Grandmaster Michael Adams, the UK's highest ranked player, has won the sixth Staunton Memorial tournament at Simpson's-in-the-Strand, London, ahead of a field which makes it the strongest all-play-all grandmaster event to have been held in the UK this century.  The following game was instrumental in Adams victory.

Adams,M - Speelman,J
Staunton Memorial (9), 16.08.2008

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Nf3 Be7 8.c5 Ne4 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Qd3 Nxc3 11.Qxc3 0-0 12.Be2 b6 13.b4 e5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5

After this Black is struggling.  14...Re8 was a better try.

15.dxe5 a5 16.Qd4

This is a very classy move from Adams.  Now White maintains his extra pawn.

16...axb4 17.cxb6 Re8 18.0-0 Qxe5 19.Qxb4!

The final point of White's play, initiated by 16.Qd4.  Now 19...Qxe2? loses to 20.Rae1! (but not 20.Rfe1? Rxa2, turning the tables).  As a result, White keeps his extra pawn, and has two connected passed pawns on the queenside.

19...Bb7 20.Bf3 Qe7 21.Qd4 Qa3 22.h3 Ra4 23.Qd2 Qd6 24.Rfb1 h6 25.Rb5 Bc6 26.Rb2 Qf6 27.Rab1 Rd4 28.Qc1 Bb7 29.Rc2 Rf4 30.Rb3 Rc4 31.Rb1 Rf4 32.Qd1 Rd4 33.Rd2 Rxd2 34.Qxd2 Re6 35.Qb4 Qg6 36.a4 Rf6 37.Rb3 Qg5 38.a5 Rf4 39.Qd2 Qf6 40.Re3 d4 Black lost on time in the act of playing his 40th move 1-0

Adams can be justifiably happy with his result, as can all six of the Dutch players, who dominated the  informal team aspect of event once again.  Jan Smeets, in particular, underlined that his victory in the 2008 Dutch Championship was no fluke, and his score here should take his FIDE rating over 2600 for the first time.

Of the English players, mention must be made of Bob Wade OBE , who battled wonderfully, but ultimately came up empty-handed.  Nevertheless, we are sure that everyone associated with the game hopes that they too can still be playing international chess when in their late 80s!  Bob has doubtless learnt much for his next appearance in the world veterans team and individual events in which he is likely to participate.

The tournament was rounded off by a Simpsons traditional banquet where 44 players, officials and guests sat down to a candlelit prize award ceremony, which was combined this year with the award ceremony for the UK Opem Memory Championshihp,  also held at Simpsons on the mornings of rounds 9 and 10.  Tony Buzan addressed the assembled dignitaries on the virtues of mental sports while the winner, Ben Pridemore, was simultaneously to be seen on ITV Televison repeated next day smashing the world record for accurate memorisation of a single shuffled deck of cards, which Pridemore has spectacularly brought down to 24.68 seconds - a new 4-minute mile for the brain!

The game of the TOURNAMENT was the meeting between Werle and Wells, which provided a contrast of two centuries. The brilliance of Werle's sacrificial finish was worthy of the heyday of Simpson's Divan in the 1850s, but the depth of the opening preparation definitely stamps the game as a 21st century effort:

Werle -Wells Staunton Memorial (7), 14.08.2008 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4   The Vienna Variation is one of the sharpest and most deeply-analysed lines of the Queen's Gambit, and is also a favourite of Peter's.   5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 c5 7.Bxc4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 8...Bxc3+   This is=2 0the modern interpretation of the line. The older 8...Qa5 has also produced some memorable games, none more so than the following consultation game played during WW2: 8... Qa5 9.Bxf6 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Qxc3+ 11.Kf1 Qxc4+ 12.Kg1 Bd7 13.Rc1 Qa6 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Rc8+ Kf7 16.Rxh8 gxf6 17.Qh5+ Ke7 18.Qc5+ Kf7 19.Rf8+ Kg7 20.Qe7+ 1–0 Alekhine/Frank,H - Bogoljubow,E/Pfaffenroth, Warsaw 941   9.bxc3 Qa5 10.Bb5+ Nbd7   The alternative is 10...Bd7. This is also razor-sharp, but its reputation has never fully recovered from the battering it took in the game Kasparov-Hjartarson, Tilburg 1989, which went as follows: 10...Bd7 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Qb3 a6 13.Be2 Nc6 14.0–0 Qc7 15.Rab1 Na5 16.Qa3 Rc8 17.Rfd1 Qxc3 18.Qd6 Qc7 19.Nf5 exf5 20.Qxf6 0–0 21.Rd3 f4 22.Rd5 h6 23.Qxh6 f5 24.Rb6 Bc6 25.Rxa5 Qh7 26.Qxf4 1–0   11.Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12.Kf1 gxf6 13.h4 a6 14.Rh3 Qb4 15.Be2 0–0 16.Rb1 Qd6 17.Rg3+ Kh8 18.Qd2 Rg8 19.Rbb3 Rxg3 20.Rxg3 b6   Apparently a novelty, but one which both players had analysed before the game.   21.Bh5 Bb7 22.Bxf7 Rf8 Remarkably, both players had had this very position on the board (or screen, to be strictly accurate) in their pre-game preparation! Werle now struck with a pawn sacrifice that Wells had apparently not examined.   23.e5!? Nxe5?   The novelty has its effect. Wells presumably rejected 23...Qxe5 because of 24.Bxe6 Nc5 25.Bf5, which looks dangerous, but it is not clear that Black is actually in any danger after 25...Be4. 23---Qxe5 24 Bg6 was Werle's intention.  He said it was not clear!   24.Bxe6 f5?   Another error, this time fatal. 24...Be4 was better, although White has a strong attack after 25.Qh6. Now Werle crowns the game with a series of beautiful sacrifices. 25.Rg7!! Be4   If 25...Kxg7 26.Nxf5+ wins the queen.   26.Qh6 f4 27.Qf6!! Black resigned

Howard Staunton (1810-1874) ...is the only British player who can legitimately lay claim to being world champion and is the man after whom the pieces in current use are named. In Staunton’s day the world champion title was not officially recognised.  However, by the time of his match victory over the French champion St. Amant at Paris in 1843, Staunton had not only laid the pattern for future championship matches but had also established himself as the strongest player of his day. He was also the organiser of the first international tournament and was widely regarded as the champion during the 1840s as a result of an overwhelming series of victories against the European masters Saint Amant, Horwitz and Harrwitz. Staunton was a towering figure, a polymath who edited an entire edition of Shakespeare’s plays, commenced a history of the public school system in Britain, wrote numerous books on chess, organised the first international chess tournament at London in 1851, and lent his name to the Staunton patent pieces which are now the standard in international play.  Staunton was an archetypal symbol of the heights of Victorian imperial grandeur and optimism.  Staunton's City: Chess In London And Simpson's-in-the-strand Staunton’s book on the Great Schools of England reveals how far ahead of his time Staunton was as an educationalist: 'This book promotes remarkable and advanced theories on education, many of which seem revolutionary even today. Demonising learning by rote and excoriating the traditional British neglect of science, Howard Staunton, noted primarily as the only British chess master who could lay claim to being world champion of his day, claims that learning can only take place successfully if the active interest of the student is engaged. The classics must not be taught for their own sake - the living force of Greek and Roman civilisation must be invoked - corporal punishment is to be avoided at all costs and fagging should be abolished.Mens sana in corpore sano - a healthy mind in a healthy body is Staunton's ideal.Yet this book was published in 1865! Howard Staunton was a superb example of High Victorian self-confidence, a polymath who in turn acted on stage, became a noted chess writer and champion, edited an edition of Shakespeare and, in this volume, scrutinised the educational system at the core of the British Empire.  Staunton organised the first international gathering of chess masters for the inaugural tournament of London in 1851,and for many years his works were the standard teaching tools for generations of aspiring chess players.’ It is fascinating to observe the general handling of the chess openings exhibited by Staunton in the 1840‘s, typified by ‘flank’ openings and the indirect control of the central squares that became so popular a 100 years later. Bobby Fischer described Staunton as the ‘first modern player’ of the openings. It seems Staunton was considerably ahead of his time in more than one field.

The second sacrifice, again on an empty square, leaves Black defenceless against mate.  A beautiful finish by Werle, and one in keeping with the traditions of Dutch chess -   Max Euwe was also famous for sacrifices on empty squares, as in such games as Alekhine-Euwe, Zurich 1934, and Geller-Euwe, Zurich 1953!  For this beautiful effort Werle was awarded the Grahame Fowler chess set as the brilliancy prize.

Although I decided to stick with my original choice of WERLE V WELLS as the brilliancy prize game, I was so impressed with the SMEETS effort in thsi round that we produced a bottle of Simpsons finest champagne as the runner -up award!

Smeets - Short
Staunton Memorial (10), 16.08.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.Nbd2 exd4 13.cxd4 Re8

 

13...Nc6 is much more common here, but in recent years, theory has swung in favour of White. In general., it has to be said that Black's entire plan of exd4 looks strategically rather suspect, and in this game, Smeets gives a classic demonstration of the dangers that Black's king can face in such positions.

 

14.dxc5 dxc5 15.e5

 

Depriving Black's knight of the f6 square, and thus setting up potential attacking ideas against h7.

 

15...Nf8 16.Qe2 Bb7 17.Ne4 Ne6 18.h4!

 

Smeets was very pleased with this move after the game. The tactical justification is that 18...Bxh4? loses to 19.Nd6 Rf8 20.Nxb7 Nxb7 21.Qe4 winning.

 

18...Qc7 19.Neg5 Bxg5 20.Nxg5 Nxg5 21.Bxg5 h6

22.Qd3!

 

A sacrifice which yields a very strong attack. Black is forced to accept, since 22...g6 just loses the h-pawn.

 

22...hxg5 23.Qh7+ Kf8 24.Qh8+ Ke7 25.Qxg7 Rg8

 

After the game, Smeets said that he rather expected 25...Kd8, trying to evacuate the king from the danger zone. However, after the reply 26.Bf5 (which Smeets had intended), the black king still faces a vicious onslaught.

 

26.Qf6+ Kf8 27.e6

27...Nc6?!

 

27...Qe7 was probably the only hope, although Black's position is extremely unenviable after 28.Qh6+ Rg7 29.Rad1.

 

28.hxg5 Rd8 29.Qh6+ Rg7 30.g6 fxg6 31.Qh8+ Rg8 32.Qf6+ Ke8 33.Bxg6+ Rxg6 34.Qxg6+ Kf8 35.Re3 1–0

 

Report by Ray Keene, OBE with grateful thanks to Steve Giddins, Dr Eric Schiller, Juilian Simpole and all the players who made helpful comments on their games.

 

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The Masquerade-like conundrum was drawn up in a police station cell by a man who says he knows the spot where a woman’s body is buried in a shallow grave.  Raymond Keene, a former British chess champion and a chess correspondent of The Times stayed awake until 4.30am yesterday studying the man’s scribblings on two sheets of paper after he was called in by police desperate to end the six-month mystery.  Overnight Keene deduced that the body of Therese Terry, a 43-year-old divorcee from Preston, Lancashire was buried near Limerick, Ireland... Learn More!

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