Aug-15-23
 | | KEG: This poorly played lackluster game is redeemed by the closing blunders. Having given away his advantage and placing over-reliance on his passed d-pawn, Marco unleashed a flawed Queen-sacrifice that should have lost instantly. Both sides, however, overlooked a fairly obvious Queen fork that should have won immediately for Black on move 28. By move 34. with von Scheve holding Queen and pawn against two Rooks, chances seemed about even and a draw might have been the logical outcome. But then von Scheve organized a clever help-mate that required perfect uncoordination of his pieces to succeed in checkmating his own King on a reasonably open board. A gorgeous chess suicide that was every bit as clever as some of the suicide scenes in "Harold and Maude." In short, the first part of this game may be boring and painful to watch, but the insanity at the end makes it all worthwhile. 1. e4 g6
von Scheve liked closed games. This choice of opening for him did not work well at all. 2. d4 Bg7
3. c3
click for larger viewAn occasionally used line that is entirely playable, but why ignore the tried and true 3. Nf3 or 3. Nc3. An effort to confuse von Scheve? 3... b6
I am also bewildered by von Scheve's adoption of a double fianchietto. But Bent Larsen played this twice at the Siegan Olympiad in 1970 and won both games, so I guess this can't be all that bad. 4. Bd3
The sound and steady move one would expect from Marco. A hyper-aggressive played might try 4. h4?! here. 4... Bb7
click for larger view5. Ne2
While this can't be called a blunder since White retains a small edge, 5. Nf3 has to be better. And, of course, there was always 5. h5?! 5... e6
Another mystery move that can't be called a "blunder" or even a "mistake," but that serves little purpose for Black other than creating an alternate square for Black's g8 Knight. von Scheve had plenty of more productive moves at his disposal (i.g., 5...Nf6 or 5...d6 or 5...c5). 6. 0-0
Typical stodgy play by Marco rather than trying to create action by bringing his b1 Knight into the game with 6. Na3 or 6. Nd2. 6... Ne7
So THAT'S why he played 5...e6.
7. Be3
Another slow cautious move by Marco, perhaps expecting that von Scheve, who was having a miserable tournament, would self-destruct. That happened eventually here, but not in the opening. 7... d5
click for larger view8. f3
The more enterprising 8. e5 was not Marco's style. 8... 0-0
9. Na3
Finally biting the bullet and playing this awkward developing move. 9... a6
click for larger viewShaping up to be an uninspired and uninteresting game. But have faith! Fascinating stuff lies ahead. Not very GOOD stuff mind you, but certainly fascinating. I'm not sure exactly how to evaluate the position at this point, but given the insanity to come, it probably doesn't matter. |
|
Aug-16-23
| | KEG: Post II
10. Rc1
Harmless but useless. Possible plans for White involve Qd2 followed by Bh6 or maybe an immediate 10. e5 or 10. Bg5. Marco's move cannot be called any sort of "blunder" or "mistake," but it suggests he was already playing in a fog. Luckily for Marco, von Scheve also appeared entirely at sea in the upcoming portion of the game. 10... b5
In order to...well...I don't know. 10...0-0 or 10...c5 seem indicated. Once again, however, the vapid move was not terribly costly. 11. b3?
Well, I'm guessing that Marco thought this had to precede 12. c4, so he ignored such good moves as 11. Qd2 (again with Bh6 in mind). 11... c6?
11...0-0 or 11...dxe4 might even have given von Scheve a slight edge. 12. c4
Finally a move we can understand:
click for larger view12... dxc4?
12...0-0 was simpler; and if von Scheve wanted a pawn swap, he should have taken the e-pawn, not the c-pawn. 13. bxc4 0-0
A reasonable choice, but 13...b4 was the best chance to try to punish Marco's nebulous earlier play. 14. Qd2 e5
click for larger view15. d5?!
Arguably the key decision of the game. Marco decided to bank on the power of a passed protected d-pawn; and indeed the resulting passed White d-pawn was to play a leading role in Marco's later ability to salvage a seemingly lost position (and then convert it to a winning one when von Scheve lost his mind. But this all need not have happened, and 15. Rfd1 was best here. But that would have been a kill-joy and prevented the bizarre and amusing manner in which this game would ultimately be concluded. So maybe I should give 15. d5 a "!"
15... cdx5
16. cxd5
click for larger viewSo Marco now had his protected passed d-pawn and should surely be deemed to have the superior chances now. But all that assumes some semblance of normal play by both sides. But that ain't what happened: 16... f5?!
von Scheve would not have been so bad after something likes 16...Nc8 or maybe 16...Nb6. But the text looks like leading with one's chin. 17. Rfd1?
Marco had two ways to try to press for a win here: (A) 17. d6, which might have been followed by 17...Nc8 18. exf5 gxf5 19. Bxf5! RxB 20. Rc7 Rf6 21. RxB Rxd6 22. Qc2 with strong pressure; or (B) 17. Nc2 keeping options open on both wings. After the text, von Scheve's 16th move suddenly looks just fine, since he could now have played 17...fxe4. But von Scheve had other (awful) ideas: 17... Kh8
Huh? Now Marco could proceed merrily with 18. d6, or rachet up the pressure with 19. Nc2. But: 18. Rc2?
Not only a bad square for the Rook, but a move that deprives White's a3 Knight access to c2. This all left:
click for larger viewGiven the zaniness that followed, deciding how to assess the position at this point is probably pointless. I suppose I'd rather be White here (he still has his nasty protected passed d-pawn), but not with the strategies soon to be employed by the players. |
|
Aug-16-23
| | KEG: Post II
18... fxe4
He could also just have played 18...Nf6 immediately. 19. fxe4 Nf6
click for larger viewMarco (White) was still somewhat better, and Black now had only one threat (Ng4) that required prophylactic measures. 20. h3 (which might have been followed by 20...Nxd5 21. exN e4 with a slight edge for White). But rather than trying to prevent Black's Ng4, Marco rolled out the welcome mat: 20. Ng3 Ng4
Of course!
21. Be2 NxB
22. QxN Ng8
White still has his protected passed d-pawn, but now von Scheve (Black) had the two Bishops and the somewhat better chances: 
click for larger viewIt's hard to believe that Marco was already in time-trouble (with a move-30 time control, but from move 23 to move 27, Marco played some pretty weird chess: 23. Bg4?
With the misguided notion of placing the Bishop on e6; while allowing von Scheve to assume a ferocious initiative. 23... Bh6!
click for larger view24. Qc5
24. Qc3; 24. Qb3; or even 24. Qd3 were better. But even now the game was not lost for White. 24... Qg5
24...Nf6 was also strong. After the text, Marco had to retreat his Bishop to e2 or f3. But: 25. Be6?
A fixation that should have cost him the game.
25... Bc8!
Nicely played by von Scheve. Marco was now plainly in trouble, and likely already theoretically lost: 
click for larger viewMarco might yet have made a fight of it with 26. BxN, but it would still have been rough sledding for White after 26...Bg4! 27. Re1 KxB. But instead of this plausible effort, Marco jet-powered Black's position with: 26. BxB?
Now, all seemed lost for White:
26... RaxB
click for larger viewA win for Black. The computers will all tell you that. But not even our silicon friends could have imagined the craziness that now ensued. |
|
Aug-17-23
| | KEG: Post IV [my last post was "Post III," not "Post II"] 27. QxR?
The Tournament Book says that Marco "recovered [here] by giving up the Queen." In fact, the text was a blunder that should have allowed von Scheve to chalk up a win forthwith. Maybe I should give the move "?! instead of "?" since it ultimately let von Scheve astray and allowed Marco to salvage and then win a lost game. What happened here?
My best guess is that--perhaps because of time pressure with the move-30 time control approaching--both sides saw that after 27. QxR RxQ 28. RxR Black can win the White Knight on a3 by 28...Qe3+. von Scheve probably thought, albeit mistakenly, this would be a win for him (Queen and Knight being more valuable than two Rooks) while perhaps Marco had figured out that after this sequence he could likely draw with his passed d-pawn. But all of this was based on a false assumption by both sides: 27... RxQ
28. RxR
click for larger viewHad von Scheve stopped to reflect now, he--unless his time was about to expire--would surely have noted that he has a far superior Queen fork here than 28...Qe3+. Instead, 28...Qg4! wins the house. Marco would then have had nothing better than 29. RxN+ KxR after which White's extra Rook and Knight would be grossly insufficient to balance von Scheve's extra Queen (e.g., 39. Re1 [White has nothing better] Qc8! 40. Nb1 Qc2 41. a3 Bc1 and wins easily). But von Scheve missed this clear winning opportunity and instead played: 28... Qe3+
29. Kf1 QxN
click for larger viewAll according to plan, but now Marco played his get-out-of-jail card. 30. d6!
click for larger viewIt was probably here that von Scheve noticed that the win would not be so easy for him. Plus, he still had to make his 30th move before his flag dropped. Black's only winning prayer here was to play 30...Bg5! Play might then have continued 31. d7 Kg7 [anything else loses for Black] 32. d8(Q) BxQ 33. RdxB Nf6 34. Rc6 [practically forced] b4 with some at least practical chances for Black to press for a win. But, whether because he was discouraged or because he was in trouble on the clock, von Scheve gave away any chances to play for a win with: 30... Qa4?
This was a terrible move not only because it blew Black's last chance to play for a win, but because it placed the Black Queen on a square on which it was blocked by the Black pawn on b5. The move, however, was not a losing move. It just gave up any Black winning prospects and--as will be seen--became the first step in setting up a comic help-mate. 31. Rd5
31. Rd3 would also have saved the day for White. 31... Bg5
Forced.
32. d7 Kg7
Forced.
33. d8(Q) BxQ
34. RdxB
click for larger viewNow Black need only play 34...Nh6 and the game would likely end in a draw. But here, von Scheve found a losing move, and then followed it up on move 35 with a remarkable help-mate. |
|
Aug-17-23
| | KEG: Post V
34... Nf6?
This probably loses even with best play from Black. But, given what now transpired, that is all beside the point. 35. Rd6!
Amazingly enough, anything else by White probably loses. But now, of course, Black can bring his King to the defense with 35...Qa5 and have at least practical chances to survive, the position now being: 
click for larger viewThe question here, however, is how can Black arrange a help-mate in just four moves. The key, perhaps needless to say, is to keep the Queen blocked by the b5 pawn while getting the Black Knight out of play. A tricky problem perhaps, but von Scheve found the neat "solution": 35... Nxe4??
click for larger viewA clever feat of self-destruction.
36. Nf5+!
click for larger viewNow it's mate in four.
Ouch!
1-0 |
|
|
|
|
Kibitzing
sac: 28.Rxc8