Chess / February Birthdays – – Two Greats

by National Life Master Loal Davis

 

Savielly Tartakower

 

Savielly Tartakower (Feb 22, 1887 –1956) was a leading Polish and French chess grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist and author of the 1920s and 1930s whose books remain popular even today. Tartakower is remembered for his sharp wit and aphorisms.

 

Tartakowerisms:

“It’s always better to sacrifice your opponent’s men.”
“An isolated pawn spreads gloom all over the chessboard.”
“The blunders are all there on the board, waiting to be made.”
“The winner of the game is the player who makes the next-to-last mistake.”
No game was ever won by resigning.””I never defeated a healthy opponent.” (This quotation refers to players who blame an illness, sometimes imaginary, for their loss.)
“Tactics is what you do when there is something to do; strategy is what you do when there is nothing to do.”
“Moral victories do not count.”
“Chess is a fairy tale of 1001 blunders.”
“A match demonstrates less than a tournament. But a tournament demonstrates nothing at all.”
“Chess is a struggle against one’s own errors.”
“Every chessplayer should have a hobby.”
“A game of chess has three phases: the opening, where you hope you stand better; the middlegame, where you think you stand better; and the ending, where you know you stand to lose.”

 

Teplitz Schoenau
Date “1922.10.05”
Round “4”
White “Maroczy, Geza”
Black “Tartakower, Saviely”

1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. a3 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd3 d5 7. Nf3 c6 8. O-O Ne4 9. Qc2 Bd6 10. b3 Nd7 11. Bb2 Rf6 12. Rfe1 Rh6 13. g3 Qf6 14. Bf1 g5 15. Rad1 g4 16. Nxe4 fxe4 17. Nd2 Rxh2 18. Kxh2 Qxf2+ 19. Kh1 Nf6 20. Re2 Qxg3 21. Nb1 Nh5 22. Qd2 Bd7 23. Rf2 Qh4+ 24. Kg1 Bg3 25. Bc3 Bxf2+ 26. Qxf2 g3 27. Qg2 Rf8 28. Be1 Rxf1+ 29. Kxf1 e5 30. Kg1 Bg4 31. Bxg3 Nxg3 32. Re1 Nf5 33. Qf2 Qg5 34. dxe5 Bf3+ 35. Kf1 Ng3+ 0-1

 

 

David Bronstein

 

David Ionovich Bronstein (February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was one of the world’s strongest players from the mid-1940s into the mid-1970s, and was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics.

 

Petropolis Interzonal
Date “1973.08.07”
Round “11”
White “David Bronstein”
Black “Ljubomir Ljubojevic”

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Nc3 exd5 9. cxd5 c4 10. Nf3 Bg4 11. Qd4 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Bb4 13. Bxc4 O-O 14. Rg1 g6 15. Bg5 Qc7 16. Bb3 Bc5 17. Qf4 Bxg1 18. d6 Qc8 19. Ke2 Bc5 20. Ne4 N8d7 21. Rc1 Qc6 22. Rxc5 Nxc5 23. Nf6+ Kh8 24. Qh4 Qb5+ 25. Ke3 h5 26. Nxh5 Qxb3+ 27. axb3 Nd5+ 28. Kd4 Ne6+ 29. Kxd5 Nxg5 30. Nf6+ Kg7 31. Qxg5 Rfd8 32. e6 fxe6+ 33. Kxe6 Rf8 34. d7 a5 35. Ng4 Ra6+ 36. Ke5 Rf5+ 37. Qxf5 gxf5 38. d8=Q fxg4 39. Qd7+ Kh6 40. Qxb7 Rg6 41. f4 1-0