Yosef Goldschmidt

 

Source: Al Ha'mishmar, 15 October 1971, p. 10

Igor Beridchevsky reminds us in a Facebook post that Yosef Goldschmidt was born on February 13th, 1897, and diced on 31 January, 1973. He was, notes Berdichevsky, one of the "founders of Israeli problemist activity" and that Eliahu Fasher published a book in his honor with over 300 of his problems. In fact, Fasher went further: he dedicated his book The Israeli Problemist to Goldschmidt, as well. 

Fasher adds in The Israeli Problemist (p. 66) that Goldschmidt was the editor of Al Ha'mishmar's chess column since 1953 (above, an example from 1971). Fasher adds some more personal details: Goldschmidt lost an eye in the German army in the First World War, was a Zionist pioneer (came to Palestine in 1920), and for years worked in the Nesher beer facory as a security guard. Fasher also notes Goldschmidt was indeed one of the most active Israeli problemists, with worldwide recognition, winning over 40 prizes for over 250 problems. 

A Nice Attack

 From La'Merchav, Feb. 14th, 1958, p. 6, sent to us by a dedicated correspondent:

Ido Aviner - Beno Levi 

Sicilian Dragon [B71]

1958? 

Source: see above

Annotator: Eliyahu Fasher

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.f4 Nc6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 Ng4 Black chose here a variant which, he said, Euwe recommended. Black forces White to open his KS, but paralyzes his own QS. 9.h3 Nh6 10.g4 To prevent Nf5 after White's next move. e6 11.Be3 d5 12.Bg2 Stops the advance of the pawns on Black's QS. (12.g5? Nf5) 12...Be7 13.O-O Ba6 14.Ne2 Self-pinning the N for a long time, but done to keep the f1 square free for the rooks. 14...Qa5 15.b3! Bc5 16.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 17.Kh2 Better than 17. Kh1, as will be clear in the 21st move. 17... Rd8 18. Qd2 Ng8 White's threat was f5 ad then f6. 19. Rf3? Wants to free the N, but doesn't notice Black's next move, which both frees and attacks. 19...h5! 20.Nd4! Keeps the position intact. 20...Qb6 20...hxg4 21.Rc3 with complications. 21. Kg3! c5 21... h4+ 22. Kh2 22. Ne2 Ne7 23. Nc3 Qc7 Of course not 23...d4? 24.Ne4. 24.Re1 Nc6 25. Bf1 hxg4 26. hxg4 Qe7 Threatening mate never hurts! 27.g5 Qb7 28.Rf2 Nd4 29.Bh3 Qb4 30.Na4! Black avoids a queen exchange in an equal position, i.e., trying to win by force. But this costs the paralyzation of the queen. 30...Nb5? 30... Nxc2? White doesn't fear this, due to 31. Rc1 31.c3 Qa3 

32.f5! gxf5 33.Bxf5! White exploits the black queen's paralysis to break through. The bishop sacrifice cannot be accepted due to e6 with a crushing attack. But Black manages to find a way to defend by opening a way to his queen. 33...c4 34.Bg4! Keeps the material advantage. 34.g6 Qe7 35.gxf7+ Kf8 and Black wins. 34...Bc8 34...cxb3 35.axb3 Qxb3 36.Qf4 wins; 34...Qe7 35.Ref1, followed by 36.Rf6, 37.g6, etc. 35.Ref1 Qe7 36.Rxf7 Qxf7 37.Rxf7 Kxf7 38.Qf2+ Ke8 Best under the circumstances. 38...Kg8 39.Qf6 Re8 40.Qg6+ Kf8 41.Bh5 and wins. 39.Qf6 Kd7 40.Bxe6+! Kc7 41.Bxc8 Simplest. 41...Rxc8 41... Kxc8 42. Qc6+ Nc7 43. Nc5 etc. 42.Qe7+ Kb8 43.Nc5 Nc7 44.Qd6 and Black resigned (1-0) due to mate in a few moves, e.g. 44...Rcd8 45.Na6+ Kb7 46.Qxc7+ Kxa6 47.Qc6+ Ka5 48. b4#. 

"Many Very Interesting Cliches"

Colnoa. will appear tomorrow [28.9.1932]! Source here.

In Fasher's Ha'problemai Ha'Israeli [The Israeli Problemist] (Tel Aviv: Israeli Problemists' association, 1964), p. 35, we read that 'later [after the mid-20s] chess columns started to appear in the weeklies Colnoa [כלנוע] (sic), Ha'shavua [השבוע] and in the newspapers Davar and Ha'aretz'. Of the columns (originally by Marmorosh) in the daily newspapers I am aware. But does anybody have any information about the columns in these weeklies? 

I have found ads for Colnoa, the 'illustrated bi-weekly', from the early 30s. (It is a portmanteau word joining col, 'all', and noa, 'movement' - i.e., 'everything that moves', and recalling 'kolnoa', movie theatre). It was a general interest magazine, including items on movies, original stories, articles about current events, sports, women's health, knitting, and so on. The ad above says the coming issue will have a section with 'many very interesting cliches'. But it seems an unlikely venue to a chess column, especially since chess is not explicitly mentioned in the contents. 

Ha'shavua is harder to find, since it is a very generic name, meaning simply 'the week', and many periodicals had this or similar names. One possibility is Tel Aviv's local metropolitan weekly from that period -- again, an unlikely venue for a chess column.

But "unlikely" doesn't mean "surely didn't exist". Does anybody have a copy of these periodicals and know if they had a chess column?

P. S. 

I apologize for the formatting, which is inconsistent with previous posts - for some reason I cannot change it. 

A Nice Kniazer Win

 Israel  Yosef Kniazer

A frequent correspondent notifies us of the obituary for Kniazer (La'merchav, 6.6.58 p. 5) by the editor of the paper's chess column, Eliahu Fasher. (Fasher notes Kniazer was born in 1895; other sources also give 1894 or even 1899.) He gives the following photo, taken at the Lasker club in Tel Aviv, and adds that Kniazer was a member of the club for many years. Fasher then gives two games, against Porat and Blass, which will be given in this and the next post. 

Finally, Fasher adds that Kniazer was working on a book of his best games. This book was indeed published in 1959, as Ha'derech Le'nitzahhon Be'shachmat [The Road to Chess Victory] with deep annotations by Kniazer and, mostly, Raafi Persitz. The book also has the two games given by Fasher. In his annotations to this game, Persitz (which adds the missing moves Fasher does not give due to lack of space) notes that Kniazer, in his notes, added that he was not satisfied with White's 'strategic  position', despite having won tactically. Persitz sees this as typical of Kniazer's desire for chess perfection (p. 72). 

(A note about spelling. Gagie's Chess Personalia prefers the English spelling 'Keniazer'. It seems that various persons with this last name spell it Kniazer, Keniazer, or Kaniazer. In this case, Israel Yosef Kniazer's name is usually pronounced, in my experience, closer to 'Kniazer'. I have not yet, however,  found an authoritative source for an English spelling.)

Kniazer, Israel Yosef - Porat, Yosef

Caro-Kann (B11)

Haifa, 1946. 

Sources: La'merchav, 6.6.58, p. 5 and Ha'derech Le'nitzachon Be'sachmat, pp. 61-72.

Annotations: Eliahu Fasher (also punctuation) and Raafi Persitz

1. e4 d5 2. Nf3 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Ne4 5. d3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bf5 7. Rb1 Qc7 8. d4 e6 9. Bd3 Bg6 10. O-O Be7 11. Ng5 c5 12. Qf3 O-O 13. Qh3 

White is manouvering skillfully, trying to created something out of nothing (Fasher). The manouver Re1-e3-h3 worked due to Black's mistake, but takes too long. It was time for 13.f4! (Persitz, p. 67). 13...Bxd3 14. Qxd3 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Nc6 16. Rfe1 Rac8 17. Re3 Ne7 18. Rh3 Ng6 19. Rc1 cxd4 20. cxd4 Qc4 21. Qd2 Qxa2? 

Black underestimates White's attack. Kniazer doesn't miss the opportunity and sacrifices at once (Fasher). 22. Bf6!! Rfe8 Of course not 22... gxf6 due to mate in a few moves (Fasher). 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Qh6+ Kg8 25. Qxh7+ Kf8 26. Rf3 Re7 27. Qxg6 

With a pawn more and a strong attack, White won in a few moves (Fasher). Persitz (pp. 71-72) gives these moves: 27... Qb2 28. Qh6+ Ke8 29. Rb3 $1 Qxd4 30. Qh8+ Kd7 31. Rxb7+ Rc7 32. Rxc7+ Kxc7 33. Rb1 Qa4 34. Qb8+ Kd7 35. Qd6+ and Black resigned (1-0) since it's mate next move.

A Snapshot

Source: La'Merhav Feb. 12, 1960, page 8 

A frequent correspondent notifies us of the interesting "snapshot" of the Israeli first league in 1960. We see the "old guard" in Jerusalem's Rubinstein club: Czerniak, Dobkin, Mohilever and others. We see a "mixture" in Tel Aviv's Lasker club: Aloni and Oren, but also the young Domnitz. The IDF's and the students' teams naturally feature young players: Kraidman, Guti, Stepak, and others. Tel Aviv's Reti has the "old timers" Smiltiner and Barav but also the young Persitz in the first board. 

Of particular interest is the Bat Yam club, which has Gereben in the first board, but the article (by La'Merhav's chess columnist, Fasher) notes that he already left the country -- and that Bat Yam also lost Ya'akov Mashian, the Iranian-Jewish master, 'who also left the country'.

Mashian returned to Israel in the mid-70s (at least according to Wikipedia), and -- incidentally -- played with Stepak a 193-move game in the Israeli championship semifinals (Stepak won, 1:0). This game, according to Tim Krabbe, was the longest recorded game ever played for seven years (1980-1987), and is still the longest game in time -- 24.5 hours -- 'a record it will forever hold'.

As for Gereben, he had emigrated to Israel in 1959 and played in the 1959 Israeli championship (coming in second), but left the country soon afterwards, as Fasher already notes. Ha'Tzophe of Oct. 9th, 1959, p. 4, notes our correspondent, says the 'Erno Gereben (Grünfeld)' had come to the country shortly before the championship began. Can any reader explain why 'Grünfeld'?

Edited to add: a frequent correspondent noted that the English-language Wikipedia entry for Gereben has his birth name as "Ernest [or Ernst] Grünfeld' and adds:

This name change, with other survival skills, probably helped him survive the holocaust. It was printed in the Israeli press that during one of the Olympiads, a Hungarian player, in a worse position, whispered to the Israeli player (in Yiddish) 'I am a Jew', and the game was drawn. 

It turned out to be Gereben. Based on the details given by our correspondent, an Olimpbase and Chessbase search reveals the game is probably Gereben - Kniazer, Amsterdam 1954, ending in a draw in the following position:

IM Ernö Gereben - Emigrating to Israel?

Source: La'Merchav, Oct. 23rd, 1959, p. 2

We have already noted that Ernö (Aharon) Gereben had emigrated to Israel but had not managed to fit in. But when has he emigrated? The answer is given by Eliyahu Fasher above, in a report on the Israeli championship of 1959. Apparently he had emigrated to Israel 'a month before' the tournament, i.e., ca. Sept. 1959.He (playing white) defeated Guti in the position given in the newspaper (click for larger image) with a clever trap. Annotations & punctuations: Fasher.

8... Qa5? 9.Nd2 b5? 10.a4! Ba6 11.axb4! QxR 12.Nb3 QxB 13.QxQ and White has a queen and pawn for a rook and bishop!

Gereben finished second in the championship (after Porat). A year later, a frequent correspondent of ours notes, Gereben was 'not admitted' to the Israeli Olympic team (on which he was willing, 'not being in peak shape', to play 4th board) due to 'his appeal coming late, after the team had been selected.'

The report (below) notes that after the 1959 championship he had 'left the country, [although] appearing as an Israeli in various tournaments abroad'. This makes one suspect that Gereben had never actually intended to settle in Israel, only to play chess in its tournaments, especially as, at the time, he was already settled in Switzerland.

Added 24/6/2018: It should be added that, our correspondent notifies us, notes that Gereben apparently played in the Israei league during his tenure in Israel, La'Merhav notifies us on April 14th, 1959, that he had been placed on the first board ot the West Galilee team.

Source: Ha'Boker, Oct. 2nd, 1960, p. 4.

A Fasher Victory

We have often mentioned Eliyahu Fasher in this blog, but we didn't often see games by him. Here is one such game, from 64 Mishbatzot no. 2 (March 1956), p. 32, played in the 1956 Western Galille section of the Kibbutzim (the "Histadrut Ha'Ovedet") championship:

Eliayahu Fasher -- A. Nahir
Annotator: Moshe Czerniak

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nxd4 exd4 5. Bc4 d6 Weak; the famous game Anderssen - Lange, 1859, continued: 5... Nf6 6. e5 d5 7. Bb3 Bg4! 8. f3 Ne4! 9. O-O d3!! 10. fxg4 Bc5+ 11. Kh1 Ng3+ 12. hxg3 Qg5 13. Rf5 h5!! 14. gxh5 Qxf5 15. g4 Rxh5+ 16. gxh5 Qe4 and white resigned due to a mate in five
starting with 17. Qf3 Qh4+ etc. 6. O-O Nf6 7. c3 dxc3 8. Qb3 d5

Even after 8... Qe7 White retains the initiative: 9. Nxc3, d4, etc. 9. exd5 Bd6 10. Re1+ Kf8 11. dxc3 a6? The well known combination 11... Bxh2+ 12. Kxh2 Ng4+ 13. Kg1 Qh4 fails here to 14. Bf4; but Black could have tried 11... Ng4! with chances of a draw. [Czerniak gives some possibilities here - A. P.]. In any case, due to the danger to [Black's] kingside, there is no justification for a passive move on the queenside. 12. Bg5 Bxh2+? now black falls in the trap, and instead of winning a pawn... gets mated:

13. Kxh2 Ng4+ 14. Kg1 Qxg5 15. Qb4+ 1-0

Chess and Politics, 1964 Olympiad

Credit: Shachmat, vol. 3 no. 4 (28), November 1964

In the "Chess and Politics" file, we add the following photo, on the cover of Shachmat from November 1964, with the self-explanatory title, 'World Champion Petrosian is welcomed by president [of Israel] [Zalman] Shazar'.

P.S.

Shachmat mistakenly put 'October 1964' on the front cover of the issue, despite the fact that it was in fact the November issue; this may well be due to the magazine switching back and forth at the time between "real" print and multi-lite print, and encountered various other technical problems. The new editor (Eliyahu Fasher) warned the readers in advance, in the "real" October 1964 issue (p. 3) to expect such issues.

More on Aizikowitz: Composer, Player, Chess Promoter

Credit: Davar, 24/1/75, p. 24

Moshe Roytman notes that the correct pronunciation of the name of the person who was responsible for chess for the blind is probably Jacob Aizikowitz (יעקב אייזיקוביץ) and not "Itzkowitz" as I called him in the previous post (now changed).

This is made clear, for example, by the way his name is spelled in Hebrew article above, provided by Roytman, about how Erez Biton won a tournament for the blind in Aizikowitz's memory, as well as by the way his name is spelled in English in Eliyahu Fasher's Ha'Problemai Hai'sraeli: Yesodot Ha'Compositya Ha'Sachmatait [The Israeli Problemist: The Base of Chess Composition]. 

In Roytman's 1983's edition (as he points out to me), as well as in my 1964 one (Tel Aviv: Mofet Press, 1964), his name is spelled Aizikowitz in English (p. 20), and appears with a photo of him -- clearly the same one as in the newspaper given in the previous before, only of better quality:

In the 1983 edition, there is information about his dates -- b. 1898, Poland, d. 1973, Israel. The book (in both editions) published one two-mover by him (p. 82 of the 1964 edition):

The 1964 edition also has a short capsule biography (p. 65): 'Born in Poland in 1898, emigrated to Palestine in 1927. A clerk in the Haifa municipality. Began to be interested in chess in 1914 and in problems in 1955, especially two-movers. Recently [written in 1964 -- A. P.] became interested in promoting chess among the blind'. Presumably the later edition includes his death date. 

Shachmat, vol. 11 no. 7-8 (131), (unfortunately my copy doesn't have the exact page number), has an English-language obituary of him -- incidentally, on the same page as a shorter (Hebrew-language) "double" obituary for Leonid Shtein and Folke Rogard (click on image to enlarge). It too uses the same photograph of him:

Solution to problem (from the same book, p. 152 of the 1964 edition): 1. Qf8! (block). 

Chess and Poetry

Credit: see below.

On the subject of chess and other arts, one should note the Persian poet Ferdowsi, who is not only considered Persia's greatest poet, but also wrote about the history -- or rather legednary history -- of chess.

In  his famous Shanama he tells the famous legend of chess being invented as 'war without bloodshed' to tell a queen that her son had died in battle, and the inventor of chess asking, as his reward, for one grain of wheat on the first square, two on the second, four on the third, etc. -- the total being 2^64 -1, or about 460 billion tons of wheat. (Source: Murray's History of Chess, Ch. XII, 'Invention of Chess in Muslim Legend').

Murray adds in the same chapter by that all early Muslim writers on chess openly admitted the game was invented in India and set the story of its invention there. Still, some, perhaps out of national chauvinism, argue that Ferdowsi's term Hind refers not India but the eastern part of the Persian empire, making the game "really" Persian.

We doubt it; it was popular scholarly opinion in China that chess is "really" a Chinese invention, in the middle ages chess' invention in Europe was attributed to various classical or biblical figures such as Solomon or Achilles; a Jewish 19th century player, Alexandre, attributed it to Moses; and so on. But we digress.

The above problem is given by Fasher as having been composed by Ferdowsi in Shachmet Le'Hana'atcha (Chess [used as a verb! - A. P.] for Your Enjoyment), p. 125 of the second (1980) edition. Both the rook and the king, as is well known, moved in the same way even during that time.

Fasher notes:

White has an extra rook but Black threatens to win the the rook on c5 or the rook on a8 [actually, 1. ... Rh8 is mate - A. P.]. But White still wins!

How? Solution below.

The problem is that we have not managed to find any other source attributing this problem to Ferdowsi. Murray's History of Chess has almost 600 problems of Indian (Chaturanga) or Muslim (Shatranj) chess, but none of them fit this diagram; nor is Ferdowsi credited there with composing chess problems. What is Fasher's source?

Solution (annotations and punctuation by Fasher):

1. Rh5! (threatening 2. Ra6#) RxR
2. Ra6+! K~ 3. Ra5+ K~ 4. RxR and wins.

Czerniak "Censorship"? -- Updated: No.

Van Amerongen's ex liberis. The quote is from Zecharia 4:6: 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit'. Photo credit: www.chessgraphics.net. which credits it to Jean Buchet, writing in L'Echiquier deParis in a series of articles from 1947 to 1953.

From the same article by Fasher quoted below, an interesting claim: Van Amerongen's book, 133 Traps in the Openings [133 Mal'kodot Ba'Ptichot, Mofet: Tel Aviv, 1958] 'only has 132 traps (since one trap had caught the editor [of Mofet's chess books], who was Moshe Czerniak).'

Does anybody have a copy and can verify? Also, what trap did Czerniak, if this is correct, "censor"?

Edited 5/2/2015: a reader informs me that the book does, in fact, have 133 traps -- just as said on the cover -- so the story about Czerniak's "censorship" is probably untrue. 

This makes sense, as Czerniak was not known as a "censor" of his defeats or for trying to make himself look invincible. Indeed, he himself published some of his defeats on various occasions, for example to Sonja Graf or to Capablanca (C. N. 5074). 

"Mystery" Israeli Chess Journal, More Details about Early Chess Books, and an Amusing Typo

Image Credit: www.chess.com

Eliyahu Fasher, the chess player, problemist, and organizer who was often mentioned in this blog, notes on pp. 6-7 of the October 1964 Shachmat (No. 3 (26)) a few interesting facts about early chess publications. First, he notes that Marmorosh's primer had first appeared in 1934, and that the current available edition was re-printed 'without the exact date'. This solves the "mystery" of the exact date of publication of that book.

He also notes that from the folding of 64 Mishbatzot at the end of 1958 and the founding of Shachmat in 1962, 'a Haifa-based amateur tried to print a chess magazine' which stood on a 'very low level and didn't last'. Similarly, 'Yochanan Sedger [ph. spelling], also from Haifa, brought out 11 chess pamphlets to the workers of the Paz [oil] company'. Does anybody have any of these 11 pamphlets?

Edited to add, 4/2/2015: Moshe Roytman, our frequent contributor, found the original notice about the publication of these pamphlets [link in Hebrew]. They were published in 1959 or 1960 (the notice is from Jan. 8th, 1960) and were mimeographed copies, not printed).  

Fasher also praises, quite rightly, Eliyahu A. Mendelbaum and Raafi Persitz's book, Tacharut Amanim Be'Sachmat [Master's Chess Tournament], which -- he notes -- is very well printed and of high quality (I concurr), but made one odd mistake: it put (p. 27 of the 1953 edition) a picture of Mendelbaum himself -- who didn't play in the tournament -- with the caption 'I[tzchatk] Aloni'...  

Finally, notes, Fasher, in 1958 the 'chess department [מדור] next to Ha'Poel's center' (est. 1958) published two books that same year -- Shahaf's book about the Moscow Olympiad and a series of 33 chess lessons translated from the Hungarian (!) by Levi Herzog and edited by Amiel Ha'rel. Does anybody have the latter book? In any case this shows the way chess was helped by the politics of the time, in this case, Ha'Poel. 

A Flohr Loss, Jerusalem, June 4th, 1934.

Salo Flohr. Credit: wikipedia commons.

As we have said before, Salo Flohr had visited Palestine in May-July 1934, and played quite a few simultaneous displays. We currently have a total of eight such displays, as well as a live game (against Marmorosh, which he won).

These simuls included, inter alia, a display against the 11 top players in the country -- including Czerniak, Dobkin, Winz, Mohilever, Blass, and others (source: Marmorosh's Davar chess column, July 13th, 1934, p. 9), scoring +9 =1 -1. As the opponents included a future IM (Czerniak), Olympiad players, and Palestine / Israel champions, this is a more than respectable score.

We have already communicated what we knew at the time about Flohr's visit to Edward Winter and in particular about the simul against the country's top players, based on Fasher's 1980 book (see C. N. 3962 for details), including Flohr's loss to Dobkin, but we now - checking the original sources - can tell that Fasher's data is slightly inaccurate, i.e., about the date of the 11-player simul. It took place July 7th, not June 2nd.

What's more, Marmorosh's column also gives another Flohr loss -- not only to Dobkin, but to  T. Segel from another simul, in Jerusalem. It is not a particularly good game, being an example of over-emphasizing the master's losses out of "local patritorism": White effortlessly refutes Black's dubious opening, gaining a pawn for nothing, but then blunders due to carelessness and reaches a strategically lost position. Nevertheless, the way Black exploits this advantage is instructive.

Flohr,Salo - Segel,T. [D08]

Simul, 4.6.1934, Jerusalem.

[Annotations: Marmorosh]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Nc6 6.Bxb4 Nxb4 7.a3! [7.Nxd4?? Qxd4 wins a piece] 7...Nc6 8.b4 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Qe7 10.h3 Bd7 11.Nb3 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Qxe5 13.Qxd4 White won a pawn and is winning. 13...Qg5 14.Nc5 0–0–0 15.Qd5? A gross blunder. 15...Qxd5 16.cxd5 Nf6 17.Rd1 b6 18.Nxd7 Rxd7 White cannot save the d5 pawn. 19.e3 Nxd5 20.Ba6+ Kb8 21.Bc4 Rhd8 22.0–0 f6 23.Rfe1 Nc3 24.Rxd7 Rxd7 25.Rc1 Rd1+! Black has good chances after the rook exchange. 26.Rxd1 Nxd1 27.Kf1 c6 28.Ke2 Nc3+ 29.Kd3 Nd1 30.Ke2 Nc3+ 31.Ke1 Kc7 32.f4 b5 33.Bd3 g6 34.Kd2 Na4 35.Bc2 Nb6 36.e4 Kd6 37.Bb3 Nd7 38.h4 c5 39.Bg8 h6 40.g4 g5 41.bxc5+ Nxc5 42.hxg5 hxg5 43.Ke3 Ne6! 44.f5 Nc5 45.Kd4 a5 46.Ba2 b4 47.axb4 axb4 48.Bc4 b3 49.Bd5 b2 50.Ba2 Nd7 51.Kc3 Ne5 52.Kxb2 Nxg4 53.Kc3 Ke5 54.Kd3 Nf2+ 55.Ke3 Nxe4 56.Bb1 Nd6 57.Kf3 Nxf5 58.Kg4 Nd6 59.Bc2 Ne4 60.Bb1 f5+ 61.Kh3 Kf4 62.Bc2 g4+ 63.Kg2 Ke3 White resigns (0–1).

A Nice Marmorosh Simul Win

In this position, Marmorosh (white, to move) has a nice attack. But how does he win? The game is from a simultaneous display given in Tel Aviv in 1927, published in La'Merchav's chess column on 20/7/1956 (editor: Eliyahu Fasher, with his annotations below).

1. Qh7+ Kf7 2. g5 Rh8 3. g6+ Kf6 4. Rde1! (threatening 5. Rxe6#) Bd5 5. Bc1! (threatening mate in two on g5) Nf5 6. Bf4 Rxh7 7. Rxf5+ exf5 8. Bxc7 Kxg6 9. Rh5 Be4 19. Rxe4 and wins (remains with two bishops for the rook).

A Nice Marmorosh Win

This game is quoted in Eliyahu Fasher's book, Shachmet Le'Hanna'atcha [Chess for Pleasure, 2nd Edition, 1980], p. 165. Fascher notes - without comment -- that the game is taken from "Chernov's book" -- presumably Fasher is using a variant Hebrew spelling for Irving Chernev [or Cherniev], the prolific chess author -- who says the game was played by "the Egyptian [sic] player Mussa Marmorosh" in Jerusalem in 1928.

This is surely the Palestinian player Moshe Marmorosh ["Mussa" is the Arabic version of "Moshe", that is, Moses], who at the time was indeed giving such exhibitions quite often. Can anybody locate the original quote -- and if so, how could Chernev make such an odd mistake with Marmorosh's name?

In any case, the game itself:

White: Moshe Marmorosh
Black: Polani [Ph. spelling]
Vienna Opening [C29]

Source: Irving Chernev?

Annotator: Eliyahu Fasher

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Nf3 Be7 6. Bd3 Nxc3 7. dxc3 Bc5 8. Bg5 f6 9. exf6 gxf6 10. Qe2+ Kf7 11. Ne5+ Kg7

 12. Bh6+! Kg8 (12... Kxh6? 13. Nf7+) 13. Qf3 fxe5 14. Rf1 Qh4+ 15. g3

15... Qe7 (15... Qxh6? 16. Qf7#) 16. Qxd5+ Be6 

17. Bc4!! "with unaviodable mate" 1-0

Problemists in the Jailhouse

Yehuda Weisberg
Source: Eliyahu Fasher's Ha'Problemai Ha'Israeli: Yesodot Ha'Kompositziya Ha'Sachmetait [The Israeli Problemist: the Basics of Chess Composition], Tel Aviv: Israeli Problemist Association, 1964, p. 47.

In Eliyahu Fasher's book we find the following letter from Weisberg, one of the earliest Israeli (or Palestinian) problemists, to Yechezkel Hillel, another problemist. Weisberg was arrested in 1946 by the British, who then ruled what was then the British Mandate of Palestine, presumably for being involved in actions having to do with the Jewish para-military groups at the time, such as the Haganah. (Weisberg was later killed in action in the 1948 war of independence in the battle in Ahsdot-Ya'akov). After his release he wrote (Fasher's book above, p. 48, my translation):

[T]he material sent to me by Yosef Goldschmidt [another Israeli problemist -- A.P.] and your notebooks arrived only in the last week of my arrest. The rest of the material I didn't receive yet. Your notebooks had nice problems and it's a pity it stayed "there"... I usually didn't use the time for composing and only composed two problems, one of them on the first day of my arrest in the car to the jailhouse... on the way back after my release we went through Rishon Le'tziyon and naturally I stopped and visited "Goldschmidt & co." [a group of problemists, headed by Goldschmidt, who lived in that town at the time, including Grisha Rivlin, Ben-tzion Handel, Meir Shatil and others -- Fasher.]

I doubt many other people would start their trip to a military prison composing a problem and end it with a visit to a problemists' hang-out... But this is not all. In the same letter Weisberg writes (Fasher, Ibid., p. 48):

I got a reply from Dawson (presumably Thomas Dawson, the British problemist and editor) and he will publish my problems.

Was there ever in history a case where a man received a note from a British editor that the editor would be glad to publish his problems... while sitting in jail as an enemy of the British Empire?

Euwe in Israel and Chess in the Kibbutzim

Max Euwe (right), Eliezer Pe'er, and Euwe'e wife in Israel, early 60s. Photo: Eliezer Pe'er.

GM Max Euwe, world champion and head of FIDE, was a friend of Israel and a man of principle. He insisted on holding the 1976 chess olympiad in Israel, as agreed, despite attempts by the USSR and the Arab world to "steal" the event. As Shlomo Kandelshein notes in his book Chess Olympiad Haifa: 1976, when the Soviets declared it is irresponsible for him to hold the olympiad in an "unsafe country", he replied that he felt quite safe in Israel on his visits.

But Euwe didn't visit Israel only on the occasion of the 1976 olympiad (and FIDE congress). He also visited before, in the early 60s. Above is a photo of Euwe and his wife from that time. Adds Eliyahu Fasher in the Israeli Kibbutzim's Yedion [bulletin], Vol. 13 no. 9, May 1977 (Shavuot [Pentecost] issue of the Jewish year 5733), p. 34:

Prof. Euwe and his friend Prof. Mehring from Holland toured Israel about 15 years ago and visited many kibbutzim. At the end of the tour they wrote an article in La'Merchav [an Israeli newspaper] and noted especially the high level of chess playing there. They explained [this] in the Kibbutz member's need for intellectual stimulation, one of the ways to achieve it being chess.

Euwe was a gentleman in the real sense of the word. Praise from him means quite a bit.

Rubinstein in Palestine and Israel

Akiba Rubinstein, ca. 1908. Source: Wikipedia commons.

Akiba Rubinstein's involvement with chess in Palestine has been quite intensive. The very first game printed in the very first chess column ever to come out in Palestine -- in, of all places, the Palestine News, which, as its masthead declares, was 'The weekly newspaper of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force of the British army in occupied enemy territory', published 'at G.H.Q. [General Headquarters - A.P.], First Echelon, Palestine' -- was (on May 7th, 1918) Rubinstein’s “polish immortal” game against Rotlewi in Łódź, 1907, annotated by Edward Lasker. There is no need to repeat it here.

Five years later, in September 1923, the Lasker chess club in Jersualem scored another first: the publication of Ha’shachmat, Yarchon Lehovevey Ha’shach Be’eretz-israel U’be’hutz-La’aretz [Chess: A Monthly for Chess Enthusiasts in Palestine and Abroad], 'published by the Jerusalem chess club "Emanuel Lasker"'. It adds on the first issue’s first page that 'great Jewish masters abroad promised their regular contribution'. The magazine's hopes were dashed -- only four (or three, the first being a double issue) issues appeared, in Sept. 1923 (Vol. 1 No. 1-2), June 1924 (Vol. 1 No. 3) and Sept. 1924 (Vol. 1 No. 4). However, Rubinstein -- one of the masters who promised to contribute -- had published 'Al Dvar Ha’tchalat Ha’partia' [About the Opening] in Ha’shachmat, Vol. 1 No. 3 (June 1924), p. 34.

The article itself is very basic: Rubinstein advises to control the center, to emphasize development over material, and so on. It is so basic, in fact, that the editors add the note that 'this material is probably well known to many of our readers, but beginners will find it very useful'—a rather dubious claim for a one-page article containing not a single opening or variation but only general principles, including some ('we must not hesitate to sacrifice if only we can interfere with the opponent’s regular development') that are bound to be misapplied by beginners.

In addition, the Rubinstein chess club, founded in the 1920s, was of course named in his honor. (The two other most famous clubs in Israel or Palestine were also named after Jewish chess masters -- the Reti club and the Emanuel Lasker club.)

Nevertheless, it is both the very first article written especially for a Palestinian chess magazine (or chess column) by any leading master, and also the very first article written by a leading master for such a magazine in Hebrew. The editors emphasize that the article is not a translation, but that it is presented 'as originally written' by Rubinstein in his (excellent, if ‘old-fashioned’) Hebrew, a legacy of his early religious education.

Adds Moshe Czerniak in his book, Toldot Ha'sachmat Me'Reshito ve'ad Yameyni [The History of Chess from its Beginning to Our Day] (Mizrachi Books, Printed by Mofet Press:Tel Aviv, 1963), p. 57:

When Rubinstein was asked to contribute a few words to the publication, he was told that, to make things easier for him, he can write in any language he wants. Rubinstein replied, innocently: 'And what makes you think I can't write in Hebrew?'.

In the last issue of Ha'shachmat (Vol. 1 no. 4, p.65) the editor, Aryeh Leob Mohilever, notes further successes in corralling foreign masters to contribute: five more original problems were received from Speiser, (making a total of 13); Rubinstein is sending a follow-up article, 'On the Middlegame'; and Mieses will send an unspecified 'chess contribution'. Unfortunately, due to the magazine folding, none of these appeared.

The next step was Rubinstein appearing 'in the flesh'. In April-May 1931, Rubinstein visited Palestine and 'gave simultaneous displays' (Czerniak, Ibid.). Both Czerniak and Eliyahu Fasher, in Shachmet le'Hana'atcha [Chess for your Enjoyment] (2nd ed., Cabri 1980, p. 178) claim the visit was in 1929 or in 'the late 20s', respectively, probably by mistake. Fasher adds (Ibid) that it was the excitement over Rubinstein's arrival that got him interested in chess in the first place!

A photograph of Rubinstein playing with Haim Nachman Biyalik, the famous poet, in the 24/5/1931 simultaneous display in Tel Aviv here, and two games are here and here. Note that I have found the original publication the second game (a loss by Rubinstein), added the original punctuations and annotations, and corrected some mistakes in the game score.

In an additional report, Davar, on Friday,24/4/31, said (Bolding of first line is sic, my comments in brackets. Spelling of names -- except Rubinstein's, of course -- is phonetic):

Haifa [Mandatory Palestine]. Akiba Rubinstein's Simultaneous Display. On Wednesday night [22/4/31] the simultaneous display of chess master Akiba Rubinstein was conducted in the Technion's hall against 61 51 [corrected 30/6/2012] opponents. Mr. G. Levin addressed the guest in the name of the community's governing committee. The game lasted from 9 P.M. to 5:30 A.M. Results: five won, eight drew. The winners: the brothers Ne'eman from Bat-Galim (14 and 18 years old), Seprizer, Weil, and Aharoni (from Zichron Ya'akov).

I am not aware of any other simultaneous display that took place in such odd hours, nor of a two-brother 'team' both winning in a simultaneous display against a leading master. It is indicative of the popularity of chess at the time that this report was printed, not in the chess column, but in the regular 'current events' section..

More games -- or a complete list of Rubinstein's simultaneous displays -- would be very welcome.

A Nice Two-Mover

2X Yechezkel Hillel Alumot
Palestine Post & Al Hamishmar Two-mover Tourney, 1.9.45-1.4.46
First Prize

To illustrate the advancement in the field of chess problems in Israel and Palestine since its beginnings in the late 1920s, the following problem will do well. As the judges said:

In a light and accurate construction the composer manages to combine two self-blocks, three interferences, and a nice key move that allows a cross-check.

To add to this, this was done by a composer who lived in a small kibbutz, Alumot, near the sea of the Galilee -- far from any chess club -- in the lean years of WWII, which had just ended. For the solution, highlight the text below.

Source: Eliyahu Fasher's Ha'Problemai ha'Israeli: Yesodot ha'kompozitzia ha'sachmeta'it [The Israeli Problemist: The Basics of Chess Composition]. Tel Aviv: Mofet Press, 1964, pp. 44-45.

P.S. The font size is driving me insane again... sorry.

Solution: 1. Qe7!

Mistakes

From Eliyahu Fasher's personal archives, a quote in a letter to him. The letter, from 1967, is a note by chess problemist A complaining to Fasher about chess columnist B:

About Mr. B's "pseudo-apology" in his latest column, claiming that 'to make no mistakes is the same as to not do anything', one can reply, 'make lots of mistakes -- that means you did a lot'.

This excuse is still commonly used, and the reply is still apt.