Backstage at a Play

Ernesto Che Guevara (right) playing chess backstage with General Alberto Bayo during the 1st Capablanca Memorial at Havana, Cuba, in May, 1962. Photo: Cubaperiodistas.

Memories and Thoughts

• Felix Vallina, El asturiano que puso en jaque a Fidel y al Che | The Asturian who put Fidel and Che in check, La Nueva España, June 7, 2021

Silvino García Martínez (Havana, 1944) says that Che Guevara was a good chess player and that he never even thought of letting him win when they happened to be playing each other because the guerrillero would never allow him to do it. However, playing with Fidel Castro was another matter. “Although a fighter, he was less skilled and practiced. Ernesto — also known as Che — had a great chess culture that he brought with him from Argentina and was very passionate about the Royal Game”, says the first Cuban Grandmaster [since Capablanca’s death], a mastermind of Asturian origin who now lives with his wife in the suburb of Ciudad Naranco in Oviedo, and teaches chess to children at a club a couple of hundred meters from his house. [Read more].

Che Guevara is absorbed watching a game by a young Silvino García. Photo: N. Q./Silvino García Martínez Archive.

After all, it’s only a game

Fidel Castro (right) and Ernesto Che Guevara (left) playing chess in Havana, Cuba, 1960. Photo: Alberto Korda.

Of Clocks and Time

Ernesto Che Guevara playing a game of chess with the clock, most likely in the early ’60s in Cuba. Photo courtesy of Erik Twiest.

Alone in a Crowd

17th Chess Olympiad, Havana, Cuba, autumn 1966. Amidst the crowd, on the top left, 9th World Chess Champion Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian takes a picture of the very spot where 11th World Chess Champion Robert James “Bobby” Fischer (bottom left) is showing Fidel Castro (seated in front of him) something from a chess book. Photo: Mariano Ferré.

I have lived magnificent days

Ernesto Che Guevara taking part in a simultaneous chess display in Havana, Cuba. Photo: Radio Rebelde.

Once in a Lifetime

Havana, Cuba: A dog walks past a painting depicting Cuba’s former President Fidel Castro, who made a rare public appearance at the Karl Marx Theatre to mark his 90th birthday (on August 13). Photo: Enrique de la Osa/Reuters.

Havana, 1966. Robert James “Bobby” Fischer (standing from left) coming to the rescue of Mexican Master Filiberto Terrazas in his second game against Fidel. Photo: Jesús G. Bayolo, “Fidel y el Ajedrez”/cubadebate.cu.

Habanera

Paul Charles Morphy – Placido Domínguez
Three board blindfold simultaneous exhibition; Havana, February 16, 1864
Two Knights Defence C55

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. 0-0 Bc5 6. e5 Ne4? Black wants to avoid the Max Lange Attack, but his remedy is much worse than the hypothetical disease. 7. Bd5! f5 8. exf6 Nxf6 9. Bg5! Of course, 9. Re1+ wasn’t bad either. 9. ... Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6. Not 10. ... gxf6 on account of 11. Ng5! (far stronger than Jude Frazier Acers’ 11. Nh4) 11. ... Ne5 12. Qh5+ Ng6 13. Bf7+ Kf8 14. Qh6 mate (Géza Maróczy’s analysis). 11. Re1+ Ne7? This seems the decisive mistake. Black ought to have played 11. ... Kf8! 12. c3!? g6! aiming to mitigate damages. 12. Ne5! Bxe5. Not 12. ... Nxd5? 13. Qh5+! winning immediately. 13. Qh5+ g6 14. Qxe5 Rf8 15. Nd2 c6. This allows Morphy to finish in style, but after 15. ... d6 16. Qxd4 c6 17. Be6 Bxe6 18. Rxe6 d5 19. Rae1 Rf7 20. Nf3 is busted anyway (Maróczy’s analysis).

16. Nc4! d6 17. Nxd6+ Kd7 18. Be6+ Kc7 19. Nxc8+. 19. Nc4+ is a dual. 19. ... Qd6 20. Qxd6 mate.

Andrés Clemente Vázquez
“La Odisea de Pablo Morphy en la Habana, 1862-1864”
Habana, La Propaganda Literaria, 1893

The Thinker

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk – Zoltán Almási
51th Capablanca Memorial; Varadero, June 10, 2016
Torre Attack A46

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bh4 c5 5. c3 d5 6. e3 Nc6 7. Nbd2 cxd4 8. exd4 Be7 9. Bd3 0-0 10. Qe2. For 10. 0-0 Nh5 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Re1 Nf4 13. Bc2 b6 14. Nf1 Ba6 15. Ne3 Qd6 see Sorokin – Lisitsin, 7th USSR Chess Championship, Moscow 1931. 10. ... Nh5 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Qe3 Rb8 13. 0-0 Qf6 14. g3 Bd7 15. Ne5 Qe7 16. f4 Nf6 17. Rae1 Rfc8? The wrong Rook on the wrong file – almost a record. 18. g4! Ivanchuk exploits the special features of this kind of “Pillsbury Formation” through a quite thematic Pawn sacrifice. 18. ... Nxe5 19. fxe5 Nxg4 20. Qg3 h5 21. Re2 f5? Black was probably helpless anyway, but after the text matters worsened dramatically. 22. exf6 Nxf6 23. Ref2 Ng4. 23. ... Rf8? 24. Rxf6! doesn’t work at all, while if 23. ... Kh8 there might follow 24. Nf3! with devastating threats. 24. Rf7 Qg5 25. Rxd7 Rf8. Also after the immediate 25. ... Qxd2 26. Rff7 White must win.

26. h4! The very pretty start of the mating attack. 26. ... Qxd2 27. Rxg7+! The pointe. 27. ... Kh8. If 27. ... Kxg7 then 28. Qc7+ and mate in two moves. 28. Rxg4 hxg4 29. Qe5+ Kg8 30. Qxe6+ Kh8 31. Qe5+ Kg8 32. Qxd5+ 1 : 0.

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk

Saccharum officinarum

Somewhere in Cuba, 1964. Ernesto Che Guevara — his mythical 1959 Chevrolet in the background — enjoys playing chess with his comrades of sugar cane harvestershis. Photo: Ramiro A. Fernández.

The Moon of the Caribbees

Somewhere in Cuba, 1964. After a hard day’s work as a volunteer, Ernesto Che Guevara enjoys playing chess with some of his comrades. Photo: Rogelio Andrés Torres.

Lock Up

The fourth Capablanca Memorial held in 1965 was marked by an unusual circumstance. U.S. Chess Champion Robert James Fischer had been invited to play and was offered a $3000 appearance fee, but the United States Department of State would not allow him to travel to Cuba. Thus Fischer played his games by telex from the Marshall Chess Club in New York City. Capablanca’s son José Raúl Capablanca Jr. relayed the moves in Havana. When Fischer’s participation seemed assured, Cuban President Fidel Castro called it a “great propaganda victory for Cuba”, making headlines. When Fischer heard of this, he cabled Castro threatening to withdraw unless Castro stopped making political statements about Fischer’s participation. A cabled reply from Castro eased Fischer’s concern and he joined the field of twenty-two players, with thirteen Grandmasters and seven International Masters. Play by teletype added to the strain of the tournament. Former World Champion Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov (USSR) won the tournament with 15½ points of 21. Borislav Ivkov (Yugoslavia), Efim Geller (USSR), and Fischer shared second through fourth, a half point behind. Although Fischer did not win, his performance was widely considered a success given the playing conditions and the fact that Fischer was playing his first international tournament in three years. Photo: Everett.

Small Steps

Pavel Eljanov – Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi
50th Torneo Internacional Capablanca in Memoriam; Havana, June 15, 2015
Grünfeld Defence D92

“Poco después concluyó el duelo de Eljanov ante Nepomniachtchi. El ucraniano llevó figuras claras y afrontó la defensa Grünfeld planteada por su oponente. En la jugada 20 ganó el peón de d5 y el resto no fue complicado, sobre todo después de pasar el peón por la columna ‘c’. En el movimiento 35, el ruso inclinó su rey”, Miguel Ernesto Gómez Masjuán wrote in his Mi Columna Deportiva.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bf4 0-0 6. Rc1 Be6 7. e3 c5 8. dxc5 Nc6 9. Ng5 Qa5 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. Be2 Ne4 12. 0-0 Bxc3!? Most theoreticians would probably regard this as a sideline, but if 12. ... Nxc3 then 13. bxc3 Qxc5 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Rb1 and White stands better, García González – Milos, Havana 1986. 13. cxd5! Sharper and more effective than 13. bxc3 Nxc3 14. Qd2 Nxe2+ 15. Qxe2 Dxc5 16. cxd5 Qxd5 17. Rfd1 Qf5 18. Rd7 Rac8 19. Rxb7 g5 20. Rc7 gxf4 21. R1xc6 Rxc7 22. Rxc7 f3 23. gxf3 Rf6 24. Qd1 Rg6+ 25. Kh1 Qg5 26. Qf1 Qh5 27. Qd1 Qg5 28. Qf1 Qh5 ½ : ½ Knudsen – Brinck-Claussen, 72nd Danish Chess Championship, Aarhus 1981. 13. ... Rad8 14. Qc2 exd5 15. bxc3 Nxc5 16. Rfd1

16. ... Qa4? A serious error which, after the exchange of Queens, implies the (decisive) loss of the valuable d5-Pawn. After 16. ... e6 17. h4! White has the upper hand, but Black can still defend. 17. Qxa4 Nxa4 18. Bg4 Rf6. If 18. ... Kf7 then 19. Bc7 Nb2 20. Rf1! with advantage to White. 19. Bf3 Kg7 20. Rxd5 Rxd5 21. Bxd5. The Pawn has finally fallen and Eljanov quite easily gets to convert it into a win. 21. ... Rf5 22. c4 Nb6 23. g4! Rf8 24. Rb1 e5 25. Bg3 Kf6 26. Rb5 Re8 27. h4 h6 28. Rc5 Nb4 29. Bxb7 Nxa2 30. Ra5 Nb4 31. c5 Nc4. It makes no difference 31. ... N6d5 32. c6 and Black is helpless. 32. Rb5 a5 33. c6 Nd6 34. Rxa5 g5 35. Rc5 1 : 0.

Pavel Eljanov vs. Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi
Photo: Fernando Medina / Cubahora

Hay que endurecerse sin perder jamás la ternura

• Roberto M. López de Vivigo, Yaniet Marrero, entre aperturas y sombras, Trabajadores, June 7, 2015

Yaniet Marrero López
Photo: Trabajadores

Noli me tangere

Wesley So – Francisco Vallejo Pons
49th Capablanca Memorial; Havana, May 9, 2014
Spanish Game C67

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 b6 12. Rad1 h6 13. h3 a5. Neither 13. ... c5?! 14. Nd5 nor 13. ... Be6?! 14. g4 Ne7 15. Nd4 are too satisfactory for Black (Kramnik’s analysis). The alternative, if anything, is 13. ... Ne7!? 14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ne1!? h5! 16. Nd3 c5 17. c4 a5 18. a4 h4 19. Nc3 Be6! 20. Nd5 Kb7 21. Ne3 Rh5!= Kasparov – Kramnik, London 2000, match game 1. 14. Rd3. Another try is 14. a4 Ne7 15. Ne2 Ng6 16. Ng3 Nf4 17. Rfe1 c5 18. Re4 Ne6 19. c4 Bc6 20. Re3 Kb7 21. Rd2 Be7 22. Nf5 Bg5 23. Nxg5 Bxg5 24. f3 Rad8 25. Red3 Rde8 ½ : ½ Vallejo Pons – I. Sokolov, Mondariz Balneario 2001, match game 3. 14. ... Ne7. Less convincing looks 14. ... Bb4 15. Ne4 Be6 16. g4 Bd5 17. Nfd2 Bxd2 18. Nxd2 Nh4 19. f4 Kb7 20. e6 with advantage to White, Nijboer – Jonkman, Wijk aan Zee 2002. 15. Rfd1 Bf5 16. R3d2. White refuses to be content with the simple and dry continuation 16. Rd8+ Kb7 17. Rxa8 Kxa8 18. Nd4 Bc8 19. e6 f6 (19. ... fxe6 20. Re1) 20. Re1 Kb7 21. g4 h5 22. Nf5 hxg4 23. hxg4 Ka6 as in the game Hybl – Nejtek, by correspondence, 2010. 16. ... c5 17. Nb5 Nc6 18. Nh4 Be6 19. f4 g6 20. g4 Be7 21. Ng2 Kb7

22. Nd6+! By this propitiating pseudo-sacrifice White tries to change the aspect of the fight. 22. ... cxd6 23. exd6 Rhd8 24. dxe7 Rxd2 25. Rxd2 Nxe7 26. a4 Nc6 27. Ne3 Re8 28. Kf2 f5 29. Bg7 h5 30. gxh5 gxh5 31. c4 Rg8 32. Bc3 Kc7 33. Be5+ Nxe5 34. fxe5 h4? A serious mistake, leading to a débâcle. Correct was 34. ... f4! 35. Ng2 Rg5= or, for the better, 35. Nd5+ Bxd5 36. cxd5 Rg3 with excellent drawing chances. 35. Rd6 Re8. There’s no turning back. If 35. ... f4 then 36. Ng2 Bxh3 37. Nxf4 and wins. 36. Kf3 f4 37. Nd5+ Bxd5+ 38. Rxd5 Rf8 39. Rd2 Rf7 40. Rd1 Rf8 41. Rd2. White has been gaining time on the clock. 41. ... Rf7 42. e6! Masterly liquidation! 1 : 0. For after 40. ... Re7 41. Rd7+! is an easily won ending.

Silvia Bertini
Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”