NEIL HAYWARD BRIDGE

Opening Lead: ♠9. What are your plans?

Recommended Line: If you play the

♠5, and East plays “third hand high”, you will win two spade tricks. But, if you play low, and East does the same (correctly), you win only one spade trick. In addition, the defenders will stay in touch with one another. Remember: East can choose when to win with the ♠A. So, if West wins a diamond trick, a further spade lead allows East to win four tricks. If you let West hold the first trick, East can sink your contract by letting you have the next spade trick; you are, after all, entitled to at least one spade trick. So, what do you do? Well, rather than hope East will play high at trick one, go up with the ♠Q. If East ducks, you have two spade tricks. If East wins, you take your ♠K on the third round. Then a losing finesse in diamonds will not be a problem. West will have no spade left. Being smart works; optimism doesn’t.

In 1984 Genna Sosonko visited Olga Clark, the widow of Capablanca, and whilst reminiscing she revealed the following touching story …

‘In the years that I had known Capa he had never played in private or even had chess set at home. We were staying in the Hotel Regina, quite near the Louvre Museum when I had one of my bad colds and was recuperating in bed. Savielly Tartakower, one of our good friends, came over for a visit. He stayed quite a while then suddenly he said to Capa: “I have a chess set with me. Why not play a game?” Much to my astonishment, Capa smiled. “Why not? We are in good company.” He grabbed some of the hotel stationery, a small table was moved close to my bed and the two masters sat down to play. I remember later Capa woke me up by gently touching my shoulder, “Here is a present for you, chérie.” Gingerly I took the folded stationery. “Someday in years to come it will buy you a beautiful diamond as ever since I was a child everything I did was written down and this is the only chess game that is only yours.”

José Raúl Capablanca – Savielly Tartakower

Paris, 1938

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 b6 3 Nc3 Bb7 4 f3 d5 5 cxd5 Nxd5 6 e4 Nxc3 7 bxc3 e6 8 Be3 Nd7 9 Bc4 Bd6 10 Ne2 O-O 11 O-O c5 12 e5 cxd4 13 cxd4 Be7 14 f4 g6 15 Ng3 Kh8 16 Qd3 Rg8 17 Rfd1 Rc8 18 Rac1 Nb8 19 d5 Bxd5 20 Bxd5 Qxd5 21 Qxd5 exd5 22 Rxc8 Rxc8 23 Rxd5 Rd8 24 Rxd8+ Bxd8 25 Kf2 Nc6 26 Kf3 f5 27 Ne2 Kg7 28 g4 fxg4+ 29 Kxg4 Kf7 30 Kf3 Ke6 31 Ke4 b5 32 Nc3 a6 33 Bc5 Be7 34 Bb6 Kd7 (34 … Nb4! is equal) 35 Nd5 a5 36 Nc3 b4 37 Na4 Bd8 38 Bxd8 Kxd8 39 Kd5 Na7? 40 Kc5 Kd7 41 Kb6 Nc8+ 42 Kxa5 Ke6 43 Nb6 Ne7 44 Kxb4 g5 45 fxg5 Kxe5 46 Kc5 Nf5 47 a4 Nd4 48 Nd7+ Ke4 49 Nf6+ Ke5 50 Nxh7 1-0

According to the chess historian, Edward Winter, she was prepared to sell the score-sheet for a minimum of $10,000. No bids were received and Olga passed away in 1994. In 2012 it was revealed that it had been acquired by the collector, David DeLucia., and he generously shared it with the chess world …

WHITE TO PLAY AND DRAW

Chess is a cold bath for the mind – Andrew Bonar Law