Quantum entanglement back in 1851 with ...Bb4(+)??? Buckle & Moheschunder... with Keres & Nimzo

It's more than obvious that Keres defense and Nimzo-Indian share some same approach. Keres can be transposed to Nimzo easily and this probably cause of the same pawn structures, but mostly of the black's quick development with ...Bb4. Don't know but they are somehow together in my mind. And cause of this Nimzo seems to me a little apart of the rest Indian openings, maybe cause a fianchetto won't necessarily appear.

Looking at the databases and trying to find the earliest games played with them, it was surprising that both were tried for first time during the 1850s, played few times afterwards, till the beginnings of the 20th century when both were more embraced, especially of course the Nimzo. More surprising was that each was tried for first time by a different player, who obviously weren't in contact with each other - in fact were separated by miles -, and according to databases both in 1851! And both players were strong but not professionals.

For a moment the idea that two minds reached independently to the same idea at the same time, was really attractive! But...

Keres defense seems to be tried for first time in 1851 by Henry Thomas Buckle [1821 – 1862], an English historian but also a strong amateur player. For some time he was considered among the strongest players in England, after Staunton. A genius that came and went like a splendid meteor, as was written in his memoir in The Chess Player's Magazine, 1864, p. 33.

Buckle was to participate in the famous London tournament of 1851, Anderssen's triumph, but some commitments didn't allow it. However, some matches were arranged by the committee to take place after the tournament, and Buckle was matched with Johann Lowenthal. Again the aforementioned commitments forced the match to last till 4 wins instead of 8, and in the end Buckle won with +4-3. The game that interests us was the 4th.

"The first game was played in the rooms of the St. George's Chess Club, Cavendish Square, on the 26th July, and Loewenthal beat him. Buckle won the second, lost the third, and at the fourth, after playing from two o'clock to eight, Loewenthal declared he could hold out no longer, and they adjourned. 'I have much the best position,' says Buckle in his diary, 'and I think a won game.' The next day he did win it, and again won the following game after a five hours' contest. Loewenthal declined playing the two following days, and on the third. Buckle, after waiting some time, received a message that his adversary had 'a bad headache and could not come.' But the next day they met, and after a game of nine hours' duration Buckle was beaten. They were now three to three, and the next must decide the victory, which was gained by Buckle in a six hours' game." [in The life and writings of Henry Thomas Buckle by Alfred Henry Huth, 1880, vol1, p. 59 // check also Howard Staunton's The Chess tournament, 1852, p. lxxii & 231 where the game].

The game is the first in databases where the sequence 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ appears. However, the Staunton's comments confused me a little. It seems that the ...Bb4+ threat had been dealt already, but it's my feeling that other opening lines were meant...

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The two aforementioned in the pgn Staunton's game-positions with ...Bb4+ for comparison.

Staunton-Cochrane, 1842, 0-1: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Nc3	Staunton-Williams, 1851, 0-1: 1.c4 e6 2.e3 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.d4 Bb4+ 6.Nd2

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Nimzo-Indian defense seems that was tried as black for first time by Bannerjee Moheschunder, a Brahmin from a village in Mofussil of India, near Calcuta, who encountered John Cochrane hundreds of times during 1848-1860. Cochrane was having a lawyer's career in India then and at the time was president of the Calcuta Chess Club. Brahmin, not having visited any other place except the nearbies, appeared unexpectedly in Calcuta in 1848 and gradually was appreciated for his game play. He was considered "the only player who has any chance whatever with Mr. Cochrane, upon even terms", according to an anonymous letter to CPC [1850, p. 318] and was appointed as a paid attache of the Club since then [check also The Indian Roots Of Modern Chess by ArnieChipmunk & The Hindu Philidor by Batgirl].

Brahmin, familiar with the Indian chess, seems liking fianchettos and thus many games were possibly the first recorded of an Indian opening line, like King's Indian or Queen's Indian - even a Grunfeld can be found. The games vs Cochrane were played of course by the European rules and the majority of them were of the 1. e4 e5 sequence.

The Nimzo-Indian move sequence, 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4, is found in a game that according to databases is said to be of 1851. However I think that was played a little later, on Aug 26, 1857... ruining somehow my beautiful idea of supernaturally connected minds. I've tracked the game only in a transcript of 1871 of Cochrane's Material for an Intended Work to be Entitled "Loose Indian Chess Leaves", in John G White collection in Cleveland Library [check vol2 after downloading, p. 15 of pdf]

The written year could be 1851, but comparing it with the numbers in front of the moves seems more probable to be 1857 - ones are drawn with a single line without an horizontal at top. However I certainly can't be 100% sure. I give it as of 1857, hoping that I'm wrong and so a magical closer connection to be more possible. Anyway...

Something more interesting is that in the manuscript is following a game of a QGD line, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qb3, where probably the ...Bb4 move is also found. The game in databases is said to be of 1854 but in the manuscript there's no given date. The interesting part is that this ...Bb4 is found in a game of QGD setup, not an Indian, and is given right after the Nimzo-Indian one in the manuscript. Something that maybe underlines a connection or a source of the idea. It was the only other game of these two players, where I've found again this ...Bb4 idea in a Queen's pawn opening. And something that agrees with the ...Bb4 source, as given for the Buckle's game.

One other thing that can be also seen in the following game is that black doesn't use at all the double pawn steps, not even of the central ones.

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....thanx for reading