this, if 20. Ne2 a4 21. Qs3 Queen, so 21. h3 Ne4f 22. Kh2 Nxj2
f!3c3 22. Nxc3 a3 23. Be2 a2 24. Ra1, 23. Nj3 Nxh1 (had White played 21.
and the passed pawn is halted, but h4, Black would win here by 23 ...
Black catches the white Bishop with Ng4f, and if 24. Kg1 @2) 24. Kxh1
24 ... g5.' etc. Rd1 25. Nh2 QjJ 1. Temporarily White
n has equivalent material, but the pin,
16. Q,d4.' his cornered Bishop, and the re-
Now the same simple plan just mote passed a-pawn add up to a
fails because White's King has saved dead loss.
a tempo, but Black can now attack c) 18. Q,h4requires more subtle-
the King itself, 16... Rd8.' 17. Kg3 ty. After 18... Nxc5 Black is threat-
(after all, but if 17. Bb5 Kf7 wins, ening the temporary sacrifice
and if 17. @4 Nxc5 18. h3 [the best ... Ne4f. If 19. Nj3? Qs7t 20. Qf4
try] Bd5t 19. Kg3 Ne4t 20. Kh2 f!3j2, Ne4f 21. Kh4 g5fis crushing. So 19.
and Black will win on material, e.g. h3 Qs7f 20. Qf4 (if 20. /4 h5 and
21. Nf3 f!3h4 22. Nxh4 Kf7 23. Bh6 White's Bishop is doomed by ... Kf7
70-
 Second Australian Title

and ... Rh8, nor can it sacrifice by clearly wins. Or 78. Qs3 Qj7f 79.
27. Bxf6 exf6 22. ~f6??because of Kd2 (if 79. Ke2, .. .Kf7 and 20... e5)
the Knight fork) Ne4f 27. Kh2 Nxd4 (simplest) 20. exd4 Q§4 with a
(forced) ~f4f 22. exf4 Nxj2 23. Nj3 crushing attack. If 78. @5, sufficient
Nxh 7 24. Kxh 7 Rd7, and again is 78 ... a6.
White's problems are too great. We now return to the moves in
the actual game and the three other
games cited. Mter 77... Qs 7 both
sides are obliged to force a draw.
12. Bxh8 Be6!
13. Qxb7
Forced, else 73 ... Bc4f.
13. ... Qc2t
Drawn by perpetual check

After 73 ... ~a2f (analysis, pg. 69) QUICK GRUENFELD

For completeness we should re-
WIN
turn to move 14 and examine the
plausible 74. Ke7 ?! Mter 74 .. f6 15. by Cj.S. Purdy
Bg7 we have the second diagram
except that White's King is on el, This is another game illustrating the
very exposed. This time the crude dynamic possibilities available to
75... Nc6 is best. If now 76. Qj2 Black in the Gruenfeld Defense, and
Qg7f 77. Qd7 Qs3f 78. Qj2 ~c5 79. here Black does score the full point.
Ne2 Rd8 20. Qs3 @5, and again the
cornered Bishop is the losing factor. -21-
White must sacrifice it, and then L. Spinks-Purdy
lose. Gruenfeld Defense
Tricky is 76. Nj3 (or Ne2) Rd8
77. Nd4. Now 77. .. Bj5! gives a possi- 1. d4 Nf6
bility of ... e5 in some lines, e.g. 78. 2. c4 g6
Q§2 Qg7t 79. Qj7 ~d7t 20. Kxd1 3. Nc3 d5
Kj7! 27. Bh6 e5. To avoid that 78. 4. Qb3 c6
Qs4 Qg7t 79. Ke2, but now the Not what one really wants in
simple 79 ... Nxd4f 20. exd4 Rxd4 conjunction with a kingside-fian-

-71
 How Purdy Won

chetto, but on the other hand

White's Queen is not ideally placed.
5. Nf3 Bg7
6. Bf4 0-0
7. e3 Qa5
8. Nd2 Ne4!
While he has the chance Black
starts opening the fianchetto diago-
nal.
9. Ndxe4 dxe4
10. 0-0-0 17. dxc6
Bold play, and as usual with If 77. Nxf5 Nd4f 78. Kb7 Nxb3
games of opposite castling, the ini- 79. Ne7f KJB 20. NxcB RxcB 27. axb3
tiative is what will count. Accord- Qj4, with a small plus in material
ingly, Black at once offers a pawn. and a winning position.
10. ... c5! 17. Rxc6t
11. Nxe4 cxd4 18. Bc4 Be6
12. exd4 Nc6 19. Qxb7 Rxc4t
13. Be3 e6! 20. Kb1 Rcc8
Unexpectedly quiet. Black 21. b3 Rab8
wants to fix the weak d-pawn. White 22. Bd2 Bf5t
decides he should push before 0-1
... RdB. Because of the forced mate: 23.
14. d5 exd5 Ne4 Bxe4f 24. f23e4 Rxb3f, etc.
15. cxd5
If 75. Rxd5 Qs7 and ...Be6 will
come in with bite.
15. ... Bf5!
ENDGAME
16. Ng3? SUBTLETIES
Necessary was 76. j3 when I in-
tended 76... Ne5 77. Kb 7 b5! keeping
the attack up by offering a second by CJS. Purdy
pawn.
16. ... Rfc8! I remember this as one of my hard-
est struggles for a full point, and in
the end I gained it only after my
opponent erred instructively.

72-
 Second Australian Title

-22- 15. fxe5 fxg5

Purdy-G. Lindley 16. Bc4 Ke7
French Defense White's next is obvious, else
Black will blockade.
1. e4 e6 17. e6 Rf8
2. d4 d5 18. Rhfl Rf6
3. Nc3 Nf6 19. Rxf6 gxf6
4. Bg5 dxe4
5. Nxe4 Nbd7
6. Nf3
Usual is 6. Nxf6f Nxf6 7. Nf3,
depriving Black of the option he
now gets. I wished to deprive him
of a different option, namely (after
the moves just given) 7... c5. The
latest edition of MCO still gives that
as satisfactory for Black.
6. Be7 Black has undoubled his pawns.
7. Nxf6t Bxf6 20. h4! gxh4
8. Qd2 If 20... g4 21. Bd3 h5 22. Bg6. In
As far as I knew this was an this if 21... h6 22. Bj5 g3 23. Re3 Kd6
idea of my own, to avoid a tempo- 24. e7 Bd7? 25. Rd3f.
losing exchange. If now 8... b6 9. 21. Re4 a6
Bb5 Bb7 10. Bxf6 (and if 10... Qf/6 22. Rxh4 b5
11. Ne5) with probably a small ad- 23. Rxh7t Kd6
vantage. Or if 8... 0-0 9. 0-0-0 b6 24. e7 Bd7
10. Be2 Bb711. h4! h6 12. Kb1!with 25. Bt7 Be8
attacking chances. Black's actual re- Lindley considered 25... ReB, but
ply gave me a good endgame, but 26. Bh5 is a winning reply. White
one requiring extremely sharp play. then threatens 27. g4. If 26... j5 27.
8. ... Bxg5 Kd2! f4 (if 27. .. BeB 28. Ke3!) 28. Ke2
9. Nxg5 e5?! and wins, as 28... Bc6loses to 29.
10. dxe5 Nxe5 Rh6f.
11. Qxd8t Kxd8 26. Kd2 Kd7
12. 0-0-0t Ke7 27. Ke3 Ra7!
13. Re1 f6 White threatened 28. RhB with
14. f4 Kd7 a winning pawn ending.
Seems Black's best. 28. Kf4 Rb7
-73
 How Purdy Won

29. Kf5 Rb6

30. g4 Rd6
Not 30 ... c5? 31. Bxe8f Kxe8 32.
Rh6 Kxe7 33. g5, etc.
31. b4! c5!
Not 31... Kxe7?? 32. Bh5t Kd8
33. Rh8, winning.
32. bxc5 Rc6
33. Kg6 Kxe7
Possible now, and indeed
forced, for White threatened 34. Without the black pawn, this
Rh8! (34 ... j5f in reply is nothing position comes into an ancient book
after 35. Kg7). win (pawn on the seventh rank with
34. Bxe8t Kxe8 King on the queening square, when
35. Ra7 b4 the only problem is to get a check-
Lindley afterwards claimed that free position and queen the pawn).
35... Kd8 would draw, after 36. c3 Here Black's own pawn, though not
Kc8 37. Rf7 j5t 38. Kxf5 Rxc5f 39. yet far advanced, offers an addi-
Kf6 Rc6f 40. Kg7 Rxc3 (no profit in tional defensive resource: Black can
40... Rc5 41. Rj5) 41. g5 Rc2 42. g6 give up his Rook for White's pawn
Rxa2. in a position where his own pawn
However, White continues then will draw against the white Rook.
with 43. Kf6 b4 44. Ke5! b3 45. g7 Mter defending a difficult game
Rg2 46. Rf8t Kc7 47. g8=Q,Rxg8 48. well, Black now spoils it by playing
Rxg8, and the Black pawns are eas- the obvious move, overlooking
ily stopped. White's main threat.
36. Rb7 f5t 41. ... a5?
37. Kxf5 Rxc5t 42. Rh4 Kd7
38. Kf6 Rc6t If Black continues his run with
39. Kg7 Rxc2 the pawn he also fails by a single
40. Rxb4 Rxa2 tempo.
41. g5 43. g6 Kc6
44. Rh5!
A vital cutoff. In myriads of
Rook endings the key is a well timed
cutoff of the enemy King. Now, af-
ter Black's Rook has been forced to
give itself up (by Kh7 etc.), White

74-
 Second Australian Title
can permit Black's pawn to get right
to a2 and then capture it in three
moves, Black's King being just one
move too far away.
1-0
Return now to the last diagram.
By advancing immediately with
his King, Black can prevent the hS
cutoff which occurred in the game.
However, a cutoff at fS would be
just as effective if White's King had
access to f7.
Black's best move is 41 ... Ke7,
which is better than 41 ... Kd7 be-
cause it bars the white King from
the f-file, and allows 42. Rf4 to be
answered by pushing the a-pawn at
once. The cutoff 42. Rb6 looks
promising, but 42 ... a5 43. Kh7 a4
44. Rh6 (If 44. g6 Rh2t 45. KgB a3,
followed by ... a2, and White has no
time to create a shelter for his King.)
a3 45. g6Rg2 46. Rh1 (if 46. g7 Kj7!)
Kd6!, and Black easily supports his
pawn after the Rook has been sacri-
ficed.
In this, White can gain one
tempo by 46. Rh3 a2 47. Rh1, but
with 47. .. Kd6Black's King is still in
time.
So after 41... Ke7!, it seems that
White has nothing better than 42.
g6 Kd6 43. Rf4 (43. Rh4is no better)
Kc5 44. Kf6 when care is required
by Black. If now 44 ... Rg2? 45. g7!,
and Black must capture at once,
since White threatens 46. Rj5t and
47. Rg5, queening. But after 44. Kf6
Black has 44 ... Rd2 45. g7 RdB. Now
46. Ke6threatens 47. RJB, so 46. Ke6
RgB 47. Kj7, and if Black were com-
pelled to capture the pawn on g7,
with White's Rook on the fourth
rank, he would later have to lose a
vital tempo with ... Kb5 before ad-
vancing his pawn to a4. White's
King would then return just in time.
However, Black can postpone
giving up his Rook until either the
pawn queens, or White's Rook
leaves the fourth rank, and in the R
v P ending the extra tempo makes
all the difference. After 47... RaB!
White has no way to enforce a
tempo gain, so must concede the
draw, e.g. 48. Kg6 RgB 49. Kh7 RaB
50. RJB Ra7! etc.
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 How Purdy Won

CHAPTER4

INTERNATIONAL TEAMS TOURNAMENT

In mid-1946 play began in the preliminary groups of an international

teams event. Some countries entered more than one team, and Australia
ran a close second in its group to one of the Swedish teams, defeating the
Swedes 3.5-2.5 in their individual encounter.
The six members of the Australian team scored as follows:
1. CJ.S. Purdy 5.0-1.0
2. G. Koshnitsky 4.0-2.0
3. M.E. Goldstein 3.5-2.5
4. A.E. Nield 3.5-2.5
5. F.A. Crowl 4.0-2.0
6. A. Willison 4.5-1.5
The long transit time for airmail to Australia in those days was
compounded by a scheme to reduce postal charges. Moves to and from
Australia were pooled, and despatched en bloc by team captains. This led
to a very slow rate of play, and when outstanding games were called in for
adjudication early in 1949, few Australian games had progressed beyond
thirty moves.
It was therefore necessary for Australian players (or their opponents)
to press for decisive advantages as early as possible, and this may well
have influenced the style of play. Purdy certainly seemed willing to court
danger more than usual, and some interesting games resulted. However,
though his score looked impressive, it was a little flattering, and he was
guilty of some uncharacteristic lapses. The experience undoubtedly as-
sisted Purdy in later fashioning his play towards a style closely suiting his
positional talents.
Against S. Bernstein (France), Purdy gained an easy point when his

76-
 International Teams Tournament

opponent blundered after setting up the pieces wrongly in a balanced

position, immediately after the opening. Such occurrences are unfortu-
nately difficult to avoid completely. Most players find it tiresome to
meticulously check all their clerical tasks, and prefer to rely on their
memories; hence the inevitable occasional aberration. Purdy was himself
to become a victim in the World Championship Final.
(F.P.H.)

-77
 How Purdy Won

The return of the pawn has re-

DEFEAT duced Black's attacking chances.
11. 0-0 0-0
by C]S. Purdy 12. Nc3 Nh5

This was the only correspondence

game I lost between my match with
G.F. Mcintosh in 1937 and my game
with Mitchell in the World Cham-
pionship in 1952.

-23-
Purdy-A. Goncalves
(Portugal)
Two Knights Defense So far Bogolyubov-Euwe,
match 1941. Here Bogo played the
1. e4 e5 obvious 13. Nj3 and won in 23
2. Nf3 Nc6 moves. A better try than 12 ... Nh5 is
3. Bc4 Nf6 12 ... Bc5J but 13. Qj3 a6 14. Nce4
4. Ng5 d5 Bb7 15. Qj5 (Zukharov-Kopayev,
5. exd5 Na5 Lvov 1951) leaves Black with dubi-
6. Bb5t c6 ous compensation for his Exchange
7. dxc6 bxc6 minus.
8. Qf3 My actual move now was one
For comments on the opening of those which, looking back, one
to this point see notes to Purdy- can hardly believe one played.
Baijot, World Championship Pre- 13. h4??!
liminary (game 29). Medical authorities warn that
8. ... cxb5 suicide is a health hazard! Certainly
I doubt whether this is sound, this move looks like attempted sui-
though it is still played from time to cide without one redeeming feature
time. but in fact it has a mad sort of point:
9. Qxa8 Bc5 if now 13 ... h6? 14.Qs4! Or if 13 ...
If 9... h6 10. Ne4 Nd5 as in Bxc3 14. dxc3 h6 15. Qj3 Nf4 (better
Estimo-Balinas, Manila 1968, I sug- 15... Nf6 16. Ne4) 16. Bxf4 exf4 17.
gest that 11. Nec3 should carry Nh3 and the exchanges make the
White through. game good for White's Rooks.
10. b4 Bxb4 Yet such a move cannot possi-
78-.
 International Teams Tournament

bly be good after castling kingside. 22. Rad1 Qh3t

There is much self-hypnosis in chess 23. Nh2 Bg4
and evidently even correspondence 24. Qb3 Be6!
chess is not immune to it. Black's 25. Qd3 Bd5
play from here is superb. 26. f3 Nxg3t
13. ~7 27. Kg1 Nxfl
14. Qxa7 Ng3! 0-1
15. Nxb5 Bc5 For if 28. fxe4 Qxh2t 29. Kxfl
16. Qa4 h6 Be6 with a mating net. The attack
17. d4! Ne2t was beautifully conducted by the
Rightly refusing to win back the Portuguese master.
Exchange, as White will soon have
nothing better than to give it back
anyway.
18. Kh1 exd4
ELEGANT CHESS
19. Nf3 Re8
hy Frank Hutchings

This is the kind of game any chess

player would be proud of. Mter de-
ceptively simple middle game strat-
egy Purdy finishes off with an
attractive sacrificial combination.
Purdy published this game in Chess
World in 1949, with brief notes, on
which the present notes are based.
Here I felt that the correct move
must be 20. Rel followed when nec- -24-
essary by Rxe2, giving back the Ex- Purdy-M. Kerdil (Denmark)
change to give my King a flight at Petroff Defense
gl. With a pawn up and not a really
bad position, White should draw. 1. e4 e5
But I must have been in a state of 2. Nf3 Nf6
euphoria and dreamed of winning, 3. Nxe5 d6
despite my King's peril. More self- 4. Nf3 Nxe4
hypnosis! 5. d4 d5
20. Bd2 Re4! 6. Bd3 Nc6
21. g3 Qd7
-79
 How Purdy Won

7. 0-0 Be7
8. c4 Bg4
Striving for the initiative on the
strength of his Knight on e4. In 1949
Purdy wrote that the retreat 8... Nf6
was sounder, and indeed Petrosian,
against Fischer in 1971, chose to re-
treat as early as move 6, but the text
is still considered well playable.
9. cxd5
Played by Purdy under the im- After 13 ... 0-0-0, Black survived
pression that it was an innovation, his difficulties to draw in Tarrasch-
but opening theory was less acces- Marshall, Ostend 1905.
sible in 1946. He later found it men- The stage is now set for the main
tioned in one of Euwe's books. struggle. The position might appear
It is now thought that if White very drawish, but Black's game is
has any hope of squeezing an ad- already difficult in the face of
vantage from this position it lies in White's two good Bishops and gen-
9. Re7 (or 8. Re7), though it is diffi- eral command of the board.
cult to prove anything concrete, a 14. Rb1 Rab8
recent example being 9... Nf6 70. 15. Re1 Bd6
cxd5 Nxd5 77. Nc3 0-0 72. Be4 Be6, White's last two moves have
with about an equal game (Koroun- been obvious enough, but having
ski-Jusupov, USSR 1979). seized both open files [Ed.: Actually,
9. ... Qxd5 the b-file is only semi-open.] what now?
10. Nc3 If permitted, Black would like to
Again, 70. Re7 is now slightly occupy f4 after ...Ne7 and ...Ng6, so
preferred. White nips this in the bud, gaining
10. ..• Nxc3 space at the same time.
11. bxc3 Bxf3? 16. f4 f5
Black is tempted to weaken the To minimize the restrictive ef-
White pawn formation, but under- fect of White's pawn advance. If
estimates the strength of the two 76... Ne7, Black was doubtless un-
Bishops in this position. Current happy with 77. j5 Nd5 (77. .. g6? 78.
theory gives 77... 0-0, and if 72. Bf4 c4!) 78. c4 Nf4 79. Bfl c6 20. c5 Bc7
Bd6! with equality. 27. Bxf4 Bxf4 22. Re7, with Bc4 to
12. Qxf3 Qxf3 follow shortly.
13. gxf3 0-0 17. Bd2 Ne7
80-
 International Teams Tournament
18. Kg2 b6
It is difficult for Black to im-
prove his position without first free-
ing his Rooks.
19. Re6
19. ... Kh8
Black would like to try for ... c5
to challenge White's potentially dan-
gerous mobile center, but if 19...
Rbd8J Black was no doubt concerned
about 20. Rbe1 Ng6 21. Kg3 c5 22.
Bc4 Kh8 23. h4J with the strong threat
of h5.
After the text move, 20. Kg3
could be answered by .. .g5.
20. Kf3 Rbd8
Here 20... Ng6 would be met by
21. c4J and if 21... Nh4f 22. Kg3 g5
23. c5 bxc5 24. Rxb8 Rxb8 25. dxc5
Bxc5 26.fxg5 Ng6 27. Bc3fetc., with
a clear win.
21. Rbe1 Ng8
22. c4 Nf6
Black's regrouping maneuver is
tactically justified by the weakness
of the white pawn on f4. Because of
the shielding action of his own
f-pawn, Black has been able to make
very little of this defect in White's
set-up.
23. Bc2
Already contemplating the
thrust c5J Purdy removes a Bishop
from the d-file in preparation.
23. ... Nh5
24. Be3!
Now threatening c5 in earnest,
but at the cost of disconnecting his
Rooks and permitting 24... Rde8
which would exchange off the in-
truder as well as providing breath-
ing space for the threatened Bishop.
Then, after 25. Rxe8 Rxe8J White
cannot very well continue with 26.
c5 because Black threatens .. .Bxf4J
and on 26. Rd1 g6 27. c5 Black need
not open the file but can play 27. ..
BfB! White then requires another
tempo to bring his Rook to cl be-
fore he can make further progress,
giving Black time to organize
counterplay against the d-pawn by
...Rd8 and .. .Bg7.
The immediate 26. Rc1 does not
help on account of 26... Ba3 27. Rb 1
(threatening to trap the Bishop after
28. c5)J Be7J and White cannot take
and hold the f-pawn.
This leads to the move Black
really has to fear, which is 26. Ba4!J
surprisingly taking pressure off the
f-pawn. Then if 26... Rd8 27. c5 BfB
(. .. bxc5 would present White with
the b-file) 28. Rc1 Nf6 (28 ... g6 29.
cxb6 cxb6 30. Rc7 Bg7 31. Bd7! with
a clear advantage) 29. cxb6 cxb6 30.
-81
 How Purdy Won

Rc7, and Black's position would be attractive:

difficult to defend, largely because A: 28... Rxd6? 29. Re7 Rg8 30.
of his poorly posted King. Rxc7 followed by 31. Bb3 and 32.
It is understandable that Kerdil Be5, since if 30... Rxd5? 31. Bxg7t
did not fancy play along these lines, Rxg7 32. Rc8f Rg8 33. Rxg8f Kxg8
and chose instead a more active 34. Bb3 wins.
plan, starting with a tactical counter- B: 28... cxd6 29. Re7 Rg8 30.
threat. Ba4, threatening 31. Bd7 and 32.
24. ... g6 Be6. Black has difficulty freeing his
pieces, e.g.
i) 30... h5 31. Bd7 Kh7 32. Be6
Kh6 33. Bxg8 Rxg8 34. Rxa7 and
White will win a pawn and the
game.
ii) 30... Rb8 (intending to pin if
31. Bd~ 31. Bc6! (avoiding ... b5},
and now
a) 31 ... a5 32. Ra7 h5 33.
Bd7, etc.
25. c5!! b) 37 ... h5 32. Rxa7 Kh7 33.
A fine illustration of the value a4 Kh6 34. Ra6, winning the b-pawn,
of Purdy's advice: ''Always look for after which White's passed a-pawn
a way of ignoring a threat". Here he and raking Bishops should outweigh
had to look very deeply. Black must the Exchange.
now accept the offer of the Ex- 29. Re7
change.
25. Ng7
26. cxd6 Nxe6
27. d5 Ng7
Again forced, since if 27. .. Nc5
28. Bd4f! Kg8 29. Bxc5 bxc5 30. dxc7
Rd7 (if 30... Rxd5 31. Bb3) 31. d6!
Rxd6 32. Ba4!, and White's c-pawn
goes through.
28. Bd4 Rf7
Other possibilities are also un- At this point Purdy sent a long
string of conditionals. He had been
misinformed that the game was

82-
 International Teams Tournament

about to be adjudicated, in which

case there was a risk of White's not
DEFENDER
being awarded a win unless he made
his intentions clear.
TRIUMPHS
The conditionals were as fol-
lows, Variation III being the hard- by C]S. Purdy
est to find, according to Purdy, but
not the longest. (Though three of Purdy's games
I from this event went to the adjudi-
If 29... Kg8 30. dxc7. cator, this was the only one likely to
II have made his task difficult. The
If 29... Rxe7 30. dxe7 ReB 31. Bf6 notes are Purdy's, written in 1949-
h6 32. d6 cxd6 33. Bb3 Kh7 34. Bj7 F.P.H.)
b5 35. Ke3 a5 36. Kd4 b4 37. Kd5
Nh5 38. Ke6. -25-
III z. Nilsson (Sweden)·Purdy
If 29... Rdf8 3 0. Rxc7 b5 (If Queen's Gambit Declined
30... a6, same play follows. If 30...
Kg8 31. d7 Rd8 32. Ba4.) 31. d7 Rd8 1. d4 Nf6
32. d6! Rfxd7 33. Bb3! 2. c4 e6
Kerdil was convinced by this 3. Nf3 d5
analysis, so: 4. Bg5
29. 1-0 Wanting to transpose into the
Combinations of similar depth ordinary Pillsbury Attack, which
are played over the board, though normally starts with 3. Nc3 instead
generally a master would rely to of 3. Nj3. Black's reply forces a dif-
some extent on judgment, rather ferent variation entirely.
than try to calculate every variation 4. h6
to its end. He might also take into 5. Bxf6 Qxf6
account the probability of his oppo- 6. Nc3 c6
nent failing to find the best defense, 7. Qb3
especially if at all pressed for time. To play 8. e4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 with-
A top CC player, however, must out meeting ...Bb4f.
always reckon on the best defense 7. Nd7
in positions where exact calculation 8. e4 dxe4
is possible. 9. Nxe4 Qf4
10. Bd3 Nf6
This improvement on the older

-83
 How Purdy Won

10... e5 was first played, as far as I better, yet Black's position always
know, by L. Steiner against me, holds.
Sydney 1937. I made the same re- 18. Qcl Kg7
ply as Nilsson here, reasoning that 19. h4 h5
if 77. Nxf6f gxf6 Black would have 20. Qe3 Rac8
play on the g-file. However, a game 21. a3 c5
Euwe-Bisguier, New York 1948, in- 22. d5 Bd6
dicated that Black is too cramped 23. Qg5 Nh7!
to utilize the file. Simply 77... OJ/6 Suddenly White's attack is
is the best answer to 77. Nxf6f, so brought to nought. For if now 24.
that Black can castle safely as in the Nxh5f? Kh8.
present game. Black's two Bishops 24. Qe3 Bxe5
then compensate for the slight 25. Qxe5t Qxe5
cramp. 26. Rxe5 Nf6
(This opinion now seems dubi- White's game is now disjointed.
ous in view of the later game 27. Bc2 exd5
O'Kelly-Bogolyubov, Belgrade 28. cxd5 Rd6
1954, which continued: 77. Nxf6f 29. f3
0Jf6 12. 0-0 Bd6 73. Rfe7 0-0 14. c5! To stop ...Ng4before playing Ne4
Bc775. Be4 Rd8 76. Qs3 Bd7 77. Ne5 or Ne2.
Be8 78. Rad7 Rac8 19. Bc2, with ad- 29. Kf8
vantage to White. The line has long 30. Ne2 b5
been out offashion-F.P.H.)
11. Ng3 Be7
12. 0-0 0-0
13. Rad1 Rd8
14. Bb1 Qc7
The Queen could have been cut
offby Ne5.
15. Rfe1 Bd7
16. Ne5 Be8
17. Qc2 g6
As White I had this position Adjudicated a win for Black
against Steiner in the 1937 game White's difficulties are great,
with c5 substituted for Rfe 7, which I because of the weakness of his own
had omitted. There followed 78. f4? blockaded passed pawn, his ill-
b6 79. b4 Nd5 20. Q,d2 a5 with great placed Rook on eS, and the men-
advantage to Black. Nilsson plays ace of Black's queenside majority. I

84-
 International Teams Tournament

hoped to win the game if played The American master, Weaver

out, but the adjudicator must have W. Adams, championed the Vienna
worked very hard to make sure that for many years. In fact, he was so
White had no satisfactory defense. impressed with White's chances that
he wrote a book entitled White to
Play and Win, although bitter expe-
rience led him later to modify this
MOPPING-UP view.
HAZARDS 2. Nf6
3. Bc4 Nxe4
4. Qh5 Nd6
by Kevin Harrison 5. Bb3
The alternative 5. Q,xe5f is re-
An unfortunate opening experiment garded as drawish: 5... OJ7 6. Qfe7f
leaves Black with a lost game. Pur- Bxe7 7. Bb3 Nj5, etc.
dy, however, does not find quite 5. ... Be7
the most forcing continuation and 5... Nc6 is an interesting alterna-
allows some ingenious counter-play, tive, leading to fiendishly compli-
which he is just able to quell. How- cated positions. Harding, in his book
ever, after Black's failure to seize an on the Vienna, dubbed it the Fran-
opportunity at move 13, Purdy al- kenstein-Dracula Variation, on the
ways seems to have the win in hand. basis that, if they ever sat down to
play a game of chess, these two mon-
-26- sters would be irresistibly drawn to
Purdy· V. Soultanbeieff the bizarre positions that arise from
(Belgium I) this variation. Here is an illustrative
Vienna Game line: 6. Nb5 g6 7. Oj3 f5! 8. Qg5 OJ7
9. Nxc7f Kd8 10. Nxa8 b611. d3 Bb7
1. e4 e5 12. h4 f4! 13. Oj3 Nd4 14. Qg4 Bh6
2. Nc3 15. Nh3 Rf8 76. Bd2 NeB 17. Ng5 Rf5,
As he greatly respected Black's with great complications.
opening possibilities in the Ruy Lo- 6. Nf3
pez, Purdy frequently chose less Once again, 6. Qfe5 dissipates
fashionable openings when playing White's initiative: 6... 0-0 7. d4 Nc6
White. Though this is the only in- 8. Qf4 b6 9. Nge2 Ba6 70. Be3 Nc4
stance of his playing the Vienna in 11. 0-0-0 d5 72. Oj3 Bg5, with bal-
CC, he sometimes used it over the anced chances.
board. 6. ... Nc6
-85
 How Purdy Won

6... 0-0 allows White a danger- had written a book on the match:
ous attack, according to Harding, How Euwe Won.
who gives the following line: 7. h4! As an attempt to improve on
Nc6 B. Ng5 h6 9. Qg6! Bxg5 10. hxg5 Euwe's 11... c6, the text must be
Qfg5 11. Qfg5 hxg5 12. Nd5 Nj5 13. regarded as an abject failure, since
d3 Ncd4 14. Bxg5, etc. White has no difficulty in obtaining
7. Nxe5 0-0 a clear advantage.
The 27th game of the Alekhine- Alekhine and Kotov thought
Euwe match, 1935, continued 7. .. that Black should fianchetto his
Nxe5 B. Qfe5 0-0 9. Nd5!, and White Queen's Bishop, although they gave
had a strong initiative. The text no analysis to support this opinion.
move is considered an improvement Even though 11... b6 seems superior
for Black. to the other two moves, one is left
8. Nd5 Nxe5 with the impression that Black's
This, however, allows White to game is still difficult, e.g. 12. d3 (12.
transpose back into the Alekhine- Nxc7 Re4!) Bb7 13. Qg4, threatening
Euwe game. Alekhine believed that Bg5, followed by Nf6f.
Black could equalize with B... Nd4 12. d3 b5?
9. 0-0 Nxb3 10. axb3 NeB 11. d4 d6.
However, Harding, in a correspon-
dence game, improved with 11. Qs2
Nf6 12. Nc6! dxc6 13. Nxe7f KhB 14.
NxcB ()feB 15. d3, with an edge to
White.
9. Qxe5 Re8
10. 0-0 B£8
11. Q£4 c5
In the above-mentioned Ale-
khine-Euwe game, Euwe essayed This flank expansion, aimed at
11 ... c6, and play proceeded 12. Ne3 expediting Black's tardy develop-
Qg5 13. d4 @5 14. c3 Ne4 15. f3! ment, has a serious tactical flaw
Ng5 16. d5! cxd5 17. Nxd5 Ne6 1B. which Purdy surprisingly overlooks.
Qg4 Qg619. Be3 b6 20. Rad1 Bb7 21. 13. Nc3?!
Qfg6, when Alekhine exploited Black's ambitious queenside ex-
Black's compromised pawn struc- pansion could have been cogently
ture to score an elegant win. refuted by 13. Nc7! Qfc7 (13 ... c4 14.
Both players were no doubt fa- NxeB) 14. Bxj7t KhB 15. BxeB. The
miliar with this game. In fact Purdy text move is less convincing, and

86-
 International Teams Tournament

allows Black prospects of justifying If 22... Bd6 23. Bxf5 Bxf4 24.
his eccentric opening. Bxf4 Rxf4 25. Bxd7 Rd8 26. Rad7.
13. ... Bb7?! 23. Bd3 Ra4
Much stronger is 73 ... c4!, shut- If 23 ... Rxf4 24. Bxf4 Bxg2 25.
ting out White's powerful Bishop. Re7 Bc6 26. Be4. Soultanbeieff first
Then if 74. dxc4 (74. Nxb5? Nxb5! forces a weakness in the White pawn
leads White nowhere), 74 ... bxc4 75. formation.
Bxc4 Nxc4 76. Q3c4 Re6!, and Black 24. b3 Rxf4
has active piece play for his pawn. 25. Bxf4 Nxg2
14. Nxb5 c4 26. Bg3 h5
15. dxc4
Even stronger is 75. Nxd6! Bxd6
76. Q3d6, e.g. 76... Re6 77. Q,d4! Rg6
78. f3 cxb3 79. axb3, and Black has
no compensation for his two pawns.
15. Re4
16. Qg3 Nf5
17. Qc7 Qxc7
18. Nxc7 Rc8
19. Nd5 a5
Threatening 20... Bxd5 27. cxd5 27. Bf5
a4 22. f3 Bc5f 23. Kh7 Rh4, threat- Although he left no notes to this
ening ... Ng341=. However, this threat game, Purdy appended a question
is easily parried by the move Purdy mark to this move on a scoresheet.
wishes to play in any event. 19... One can only assume that he missed
Nd6 was to be preferred. Black's 28th move. However, al-
20. c3 Bc5 though the Exchange must now be
21. Bc2 Rxc4 returned, the text move seems to
22. Nf4 keep the win in hand. White would
Purdy almost suffers from an also have a long ending to play af-
embarrassment of riches, for in ad- ter 27. h4 Be7, or after 27. Rfd7 h4
dition to the text he has: 28. Bf7 hxg3 29. Bxg2 (29. hxg3 Ne3
a) 22. Bxf5 Bxd5 23. Bxd7 Rd8 30.fxe3 Bxe3fand 37 ... Rxc3) Bxj2f
24. Bh3. 30. Kh7 Bxg2f 37. Kxg2 Rxc3, etc.
b) 22. Nf6f gxf6 23. Bxf5. 27. h4
In both these cases White's ad- 28. Be5 Ne3!
vantage is clear. 29. Bxd7
22. ... Nh4 If 29. fxe3, then 29 ... Bxe3f 30.

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 How Purdy Won

Rj2Rc5!. COMPLICATIONS
29. Rd8
30. Rfdl Nxdl
31. Rxdl Bc8 by Frank Hutchings
32. Rd5 Rxd7
33. Rxc5 Rdl t Purdy never sought tactical compli-
Or 33 ... Bb7 34. Bd4Re7 35. Kf1 cations for their own sake, but would
h3 36. Be3 a4 37. Ke2 axb3 38. axb3, confidently tackle any skirmish that
etc. suited his plans. In the present game
34. Kg2 Bb7t he provokes an attack, convinced
35. Kh3 f6 his position can withstand it, but at
36. Bd4 Bf3 a critical point overestimates his
37. Rf5 chances and plays a gambler's
move. The gamble succeeds in a
position of bewildering complexity
which illustrates how difficult chess
can be.
This is a highly instructive game
for anyone interested in analysis.
Mter very many hours of work, with
the aid of Purdy's records and some
joint sessions with my co-author, I
have felt confident enough to criti-
Adjudicated a win for White cize some of the moves played.
Soultanbeieff has no compen- However, I am equally confident
sation for his material deficit, as the that the game has not yet given up
following analysis demonstrates: all its secrets.
37. .. Rd3 38. Be3 Bd5 (38 ... Be4 39.
Rxa5 g5 40. c4 f5 41. Re5) 39. Kxh4 -27-
a4 40. c4 Be6 (40... Bc6 41. b4 Ra3 G. Schittecatte (Belgium
42. b5 Bd7 43. b6) 47. Rb5. 11)-Purdy
Colle System

1. d4 Nf6
2. Nf3 e6
3. e3 b6
Known as the Marienbad varia-
tion of the Queen's Indian Defense,

88-
 International Teams Tournament

this line is not seen frequently. White can he get for it?
proceeds with a system bearing the 13. Qc2!
name of his compatriot Colle.
4. Bd3 Bb7
5. Nbd2 c5
6. 0-0 Nc6
7. c3 Qc7
8. dxc5
The move usually preferred is
8. Qs2, as in Spielmann-Eliskases,
1936, which continued 8... Be7 9. e4
cxd4 10. Nxd4 Ne5 11. Bc2 Qs8 12. a3
Nc6 with about equal chances. The only move to give Black
8. bxc5 serious problems. The cramping
9. e4 Be7 pawn on e5 maintains its post just
10. Re1 long enough to force a light-squared
Varying from Colle-Pirc, 1930, weakness in Black's camp.
in which 10. Qs2 d6 11. Nc4 0-0 12. 13. ... fxe5?!
e5 dxe5 13. Ncxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bd6 This is the gambler's move re-
15. f4 Rad8 led to approximate ferred to in the introduction, but
equality. Purdy was not consciously gam-
Purdy, however, had other ideas bling. Rather he was acting on an
on how to approach this position, optimistic assessment. His records
and his records indicate that he was show he considered three moves
considering answering 10. Qs2 with here, the other two being ...h6 and
10... 0-0, and if 11. e5 Ng4, or if 11. ... Ncxe5.
Re1 d5 12. e5 Nd7. The most attractive looking
In the game White reserves the move is 13 ... Ncxe5, unmasking the
option of developing his Queen on fianchettoed Bishop and, since
c2. White will be virtually compelled
10. 0-0 to capture, providing an open file
11. e5 Ng4 for the Rook on f8. Over the board
12. Nc4 f6 Purdy might well have selected that
This is the position Black has move, largely on these grounds, but
been playing for and on which his his rather sketchy working notes sug-
strategy must be judged. White's ad- gest that he was not completely
vanced e-pawn cannot be main- happy with the position arising af-
tained, but the question is what price ter 13 ... Ncxe5 14. Ncxe5 (14. Nfxe5

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 How Purdy Won

fxe515. Bxh7t Kh816.j3 e4!is very Kxh7 20. NxfBt (20. Nxe5f j5!} Kg8
satisfactory for Black) fxe5 15. Bxh 7f 21. Ng6 Bxh2fwith very good com-
Kh8 76. h3 Bxf3. Now on 17. gxj3 pensation for the Exchange.
Black could start a promising attack ii) 14. Bh7t Kh8 15. Qg6is dan-
with 77. .. Nxf2!!? threatening 18... gerous. White threatens, after driv-
e4, so White does best with 77. hxg4 ing away the Knight on g4, to
Bxg4 18. Qs4! when Black cannot continue Bxh6 with strong mating
maintain his extra pawn but can threats, but it seems Black can sur-
preserve comfortable equality with vive very well by 15... Ncxe5! (pre-
18... Bh5. A possible continuation venting Re4) 16. Ncxe5 fxe5, etc.
would then be 19. Re3! d5 20. 0Je5 Finally, if White continues qui-
0Je5 21. Rxe5 Bg4 with a likely draw. etly with 14. exf6, Black's central
Evidently Purdy hoped for pawn majority should compensate
more, and believed the text move for his weakened kingside.
would present White with greater 14. Bxh7t
problems. This it does, and in the On the immediate 14. h3 Purdy
game Black gets away with it, but intended 14 ... e4! 15. Bxe4 Nf6 16.
objectively (see note to White's 15th Bd3 d5 17. Nce5 c4 18. Bf1 Ne4 with
move) the move seems weaker than advantage to Black. [Ed.: Perhaps
both 13 ... Ncxe5 and the uninspiring Purdy's idea was more active piece play.
looking 13 ... h6. But, after 19. Nxc4 it is hard for Black
This last possibility seems to to find an effective tactical response.]
have been dismissed fairly quickly 14. F(h8
by Purdy. He was doubtless reluc-
tant to concede a clear tempo in a
position where the initiative could
be vital, but the move may never-
theless be the strongest, and is cer-
tainly well playable.
Sharp attempts [Ed.: After 13 ...
h6.}to exploit the light-square weak-
nesses fail, e.g.
i) 14. Nh4 Ngxe5 15. Nxe5 Nxe5
16. Bf4 (76. f4 j5!) Bd6! (76... g5 15. Re4?!
allows perpetual check at least by Bringing another piece into the
17. Bh7t Kh8 18. Bxe5 fxe5 19. Ng6f attack, in conjunction with a threat,
Kxh7 20. Nxf8t Kg8 27. Qg6f etc.) appears forceful, but Black has a
17. Bxe5 Bxe518. Bh7t Kh8 19. Ng6t more or less compulsory reply to
90-
 International Teams Tournament

which Schittecatte evidently did not the Knight and continuing 20. Bg5!
pay sufficient attention. Both play- Then if 20... dxc4 27. Bxf6 gxf6 (tak-
ers seem to have underestimated ing with a piece allows a strong mat-
the strength of the routine 75. h3! ing attack) 22. Rad7, followed by
Purdy had analyzed (at move 23. Qfe4 and again White has more
13) 75. h3 Nf6 76. Bg6 e4 77. Ng5 d5 than enough for his two pieces.
78. Nxe6 Qs8 and noted that Black Nor does there seem to be a
stood better. This looks like a hasty "safe" line for Black. If 75. h3 Nf6
decision. Purdy generally checked 76. Bg6 e4 (76... d6 soon leads to
his analysis carefully before com- trouble after 77. Ng5 and 78. f4!,
mitting himself to a line of play, so threatening Qj2, etc.) 77. Ng5 Nd8
that the mistakes, to which he was with the idea of consolidating his
by no means immune, were weeded center by ... d5, White can ignore
out. In this case he failed to check the fork and capture on e4 with
thoroughly. impunity, e.g. 78. Nxe4 Nxe4 79. Bxe4
In the above, after 79. Nxf8, the d5 (79 ... Bxe4 20. Qfe4 d5 27. Qs5!)
only way to avoid remaining the 20. Bg6, and if 20... dxc4 27. Qs2!,
Exchange down is 79 ... dxc4 when again threatening mate. Black must
the other Knight cannot escape. It return the piece with 27... Bf3, and
can, however, sell its life dearly by White maintains the advantage.
20. Nh7! and then after 20... Nxh7 Finally, 75... Nxfl is well an-
27. Rxe4! threatening Rxe7 is prob- swered by 76. Nfxe5, when White
ably strongest. White can get at least has too many threats.
Rook and three pawns for his two One can only conclude that 75.
pieces, and maintain the more ag- h3! would have assured White a
gressive position to boot. clear edge, but most players, hav-
Black could try to get compen- ing seen 75. Re4, would be attracted
sation for the Exchange by 78... Qsl7 by it.
(instead of ... Qs8), bringing the other 15. Nxf2!
Rook into play after 79. Nxf8 Rxf8.
On retreat of the threatened Knight
he could then continue ...Bd6 and
play for an attack on the white King,
a
using eS as jumping-off point for
Knight and then Queen. With the
white a-Rook out of play this plan
might have some chance, but White
can scotch it all by not withdrawing

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 How Purdy Won

Since a retreat would be clearly finite limit, which varies from player
unfavorable there is really no alter- to player, and as with crossboard
native to this move. It brings about play, it is also possible to become
a position of immense complexity short of time through over-empha-
which Purdy analyzed in sufficient sizing analysis.
depth to convince him that Black II
could at least maintain the balance. 76. Q3f2 Kxh7 17. Rh4t Kg8 18.
He considered seven possible Qs2 Bxh4 19. Nxh4 Ne7 wins.
replies as follows: III
I 16. Nh4 Nxe4 17. f!3e4 Nd4,
76. &fl. d5 77. Rg4 e4 78. Bxe4 which Purdy noted as winning. He
dxe4 79. Q3e4 Q3h2 20. Bf4 Qjt5, probably judged that 16. Nh4should
with the better game for Black. If not cause Black much trouble and
27. Bd6 Ne5 22. Q3e5 Q3g4 etc. was a little too ready to believe he
(Purdy's records). had found the refutation. In fact,
This looks rather hair-raising. after the forcing sequence 18. Ng6f
Black's Queen puts her head in the Kxh7 79. Nxf8t Kg8 20. Qjt7t Kxf8
lion's jaws, but it seems it cannot be 21. cxd4, White's threat of 22. Bh6,
snapped off. As given in Purdy's followed by 23. Rf1, cannot be met.
analysis, 20. Bf4is probably White's However, had 16. Nh4 been
best. The most promising alterna- played Purdy would undoubtedly
tive 20. Rf4leaves Black with good have discovered this and played dif-
compensation for a pawn after 2 0... ferently. Best seems 76... Nb4, when
@5 27. Q3e6 Rxf4 22. Bxf4 Rf8 23. White hardly has anything better
Qs3 Qg4. than 17. Ng6f Kxh7 18. Nxf8t (18.
Purdy's judgment that Black Nxe7 Bxe4!, or 18. Rh4t Bxh4 19.
stands better after 20. Bf4 Qjt5 may Nxf8t Kg8 20. Qjt7f Kxf8 is favor-
be a trifle optimistic. White would able for Black) Kg8 19. Q3f2 Bxe4
appear to have good chances of 20. Nxe6 dxe6 27. cxb4 Bd3 with the
maintaining a balance by 27. Ne3, two Bishops giving Black the edge.
followed when permitted by QP 7, IV
aiming to swap Queens. However, 76. Rh4 Bxh4 77. Nxh4 Ne7 18.
one cannot analyze forever, and a Ng6f Nxg6 19. Q3g6 Be4 winning
very important facet of a player's (or 19. Bxg6 Ng4 winning. [Ed.: But
skill, crossboard or CC, is in decid- 79 ... Qs6 is much easier.}).
ing when to stop analyzing and v
make a positional judgment. A CC 16. Rxe5(!) Nxe5 77. Nfxe5 (on
player's available time also has a 77. Ncxe5 Rxf.3 is a good reply) Bd6!

92-
 International Teams Tournament

18. Nxd6 Q:d6 19. Ng6t Kxh7 20. hardly be any other way to arrive at
Nxj8t Kg8 21. Ng6 Be4 22. Q:f2 Bxg6, a sound judgment.
and Purdy had written "offer draw?" Purdy's investigations were of
If 76. Rxe5 had been played, sufficient depth to ensure that his
Purdy no doubt would have re-ex- position should hold, but they leave
amined this, but it is hard to im- some doubt as to White's strongest
prove on. Any variation from the move. Playing White, having ana-
line given is, in fact, dangerous for lyzed similarly to Purdy, one would
Black. Possibilities are: probably be considering only 16.
i) 16... Nxe5 17. Nfxe5 Ne4? 18. Rxe5 and 76. Kxf2. Both appear to
Bxe4 Bxe4 19. Q:e4 d5 20. Ng6f is offer good prospects for maintain-
clearly better for White. ing the balance. Instead, White
ii) 76... Rxf3 is superficially at- chooses a demonstrably inferior
tractive, but after 77. Rh5 Rf6 78. move which leads to his rapid col-
QJ2!, White has a strong attack, and lapse.
threatens mate in five. Black could The inaccuracies perpetrated in
try instead 77. .. Nh3f 18. gxh3 Nd4 the short but highly critical phase
79. cxd4 [Ed.: 19. Be4f is pretty strong from moves 13 to 16 highlight the
too/] Rg3f 20. Kfl (safer than 20. d_ifficulty of the problems faced by
hxg3} Rj8t 27. Bj5t Kg8 22. hxg3 both players. ·over the board such
Q:g3, but after 23. Qj2 Black has imperfections are accepted as com-
sacrificed too much. monplace, and even in CC, or in-
In this, if 78 ...Raf8 19. Be4t, deed in annotating, one cannot be
White has the choice of taking per- sure of unearthing the ultimate truth.
petual check or trying to win by 16. Qxf2? Kxh7
accepting the Exchange, though 17. Rh4t
Black would, in this case, get some
compensation.
VI
76. Ncxe5? Nxe5 77. Rxe5 Bxf3
wins (or 77. Nxe5 Bxe4 etc.).
VII
76. Nfxe5 Nxe4 77. Ng6f Kxh7
78. Q:e4 Kg8 79. Nxf8 Rxf8wins.
This may seem a formidable ar-
ray of analysis, but in a position of
such complexity, where tactical 17. ... Kg8!
threats predominate, there can The Rook could not be taken at

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 How Purdy Won

once. From his records it seems Pur-

dy hardly considered the capture,
since White's attack would obvi-
ously be very strong. Now, how-
ever, the Rook is seriously
threatened, and as shown in the pre-
vious note (variation II), this threat
cannot be ignored. White's only al-
ternative is to lose a tempo, giving
Black's central pawns the opportu-
nity to explode. Since White is now Black impressively completes
embarrassed for an adequate con- the mobilisation of his forces while
tinuation one wonders whether the White pieces flounder. White
Schittecatte had overlooked the text cannot avoid the loss of a piece,
move, captivated perhaps by the and Purdy mops up efficiently.
play arising after 17. .. Bxh4? 18. 22. Rg3 dxc4
Q3h4f. There could then follow: 23. Qxe4 Nd4
i) 18... Kg8 19. Ng5 Rf5 (best) 24. Qe3 Re5
20.~7tKJ821.~8fKe722.f!3g7t 25. Bf4 Rxe3
Kd8 23. NJ7t Rxj7 24. Bg5f Kc8 26. Bxc7 Ne2t
(24 ... Ke8 25. Qg8t Rf8 26. Qg6f Rf7 27. Kf2 Nxg3
27. Rf1 Nd8 28. Rxj7, and mate fol- 28. Kxe3 Nf5t
lows) 25. Qg8t Nd8 26. Nd6f Kb8 29. Kf2 Rf8
27. Nxj7, with an easy win. 30. Kg1 Nh4
ii) 18 ... Kg6 19. Qg5t Kj7 20. Adjudicated a win for Black
~Sf Ke7 21. Bg5t Rf6 22. Bxf6t Resignation was overdue. It was
gxf6 23. ~7f, with a winning at- unfortunate that White's 16th move
tack. spoiled a tense struggle.
18. Rh3 e4 Purdy may well have felt that
19. Qc2 d5 he sailed a little closer to the wind
20. Ng5 Bxg5 than intended in this game, which
21. Bxg5 Rf5 perhaps influenced his resolve to
minimize risk in the World Cham-
pionship finals.

94-
 World Championship Preliminary

CHAPTERS

WORLD CHAMPIONSillP PRELIMINARY

Sectional play for the inaugural individual World Championship com-

menced in 1947, a year after the teams tournament, so the two events
were concurrent for much of their duration. Players were divided into
eleven groups, with only the winner from each group to qualify for the
final. Ties were to be broken by the Sonneborn system, but, as it turned
out, the ties which occurred could not be resolved, so fourteen players
qualified from the preliminaries.
Purdy played in Section 5, for which the score-table follows.

2 3 4 5 6
1. CJ.S. Purdy (Australia) 1 1 * 4.5
2. L. Baijot (Belgium) 0 1 * * 1 3.0
3. Dr. L. Bigot (France) 0 0 * 2.5
4. 0. Krausz (Switzerland) * * 0 * 2.5
5. A. Frantzen (Norway) 0 * 0 * 1 2.0
6. C. Nielsen (Denmark) 0 0 * 0 0 0.5

B. Reilly (Britain) withdrew after a year's play. All his games were
canceled. Australia's other representative, G. Koshnitsky, finished third in
Section 4, won by the well-known crossboard master T.D. van Scheltinga
(Holland).
Purdy's play was sounder than in the teams event. This was due in
part, no doubt, to the longer time limit-thirty days instead of twenty, for
ten moves-but probably also because he did not have to fear early
adjudications. His victory, however, was not achieved with the ease
suggested by the score-table. Purdy's notes tell the story of his extraordi-

-95
 How Purdy Won

nary struggle to avoid defeat at the hands of Dr. Bigot, in arguably the
most interesting game he ever played. In congratulating Purdy, Bigot
commented simply, "You will be World Champion." His prediction proved
well-founded.
Apart from a featureless draw with Krausz, Purdy was a comfortable
winner in the other games. He also held some advantage after 26 moves in
the canceled game with Reilly.
Opening blunders seem to occur more frequently in CC than one
would expect, and in this tournament C. Nielsen presented Purdy with a
piece through a miscalculation on move 10, resigning immediately.
(F.P.H.)

96-
 World Championship Preliminary
THE CLASSIC
RESPONSE
by Kevin Harrison
c3 Nc6 8. 0-0 d6 9. d4 exd4 10. cxd4
The Evans Gambit, that cherished Bb4 11. d5 Nxa5 12. Qg4f.
weapon of chess romantics, may
seem a strange choice for a strate-
gist like Purdy to make. However,
although he never essayed the Evans
Gambit in crossboard chess, Purdy
played it twice in important corre-
spondence games. It is an ideal
choice for correspondence play,
quickly producing tense complex
middle-game positions that allow
the creative player great scope for
his imagination.
Frantzen declines the gambit,
steering the game into quieter, more
positional channels. He then em-
barks on an overly ambitious king-
side flank expansion in conjunction
with a Knight maneuver. Just when
the fruits of Frantzen's strategy seem
about to be realized, Purdy strikes
in the center, opening up lines for
his pieces and quickly leading to
the win of a pawn, which ultimately
decides the game.
-28-
Purdy-A. Frantzen (Norway)
Evans Gambit Declined
1. e4 e5
2. N£3 Nc6
3. Bc4 Bc5
4. b4 Bb6
5. a4 a6
Inferior is 5... Nxb4 6. a5 Bc5 7.
6. Ba3
Modem theory regards 6. Nc3!
as the best way of maintaining an
initiative. A possible continuation is
6... Nf6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 e4 9.
dxc6 0-0 10. Bb2, Sokolsky-Gol-
denov 1945.
Today it is difficult to under-
stand how Purdy would not be fa-
miliar with 6. Nc3!, which was found
at the chessboard by Kan in 1929
and analyzed by Sokolsky and other
Soviet masters. However, thirty
years ago, chess theory and its dis-
semination were in a veritable dark
age compared with today, when it
would not be unusual to see an in-
novation, discovered at the Marshall
Chess Club, played in an Austra-
lian tournament six weeks later. [Ed.:
Nowadays, with the accessibility of the
Internet, such a new move may be used
within 24 hours!}
6. ... d6
7. b5 axb5
Up till now, Purdy had followed
Ulvestad's analysis, but had impru-
dently failed to check this, and, while
waiting for Frantzen's reply, discov-
ered an error. The line adduced in
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 How Purdy Won

Ulvestad's Chess Charts was: 7. .. axb5 vers that envisages re-deploying the
8. axb5 Na5 9. Be2 Be6 10. d3 Qj7 Knight on the powerful f4 square
11. Nc3 Ne7 12. 0-0 0-0 13. Bb4 c5 and prising open the g-file with ...g5
14. Ba3 f6 15. Qs1 d5 16. Na4 0Jb5 and ...g4.
17. Nxc5 Bxc5 18. d4. However, if The classic response to a flank
Black doesn't exchange pawns, then expansion, especially if the enemy
White is faced with a problem: if he King is on that side of the board,
attempts to play as in the line above, has been to strike energetically in
which is what Ulvestad advocated, the center. This motif often occurs
then White finds that he no longer in the Sicilian Defense, particularly
has access to a4. in the Scheveningen Variation,
8. axb5 Nd4 where Black often has to carefully
9. Nxd4 Bxd4 prepare the break ... d5 to counter-
10. c3 Bb6 act White's kingside thrust.
If 10... Bc5, not 11. d4 exd4 12. 16. Qe2
cxd4 Bb4f, but first 11. 0-0.
11. 0-0 Qf6
12. Kh1 Nh6!
Thwarting Purdy's plan of play-
ing f4, since it is now imperative to
deny the Knight access to g4. The
more prosaic 12 ... Ne7 would allow
13. f4! exf4 14. d4 0-0 15. Nd2 ReB
16. g3 Ng6 17. Qj3 (and if 17. .. fxg3
then 18. 0Jg3), when White has a
powerful center and good attacking 16. ... g5?!
chances on the kingside. Ten years later, when playing in
13. f3 0-0 the IV ICCF Candidates tourna-
14. d3 Bd7 ment, Frantzen improved on his
If 14 ... Be6, Purdy intended 15. play here with 16... Qs7. His oppo-
Nd2 Ra 7 16. Qs2 Rfa8 17. Bb2 Rxa 1 nent continued 77. Nb3 ?, overlook-
18. Rxa1 Rxa1 19. Bxa1 c6 20. bxc6 ing Black's threat 77. .. Rxa3 18. Rxa3
bxc6 21. Bxe6 fxe6! when White has d5.
a minimal advantage. If 21... 0Je6 17. Ra2
then 22. Nc4 Bc7 23. Qg2, with a White ultimately intends to
clearer advantage. double Rooks, but the immediate
15. Nd2 Kh8 idea is to remove the Rook from al,
The start of a series of maneu- where it would be vulnerable in

98-
 World Championship Preliminary
some of the ensuing variations.
17. ... Ng8
18. d4
The central break requires im-
peccable timing, for if one demurs
the flank attack often proves irre-
sistible. Purdy has keenly appraised
the position, judging that the tacti-
cal complications will be in his fa-
vor, and soon Black is thrown back
on the defensive.
18. ... Ne7
It is dangerous to accept the
pawn: 18... exd4 19. e5 Qg6 20. cxd4
Bxd4 21. exd6 cxd6 22. Qj4, regain-
ing the pawn with advantage.
19. dxe5 dxe5
Reluctantly Black captures with
the pawn, activating White's dark-
squared Bishop, since the alterna-
tive 19... Qj:e5 only opens an even
more dangerous diagonal.
20. Rial Rad8
White threatened 21. Bxe7.
21. Nfl Rg8
22. Ne3 Bxe3
Preventing White from estab-
lishing a powerful Knight on d5.
23. Qxe3 Nc8
24. Qc5
Purdy has made considerable
progress since playing the timely
18. d4. He possesses the Bishop pair,
has good attacking chances against
the queenside pawns, and Black's
kingside demonstration has been
successfully defused.
24. ... Be6
Black offers a pawn to relieve
the cramp.
25. Qxc7 Rd7
26. Qc5 b6
27. Qb4 g4
Black finally executes the plan
that was conceived on move 15, but
now, thanks to Purdy's energetic
play, it has lost much of its potency.
28. fxg4
Clearly the best move, since 28.
Rf1 allows 28... gxf3 29. gxf3 Bh3.
28. ... Rxg4
If Black attempts to exploit
White's back rank vulnerability by
28... Rgd8, White's best reply is 29.
Re1!
29. h3
29. ... Rg8
Any attempt to avoid the ensu-
ing exchanges loses quickly: 29...
Q,h6 30. Bxe6 fxe6 31. Rf1 Nd6 32.
Qj:d6! Rxd6 33. Bxd6 @5 34. Rj7
Rg5 (if 34... Qj:j7 35. Bxe5f Rg7 36.
Ra8f, or 34... Kg8 35. Rb7) 35. Bxe5f
Kg8 36. Rb7.
Purdy's next move allows
Frantzen to exchange his Queen for
-99
 How Purdy Won

two Rooks, which in many situa-

tions is quite a satisfactory transac-
OPENING WIN
tion. However, Purdy has correctly
judged that Black's pieces are too by Frank Hutchings
disjointed to solve the dual prob-
lems of White's queenside majority Purdy did quite an amount of origi-
and Black's vulnerable King. nal analysis in openings, particu-
30. Rfl! Qxflt larly in the earlier part of his career.
Declining the exchange only al- In this game, begun in 1947, the
lows White to double Rooks on the opportunity arises to play a move
f-file, e.g. 30... Qg6 31. Bxe6 Q3e6 of his own discovery, which he had
(37 ... fxe6 32. Qs4) 32. Raf2 Nd6 33. first tried (unsuccessfully) in a 1927
Rf6 Qs4 34. f23c4 Nxc4 35. Bh4 Nd2 crossboard game, and had later re-
36. Rxj7 Rxf7 37. Rxf7 Nxe4 38. Rc7 fined the follow-up strategy.
Ng3t 39. Kg1 ReB 40. Kf2, etc. Writing in 1949 Purdy men-
31. Bxfl Bxa2 tioned that the English columnist,
32. c4 Rdl G.H. Watson, independently in-
If 32 ... Rd4 33. @2 Bxc4 34. vented the move many years later
Bxc4 Rxc4 35. f23e5f Rg7 36. BJB (probably late 1930s), his analysis
wins. appearing in Chess Questions An-
33. Kgl £6 swered. The 1946 edition of MCO
34. c5 Rbl calls it "Watson's move", but strange-
35. Qc3 Rb3 ly enough Harding and Botterill, in
Black doesn't have time to The Italian Game, credit Bogolyubov
double on the first rank. If 35... Rd8 (1940s or 1950s) while Estrin men-
36. cxh6 Nxh6 37. Be7, threatening tions the Italian master Paoli, who,
38. Bxf6f KgB 39. Qg3f Kj7 40. Qg7f it seems, played it in 1949.
and 41. Qs?/1=. Undoubtedly many ideas in
36. Qcl Rg7 openings are "invented" more than
If 36... Rxh3 37. cxh6 Nxh6 38. once, but here Purdy's 1927 discov-
Qs6 Rxa3 39. Q3f6f Rg7 40. QjBf ery easily predates other known
Rg8 41. Q§a3. claims. Even as much as twenty
37. cxb6 Nxb6 years later it appears that he was
38. B£8 Rf7 able to surprise his opponent, soon
If 38... Rg8 39. Be7. achieving a comfortable position
39. Bh6 0-1 with a sound extra pawn, virtually
White threatens 40. Qg2, which winning the game in the opening.
wins a piece. The issue, thereafter, is never really

100-
 World Championship Preliminary
in doubt.
-29-
Purdy-L. Baijot (Belgium)
Two Knights Defense
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 Nf6
4. Ng5
Debate on this attempt to refute
the Two Knights Defense began
nearly four centuries ago and con-
tinues today. Purdy was inclined to
favor White's prospects, but pre-
ferred to handle this type of posi-
tion under CC conditions, without
the compulsion of a ticking clock.
4. ... d5
5. exd5 Na5
This move is generally accepted
as best, though 5... Nd4 and 5... b5
are also playable. The latter move
was used by Berliner against Estrin
in the fifth World CC Champion-
ship. Berliner was able to spring a
surprise a few moves later and score
a convincing win from a recognized
authority on this opening.
On 5... Nxd5, the old Fegatello
Attack 6. Nxf7 Kxj7 7. Qf3t Ke6 8.
Nc3 was under a cloud at the time,
but is now again considered quite
good.
6. Bb5t c6
7. dxc6 bxc6
8. (Lf3
In his book on the Two Knights
Defense Estrin indicates that this
move was first played in the 19th
century, later discarded because of
the Exchange sacrifice (8... cxb5, see
Purdy-Goncalves, game 23), then
rehabilitated by Bogolyubov.
Bogolyubov, in fact, successfully
met the Exchange sacrifice in a 1941
match with Euwe. The move is once
again out of favor, however, because
of the reply discovered by the Brit-
ish player Colman in Changi pris-
oner-of-war camp, 8... Rb8!, which
is thought to lead to Black's advan-
tage.
Almost invariably played nowa-
days is 8. Be2.
8. (Lc7
Considered best at the time,
since Colman's discovery was still
secret.
9. Bd3!
This was the move Purdy had
discovered and first played against
S. Woinarski (laterjudge Woinarski)
at Melbourne 1927. It makes a rather
awkward impression, but the mo-
tive of restraining Black's pawns by
-707
 How Purdy Won
controlling the light squares is well
founded, and the move is now gen-
erally regarded as best.
Baijot used six days in replying,
suggesting that he was unprepared,
despite the mention of 9. Bd3 in the
previous year's MCO. However, he
does respond with the move MCO
recommended.
9. ... Be7
Probably a better chance of ob-
taining counterplay is 9... h610. Ne4
Nd5, when EGO gives 11. 0-0 Nf4
12. Ng3 g6 13. Re1 Ne6 14. b4 as
slightly better for White (Scher-
bakov-Judovic, USSR 1955).
A 1949 article by Purdy gives
an interesting insight into his think-
ing at the time. In it he suggested,
after 9... h610. Ne4Nd5, that White's
best was probably 11. Nec3 (a strange
looking move) Nf4 12. 0-0, with the
plan of Re1, Bf1 and d3. The article
continued:
"If Black plays ...Nxd3 to
stop this, he simplifies the
position rather to White's re-
lief. However, Black in ei-
ther case retains enough
positional compensation for
the pawn to satisfy most
players. One must remem-
ber that only a flank pawn
has been sacrificed. Less
compensation is needed than
for a center pawn."
102-
10. Nc3 h6
If here 10... 0-0, the blockading
move 11. B.f5! maintains an edge for
White according to Estrin, e.g. 11...
Bb7 12. b4 Bxb4 13. Nxh7 Nxh7 14.
Bxh7f Kxh7 15. Qs4f, or 11... h6 12.
Nge4 Nd5 13. Ng3 Nb4 14. Qj1, fol-
lowed by d3 and a3.
According to Purdy, Black does
better to further delay ... h6 if he
chooses not to play it on move 9. Of
historical interest is the original
Purdy-Woinarski game, which con-
tinued 10... Rb8 11. b3 0-0 12. Bb2
Rb4 13. Qs3 h6 14. Nge4 Nxe4 15.
Nxe4 j5 with an initiative which
Purdy later allowed to become too
strong, and lost. Playing over the
board in 1927, Purdy had failed to
recognize the vital importance of
an early blockade on f5.
11. Nge4 Nxe4
This must have been played re-
luctantly, since the simplification
eases White's congestion. On the
alternative 11... Nd5, White can play
12. Ng3, threatening to occupy f5
with Knight or Bishop, but Black
might have better prospects of
counter-play nevertheless.
12. Bxe4 Bd7
If 12 ... 0-0, White would still
blockade with 13. Bj5. Black's strat-
egy of queenside castling is dubi-
ous, since his King will soon become
more exposed than White's.
13. Bf5 0-0-0
14. d3
 World Championship Preliminary

White is now able to complete will tell.

his development without harass- 16. ..• Nb7
ment. 17. Rab1
14. f6 White makes his intentions
15. Be3 Kb8 clear. His control of the light squares
16. 0-0 hinders any counter thrust by Black.
17. g5
18. b4 h5
19. Bxd7 Qxd7
20. b5 ReS
21. bxc6 Qxc6
22. Nd5
This powerful Knight ensures
that White's initiative is maintained.
22. ... Bd8
23. Rb3 Rh7
It is clear that Black has for- Of course not 23 ... f!!c2? 24.
feited his lead in development with- Rxh7f!
out obtaining any other form of 24. Rfb1 Ka8
compensation for his sacrificed 25. Qe4
pawn.
This is the kind of position about
which Purdy would say: "Well, if
that isn't a win there must be some-
thing wrong with chess" -clearly
unthinkable-and he would tend to
be irritated by those who wanted
concrete proof. He did not mean, of
course, that a tenacious defender
would have no chance in practical
play. 25. ••. Rd7?
Purdy now follows a simple A strange oversight. However,
enough plan which, in effect, gives on 25... Rg7 (or ...Rj7) Purdy was
his opponent no chance. He attacks planning 26. Rc3 Qj6 (26... Q_d7 2Z
the King, and even if Black can sur- Qg4.~ 2Z Ra3, when Black must soon
vive the attack he will hardly be make some concession. As it is he
able to avoid exchanges leading to could resign next move.
an ending in which his pawn deficit 26. Rc3 Qxc3
-103
 How Purdy Won

27. Nxc3 Rxc3 In crossboard play the clock

28. Qa4 Rd4 makes it suicidal to try to play very
29. Bxd4 exd4 deeply. Even in going through your
30. Rb2 Rc7 games afterwards, there is no incen-
31. Qxd4 Re7 tive to dive far down - it needs a lot
32. g4 1-0 of time. Facility, not depth, is what
counts. In first class CC, however,
there is the incentive, and the ne-
cessity, to go very deep, let the cost
THE HARDEST GAME in time be what it will. As a result,
your understanding of the game ad-
OF MY LIFE vances.
A strange thing about this game
by C]S. Purdy is that nearly all the time I was strug-
gling desperately for a draw but, in
(These notes are taken from a 1958 the end, a position arose that seemed
Chess World article.) impossible NOT to draw, with the
My crucial game was with Dr. notorious Bishops on opposite col-
Bigot, the French master. I believed ors. I was a pawn down, but the
that it was absolutely necessary for draw was easy. Then a miracle oc-
me to draw it, though as things curred and I won-yet without my
turned out, I would have tied with opponent making an obvious blun-
him had I lost, and both of us would der.
have been let in-though according
to the announced rules the Sonne- Phase 1: faulty Opening
born count was to apply. Not know-
ing that a tie for first would do, I -30-
struggled grimly for a draw after a Dr L. Bigot (France)-Purdy
faulty idea in the opening had Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense
brought me to the brink of ruin.
The game contains the best 1. e4 e5
move I have ever played in a game 2. N£3 Nc6
of chess, but the opening reveals 3. Bb5 a6
some degree of immaturity as a po- 4. Ba4 Nf6
sitional player. I started the game in 5. 0-0 Be7
1947, and in the three years of quali- 6. Rel b5
fying play plus three years of finals, 7. Bb3 0-0
I was learning all the time. 8. c3 d6
104-
 World Championship Preliminary

9. d4 Bg4 16. Ne4

10. d5 Na5 I had an amazing experience
11. Bc2 c6 some six months after this. In the
12. dxc6 last game of a practice match with
For a discussion ofthis opening L.S. Fell in 1948, I followed Bigot's
from a modern viewpoint, see notes play in this game, and could hardly
to Cuadrado-Purdy (game 34). believe my eyes when Fell, who
12. ... Nxc6 could not possibly have seen the
To try out an idea of my own half-finished Bigot-Purdy game, and
which I afterwards regretted. For could not possibly have seen 13 ...
years after this game I believed that d5 played by anyone else to my
Fine's 12 ... Qs7 (for ... 0Jc6) was the knowledge (anyway he took a long
best, but on examining the position time to consider every move), fol-
again in 1956 I realized that 12 ... lowed my own moves against Bigot
Qj6! was even stronger (by a fine exactly, right up to move 16, where
shade) since White would only harm he varied with 16... Qd7. White rap-
his position were he to hit the Queen idly obtained a convincing advan-
by Be3 ?, and otherwise the Queen tage, the result being: 16... Qj7 17.
is better on b6 than c7, and White's Rd1 Qs8 18. Bg5 Nxe4 19. 0Je4 g6
c-pawn can still be left a while. 20. Bxe7 Bf5 21. Qh4 Rxe7 22. Ng5
13. Nbd2 d5 h5 23. Bb3 Raa7 24. h3 Be6 25. Nxe6
A move which shows I was still fxe6 26. Qf6 Kh7 27. Rd6 Rf7 28.
in the grip of the classical tradition, 0Je6 0Je6 29. Rxe6 Rfc7 30. Rd1 b4
i.e., I thought that a backward pawn 31. Rdd6 Ne7 32. cxb4 1-0.
subject to frontal attack should be 16. ... Bh5
advanced if possible. Today it is re- Search as I would, I could not
alized that pressure on a backward find a completely satisfactory line.
central pawn will not itself prove it Simple development by 16... Rad8
weak in a middle game with lots of gives White an advantage by 17. a4!
pieces. Unless at least one minor If then 17... Qs4, 18. axb5 gets a su-
piece can assail the pawn, its "weak- perior endgame, Black having all
ness" is illusory. It is the mobility of the weaknesses.
the pieces that matters. Being al- 17. Rd1 Qe6
lowed to exchange off his e-pawn, 18. Ng3 Bg6
White's light-squared Bishop be- 19. Bb3 Qc8
comes terribly strong. 20. Nh4!
14. exd5 Qxd5
15. Qe2 Rfe8
-105
 How Purdy Won

but Black's plan will be clearer soon.

Black had been tempted by a riskier
plan based on .. .j5J but White's Qs2
has taken the sting from it, and there
is the general assumption that open-
ing up lines should favor the two
Bishops.
27. Be4 Qd7
28. a4 Re6
29. axb5 axb5
White trades his general pres- 30. Ra8
sure, a nebulous advantage, for a Black's sole balm in this posi-
small but enduring one, the two tion is his control of the open file.
Bishops. White whittles this down by swap-
20. ... Na5! ping one pair of Rooks. His Bishop
Making the best of things, Black will take several moves to get back
finds a way to rebuild his position; to c2 where it is needed, but time is
the pawn offer is incidental. of no great value, since Black can
The return of the Knight to aS undertake nothing aggressive with-
gives point to the note to move 12. out weakening his position, and
21. Nxg6 hxg6 that's just what the two Bishops are
If now 22. 0Je5? Bc5 23. Qj4 waiting for.
Nxb3 24. axb3 Ng4 with a strong 30. Rxa8
attack, e.g. 25. Rf7 Nxj2 26. Rxj2 31. Bxa8 Rd6
Relf 27. Nf7 Qs6J threatening ... Qs2J 32. Be4!
and if 28. b4 Bxf2 f 29. {)Jf2 Rd8
threatens .. .Rdd1 winning the pinned
Bishop.
22. Bc2 Qc7
23. Ne4 Nxe4
24. Qxe4 Rad8
25. Rel Nc4
Again the pawn offer (by 26. b3
and 27. 0Je5) is illusory; Black would
regain his pawn with an even end-
game.
26. Qe2! Bf6
An apparently passive move,

106-
 World Championship Preliminary
Phase 2: The Chasm's Edge
Playing over the board, one
would hardly feel that Black's plight
was desperate. But, for a correspon-
dence game against a master oppo-
nent it is pretty grim. White's aim is
simple. He wants to play Bc2 fol-
lowed by Rd1, eliminating Black's
one big asset, control of the open
file. After that, White's advantages
should add up to a win. White has
the two Bishops and the majority of
pawns on the wing remote from the
Kings. Even if White cannot win
Black's weak b-pawn outright, he
can obtain a passed pawn and, with
the aid of the powerful Bishops,
should be able to push it along on
the road to queening.
How is Black to save himself?
Only in one way, I thought-only
by NOT losing his asset, control of
the open file. Is there any way to
avoid it? Of that I could not be
absolutely certain, but there was a
chance, and one chance only. This
involved putting a piece in the lion's
jaws; it might never come out alive.
The move is against the elementary
canons of the game. I calculated,
calculated and calculated, and came
to the conclusion that I could just
manage to "get away with it." I do
not remember ever having seen
quite the same sort of defensive plan
used before.
32. ... Nd2!!
This is the move on which I
pinned my hopes. The Knight has
no other purpose than to act as a
plug. White's Rook may take the
file (not just yet because of ...Nj3t),
but it will have no freedom on it.
Nor will the Bishop at cl be able to
move on its original diagonal.
33. Bc2 Rd5
Very curious. The Rook comes
here to protect the e-pawn so the
Bishop may go to g5, producing a
self-pin (!) of the Knight, and self-
pinning is classed among the el-
ementary blunders. Probably there
is not a single "principle" of chess
that is not subject to exception.
Worst of all, the Knight's only way
out of its precarious situation may
be closed by b3, it appears. How-
ever, it just so happens that the
Knight can never be won outright.
White finds that, to play for a
win, he must tread carefully. If at
once 34. b3, a pretty variation is
34 ... e4 35. (2§3 (not 35. Bb2? Nxb3.')
Qs7 36. Rd1 (if 36. Bxd2 Rxd2, etc.)
Bxc3 37. Bxd2 Bxd2 38. Rxd2 Q3c2.'.',
-107
 How Purdy Won
offering both the Queen and Rook
as Greek gifts.
Also, if 34. Rd1 Bg5 threatening
...Nj3 f, and ifthen 35. Kh 1, still 35...
Nj3! Here the self-pin turns itself
into a battery.
34. f3 Bg5
35. }(hl (Ld8!
But Black must tread more than
carefully; he is on a tightrope. White
was now threatening 36. b3 seri-
ously, and Black's 35... Qj8 is to
answer it with 36... Qg5!, and if then
37. Bb2? Qg2. Of course if now 36.
Rd1, Nxj3!
36. g3 Bh6
White's plan is now to shut this
Bishop out with f4. What can Black
concoct against this?
37. (Lf2 }(h7
38. Re2 Nc4
Black's ultimate aim had been
to withdraw this Knight after soar-
ranging things that it would force
the exchange of Bishops. With
White's "two Bishops" gone, Black
expected to hold the endgame.
White has arranged to prevent this,
but Black has another shot in his
locker after his Bishop is blocked
out.
39. f4 exf4
40. gxf4 Ne5!
108-
Now the Knight, if not captured,
threatens to assume a new post on
the d-file, d3, just as annoying to
White, but much safer than d2. And
observe that Black's Bishop, al-
though shut out, is not "biting on
granite." The pawn that shuts it out
is not supported by another pawn
(a vital point), so that the black
Bishop is at least sure of always ty-
ing up a white piece.
Phase 3: ANew Danger
So the only way White can re-
tain winning chances is to take the
Knight. This ends for Black the spec-
ter of the two Bishops, but he is not
yet out of the wood. White can now
obtain an attack on Black's King. In
such positions, Bishops on opposite
colors are not drawish but rather
the contrary. Black, however, can
confidently expect to get sufficient
counterplay against White's own
King, which is also terribly exposed.
41. fxe5 Bxcl
42. e6! fxe6
 World Championship Preliminary

43. Qf3! Qd7 the pin nullifies it.

44. Qh3t Kg8 51. b3 Bb2
45. Rxe6 Rh5 52. Rb7t Kf6
46. Qg4 53. Bd3 Bxc3
54. Rb6t Ke7
55. Rxb5 Rd6
56. Bfl Rd2

Phase 4: Done With Mirrors

One more cns1s. White has
played very craftily, but Black has
faith that in such a position there
must be some way to force a draw.
Here it comes.
46. ... Qb7t
Paradoxical, because it seems
only to bring White's Bishop to a
better post. But if 47. Be4 Qj7 and
White cannot play either 48. Re1 or
48. Qs2 as he could have before.
Nor is the self-pin, 47. Re4, at all
promising. So White rests his last
hope on an endgame with a pawn
plus. But then, of course, the Bish-
ops on opposite colors will tell.
47. Qe4 Qxe4t
48. Bxe4 Kf7!
49. Rb6 Ke7
50. Bxg6 Rh6
This position illustrates the
weakness of the b-pawn, which was
really the hidden motif underlying
the whole game. But now, of course,
The game is now a "dead draw."
Black has the "second rank abso-
lute," which would virtually ensure
a draw, even without the Bishops
on opposite colors. White, however,
must have reasoned that as it was
impossible to lose, and agreeing to
a draw was equivalent to defeat since
it gave his opponent first place, he
might as well continue. A miracle
might happen. It did!
57. Rc5 Bd4
58. Rc4 Kd6
Black, at this stage, was giving
"conditionals" against all the obvi-
ous moves to show a forced draw
by exchange of Rooks. This in-
veigled White into an error. He
wishes to anticipate ...Be5.
I did not need a win but con-
ceived the idea out of sheer devil-
ment. I saw there was one plausible
59th move that might lose for White,
and by carefully giving conditionals
against the other plausible moves, I
might head him into it. Using con-
ditionals psychologically is perfectly
legitimate, i.e. you can tell your op-

-109
 ponent what you will do against
good moves, in the hope of his
avoiding them and playing a bad
one. Many a win is shortened there-
by; and here winning chances are
manufactured out of thin air.
59. h3? Ke5
Black cannot win.
After the text move, it seems
another evil might befall Black: 62.
b5f Kf3 63. Rg4 Rd7 64. Kh2 as
Black cannot win merely by win-
ning the Bishop. However, 64 ... Bf4f
65. Kg7 g5l and wins, e.g. 66. b6
Be3f 67. Kh2 Rxf7 68. Rg3f Ke4 and
White's Rook cannot emerge.
Therefore White adheres to his
third rank idea.
62. Ra3 Kf3

Incredible as it may seem, White

now has only one line to avoid de-
feat! It is the self-pin 60. Bg2 and 67.
Kh2, which prevents a successful in-
vasion by Black's King. So ugly was
this that Dr. Bigot, perhaps influ- [Ed.: Can 63. Bc4 draw? I thought so
enced by the characteristic national and sent analysis to Frank Hutchings
for comment. We were all excited about
preference for elegance in all things
(e.g., consider the French mathema- this find until I got e-mail from Frank
ticians), searched for a more pleas- about this matter. See sidebar.]
ing method and believed that he 63. Bg2t EJ2
had found it in: 64. Ral Kg3
60. Ra4? Kf4 65. Rel Bd4
White's plan is clear. His Rook 66. Rbl
is to guard the third rank, thus pre- Here's a slight puzzle! How is
venting .. .Kg3. Black to win now? He cannot play
61. b4 Be3! 66... Rxg2 because of 67. Rb3f, and
A trap here. If 67 ... Kg3 62. Ra3f as already seen 66... Be3 is spoiled
Kf2 63. Rd3.' Or 67... Kf3 62. Bg2t by 67. Re7.
KJ2 (can't take the Bishop) 63. Ra5.' 66. Re2
g6 (to stop the check) 64. Rg5 and 0-1
110-
 World Championship Preliminary

The square e3 is now secured. of opposite colors are not drawish,

White's last hope is to give up the
Exchange with 67. Rb3f Be3 68.
Rxe3f Rxe3 69. Bf7 Re7 70. Kg7, but
70 ... g5 77. b5 Rb 7forces the b-pawn
to suicide and the rest is easy be-
cause of the mating threats.
The moral of this ending is that
once mating threats are on, Bishops
but a source of disadvantage to the
defense. Of course, White would
have taken a draw about move 56
or before had a draw been of any
use to him.
So ended the hardest game I
have ever played.

FROM: Frank Hutchings (original editor)

By an extraordinary coincidence I have some gratuitous information from
Maurice Carter, with whom I last had contact when the first edition of
HPW was published. It is an article by Ken Messere from Correspondence
Chess, the BCCA magazine, issue no. 131, summer 1996, with comments
on the Bigot- Purdy game. Purdy's notes from move 57 are quoted, and
then follows:

[Editor's footnote: Purdy's psychology may stand up but his analysis

doesn't! Here's what my new chessfriend Mr. Fritz the Third came up
with:
(1) In the notes 61... Kf3 62. Bg2t Kf2 63. RaS g6 64. RgSloses to the
surprising 64 ... Rd1 t 65. Kh2 Ba7!! Instead the correct defense is 64.
RdS! pinning the bishop to the rook, when Black must hurry to take
the draw: 64 ... Rd1t 65. Kh2 Rg166. Rxd4 Rxg2t 67. Kh1 Rg1t,
etc.
(2) There seems to be nothing wrong at all with Bigot's line of defense
by60. Ra4. The decisive blunder was 63. Bg2t. lnsteadFritzsuggests
63. Bc4! when the black bishop is still pinned, and if the king goes to
the seventh White swops rooks with Ra2.
(3) 66 ... Rxg2 would not have been a mistake. In fact it is the shortest
win leading to mate in six: 6 7. Rb3t Kf2 and the mates involving BeS
are not too difficult.
(4) A small point: after 67. Rb3t Be3 68. Rxe3t Rxe3 69. Bfl Kf2!
is the strongest. With Fritz having punched holes in a lot of my own
analysis I find the above corrections quite comforting.]

... Items (2) and (3) are exactly what you found, and it seems I must
withdraw my suggestion that you may have been the only one to fmd them.
Ed. Note: Permission granted by Correspondence Chess editorJonathan Tait
from issue 4f 131. He remarks that this position and analysis also appears in
ByronJacobs Analyse to Win (pages 80, 86-87).

-111
 How Purdy Won

CHAPTER6

WORLD CHAMPIONSIDP FINAL I: DOMINANCE

In June, 1950, fifteen competitors commenced play in the final of the

inaugural World Championship of Correspondence Chess. In addition to
the fourteen who had qualified from the preliminaries, Dr. E. Adam of
West Germany was admitted, as holder of the European Title. One player,
A. Viaud (France) withdrew. His games, which were at the 20-30 move
stage, were canceled.
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1. CJ.S. Purdy (Australia) * 1 0 1 * * 1 10.5
2. H. Malmgren (Sweden) * 1 * * 1 * *
1 1 * 1 1 10.0
3. Dr. M. Napolitano (Italy) 0 0 - 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 10.0
4. 0. Barda (Norway) 0 * 0 - 0 1 1 1 1 9.5
5. G.R. Mitchell (Britain) 1 * 0 1 * 1 0 0 1 * 1 0 * 7.0
6. L. Watzl (Austria) 0 0 0 0 * - 1 * * 1 * 1 7.0
7. Dr. E. Adam (Germany) 0 * 1 0 0 0 - 0 * 0 6.0
8. G. Wood (Britain) 0 0 0 0 0 * 1 1 0 * 6.0
9. T. van Scheltinga (Holland) * * 0 0 1 * * * 0 0 * 1 * 5.5
10. Dr.J. Balogh (Hungary) * 0 0 0 0 * 1 0 1 - 0 * 1 * 5.0
11. S. Madsen (Norway) 0 * 0 0 * 0 0 0 1 1 - * * * 4.5
12. J.W. Collins (U.S.A.) 0 0 0 0 0 * 0 0 * * * - 1 4.0
13. P. van't Veer (Holland) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 * 0 - * 3.0
14. A. Cuadrado (Argentina) 0 0 0 0 * 0 0 * * * * 0 * - 3.0

Though naturally hoping to do well, Purdy was far from confident of

winning when play began. He had learned much from his recent interna-
tional contests, particularly from the game with Dr. Bigot, which had
impressed upon him the difficulties of coping with a long-term positional

112-
 World Championship Final 1: Dominance

disadvantage in CC. He had a nagging concern that all the finalists might
prove as formidable as the French master.
He therefore determined on a cautious approach, resolving to avoid,
as he put it, "anything approaching a gambler's throw." With even a shade
of disadvantage, he would try only to restore the balance and head for a
draw. Also he would avoid any opening about which he had the slightest
of doubts. Accordingly, he discarded the Evans Gambit, and made what
turned out to be a most fortunate choice of the English Opening in five of
his seven games with White.
As it transpired, there were eight games in which Purdy was com-
pletely dominant. In none of these was he ever in the slightest danger, and
as a group they exemplify his style of establishing an early positional edge,
through superb opening play, and inexorably exploiting it by means of an
accurately executed plan. One or two of these games were marred by
errors one would not expect in a World Title CC event, but Purdy hardly
put a foot wrong, taking full advantage of his opponents' mistakes, even
those which were barely discernible. The games with Barcia and Watzl are
particularly fine examples of Purdy's skill.
As well as benefiting from Purdy's working notes, annotations to most
of the games in the World Championship Final are also based on brief
commentaries by Purdy, which appeared in various publications shortly
after the event.
(F.P.H.)

-713
 How Purdy Won

5. 0-0 Be7
BISHOPS DOMINATE 6. Re1 b5
7. Bb3 0-0
by Kevin Harrison 8. c3 d6
9. h3 Na5
In some situations the two Bishops In 1950, the old Tarrasch Varia-
can assume a strength dispropor- tion was the only one to be taken
tionate to the small advantage they seriously.
normally confer. Here Purdy 10. Bc2 c5
achieves a position in which his op- 11. d4 Qc7
ponent is reduced to meaningless 12. Nbd2 cxd4
gestures as the Bishops take charge. 13. cxd4 Nc6
14. Nb3 a5
-31- Other moves are less convinc-
P. van't Veer (Holland)- ing:
Purdy a) 14... Rd8 15. Bd2 OJ8 16. d5±.
Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense b) 14... Bb7 15. d5 Na5 16. Nxa5
f23a5 77. a4! Rfc8 18. Bd3 Nd7 19.
1. e4 e5 Bg5±.
Purdy has always contended 15. a4
that this is the best reply to 7. e4. In Stronger was 15. Be3 a4 (75 ...
1976 he wrote: "I had no doubt then, Nb4 16. Bb7 Bb7 17. a3 a4 18. Nbd2
Nc6 79. Ba2) 16. Nbd2 Be6 17. a3 (If
and still have no doubt, that 7... e5 is
the best reply to 7. e4. Statistics con-
17. d5 Nb4 18. Bb1 Bd7 19. Nf1 Rfc8
tinue to bear this out, even in over- 20. Qg2 Na6 21. Ng3 a3!) Na5 18.
the-board chess. If you consult any Ng5 Bc8 19. Bd3 Bd7 20. f4, since
issue of the Chess Informant, you will the text only plays to Black's queen-
find it is the only defense that does side strength.
not give a depressingly big majority 15. ... Ba6
of" 1-0" at the end of the illustrative 16. d5
games. In CC it is still more corn- White's 15th move has only
mendable because the great variety gained him problems.
of continuations at White's disposal 16. Nb4
need not worry you. You may con- 17. Bb1 Bd8!
sult books!"
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6
4. Ba4 Nf6
114-
 World Championship Final 1: Dominance

Bxb4 Bxe3 23. Rxa5 Bxj2t 24. Kxf2

Qj6f 25. Kg3 Rjb8 26. Ba3 Q::b3 27.
Bxd6 Rb6 is clearly better for Black.
21. Qxb4
22. Qd2 Bb6
23. Qxb4 axb4
24. Re1 Nc5
25. Nxc5
If 25. Bc2, then 25... Nxb3 26.
Bxb3f5.
An interesting concept, which 25. ... Bxc5
envisages the redeployment of the 26. Rc1
dark-squared Bishop on the a7-gl Loses a tempo, since Black an-
diagonal, followed by ... Nd7 and, swers his threat with another, but in
ultimately, .. .j5. any case White's position is ex-
18. Re3? tremely difficult, probably unten-
Embarking on a plan which he able.
is never able to pursue. White is 26. ... Rfc8
altogether too optimistic. The best 27. Rd1
he could hope for in this position Any attempt to maintain the
was to maintain the balance. Equally Rook on the c-file would soon ex-
bad is 18. Nxa5 Qfa5 19. Bd2 Bb6 perience difficulties. If 27. Kh2 Ra7,
20. Bd3 Bxj2f!, when White has threatening 28 ... Bxf2.
clearly lost the tactical skirmish. 27. RJ8
Best seems 18. Nh4, with pros- 28. b3 Be2
pects of pressure against the black 29. Rxa8 Rxa8
King. 30. Rcl
18. Qd7
19. axb5 Qxb5
20. Bd2 Nd7
Heading for the queenside.
21. Bxb4
Van't Veer decides to eliminate
the powerful Knight. However, in
doing so he cedes Purdy the two
Bishops, which are exploited in ex-
emplary fashion. 21. Qs1 didn't of-
fer any respite, since 21... Bb6 22. 30. ... Bd4!
-115
 How Purdy Won

Beautifully played. Black's Bish-

ops dominate the board, and the
NOVEL STRATEGY
Bishop on d4 is immune from cap-
ture, since that would create a win- by Frank Hutchings
ning passed pawn. Already a certain
passivity is creeping into White's In this game Purdy demonstrates
position, and it quickly turns to to- how ruthless he could be in exploit-
tal paralysis. 30... Ra1 allows White ing a positional advantage. Novel
to play 31. Ne1, followed by Nc2, strategy gives him a clear plus out
with some chances of resistance. of the opening. John W. Collins is
31. Ne1 Ra3 well known as a chess author. In
32. Bc2 Ra2 collaboration with Walter Korn he
33. Nf3 produced the ninth edition of Mod-
If 33. Bd3 Bc3 34. Bxe2 Rxe2 ern Chess Openings, 1957.
wins a pawn.
33. ... Bc3 -32-
34. Kh2 Purdy-J.W. Collins (U.S.A.)
If 34. Bb 1, Purdy intended 34... Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense
Ra 1 35. Kh2 Ke7 36. Kg3 Kd7, etc.
34. Rb2 1. e4 e5
35. Ng1 Bh5 2. Nf3 Nc6
36. g4 Bd2 3. Bb5 a6
37. Rb1 Rxc2 4. Ba4 Nf6
38. gxh5 Be3 5. 0-0 Be7
Black wins a pawn while retain- 6. Re1 b5
ing the better placed pieces. Fur- 7. Bb3 d6
ther comment is superfluous. 8. c3 0-0
39. Kg3 Bxf2t 9. h3 Na5
40. Kg4 Bb6 10. Bc2 c5
41. Kg3 Bxg1 11. d4 Qc7
42. Rxg1 Rc3t 12. Bg5
43. Kg4 Rxb3 In a position which has been
44. Ra1 Re3 the starting point of many thousands
And Black won of games of chess Purdy tries an
unusual move. Black's reaction in
this game is to ignore White and
continue his development. For a
much more effective treatment by

116-
 W odd Championship Final 1: Dominance

Black, see Purdy-Balogh (game 40). 16. d5! Nb8

12. Bb7(?) 17. c4! Nbd7
13. Nbd2 Rad8 If 17. .. cxb4 18. cxb5 axb519. Nb3
14. Racl Na6 20. Bd3, or immediately 18.
White uses the early develop- Bd3 and White maintains his initia-
ment of his dark-squared Bishop to tive.
make a "mysterious" Rook move 18. Bd3 bxc4
likely to help in preserving his cen- 19. Rxc4 Qb8
ter. But the move is not so mysteri- 20. Nb3
ous that Black should ignore the The best way to preserve his
masked threat to his Queen. queenside advantage.
14. ... Rfe8(?) 20. Nb6
21. Rcl cxb4
22. Qd2
Ensuring the recapture of the
pawn with advantage. Also possible
was 22. Bd2, but the text move im-
mediately connects the Rooks and
leaves other options open to the
Bishop.
22. Rc8
23. Qxb4 Nbd7
15. b4!
White seizes the opportunity,
unusual in the Lopez, of taking ag-
gressive queenside action.
15. ... Nc6
If 15... cxb4 16. cxb4 Nc6, quite
strong is the simple 17. a3 when any
attempt to dissolve the center would
react to Black's disadvantage, e.g.
17. .. d5? 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. exd5 Rxd5
20. Be4, followed by 21. d5 if the Having established more space
Rook retreats. In this, White could on the queenside White now has
also try 17. d5, and if 17. .. Nxb4 18. the task of exploiting it. Over the
Bb1 Qg7 (or Qj8) 19. a3, and three board it would be only too easy to
pawns should not compensate Black relinquish the initiative. One plau-
for his Knight. sible attempt would be 24. Na5 Rxc1

-117
 How Purdy Won

25. Rxc7 Ba8 26. Q3h8 Rxb8!, and 33. Qb6 Qe7
White has achieved nothing. An ending would not be attrac-
Correspondence play provides tive for Black.
the opportunity of extracting the 34. Qc6 Rd8
maximum from such situations, and 35. Nb6 Bb7
here Purdy considered no fewer 36. Qa4 Qh4
than 13 possible moves. By giving Having totally lost the queenside
up the two Bishops he soon obtains battle Black desperately seeks coun-
a strong concentration of force on terplay on the other wing. Over the
the queenside. board he might have some chance,
24. Bxf6! Bxf6 but here Purdy is remorseless.
If 24... Nxf6, 25. Na5 wins a 37. f3 c4
pawn. Black might well wish he had On 37... Q,h6 Purdy was plan-
challenged White's dark-squared ning 3 8. Kfl, and if then 38... Qs3
Bishop as early as move 12. 39. Bxa6 Bxa6 40. 0Ja6, followed
25. Nfd2 Rxcl by Qs2, holds the extra pawn safely.
26. Rxcl Bg5 38. Qxc4 Bd6
27. Rbl Qc7 39. a4 h5
28. Nc4 Be7 40. a5 g5
29. Rcl Nc5 41. Qc2
An unpleasant decision, but White has allowed plenty of
Black is hard pressed. If 29 ... Rb8
time to thwart any kingside demon-
30. Nxe5 Nc5 37. Q§3 dxe5 32. Nxc5 strations, but what else can Black
ReB 33. Na4 Qj7 34. Q3c8f Bxc8 35. try?
Nb6 Qj7 36. Rxc8f BfB 37. d6wins. 41. g4
30. Nxc5 dxc5 42. Qf2 Qe7
31. Qb2 Bf8 43. Qg3 Bc5t
44. Khl
Not 44. Kh2? Be3!
44. Rd6
45. fxg4 Rg6
46. Be2 Bd4
47. Rfl hxg4
48. Bxg4 Qc7
49. Qf3 Rg7

32. Rbl! Bc8

778-
 World Championship Final 1: Dominance

1. c4 e5
~~ ~ ~*~
~w.~~ ~;..~~~ 2. Nc3 Nf6
~.t-,s. ~.tB 3. Nf3 Nc6
r~~"1----~~ ~~ ··---~~
%"(/~~ ~~-,~~~ ~ 4. d4
~~ ~ft~ ~ Formerly the main line of the
~'~ ~~--~~ w~
~~~-~~,~ English. Today, however, the classi-

~~~~~-~, cal 4. d4 is not often played, since

~~~~~~j~ the resulting permanent weaknesses
~ ~ ~~~® and/ or inferior development are re-
garded as more significant than
50. Nd7 1-0 White's possession of the Bishop
The threat is 51. Nf6t KJB 52. pair.
Qg3t Bc5 53. fecc5fetc. 4. exd4
If 50... Kh8 51. Bf5, followed by 5. Nxd4 Bb4
Qfi5t, soon wraps it up. Collins re- 6. g3 Ne5
marked that one trouble with postal Modern theory prefers 6... Ne4,
chess is that a player must suffer a e.g. 7. Q13 Qs7 8. Bg2 Nxc3 9. hxc3
lost game for a year. Ne5 10. Q§2 Bc5 11. Q]J3 d6 12. 0-0
0-0 13. Kh1 Be6!=.
7. Qb3
If 7. Qg4 Bxc3t 8. hxc3 Qs7 9.
THE PURDY GRIP Be3 Nfg4 10. Nc2 Nxf2 11. Kxj2 Ng4t
12. Kj3 f5 13. c5 h5!
by Kevin Harrison 7. ... Qe7?
It was essential to exchange
It was a feature of Purdy's style, Bishop for Knight: 7. .. Bxc3t 8. fecc3
both in crossboard play and in CC, d5 9. Nh5 Ng6(If 9... Nxc4? 10. Bf4)
that he was often able to establish 10. cxd5 0-0 11. Nxc7 Nxd5 12. Nxd5
an early positional grip, and thus fecd5 13. Qf3 fecf3 14. exf3 Re8t 15.
control the course of the game. Here Be3 Ne5 and Taimanov and Shatskes
his opponent is soon reduced to pas- believe Black has enough compen-
sivity, but Purdy is not quite so ruth- sation for the pawn.
less as usual in wielding the axe. 8. Be3!
Forced, but it gains White the
-33- advantage.
Purdy-S. Madsen (Norway) 8. Ne4
English Opening 9. Ndb5 Bxc3t
10. Nxc3 Nc5?
-779
 How Purdy Won

In Purdy-Malmgren (game 41), ing ... Ne4.) 14 ... KdB (if 14 ... Kf8 15.
Black played the more prudent 10... Bxc5 dxc5 16. f3) 15. NxaB Nxe3 16.
Nxc3, with better drawing chances. Q3e3 Qlch1 17. Qg5f Kd7 18. Q3g7
11. Qa3 with a strong attack.
12. Qxe7t }(xe7
13. b3
13. Nd5ffollowed by 14. Rc1 is,
of course, a quite acceptable alter-
native. However, the text reserves
the option of the check, giving Black
the opportunity to further compro-
mise his position, which is precisely
what happens.
13. ... Ng4
11. ... Ne6 Already Madsen is finding it dif-
White has clearly won the open- ficult to conceive a coherent plan
ing duel, for he has obtained the that will allow him to develop his
Bishop pair without incurring the remaining pieces and, at the same
customary organic weaknesses. 11... time, prevent White's minor pieces
d6, avoiding the exchange of from invading his position.
Queens, still leaves White in con- 14. Bd2 Nd4?!
trol, since he can choose between 15. Rcl Re8
the solid 12. b3 and the dynamic 12. 16. Bg2 Kd8
Nd5, with the former more likely to Probably better was 16. .. Kf8,
have been chosen by Purdy. though White's advantage would
As both moves seem to confer still be substantial.
an advantage on White, the choice 17. h3 Ne5
is simply one of style; whether to 18. 0-0 d6
pursue the advantage by positional 19. Rfd1 Ne6
or tactical means. An illustrative line
in the dynamic variation (11. . . d6)
is: 12. Nd5 Nxc4 73. Qs3 Qj4 14.
Nxc7f (74. Q3g7 is appealing, since
14 ... Qlch1 15. QlchBt Kd7 16. 0-0-0
is good for White, but unfortunately
Black can improve with 14... Qlcd5!
15. QlchBf Kd7, when the situation is
unclear, e.g. 16. Rg1 Nxe3!, intend-

120-
 World Championship Final 1: Dominance

20. Be3
Mter a series of somewhat aim-
less meanderings by the black
Knights, we reach a position in
which Purdy is poised for a direct
assault on Madsen's King. However,
before launching the attack he fur-
ther improves his position.
A meretricious alternative is 20.
eS, leading to many surprising tacti-
cal turns, but which nevertheless 26. Bxb7
must be considered inferior to the In view of the technical difficul-
text, and completely alien to Purdy's ties that he could have experienced
mature strategic style, e.g. 20... NxeSin the endgame, it is surprising that
(20 ... dxeS? 21. BgS=II=} 21. NbS (threat-
Purdy relieves Madsen's cramped
ening 22. RxeS} Bd7 (or A: 21 ... Ned7 position by the subsequent forced
22. BaS etc. B: 21 ... a6 22. Nxe7 Kxe7series of exchanges, albeit they net
23. b4 Ne6 24. bxeS dxeS 2S. Bf4t him a pawn. Perhaps it was better to
Kb6 26. Bd6.} 22. Nxe7 (22. BaS exert even more pressure on Black's
wins impressively against 22 ... BxbS, position by 26. NbS NeB 27. Bel and
e.g. 23. RxeS Bxe2 24. Bxe7t Ke7 2S. 2B. Ba3.
Bxd6t Kf6 26. BxeSt RxeS 27. Rd6t 26. Bxb7
Re6 2B. Rxe6t fxe6 29. Bxb7. How- 27. Rxb7t Rd7
ever, Black can defend more reso- 28. Nd5t Nxd5
lutely with 22... b6.} Kxe7 23. b4 29. Rxd7t Kxd7
RadB 24. bxeS dxeS 2S. BaSt b6 26. 30. cxd5 Nc7
RxeSt KbB 27. Rb1 ReB 2B. RxeBt 31. Bb6 Ne8
BxeB, when Black should have little 32. Rd2
trouble holding the ending. Protecting the a-pawn so that
20. Nd7 now if the Rook attacks the Bishop
21. b4 a5 he can play BxaS.
22. b5 Ke7 32. ... a4
23. b6! 33. e4
Shattering Black's position. Possibly the immediate 33. Bd4
23. cxb6 is slightly more accurate, permit-
24. Rbl Nf6 ting an immediate challenge if Black
25. Rxb6 Rd8 plays ... RbB.
33. ... Rb8
-121
 How Purdy Won

34. Bd4 g6? wins.

Black must play actively and 44. a3 Nc7
avoid the exchange of Rooks, since 45. Bd4t Kb5
the Bishop versus Knight ending is 46. g5 Na6
easily won by White. Therefore 34 ... 47. Ba7 1-0
Rb4 should have been played, when
White still has hard work to dem-
onstrate that his extra pawn is deci-
sive. His best plan appears to be:
35. f3 f6 36. Kf2 Nc7 37. Ke3 Nb5 38.
g4 h6 39. h4, etc.
35. Rb2!
Eliminating the aforementioned
possibility.
35. ReS
36. Rb7t Rc7 Because if 47. .. Nc7 48. BbB NeB
37. Rxc7t Nxc7 49. e5! dxe5 50. Bxe5 Kc5 51. Ke4
38. f3 Kb6 52. Kd4 Kb5, when White's King
Protecting the e-pawn and al- penetrates at will.
lowing the King quick access to the
center.
38. ... Nb5
39. Bf6
HOUSE OF CARDS
Now that the f-pawn is block-
aded the win is forced simply by by Kevin Harrison
means of the zugzwang weapon,
which results in a complete strangu- Purdy believed primarily in sound-
lation of the Black position. ness when handling the black pieces.
39. Kc7 In the present game his soundness
40. Kf2 Kb6 is rewarded when his opponent mis-
41. Ke3 Kc5 guidedly neglects the center. Purdy
42. Kd3 Nc7 plays accurately to expose the flaw
The alternative 42... Kb4 also in White's scheme and tip the scales
loses quite easily: 43. f4 Ka3 44. Kc4 in Black's favor. Mter a surprising
Nc7 45. e5, etc. error, the White position then col-
43. g4 Na6 lapses like a house of cards.
If 43 ... a3 44. g5 Nb5 45. Bc3
Nc7 46. Bd4t Kb4 47. h4 Kb5 48. Kc3
722-
 World Championship Final I: Dominance

-34- Purdy (game 42).

A. Cuadrado (Argentina)- 10. Na5
Purdy 11. Bc2
Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6
4. Ba4 Nf6
5. 0-0 Be7
6. Re1 b5
7. Bb3 0-0
8. c3 d6
9. d4 11. ... c6
At the beginning of the century At the time this game was
opinion was divided as to whether played, the text was thought to be
White should prepare d4 with 9. h3 mandatory. However, as a result of
or play it immediately. Largely as a recent grandmaster praxis, other
result of the games and analysis of stratagems have been found for
Bogolyubov, 9. d4 fell from favor. Black:
Today 9. d4 is regularly seen in a) 77 ... Nc4 12. h3 Bd7 13. a4
master praxis and, moreover, is en- Nb614. a5 NcB 15. b3 c5 16. b4 c4 17.
joying considerable success. One of Nbd2g618. Nf1 Nh519. Bh6Re8 20.
the reasons for the renewed interest Qg2 Bf6 21. Ng3 Nf4, when Black
in d4 is that it can be used to avoid has a satisfactory position, Sax-
the Marshall Attack: after 8. d4 Black Gligoric, Osijek 1978.
usually plays 8... d6when 9. c3trans- b) 11 ... QsB 12. h3 Bd7 13. Nbd2
poses into the game position. c6 14. b4 Nb7 15. dxc6 Q3c6 16. Bb2
9. ... Bg4 Nd8!, and Black has solved the prob-
Exerting pressure on White's lem of his queenside Knight, which
center and threatening to weaken in some games has been condemned
the kingside position with 10... Bxf3 to passivity, Tcheskovsky-Roman-
11. gxf3. Both 9... exd4 10. cxd4 Bg4 ishin, Tallinn, 1979.
11. Nc3!, and 9... Na5 10. Bc2 Bg4 11. 12. dxc6
h3 are inferior. Today 12. h3 is preferred, forc-
10. d5 ing Black to decide about his Bishop,
For an example of the major and leading to various possibilities,
alternative 10. Be3, see Mitchell- e.g.
-123
 How Purdy Won

a) 72 ... BeB 73. dxe6 Qs7 74. Nbd2! countering this; he can play 73 ...
Qj;e6 75. Nf7 Be6 76. Ng3 RfeB 1Z Qj;e6, followed by ... Ne4 and ...Nb6,
Q52 BfB 78. Ng5 Bd7 79. Nh5 Be7 20. and retreat the Bishop to e6 with a
Nxf6t Bxf6 27. Q!z5 Bxg5 22. Bxg5 f6 strong grip on dS and c4, or he can
23. Bel Be6 24. Re3 Bj7 25. Qg4 QsB play .. .Nxe6, when his best idea is to
26. h3 Qj;g4 2Z hxg4, when White's play for an early ... d5.
superior pawn structure, plus the 14. Nfl Nc4
Bishop pair, give him good chances An interesting alternative is 74 ...
in the ending, Tcheskovsky-Savon, RaeB 75. Ng3 BdB 76. h3 BeB 7Z a4
Ashkabad 1978. Nb7 78. axh5 axh5 79. Nh2 Ne5 20.
b) 72 ... Bd7?! 73. Nxe5! dxe5 74. Ng4 KhB, preparing ...g6 and .. .f5.
d6 Be6 75. dxe7 Qj;e7 76. Qj3 RfdB 1Z 15. Ng3
Qg3! Nd7 78. h3 and White stands A theoretical novelty that, in this
rather better, Vasyukov-Roman- game, gains the Bishop pair but
ishin, USSR Championship, 1974. cedes Black the center.
c) 72 ... Bxf3 73. Qj;f3 exd5 74. 15. Nd7!
exd5 ReB 75. Nd2 g6 76. h4!, and 16. Nf5 Bxf5
again White has the better pros- 17. exf5 d5
pects, Tscheskovsky-Belyavsky, 18. Nd2
Ashkabad 1978.
12. ... Qc7
Less accurate is 72 ... Nxe6 as it
allows 73. Bg5!, e.g. 73 ... h6 74. Bxf6
Bxf6 75. Nbd2 Be6 76. Nfl d5 7Z
exd5 Bxd5 78. Ne3, with White pref-
erable.
13. Nbd2
Here 73. Bg5 is inferior because
of 73 ... Ne4! 74. h3 Nb6 75. h3 Be6
76. Nbd2 Qj;e6 7Z Be3 RfdB, and 18. Rfd8
Black stands rather better, Arregin- Nearly parrying White's threat.
Masaev, 1964. If 78... RaeB 79. f4 f6 20. Nxe4 hxe4
13. ... Qxc6 27. Ba4 wins a pawn.
In the 70. d5 variation, White's 19. g4?
general plan is to put pressure on An empty gesture that leaves
the light squares, especially dS. Key White's kingside riddled with weak-
moves are Bg5, Nfl and Ne3 or Ng3 nesses.
and Bh3. Black has two ways of 19. ... h6
124-
 World Championship Final 1: Dominance

20. b3 tion for the unorthodox, of which

Not 20.f4Bc5t 21. K moves Ne3. we see an example in this game.
If 20. Nxc4 bxc4 21. f4 (if 21. b3 Purdy was a great believer in
cxb3 22. Bxb3 Nc5) e4 22. Be3 Nc5 the application of logic to chess.
23. Bxc5 Bxc5t 24. Kh1 Q,d6 and Here he seizes on the defects in the
Black is clearly better. Black position, and never deviates
20. ... Nxd2 from a clear cut logical strategy, so
21. Qxd2? that he appears to win easily. After
A surprising mistake. It is true, Barcia's somewhat inelegant twelfth
however, that after 21. Bxd2White's move, he is never given the slight-
game is uncomfortable: 21... e4 22. est chance to display the skill which
j3 Bh4 23. Rf1 (23. Re3 Bg5 24. Re1 enabled him to score equally with
Bxd2 25. 0Jcd2 Ne5.) Ne5 24. fxe4 Purdy against the other contestants.
dxe4 25. Qs2 Nj3t 26. Rxj3 exj3, etc.
21. Bg5 -35-
22. Qd3 e4 Purdy-0. Barda (Norway)
23. Qg3 Bf6 English Opening
24. Bd2 b4
0-1 1. c4 e5
If 25. c4, not 25... Bxa 1, but 25... 2. Nc3 Nc6
Ne5 26. Bxb4 (26. Rad1 Nf3t 27. Kg2 3. g3
Nxd2 28. Rxd2 Bc3) Nj3t 27. Kh1 At the time Purdy played this
Be5 28. Qg2 Bxa 129. Rxa 1 dxc4 wins only against 2... Nc6, since he then
comfortably. thought that after 2... Nf6 3. g3 d5
would be good enough for Black to
equalize. However, it was subse-
quently shown by Botvinnik that
LOGICAL CHESS White still has prospects of gaining
the initiative.
by Frank Hutchings 3. g6
4. Bg2 Bg7
Olaf Barda might have won the 5. e3 Nge7
World Title had he been able to 6. Nge2 d6
reverse the result of this game. His 7. d4 exd4
aggressive style demolished all but 8. exd4 Nf5
the high place-getters, against whom 9. d5 Ne5
he fared badly. This could perhaps 10. b3 0-0
be partly explained by a predilec- 11. 0-0
-125
 How Purdy Won
Purdy considered this position
to be rather better for White, sim-
ply because of his greater command
of space. From this point Botvinnik-
Reshevsky, AVRO 1938, continued
17... a5 12. Bb2 Nd7 13. a3 Nc5 14.
b4 Nd7 15. Qj3 with a clear advan-
tage for White.
11. a6
12. Bb2
12. ... g5?!
A more logical sequel to his pre-
vious move would be 12 ... b5, when
after 13. cxb5 axb514. Qs2 b415. Ne4
Ba6, Black has counterplay (Bot-
vinnik).
The purpose of Black's eleventh
move, in connexion with kingside
action, is to prevent a subsequent
Nb5 by White. With the text move
Black aims to create maneuvering
space on the kingside while restrict-
ing expansion by White. Though
imaginative, the idea is probably
not quite sound positionally, with
White holding sway in the center.
13. Qd2 g4
14. Ne4 Bh6
126-
15. Nf4 Ng7
16. Qc3
Neatly unpinning one Knight
and providing a retreat for the other.
Now 16... Bxf4 would lose a piece.
Both sides make full use of their
available space, but White's pieces
are less restricted, and his center
superior. Purdy plays to preserve
these small advantages.
16. ... Bf5
17. Rfe1 Bg6
Black's strategy has enabled him
to find satisfactory posts for his
pieces, and his concentration of
force on the King's wing is not to be
taken lightly. For example a routine
developing move like 18. Rad1
would allow Black to initiate active
counterplay by 18... Nh5!He would
then threaten to win a pawn, and if
White should vacate f4, then .. .j5
and .. f4 could prove annoying.
Moreover, a well-timed ...Bg7would
harass the white Queen. White
would, at any rate, lose some of his
momentum in dealing with these
threats.
18. c5!
Many players would select this
move simply because it "looks right"
to undermine the support of the
centralised black Knight, and this is
one of the many cases where
straightforward positional judgment
is confirmed by deeper analysis.
Played at this precise moment
the move ensures White the initia-
 World Championship Final 1: Dominance

tive, since Black is compelled to deal the occupation of e6 by the Bishop,

with the threat of 19. cxd6 cxd6 20. and the opening of the h-file on
Nxd6. which Black's Bishop has become
The move mentioned in the pre- rather misplaced. Black now has-
vious note {18 .... Nh5) would now tens to ensure that his Knight will
be met by 19. Nxh5 Bxh5 20. cxd6, be able to move from e5 without
e.g. 20... cxd6 21. Nxd6 Bg7 22. Rxe5! embarrassing his remaining forces.
Q3d6? 23. Rg5!, winning. 20. Ne8
For the reply 18... j5 ?Purdy had 21. hxg4 Bg7
prepared 19. Nxd6 cxd6 20. cxd6 Nj3t 22. Qd2
(20 ... Nf7 21. Ne6) 21. Bxf3 gxf3 22. Black's regrouping has nullified
Ne6 Nxe6 23. Qft8f Kf7 24. dxe6f the pressure on the long diagonal,
Ke8 25. QJ5 [Ed.: 25. d7t is pretty and the white Queen's position
mean too. In fact, it is mate in 8.}, could have become uncomfortable
winning comfortably. after .. .f5.
18. ... f6 22 . ... Nxg4
23. Bh3 f5
Permitting Be6f would soon
leave Black exposed to attack on
the open h-flle with the heavy pieces.
Barda prefers to shed a pawn and
obtain some freedom.
24. Bxg7 Nxg7
25. Bxg4 fxe4
There is no choice, since 25...
fxg4 is very strongly answered by
26. @6.
26. Rxe4 Qf6
On 26... dxc5 27. Be6f is soon
decisive.
27. Rael Rae8

20. h3!
After the elimination of the ad-
vanced g-pawn, Black's centralised
Knight will be subject to attack by
f4. The text move also envisages
-127
 How Purdy Won

denly much less impressive. Here

White would seriously jeopardise
the win by taking a second pawn,
since the reply ... b4! would fix two
more white pawns on light squares,
leaving the Bishop much inferior to
the Knight.
34. Kf7
35. e4 Kf6
36. Kf2 Ke5
Again Black has little alterna- 37. Ke3 Nf6
tive against the threatened Be6f. In 38. Bxa6 Nxe4
keeping with his straightforward 39. Bxb5 Nc3
handling of the whole game, Purdy Somewhat longer resistance was
now chooses to simplify to a win- possible with 39... Nxg3 40. Bc6 Nf5t
ning ending. 41. Kj3 (41. Kd3 also wins) Ne7 42.
28. cxd6 cxd6 a4 Nxd5 43. Bxd5 Kxd5 44. a5 Kc6
29. Rxe8 Rxe8 45. a6 Kb6 46. b5 Ka7 47. Ke4 Kb6
30. Rxe8t Nxe8 48. Kd5 g5 49. Ke4, and White has
31. Bc8 Qe7 time to attack and capture the ad-
32. Qe3 Qxe3 vanced pawn before returning for
33. fxe3 b5 the other. Seeing this, Black finds
an excuse to resign earlier.
40. Bc4 Ndlt
41. Ke2 Nb2
42. Bb5 1-0
Mter the coming exchange on
c4 the pawn ending is easily won.
Purdy could hardly have hoped
for a more convincing win against
strong opposition. This was one of
his most impressive games, as well
34. b4! as one of his three key encounters.
For many moves White has
been able to operate with threats
based on his strong light-squared
Bishop, but after the exchanges of
the last few moves this piece is sud-

128-
 World Championship Final I: Dominance
DUBIOUS GAMBIT
by Frank Hutchings
Dr. Edmund Adam had not been
able to play in the preliminary event
because Germany, at that time, was
not yet a member of the ICCF. He
was, however, the holder of the Eu-
ropean title, and on this basis was
admitted to the World Champion-
ship final. Though he had a reputa-
tion as a successful innovator, the
idea he tries in this game seems not
quite sound. It had brought him
success in some recent events, but
in this tournament led to his defeat
in three games.
-36-
Dr. E. Adam (West
Germany)-Purdy
Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6
4. Ba4 Nf6
5. 0-0 Be7
6. c4?!
This is the dubious idea. White
gets something for his pawn, but
accurate play by Black restricts it to
not much more than a good initia-
tive. Still, as Purdy commented, cop-
ing with an opponent who has the
initiative is never easy.
6. ... Nxe4
Accepting the challenge. Barda
played safe with 6... d6, but later
outplayed Adam and won convinc-
ingly.
7. d4 exd4
8. Nxd4 0-0
9. Bc2
Purdy suggested that here, if
anywhere, was the point at which
White may have missed something
better. Black's immediate counter-
stroke ensures him of a stake in the
center, with no serious impediment
to mobilizing his forces.
It is interesting to note that Dr.
Adam did deviate here against
Mitchell, but also failed to obtain
quite sufficient play for his pawn.
That game continued 9. Re7 Nc5 70.
Bc2 d6 71. Nc3 Bf6 72. Nxc6 bxc6 73.
Be3 Ne6 74. Qj3 RbB 75. 0Jc6 Rxb2
76. OJ4 g6 77. Nd5 Bg7 78. Bb3 ReB
79. Qj3 c5 20. Ba4 Bd7 27. Qg3? (A
clerical error. He had intended 27.
Bxd7first.) Qg5 22. 0-7. Without the
error, Black's road to victory would
have been by no means easy.
-129
 How Purdy Won
9. ..• d5!
Clearly good positionally, this
move is tactically justified by the
variation 10. cxd5 Q3d5 11. Nxc6 Q3c6
12. Re1 f5, and if 13. j3 Bc5f saves
the piece. White chooses to play for
pressure against the Black center.
10. Nxc6 bxc6
11. Qe2 Nd6!
The Knight cannot very well be
maintained on e4. If 11... Bf5? 12.
Bxe4 Bxe4 13. Nc3 and Black must
soon forfeit his extra pawn, while
on 11... f5 12. Rd7 generates un-
pleasant pressure which might nul-
lify the material deficit.
12. cxd5
A tricky alternative was 12. Na3
to maintain the tension, but Dr.
Adam prefers to give Black "hang-
ing" pawns.
12. cxd5
13. Re1 Be6
14. Bf4
14. ... c5!
15. Nd2
For the critical 75. Nc3 Purdy
had prepared 75 ... d4 76. Ne4 c4 17.
730-
Nc5 d3 78. Nxe6 fxe6 79. Q3e6f Kh8,
when White has nothing satisfac-
tory. If 20. Bg3 Nf5! 27. Bd7 Nxg3
22. hxg3 Bc5 and Black has a win-
ning attack, in which Purdy had
analysed some lines as far as move
26.
15. ... Bf6
16. Rad1 Qb6
Of course not 76... Bxb2? 77.
Bxd6 Q,xd6 78. Nc4 Qj8 79. Nxb2
Q3b2? 20. Bxh7f, etc. Black quietly
prepares to activate his Rooks.
17. Be5
Dr. Adam suggested later that
he should have tried 17. g4!?
17. Bxe5
18. Qxe5 Rfe8
19. N£3 Rad8
Here 79 ... Nc4 20. Bxh7fwould
have been unclear. Now 20. Ng5
would be effectively answered by
20... Bf5, while if 20. Qjt5, either
20... h6 or 20... g6 can be played.
20. Bb1 h6
0-1
Having satisfactorily brought all
his pieces into play without incur-
 World Championship Final I: Dominance
ring any serious weakness, Black
can claim to have refuted White's
gambit.
White would have great diffi-
culty in maintaining the initiative,
so the extra pawn should tell in the
long run. Nevertheless, Black could
still be made to work hard to win,
and it was certainly early to resign.
Evidently Dr. Adam did not want to
fight a long game he had only a
slight chance of saving.
HANGING PAWNS
by Kevin Harrison
This game illustrates some of the
strategical themes relevant to posi-
tions with hanging pawns. In this
case only the defects of the hanging
pawns are revealed, since White fails
to seize the chances which come his
way.
-37-
G. Wood (Britain)-Purdy
Queen's Gambit Declined
1. d4 d5
2. Nf3 Nf6
3. c4 e6
4. Nc3 Be7
5. e3 0-0
6. b3 Ne4
Purdy's move creates the possi-
bility of transposition into the Dutch
Defense. Also possible was 6... c5,
transposing into the Tarrasch De-
fense, in which White rarely
fianchettoes his dark-squared Bish-
op. A possible continuation is: 6...
c5 7. Bd3 cxd4 8. exd4 Bb4 9. Bb2 (9.
Bd2 dxc4 10. bxc4 e5! 11. Ne4 Bxd2t
12. Q!,d2 exd4 13. 0-0 Nc6 14. Q/4
Nh5!) Ne4 10. (2§2 Qg5! 11. Bxe4
dxe4 12. Nd2 Nc6 13. Ncxe4 Rd8 14.
0-0 Bxd2 15. Nxd2 Nxd4 16. Bxd4
Rxd4 (EGO).
7. Qc2
The more natural 7. Bb2 is to be
preferred, e.g. 7. Bb2 j5 8. Bd3 c6 9.
0-0 Bd6 10. Ne5 Nd7 11. f4.
7. ... Nxc3
8. Qxc3 c5
Purdy exploits White's vulner-
ability along the al-h8 diagonal by
this pawn offer.
9. Be2
Black's pieces become very ac-
tive if White accepts the proffered
pawn: 9. dxc5 Bf6 10. Nd4 e5 11. Nc2
(or A: 11. Nb5 a6. B: 11. Nf3 Bg4. C:
11. Ne2 d4 12. Qsl2 Qs7 13. b4 a5.)
11... d4 12. Qsl2 Bj5. Finally, if 9.
cxd5, then 9... cxd4.
9. cxd4
10. exd4 dxc4
11. bxc4
-131
 How Purdy Won

Are the hanging pawns a 17. Rxd8

strength or a weakness? This is the Should Wood have avoided the
question Purdy and Wood are about exchange of Queens? Purdy's notes
to discuss. Purdy thought that this on this are somewhat confusing, and
position favored Black, but in the do not seem to confer an advantage
play that follows White's resources on Black. White has difficulties in
appear to be adequate. finding a satisfactory retreat for his
11. Nc6 Queen, e.g.
12. 0-0 b6 A: 7Z Qg3 Qs7! 18. Qf,e7 NxeZ
13. Rd1 Ba6 B: 1Z Qj3 Qs7 18. Rd7 Bxc4!
14. Be3 ReS C: 7Z Qj2 Bxa118. Rxd8 Rfxd8.
Of course Purdy could have pre- In all these cases Black stands
vented Wood's 15th move with 14... better; nevertheless it seems White
Bf6. However, he was quite happy can solve all his problems with
to encourage the central thrust, since D: 7Z Qs1! Qs7 18. Rad1, and
he believed it to be precipitate, and now, after almost any reply, White
that it would only increase his ini- can advance his weak c-pawn. Purdy
tiative. had intended 18... Rfe8, but White
15. d5 can still play 19. c5!, and if 19 ... Bxe2
If White wishes to avoid the 20. Qf,e2 bxc5 21. Qj5!, and White
ensuing complications, 15. Rac1 threatens to recover his pawn, while
seems to be an acceptable alterna- his Queen is ready to interpose and
tive. forestall backrank mating combina-
15. exd5 tions which might otherwise arise
16. Rxd5 B£6! after 21... Nd4, etc. If Black contin-
ues 21 ... c4, then 22. Rd7, and now:
i) 22 ... Qj4 23. Qj5!
ii) 22 ... Qf8 23. Bc5.
732-
 World Championship Final I: Dominance

iii) 22... RedB 23. RxdBt RxdB

24. RxdBt rJ.!dB 25. Q!c4.
Since White's game is comfort-
able in these lines, his decision to
accept a clearly inferior ending must
be questioned.
17. ... Bxc3
18. Rxf8t
A puzzling decision, since
Black's King will now be one square
closer to the center, but perhaps not With the c-pawn doomed to cap-
a serious error. ture, White's Rook turns to the sev-
18. ... Kxf8 enth rank in search of counterplay.
19. Rcl Bb2 29. Bxc4
20. Rd1? 30. Bxc4 Rxc4
If 20. Rc2 Bf6, and White's Rook 31. Rd7 Rxf4
looks exposed, but with 21. a3 (and 32. Rxa7 b5
if 21... Na5 22. Nd2) White seems 33. g3 Ra4
able to hold on, though defensively 0-1
placed. After the text move there is White's game is lost, but Black
probably no salvation. must play precisely, e.g. 34. Rxp
20. lre7 Rxa2 35. Rxg7 b4 36. Rc7f Kb6 37.
21. Nd4 Bxd4 ReB Kb5 38. RbBt Kc4 39. RcBt Kd3
22. Bxd4 Nxd4 40. RdBt Kc2 41. RcBt Kb2 42. Rc7
23. Rxd4 Rc5 b3 43. Kg2 (if 43. Rxh7 Kc3) Ka7t
24. Re4t 44. Kh3 b2 45. Rb7 b1=(6 etc.
If White attempts to mobilise Greater resistance is possible by
his kingside pawns by 24. f4J then forcing Black's King to obstruct the
24 ... Ra5 25. Rd2 Ra4 26. Rc2 g6 27. second rank. Thus 34. Rc7f Kd4 35.
g4 Kd6 28. f5 gxf5 29. gxf5 BcB 30. Rd7t Kc3 36. Rc7f Kb2 37. Rxp b4
Bd3 Ke5 31. Rfl Kf6 32. Kg2 Ra5J 38. Rxg7 Kxa2 39. Rxh7 b3 40. Rb7
etc. b2 41. h4 b7=Qj 42. Rxb7 Kxb1 43.
24. lrd6 Kg2 Kc2 44. Kf3 Kd3 45. h5 Re4 46.
25. f4 Ra5 g4 Kd4 and wins.
26. Rd4t lrc6
27. Rd2 Ra4
28. Rc2 lrc5
29. Rd2

-733
 How Purdy Won
DEEP TRAP
by Frank Hutchings
Traps are generally regarded some-
what contemptuously in top-flight
chess, but surely an exception must
be made for the "trap" Purdy springs
in this game! Seeing the opportu-
nity to avoid a lengthy positional
siege by means of a pawn sacrifice,
Black plunges into a difficult com-
binative sequence. This he survives
as planned, only to find he has fallen
victim to a subtle positional snare,
and presented his opponent with a
winning attack. Purdy considered
this his best game of the tourna-
ment, if not his best ever.
-38-
Purdy-L. Watzl (Austria)
Queen's Gambit Declined
1. c4 Nf6
2. d4 e6
3. Nc3 d5
4. Bg5 Be7
5. e3 0-0
6. Nf3 Ne4
Lasker's Defense, though usu-
ally prefaced by 6... h6. Lasker did
not use it to play for a draw, but to
head towards an ending with about
even prospects, in which he would
have good chances of outplaying
most adversaries. Playing White in
734-
a CC game, however, Purdy would
doubtless have been happier to face
a more risky defense.
7. Bxe7 Qxe7
8. cxd5 Nxc3
9. bxc3 exd5
10. Qb3 Qd6
An alternative is 10... RdB, by
which Black achieves rather more
activity for his pieces after 11. c4
dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nc6 13. Be2 Rd6 14.
0-0 Be6, etc., though at the time the
text move was considered slightly
superior.
11. c4 dxc4
12. Bxc4 Nc6
13. Qc3
This move was almost invari-
ably played at the time, but a rather
better way of avoiding the fork
(. ..Na5), according to Purdy, is 13.
Be2!, which also serves to discour-
age ...Bg4. A game Pachman-Don-
ner, Beverwijk 1965, in which 6...
h6 had been interpolated, contin-
ued 14. Be2 Be6 15. Qs3 Q!4 16.
Kd2! Qg6 17. Rhc1 Bd5 18. Ke1 RfeB
19 Kfl, with White standing better.
13. ... Bg4
14. Nd2
Purdy considered this more
promising than 14. 0-0 Bxf3 15. gxf3
RadB 16. Kh1 Oj6 17. Be2 RfeB, etc.,
with about equal chances.
14. Rad8
15. 0-0 Ne7
16. Rfc1 b6
In Grau-Eliskases, Buenos
 World Championship Final 1: Dominance
Aires 1939, with 6... h6interpolated,
Black played .. .c5 at this point, and
this was later quoted in books by
Euwe and Pachman as leading to
equal play. It may be playable in
this position also, but in opening up
the game one would feel more se-
cure if the King were immune from
backrank mates.
Later, at Mar del Plata 1941
(again with 6... h6), Eliskases tried
... b6here against Guimard, and that
game is now followed for three more
moves.
17. Ne4 Qd7
18. Ng3 c6
19. Qa3 Ra8
Preparing his next move. Purdy
now parts company with existing
theory, with or without 6... h6, and
improves on Guimard, who started
drifting with 20. h3 Be6 21. Be2?,
and in fact lost the game.
20. Rc2 Be6
21. Bxe6 Qxe6
22. Racl Rfd8
23. Ne2 Rd7
24. h3 g6?!
It was a good moment to make
an escape square for the King, but
possibly Watzl was unwilling to ad-
mit the loss of a tempo on move 6
by playing the better 24 ... h6 now.
Perhaps also he had in mind a sub-
sequent Knight maneuver to e6, via
f5 and g7, but these considerations
do not justify a voluntary weaken-
ing of the dark squares.
27. Nd3!!
This may appear fairly obvious
since the Knight would clearly be
well placed on e5, but in fact it sets
a trap, the point of which is very
deeply buried. What a temptation
Black now faces to play the "freeing
move" 27. .. c5, especially since he
can calculate that there is no win for
White by holding on to the pawn.
Unfortunately for Watzl, Purdy had
seen further, and planned a judi-
cious return of the pawn. For fur-
ther discussion on "freeing moves"
refer back to game 12 (Ludlow) and
game 30 (Bigot).
27. c5?!
28. Ne5 Rdc7
29. dxc5 Qf6
He dare not recapture the pawn
at once in the face of White's threat
of Ng4, exposing the weakness of
the dark squares.
30. Qd4 Nf5
31. Qf4 Qe6
32. Nd3
-135
 How Purdy Won

Given a free hand White would On a superficial inspection

now relieve the pin by Qg4 and Black's remote passed pawn might
then continue cxb6. Black cannot appear to give him good chances,
play 32... Rd7? 33. cxb6! Rxc2 34. even of winning. However, the
Rxc2 Rxd3 35. b7 and White wins, weakened dark squares around his
or 32 ... Q,d5 33. Nb4 Qs6 34. cxb6 King are the deciding factor in this
when White holds a sound extra position, as White's powerfully co-
pawn. operating Queen and Knight are
32. ... bxc5 about to demonstrate.
33. Rxc5! 36. Qb8t Kg7
White must continue accurately. 37. Nd7 Qalt
If 33. Nxc5 Q,d6!, and the pin of the 38. Kh2 Qa3
Knight gives Black adequate com- Black hopes to escape by threat-
pensation, e.g. 34. @4 @6! 35. a3 ening to exchange Queens.
(35. Q,a3 Nd6, etc.) Nd6 36. Rc3 Q3b4 39. Qe5t Kh6
37. axb4 a5 38. bxa5 Nb5 and White
cannot win. There could follow 39. ~~~~
%'~%% ~%% ~%% ~
R3c2 Na3 40. Ra2 Nb5 41. a6 Rxc5 ~ ~4J~i.~i.
----~~ %%~ %%~ r~
~~~~~~~---~
42. Rxc5 Rxc5 43. a7 Nxa7 with a
"book" draw.
~~ ~~,--~-~~ ~~
33. Rxc5 ,F' ~%% ~%'«,;~%% ~
34. Rxc5 Rxc5 • ~ ~~ ~ft
35. Nxc5 Qxa2 /,
~
'~ v~~-----'~mr~
~~ ~w----,w---~
~ ~ ~ ~
~-~~%~~~,~r
~ ~~~
~~~~~~~~ Purdy had calculated thus far at
~~F/~~~~,~ move 27 and concluded that White
~~,~~~~~~ should win, but he now found that
~ ~~ ~%'J--~-~~ ~ the intended 40. Qf4t Kg7 41. g4
~~ ~~~~%'"~~£ would let Black off. Mter 41... Qg6!

-~~~J~!­
~ ~ ~ ~
42. gxf5 Q3d7 43.f6t KfBthere is no
more than a draw.
40. Nc5!
Over the board it would hardly To shut out the black Queen.
be possible to calculate the last nine White now threatens annihilation
moves with any great conviction, starting with 41. g4.
but probably both players consid- 40. Qb4
ered this position at move 27. 41. g4 f6
136-
 World Championship Final I: Dominance

This seems the best chance. If Further resistance is pointless,

41... Nh4 42. Kg3 QJ1 (42 ... g5 43. e.g. 49 ... Kh5 50. Nf4t Kg5 51. QJ7t
Ne4 etc.) 43. Qf6 and Black must Kh6 52. h4 soon leads to mate, as
give up his Knight for a few checks. does 49 ... Kg5 50. QJ7f, etc.
After the text move White has This is a game that illustrates
nothing better than to win the the special depth possible in corre-
a-pawn, taking his Queen out of spondence play.
play for the moment.
42. Qc7 Ng7
43. (Lxa7 (Lb2
44. Nd3
White's Knight maneuvers have
reduced the black Queen to a spec-
tator. The attack now quickly recov-
ers momentum, and with an extra
pawn White no longer has to fear
all exchanges.
44. (Lc3
45. (Ld7 f5

Rather than passively awaiting

White's axe, Black chooses to pre-
cipitate the end. Purdy finishes off
efficiently.
46. (Ld6 Ne8
47. (Lf8t Ng7
48. gxf5 gxf5
On 48... ()Jd3 49. f6 wins.
49. (Ld6t 1-0
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 How Purdy Won

CHAPTER 7

WORLD CHAMPIONSillP FINAL II: STRUGGLE

The five games in this chapter were all closely contested, and all could
well have led to different results. In contrast to the other eight games,
Purdy was guilty here of as many errors as were his opponents, and this is
reflected in his score of 50% from the five.
From Purdy's point of view, this group of games told most of the story
of the tournament. They certainly provided most of his heart-stopping
moments.
Purdy's opening play in the final was so successful that in most games
he soon obtained a slight advantage, or at least equality. Only against van
Scheltinga did he emerge clearly inferior, and in that game he was able, by
careful defense, to restore the balance and achieve an early draw.
Another game Purdy was relieved to be free of was a fluctuating
struggle with the Hungarian Dr. Balogh, already a famous veteran. After a
shaky opening, Purdy allowed a shade of middle game advantage to
dissipate, and judiciously offered a draw on move 32.
At this stage Purdy had amassed only three wins (from Adam, Cuadrado
and Wood), but he hoped that having the worst, i.e. the two draws, over
reasonably early would allow him more time to concentrate on the games
in which he was striving for full points. The worst, however, was yet to
come.
About this time Purdy realized he had drifted into inferiority against
the Englishman Mitchell, but did not expect to lose-until he made a
disastrous error. Graham Mitchell's own comment on the ·game follows
(with the kind permission of Maurice Carter, from his ASPC's Guide to
Correspondence Chess).
Mitchell wrote: "He (Purdy) was the most generous of opponents. At

138-
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

the end of our game his only comment was to congratulate me, too kindly
of course, on (I remember his words) absolutely tip top play-though he
had earlier called me a thorn in his flesh! At his suggestion we replayed the
game as a friendly from his 41st move onwards and it duly ended, as the
real game should have done, in a draw. It was only then that he told me
that his mistake, on move 41, had arisen from his having given himself an
extra tempo in setting up for analysis a position which might have fol-
lowed a little later. I have no doubt whatever that this was the truth: Purdy
was a truthful and honorable man."
Though both players had thought a peaceful result likely, before
Purdy's error, Purdy later conceded that "a draw was not absolutely
demonstrable," and, as can be seen in the notes to the game, it now
appears that Mitchell could have forced a win with very precise play.
In the event, Purdy's unfortunate lapse probably did cost him half a
point, since Mitchell's comments suggest that his mind was set on forcing
a draw, but there remains a doubt. Had Mitchell been continuing the real
game, instead of a "friendly," would he have found the extra incentive to
search harder for the win? His play to that point had indeed been "tip
top."
After this loss, Purdy's score was a moderate 4-2, but now the worst
really was over, and the story centered around the Purdy-Napolitano
game, which had suddenly become highly critical. How Purdy coped is
described in the notes to this memorable encounter.
The game with Malmgren was also critical, and these two struggles
illustrate the fascinating difference in style between the two who tied for
second. Immediately after the event Purdy wrote, but I can find no record
of publication, the following commentary.
"It (Purdy-Malmgren) was a great uphill fight by Malmgren. Many
times his draw hung by a thread, as did life itself-for he was near to death
at least once during the tourney, and it was said that only chess gave him
the will to live.
"Despite a human sympathy for Malmgren, I was forced to try to beat
him if possible, as there was a third party interest, and the canons of
sportsmanship must be placed above everything-such as human sympa-
thy, patriotism and so forth.
"The third party, of course, was Dr. Napolitano, who would have
become CC Champion of Europe, instead of Malmgren, had I defeated
Malmgren.
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 How Purdy Won

"If Malmgren is to be admired for his grand fighting spirit, Napolitano

is to be admired for the sheer brilliance of his play. After playing over the
victories of Napolitano, many readers would find it hard to go back to
cross board games, with their disfiguring rubs and botches.
"Alas, with such a style goes an excessive romanticism, an optimism
that seeks to conquer the cold beauty of force by the fire of imagination.
Thus we find that while Malmgren, the dour Scandinavian, purged of
illusion-the pessimist-lost no games but drew six, Napolitano, with faith
in a magic sword, drew none at all but lost three."
When Purdy had converted his 4-2 score to 10-2, in a little over six
months, only his game with Malmgren remained unfinished. As referred
to in Purdy's description above, he continued this game for several more
months ("doubtless giving palpitations to his supporters" -Purdy), though
he could have clinched the title on more than one occasion by forcing a
draw by repetition.
As it turned out, Malmgren took second place on the Sonneborn
count, but the European Title was not awarded, since Napolitano had
scored better against the European competitors than had Malmgren, and
agreement could not be reached as to who should receive it.
Purdy's own style was a little more eclectic than that of either of his
two main rivals. His tournament plan included the laudable aim of trying
to get above style-of trying to search always for the objectively best move,
strictly according to the requirements of the position on the board, rather
than let personal preferences influence his choice.
Although it is, of course, very difficult to approach total objectivity in
chess, one prerequisite that Purdy possessed was a very high order of
understanding of all aspects of the game. From a study of Purdy's play in
the World Championship, one is drawn to the conclusion that his superi-
ority was most evident in the early stages of the game. Time and again his
opening and early middlegame strategy brought him superior positions,
with excellent winning chances, so if there was a phase of play in which he
excelled above all others, this was perhaps it.
When Purdy failed in being totally objective, it was usually in the
direction of optimism-underestimation of his opponents' chances-of which
we see examples in his games with Mitchell and Balogh, as acknowledged
years later by Purdy himself. Possibly, however, that spark of optimism
was a major factor in his overall success. Most winners are optimists.
(F.P.H.)
140-
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

Purdy had been under the false

FAULTY OPENING impression that there were no diffi-
culties at all for Black in this line.
by Frank Hutchings He planned to quietly castle before
straightening out his queenside.
Purdy's well-prepared opening play Later he suggested 8... Nbd7 9. 0-0
often enabled him to establish an Bd6 as an improvement, but the best
early edge, but in this game he is move, according to current theory,
soon the one in trouble. The ability is 8... Bb7.
to defend inferior positions is, how- 9. a5
ever, an essential for tournament Even though this move was not
winners, and Purdy shows here that new in 1950, Purdy was unfamiliar
he is equal to the task. with it. He later mentioned some
analysis by Euwe and Spielmann
-39- which suggests that Black can now
T .D. van Scheltinga equalize by 9... Q3a5 10. Bd2 QjJ6
(Holland)-Purdy 11. Qg4 0-0! 12. Bxb4Bxb4f 13. Q3b4
Slav Defense (13. Nxb4 c5) Ba6! 14. Q3b6 axb615.
Nb4Nd5!
1. d4 d5 9. Ba6
2. c4 c6 10. Bxa6 Nxa6
Twenty years later Purdy wrote 11. Bd2 0-0
that he would now consider the Slav 12. 0-0 c5
Defense too inactive for correspon- This advance must clearly be
dence play. At the time, however, made at some time, and delay might
he was more concerned with equal- be risky.
izing when playing Black, and the 13. dxc5 Bxc5
Slav seemed to fulfil this require- 14. Qe2
ment. It was also more popular in
crossboard play than it is today. [Ed.
Note: In 199.8 the Slav is very much in
vogue.] ·
3. Nf3 Nf6
4. Nc3 dxc4
5. e3 b5
6. a4 b4
7. Na2 e6
8. Bxc4 Be7?!
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 How Purdy Won

Black has not emerged satisfac- the timing of any exchanges.

torily from the opening. His Knight 17. Rfcl Rfc8
on a6 is tied to the defense of the Already the passage is clear for
b-pawn which has become isolated both Kings.
in White's camp, and care is re- 18. Nfd4 Ne4
quired, in mobilizing his other 19. Bel
forces, to avoid making further con-
cessions.
14. ... Qc8
15. Ncl
An immediate pin would
achieve nothing. White first utilizes
this square to bring his Knight to a
more effective post.
15. ... Qb7
16. Nb3 Be7
Black can satisfactorily support 19. ... Nec5
the weak pawn and has achieved Black conceives the idea that,
reasonable freedom for his pieces, with one pair of Knights exchanged,
apart from the Knight on a6. Since if White's Knight settles on b3, the
he has no other weaknesses his prob- white b-pawn will be susceptible to
lems might not seem too serious, attack by the Bishop.
but the b-pawn is a long-term weak- 20. Nxc5 Rxc5
ness. After the exchange of heavy 21. Rxc5 Bxc5
pieces it will be safe for the white 22. Qc4 Rc8
King to emerge and head for c4. Calculating that he can just af-
The weak pawn would then fall. ford to contest the file.
Exchanges can hardly be 23. Rcl Rc7
avoided. If Black fails to challenge 24. Qb5
for possession of the open files White Black threatened 24... BJB and
will soon control the board. Some- White finds nothing better than to
how, then, Black must ensure that head for the ending. Purdy had
the white King can be kept at bay checked that he could survive the
when the ending arrives, so his plans combinative possibility: 24. Nxe6?
should include preparations to rush fxe6 25. fl!e6t Rj7 26. Rd7 BJB 27.
his own King also to the center. RdB @5! and Black is winning.
Since a single tempo could be deci- If 24. Nb3, either 24 ... Be7 or
sive Black will also have to watch 24... Bj8seem quite adequate. (Purdy
142-
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

had noted down 24. Nb3 Bxe3 25. etition (Rc8t, Rc6, etc.). If White
@4 g5 26. Rxc7 Qfc7 27. Qg4 Qj4, tries to win by exchanging Rooks
seemingly good for Black, but be- and advancing his King, Black can
fore committing himself to such a now utilize White's weakness on b2
line he would certainly have no- to induce Nd4. Black's own King
ticed the refutation 28. Qs2!) can then reach c5 in time to prevent
It is difficult to show any advan- White attacking his b-pawn, e.g. 29.
tage for White after 24. Rd1 BfB, Rxd6 Bxd6 30. Kfl Ke7 31. Ke2 Be5
when Black will be able to reacti- 32. Nd4 Kd6 etc., or 29. Rc8t RdB
vate his Knight. 30. Rxd8t Bxd8 31. Kf1 Ke7 32. Ke2
24. ... Qxb5 Kd6 33. Kd3 Bf6 34. Nd4 Kc5.
Here 24 ... Qs8 25. Nb3 Be7 26.
Rxc7 Nxc7 27. Qs4! would be clearly
in White's favor.
25. Nxb5 Rd7 STRATEGICAL
26. Nd4 SUBTLETIES
by Frank Hutchings

Purdy excelled at strategy, but here

he mishandles a game which is
nearly all strategy. Both sides have
difficult problems to solve, and both
falter, but each demonstrates his
ability to produce first rate chess.
Black threatened to ensnare the Purdy was a little fortunate at the
Knight by 26... e5 and 27. .. Rb7. end that his opponent agreed to a
26. .•• Kf8! draw. Did Dr. Balogh underestimate
Saving a vital tempo by a neat his chances, or was his ambition
tactical finesse. Now 27. Rxc5? Nxc5 blunted by a number of inferior po-
28. Bxb4 Ke8 29. Bxc5 e5 wins for sitions in other games?
Black.
27. Nb3 Be7 -40-
28. Rc6 Rd6 Purdy-Dr. J. Balogh
Draw Agreed (Hungary)
Purdy offered the draw which Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense
White can in any case force by rep-

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 How Purdy Won

1. e4 e5 15. Bxe7 Nxe7

2. Nf3 Nc6 16. Nfl
3. Bb5 a6 There is nothing to be gained
4. Ba4 Nf6 from discovered attacks on the
5. 0-0 Be7 Knight.
6. Re1 b5 16. ... Nf4
7. Bb3 d6 Black has made nearly half his
8. c3 0-0 moves with Knights, but his strat-
9. h3 Na5 egy has suited the position and he
10. Bc2 c5 stands very satisfactorily. In contrast,
11. d4 Qc7 Collins's policy of simple develop-
12. Bg5 ment had already brought him dif-
The same move as he played ficulties by move 16 (game 32).
against Collins (game 32). Purdy 17. Ne3 Bb7
later commented that in this game
he did not achieve any element of
surprise, since the move had already
been analyzed in Hungary. Whether
or not Dr. Balogh had been familiar
with the line, his method of coping
with it could hardly be faulted.
12. ... h6
Immediately forcing White to
commit his dark-squared Bishop to
one of the two diagonals available. Only now does Black turn to
13. Bh4 Nc6 the development of his other pieces,
Recognizing that this Knight will and this decision may still be pre-
soon have to move anyway, Black mature. White's reply takes imme-
reserves options for his remaining diate advantage of this Bishop's
pieces. Also playable here is 13 ... absence from the h3-c8 diagonal, so
Nc4, as in L. Steiner-Szabo, Stock- if the Bishop was to be moved, d7
holm 1948. may have been a better square for
14. Nbd2 Nh5! it.
Virtually forcing the following 18. g3!
exchange which unburdens Black Purdy took twelve days consid-
of his less-good Bishop, at the same ering this. He later described it as
time relieving the slight congestion the only move to avoid some posi-
of his pieces. tional disadvantage. It would now

144-
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

be dangerous for Black to accept

the pawn, e.g. 78... Nxh3f 79. Kg2
Ng5 20. Nxg5 hxg5 27. @5, with an
attack well worth a pawn. In this, if
79 ... cxd4 20. cxd4 exd4 27. 0Jd4 Ng5
22. Nxg5 hxg5 23. Rad7, and again
White has compensation for his
pawn.
18. cxd4
19. cxd4 Nfg6
20. Rcl Rac8 26. axb5?
21. h4 This, however, is not the stron-
Black's Bishop being out of gest, and only assists Black to disen-
touch with the kingside, White tangle his queenside pieces. Black's
moves to take the initiative. Purdy Bishop will get an opportunity to
suggested, many years later, that this re-enter the game via the vacated
plan might have been over-optimis- d7 square, while the Queen guards
tic, but at the time he evidently con- the a-pawn.
sidered it justified and the course of Purdy, of course, did not plan it
the game does not discredit that that way. He later suggested 26. Ra 7
view. as the strongest continuation, aim-
21. Rfe8 ing for a position in which White's
22. h5 Nf8 axh5 could not well be answered by
23. d5 Qd7 recapture with the Queen. On 26...
24. Nh4 Nh7 Rec8 27. Bd3, Black must be pre-
White has established a bind on pared to recapture with the pawn,
the kingside, but can achieve noth- or else play 27. .. hxa4 28. 0Ja4 (Not
ing by direct action. For instance 28. Rxa4?? Rc7!} 0Ja429. Rxa4Rc7
the immediate occupation of the 30. Ra7. In either case White should
strong f5 square permits the ex- maintain a slight edge, since Black
change of one pair of Knights and would have two weak queenside
leaves White with no attack after pawns to defend, and an awkwardly
25. Nhf5 Nxf5 26. Nxf5 Nf6 27. Qj3 placed Bishop.
Kh7. 26. ... Qxb5
So Purdy turns his attention to 27. b3
the other wing, and improving the Hardly in tune with a plan to
prospects of his bad Bishop. increase the scope of a light-squared
25. a4! Rc7 Bishop, but Purdy had intended to

-145
 How Purdy Won

follow up with Ra 1and Bd3, obtain- Black's pieces are clearly much
ing the queenside pressure he was more comfortably placed after his
seeking. Unfortunately Black can fine regrouping maneuver.
prevent this plan. 31. Nc4!
27. Bc8 This move should not have been
28. Ral Rc3! delayed so long. Purdy had checked
that now 31... Bxg4? would work
out in White's favor, but Black has
no need to panic.
31. ... Qb4
Black quietly protects the
d-pawn, at the same time preparing
... Bb5. The a-pawn is indirectly pro-
tected, since 32. Rxa6?1oses a piece
after 32 ... Rxc2.
32. Re3
The strength of this, in conjunc-
tion with Black's previous move, was
what Purdy had overlooked. He
now saw that the obvious 29. Nc4,
aiming to embarrass the intruding
Rook, was less good than he had
thought. After 29 ... Qs5! (threaten-
ing 30... Rxg3f) 30. Kg2? Bh3f!wins
for Black. White could play 30. Re3,
but Purdy seems to have been re-
luctant to admit his error, and to Draw Agreed
have rejected this line as too draw- Purdy offered the draw with his
ish. last move. Shortly after the game
As the game goes, he soon finds his notes in Mail Chess gave the il-
himself resorting to Nc4 and Re3 in lustrative line 32 ... Rxe3 33. Nxe3
less-favorable circumstances. At this Bb5 34. Nf3! Nf6 35. Nd2 Nd7 36.
point he apparently did not con- Ndc4 Rb8 37. Qs1 etc., with the con-
sider that there might also be seri- clusion that the position was bal-
ous dangers in the position for anced.
White. Years later, however, Purdy
29. g4(?) Bd7 wrote that 32 ... Rxe3 33. Nxe3 a5!
30. Kg2(?) Rec8 would leave Black with the advan-

146-
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

tage because of White's bad Bishop. What went wrong?

The position then reached is His opponent, Harald Malm-
worth exploring a little further. gren, finished only half a point from
White could no longer afford 34. the World Title, and this game gives
Nf3 Nf6 35. Nd2 Nxg4!Also 34. Bd3 an indication of why he was unde-
would lead to difficulties after 34... feated in the tournament. It is true
Rc3! that, with hindsight, one can sug-
On 34. Nc4 a4 35. Nd2 Bxg4! gest slight improvements for White,
works out in Black's favor. but Purdy had judged that the plan
If White elected to release his he chose should lead to a win, and
pieces from defending weak pawns this was the kind of position in which
by 34. f3, he would invite infiltra- he was usually so effective. Malm-
tion on the weakened dark squares. gren must be given full credit for a
White would be in danger of sliding fine defensive performance. The
into total passivity. There could fol- notes benefit from comments by
low, for example, 34 ... Bb5 35. Ra2 both players.
Rc3 36. Nhj5 Nxf5 37. Nxf5 Ng5 38.
Nh4 Re3, and Black's pressure would -41-
soon be too strong. Purdy-H. Malmgren
Had Dr. Balogh continued the (Sweden)
game, and found the strongest line, English Opening
Purdy's task could evidently have
been made very difficult. 1. c4 e5
2. Nc3 Nf6
3. Nf3 Nc6
4. d4 exd4
SUPER DE'FENSE 5. Nxd4 Bb4
6. g3
by Frank Hutchings Purdy had independently ana-
lyzed this move and thought it to be
A casual reader might dismiss this unusual. He was later surprised to
game as a dullish draw in which find, from Malmgren's book, that
White fritters away an opening ad- there were precedents to this game
vantage. This, however, would be a right up to move 14. Nowadays 6.
superficial appraisal. White certainly Bg5 is regarded as White's best
gets the better of the opening, and move.
one would expect Purdy to ruth- 6. Ne5
lessly grind out another victory. Also considered satisfactory

-747
 How Purdy Won

now are 6... Ne4and even 6... Bxc3f, 14. Rad1

conceding the two Bishops. A second-best move according
7. Qb3 Qe7 to Purdy. Sharper is 14. c5!, which
Now considered superior is 7. .. he considered, but not sufficiently
Bxc3f 8. Q!c3 d5. For that eventual- deeply. Malmgren mentions 14. c5
ity Purdy had intended the pawn c6 15. cxd6 Q!d6 16. Rad1 Qs7 17.
offer 9. Bg2, and if 9... Nxc4 10. e4 Bc5f6 28. Rd2, Berkavicius-van Kol,
Nb6 11. e5, followed by 12. Nb5, with advantage to White, who in
with good play for White. fact won the game. Possibly Malm-
8. Be3 gren had some improvement in
If 8. Bg2 Qs5! 9. Nc2 Nfg4 which mind.
occurred, according to Malmgren, 14. ... Nc6!
in Bernards-Folkmann, IFSB 1933. White had threatened 15. Bd4
8. ... Ne4 to induce the weakening .. f6. Malm-
9. Ndb5 gren conducts the defense very pre-
More aggressive, says Malm- cisely.
gren, than 9. Bg2, which also gave 15. Rd2 Bf5
White good prospects in a game 16. c5 dxc5
Bernards-Muller. Black is now in- 17. Bxc5 Qe5
duced to part with the two Bishops 18. Qxe5
in less favorable circumstances than As pointed out by Malmgren,
he could have obtained on move 6 stronger was 18. Qs1!, to maintain
or 7. the Bishop at c5. With a more com-
9. Bxc3t plex position White would then
10. Nxc3 Nxc3 have greater scope for setting his
11. Qxc3 0-0 opponent problems. However, the
12. Bg2 d6 simpler ending Purdy is aiming for
13. 0-0 Re8 also has a promising appearance.
18. ... Rxe5
19. Be3
Threatening 20. Bf4.
19. ... Be4
20. Bh3
Malmgren describes this as un-
expected, mentioning 20. f3 as the
obvious move. Purdy has in mind a
scheme to gain control of the sev-
enth rank, and this seems to offer

148-
 World Championship Final II: Struggle
good prospects.
20. Rd5
21. R:xd5 Bxd5
22. Rdl!
This establishes his Rook on the
seventh rank by force. Now if 22...
Rd8? there follows 23. Bg5 f6 24.
Bxf6! gxf6 25. Rxd5! with a clear
win.
22. ... Bxa2
23. Rd7 Bc4
If 23 ... Rc8?Purdy intended not
24. Rxj7(?) Kxj7 25. Bxc8 b6 26. Bf4
Nd4, with drawing chances, but 24.
Bf4!, e.g. 24 ... Be6 25. Bxe6 fxe6 26.
Bxc7 Nb8 27. Bxb8 Rxb8 28. Re7, and
White should win.
24. R:xc7
Here Purdy also considered 24.
Kfl, with the idea of making it harder
for Black to ease his defense by pawn
exchanges. This, however, is inef-
fectual, since Black has the resource
24 ... Rd8! 25. Rxc7 Rd1f 26. Kg2
Bxe2 with counterplay which seems
adequate. White cannot continue 27.
Bd7?? Bf1t 28. Kf3 Rxd7!
24. ... Bxe2
25. R:xb7 Bf3
26. Bg2
Though this move leads to a
clearly superior position, with all
White's pieces better placed, these-
quel shows that Black can probably
survive. Hence 26. Rc7, preserving
the Bishop pair, may have offered
better winning prospects.
26. ... Bxg2
27. Kxg2 a5!
Black must generate some
counterplay before White's King
becomes effective. With this move
he aims at exchanging the last
queenside pawns.
28. Kf3 f6
29. Ke4 a4
30. Bc5 Ne5
It looks as if White ought to
have something decisive, with Rook
on the seventh rank, a strong Bishop
against a Knight, and a centralized
King to boot. However, nothing
seems to work.
If 31. f4 Nc4! 32. Kd3 a3! 33.
bxa3 Nxa3, and the Knight, despite
appearances, cannot be won.
-749
 How Purdy Won

Or 37. Ra7 RbB 32. Ba3 Nc4 also White cannot profit from the
draws. weakening of the kingside. If now
31. h4 35. Kj5 Kh7 36. Be7 Kh6, and Black
White hopes to introduce king- is safe.
side play based on the further ad- 35. Re7 RbS
vance of this pawn, if permitted. Black cannot afford the ex-
31. ... ReS change of Rooks, but now again
Not 37 ... Nc4 32. Ba3, and threatens ... Nc4, and also has possi-
White's centralized King will prove bilities of play for his Rook along
decisive according to Malmgren. the third rank.
32. Kd5 36. Re7 Rb3
Other tries which lead to noth- 37. ReSt Kf7
ing are: As Malmgren comments, it
i) 32. Kj5 Nc4 33. f4 Ne3t 34. seems doubtful that 37. .. Kh 7 would
Bxe3 Rxe3 35. g4 a3 36. h5 axb2 37. be a better choice. The King would
h6 Re7! 38. Rxb2 Kj7, with a draw. then be misplaced should the Rooks
ii) 32. Re7 RbB 33. Kf5 Nd3 34. be exchanged. White now gains time
Bd6 RaB 35. h5 Nxb2 36. h6 gxh6 37. for analysis by repeating moves.
Kxf6 Nc4, etc. 3S. Re7t Kg8
32. RdSt 39. ReSt Kf7
33. Ke4 ReS 40. f4 Ng4
34. Ba3 h5!
Another well-timed move which
restrains White's kingside pawns,
makes a second outlet for the King,
and leaves the Knight at its most
effective post. Black maintains maxi-
mum flexibility in deploying the
Knight, which must be ready to gen-
erate counterplay according to
White's plan.
For example, 34 ... Nc4t?would 41. f5
be wrong since after 35. Kd3 Nxa3 By threatening mate White
leads to a losing Rook ending, while forces the breakup of Black's king-
other moves present White with two side, but he cannot do so without
tempi, losing the a-pawn before ad- permitting further exchanges of
equate counterplay can be orga- pawns.
nized. 41. ••• Nf2t

150-
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

42. Kd5 g6
43. Rc7t Kg8
MISCONCEPTIONS
44. Ra7
On 44. fxg6 Rxg3 45. g7 Malm- by Kevin Harrison
gren suggests that 45... f5 might even
give Black the advantage. However, Purdy's victory in the World Cham-
Purdy thought White would main- pionship was written against a dra-
tain winning chances then with 46. matic background, for in this game
Bc5!, and gave 45... Rxg7 as the righthe fell victim to one of the perils
move for Black to draw. peculiar to correspondence play; he
44. ... gxf5 failed to accurately reconstruct a po-
45. Ke6! sition. This error, committed at a
Here 45. Rxa4? Kg7 would al- critical stage in the tournament (see
low Black's King out prematurely. notes to Purdy-Napolitano, game
45. ... Rxg3! 43), cast grave doubts over his
Not 45... Ndl 46. Kxf5 Nxb2 47. chances of winning the title, and it
Bd6! and White wins. didn't become apparent until sev-
46. Rxa4 eral months later that victory was
Draw Agreed still possible.
Purdy offered a draw with this Although both players thought
move after extensive analysis con- Purdy lost only because of the blun-
vinced him that winning chances der, it can be demonstrated that
were exhausted. He later com- Mitchell had a forced win in any
mented that Black, as a last resort, case. Moreover, the misconceptions
would be able to draw by giving up were not confined to the position at
his Knight to eliminate all White's the time of the error, since Mitchell
pawns, leaving Rook and Bishop in his notes, and Purdy by his play,
versus Rook. indicate that it is Purdy who has the
Black has no choice but to ac- winning chances, when actually it is
cept, since White can easily force a Mitchell who has the initiative for
draw if he wishes: 46... Rg4 47. Ra8f much of the game.
(47. b4 does not win) Kg7 48. Kxf5 For both players to have been
Rxh4 49. Ra7f KgB 50. Kxf6 Rg4 51. deceived the position must have
Ra8f Kh7 52. Ra7fetc. been unusually difficult to evaluate,
despite its harmless appearance.
Their error of judgment was no
doubt due to the disparate strengths
of the Purdy and Mitchell positions.

-151
 How Purdy Won

Purdy's strength was concrete, con- 7. Bb3 0-0

sisting of a queenside majority that 8. c3 d6
eventually would yield an outside 9. d4 Bg4
passed pawn, whereas Mitchell's For comments on this opening
strength was less tangible: active see Cuadrado-Purdy (game 34), in
piece play against Purdy's King. which 70. d5 was now played.
One shouldn't censure Purdy 10. Be3 exd4
too strongly for overestimating the The text move cedes White the
strength of his queenside majority, center but allows Black to establish
since it was far from obvious that a queenside pawn majority.
Mitchell would be able to create a 11. cxd4 Na5
passed pawn of even greater po- 12. Bc2 Nc4
tency. 13. Bel c5
Mitchell, despite his misconcep- 14. b3
tion, plays excellently, utilizing the 74. Nbd2 allows Black to equal-
dynamic strength of his pieces to ize by 74, .. Nxd2 75. Q3d2 Bxf3 76.
demonstrate that White's prospects gxf3 cxd4 77. Q3d4 ReB 78. Bb3 Rc5.
are, in fact, very good. 14. ... Na5
I am indebted to Australian 15. Nbd2
Master Doug Hamilton for express- Now known to be much stron-
ing his doubts about the "drawing ger is 75. d5l, for this not only de-
variation" -extensive analysis has prives Black's Knight at aS of its
confirmed his impression-and to In- only useful square, but it also re-
ternational Master (now Grandmas- duces Black's chances of counterplay
ter) Ian Rogers for checking the in the center. A possible continua-
analysis. tion is> 75... Nd7 (not 75 ... Nxd5 76.
exd5 Bf6 77. Nc3 b4- 77. .. Bxc3? 78.
-42- (Ld3-78. Bb2 bxc3 79. Bxc3 Bxc3 20.
G.R. Mitchell (Britain)- (Ld3) 76. Nbd2 Bf6 77. Rb 7Bc3 78. h3
Purdy Bxf3 79. (Lxf3 b4 20. Rf7, with White
Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defense superior.
15. Nc6
1. e4 e5 16. h3 Bh5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6
4. Ba4 Nf6
5. 0-0 Be7
6. Re1 b5

152-
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

tral thrust and kingside attacking

chances.
22. dxc5 dxc5
23. Bxf6
Of course not 23. O.Jd7? Rad8.
23. ... Nxf6
24. e5 Red8
Patently bad is 24 ... Rad8? 25.
exf6!, whilst 24... Nd7 allows 25. Bxg6
hxg6 26. e6 (26. O.Jd7looks interest-
17. g4 ing, but 26... Rad8 27. e6 fxe6 28.
White's center is under severe Rxe6 Rxd7 29. Rxe8t Kj7 30. Rh8 is
pressure as a result of his 15th move. clearly less good for White than the
Perhaps the best method of main- simple 26. e6) fxe6 27. Qj3, and
taining the equilibrium is 17. d5 Nh4 White is preferable.
18. Bb2 (not 18. Bb1? Nfxd5!), since 25. Qe2 Bxb1
the alternatives, including the text, A surprising alternative is 25...
are unattractive, e.g. Nd5 26. Bxg6 hxg6 27. e6 Nd4 28.
A: 17. e5? Nd5 18. Bb2 Nxd4 19. exj7t Kxj7 29. Ng5t Kg8 30. Qg4
exd6Bf6! Qj6 which leads to a most unbal-
B: 17. Bb2 cxd4 18. g4 Nxg4 19. anced position. In compensation for
hxg4 Bxg4 20. Nf1 Bf6! 21. N1h2 d3 his shattered kingside, Black's
22. Nxg4 Bxb2 23. Bxd3 Bxa1 24. Knight, thanks to White's 17th move,
O.Ja 1Ne5, with a clear advantage to can probe White's kingside via the
Black. vulnerable f4 square.
17. ... Bg6 26. exf6
Once again, 17... Nxg4 is now The influence of this pawn per-
known to be correct, with play simi- vades many aspects and phases of
lar to note B above. the game. In fact it is Purdy's inabil-
18. Bb2 Nd7 ity to resolve the problem of the
19. Rcl Re8 pawn on f6 that contributes greatly
20. Nfl Bf6 to his loss. After he opts for the
21. Bb1 Qb6 exchange of Queens on move 28,
Purdy increases the pressure on he is faced with the dilemma of ei-
d4, which forces Mitchell to release ther capturing ...gxf6, thus allowing
the central tension, leading to an the white Knights to infiltrate on
absorbing struggle between Black's the weakened kingside squares, or
queenside majority and White's cen- delaying the capture, which would

-153
 How Purdy Won
leave the threat of back-rank mate
hovering, in addition to greatly cir-
cumscribing the activity of his King.
26. Bd3
27. (te3 ~4
28. (txc5
28. ... (txc5
The more I play through this
game, the more I am left with the
impression that both Purdy and
Mitchell were beguiled by Black's
queenside majority, leading both
players to assess their chances inac-
curately. Mitchell, in his brief com-
ments for BCM, seemed to be
laboring under the impression that
White is struggling for a draw.
Many years later, Purdy wrote:
"Mter his failure to sacrifice on move
17, Black was never able to equal-
ize." I believe that Purdy's play be-
lies this pessimistic assessment, and
that at the time of the game he re-
garded his chances in a much more
sanguine light.
One of the characteristics of
Purdy's correspondence play was
the inexorable pursuit of a strategic
154-
theme, lending an air of inevitabil-
ity to many of his wins, and creating
the impression that, after their ini-
tial mistakes, his opponents never
had a chance.
His game with Mitchell is one
of the rare occasions on which his
. positional judgment appears to have
failed him. Having decided that his
chances lie with the queenside ma-
jority, Purdy pursues this end with
his customary rigor.
An attractive alternative to the
text is 28... 0$/6 29. Q3b4Bxf1! 30.
Rxf1 Q3j3 31. Rc3 Rd3 32. Rxd3 Q3d3
33. Kg2 ReB, when Black has suc-
cessfully steered the game into a
heavy piece ending, with a draw
the most probable result. The only
way White can thwart this pacific
intention is by 30. Re3, which quick-
ly leads to a most obscure position:
30... Bxh3 {30 ...Bd3 31. Ne5 slightly
favors White) 31. Nh2 @4 (31 ... @6
32. Qs3) 32. Rg3 f5 (32 ... h5 33. Nj3)
33. NJ3 @6 34. g5 @5 35. Qj4when
White has compensation for the
pawn, but it is difficult to demon-
strate an advantage for either side.
However, 28... 0$/6 was notre-
jected because of the last variation,
which Purdy almost certainly hadn't
considered, but because he believed
the text maintained some winning
chances whilst keeping the draw in
hand.
29. Rxc5
 Wodd Championship Final II: Struggle

diate challenge of Rooks: 30... RacB

37. RxcB RxcB 32. Ne3 Nc7, intend-
ing to liquidate the queenside pawns
and try to draw with all the pawns
confined to the kingside.
31. Ne3 Rac8
32. Rxc8 Rxc8
33. Nd4!
Once again, Mitchell opts for
active piece play in preference to
29. ... Nxa2 preserving material equality.
Should Purdy have played 29... 33. ... gxf6
Bxf7, deflecting the Rook from the Black must permit the Knights
e-file before capturing the pawn? It to infiltrate his kingside, since 33 ...
is true that White's Rook must re- g6leaves his King immured on the
linquish the e-file, since 30. Kxf7 back rank.
Nd3 37. Rg5! g6 (37 ... Nxe7 32. Rxg7f 34. Ndf5 Nc6
KhB-32 ... KfB 33. Rxh7-33. Ng5! 35. Rd7
wins) 32. Re7 h6 33. Rge5 Nxe5 34. Although his Rook was not re-
Nxe5 ReB 35. Nxg6 Rxe7 36. Nxe7f ally threatened, White wishes the
Kh7 is not a convincing attempt to Bishop to declare its intentions. An
win. Nevertheless, Black is still left interesting alternative is 35. Rb 7 a5
with problems after 29 ... Bxf7 30. 36. Nd6 RbB 37. Rc7 Nd4 38. Nd5!
Rxf7 Nxa2 (30 ... gxf6 37 a3) 37. Rg5 a4!, but this seems inferior to the
g632. Re5. text continuation, which soon leads
30. Re7! to a clear advantage.
White establishes a Rook on the 35. ... Bxf5
seventh rank, eschewing material Black cannot play 35... Ne5 be-
parity, since 30... gxf6 allows the cause of 36. Rxd3 Rc7f 37. Rd7.
Knights to participate in a kingside And if 35... Bb 7 36. Nh6f Kg7
assault. (36... KfB 37. Rxf7t KeB 3 8. Nd5 Ne5
30. ... Nb4 39. Nxf6f KdB 40. RfBt Kc7 47. Nd5f
Had he realized he was in dan- Kb7 42. RxcB KxcB 43. f4) 37. Nxj7
ger, Purdy. would probably have etc.
tried to reduce White's winning 36. Nxf5 a5
chances, rather than enhance his 37. Nh6t Kf8
own. Perhaps better prospects of a If 37... Kg7, then 38. Nxj7 and
draw were obtainable by the imme- White is better off than in the game.

-155
 How Purdy Won
38. Rxf7t
Capturing with the Rook is cor-
rect, since White soon creates his
own passed pawn. If 38. Nxj7 RbB
39. Rd6 Nb4 40. Rxf6 a4 draws.
38. Ke8
39. Rxh7
~-~~~ ~
~~~~~~~~
~~ ~~ ~%'%"~~~
~4)~ ?.1·~ &j'
%'%" %~ %~ """'~', .. ;
~,~~~~~~
~~~~~~i~
~j~~~~,
~ ~~ ~~---'~-)~
~ ~ ~ ~
39. .•• Nd4
Mitchell demonstrated a "draw"
against 39 ... a4 40. bxa4 bxa4 41.
Nf5 a3 42. Nd6f KdB 43. Nb7f, com-
pletely overlooking the elementary
win 43. RhBt K moves 44. Rxc8. How-
ever, Black's play can be signifi-
cantly improved by 41 ... Rb8, e.g.
42. Rc7 a3 43. Rxc6 a2 and draws.
So why didn't Purdy play this
variation? I can only assume he saw
that White's best move is not 47.
Nj5, but 41. NgB!, .. .Rb8 42. Nxf6f
KdB 43. RhBt Ke7 44. RxbB NxbB 45.
Nd5f, and White should win. Ac-
cording to Fine (Basic Chess End-
ings), three connected pawns win
against a Knight if at least two of
them can reach the fifth rank, and
White can achieve this here if Black
forces him to give up his Knight for
156-
the a-pawn. If Black goes immedi-
ately on the defensive with his King
and Knight, the tempo moves avail-
able to the white Knight should en-
sure victory.
40. Ra7
White forces Black to capture
the pawn, after which White can re-
deploy his Knight on f5, clearing
the way for his outside passed pawn.
There are absolutely no winning
chances after 40. Nf5 Nxj5 41. gxj5
Rc3.
40. ... Nxb3
Mitchell claimed that Black
could obtain a draw without risk by
playing 40... Rc3, though he gave
no supporting analysis.
It is true that, after the natural
move 41. Kg2, Black obtains good
drawing chances by 41... Ne6. How-
ever, 41. NgB!, which has the ambi-
tious aim of weaving a mating net
with Rook, Knight and pawn, seems
a sterner test of this idea.
This motif is illustrated in 41 ...
Rxh3 42. Nxf6t KfB (42 ... Kd8 43.
Rd7f) 43. g5 Rxb3 44. g6, when
White threatens both Rj7=11= and g7=11=.
Obviously White cannot hope to
win so simply; nevertheless one is
left with the impression that White
has good winning chances. Black
doesn't seem able to maintain the
f-pawn: 47 ... Rf3 42. Kg2 Rf4 43. Ne7
Nxb3 44. Nd5 Rd4 45. Nxf6f.
41. Nf5
 World Championship Final II: Struggle
41. ... Rb8?
Both Purdy and Mitchell be-
lieved this blunder, the result of an
erroneous reconstruction of a posi-
tion, robbed Purdy of the draw.
However, I hope to demonstrate
that White can also win against the
"drawing line" 41... KdB.
Purdy explains the circum-
stances that led to this error: "I had
decided to play 41 ... Kd8, being cer-
tain that there was no other move.
However, before posting my move
I decided to have one more look at
the position. In the course of my
analysis I had moved the b-pawn to
b4, and had forgotten to replace it.
By now the time was 2 a.m., and in
my tired state I analyzed as though
my b-pawn had already reached b4.
Now it appeared to me that 41 .. .
Rb8 would draw just as well as 41.. .
KdB. After I had posted the move I
realized that I was hopelessly lost."
After the game was completed,
Mitchell and Purdy played a
"friendly game" to test ... Kd8. Play
proceeded 41... Kd8 42. Nd6 Rb8 43.
h4 Nc5 44. Rxa5 Nd7 45. Kg2 (45.
Rxb5 Rxb5 46. Nxb5 Ne5 with a prob-
able draw) b4 46. Rb5 Rxb5 47. Nxb5
b3 48. f4 Ke7 49. Kf3 b2 50. Nc3 f5
Draw agreed. If 51. gxf5 Nf6, or 51. g5
Nc5 52. Ke3 Ne6.
After 41... KdB Black's position
is still unenviable, for even though
he has obtained two connected
passed pawns, his King is confined
to the back rank and his passed
pawns can't easily be mobilized,
whereas White's passed pawn pro-
ceeds without hindrance.
Let us now look at White's play
to see where it can be strengthened.
Mter 41...Kd8 42. Nd6 is necessary
since Black threatens ...Rc7. Then
42 ... RbB (42 ... Rc1 t 43. Kg2 b4 44.
h4 Nd4 45. h5 b3 46. h6 b2 47. h7
Rg1f48. Kxg1 b1=0j49. Kg2wins)
43. h4Nc5.
For some inexplicable reason
both Purdy and Mitchell seem to
have thought that White must now
capture the pawn, which only dissi-
pates the winning chances, since the
Rook is needed to confine the King
to the back rank. Surely White's
chances lie with his passed pawn,
viz. 44. h5! Nd7.
-157
 How Purdy Won
After 44... Nd7 (analysis)
There appear to be three alter-
natives to 44... Nd7:
A: 44... Ne6 45. h6 Nf8 (45 ...
Ng5 46.f4) 46. Rf7 Ng6 47. Rxf6etc.
[Ed.: There is an incredible sequence
with 47. h7! a4 48. Rxf6 Nh8 (48 ...
Ke7 49. Rxg6) 49. Rf8f Kc7 50.
Ne8f!.}
B: 44 ... a4 45. h6 Nd7 46. Nxb5
Ke7 (46...Rxb5 47. h7) 47. Nd4 Rh8
48. Nf5t Ke6 49. Kg2 Ne5 50. Kg3,
and if 50... Nf7 51. Ng7f.
C: 44... b4 45. h6 Nd7 46. Rb7
Ra8 (46... Rxb7 47. Nxb7f followed
by 48. h7) 47. Nc4!, preventing 47. ..
Ke7by 48. Nb6 Rd8 49. Nxd7, whilst
47. .. Kc8 allows 48. Ra7! Rxa7 49.
h7 etc.
We have now reached a most
critical position in this endgame,
from which several fascinating varia-
tions devolve. Black is on the verge
of solving many of his problems,
for already he threatens 45... Ke7,
liberating the King and allowing the
Rook to take care of White's passed
158-
pawn.
At first I thought I had found a
win with an interesting piece sacri-
fice: 45. h6 Ke7 46. Nf5t Ke6 47.
Nd4t Kd6 48. Nxb5t Rxb5 (if Black
doesn't capture the Knight then it
simply returns to f5) 49. Ra8 Ne5
50. h7 Nf7 (if 50... Ng6 51. Rg8 Rb7
52. Rxg6 Rxh7 53. Rxf6f)
~~ ~ ~ ~
~~~~~~~
~~ ~:0'"·~~--(,~!
~-~yg~
~ %~. .V-~'..... !~ ~
.... V,~ %~~~~~
~~~~~~i~
~~~~~~~~
~ ~~ ~.....;:0'":~
~ ~ ~ ~
After 53. Rxf6f (analysis)
51. Rf8 Ke6 52. Rxf7 Rb8 53. Ra7
Rh8 54. f4 a4 55. Kg2 (so that an
eventual ...Rh4 can be met by Kg3)
a3 56. Ra6f Kd5 (if 56... Kf7 57.
Rxa3 Rxh7 58. Ra7f Kg6 59. Rxh7)
57. Rxf6Rxh7 58. Ra6 and wins.
However, when I pursued the
sub-variation 50... Ng6 a little fur-
ther, I discovered that White's win-
ning attempt can be frustrated by
aggressive play with the black King,
even though White is two pawns
ahead in some variations. From the
diagram above, Black continues 53 ...
Ke5! 54. Rf5t Ke4 55. Rxa5 (55. f3t
Ke3 56. Kg2 Ra7 57. Kg3 a4 58. Rh5!
a3 59. Rh1 a2 60. Ra1 Ra3, and
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

when the White pawns are suffi- 48f3 j5.). 46... Kb6 47. Nxd7t Kxa7
ciently advanced, Black draws by 48. NxbB b4 49. Nc6t Kb6 50. Nd4
checking from the rear.) Kj3 56. g5 a4 51. h6 b3 52. h7 b2 53. hB=Q
Rg7. b1=Qt 54. Kh2, leading to a com-
Now White cannot make any fortable win for White.
progress since his King can't enter
the game. If the King moves to h2
or e 1, Black checks and returns the
Rook to g7.
I next considered (see page 158)
45. Nf5, preventing ...Ke7 and re-
newing the threat of queening the
passed pawn. Unfortunately Black's
passed pawn is no less potent: 45...
b4 46. h6 Nf8 47. Rj7 (47. h7 Nxh7
48. Rxh7 b3 49. Nd4 Rb6!) Ng6 48. In view of the dual threats of
Rg7 Nh8. Qj8f and 0Jf6f, Black seems com-
Another unsuccessful attempt is pelled to jettison the f-pawn and
45. Rb7 Rxb7 46. Nxb7f Ke7 47. Nxa5 lose on material, since defending it
Ne5, etc. allows White to mount a mating
Finally I decided to investigate attack: 54... Qg6 55. QdBt Kc5 (55 ...
the capture of the a-pawn by the Kb7 56. Qd7t Ka8 57. Nc6) 56. Ne6t
Knight, which has the advantage of Kb4 57. Qd4t, etc.
maintaining the Rook on the sev- C: 45... KeB 46. Nxa5 Ne5 (If a:
enth rank, thus confining Black's 46... NfB 47. Nc6, orb: 46... b4 47. h6
King to the back rank. Ne5 48. Nc6!, or c: 46... ReB 47. Rb7.)
I believe that White can win as 47. h6 Nfl 48. Nc6!, forcing the Rook
follows: 45. Nb7t, and now to c8, which is of significance in
A: 45... Ke7? 46. Nc5. subsequent variations. 48... ReB 49.
B: 45... Kc7 46. Nc5t (46. Nxa5f h7 KfB (if 49... Rxc6 50. Rxf7, or
is very tempting, since 46... Kb6 49 ... Nh8 50. Ne7!, or 49 ... b4 50.
leads to an easy win, viz. 47. Rxd7 Rb7!) 50. Nd4, and Black's defen-
Kxa5 48. Kg2 b4 49. Kg3 b3 50. Rdl sive resources have almost been ex-
b2 57. Rb 1when the King and pawns hausted:
win easily against the Rook. How- i) 50... Kg7 57. Nj5t KfB (57 ...
ever, 46... Kd6is significantly stron- Kg6 52. Ne7t) 52. Rxj7t Kxf7 53.
ger, for the King is now actively Nd6f Kg7 54. Nxc8.
placed and Black threatens 47. .. Rg8 ii) 50... Rc7f 51. Kg2 Nh8 52.

-159
 How Purdy Won

Ne6f KeB 53. RaBt Ke7 54. RxhB. tion, with about equal chances, en-
iii) 50... ReB 51. Ne6f Rxe6 52. courages both players to strive for a
Rxj7t. win, and provides all the ingredi-
iv) 50... b4 51. Rb7 b3 52. Nj5!, ents for a superb struggle which has
etc. been published in a dozen or more
v) 50... RbB 51. Ne6f KeB 52. f4, books and magazines.
threatening g5 and g6, etc. The excitement was soon boost-
The actual game concluded: ed by the state of the score. It be-
42. h4 Nc5 came apparent that the result of this
Equally hopeless is 42 ... Nd2 43. game would be crucial, though the
h5 Nf3t 44. Kg2 Ng5 45. f4 Nj7 46. precise implications remained ob-
h6 b4 47. h7 b3 48. g5 fxg5 49.fxg5 b2 scure till near the end. Faced with
50.g6. critical decisions, both players
43. h5 Nd7 shunned lines they considered
44. h6 N£8 drawish and produced a chess treat
45. Ng7t 1-0 for the connoisseur.
As after 45... KdB 46. Ne6f, the Though Purdy considered his
pawn can't be stopped. game with Watzl superior artistically,
his play here is also very difficult to
improve on, apart, perhaps, from
his slightly optimistic 25th move.
BATTLE ROYAL The notes are based heavily on
a Chess World article, written by
by Frank Hutchings Purdy in 1966.

The games of Dr. Mario Napolitano -43-

in this event were nearly all highly Purdy-Dr. M. Napolitano
entertaining and imaginative-see (Italy)
Purdy's comments at the beginning Nimzo-Indian Defense
of this chapter.
His score of ten wins, three 1. c4 Nf6
losses, no draws, indicates his disre- 2. d4 e6
gard for risk, though the "risks" he 3. Nc3 Bb4
took were as a rule finely calcu- 4. a3 Bxc3t
lated. 5. bxc3 c5
This well-known game was un- 6. e3 Nc6
questionably Purdy's most exciting 7. Bd3 e5
in the final. An asymmetrical posi- 8. Ne2 d6
160-
 World Championship Final II: Struggle
9. e4 Nh5 21. exf5 0-0!
10. 0-0 g5 The right place for the King,
11. Bc2 Nf4 despite his disrupted kingside
12. Ba4 Bd7 pawns. Both sides now pursue their
13. Ng3 cxd4 own plans, each seeming to ignore
Up to this point the players had the other. Black delays ... h3 until he
been following a recent game Bron- has eliminated White's f-pawn, since
stein-Smyslov, Budapest Candi- this would otherwise be strongly
dates Tournament 1950, in which supported by g4, though Black
Smyslov played 13 ... Qf6. Bronstein would have some chances in that
won the game, and a commentator case also.
suggested the text move as a pos- 22. Rfd1 Nh5
sible improvement for Black. Purdy 23. Bxa7 Ng7
had analyzed this and judged the 24. a4 Nxf5
position to be somewhat in White's
favor. Dr. Napolitano evidently con-
sidered it satisfactory for Black, so
both players were happy.
Current theory prefers Smys-
lov's 13 ... Qf6 with a slight advan-
tage for Black according to EGO,
despite Bronstein's success in the
original game.
14. Bxc6 bxc6
15. cxd4 Qf6 Purdy wrote: "White was now
16. Be3 h5! faced with a question Tarrasch dis-
17. dxe5 dxe5 cusses in one of his books, whether
18. Rb1 Rd8 to let a pawn come on to h3, or to
On the immediate 18... h4 there stop it in its tracks with h3. Tarrasch
follows 19. Nj5 Bxj5 20. exj5, and if says that letting it come on and then
20... Q3j5? 21. Q46with a very strong playing g3 is better for the endgame.
position. Black therefore briefly in- It is then that he makes his famous
terrupts his kingside attack to divert crack, "But the gods have put the
the white Queen. A sacrifice of the middlegame before the endgame."
a-pawn is implied, but Dr. Napoli- And he therefore concludes with
tano is unconcerned. the wise general advice to bar the
19. Qc2 h4 march by h3. Looking at the game
20. Nf5 Bxf5 coldly and objectively now, I con-

-161
 How Purdy Won

elude that it bears out Tarrasch's to force a win. If 31. RbB Qg4 32. g3
counsel. e3! is very good for Black. So Purdy
"True, by defying it here White reluctantly selected a move which,
gets a passed pawn rapidly to the though he was convinced it was the
seventh rank and thus restricts best available, gave his opponent
Black's Rooks. But a disruption of the opportunity of forcing a draw.
the castled position is in general not 31. Rdd7!
outweighed by a considerable asset
gained on a far wing. Threats of
mate start looming up, and it is no
use being able to queen a pawn in
answer to mate.
"Over the board, I should rec-
ommend 25. h3unhesitatingly, leav-
ing White with a small but sure
advantage. Such reasoning is still
applicable to CC, since a position
of immense complexity cannot be The most critical position in a
analyzed right out, no matter if you game which abounds with crises.
spend days and days." Both players have pursued their re-
25. a5!? h3 spective plans forcefully, increasing
26. a6 Ra8 the tension to the limit, but the bal-
Black must withdraw this Rook, ance has been preserved, and both
since other moves, e.g. ... Nh4, are correctly assessed a likely draw.
strongly answered by 27. RxdB RxdB There was, however, a subtle differ-
28. RbBetc. ence in their assessments. Dr. Napo-
27. Bc5 Rfe8 litano thought he could afford to
28. a7 e4! probe a little, still keeping the draw
29. Rb7 Nh4 in hand. Purdy welcomed this, since
Threatening ... Nf3f. Black's he believed it would turn the scales
kingside initiative is assuming alarm- in his favor.
ing proportions, and counterbal- One can readily understand the
ances White's obvious advantages reluctance of both players to pass
on the other wing. up any chance of a win. By now it
30. (Lb3 Q15! was clear that this would be a vital
Purdy now realized that his com- game. A win for either would place
mand of the queenside and the open him in a very strong position to
lines was not going to be sufficient capture the title, while the situation

162-
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

after a draw would be unclear. Dr. stroke.

Napolitano, already 8-1, but losing After 31... fJ!c5 32. Rxf7 e3!,
to Malmgren, would then have a White can of course give perpetual
likely final total of about 10-3, per- check, but Purdy thought he might
haps even 10.5. This would prob- be able to keep the game alive by
ably be enough to surpass Barda 33. Rg7t (not 33. Qj2? exj2t 34.
and Malmgren (both 6.5-2.5 but fJ!fl Re1#) KhB 34. Rh7t KgB 35.
with inferior positions against Pur- Rbg7t KfB 36. Qj2, so that 36... exflt
dy), but possibly not Purdy. The could be answered with 37. fJ!flt,
latter, at 2.5-0.5, had a number of avoiding the mate. However, he
superior positions but would have judged the position after the ex-
to extract the maximum from them change of Queens to be drawn any-
to overhaul the other three. way.
On the other hand a loss would
be disastrous for either, so inordi-
nate risk was to be avoided.
Purdy based his assessment on
the variation 31... fJ!c5 32. Rxf7 e3!
Other moves leave White on top,
though some of the analysis is not
easy, e.g. 32 ... OJ5 33. Rfd7! c5 (to
prevent 34. c5f. On 33 ... Qg 1t 34.
Rd1 Rxa7 35. c5t KhB 36. Rbd7! Qg3
[Ed.: But can't Black play the ((better" After 3 7. Q3fl f (analysis)
36... Nf3t 37. gxj3 exj3 38. Qj4 {pro-
tecting e1} Ra4 39. Qg2 OJ5 40. RdB Had Purdy been forced to a de-
Re4 41. RxeBt fJ!eB 42. Kf1=.} 37. cision he would no doubt have seen
Of7 wins.) 34. Qg1!, and if 34... e3 Black's spectacular riposte 37. ..
35.[4! e2 36.fxe5 exd1=Qj 37. Rxd1, Nf3t!!, and settled for the perpetual.
and now Black's best chance to draw Mter this fine move White would
is 37. .. hxg2, reducing White's pawns
be lost, e.g. 38. Kh1 Re1t 39. fJ!e1
and hoping to give up the Knight hxg2t 40. Kxg2 Nxe1t, etc.
later for White's a-pawn. Black can- Returning to the game position,
it is likely that the immediate 31...
not play 37. .. Rxe5?, since after 38.
RbBt ReB 39. RxaB! RxaB 40. Rd7! e3 also forces a draw. White cannot
Ng6 41. Rb 7 Nf8 he would be in a reply 32. Bxe3? Qg4 33. g3 Nf3t 34.
straitjacket, only able to mark time Kh 1 Ne5, and Black is winning, but
while White prepared the decisive after 32. fxe3! the white Queen can

-163
 How Purdy Won
combine lateral defense of the sec-
ond rank with threats to the black
King. So Black probably does best
with 32 ... Q3c5! 33. Rxf7 Rxe3!, and
White must give perpetual check or
himself be mated. Black cannot
avoid the perpetual by moving his
King to the e-file because of the
reply Qj8f. This variation was men-
tioned by Napolitano.
Wishing to avoid lines which
would allow White to draw by force,
Dr. Napolitano explored a further
tempting possibility which he must
have judged the most likely pros-
pect for inducing error. As we shall
see, however, he made an impor-
tant slip in his analysis. Otherwise
he would surely have chosen the
safe draw.
31. Nf3t?!
32. gxf3 exf3
33. Kfl!
Dr. Napolitano confided to
Purdy that he had overlooked this,
and mentioned 33. Be3 Rad8! 34.
Rxd8 Rxd8 35. Bd4! Qg4t 36. Kf7
Qg2t 37. Ke1 Qg7t 38. Kd2 Q3j2t
39. Kc1 Q3d4 40. Q3f3 Qg1f and
Black has perpetual check, but prob-
ably nothing better.
Purdy had also looked at 33.
Be3 Rad8, and then 34. Qj1, but
dismissed the line because Black
could then force a draw by 34 ...
Qg4t 35. Kf7 Q3c4fetc. Napolitano
showed that Black could, instead,
play for a win with 35... Qg2t 36.
164-
Ke1 Rxe3f! In this position, it was
pointed out by TJ. Bogan, writing
in 1977, that White probably still
draws with 37. Kd2 Rxd7f 38. Kxe3!
Rxd1 39. a8=Qj Kg7 40. Rxj7t and
White, once again, has perpetual
check.
So Dr. Napolitano had analyzed
deeply, but somehow missed some-
thing near the surface-a frequent
mistake over the board, and one
from which even top class CC, it
seems, is not immune.
The subtle point of White's 33rd
move is that Black cannot transpose
into the lines discussed above, since
33 ... Qg4 is now answered by 34.
Be3 Rad8 35. Q,d3!
From this point Black faces an
uphill struggle. He has forfeited the
option of forcing a draw, and now
must dance to White's tune.
33. (txc5
34. (tc3!
A courageous decision. The ob-
vious 34. Rxf7leads more or less by
force to a position from which White
could hardly lose after 34... Qj5! 35.
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

Rg7t Q3g7 36. c5t Kh8 37. Rxg7 Kxg7 would be too dangerous. Mter 37. ..
38. Qj7f. White would soon pick Qg1t (Not 37. .. Q52t 38. Kg2 Re4
up two extra pawns, but they would 39. Rb8! Rg4f 40. Qg3, and White
be so scattered it is probable the soon replaces his Queen while Black
black Rooks would draw against the just fails to force perpetual check.)
Queen. 3 8. Kg2 Re 1, mating threats would
Strangely, Purdy's published soon force White's King into the
notes (1966) gave 34. Rxf7 Re2, but open. The game might continue 39.
to write that he must have had the Oj5 Rg1t 40. Kf3 Qs3t 41. Qj3 (41.
wrong position set up, since White Rd3 Q3c4} Qf6t 42. Ke2 Re8f 43.
clearly wins by force. The true ex- Kd2 Q3f2t 44. Kc3 Q51t 45. Kb3
planation must be that he judged Qg 1, and Black should draw at least.
34. Rxj7 too unlikely to lead to a Purdy's score was by now 4-1
win, and hence preferred the more and some of his advantages in other
hazardous text move. games were a little clearer, so his
34. ... Rf8 hopes of winning the tournament
For the moment Black's Rooks had improved slightly, even if he
are reduced to passivity. only drew this game. At this point
35. Qd3! disaster struck. He set up a position
Again threatening Rxj7. wrongly in his game with Mitchell
35. Qe5! and blundered away a half point he
36. Qx£3 Rae8! had been expecting to get.
A draw in this game was now
unlikely to be good enough, so
Purdy had to find a way of extract-
ing the full point somehow, and just
at a stage where Black's counter-
chances seemed to be improving
move by move.
37. Rbl Qxh2(?)
"And the h-pawn even becomes
a potential Queen. At this stage I
White's subtle Queen maneu- was covering sheet after sheet with
vers have netted him the f-pawn, scrappy but useful analysis. I was
but a black Rook has re-emerged not sure White could win but at
and White must again look to the least I was sure I was finding the
safety of his King. Now 37. Q3h3, best move available every time."
leaving the first rank undefended (Purdy)

-165
 How Purdy Won
Napolitano suggested 37. .. Qs6,
which is clearly better. He later ad-
mitted to Purdy that he had mis-
judged the motive of White's last
few moves, and had thought he
would be content to draw. Mter 37. ..
Qs6 White, it is true, must tread
very carefully, e.g. 38. Qj3?? Qg4!
loses, and 38. Rd4? is strongly an-
swered by 38... Re7!, and White, it
seems, cannot maintain his trump
card, the a-pawn, e.g. 39. Rg4 Qg6!
40. Ra 1 Ra8 etc.
To maintain the advantage
White must play 38. Rdb7!, giving
up the c-pawn, but leaving Black
with difficult problems. The threat
of Rb8 must be met while keeping
an eye on the potential danger to
the black King. The position almost
defies precise analysis.
Two plausible continuations are:
i) 38... QJc4f 39. Kg1 g4 40. Qg3
Qs2 41. j3! Qs3t 42. Ofl.
ii) 38... Q,xc4f 39. Kg1 Qs6 40.
Qj3 Ra8 41. Qs3 Qj5 42. f3!
In both these illustrative lines
White has made progress while
Black's problems persist, though
there seems to be nothing clear.
38. Rb3
After 38. Qg3? Q,h1f 39. Qg1
Qs4!, White would have to give per-
petual check.
38. ~e5
39. ~xh3 Qf4
166-
Napolitano proposed 39 ... Qs2f
40. Kg2 Re4 41. Rg3 g4 as giving
some chances of perpetual check,
but TJ. Bogan's suggestion of 42.
Qjt6, threatening 43. QJJBfseems to
win for White here.
Purdy wrote: "I now wrote out
and analyzed 20 possible 40th
moves for White. At first I could
not make a single one of them win.
On the sheet of analysis I have given
No. 15 as 40. c5, with a query and
the following sequel 40... Qs4f 41.
Kg2 QJc5 42. Qg3 Qj5 43. Rb8 Q3d7
44. Q3g5t, and White can have two
Queens but cannot win.
"However, there was a very at-
tractive feature about 40. c5. After
capturing on c5 (instead of c4), Black
would be deprived of checks.
"Also it involved a beautiful
variation, namely 40. c5 Qs1f 41.
Kg2 Re 1, apparently winning for
Black, or at least drawing, but in
fact not because of 42. Qj3! Rh1 43.
QJPt, trading in an old Queen for
a brand new one.
"And in this, if 42 ... Rg1f 43. Kh2
 World Championship Final II: Struggle

g4, the same Queen sacrifice wins. time needed to discover just what
"Cheered up by this, I looked the logical course was. Only the CC
again at 40. c5 Qs4f and now saw a player has both the time to analyze
curious win. deeply and the incentive to take
40. c5!! Qc4t that time.
41. Kg2 "Therefore it is possible to learn
much by correspondence play. But
it does take a lot of time that not all
can afford."
One of Purdy's hopes was that
a book of his own CC games would
provide crossboard players with an
opportunity to improve their chess
understanding without the need to
expend undue time. It is safe to say
that any advance in understanding
"And now if 41... Q::c5 the curi- gleaned from this game is accompa-
ous win was by 42. @6. If 42 ... g4 nied by a large deal of entertain-
(to stop Rh3), 43. Rg3 Re4 44. Q_,h4 ment as well.
(and if then 44 ... Qj5 45. RdB)."
Black has nothing now but a
choice of ways to lose.
41. Re4
42. Qf5 Qxb3
43. Qxe4 Kg7
44. Qf5 g4
45. Qxg4t 1-0
If 45... Kh7 46. Rdl, or if 45...
Kf6 46. Rd6f, soon mating or get-
ting Queen for Rook in either case.
Of this game Purdy wrote:
"When such a wild game develops
in crossboard play, even in grand-
master class, it is usually diverted
from its logical course by inevitable
miscalculations on both sides caused
by clock trouble. Moreover, anno-
tators cannot afterwards afford the

-167
 How Purdy Won

EPILOGUE

Mter the conclusion of the World Championship inJune 1953, Purdy never
again competed in a CC event. The thrill of winning the title had been worth
the effort once, but he lacked the incentive, a second time, to muster the
enormous resources of willpower essential to success in the prolonged
struggle of a World Championship. No second victory, he thought, could be
quite the same, and he realized that the odds were against winning again.
An indication of the impact of the contest on Purdy's life comes from
his own pen: "For some years that tournament was my life. When serious
problems arose in the games, lawns would remain unmown and fences
unrepaired, my business would be neglected, and I would work with
Portland sets far into the small hours, so that for a time my eyes were badly
affected."
Mrs. Anne Purdy writes: ''As any member of his family would attest,
Cecil was not one to allow lawns or fences to weigh too heavily on him at
any time; it was true, though, that the tournament was very time-consum-
ing and a great strain on us all. His social life, his business, and even his
family all suffered in consequence, and when the tournament was over it
became obvious that in the future either correspondence or over-the-
board chess would have to go."
In the light of these comments, Purdy's decision to retire from CC on
a winning note is not difficult to understand. Moreover, his reaction was to
prove by no means unusual. Of the World Champions, to date only V.
Zagorovsky (Russia) has shown himself capable of a long series of out-
standing performances at the highest level.
Thus for the rest of his life Purdy's competitive chess was confined to
crossboard play, to which he never lost his addiction. He was, however,
persuaded to play one more CC game. This came about through a request
from a Swedish newspaper, Afton-Tidningen. This paper invited readers to
send in a "dearest wish." Each week one wish was drawn from all those

168-
 Epilogue

submitted, and Afton-Tidningen tried to make it come true.

Early in 1956 Elis Hugolf, a well-known Swedish CC player, had his
dearest wish drawn, and it was to play a game with the World Champion.
Purdy agreed to play, and in 1957 wrote the following notes to the game.
(F.P.H.)

-769
 How Purdy Won
-44- In this type of position it has
E. Hugolf (Sweden)-Purdy always been conventional to play
Ruy Lopez: Worrall Attack the Queen to c7. But b6 seems
clearly better, for if Black can tempt
1. e4 e5 Be3 it will give him pressure on the
2. Nf3 Nc6 white pawn at e4. Also it gives the
3. Bb5 a6 additional possibility of answering
4. Ba4 Nf6 a4with ... b4.
5. Qe2 13. Rd1 Rfc8
If White intends the Worrall, White is now in complete doubt
this is more precise than 5. 0-0. It as to which piece Black will recap-
avoids the complex 5... Nxe4 lines. ture with. In any case, however, he
5. Be7 ought to play 14. h3, relieving the
6. 0-0 b5 pin (14 ... Be6), as 14... Bh5 15. g4
7. Bb3 d6 Bg616. Nh4is in White's favor.
The alluring 7. .. 0-0, 8. c3 d5, 14. Na3 Qxc6
hoping for a Marshall Attack type 15. Bd3 Nb7!
of game, gives Black an unstable A surprise maneuver, as one
position if White calmly replies 9. would expect the Knight to retain
d3. its grip on the important square c4.
8. c3 0-0 However, the idea is quite logical.
9. d4 Bg4 Black hopes, after all, to draw some
10. d5 advantage from White's decision to
An excellent idea underlies this play his Rook to dl instead of el.
play. Usually, White has his Rook 16. c4
on e 1, but afterwards finds, in this The natural sequel, but perhaps
variation, that it is better on dl. it was better for White to acknowl-
Therefore, for the purposes of this edge that somehow his plan had
(d5) variation, White has saved a miscarried, and passively play 16.
tempo. My problem was to try and Re1. However, this is not to criticize
produce a position in which the gain 13. Rd1, but rather 14. Na3, the move
in development would not assist where White first strayed.
him. (It later became standard to 16. ... bxc4
avoid this problem by playing 9... 17. Bxc4
exd4 10. cxd4 Bg4.) If 17. Nxc4, ... Nc518. Ncd2 Nxd3
10. Na5 19. Q3d3 Qs2, with clear advantage-.
11. Bc2 c6 17. Nc5
12. dxc6 Qb6 18. Bd5 Nxd5
170-
 Epilogue

19. exd5 Qb7

FOR THE RECORD
20. h3
Now forced, making White re-
gret his postponement. For readers interested in a complete
20. ... Bh5 record ofCJ.S. Purdy's competitive
21. g4 Bg6 CC career, the moves of those games
22. Nc4 not already included are given here.

FIRST AUSTRALIAN
CHAMPIONSHIP
45.Purdy-R.F. Condon
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 4.
Nc3 g6 5. d4 exd4 6. Nxd4 Bg7 7.
Be3 0-0 8. Qd2 d6 9. 0-0-0 a6 10.
22. ... Be4 Bxc6 Nxc611. h4 Be612. h5 Qf613.
Simple and effective, though it hxg6hxg614.Nxe6fxe615.f4Rad8
involves parting with the powerful 16. f5 Nb4 17. Kb 1 exf5 18. Bg5 Qf7
Bishop. 19. Bxd8 Rxd8 20. exf5 gxf5 21. Qg5
23. Ng5 Bxd5 Rf8 22. Rh4 Nc6 23. Nd5 Re8 24.
24. Na5 Qb6 Rdh1 Qxd5 25. Qg6 Kf8 26. Rh8t
25. Rxd5 Qxa5 Bxh8 27. Rxh8t Ke7 28. Qxe8t Kf6
26. Ne4 Qb4 29. Rh6t Kg5 30. Qh5t Kf4 31.
27. Nxd6 QJI4t Ke3 32. Re6t Ne5 33. Qe1 t
Oversight? Or desperation? A Kf4 34. g3t Kg4 35. Re7 Qg2 36.
much more lingering death was pos- Rxc7 Nf3 37. Rg7t Kh5 38. Qe8t
sible with 27. Nxc5 Rxc5. Kh6 39. Qg6=11=.
27. ... Bxd6
28. Rxd6 Nb3 46. Purdy-A.C. Harris
0-1 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4
Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. g3 a6 7. Bg2 Qc7 8.
0-0 Nbd7 9. Qe2 Rb8 10. a4 (Black
now made a clerical error 10... b5
and, after 11. axb5, resigned. The
game continued as a "friendly.") b6
11. f4 Bb7 12. f5 e5 13. Nb3 Be7 14.

-171
 How Purdy Won
g4 h615. Be3 Rc816. h3 Nc517. Nd2
Rd8 18. Qc4 Qd7 19. Qb4 d5 20.
exd5 Nce4 21. d6 Bxd6 22. Qxb6
Nxc323.Qxb7Qxb724.Bxb7Ncd5
25. Bf2 Rb8 26. Bxa6 Rxb2 27. Nc4
1-0.
SECOND AUSTRA-
LIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
47. G. Koshnitsky-Purdy
1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. d4 c5
5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nxc3 7. bxc3
cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4t 9. Bd2 Q:cd4 10.
Rei 0-0 11. Nf3 Bxd2t 12. Nxd2
Nc6 13. 0-0 Rd8 14. Nb3 QJ:>6 15.
Qc2 Bd7 16. Nc5 Nd4 17. Nxd7
Rxd7 18. Qc4 Qb2 19. Rfel Rad8
20. e3 b5 21. Qfl Nc2 22. Redl
Rxdl 23. Rxdl Rxdl 24. Qxdl g6
25. Be4 Na3 26. Qd8t Kg7 27. h4
Nc4 28. h5 I Qe5 29. B£3 a5 30. a4
Nxe3 31. axb5 Qal t 32. Kh2 Qb2
33. h6t Kxh6 34. Qf8t Kg5 35.
Qe7t f6 36. Qc5t Nd5 37. Bxd5
exd5 38. Kh3 h5 39. f4t Kh6 40.
Qf8t Drawn.
48. A. Wolfers-Purdy
Game score not available.
172-
INTERN'L TEAMS
TOURNAMENT
49. S. Bernstein (France)-
Purdy
1. e4 e5 2. N£3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4
Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Rei b5 7. Bb3 d6 8.
c3 0-0 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4
Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd413. cxd4 Nc614.
d5 Nb4 15. Bb 1 a5 16. a3 Na6 17. Nfl
Bd7 18. b3 Nc5 19. Ra2 b4 20. a4
Rac8 21. Ne3 (White made this error
through setting up the position
wrongly.) Nfxe4 0-1.
WORLD CHAMPION-
SHIP PRELIMINARY
50. C. Nielsen (Denmark)-
Purdy
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2
0-0 5. e3 b6 6. Bd3 c5 7. Nge2 cxd4
8. exd4 d5 9. 0-0 dxc4 10. Bxh7t??
Nxh7 11. Qe4 Qd7 0-1.
51. 0. Krausz
(Switzerland)-Purdy
1. d4 Nf6 2. N£3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. g3 c5
5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 cxd4 7. 0-0 Bc5
8. Nxd4 0-0 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. Bd2 Nc6
11. Na3 e5 12. Nc4 Be6 13. e4 Nc3
14. Bxc3 Bxc4 15. Q:cd8 Rfxd8 16.
Rfdl f617. Bfl Bf718. Kg2 a619. Be2
 Epilogue

Rac8 20. Rxd8 Rxd8 21. Rd1 Rxd1

22. Bxd1 Kf8 23. Ncl Bd4 24. Bxd4
Nxd4 25. b3 Ke7 26. f3 Kd6 27. Kf2
a5 28. Ke3 Be8 29. a4 b5 30. f4 bxa4
31. fxe5t fxe5 32. bxa4 Ne6 33. Nd3
Nc5 34. Nb2 Bf7 35. Bc2 g5 36. h4
g4 37. Bd1 h5 38. Be2 Be8, Drawn.

52. Purdy-B. Reilly

(Britain)
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4
Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. N£3 Nd7 7. Be2 e6
8. 0-0 Qc7 9. c4 Ngf610. Bd2 Bd611.
b4 Ne4 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. h3 h6 14.
Bc3 0-0 15. Bd3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Rfd8
17. Qe2 Be7 18. Racl Bf6 19. Rfd1
Nb6 20. a3 Rd7 21. g3 Rad8 22. Rd2
a5 23. bxa5 Na4 24. Bb4 c5 25. dxc5
Rxd2 26. Nxd2. Reilly withdrew-
game canc~led.

WORLD CHAMPION-
SHIP FINAL
53. A. Viaud (France)-
Purdy
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. N£3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5
5. Nc3 e6 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 Nbd7
8. 0-0 Bb4 9. Nd2 0-0 10. a3 Be7 11.
N£3 Qc7 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 c5 14.
Nxf6t Nxf6 15. dxc5 a5 16. b3 Rfd8
17. Qc2 Bxc5 18. Bb2 Ng4 19. h3
Nh6. Viaud withdrew-game can-
celed.

-173
 How Purdy Won

Index of Openings
(By game number)
Bold face indicates Purdy had White.

Caro-Kann Defense 52
Catalan Opening 10, 13, 51
Colle System 27
English 33, 35, 41, 47
Evans Gambit 18, 28
Four Knights 8
French 15, 22
Gruenfeld 20, 21
King's Gambit 2, 14
Nimzo-Indian 1, 6, 7, 19, 43, 50
Nimzovich Attack 11
Petroff's Defense 24
Queen's Gambit Declined 5, 25, 37, 38

RUY LOPEZ:
Chigorin 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 40, 42, 49
Cozio 45
Morphy 12
Steinitz Deferred 9, 17
Worrall Attack 44

Sicilian Defense 16, 46

Slav 3, 4, 39, 53
Two Knights 23, 29
Vienna 26

174-
 Epilogue

The Purdy Library of Chess

Each volume of the Library is a stand-alone selection of material from the

published writings of CJ.S. Purdy.

Published Titles
1. Guide to Good Chess (11th ed., 1996)
2. The Search for Chess Perfection (1997)
3. How Purdy Won: The Correspondence Chess Career of a World Cham-
pion (1998)
4. C]S Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation and Other Thoughts. Vol. 1:
100 Annotated Garnes, Purdyisrns, The Purdy Player (1992)

Titles Under Consideration (all in algebraic notation)

5. C]S Purdy Annotates the World Championships: Alekhine-Euwe I,
1935; Alekhine-Euwe II, 1937; Fischer-Spassky I, 1972. (An ali-in-
one-volume reissue of Purdy's books How Euwe Won, The Return
ofAlekhine, How Fischer Won)
6. C]S Purdy's Opening "Starter Set" Repertoire (An edited version of
the series of articles "The Openings In 10 Hours" + material on
the Colle System)
7. C]S Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation and Other Thoughts. Vol. 2:
120 Annotated Garnes plus 31 Articles & Studies
8. CJS Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation and Other Thoughts. Vol. 3:
Purdy on Purdy. Annotations to 70 over-the-board games of
CJS Purdy and to 30 games ofjohn Purdy, Purdyisrns (revised),
The Purdy Player, The Road to 2000. (How to Become an
Expert)
9. C]S Purdy on the Endgame
10. C]S Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation and Other Thoughts. Vol. 4:
-175
 How Purdy Won

200 Annotated Games (15 Championship, 40 Master, 145 Aus-

tralia & New Zealand)
11. C]S Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation and Other Thoughts. Vol5:
135 annotated Games from 1938-1945 and 1976-1979
12. C]S Purdy: Caissa Remembers. Articles on the History of Chess,
Obituary Notices for 14 Chess Masters (appreciation of each
master's chess career plus a few of the master's best games-68
annotated games in all)

The proposed multi-volume Library has 72 articles of a general

nature (41 in item 2 and 31 in item 7) that amply illustrate the themes
Purdy returned to over and over again. It contains more than 800 anno-
tated games. It has Purdy's "10 Hours" series of articles on the openings
(item 6), and it has his thoughts on the endgame (item 9). The Library
concludes with Purdy's articles on the history of chess and his obituary
notices for 14 well-known chess masters.

CoLoPHON

How Purdy Won was typeset in Berthold Baskerville, Helvetica

Black, and Baton. The diagrams were done in our font, C.R.
Horowitz. Cover fonts are Poppl-Laudatio.

Layout and design: Bob Long

Cover and photo retouching: Rob Long
Keyboarding: Frank Hutchings
Proofing: Bob Long and Ralph Tykodi

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