“Stephen J. Gordon (born 4 September 1986) is an English chess grandmaster.
In September 2004 he took a break from his A-level studies at The Blue Coat School, Oldham to compete in the thirteenth Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International.
In 2005, while still a FIDE Master, he finished 6th in the British Championships ahead of a Grandmaster and several International Masters.
At the EU Individual Open Chess Championship held at Liverpool in 2006, he led the tournament after eight rounds and finished a very creditable (joint) second, a half point behind winner Nigel Short and level with Luke McShane among others.
Probably his best result to date however, was second place in the 2007 British Championship, narrowly losing his share of the lead in the final round. In previous rounds, he defeated both tournament victor Jacob Aagaard and previous champion Jonathan Rowson.
By 2008, his rating had reached grandmaster level, although the title itself had not yet been secured. At the British Championship in Liverpool, he almost repeated his performance of the previous year, by taking a share of third place. He was the British under-21 Champion each consecutive year between 2005 and 2008. He became a grandmaster on 1 August 2009.
He has been one of the co-presenters of the chess podcast The Full English Breakfast since its inaugural show in October 2010.”
Stephen Gordon at The Plough Public House in 2014 for the annual Drunken Knights vs Wood Green London League match. Courtesy of John Upham Photography
GM Michael Stean chats with ? at the 2014 Varsity Match. Courtesy of John Upham Photography
We send best wishes to GM Michael Stean on his birthday,
Michael Francis Stean was born Michael Francis (some say Frank) Stein on Friday, September 4th, 1953 in Pancras, London. His mother’s maiden name is / was Jean Feldman. Michael has a brother, Howard.
He attended Latymer Upper School and Cambridge University and his early chess days were spent at Richmond and Twickenham Chess Club.
He became an International Master in 1975 and England’s third (OTB) Grandmaster in 1977 winning £2,500 from the Jim Slater Foundation.
He was the chess correspondent of The Observer.
Some notable opponents that he has a plus score against include:
John Nunn: 3.5/5
Jonathan Speelman: 2.5/4
Gert Ligterink: 2.5/3
Robert Bellin: 2.5/3
Brian Eley: 2.5/3
Vladimir Liberzon: 2/3
and others.
With the white pieces Michael played 1.e4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3 but rarely 1.d4 preferring the Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation.
With the black pieces he played the Sicilian Najdorf (and was a leading expert), the Nimzo-Indian and the Queen’s Indian defences.
He has the dubious honour of being the first Grandmaster to lose a blitz game to a computer (Chess 4.6) in London, 1977. Stean exclaimed, “This computer is a genius!”
Michael Francis Stean
His peak FIDE rating was 2540 in January 1979.
His mother (Jean) presented a trophy to the Marlow Congress (now the Berks and Bucks Congress) which became the Mrs. Jean Stean Cup.
Tony Miles and Michael Stean at the FIDE Zonal in Amsterdam, 1978. (Source: http://gahetna.nl)
According to British Chess (Pergamon, 1983) by Botterill, Levy, Rice and Richardson :
“Stean was educated at Cambridge University, He was equal first in the British Championship, Clacton, 1974, although only 4th in the playoff. He has been an important member of Korchnoi’s team for the last 5 years, and this perhaps has been responsible more than anything for the rounding out and maturing of his style from the sharp tactical play of the early 1970s to the solid positional GM (especially with the White pieces) of today.
Korchnoi, Stean and Keene try out matching vests and T-shirts from The University of Sussex sports centre, Falmer, East Sussex. It is likely that the yellow one was only worn for this press photo shoot.
Stean is a fine author; Simple Chess and the Sicilian Najdorf are both excellent books.
Michael Stean at the 1977 Lord John Cup
Temperamentally he is generally pleasant, good humoured and self confident, although he suffers from intermittent poor health which might help to explain his at times erratic results.”
“Michael Francis Stean was born on the 4th of September 1953 in London, England. He finished 3rd at the 1973 World Junior Chess Championships behind Alexander Beliavsky and Tony Miles. Awarded the IM title in 1975 and the GM title in 1977 (The third Englishman to attain the title after Miles and Keene).
He finished 1st= in the 1974 British Championship but lost the play-off. He played on 5 English Olympiad teams from 1974 – 1983 and has won 1st prizes at Vrsac 1979, Smederevska Palanka 1980 and Beer Sheba 1982.
A specialist in Opening Theory he served as one of Viktor Korchnoi’s seconds in the 1977 – 1981 period. He is the author of Simple Chess, an introduction to chess strategy.”
Mchael Stean, Hastings 1972-1973. Source : British Chess Magazine, Volume 93, Number 2, page 53The Robert Silk Fellowship Tournament, Canterbury, 1973. Source : British Chess Magazine, Volume 93, Number 5, page 192Post-banquet photograph – left to right : Harry Golombek, Andras Adorjan, Danny Wright, Brian Eley, Michael Stean, D. Silk, Robert Silk, AK Henderson. The Robert Silk Fellowship Tournament, Canterbury, 1973. Source : British Chess Magazine, Volume 93, Number 5, page 192
{[%evp 0,47,39,31,58,32,48,14,38,32,37,43,42,31,62,40,43,19,45,11,26,18,12,-1,
-13,-2,-13,1,-6,-22,-15,-87,-81,-200,-81,-103,-85,-85,-85,-112,-10,-42,-30,-93,
-93,11,113,1559,1385,1956]} 1. e4 {[%mdl 512]} c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4
Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 {The Sozin (or indeed Fischer-Sozin) Variation : White
develops his f1 bishop actively, to put pressure on Black’s king side and to
inhibit the latter’s thematic freeing move …d5. Another point is the
kingside castling is made possible, although this is sometimes deferred or
completely rejected in favour of other operations. depending upon Black’s
response Veniamin Sozin (1896 – 1956)} (6. Bg5 {is most popular}) 6… e6 {
Black, in his turn, can hope to exploit the position of the bishop,
temporarily unguarded and on an exposed square, to accelerate his Queenside
counterplay or by seeking the advantage of the two bishops. The positions that
can result are some of the keenest in chess, yet it is only in the last ten
years or so that the interest of players and theoreticians alike has come to
focus on 6.Bc4.} (6… g6 $2 7. Nxc6 $1 bxc6 8. e5 {The Magnus Smith Variation}
dxe5 $4 (8… Ng4 9. Bf4 d5 10. Nxd5 $1) 9. Bxf7+) 7. Be3 Be7 (7… Qc7 8. Qe2
a6 9. Bb3 Na5 $11) 8. Qe2 {[%cal Ge1c1,Ga1d1] The Velimirovic Attack} a6 (8…
O-O 9. O-O-O Nxd4 (9… a6 {is most common}) 10. Bxd4 Qa5 11. e5 dxe5 12. Bxe5
$14) 9. O-O-O Qc7 10. Bb3 O-O {[#] and we reach the Tabiya position for the
Velimirovic Attack.} 11. Rhg1 $1 ({The marginaly more popular} 11. g4 {was the
favourite of Velimirovic and Fischer} Nxd4 12. Rxd4 $14 e5 13. Rdd1) (11. Nxc6)
{Perhaps still more precise is} 11… Na5 (11… b5 $142 $1 12. g4 b4 $15) 12.
g4 b5 {transposing} 13. g5 Nxb3+ 14. axb3 Nd7 {[%csl Gc2,Gc7,Ge4,Ge7][%cal
Ga1a5] Paoli and Ribli’s provocative set-up, designed to highlight White’s
potential weaknesses : e4, c2 and in some cases, the a-file. Great
complications arise as White can sacrifice everything he has in the attempt to
mate, but it is quite possible that Black already stands better.} 15. Rg3 {
Nunn’s new idea in this book line, for which see the Batsford book, The
Sicilian Sozin.} ({An immediate} 15. Qh5 {allows the defence} g6 (15… Bb7 16.
Rg3 Rfc8 (16… Rfe8) 17. Rh3 Nf8 {is a road to nowhere for White.}) 16. Qh6
Re8 {followed by Bf8 and then Bg7.}) 15… b4 {[#]} (15… Bb7 $142 ) ({Safer is} 15… Re8 16. Nf5 $2 exf5 17. Nd5 Qc6 $19) 16. Nf5 $1 {
The old Tal technique : Black can only take one piece at a time. In fact, this
is the only way to continue for White otherwise Black is better.} {Best is}
exf5 (16… Re8 $142 17. Nxe7+ Rxe7 18. Na4 $16 a5 {[%cal Gc8a6]}) (16… Qd8
17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Na4 a5 19. Qd3 $16) ({If} 16… Nc5 17. Qh5 $1 g6 18. Qh6 $1
(18. Bd4 $1 e5 19. Qh6 Bxf5 20. Nd5 Nxe4 21. Nxc7 $18) (18. Qxg6+) (18. Qxh7+
Kxh7 19. Rh3+ Kg8 20. Nh6+) 18… gxf5 19. Rh3 {mating}) 17. Nd5 Qd8 18. exf5 {
[%cal Gf5f6]} Re8 {[%csl Gf8]} 19. Qf3 (19. f6 Bf8 20. fxg7 Bxg7 21. Nf6+ Nxf6
22. gxf6 Qxf6 {[%cal Gf6b2]} 23. Rdg1 Qxb2+ 24. Kd2 Qc3+ 25. Kd1 Qa1+ 26. Kd2
$11) (19. Qh5 g6 20. Qh4 {is a dead end.}) (19. Nxe7+) 19… Bf8 $15 (19… Ne5
20. Nxe7+ {(seguido de 21. Qxa8)}) (19… Rb8 $142) 20. Nf6+ $1 Nxf6 (20…
gxf6 21. gxf6+ (21. Rdg1) 21… Kh8 22. Qg2 $18 (22. Rdg1 h6 23. Bd4) 22…
Nxf6 23. Rg1 Bh6 24. Bxh6 Nh5 25. Qf3 Nxg3 26. Qxg3 Rg8 27. Bg7+ Rxg7 28. Qxg7#
) 21. gxf6 Bd7 $2 ({Imperative is} 21… Rb8 {with defensive chances based
around the Rb5 rook lift.} 22. fxg7 Be7 23. Rh3 Rb5 $1 $19 {[%cal Gb5f5]} 24.
Rxh7 Bxf5 $1 {Only move to survive} 25. Rh8+ Kxg7 $19 26. Bd4+ f6 27. Rh5 Bg6
28. Rg1 {which the post-mortem showed to be drawish.}) 22. Bd4 $1 (22. Rxd6
$142) 22… Qa5 $2 {totally losing} (22… g6 23. Qd5 {and White is clearly
better}) 23. Rxg7+ $1 Kh8 (23… Bxg7 24. Qg2) 24. Qg4 {and Black resigned.
Comentarios: Franco Luis Di Luca (h)} (24. Qg4 h6 25. Rg8+ Kh7 26. Qg6+ fxg6
27. fxg6+ Kxg8 28. f7#) {Resignation spoilt THE checkmate of the Olympiad :}
24… h6 25. Rg8+ Kh7 26. Qg6+ fxg6 27. fxg6+ Kxg8 28. f7# 1-0
[/pgn]
Harry Golombek wrote this about Michael in a 1980 Dataday chess diary :
“The fact that he has sprung up into second place among English players as regards Elo ratings demonstrates the considerable advance Michael Stean has made in the course of a year.
Korchnoi vs Stean at the Philips & Drew Masters of 1980. The game was drawn in 19 moves.
In the 1978 diary I wrote that it would not be long before he gained the grandmaster title since he already possessed one norm of the title. The forecast proved to be correct as he duly acquired the title a few months after I wrote the prophecy.
Michael Stean
He had though to take two more bites at the cherry before he managed to gain the required norms since the tournaments in which he played were not long events. They were Montilla in August 1977 where he came third below Gligoric and Kavalek and the Lord John Cup Tournament in London in September 1977 where he was equal 2nd with Quinteros and Mestel, first place being occupied by the Czechoslovak grandmaster, Hort.
Jan Timman plays Michael Stean at the 1978 Amsterdam FIDE Zonal. The Dutch GM won in 39 moves.
Before that he had assisted Keene in seconding Korchnoi in his candidates match versus Polugayevsky and had done this to such effect that Korchnoi asked him and Keene to act as his seconds at his final match in the Candidates at Belgrade and later on still at the World Championship match against Karpov in the Philippines.
Nigel Short, Lubomir Kavalek and Michael Stean
He also played successfully in Yugoslavia in 1977 (equal 2nd at Virovitica and equal 2nd at Bar). In 1978 he was 3rd at Beersheba below Korchnoi but head of Keene. Five points out of nine at the very strong Swiss System tournament at Lone Pine was followed by an excellent equal 4th with Miles at the tournament at Las Palmas. He has shown that he not only possesses the title of grandmaster but also plays like one.
Michael Stean (far right) at an unknown event
A good example in the following game (Stean-Sax) against one of the joint first prize winners at the Las Palmas event. It was awarded the prize for the best game :”
From The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP, 1984) by Hooper & Whyld :
“English player, International Grandmaster (1977). At Nice 1974, in the first of his several Olympiads, he won the brilliancy prize for his game against Browne.
Since then he has had several good results: Montilia 1976, equal second with Kavalek and Ricardo Calvo (1943— ) after Karpov; Montilia 1977, third (-1-3 = 6)after Gligoric and Kavalek ahead of R. Byrne, Taimanov, and Andersson; London 1977. second (+4=4—1) equal with Mestel and Quinteros after Hort ; Vrsac 1979, first (+ 8=5—1); Smederevska Palanka 1980, first (+7-6); Beersheba 1982, first, Stean was one of Korchnoi’s seconds in the world championship cycles of 1977-8 and 1980-1, and the two became close friends.
In particular Stean provided help with the openings, a subject on which he specialises. He published a book on the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian defence in 1976, and Simple Chess, a guide to the understanding of positional ideas, in 1978.”
GM Michael Stean
From Wikipedia :
“Michael Francis Stean (born 4 September 1953) is an English chess grandmaster, an author of chess books and a tax accountant.
Michael Stean chats with David Levy at the London Chess Classic
The game below (Stean-Browne) was the first winner of the World Brilliancy Prize established in 1974 by Isador Samuel Turover. The value of the prize was $1,000.”
Video Chess Event (See caption below)Video Chess Caption
In 1983 at the height of his powers Michael left the chess work and became a tax accountant. He is now a senior partner at RSM UK.
Apparently :
“A cross disciplinary tax partner, Michael’s experience spans both corporate and non-corporate taxation for clients spanning a wide range of companies (listed and private) as well as high net worth individuals. Areas of activity include advice on transactions and structures, dealing with enquiries conducted by the tax authorities and forensic tax services in tax disputes.
As a member of the large business and international tax sub-committee of the tax faculty of the Institute of ICAEW, Michael was an active contributor to the consultation and development of the so-called ‘GAAR’ (general anti-abuse rule) law enacted in 2013.
Formerly a professional chess grandmaster, Michael brings an analytical approach to the field of tax.”
Mchael Stean, tax accountantSimple Chess by Michael SteanSicilian Najdorf by Michael SteanSimple Chess by Michael Stean
IM Ezra Kirk, Hastings 2012-2013, courtesy of John Upham Photography
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to IM Ezra Kirk (02-ix-1996)
Ezra Gillie Kirk was born on Monday, September 2nd 1996 in Waltham Forest, Essex.
Ezra Kirk, Sautron, 2007, Courtesy of Dominique Primel / Chessbase
Ezra attended Varndean College, Brighton and then the University of Bath to read Natural Sciences and was an intern at AIR INDUSTRIE THERMIQUE and is currently a Data Product Consultant at the Kubrick Group and is based in France.
He edits chess books written by non-English speaking authors and is an accomplished musician publishing works on Spotify.
Ezra became a FIDE Master in 2013 and an International Master in 2018
His peak rating is likely to be in the future but currently is 2445 in December 2018 aged 22.
Ezra plays for 4NCL Cheddleton in the Four Nations Chess League.
IM Ezra Kirk, Tours, 2020, Courtesy of Dominique Primel / Chessbase
The Best I Saw in Chess: Games, Stories and Instruction from an Alabama Prodigy Who Became U.S. Champion
From the rear cover :
“At the U.S. Championship in 1989, Stuart Rachels seemed bound for the cellar. Ranked last and holding no IM norms, the 20-year-old amateur from Alabama was expected to get waxed by the American top GMs of the day that included Seirawan, Gulko, Dzindzichashvili, deFirmian, Benjamin and Browne. Instead, Rachels pulled off a gigantic upset and became the youngest U.S. Champion since Bobby Fischer. Three years later he retired from competitive chess, but he never stopped following the game. In this wide-ranging, elegantly written, and highly personal memoir, Stuart Rachels passes on his knowledge of chess. Included are his duels against legends such as Kasparov, Anand, Spassky, Ivanchuk, Gelfand and Miles, but the heart of the book is the explanation of chess ideas interwoven with his captivating stories. There are chapters on tactics, endings, blunders, middlegames, cheating incidents, and even on how to combat that rotten opening, the Réti. Rachels offers a complete and entertaining course in chess strategy. At the back are listed 110 principles of play–bits of wisdom that arise naturally in the book’s 24 chapters. Every chess player will find it difficult to put this sparkling book down. As a bonus, it will make you a better player.”
The best I saw in chess – by Stuart Rachels
Stuart Rachels only had a short international career which came to an end almost 30 years ago. He’s now, like his late father James, a philosopher, specialising in ethical theory. Why, you might ask, does he deserve a 400+ page book? It seems rather like a vanity project, doesn’t it?
Let’s look inside and find out.
What you don’t get is a chronological account of the author’s career. Instead you get 24 chapters of varying length discussing a wide variety of aspects of chess and offering, in total, 124 games or extracts from his earliest efforts onwards. The book is also full of stories and anecdotes, many of which are highly entertaining. Rachels writes in a friendly style, alternating, perhaps slightly uncomfortably, between self-deprecating humour and arrogance: he might almost be sitting across the board from you explaining his games.
The first few chapter headings will give you some idea of what to expect: Losing Benonis to Kasparov, Five Stories and Their Positions, Two Rogue Sozins, Tactical Snippets, Beware the Sickly Pawns.
Yes, Rachels enjoyed tactics, favouring openings like the Sicilian Dragon and the Modern Benoni, while disliking the ‘rotten Réti’ and the English (‘Is there a Nobel Prize for Worst Opening as White?’), so you’ll see a lot of exciting play. At the same time, his trainer, Boris Kogan, played like Petrosian (‘You must play seemple chess’) and instilled in him a love of endings, again strongly represented here.
His opponents include many of his illustrious contemporaries, whom he met in international junior tournaments: you’ll find games against Anand, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Adams and others here.
Although much of the book is US-centric, there’s also a lot to interest British readers. In 1983 Rachels spent some time in England, where, apart from playing in a simul against Kasparov, he lost a training match against David Norwood (‘the best tactician for my age I’ve ever known, aside from Anand’) which has its own chapter.
In the early 90s Rachels studied at Oxford University for two years: in the 1992 Varsity Match it was he who owned the aforementioned sickly pawns in a thrilling victory over Jonathan Wilson. After the game Ray Keene, suitably impressed, asked him to provide annotations. Rachels was surprised to see one of his sentences quoted verbatim in The Spectator. “Who would’ve suspected that the 44-year-old Brit cribbed that sentence off a 22-year-old American?”
There’s also a tense draw against Tony Miles (‘unpretentious, good-humored, and easy to be around’) from the 1989 US Championship. (Tony had satisfied the residency qualification by renting a post box in New York.) The ‘Foolish Drinker, Optimistic Patzer’ of the chapter heading is Rachels, not Miles. You’ll have to read it yourself to find out why.
In the final chapter Rachels offers his two best games. One played against his friend Kyle Therrell at the age of 11 (‘… might this have been the best game ever played by someone under the age of 12, as of March 29, 1981?’), and his win, given below, against Sergey Kudrin, again from the 1989 US Championship. If you buy the book you’ll be able to read his annotations.
The book concludes with three appendices. Appendix A explains adjournments (‘… a 20th century phenomenon, mostly occurring in high-level events’). Not in my part of the world: I had an adjournment from a local league game hanging over me at the start of lockdown: it was eventually agreed drawn via email. Appendix B, Principles of Play, offers some maxims which you may or may not find helpful, and Appendix C is what looks to me like a fairly arbitrary list of recommended books.
The format of the book does mean you miss the trajectory of his career, but at the same time the constant switching between topics will ensure you never get bored. Although Rachels is a relatively minor figure in chess history who retired nearly 30 years ago, he still has an infectious passion for chess, writes well, annotates lucidly and tells a great story. It’s often very funny too: a hugely entertaining and engrossing read which I thoroughly enjoyed. If you like games collections and biographies you shouldn’t hesitate to snap this one up.
BCN remembers Joseph Blackburne (10-xii-1841 01-ix-1924)
The following (excerpts of) information were obtained via ancestry.co.uk / findmypast.co.uk:
Joseph Henry Blackburne was born on Friday, December 10th, 1841 in Chorlton, Manchester. His father was Joseph Blackburn (aged 23, a temperance reformer) and his mother was Ann Pritchard (aged 24).
His brother Frederick Pritchard Blackburn died on 11 October 1847 in Lancashire, Lancashire, when Joseph Henry was 5 years old.
His sister Clara was born on 4 November 1847 in Street, Lancashire, when Joseph Henry was 5 years old.
His mother Ann passed away on 26 November 1857 in Manchester, Lancashire, at the age of 40.
His half-brother William Thomas was born on 17 June 1865 when Joseph Henry was 23 years old.
Joseph Henry Blackburne married Eleanor Driscoll on 10 December 1865 when he was 24 years old.
Joseph Henry Blackburne married Beatrice Lapham on 3 October 1876 when he was 34 years old.
His wife Beatrice passed away in January 1880 in St Olave Southwark, London, at the age of 26. They had been married 3 years.
Joseph Henry Blackburne married Mary Jane Fox in St Olave Southwark, London, on 16 December 1880 when he was 39 years old.
Joseph Henry Blackburne lived in Everton, Lancashire, in 1891.
According to Edward Winter in Chess Notes JHB lived at the following addresses :
16 Lucey Road, London SE, England (The Chess Amateur, October 1924, page 32 (address in 1879) and the 1881 British census (C.N. 4756)*).
116 Barkworth Road, Camberwell, London, England (1891 British census (C.N. 4756)*).
7 Whitbread Road, Lewisham, London, England (1901 British census (C.N. 4756)*).
45 Sandrock Road, Lewisham, London SE, England (Ranneforths Schach-Kalender, 1915, page 56, and Hastings Chess Club address list, 1922*).
“Joseph Henry Blackburne was born in Chorlton, Manchester. He came to be known as “The Black Death”. He enjoyed a great deal of success giving blindfold and simultaneous exhibitions. Tournament highlights include first place with Wilhelm Steinitz at Vienna 1873, first at London 1876, and first at Berlin 1881 ahead of Johannes Zukertort. In matchplay he lost twice to Steinitz and once to Emanuel Lasker. He fared a little better with Zukertort (Blackburne – Zukertort (1881)) and Isidor Gunsberg, by splitting a pair of matches, and defeating Francis Joseph Lee, ( Blackburne – Lee (1890) ). One of the last successes of his career was at the age of 72, when he tied for first place with Fred Dewhirst Yates at the 1914 British Championship.
Joseph Blackburne (10-xii-1841 01-ix-1924)
In his later years, a subscription by British chess players provided an annuity of £100 (approximately £4,000 in 2015 value), and a gift of £250 on his 80th birthday.”
In 1923 he suffered a stroke, and the next year he died of a heart attack.”
Joseph Henry Blackburne (10-xii-1841 01-ix-1924)
From The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP, 1984) by Hooper and Whyld :
“For more than 20 years one of the first six players in the world and for even longer the leading English born player. Draughts was the most popular indoor game in his home town, Manchester; he learned this game as a child and became expert in his youth.
He was about 18 when, inspired by Morphy’s exploits, he learned the moves of chess. In July 1861 he lost all live games of a match against the Manchester chess club champion Edward Pindar, but he improved so rapidly that he defeated Pindar three months later (-1-5=2—1), and in 1862 he became champion of the club ahead of Pindar and Horwitz.
Instructed by Horwitz, Blackburne became one of the leading endgame players of his time; and wishing to emulate the feats of L. Paulsen, who visited the club in November 1861, he developed exceptional skill at blindfold chess. He spent most of the 1860s developing his chess and toying with various occupations.
After winning the British championship, 1868-9, ahead of de vere, he became a full-time professional player.
Blackburne achieved excellent results in many tournaments: Baden-Baden 1870, third equal with Neumann after Anderssen and Steinitz; London 1872, second (+5-2) after Steinitz ahead of Zukertort; Vienna 1873, second to Steinitz after a play-off; Paris 1878, third after Winawer and Zukertort: Wiesbaden 1880, first equal with Englisch and Schwarz; Berlin 1881, first (+13=2 — 1), three points ahead of Zukertort, the second prize winner (Blackburne’s greatest achievement); London 1883, third after Zukertort and Steinitz; Hamburg 1885, second equal with Englisch, Mason, Tarrasch, and Weiss half a point after Gunsberg; Frankfurt 1887, second equal with Weiss after Mackenzie; Manchester 1890, second after Tarrasch; Belfast 1892, first equal with Mason; London 1892, second ( + 6-2) after Lasker; London 1893, first ( + 2=3).
He was in the British team in 11 of the Anglo-American cable matches, meeting Pillsbury on first board six times (+2-3 — 1), and he continued to play internationally until he was 72, long enough to meet the pioneer of the hypermodern movement Nimzowitsch, whom he defeated at St Petersburg 1914.
Blackburne had remarkable combinative powers and is remembered for his swingeing king’s side attacks, often well prepared but occasionally consisting of an ingenious swindle that would deceive even the greatest all his contemporaries. The tournament book of Vienna 1873 refers to him as ‘der schrwarze Tod [Black death] der Schachspieler’, a nickname that became popular.
{[%evp 9,92,66,58,63,69,20,16,-2,20,16,24,-15,-12,-18,65,65,65,56,44,46,36,37,
72,68,125,89,112,113,112,108,113,79,112,75,104,97,174,169,155,36,32,0,0,0,85,
-117,-95,-265,-138,-143,-129,-253,-302,-572,-569,-576,-551,-549,-552,-571,-515,
-571,-562,-660,-670,-694,-702,-695,-671,-708,-750,-733,-691,-803,-800,-850,
-839,-913,-908,-905,-905,-1020,-994,-1537,-1482] C62: Ruy Lopez: Steinitz
Defence Sources: Tartakower & du Mont, 500 Master Games of Chess, pp. 66-67;
Evans, The World’s Greatest Chess Games, pp43-44. All comments are
Tartakower’s unless otherwise noted. In the following game the preliminary
sparring (moves 8-21) is characterised by desperate pawn skirmishes. The real
battle begins with a double pawn sacrifice (22….g5), which gives Black the
mastery over the g and h files, on which he stages an impressive regrouping of
forces (28….Rh8). His powerful strategy culminates in the sacrifice of a
Rook (31….Rh1+), the sequel to which is the loss by White of his queen.} 1.
e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 {The Steinitz Defence, which gives Black a cramped
but playable game.} 4. d4 {Creating tension in the centre.} ({The play would
be simplified by} 4. Bxc6+ bxc6 5. d4 exd4 6. Nxd4 Bd7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nc3 Be7 {
etc., but then neither} 9. f4 ({nor} 9. Bg5 c5) 9… O-O {etc., hold any
terrors for Black.}) 4… Bd7 ({If, impulsively} 4… exd4 5. Qxd4 Bd7 6. Bxc6
Bxc6 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bh4 {etc., would give White a lasting positional advantage,
chiefly owing to his queen’s centralised position.}) 5. d5 {Blocking the
centre is not to be recommended.} ({He should continue his development with} 5.
Nc3 {reserving the option of castling on either side.}) 5… Nb8 {[#]} 6. Bd3
$146 ({Relevant:} 6. Bxd7+ Nxd7 7. c4 Ngf6 8. Nc3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. h3 Ne8 11.
Qc2 g6 12. Bh6 Ng7 13. g4 Qe8 14. Kh2 f6 15. h4 Rf7 16. Rg1 Nb6 17. Rac1 Qd7
18. Nd2 Raf8 19. Rg2 Bd8 20. Qd3 Nc8 21. Nd1 Ne7 22. Ne3 Kh8 23. Rh1 Ng8 24.
Bxg7+ Rxg7 25. Qb3 b6 26. Qd1 Nh6 27. b4 f5 28. g5 Ng8 29. b5 Rgf7 30. exf5
gxf5 31. Kg1 f4 32. Nc2 f3 33. Rg3 Rf4 34. Ne3 Qf7 35. Rhh3 e4 {Baird,D-Hodges,
A New York 1893 1-0 (67)}) 6… Be7 7. Nc3 ({As the advanced infantryman will
soon need strong support, the continuation} 7. c4 {followed by Nc3 would be
more logical.}) 7… Nf6 8. Ne2 c6 {A routine player would have castled here
and submitted to White’s positional superiority. Being an imaginative player,
Black prefers to put the whole battlefield on fire.} 9. c4 Na6 10. Ng3 ({
Here again} 10. Nc3 {would be better adapted to keep watch on the important
points e4, d5 and b5.}) 10… Nc5 11. Bc2 b5 {Evans: Positionally poor, but he
stakes everything on the attack.} 12. b4 ({White is not satisfied with the
defensive} 12. b3 {but himself “starts something” on the queen side.}) 12…
Nb7 13. dxc6 Bxc6 14. cxb5 Bxb5 15. a4 Bd7 {[#] Evans: Certainly not a
position in which anyone planing Black would expect to beat a Lasker.} 16. O-O
g6 17. h3 ({If} 17. Bh6 Ng4 {but now Black resolutely prevents any inroad into
his own territory.}) ({As, however, the text move weakens the king’s field, it
would have been better, for instance, to continue with} 17. h4 {(threatening
18.h6)} a6 18. Bg5 {with various threats.}) 17… h5 {The beginning of an
attack, conducted by Black with extraordinary virtuosity.} 18. Be3 a5 {Keeping
both wings in mind. By the text move he contests the square c5.} 19. b5 Rc8 20.
Rc1 Nc5 {With renewed pressure against the adverse e pawn.} 21. Nd2 h4 22. Ne2
{[#]} g5 {A line clearance sacrifice. Evans: The attack begins!} 23. Bxg5 ({
Accepting the sacrifice in preference to the timorous continuations} 23. Kh1 g4
{etc.}) ({or} 23. f3 Nh5 {followed by ….Nf4 and Black still succeeds in
opening the g-file.}) 23… Rg8 24. Bxh4 Bxh3 $1 $14 25. Bg3 {Closing up one
of the open files (g), and not suspecting the possibility of danger on the
other. 25….} Be6 {Evans: Black has strong Knights — and open files} 26. Re1
({If} 26. f3 Nh5) 26… Ng4 27. Nf1 Bg5 28. Rb1 Rh8 {Black’s intentions are
taking shape.} 29. Nc3 {Evans: So that if ….Qf6 30. f3.} Bf4 30. Nd5 Qg5 {
Threatening 31….Qh6.} 31. f3 {Too late, for now Black is in a position to
win the adverse queen by a brilliant sacrifice. 31….} Rh1+ 32. Kxh1 Bxg3 33.
Nxg3 ({If} 33. fxg4 Qh4+ 34. Kg1 Bf2#) 33… Nf2+ 34. Kg1 Nxd1 35. Nf5 Bxf5 36.
exf5 Qd2 {The final link in Black’s combination, without which White might
have obtained almost an equivalent (rook, bishop, pawn) for his queen.} 37.
Rexd1 Qxc2 38. Rbc1 Qxf5 39. Nb6 Rd8 40. Nc4 Nb7 41. Ne3 Qf4 42. Kf2 Qxa4 43.
Rc7 Nc5 44. Rh1 Rd7 45. Rc8+ Ke7 46. Rhh8 Qd4 {White resigns.} 0-1
[/pgn]
His unflappable temperament also earned him the soubriquet “the man with the iron nerves’. Even so, neither his temperament nor his style was suited to set matches, in which he was rarely successful against world-class players. He had other chess talents: a problem composer, he was also a fast solver, allegedly capable of outpacing the great Sam Loyd. Blackburne earned his livelihood by means of simultaneous displays, for this purpose touring Britain twice-yearly, with a few breaks, for more than 50 years.
Chess, circa 1896, JH Blackburne, well known chess player, who had toured both on the Continent and America, able to make between 40 to 60 moves when blindfolded by sheer memory (Photo by Bob Thomas/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Before this time such displays were solemn affairs; Lowenthal, who would appear in formal dress and play for several hours in silence, was shocked when Blackburne turned up in ordinary clothes, chatting and making jokes as he played, and refreshing him self with whisky, (Blackburne confessed, however, that when fully absorbed in a game he never noticed whether he was drinking water instead,) Once, walking round the boards, he drained his opponent’s glass, saying when rebuked He left it en prise and I took it en passant‘
The illustrator Julius Hess depicted Blackburne in a New Yorker Staats Zeitung evening edition as sitting at a chesstable and beckoning: “Waitah! A whiskey and limejuice!”
He played his blindfold displays quickly, and with little sign of the stress that besets most blindfold players. Probably the leading blindfold expert of his time, he challenged Zukertort, a close rival in this field, to a match of ten games, played simultaneously, both players blindfold; but Zukertort declined. Many who knew and liked Blackburne subscribed to a fund which sustained him in his last years.
Image Supplied by a reader of the book ‘Eminent Victorian Chess Players’ to Tim Harding
P. A. Graham, Mr Blackburne’s Games at Chess (1899) contains 407 games annotated by Blackburne and 28 three-movers composed by him.
Mr Blackburne’s Games at Chess by PA Graham
A reprint, styled Blackburne*s Chess Games (1979), has a new introduction and two more games.
One of Blackburne’s contributions was the suggestion of using chess clocks rather than the archaic hourglasses.
Here follows a reproduction of an article from British Chess Magazine, Volume LXXX1 (1961), Number 12 (December), page 340-342 written by RN Coles entitled “Early Days of a Great Master” :
“The only record of how J. H. Blackburne first, entered the chess world is the one provided by P. Anderson Graham in the introduction to his collection of Blackburne’s games. This has all the ingredients of a romanticized version of the truth-the first casual games in a temperance hotel, then entry to the important Manchester Club and a series of victories over ever stronger opponents until at last Pindar, Champion of the Provinces, comes along, plays the unknown youth and is defeated.
Reference to C. H. Stanley’s column in the Weekly Guardian and Express helps to supply a more accurate version. Young Blackburne’s earliest interest was in problems and he submitted one to the Guardian and Express which appeared in January, 1861, only to be found by several solvers to be cooked, Then silence till May 11th, when the column carries a note:
J. H. B. Problems received with much pleasure…Shall be glad to see you at the Club.”
Here are a couple of published problems. For a complete listing see below.
Manchester Express, 1861
[fen] 8/1p6/1B3R2/1P2p3/2Pp4/4k3/2K3B1/8 w – – 0 1 [/fen]
#4. 6+4
The Field, 1893
[fen] 8/3b2q1/Q2Rpb2/2k3N1/2N1P3/2p5/7B/7K w – – 0 1 [/fen]
#3, 7+6
Not yet a member, clearly. Nevertheless, he contrived somehow to meet Pindar outside the club and played some games-with him (two scores appear in the Guardian and Express, July 20th), and a set-match of five up was then arranged, still played in private (Guardian and Express, August 3lst), which “was terminated by Mr. Pindar winning a clear victory, the score being Pindar 5, Blackburne 0” (one game was quoted in the July “B.C.M.” and another score can be found in the Guardian and Express, July 27th.
“A second match was agreed upon, level games to entitle either player to the victor’s palm. The result … is calculated positively, to startle the chess world. The first game was scored by Mr. Pindar; of the next seven, Blackburne won five and the two remaining were drawn. ‘At this point Mr. Pindar resigned the match.” (Guardian and Express, September 7th, with the score of a Blackburne win from this match quoted February 1st, 1962.)
Only now does Blackburne appear to have joined the Manchester Club, meeting such players as Stanley himself for the first time (Guardian and Express gives the score of a casual game, November 9th), though Stanley later claimed personally to have discovered the young prodigy.
In November, 1861, Paulsen visited the club and the score survives of a casual game in which he beat Blackburne, who played a Winawer Variation of the French Defence long before Winawer ever came on the-scene (Guardian and Express, December,1861); Paulsen concluded his visit with one of his celebrated ten-board blindfold displays and not unnaturally the young Blackburne eagerly took a board; his defeat is No.25O in his games collection. This so stimulated him that he himself tried blindfold play and by January 20th, 1862, was able to give his first display against four boards, winning them all (Guardian and Express, January 25th, with one of the scores). This he followed with seven games on February 8th,
winning five and losing two. (Guardian and Express, February 8th) and finally ten games on February 8th, winning five, losing two, and drawing three (Guardian and Express,February 15th, which quotes the score of one game in addition to No. 254 in his games).
Inter-club matches were something of a rarity in those days and were regarded as of considerable importance when they occurred; one such was the annual Manchester-Liverpool match and in 1862 Blackburne took part for the first time, being matched against Wellington, another young player of promise who seems to have got no further; as many games were played between opponents as time allowed and these two young men played three, all won by Blackburne. (Guardian and Express, February 22nd, which quotes the score of one game in addition to No. 138 in the collection).
During this spring the rivalry with Pindar was renewed in a third match for the first five wins and after eleven games the score stood at 4 each, with three drawn (Guardian and Express, March 15th, quoting the score of the eleventh game), but I cannot find who won the last game. Since Blackburne was hailed as club champion this season, one must suppose he was the victor.
Such was his first club season. ln June, 1862, he played in the London lnternational Tournament and from then on his chess career was public property.
To conclude, here is the score of the eleventh game of his third match with Pindar, a critical struggle in which his budding mastery appears at the-end. From an inferior opening he struggles into an equal ending but by a rash exchange of Rooks on the 36th move gives Pindar a clear advantage, which could have been held by 41. P-R4. Blackburne seizes on this omission like a real master to switch into a most accurately calculated queen ending.
{[%evp 0,100,19,38,25,7,30,29,18,-1,-1,-78,-24,-21,-2,-2,17,0,68,4,71,92,98,98,
98,122,139,125,201,229,301,105,170,8,-10,-7,-7,-14,29,29,68,7,9,2,5,-30,11,5,0,
14,15,20,35,11,-11,-7,-7,-47,-50,-42,-7,-2,-6,-4,-1,0,2,12,21,14,26,39,50,24,
54,112,119,119,170,279,196,311,319,-26,-8,-15,-12,-5,0,-1014,-1077,-1194,-1177,
-1924,-28430,-28431,-29972,-29977,-29978,-29989,-29990,-29991,-29992]} {
Game #12946 sourced from British Chess Magazine, Volume LXXX1 (1961), Number
12 (December), page 340-342 by RN Coles. Edward Pindar was a lesser known but
strong player, active in the mid 19th century. He resided in Britain but was
born in Russia, grew up in what is now Estonia and returned there in later
life. From 1856, Pindar was a rising force in the Manchester Chess Club. In
1859, Morphy deigned to give him knight odds and was promptly crushed. He won
the club’s championship in 1861, defeating Bernhard Horwitz 3½-1½ in the
final. His star, however, was soon eclipsed by the emerging Joseph Henry
Blackburne. Pindar was also a language teacher and in this connection he
achieved notoriety when, in 1877, he attacked and seriously wounded a female
student who rebuffed his offer of marriage. He was sentenced to five years,
and upon release drifted into obscurity.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4
Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. O-O {[#]} Bc5 $146 ({Relevant:} 6… Be7 7. e5 Ne4 8. c3 dxc3
9. Nxc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Qd3 d5 12. Bc2 g6 13. Qe3 Re8 14. Nd4 Bc5 15.
Nxc6 Bxe3 16. Nxd8 Bxc1 17. Raxc1 Rxd8 18. f4 b5 19. h3 c5 20. g4 a5 21. a3 c4
22. Rfd1 b4 23. cxb4 axb4 24. axb4 Ra3 25. Be4 Rxh3 26. Kg2 Bxg4 27. Rxd5 Ra8
28. Rxc4 Raa3 29. Rd2 h5 30. Rf2 h4 31. b5 Ra1 32. Rf1 Rg3+ 33. Kf2 Ra2+ 34.
Rc2 Ra4 35. Re1 Rb4 36. Rc5 {Lelie-Anderssen,A Amsterdam 1861 0-1}) 7. e5 Nd5
8. Bb3 Nce7 9. Bg5 Nb6 10. Nbd2 d5 11. exd6 Bxd6 12. Ne4 c5 13. Re1 Be6 14.
Bxe6 fxe6 15. Qe2 O-O 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Qxe6+ Qxe6 18. Rxe6 Ned5 19. Rae1 Na4
20. b3 Nac3 21. a3 a5 22. Bd2 Nb5 23. R1e5 Rfd8 24. Bg5 Nbc7 25. Bxd8 Nxe6 26.
Be7 Nxe7 27. Rxe6 Nc6 28. Ne5 Nxe5 29. Rxe5 Rc8 30. Kf1 Kf7 31. Ke2 Rc6 32. Kd3
b6 33. Kc4 Rd6 34. f4 Rh6 35. h3 Rg6 36. Re2 Re6 $2 37. Rxe6 Kxe6 $18 {[#]} 38.
g4 (38. a4 $1 $18 {and white it totally winning.}) 38… h5 39. Kb5 (39. a4 $18
) 39… hxg4 40. hxg4 Kd6 41. Kxb6 $2 {White converts a totalling winning
position into a lost one.} (41. a4 $18) 41… a4 $1 42. bxa4 c4 43. a5 d3 44.
cxd3 cxd3 45. a6 d2 46. a7 d1=Q 47. a8=Q Qb3+ 48. Ka6 Qa4+ 49. Kb7 Qb5+ 50. Ka7
Kc7 0-1
[/pgn]
and here is the original article:
British Chess Magazine, Volume LXXX1 (1961), Number 12 (December), page 340British Chess Magazine, Volume LXXX1 (1961), Number 12 (December), page 341
Many juniors and beginners will know the Blackburne Shilling Gambit (or Kostić Gambit) in some circles known (named by Julian Hodgson) as the ‘Oh My God’:
According to The Encyclopedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977) by Harry Golombek :
“British grandmaster and highly successful tournament player who was one of the most prominent masters of the nineteenth century. He did not learn to play chess until the age of nineteen, but his natural gifts soon brought him into the front rank of British players, and in 1868 he abandoned his business interests and adopted chess as a profession.
Blackburne’s international tournament career spans an impressive fifty-two years from London 1862 to St. Petersburg 1914 – a total of 53 events in which he played 814 games, scoring over 62%. Although he rarely won international events, he generally finished in the top half of the table and his fierce competitive spirit coupled with his great combinative ability earned the pleasant nickname of ‘the Black Death’.
Joseph Blackburne (10-xii-1841 01-ix-1924). Photograph from The Encyclopedia of Chess by Harry Golombek
His most notable successes were =1st with Steinitz at Vienna 1873 (Blackburne lost the play-off match), 1st at Berlin 1881 ahead of Paulsen, Schallopp, Chigorin, Winawer and Zukertort, and 2nd to Tarrasch at Manchester 1890.
Blackburne won the BCA Championship in 1868 and for many years was ranked as Britain’s foremost player. In 1914 – at the age of 72 – he shared first place at the BCF congress in Chester.
In match play his success was mixed. He defeated Bird in 1888 (+4-1) and Gunsberg in 1881 (+7-4=3) but lost a second match to Gunsberg in 1886 (+2-5=6). He lost to Lasker (+0-6=4) in 1892 and was defeated heavily twice by Steinitz : in 1862/3 (+1-7=2) and in 1876 (+0-7=0), the latter of these matches being for the World Championship.
Blackburne excelled at blindfold play and in simultaneous exhibitions, which provided a major portion of his income. He died in Lewisham, a much respected veteran of eighty-three.”
Eminent Victorian Chess Players, Tim Harding, McFarland & Co; 1st edition (20 April 2012), ISBN-13 : 978-0786465682Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography, Tim Harding, McFarland & Co; Annotated edition (30 July 2015), ISBN-13 : 978-0786474738Blackburne : The Black Death in Spades by Bob Long
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