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Daniel Abraham Yanofsky A Tribute to the first Grandmaster in the Commonwealth by FM Irwin Lipnowski My association with Abe Yanofsky began 42 years ago, when I was 11 and he was 32. Abe had just returned from the 1957 Dallas International Tournament where he had convincing victories against such luminaries as Samuel Reshevsky, Fridrik Olafsson and Larry Evans. Abe accepted the invitation of a teacher, who happened to be a chess enthusiast, to run a chess club at our school. So a group of about a dozen kids, ranging in age from 11 to 13, met with Abe for several hours every Sunday afternoon at the school. Abe initiated us into the mysteries of recording a position, the en passant rule, English chess notation, and a number of basic mates against the lone king. The king and knight plus bishop was too advanced a topic however, as were the more subtle concepts of gaining the opposition in king and pawn endings, and of zugzwang. I think that Abe shared the philosophy of many renowned players: that the optimal sequence of instruction in chess is to begin with the endgame. Abe played friendly games against the kids, at times in consultation with one of us as his partner. This was a particularly instructive exercise, and I can still recall vividly his suggestion on one occasion that I move my queen from d1 to d2 in order to exploit my opponent's weakness on the Black squares. My own development as a chess player took a great leap forward the following year when Abe arranged for me to play in the 1958 Canadian Open in Winnipeg. My invitation to participate stemmed in part from the fact that an odd number of players had registered for the event. To make my participation feasible, Abe undertook to drive me to and from the tournament site daily, an act of kindness for which I am still grateful. When I was 13, Abe presented me with a copy of Chess the Hard Way (henceforth CTHW), a delightful book which chronicles his chess adventures from his earliest provincial and national successes to his exploits in some British tournaments in 1952. It is certainly worth mentioning that Abe's intellectual achievements were not confined to chess alone. Abe studied law - a combination first tried by Paul Morphy - and was awarded the University Gold Medal in Law by the Manitoba Law School in May, 1951 and the Viscount Bennett Scholarship as "the most outstanding law student in Canada" in 1952. He continued post-graduate studies in Law at Oxford University. Among the honors outside of chess that were conferred were Abe's appointment as Queen's Counsel in 1980 and his appointment in 1972 to the Order of Canada. The updated version of CTHW, recently issued by the CFC with the editorial guidance of Gordon Taylor, continues with Abe's decisive victory in the 1953 British Championship with a score of 9.5/11, a full 1.5 points ahead of his nearest rival, a performance in the British championship that was not surpassed for more than 45 years; and ends with Abe's account of the fiftieth anniversary reunion of the surviving participants of the Groningen International Tournament, comprising Smyslov, Najdorf, Guimard, Christoffel, Denker, Szabo and Abe. In his long and illustrious career, Abe crossed swords with chess legends who spanned several generations: a partial sample includes Rubinstein, Tartakower, Botvinnik, Bronstein, Smyslov, Euwe, Petrosian, Spassky, Keres, Kotov, Boleslavsky, Szabo, Bondarevsky, Ragozin, Korchnoi, Reshevsky, Fine, Portisch, Pachman, Larsen, Olafsson, Gligoric, and Fischer. Abe made his international debut at the age of 14 as a member of the Canadian team at the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires in 1939, then called the 'Torneo de las Naciones', and there he encountered such luminaries of the chess world as Alekhine, Capablanca, Keres and Tartakower. Abe's only appearance on board one was against Alberto Dulanto of Peru, and resulted in a sensational victory for Abe that excited no less a spectator than Alexander Alekhine, reigning World Champion, who thereafter took a keen interest in all of Abe's games, analyzing them with him afterward. The game appears in Alexander Alekhine's 107 Great Chess Battles 1939-1945 (Dover Publications, 1992; a reprint of the Oxford University Press, 1980 edition). Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Yanofsky, Abe Buenos Aires ol, 1939 French: Rubinstein - C10 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 6.Nf3 Be7 7.Nxf6+ Nxf6 8.Bd3 c5 9.dxc5 An important alternative move was played by a child prodigy of a later generation, Alexei Shirov, when he was 11 in his game against Zhuravlev at Riga 1958, recounted in his autobiographical book, Fire on Board. That game went 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bd3 Nxe4 7.Bxe4 Nf6 8.Bd3 c5 9.0-0 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Be7 11.Bf4 0-0 12.Re1 Qb6 13.Be5 Bd7 14.Re3 Rfd8 15.Rh3 g6?! when Shirov writes: "I expected 15...h6 after which I intended 16.Rg3. However, it does not appear that White stands better after 16...Be8 since Black has good counterplay in the center and there is no danger of quick mate yet." 9...Qa5+ 10.c3 Qxc5 Black's move order makes it risky for White to embark upon a kingside attack by castling queenside. Thus White's more modest setup gives him a slight initiative, and Black has to play carefully to equalize. 11.O-O O-O 12.Re1 Rd8 Alekhine suggests 12...h6 "or at the latest, on his next move, eliminating combinations based on the pseudo-sacrifice at h7." The text leaves f7 unprotected and proves to be a mistake. Black is afraid to play 12...b6 immediately since 13.Ne5 has many threats, but I now believe that this equalizes. For if 13.Ne5 Bb7 and now 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 (not 14...gxf6 because 15.Qh5 f5 16.Re3 wins) and Black meets 15.Nd7 with 15...Qg5 and easy equality after 16.Be4 Bxe4 17.Rxe4 Rfd8 18.Nxf6+ Qxf6. Alekhine had suggested 12.Qe2 to stop 12...b6 because of 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Qe4 threatening both mate and the R/a8. Abe's 12.Re1 is less incisive because it allows Black to equalize by 12...b6. Of course, all of this has the benefit of hindsight. 13.Ne5 White plays very naturally. 13...b6? 14.Bxf6 Alekhine describes this move as "Simpler than the strong alternative 14.Qf3." Abe recounts in CTHW that he spent half an hour on this move, calculating beyond the rook sacrifice on move 22, and then played the rest of the game "almost rapid transit", which translates, in today's terms, at just over ten seconds per move. 14...Bxf6 15.Bxh7+ Kf8 Quoting Alekhine again, "Naturally this bishop is untouchable since 15...Kxh7 16.Qh5+ Kg8 17.Qxf7+ Kh8 18.Re3 finishes the game immediately." 16.Qh5 Bxe5 17.Rxe5 Qc7 18.Be4 Bb7 19.Bxb7 Qxb7 20.Qh8+ Ke7 21.Qxg7 Rg8 Dulanto probably believed that the young Abe had fallen into a trap. 22.Rxe6+
Alekhine's comments on this move: "Not complicated, of course, but neat and decisive. The whole little game is characteristic of the incisive style of the young Canadian who was practically the only revelation of the Buenos Aires team tournament." In celebrating Abe's achievement and contribution to chess in Canada, it seems particularly appropriate to characterize this position as Abe's immortal position. When Dale Kirton undertook an initiative to have Canada Post issue a stamp with a chess theme, and more particularly, to honor the first Grandmaster in the British Commonwealth by depicting Abe Yanofsky at the chessboard, the position in this diagram is the one that Abe indicated he would most cherish. Indeed a portrait of Abe, rendered by the late George Paradny of Winnipeg which appeared in the Commemorative Booklet of the 1994 Canadian Open in Winnipeg features Abe with this position on the board. 22...Kxe6 23.Re1+ Kd6 24.Qf6+ Kc5 25.Re5+ Kc4 26.b3+ Kd3 27.Qd6+ Kc2 Alekhine's final comment: "Or 17...Kxc3 18.Re3+ Kb2 29.Re2+ followed by mate in two moves." 28.Re2+ 1-0. No less a personality than Dr. Savielly Tartakower was moved to write the following passage, in an Argentinian newspaper, after Abe's sensational win: "In all the preceding chess Olympiads new talent was discovered. For example, Hamburg 1930 is associated with the names of Flohr and Kashdan, Warsaw 1935 with Keres and Szabo. Actually at Buenos Aires in 1939, the appearance of the very young Canadian, Yanofsky - only fifteen (Abe was actually fourteen) years old - created a sensation, and his elegant style will lead him to become a great star in chess." Abe's second famous game was played seven years later when Abe was 21 in round 15 of the Groningen International Tournament against Mikhail Botvinnik. In CTHW, Abe describes this victory as "the biggest moment of my career." Despite his loss to Abe, future World Champion Botvinnik finished clear first with 14.5/19, ahead of former World Champion Euwe who was second with 14/19, and future World Champion Smyslov who was third at 12.5/19. Abe recounts Botvinnik's reply to an Associated Press reporter who asked him: "Did Yanofsky, in beating you, earn the title of Master?" Botvinnik replied "If he beat me, he deserves to be called Grandmaster." In his eloquent testimonial to Abe and to Canada in the introduction to the first edition of CTHW, former World Champion and FIDE President Dr. Max Euwe wrote: "All chess Masters have welcomed Yanofsky's entry into the international chess arena with enthusiasm, because he is such a clever player and a fine fellow. But I myself have special reason to be grateful for Yanofsky's appearance. Besides the great and eternal debt all of us Dutchmen have to our Canadian liberators, I owe a great deal to Yanofsky's beautiful performance in Groningen, which enabled me to keep the lead in that tournament for several rounds after Yanofsky had beaten my rival, Botvinnik, in such a remarkable game. Considering his youth and his talent, I have no doubt that Abe Yanofsky will one day belong to the strongest of the strong ones, and many of my colleagues share this opinion." Abe's sensational victory received front page coverage in Canadian newspapers, and decades later Abe appeared on television in CBC's legendary program Front Page Challenge. Quite by chance, I happened to be watching, and my vague recollection is that the story stumped the panel. The game is deeply annotated by Abe in CTHW, so I shall add only a few brief comments, most of which should be credited to Jack Woodbury. Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Yanofsky, Abe Groningen International, 1946 Ruy Lopez: Chigorin C99 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.d5 Nb4 15.Bb1 a5 16.Nf1 Bd7 17.Bd2 This move is the only one given by John Nunn in his authoritative Nunn's Chess Openings (NCO), but in 1946, it was unusual. 17...Rfc8 18.Bxb4 axb4 19.Bd3 Bd8 20.Qd2 Qa5 21.Ne3 b3 22.a3 Qa4 Reuben Fine wrote, "At this point everyone was sure that Botvinnik would win. But Yanofsky suddenly comes to life." This resourcefulness in positions that most players would assume lost was one of his strengths. 23.Nd1 b4 24.Ne3 bxa3 25.Rxa3 Nxe4 26.Qd1 Qb4 27.Rxb3 Qa4 28.Bc2 Nc5 29.Rc3 Qb4 30.Qb1 g6 31.Rc4 Qb7 32.b4 Na6 Fine calls this "an obvious and weak move," suggesting instead 32...Na4 followed by ...Nb6. 33.Rxc8 Rxc8 34.Bd3!
Abe gives this very fine move an exclamation mark and remarks that at this stage, he had resolved to use his b/¹ to disrupt the smooth consolidation of his opponent's advantage and adds, "to this end, I was even prepared to sacrifice the pawn." 34...Nxb4? In Abe's words, "Accepting the bait." What should Botvinnik have done here? Abe claims in his notes to the game that 34...Bb5 (Lajos Steiner) allows White counterplay, while 34...f5 (Alexander) allows White to secure the advantage. Fine suggests 34...Nc7 presumably to blockade White's b/¹ with the knight at b5. Still another move that seems quite reasonable is 34...Rb8 threatening 35...Qxb4 and if 35.Qa1 or 35.Qa2 then not 35...Nxb4 allowing an awkward pin on the b-file, but now instead 35...Bb5. 35.Re2 Ba5 Described by Fine as the decisive mistake. He suggests instead 35...Rc3 36.Bc4 Ra3 37.Kh2 e4 38.Qxe4 Na6 with only a small edge for White. 36.Rb2 Rb8 37.Nd2 Qa7 38.Ndc4 Qc5 Fine writes, "38...Bb5 39.Rxb4 Bxb4 40.Qxb4 Bxc4 would have lasted a little longer, but with fewer counter chances." 39.Nxa5 Qxa5 40.Nc2 Nxd3 41.Rxb8+ Kg7 42.Ne3 Qd2 43.Qf1 Nc5 44.Qd1 Qc3 45.Rb6 Ba4 46.Qf3 Qe1+ 47.Kh2 f5 48.Rxd6 f4 Black sets a trap. Now 49.Ng4? is met with 49...Ne4 50.Ra6 Nd2! 49.Nf5+! Capturing the knight allows 50.Qh5 threatening mate beginning with 51.Qg5+. If Black replies 50...Nd7 then 51.Re6 threatens 52.Re7+ again with mate to follow. Of course 51...Qb4 can only postpone mate slightly, since 52.d6 renews the threat. 49...Kf7 50.Qg4 Ne4 51.Qh4 gxf5 52.Qxh7+ Ke8 53.Qg8+ 1-0. Positional Themes Rather than tracing chronologically the highlights of Abe's career and his achievements, I want to convey some aspects of his mastery through a few selected games. I believe that Abe's understanding of positional concepts such as 'color weakness' came very naturally to him. The idea of color weakness is quite advanced and, in my experience, is not necessarily fully understood by players who have attained the rank of Expert. One beautiful game that exemplifies Abe's profound grasp of the concept is his victory against Laszlo Szabo in the 1967 Winnipeg Centennial Tournament, for which he was awarded the brilliancy prize. Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Szabo, Laszlo Winnipeg Centennial, 1967 King’s Indian E70 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nge2 O-O 6.Ng3 e5 7.d5 c6 8.Be2 cxd5 9.cxd5 Nbd7 10.Bg5 h6 11.Be3 a6 12.O-O b5 13.b4 Nb6 14.a4 Nxa4 15.Nxa4 bxa4 16.Rxa4 h5 17.f3 h4 18.Nh1 Nh5 19.b5 Nf4 20.bxa6 Bh6 21.Nf2 Nh3+ 22.Nxh3 Bxe3+ 23.Kh1 Bxh3 24.gxh3 Qd7 25.Kg2 Kg7
The exemplary manner in which Abe proceeds to exploit his total domination of the Black squares is worthy of careful study. White's control of the White squares and eventual material superiority is of no consequence as Abe goes after White's helpless king. 26.Rb4 Rab8 27.Qb3 Rxb4 28.Qxb4 Rc8 29.Qb3 Qa7 30.Rb1 Bd4 31.Qd1 Qc5 32.Kh1 Qa3 33.Qd2 Rc3 34.Kg2 Be3 35.Qb2 Qc5 36.a7 Rc2 37.a8Q Rxb2 38.Re1 Bg1 39.Kh1 Qf2 0-1. The following miniature, played a decade earlier, illustrates the potency of Abe's dark square domination when combined with his opponent's vulnerable king. Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Evans, Larry Dallas International, 1957 King's Indian E80 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 e5 6.d5 Nh5 7.Be3 f5 8.exf5 gxf5 9.Qd2 Qh4+ 10.Bf2 Qe7 11.g3 O-O 12.O-O-O a6 13.Kb1 Nd7 14.Nge2 b615.Nc1 Nc5 16.Nd3 Bd7 17.Be2 Nf6 18.h3 e4 19.Nxc5? Opening the b-file for Black's rook must surely be a mistake. Abe suggests that 19.Nf4 is necessary. 19...bxc5 20.fxe4 Nxe4 21.Nxe4 fxe4 22.Be3 Rab8 23.b3 Qe5 24.Rc1 Qa1+
In CTHW Abe gives the finale as 25.Kc2 Qxa2+ 26.Kd1 Qxb3+ 27.Ke1 Bb2 28.Rb1 Bc3. 0-1. Abe selected the next game as one of his best, and it is annotated by him in his updated autobiography. Here Abe illustrates with superb technique how to exploit his domination of the dark squares for defensive purposes. It is no accident that once again we find Abe on the Black side of his favorite King's Indian Defence, an opening in which Black's pawns are typically fixed on dark squares. Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Zaitzev, Lev Montreal Yanofsky op, 1976 King’s Indian E70 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Nbd7 7.f4 Nh5 8.f5 A very double-edged decision that weakens White's control of e5 and the Black squares on the a1-h8 diagonal in order to try and exploit Black's weakness at g6 and along the b1-h7 diagonal. It is instructive to observe how Abe makes the Black squares count for more - not because Black is winning or even has the advantage at his stage, but simply because Abe is commanding the Black army. 8...c5 9.d5 Qa5 10.Rc1 Nhf6 11.fxg6 fxg6 12.Qd2 Ne5 13.Be2 a6 14.Nf3 Nxf3+ 15.Bxf3 0-0 16.0-0 g5 Abe bites the bullet. He writes in his comments: "I have to get rid of the troubling pin, realizing that I am opening my king to attack." 17.Bg3 Nd7 18.h4 Bf6 19.e5! Nxe5 20.Bxe5 White gives up his important dark squared bishop in order to pursue Black's king on the White squares. 20...Bxe5 Forced. If 20...dxe5 21.Qd3 Kg7 22.Bh5! wins. (Yanofsky in CTHW) 21.hxg5
The instructive part of the game begins here, as Abe demonstrates how to use his domination of the Black squares to shield his otherwise exposed and vulnerable king, and slowly goes on the offensive. 21...Bd4+ 22.Kh2 Bf5 23.gxh6 Kh7 24.Qg5 Be5+ 25.g3 Qd8 26.Ne4 Qd7 27.Bg2 e6 This move allows Black to reunite and coordinate his forces on the kingside and the queenside. 28.Qh5 Bxe4 Black's monarch is now perfectly safe at h8. 29.Bxe4+ Kh8 30.dxe6 Qxe6 31.Bf5 Qg8 32.Rf3 b5 After waiting very patiently, Black's counterattack finally begins. 33.Rcf1 Rf6 34.b3 Raf8 35.Kh1 bxc4 36.g4 cxb3 37.axb3 Qd5! With this powerful pin Black takes over the White squares. 38.Qg5 Rg8 39.Qh5 Rb8 40.Qg5 Rg8 41.Qh5 Bf4 Zugzwang! 42.h7 Rgf8 43.Bg6 Qb7 44.g5 Bxg5 45.Kg2 Bf4! 46.Kh3 Qd7+ 47.Kh4 Qe7 On 48.Kh3 Qe2 wins. 0-1. Abe's independent ideas and perseverance might best explain his devotion to the Classical Variation of the French Defense. Despite many notable successes, he did suffer a few setbacks. Perhaps the following thematic loss to Gligoric undermined Abe's confidence in the reliability of variation, for he began to vary his repertoire against 1.e4 afterwards. Gligoric, Svetozar Dallas International, 1957 French: Classical C14 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.f4 O-O 8.Nf3 c5 9.dxc5 Nc6 10.Bd3 f6 11.exf6 Rxf6 12.Qd2 Nxc5 13.O-O Nxd3 14.cxd3 Bd7 15.Rae1 Qb4 16.g3 Be8 17.a3 Qb6+ 18.Kg2 Nd4 19.Re5 Nc6 20.Ree1 Nd4 21.Nxd4 Qxd4 22.Ne2 Qb6 23.Qc3 Bd7 24.Qd4 Qb3 25.Rc1 Bc6 26.Ng1 Bb5 27.Rfd1 Bc6 28.Nf3 Qa4 29.Rd2 Qa5 30.Rdc2 Raf8 31.Ne5 Be8 32.Qc5 Qxc5 33.Rxc5 g5 34.Ng4 Rg6 35.Ne5 Rgf6 36.Rc7 gxf4 37.Rxb7 Bg6 38.Rcc7 fxg3 39.Rg7+ Kh8 40.Nxg6+ Rxg6 41.Rxh7+ Kg8 42.hxg3 a5 43.Rhd7 Rc8 44.Rdc7 Rxc7 45.Rxc7 Rg4 46.Kf3 Rd4 47.Ke3 Rg4 48.Re7 Rxg3+ 49.Kd4 Rg2 50.b4 Kf8 51.Rxe6 Ra2 52.b5 Rxa3 53.Kxd5 Rxd3+ 54.Kc6 a4 55.b6 Rc3+ 56.Kd7 Kf7 57.Re4 Rd3+ 58.Kc7 Rc3+ 59.Kb8 a3 60.b7 a2 61.Ra4 1-0. The Reshevsky Duel Abe played an extremely interesting series of games against the legendary American Grandmaster Samuel Reshevsky between 1957 and 1975. Of the eight games played, Abe drew five, won both in Dallas 1957 and Tel Aviv 1964, and lost only once at the Lugano Olympiad in 1968. The lives of the two Grandmasters had some striking parallels: both were born in Poland; Reshevsky in Ozierkov in 1911, and Abe in Brody in 1925. Both were raised in traditional Jewish homes, and both were proclaimed child prodigies shortly after learning the game. Both families emigrated to the new world when their prodigies were children, and both endured considerable hardship in their youth. Sammy was taken on simultaneous exhibition tours of European and American cities to showcase his prowess. As Anthony Saidy shrewdly observes in his wonderful book The Battle of Chess Ideas, "The spectacle of the small boy walking round and round, mile after mile, in city after city, in simultaneous combat against dozens of grown men, undoubtedly fascinated the public. But what did it do to the child?" Abe's youthful hardships stemmed from the fact that his father died a month and a half after Abe's thirteenth birthday. Compounding the trauma of Abe's loss was his family's dire economic hardship: "In January of 1940, it became necessary for me to get a job and the next two years were spent at working all day as an office clerk in a fruit wholesaler's and attending night classes to complete my High School education. I found little time for chess until after I graduated from High School in May, 1941." One important difference between Reshevsky and Yanofsky is that the former was a chess professional par excellence while Abe remained, throughout his life, an exceptional amateur, possibly the strongest amateur chess player in the world. In the double round robin 1957 Dallas International Tournament, Abe won one game and drew the other against his formidable opponent, although he came close to winning both. In the following game Abe reveals an aspect of his strength which was generally underestimated by many, myself included, in his acute tactical alertness. This is the very quality of Reshevsky's play which has so often been celebrated. Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Yanofsky, Abe Dallas International, 1957 Ruy Lopez: Chigorin C97 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 Na5 9.Bc2 c5 10.h3 Qc7 11.d4 0-0 12.Nbd2 Bd7 13.Nf1 Rfe8 14.Ne3 g6 15.dxe5 dxe5 16.Nh2 Be6 17.Qf3 Rad8 18.Nhg4 Nxg4 19.Nxg4 Bxg4 20.hxg4 Rd7 At the 1958 Portoroz Interzonal, Matanovic equalized against Fischer with 20...c4 21.g3 Nb7 22.Kg2 Nc5 23.Rh1 f6. Abe's next move brings his rook to the h-file without blocking his queen's access to square h3, as is the case with Fischer's 21.g3. 21.Kh2 c4 22.Rh1 Qd8 23.b4 Directed against Black's attempt to activate his knight with the maneuver ...Nb7-c5-d3. 23...Nc6 24.Qe3 Qc7 25.Kg1 White now has the decisive threat of 26.Qh6 and 25...Bf8 26.Qh3 f6 27.g5 gives White a distinct positional advantage. Reshevsky tries a seemingly reasonable alternative. 25...f6? 26.Rxh7 Abe seizes the tactical opportunity. Now 26...Kxh7 is met by 27.Qh6+ Kg8 28.Qxg6+ Kh8 29.Qxe8+ and a simple win. Reshevsky mounts fierce resistance, but his effort is futile. 26...Bf8 27.Rxd7 Qxd7 28.Qf3 Be7 29.a4 Rd8 30.Be3 Qe6 31.Rd1 Kf7 32.Rd5 Rb8 33.g5 Rb7 34.gxf6 Bxb4 38.axb5 axb5 36.Bg5 Bf8 37.Qd1 b4 38.cxb4 Nxb4 39.Rd8 Nxc2 40.Qxc2 Qc6 41.Rd5 Bc5 42.Rxe5 Bd4 43.Re7+ Rxe7 44.fxe7 Qb5
This position is not entirely without technical difficulties. Black is poised to play ...c3 and ...Qb2 with serious counterplay, but Abe reacts in exemplary fashion. 45.e5! A powerful pawn sacrifice in order to centralize White's queen and render the ¹/e7 even more menacing. The immediate threat is 46.e6+ followed either by Qxg6# or Qxc4+. 45...Bxe5 46.Qe4 Bd6 47.g4 To prevent Black from meeting 48.Qf3+ with 48...Qf5. 47...c3 Abe finishes the game very elegantly. Reshevsky's moves are all forced. 48.Qf3+ Ke6 49.Qf6+ Kd7 50.e8Q+ Kxe8 51.Qe6+ Kf8 52.Bh6# 1-0. Abe's next victory against Reshevsky occurred seven years later at the 1964 Olympiad in Tel Aviv. The game is perhaps Abe's most Kasparov-like effort, as he sacrifices a piece to incarcerate Reshevsky's dark squared bishop, destroys his opponent's center, and exposes Reshevsky's king to a fierce attack. Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Reshevsky, Samuel Tel Aviv ol, 1964 Grunfeld D93 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.Rc1 c6 7.e3 Bg4 8.Qb3 Bxf3 9.gxf3 Qd7 10.h4 dxc4 11.Bxc4 Nh5 12.Bh2 Abe suggests the alternative 12.Be5 instead. 12...Na6 13.Ne4 h6 14.Ke2 b5 15.Bd3 Kh7 16.a4 f5 17.Ng3
17...Nf4+! Abe's only comment on this brilliant move is to add the punctuation. 18.exf4 Has Reshevsky, in his long and illustrious career, ever suffered a more pitiful bishop than this cleric imprisoned by its own infantry? Admittedly, Yanofsky has sacrificed a knight to create this spectacle, but he is only nominally a piece down. Whether Abe is winning or not is left to the reader, and perhaps Fritz6, to decide. We do know that Reshevsky was unable at the board to overcome the challenges that face White in this position. 18...Qxd4 19.axb5 cxb5 20.h5 Nc5 21.hxg6+ Kh8 22.Qxb5 Rab8 23.Rxc5 Rxb5 24.Rxb5 e6 25.Rd1 Qf6 26.Bc4 Qxg6 27.Rd6 Re8 28.Rb7 Bf8 29.Rc6 h5 30.Rxa7 h4 31.Nf1 Qf6 32.Ra2 Qd4 33.b3 Bb4 Abe remarks: "About here White offered a draw, which I naturally declined." 34.Ne3 Qc3 White has no way to control the e1 square, so Reshevsky's king is flushed out of its sanctuary at e2. 35.Rxe6 Qe1+ 36.Kd3 Rd8+ 37.Bd5 Unfortunately for Reshevsky, 37.Kc2 is met by 37...Rd2#. 37...Rxd5+ 38.Nxd5 Qxe6 39.Ra8+ Kg7 0-1. Before turning to Abe's domination of the Canadian chess scene from 1940 to 1965, I want to showcase just a few more of his international victories. Since these all appear in CTHW, I will do so without commentary, in the hope that En Passant readers will order Abe's posthumously published book, which is now available from the CFC in Ottawa. Yanofsky, Abe Dallas InternationaL, 1957 Sicilian: Rauzer B67 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O Bd7 9.f4 Rc8 10.Nf3 Qa5 11.Kb1 b5 12.e5 b4 13.exf6 bxc3 14.fxg7 Bxg7 15.Qxd6 Rc7 16.Ne5 Bxe5 17.fxe5 Rg8 18.h4 cxb2 19.Bf6 Rb7 20.Rh3 Qc7 21.Qxc7 Rxc7 22.Rc3 Rg4 23.a3 Ra4 24.Be2 Ra5 25.Bf3 Kf8 26.Bxc6 Rxc6 27.Rxd7 1-0. Yanofsky, Abe Munich ol, 1958 French: Tarrasch C04 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nc6 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nd7 6.Nb3 Be7 7.Bb5 O-O 8.O-O Ncb8 9.c3 b6 10.Ne1 c6 11.Be2 Ba6 12.Bxa6 Nxa6 13.Qg4 Re8 14.Bh6 Bf8 15.Bg5 Be7 16.Bh6 Bf8 17.Bg5 Be7 18.Bxe7 Qxe7 19.f4 f5 20.exf6 Nxf6 21.Qe2 Nc7 22.Nf3 c5 23.Rae1 c4 24.Nbd2 b5 25.Ne5 a5 26.Rf3 b4 27.Rh3 Rf8 28.Qf2 Nb5 29.Qh4 Nd6 30.g4 g6 31.Ndf3 Nde4 32.Rxe4 dxe4 33.Ng5 Nd5 34.Nxg6 Qg7 35.Nxf8 Nxf4 36.Nfxe6 Nxh3+ 37.Nxh3 Qd7 38.Nhf4 bxc3 39.bxc3 Re8 40.Qg5+ Kh8 41.Qf6+ 1-0. Notes by Jack Woodbury Yanofsky, Abe Stockholm izt, 1962 French: Winawer C18 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Nf5 8.Bd3 h5 9.Qf4 Best is now supposed to be 9.Qh3 which Abe played against Erich Marchand in the 1940s. It prevents 9...Qh4 because of 10.Bxf5. 9...cxd4? He should play 10...Qh4 right away. 10.cxd4 Qh4 11.Qxh4 Nxh4 12.Bg5! Nf5 Black doesn't care for 12...Nxg2+ 13.Kf1 f6 14.exf6 gxf6 15.Bxf6 Rf8 16.Bg7 Rg8 17.Be5. 13.Ne2! Nc6 14.c3 This would not be possible without the insertion of 9...cxd4. 14...Na5 15.Nf4 Ne7 16.Be2 g6 The point of White's maneuver with knight and bishop: Black's dark squares give free play to White's bishop. However, 16...h4 17.Nh5 Nf5 18.g4 hxg3 19.hxg3 Kf8 20.g4 Ne7 is not attractive for Black either. 17.Bf6 Rh7 18.Bb5+ An unlikely move, but Abe has an idea. Instead 18.Nh3 allows 18...Ng8 19.Ng5 Nxf6 20.exf6 Rh8 and White has nothing. 18...Bd7 19.Bxd7+ Kxd7 20.Nh3
20...h4 Here the sequence 20...Ng8 21.Ng5 Nxf6 22.exf6 Rhh8 leaves Black's ¹/f7 loose, so Uhlmann decides to make a square at h5 for his rook. Computers are cruel however, and I now see that after 23.Nxf7 Rhf8 24.Ne5+ Kd6 White's position is not good. Interestingly, the game has been widely published elsewhere without anyone noticing this! 21.Ke2 Ng8 22.Bg5 Rc8 23.Kd3 Rc6 24.g3 Nc4 25.Bxh4 Rh5 26.f4 Ne7 27.Nf2 Rh8 28.Bf6 Rhc8 29.Rhb1 R8c7 30.g4 Nc8 31.h4 Na5 32.Nd1 Nb6 33.Ra2 Na4 34.Rc2 Nc4 35.Rb3 Ke8 36.h5 gxh5 37.gxh5 Kf8 38.Rg2 Ncb2+ 39.Nxb2 Rxc3+ 40.Rxc3 Rxc3+ 41.Kd2 1-0. The following game comes with an interesting story that Abe recounted at the Winnipeg Chess Centre at a lecture he gave several years ago. It seems that Bobby Fischer was quite upset with Korchnoi for some reason, and so on the evening prior to this game, he knocked on Abe's door and offered to help him prepare. He showed Abe an opening novelty - the maneuver beginning with 11.Nce2 to be followed by 12.c4 - which he assessed as slightly better for White at that time. Abe indeed got the upper hand, and claimed in his lecture that he missed a win later in the game. Yanofsky, Abe Stockholm izt, 1962 Sicilian B47 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.O-O Be7 9.b3 O-O 10.Bb2 Rd8 11.Nce2 d5 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.c4 Ndb4 14.Qb1 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Bc5 16.a3 Bxd4 17.Bxd4 Rxd4 18.axb4 e5 19.Rd1 Rxd1+ 20.Qxd1 Be6 21.Qf3 Rb8 22.Rd1 h6 23.Qd3 Rc8 24.Qe4 b5 25.c5 Bxb3 26.Rd6 a5 27.Bh3 Re8 28.Rd7 Qc8 29.Re7 Qb8 30.Rxe8+ Qxe8 31.bxa5 Qd8 32.Qb1 Bc4 33.a6 Qa8 34.Qa1 b4 35.a7 Bd5 36.Bd7 b3 37.c6 b2 38.Qxb2 Qxa7 39.Qxe5 Qc5 40.Qe3 Qc2 41.f3 h5 1/2-1/2. According to Abe the endgame in the following brutal encounter should have been a draw, but it is a far from easy to pinpoint White's decisive error. Bobby's fierce and relentless effort to win, combined with his amazing stamina, ultimately triumph. Yanofsky, Abe Stockholm izt, 1962 Sicilian B92 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Be3 Qc7 10.a4 Be6 11.f4 exf4 12.Rxf4 Nbd7 13.Nd5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Ne5 15.a5 Rfe8 16.Bb6 Qc8 17.Bd3 Bd8 18.Bxd8 Qxd8 19.c4 b6 20.Bf1 Rb8 21.Qd4 Ng6 22.Rf2 Ne4 23.Re2 Nc5 24.Rxe8+ Qxe8 25.Ra3 Nxb3 26.Rxb3 bxa5 27.Ra3 Qd8 28.c5 Rb4 29.Qc3 dxc5 30.Qxc5 Rxb2 31.d6 Nf8 32.Qc7 Qxc7 33.dxc7 Rc2 34.Rxa5 Rxc7 35.Rxa6 g6 36.Be2 Kg7 37.Bf3 Nd7 38.Kf2 Ne5 39.Ra3 Rc2+ 40.Kg3 Kf6 41.Be4 Rc4 42.Bf3 Kg5 43.Re3 f6 44.Re4 Rc3 45.Rf4 f5 46.h4+ Kf6 47.Ra4 Nd3 48.Rd4 Nc5 49.Rd6+ Ke5 50.Rd5+ Ke6 51.Rd4 h6 52.Kf2 Nd3+ 53.Ke2 Nc5 54.Kf2 g5 55.hxg5 hxg5 56.Ke2 Nb3 57.Rd8 Rc2+ 58.Kd1 Rc1+ 59.Ke2 Ke5 60.Re8+ Kf6 61.Rf8+ Kg6 62.Rg8+ Kh6 63.Bd5 Rc2+ 64.Ke3 Rc3+ 65.Kf2 Nc5 66.Bf3 Nd7 67.Rd8 Nf6 68.Rd6 Kg7 69.Ke2 g4 70.Bb7 Nh5 71.Ke1 Re3+ 72.Kf2 Rc3 73.Ke1 Re3+ 74.Kf2 Rb3 75.Ba8 Ng3 76.Ke1 Re3+ 77.Kd1 Ra3 78.Bb7 Ra2 79.Rd4 Nh1 80.Ke1 Ra1+ 81.Ke2 Rg1 82.Rd6 Rb1 83.Ba8 Rb3 84.Rd3 Rb2+ 85.Ke1 Rb8 86.Bc6 Rb6 87.Ba8 f4 88.Rd4 Rf6 89.Bb7 Kg6 90.Rd8 Re6+ 91.Kd2 Nf2 92.Rd4 Kg5 93.Ba8 Rf6 94.Ke1 Nh1 95.Rd8 Rb6 96.Rd4 Ng3 97.Kd2 Nf1+ 98.Ke2 Ne3 99.Rd2 Kh4 100.Kf2 Rb3 101.Be4 Ra3 102.Bc6 Nf5 103.Rb2 Ra1 104.Rb4 Ra2+ 105.Ke1 Kg3 106.Rb3+ Ne3 107.Be4 Kh2 108.Rb4 Nxg2+ 109.Bxg2 Kxg2 110.Rxf4 g3 111.Rg4 Kf3 112.Rg8 Ra1+ 0-1. Abe's second encounter with Bobby Fischer occurred six years later when Abe finished second behind Bobby Fischer in the Netanya International Tournament of 1968. Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Fischer, Robert Netanya International, 1968 Caro-Kann: Panov-Botvinnik B14 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Qb3 Bg7 7.cxd5 O-O 8.Be2 Na6 9.Bg5 Qb6 10.Qxb6 axb6 11.a3 Rd8 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Rd1 Bf5 14.Bc4 Rac8 15.Bb3 b5 16.Nf3 If White captures the pawn with 16.Nxb5 Black answers 17...Bc2 and stands better. 16...b4 17.axb4 Nxb4 18.Ke2 Bc2 19.Bxc2 Nxc2 20.Kd3 Nb4+ 21.Ke4 Rd6 22.Ne5 Bg7 23.g4 f5+ 24.gxf5 gxf5+ 25.Kf4 Rf8 26.Rhg1 Nxd5+ 27.Nxd5 Rxd5 28.Nf3 Kh8 29.Rge1
29...Bf6 Abe gives this move a question mark and writes: "After having outplayed Fischer, I now miss a probable win by 29...Bh6+." He demonstrates a win against the weak reply 30.Kg3 but against 30.Ng5 he concludes that "White seems able to hold on." 30.Ne5 e6 31.h4 Rc8 32.Nf7+ Kg7 33.Ng5 Bxg5+ 34.Kxg5 Rc6 35.Re5 Rcd6 36.Rxd5 Rxd5 37.f4 Rb5 38.Rd2 Rb3 39.d5 h6+ 40.Kh5 exd5 41.Rxd5 Rxb2 42.Rd7+ Kf6 43.Rd6+ Kf7 44.Rxh6 Rg2 45.Rb6 Rg4 46.Rxb7+ Kf6 1/2-1/2. Becoming a Grandmaster Abe may have reached his peak strength at the 1964 Olympiad in Tel Aviv, where he faced 16 GMs on board one, and scored an impressive 10 points. I would like to share with the readers a portion of the letter I received from Zvonko Vranesic, who describes the crowning achievement of Abe's career, the attainment of his GM title at this event: "Abe was the established leader of the team and I was a rookie with high hopes. It turned out to be a magical experience for all of us, in spite of the fact that Canada was considered to be a second-tier chess country in those days. Before the era of Swiss-style tournaments, the Olympiad consisted of a preliminary competition in several groups, followed by the final round robin events. The first two teams from each preliminary group played in the 'A' final, the next two in the 'B' final, and so on. We were placed in a group in which Argentina and East Germany were the top ranked teams, and were expected to make the 'B' finals. As luck would have it, our first match was against East Germany, whose team consisted of professional, state-supported chess players. In contrast, we were talented amateurs who had nothing to lose; our jobs did not depend on our success at the chess board. I remember Abe telling us that we were much stronger than it appeared on paper, and that we would be in great shape if we beat the Germans. He was to play Wolfgang Uhlmann, who was one of the leading Grandmasters of the time. After surviving an intense struggle, Abe caught Uhlmann in a web of tactics to win the game. And since we managed to split the other three games, the scoreboard showed us on top by a score of 2.5-1.5. We hung tough in the remaining preliminary matches and finished in second place behind Argentina, but a half point ahead of East Germany. I will never forget the thrill of that moment. It was the first time that Canada made the 'A' final, and Abe became a Grandmaster! Abe's optimism was contagious. He showed us that it was possible to exceed expectations if we failed to be intimidated by the reputations of our opponents." (Vranesic) Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Uhlmann, Wolfgang Tel Aviv ol, 1964 Grunfeld D99 Abe fully annotates this exciting game in CTHW. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 Nfd7 8.Be3 Nb6 9.Qb3 Bg4 10.Rd1 Nc6 11.d5 Ne5 12.Be2 Nxf3+ 13.gxf3 Bh3 14.Rg1 Kh8 15.f4 Bd7 16.h4 c6 17.dxc6 bxc6 18.h5 Qc7 19.hxg6 Be6 20.Qc2 fxg6 21.Nb5 Qb7 22.Nd4 Bf7 23.b3 c5 24.Qxc5 Rac8 25.Qa5 Rcd8 26.Bf3 Rd7 27.Bg4 Rdd8 28.f3 Rfe8 29.Kf2 e5 30.fxe5 Rxe5 31.Nb5 Rxd1 32.Rxd1 h5 33.Qxa7 Qxa7 34.Nxa7 Ra5 35.Bxb6 Rxa2+ 36.Kg3 hxg4 37.Kxg4 Bxb3 38.Rd8+ Kh7 39.Nb5 Be6+ 40.Kf4 Rb2 41.Rd6 g5+ 42.Ke3 Bc4 Suddenly, Abe threatens 43...Re2#. 43.Nd4? Abe suggests 43.f4 instead, and concludes that neither 43...Rb3+ nor 43...g4 (renews the mate threat) leads to a clear win, although 43...Rb3+ confers on Black "a great advantage." 43...Be5
With the dual threat of capturing the rook and 44...Bf4#. 44.Rd7+ Kg6 45.Bc7 Bxd4+ 46.Kxd4 Unfortunately for White, 46.Rxd4 is mate after 46...Re2#. Thus, Abe wins the exchange and converts his material advantage to a win. 46...Rd2+ 47.Kxc4 Rxd7 48.Bb6 Rf7 49.Kd5 Rxf3 50.e5 g4 51.Ke6 Rf1 52.Kd7 Rd1+ 53.Ke7 Kf5 0-1. Before turning to Abe's record in Canada, I want to include a tiny fragment of a marathon game that Abe played as White against Harry Golombek at Hastings in 1952. Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Yanofsky, Abe Hastings, 1952
Both players have just queened pawns, and a series of checks from Abe has followed. On move 98 however, Golombek has made a fatal misstep with his king... 99.Qh4+ Kg2 100.Qg3+ Kh1 Of course, Black's queen is lost after 101...Kf1 102.Nd2+. 101.Qh3+ Qh2+ 102.Ng3+ Alas poor Golombek cannot capture the knight and reach a stalemate after 102...Qxg3 103.Qxg3 because his queen is pinned on the h-file. 102...Kg1 103.Qf1# 1-0. Chess in Canada Beginning in 1941 when he won the Dominion Championship at the age of 16, until 1965 when he won the Canadian Closed Championship in Vancouver with a score of 10/11 ahead of Lionel Joyner and future GM Duncan Suttles, Abe clearly dominated the chess scene in Canada. He wrote in CTHW: "Although this was the last time I won the Canadian Championship, I draw satisfaction from the fact that I won or tied for the title eight times between 1941 and 1965, a result equalled only once before, by the late Maurice Fox of Montreal." Subsequently, GM Kevin Spraggett has amassed a larger number of Canadian titles, but for one quarter of a century, Abe was clearly the man to beat. Abe also won the Canadian Open in Edmonton in 1979 and, quite remarkably, tied with Fletcher Baragar for third in the Canadian Closed in Winnipeg in 1986 at the age of 61, behind GM Kevin Spraggett and IM Igor Ivanov. Abe routinely travelled to eastern Canada on business and to win another Canadian Championship. His chief rival during the 1950s was Frank Anderson of Toronto, who tied for first with Abe at the 1953 Canadian Championship and won a silver medal on board two at the Munich Olympiad in 1958 where he achieved a GM norm. Anderson had a reputation for working hard at improving his game, and perhaps concentrating particularly on refuting Yanofsky's pet openings. Many leading players at the time, including Anderson himself, believed that the following encounter would result in Abe's defeat. Perhaps as a matter of principle, Abe selected the French Defense, which might well have come as a surprise to Anderson. Anderson, Frank CA ch, 1959 French: Tarrasch C06 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 Qb6 8.Nf3 cxd4 9.cxd4 f6 10.exf6 Nxf6 11.O-O Bd6 12.Nc3 O-O 13.Be3 Bd7 14.Rc1 Rae8 15.a3 a6 16.Na4 Qc7 17.Nc5 Bc8 18.h3 Qe7 19.Nxa6 e5 20.Bb5 exd4 21.Bg5 Bd7 22.b4 Ne5 23.Bxd7 Nxf3+ 24.Qxf3 Qxd7 25.Bxf6 bxa6 26.Qxd5+ Rf7 27.Qc4 gxf6 28.Qxa6 Rg7 29.Kh1 Qe6 30.Qc4 Rc7 31.Qxe6+ Rxe6 32.Rxc7 Bxc7 33.g3 Re2 34.Rd1 Bb6 35.Kg2 Ra2 36.Rd3 Kf7 37.Kf3 Ke6 38.g4 Kd5 39.h4 Kc4 40.Rd1 d3 41.a4 Rxf2+ 0-1. In the early 1960s, Abe's greatest threat came from Zvonko Vranesic, who finished in second place behind Abe in the Canadian Championship of 1963. Other participants included former Canadian Open Champions Elod Macskasy and Laszlo Witt, defending Canadian Closed Champion Lionel Joyner, former Canadian Interzonal representative Geza Fuster, as well as future GM Duncan Suttles. Vranesic, Zvonko Winnipeg CA ch, 1963 King's Indian: Sämisch E87 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 e5 6.d5 Nh5 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qd2 f5 9.O-O-O a6 10.Bd3 Nd7 11.exf5 gxf5 12.Nge2 Nc5 13.Bc2 b5 14.Rdg1 bxc4 15.g4 fxg4 16.fxg4 Nf4 17.Nxf4 exf4 18.Bxf4 Qf6 19.Be3 Nd3+ 20.Bxd3 cxd3 21.Qxd3 Bd7 22.h4 Rae8 23.Rh3 h5 24.gxh5 Bxh3 25.h6 Rf7 26.Bd2 Bf5 27.Qf1 Qd4 28.hxg7 Bh7 29.Qd1 Rxg7 30.Bg5 Qxd1+ 31.Kxd1 Re5 32.Rg4 Bf5 33.Ra4 Bc8 34.Kc2 Rf7 35.Rb4 Kg7 36.Rb8 Bf5+ 37.Kb3 Be4 38.Kc4 Bg2 39.Rc8 Bh3 40.Ra8 Rf2 41.Kb3 Bg2 42.Rxa6 Bxd5+ 43.Nxd5 Rxd5 44.Rc6 Rb5+ 45.Kc3 1/2-1/2. The following game is characteristic of Abe's patient style. Witt has a grip on the position which he is unable to convert to a win, and when he goes 'all out' with 32.gxh5 and 34.f4 his efforts backfire. Witt, Laszlo Winnipeg CA ch, 1963 Sicilian B92 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Qc7 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.a4 h6 10.Be3 Nb6 11.O-O Be7 12.a5 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Qxc4 14.f3 Bd7 15.Qd2 O-O 16.Rfd1 Rac8 17.Nc1 Bc6 18.Nd3 Bd7 19.g4 Qe6 20.Nb4 Bc6 21.Qe2 Rfd8 22.Nbd5 Bxd5 23.Nxd5 Nxd5 24.Rxd5 Rc6 25.c4 Rdc8 26.b3 Qf6 27.Rad1 Bf8 28.Kg2 h5 29.h3 Re8 30.Rg1 Qg6 31.Kh2 Be7 32.gxh5 Qxh5 33.Qg2 Bf8 34.f4 Qh6 35.Qg3 exf4 36.Bxf4 Qf6 37.Bd2 Rxe4 38.Rg2 Rc5 39.Bc3 Qf4 40.Rd3 Qxg3+ 41.Rdxg3 g6 42.Rd3 Rc8 43.Rgd2 Rce8 44.Kg2 Re3 45.Bd4 Rxd3 46.Rxd3 f5 47.Be3 Re4 48.Kf3 Kf7 49.Bf4 Ke6 50.Rd1 Be7 51.Rg1 Kf7 52.Rd1 Re6 53.c5 dxc5 54.Rd7 Re4 55.Rxb7 Rb4 56.Rb6 Bd8 57.Rxa6 Rxb3+ 58.Kg2 g5 59.Bg3 Ra3 60.Bf2 Ra2 61.Kf1 c4 62.Rc6 Bxa5 63.Rxc4 Ke6 64.Be3 f4 65.Bxf4 Kd5 0-1. Abe's final decisive triumph in a Canadian Closed Championship was in Vancouver in 1965, where he won with a score of 10/11, well ahead of Joyner at 9/11 and Suttles' 8/11. Notes by Irwin Lipnowski Suttles, Duncan Vancouver CA ch, 1965 Caro-Kann B17 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Bc4 Ngf6 6.Ng5 e6 7.Qe2 Nb6 8.Bb3 h6 9.N5f3 c5 10.Bf4 Bd6 11.Ne5 O-O 12.Ngf3 cxd4 13.Rd1 Nbd5 14.Bc1 Qa5+ 15.Kf1 b5 16.Rxd4 Ba6 17.Kg1? In CTHW, Abe states that Suttles considers this the losing move. The improvement suggested by Dr. Macskasy is 17.c3 in order to reply to 17...b4 with 18.c4. 17...b4 18.Qe1 Qc7 19.h4? Suttles' suggestion here is 19.Rh4 "with some chances." 19...Bc5 20.Rd1 Rad8 21.Rh2 Ne4 22.g4 Ndf6 23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Be3 Bxe3 25.fxe3 Qc5 26.g5 Nd5 27.gxh6 Nxe3 28.h7+ Kxh7 29.Ng5+ Kg8 30.Nxe4 Qxe5 31.Qxe3 Rd1+ 32.Kg2 Bf1+ 33.Kf3 Qxh2 34.Ng5 Qg2+ 35.Kf4 Rd2 36.Bxe6 Rf2+ 37.Ke5 Re2 0-1. Abe makes an observation in CTHW that demonstrates a high degree of self-confidence, coupled perhaps with a touch of remorse for not having devoted himself to chess as a profession in order to realize his full potential as a highly gifted player. He writes: "Had I in mind a chess career professionally, the 1970s would have been the period that I would have devoted most of my time to studying, practicing and preparing to contest for the World Championship. However, as I had always been taught to approach the game of chess as a hobby, and not as a profession, I concentrated a large part of my time in building up an active law practice with an abundance of appearances in the courts of Manitoba, as well as a number of appearances before the Supreme Court of Canada." When one considers that in March of 1970, Abe was 45-years-old, his pursuit of Olympian heights in chess at this stage in his life might well have been against insurmountable odds. Admittedly, Abe did play some of the finest games of his career at the Tel Aviv Olympiad in 1964 at the age of 39, but the early 1970s were dominated by Fischer and Spassky, and the next fifteen years by Karpov and Korchnoi. The fact that the latter player defied the odds by reaching the peak of his powers in his forties, is an extraordinary and probably unprecedented feat. When one considers how small a portion of his time and energies Abe actually devoted to the game in comparison to that allocated by his peers, Abe's achievements are all the more remarkable. One can only speculate about the heights he might have reached had he followed the lure of Caissa... |
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