(1939)

Iván Bottlik (Budapest) draws attention to his account of this matter on page 221 of volume three of Magyar Sakktörténet (Budapest, 1989):

‘Here is the situation regarding the puzzle of the Breyer Defence in the Ruy López. This term has been adopted by chess literature throughout the world, although no-one has so far managed to discover a game played by Breyer with 9...Nb8. There is no trace of it even in his writings. The term has become so well established that Vienna chess players told Gideon Barcza in 1955 that this move had been recommended by Breyer. (Breyer visited Vienna regularly and also played in tournaments there in 1920 and 1921.)

A 1955 text by a Viennese contemporary of Breyer, the International Master and renowned theoretician Hans Müller, contains decisive information and confirms that this variation did indeed originate with Breyer. In Schach Echo, 1955, page 247, he writes as follows in explaining a game with the move 9...Nb8: “This strange, though well thought out, retreat was first recommended by the Hungarian master G. Breyer in one of his essays as an improvement on the classical Chigorin Defence.”

In this explanation, Müller quotes from memory several of Breyer’s observations. There is therefore no doubt that at some point he saw the essay. Unfortunately, so far neither we nor any foreign researchers into Breyer’s life and work have been able to find any further trace.

Nevertheless, the term “Breyer Defence” can be justified by Müller’s text.’

Mr Bottlik’s letter to us adds:

‘It is several years since I wrote the above, but neither I nor others have been able to make any progress whatsoever. Concerning the “essay” mentioned by Müller, it should be noted that either it existed in manuscript form and was lost (like the manuscript of Breyer’s book on the ending rook and bishop versus rook) or else it was published somewhere and remains to be discovered.’