chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing
Albert Hodges vs Abel Blackmar
"Abel was I ere I saw Albert" (game of the day Jul-25-2014)
Brooklyn CC Championship 1892 (1892), Brooklyn, NY USA
French Defense: Classical. Rubinstein Variation (C14)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

explore this opening
find similar games 4 more A B Hodges/A Blackmar games
sac: 17.Bxh7+ PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: You should register a free account to activate some of Chessgames.com's coolest and most powerful features.

PGN Viewer:  What is this?
For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.
PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

Kibitzer's Corner
Jan-30-07  cyclemath: 33 Qxf8+ is not just check - it's mate.
Jul-25-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: Cute - an allusion to the palindrome "Able was I ere I saw Elba" (Elba being the island to which Napoleon was exiled after being forced to abdicate in 1813). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napol...
Jul-25-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  Phony Benoni: Point of information: Black was not the gambit guy. That was Armand Edward Blackmar, a New Orleans music publisher who died in 1888. This A. E. Blackmar was a New York lawyer and jurist. No relation, as far as I know.
Jul-25-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: Regarding the palindrome to which I alluded, see http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/0...
Jul-25-14  Br0kedChess: I feel like 30... Rg7 was a blunder. I would've tried Qg7!, deliberately giving up the queen, holding everything together. At least for a little while
Jul-25-14  sfm: Fine game, not an easy attack to play.

<Phony Benoni: ... Black was not the gambit guy.> Surprise! I have never heard the name 'Blackmar' elsewhere. So TWO Blackmar chessplayers, with the same initials. Well, there is also this T. Petrosian.

Jul-25-14  Once: This is one of those attacks that is nigh on irresistible over the board, but which silicon finds fault with, I'm afraid.

Fritzie doesn't care for 26. Re3 as this allows 26...Nbc4 to force an exchange. Black finds this move but for some reason doesn't swap material when he has the chance. This is odd as he is the gambit bishop ahead and desperately needs to defuse the white attack.

After 27. Ngf7, he wants to play either Rxf7 or Nxe5, both of which should give black an advantage of about 1.5 pawns.

By the time we get to 30. Re1, Fritzie thinks the game is level. 30...Rg7? hands the advantage back to white as it allows 31. f5. Instead 30...Rh7 keeps the game level (and probably forces white into a perpetual check.

After 31. f5 black is struggling, but 31...Rf8 is instant capitulation. It allows mate in two.

So how to call this one? It's a forceful white attack that isn't quite correct, but is very hard to defend against. It's perhaps not surprising that black didn't find the resources that could have saved the game.

A reminder that chess is still very much a human game of mistake and intimidation. And long may it stay so!

Jul-25-14  morfishine: Gallant Effort
Jul-25-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <Once> Note that this was a correspondence game. One should be able to find such resources in a correspondence game. See, e.g., K Thompson vs F Rhine, 1992; D Fleetwood vs F Rhine, 1997; F Rhine vs S Sinding, 1996; F Rhine vs A Boerkoel, 1996.
Jul-25-14  kevin86: I thought the expression was:

Able was I ere I saw Elba- it is a palindrome. I could have been said by Napoleon, but he was French-so he probably never said it.

The last move is indeed Mate!

Jul-25-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  Penguincw: The checkmate in the final position looks a lot like a "hook mate":

A typically hook mate might look like so


click for larger view

Jul-25-14  posoo: FSR one can only find dis in a CORRSPOND game if you have all da time in the world.

Blackmar was a busy FELLOW

May-18-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: <Note that this was a correspondence game.> Not so. This is game #74 in <Albert Beauregard Hodges> by Hilbert & Lahde.
Feb-03-23  Messiah: <posoo: FSR one can only find dis in a CORRSPOND game if you have all da time in the world.

Blackmar was a busy FELLOW>

Obvious <harrylime> sockpuppet.

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: CLASSICAL. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.

<This page contains Editor Notes. Click here to read them.>

Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC