| Feb-21-05 | | offramp: This is the first game of what seems to be the longest single match between leading players before 1927, Does anyone know why the players played it? |
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Feb-22-05
 | | tamar: <offramp> Interesting question, does anyone know how the Paulsen-Kolisch match came about? Paulsen was so low-key, he seems to have not raised a ripple in the chess scene in England until this match. On the Ignatz Von Kolisch page,<SBC> quote a May 1861 letter Paulsen wrote in which he says, "Since my arrival here on the 12th of December I have neither done anything important in chess, nor heard any interesting news; and have not even yet determined when I shall go to Berlin and Breslau to challenge Anderssen, Lange, and Suhle." Meanwhile, Kolisch had been traveling about Europe and England since 1859 with a sponsor playing matches in which he either won or drew. According to The Oxford Companion to Chess, Kolisch "defeated Harwitz (+2 =1 -1), Horwitz (+3-1) Barnes (+10 -1)..." So they met in London, and played this extra-ordinary match. Probably, I would surmise at Kolisch's or his sponsor's urging, who would have been eager to play another opponent of Morphy after duplicating his victories over Barnes and Harrwitz. But it was Paulsen's reputation which was enhanced by the outcome. |
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| Feb-22-05 | | offramp: Here is how the 31-game match went:
Paulsen,Louis ˝01˝11˝˝˝˝1˝˝1˝1˝000˝0˝1˝0˝˝˝˝˝ 16.0
Kolisch,Ignaz ˝10˝00˝˝˝˝0˝˝0˝0˝111˝1˝0˝1˝˝˝˝˝ 15.0 |
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| Apr-25-06 | | offramp: Does 79...Bh7 win? Anyone have those creepy tablebases? |
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| Apr-25-06 | | offramp: "[A] most remarkable case in point is the match between Kolisch and Paulsen for the first eleven games up, in which the latter stood at once time with five games against one ahead in the score. Kolisch then contented himself to draw game after game, occasionally adding a victory, until at last the match was given up as undecided, with the final score of—Paulsen 7, Kolisch 6, and 17 drawn. However, it should be pointed out that the two above-named contests occurred before the introduction of the time limit, and it is difficult to say how far the modern time restriction would interfere with such defensive tactics..." -- The Field, (London), 16th July 1881 |
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| Apr-25-06 | | offramp: "That same year [Paulsen] played a match with Kolisch, which, after a prolonged contest, was abandoned as drawn; at one time Paulsen's score was 6 to 1, but, greatly to his credit, Kolisch fought on bravely, and eventually scored 5 to his opponent's 6, with 14 draws. It was reported at time that when the score was 6 to 1 against Kolisch, he was greatly encouraged to exert himself to the utmost by the back-pats and promises of pecuniary reward given to him by the late Mr. N. Strode, of Chiselhurst, a well-known member of the St. George's Chess Club. It was said Mr. Strode gave him 5 pounds for every game he drew, and a still larger sum for every game he won." -- G. A. Macdonnell, The Knights and Kings of Chess. |
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Apr-25-06
 | | Boomie: The premature 55. f5 blew a won game. The proper technique involves infiltrating with the king on the h-file. 55. Kg3 Ke6 56. Bg7 Kxd6 57. Bxh6 Ke6 58. Bg7 Be8 59. Kh4 Kf7 60. Be5 Bb5 61. Kg5 Bd3 62. Kh6 Bc4 63. h4 Bd3 64. f5 gxf5 65. g5 f4 66. Bxf4 Ke6 67. g6 Kf5 68. Bg5 Bc4 69. Kh7 |
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Dec-12-12
 | | OBIT: Black had the game won until he played 79...Kb5??, enabling the White king to reach the a1 corner via c3. Instead, 79...Kb4 wins, the difference being 80. Kd4 Bh7 (or 80...Bf5 or 80...Bg6 - any waiting move will do) puts White in zugzwang, forcing the White king to move away from the critical c3 square. After 81. Ke3 Kxa5 82. Kd2 Kb4 83. Kc1 Ka3, the White king can't reach the corner, giving Black the game. <offramp's> 79...Bh7 is also fine. It's the same idea: the White king is forced to move off the shortest path to the corner, allowing the Black king to capture the pawn and get to a3 before the White king can reach a1. |
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