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By Larry Parr
Chess Life Editor 1984 - 1988
Author
HEART
OF CHESS DARKNESS
(V)
REMEMBRANCE
OF BLUNDERS PAST
And now the piece (or pieces) de
resistance, a game that defeats all attempts at punctuation and makes one
wonder whether Capablanca had a bottle of bean-bopper before the battle:
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P.
W. Eddingfield - Jose Capablanca,
Indianapolis 1915 (Simultaneous match) |
Queen Pawn Game
1. d4 d5
2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e3 c5
4. dxc5 e6 5. b4 a5
6. Ba3 axb4 7. Bxb4 Na6
8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxa6 Rxa6 10. Qe2 Qa8 11.
Nb5 Bxb5 12. Qxb5+ Nd7
13. a3 f5 14. Nf3 Bxc5
15. 0-0 0-0 16. Rfe1 Rc8 17. Nd4 Bxd4 18.
exd4 Rxc2 19. h3 Nb6
20. Re3 Ra4 21. f3 Qa6
Capablanca
P.
W. Eddingfield (to move)
22. Qf1
White misses 22. Qe8, mate. As
for question marks, this game is a specimen that defies mundane interrogative
decorations.
22. ... Qxf1+ 23. Kxf1 Rb2 24.
Be7 Nc4 25. Bh4 g5, White resigns
Is this game for real? Hermann
Helms thought it was and published it in his American
Chess Bulletin along with the name of a reliable witness.
Of the 15,000 or so tournament, match and simul games that Capablanca
played, this effort must be the ugliest.
The saving grace of blundering in chess is that the practice humbles us
a useful bit in life while honing our spirit.
As Robert Burns wrote, “Oh wad some power the giftie gie us/ To see
oursels as others see us!/ It wad frae monie a blunder free us,/ An’ foolish
notion.” Yes, but perhaps our
blunders also help us “To see oursels as others see us!”
Eddingfield - Capablanca
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