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Stressed Out


GM Walter Browne recalls 101 of his favorite encounters By DR. ALEXEY ROOT, WIM


n The Stress of Chess: My Life, Career and 101 Best Games, Grandmaster Walter Browne recalls his years as a globetrotting chess player. His travels bring to mind the “One Night in Bangkok” lyric from the musical Chess: “One town’s very like another when your head’s down over your pieces, brother.” Internationally, Browne played in many cities, including Buenos Aires and Wijk aan Zee. In Buenos Aires, Browne ate “the very memorable steak, known as Beefe de Lomo.” Browne described Wijk aan Zee as “the serene sea- coast town.” Yet Browne’s travel tidbits are minor asides compared to his narra- tives of his chess results. Browne’s narrative about Buenos Aires (1971)


I is


typical: “I had a great start as I beat wun- derkind Henrique Mecking in the first round in a long bishop ending, and in round 2 with a sharp Najdorf I dispatched the brilliant and extremely dangerous Albin Planinc of Yugoslavia.” Browne wrote respectfully about his opponents. Many of the grandmasters who dominated the high-level tournaments of the 1960s and 1970s are gone now. About Bobby Fischer, Browne wrote, “His high energy level and his uncompromising fight- ing style always made the events he played in special and he was the only one who got a big fee to play, maybe $3,000 at that time [1970].” Browne called Svetozar Glig- oric “the patriarch of Yugoslav chess.” Because Browne’s chess tournament career lasted for almost 50 years, Browne also played current stars such as Gata Kamsky. Browne described Kamsky as “very well versed in many phases of the game.” Some of the results mentioned in


Browne’s narratives also appeared later as annotated games. Parenthetical notes such as Henrique Mecking (see Game 6) and Bobby Fischer (see Game 5), connect- ing the narratives to those games, would have been helpful.


Also helpful would have been more infor-


mation about Browne’s family, as the book’s subtitle promises coverage of life and career along with 101 best games. Browne met “Dr. Raquel” in 1971 and mar- ried her on March 9, 1973. In 1975, Walter and son Marcelo “embarked on an incred- ible 40-state journey, driving 15,500 miles


12 November 2012 | Chess Life


and playing 1,417 games.” When I read about this simul tour, I was surprised that Browne took his child on such a long trip. On the next page, I read, “Rather unwisely Marcelo starts honking at the startled cows.” Hmm, I thought, could Browne’s toddler reach the car horn? Then Browne wrote, “From Denver I had to fly to make the next simul, as Marcelo drove the car.” Later, son Hernan from Argentina visited Browne’s home around Christmas of 1979.


WHITE TO MOVE Browne wrote:


14. Bh6!! After a 45-minute think, I confidently


offered my bishop. My adversary has the two bishops and a better pawn structure so I had to react sharply. The passive 14. Bd2 was played by Yates versus Kashdan in the 1930s but 14. ... Be6 15. Re5 Qd7 is fine for Black, with solid control over d5.


14. ... Rg8 Arthur took 45 minutes on this com- The Stress of Chess


... and its Infinite Finesse by Walter Browne


432 pages (New In Chess, 2012) Available from USCF Sales (catalog number B0113NIC), $34.95


I guessed that Marcelo and Hernan are Browne’s step-sons and Raquel’s sons, but Browne never clarified. Running the World Blitz Chess Associ-


ation (1988-2003), taking a “40-hour-a- week job” (in 1997, at a casino), and play- ing poker negatively affected Browne’s chess tournament results. Browne was successful at poker and competed with famous players such as Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey. Some of Browne’s poker hands are described and a poker glossary is included. Here’s an excerpt from Browne’s win over Arthur Bisguier, U.S. Championship, Chicago. Browne noted, “This game was chosen as the second-best game in an Informator that year [1974].”


promising decision as he will only be able to castle on the queenside, yet the alterna- tives were worse.


The quoted text is followed by a listing of Bisguier’s alternatives (14. ... gxh6; 14. ... Be4), along with analysis of those moves. In his preface, Browne wrote, “I chose what I believe are 101 of the most dynamic, instructive, enlightening, surprising and entertaining encounters from my long career. Within each struggle I tried to focus on my adversary with some personal info and key thoughts on the game. I hope that these unique struggles bring you as much joy and pleasure as I’ve had doing the analysis, aided by Fritz.” IMs John Donald- son and John Grefe also analyzed and co-annotated some of the games. Browne’s 101 best games are his wins or draws against a veritable “who’s who” of chess. They are the most compelling reason to buy this book.


Looking for more books? See another review on page 39 of The Queen of Katwe.


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