PRACTICAL CHESS ENDGAME or BRIAN'S CHESS FOLLY . 4/7/98

The new position will occur each SUNDAY and I will always be pleased to receive POSITIVE feedback about the positions and the analysis and I will try to acknowledge these where relevant.

The year 1938 was very important to Reubin Fine. Although only twenty-three years old he had decided that his professional chess career was coming to an end. With this decision made he entered the Dutch AVRO tournament knowing it would probably be his last international appearance. It was generally accepted that the winner of the tournament would have the right to play a title match against Alekhine. Fine made a brilliant start and was soon the tournament leader but he lost his form and had to be content to share 1st place with Keres, but Keres had the better Sonnenborn-Berger score and so was looked upon as the official challenger to the world champion.

This must have been a bitter disappointment to Reubin Fine and only reinforced his earlier decision to follow a career in psychiatry. Fine had started a college course but he still found time that year to play in the United States Championship where the following position is taken from.

 

[not 3.Bxd7?? Rxc5 4.bxc5 Kxd7 5.Kf2 Kc6 6.Ke3 Kxc5-+ and Back wins the K&P ending.]

[The c-pawn is safe from attack, White now brings his King over to the Q-side to win the a-pawn.]

The rest is easy; 10.Bb3 Bc8 11.Ba4 Bb7 12.Kc4 Ba6+ 13.Bb5 Bb7 14.Kb3 and the a-pawn will fall.

Although Fine's international career was over he started to write chess books. The most famous of these is Basic Chess Endings (1941). I cannot speak too highly of this book and it is a great pity that it has never been revised. Botvinnik called it "a brilliant piece of work." It stands as a monument to one of  America's greatest players.

This consists of 5 positions, Top grades only will be published on 6th September plus solutions. All other competitors will have their grades sent via email.

mailto: brigosling@aol.com