chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing
Geza Maroczy / Robert Rollans vs Viktor Korchnoi
"Soul Mate" (game of the day Jun-23-2016)
Spiritualist Exhibition game (1985) (exhibition), ?, Jun-15
French Defense: Winawer. Poisoned Pawn Variation Paoli Variation (C18)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

explore this opening
find similar games 4,871 more games of Korchnoi
PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: You can get computer analysis by clicking the "ENGINE" button below the game.

PGN Viewer:  What is this?
For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.
PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

A COMPUTER ANNOTATED SCORE OF THIS GAME IS AVAILABLE.  [CLICK HERE]

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 4 ·  Later Kibitzing>
May-19-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: I know that people have lost games by dying, but by what agency did Maroczy register 0-1 in this partie?
Jun-23-16  andrewjsacks: A spirited contest indeed.
Jun-23-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  Phony Benoni: Alas, Maroczy was but a ghost of his former self.
Jun-23-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: What's Maroczy doing playing modern chess theory? The position after 11...Nbc6 did not appear until 1963.
Jun-23-16  Elrathia Kingi: 48.b4 Ke1 and either 49.b5 Kd1 and the c pawn can't be stopped, or 49.Kc2 Ke2 and the d pawn can't be stopped.
Jun-23-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sneaky: <What's Maroczy doing playing modern chess theory? The position after 11...Nbc6 did not appear until 1963.> What makes you think he wasn't looming over the board watching F Kuijpers vs N Padevsky, 1963? For all we know he whispered ideas to Padevksy to help him win :)
Jun-23-16  The Kings Domain: The strangest Chess game known to man. One wonders whether it's really Maroczy or some passing entity who tricked the humans and used some universal Chess database to get his moves. It didn't work, but it's interesting nonetheless.

And why did the game take so long to finish?

Jun-23-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  alexmagnus: Well, if there was some cheating involved, I hope the cheater confesses some day. Whoever supplied Maroczy's moves must have been quite a strong player.
Jun-23-16  morfishine: Quality wise, medium level at best
Jun-23-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: <Phony Benoni: The first occurrence of <10.Kd1> in our database comes from 1961, which was ten years after Maroczy's death.

I find this very troubling. Here I always thought The Afterlife was a realm of eternal rest and peace. And now you're telling me I'll have to spend it studying opening theory?>

Eternity is very long and quite boring matter. Trying to keep pace with new opening theory can be a good way to kill time....:-D

Jun-23-16  TheTamale: It would be a lot more tempting to believe in the validity of Maroczy's spiritual presence had the game not taken place over the course of seven years.
Jun-23-16  kevin86: When the ghost resigned, what did he give up: himself?
Jun-23-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  AylerKupp: <TheTamale> What did you expect? Back in 1985 they did not have fast Internet connections.
Jun-23-16  DPLeo: <TheTamale: It would be a lot more tempting to believe in the validity of Maroczy's spiritual presence had the game not taken place over the course of seven years.>

I was wondering why Maroczy's flag didn't fall myself but then I realized when one is playing from eternity, time constraints are irrelevant.

Jun-23-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  Jimfromprovidence: Maroczy can get his rematch now, without the medium as a "middle-man"!
Jun-23-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  piltdown man: A dead rubber.
Mar-04-19  whiteshark: Where they are now, they no longer need a medium to play a game of chess.

I imagine <Gerry> as a kibitzer...

Aug-31-19  amadeus: Too bad Korchnoi didn't get Capablanca :)

This game was arranged by Wolfgang Eisenbeiss, a chess enthusiast and president of the Swiss association for parapsychology. More information here: http://www.pepijnvanerp.nl/2017/02/...

Feb-28-21  Tadeusz Nida: why 8 years?
Feb-28-21  Tadeusz Nida: speaking of graves and ghosts:

Maroczy / Rollans vs Korchnoi, 1985

http://www.chessmastery.co.uk/artic...

Is Maroczy pissed off he lost, how come there was no rematch?

Feb-06-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <In 1985, a chess game was arranged between Russian grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi and a deceased grandmaster, the Hungarian Geza Maroczy, making his moves via a medium who specialized in automatic writing. Korchnoi won after 47 moves. The game, played over the course of almost eight years, was publicized on German TV and in popular books and magazines. Given the complexity of alternative explanations, the case is widely considered to be convincing evidence for the survival of consciousness after death.> https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/...

Color me skeptical.

Feb-07-22  Granny O Doul: I wonder why Korchnoi vs. the Amazing Kreskin isn't in the database? Perhaps because Kreskin castled illegally (through check) and the game therefore wouldn't upload.
Jul-12-22
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: Korchnoi once triumphantly forked Uri Geller's king and queen, then quit the game in disgust after Geller bent the fork.
Jul-12-22  stone free or die: <... Geller bent the fork.> Groan!
Feb-20-23  generror: Oh boy. You thought you've seen it all, then you stumble upon this little gem.

<Given the complexity of alternative explanations, the case is widely considered to be convincing evidence for the survival of consciousness after death.>

Sure, psi-encyclopedia. Rolland paying some IM to play this game in order to promote himself and generate both attention and revenue -- now that would be a completely outlandish and "complex" explanation.

Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 4)
search thread:   
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 4 ·  Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: EXHIBITION. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.

Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC