[blind-chess] Annotated Game #025: Henry Bird - James Mason, New York 1876
- From: Roderick Macdonald <rmacd@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Blind Chess Mailing List <blind-chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2011 19:24:45 -1000 (HST)
Annotated Game #025:
Henry Edward Bird - James Mason, New York 1876
Adapted and Condensed from
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Contents
++1. Henry Edward Bird
++1.A Chess career
++1.B Bibliography
++2. James Mason
++2.A Chess strength
++2.B Books
++3. Henry Edward Bird - James Mason, New York 1876
++1. Henry Edward Bird
Henry Edward Bird (July 14, 1830 - April 11, 1908) was an English
chess player and chess writer. He was born in Portsea in Hampshire.
++1.A Chess career
At age 21 Bird was invited to the first international tournament,
London 1851. He also participated in tournaments held in Vienna and
New Jersey. In 1858 he lost a match to Paul Morphy at the age of
28, yet he played high-level chess for another 50 years. Although
Bird was a practicing accountant, not a professional chess player,
it has been said that he "lived for chess, and would play anybody
anywhere, any time, under any conditions." In the New York
tournament of 1876, Bird received the first brilliancy prize ever
awarded, for his game against James Mason.
In 1874 Bird proposed a new chess variant, which played on an 8x10
board and contained two new pieces, guard (combining the moves of
the rook and knight) and equerry (combining the bishop and knight).
Bird's chess inspired Capablanca to create another chess variant,
Capablanca chess, which differs from Bird's chess only by starting
position.
Bird was also an outstanding author and accountant. He wrote a book
on chess entitled Chess History and Reminiscences. He also wrote a
book entitled An Analysis of Railways in the United Kingdom.
It was Bird who popularized the chess opening now called Bird's
Opening (1. f4), as well as Bird's Defense to the Ruy Lopez (1. e4
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4). Bird's Opening is considered sound,
though not the best try for an opening advantage. Bird's Defense is
regarded as slightly inferior, but "trappy".
++1.B Bibliography
* Bird, Henry Edward. The Chess openings Considered
Critically and Practically (London: Dean, 1877)
* Bird, Henry. Chess Masterpieces (London: 1875)
* Bird, Henry. Chess History and Reminiscences (London: 1893)
* Bird, Henry. Modern Chess
* Bird, Henry. Chess for Beginners
* Bird, Henry. Chess Novelties (London: 1895)
++2. James Mason
James Mason (November 19, 1849 - January 12, 1905) was a famous
chess player and writer. He was born in Kilkenny in Ireland. His
original name is unknown: he was adopted as a child and only took
the name James Mason when he and his family moved to the United
States in 1861. There he learnt chess and eventually secured a job
at the New York Herald.
Mason made his first mark on the chess scene in 1876, when he won
the Fourth American Congress in Philadelphia, the New York Clipper
tournament, and defeated Henry Bird in a match by the comfortable
margin of 13-6. In 1878 he settled in England. His best tournament
results were third at the very strong Vienna 1882 tournament, third
at Nuremberg 1883 and equal second at Hamburg 1885. At Hastings
1895, often considered the strongest tournament of the nineteenth
century, he finished tied for 12th-14th with 9.5 points of 21
possible.
Mason wrote several books on chess, the most popular being The
Principles of Chess in Theory and Practice (1894), The Art of Chess
(1895), Chess Openings (1897), and Social Chess (1900).
The opening 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 (in algebraic chess notation) is
sometimes called the Mason Variation in his honour; he played it
several times from the 1880s. The variation of the King's Gambit 1.
e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nc3 (allowing 3. ... Qh4+) is sometimes called
the Mason Gambit, though Mason lost the only game he played with it
(against Samuel Rosenthal at Paris 1878); it is also known as the
Keres Gambit. The 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4
d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. 0-0 0-0 variation of the Petroff Defense is also
named after him.
He died in Rochford, Essex, England.
++2.A Chess strength
According to Chessmetrics, at his peak in October 1876 Mason's play
was equivalent to an Elo rating of 2715, and he was ranked number
2 in the world, behind only Wilhelm Steinitz. However, Mason was
ranked the number 1 player in the world, albeit with a slightly
lower rating, during 11 separate months between August 1877 and
June 1878. His best single performance was at Vienna 1882, where he
scored 15 of 23 possible points (65%) against 2622-rated
opposition, for a performance rating of 2732.
++2.B Books
* James Mason (1958). The Art of Chess. Dover Publications.
ISBN 0-486-20463-5.
++3. Henry Edward Bird - James Mason, New York 1876
New York 1876
White: Henry Edward Bird
Black: James Mason
Result: 1-0
ECO: C01: - French Defense, Exchange Variation
Notes by R.J. Macdonald
1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. Nc3 Nf6
4. exd5 exd5
5. Nf3 Bd6
6. Bd3 0-0
7. 0-0 h6
8. Re1!?
(A novelty. More typical is 8. Be3 c6 9. Qd2 Re8 10. Bf4 Ne4 11.
Qc1 Bf5 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Ne2 Nd7 14. Qf4 Qxf4 15. Nxf4 Bg4 16.
Rfe1 1/2-1/2, as in the game Susan Polgar (2335) - Judit Polgar
(2555), Vejstrup 1989)
8. ... Nc6
9. Nb5
(9. h3 gives equality.)
9. ... Bb4
(9. ... Bg4!? seems to equalize.)
10. c3
(This gives white a slight advantage.)
10. ... Ba5
11. Na3
(11. Ne5 Bb6 12. Bf4 a6 is moderately good for white.)
11. ... Bg4
12. Nc2 Qd7
(12. ... Re8 13. Rxe8+ Qxe8 14. Ne3 gives white a slight edge.)
13. b4
(White now has a moderate advantage.)
13. ... Bb6
14. h3
(14. b5 Ne7 15. Ne3 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Rfe8 gives white a moderate
advantage.)
14. ... Bh5
(Now white is slightly better.)
15. Ne3
(15. b5 Na5 16. Ne5 Bxd1 17. Nxd7 Nxd7 18. Rxd1 Nf6 gives white a
slight advantage.)
15. ... Rfe8
(15. ... a6 16. a4 Rfe8 17. Bb2 and white is slightly better.)
16. b5 Ne7
17. g4
(17. Ne5 Bxd1 18. Nxd7 Nxd7 19. Rxd1 Nf6 gives white a slight
edge.)
17. ... Bg6
(This move equalizes.)
18. Ne5
(White threatens to win material: Ne5xd7.)
18. ... Qc8
(18. ... Qe6 19. Ba3 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 offers equal chances.)
19. a4
(19. Ba3 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 a6 offers white a slight advantage.)
19. ... c6
(19. ... Ba5 20. Ra3 with equality.)
20. bxc6
(White now has a slight edge.)
20. ... bxc6
21. Ba3 Ne4
(Black threatens to win material: Ne4xc3.)
22. Qc2
(White has an active position.)
22. ... Ng5
(22. ... Ba5 23. Rac1 Qc7 24. Bxe7 Rxe7 25. f3 gains equality.)
Key Move Diagram:
r1q1r1k1/
p3npp1/
1bp3bp/
3pN1n1/
P2P2P1/
B1PBN2P/
2Q2P2/
R3R1K1
Position after black's 22nd move.
23. Bxe7!
(Not 23. Nxg6? Nf3+ 24. Kg2 Nxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Nxg6 26. Bxg6 fxg6 27.
Qxg6 Qe6 gives black a moderate advantage.)
23. ... Rxe7?
(Better is 23. ... Bxd3!? 24. Qxd3 Rxe7 with a moderate advantage
for white.)
Key Move Diagram:
r1q3k1/
p3rpp1/
1bp3bp/
3pN1n1/
P2P2P1/
2PBN2P/
2Q2P2/
R3R1K1
Position after black's 23rd move.
24. Bxg6!
(This gives white a decisive advantage.)
24. ... fxg6
25. Qxg6
(Better is 25. Nxg6, giving White a promising position after 25.
... Nf3+ 26. Kg2 Nxe1+ 27. Rxe1,which should be decisive for
white.)
25. ... Nxh3+
(Giving white a slight edge.)
26. Kh2
(White threatens to win material: Kh2xh3.)
26. ... Nf4
(Black threatens to win material: Nf4xg6.)
27. Qf5
(White threatens to win material: Qf5xf4.)
27. ... Ne6
(27. ... g5 and white is slightly better.)
28. Ng2
(28. Kg1 Qc7 29. Ng6 is slightly better for white.)
28. ... Qc7
(This leads to equal chances.)
29. a5?
(29. Nf4 Nxf4 30. Qxf4 Re6 gives equality.)
29. ... Bxa5
(Black has a new passed pawn on a7. 29. ... Bxd4!? 30. cxd4 Nxd4
with a moderate advantage for black)
30. Rxa5
(30. Qc2 Rae8 31. Kg1 Bb6 and black has a slight advantage.)
30. ... Rf8
(30. ... Qxa5? is tempting but does not stand up to the reality of
the position: 31. Ng6 Qc7+ 32. N2f4 is decisive for white. The text
move gives black a moderate advantage.)
31. Ra6?
(Better is 31. Qh5 Qxa5 32. Ng6 Qc7+ 33. f4,but black still has a
moderate advantage.)
Key Move Diagram:
5rk1/
p1q1r1p1/
R1p1n2p/
3pNQ2/
3P2P1/
2P5/
5PNK/
4R3
Position after white's 31st move.
31. ... Rxf5!
(This move should be decisive for black.)
32. gxf5 Nd8
33. Nf4
(33. Rea1 Qb8 is decisive for black.)
33. ... Qc8
(33. ... Kh7 keeps an even firmer grip after 34. Nfg6 Re8 35. Rea1,
with a decisive advantage for black.)
34. Nfg6
(34. Raa1 Qxf5 35. Neg6 Rxe1 36. Rxe1 Kf7 would also be decisive
for black.)
34. ... Re8
(34. ... Qxa6?! is clearly inferior because of 35. Nxe7+ Kh7 36.
N5g6 and equality.)
35. Nxc6 Qc7+
(35. ... Qxa6?? allows mate in two: 36. Rxe8+ Kf7 37. Rf8#)
36. Nce5 Qxc3
37. Re3 Qd2
(Black pins: Qd2xf2. But better is 37. ... Qc8, securing the win
after 38. Rxa7 Qxf5.)
38. Kg2
(Black now has a moderate advantage.)
38. ... Qxd4
39. f6 gxf6
(39. ... Kh7 40. fxg7 Kg8 41. Nf7 Qg4+ 42. Kh2 Kxg7 43. Rxe8 Nxf7
44. Nf8 Qh4+ 45. Kg2 gives black a moderate advantage.)
Key Move Diagram:
3nr1k1/
p7/
R4pNp/
3pN3/
3q4/
4R3/
5PK1/
8
Position after black's 39th move.
40. Rxf6!
(This gives equality as black's king safety is threatened.)
40. ... Ne6
41. Rg3??
(this will cause more grief. Better is 41. Rf7 a5 42. Ne7+ Rxe7 43.
Rxe7 Nf4+ 44. Kg3, giving equality.)
Key Move Diagram:
4r1k1/
p7/
4nRNp/
3pN3/
3q4/
6R1/
5PK1/
8
Position after white's 41st move.
41. ... Ng5!
42. Ng4 Kg7
(Better is 42. ... Qa1!?, and Black can already relax after 43. Rc6
Re1 44. Nxh6+ Kg7 45. Nf5+ Kf7 46. Re3 Rxe3 47. fxe3 Qb2+ 48. Kg3
Ne4+ 49. Kh3, with a decisive advantage for black.)
43. Nf4 Qe4+??
(releasing the pressure on the opponent. Better is 43. ... Re1,
where 44. Nh5+ Kg8 45. Nxh6+ Kh7 46. Rxg5 Qe4+ 47. Rf3 Kxh6 with a
decisive edge for black.)
Key Move Diagram:
4r3/
p5k1/
5R1p/
3p2n1/
4qNN1/
6R1/
5PK1/
8
Position after black's 43rd move.
44. Kh2!
(This equalizes.)
44. ... Nh7??
(This hands over the advantage to white. Better is 44. ... Re6,
with a good chance to save the game: 45. Nh5+ Kh7 and equality.)
Key Move Diagram:
4r3/
p5kn/
5R1p/
3p4/
4qNN1/
6R1/
5P1K/
8
Position after black's 44th move.
45. Nh5+!
(This should be decisive for white.)
45. ... Kh8
46. Rxh6 Qc2
47. Nhf6 Re7
(47. ... Re2 cannot change what is in store for black.)
48. Kg2
(48. Nxh7?! Kg7 gives white a decisive advantage.)
48. ... d4
Key Move Diagram:
7k/
p3r2n/
5N1R/
8/
3p2N1/
6R1/
2q2PK1/
8
Position after black's 48th move.
49. Ne5!!
(Mate attack!)
49. ... Qc8
(49. ... Rxe5 50. Rg8#)
50. Ng6+
(Black resigned.)
1-0
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