Tuesday, April 8

Baden gambit tournament, Round 2: Tartakower defeats Fahrni; Other games drawn

Dr. Saviely Tartakower defeated Hans Fahrni in the only decisive game of the second round of the international gambit tournament at Baden. Tartakower's offer of the Evans Gambit was declined by Fahrni, who seemed to hold his own until unwisely choosing to open the position with 16...e4, a course of action that later allowed White to make inroads along the very paths cleared by his opponent. The first player created a strong passed pawn on the e-file and combined an attack on the King with threats to Black's unfortunate Knight, which had gone to the a5-square at the 7th move and remained there until the end of the game. Fahrni resigned at his 31st turn in the face of an irresistible attack; had he played on, the finish might have been most attractive, as the reader may observe by examining the variations given in the notes.

The Evans Gambit Declined also made an appearance in the games Breyer-Spielmann and Johner-Reti, with the former drawn after 27 moves and the latter after a rather colorless 20. The contest between Schlechter and Opocensky, a Scotch Gambit, likewise concluded peacefully, if puzzlingly, after 27 more of more lively play, as Opocensky with a sound extra pawn in a Queen endgame might have been expected to make some effort to achieve victory. The day's final encounter, Nyholm-Hromadka, saw the second player decline the Danish Gambit via 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 d5. In the middlegame that arose White proved unable to demonstrate the superiority of his two Bishops over Black's pair of active Knights. Black later gained a pawn in the subsequent Rook endgame, but the two players ultimately shared the point nonetheless.

Scores after 2 rounds: Tartakower, Reti, Johner 1 1/2; Spielmann, Schlechter, Hromadka, Opocensky 1; Fahrni, Breyer, Nyholm 1/2.    

We present the games below.










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