SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Good morning Sunday! Today's puzzle is all about command of the board: diagonal and horizontal checks. First look at the position might give the impression that the game is a dead draw: the White King is out of it; White has no pawns; the Black King is safe since the position is open and the White Queen and Knight are not yet coordinated.
But as we know with Troitzky problems, nothing is ever as simple as it looks at first sight! In a completely open and barren position, the White Queen and Knight are able to perform magic. Are you up to the challenge? How good are you at calculating? White to play and win. Good luck!
Troitzky (1866-1942)
TODAYS CHESS COMBINATIONS
(FROM GM E.ELISKASES)
1
White Mates in 7. Eliskases vs Siegfried Wolf, 1935
2
Eliskases vs Andre Muffang, Warsaw, 1935
Eliskases vs Andre Muffang, Warsaw, 1935WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
3 
Eliskases vs George Thomas, Hastings, 1936
Eliskases vs George Thomas, Hastings, 1936WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
4
Eliskases vs Massimiliano Romi, Munich, 1936WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
5
5
Eliskases vs Karel Treybal, Podebrady, 1936 WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
6
Eliskases vs Pablo Michel, Bad Elster, 1938
WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
Erich Gottlieb Eliskases (February 15, 1913 - February 2, 1997) was a leading chess Grandmaster, of the 1930s and 1940s who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition.
Born in Innsbruck, Austro-Hungarian Empire, he learned chess at the age of 12 and quickly showed a startling aptitude for the game, winning the Schlechter chess club championship in his first year at the club, aged just 14. At 15, he was the Tyrolean Champion and at 16, joint winner of the Austrian Championship.
His college education in Innsbruck and Vienna centred on business studies. It was chess, though, that captured his imagination and he had exceptional results at the Olympiads of 1930, 1933 and 1935. When Germany and Austria merged, he twice won the German national championship at Bad Oeynhausen in 1938 and 1939.
He played under the German flag at the 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad and this coincided with the outbreak of World War II, when Eliskases (along with many other players) decided to stay in Argentina (and for a while in Brazil) rather than return to the scene of the conflict.
Brazilian authorities threatened to intern and expel Eliskases as they had severed all links with Nazi Germany. Some Brazilian chess enthusiasts helped Eliskases avoid that fate by hiring him as a chess teacher. After some years in the wilderness, when he struggled to make a living, he eventually became a naturalised Argentine citizen and represented his new country at the Olympiads of 1952, 1958, 1960 and 1964.FIDE awarded Eliskases the titles of International Master and Grandmaster in 1950 and 1952, respectively.
Towards the end of the 1930s, along with Keres and Capablanca, Eliskases was regarded as a third potential contender for a World Championship encounter with Alexander Alekhine. Indeed, Alekhine spoke out in favour of a match with the Austrian, who had ingratiated himself as the champion's second during his title defence with Max Euwe in 1937.
However, Eliskases' defection to South America was badly timed, as documentary evidence later showed that the Nazi regime had scheduled him a 1941 match with the World Champion, but due to circumstances, had subsequently abandoned the idea.
It can nevertheless be seen that Eliskases would have made a worthy challenger; he was one of very few masters and certainly the only Austrian to have beaten three world champions (Capablanca, Euwe and Fischer). Indeed, he had a plus score against Euwe (3-2), and even scores against Capablanca (2-2) and Fischer (1-1). Eliskases' critics may have pointed to the impressive credentials of Keres, his main rival, but the Estonian too had twice fallen victim to Eliskases in tournament play.
He carried on playing through the 1950s, 60s and even into the 70s but his results were less convincing. He married the Argentinian María Esther Almeda in 1954 and had a son, Carlos Enrico. In 1976 he and his wife ventured back to the Austrian Tyrol, but the couple failed to settle and returned to Córdoba.
Eliskases was also a strong correspondence player and his notes showed that he scored over 75 percent during his most active period.He was considered an expert in the endgame - in fact it was at Semmering in 1937, that he outplayed and beat Capablanca in the endgame phase, despite this being a major forte of the Cuban ex-world champion. (wikipedia)
