SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
This article is the first of a series dealing with great chess players from the past who tragically died before reaching their prime.
Rudolf Charousek
Rudolf Charousek (or in Hugarian Rezso Charousek)was one of the truly great stars of the chess world of the late 19th century; he literally appeared out of nowhere , shone brightly for a tragically brief period of time, and then became victim of tuberculosis. Dead by the age of 27, Rudolf Charousek was once predicted to be a future world champion by none less than the great Emanuel Lasker; Ruben Fine called Charousek the John Keats (a great poet) of chess. Max Euwe compared him to the great Paul Morphy.
Today Rudolf Charousek is all but forgotten, rarely mentioned except in half decent texts of chess history. A biography appeared a number of years ago ( ''Chess Comet Charousek" by Victor A. Charuchin, 1997) but it has been dismissed by critics as very poorly done.
Born in Prague on 19th of September 1873, Rudolf Charousek's family soon moved to Hungary, where he stayed for the rest of his life. He became a Hungarian citizen. Charousek learned the moves only at age 16, while still in highschool. A brilliant student, Charousek entered university to study law in Koshice, but soon found himself more interested in chess. He soon made a big impression on the chess community there.
Charousek's chess talent was enormous. A quick learner, it took just 7 years from the time of learning how the pieces move to actually defeating the World Champion , E.Lasker, in an over the board competition, at the Nuremberg 1896 international chess tournament!
Nuremberg 1896
Standing: Lasker, Charousek, Schlechter, two organisers, Janowsky, Maróczy, Marco, Showalter, three organisers. Seated: Albin, Porges, Chigorin, Tarrasch, Winawer, Steinitz, Blackburne, Schallopp, Schiffers, Pillsbury, Walbrodt, TeichmannCharousek R. - Lasker E.
Nuremberg, 1896
1. e4 Except for a handful of games where he played 1.d4, this was Charousek's usual way of opening the game.
1...e5 2. f4 !?
Charousek was a big fan of this opening gambit, and he achieved excellent results with it! Although there is some uncertainty of the exact number of official games played by him during his lifetime, evidence suggests that Charousek played this gambit about half the time; most of the remaining games he played 2.Nf3
2... exf4 3. Bc4 The Bishop's Gambit, which Fischer himself later took up in a famous game against GM Evans at the 1963 USch.
3... d5!? 4. Bxd5 Qh4
5. Kf1 g5 (Some theorists today prefer 5...Bd6!) 6. Nf3 Qh5 7. h4
7... Bg7 8. Nc3
8... c6 This move is not considered best. Later Lasker will find it hard to maintain his centre.
Chigorin showed a more dynamic treatment in his game with Charousek in Budapest 1896: 8... h6! 9. d4 Ne7 10. Qd3 Nbc6 with a complex position. Now White should play first Bxc6. Instead White got the worse of it after 11. Nb5 O-O 12. Nxc7 Nb4 13. Qd2 Nbxd5 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Re8 16. Kg1 g4 17. Ne5 Bxe5 18. dxe5 Rxe5 19. Qxf4 Re1 0-1, Charousek - Chigorin Budapest 1896 (play-off)
9. Bc4 Bg4
Lasker's plan becomes clear: to castle long and bring his rook into play , hopefully putting the White King into danger.
10. d4 Nd7 11. Kf2!
This fine move exposes the negative side of 8...c6. White now threatens to take on g5, and so Black is faced with having to give up control of the whole centre to his opponent.
11... Bxf3 12. gxf3 O-O-O 13. hxg5!
An exceptional move! Charousek refuses to be intimidated by the World Champion's tactical skill and instead calls his bluff.
13... Qxg5 Forced. Undoubtedly Lasker had prepared 13... Bxd4 14. Qxd4 Qxh1 , but then he realized that after 15. Bxf4 Qh4 16. Bg3 Qxg5 17. Bxf7 Qc5 18. Ne2 Qxd4 19. Nxd4 White has a big advantage.
14. Ne2! Another fine consolidating move that required a lot of accurate calculation.
14...Qe7 The intended 14... Nb6 15. Bxf7 Bxd4 16. Nxd4 Qg3 17. Ke2 Qg2 18. Kd3 , which seems to be very awkward for White, is infact not dangerous at all to White:
After 18...Rxd4 19. Kxd4 Qg7 20. Kd3 Qxf7 21. c3 White's King will have no problem finding shelter. Then it would just be a question of White converting his advantage.
15. c3 After some excellent and courageous consolidating moves, Charousek has managed to fortify his centre. He will now pick up the weak f-pawn. Lasker has few trumps up his sleeve.
Lasker's tactical skills could not save him in this game.
15... Ne5!? 16. Qa4! Nxc4 17. Qxc4 Now the tide changes. From now on it is White's initiative.
15... Ne5!? 16. Qa4! Nxc4 17. Qxc4 Now the tide changes. From now on it is White's initiative.
17... Nf6 There is little point to trying to defend the f-pawn with Bh6 18. Bxf4 Nd7 19. Qa4! a6
20. Qa5 [20. Ng3 immediately was even stronger!] 20... Nf8 21. Ng3 Ne6 22. Nf5
What a great position to have against a World Champion! White is not only a pawn up, but has complete domination of the position. Lasker is helpless.
22... Qf8 23. Bg3 Rd7 There is nothing better.
24. Nxg7 A simple but very strong solution to the position. Rather than play for more [24. d5!? with attacking chances] Charousek cashes in on his already big advantage. 24... Qxg7 25. Qe5!
Fischer-like play! The ending is quite hopeless for Lasker.
25... Qxe5 26. Bxe5
26... f6 27. Bxf6 Rf8 28. Rh6 Nf4 29. Ke3 Ng2 30. Kd2 Rdf7 31. e5 31... Nf4 32. Rah1 Rg8 33. c4 Ne6 34. Ke3 Nf8 35. d5 Rd7 36. e6
[1:0] When Lasker resigned, he is quoted as saying : ''I shall have to play a championship match with this man some day.''
Despite this defeat, Lasker won the tournament with 13.5 points. Charousek finished in 12th position, with 8.5 points.
According to a local chess journalist , J.Hofer, all of the tournament participants were impressed with the above game, and especially with the apparent genius of the young Charousek:
''All chess experts recognized him as a genius. He possesses exceptional theoretical knowledge, his style of play is innovative and original, and he plays equally well in the middlegame and in the endgame...He is bold and confident in every position, and he is totally unimpressed by authorities.''
By defeating the World Champion in such grande style, Charousek's fame started to spreadSoon afterwards, a big international tournament was held in Budapest. Both Charousek and Tchigorin tied for first in a strong field, ahead of both Pillsbury and Schlechter; though neither Lasker nor Steinitz participated.
The prestigious New York Times actually provided considerable coverage during the tournament (!):
Imagine trying to get that kind of coverage today!
Charousek R. - Pillsbury H.
Budapest 1896.
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. d3 d4 5. Nb1 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Be2 Bxf3 8. Bxf3 Bd6 9. fxe5 Nxe5 10. O-O Qd7 11. Bg5 Nfg4 12. Bxg4 Nxg4 13. h3 Ne5 14. Nd2 f6 15. Bf4 Ng6 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. Qg4 O-O 18. Nc4 Qe7 19. Rf5 c6 20. h4 Qe6 21. h5 Ne7 22. Rf4 Qxg4 23. Rxg4 Rad8 24. Rf4 h6 25. Re1 Nc8 26. Kh2 Rfe8 27. g4 b6 28. Kg3 Nd6 29. Nxd6 Rxd6 30. Rf5 Ree6 31. Kf4 Re5 32. c3 Rxf5 33. gxf5 Rd8 34. c4 Kf7 35. b4 Ke8 36. a4 Rd7
Budapest 1896.
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. d3 d4 5. Nb1 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Be2 Bxf3 8. Bxf3 Bd6 9. fxe5 Nxe5 10. O-O Qd7 11. Bg5 Nfg4 12. Bxg4 Nxg4 13. h3 Ne5 14. Nd2 f6 15. Bf4 Ng6 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. Qg4 O-O 18. Nc4 Qe7 19. Rf5 c6 20. h4 Qe6 21. h5 Ne7 22. Rf4 Qxg4 23. Rxg4 Rad8 24. Rf4 h6 25. Re1 Nc8 26. Kh2 Rfe8 27. g4 b6 28. Kg3 Nd6 29. Nxd6 Rxd6 30. Rf5 Ree6 31. Kf4 Re5 32. c3 Rxf5 33. gxf5 Rd8 34. c4 Kf7 35. b4 Ke8 36. a4 Rd7
The game has not gone very well for the American genius, but he has managed to keep material level and reach an interesting rook and pawn ending. White has a number of advantages: more space and liberty of movement; better King position; as well, black's g-pawn and d-pawn provide convenient targets. However, because of the closed nature of the position, it is difficult to make progress. Charousek's solution to this is instructive:
37. Ra1 !
A fine move that plans to advance the a-pawn and open the a-line. Black can now not play ...a5 since White will simply exchange pawns and gain control of the b-line.
37...Kd8 38. a5 Kc7 If instead Black played 38...b5 then White gains a big edge by exchanging on b5 and then playing Rc1ch and Rc5, leaving Black paralyzed. 39. axb6 Kxb6 40. Ra5!
Nimzovitch noted many years ago that a rook should be placed as deeply into the enemy camp as possible. From this square (a5) a number of ideas arise, including the one that Charousek plans to execute: play c5 at some point (forcing the Black King back) and then advancing his King over to c4, pressuring the black d-pawn. It appears that Pillsbury can only sit and wait. He has no counterplay.
40... Re7 41. Kf3! Charousek's idea is in full swing. It is remarkable how simple he makes everything in this ending look!
41... Re5 42. c5 Kb7 43. Ke2!
43...Re8 44. Kd2 Rd8 45. Kc2 a6 46. Kb3 Rd7 47. Kc4 Rd8 48. Ra1!
Emphasizing white's advantage in space and freedom of movement. The White rook switches over to the other side of the board.
48... Rd7 49. Re1 !
The advance of the e-pawn can not long be prevented.49...Kc7 50. e5 fxe5 51. Rxe5 Kb7 52. Re4!
There goes the d-pawn. Sensing that he can not wait anylonger, Pillsbury tries for a desperate counterattack. However, with White holding all of the trumps...there is little hope.
52... Rd5!? 53. Re7 Kb8 54. Rxg7 Rxf5 55. Rg6 !
The rest is easy enough. Fischer used to refer to this part of the game as mopping-up !
55...Rxh5 56. Rxc6 Kb7 57. Rb6 Ka7 58. Kxd4 Rh1 59. Kd5 h5 60. d4 h4 61. Rh6 Rb1 62. Rh7 Kb8 63. Kc6
The advance of the d-pawn ends the game quickly.
63...Rxb4 64. d5 Rg4 65. Rh8 Ka7 66. d6 Black resigns. A beautiful demonstration of how to exploit small advantages in the ending.
In 1897 Charousek won the Berlin International Tournament, ahead of 19 masters, scoring 13.5 points. He played especially brilliantly in the second half, winning 9 games in a row! It very much seemed that Charousek was improving from tournament to tournament!
Berlin 1897
Fourth row: Schlechter, Heyde;Third row: Unknown, Burn, Marco, von Popiel, Heinrichsen, Blijkmans, Dimer;Standing on second row: Charousek, Janowsky, Thalheim, Zinkl, Harmonist, Winawer, W. Cohn, Teichmann, Albin;Sitting on first row: Ranneforth, Caro, Metger, Alapin, Süchting, Chigorin, Schiffers, Bierbach At the begining of 1898 Charousek was invited to a strong tournament in Vienna, but on the eve of the event he caught a serious illness , an acute inflamation of the lungs, which prevented his participation. This was to be a type of omen for what was to come.
Charousek recovered his strength enough to be able to participate in the strong Cologne International Tournament (1898), finishing in a tie for 2nd place with Burn and Tchigorin. This is quite remarkable, considering that his health was visibly weakened. And he played great chess in this tournament!
Charousek R. - Heinrichsen A.
Cologne 1898.
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bb4 5. Nge2 d5 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. O-O Be6 8. Ne4 Be7 9. Bb3 Nd4 10. Nxd4 exd4 11. Qh5 O-O 12. Ng5 Bxg5 13. Bxg5 Qd7 14. Qh4 c5 15. Rae1
White has some advantage in development, but Black's position is quite solid and is free of weaknesses. To make progress it is first necessary to create threats and provoke weaknesses.
15... Rfe8 16. Qg3 ! A logical move that might annoy the Black King a some later point. It also takes control of the h2-b8 diagonal.
16... Bf5 17. h4! Larsen, many years later, would come to teach that in positions where little is happening, it is often very useful to introduce a bit of poison by advancing the h-pawn. In Charousek's games this was a common theme!
17... Kf8 18. h5 h6 19. Bf4! Charousek has few illusions over the value of the two bishops in this position, and instead invites his opponent to exchange off his most valuable piece.
19... Nxf4!? 20. Qxf4 Be6 21. Bxe6 Rxe6 22. Qf5!
Not really threatening anything serious for the moment, but the type of move that irritates an opponent to no end. Black will find it necessary to make arrangements before getting any play.
22... Rc8 23. Re4 Kg8 (probably Black wanted to eliminate the invasion of the White Queen on h7 once and for all.) 24. Rfe1 There are now concrete threats, so the next is almost forced.
24...Re7 25. Qxd7! Rxd7 White controls the e-line. But Black is still quite solid. It is impressive the ease with which Charousek makes progress.
26. Re8 Rxe8 27. Rxe8 Kh7 28. Kh2!
In the absence of any Black threats White will simply continue to improve his position. He now intends to advance his King as far as he can into Black's position.
28... g6 29. Kg3!? Charousek seems little concerned about allowing Black to take on h5.
29... Kg7!? Considering what happens, it might not be such a bad idea for Black to take the h-pawn! 30. Kf4 Kf6 31. Re5!
White is absolute master of the position; his active King and Rook are clearly putting pressure on the Black position. The only question is whether it is enough to win.
31... b6 32. Ke4 ! Now Charousek intends to advance his king-side pawns.
32... Rd6 33. f4 !
33... Re6?! In as much as this seems to help White, we can recommend that Black instead play a wait and see game. However, it is always unpleasant to defend such positions! You may not be sure if you are lost, but it is depressing to have to wait for the axe to fall.
34. hxg6 fxg6 35. Kd5! This forces an easily won King and pawn ending.
Rxe5 36. fxe5 Ke7 37. b4 ! This wins a pawn or two, depending on how Black wants to lose.
Another very impressive demonstration of endgame technique!Who was Arved Heinrichsen?
''Arved Heinrichsen was born on 23 November 1876 in Vilno in Poland as the son of German parents. After attending the junior school he entered the Gymnasium secondary school in the town of Riga. After a short stay in St Petersburg he left in 1896 for Berlin to study there at the faculty of Medicine.
In the summer semester of 1898 he continued in his studies at the university in Kiel, but in late summer he began to suffer from health problems. In September 1898 his Berlin doctor diagnosed the beginning of tuberculosis.
The parents sent him, at the doctor's recommendation, to Helouan in Egypt but there he contracted malaria, which undermined his physical strength still more. He spent the rest of his life in summer in his native town, in winter in the sunny south, but without any hope of overcoming his tuberculosis, a fatal disease in those days. He died in the later summer of 1900 in the circle of his family. He was only 23 years old.''
( THE FIRST CONGRESS OF THE CENTRAL ASSOCIATON OF CZECH CHESSPLAYERS: PRAGUE 1905 Author: Vlastimil Fiala Moravian Chess (2006 ))
Charousek R. - Showalter J.
Cologne 1898.
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. Nb5 Nf8 8. c3 a6 9. Na3 f6 10. exf6 Qxf6 11. Nf3 Ng6 12. g3 O-O 13. Bg2 c6 14. O-O e5 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Qxe5 17. Nc2 Nd7 18. f4 Qc7 19. Qd4 Nf6 20. Rae1 Bd7 21. h3 Rae8 22. g4 Rxe1 23. Rxe1 Re8 24. Re5 Be6 25. Ne3 h6 26. Nf1 Nd7 27. Re2 Qb6 28. Qxb6 Nxb6
What can we say about this position? White is a bit better because he has more space and freedom of movement. However, Black is very solid and has no weaknesses. Exactly the type of position that we already know that Charousek excels in! Play proceeds with White and Black both trying to improve their positions.
29. Ne3 a5 (I don't understand this move. However, it is not so bad) 30. Nd1 Kf8 31. Kf2 Bg8 With hindsight, I suppose we should recommend that Black not be in such a rush to exchange his rook, which might be useful in helping him advance his own queen-side pawns.
32. Rxe8 Kxe8 33. f5 Ke7 34. Ke3 Ok, White has made some progress. His King is slightly more active and his king-side majority more of a factor than the Black queen-side majority. But still, it is hard to believe that Black is lost!
34... Nd7 (Again, a bit passive. It was an idea to transfer the knight to d6, starting with a check on c4) 35. Kf4 Kf6 36. h4
36... g5?! White is going to advance his majority anyway, so why create a weakness on h6?
37. fxg6 Kxg6 38. Bh3 Be6 39. Nf2 b5 40. a3 c5
J.Showalter was one of the strongest American masters of his generation
After playing so quietly for so long, Black decides to get active, but infact only makes things easier for Charousek! As we shall soon see, this mvoe (c5) creates weaknesses that will soon be exploited.
41. Bf1! (Perhaps Showalter underestimated this obvious move) 41... b4 42. axb4 axb4 43. cxb4 cxb4 44. Bb5!
Now Black is in real trouble and his position goes downhill from now on. It is impressive the simplicity of Charousek's play, and it reminds me a great deal of Karpov and Fischer at their best.
44... Nf6 45. Be2 Nd7 46. Nd3 b3 47. Ne5 Kf6 48. g5 hxg5 49. hxg5 Kg7 50. Nxd7 Bxd7
In just a few short moves Black has found himself dead lost, despite having equal material. His b-pawn will prove to be untenable, and his dark squares are at the mercy of the White King!
51. Bd3! This fine move prevents the Black King from attacking the White g-pawn 51... Bh3 52. Ke5 Bg2 53. Bf5!
I give the rest of the moves without comment. None is needed! For a machine like Charousek the result is not in doubt...
53... Bf3 54. Be6 Kg6 55. Bxd5 Bd1 56. Kf4 Bc2 57. Be4 Kg7 58. Ke3 Bd1 59. Bd3 Bg4 60. Kd4 Be6 61. Bc4 Bg4 62. Bxb3 Kg6 63. Bd5 Kxg5 64. b4 Bd7 65. Ke5 Bb5 66. Kd6 Kf6 67. Kc5 Bd7 68. Bc6 Bc8 69. b5 Ke7 70. Kb6 Kd8 71. Ka7 Kc7 72. Bg2 Kd8 73. b6 [1:0]
I am very impressed with Charousek's endgame skill! It is not so much a question of him being an excellent technician, but instead of how easy and instructive Charousek makes it seem to beat really strong players with only the slightest of advantages. In this respect he very much reminds me of Fischer and Karpov at their best.
I suppose , however, Charousek's tactical skills and combinations are what most remember of the young genius. Euwe compared him with Morphy! His opening understanding and keen sight of the board are similar to the American genius'. However, some differences exist. Especially, most of Morphy's adversaries were not as strong as Charousek's adversaries. And then there is the fact that most of Morphy's fame came from his match play, and Charousek's fame was from his brilliant tournament successes.Regardless of this, I consider such comparisons pointless. They were both great players.
The Cologne tournament was to be the last of Charousek's career. It was clear that he had tuberculosis, and the best Hungarian doctors could do nothing to stop it. With the limited potential of 19th century medicine, the best that could be done was to extend Charousek's life for another year. In April 1900 Charousek died from a severe internal hemorrhage in one of his lungs. He was 27 years old. His chess career had lasted only 2 years and 1 month!
Reti would later write:
''It was in his nature to strive for realizing his ideas. He completely forgot about the enemy, thinking only of his own visions. Sometimes , he hit a dead end, but at other times he found a weak spot and used it. His play left such an impression, always simple and straightforward. Actually, it was so elegant and simple, that no one else could imitate his style.''
NOTE OF TUBERCULOSIS: Tuberculosis, or "consumption" as it was commonly known, caused the most widespread public concern in the 19th and early 20th centuries as an endemic disease of the urban poor. In 1815, one in four deaths in England was of consumption; by 1918 one in six deaths in France were still caused by TB. In the 20th century, tuberculosis killed an estimated 100 million people. (wikipedia)
FROM CHAROUSEK'S GAMES
Charousek vs Richter, Berlin 1897White to play and win
Charousek vs Oliver Lehner, Budapest 1897White to play and win
Charousek vs Makovetz, Budapest 1895White to play and win
Charousek vs Amos Burns, Cologne 1898White to play and win
Charousek vs G. Exner, Budapest 1896 
