From Steinitz to Soviet schoolgirls to Richard Rapport: A history of one queen sacrifice pattern
This is not a typical post for my blog: usually I translate various obscure Soviet chess books and articles. But here, I would like to present you a series of games united by a common theme: a queen sacrifice on a certain square.
I first came across this pattern while reading Elizaveta Bykova's Sovetskie Shakhmatistki book. Lidia Mokhel, one of the leading Moscow schoolgirl players in the mid-1930s (sadly, I couldn't find any more info on her other than she was born in 1919; she never competed in any national-level Soviet tournaments), destroyed her opponent Sokolova. Play like a Soviet schoolgirl!
Lidia Mokhel might have not achieved much, but she still influenced chess history in a way: a 13 years-old Yuri Averbakh decided to study chess at the Young Pioneers' Staduim in Moscow after he saw Lidia's game there.
I took chess up seriously only at the age of 13 (before that, I played volleyball), in 1935. So, I came to the Young Pioneers' Stadium (YPS) and noticed two strongest Moscow girls playing. Their last names were Mokhel and Udrugova. I remembered the position well: Udrugova had two extra pieces, but suddenly blunderd one. And Mokhel said gleefully, "Now we're playing!"
I happened to mention that game to our resident chess historian, batgirl. And, curiously, she also came across a game with the similar pattern for her own article!
This really piqued my curiosity. One game is just that, a game, but two games are a pattern. So, I decided to search for more. And there were more!
The predecessor for all those sacrifices on h6 and h3 that lure the king under checks (most often discovered) was, undoubtedly, the game between Hewitt and Steinitz in 1866. I even vaguely remembered the ending: it was featured in Vladimir Zak's old chess book for kids. Zak, however, mistakenly stated that the game took place in 1862.
Chronologically, the next game (at least the one I've managed to find) was "played" in 1923. Why I put "played" in quotes? Well, this game was constructed by Semyon Alapin for a theory article, and it allegedly took place on 30th February in the Caissenburg castle. The players were "Naivenski" and "Dr. Hollandisch" (who, of course, chose Dutch defence). Notes by Alapin.
Another future giant of chess also sacrificed his queen on h6 before Mokhel's game (this time, the discovered check was given by a rook).
Yet another discovered check pattern: rook plus pawn! The players involved are probably Paul Felix Schmidt and Kurt Paul Otto Joseph Richter.
And another German game of the 1940s. This is similar to Naivenski vs. Hollandisch in a way.
The next game is pretty curious. I found it in Fred Renfield's The Complete Chess Course, and it basically recreates the ending of Mokhel vs. Sokolova with slight alterations. Perhaps Renfield was familiar with the Mokhel game (the full text didn't survive) and tried to reconstruct it?
Yet another game played in Germany. GM Lubomir Ftachnik was outplayed by the former World Junior Champion, GM Ognjen Cvitan. Cvitan, like Steinitz, played Black and first sacrificed a piece to lure the king to g2. No discovered checks though, he gave the mate by a pawn of all pieces.
And finally, the most recent sacrifice I've managed to find: it was played by Richard Rapport. His finish is more straightforward and brutal than in most above games.
Have you ever come across this rare chess pattern?
