The horror…..

Truly you can learn so many fascinating things learning chess; as important as chess culture has been in my life, even more important perhaps is culture I have acquired while pursuing my obsession with the game.

And as Groucho Marx might remark If you believe that I have some land in Florida you might be interested in. 

Anyway, years ago a number of us Omaha chess playing fanatics gathered in a coffee shop in the Market called the History Coffee Shop. In a miserable little dive made darker by rows of second hand books, the nice owner welcomed eccentrics of all descriptions. At midnight on Saturday night, light was extinguished and a young lady fascinated by old horror movies screened Universal classics. One movie night, she surprised me The Black Cat! Featuring  Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, the movie climaxed (I guess, the darn thing was a confused mess) when they played a chess game for the life of the young heroine. Two monsters playing for the life of a young beautiful woman sure seemed like an average Friday night at chess club. Well…not….but I have an active fantasy life….

This whole meditation led me to consider the Vienna game variation Tim Harding named The Frankenstein-Dracula variation! This puzzle is from a game played in that very variation—between those two famous players Tartakower and Spielmann at Ostend! The Vienna game played in the very heart of Transylvania! Or close. Or closer to Transylvania than it is to Broken Bow….And probably just for cigar money…

And for those who wish to be educated on this variation, the game!

https://www.chess.com/games/view/15776719

Well until next time I dream up a good reason for a puzzle toodle loo or whatever it is monsters say when they leave for VK.