The first day of CIP at Clementi Primary School last Wednesday, proved, to say the least, wet and messy. A dark gloomy sky which soon broke out into furious patters (quite understated already) of raindrops gave us quite an ominous welcome. I must say our party didn't seem at the least pleased by this sudden change of events; our faces turned black to match the sky too. Ironically, just a while ago, we were lamenting the scorching hot sun which had caused columns of sweat to trickle down our overheated heads. Anyway, description of the weather aside, we got to Clementi Pri safe and sound, save some soggy shoes and drenched skirts (esp. Hanyu and Jeslin). We then got down to work, after a most reminiscent lecturing of the pri school kids by the teacher in charge Mr Wong Oon Hua. It was indeed quite a heart-warming experience (hopefully this sentiment is shared) to teach the little kids, some of whom were really enthusiastic. However, it seems that my team and I pitched our lesson notes at too high a level. Apparently, Intchess spent 20 lessons (free money!?) teaching them how to move and a little little bit of algebraic notation. Comparatively, we had planned to teach the beginners pins and skewers and forks and the other tactics in 4 lessons, after factoring in the moving of pieces etc.! Really quite ambitious, and probably quite bad for Intchess as some of their potential customers have been snatched. Oh, and CIP tomorrow again, hopefully the turnout would be just as good and students do not decide to boycott our programme!
At this juncture, I should entreat to make my title relevant. Well, while preparing advanced level stuff for the CIP, Jeslin suggested focusing on middlegame and we proceeded to do just that. Researching for 5 hours starting from midnight, I managed to complete a draft of the lesson, which included Nimzowitsch's famous principle of "Overprotection", incoporated into a section which involved the placing of pieces.
While doing my homework on Overprotection, I found the composition below. Taking a cursory look at it and being stunned by its utter nonsensical play, I deemed it simply as a light-hearted analogy of Overprotection by the great master himself- Aron Nimzowitsch, who expounded continuously on this principle throughout his famous book "My System". However, upon further clarification from Weiming (see tagboard) I came to the realisation that it was actually a parody! Did more research instead of doing my long overdue Maths Assignment and found out that it was in fact composed by a certain Hans Kmoch (not so sure about the Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy thing, think they just used this parody). Apparently, he had just lost a game to Nimzowitsch where Nimzowitsch played the opening and middlegame in most unorthodox style, moving his king countless times but managing to garner the full point after an amazing rook sac in the ending for 4 connected passed pawns. (see
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1102423) He then created this masterpiece as a parody, making a joke out of Nimzowitsch's pet theory of Overprotection. Indeed, he uses such a condescending tone that is hardly typical of Nimzowitsch in his book. In this composition, Hans Kmoch demonstrates Nimzowitsch winning yet again with this overexaggerated use of Overprotection, even to the extent of compromising the position of his pieces and going against all other opening principles (such as castling king into safety). You'll probably find this piece "crazy", which will be no surprise as even Fritz's wrath is incurred, being unable to condone such moves and is literally screaming for a move to punish the complacent Nimzowitsch. So just sit back and relax! Enjoy! =)
P.S.: Take all the composer's notations at face value...especially since he meant it as a joke. I seriously do not believe that 2. h4 deserves a (!), although a certain Fide Trainer Olimpiu might disagree, and play it on a regular basis.
Nimzovich – Systemsson
Composition Copenhagen, 19271.e4 AN INGENIOUS EXAMPLE OF MY SYSTEM by Aaron Nimzowitsch - Anderssen started the sacrificial style, Morphy and Gruenfeld the pure attacking style, Steinitz the positional style, Tarrasch the scientific style, Lasker the style of styles, Capablanca the mechanical style, Alekhine a style as brilliant as sunlight. But it is a generally known fact that originality and modernism were introduced by me as my own personal inventions and enthusiastically imitated (without being fully understood) by the whole world of chess. For the ridiculously small sum of ten marks, the reader can confirm all this in my monumental work, My System, published by B. Kagan. Before my time, chess was so naive and undistinguished! One or two brutal opening moves, each one involving a vulgar, obvious threat, a common, banal sacrifice, a painfully elementary, bestially raw checkmate - such, more or less, was the course of chess games before my heyday set in. Then I appeared on the scene and the chess world paid heed. The hegemony of matter was shattered at a stroke and the era of the spiritual began. Under my creative guidance, the chessmen, hitherto nothing but highwaymen, pirates and butcher boys, became sensitive artists and subtle instruments of immeasurable profundity. But why waste words !--accompany me, dear reader to the dizzy heights of the following game.
1...e6 2.h4!
My very oldest and latest thought in this opening. To the chess addict nurtured on spineless convention, this move comes like a slap in the face--but calm down, dear reader; after all, you cannot be expected to understand such moves. (Forgive me - it is not your fault, until now no one has opened your eyes and ears.) Wait just a little while, and there will pass before you a miracle of overprotection of more than earthly beauty. (I assume that I rightly surmise that you are quite familiar with my great theory of overprotection.)
2...d5 Black of course has no suspicion of What is coming and continues serenely in classical style.
3.e5! A move of elemental delicacy. (We detest, as a matter of principle, such words as "power" and "strength"; in the first place, such banal expressions make us uncomfortable; and, in the second place, we like even less the brutalizing tendency which such words imply.) Wherein lies the beauty of 3.e5? Why is this move so strong? The answer is as simple as it is astonishing. The move is strong because it is weak! Weak, that is, only in the traditional sense! In reality, that is to say, it is not the move but the Pawn on e5 that is weak--a tremendous difference! In former times, it is true, it was customary to reject any move which created a weakness. Today, thanks to me, this view is obsolete. For, look, my dear reader, the fact that the Pawn on e5 is weak obliges White to protect the Pawn more and more until at last the state of overprotection arises as it were of itself. But, as we have seen (cf. My System), overprotection is practically equivalent to victory. Hence it follows automatically that the "weak" move, 3.e5, is a certain road to triumph. The rest is more or less a matter of technique.
3...c5 All according to a famous precedent.
4.d4 Here it is quite clear that it is more profitable for White first to provoke c5 and then play d4, rather than the other way round, which is the customary course. For, if White first plays d4, there follows c5 and White's d-pawn is under attack. But my clever transposition of moves changes the situation completely. For now Black's c-pawn is suddenly attacked by White's d-pawn!
4...cxd4 What else can Black do?
5.h5! All very clever, original and decisive! Of course the ordinary run of people who envy my every spark of genius but cannot follow my line of reasoning for even three paces, outdo themselves in sneering at me with the poison-dripping epithet, "bizarre." The text move creates confusion in the whole Black army and prepares for the annihilating invasion by the Queen 18 moves later.
5...Qb6 Naturally not 5...Nc6 6 Bb5! etc. Why should Black play the French Defence only to allow the Ruy Lopez Bishop move after all?!
6.h6! An avaricious dullard would never hit on this deeply conceived Pawn sacrifice.
6...Nxh6 After 6...gxh6, White has an even more comfortable game.
7.Qh5!
The reason for this becomes clear after next move.
7...g6 Black threatens to begin a successful siege of the weakling at e5 with Bg7. But White forestalls this.
8.Qh2! To every fair-minded observer, this move must come as a revelation! All the previous manoeuvres now become clear! White has completed his development brilliantly and proceeds to overprotect e5. Against this, Black is helpless.
8...Nf5 9.Bd3 Note the splendid cooperation of White's forces: while the e-pawn and the King Bishop completely blockade Black's position, the development of the overprotective forces takes place behind the broad backs of these sturdy blockaders.
9...Nc6 10.Nf3
As a rule this is a routine move. But here it is strikingly original and as such occupies a place in the treasury of my intellectual property.
10...h5 Old stuff!
11.b4 A deep trap, as will soon become apparent!
11...Bg7 How Black must have rejoiced when he anticipated his formidable opponent in the occupation of the long diagonal. But...
12.Bf4!
...how bitterly disappointed he must have been to realize that 11.b4 had only been a trap and Bb2 had not been intended at all. The position of Black's Bishop at g7 is now quite pointless. 11...Be7 would have been relatively better.
12...Bd7 13.Nbd2 Rc8 Black no longer has any
good moves!
14.Ke2!
Again, an extraordinarily deep move. White sees through Black's plans, and in addition he prepares a particularly powerful continuation of his strategy of overprotection.
14...Nxb4 Just what White was waiting for.
15.Ne1! This was the point of his previous move! Black is now forced to exchange off the attacking Bishop at d3. But, with that, even White's King Knight enters the fray with fearful effect at d3, while the square f3 becomes available to the Queen Knight. Surely a grandiose piece of strategy. The fact is that I'm a marvellous player, even if the whole chess world bursts with envy.
15...Nxd3 16.Nxd3! Naturally not 16 cxd3? which would have been quite inconsistent. The Pawn on c2 is unimportant, and Black only wastes precious time by capturing it.
16...Rxc2 17.Rae1! White continues his overprotection without much ado.
17...a5 This counterattack has no punch. Black would naturally like to get a passed Pawn plus a Rook on the seventh, but it is too late for that.
18.Kd1!
Now the menaced Rook must scurry back, for capture on a2 would be much too dangerous.
18...Rc6! At last, Black gets the right idea: overprotecting his Pawn at e6. But it is already too late.
19.Re2 Ke7 Introduced into tournament play by myself. See note to White's 14th move.
The King overprotects e6.
20.Rhe1
20... Re8! 21.Nf3!
Completing the overprotection of e5 and thus deciding the fate of the game. Black has no defence. Note the aesthetic effect created by White's position.
21...Bf8 Now Black threatens to complete the overprotection of e6 by playing Ng7. But White has prepared a brilliant combination.
22.g4! Much stronger than the obvious Bg5+ etc.
22...hxg4 23.Qh7! Now one clearly realizes the masterly understanding of position which went into White's eighth move (Qh2!).
23...gxf3 Had Black continued overprotecting by 23...Ng7 there would have followed 24.Bg5+ f6 25.Bxf6+ Kf7 26.Ng5 mate. Black's basic error was that he started overprotecting much too late.
24.Bg5#
One of my best games! I am proud of it if only because Herr Systemsson is one of the strongest Scandinavian players. The game made an overwhelming impression on the players and spectators as well as on my opponent. The game has become famous in Denmark as "the immortal overprotection game."
1–0
Oh, and one more interesting thing i found: The Biography of Systemsson, Nimzowitsch's opponent in this composition! (source:
http://www.chessgames.com/)
SYSTEMSSON(born Feb-29-1900, died Apr-01-1979) Ireland (citizen of Sweden)
Zoltan Arpod Ulf Min Systemsson IV was born February 29, 1900, in Dublin. Before he learned to speak, he had moved into Sweden and thus had learned Swedish as his native language. At the age of six he had learned how to play and his talents were immediately realized. He began to win many tournaments and soon rose among the ranks of Sweden's best players. Unlike many of the world's top players, he continued to advance even through World War One. His career took a turn in 1921 after a severe case of depression as a result of his father dying in a tragic train crash, but he perservered. His career continued until his most famous game was played in 1927 against the marvellous player Aron Nimzowitsch. He lost, but he continued to play actively in Sweden until he retired in 1956. His efforts were celebrated until his death in 1979, as a result of a fatal stroke.
**There is, in fact, no real player named Systemsson. This biography is a joke and is a testament to the joke player that is Systemsson. His game against Aron Nimzowitsch in 1927 is the only game in the www.chessgames.com database and it is a fabrication devised as an April Fool's joke. We hope you laughed at it. LOL! Hope you had fun! Oh anyway for those who got lost.. As I mentioned earlier, Nimzowitsch wrote this book called "My System". So "System_Son" could be a kind of a taunt right at his face! Not quite subtle, is it? Well, the things people do! =) Apparently my co-author is quite disgusted at this article. Maybe I shall post something less controversial next time!
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