| Aug-12-11 | | Nightsurfer: People should not be too harsh with Ms A Abdulwadood Rawek! For without knowing her instructive defeat in N Jindi vs A Raweh, 2000 I would have felt like a poor Patzer for the rest of my life. But after having replayed her entertaining encounter with Ms Al Jindi on the occasion of the Chess Olympiad Istanbul 2000 - see once more: N Jindi vs A Raweh, 2000 - , I have realized: chess is not a game for specialists exclusively, chess is a game for the people as well, and everybody of us has the chance to feel as being part of the Olympic movement sometimes ... whilst sitting at the board of chess. How come?
Well, though I have never made it to the Chess Olympiad, at least for the time being, the Goddess CAISSA - I am her humble servant! - has made me feel somewhat OLYMPIC one night in 2004 at a smoke-filled (... yes, that was legal back then!! ...) Chess Cafe in Hamburg, Germany. In fact, it was 01.30 h early in the morning of August 5th, 2004, and I played a friendly match against Mr. Ulrich W. Schmidt, a well-known lawyer and former Champion of the Isle of Westerland. [Event "Midnight casual Cafe Zumir, 2004"]
[Date "2004.08.05"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Gralla, Rene"]
[Black "Schmidt, Ulrich W."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackEöo "?"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f6?
click for larger viewI could hardly believe my eyes: wow, that was a kind of DAMIANO, having been beamed from Odemira, Portugal (where DAMIANO has been born) straight into the scenery of an Italian Game! Apart from that I had a vague idea: Haven't I seen that move order before, as being the intro of a short game that had been played during the Chess Olympiad Istanbul 2000 (section of women) and that had been published by HARALD KEILHACK in his book "Schachhoehepunkte"?! I was sure that the next move should have been 4.Nh4 ... - conforming to the Olympic game that I vaguely recalled - , and so I executed that swing of cavalry without fear: 4.Nh4 ...
click for larger viewThe former Champion of Westerland had a little too much trust in the solidity of his chain of Pawns h7+g7-f6-e5: 4. ... Bc5??
Well, all right, the structure was solid enough but there was a fatal little hole in there: 5.Qh5+ ...
click for larger view5. ... Kf8
The King, as usual (ask SHAKESPEARE!) tried to get to one of his beloved horses on g8. That was too bad for him - I would have preferred to see him trying to flee via e7, because of 5. ... Ke7 6.Qf7+ Kd6 and the nice final screen-shot after 7.Nf5# 
click for larger viewBut on the other hand: When would I ever had got the chance to execute the deadly blow of the SCHOLAR's MATE on full board?! Whilst feeling like a proud mind athlete in the arena of the Olympics?! 6.Qf7# 1-0
click for larger viewLater - after I had returned home early in the morning - I checked out the book that HARALD KEILHACK had written, and, yep, there it was, on page 258, there I found the proof: cool, I was right, that game here - having been played in the Bohemian atmosphere of that wonderful Cafe Zumir (that has closed some years later, sorry to say!) - has paid reverence to the SPIRIT OF THE OLYMPICS, by being a total REPLAY of that amazing game N Jindi vs A Raweh, 2000 .
That was a nice feeling - to be part of the Olympic movement, just by playing chess in a Bohemian cafe. That is the special Charm of Chess! SHUKRAN, Ms A Abdulwadood Raweh, and SHUKRAN, Ms Al Jindi! |
| Aug-19-11 | | Nightsurfer: Talking of that strange parallel case to <N Al Jindi vs A Abdulwadood Raweh, Istanbul 2000>, namely <U W Schmidt vs R Gralla, Hamburg 2004>, Ms Abdulwadood Raweh has forgotten the cool advice of OLD HANDS AT THE BOARD: "Never give up before there is some kind of chance that your opponent can blunder!" [Event "Midnight Casual Cafe Zumir, 2004"]
[Site "Hamburg, Germany"]
[Date "2004.08.05"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Gralla, Rene"]
[Black "Schmidt, Ulrich W."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 f6 4.Nh4 Bc5 5.Qh5+ Kf8 6.Qf7# 1-0 Since the game has been lost after 5.Qh5+ ... anyway, Black could have tried 5. ... g6!! at least. Why?
click for larger viewWhite - whilst giving up a Knight - could have sacked in Rook and 2 Pawns as boot, of course: 6.Nxg6 hxg6 7.Qxh8 ...
The game would get lost, for sure, but Black would have avoided the all too painful SCHOLAR's MATE. Plus: There would have been a hidden chance in 5. ... g6!!
Namely: White could have felt "obliged" to check-mate at once but that would have been a blunder. Just have a look at the hypothetical White try to check-mate at once after 5. ... g6!! - a try that would have been futile. Here we go:
6.Nxg6 hxg6 7.Qxg6+?! Ke7 8.Qf7+?? ... (8.Qg7+ ... plus 9.Qxh8 ... would still have been correct, of course!), and now both immediate check-mate and Rook h8 are out of reach after 8. ... Kd6. All right, 9.Qe6+!!??!!?? ... COULD have been THE END, but unfortunately there is the brilliant riposte 9. ... dxe6!!!!! Therefore White has to be content with 9.Qd5+ Ke7 10.Qxc5+ d6!, and Black will probably lose the game, in the end, since White is up two Pawns, and White attack is still rolling on, but the sudden death after less than 10 moves is out of reach for White. 
click for larger viewConclusion: Those seasoned players in the cafe down the street are right when they use to say that "no game is lost before you will not have resigned"! |
Kibitzing
