A Beautiful Dutch from Russia, Poland and France!
Today we will see one of the most beautiful Dutch defence games ever played. The winner Savielly Tartakower (1887-1956) was born at Rostov-on-Don in 1887. His native language was Russian, but he was a subject of Austria-Hungary, and in World War I he became a Polish citizen. In 1924 he emigrated to France, and settled in Paris. Although Tartakower did not even speak Polish! after Poland regained its independence in 1918 he accepted Polish citizenship and became one of the most prominent honorary ambassadors of Poland abroad.
His opponent Geza Maroczy (1870-1951) was one of the world’s strongest players at the start of the twentieth century.
Tartakower also was a renowned writer and his most famous books are:
* 500 Master Games of Chess.
* Bréviaire des échecs, one of the best known introductory texts for chess in the French language.
* My Best Games of Chess 1905-1954.
He is also well-known for his phrases, many of which were classic!
* "It's always better to sacrifice your opponent's men."
* "An isolated pawn spreads gloom all over the chessboard."
* "The blunders are all there on the board, waiting to be made."
* "The winner of the game is the player who makes the next-to-last mistake."
* "The move is there, but you must see it."
* "No game was ever won by resigning."
* "I never defeated a healthy opponent." This quotation refers to players who blame an illness, sometimes imaginary, for their loss.
* "Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do."
And here is the full game:
