KEG: Another feeble performance by Karpinski at Buffalo 1901. After drawing his first two games, Karpinski had lost his next five. His (entirely needless) loss in this game placed in in last place at 1-7, a half-point behind Marshall. When Marshall won their ninth round game, Karpinski's last place finish was assured. His loss in the final round to Pillsbury left him at 1-9 (with eight losses in his final eight games). By contrast, Napier sat in second place going into this encounter. With Delmar and Howell (who had been a half-point behind) drew their game this round, Napier found himself alone in 2nd place and the only competitor with a mathematical chance to catch Pillsbury. Napier lost his game in the following round, and ended up sharing 2nd prize with Delmar. The instant game was hardly a gem. Weak opening play by Napier allowed Karpinski to reach a slightly favorable endgame with Bishops of opposite colors. Once the Rooks were off the board, a draw seemed likely (after Karpinski made no effort to build on his small advantage). The reduced material endgame seemed tough to lose, but Karpinski was up to the task, first blundering away a pawn (which might not have been fatal with Bishops of opposite colors) and then a piece (by falling into a fairly obvious forking combination). For much of the game, Napier appeared to be waiting around for Karpinski to blunder. He was not to be disappointed. 1. e4 c5
2. Nc3 Nc6
3. Nf3 e6
4. d4 cxd4
5. Nxd4 Nf6
6. Nbd5
Thus far an opening that could be played by a grandmaster today. 6... Bb4
6...d6 is more prudent, but the text is also well-known and still widely played. It tends to cede the two Bishops to White. 7. a3 BxN+
8. NxB d5
 click for larger view9. Bd3
9. exd5 is simpler and better. The text, however, later became a favorite of deFirmian, and was played by Fischer, Carlsen, and Caruana. 9... dxe4
 click for larger view10. Bxe4?
10. Nxe4 is obviously better. The text allows Black to achieve a slightly better endgame. 10... QxQ+
11. KxQ NxN
12. NxN 0-0
 click for larger viewWhite is somewhat worse because of the loss of the right to Castle. Still, he should be able to hold this otherwise fairly balanced ending with decent play. But is this a way to play for a WIN by White (which Napier surely wanted as White against the last-place Karpinski? Perhaps he figured an ending would be the safest way, since he would not have to worry about some tactical accident, and perhaps thought he could just hand around and wait for Karpinski to blunder. Karpinski, as will be seen, seemed to seek nothing more than a draw. 13. Be3 b6
Had Karpinski wanted to play for a win, 13...f5 or 13...e5 might have been the way to proceed. 14. Kc1
Napier decided to castle Queen-side the slow way! His plan worked more effectively than might have been expected, in part because of Karpinski's limited ambitions:  click for larger view |