World Champion Embarrassment. When the Simul Went Wrong.

Afternoon Everyone. Quick bit of fun today!!

Earlier in the week the inimitable @Spektrowski sent me a little game that he had stumbled across in his researches, where the great Capablanca lost very rapidly in a simultaneous exhibition. We decided that there might be an amusing post in there somewhere. This was the game.

Well, having been on both sides of the board in them, I can tell you that simultaneous displays are a type of chess all on it's own.

Capablanca was without doubt one of the all time great simultaneous players. He had all the tools - quick sight of the board - he was a legendary blitz player - outstanding technique, and, until his final years, great physical health. Exhibitions over 40 boards or more, with barely a loss, were not unusual for him, and he finished them in quick time too. The above game was from a 40 board exhibition, and beforehand he had predicted that he would be finished in 4 hours!!

That game reminded me of one other, which i will come to later. A quick look through some books came up with a number of similar horror stories from Capablanca's many exhibitions - the sad truth is that you can play innumerable wonderful games during an exhibition, and the local papers will print your one disaster!! So, let's blitz through some games. Have fun!

Another game which I think may be from the same exhibition.

Capablanca - playing George Thomas - from a couple of months earlier.

Capablanca played an incredible amount of chess during his long simultaneous tours around 1910-1911. Another disaster from that period.

O.K. One last bit of pain for the great man before I leave him alone!! Having reached just the kind of position you dream of in such circumstances he loses the thread completely! It happens.

O.K. Let's quickly pick on a couple of other legends. Lasker was a popular simultaneous performer.

Unless there was some sort of side-bet involved, he would just have fun and give his opponents chances. This game is the one mentioned earlier that came straight to mind. He wasn't to know that his young opponent was soon to rise to the top level of World chess.

And finally to someone who was giving such exhibitions from a young age.

In 1964 he went on a huge exhibition tour of the U.S.A. Many people's choice as the strongest player ever, it's incredible to see him unleash a whole series of blunders to end up in a total mess from a decent position.