Some Forgotten Works Of Art From Early Soviet Chess.

Afternoon everyone. If there is one thing that those hardy few who regularly read my blogs know to expect, it is the unexpected! I enjoy posting forgotten games, and pictures not to be found with a quick google search.

This week I managed to get my hands on a rare book which I have been after for years.

The Weltgeschichte volumes are just wonderful!! They are famous for a picture of Bobby Fischer studying the Spassky volume. 

A mass of games with a diagram every 5 moves - perfect browsing books, from the days before you could just get out your mobile phone and go through games on an online database site.

The Lasker volume is definitely the book I own which I have spent the most time with.

So, let's look at some forgotten games - limited myself to five, but if you enjoy this, there are plenty more where these came from - you only have to ask!!

Three in the order in which they appear in the book. With this first one I have absolutely no idea about the players involved!! The final position is both wonderful and unusual - 5(!!!) Pawns on the same file and mate by discovery. Wow!

This next one is a gem. Again, I have no ideas on the players involved. In my nearly 50 years of studying chess games I have learned that just because you have never heard of someone, it doesn't mean that they can't play!!

A game won by a player who I actually do know something about. Nikolai Riumin.

A masterpiece in every way.

O.K. Two to go, and I knew them both before I saw them in this book, but hopefully they are new to you. Both can be found in wonderful books from Elk and Ruby. A stunning miniature by the man who saved Alekhine and changed chess history.

One day I will write about him and the book.

A quite wonderful cartoon from the book - Elk and Ruby have a book in pre-publication on a player I love - Boris Verlinsky ( I have always thought of him as Werlinski, but these days you have to do database standard transliterations!) and my dear friend Ilan has allowed me to post this - thank mate!. Verlinsky - Vilner.

And on to the feature game - I have known it for years - I love Romanovsky ( Romanowski!! as above!)

His wonderful notes to the game - I had to edit them to make it work as a pgn. Romanovsky just let's white's a-Pawn promote as he closes a mating net with the quiet King move ....Kg6!! BEAUTIFUL!!

Enjoy the chess!