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CCLA Portraits
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The following column was originally published in the May-June 1997 issue of The Chess Correspondent, Vol. 70, No. 3. |
Wesley "Ted" BrandhorstTed (as Wesley Theodore Brandhorst prefers to be called by his friends) has already been briefly profiled in Bryce Avery's March-April 1996 The Postal Warrior when he won the 1994 Maryland CC Championship. Let me therefore, fill in a few further details and then let Ted speak for himself in his own words and through his games. Ted is 63, and has been happily married to Jane Smythe for 35 years. They have two children, Tristan, 31 and Thea, 27 and one grandchild Sienna born in November 1995 (Thea's first). It seems Thea and I have something in common; both of us are graduates from the University of Maryland, she in Psychology, while I graduated with a Bsc. in Biology. Tristan was just awarded his Phd in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin. Ted also boasts of having a dog named Maggie, performing under her "stage" name "magic maggie" in frisbee-catching tournaments. Jane took on the challenge of training her. Now Ted: "I grew up in California on the Monterey, Peninsula, graduated from Carmel High School and the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating from the Library School in 1957, I came east to work at the Library of Congress. My years there were key to the rest of my career in the information field. Between 1962 and 1969, I served as Assistant Director of the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Facility, with responsibility for about 150 people. Since 1970 I have been Director of the ERIC Processing and Reference Facility, the centralized database processor for the U.S. Department of Education's Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). The facility is operated on contract by Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). My present plans are to retire and spend more time writing some books (both fiction and non-fiction). "I learned chess in high school and at first it defeated me. I lost to everybody. In college, I vowed to get better and focused on chess for a six-month stretch from which I achieved some kind of conceptual breakthrough. After that intense period, I seemed to finally "understand" the game. While in college I used to solve chess problems in contests run by George Koltnowski in his San Francisco Chronicle chess column. I still have the book prizes won in those years. To this day I prefer problems to play and love to manipulate a game into a problem-like or study-like position. In the 1970s I briefly engaged in composing some construction tasks that were lucky enough to be published in the British Chess Magazine(e.g., the shortest game that interchanges the position of the white and black pawns; the shortest game to achieving all pieces/pawns on the same color squares, etc.) But composing has gotten so erudite and sophisticated that now I generally prefer correspondence play for mental recreation. "Before I was married, I played for the Library of Congress Chess Team and in local tournaments, but after my family started (1965) I had no time for tournaments. After a hiatus of a decade, I gravitated to correspondence chess play in 1975 (USCF) and after a typically slow start, seem to have gotten the knack. Since 1975, I have completed 142 correspondence games (81 wins, 52 draws, 9 loses). Two of my loses were due to clerical errors, certainly a discouraging factor at the start of most correspondence chess careers. My playing style is usually conservative and safe, resulting in a high percentage of draws, but few loses. Every now and then I break the mold and try a risky line, but it always seems a bit like a binge. I like to head toward the endgame as fast as I can, where I feel more comfortable with my problem-solving background. The esthetics of chess fascinates me. I find beauty in certain patterns, positions, and relationships on the chess board. I ponder the links between mathematics, music, art and chess. I am both proud of my chess abilities, and embarrassed by the time I spend, in a pursuit that is paradoxically both profound and trivial." Ted may question the wisdom of spending ones time engrossed in solving the myriad of problems that chess poses, but we are all glad that he chooses to do so, otherwise we would be deprived of the kinds of games he capable of creating for our enjoyment. |
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White: Ted Brandhorst
"Shipman was the highest rated player I had ever played against." |
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6!? What is this? I found out later it is called the Black Knights Tango, but by the time I got the booklet on it, the game was nearly over. (No doubt Black was trying to throw White a curve ball early in the game, to gain some psychological advantage, however, White keeps his cool , RPM.) 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Ne7 5.e4 Ng6 A lot of Black power on the kingside. This turns out to be very dangerous and White must be extremely cautious. (It took a little doing, but I found this listed in the ECO as A40, RPM.) 6.Nge2 (Diagram) |
Brandhorst - Shipman
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Not covered by the booklet I finally acquired on the Tango. (This move does appear to be new. ECO gives the main line as: 6.Be3 Bb4 7.f3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 d6 9.c5 0-0 10.Ne2 Nd7 11.cxd6 cxd6 12.Qd2 Qc7 13.c4 f5 {13...Nc5!?}14.exf5 Nh4 15.Nc3 +/=, analysis by Pachman. The text appears to be preparation for an eventual f4, but strangely enough, White never advances the f-pawn. On 6.h4! we have 6...Bc5 7.h5 Nf8 8.h6 gxh6 9.Bxh6 Rg8 10.Nh3 Ng4 11.Bd2 d6 12.Qe2! c6 13.0-0-0 cxd5 14.exd5! f5 15.f3 Nf6 16.Bg5 Bd7 17.f4 Qe7?! 18.fxe5 dxe5 19.d6 Qe6 20.Nf4 exf4 21.Qxe6+ Nxe6 22.Bxf6 Rg6 23.Nd5 Kf7 24.Rh7+ 1-0, Bloch-Vlasov, Russian CC Championship, 1991/92, CCYB 6/31, RPM.) 6...Bc5 7.Ng3 d6 (With the threat of ...Ng4!, RPM.) 8.Be2 h5 (Black is playing very aggressively, but White is more than up to the defensive challenge, RPM.) |
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9.Bg5! Nf4 10.Bf3!? (Diagram) (If 10.Bxf4 exf4: a) 11.Nxh5? Nxh5 12.Bxh5 Qh4! and White loses a piece, b)11.Nf1?! Ng4! 12.Bxg4 hxg4! and I prefer Black, however c)11.Nf5!? seems unclear to me. White's choice, although, conservative is a solid one, and White still maintains the pin on the knight, RPM.) 10...Bg4 11.0-0 Castling into it. But little alternative. 11...Qd7 12.Bxg4 Got to relieve the pressure. 12...Nxg4?! In light of what befalls Black, both 12...hxg4 and 12...Qxg4 were preferable to the text, RPM.) 13.Qf3! (White keeps coming up with good moves, RPM) 13...h4?! (Diagram) (Again better was 13...Nh6 with the idea of ....f6 to follow. Of course Black has been in an attack mode from the start. It's very difficult when you are in the heat of things to suddenly change direction and head for safer ground, but in my opinion that's exactly what Black should have done. With the text Black drops a pawn and then a second, in the vain hope that there is still enough play for a successful attack. Unfortunately, White soon turns the table, RPM) 14.Nf5 g6 15.Qxg4 gxf5 16.exf5 Kf8 (Diagram) |
Brandhorst - Shipman
Brandhorst - Shipman
Brandhorst - Shipman
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(This move baffles me. Apparently it was played to make room for the Queen Rook. I think Black is already positionally lost at this point. Notice how the Bishop keeps Black's King from castling to safety and connecting the rooks!, RPM) 17.Bxf4 exf4 18.h3! An essential defensive interpolation to stop h3. |
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18...Bd4 19.Qxf4 Be5 20.Qf3 f6 21.Rfe1 Re8 22.Re4 Re7 23.Rae1 Rh7 24.Ne2 White has been waiting to be able to bring this knight to bear. Black is now lost. 24...Rg8 25.Nf4 Bxf4 A sad necessity. 26.Qxf4 Rhg7 (Diagram) |
After: 26. ... Rhg7 |
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Looks potent, but White now applies the coup de grace to the exposed Black King. 27.Qh6! 1-0 Ted's professed endgame prowess is clearly demonstrated in the following game and against one of the CCLA strongest and seasoned players! |
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White: Paul L. Thompson
"I have seen Paul's name in Bulletin after Bulletin. I knew he was a veteran master and would be very tough to contend with." 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 b6 7.0-0 Bb7 (Diagram) "This is a very sound system for Black. White has no aggressive methods of treating this system and the game is of a positional character." {Talbut & Keene}, RPM. |
After: 7. ... Bb7 |
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8.a3 (8.cxd5 exd5 9.Ne5 Bd6 10.f4 c5 11.Qf3 Nc6 12.Bd2 cxd4 13.Nxc6 Bxc6 14.exd4 Qd7 15.f5 Rfe8 16.Bf4 Ne4 17.Bxd6 Qxd6 18.Bxe4 dxe4 19.Qe3 f6 20.d5 Bd7 21.Rad1 Re5 22.g4!? {Given as slightly better for White by Bryne & Mednis in Inf 33/691. Garcia Palermo-Karpov, Mar del Plata continued 22.Nxe4?! Qb4! 23.Rd4 Qxb2 24.Rf2 Qb1 25.Rf1 Qc2 26.Rf2 Qb1 27.Rf1 Qb5?! {27...Qc2 =} and 1-0 in 57.} 22...Qb4 23.Rf2 Rc8 24.Rd4 Rc4 25.Rxc4 Qxc4 26.Rf4?! {I felt 26.Rd2!? was a better try.} 26...h5 27.h3 hxg4 28.hxg4 Bb5! and the game is equal, - in a few more moves, E. Liebowitz-R.Marconi, APTB Master tournament 23 - CHECK! #480 July/August 1989, RPM) 8...Bxc3+ (8...Bd6!? is an alternative, but Ted is being true to his style, heading for simplifications, towards the endgame, RPM.) 9.bxc3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nc6 11.Bd3!? (Preparing to advance the e-pawn and in anticipation of a possible ...Na5. 11.Re1 is more often encountered with the same aim, RPM.) |
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11...Ne7! 12.Re1 Be4!? (Diagram) Let's get rid of White's best piece. 13.Ng5 (13.Bf1!?, preserving the bishop was worth a try in my opinion, RPM.) 13...Bxd3 14.Qxd3 c5!? Trading a weak pawn for a center pawn. 15.e4 (And White finally achieves the thematic e4, RPM.) 15...h6 16.Nf3 Qc7 17.e5 Nd7 18.a4 Ng6 19.Ba3 Qc6 Taking control of a critical diagonal. |
Thompson - Brandhorst
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20.a5 Rfc8 (After 20...bxa5?, White would have sufficient compensation in the form of pressure against c5 and the weakened queenside pawn structure, RPM.) 21.axb6 axb6 22.Qe3 Ra4 (The position looks dynamically equal, RPM.) 23.Bb2 b5 Get play going on the queenside before White has a chance for kingside mischief. 24.Rxa4 (This exchange proves to be White's undoing, but it's quite understandable, RPM.) |
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24....bxa4 (Diagram) This pawn becomes worth its weight in gold. 25.Ba3 cxd4 26.cxd4 Qb5 27.Nd2 Rc2 28.g3 Luft! 28...Qd5 29.Ne4 Rc4 30.Bb2 Rb4 31.Bc3 Rb3 32.Nd2 Ra3 Not the ideal place for the rook, but sometimes positions call for breaking the usual rules. 33.Rc1 Ne7 Must reposition the knights to get anywhere. 34.Qf4 Ra2 35.Ne4 Nf5 36.Ba1 Qb3 37.d5! White makes his move! Can Black hold him off and then use the passer? 37...g5 (Diagram) Of course 37...Qxd5? would lose the exchange, RPM.) 38.dxe6!? gxf4! (And the rest is pure fireworks and superb endgame technique. I'll leave it up to you to find if White had better moves, RPM.) 39.exd7 Qb6 40.Rc8+ Kh7 41.d8(Q) Qb1+ Black foresaw this. 42.Kg2 Qxe4+ 43.Kh3 Ng7 With this move and the queen covering c6, Black is ok. So the white rook goes for b6 44.Rb8 Qf5+ 45.g4 Ra3+ 46.f3 Rxf3+ To draw the rook away from the bishop. |
Thompson - Brandhorst
Thompson - Brandhorst
Thompson - Brandhorst
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47.Kh4 Qe6 48.Bd4 Rb3 49.Qh8+ Kg6 50.Qf8 f5 51.Rxb3 axb3 52.Qf6+ Qxf6 53.exf6 Ne6 54.Bc3 Nc5 55.gxf5 Kxf5 0-1 (Diagram) The knight can stop the white f-pawn, but the bishop can't stop both the black b-pawn and f-pawn; a win hanging on the thread of a single tempo. One of the best games I've ever played. |
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Finally another display of endgame ability.
White: Richard D. Murphy
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 The line favored by David Taylor. 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 c6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bc4 Bf5 7.Bd2 e6 8.Qe2 Bb4 9.Ne5 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 Nxe5 11.dxe5 12.Bxd5 exd5 13.a3 (Diagram) Inviting a known attack. Has he something new in mind? 13...Bxa3 14.bxa3 Qxa3+ 15.Kb1 Qb3+ 16.Ka1 Bxc2 17.Rb1 This is the new move. Black plays for a piece against 3 pawns. 17...Bxb1 18.Rxb1 Qa3+ This is new territory. 19.Na2 Qe7 Better defend the king and its flock of pawns. How many can we save? 20.Bb4 Qe6 21.Bd6 Rd8 22.Qb2 Rxd6 (Diagram) The defining moment. The bishop stops castling and is like a knife in the vitals. It must go, no matter what the pawn cost. 23.exd6 0-0 24.Qc3 Qxd6 25.Rxb7 Qxh2 (Diagram) The picture gets clearer. White picks up the queenside pawns. Black picks up the kingside pawns. Play will consist of the kingside pawns against the extra piece. White's king will have to dodge checks en route back to the kingside. There is no defending the queenside pawns, so Black lets them go and uses the time to set up on the kingside. Luckily there are no white queenside pawns. |
Murphy - Brandhorst
Murphy - Brandhorst
Murphy - Brandhorst
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26.Qg3 Qxg3 27.fxg3 h5 28.Nb4 Re8 29.Nxc6 Re1+ 30.Kb2 Re2+ 31.Kc3 Rxg2 32.Ne7+ Kh8 33.Kd3 Rxg3+ 34.Ke2 g6 35.Nxd5 Kg7 36.Rxa7 Rg5 37.Ne3 Re5 38.Kf2 g5 39.Kf3 Kg6 40.Ra6+ f6 41.Ng2 Rb5 42.Ra3 Rb6 43.Kg3 Rb4 44.Kh2 h4 45.Ra6 Rb3 46.Nxh4 (Diagram) Instead of waiting for the pawns to descend inexorably, White opts to create the most difficult endgame known in chess: K+R vs. K+R isolated f and h pawns. This ending is best covered in Averbakh's Comprehensive Chess Endings. White must play perfectly in order to avoid loss. A tall order. 46...gxh4 47.Ra4 Kg5 48.Kg2 Rg3+ 49.Kf2 f5 50.Ra8 Rb3 51.Kg2 Kg4 52.Rg8+ Kf4 53.Ra8 h3+ 54.Kh2 Re3 55.Ra4+ (Diagram) Already not the best. Giving Black hope for the crucial mistake. 55. ... Kg5 56.Ra8 f4 57.Rg8+ Kf5 58.Rf8+ Kg4 59.Rg8+ Kf3 60.Rf8 Ke4 61.Ra8 Kd3 62.Ra4 Rf3 63.Ra3+ Ke4 64.Ra4+ Kf5 65.Ra8 Re3 66.Rf8+ Kg4 67.Rg8+ Kf3 68.Rf8 Re1 69.Ra8 Kf2 70.Kxh3 Re3+ 71.Kh2 Kf1 72.Ra1+ Re1 73.Ra4+? f3 0-1 (Diagram) (For the benefit of those who might need convincing that this is indeed won for Black here is a sample continuation: 74.Ra3 f2 75.Ra2 Re7 76.Kg3 Rf7 77.Kh2 Ke1 78.Ra1+ Ke2 79.Ra2+ {79.Kg2 Rg7+ - +}Ke3 + - eg. 80.Ra3+ Kc4 81.Ra4+ Kb3, RPM.) This is the second longest CC game I've ever played. During the last 28 moves I lived in Averbakh's reference tome. If my opponent had had access to the same volume, he would probably have drawn. |
After: 46. Nxh4
After: 55. Ra4+
After: 73. ... f3 0-1 |
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(Special note: Ted won his preliminary section in the 12th USCCC 12P09 with an undefeated 10/12 score, apparently on tie-breaks against another noted CCLA master Dr. Christine Rosenfield, who also scored 10/12. This qualifies Ted to play in the prestigious 12Th USCCC Final, which should begin sometime this year or in early 1998. We certainly want to wish him all the best in this event.) |