Category: History

The Curious Case of Claude Bloodgood
Greetings, Campers!

Halloween is right around the corner so I thought it would be a good time to dig into some of the darker and more mysterious mythology that haunts our game. Perhaps no other story has confused or amused chess players and fans more than the story of the notorious Claude Bloodgood.

Robbery, Murder, and Life Behind Bars

Claude Frizzel Bloodgood, whose name alone conjures images of the great villains from classic horror films, was convicted of burglary in the 1960s and served his prison time in Delaware. Shortly after being released, he murdered his mother, Margaret Bloodgood, in 1969 and was subsequently sentenced to death in 1970.

Not content to sit behind bars and wait on his execution, Claude stayed active playing chess and appealing his sentence along with several attempts to get released from custody altogether.
- Unsuccessfully filed two petitions for habeas corpus alleging that his death sentence was prejudiced by the fact that he was a repeat offender.
- Unsuccessfully argued that he was not provided a defense attorney during his trial as required by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright.
- Unsuccessfully argued to state and prison officials that he had been born in 1924 in an apparent attempt to be released due to his age.
As if things were not strange enough, Claude also claimed to have been a Nazi spy. Curious since he would have been around the age of 10 years old at the time of World War II if his claims of being born in 1924 were true (they were not).

Prison Chess and Ratings Manipulation

I think that few people would argue against the idea that Claude was a good chess player, but his claimed rating and the mythology surrounding his chess career are remain a topic of considerable debate and scorn. He organized countless prison tournaments during his life, most of which were filled with new US Chess Federation members that were dominated by the seasoned Bloodgood.

This has led to accusations of ratings manipulation due to Bloodgood’s control and influence over the closed group of participants in his prison tournaments. In a sense, it is the same as walking down the street and getting every person I met to sign up for a US Chess membership just so I could beat the ones with little to no chess knowledge. Although they would have no rating or a low provisional rating, I would still see an increase in my own rating. Curiously, fragments of his games are scattered across the web with Chessgames.com offering the only collection that appears to have some coherence to it.

[pgn]
[Event “Casual”]
[Site “Hollywood?”]
[Date “1955.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “NN”]
[Black “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A45”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “42”]
[EventDate “1955.??.??”]

1. d4 {Claude Bloodgood claimed that this game was played against the
Hollywood screen legend Humphrey Bogart in 1955. It likely that this story is
a fabrication.} Nf6 2. g4 Nxg4 3. f3 Nf6 4. e4 d6 5. Be3 c6 6. Bc4 Qa5+ 7. Nc3
b5 8. e5 dxe5 9. dxe5 bxc4 10. exf6 exf6 11. Nge2 Bb4 12. Qd4 Be6 13. h4 O-O
14. O-O-O c5 15. Qe4 Na6 16. Kb1 Bxc3 17. Nxc3 Rab8 18. h5 Rxb2+ 19. Kxb2 Rb8+
20. Kc1 Qxc3 21. h6 Nb4 0-1

[Event “Norfolk, VA”]
[Site “Norfolk, VA”]
[Date “1957.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “E Winterfield”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “35”]
[EventDate “1957.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. h3 e5 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nf3 Qf6 $5 6. Bg5 Qg6 $2 (6… Qe6) 7.
Qd2 f6 8. Bh4 Be6 9. g5 fxg5 10. Nxg5 h6 $2 11. Nxe6 Qxg2 12. Rf1 Bb6 13. Bg3
Qxh3 14. Nxg7+ Kf7 15. Bxe5 Nd7 16. Qf4+ Ngf6 (16… Ke7 17. Nf5+ $1) 17. Nf5
Nxe5 18. Qxe5 1-0

[Event “Norfolk Open”]
[Site “Norfolk Open”]
[Date “1957.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Robert William Christy”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “25”]
[EventDate “1957.??.??”]

1. g4 {[CFB phone call Jan.15, 1995 states that this game, formerly listed as
W.Christy was played by Robert William Christy. This is the same R.Christy who
he later met in VAPEN prison system in 1972]} d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5
cxd5 5. Qb3 Qc7 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Nxd5 Nxd5 8. Bxd5 Nc6 9. Bxf7+ Kd8 10. Nf3 Qd7
11. Ng5 Nd4 12. Qd3 Bxe2 $2 13. Qxd4 $1 (13. Qxd4 $1 {At this point, black
resigned. The game would continue…} Qxd4 14. Ne6+) 1-0

[Event “Virginia Open, Norfolk”]
[Site “Virginia Open, Norfolk”]
[Date “1958.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Angel Acevedo Villalba”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “41”]
[EventDate “1958.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 c6 6. Qxb7 Nd7 7. Bxd5 Rb8
8. Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. Qxa7 g6 (9… e5 10. b3 Bc5 11. Qa4 Bd4 12. Nc3 Qf6 13. Ne4
Qf4 $2 14. d3 {–Bill Wall}) 10. b3 Bg7 11. Nc3 Nb6 12. Bb2 Ra8 $2 13. Qb7 Bd7
14. a4 Nd5 15. Nf3 Rf8 16. e4 Nxc3 17. Bxc3 Bxc3 18. dxc3 Kg8 19. Ne5 Be8 20.
Nxc6 Qd7 21. Nxe7+ 1-0

[Event “Washington D.C.”]
[Site “Washington D.C.”]
[Date “1958.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “R Halley”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “69”]
[EventDate “1958.??.??”]

1. g4 {Notes by Bloodgood.} d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 c6 6.
Qxb7 Nd7 7. Bxd5 cxd5 8. Qxd5 Nb6 9. Qg2 Rc8 10. Nc3 Bd7 11. b3 Bc6 12. Nf3 e6
13. Bb2 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Be7 15. Ne4 O-O {? Black can’t afford this, f6 was best.}
16. Rg1 f6 17. Qg4 Rf7 18. Qxe6 Qd7 19. Qxd7 Nxd7 20. Rc1 Rxc1+ 21. Bxc1 Ne5
22. Bb2 Bb4 23. a3 Ba5 24. b4 Bb6 25. h4 Nc4 26. Bxf6 Nxa3 27. h5 Nb5 28. h6 g6
29. Bg7 Rc7 30. Kd1 a5 31. Nf6+ Kf7 32. Nd5 Rb7 33. Nxb6 Rxb6 34. bxa5 Ra6 35.
Rg5 1-0

[Event “VA Open”]
[Site “VA Open”]
[Date “1958.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “George Trefzer”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “63”]
[EventDate “1958.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. g5 Bf5 4. d3 e5 5. h4 Qb6 6. e4 dxe4 7. dxe4 Be6 (7…
Bxe4 $2 8. Bxe4 Qb4+ 9. Nc3) 8. Nd2 Bc5 9. Qe2 Ne7 10. Ngf3 Bg4 11. Nc4 $1 Qc7
12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Qxe3 O-O 14. O-O-O f5 $5 15. Qb3 $1 fxe4 $2 (15… Kh8) 16.
Nfxe5 $1 Bxd1 17. Nb6+ Nd5 18. Nxd5 cxd5 19. Qxd5+ Kh8 20. Rxd1 Nc6 21. Ng6+
hxg6 22. h5 $1 Nb4 23. Qb3 Nxc2 24. Kb1 Qh2 25. Bxe4 Rxf2 26. Qxb7 Re8 27. h6
Rg8 (27… Qe5 28. hxg7+ Qxg7 29. Rh1+ Kg8 30. Qb3+ Kf8 31. Bxg6 {And Black’s
pieces are committed to the defense of his king.}) 28. Rh1 Nd4 $5 29. hxg7+
Rxg7 30. Rxh2+ Rxh2 31. Qb8+ Rg8 32. Qxh2+ 1-0

[Event “Norfolk USO Inv.”]
[Site “Norfolk USO Inv.”]
[Date “1959.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “R McSorely”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “45”]
[EventDate “1959.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. h3 e5 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nf3 Qe7 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 Bxd4 8.
Qxd4 Be6 9. Be3 (9. Qxg7) 9… Na6 10. Nc3 c5 $2 11. Qa4+ Bd7 12. Nb5 Nf6 13.
Bf4 $1 Bxb5 14. Qxb5+ Kf8 15. O-O-O Rd8 16. g5 Ne4 17. Bxe4 Qxe4 18. Bc7 Nxc7
19. Qxc5+ Ke8 20. Qxc7 d4 21. e3 Qf3 22. exd4 Rd7 23. Rhe1+ 1-0

[Event “Peninsula Open, Newport News, VA”]
[Site “Peninsula Open, Newport News, “]
[Date “1959.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “R Porter”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “41”]
[EventDate “1959.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 e5 4. cxd5 c6 5. Qb3 Qb6 $5 6. dxc6 $1 Nxc6 7. Qxb6
axb6 8. Nc3 Nd4 9. Kd1 Bb4 {This is the best move for black} 10. Nd5 Bd6 11.
Nxb6 Rb8 {11… Ra7 12. Nc4 Bc7 13. a4 Nf6 14. d3 (White has better endgame
prospects.} 12. b3 Nf6 13. Bb2 O-O 14. Nc4 Bc7 15. f4 Nc6 16. fxe5 Nd7 17. d4
Rfd8 18. d5 Ncxe5 19. d6 Nxc4 20. dxc7 Nxb2+ 21. Ke1 1-0

[Event “Eastern Virginia Chess League, Norfolk”]
[Site “Eastern Virginia Chess League,”]
[Date “1959.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “A Cacalano”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “37”]
[EventDate “1959.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 e6 4. Qb3 Qc8 5. cxd5 c6 6. dxc6 Nxc6 7. Qa4 Nf6 8.
Bxc6+ bxc6 9. d3 Bh5 10. Bd2 Bc5 11. Nc3 O-O 12. Ne4 Bb6 13. Rc1 Nxe4 14. dxe4
c5 15. Be3 a5 16. Qb5 Qc7 17. Bxc5 Bxc5 18. Rxc5 Qe7 19. Rxh5 1-0

[Event “Norfolk USO Invitational,”]
[Site “Norfolk USO Invitational, 1959”]
[Date “1959.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “A Hall”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “52”]
[EventDate “1959.??.??”]

1. g4 Nf6 2. g5 Ne4 3. d3 Nc5 4. d4 Ne4 5. Bg2 d5 6. c4 e6 7. h4 h6 8. cxd5
exd5 9. Qc2 Bb4+ 10. Kf1 hxg5 11. hxg5 Rxh1 12. Bxh1 Nxg5 13. Qb3 Nc6 14. Nc3
a6 15. Bxd5 Be6 16. Bxg5 Bxd5 17. Bxd8 Bxb3 18. Bxc7 Bc4 19. Nf3 Rc8 20. Bg3
Rd8 21. a3 Ba5 22. b4 Bb6 23. d5 Nd4 24. Nxd4 Bxd4 25. Rc1 Bxc3 26. Rxc3 Bxd5
1/2-1/2

[Event “Norfolk, VA”]
[Site “Norfolk, VA”]
[Date “1959.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Pavel Sternberg”]
[Black “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C82”]
[PlyCount “42”]
[EventDate “1959.??.??”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5
Be6 9. c3 Bc5 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bc2 Nxf2 12. Rxf2 f6 13. exf6 Qxf6 14. Qf1 Ne5
15. Nd4 Qh4 16. N2f3 Nxf3+ 17. Nxf3 Rxf3 18. gxf3 Re8 19. Qe2 Bd7 20. Qd2 Bxf2+
21. Qxf2 Re1+ 0-1

[Event “Norfolk USO Invitational”]
[Site “Norfolk USO Invitational”]
[Date “1959.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “S Branson”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “91”]
[EventDate “1959.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 e6 4. Qb3 Nf6 (4… Nd7 5. cxd5 Nc5 6. Qe3 Be7 7.
Nc3 Nf6 8. d4 Ncd7 9. h3 Bf5 10. dxe6 Bxe6 11. Bxb7 {Favors white — Grob}) 5.
Qxb7 Nbd7 6. cxd5 Rb8 7. Qc6 Rb6 8. Qa4 exd5 (8… Bc5 $1 9. a3 exd5 10. d4 Be7
11. Nc3 c6 {Equal chances — Grob}) 9. Bxd5 Nxd5 10. Qxg4 N7f6 11. Qg3 Rc6 12.
Nc3 Nxc3 13. dxc3 Qd5 14. Nf3 Rd6 15. Bg5 Ne4 16. Qh4 f6 17. Be3 g5 18. Qh5+
Kd8 19. O-O g4 20. Qxd5 Rxd5 21. Rad1 Rxd1 22. Rxd1+ Kc8 23. Nd4 Bc5 24. Kg2
Rg8 25. f3 gxf3+ 26. Kxf3 Ng5+ 27. Bxg5 fxg5 28. h3 h5 29. e4 Rf8+ 30. Nf5 a5
31. Rd5 Bb6 32. Kg3 Rf7 33. Nd4 Rg7 34. Ne6 Rg8 35. Nxg5 c6 36. Rf5 Bd8 37. Kh4
Rh8 38. Kg3 Rg8 39. h4 Kd7 40. Kf4 Bc7+ 41. e5 Re8 42. Ne4 Ke6 43. Rf6+ Kd5 44.
Nd6 Bxd6 45. Rxd6+ Kc5 46. Rd2 1-0

[Event “Norfolk Chess Team – DePaul, Board #1”]
[Site “Norfolk Chess Team – DePaul, B”]
[Date “1959.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Kourosh Amirjahed”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “49”]
[EventDate “1959.??.??”]

1. g4 Nf6 2. g5 Ne4 3. d3 Nc5 4. Bg2 e5 5. h4 d5 6. Nc3 d4 7. Ne4 Nxe4 8. Bxe4
c5 9. c3 f5 10. Bg2 dxc3 11. bxc3 Be7 12. Qb3 Nc6 13. f4 e4 14. dxe4 fxe4 15.
Bxe4 Qc7 16. Nf3 h6 17. Bg6+ Kd8 18. Be3 Bd6 19. O-O-O b6 20. Ne5 Rf8 21. Nf7+
Rxf7 22. Bxf7 Ne7 23. Rxd6+ Qxd6 24. Rd1 Qxd1+ 25. Kxd1 1-0

[Event “Eastern Virginia Chess League, Norfolk”]
[Site “Eastern Virginia Chess League,”]
[Date “1960.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “K Stevens”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “59”]
[EventDate “1960.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 c6 6. Qxb7 Nd7 7. Bxd5 Rb8
8. Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. Qxa7 g6 10. b3 Bg7 11. Nc3 Rf8 12. Bb2 Kg8 13. Qa4 Ne5 14. Nd1
Ra8 15. Qe4 Bf5 16. Qg2 Qc7 17. Nc3 Rfb8 18. Rc1 Nc4 19. Ba1 Bxc3 20. Bxc3 Nd6
21. h4 h5 22. Be5 Rb6 23. Nh3 Rxa2 24. Nf4 Kf7 25. Rg1 Ke8 26. Nd5 Qb7 27. Nxb6
Qxb6 28. Qxc6+ Qxc6 29. Rxc6 Kd7 30. Rc1 1-0

[Event “Norfolk USO Monthly Invitationals”]
[Site “Norfolk USO Monthly Invitation”]
[Date “1960.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “W Waymire”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “35”]
[EventDate “1960.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Nc6 3. c4 e6 {3… dxc4? 4. Bxc6+ bxc6, Black has tripled
isolated pawns} 4. Qb3 {4. d3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 Nge7 7. Na3 Ng6 8. Nf3,
Position unclear — Grob} Na5 5. Qa4+ c6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nc3 Be6 8. d4 Bd6 9.
g5 Ne7 10. h4 Ng6 11. b4 Nc4 12. b5 Qb6 13. bxc6 bxc6 14. Nxd5 Qxd4 15. Qxc6+
Kd8 16. Qxa8+ Kd7 17. Qb7+ Kd8 18. Rb1 1-0

[Event “?”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “1960.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “W Waymire”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “19”]
[EventDate “1960.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Qb3 Qc8 6. Bxd5 Nc6 7. Bxf7+ Ke7
8. Bxg8 Rxg8 9. Qxg8 Nd4 10. Qc4 1-0

[Event “Norfolk USO Invitational”]
[Site “Norfolk USO Invitational”]
[Date “1960.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “D Casteen”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “73”]
[EventDate “1960.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Qb3 c6 6. Qxb7 Nd7 7. Nc3 (7.
Qxc6 $2 Rc8) 7… Qc8 8. Qxc8+ Rxc8 9. d4 Bb4 10. Bd2 Ngf6 11. a3 Bxc3 12. Bxc3
O-O 13. Nf3 c5 14. dxc5 Nxc5 15. Ne5 Be6 16. Bb4 Nb3 17. Rd1 Rfd8 {The black
rook should have gone to e8.} 18. Rg1 Rc2 $2 (18… Nd7 19. Nxd7 Rxd7 20. e3
Rc2 21. Bc3 {White is maintaining pressure on black’s queen pawn.}) 19. Be7
Rdc8 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Be4+ Kh8 22. Bxc2 Rxc2 23. Nd3 Nd4 24. Nf4 Nb3 25. Nh5
Bf5 26. Nxf6 Bg6 27. f4 Kg7 28. Nxd5 Kf8 29. Ne3 Rxb2 30. f5 Bh5 31. Rg2 f6 32.
Rd7 Rb1+ 33. Nd1 Rc1 34. Rxh7 Bf7 35. Rgg7 Bc4 36. Rxa7 Kg8 37. Rhc7 1-0

[Event “Norfolk, VA”]
[Site “Norfolk, VA”]
[Date “1961.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “R Lewis”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “77”]
[EventDate “1961.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. g5 e5 4. h4 Bd6 5. d3 Bg4 6. Nd2 f5 7. f3 Bh5 8. e4 fxe4
9. dxe4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Bb4+ 11. Bd2 Na6 12. c3 Ba5 13. Qb3 $1 Nc5 14. Qc4 (14.
Nxc5 {I have no idea why this is not a good move. — Wedding}) 14… Nd3+ 15.
Kf1 Nxb2 16. Qe6+ Qe7 17. Nd6+ Kf8 18. Qf5+ Bf7 19. Nxf7 Qxf7 20. Qxf7+ Kxf7
21. Rb1 Nc4 22. Rxb7+ Kf8 23. Be1 Ne7 24. Ne2 Bb6 25. Bf2 Ne3+ 26. Bxe3 Bxe3
27. Ng3 Bf4 28. Ne4 Kf7 29. Bh3 Rhd8 30. Ke2 a5 31. Rhb1 Kf8 32. c4 a4 33. Bd7
h6 34. Nc5 Kf7 35. Be6+ Ke8 36. Nd7 Ng6 $2 37. h5 Nf8 38. Nf6+ gxf6 39. Bf7#
1-0

[Event “Norfolk USO Invitational”]
[Site “Norfolk USO Invitational”]
[Date “1961.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “J McKay”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “43”]
[EventDate “1961.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 e5 4. cxd5 Nf6 5. Qb3 Qc8 6. Nc3 Na6 $2 7. d6 $1 c6
(7… cxd6 $2 8. Bxb7) 8. Nb5 cxb5 9. Qxb5+ Bd7 10. Qxe5+ Kd8 11. d4 $1 {
White gets a strong attack.} Qc4 12. Bg5 Qb4+ 13. Kf1 Bxd6 14. Bxf6+ gxf6 15.
Qxf6+ Kc7 16. Rc1+ Kb6 17. Rc3 Ka5 18. Rb3 Qc4 19. Qg5+ Bb5 20. Bd5 Qc2 21.
Rxb5+ Kxb5 22. Bb3+ 1-0

[Event “Eastern VA Chess League”]
[Site “Eastern VA Chess League”]
[Date “1961.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “A Cacalano”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “41”]
[EventDate “1961.??.??”]

1. g4 e5 2. d3 h5 3. g5 Be7 4. h4 d5 5. Bg2 Bg4 6. Nd2 c6 7. Ngf3 Nd7 8. e4 d4
9. Bh3 Bxh3 10. Rxh3 f6 $5 (10… Qc7) 11. Nc4 b5 12. gxf6 Bxf6 $2 (12… gxf6)
13. Nd6+ Ke7 14. Nf5+ Kf7 15. Ng5+ Bxg5 16. Bxg5 Qc7 17. Qf3 Ngf6 18. O-O-O
Raf8 19. Rg3 $1 Kg8 $2 (19… Rh7) 20. Nxg7 $1 Ng4 21. Nf5 1-0

[Event “Norfolk USO Inv.”]
[Site “Norfolk USO Inv.”]
[Date “1961.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “B Evans”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “41”]
[EventDate “1961.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. g5 e5 4. h4 Bd6 5. d3 Be6 6. e4 Ne7 7. Nd2 O-O $5 8. Bh3
Bxh3 9. Nxh3 f5 $5 (9… Nd7) 10. gxf6 Rxf6 11. exd5 Nxd5 $2 (11… cxd5 $1)
12. Ne4 Rf7 13. Bg5 Be7 14. Qg4 Qa5+ 15. c3 Bxg5 16. Nhxg5 Rf8 17. Qe6+ Kh8 18.
Nf7+ Kg8 (18… Rxf7 19. Qe8+ Rf8 20. Qxf8#) 19. Nh6+ Kh8 20. Qg8+ Rxg8 21.
Nf7# 1-0

[Event “New Castel, Delaware Invitational”]
[Site “New Castel, Delaware Invitatio”]
[Date “1964.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “L Bostic”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “83”]
[EventDate “1964.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. h3 f5 4. g5 e5 5. d3 h6 6. h4 f4 7. e4 hxg5 8. h5 $5 g4
9. exd5 f3 $1 10. Bxf3 gxf3 11. dxc6 Nxc6 12. Qxf3 Qf6 13. Qg3 Bd6 14. Bg5 Qf5
15. Nc3 Qg4 16. Qxg4 Bxg4 17. Nb5 Bb8 18. Kd2 Rxh5 19. Rxh5 Bxh5 20. Re1 a6 21.
Nc3 Nf6 22. f4 Ng4 23. Nf3 Bc7 24. Nd5 Ba5+ 25. c3 Kf7 26. Nxe5+ Ngxe5 27. fxe5
Re8 28. Bf4 Ke6 29. Ne3 b5 30. Kc2 Bg6 31. Rg1 Ne7 32. Bg5 Bh7 33. Kd2 b4 $2
34. d4 bxc3+ 35. bxc3 Nc6 36. Nc4 Bc7 37. Re1 Kd5 38. Ne3+ Ke6 39. d5+ Kxe5 40.
dxc6 Kd6 41. Nf5+ Bxf5 42. Rxe8 1-0

[Event “New Castle, Delaware”]
[Site “New Castle, Delaware”]
[Date “1967.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “E Meyerhofer”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “68”]
[EventDate “1967.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. g5 e5 4. h4 Bd6 5. d3 Ne7 6. e4 d4 7. Nd2 Bb4 8. a3 Ba5
9. b4 Bc7 10. Bh3 Ng6 11. Nf1 Nf4 $2 (11… Bxh3 $1) 12. Bxf4 exf4 13. Qf3 O-O
14. Bxc8 Qxc8 15. Nh3 f5 16. Nd2 fxe4 17. Nxe4 Qf5 18. Kd2 Nd7 19. Rag1 Ne5 20.
Nf6+ $2 gxf6 21. gxf6+ Kh8 22. Qg2 Qg6 23. Qxg6 hxg6 24. Ng5 Rxf6 25. h5 Kg7
26. h6+ Kh8 27. Kc1 a5 28. Ne4 Re6 29. Nc5 Re7 30. Nxb7 axb4 31. axb4 Ra1+ 32.
Kb2 Rxg1 33. Rxg1 Kh7 34. Rh1 Ng4 0-1

[Event “New Castle, Delaware”]
[Site “New Castle, Delaware”]
[Date “1968.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “L Lundy”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “61”]
[EventDate “1968.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. g5 e5 4. h4 g6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h5 {!} gxh5 7. Rxh5 Bg4 8.
Rh4 Bf5 9. e4 dxe4 10. Bxe4 Bxe4 11. Rxe4 Nd7 12. Be3 f5 13. Qh5+ Kf8 14. Rh4
h6 15. g6 f4 16. Qf5+ Ngf6 17. Nc3 fxe3 18. fxe3 Qb6 19. O-O-O Qxe3+ 20. Kb1
Re8 21. Rf1 Nc5 22. Nf3 Kg8 23. Ne4 Ncxe4 24. Rxe4 Qc5 25. Rxe5 Rxe5 26. Nxe5
Qe7 27. Nf7 Nd5 28. Qc8+ Bf8 29. Nxh8 h5 30. a4 Qd6 31. Rf7 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1972.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “J Brogan”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “31”]
[EventDate “1972.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Qb3 Ne7 6. Nc3 d4 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8.
Bxd5 Qc7 9. Nf3 Bd6 $2 (9… h6 10. Rg1 Nc6 11. d3 Bb4+ 12. Kd1) 10. Ng5 O-O
11. Qd3 g6 12. Qh3 h5 13. Qd3 Kg7 14. gxh5 Bf5 15. Qf3 f6 $2 (15… Nc6) 16.
Ne6+ 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1972.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Robert William Christy”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “25”]
[EventDate “1972.??.??”]

1. g4 e5 2. Bg2 Bc5 3. e3 Nc6 4. c3 (4. Nc3 d6 5. Na4 Bb6 6. Nxb6 axb6 7. h3
Nge7 8. d4 exd4 9. exd4 d5 $1 10. a3 O-O 11. Nf3 Ng6 12. O-O Nce7 {equality —
Grob}) 4… d5 5. d4 exd4 6. exd4 Qe7+ 7. Be3 Bb6 8. g5 f6 9. h4 f5 10. Nh3 Be6
11. Nf4 O-O-O 12. Nd2 h6 $4 13. Ng6 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1972.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “D Stroemer”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “65”]
[EventDate “1972.??.??”]

1. g4 e5 2. d3 Nc6 3. c4 d6 4. e4 h6 5. Nc3 Nge7 6. h4 Ng6 7. Bh3 Nf4 8. Be3
Nb4 $2 9. Bxf4 exf4 10. Qa4+ Nc6 11. Nf3 Bd7 12. Qb3 b6 13. O-O-O Be7 14. Nd5
Be6 15. Qb5 Bd7 16. g5 Bxh3 17. Rxh3 Qd7 18. Nxe7 Nxe7 19. Qxd7+ Kxd7 20. Re1
Ng6 21. h5 Ne7 22. Rh4 Raf8 23. Rxf4 hxg5 $2 24. Nxg5 f6 25. Nf3 g6 $6 26. h6
g5 27. Rg4 Ng6 28. Kd2 Rf7 29. Nd4 Rfh7 30. Nf5 Ne5 31. Rg3 Nf7 32. Rh3 c5 33.
a4 1/2-1/2

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “1972.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “J Boothe”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “19”]
[EventDate “1972.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 c6 4. Qb3 Qc7 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Nc3 d4 7. Nb5 Qb6 8.
Bxb7 Qxb7 9. Nd6+ exd6 10. Qxb7 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1972.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “D Moore”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “57”]
[EventDate “1972.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 Nf6 5. Qb3 Qc8 6. Nc3 e6 7. h3 Bh5 8.
dxe6 fxe6 9. Na4 b6 10. d4 Nd5 11. e4 Nf6 12. Bf4 Bf7 13. Bg3 e5 $5 14. d5 cxd5
$2 15. exd5 Bd6 16. Ne2 O-O 17. O-O Nbd7 18. Rac1 Qb7 19. Nd4 exd4 20. Bxd6
Rfe8 21. Rc7 Qa6 22. Qd1 Rad8 23. Qxd4 Nc5 $2 24. Bxc5 bxc5 25. Nxc5 Qd6 26.
Rxf7 Kxf7 27. Nb7 Qd7 28. Nxd8+ Rxd8 29. Rd1 {White then went on to win this
end game} 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Game”]
[Date “1972.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “H Erwin”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “28”]
[EventDate “1972.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 d4 4. d3 c6 5. e4 dxe3 6. Bxe3 f5 7. gxf5 Bxf5 8. Nf3
Bb4+ 9. Nbd2 Qa5 10. Qb3 Nd7 11. a3 Bxd2+ 12. Bxd2 Qc7 13. O-O-O Nc5 14. Qc3
Nxd3+ 0-1

[Event “VAPEN Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Game”]
[Date “1972.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “H Erwin”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “41”]
[EventDate “1972.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 d4 4. d3 c6 5. e4 Nd7 6. a3 a5 7. Nd2 Nc5 8. Nf1 h5 $5
9. g5 $1 h4 $1 10. Bh3 Be7 11. Bxc8 Qxc8 12. Qf3 f6 13. g6 Nh6 14. Nh3 f5 $2
15. Bxh6 Rxh6 16. exf5 Bf6 17. Nd2 b5 $5 18. cxb5 cxb5 19. O-O Rb8 20. Rac1 b4
21. Ne4 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1972.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “D Stroemer”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “35”]
[EventDate “1972.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 e5 4. cxd5 Nf6 5. Qb3 Qc8 6. Nc3 Na6 $2 7. d6 $1 c6
8. Nb5 cxb5 9. Qxb5+ Bd7 10. Qxe5+ Kd8 11. d4 $1 Bc6 $2 12. d5 Bd7 13. Bg5 Nb4
14. Rc1 Nc2+ 15. Kd1 Ba4 16. Bxf6+ gxf6 17. Qxf6+ Ke8 18. b3 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “H Fuller”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “45”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. h3 e6 4. d3 (4. e4 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Nf3 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8.
d4 f6 9. exf6 Nxf6 {– Grob}) 4… Bd6 (4… Nf6 $5 5. e4 dxe4 6. g5 $1 {
— Grob}) 5. Nf3 (5. Nd2 $2 h5 $1) 5… Nd7 (5… Ne7 6. e4 {– Grob}) 6. Nbd2
h5 7. g5 f6 8. h4 e5 9. e4 $1 Qc7 10. exd5 cxd5 11. c3 Nc5 12. Qc2 Bg4 13. d4
e4 $2 14. dxc5 exf3 15. cxd6 fxg2 16. Rg1 Qxd6 17. Qg6+ Kd8 18. f3 Qh2 19. Kf2
Qxh4+ 20. Kxg2 Qxg5 $4 (20… Bh3+) 21. Qxg5 fxg5 22. fxg4 h4 23. Nf3 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “F Monroe”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “69”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 e5 2. Bg2 h5 $1 3. gxh5 Rxh5 4. e3 Rh8 $1 5. c4 c6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Nge2 Qg5
8. Ng3 f5 9. d4 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 f4 11. exf4 exf4 12. Qe2+ Ne7 13. Qf3 Ng6 14.
Ne4 Qe7 15. d5 Ne5 16. Qe2 d6 17. Bxf4 Bf5 18. Nxd6+ Qxd6 19. Bxe5 Qe7 20. Bxb8
Rxb8 21. Qxe7+ Kxe7 22. a4 Bd3 23. Bf1 Be4 24. Rg1 g6 25. Bg2 Bd3 26. c5 cxd5
27. Bxd5 Rxh2 28. O-O-O Bf5 29. Rg2 Rxg2 30. Bxg2 g5 31. Rd5 Bd7 32. Rxg5 Bxa4
33. Rg7+ Kf6 34. Rxb7 Rxb7 35. Bxb7 {White won in 53 moves} 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “R Traylor”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “17”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 dxc4 4. Qc2 Qd4 5. Nf3 Qxg4 6. Rg1 Qe6 7. Ng5 Qf5 $5
8. Qxc4 $1 c6 9. Bh3 $1 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “F Monroe”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “65”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Qb3 Ne7 6. Nc3 d4 7. Nd5 Nbc6 8.
Nxe7 Qxe7 9. h3 g6 10. a3 Be6 11. Bd5 Bxd5 12. Qxd5 Rd8 13. Qe4 Bg7 14. d3 O-O
15. g5 f5 $5 16. gxf6 Qxf6 17. Nf3 Qf7 18. Bg5 Bf6 19. h4 Rc8 20. h5 $5 Bxg5
21. hxg6 hxg6 22. Rg1 Bh6 23. Rxg6+ Bg7 24. Qg4 Rc7 25. Qh5 Ne7 26. Qxe5 Qxg6
$4 27. Qxc7 Rxf3 $5 28. exf3 Qg1+ 29. Ke2 Qxa1 30. Qxe7 Qxb2+ 31. Kf1 Qc1+ 32.
Kg2 Qb2 33. Qe8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event “?”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Davis”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “15”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 e5 4. cxd5 c6 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. dxc6 Qxb3 7. cxb7 Qxb7
8. Bxb7 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “H Fuller”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “39”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 e5 2. d3 Be7 3. Nf3 d6 4. h3 (4. g5 $2 h6 $1) 4… f5 5. g5 f4 6. h4 Bg4
7. Nbd2 h6 8. Bg2 hxg5 9. hxg5 Rxh1+ 10. Bxh1 Nc6 (10… Bxg5 $1 11. Nxg5 Qxg5
12. Ne4 Qh4 13. Kd2 Nc6) 11. Ne4 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 Bxg5 13. Bh5+ Kd7 14. e3 Bh6 15.
Qg4+ Ke7 16. exf4 Nd4 17. fxe5 Nxc2+ 18. Kd1 Nxa1 19. Bxh6 gxh6 20. Qg7+ 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “J Boothe”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “65”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 e5 2. d3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. e4 Bc5 5. Qe2 (5. h4 dxe4 6. Bxe4 Nf6 7. Bf3 Qd4
8. Qe2 Bxg4 {–Bill Wall}) 5… d4 6. g5 Be6 7. f4 $1 exf4 8. Bxf4 Ne7 9. Nd2
Bb4 10. a3 Ba5 11. b4 Bb6 12. Bh3 Bxh3 13. Nxh3 O-O 14. Nc4 Bc7 15. O-O-O Bxf4+
16. Nxf4 Ng6 17. Rdf1 Nxf4 18. Rxf4 Nd7 19. Rhf1 Qe7 20. Qg4 Ne5 21. Nxe5 Qxe5
22. h4 a5 $2 23. Rf5 Qe6 24. bxa5 Rxa5 $2 25. Rxf7 $1 Qxf7 26. Rxf7 Rxf7 27.
Qc8+ Rf8 28. Qe6+ Kh8 29. Qe7 Rg8 30. h5 Raa8 31. e5 b5 32. e6 b4 $2 33. Qxb4
1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “F Monroe”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “87”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 e5 2. d3 Bc5 3. h4 d5 4. g5 Bg4 5. c4 $1 dxc4 6. Qa4+ Bd7 7. Qxc4 Bb6 8.
Bg2 Bc6 9. Nf3 Nd7 10. Bd2 Ne7 11. Bc3 Ng6 12. Qg4 Qe7 13. h5 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Nf4
15. Bxb7 Rd8 16. Bc6 O-O 17. Bxd7 Qxd7 (17… Rxd7 $1) 18. Qxd7 Rxd7 19. Bxe5
Ne6 20. f4 f6 21. gxf6 gxf6 22. Rg1+ Kf7 23. Bc3 Nxf4 24. h6 Rg8 25. Rxg8 Kxg8
26. Bxf6 Kf7 27. Bg5 Ne6 28. Bd2 Nd4 29. Kd1 Re7 30. Nc3 Ba5 31. Ne4 Bxd2 32.
Kxd2 a5 33. Rg1 Kf8 34. Rg5 a4 35. Ra5 a3 36. Rxa3 Re6 37. Ra8+ Ke7 38. Ng3 Rg6
39. Rh8 Rxg3 40. Rxh7+ Kd6 41. Rh8 Rh3 42. h7 Kc5 43. b4+ Kc6 44. Rd8 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “R Coakley”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “37”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 e5 2. d3 Bc5 3. e3 d5 4. Bg2 Be6 5. h4 Nc6 (5… c6 $1) 6. Nd2 Nge7 7. c4
dxc4 (7… O-O) 8. dxc4 Qd3 9. Be4 Qd7 10. g5 O-O-O 11. a3 a6 12. Qa4 Nb8 13.
Qc2 Ng6 14. b4 Be7 15. Bb2 h6 16. Ngf3 hxg5 $5 17. h5 $1 Nh4 18. Nxe5 Qd6 $2
19. c5 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “T Sanderson”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “59”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 e5 2. d3 Bc5 3. h4 d5 4. g5 Bg4 5. c4 Ne7 6. Bg2 Be6 7. Qb3 Bb6 8. Nc3
dxc4 $2 9. Qb5+ Nbc6 10. dxc4 a6 11. Qa4 O-O 12. Bh3 Bxh3 13. Nxh3 f5 14. c5
Ba7 15. Qc4+ Kh8 16. h5 Nd4 17. Nd1 Qe8 18. h6 g6 19. f4 Rd8 20. fxe5 Nec6 21.
Nf4 Nb4 (21… Nxe5) 22. e6 $1 Nbc2+ 23. Kf2 Nxa1 $2 24. e3 Nc6 25. Qc3+ Nd4
26. exd4 Qe7 27. d5+ Kg8 28. Be3 b6 29. Nxg6 hxg6 30. h7+ 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “T Sanderson”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “77”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Bg2 (3. Nc3 c5 (3… Bb4 4. Bd2 {–Bill Wall}) 4. e4 dxe4
(4… Nc6 {–Bill Wall}) (4… d4 5. Nce2 e5 6. Nf3 {–Bill Wall}) 5. dxe4 (5.
Nxe4 f5 {–Bill Wall}) 5… Qxd1+ 6. Nxd1 Nf6 7. f3 {–Bill Wall}) 3… c5 4.
c4 d4 5. Qb3 Qc7 6. Nd2 Nc6 7. Ne4 Nf6 8. g5 Nxe4 9. Bxe4 Be7 10. h4 h6 11. Nh3
hxg5 12. hxg5 e5 13. Bg2 g6 14. Bd2 Qb6 $5 15. O-O-O Qxb3 16. axb3 a5 17. f4
Bxh3 $2 18. Rxh3 Rxh3 19. Bxh3 exf4 20. Bxf4 a4 21. bxa4 Rxa4 22. Kb1 f6 $2 23.
gxf6 Bxf6 24. Rg1 Kf7 25. Bd7 Ra6 26. Bc8 Rb6 27. Bc7 Rb4 28. Rf1 Ke7 29. Rh1
Ne5 30. Bxe5 $2 Bxe5 31. Rh7+ Kd6 32. Bxb7 g5 33. Bd5 g4 $2 34. Rh6+ Kc7 35.
Rc6+ Kd7 36. Rxc5 g3 37. Bc6+ Ke6 38. Bd7+ Kf6 39. Bh3 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “F Leonard”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “33”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e6 3. d3 Bc5 4. h4 Nc6 5. Nc3 {White’s K-side pressure is
obvious, and must be countered. To allow white a free hand on the K-side
invites disaster.} Nge7 6. e4 dxe4 $2 (6… d4 $1) 7. Nxe4 Bb6 8. Nh3 Ng6 9.
Nf4 e5 $2 (9… Nxf4 $1) 10. Nh5 Nxh4 $2 11. Nxg7+ Kf8 12. Bh6 Nxg2+ 13. Kf1
Kg8 14. Kxg2 Qd5 15. Qf3 Qd8 16. Nf6+ Kf8 17. Ne6+ 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “H Erwin”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “49”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Qb3 Ne7 6. Nc3 e4 7. d3 exd3 8. Bf4
a6 9. Rd1 d4 10. Rxd3 Nbc6 11. e3 (11. Bxc6+ Nxc6 12. Nf3 Bc5 {Open play for
both sides — Grob}) 11… Ng6 $1 (11… h6 12. Nge2 Ng6 13. Bxc6+ bxc6 14.
Rxd4 {Advantage for white}) 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. Rxd4 Qa5 14. Re4+ Be6 (14… Be7
$2 15. Bd6 $1) 15. Rxe6+ $1 fxe6 16. Qxe6+ Ne7 17. Nge2 Rd8 18. Nd4 Qb6 19. O-O
Qxb2 $2 20. Ne4 Rxd4 21. exd4 Qxd4 22. Nd6+ Kd8 23. Nf7+ Ke8 24. Bc7 Qd7 25.
Nd6+ 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “E Baker”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “73”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 dxc4 4. Qc2 c6 5. Qxc4 Be6 6. Qc3 Bd6 7. h3 f6 8. a3 (
8. Na3 Qb6 9. Nc4 Qb4 10. Nxd6+ Qxd6 11. a3 Nd7 12. b4 Ne7 13. d3 {Unclear
position — Grob}) 8… Qb6 $5 (8… Ne7) 9. b4 $5 (9. Nf3) 9… a5 $1 10. Nf3
axb4 11. axb4 Rxa1 12. Qxa1 Qxb4 $1 (12… Bxb4 $2 13. Nxe5 $1 fxe5 14. Qxe5)
13. Ba3 Qc4 14. Nc3 Bxa3 15. Qxa3 Na6 16. O-O Ne7 17. Rc1 Qb3 18. Qxb3 Bxb3 19.
Rb1 Nc5 20. d4 exd4 21. Nxd4 Bc4 22. Nxc6 Nxc6 23. Bxc6+ bxc6 $2 (23… Kf7)
24. Rb8+ Ke7 25. Rxh8 h6 26. f4 Ne6 27. e3 Nf8 28. h4 Kf7 29. Ne4 Bd5 30. Nd6+
Ke7 31. Nf5+ Kf7 32. h5 Ne6 33. Nxh6+ gxh6 34. Rxh6 c5 35. Rh8 c4 36. h6 Nf8
37. h7 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “J Boothe”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “45”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Qb3 Nf6 6. g5 Ne4 7. Nc3 Qxg5 $5 (
7… Nxc3 $1) 8. Kf1 $1 Nxc3 9. dxc3 Qg6 $5 10. Bxd5 Nc6 11. Nf3 f6 12. Rg1 Qh5
13. Qb5 $1 Kd7 14. Bg5 fxg5 15. Nxe5+ Ke7 (15… Kd8 16. Nxc6+) 16. Nxc6+ Kf6
17. Ne5 Bh3+ 18. Ke1 Rd8 19. Bf7 Qh4 20. Nf3 Qe4 21. Nxg5 Qf5 22. Qxb7 Bc5 23.
Ne4+ 1-0

[Event “Norfolk, VA”]
[Site “Norfolk, VA”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “M Brenneman”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “21”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Qb3 Ne7 6. Nc3 d4 7. Nd5 Be6 8.
Qb5+ Nbc6 9. Nxe7 Qxe7 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Qxc6+ 1-0

[Event “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Site “VAPEN Chess Game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “J Lawson”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “69”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 dxc4 4. Qc2 c6 5. Qxc4 Be6 6. Qc3 Bd6 7. Nf3 Qc7 8. h3
f6 $1 9. d4 Nd7 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. e4 $1 a5 12. a3 $5 (12. Bf1 b5 13. a3 O-O 14.
Qc2 b4 15. Bc4 {Favors white — Grob}) 12… b5 13. d5 Bf7 14. O-O O-O 15. dxc6
Nxc6 (15… b4 $1) 16. Qe3 Nd4 $2 17. Nxd4 Bc4 $2 18. Qc3 $2 Bxf1 19. Qxc7 Bxc7
20. Bxf1 b4 $2 21. Ne6 Rfc8 22. Nxc7 Rxc7 23. axb4 Rca7 24. b5 Rb8 25. Nb3 a4
26. Be3 Raa8 27. Bc4+ Kf8 28. Nc5 Nxc5 29. Bxc5+ Ke8 30. Bd5 Ra5 31. Bc6+ Kf7
32. Bd6 Rc8 33. Bb4 Ra7 34. Bc5 Rac7 35. Rxa4 1-0

[Event “correspondence game”]
[Site “correspondence game”]
[Date “1973.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Taylor”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “19”]
[EventDate “1973.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 dxc4 4. Qc2 Qd4 5. Nf3 Qxg4 (5… Qc5 6. Na3 Be6 7.
Ng5 Bd5 8. e4 Bc6 9. Qxc4 $13) 6. Rg1 Qe6 7. Ng5 Qf5 8. Qxc4 c6 9. Bh3 Qf6 10.
Bxc8 1-0

[Event “Zugzwang 75C-2”]
[Site “Zugzwang 75C-2”]
[Date “1975.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “H Carpenter”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “41”]
[EventDate “1975.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 c6 6. Qxb7 Nb6 $2 7. Bxc6+
Bd7 (7… N8d7 {This is no better}) 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 (8… N8xd7 $5 {Avoiding the
queen trade would be better}) 9. Qxd7+ N8xd7 10. b3 e6 11. Bb2 $1 Nf6 12. Nf3
Nbd5 13. Rg1 Rc8 14. Nc3 Nb4 $2 (14… Nf4 {Then black plays Ng6 and Be7}) 15.
Rc1 a6 16. a3 Nbd5 17. Nxd5 Rxc1+ 18. Bxc1 Nxd5 19. Bb2 f6 20. Rg4 Kf7 21. Ra4
{White wins an easy endgame} 1-0

[Event “corr. BPCF V W. Germany”]
[Site “corr. BPCF V W. Germany”]
[Date “1975.??.??”]
[Round “55”]
[White “R Bowlby”]
[Black “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A02”]
[PlyCount “35”]
[EventDate “1975.??.??”]

1. f4 e5 2. fxe5 d6 3. exd6 Bxd6 4. Nf3 Nh6 5. d4 Ng4 6. Qd3 Nxh2 7. Qe4+ Be6
8. Nxh2 c5 9. Bf4 Qa5+ 10. Bd2 Qb6 11. d5 Bg3+ 12. Kd1 Qxb2 13. Bc3 Qb6 14.
dxe6 Qd6+ 15. Qd3 Bxh2 16. Qxd6 Bxd6 17. Bxg7 Rg8 18. Rxh7 1-0

[Event “Zugzwang 75 C-2”]
[Site “Zugzwang 75 C-2”]
[Date “1975.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “W Campbell”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “19”]
[EventDate “1975.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 e5 3. c4 d4 4. b4 $5 c6 5. h3 Be6 $2 (5… Bxb4 $1) 6. Qb3 b5
$5 (6… Qb6 $1) 7. d3 Be7 8. a4 bxc4 9. dxc4 Qb6 10. b5 {And White went on to
win.} 1-0

[Event “APCT Q-12”]
[Site “APCT Q-12”]
[Date “1975.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “D Ebright”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “29”]
[EventDate “1975.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 Qc7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Qb3 Nxd5 7. Nxd5 cxd5
8. Bxd5 Bc8 9. Bxf7+ Kd8 10. Nf3 Nc6 11. Bg8 Bd7 12. Qf7 Rc8 13. Qxf8+ Be8 14.
Qxg7 Ne5 15. O-O 1-0

[Event “correspondence game”]
[Site “correspondence game”]
[Date “1975.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Spangler”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “61”]
[EventDate “1975.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Bc8 5. Qb3 Nbd7 6. Nc3 g6 7. d4 Bg7 8.
e4 O-O 9. e5 Ne8 10. a4 a5 11. h4 Nb6 12. Nge2 e6 13. Bg5 f6 14. exf6 Bxf6 15.
dxe6 Qe7 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. d5 Ne8 18. Nd4 Rf4 19. Ncb5 Nxd5 20. Qxd5 c6 21. Qe5
Qb4+ 22. Kf1 Qxb2 23. Qxf4 Qxa1+ 24. Ke2 Qa2+ 25. Ke3 Bxe6 26. Nc3 Qc4 27. Rc1
Ng7 28. Bf1 Qc5 29. Kd2 Rd8 30. Nce2 Qa3 31. Qe3 1/2-1/2

[Event “IPC CM-6”]
[Site “IPC CM-6”]
[Date “1975.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Helen Mizesko”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “13”]
[EventDate “1975.??.??”]

1. g4 e5 2. Bg2 Bc5 3. h3 Qh4 4. e3 Nf6 $2 5. d4 exd4 $2 6. exd4 Bd6 7. Nf3 {
The black queen falls.} 1-0

[Event “ICCF game”]
[Site “ICCF game”]
[Date “1975.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Pete Melissakis”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “53”]
[EventDate “1975.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. g5 e5 4. h4 f6 5. d3 Be6 6. e4 d4 7. f4 Na6 8. f5 Bf7 9.
Qg4 Qd7 10. Bh3 Nc7 11. Nf3 O-O-O 12. h5 Kb8 13. g6 hxg6 14. hxg6 Be8 15. a3 c5
16. Nbd2 Qa4 17. b3 Qa6 18. Nc4 b5 19. Nb2 Bc6 20. a4 Ne7 21. Bd2 Bb7 22. Ke2
b4 23. Nc4 Ba8 24. Bg2 Rxh1 25. Rxh1 Qc8 26. Rh8 Bb7 27. Qh4 1/2-1/2

[Event “IPC IST-2”]
[Site “IPC IST-2”]
[Date “1975.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Steven L Buntin”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “50”]
[EventDate “1975.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 Bxg4 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 Nf6 5. Qb3 Qc7 6. Nc3 e6 7. dxc6 (7. h3
Bf5 {– Bill Wall} (7… Bh5 8. dxe6 fxe6 9. Qxe6+ {– Bill Wall}) 8. dxe6 fxe6
) 7… Nxc6 8. d3 a6 9. Be3 Be7 10. Bb6 Qd7 11. Nh3 e5 12. Ng5 O-O 13. Nce4 $2
(13. Nf3 {Equal chances}) 13… Nxe4 14. Nxe4 Be6 15. Qc2 Bd5 16. a3 f5 17. Qd2
(17. Rd1 $2 fxe4 18. dxe4 Qg4 $1 {– Bill Wall}) 17… fxe4 18. dxe4 Be6 19.
Qxd7 Bxd7 20. O-O-O Be6 21. Rd2 Rac8 22. Kb1 Nd4 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Rf1 Bg5 25.
Rc2 (25. Rxd4 Rxf2 $1 26. Rxf2 $2 Rc1# {– Bill Wall}) 25… Ba2+ 0-1

[Event “APCT 75-R-7”]
[Site “APCT 75-R-7”]
[Date “1975.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “S Patterson”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “53”]
[EventDate “1975.??.??”]

1. g4 g6 2. Bg2 Bg7 3. c4 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. h3 (5. g5 $1) 5… O-O 6. d4 c6 7.
Be3 a6 8. Qb3 Nbd7 9. Rd1 (9. Nf3) 9… Qb6 10. Nf3 Qxb3 $5 {This is giving
White an open QR file with pawns handy for levers} 11. axb3 d5 12. O-O Nb6 13.
Ne5 dxc4 14. bxc4 Nfd7 15. Nxd7 Bxd7 16. b3 Nc8 17. c5 b5 18. b4 a5 19. Ra1 a4
20. Nxb5 Rb8 21. Nc3 Rxb4 22. Rxa4 Rxa4 23. Nxa4 Na7 24. Nb6 Rd8 25. Ra1 Nb5
26. Nxd7 Nxd4 27. Bxd4 1-0

[Event “APCT 75-R7”]
[Site “APCT 75-R7”]
[Date “1975.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “M Haack”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A00”]
[Annotator “wasur”]
[PlyCount “18”]
[EventDate “1975.??.??”]

1. g4 {Notes by Bloodgood.} d5 2. Bg2 Na6 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Qb3 {
5. h3 is safer for white.} Be6 {!} 6. Qxb7 {? 6.d4!} Nb4 7. Na3 a6 8. d4 Rb8 9.
Qa7 Qc8 {! White’s queen is trapped.} 0-1

[Event “corr”]
[Site “corr”]
[Date “1976.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Clyde Plyler”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A45”]
[PlyCount “41”]
[EventDate “1976.??.??”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. g4 Nxg4 3. f3 Nf6 4. e4 d6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. Qd2 e6 8. O-O-O
O-O 9. Bc4 Nc6 10. Nge2 Ne7 11. Bb3 b6 12. Ng3 Bb7 13. h4 Re8 14. h5 d5 15. e5
Nd7 16. hxg6 fxg6 17. Bh6 Nf8 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Rdg1 Nf5 20. Nxf5+ exf5 21.
Qh6+ 1-0

[Event “corr”]
[Site “corr”]
[Date “1976.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “Jackson”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A45”]
[PlyCount “39”]
[EventDate “1976.??.??”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. g4 Nxg4 3. f3 Nf6 4. e4 d6 5. Be3 c6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Qd2 Bg7 8. Bh6
O-O 9. O-O-O b5 10. Bd3 a5 11. h4 b4 12. Na4 Ba6 13. Bxa6 Nxa6 14. Nh3 c5 15.
dxc5 dxc5 16. Qg5 Qc7 17. Rdg1 c4 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. h5 e5 20. h6+ 1-0

[Event “Richmond, VA”]
[Site “Richmond, VA”]
[Date “1969.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Claude Frizzel Bloodgood”]
[Black “B Brown”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A00”]
[PlyCount “35”]
[EventDate “1969.??.??”]

1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 3. g5 e5 4. h4 Bd6 5. d3 Ne7 6. e4 d4 7. Nd2 Bb4 8. a3 Ba5
9. b4 Bc7 10. Bh3 Bxh3 11. Nxh3 O-O 12. f4 exf4 13. Qg4 f5 14. gxf6 Rxf6 15.
Nf3 Rg6 16. Nhg5 h6 17. h5 Rf6 18. Ne6 1-0
[/pgn]

In addition to spending much of his jail time reading about and playing chess, Bloodgood also took the time to write chess books and work on his own opening, most notably his book on The Tactical Grob. More of a curiosity than a solid opening, The Grob has been the subject of much debate throughout the years and is available in several formats including free downloads across the internet (including Campfire Chess) and a print version available on Amazon.com.

Claude Bloodgood is one of those characters that adds to the colorful mythology that often surrounds chess and its players. Eccentricity has been a hallmark of chess personalities for centuries from enigmatic kings playing chess during the destruction of their fortresses to Paul Morphy’s final days and descent into madness and on to the famous disappearance and return of Bobby Fischer following his famous 1972 match. Claude Bloodgood might be one of the biggest con artists in chess history after Wolfgang von Kempelen and his famous Turk chess automaton. Or, it might be that he really was a good chess player and not as much of a con artist as many believe he was. We may never know.
October 16, 2017
20 Years Later, Garry Kasparov Loves the Machine

Just over 20 years ago last month, former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov played a dramatic six-game match against an IBM supercomputer called Deep Blue, the second of two matches the grandmaster played against the technological behemoth. Up until that point, computers were very strong in their chess abilities but had yet to beat some of the game’s greatest players. Kasparov was determined to prove that machines lacked the beauty of truly deep chess thinking and simply could not beat him. Kasparov’s subsequent crushing defeat was merely a harbinger of things to come. The rise of the machines (chess and others) would come much swifter than almost anyone could have predicted.

(Credit: FOX)

Recently, Kasparov gave an incredible TED talk about the rise of intelligent machines and the need for humanity to embrace, not fear them. Obviously, he took the time to assure the audience that his defeat by Deep Blue overshadows the fact that he won the first match. Kasparov’s talk is deeply inspiring for those who can appreciate the beauty of chess and technology; its definitely worth watching if you are a fan of TED talks in general, technology, chess, or just curious how one of the world’s greatest minds sees the future under the influence of intelligent machines.

As technology leaps forward, the world’s greatest game has regularly been there to help it shine. If you need proof, then check out the recent fiasco with the Chess.com iOS app in which the 32-bit version stopped working because the site’s 2.1 billion games exceeded the necessary math. Chess has always been a key component of technological evolution (and revolution) and Kasparov obviously sees that there is no reason to fear the rise of the machines.

Comprehensive coverage and review of the TED talk is available on Chessbase.

June 15, 2017
Ad Victoriam Ad Valorem

Editor’s Note: I am pleased to welcome my good friend Howard Darkes as a guest author today on Campfire Chess. Howard is a longtime philosophy and literary mentor of mine. I hope that you enjoy his heartfelt reflection of Memorial Day. -Wesley Surber

Hello, Campers! My name is Howard Darkes and I first want to thank my longtime friend Wesley for granting me control of the blog today to share reflections on the past and to address some troubling concerns for the future. Today is Memorial Day in the United States of America and I believe that this is something that needs to be said because there is much mourning going on across the globe today. As the professional chess world is knee-deep in the Shamkir Chess Gashimov Memorial tournament that commemorates one of the greatest players of our generation, my country takes time during the season to reflect and recognize the countless men and women who have sacrificed their lives to defend the sovereignty of our nation and to continue our way of life. It is on this day that we recognize, remember, and honor the people whose lives were sacrificed in pursuit of this selfless service or whose lives have since expired upon returning from home to enjoy the freedoms they so valiantly fought for.

Originally from Germany, my family has a long history of military service with the most recent generation being among those to continue that tradition. In memoriam, my paternal Grandfather served in the United States Army during World War II against the Axis Powers. It is today that our nation honors men like him, who has long departed this earth but his children, grandchildren, and now countless great grandchildren continue to enjoy freedoms that generations prior could only have dreamed of.

Unfortunately, the memory of those sacrifices and the freedoms that came with them are being tainted by the very men and women who have sworn an oath to uphold and defend the laws of our nation and to promote the very way of life that sets us apart from the rest of the world. These days, it is popular to hate America. In fact, it is almost as though hating America is much more socially acceptable than to acknowledge America’s contributions to the rest of the world throughout history. That is why, when sitting US President Barrack Obama gave his speech at the Hiroshima Memorial on May 27, my blood boiled for a while but my patriotism and depth of knowledge about the sacrifices of military service and dedication to duty that comes with such service helped me to overcome those feelings.

There were many moments in the Hiroshima Speech that betrayed the memory of fallen service US service members, but I want to take this Memorial Day to highlight a few of them.

The world war that reached its brutal end in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was fought among the wealthiest and most powerful of nations. Their civilizations had given the world great cities and magnificent art. Their thinkers had advanced ideas of justice and harmony and truth. And yet the war grew out of the same base instinct for domination or conquest that had caused conflicts among the simplest tribes, an old pattern amplified by new capabilities and without new constraints.

In his speech, Barrack Obama paints a picture of World War II as some kind of playground dispute among the rich kids. It was the wealth, power, and quest for domination that drove the United States to drop nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not the carefully calculated decision to avoid millions of casualties assured by a US invasion of the Japanese mainland. Furthermore, he asserts that the players in the war had advanced ideas of justice, harmony, and truth. Yet, the philosophies of Nazi Germany resulted in the execution of countless Jews, Soviets, homosexuals, and other minority groups that President Obama has championed throughout his reign. Although it is often lost in the sensational history reports of Nazi atrocities in Europe, the Japanese Empire was no better. Japan’s notorious Unit 731 killed 3,000 people while conducting horrific medical experiments and approximately 300,000 people died as a result of biological weapons developed at the facility.

Technological progress without an equivalent progress in human institutions can doom us. The scientific revolution that led to the splitting of an atom requires a moral revolution as well.

This is the crux of his speech because, in his opinion, American morality has evolved past the need for nuclear weapons and for war. His statements imply that if the United States, Nazi Germany, and Japan were engaged in a worldwide conflict that the American Government (and the American people) would never support the use of nuclear weapons against another nation. His words imply that Japan was attacked by the US out of fear because its people were different. Yet, it was the Japanese Empire that forced the US into a conflict with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Before that moment, the US had not been engaged in a war with the island nation. However, the attack prompted a response by America that raged across the Pacific Ocean and its myriad of tiny islands until the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki put an end to the fighting and forged an alliance of peace between the two countries that brought about a technological revolution!

While the devastation levied on the two cities is tragic in-itself, it cannot be said enough how those sacrifices most likely saved the lives of countless others whose lives would have been snuffed out when the US launched an invasion of Japan. The pending invasion, known as Operation Downfall, projected that 500,000 US service members would have lost their lives and the fanatical warrior culture of the Japanese Empire would have required hand-to-hand combat in almost every home on the island. Some estimates of the initial invasion suggested that around 100,000 soldiers would be killed in combat on the island per month, so at one point, 500,000 Purple Hearts were commissioned by the War Department to prepare for the losses. Yet, intelligence on the nature of the Japanese enemy caused the US Government to make its calculated decision to deliver the nukes in an attempt to stave off the need for such an invasion. Japan surrendered six days later, after around 130,000 people were killed in the blast.

Why We Come Here

President Obama ended his speech with this:

Those who died, they are like us. Ordinary people understand this, I think. They do not want more war. They would rather that the wonders of science be focused on improving life and not eliminating it. When the choices made by nations, when the choices made by leaders, reflect this simple wisdom, then the lesson of Hiroshima is done.

Taken out of the context of the rest of the speech, it is an accurate assessment of life and death. Ancient warfare philosophies have always taught that fighting should be done only as a last resort. When Hitler’s Germany and the Japanese Empire began systematically invading other countries and slaughtering innocents, the United States and its allies fulfilled their moral duty to intervene and to save those less fortunate. President Obama can speak all he wants to about the need for moral revolution, but a revolution is not the same as evolution. A moral revolution does need to occur in our society, but it needs to look to the heroes of World War II for the way ahead. The young men and women who laid down their lives for their brothers, sisters, and even for those who they did not know are the reason that I am able to sit here today and be critical of the man who stands up and claims to speak for the free world.

The reality is that Barrack Obama speaks for no one but himself. Even a half-hearted apology for the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a betrayal of the worst kind to the memory of the soldiers who gave their lives fighting to defend their homes and families. If anything, the bombs prove the American resolve to preserve life and to defend the lives of others. If that were not the case, then Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have been just the first wave in a series of greater bombings and conquests that would not have ended with Germany and Japan’s surrender.

The Man Who Speaks for No One

Instead, I prefer to join the millions of people in the United States and around the world who disagree with President Obama’s self-loathing and anti-American sentiment. Those people in Europe whose families were rescued by the Allied powers continued to appreciate and respect those sacrifices. And I appreciate the sacrifices of every man and woman around the world who has decided to give his or her life for something greater than their own personal desires; to defend their homes, families, and the freedoms that they hold so dear. Today, we honor them all by reminding the world that the fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen gave their lives not to defend the personal philosophies of the United States Government or the opinions of its leaders. These people pledged to defend the foundations that make us different, which are rooted in the United States Constitution, by sworn oath ad victoriam ad valerum.

May 30, 2016
February 29th? What is THIS Madness?

Life has been so busy lately that it was almost lost to me that 2016 is a *leap year!* For many people that only means another day to wait for their paycheck or one more day of putting their nose to the grind at the work to finish a big project. For me, it enabled me to squeeze out one more day at the gym before my physical fitness test. My job requires that I maintain a high level of physical fitness which is tested regularly throughout the year. To make this one special, I decided that I would take it on leap day. And, since this is a chess blog and chess players (typically) enjoy odd facts and history, I thought it would be nice to look into the origins of February 29th. Plus, it gave me a reason to post today…

### An Imperfect Path Around the Sun

There have been many calendars throughout history including the Lunar, Julian, and the Gregorian Calendars. Most of us learn very early in school that the Earth orbits the Sun in a semi-perfect circle. Typically we celebrate a new year around the world every 365 days, but scientists observed that during the use of the old [Lunar Calendar](http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/roman-calendar.html) that seasons would shift drastically over time. This indicated that the calendar’s basic system for tracking the length of time it took for the Earth to orbit the Sun was inaccurate. Can you imagine having a snowstorm in Texas in July? If we still used the Julian Calendar, it is highly likely.

It takes the Earth on average, approximately 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds long (365.242189 days) to complete one full orbit around the Sun.[^1] To compensate for this seasonal shift, it was determined that an extra day was needed every so often to balance out the inaccuracy of the calendar. Julius Caesar’s [Julian Calendar](http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/julian-calendar.html) introduced the concept of the *leap year*, but its calculations were still not enough to compensate for the full effect of the uneven orbit. This was because the only rule used to calculate the need for a leap year was that the year had to be evenly divisible by four.

Here are some interesting facts about the error rates in our common, Western calendars:

* **365-day Calendar** (with no leap years calculated).
* Length: 365 Days
* Error Value: 6 hours/year (1 day in 4 years).
* **Julian Calendar**
* Length: 365.25 Days
* Error Value: 11 min/year (1 day in 128 years).
* **Gregorian Calendar**
* Length: 365.2425 Days
* Error Value: 27 sec/year (1 day in 3236 years).
* **Mayan Calendar** <-- not saying it was aliens, but... * Length: 365.242036 Days * Error Value: 13 sec/year (1 day in 6500 years). ![memealiens](http://www.campfirechess.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/meme-aliens.jpg)
Did the Mayans know something we don’t? As some ancient astronaut theorists believe…
(hope you read that in the guy’s voice)

### The Vatican Steps In

Pope Gregory XIII realized the problems with the Julian Calendar and comissioned a new calendar to be created that would fix the leap year issues. The result was a calendar adopted in 1582 in Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain known as the [Gregorian Calendar](http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/gregorian-calendar.html). It is the most widely used calendar in the world today. Here are some specifics:

* The Gregorian Calendar is a 365-day, solar calendar divided into 12 months of irregular lengths.
* 11 of the months have 30 or 31 days, while February has only 28 days during a *common* year.
* **Nearly** every four years is a leap year where one extra day is added to February (which is today), making the calendar 366 days long.
* The formula for calculating leap days is much more complex than the old Julian Calendar, which makes the Gregorian Calendar far more accurate.
1. The year is evenly divisble by 4.
2. If the year can be evenly divided by 100, it is **NOT** a leap year, unless (see third rule)
3. The year is also evenly divisible by 400.

![gregorianexample](http://www.campfirechess.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/gregorian-01.jpg)

An Early Example of the Gregorian Calendar (Credit: ScienceSource)

So, campers! Enjoy this extra day because it only comes around so often! Kiss your girl (or guy), phone a friend, play some chess, and enjoy it because you can bet that summer will be arriving at the same time it did last year thanks to the hard work of the people who watched the skies throughout history and helped us create one of the most essential tools in existence: our calendar.

-w.s.

[^1]: “Julian Calendar,” Time and Date.com, accessed February 28, 2016, [http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/julian-calendar.html](http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/julian-calendar.html).

February 29, 2016
Chess History from the Motherland

There is something special about Russia and its chess history. Whether they were really as vile and deceptive in their efforts to maintain the World Championship title throughout the Cold War there is no arguing that some of the greatest chess minds in history have come from our on/off-again friends in the east. Recently I was browsing and came across an opportunity to buy two editions of a Russian chess magazine called The Chess Herald. One of them is a standard tournament coverage fare and the other is a dedicated issue to the rematch between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1992. I was pleased to see that they are in great condition and even contain some games and beautiful photos of chess powerhouse Judit Polgar! There is so much chess in these two books and I might translate/annotate games here if I can, but I wanted to share some photos first:

I am curious though about the cover art for the Bobby Fischer issue because the character inside the wreath has his mouth open and an expression on his face that seems to indicate madness. Its apparent to me that the illustrator was trying to convey the sense of insanity that had engulfed Fischer for so long at this point.

October 12, 2015
Pawn Sacrifice – A Movie Review

The Bobby Fischer biopic *Pawn Sacrifice* debuted this week in theaters across the United States. The film stars Tobey Maguire as the venerable chess prodigy Bobby Fischer and Liev Schreiber as the pillar of Soviet Cold War chess dominance Boris Spassky. A couple of years ago when I heard that Zwick, Maguire, and Schreiber were working on a film based on Bobby and the 1972 World Chess Championship I was very excited to see chess returning to the silver screen. Although I had high hopes for the film I was skeptical that it could usurp my favorite chess movie of all time: *Searching for Bobby Fischer*. The story of *Pawn Sacrifice*’s production is almost as dramatic as the story it tells. For the entire production and a long time after its conclusion there were only two promotional photos made available online to promote the film. When it was completed, there was a time when the film rode into festivals without a major distributor. However, [Bleecker Street Media](http://www.bleeckerstreetmedia.com) picked up the film and distributed it to audiences around the United States starting on September 24th of this year following a special presentation in Saint Louis after the conclusion of the Sinquefield Cup.

#### The Story
Robert James Fischer was one of the most electrifying personalities in 20th century chess. He taught himself to play chess when his mother left him alone for hours on end in their Brooklyn apartment overlooking Ebbets Field. At age 15 he became the youngest grandmaster in the history of the game and the youngest candidate to ever emerge for the World Chess Championship. The young boy from Brooklyn quickly took the chess world by storm and soon started winning the hearts of people outside the chess world for the way that he not only destroyed his opponents on the board, but also for the psychological damages he often caused. Bobby Fischer played chess at a time when the Soviet Union poured a significant amount of its national budget and effort into producing some of the world’s top grandmasters. Chess was seen as proof of Soviet intellectual superiority over the United States and its allies and the results of countless Chess Olympiads and World Championships seemed to validate that claim. However, Bobby’s emergence brought to light what had been known in secret for many years: the Soviet Union had been intentionally drawing games to stack the deck against players from other countries. The result was that key Soviet grandmasters were virtually assured a shot at the FIDE World Championship title, which was often played against *another* Soviet grandmaster. The player who had the most favor with the state at the time was *allowed* to win the title and hold it as long as it was beneficial for the sake of the Soviet system.

Bobby’s distate for the Soviet chess machine was put on prominent display in his now famous Sports Illustrated article in 1962, *The Russians Have Fixed World Chess*. If he was not a target of the red chess machine and the KGB, this article propelled him into the international spotlight and aired the dirty secrets of Soviet chess for the entire world. The rest of the story is pretty well known. Bobby went on to defeat some of the most powerful grandmasters of the day and win a chance to challenge Russian World Champion Boris Spassky in the 1972 championship in Reykjavik, Iceland. Yet, throughout the tournament and in the years leading up to it Bobby was plagued by a growing sense of paranoia and mania. He was obsessed with the Russians and convinced that they were tracking his every move. While its true that the KGB was keeping close tabs on Bobby, the fear and paranoia he was experiencing grew out of control and damaged practically every relationship he had. When the match was over Bobby emerged victorious over Spassky and the Soviet chess machine. After that he disappeared and was largely unheard from until his 1992 rematch with Spassky in Yugoslavia.

*Pawn Sacrifice* covers much of Bobby’s life from his adolescence through some of his prominent chess appearances up to the 1972 World Championship match. For much of the film the chess takes a backstage to Bobby’s growing paranoia and personal struggles. When it begins, the World Championship match in Reykjavik is a powerful backdrop for what is often seen as Bobby’s final battle to maintain his own sanity. Tobey Maguire’s portrayal of Bobby as the self-confident Da Vinci of modern chess is a perfect recreation of the man that many watched throughout the years on television and in tournaments around the world. In contrast Liev Schreiber is a silent, towering man who more closely resembles a football star than a chess champion. There is a heavy sense of Bobby’s personal desire to beat Spassky than of Spassky’s desire to beat Bobby. At least, until Bobby fails to show for the 2nd game of the match and risks losing the championship to Spassky by forfeit. Spassky agrees to play Bobby in the back room away from the audience because winning the match by forfeit would rob him of a true victory against Bobby. The film’s climax comes in game 6, which is widely known as the best game of the match and one of the greatest chess games ever played.

[pgn]
[Event “World Championship 28th”]
[Site “Reykjavik”]
[Date “1972.07.23”]
[Round “6”]
[White “Fischer, Robert James”]
[Black “Spassky, Boris V”]
[Result “1-0”]
[BlackElo “2660”]
[ECO “D59”]
[EventCountry “ISL”]
[EventDate “1972.07.11”]
[EventRounds “21”]
[EventType “match”]
[PlyCount “81”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “1999.07.01”]
[WhiteElo “2785”]

1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 b6 8. cxd5
Nxd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Rc1 Be6 12. Qa4 c5 13. Qa3 Rc8 14. Bb5 a6
15. dxc5 bxc5 16. O-O Ra7 17. Be2 Nd7 18. Nd4 Qf8 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. e4 d4 21.
f4 Qe7 22. e5 Rb8 23. Bc4 Kh8 24. Qh3 Nf8 25. b3 a5 26. f5 exf5 27. Rxf5 Nh7
28. Rcf1 Qd8 29. Qg3 Re7 30. h4 Rbb7 31. e6 Rbc7 32. Qe5 Qe8 33. a4 Qd8 34.
R1f2 Qe8 35. R2f3 Qd8 36. Bd3 Qe8 37. Qe4 Nf6 38. Rxf6 gxf6 39. Rxf6 Kg8 40.
Bc4 Kh8 41. Qf4 1-0
[/pgn]

#### The Good
There is a lot to love about *Pawn Sacrifice* for chess and non-chess fans alike. For the non-chess fan, the acting in the film is superb and the way in which it portrays Bobby’s descent into paranoia is well done. Some have complained that Bobby spent much of his time in the film yelling at people around him and this is certainly not what is portrayed in much of the archival footage of him. However, this is consistent with the testimonies of his friends and family. Bobby Fischer drove away pretty much everyone that ever stepped forward to care for him. The paranoia, which was grounded in truth, simply became too much for him to handle. Even the greatest chess player in history had a breaking point.

Although the chess itself takes a backseat to the story of Bobby and his struggles again himself and the Soviet chess machine, I was deeply impressed by the quality of the chess presentation. The producers painstakingly recreated the 1972 World Chess Championship with precision right down to the design of the [Reykjavik chess set](http://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-reykjavik-ii-series-chess-set-and-board-combination.html) used in the match. In addition, the film does a great job of creating an authentic look and feel of the late 1960s and early 1970s without overdoing it with excessive hippies and peace symbols.

#### The Bad
Just as there is a lot to love, there is a lot to dismiss, loathe, or simply forgive and forget about the film. Obviously I have already discussed the use of [incorrect notation](http://www.campfirechess.com/2015/what-the-pawn-sacrifice-poster-says-about-chess-players/) in an earlier post. In addition to this, there was the general choppiness in the first half of the film as the producers struggled to fit so much of the story into such a little block of time. Given the depth of material I think that the producers did a decent job providing the audience with enough information to follow the nuances of the story without becoming overwhelmed by minutia. However, there were some elements that were unusual and seemed out of place given the pace and direction of the film narrative. The biggest example I can think of is Bobby’s brief obsession with the **Worldwide Church of God** in which he listened to countless recorded sermons prophesying the end of the world. Bobby became disillusioned with the church and it was a major portion of his life, but the focus of *Pawn Sacrifice* made Bobby’s brief time spent listening to the sermons seem out of place. There was never a noticeable change in his behavior, whether verbal or nonverbal, that would have enabled the hint of his religiosity to benefit the story.

I also could not help but notice that Michael Stuhlbarg who played Bobby’s friend Paul Marshall in the film was wearing a standard issue US Air Force [blue overcoat](https://www.shopmyexchange.com/products/images/xlarge/7206071_1191.jpg) during much of the movie.

Finally, I could not help but laugh when my *wife* poked me in the side at the end of the film as Bobby rode away in his car from the tournament at Reykjavik. When he has cleared the crowd of people he reaches into his pocket and unzips a pocket chess set. And, this is not just any chess set…its a [Chessmate Wallet](http://www.chessmate.com/chessmate1.html#wallet)! My wife recognized it because its from the same company that makes the [Chessmate Ultima](http://www.chessmate.com/chessmate1.html#ultima) that [I reviewed](http://www.campfirechess.com/2014/product-review-chessmate-ultima-pocket-chess-set/) back when I first started this site.

#### The Final Verdict
*Pawn Sacrifice* is a solid psychological drama and a great historical pic about one of the greatest moments in chess history. Despite its few flaws and creative liberties taken by its creators, it stands on its own as a powerful representation of the tormented world of Robert James Fischer who, despite having his ELO eclipsed by other chess players, remains the greatest and most influential chess player in history.

September 29, 2015
What the Pawn Sacrifice Poster Says About Chess Players
I am one of those guys who spends most of his life wishing that he could go to film festivals to catch the latest and greatest independent films from across the globe. Instead of actually going to these festivals, however, I am most likely doomed to tracking the films that interest me as they spend years in distribution limbo awaiting a mainstream theatrical release. This has especially been the case with the movie Pawn Sacrifice, the upcoming biopic about the 1972 World Chess Championship between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. I remember hearing about it for the first time and was filled with excitement! That was over a year and a half ago, with Pawn Sacrifice just now preparing for its theatrical debut. In any case, I digress.

For most of the time that the public has been aware of the existence of the movie, the only real promotional material available for it was a publicity photo showing Tobey McGuire and Liev Schreiber in their respective roles as Fischer and Spassky. Of course, the initial reviews of the movie from the premier festival have not been great although these days it is impossible to trust most movie reviews, especially the ones coming from independent film festivals. Yet, I still held on to my hope until the official poster for the film was finally revealed.

The Mind of Robert J. Fischer

At first, it struck me as a fairly standard piece of modern poster art. Earth tones are all the rage in Hollywood’s digital arts factories. I guess that it is because faded browns and grays increase the audience’s sense of the character’s pain and struggles. I also like the subtle complexities of the picture. There is much for the audience to discern from the look on Bobby Fischer’s face and the chess notations coming out of his head. For the people who knew, played with, and experienced the real Bobby Fischer, the notations coming out of his mind represent the whole of who he was as a human being and as a chess player. Bobby lived his life only to play chess. When he played, he was the best that the world had ever seen, but the darkness of his dichotomous existential paradigm eventually took him from the game, and eventually…sanity itself.

Just a hint of emotional struggle…

An Algebraic Quandary

I did not give the poster much thought until I started seeing the reactions from other chess players on Chess.com and on various Facebook chess groups. Where most people might decry a lack of creativity in Hollywood these days or the overemphasis on brown colors, but instead, chess players know exactly what is most important in life, and that is the accuracy of the chess!

You see, the chess notation coming out of Bobby’s head in the poster is historically inaccurate. Although Bobby might have annotated some of his games in algebraic notation (shown in the poster), it is a well known fact that he exclusively used descriptive notation when playing in tournaments. This might not seem like mich of a big deal to the casual observer, but to a chess community flustered and running out of patience with Hollywood’s inability to even set a board up correctly, it means everything in the world. I realized that I saw the commenta as petty and obnoxious mainly because I am a huge Bobby Fischer fan and I have been looking forward to the film for quite some time. However, after some introspection and examination of the poster, the trailer, and the comments from others within the chess community, I came to the conclusion that:
- 1) It is historically inaccurate.
- 2) It does not matter to 99% of the audience that will see the film.
- 3) It does not change the film at all.
- 4) It does matter to the remaining 1%, who are those of us that go to bed at night and solve tactical positions in our sleep.
I regret my initial impressions of the response to the poster in some sense. Yes, perhaps the complaints (if taken seriously) are a bit on the obnoxious side, but those comments represent the passion of a community that has dedicated itself to the game. For us, chess is not just a game…it is our game. At this point, I am willing to attribute the algebraic notation to simple human oversight since watching the trailer reveals that a key shot of the chessboard that actually reflects a position from the original tournament. Perhaps these small details will make up for the algebraic notation in the minds of most chess players, or perhaps it does not really matter at all. Even great historic films like Schindler’s List and Amadeus are filled with historical inaccuracies, but the small details did not effect the overall quality of the final product.

[pgn]
[Event “World Championship 28th”]
[Site “Reykjavik”]
[Date “1972.07.23”]
[Round “6”]
[White “Fischer, Robert James”]
[Black “Spassky, Boris V”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “D59”]
[WhiteElo “2785”]
[BlackElo “2660”]
[PlyCount “81”]
[EventDate “1972.07.11”]
[EventType “match”]
[EventRounds “21”]
[EventCountry “ISL”]
[Source “ChessBase”]
[SourceDate “1999.07.01”]

1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 b6 8. cxd5
Nxd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Rc1 Be6 12. Qa4 c5 13. Qa3 Rc8 14. Bb5 a6
15. dxc5 bxc5 16. O-O Ra7 17. Be2 Nd7 18. Nd4 Qf8 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. e4 d4 21.
f4 Qe7 22. e5 Rb8 23. Bc4 Kh8 24. Qh3 Nf8 25. b3 a5 26. f5 exf5 27. Rxf5 Nh7
28. Rcf1 Qd8 29. Qg3 Re7 30. h4 Rbb7 31. e6 Rbc7 32. Qe5 Qe8 33. a4 Qd8 34.
R1f2 Qe8 35. R2f3 Qd8 36. Bd3 Qe8 37. Qe4 Nf6 38. Rxf6 gxf6 39. Rxf6 Kg8 40.
Bc4 Kh8 41. Qf4 1-0
[/pgn]

Despite the initial reviews, I am hopeful that Pawn Sacrifice will be an excellent re-telling of one of the Cold War’s defining moments. Tobey McGuire might be the best Bobby Fischer to ever hit the silver screen, or he might be the worst. The character of Bobby Fischer himself was so unique and so far off of the charts of what we would consider normal that I think it is practically impossible to find anyone who could play him in a way that truly expresses the torment he lived with.

Ultimately, any criticism of Pawn Sacrifice’s historical inaccuracies demonstrates that for those of us who live their lives in the world of chess, it will always be more than a game.

For some excellent analysis of the movie and some of the issues I discussed here, check out FM Mike Klein‘s awesome article on Chess.com. Pawn Sacrifice will be arriving in theaters this September. Check out the official trailer here.
June 12, 2015
Jon Stewart Chess Update

Jon Stewart is not someone who comes to mind when I think about chess, but a recent episode of The Daily Show poked fun at the game and the international chess community. Much has been said recently about Wesley So and his decision to [switch to the United States Chess Federation](https://www.uschess.org/content/view/12847/788/) along with some unconfirmed reports that the United States might also be [pursuing Fabiano Caruana](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/sports/chasing-world-chess-title-us-recruits-from-abroad.html?_r=0). The video hits all the right spots to show how chess has always operated in the shadow of international politics, but has had monumental influence. Check it out:

<br />

“What’s the only thing Russians love more than filming their own car accidents? Chess.” — Trevor Noah

March 21, 2015
Exploring the Master Class – Bobby Fischer

Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen hold much higher ELO ratings and have won more World Championships than he ever did, but Bobby Fischer is still considered one of the greatest chess players in history. This is due in large part to his absolute domination of the chess world and his single-handed defeat of the Soviet chess machine in 1972. Some of us, who grew up hearing the stories of Bobby and watching the world as the Cold War came to an end attribute the fall of the Soviet Union to cultural icons such as Bobby Fischer and Rocky Balboa to winning the war more than politics or diplomacy. Bobby’s victory that year in Iceland was as much a Cold War event as the Cuban Missile Crisis because the honor and intellectual supremacy of each nation. These days, you would be hard-pressed to find a hobby or club-level chess player that has not studied Bobby’s games and game theory. His depth of knowledge on openings and his talent in the endgame remain legendary among the world’s top players. His book *My 60 Memorable Games* (download games: [PGN](http://www.offmychess.com/files/games/omc-fischer60games-pgn.zip) | [ChessBase](http://www.offmychess.com/files/games/omc-fischer60games-chessbase.zip)) is a staple in most chess player’s libraries.

To take things to the next level, [ChessBase](http://www.chessbase.com) has a special DVD called *Master Class: Bobby Fischer*. Featuring five hours of video instruction from world-class chess players such as GM Dorian Rogozenco, GM Mihail Marin, IM Oliver Reeh, and GM Karsten Mueller. The DVD covers almost ever aspect of Fischer’s games including extensive insight on opening preparations, tactics, strategy, and deep analysis of his endgame. As with all ChessBase DVDs, the course is interactive with a responsive chessboard and notation to keep the viewer engrossed in the world of Bobby Fischer’s chess. The tactics on the DVD are presented as interactive puzzles that provide responsive feedback to help sharpen your game and bring Fischer’s games to life.

#### The Good
There is a lot to love about this DVD. ChessBase has long been a pioneer in developing interactive software and the integration with the ChessBase database software or the reader software is excellent. I use ChessBase 12 for my analysis and DVD play, but the free [ChessBase Reader](http://en.chessbase.com/pages/download) software will allow anyone with a windows computer to use *Master Class: Bobby Fischer* without having to own the full ChessBase Software.

The instruction on the DVD is first-rate. There is a wealth of information ranging from the cross tables and tournament information to a full biographical history on Bobby Fischer. All of this comes together to bring the user a comprehensive picture of Bobby Fischer as a man and as a chess player. In addition to the training, there is an exclusive database included with the software that holds all of Bobby Fischer’s games along with many additional cross tables and annotations. Perhaps one of my favorite features in the software are the *trees*. Fischer’s games as black and white have been divided into two *book trees* that can be reviewed and analyzed using the ChessBase software. This is a valuable resource for someone wanting to explore the themes in Bobby’s games.

#### The Bad
Because of the diverse nature of the chess world, I try to give as much leeway as possible when reviewing a product. Therefore, many things that others may call *annoyances* or *problems* with a piece of software, book, or DVD, can often be attributed to a simple cultural, language, or other variation. In *Master Class: Bobby Fischer*, the only drawback I could find comes in the form of the opening analysis with GM Dorian Rogozenco. Although that part of the DVD is supposed to be an in-depth look at Bobby Fischer’s openings, GM Rogozenco skips most of the moves and proceeds directly to where the opening transitions more into the middle game. He does comment on the fast moves in these game reviews by stating that these are *easy moves* and that *they have been made hundreds of times,* but dismissing many of these opening moves, regardless of how mundane it may seem, does devalue the lesson in some respects. Bobby Fischer was a master of chess openings and I believe that more attention should have been paid to *why* he chose to play certain openings and opening variations.

#### Back to Class
*Master Class: Bobby Fischer* is an excellent product for anyone interested in chess history, the story of Bobby Fischer’s games and his life, or a person looking to expand their knowledge and skill at chess. This five hour DVD includes some invaluable knowledge and insight into Bobby’s thinking that could possibly change the way that you view and play the game of kings.

January 18, 2015
Bobby Fischer the Maniac?

It is a common misconception that Bobby Fischer, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest chess players of all time, was a maniac. Unfortunately, the man once known as a hero of America for ending Soviet domination of the World Chess Championship descended into hate-filled rants and reclusiveness immediately after his victory over Boris Spassky in 1972. When Bobby completed his destruction of the Soviet chess machine, he promised that his next goal was to relax and play a lot more chess. However, as most people know, he famously disappeared and was not publicly seen or heard from until roughly 1992 when he emerged to challenge Spassky to a rematch in Yugoslavia. The United States embargo against Milosevic in Yugoslavia resulted in Bobby Fischer becoming an international fugitive once he received a $5 million payoff for beating Spassky again.

Most contemporary images of Bobby Fischer involve his intense anti-semantic rants and hatred of the United States. According to his claims, he believed that the United States was a puppet nation and that it was out to destroy the world, just like the former Soviet Union. Immediately following September 11, 2001, Bobby phoned in to a radio talk show from isolation in Japan and declared his joy over the destruction of the World Trade Center and the attack on the Pentagon. These painful images of a hateful Bobby Fischer have caused many inside and outside of the chess world to label him as psychotic. Is it possible that Bobby Fischer was acting irrationally in his tirades against the Soviet Union and the United States?

Ultimately, there appears to be little evidence to support any assertions that Bobby Fischer was psychotic. There is a common misconception in contemporary society that a person could only make intense negative or hateful comments if their judgment has been compromised and that there is some underlying psychosis causing them to act irrationally. We see this a lot in the media whenever a mass killing or other unfortunate crime strikes in the United States. Often psychologists and other *experts* are brought in to help find an answer to the tragedy. However, in the case of Bobby Fischer, none of his statements were incredibly irrational *per se*. Instead, his comments belittled and marginalized a group of people (the Jews) and were wholly incompatible with such a diverse and multicultural society, but they were not irrational in the sense that Bobby Fischer could find a legitimate basis for his beliefs. If Bobby was suffering from some form of psychosis, it is quite possible that it would have manifested in his chess games. However, his chess games still provide scholars, enthusiasts, and players of all ages with a treasure trove of material to review. In fact, one of the most popular collections of chess games is called *Bobby Fischer: My 60 Memorable Games*.

Fischer is often compared with another reclusive chess player, Paul Morphy, who experienced a significant mental breakdown following years of intense international gameplay. While Fischer’s experiences do mirror Morphy’s in some respects, there is still much to his life that does not. Fischer continued his intense analysis of games throughout the 1980s as he traveled to various international locations and spent time with famous chess players like the Polgar sisters. If Bobby Fischer was a madman, it was chess that kept his mind together. When he set down at the board, there was a grace and beauty to the way he moved the pieces that is unparalleled even to this day. Chess was a protective element of his life that defended his identity, and calmed his soul. Unfortunately, the humanity and final memories of Bobby Fischer were banished to the frozen ground of a small Lutheran church not far from where he took down the Soviet chess machine.

May 27, 2014