Showing posts with label Harris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harris. Show all posts

Monday, January 29, 2018

Tidying Up - Or Messing Up?


Recently I was looking through long-time friend of this blog IM Gary Lane's 2012 "Trash or Treasure?" column, part of his at "Opening Lanes" efforts at Chess Cafe.

(Actually, I was looking at an old pdf file, stored on my phone - a phrase that would probably have been nearly meaningless when I first started this blog.)

I spotted some apparent confusion related to a Jerome Gambit game, and as I may have had a hand in causing it, I thought I'd try to do some unraveling.

From "Trash or Treasure?" 
...Finally, Mr. Kennedy pointed out a fairly recent game played by Scottish player Geoff Chandler. I have never met him, but I do know that Mr. Chandler has an excellent sense of humour and his old chess blog at Chandler Cornered was zany, thought provoking, and usually very funny. Therefore, the following game looks like a fabrication, but I am happy to be corrected in the future. Here is another Jerome Gambit game that is spectacular as always!
Chandler, Geoff - Dimitrov Todor
Blitz, Edinburgh, 2004
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+
This opening is ideally suited to blitz where you don't care whether you win or lose, but want to play something memorable.  
6...g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O Nf6 10.Qd8!

Geoff is a decent club player and could have found this himself if the game was really played.* I still think it was more likely he was following the advice given in the previous Blackburne game, which has been copied up to this point. However, I did look up his old blog and found this comment "I recall about a year ago Todor and me had a dozen or so games playing 4.Bxf7+ at 5 minute chess in Bells." If you think he played a game inside an actual bell, then think again. He is referring to his chess club hosted at a local bar.  
10...Bh3 11.Qxc7+ Kg8
Here IM Lane gives 12.gxh3 and says
Instead 12.Qxb7 is winning, because12...Qg4 can be met by 13.Qb3+! (13.Qxa8+ Kf7 14.Qb7+ Kf8 15.e5? White should keep on checking, but this winning attempt backfires spectacularly upon 15...d5 and it turns out that Black wins.) 13...Kg7 Qxh3 and it is time for Black to put the pieces back into the box.  
Then 12...Qxh3 13.Qxb7 Qg4+ A draw by repetition beckons, but Mr. Kennedy assures me that Geoff went on to win.

 Actually, the game continued 12.Qxb7 Qg4 13.Qb3+ Kg7 14.Qxh3 and according to Chandler, White won.

How did the mixup in the moves of the game occur? I could have jumbled them when I emailed the game to IM Lane - if I actually sent it, as I can't find any record of that amongst our correspondence. (Gary might have made the slip, but is that likely? He's the professional, I'm the amateur.)

Anyhow, the Chandler - Dimitrov game and analysis can get pretty messy, so perhaps that was part of it.    

In support of that possibility, and a possible clue, it is worth looking at "Updating the Blackburne Defense (Part 2)" where I reference, among a number of things, Dennis Monokroussos's thoughts from about 7 years earlier about Amateur - Blackburne, London, 1884, after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.O-O 

Dennis M's Chess Site
February 2, 2005
...But now, here's the puzzle. After 9...Nf6, Black has a substantial lead in development and several well-placed pieces ready to commence a feeding frenzy on the White kingside, yet had White found 10.Qd8, pinning the Black Nf6 to the queen on h4, it would have been Black needing to fight for his life! The following might be best play for both sides: 10.Qd8! Bh3 11.Qxc7+ (11.Qxa8? Qg4 12.g3 Qf3 forces mate) Kf8! (11...Kg8? 12.Qxb7 Qg4 13.Qb3+ and 14.Qxh3) 12.Qxb7 Qg4 13.Qxa8+ Kf7 14.Qb7+ Kf8 14.Qa8+ with a draw by perpetual check.  
When I first saw this game and was told about 10.Qd8, it seemed to me that Black just had to have something, but neither I nor my silicon friends have succeeded in proving a win or even an advantage for Black. Can any of my readers find something better for Black?

I can sympathize with Dennis - how can Black not win against the Jerome Gambit?? In a responding comment on his blog I shared
The line gets some analysis by Geoff Chandler and Todor Dimitrov on the former's hilarious website, Chandler Cornered http://www.chessedinburgh.co.uk/index.htm
It goes like this. (Notes by Chandler.)

10.Qd8 Bh3 Threatening simply Qg4 and Qg2 mate. 11.Qxc7+ Kf8 This is best. [In my Game v Todd he played the natural 11...Kg8 which allows a check on b3 12.Qxb7 Qg4 13.Qb3+ Kg7 14.Qxh3] 12.gxh3 forced [If 12.Qxb7 Qg4 13.Qxa8+ Kf7 (13...Kg7 14.e5 d5 15.exf6+ Kxf6 16.Qxd5) 14.e5 d5 15.e6+ (15.Qb7+ Be7 16.e6+ Kg7 17.Qxe7+ Kh6 18.d4+ Kh5) 15...Kg7 16.Qb7+ Kh6 17.d4+ Kh5 and Black mates on g2] 12...Qxh3 This appears to be the best. It keeps the attack rolling and keeps the draw in hand. Remember we are seeing if 10.Qd8 beats the Blackburne line. 13.Qxb7 Ng4 [Or 13...Qg4+ and ...Qf3+ drawing.] 14.Qxa8+ Kg7 15.Qb7+ Kg8 16.Qc8+ Kg7 17.Qd7+ Kg8 18.Qe8+ Kg7 19.Qe7+ Kg8 Black has to allow the draw else 18.Qe8+ Kg7 19.Qf7+ kh6 10.d4+ wins. So it appears 10.Qd8 draws.
Note in the above that the conclusion is that the game is drawn -- the same conclusion as you came to, although the particular line you give (12.Qxb7 instead of Chandler and Dimitrov's 12.gxh3) seems to tilt toward White.

In a later post Monokroussos added
(2) In my main line, Kennedy, citing analysis by Geoff Chandler and Todor Dimitrov, varies from my 12.Qxb7 with 12.gxh3, showing that it likewise draws after 12...Qxh3 13.Qxb7 Qg4+ 14.Kh1 Qf3+ etc. or 13...Ng4 14.Qxa8+ etc. (Note that Black can't escape the checks with 14...Ke7 15.Qb7+! Kf6?? [15...Kd8/e8/f8=] because of 16.e5+ followed by 17.Qg2.) 
(3) Chandler & Dimitrov also mention 12.Qxb7 and suggest it loses, but the culprit is not 12.Qxb7 but their 14.e5?, after which Black has a forced mate. 
Very interesting and I'm grateful to Kennedy for his comment...but my dream remains unfulfilled - can't Black win after 10.Qd8, somehow?

Readers, is this confusing enough for you? Above, I quote Monokroussos quoting me quoting Chandler...

I have put the moves to Chandler - Dimitrov, cited by Chandler, above, in italics. The move 12.gxh3, which IM Lane gives as part of the game, is actually part of Chandler's analysis after 11...Kf8, not 11...Kg8, as played in the game - although Chandler says in his note that the move 12.gxh3 is "forced" which may have made it look like it was played.

I muddied things even more by referring, in my comment to Monokroussos, to "Chandler and Dimitrov's 12.gxh3" - the move was from their analysis, as presented by Chandler, above, not their game; andy by referring to 12.Qxb7, the actual move in the game, as "the particular line you give". Monokroussos seems to catch this, as indicated in his (2) note in the later post.

By the way, Monokroussos is right in note (3) in correcting Chandler's analysis (which I had provided) that after 10.Qd8 Bh3 11.Qxc7+ Kf8 12.Qxb7 White does not lose - after 12...Qg4 13.Qxa8+ Kf7 the move 14.e5 is "the culprit... after which Black has a forced mate". Instead, 14.Qb7+ Kf8 15.Qa8+ draws by repetition - as Monokroussos mentioned in his first post, after "...Now here's the puzzle." 

Still, Monokroussos doesn't escape completely. The later post, note (2), above, gives the sideline 12.gxh3 Qxh3 13.Qxb7 Ng4 [instead of 13...Qg4+, drawing] for Black, suggesting that after 14.Qxa8+ etc. the game is drawn as well - but White has, instead of grabbing the Rook, the forced Queen exchange after 14.Qb3+ (how un-Jerome-ish) 14...Qxb3 15.axb3 which leaves him a Rook and 3 pawns better.

Ah, yes, now everything now is as clear as... trash. 

(*- Chandler commented in Chandler Cornered about 10.Qd8 "This is my over the board improvement that I have since learnt was first suggested in 1951." I had told Chandler that P. Wenman mentioned the move in his Master Chess Play (1951). I later learned that the move had been played in Harris, S - Quayle, E., correspondence, 1944, although, of course, the move had been first suggested in the August 1885 issue of the Brooklyn Chess Chronicle.)

Monday, June 30, 2014

The Best Jerome Gambit Game of the Year (Part 3)


We continue from the two previous posts, considering a game that has lept to the top of the heap for Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) games this year.

As indicated, Readers are encouraged to dispute my assessment, if they wish, by sending in other great Jerome Gambit games...


Wall, Bill - Guest871838

PlayChess.com, 2014

Black elects with 10...Bd7 to defend his King by putting a barrier - the Bishop - on the 7th rank, and allows the White Queen to move off of the 8th rank. Although I was initially dismissive of this move, describing it as "[p]layed, if in a stumbling manner" - see "Updating the Blackburne Defense (Part 2)" - it is a reasonable choice.


In the meantime, while White is up an exchange and a couple of pawns, he has to safeguard his King while keeping an eye on threats to his Queen.

11.Qxc7

Not 11.Qxa8, of course, as Black responds 11...Ng4 (11... Nxe4?UNPREDICTABLE - choron, FICS, 2009 [1-0, 20]) and White is doomed, as Bill Wall points out: 12.h3 Bxf2+ 13. Kh1 Qg3 14. Rxf2+ Nxf2+ 15. Kg1 Nxh3+ 16. Kh1 Nf4 and 17...Qxg2 mate)

11...Rc8

Instructive was 11...Bb6 (this should let White off of the hook) 12.g3 (better is 12.Qxd6 or 12.Qxb7) Qh3 13.Qxd6 (better is 13.Qc3) Bc6 14.g4 Qxg4+ White resigned, Harris,S - Quayle,E, Los Angeles, CA, 1944. The "right" move at the wrong time often turns out to be the wrong move. 

12.g3

Bill points out that 12.Qxb7 was the right move here. Black's best response would then be 12...Bb6, when White can both strike in the center and open a line for much-needed development with 13.d4.

Answering the recommended 12.Qxb7 with 12...Ng4 would be an error, i.e. 13.Qxd7+ Kf6 14.h3. After the alternative 12... Ke7 the game is "gloriously obscure" according to Dr. Andrew Walker (private communication, 2001) although the first player shows his advantage after 13.d4 Bxd4 14.Nd2 Qg4 15.Nf3 (reporting for duty!) Bb6 16.Bg5 Rc7 17.Qb8 Rc8 18.Bxf6+ Kxf6 19.Qxd6+ Qe6 20.Rad1.

12...Qh3

Keeping the pressure on. Houdini suggests that after the alternative 12...Qxe4 13.d3 Qb4 14.Bd2 Rxc7 15.Bxb4 Bxb4 16.c3 the game is about even, with White having a Rook and 2 pawns vs Black's two Bishops. 


13.Qxb7


Not 13.Qa5, Bill warns, as then 12...Ng4 mates. 

13...Ke7

Bill points out that here Black misses the stunning 13...Rb8! as 14.Qxb8 Ng4 again leads to mate. Even after the better 14.Qc7, White is almost hopeless after 14...Ke7.  



White is ahead the exchange and four pawns - but is only even, due to his delay in development, his offside Queen, and his endangered King.

[to be continued] 

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Updating the Blackburne Defense (Part 2)


Here we continue from our previous post, "Updating the Blackburne Defense (Part 1)", a look at the Blackburne Defense and what is new (or newer). 

For earlier efforts, see also "Update: Old Dog Can Still Bite","Junk Openings", "A Closer Look (Part V)", "Update: Blackburne Defense" and "Traps and Zaps".


perrypawnpusher - lfcanales

blitz, FICS, 2014

9...Nf6 10.Qd8 Qxe4 


Black's move allows White's Queen to escape and counter-attack. There are a number of alternative moves for Black, two of which bear attention.


Not 10...a6?, as in piratebopper - MiloBot, FICS, 2010, (1-0, 24).


Nor 10...a5? as in perrypawnpusher - MiloBot, blitz, FICS, 2010, (1-0, 24).


Played, if in a stumbling manner, is 10...Bd7?. The core game continued 11.Qxc7 (instead, 11.Qxa8? Nxe4? [Black should finish Blackburne-style: 11...Ng4 12.h3 Bxf2+ 13.Kh1 Qg3 14.Rxf2+ Nxf2+ 15.Kg1 Nxh3+ 16.Kh1 Nf4 17.Qf8+ Kxf8 18.d3 Qxg2#] 12.d4 Bxd4 13.Be3 Bxb2 14.Qxb7 Bxa1 15.Qxc7 Nf6 16.Qxd6 Kg7 17.Qc5 Ne4 18.Bd4+ Bxd4 19.Qxd4+ Kh6 20.f3 Black resigned, UNPREDICTABLE - choron, FICS, 2009) 11...Bb6? (instead, 11...Rc8 12.Qxb7 Ke7 is "gloriously obscure" according to Dr. Andrew Walker, University of Nottingham, personal communication, 2001. Probably 13.Qb3 with the idea of Qg3 is White's answer - not 13.Nc3? Ng4 when Black mates)  12.g3?! (12.Qxd6) 12...Qh3 13.Qxd6? Bc6 14.g4 Qxg4+ White resigned, Harris,S - Quayle,E, Los Angeles, CA, 1944.


Certainly solid, and Rybka's recommendation, is 10...Bb6. White should spring his Queen with 11.e5 dxe5 12.Qd3. The earliest reference that I have seen to this line is from The Art of the Checkmate by Renaud and Kahn (1953), which says White has the advantage. This proved true in Wall,B - Foo,N, Palm Bay, FL, 2010 (1-0, 33).


The most exciting move in the position is Chandler's 10...Bh3!?, when White has to temporarily forego the Rook at a8 and focus on checking Black: 11.Qxc7+ (11.g3? Qxe4 12.Qxc7+ Kf8 White resigned, Siggus -toe, FICS, 2007; 11.Qxa8? Qg4 12.Qe8+ Nxe8 13.g3 Qf3 14.Re1 Qg2#) 11...Kf8! (11...Kg8 lost in Chandler,G - Dimitrov, T/5 minute special game 2004; in Hiarcs 8 - RevvedUp, blitz 2 12, 2006 [1-0, 17]; and AsceticKingK9 - blackburne, ChessWorld JG6, 2011 [1-0, 22] ) and analysis by Geoff Chandler and, later, Dennis Monokroussos (see the two posts on his blog) show that the outcome is a draw, as it is too dangerous for either player to look for more.


11.Qxc7+


This is an improvement over 11.Nc3 Qe7 (11...Qxc2 12.Qxc7+ Nd7 13.Nd5 Qe4 14.Nc3 Qe5 15.d3 Qd4 16.Re1 Qxf2+ White resigned, ionman - GriffyJr, FICS, 2005 (0-1,16); Interested readers should check out "Ionman vs The Bots" ) 12.Qxe7+ Kxe7 as in RevvedUp - Shredder 8, blitz 2 12, 2006 (0-1, 25).


11...Kg8


radicalmove played over a dozen games against LuigiBot on FICS in 2012, testing the somewhat weaker 11...Bd7 (see "Poor, Poor Computer" for a couple of examples). The games are in The Database.


Likewise, ionman took on the computer GriffyJr a couple of times at FICS in 2005, over the somewhat weaker 11...Qe7 (the games are also in The Database). White triumphed in Shredder 8 - RevvedUp, blitz 2 12, 2006 (1-0, 28).


12.Nc3


Maybe a little better was 12.Qd8+ Kf7 13.d3 Qe5 14.Bh6 Qe8 15.Qxe8+ Nxe8.


12...Qxc2


The pawn is poison.


13.Qd8+ 


After the game Houdini preferred 13.d4!? Bb6 (13...Bxd4 14.Bh6 Bd7 15.Qc4+ d5 16.Qxd4) 14.Qe7 when White steals the Knight in broad daylight.


13...Kg7 14.Qe7+ Kh6 15.Qxf6 Black resigned




Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Picking Up & Losing A Historical Thread (Part 2)

Yesterday's post – see "Picking Up & Losing A Historical Thread (Part 1)" – presented some possible further information about one of the players in the almost-70-year-old Jerome Gambit game, Sgt. W.A.  Harris - E. H. Quayle, correspondence 1944.

Not only did the "Bryant College Goes to War" collection have two letters by a Sgt. Winston Arthur Harris, there was a comment that began
Thank you so much for posting these letters! My grandfather, Winston Arthur Harris...
which suggested a family member as a further contact who might have more information for my search.

While trying to figure out Sgt. Harris' connection to a school in Rhode Island, I noted his return address in the May 14, 1944 letter
644 Bomb Squadron
410 Bomb Group
A.P.O. 140, c/o PM, NY, NY
This was taking my search in a completely opposite direction: while I had previously linked Sgt. Harris to the 124th Cavalry Regiment out of Brownsville, Texas (the location given by Herman Steiner in his Los Angeles Times "Chess" column), the 644 Bomb Squadron was deployed to the European Theater of Operations, not China-Burma-India.

Indeed, if the Wikipedia entry for the 644th is correct, the Bomb Squadron was stationed at Will Rogers Field and Muskogee Army Airfield in Oklahoma in 1943; then Laurel Army Airfield in Mississippi in early 1944; and then Lakeland Army Airfield in Florida; before moving overseas to RAF Birch and RAF Gosfield, in England, in April 1944.

Thus, there is no Brownsville, Texas connection for the 644 Bomb Squadron.

It looks like there may have been (at least) two "Sgt. W. A. Harrises"...  

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Picking Up & Losing A Historical Thread (Part 1)

Several years ago see "The Joy of Discovery (Part I)" – I encountered the following Jerome Gambit game

Harris,W.A. Sgt. - Quayle,Ernest H.
Los Angeles, California, USA 1944

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe5+ Nxe5 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Qxe5 d6 8.Qxh8 Qh4 9.0-0 Nf6 10.Qd8 Bd7 11.Qxc7 Bb6 12.g3 Qh3 13.Qxd6 Bc6 14.g4 Qxg4+ White resigned

It had appeared see "The Joy of Discovery (Part II)" in Herman Steiner's "Chess" column in the Los Angeles Times for January 7, 1945, with the note "A short game by Ladderite E. H. Quayle of Westwood, Cal., and Sgt. W. A. Harris of Brownsville, Tx."

Of the latter player, I wrote

1944 was war time, and Fort Brown in Brownsville, Texas was where the 124th Cavalry Regiment was stationed. The 124th remained a mounted unit until its deployment in the China-Burma-India theater of operations.
That was as far as I was able to trace the early Jerome Gambiteer see "The Joy of Discovery (Part III)".

Recently, however, I discovered (in the "Bryant College Goes to War" collection) a couple of V-mails, one written in 1944 and one written in 1945, by a Sgt. Winston A. Harris.

Could he be the same chess player?



Saturday, May 9, 2009

Jerome Gambit Blog: Still More Tidying Up




Time to review, update, and clarify a few more things in this Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 Bxf7+) blog. For earlier efforts, see "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up" and "Jerome Gambit Blog: More Tidying Up"

First on my mind is a quote from the second " Tidying Up"




By the way, as for the Kaissiber saga, see

"To Infinity... And Beyond! (Part II)", "Breaking News..." and "Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up ". I'm still hopeful.

I'm not hopeful any more. It's unlikely that my history of the Jerome Gambit will appear in the pages of Stefan Bücker's amazing chess magazine, Kaissiber. While the audacity of such an opening appealed to the editor, the story of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome's creation is a history of questionable analysis and even more questionable play. Although Kaissiber does not shy away from creative chess notions, its focus on an accurate assessment of things would require massive corrections and/or footnoting – to start.

For more about the Jerome Gambit game Harris,W.A. Sgt. - Quayle,Ernest H.Los Angeles, California, USA 1944, as given in "
The Joy of Discovery" Parts I, II, and III, there was a little update in "I love a great used book store". And then the trail went cold, again. (On another hunt, "History Mystery" was fun, though; and I look forward to more discoveries about A F Reed, as first set forth in "A Small Clue to Follow..." and "The Game is Afoot!" )


Unusual as it's supposed to be, the Wikipedia article on the Jerome Gambit continues to contain its link to this blog (see "
Hey Wiki, it's me, Ricky!").


While the following remains accurate:

"Is it September already
" requires a number of updates. To date there has been no Jerome Gambit tournament in Jerome, Arizona, as far as I know. I still have an observer near the scene, though I'll have my say about it. One of the main figures in the possible Jerome, Arizona "Jerome Gambit Tournament" is the creator of "The Jerome Gambit is Viable - NOT!" video, which I recomment. (Too, my son Matt, of "Driving Distance" has permanently relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona, and will be able to drive up and keep an eye on anything that might occur.)


An update to "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (modern)" would have to include chessfriend Geoff Chandler (of Chandler Cornered) whose contributions here (see "Queened! and Rooked!" "Whodunnit??" and "Blunder Table" ) have been hilarious.

I would also like to add the name of Dr. Paulsen

In light of this it certainly seems reasonable (at least until historical precedents are uncovered) to give 5...Ke7 the title of "Paulsen variation" and award the good doctor (PhD) membership in the Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (see "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (early)" and "The Jerome Gambit Gemeinde (modern)") – even though there is one earlier example of the line in my database (presented in an earlier post, as well: see "An Odd Line in an Odd Line")."Jerome Gambit, Paulsen Variation"

and that of Francesco Recchia, who contributed the very forward-looking "A Kind of Jerome Gambit that Wins".


The possible connection betwen Winston Churchill and Alonzo Wheeler Jerome (see "
From the Email Bag...") has been traced a bit further, to the U.S. northeast; but has not yet been tied together..


Connections betwen IM Gary Lane and the Jerome Gambit continue. Not only is it true that "A check of the
Everyman Chess website shows that Gary Lane's The Greatest Ever Chess Tricks and Traps is available" further information exists in "Firsts" and "An International Master Refutes the Jerome Gambit".

The "Jerome Gambit and the Perfesser series"
Part I, Part II, Part III and PartIV, was, of course, followed by another instructive, exploratory "human vs computers" match involving, "RevvedUp" and a handful of silicon monsters, starting with "Jerome Gambit: Drilling Down (1)"

"
Doesn't anybody read this blog?", regarding perrypawnpusher - Sgrunterundt, blitz 2 18, FICS, 2008 was a needless lament, being followed by a host of responses: "Back at me", "Hoist by my own petard...", "Where are all these Jeromes coming from?", "Perhaps not every opening should be Jerome-ized...", "Be careful what you wish for...", "If I write all this, and someone reads it...", and "I don't have time for this stuff..."

Readers who were interested in "
Hip' Kat" should check out a couple of other hippo sources: hippo_chess@abv.bg and hippo_chess@abv.bg.


Another Pandora's box was opened with "
London Calling...Seven Months of Blog"


I also got wondering the other day: is there another totally obscure and disreputable tactical opening line or gambit that I could go digging for information about, while I'm researching the Jerome Gambit??
from which came forth "The next best thing...", "The next worse thing...", "Worth a Second Look (Part 1)", "Worth a Second Look (Part 2)", "Worth a Second Look (Part 3)", "Wild!", "Wilder!", "Wildest!", "And Yet Wilder Still...", "More of The Next Best Thing...", "Busch-Gass Gambit" and "Obscure and Disreputable Enough?"


Alas, I have not yet uncovered "
The rest of the story...?" concerning the game Wall - Guest4395, Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone, 2001.


For that matter, in "The Westminster Papers" the refererence to the chess player "H.W.P" of Vermont is also still a mystery to me.


Further chapters of "
Jerome Gambit for Dummies (1)" "(2)" "(3)" are being prepared.

I have switched from one version of "Chess Publisher" to another to present the games in posts. The earlier one is responsible for the annoying account messages.





Wednesday, December 17, 2008

I love a great used bookstore




I like a good bookstore.


I love a great used bookstore.



I have always enjoyed reading (and been a little jealous) of the chess treasures that Geoff Chandler turns up, in his travels through Edinburgh, searching for used books (see Chandler Cornered at Chess Edinburgh).

So it was with interest and a sense of excitment that I recently received an email:

From: Scott at Browsers' Bookstore
(scott@browsersbookstore.com)
Sent: Sat 12/13/08 7:40 PM
To: richardfkennedy@hotmail.com

Hi,

Google led me to your "Joys of Discovery" blogs re: Jerome Gambit & Ernest H. Quayle. Don't have much further information for you, but I do have a book (and the reason I googled in the first place) that was once owned by Ernest H. Quayle, or at least signed by him in July 1944. "One-Hundred-and-One of My Best Games of Chess" by F. D. Yates & W. Winter. May or may not be of any use, but possible slight interest to you.


Best wishes,

Scott Givens
Browsers' Bookstore




Ah, yes, "Joys of Discovery (Part I)", Part II and Part III – the Jerome Gambit game between Sgt. W. A. Harris and Ernest H. Quayle, Los Angeles, California, 1944. The same year that he signed the Yates & Winter book – you don't think there could be a connection...?

Browsers' Bookstore is in Corvalis, Oregon ("Volume II" of the store is in Albany, Oregon), and looks like a great place to spend a few hours and a few bucks. (Where low prices meet high quality – Works for me.) They've got a very useful "Links" page, as well.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Jerome Gambit Blog: Tidying Up

Time to clean up a few things in this blog...

"
In The Beginning..." refers to the first appearance in print of the Jerome Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+) as being in the Dubuque Chess Journal, April 1874, Vol. VI, No. 50, p. 358-9.

This is a correction to the reference in the Oxford Companion to Chess, Whyld and Hooper, first (1984) and second editions (1992), noting "It appeared first in American Chess Journal, 1876." The authors are correct in that the June, September, November and December issues of the ACJ had Jerome Gambit content -- the Dubuque Chess Journal simply had prior coverage.
I have not been able to find an earlier reference than April 1874.

"To Infinity... And Beyond! (Part II)" and "Breaking News" indicated that at some time in the future Stefan Bücker's quarterly chess magazine, Kaissiber, would carry my article on the Jerome Gambit. Current speculation is there may be a short article in the October 2008 issue.

In "Nobody expects the Jerome Gambit!" I mentioned that Blackburne, in Mr. Blackburne's Games at Chess (1899) referred to the Jerome Gambit as "the Kentucky Opening." I have yet to discover how it is that the British master came up with that name.

"Is This Blog About YOU??" and "You, too, can add to Jerome Gambit theory" both have been well-answered by games from ongoing Jerome Gambit thematic tournaments, and the occasional Comment to this blog or email to its Editor (richardfkennedy@hotmail.com). Of course, fresh games and analysis are always appreciated.

In "The Man, The Myth, The Legend..." I mentioned placing a classified ad with the online Paxton, Illinois (home of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome) website, http://www.paxtonil.com/, seeking information about the originator of the Jerome Gambit. While I have received no reply, and the ad has expired (and no longer appears), I can report that if you have an unwanted Paxtonopoly game, please contact the PRIDE office at 379-3388 or email pride@paxtonil.com.
I am no further enlightened on the things that puzzled me in " 'Tis A Puzzlement..."

After some progress on learning about the Jerome Gambit game Harris,W.A. Sgt. - Quayle,Ernest H.Los Angeles, California, USA 1944, as given in "The Joy of Discovery" Parts I, II, and III, the trail has gone cold.

"We are not alone..." heralded HANGING PAWN:: Tip's Chess Blog's coverage of the Jerome Gambit, and the offer therein of not just the computer vs computer Jerome Gambit games where White won (via download), but all of the games (contact the blogmaster). To date I have not received the larger stash.

With Rail2Rail winning his Jerome Gambit thematic tournament at ChessWorld, (see "Rail2Rail by a length" and "Rail2Rail Nails It") I had hoped for an annotated game or two from the winner; but nothing, yet.

"My head is spinning" Truly. Rybka 3.0 – or, in my case, Deep Rybka 3.0 Aquarium – is the real deal. It has got to be the tool for the serious (and very serious) chess player. Like having a "Grandmaster In A Box". A rather intimidating Grandmaster, at times – but: Wow!

After "The Salvio Gambit??" and "The Salvio Gambit?? (More)" I have not heard back from my friends at Chess.com, so I will tentatively suggest that I got my analysis correct.

Having fun with "Jerome Gambit and Vlad Tepes..." and "Jerome Gambit, Vlad Tepes and... Garlic!" I've started a couple of games at GameKnot with he-of-the-garlic, mika76.

As always, I'm "Looking for a few Jerome Gambit games..."
"Hey Wiki, it's me, Ricky!" So far the link to this blog from the Wikipedia article on the Jerome Gambit has been intact - and people are following it. Gotta love that.















Clipart from Clipartheaven.com



Friday, July 18, 2008

The Joy of Discovery (Part III)



In my further search for any information on the chess player Sgt. W. A. Harris of Brownsville, Texas – see "The Joy of Discovery (Part I)" and "The Joy of Discovery (Part II)" – I hoped to find clues in John Randolph's Marsmen in Burma (1946), his tale of and tribute to the 124th Cavalry, the last mounted unit in the United States Army.

The MARS TASK FORCE was one of two American Long Range Penetration Units which saw action in far-off Burma. With a mission to circle around and behind Jap[anese] lines through dense Burma jungles and over high mountains, it made history for itself which is matchless among the unique chronicles of world War II.

Although a chess player himself, Randolph has only two chess references in his book.

On the U.S.S. General H. W. Butner, the troop ship that took the 124th across the Pacific, he noted activities including

Card games, checkers, dominoes, "Salvo" (battleship), and men learning to play chess.

When the men were getting ready to hit the trail in Burma, they had to divest themselves of everything except the essentials.

Things not edible were almost 100% excess baggage. My mother-in-law sent me a tremendous volume of chess plays. to ease my conscience, I slipped up on another chess player, M/Sgt. Arnold M. Rouse, from Houston, dropped it and ran. I have never inquired if he burned it, buried it, or gave it to some native.

Randolph does not mention a Harris in his recounting. His selection of photographs includes one of 15 members of the 124th from Brownsville, Texas, so maybe Harris is included there.

For now, this trail has become impassible.

(The above regimental print is available from the offical Marsmen online store: http://store.marsmen.org)

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The Joy of Discovery (Part II)


I was excited to discover the Jerome Gambit game Harris - Quayle 1944, and decided to see if I could obtain the Los Angeles Times chess column referred to in the "L A TIMES 1881-1955" database – see "The Joy of Discovery (Part I)."

I contacted the Los Angeles Public Library, and Librarian Teni Bedrosian was quick to send me a PDF file of Herman Steiner's "Chess" column for January 7, 1945.

Under the heading "Correspondence Game" was the introductory note "A short game by Ladderite E. H. Quayle of Westwood, Cal., and Sgt. W. A. Harris of Brownsville, Tx."

Interesting!

Blackstone, in his database, gives Quayle's first name as "Ernest" – an educated guess on his part, or based on research of his own?

The Ernest H. Quayle Papers (1920-1939) includes five (of seven) journals by the naturalist (think: similar to Darwin and the Beagle) which currently reside in the University of Utah Mariott Library Special Collections.

I wrote to Manuscripts Librarian Dr. Stan Larsen for further information about Quayle's chess playing, if any. Unfortunately the diaries do not appear to have any chess content.

Ernest H. Quayle lived in Los Angeles in the early 1930s, but at the end of the decade he was involved Westwood is district in western LA.

As for Sgt. Harris, 1944 was war time, and Fort Brown in Brownsville, Texas was where the 124th Cavalry Regiment was stationed. The 124th remained a mounted unit until its deployment in the China-Burma-India theater of operations.