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Karoly Zambelly vs Geza Maroczy
"Zambelly Laced" (game of the day Mar-07-2010)
corr (1897) (correspondence)
Elephant Gambit: Maroczy Gambit (C40)  ·  0-1

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
0-1

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 1 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Feb-12-04  InspiredByMorphy: Great combinational play by Maroczy.
Aug-24-04  InspiredByMorphy: Truly amazing game! This should definitely make game of the day sometime. Maroczy sacrifices both bishops, both rooks, and mates the king in the center of the board with his only piece. In the final position white has a queen, two rooks, and a bishop, but they simply standby and watch the king get mated.
Aug-24-04  Zenchess: This is how stereotyped play can get punished; 12. O-O? runs smack in to a drastic version of the Greek Gift sacrifice.

In G Sanguinetti vs D Siegrist, 2000, White plays much better; he plays an early d4 and does not castle at all. Black's whole play is built around the Greek Gift; if white takes it away, he has an excellent game.

Aug-26-04  InspiredByMorphy: <Zenchess> Great game. White does play well by not castling, but it appears to me that blacks problem was not castling either when the chance was given.
Aug-27-04  Zenchess: Yeah, in the game I mentioned, Black could have equalized by castling now that I look at it closer.

So White should prefer 5. Bb5+ (as in the game) c6 and now I propose 6. dxc6 instead of the passive 6. Ba4?!. After 6...bxc6, White should play 7. Bc4 O-O 8. d3 to discourage ...e4.

Aug-27-04  InspiredByMorphy: <Zenchess> Good line. Black seems better off playing 6. ...Nxc6 7.d4 exd4 8.Qxd4 O-O 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.Bg5 Be7
Apr-06-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  TheAlchemist: Btw, "dopisna" should, unless it's a town I'm not aware of, mean "correspondence".
Apr-06-06  korger: <Btw, "dopisna" should, unless it's a town I'm not aware of, mean "correspondence".>

This game was definitely correspondence.

An interesting account is given about it in Maroczy's autobiography. Zambelly was Maroczy's sparring partner, or more like his punching bag, in correspondence chess at that time. At one point they played a game where Maroczy gave him a very interesting checkmate on square e5 (unfortunately, that game is not in this database). Zambelly vowed that he would avoid the ominous square from that point on. Right after that they played this game... Imagine Zambelly's surprise that in spite of his best efforts, he was mated again on the very same square!

As a sidenote, Zambelly wasn't a bad player after all. Maroczy's autobiography mentions at another point (it's full of interesting stories) that he and Lasker were giving many simultaneous exhibitions that time, where the two grandmasters played against usually 20-30 people, sharing the circles, so that each of them made only every second move on their opponent's board. This is harder for the GMs, because they also had to guess each other's plans. Nevertheless, they usually wiped up the floor with those poor amateurs. However, on one such occasion, this Zambelly fellow managed to hold a draw against them...

Apr-07-06  Calli: <korger> "Zambelly wasn't a bad player after all"

I have a draw he played against Capablanca in a 1911 simul. The name given is "K. Zambelly". Does Maroczy give a first name?

Apr-08-06  korger: <Calli: I have a draw he played against Capablanca in a 1911 simul. The name given is "K. Zambelly". Does Maroczy give a first name?>

Károly Zámbelly, if I recall correctly (I haven't read that book for years). That sounds like him, all right.

Apr-08-06  Calli: <korger> Thank you very much!
Jun-09-06  FENfiend: nicely played!
Sep-19-07  sambo: Definite game of the day candidate.
Jan-17-08  MorphyMatt: Talk about castling into it!
Mar-07-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: I wonder how many of the CG gang are familiar with the reference to The Big Bopper.
Mar-07-10  SugarDom: We're clueless dude. Can you explain?
Mar-07-10  Nightranger: < Good Evening: I wonder how many of the CG gang are familiar with the reference to The Big Bopper. >

I am if it's Chantilly Lace.

Mar-07-10  sfm: Wow! 21.-,Rxb5!! 22.-,Rh5!!
Mar-07-10  randomsac: What a bloody way to end the game.
Mar-07-10  goodevans: <An Englishman: Good Evening: I wonder how many of the CG gang are familiar with the reference to The Big Bopper.>

I'd hitherto only associated the song with Jerry Lee Lewis. Well, you learn something new every day, especially on CG.com!

Mar-07-10  waustad: You know what I like!
Mar-07-10  thegoldenband: Two questions:

1. If any <Chessgames.com> admin are reading, d'you suppose we could update the game listing with Zámbelly's full name, and the fact that it was correspondence? ("Dopisna" is definitely "correspondence", as others have indicated.)

2. What's the last point where Zámbelly could've forestalled checkmate, ot even saved the game? I wonder if the final nail in the coffin is 17. d3?, but I'm unsure.

Mar-07-10  Once: Well, I just had to google it:

Hello baby, yeah, this is the Big Bopper speaking
Oh you sweet thing
Do I what
Will I what
Oh baby you know what I like

Chantilly lace and a pretty face
And a pony tail hanging down
That wiggle in the walk and giggle in the talk
Makes the world go round
There ain't nothing in the world like a big eyed girl That makes me act so funny, make me spend my money
Make me feel real loose like a long necked goose
Like a girl, oh baby that's what I like

What's that baby
But, but, but, oh honey
But, oh baby you know what I like

Chorus

What's that honey
Pick you up at 8 and don't be late
But baby I ain't got no money honey
Oh alright baby you know what I like

Chorus

Mar-07-10  WhiteRook48: 19 dxe4 looks safer
Mar-07-10  TheaN: The ending position is...... typical...

I've seen something similar after a Danish opening where only one Knight mates Black (it's actually in the 'Complete e4' opening's book but without a reference, does anyone know it?).

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