|
Chessville
logo by
ChessPrints
Advertise
with
Chessville!!
Advertise to
thousands
of
chess
fans
for
as little
as $25.
Single insert:
$35
x4 insert:
@ $25 each.
From the
Chessville
Chess Store
From the
Chessville
Chess Store
|
Klaus Junge - Forgotten Talent
by
Robert T. Tuohey
Chess, like any high cultural activity, will suffer during periods of social
upheaval. Human persistence and imagination being what they are,
however, true artistic talent has a way of shining even in the worst of
circumstances. Such is the case of the German chess player Klaus Junge
(1924 – 1945).
When Junge was born, Germany was in the
depths of an economic depression; by the time he was a teenager, all of the
Fatherland had been swept up into the mania of the Nazi regime. During
the early years of Hitler’s reign, the emphasis was on the reconstruction of
a Germany shattered by WWI and its aftermath; soon, however, the hidden
agenda appeared, first with the occupation of Czechoslovakia, and then the
horrific invasion of Poland. Needless to mention, chess was not high
on anybody’s action list.
The Nazis, however, were masters of
propaganda, and used whatever came to hand (witness, for example, the fine
job they did with the 1936 Olympics). Thus, a few chess events, in
Germany itself and also in the occupied areas, were sponsored.
Alexander Alekhine, World Champion at the time, was a collaborator with the
Nazis and participated in a number of these tournaments.
In 1942, at the age of 18, Klaus Junge
was considered one of the strongest players in Germany. As mentioned,
the number of regular matches were few; still, Germany had several
formidable masters to contend with, for example, the rising Wolfgang
Unzicker (who actually bested Junge at the 1939 Fuerstenwald tournament).
Junge’s finest result, however, indeed his claim to greatness, is found in
placing third behind Keres at second, with Alekhine taking first in the 1942
Salzburg tournament (a decent analysis of this event may be found at
http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/rekius/index.htm, where the photo above was
taken from).
Playing over Junge’s games (of which, to
my knowledge, a mere 110, including two fragments, survive), I found myself
impressed by a number of his ideas. Take for example the first game
analyzed below (Krause – Junge, Bergedorf Nordmark, 1938): the 10th
move by Junge, 10…Nf6, is a very subtle piece of calculation. He was
14 at the time. Or again, in the second game below (Braasch – Junge,
Luebeck Nordmark, 1939), note how Junge carefully exploits his opponent’s
errors while building his own position, the final stroke being a lovely
little combination starting with 20…Qxb3. In the final game below,
Junge demonstrates a beautiful mastery of the classic K-side assault.
Junge’s 112 remaining games sparkle with such gems.
Why then, you may ask, have they been
neglected? Very simple: Klaus Junge was an unrepentant National
Socialist. Refusing to surrender, Lieutenant Klaus Junge of the 12th
SS Battalion died in combat against Allied troops April 17, 1945 in the
battle for Hamburg.
Unlike, however, the Nazis, or the
Soviets, or, in fact, certain people today, I personally refuse to mix chess
and politics. Klaus Junge was a outstanding chess talent, and I
recognize him as such.
The annotations below are wholly my own,
though I have used various computer programs to try to “blunder check” my
analysis. Any corrections or comments are therefore completely
welcome.
Krause - Junge,K [D37]
Bergedorf Nordmark-C Bergedorf Nordmark-C, 1938
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3
2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 usual order 4...Be7 5.Bf4 D37
QGD: classical variation (5.Bf4)
2...Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3
D37 QGD: 4.Nf3
4...Nbd7 5.e3 Be7 6.Qc2 c5=
OOB 6...0-0 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4= book.
7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bd3?! Nb4 9.Qd1 Nxd3+ 10.Qxd3 Nf6
Putting the N where it belongs ~and setting a trap?
      
  
  
   
11.Qb5+
Apparently wins a P but does not.
11...Qd7 12.dxc5 0-0 13.Qxd7 Bxd7 14.b4?!
Leads to trouble for White. 14.0-0 is better 14...Bxc5
14...b6 15.Ne5 bxc5 16.Nxd7 Nxd7 17.bxc5 Bf6 18.Bd2 Nxc5
19.Ke2
Pawn regained with small advantage to Black. 19.0-0?!
Rfd8 20.Rad1 Rd3 21.Nb1 Rb8 22.Ba5 Rb2 23.Rc1 Be7.
19...Rfd8 20.Rad1
20...Rxd2+!
With either continuation, Black has the advantage: the B & N
have greater mobility than the rook, or a pawn to the good if Kxd2.
21.Rxd2?!
21.Kxd2-+ still probably loses, but is better 21...Bxc3+
22.Kxc3 Ne4+ 23.Kb4 Nxf2 24.Rhf1 Nxd1 25.Rxd1.
21...Bxc3 22.Rc2 Na4 23.Rhc1 Rc8 24.Kd3 Rd8+ 25.Ke2 Bf6
26.Rc8
26.Rc7 a5
26...Kf8 27.Rxd8+ Bxd8 28.Rc8 Ke7 29.Rc4 Nb6 30.Rc2 Nd5
Centralizing.
31.a3
Prevents Nb4.
31...Bb6 32.g3
Prevents Nf4.
32...Kd6 33.e4 Nc7 34.a4 e5
Secures outposts: d4 and f4.
35.f4 Ne6 36.Rd2+ Bd4 37.f5?
Loses to the simple fork. 37.Kf3 still loses but takes
longer, 37...Nc5 38.a5 a6.
37...Nc5 38.Kf3 Nxa4 39.h4 Nb2 40.g4 a5 41.Rc2 a4 42.Rc8
a3 43.Ra8 Bc5 44.Ra6+ Kd7 45.Ra5 Kc6 46.g5 Nc4 47.Ra6+ Kb5 48.Ra8 Na5 0-1
Braasch - Junge,K [D02]
Luebeck Nordmark-Con Luebeck Nordmark-Con, 1939
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 Nf6 4.e3
[D02] Queen's bishop game.
4...c5 5.c3 Nc6 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.Bg5 0-0 8.Nbd2 e5 9.e4
OOB =+ 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Bxe5 += End of book.
9...cxd4 10.cxd4 exd4
11.a3?!
Evidently guarding b4, but entirely misses the point, which
is e4. 11.Bxf6 Reducing the pressure on e4. 11...Qxf6 12.0-0 Nb4
13.Bb1 =+
11...h6 12.Bh4 Ne5 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 14.Nf3?
Very superficial attack on the B. 14.exd5 Qxd5 15.0-0
Qd6 16.Nf3 Bg4 17.h3 =+; 14.0-0 Leads to trouble. 14...g5 15.Bg3 Bxg3
16.fxg3 Ng4 17.Re1 Ne3.
14...dxe4 15.Bxe4 Re8 16.Nxe5 Qa5+ 17.Kf1 Nxe4 18.Nc4 Qb5
19.b3 Be6 20.Qd3
20...Qxb3
Une petite combination.
21.Qxb3 Bxc4+ 22.Qxc4 Nd2+ 23.Kg1 Nxc4 24.f3 Re2 25.Bf2
d3 26.g4 d2 27.Kg2 Ne3+ 28.Kg3 d1Q 0-1
Junge,K - Ahrens [E91]
Luebeck Nordmark-Con Luebeck Nordmark-Con, 1939
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2
[E91] King's Indian: 6.Be2
6...Nfd7 7.Be3 +=
OOB 7.0-0 Book.
7...c5 8.Qd2 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nc6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bh6
Beginning the classic K-side attack.
11...Bb7 12.h4 Bxh6 13.Qxh6 e6?!
A bad idea: d6 is now weak. This will soon be exploited.
14.0-0-0 Qe7 15.h5 g5 16.f4 f6 17.fxg5 fxg5 18.Bg4 Rae8
19.Rhf1 Rxf1 20.Rxf1
20...Ne5?
Playing the "obvious" move ~ that turns out to be wrong.
20...Bc8! = Should hold for Black.
21.Bxe6+ Kh8 22.Bf5 Rf8 23.Rd1 Rxf5??
The worst, but other moves lose as well. 23...Rf6
24.Qxg5 + -; 23...Nxc4 24.Bxh7 Qg7 25.Qxg7+ Kxg7 26.Bf5 + -
24.exf5 1-0
Free zipped PGN database of 112 Klause Junge games, 1938-1944
References:
Past Pawns Index
|
search tips
The
Chessville
Chess Store
Reference
Center
The Chessville
Weekly
The Best Free
Chess
Newsletter
On the Planet!
Subscribe
Today -
It's Free!!
The
Chessville
Weekly
Archives
Discussion
Forum
Chess Links
Chess Rules
Visit the
Chessville
Chess Store
|
