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By Larry Parr
Chess Life Editor 1984 - 1988
Author
HEART
OF CHESS DARKNESS
(II)
Which is worse: putting a piece en
prise or failing to move a piece that is attacked?
Or what about withdrawing protection from a piece in a simple position
and allowing mate on the move, when one is not even in time pressure?
In the spirit of 60’s participatory democracy, we let the readers
decide.
Placing
a piece en prise:
Viktors
Pupols -
GM
Pal Benko, U.
S. Open, 1969
GM
Pal Benko (to move)
Viktors
Pupols
35. ... Rh4?
No article on blunders would be complete without a Rook being tossed by
GM Pal Benko, who specialized in losing Rooks in every way imaginable, though
Rook losses through Knight forks were his specialty.
Why a grandmaster would possess what Dr. Tartakower called an
“erroro-tropism” for pitching Rooks is anyone’s guess.
Why not Bishops or Knights?
My theory is that
Benko, who was known as “the King of the Opens”
during the 1960s and 1970s, frequently found himself in time pressure at a point
when Rooks were in the thick of the fray. If
some Bishops and Knights had already been traded, then if there must be a
blunder during time pressure, the likely outcome is that a Rook will get
pillaged.
36. Bd3 Rf4??
Neatly placing a Rook where it may be taken.
37. Nh5+, Black resigns
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