The Eleventh

The renowned Czech chess historian Jan Kalendovský is the author of many books, including “Královna šachu Věra Menčíková” (JAKURA, Prague, 2016), and is constantly engaged in the search for missing games and scoresheets of his objects of desire. The following game, played in the round 11 of the 6th Women’s World Chess Championship Tournament between Vera Frantsevna Menchik and Florence Frankland Thomson, is the most likely decipherment of the original scoresheet — “A gift from Swedish friends”, as he says.

Vera Frantsevna Menchik – Florence Frankland Thomson
6th Women’s World Chess Championship Tournament; Stockholm, August 1937
English Opening A28

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nxd4 6. Qxd4 Be7 7. e4 d6 8. Be2 0-0 9. 0-0 Re8

10. f3. Far from any theoretical absolute, it is just worth mentioning here that the distance between past and present may not be as deep as one thinks: 10. Bf4 Nd7 11. Qd2 Nf8 12. Nd5 Ng6 13. Be3 Bf8 14. f3 c6 15. Nc3 Qc7 16. Rad1 Ne5 17. b3 a6 18. Rc1 Qa5 19. b4 Qc7 20. Kh1 f5 21. Rfd1 Kh8 22. Bd4 Qf7 23. c5 Be6 24. Qb2 Rad8 25. Rd2 Nc4 26. Bxc4 Bxc4 27. exf5 Qxf5 28. cxd6 Qg6 29. Bc5 Bxd6 30. Bxd6 Rxd6 31. Ne4 Rxd2 32. Qxd2 Bd5 33. Nc3 Qe6 34. Rd1 h6 35. Nxd5 Qxd5 36. Qxd5 cxd5 37. Kg1 Re2 38. Rxd5 Rxa2 39. b5 Kh7 40. bxa6 bxa6 41. h4 ½ : ½ Goryachkina – Pogonina, 70th Russian Women’s Chess Championship Superfinal, Moscow 2020.
10. ... b6 11. Kh1 Bb7 12. Rd1 Nd7 13. Nd5 Bf6 14. Nxf6+ Qxf6 15. Qd2 Re6 16. Qc2 Rae8 17. Bd2 Qg6 18. Bf1 Ne5 19. Be1 h5 20. Qf2 Qh7 21. Bc3 h4 22. h3 Ng6 23. Qd2 Ne5 24. b4 Bc8

25. f4 Nd7 26. Bd3 Qh5 27. Re1 Bb7 28. Be2 Qh7 29. Bg4 R6e7 30. e5 Nf8 31. Bd1 dxe5 32. Ba4 c6 33. fxe5 Qg6 34. Qf4 Nd7 35. Rac1 Qg3 36. Qxg3 hxg3 37. Re3 Nxe5 38. Rxg3

38. ... Nxc4?? A tragic blunder which loses at once a still defensible game (if only Thomson had played 38. ... f6). It is very plausible that Black was terribly short of time.
39. Rxg7+ Kf8 40. Rh7 f5 41. Rh8+ Kf7 42. Bb3 Ba6 43. Rh6 Re6 44. Rh7+ Kg6 45. Rxa7 Re2 46. Rxa6 Ne3 47. Rxb6 1 : 0.