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| Jan-07-08 | | Karpova: <Youngest player of a published game José Raúl Capablanca, receiving queen odds, defeated Ramón Iglesias in Havana on 17 September 1893 when he was four years and ten months old. (C.N. 2146; page 234 of Kings, Commoners and Knaves.)>
http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... |
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| Jan-07-08 | | CapablancaFan: Ramon Iglesias decides to give a little boy (4yrs.) queen odds in a casual game of chess. When it was over, he revisited his decision to give the boy odds at all, LOL! |
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| Feb-08-08 | | veigaman: A 4 years old boy decided to play the petrof defence which it amazed because it is not an usual opening to be played by an amateur. Also it is remarkable the way the young cuban boy calculated the endgame to centralize his king. Incredible chess understanding for a 4 years old kid, a natural talent. |
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| Feb-09-08 | | veigaman: 4 years old playing the petrof and centralizing the king as a future champion! |
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Feb-10-08
 | | paulalbert: I had not seen this game before. Certainly an extraordinary effort by someone not yet 5 years old, displaying optimal strategy against Queen's odds, play solidly and gradually force exchanges, even giving the Queen up at the end to eliminate all his opponent's firepower. Also I love the way he just calmly takes the opposition at the end. Capablanca in My Chess Career does say he studied endgames extensively as a boy and that he loved that part of the game. I wonder at what age he did so. Paul Albert |
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| Feb-10-08 | | Ziggurat: Indeed, how can a 4-year-old play like that? The move that impressed me the most was 14...c5. The child refrains from the "obvious" 14...Nxd2+ in order to engineer a pawn break (16..b5). |
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| Feb-10-08 | | CapablancaFan: <paulalbert> I agree with you 100%. Capa himself said of his chess education, that he learned chess essentially backwards compared to most of his other counterparts in the fact that studied and mastered the endgame first before any other aspect of chess theory. |
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| Feb-10-08 | | CapablancaFan: <Ziggurat><The move that impressed me the most was 14...c5.> I'm amazed too. The fact that a 4 year old had the judgement to maintain his beautifully posted knight and refrain from exchanging it for white's useless bishop already shows Capa's middlegame prowess. |
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| Feb-10-08 | | veigaman: I agree with all of you mates, incredible game! |
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| Feb-10-08 | | paladin at large: It is my understanding that Iglesias did not go full out to win, but was mainly interested in testing the boy's reactions. Somewhere in these early years when the young boy was taken to the Havana Chess Club, it developed that the only player who could give Raulito queen odds and win, was the old dean of Havana chess, Celso Golmayo. Since Golmayo died ca. 1898, it was a boast he could not have made for long, but an incredible one indeed for one's epitaph. Agree that JRC's recognition of simplification and centralization are remarkable. |
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| Feb-10-08 | | Calli: <paladin at large> I'm glad you confirmed my memory of the game. Can't quote a source, but Iglesias had a chess column and so he had an interest in getting a publishable game. Still, as everyone has pointed out, Capablanca shows an understanding of the positional that is amazing. The thing I have always wondered about is the lack of recorded games from 1893 to 1900. I know Capa's parents limited his play, but you think a game or two against Golmayo, Vasquez etc would survive. |
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| Feb-10-08 | | paladin at large: <Calli><lack of recorded games from 1893 to 1900> I wonder about that, too. Political turmoil on Cuba increased throughout the 1890s, culminating in the 1898 war; the growing Capablanca family had to move several times, also away from Havana, during this decade - if I recall correctly. It may be that some games were recorded which were later lost in the violence and confusion. |
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| Feb-10-08 | | Calli: In E. Winter's book, he recounts that the game was published by A C Vasquez in his El Figaro column of 8 Oct 1893. (so Iglesias was not the columnist). Vasquez wrote that Iglesias played "without, of course, the intention of beating him at all costs, but giving him opportunities to display his talent and resources." Mr. Winter also comments on the lack of game scores: "...Vasquez, if no one else, might have been expected to record others.." It somewhat of a minor mystery. One would think that once that first game was published, the demand for more from the prodigy would be great. |
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| Feb-11-08 | | paladin at large: <Calli> Another possibility is that the Capablanca family, which had been advised to keep the boy away from chess for the most part, wanted the boy's limited visits to the chess club to be low-key. We'll never know, I suppose. |
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| Mar-26-08 | | Knight13: <without, of course, the intention of beating him at all costs> Of course, every game I lost I had no intention of beating my opponent at all costs, at all. |
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| Apr-05-08 | | MaczynskiPratten: Irving Chernev published this game with the title "Extra! Extra! Capablanca gets Queen odds!!!". Only at the end did he give the explanation. |
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| May-09-08 | | jeeky1996: Oh my god! A queen handicap? |
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| Jun-21-08 | | amuralid: Chess talent like this HAS to be in born. Sorry Philip E Ross, experts can be born too. The toddler respects so many principles of the middlegame and endgame. 1) Look at the position after 11. ... Bd7
The pawn structure is sound, the development is decent 2) Na5 > b3 but not taking the bishop on d2! Where do you get understanding like that? 3) c5 The correct breakthrough
4) b5 Attacking with pawns on when kings have castled on opposite wings 5) Nd4 entering complications to open the center and come ahead 6) 32. ... Qf6 Maturity well beyond his age. How many trained adults can do this? 7) Cool defense. I did not find even one instance where Capa was under any pressure. White was rendered totally toothless 8) Saves the best for last. The king march towards the center is my pick for the most astounding phase of the game. He had so many ways to win but again respected endgame principles. Amazing! Astounding! Capa was born to play chess. |
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| Jul-04-08 | | mmmsplay10: <AMAZING!!> |
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| Jul-05-08 | | blacksburg: after 21...Bxg4, black has an extra pawn, which is passed and on d4, and he hasn't even used his queen yet. after 23...Bxd5, black would be up 2 pawns and probably winning, even without the extra queen. |
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| Oct-24-08 | | tommy boy: Four years old ???? Amazing |
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| Nov-30-08 | | TheaN: <blacksburg: after 21...Bxg4, black has an extra pawn, which is passed and on d4, and he hasn't even used his queen yet. after 23...Bxd5, black would be up 2 pawns and probably winning, even without the extra queen.> Reading through the comments I was surprised that something like this was not mentioned yet and was about to post it myself... Put the White Queen on d1 and consider, albeit the inferior Nxe4 in the Petroff (and even then), the game up to move 25 approximately. Although the non-available Queen might have had some considerable influence to the game, at the point at move 25 a Queen would not make the game in White's favor at all. And even in the final position, where Capablanca obviously used his Queen to terminate the White cannons, a White Queen would not make the position an immediate win. Astonishing. |
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| Jan-05-09 | | WhiteRook48: wow amazing game
<Sibahi> what about adding this game to your collection "Queen Odds?" |
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| Jan-05-09 | | WhiteRook48: Capa played this game amazingly, considering he was only 4 years old at the time... |
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| Jan-22-09 | | peirce: 34 K*g7 is a mistake ,
an illegal move , there is
a Rook in f1 .
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