France’s Bastille Day, which we mark this week, celebrates the final days of a notorious royalist prison in 1789 that inmates were trying to escape from.
Which for chessplayers is more than a bit ironic, as France ever since has represented a place to escape to.
Budding Iranian superstar GM Alireza Firouzja, the world’s highest-rated junior player and one tipped by many as a possible world champion candidate in a few years, revealed last week that he will now play under the French flag, in large part because of the political restrictions (including a ban on playing Israelis in international events) he faced in Iran.
Firouzja’s decision is just the latest reminder that France, no less than the United States, has been a haven and welcoming home for wandering (or fleeing) chess masters over the centuries. At least two Russian-born world champions, Alexander Alekhine and Boris Spassky, spent the latter halves of their careers in France. Other expatriates who contributed to France’s rich chess legacy over the years include Lionel Kieseritzky (Estonia), Ossip Bernstein (Ukraine), Savielly Tartakower (Poland) and Eugene Znosko-Borovsky (Russia).
One of France’s greatest adopted sons was the dashing Belarusian-French grandmaster David Janowsky. Best remembered today for a lopsided world title loss to Emanuel Lasker and his inordinate fondness for the bishop pair, Janowsky ranked among the world’s best players in the early decades of the 20th century. His positional, tactical and technical skills were on display in a beautiful win over Russian master Semyon Alapin in 1905.
From the White side of a Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Janowsky makes the somewhat surprising decision to go for tension-releasing exchanges with 14. Ne5!? (e4 c5 15. e5 Nh5 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. Ne4 c4 is only equal) Nxe5 15. dxe5 Nd5 16. Bxe7 Nxc3 17. Rxc3 Qxe7 18. Rcd3 Rfd8. Black enjoys a queenside pawn majority, a decent bishop and a strong challenge on the d-file, but with 19. Rd6!, White’s idea comes into focus.
Alapin can either allow the cheeky rook to stay and cede the open d-file, or, with the game’s 19…Rxd6!? (c5 20. Bc2 c4 21. b3) 20. exd6 Qd7 21. e4 c5 (e5 22. Qd2 Rd8 23. Qb4 Qe8 24. Qc5 puts a severe cramp on Black’s position) 22. e5, allow a protected passed pawn that must be constantly watched for the rest of the game.
With his opponent reduced to preserving the blockade on the d-pawn, White is free to go for the jugular on the kingside, something Janowsky does with Gallic panache.
Thus: 28. f4 Ra7 29. f5 Bd7?! (Rd7, not cutting off the rook, might be marginally better, but White would proceed pretty much as he does in the game) 30. f6 g6 31. Qg3 Kh7 32. h4!; chess made simple@! — Black has no answer to the assault on his fragile pawn cover.
Alapin does his best to cover up, but it’s essentially three White pieces to two for Black on the kingside, and the defense simply cannot hold. The White g-pawn joins the party, and Janowsky finishes off a nearly perfect game with one final finesse: 39. g4 Kh8 40. hxg6 fxg6 41. Rxh6+ (winning a decisive pawn, but Janowsky has a faster end in mind) Rh7 42. Rxh7+ Kxh7 43. Qg5 Qf7 44. Qh5+ Kg8 45. Bxg6! Qxg6 46. Qxg6+ Bxg6 47. d7 and the d-pawn that dominated the middle game will decide the endgame; Alapin resigned
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For non-chessplayers, Spassky fell off the map after his epic loss to Bobby Fischer in their 1972 match (that ill-advised return match in Serbia in 1992 excepted). Spassky also fell afoul of Soviet chess authorities for ceding the crown the country had held since the 1940s and was quickly eclipsed by younger stars such as Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov.
But Spassky remained an active and formidable opponent on the international scene, even after relocating to France in 1976 and taking French citizenship two years later.
The ex-champ gave a good accounting of his skills in a fine win over American GM (and longtime Washington Post columnist) Lubomir Kavalek from the strong Montreal Tournament of Stars in 1979. In an Old Indian Defense, White seems to have only the tiniest of space advantages when Spassky abruptly ends the positional shadow-boxing with a surprise speculative piece sac.
Black may have underestimated the danger in what looks like a closed position: 28. Rg1 Rhf8?! (Bxb5 29. cxb5 Rcg8 would have been tougher) 29. g5 h5 (see diagram) 30. Nf5+!! gxf5 31. exf5 — White creates a pawn steamroller supported by nearly all of his army. There’s not an instant win, but even the material-grubbing computer programs approve of Spassky’s idea.
Kavalek wisely decides not to hold on to the ill-gotten gains. After 32. Rhg2 e4! (the right idea — Black must activate his pieces if he hopes to defend) 33. fxe4 Qe5! 34. g6 fxg6 35. fxg6 Rf4 (Nf6 36. g7+) 36. gxh7 Bg4, White may be two pawns up, but the pawn on h7 will soon be lost and Black enjoys real pressure in the center as compensation.
But Spassky neatly defangs the Black counterattack with an exchange of queens, and a single pawn proves to be enough to ensure the win. White steadily makes progress on 45. b4 axb4 46. axb4 Kg7 47. c5 bxc5 48. bxc5 Ng6 49. Rh2 Kf8 50. Ba4 Rf6 51. Kb3 Rf3 52. Kc4 Ke7 53. Rb2!, when 53…Nxh4 allows 54. Rb7 Kd8 55. d6 cxd6 56. cxd6 Bc8 57. Rb8!, with the deadly threat of 58. d7. In the final position, after 58. Kd5 Ke8, Kavalek resigned not needing to see lines such as 59. Nb5 Rd8 60. Ra2 Kf7 61. Rf2+ Ke8 62. Rf6, and Black’s defense collapses.
Janowsky-Alapin, Barmen, Germany, August 1905
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e3 a6 8. Bxc4 b5 9. Bb3 Nbd7 10. Qe2 c6 11. O-O O-O 12. Rac1 Bb7 13. Rfd1 Rc8 14. Ne5 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Nd5 16. Bxe7 Nxc3 17. Rxc3 Qxe7 18. Rcd3 Rfd8 19. Rd6 Rxd6 20. exd6 Qd7 21. e4 c5 22. e5 c4 23. Bc2 Qc6 24. f3 Qc5+ 25. Kh1 Rd8 26. Qe1 Rd7 27. h3 Bc6 28. f4 Ra7 29. f5 Bd7 30. f6 g6 31. Qg3 Kh7 32. h4 Qc8 33. h5 Qg8 34. Rd4 Be8 35. Rh4 Qf8 36. Rg4 Qg8 37. Qe3 Rd7 38. Rh4 Qf8 39. g4 Kh8 40. hxg6 fxg6 41. Rxh6+ Rh7 42. Rxh7+ Kxh7 43. Qg5 Qf7 44. Qh5+ Kg8 45. Bxg6 Qxg6 46. Qxg6+ Bxg6 47. d7 Black resigns.
Spassky-Kavalek, Montreal, April 1979
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. d5 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Be2 Nc5 8. Qc2 a5 9. Be3 b6 10. h3 h6 11. O-O-O Nh7 12. g4 Ng5 13. Nd2 Nh7 14. Nf3 Ng5 15. Ne1 Nh7 16. Ng2 Bg5 17. h4 Bxe3+ 18. Nxe3 g6 19. Rdf1 Bd7 20. Kb1 Qe7 21. f3 Kg7 22. Rf2 Nf6 23. Qd2 Rae8 24. Bd1 Nh7 25. Bc2 Rb8 26. Nb5 Rbc8 27. Rfh2 Rh8 28. Rg1 Rhf8 29. g5 h5 30. Nf5+ gxf5 31. exf5 Kh8 32. Rhg2 e4 33. fxe4 Qe5 34. g6 fxg6 35. fxg6 Rf4 36. gxh7 Bg4 37. a3 Rcf8 38. Qd4 R8f7 39. Qxe5+ dxe5 40. Nc3 Kxh7 41. Ka2 Nd7 42. Rd2 Rf2 43. Rg2 Rxg2 44. Rxg2 Nf8 45. b4 axb4 46. axb4 Kg7 47. c5 bxc5 48. bxc5 Ng6 49. Rh2 Kf8 50. Ba4 Rf6 51. Kb3 Rf3 52. Kc4 Ke7 53. Rb2 Rf7 54. d6+ cxd6 55. cxd6+ Kf8 56. Rd2 Bd7 57. Bxd7 Rxd7 58. Kd5 Ke8 and Black resigns.
• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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