Friday, November 19, 2010

Larry Evans, Chess Grandmaster, 1932-2010

I learned a great deal about chess from Larry Evans.  I still have my copies of his edition of  Modern Chess Openings (as well as Korn's 12th, the last to be printed in English Descriptive Notation) and Fischer's 60 Memorable Games.  My copy of New Ideas in Chess still finds its way into my bag for subway reading.
Here is something from New Ideas in Chess under the heading "A wing attack is best met by a reaction in the center".  It, like all of the examples in New Ideas, is drawn from his own tournament games.  This one is from Kagetsu v. Evans, Hollywood Open, 1954.

after ...P-Q4

Evans writes of this position: "This attacker does not always benefit from open lines.  He should try to close the center before embarking on a wing attack.  This cannot always be done.  The defender must keep his lines of communication open, and this requires a fluid center so that he may divert pieces from the other wing to the defense of the attacked wing".

Kagetsu    Evans
 White      Black
1. QxN     B-Q3
2. 0-0-0    R-N2
3. P-KR4  BxN
4. BxB      Q-N5
5. B-Q2    PxP
6. R-N1    Q-K3
7. B-K2    Q-R7
White Resigns

New York Times Obituary.  In the printed edition, the caption puts Evans on the left, but Fischer is on the left and Evans is on the right.
Gambit: the New York Times Chess blog on Evans, with reader's favorite games.