Bernstein Centennial


Sidney Bernstein, who won the championship of both the Marshall and Manhattan chess clubs, would have been 100 this month. Bern- stein played on a college team with Reuben Fine, wrote books with Fred Reinfeld and competed in eight U.S. championships, where he scored wins over Pal Benko, Samuel Reshevsky, Al Horowitz and Arnold Denker, among others. Many of his great games were collected in his autobiographical Combat: My Fifty Years at the Chessboard. Bernstein, who died in 1992, left us many fine combinations, and six of them are featured in this month’s quiz. Your task is to find the fastest winning line of play, usually the forced win of a decisive amount of material. For solutions, see page 79.


Problem I


Sidney Bernstein Ariel Mengarini


p r +lkp p p R +


+ P + + P+ +P+ P R + + K White to play


Problem IV Samuel Reshevsky Sidney Bernstein


+Q+ +P+ P r + P + +R+ K Black to play


ppl +pq +l+p+ +


+ + + + +N+ + p


+ + +Q+P PPR PPL + +R+L+K


White to play


national ability. In other words, you can calculate better when blind (!?). In this position, the Russian found one of his longest combinations, a forced mate in seven moves. Solution on page 79. Many amateurs refuse to try blindfold


because they’re afraid of being embar- rassed by blunders. They think they’d hang their queen or allow mate in one before they got out of the opening. But if you take it slowly, you’d be sur-


prised at what you can do. When I searched for blindfold blunders I found one glaring example, but it was played at 10 seconds a move.


King’s Indian Defense (E91) GM Samuel Reshevsky SM Bobby Fischer Blindfold exhibition, New York 1957


uschess.org +k+n+rr


+ +q+ p p + + p +P+pRn+ + + P +


+ + +k+


+L+ n P + Lp+ +


+ r + +


Problem II


Sidney Bernstein L. Walter Stephens


r+l+ rk+ pp+q+ + +p+p+L+


+ N P + PPQ+ P + + +RK +R White to play


Problem V Max Pavey Sidney Bernstein


+ + +p+ P+ + + + + pNP + lp +KPPP + + + + Black to play


1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. d4 0-0 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 c6 7. 0-0 a6 8. Re1 b5 9. b3!?


This looks like an oversight—and prob-


ably was. But in a few moves it will look like a promising pawn sacrifice.


9. ... b4! 10. e5 dxe5 11. dxe5 bxc3 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. Bh6 Qxd1 14. Raxd1 Re8 15. Bd3 Nd7 16. Be4 Nc5 17. Bxc6 Bf5


Now 18. Ne5 would keepWhite on top.


Reshevsky was playing 10 consecutive blindfold speed games, Chess Review reported. His opponent has beenmisiden- tified as “Jesper Fischer.” He was, in fact, the 14-year-old who won the U.S. Cham- pionship six months later.


18. g4? Bxg4 19. Kg2 Bf5 20. Bxa8 Rxa8 21. Nd4? Nd3 22. Nxf5 Nxe1+ 23. Rxe1 gxf5 24. Rd1 e5 25. c5 Rc8 26. b4 f4? 27. Kf3 Be7??


(see diagramtop of next column) Yes, this allows 28. Rg1+ Kh8 29. Bg7+


and wins.


28. Ke4?? Rc6 29. Rg1+ Rg6 30. Rxg6+ fxg6 31. Kd3 Kf7 32. Kxc3 g5! 33. c6? White might have held with 33. a4! e4


34. c6.


33. ... Ke6 34. Kc4 Kd6 35. b5 axb5+ 36. Kxb5 e4 Now 37. Kb6 Bd8+ 38. Kb7 fails to 38.


+R+ + +p + +p+ +


+ + k +


+ +pP l +P+ + +


Problem III


Sidney Bernstein Milton Hanauer


+P+ PP+ P+ + + P + + + K White to play


Problem VI Sidney Bernstein Milton Hanauer


P Q +PP P + +KP + +R+ + White to play


+ + lp+p p+ + + L + P p + P + p +


+ p +K+ P+ + P P + +R+ +


After 27. ... Be7


... e3 39. fxe3 (39. Bf8+ Ke5 40. f3 g4!) 39. ... f3! 40. Bxg5 f2.


37. Kc4 Bf6 38. h4 f3! 39. hxg5 e3 40. Bf8+ Be7 41. Bxe7+ Kxe7 42. c7 Kd7,White resigned.


But if you find blindfold chess is too


hard for you, there’s a handy excuse. It’s the same reason we don’t remember phone numbers or read car maps today. We rely too much on technology. In the past, players developed blindfold


skill unconsciously. They tried to follow the moves of a game in a book or maga- zine, without using a board. They went mentally from one diagram to the next. But todaymost of us don’t play through


a game that way. We don’t visualize. We click.


Chess Life — July 2011 . 13 +r+ +k+


p +R+ p lp +p+ p + l Np+q + +P+ +


+r+ +k+


+ + + + p+ +Q+ + +q+pN p p P + +


+nk + +


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