MARK RUBERY CHESS
The 1st South African Championship took place in Cape Town in 1892. The prize money offered was the grand sum of 80 pounds (25 pounds going to the winner) and the rate of play was 25 moves per hour. The eleven player tournament was dominated by A.J Rivett (Graaf-Reinet) and E Roberts (Cape Town) who each scored 9,5/10. Rivett and Roberts then contested two games to break the tie, where they each scored a win apiece thus the title was shared.
Here follows an example from this tournament with notes abbreviated from Reitstein’s excellent ‘A history of chess in South Africa’
J.H. Clark - E. Roberts [C44] South African Championship, 1892
Of the dozen or so games I have found from the first South African Championship, I consider this the best.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 d6 5.Ng5 Nh6 (The first of several inferior moves made by both sides. Better was 5 .... Ne5 at once. 6.0-0 Ne5 And now 6...Be7, developing.) 7.Qxd4 (White should have played 7 Bb3, preserving his strong bishop, and after the text Black should have played 7...Nxc4.) 7...c6 8.Rd1 Qc7 9.f4 Ng6 10.Nc3 Bg4 11.Rd3 Qa5 12.b4 ( Hoping for 12... Qxb4 13 Bxf7+) 12...Qc7 13.Rg3 Bc8 14.Be3 a6 15.f5 Ne5 16.Bb3 Qd8 17.Ne2 Be7 18.Rf1 Bf6 19.Qd1 Qe7 20.Nd4 Bd7 21.Ndf3 0-0-0 22.c4 Be8 23.Bb6 Rd7 24.b5 24... c5 25.bxa6 bxa6 26.Qd5 The mate on a8 is easily prevented. 26...Rb7 27.Ba5 Bc6 28.Qd1 (White’s pawn on e4 is weak, and Black should have exploited this by playing 28...Nxf3+.) 28...Neg4 29.Bd2 Ne5 30.Bf4 Ng8 31.Nxe5 dxe5 32.Be3 h6 33.Qh5 (Embarking on a dubious queen move. One wonders whether White foresaw all its implications!) 33...g6 34.fxg6 fxg6 35.Qxg6 (Best in the circumstances, for if 35 Qh3+ Bd7, and if 35 Qh4 hxg5.) 35...Be8 36.Qf5+ Bd7 37.Ne6 (Probably fearing he was lost after 37 Qg6 hxg5. After the text move there are several exchanges leading to an ending in which Roberts shows very fine ability, which is all the more remarkable when one considers that at the time the game was played the theory of the endgame, if no longer in its infancy, was still in its adolescence.) 37...Bxe6 38.Rxg8+ Rxg8 39.Qxf6 Qxf6 40.Rxf6 40...Bh3 41.g3 h5 (After this White has to maintain his rook on the f-file.) 42.Rxa6 42...Rf8 43.Bf2 Kb8 (To prevent an exchange of rooks by 44 Ra8+ , which would lighten White’s defensive task considerably.) 44.Rd6 (Otherwise Black plays 44...Rd7 and 45...Rd2 winning.) 44... Rbf7 45.Rd2 Rf3 46.Bd1 Re3 (With the threat of 47...Re1+) 47.Rb2+ Kc7 48.Be2 48...Rc3 49.Be1 (This of course loses immediately, but if 49 Rb1 then 49...Rc2 50 Re1 Rxa2 and White is in zugzwang (50 Bxc5 Rxe2!).) 49... Rc1 0-1